He felt nervous, and maybe he shouldn’t have felt anxious but with the inkling of uncertainty he was. After talking to Samara earlier he felt like he couldn’t relax, but he’d go on with his plans for that evening. He brought with him a bit of dinner to share with his alpha daughter, and he hoped he caught her before she decided to eat. Making his way to Abaven’s current gathering place he lowered the turkey carcass to the ground. Alright maybe he got his favorite meal but that would be alright, surely Theory would enjoy it as well.

Rhyme tried to let himself get comfortable, haunches coiling beneath him as he took in a deep breath. This was only supposed to b telling her about the step he took with Samara, not the possibility of the step after that. However, after two out of season pregnancies he wasn’t going to miscount anything. Likely, Samara was already pregnant. He steadied himself and called out for Theory, uncertain of her reactions but hopeful that she would be as eager as he was.

Theory answered her father's call readily. She'd been meaning to touch base with him for some time now to chat about Poem and Motif but they seemed to keep missing each other. It was a relief to spot a hearty catch ready for dinner as she approached. Nothing better than a dinnertime chat! Theo pricked her ears as she closed the distance between them and touched her muzzle to his cheek. "Finally spring! It felt like it would never get here," she murmured, flopping down beside the large bird. Although she was his leader, she was still his daughter, and she waited for Rhyme to begin eating before she did. Some habits never seemed to fade. "Thank you for the meal. I'd been meaning to finally pin you down, but..." she rolled her shoulders lazily. "Too busy enjoying the weather." Theo laughed cheekily, settling her chin on her paws. "But you called me here first," she added, tilting her head slightly as she peered up at him. Had he summoned her for a reason or just for some company over dinner?

Rhyme wasn’t forced to wait very long after his call for Theory to make her way to his side. She perked as her blue eyes fell on him and the gift he’d nabbed for them. Rhyme smiled softly, it seemed like there was so much to keep him from smiling but being in her presence. She nuzzled against him and he leaned into the affection before attention was returned to dinner, and how much of a relief spring was. Rhyme began to prepare the carcass she she went on, paying particular attention to her light laughter. A sound he sorely missed.

She mentioned that she had needed to get a hold of him as well, but he’d called her first. As he finished a strip of breast the once alpha would grin back at his daughter. She knew his struggles and his life raft, there wouldn’t be too much surprise in his first words. The second could be contested.

Though he would have enjoyed just company over dinner, he hoped that this would be better. ”A surprise, or maybe not.” Rhyme started cryptically. If any of his daughters would approve of Samara being beside him it was Theory. ”Samara agreed to be my mate.” He told her with a grin, he wasn’t sure if he could put into words how much he relied on Samara. That wasn’t all e had for her though, ”She’s not sure but, I’m almost certain we’re expecting.” Now the excitement was fully setting in. Rhyme would raisethese children as a complete family and they’d have three older sisters to help guide them. He looked into Theory’s eyes, especting the same vibrance he felt.

Samara agreed to be my mate. Theory hiccuped slightly on the turkey she was wolfing down, but she smiled around the meat. So many thoughts rushed through her mind at once. Shaye, Tana, the split litters of her and her siblings... The torch Rhyme held for Shaye, even after she had denied him. There had been real love there. She could see it again now, brimming in his eyes. It was almost enough to make her cry. Images of Rhyme and Shaye played on loop in her head as Theory closed her eyes in thought and swallowed the last chunk she'd torn off the carcass. "I'm so happy for you." Oh, her eyes were stinging. Theory swallowed hard. It felt like there was a chunk of gristle stuck deep in her throat that she couldn't work past. No matter what she did, it wouldn't move. ... we're expecting. Spring had just arrived. Wasn't it fitting that he announced more new life?

It was frightening, the idea of more siblings. She hadn't done so well the first time around. No matter how she tried to frame it, she couldn't help but feel that she'd let down Verse and Noir. "I... I don't know what to say," she said softly. "I mean - not in a bad way, just, a surprised way," Theo blathered on. She was making a real mess of this. Huffing in annoyance, she settled her chin down on her paws and looked up at her father with worry. "I just worry I'm not ready for this. Poem and Motif and I learned how to support each other, but I can't help but think I really, well, fucked things up with Verse and Noir." Neither remained in Abaven. Both, she was sure, hated her. "I feel like I just figured out how to be a good sister and a passable alpha. It's all so much. I spent all of last year worrying my ears off about Eulogy's brood, and Vail's orphans." It was in her nature to take the lion's share of worry onto her plate. Theory was so caught up in her own head that she didn't pause to think about the reality of the situation: Rhyme and Samara were here and they were ready and excited to raise their litter.

Rhyme felt the change of emotions just as she did, even with the hope presented in front of them it was difficult not to think of the past. Of those days gone by that they so longed for but could never have back. Rhyme could still so clearly feel the hole left by Shaye, by his missing son and daughter. Her words spoke of the happiness she felt but he could hear the bouquet of emotions within because they reflected what he was feeling as well. Rhyme shifted so he could lean against her side, she had blossomed into adulthood much earlier than she was supposed to. She really took to opening her wings though, and even if he wanted her under his own she had fledged.

”I know, it’s a lot with everything that’s happened.” He whispered back, blue and lavender eyes lingering on the meal they had been sharing. ”Theory, I know you want to with your position in the pack but your sibling’s… whereabouts,” he chose his words carefully, brows knitting. ”Is not your responsibility. I failed them, Tana…” He took a deep breath. It was not in good taste to disparage the dead. ”That is my burden to bear, and I wont see you shoulder it.” He offered her a supportive nuzzle to her jaw.

”You are a good sister.” Though he spoke softly there was conviction in his voice. ”You are a great alpha.” Especially after all of the turmoil she’d been forced to deal with Theory was excelling and becoming the leader he and Shaye both saw within her. ”All you have to worry about now is being a big sister.” Rhyme assured her. Even with all the uncertainty and hesitation surrounding this new little family there was hope coming with their birth. They wouldn’t know the tragedies leading up to their birth. This was Abaven’s clean slate. A new start.

He'd had so much practice being a father. Theory's eyes couldn't help but well up thinking about Samara's upcoming litter. They were going to have an amazing life, surrounded by so, so much love. It was more than enough to choke her up. "I should have tried harder for them. I could have reached out to Verse before she left the area... and Noir, he was always competitive, but I had no idea..." ...that he would try to kill Poem. Theory sighed heavily as Rhyme leaned against her. Oh, his warmth was so comforting. If she closed her eyes she could just pretend that she was small again, but there was no denying any longer that they were nearly eye-level in height - and, of course, she outranked him. Nonetheless, she couldn't imagine a world without his rhythmic breathing pressed closely against her. She slowed her breath until their breathing matched.

You are a good sister. She laid her head on her paws and let his words wash over her. If she was younger and snottier, she may have said "if you say so!" Instead, she tried to look inwards and ruminate on the last few months together with Poem and Motif. She was a good sister. At the very least, she tried to be. "Okay, dad. Can't be any harder than anything else I've done, right?" she laughed softly, closing her eyes slowly and letting the few tears that had been welling finally slip out. When she blinked again they were gone. "I love you - and I love them, my new siblings, even if I haven't met them yet."

”Stop.” He whispered as she halted before mentioning Noir’s crimes. Maybe if they had worked harder on him they could have turned him around, but Rhyme wondered if he should have been more harsh with the boy. No one seemed to follow his lead though, and there had been no example to make but for him. He hadn’t wanted to give up on his only son, but his choice in the matter had been taken when the boy left Abaven all together. Verse’s disappearance was more gradual, but she had gone too. Rhyme wasn’t sure there was anything that could have been done to change that.

She accepted his bestowed title with a little hesitance. Rhyme leaned in to kiss her cheek gently as she blinked away those unshed tears. He felt the sorrow just as keenly now as the day they lost their loved ones, but it was easier to handle looking forward to the new pups. ”This will be a breeze comparatively.” He promised her with a nuzzle as she confessed her love. ”I love you too, and I know they will too.” Rhyme added with a smile, his heart excited and beating for life.