She had left Rhyme with Motif and Poem, he was doing his best to be a good dad and often spent time with the little ones. It was awkward now, right after things had finally smoothed out between them. What a mess, a patchwork of confusion and roadblocks until she didnt know which way to go to straighten things out. She had left when Rhyme entered, giving him some time with his little ones. Her anger had settled down, the burning rage that had left her emotionless and cold as she had dealt with him. She didn’t regret setting boundaries, but she did regret how she had done it, and that it had hurt him. Hurt them both. She hadn't given him a chance to say his piece, explain what he thought of Tanas rash actions. All she knew was that he had promised to talk to her about sharing him, and the thought had left her feeling sick. That and the knowledge of what she had done to her puppies. She gave him some time, and took the chance to stretch her legs, and wonder about the territory. When she had taken something to eat from the kill pile and gotten in some fresh air, she would make her way back towards her den. She stopped at the entrance, scuffing a paw in the earth, feeling more than a little nervous. “I don’t want to hurt you Rhyme.” she said, her voice soft, and she didn’t enter the den yet, just giving him a chance to hear her if he chose to. “But things in your life are a mess right now, and I know you're trying to find your priorities. I don’t want to tie you down and create obligations for you.” He had done that enough in the creation of all his pups. “-and I don’t want to be drawn into.. Whatever that was.” she referred to the incident where Tana threatened the lives of her puppies, mentioning it only vaguely in the hopes neither of them got too worked up in the memory of it. ”Instead, I want to find my own priorities, the children. I want to be there for them, without.. Confusion. I’m not, and have not, given up on us, but I hope you can forgive me for.. Pushing us aside, until we both know what we want.” She didn’t enter the den, instead she fell silent, giving him the chance to come and greet her, and talk it over, if he chose, or to stay where he was if he wanted no part in this conversation. "speech"

Rhyme sighed softly as he eased down beside the sleeping puppies. Shaye took her leave as soon as he’d appeared though he couldn’t tell if it was because she was giving him time with the girls or to get away from him. Everything was twisted up and unclear between them now. He hadn’t shared but a few words with her since the incident with Tana and he was just trying to focus on raising his kids. It was all he could do. Rhyme nuzzled into the little pile of fluff at his belly, trying to suppress his tumultuous emotions as he focused on his tiny daughters.

Or not so tiny anymore. Their eyes were bright and aware and they were working on finishing sentences. They had dangerous levels of control over their legs and he was more grateful for the barrier at the entrance of the den than he thought he might be. They were no trouble right now though, their little snores were music to his ears. He felt himself smiling down at them, a sense of love he hadn’t ever realised possible blossomed in his heart for them.

He was just enjoying their presence when he head Shaye at the entrance of the den. He perked his ears and listened quietly to her soft voice before moving himself carefully away from the sleeping girls. With care he bunched the soft furs around them to keep them warm before slipping to the entrance of the den. Shaye was right, his life was anything but certain right now. When he’d drunkenly enjoyed both her and Tana he had never guess the actions would cause such crazy events. Tana had almost abandoned two of their children and stolen the third. He’d realized there was a deeper love for Shaye than should have blossomed.

He wanted to prioritize his children as well, he had to. They had never asked to be born, but they were here and he needed to focus on their well being. He felt a relief that Shaye was not giving up on them, and he couldn’t blame her for her actions either. Rhyme ducked out of the den to her, captivated by her brilliant blue eyes once more.

”I can’t blame you, Shaye. Things have been… not ideal.” He chanced she might accept a quick nuzzle as he aimed to offer the affection against her cheek. ”Our children should be our priority, and if we have to sacrifice our relationship for them I won't hesitate. I love you, and want to make things work. But my children are my priority now.” He sat back, unsure where their conversation might bring them. He wanted stability, if only for the puppies.

He came to her, poking his head out of the den, and then the rest of him as he followed her words. She was confronted with the sight of him. With the depths of his eyes, and the familiar curves of his body. She fought the urge to take a step back as he closed the gap between them. She was worried that she would want his affection too much, and was determined not to let her emotions lead her around by her nose. Still, she didn’t pull away from him, and well she did give a soft, reluctant sigh, she didn’t press into him as she wished to. “Well, it’s a starting point.” she said as he told her he still loved and wanted to make thing work. “and we both think that the children should be our whole world right now.” and didn’t that just make her love him more? She saw the way he was with them, so sweet and gentle. She knew he would fight for them, with every breath of his body. He would be there for them, always. “So we’ll concentrate on that for now, and we can think about us later, okay?’ she asked him softly, braving a quick nuzzle of her own, pressing her nose into the plush fur by his ear, before pulling back. She offered him an uncertain smile, before gently pushing past him an into the den. “Your welcome here any time of day and night, and as for as long as you wish. These puppies will know you as their father.” she promised him. She wasn’t going back on that because she was giving them a break. She paused before entering the den, waiting to see if he would follow her back to their children. "speech"

She didn't pull away from him as he offered her gentle affections, which gave him a little bit of hope. She repeated his needs, their daughters needed to be their priority and she seemed to agree. Shaye made clear they would first focus on raising them, and then maybe someday they could think about the ‘us’ once more. He felt himself blush as she offered a sweet nuzzle of her own back to him. His heart fluttered and he tried to suppress the feeling. He wasn’t ready to hurt again, but he’d hold on to the hope that someday he wouldn’t have to hide or bury anything.

Shaye welcomed him into her den, anytime he wished. He nodded in acceptance of their terms. They had a plan and he would follow it. Poem and Motif were already growing exponentially and he knew in the blink of an eye they’d be yearlings digging their own dens. He sighed in relief as she reiterated that he would be their father. There was no hiding their parentage even if they wanted to. Poem looked just like him.

Thank you, Shaye.” He replied as she brushed past him and hesitated at the entrance. He’d move to follow her, not quite finished with his puppy time yet. He’d have to get to more patrols soon, but he wanted to admire what he’d made with Shaye for a little longer.

She smiled at him as he moved to follow, and wouldn’t hesitate any longer. She entered the den to find their ‘precious little ones’ growling in a little ball of fluff, play fighting. Poem seemed to playing dirt, going for ears and eyes. Motif was just making nose and tugging at her sisters tummy, clearly more interested in play then winning. Shaye huffed at the sight, shaking her head, but until one of them actually cried, she wouldn’t pull them apart. She settled down in a corner of the den, supervising their play and giving room for Rhyme to enter behind her. She had enlarged the den quite a bit before her pregnancy, and there was plenty of room inside now. All her herbs sat on benches that where lifted too high for the children to get to, and the barrier still proved to be too much for either of them to climb. She knew that once she released them from her den, they were going to be hell to watch. At least she would have a whole pack to help her keep an eye out. No matter what, her and Rhyme where in for an interesting time with these two. "speech"