Naiche had been irritated at Asla for a while but day by day focusing primarily on his job had diluted that and even diluted his concerns for her safety.  She had another wolf keeping an eye on her and surely wouldn’t go do anything overly dangerous for the moment.  He’d had time to imagine pups and try to decide how he felt about that and how he felt about Sirius labeling him as part of their family. For a wolf who preferred to focus on working and keep things simple there were a lot of turmoil that could easily distract his mind.  The main factor was what to make of kids if they were his.  Would he be able to offer the pups love?  That seemed a lot to ask for from him but Naiche would want to make sure they grew up to be as strong and competent as possible.  If a pup was his it wouldn’t grow up to be some loser.   Lots of kids seemed to have pets, hell lots of adult wolves had some form of companion.  Even himself, Naiche had Pan riding on his back.  Naiche wouldn't let any kid of his have any less advantage than others.  Maybe Naiche should have something that could keep an eye on kids better?  Well, he’d wait to find out if the kid was his before Naiche ran off to deal with another companion. The pups could just be Mo’s of course.  Oddly Naiche disliked the idea of them being Mo’s even if Naiche wasn’t sure he wanted them.  In the end, his thoughts roamed about in endless circles that caused his patrols to take longer as he occasionally retraced steps if he caught himself not paying attention to the area. A call from Asla had Naiche slow his gait for a few strides before stopping.  Was this about the pups? It could be about work, it could be wanting to help or talk to him.  Oh hell, let it not be for one of the conversations that irritated.  What if it was about the puppies though? Was she having them even as he headed towards her?  Naiche ran towards her den hoping it was the pups.  Whether or not he wanted to be a dad Naiche knew he wanted to know if it was him to quit wondering.  Once he knew if he was a dad and saw pups he could then decide how he felt about it. Naiche stopped at the entrance of her den for a moment, “Asla?” with that stepping slowly into the den.  Would this be a life changing moment or would it be dealing with the version of Asla that irked him or neither one? "Speech"

"Aslatiel Fatalis" Once she'd been escorted back to the den and Indigo had left, Asla called for Naiche. She'd decided to call the golden man first simply because, between the pair of them, Naiche's ego would be the most bruised if he wasn't notified first. As she waited for the man to arrive, Asla gave her pups another tongue bath, cleaning their tiny bodies and marveling at the sight of them. The pups...They were both so very different. The boy was significantly larger. His coat was golden like Naiche and grey like herself. The girl shared Asla's cream, but her markings were clearly akin to Mojito's speckles and spots. Her coat also seemed softer and somewhat wavy. They were both beautiful children, that was certain. None could deny that. Naiche finally arrived and came into the den, calling her name. "In here," she called from the back sleeping chamber. She was curled up on a pile of plush furs. The pups both slept, nestled at her belly. As he drew near, Asla raised her galactic gaze to meet his wheaten eyes. "Hey, Golden Boy." She'd sent him away, but that didn't mean that she didn't care. With one paw she motioned him forward and into the chamber with her. The chamber that they used to share. The pups would be easy to see if he moved out of the doorways light. He would be able to see that one of them belonged to him if he cared to look clearly enough. "The boy is Arcturus Citlali and the girl is Satira Star." She kept her voice soft so that she wouldn't rouse the sleeping children that lay at her belly. It was no big secret that Aslatiel loved stars, so she'd named her children after them.

Naiche moved forward slowly and there she was, there they were.  Before he could give Asla more than the slightest of glances his attention was turned to her belly where the two pups slept. Naiche moved forward slowly as if stepping on fine twigs instead of a solid den floor.  He had spotted both pups and while they were both amazing in their own way of new life, there was no doubt which had his attention more.  Naiche watched his child breathe and a tiny paw twitch.  It was his.  Naiche was a dad.  That was his child. Naiche’s tail twitched once as if testing this idea.  There had been a lot of uncertainty before but as he watched the pup sleep the tail started to sway in a larger sweeping motion.  Naiche was a dad and Arcturus was his child.  “Arcturus,” Naiche whispered the name softly, “a star, a very bright one.” There was a small smile starting to grow.  Naiche enjoyed looking at the stars himself and so felt it was a good name. His child would surely shine as well as that star did.   Pulling his gaze back enough he looked more at the pup that was clearly part of Asla and part of Mo.  It was still part of Asla, sibling to his own child, and there was nothing wrong with Mo.  Nothing wrong with Mo other than a bit of jealousy on Naiche’s part that he had to share Asla with the healer as if it wasn’t bad enough Naiche would never be equal to Indigo.  Love was a crappy thing.  Arcturus on the other hand was amazing.   After a minute of watching the pup and many thoughts, Naiche lay down so that his face was next to the sleeping pups.  “They're beautiful,” finally glancing up at Asla’s face with an actual smile on his face.  Such a rare expression for Naiche but the pup had brought it out. “I’m a dad.” It was a stupid comment in that Asla obviously knew that but it was just a statement Naiche had to make as if testing it out himself.  Admittedly Naiche wanted to touch the boy to make it all the more real but he also didn’t want to wake it.   "Speech"

"Aslatiel Fatalis" The look of wonder that crossed Naiche's face brought a smile to Asla's own. Soon, a smile pulled up the corner's of the man's maw and it was an odd thing to see. Naiche was usually so serious. She'd only seen him smile a handful of times. It was a good time to smile though. The golden man spoke the name of his son almost reverently, then praised the name. It was a strong name and Asla had no doubt that Arc would be a strong boy. He would shine just as brightly as the star. Satira would as well. Asla would expect a lot from her children. They were a reflection of herself, of the pack, of their names. Naiche lay down on his belly, his nose so close to the little golden pup. The pup stirred and his sister stirred as well. They were always hungry. Little whines and sounds of hunger and protest were given as the duo began wiggling towards their meal. "Go ahead," she told the man softly. She could see it in his eyes that he wanted to touch his son. When Naiche reached forward to nose at Arc, Asla reached forward to nuzzle between the mans ears. Though she'd asked him to leave while she was pregnant, Asla felt that it was for his own good. Had he stayed and cared for her the whole time only to see that both children belonged to Mojito, he may have felt bitter or something else. It made more sense to her this way. "So what do you think, Golden Boy?" She asked softly after pulling back from nuzzling him. Both dark ears flicked forward as she waited for him to speak his mind. Was he excited at being a father? Was he hoping that he had dodged a bullet?

The only pups Naiche had seen before were Sirius pups when they were small and had acknowledged them as kids and members of the pack to protect.  They had been alpha’s kids to keep an eye on but with no real feeling of warmth or a desire for kids of his own.  Kids meant things would try to distract him from work, kids that would expect a father to give them love and lots of attention.  That hadn’t seemed a route Naiche would enjoy much. Now there were two pups in front of him that offered a totally different view of things, especially the boy.  That was his.  Both were Asla’s.  At Asla’s assurance, it would be fine Naiche leaned forward to gently nudge his nose lightly against the boy’s side, breathing even deeper its scent and feeling the truth of this indeed being real.  It didn’t seem enough to stop his kid from his path for milk.  That was fine.  He had to grow up big and strong.   Naiche would likely never agree with Asla on his having to leave.  He could acknowledge it made sense to Asla but Naiche wouldn’t buy into the logic.  However, it did make sense that the den was hers and not theirs.  For all he labeled it as her den instead of theirs it was all too easy being back.  Naiche was relaxed and even enjoying himself.  His head tilted, just a fraction at Asla’s nuzzle so that for just a moment he seemed to lean into it but, he was a bit distracted. His eyes tracked Satira and how she too was going for a meal.  Satira was clearly stamped as Mojito’s kid.  She was also still Asla’s daughter and Arc’s sister.  Naiche couldn’t imagine feeling the same possessiveness towards her at the moment but due to those connections, Naiche would guard her and care for her as much as his own.   “I think they’re great,” sincerity in the statement.  The relaxed wolf added, “I didn’t think I’d,” how to phrase it?  “I didn’t think I wanted kids, yet at least,” Naiche gave a rueful smirk, “I can’t think of anything better than this right now.”  His son, the kids, Asla, and even the familiar comfort of sharing the den with Asla; it all just felt so right.  “You know,” Naiche fully raised his head, giving Asla a lick right under her ear, “I’m actually really happy right now.” Naiche felt content and it was certainly an emotion he wasn't use to. "Speech"

"Aslatiel Fatalis" Seeing the look of wonder cross the yellow wolf's face brought a soft smile to the tired woman. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the pups, particularly the boy that was similarly colored. She was glad that he was taking it well. Better than well, actually. Naiche crept closer, laying his head down to stare at the pups. When given permission to touch them, he nosed the little golden child and the pup paid him no mind, making a beeline for his meal instead. Naiche's words brought a soft chuckle from Asla and she leaned into the lick that he gave her. Part of her missed having him in the den, but another part of her railed at the lack of fairness to Mojito. They had each fathered a child with her and she didn't want either of them to feel that the other was getting or giving more attention. Naiche couldn't stay just as much as Mo couldn't stay. "Things started out a little rough for us." Asla nosed Tira towards her stomach as the girl had begun to drift off with her tiny puppy rolling. "I was out on a patrol last night when that storm struck. The pups struck at the same time. Had them all by myself inside of a tree." She snorted softly, eyeing the feeding children. Things always seemed to happen to Aslatiel. She was like a magnet for trouble, so no doubt Naiche wasn't surprised to hear that her birth had gone awry as well. Asla's stomach growled loudly and she grimaced. She hadn't eaten since yesterday before the birth. Before her patrol, even. Only now did she realize just how hungry she was. "If it's not too much trouble, Golden Boy..." She tucked her grey ears sheepishly, "Could you get me some food?"

Things felt right for this moment.  Naiche and Asla sharing the den with their kids.  Technicalities of one being his weren’t important at the moment.  Things were less alright as Asla started sharing her story.  Naiche ears flicked back and he inwardly cursed himself for having not been there.  The fact he didn’t know she had been out at the time or that she was going to have birth at the time weren’t important matters.  The part that mattered to Naiche was she had been in a bad spot and Naiche hadn’t been there to help.  Naiche bit back any comments he might have made in response to her misadventure for the moment as none of his first replies would have probably been well received.  He didn’t want to fight with her, not right now.   She was hungry? Naiche nodded quickly at the request.  It was finally a thing he could do for her.  Naiche hadn’t been able to offer her comfort from any emotional troubles which seemed to occasionally crop up on her.  He hadn’t been able to take on the royal of guarding over her while she was pregnant.  So finally he could do something.   Naiche gave a small firm nod, “Sure.” Now that they weren’t in an eternal winter it wouldn’t be too hard to find a meal.  Naiche got up to his feet with the intent to leave but stopped to look again at Asla and the pups.  Lowering his head Naiche gingerly licked the top of the boy's head.  Who would have thought he’d be a dad?  Looking at a pup wouldn’t bring Asla dinner.  “I’ll be back in just a bit,” Naiche promised turning to go then glanced back, “May the moon and stars help us if the kids are as talented at finding trouble as you are,” a mild hint of amusement. "Naiche"