Long Time, No See

Huh, well Whaddaya know! The guy knew his name! Kairi must've told him in case he ever decided to visit. Had he not been so busy raiding and stuff, he would've visited a lot sooner! Not to mention, he assumed Kairi wanted some time alone with the pups after they were born and would send for him any day. But...it hadn't happened. And when he had gotten nothing but radio silence up until today, he figured he should check in himself. He knew if it were Valentine or his own dad in this position, they would've taken the initiative instead of waiting. The ebony male introduced himself as Ardyn, Valhalla's king. And then went on to say that his elder cousin bore two sons and a daughter. Huh, he didn't know she had been related to these Adravendi! (Not that he knew any others or any he could remember off the top of his head). His ears perked and a grin began to show as he light lit up his eyes, "That's good to hear!"

But then things seemed to get serious, indicated by Ardyn's tone of voice suddenly changing. Ares remained quiet long enough to listen to what was said. Kairi was dead. It was unfortunate, really. She was cute, but...they weren't involved with one another beyond a one-night stand, and, well...then the pups happened. Still, they weren't romantically or emotionally invested in one another. Though who knew if that would've changed after the pups were born and if she had lived...but when the pups' names were said, and Ardyn let him know his thoughts on them, Ares' attention drew back to what he truly was here for. "I...I am sorry to hear that she passed away. I assume she mentioned this, and if not, well...we weren't involved with each other beyond a one-time thing. But then she told me she was pregnant, and I didn't wanna be some deadbeat dad. My gramps and my own dad would probably kill me if I did that!" And beyond that, despite all his flaws, he wasn't the type to just leave and pretend like it never happened. "She did choose beautiful names. It's a shame that she didn't get the chance to stay in their lives. My condolences."

He wasn't sure what else to say regarding their situation. He was never really good at comforting. “I could see the boys enjoying pirate life. However, there is the matter of their parentage, one parent of Valhalla, and the other of the Pirates – Plunder, isn’t it?" Ares nodded, gaze steady as the King continued. He had to admit there was...a lot of information. But he was glad at least, that Valhalla's king wasn't trying to chase him away or reprimanding him for not having shown up sooner. Or telling him to fuck off or something. Though considering the circumstances, he was the remaining parent of the three pups. And as he thought about everything, his attitude shifted to a more serious one. "I appreciate all of this information. If I were to take them to the Plunder, I would need to speak with my cousin Sparrow first since she runs the show there. At least, that's if they were to go permanently. Though considering they've never met me before, I don't want to just spirit them away on a whim. I have no doubts they'd adapt to the change, but they'd be living among an entire pack of strangers."

He clicked his tongue against his sabers for a moment as he thought. "I would like to meet them, let them know who I am, and start introductions. Back and forth between your pack and mine for a bit, or however long until they feel comfortable. It would be unfair and mean of me to just...whisk them away today on the spot." Was this something that Valentine or his dad would do? Or would they have just whisked them away and said fuck it, they'll learn? These kids had lost their mother, and he had no idea if they were even affected by that considering the circumstances. But they were accustomed to the pack and the wolves in it. He supposed he'd assess them in the coming days or weeks, and go from there.