This Little Bird

Up until this moment he hadn't put much thought into the fact that his mother was having another litter. When she told them there had been a conflicting and difficult mix of being happy for her since he knew how much she loved Indigo and how much this would mean for them, but also a strange jealousy for these pups that weren't even born yet. He understood now that there was nothing that he could have done to prevent his father's death and he knew that tragedy could happen to anyone at any time, but that somehow didn't stop the knot of jealousy that formed in his belly over the fact that this litter would grow up with his mother and Indigo looking after them day in and day out. They truly seemed to love one another and there would be no separation like there had been from Asla and his and Tira's fathers. They would grow up with two tightly knit parents where he and his sister had not.

He tried not to think about it too much, distracting himself with Vanille and with helping to prep the land around the lake near by for Elysium to lay claim to it. More often than not he tried to spend the night with Vanille instead of with his family. Keeping himself busy meant he didn't spend much time around his mother throughout her pregnancy and it was almost like he could just forget. He was out near Firefly Like when Ashur came to find him, informing him of what had happened and how he was requested to meet the new pup. His gray-marked ears flicked uncertainly, but he wouldn't deny his mother's wishes. Besides, he knew Tira would likely be asked to be there as well and if nothing else he'd be there for her. He knew all of this was even harder on her than it was for him so he nodded and followed Ashur back to the island and when he arrived he walked in behind Tira right as she was asking if it was a boy or girl.

He stepped in beside his sister, his foreleg against her shoulder, and spotted the small fluff of pale, muted purple at their mother's stomach. He glanced to his uncle and mother again, giving them each a soft smile before he looked to his new half-sister again. Even through all of his jealousy and uncertainty he still couldn't really help the small bit of excitement he felt about being a brother again. He did truly love his family and as strained and strange as their relationships were he was still just happy to see his mother happy. There had been a long stretch of time when that hadn't been the case so seeing her smile was something he treasured, just as he was sure she was happy to see him happy again as well. "Congratulations," he said after a moment, giving his mother another smile while still keeping close to Tira's side, giving her a little bit of silent support.

"Arcturus Indarra"