"Aslatiel Fatalis" Aslatiel had been lucky. Her pregnancy had been quite uneventful. She'd been hungry, gotten grumpy, but there hadn't been any strange aches or pains or anything worrisome to deal with. Everything was smooth sailing. So much so that she continued to push herself to the bitter end. She didn't feel poorly, so why bother sitting around inside the den doing nothing? Aslatiel continued to do patrols as much as she could, though she wouldn't run the full circuit. Her paws did become sore after a while, but that was nothing that a good soaking couldn't cure. Just like usual, she went out that evening simply because she couldn't stand to keep her paws still. It didn't feel like sleep was coming, so might as well walk, right? There was anyone in the den to tell her otherwise. Naiche was gone. Mojito was doing his own thing in Io's old cottage. Acantha wouldn't tell her no either way. Asla ruled herself. So out she went. The night was rather warm, bordering hot, and the sky was overcast. There was the scent of rain on the air, but there was no lightning. There was no thunder. Rain never hurt anyone. If it did rain, it was likely to be a warm rain. Asla continued on, rounding the eastern corner of the territory. That was when events began to unfold. A hard roll of thunder reverberated through the land and Asla winced, lips peeling back to flash teeth in tune with the flickering of lightning. Pain cut through the small woman's round stomach and she hissed, stopping in her tracks.  Instantly she began cursing the idea to have children. This was a very bad idea. The striped fae turned with the intent to make it back home to her den, but it was already too late. Liquid coated her tail and heels just as a thick curtain of rain began to cut down from the sky. Perfect timing. Aslatiel Fatalis cursed her stubborn nature. She cursed Naiche and she cursed Mojito. She cursed whoever had told her that she would have to further the Fatalis line. She cursed herself most of all. How could she be so unprepared? Again thunder rolled and lightning flashed in quick succession. Tucking her ears, Asla hurried for shelter. The nearest place of safety that she knew was a hollow tree in the Weeping Woods. More than once on her trek to the tree, Asla doubled over in pain, gritting her teeth and growling into the soaking ground beneath her. The woman was completely waterlogged by the time that the tree came into view. As the drenched fae waddled towards the tree, she beseeched the gods to let her unborn children wait until she was inside to be born. It felt as though she wouldn't make it. Already there was sharp pain and ungodly pressure. "Fuck..." she growled, forced to stop again just out of reach of the hollow. Her body began to work all on its own, the natural process of birth taking over. Involuntarily, her muscles clenched and she had no choice but to push. There, in the pouring rain at the edge of a massive willow tree, Aslatiel gave birth to her first child. Wasting no time, Asla grabbed the pup and hurried into the hollow tree. It was dry inside and the leaf litter made the place rather comfortable. With the ground a little raised within, there would be no risk of the rain waters entering the place. Asla cleaned the child, a perfect little boy, just in time before the contractions began again. The second child, a grey and tan girl, came even more quickly. There was pain, but not as much as the boy had brought. Understandably so. The little girl was significantly smaller. Soon Aslatiel had them both cleaned and nestled at her belly. It was a little difficult to see their coloring within the dark confines of the hollow. The wet, exhausted mother curled her body around her children. No one knew that they were here, but she assumed that someone would come looking for them in the morning. Enough time for her to get some rest. Lightning flashed outside and the children were illuminated for but a moment. It was long enough though. Aslatiel's galactic gaze had noted the golden color on the boy and the softer coat and dark ears of the girl. Bloody hell... With something akin to a laugh mixed with a groan, Asla rested her head back against the side of the tree. Both of them... They were both the fathers. What a mess that would surely be. Aslatiel looked upon her children again as they fed at her belly. Lovely little things, really. So far though, she didn't feel the motherly pull towards them. She'd been told that this was sometimes the case. They were puppies and they needed her. She wouldn't abandon them or else what had been the point of this whole ordeal? Perhaps she would learn to care for them as time passed. Curled around her children, Aslatiel soon fell asleep, her exhausted body slipping easily into slumber. Outside the storm raged on. Everything was sure to be flooded by the time it was over. She slept deep and dreamless, hearing neither the storm nor the squeaks and whines of her sleeping pups.

The festival was winding down and Indigo hadn’t seen Aslatiel at all. As everyone took shelter from the storm he split off in hopes of finding her before he returned south. She was due anytime now, he wondered if the band could linger nearby to wait for the event. He briefly stopped at her den, but realized quickly she was not at home. By now the rain had drenched him, an unfortunate side effect but completely worth finding his sister. The thought of how cute she looked round and full of puppies amused him as he wandered on a random trail. He didn’t have the slightest clue where to find her, and the trail was long washed away. He walked though, letting his heart guide his path, not that he was confident it would work.

The scent of birth hit him pretty hard despite the rain, and after that the trail was easy to find. This was one of the last places he expected Aslatiel to choose to give birth and he wondered if she had been taken by surprise. That thought made fear tighten his chest and Indigo raced forward trying to tell himself this might not even be Aslatiel. When he found the hollow tree he knew he’d guessed right.

Aslatiel was curled inside, asleep, and Indigo decided not to disturb her. He could just barely see the small bundles against her belly. A soft smile played over his features, a feeling of bitter sweet adoration overwhelmed him. Indy stared for a long time after he curled his huge body outside the hollow tree. Soaking wet he lowered his head to his paws and played guard to the precious life within. He couldn’t help his mind wandering to the what ifs. What if they had been his? He knew the consequences from their father would be unbearable. They were adults now and should have been able to follow their hearts, but what they wanted could never come to fruition.

The massive maned man sighed heavily, trying not to disturb the sleeping beauty before him. He tried to ignore how much he wanted to call her babies his own, his heart ached with sorrow and swelled with pride and joy at the same time. He could hardly handle the feelings, but he wouldn’t be moved from his place. He’d keep Aslatiel safe until she was ready to return home.

"Aslatiel Fatalis" The exhausted woman slept and she slept hard. Her body had had enough trauma and it needed rest to heal. Thankfully the birth hadn't been difficult. She hadn't damaged anything or bled out. Luck was on her side. Good thing it was raining too. Any predators that may have been attracted by the scent of blood would all have sought out shelter from the storm. Asla stayed curled around her children until morning when the sound of birds woke her. She immediately noticed the lack of light pouring through the doorway. Instead, her purple eyes met an equally purple body. "Indigo?" She spoke softly, reaching out one paw to gently pull her claws through the amaranthine pelt. What was he doing here? Her movement jostled one of the pups and it released a little whine. The other soon joined in and the pair of them voiced their displeasure. Now that they were awake, they were hungry again. Asla adjusted so that she could both feed and have her head close to where Indigo lay. What would Indigo think of them? They weren't his. In fact, they both belonged to different fathers, both of whom were not him. Did he feel the same pull of sadness that she felt? Children would never happen for them. It wasn't in their future. If he could love her pups though and be a good uncle to them... then perhaps she would be content. As Indigo stirred, Asla reached out and licked his cheek. She'd placed herself so very near the mouth of the hollow tree that they could touch freely while still keeping the pups inside, warm and dry. "How did you find me?" She was glad that he had been the one, but it was still a mystery to her. How, out of all the wolves of the world, had he been the one to find her in the middle of a thunderstorm? Fate, perhaps. The pull of their hearts had led him to her. Whatever the answer was, she was glad to have him here with her.

Indigo didn’t really sleep, not with the wet and the rain and anxiety of protecting the precious treasures within the tree behind him. He closed his eyes and drifted in a state of almost half consciousness until he heard his name from Aslatiel’s tired lips. For a long moment he was still, he wasn’t looking into the den so for this second he could almost play pretend. Like the tiny puppies that were mewling at her belly, those bright voices he heard, could have been his. What a different world they would have to live in. Instead...

Indigo shifted so his belly was turned towards the den and the new mom’s sweet features. With the light not streaming in he could much better see the colors on the puppies, and was further assured of their parentage. He smiled at her, no matter what he was proud of her and everything she had to do to bring the beautiful children into the world. No matter how much the thought of a half baked dream haunted the moment. He reached forward to first nuzzle Asla’s cheek softly before she reached up and kissed his own.

”Well, when I didn’t see you at the festival I couldn’t be so close and not see you. I thought I might get a sneak peek at my nieces and nephews.” He started softly, lowering his head close beside hers as he admired her and the tiny puppies at her side. ”When I realized you weren’t in your den I just started walking, I guess you could say I followed my heart.” He told her with a smile. No matter what he was just better when he was with Aslatiel. He was whole, he could feel all of his emotions deeper, they were so much more real. Especially his love for her. He shifted slightly and aimed another sweet kiss to her cheek.