Her patience; her tolerance; her care: it was all worn thin. Practically nonexistent. Aslatiel just didn't want to anymore. She didn't need anyone to care for her. She didn't need anyone to care about her. There were two things that she did need. Her children and her freedom. Aslatiel was tired of caring for others and not herself. She'd shouldered the burdens of others for too long.

Sirius had tried to be patient with her over the years and it was because of that patience that she decided to tell him before she left. She could have just taken the pups in the dead of night and disappeared without a trace. She was a damn good hunter and hiding her tracks and scent would have been an easy feat. She felt that she owed at least a goodbye to her father. Surely he would fight her on the matter, but if the rest of her bastard siblings could traipse about the world without a care, then why couldn't it be her turn to do so?

It was night by the time she made it back to the Armada from her trek first to Indigo's band, and then up north to see Ocean. She'd had the whole way back to think about what she wanted for herself and for her children, and she'd decided to leave the Armada. There was nothing for her there except for bad memories. Everywhere she looked she saw Indigo's face. She saw Azure and Mort when he was happy. Aside from Briar, the other batch meant nothing to her. Indigo was gone. Azure was dead. Mort was barely present. There was nothing here that she wanted to protect any longer.

The woman called for her father as she entered back into pack lands. Tonight would not be a good night, but if she got her way, it would be her last in Armada lands for a long time. Maybe she would go north. Maybe west. Somewhere where she'd never been before. She would show her children the world and teach them how to be self sufficient. It would be a grand adventure. It was about time she caught up to her brother's in that department.

"Aslatiel Fatalis"

Sirius rolled to his paws, and smiled as a call from Asla rang out for him. The days had been a little better. There had been brightness in his life again. He didn’t know where things would go from here, but Deathbelle slowly began to patch up the pieces of him. He spent his days training Art and playing with his grandbabies. Life wasn’t perfect, but maybe he had a reason to get up in the morning.

He trotted towards his daughter, wondering if her call was anything to do with her little ones. They were young get, but spirited. He would not be opposed to starting their training under the Armada Warlord. He had already teased little pieces of the idea into their heads, asking them about their knowledge of forms and defences.

He yawned and trotted towards the other wolf, his smile a little easier as he stopped before her. “Good evening, my star”

"Earth" & "Stars"

It didn't take long for Sirius to find her. The expression on his face was one of happiness and hers was anything but. Having been gone for a while, she knew nothing of his relationship with Deathbelle, not that it would have mattered. Her father being happy and smiling wouldn't have made her stay. It would simply make leaving easier.

"Father," she responded. Aslatiel didn't back down and she never would. It wasn't in her nature. It didn't matter how big her opponent was. She would be civil, but the woman was already putting distance between them. Mentally, she was prepared to separate herself from the only home that she'd ever known. She was prepared to go out into the world to breathe and grow. Here, within the invisible walls of the Armada, Aslatiel felt stifled.

"My brother's have all spent their time away from the Armada. It's time for me to do the same." Indigo had his band. Azure had wandered away from his responsibilities. Mortis was barely a presence. The younger generation disappeared at the drop of a hat and there was no one to say a word against them. "I've come to tell you in person rather than just disappearing like the others." Here was his test. Would he treat her differently than he treated all of the others or would he be fair and let her go like he'd done to Indigo, Azure and Mortis?

"Aslatiel Fatalis"

He could see the seriousness in her, and let his own smile slow, settling on his paws as he let serious take him. This wouldn’t be an idle chat, then. He gave her space to speak, and her request surprised him. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been caught so completely unaware - Asla, leave? She was such a fundamental part of the pack. It would be like losing the Warlord himself. Like losing its center.

But how could he deny her?

“This would be… a temporary thing?” he asked softly. He did not want to let her go. He did not. Zee had gone on an adventure, such a seemingly innocent thing. She had been far from him, and the flames had taken. He could feel the way his breath shortened, and he hated it. No, no. He couldn’t stifle her. “I can understand… your desire.” He said softly. “I suppose… we could make it work. How long do you intend to leave for? I suppose Arcturus and Satira could den with Natha or Mojito.” his lips drew in a line as he felt a deep well of regret that he was not entirely safe to sleep beside. At least he could hold these little ones, these new life of Armada, while he thought of what adventures she was finding.

"Earth" & "Stars"

Aslatiel almost laughed at the sheer audacity of the man. He'd 'agreed' to let her go, but thought that he was keeping her children? The scarred woman's stance widened reflexively as she stared at him. "No, my children are coming with me." Aslatiel's galactic gaze bore into her father. She was utterly serious. "You wouldn't allow anyone to take your children and I won't have mine taken either." No matter what Asla's initial plan had been, it had changed. She hadn't planned on loving the pups. She hadn't planned on them being the absolute best thing in her life. Hell, she hadn't planned on waking up some days after they were born, but the thought of their smiling faces woke her ever single time that she wished for death during her depression. So there was one thing that she and Sirius had in common: Aslatiel was a fiercely protective mother.

"Just because we'll be gone doesn't mean that they'll be denied to you." What did he think of her, really? It as obvious that he thought of her as some kind of heartless monster. Despite her desire to have nothing to do with Indigo or her brothers or anyone else in the pack, she wouldn't deny her children valuable time with her grandfather. She wasn't that type of mother. "You can see one another as much as you wish."

A wistful note took hold in the striped fae's voice. "I have so many plans for them," she began, her swirling purple gaze drifting to where she knew her children slept. "Arcturus is going to be the greatest hunter in the land. He's going to learn to track and hunt on every terrain from Boreas to Auster." Already the boy was showing great promise. With her help, he'd already made his first kill. He showed the same natural skill at killing that Aslatiel had. She was incredibly proud.

"Satira is going to be a fighter, just like her mom, but I think she might also be a healer. We'll travel the world and she'll learn about herbs and plants from the pines of the white north to the bamboo forest in the south." She was proud of the girl as well. Sometimes looking at Tira was as though time had reversed so that Aslatiel was looking at a younger version of herself. There was great promise in her children and she was just as surprised by the motherly nature to have taken over her as anyone else was. "When they are a bit older, have learned their lessons well and can care for themselves, they can make their own decisions." No matter what anyone thought of Aslatiel, she was honestly a good mother. She wanted nothing but the best for Arcturus and Satira. They would both be small like she was. Satira had the added struggle of her dog heritage. Asla would make them strong. No one would ever tell them that they were less or that they weren't good enough. She would supply them with the skills and knowledge necessary for life with the tenacity and drive that only a mother possessed.

"Aslatiel Fatalis"

They were grand plans, and he could understand how she may have gotten swept up in her desire. He leaned forward to cup a paw gently against his beloved daughter. “And right now,” he said gently “They are only a season old. Tiny, with so much development and growing to do. You wish to take them from the only home they know and drag them across the world? Just before Winter? The last winter we had was phenomenal. scarce prey and fierce cold. They barely have the basics learnt in their fighting. A raising of children is done with the pack. Let them learn from you, from Naiche, from Mojito. From me, and Mortis, and any else who might have skills in what they are passionate about. Give them this safe place to grow, wait just a little bit longer Asla, until there little paws can keep up with you. Give me until Spring to watch these tiny things I love so much grow.” He looked at her, eyes soft, and sad. ‘Please.” It would never be easy to let them go, but right now would be the hardest. When he still thought of them as the tiniest things in the world.


"Earth" & "Stars"

Sirius came forward to cup her cheek, but it didn't have the effect that it once had. Before when he did this, she had been a child. Now she was a woman. A mother. There were much more important things now and their names were Arcturus and Satira. He believed that staying in one place would help them grow, and she believed that it would stifle them.

Her father's words were condescending and frankly, insulting. She had lived through the winter just as he had and was well aware of the difficulties. His belief that raising children was only done within a pack was a skewed view as well. Women raised children alone in the wild every day. He doubted her and her abilities. She was trusted enough to keep his pack running while he ran through hells half acre, but not enough to raise her own children.

Aslatiel understood that Sirius loved his grandchildren. They were impossible not to love. However, they weren't his. He had a whole slew of mentally unstable children to look after. Who even knew where half of them were? And then Sirius practically begged, asking her to stay until spring so that he could watch them grow. Aslatiel's gaze hardened for a moment and she pulled her cheek out of his grasp. Begging wasn't fair. She was silent for a long moment, but eventually spoke. "Until spring. Then we're leaving." With a nod, the scarred woman moved around her father and into the plains to reach her children.

"Aslatiel Fatalis"