☪Even in the darkness, all I see are the stars☪

He started to come near her, to come near to her and her pups, and Briseis growled in response, but a soft whine intertwining itself with the harsh rumbling in her chest. She would protect her pups, no matter what, but she did not wish to hurt him. His movements were slow and calculated, and although his stance was not aggressive at all, she still worried for their safety. Perhaps it was an irrational fear, but then again, she was a mother now, and she had much to fear. Lupine spoke though and his words broke through her snarl and silenced her as he apologized for not speaking, and he stated his surprise at all of this. Surprise, and not anger... Her twin towers twitched showing her willingness to listened to him and moved from their previous position of being pinned against her cranium, but she curled a bit tighter around her pups. Still, she did not growl at him, not anymore, and her pair of lavender pools watched him approach step-by-step. But then he was no longer standing, nor even stepping, he was instead crawling toward her, and she could not think of a more vulnerable stance for him to be in. Was it possible that he truly meant her pups no harm? She could see him looking at the pups, but there was no hatred nor anger upon his face, but interest and intrigue. And when his gaze finally tore away from the balls of fluff and looked back to Brie, it was with wonder, amazement, and he asked if they were really his?

She gulped and nodded. There was no way that it could’ve been Draven … After all this time, if he was capable of producing pups with her they would’ve been forged a long time before now. Despite the fact that she would no doubt in the future force Kershov to believe that they belonged to him instead, in this moment she could acknowledge the true parentage and share in this sweet moment with Lupine. “Aye, they truly are yours. There is no one else who could have made them unless I am suddenly able of reproducing with myself.” She attempted to laugh, but it died out in a slow fade. Lupine crawled closer to her, and gave her a kiss upon the cheek before snuggling close enough to give affection to the pups. After the kiss, Brie’s body unfurled in order to give him access to his kin, and all the while, she held her breath, tensed, ready to react should he snap and attack them... but no attack came. Instead, he was tender with them, inhaling their scent, and she immediately relaxed. Apparently, all of her fears and worries were for naught.

And then Lupine said one last thing - that he was not leaving, that he would continue to protect them, both Brie and the pups. Briseis whined again, but this time it was out of joy, and her tail began to wag hard against the cavern‘s floor. She had perhaps never had such a happy moment in her entire life. But she knew that it would not last - she would need to find a way to tell Lupine about Kershov, about Draven … for if Lupine was going to dedicate himself to protecting them, at some point or another… He would have to fight Draven…. And she was terrified what that would mean if he did not win.

“I… I can’t…” Brie furrowed her brows, trying to find words that would sufficiently express how she was feeling. After a few moments, she managed to laugh and relaxed with a half smile. The commands that Draven had given her prevented her exposing any of the facts… so how would she be able to keep him safe, keep him informed? “You cannot imagine how happy this makes me. No one has ever stayed. They’ve all gone. There are things… There are things I physically cannot tell you. I would if I could, but I must warn you that if you do stay as you say you will, you will be in danger. I am being selfish by saying that I wish you will stay… But there was someone who might hate the idea of it very much, someone who may has hurt me very much does not like anything to get between us. “She could not say Draven’s name, nor that she was a Mesmer, nor that she served a vampire… Draven in all of his cunning had specifically forbidden her from doing any such thing… But at least he had fair warning now but there was something that might hurt him… Someone…”