The Devil Went Down to the River

Aslatiel almost laughed at the sheer audacity of the man. He'd 'agreed' to let her go, but thought that he was keeping her children? The scarred woman's stance widened reflexively as she stared at him. "No, my children are coming with me." Aslatiel's galactic gaze bore into her father. She was utterly serious. "You wouldn't allow anyone to take your children and I won't have mine taken either." No matter what Asla's initial plan had been, it had changed. She hadn't planned on loving the pups. She hadn't planned on them being the absolute best thing in her life. Hell, she hadn't planned on waking up some days after they were born, but the thought of their smiling faces woke her ever single time that she wished for death during her depression. So there was one thing that she and Sirius had in common: Aslatiel was a fiercely protective mother.

"Just because we'll be gone doesn't mean that they'll be denied to you." What did he think of her, really? It as obvious that he thought of her as some kind of heartless monster. Despite her desire to have nothing to do with Indigo or her brothers or anyone else in the pack, she wouldn't deny her children valuable time with her grandfather. She wasn't that type of mother. "You can see one another as much as you wish."

A wistful note took hold in the striped fae's voice. "I have so many plans for them," she began, her swirling purple gaze drifting to where she knew her children slept. "Arcturus is going to be the greatest hunter in the land. He's going to learn to track and hunt on every terrain from Boreas to Auster." Already the boy was showing great promise. With her help, he'd already made his first kill. He showed the same natural skill at killing that Aslatiel had. She was incredibly proud.

"Satira is going to be a fighter, just like her mom, but I think she might also be a healer. We'll travel the world and she'll learn about herbs and plants from the pines of the white north to the bamboo forest in the south." She was proud of the girl as well. Sometimes looking at Tira was as though time had reversed so that Aslatiel was looking at a younger version of herself. There was great promise in her children and she was just as surprised by the motherly nature to have taken over her as anyone else was. "When they are a bit older, have learned their lessons well and can care for themselves, they can make their own decisions." No matter what anyone thought of Aslatiel, she was honestly a good mother. She wanted nothing but the best for Arcturus and Satira. They would both be small like she was. Satira had the added struggle of her dog heritage. Asla would make them strong. No one would ever tell them that they were less or that they weren't good enough. She would supply them with the skills and knowledge necessary for life with the tenacity and drive that only a mother possessed.

"Aslatiel Fatalis"