The Defender, Gentle Giant, and Assassin...

Exhaustion had overwhelmed the Leader, this much was obvious. Her steps were slow, quivered, and every so often her daughter, son, and mate had to stop in order to allow Elettra to catch up with them. She was bloody, if not from the birthing she had just endured, but the death of her long standing Second and Guardian to the pack. Who now stood in his placement? Who would call themselves Angier's right hand? Elettra's breath caught, holding back the whine as she forced herself to push on. She needed rest. She needed food. The children needed food.

After what seemed forever, the family made their way back to the pack's den - a collection of rocks formed together after generations past. The opening to the den was wide and the inside open and circular. Elettra instinctively moved to the back corner of the pack den, where a hole was nestled against the wall there. She descend, the dull smell of foliage filling her nose, the soft cushioning of furs under her footing. She circled up there, so very tired and watched as @Asriel, @Morganna, and Angier settled her three new sons down at her side for their first opportunity at feeding and rest. In seconds, Elettra was asleep too...

It was hours before she awoke again. Darkness clouded her vision. If she was correct, day had yet to break. It was still the night of the pup's birthing. They were sleeping now and Elettra whined, unable to tell if she was alone or not as she tried to focus. Her attention would fall to her children, insuring they were okay, her tongue cleaning them further from which she could not before. They were beautiful. All male, large, the agouti colored one the fattest of the three whilst the other, a solid, stark black, thinner yet longer then the rest. @Morganna would have the pleasure of calling herself Elettra's first and only daughter for yet another year and for this, Elettra did not mind. Surely these boys would be just as much her protectors as the two prior to them.

The journey back to the pack den did not take too long, but it felt like an eternity as the convoy of pack mates and princes made their way into the heart of Willow Ridge. Guiness had died; an intruding cougar had dared to attack the Queen and it had succeeded to take down the empire's most beloved and formidable Guard. It, too, had died though, but its death had done nothing but bring Angier Lyall back to what he had endured only years before... He could still remember it all so clearly as though Theo and Arlette had been born just yesterday on the crags of the Mountain of Dire. How that territorial cougar had also intended to reclaim what it thought had been theirs... How Alexander, their Leader and father, too, had sacrificed his own life for the sake of the legacy that had just been brought into the vast realm of Relic Lore.

His steps as they went were somewhat uneven, his gait staggered as he accompanied the party until they came upon their destination. As the Archer matriarch descended into the den, he watched as, one by one, his sons were presented to her, their cries demanding for her warmth and presence. In the hours that followed, he remained an ever-watchful guard, leaving only once for a few mere minutes to slake his thirst and try again to clear his head of the terror that had also marked the birth of his and Elettra's successors. When he had returned it seemed he had come back around just in time to catch a sound from the depths of the den. A whine.

Angier's mouth cracked open to emit a half-relieved, half-worried sigh into the night. With his ears folded back and his golden eyes attempting to peer into the entrance of his mate's domain. The tip of his tail twitched until the action escalated into a jittery wag, a sign of his anxious anticipation. They were finally alone - well, there was always the chance of having Sköll eavesdrop, but for now it did not seem plausible or even capable of a means to nettle him - and what was at the forefront of his mind was his family's well-being. He came to sit at the den entrance, settling just close enough to listen to the sounds of his sons without having to strain his eardrums and still keep his distance in case Elettra did not want him near. In response to her cry he let loose a soft whimper, a sound that merely told her that he was there if she needed him.

He was there. Just outside the den, an ever watchful fellow. In fact, she could remember him being there the day Morganna, Skoll and Asriel had been born. He had been there at the very beginning, along the close side of Guiness. The same had happened this year, despite the obvious different circumstance of it all. Angier Lyall was more a father to her first litter then her children could ever imagine. Kiche had never been there. Kiche had never sought them out. Never wanted to be a father nor a Leader at her side. For that, Elettra found no regrets, no pity to herself for her choice. Angier was the man who should be at her side and so, he was.

Her tail thumped the ground then, her neck reaching out to Angier as he came to the den entrance, tongue jutting out lightly. Another whine was given, her body shifting but not enough to wake the slumbering bodies at her tummy. Come, she would silently plead to him. "Look..." She whispers delicately after a few lingering movements of silence. Her muzzle dips, brushing ever lightly to the first born pup of the litter. Not the longest of limbs, nor the fattest of the group. A equality in his structure was obvious, strong and capable all around. He was mostly black, dusted in bits of silvers and gold as Elettra herself. However, upon his chest was a bright patch of white. It mimicked her brother's, Deacon. Unknowingly, would his puppy blue eyes change to that of her brother's golden-amber hue as well. "He looks just like my brother, Deacon..." She mentions to Angier in open thought. Deacon had been her litter-mate and closest of her siblings. He had cared for her in ways Hexxus and Hextor had not, who were mostly close to one another above all else.

She reached out to him and the action alone made his jittery wag turn into one that made his tail softly thump at the forest floor at his back. Then, just as he had done nearly a year before, he reclined forward onto his elbows and ducked his head down so he could take a peek at the sleeping cubs at Elettra's side - only, these three cubs weren't just Archers, but they were also Lyalls by name. "Look," she had whispered, and eagerly he picked out the three bundles of fur from one another, discerning what was Elettra's fur from one cub and one cub from the other. They slept soundly, no wheezing or coughing or whimpering, despite what had happened just hours ago.

Elettra brought his attention to one of their sons, as dark as the shadows of the den with hints of silver like his mother. If Angier was seeing the boy correctly, it could have been said that this one was sturdily built, genetically capable of fending for himself with strong limbs and a broad chest. Had his mate been any other pelt color, he might have likened the boy to his brother Nolan, now the patriarch and Leader of the Lyall family in the east within Bertram Valley. It was with a smile that he let her voice offer him another name, one he had heard a few times before: Deacon.

"You've done an excellent job yet again," he murmured, his eyes moving from the mini-Deacon to the other two princes who slumbered at the youth's side. "He'd 'ave been proud," he quietly offered, returning his gaze to her upon remembering Elettra's brother and just how important he had been in her life before Relic Lore. "An' Guiness an' Skana, too."

Her thoughts went back to her brother as Angier mentioned him further. Though Hexxus and Hextor had been born firstly and so close together and so close in appearance, it was uncertain which was born first, it was the third born, Deacon, who shined above the rest. He was strong, powerful, as his other brothers were, yet wit more wits about him, political smarts and a dominance about him that made it clear from the beginning he was to be Heir of the Torbine Empire. It was he that took much time visiting Elettra during her less favorable few months before her first litter was born. Now, she had yet another litter that she had willed, something definitely to be proud for. She took a deep breath, thinking over him, Guiness and Skana, who's passings were both yet still at the back of her mind... Who would guard them so strongly when Angier and Elettra were busy with Leader work? Who would teach them as Skana had? Her attention slips from Angier's pale golden eyes to her pups yet again.

"I'd like to name him that then, Deacon..." She speaks as she looks to the child, who shifts and murmurs in his sleep as he attempts to curl closer up against the Lyall look-alike who had yet to be named, just as his other, much darker brother at the other end of the group. Before, Elettra had placed much thought into naming her children. Kiche had no part of it and it was up to Elettra to pick out exactly the perfect names she had required for her first litter (or second, really, as the first she had not the chance to name...). With Winter being so horridly harsh and Spring being quite breaking for the pack as well, Elettra had not the time nor thought of names this year around, sadly enough.

"I'd like to name him that then, Deacon..." It was done. As soon as Angier brought his eyes back to the slumbering cub, he silently nodded. "Deacon it is then." His large ears perked up as he took the time to really take notice of the other two boys. One was dark like Deacon, but even in the cover of night it was easy to see that there were no distinguishing markings to be seen; and, like Sköll, he was gangly with lengthier limbs and a slight body. Perhaps this one could be like Nolan too, he tried to think to himself, not wanting to liken his own son to the step-son who presently loathed him. Size has nothing to do with wit.

His gaze went to the lightest and largest of the trio then as he rolled over and a pink-padded paw came up, twitching as he continued to sleep. The mask-like pattern could barely be seen but it was there, and there was no doubt that, at last, Angier, too, had a "clone" of his own, just like how Trisden, Renier, and Taima looked like their father and Hocus, Ryvet, and Calla looked like their mother... Like how Asriel and Morganna had reminded Elettra of Kiche, and how Sköll reminded him of Elettra. His eyes went to the scrawniest of the three once more. "There's this story that my grandmother used to tell me an' my sibs," he started, keeping his voice hushed but his words still fully audible, "about this wolf who had become a legend within my homeland. His name was Greer an' he was always described to 'ave this fur was as black as the night. His eyes were as pale as th' full moon. It was said that he once saved my great-grandfather from an unsuspecting attack from a rival pack a long time ago. When Borden an' I were younger, we used to try an' look for 'im; it was said that his spirit guarded the Valley even long after his passing; Nolan use ta brag that he'd see 'im reflected in the pools. We didn't believe 'im. He was the watcher on the bluffs and the guardian of the rocky ridges, an assassin in the shadows. It jus' didn't make sense for 'im to be seen in water." His head canted to one side in thought, "But... that being said, Asriel might become a great Guardian yet, but who is to say we can't raise one ourselves?" It might have been cub-like of him to bring up the tale at such a moment as this one, but without dwelling too long on the idea, he looked back over to the agouti-furred cub whose down-like fur boasted markings akin to his own.

"Deacon, Greer, and..." he paused as he looked the cubs over again, obviously thinking the names over in his head. "Cas...Castiel?" he tested the name on his tongue, glancing over at Elettra once he had said it. Unbeknownst to the Leader the name would fit the lad or, rather, grow into it - as the name itself, in human terms, was derived from an angel whose symbol was "The Archer" and given to those who were commonly both quiet and loyal. But, to Angier Lyall, the name came about from traditional means, being that it fit in with the naming conventions that matched Asriel, Trisden, Tesla, Prosper, and even Jaysyek in having an "s" at the end of the first syllable in their names. He tried again, "Deacon, Greer, and Castiel Archer Lyall. Whatcha think?"

She listened to the story, fully interested in what her mate had to say. Her eyes fluttered, half closed as she looked to her children, a tiredness still overwhelming her. She had not gathered much rest, though the few hours she had obtained were well and deep. She was hungry, sore, and a headache stirred within her. None of which she spoke up about, as she would much rather spend her time listening to Angier's small tale and naming their first litter of pups together. It was something she had never done before. Her first litter, just out of her youth, had been of rape and of course, unwanted. When they were born she had an instinct longing to keep them as a mother might, but whatever names that might have passed her mind were long forgotten, or so she thought... She had done her best to avoid forming any connections like that to make the process go by, smoother. As with Kiche, she had done all the work on her own, being a mother, a Leader and the pack's only Medic within the ranks. Sitting here, with Angier, knowing he was here for her was something she could have never prepared herself for and so, relished in it.

"Greer...." She spoke delicately as she looked to the thinner, darkest of the litter. He was more black then she had seen in any Archer before. Deacon held the bits of silvers and gold of herself and her brother, patched with white as he and to hold his eyes one day. Morganna fashioned highlights of ginger throughout and Asriel held a very bright, beautiful saddle of russet at his back. Skoll looked much as his mother then any of them, with bits of silver, gold, and graying at his muzzle. It was Greer who was as dark as the man Angier spoke of, like the night and perhaps, he too, would hold the pale eyes of the full moon that both Elettra and Skoll held.

Then their was the tawny boy, darker then Angier's own shade, though harboring the same markings that obviously were not from the Archer bloodline. They held more gray-scale hues, molding from light to dark over generations. Rarely ever did any come out with tawny markings, agouti or timber otherwise. He was definitely a son of Angier Lyall. "Castiel... It's a beautiful name." She spoke it, somehow favoring the ring of the name over the others, if only for its flowing, pure and delicate sounding nature - to her, anyhow. She wondered if the largest of the litter would use his bulk forcefully or be a 'Gentle Giant' as he aged. "There perfect." She spoke with a certainty then, laying her head down on the thick furs which she and her new pups rested upon.

The more Angier looked over his three sons, the more his chest swelled with pride. Just by looking at them, considering what they could become, made him feel so good, so proud, so happy that he had at lease done something right. Deacon, whose body, even with all the "baby fat" and dark mousy fur, he could tell would become a promising heir; if his genetics could vie for representation alongside Elettra's, Angier's first-born son would hopefully show them all just what a righteous, forward-thinking Leader could be. Castiel, whose bulk and size, told of the large, barrel-chested wolf he would become... and Greer, whose lankiness, stark black coat, and namesake promised the pack a much-needed Scout, Runner, or Lookout. Sköll, the older half-brother he was likened to, already exhibited the quality of one on his own willowy limbs and shadow-like presence. Angier was sure to make mental note, though, that Greer could be so much more as he vowed to be more active in his cubs' upbringing, wanting to fashion them into wolves who watched, listened, and observed.

The tawny Leader smiled as Elettra laid her head back down. "Yes," he whispered in agreement, his smile finally touching his eyes. So this was what it felt like to be a new father, to feel the hope and exhilaration that came with wanting to raise his own children and extend his own bloodline. He leaned forward just enough so that he could crane his head over and plant his tongue on his beloved Queen's forehead in a tender kiss. "I'm going to go for a little bit," he whispered, listening as his sons began to stir. "I'll be back soon with a snack or a little later with breakfast." He took a good long look at his wife and their children before planting one more kiss to the side of her muzzle with a whispered "I love you." Then, after shuffling backward on his elbows, he was off, leaving Elettra to listen as his footsteps fell away into the distance.

There was a certain brightness in his eyes, a happiness as he looked to these children. It was different then when he had been at the mouth of the den last year, gazing down at another set of three little pups. A smile and a happiness, yes, but not like the one he held now. These were his own children and although Elettra Archer was certain that Angier cared for Asriel, Morganna and Skoll very much, no matter how much he and they might pretend, he was not truly their father. He was, of course, more of a father then Kiche would and could ever be, though there was still a distance between her mate and her other children. Elettra had every intention, however, to force them to play nice with one another from now and forever, so long as she and Angier were together and so long as it made her happy.

The delicate lick was placed on her crown and a grumbling response followed, though her head remained rested upon the furs of the Infirmary/Nursery den. The children wiggled, one of them making a squeal out to her - Greer, she thought. Surely they were awaking for yet another round of feeding. Of course, Elettra in her tiredness, had every full intention to sleep through this feeding if she could... She huffs a response to Angier's words, knowing full well he was off to do the job she would have otherwise been doing herself - routing the borders, checking pack supplies, making sure the members were doing their jobs and upholding pack law... "I..." For an instantly, she hesitates and by the time she is able to reassure herself, he is gone. "I love you too..." She whispers delicately to the darkness.