Sure, she was injured and sure she had young cubs back home. But she knew her mother's pride had been challenged for, and she was aware that Talisa likely had given birth to a newest litter. She hadn't been completely unaware of everything going on lately - but she wanted to check in on her mom and make sure things were okay.

Letting out a call to announce her presence as the Brook Queen stepped past the borders, Cassandra made her way towards the den her mom @Talisa inhabited within the middle of the Summit. She didn't want to scare anyone by walking in unannounced to the territory. She knew she was welcome in the Summit at any time, but still wanted to make others aware of her coming into the territory.

Approaching the Sovereign's den, Cassandra would linger outside and let out a soft "Mom? Can I come in?" She asked, smelling the scent of milk and young cubs from within her mother's den.

@Talisa

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Truthfully, so long as they carried the Vermeda scent she did not mind them coming to the Summit and visiting. Obviously there were some individuals that she was certain could walk through their borders and not be given a second glance while others not so much. That was fine, but @Cassandra was a known guest that was given complete access to anything that she needed here. So hearing her daughter's voice carry from outside was not surprising but certainly not expected today. Cass! she shouted, enough to carry her voice but not enough to rattle her children from their slumbers. Always, please. You're most welcome in here. She would've gone to greet her daughter outside the den if she'd known the girl was coming but she supposed it was best if she didn't move when surrounded by the five babes.

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Truthfully, she hadn't really made the decision to come visit until right before she'd left. As it was she knew Myrkvi was likely going to be annoyed at her for leaving the Brook while still healing from her own fight for the Brook again, but she had to go visit her mom. Especially since she had heard about the challenge for Morrigan's crown and her mom's recent birth. At @Talisa's invitation to enter the den, Cassandra did, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the darkness within the den. Duotoned eyes settled on her new youngest siblings for a moment before moving to her mother.

Carefully so as to not open her healing wounds on her face, Cassandra would aim to gently bump her head against her mother's if the older lioness would allow. "I see you've been blessed with a large litter as well - same size as mine, even if some of the cubs themselves are larger." The Queen said with a chuckle as she settled down on the den on the other side of her mother's nursing children. "I'm sure they'll be just as much of a handful as Ori, Khal and I were at that age." She added on with a grin. Her eyes moved back to her younger siblings, noting traits that didn't seem to be present between Morrigan and Talisa. "Are these the product of just you and mom again, or did someone else have a paw in this litter as well?" She asked, a teasing glint in her eyes.

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Bumping of the faces were always allowed in this home. Talisa, too, was careful not to upset the healing wounds on her face. Unfortunately she knew exactly what they were from and had listened to what she could of the fight from the front of her den. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there. She knew it did not need to be said but she would've been there in a heartbeat if she hadn't had newborns in her den to look after. Morrigan would've eaten her alive if anything had happened to her because if someone thieved her, then they thieved the kids with them. That was not a risk she was willing to take.

I would not have minded the big litter if not for their unique sizes. She should have thought about it when they had discussed it but all she had thought about was doing something for a good friend and, well, obviously it became more than that. Probably more so, really. You were the most active out of the three who was always on to something new. Not that that was a bad thing as she had gotten to see @Cassandra truly grow into her own and find a path for herself. Even if it had led her away every once in a while. To know her daughter held the Valour's home was enough pride for her, especially as her daughter continued to throw her enemy's away like a leaf in the wind.

At the mention of someone putting a paw in the cookie jar, Talisa chuckled. One of our Sigrun allies, Eyvindr, has been alongside us for a while and after realizing that he had never had any children of his own, I offered to carry some for him. Then after telling Morrigan my plans, we kind of just... decided that he was more than just a friend to us. Talisa couldn't so accurately describe what it was that she had felt but she knew that it was how it was meant to be.

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A contented rumble escaped her as her mother accepted the gentle headbutt, and Cassandra was glad that whatever issues they'd had when she was younger had seemed to have been resolved. At times she still felt like a cub who needed her mothers' guidance when it came to the tough things. At @Talisa's apology for not being there, Cassandra would shake her head. "No apology needed - if I had been able to stay in the den with my 5 I would've in a heartbeat. I had to do what I needed to to protect the Brook. You had to stay and protect your five newest bundles. I understand that completely. " She said, not wanting her mom to feel any guilt for not having been at her challenge.

"I'm still finding my way into trouble these days - though it usually seems to find me... Kvi's sister is back in the lands, and I had to protect her from a claim made on her by the same bastard that tried to take the Brook from me. Eisa was hurt badly by him when she tried to defend a cub in the passage he'd laid claim to..." Cassandra said, her eyes turning dark and stormy as she thought about everything that had happened.

A grin would cross her face as Talisa explained who else had had a paw in the cookie jar with these cubs. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of officially meeting this Eyvindr. I shall have to someday, since he helped bring my newest siblings into being." Cassandra said with a grin. Glancing down at one of the cubs, her brow furrowed for a moment before she looked up at her mother. "That one cub... she bears a striking resemblance to someone I knew once- she reminds me of Saga almost..." The young lioness said, raising a brow as she waited for her mother's explanation- if there was one other than mere coincidence.

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I listened from afar as best I could, not that she needed to further express her apology but she wanted her brave and strong daughter to know that she was listening in spirit. That she was there cheering on her daughter from a distance that was much too far in that moment. If anything, she felt enraged that someone had challenged Cassandra so close to Morrigan's challenge and too close to birth time. That they had the audacity to make it so that Mama couldn't go. Oh? Voluspa came back? I'm sure that'll make Khal quite happy. Maybe it might prove to get him up and about a bit more than he had been. She had always given him a reason to get up in the morning, after all.

A shame that it had to resort to a fight at the passage and that darling granddaughter Eisa had to try and put someone in their place. It seems this guy has a thing for Vermeda, then? If he consistently is finding reason to attack. There were plenty of others pride -- the Summit, even -- that he could target and yet it seemed he was intent on fighting those within the Brook. Even without Morrigan here, Talisa would gladly take the fight away from her daughter if she could.

At the mention of meeting Eyvindr and then looking to the cubs, it made sense that as they were so closely tied to them that she could see the resemblances. It wasn't stupidly obvious but there were signs if one were looking. Saskia? she asks, calling the child by its name as she looks to the babe. She knows more about the cub than she lets on but gives no inclination as to her secrets. There were some things that she couldn't share and that happened to be something she felt was better kept until she talked about it some more with Morrigan and Eyvindr. She'd talk to Saga herself if she could but it'd likely end up being rather incoherent. She does bear a lot of similar looks. She's one of Eyvindr's genes, I think.

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"It was a rogue - I didn't recognize him. Red, large and stripes from his spine. Ice blue eyes. If you see him again, he's not a friend in any way." Cassandra said, flicking an ear as she spoke. It would seem her mom was glad to hear that Voluspa was back. "Yeah - she's in the Brook now. While Voluspa, Revna and I fought for her freedom, the Mire's Heir tried to steal Revna out from under us. Jafar and a lion from Andal helped keep them from doing so. Though I haven't seen her since the challenge..." She mused, thinking it was odd that she hadn't come across Revna since the recent challenge. The older lioness was normally very active around the pride, and it was odd to have not seen her lately.

"I think he's just pissed he got beat by a girl. Seems the misogynist type, and is taking it out on my pride and family at whatever chance he gets it seems." She said with a snort. It was what the plum bastard seemed like to her, especially since he had the audacity to call her princess whenever he came across her. "He also makes it a point to call me ,Princess, whenever we happen upon each other at the Passage." Cassandra added on with a cross flick of her tail as she spoke of the bastard to @Talisa.

"Saskia... That's a pretty name." She commented as her mother questioned which cub it was that she was asking about, giving her a nod that Saskia was the one she was talking about. An explanation would be given as to why the young cub reminded her of Saga. "Interesting. I never realized Eyvindr was that closely related to Saga. Granted I have probably seen him, just never put a name to a face." Cassandra mused, eyes looking over the rest of the children. "What are the rest of their names?" She asked, moving up to meet her mother's gaze as she asked. She had a feeling there was more to Saskia than her mother would let on - but she wasn't gonna push it. If her mom wanted to tell her, she would. It wasn't her place to push about it.

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Hm, the mother hummed in great but terrible thought as she pictured the lion being described. No lion immediately came to mind as to who it might have been. There weren't a whole lot of red lions that she saw and certainly none that had made an impression on her. I will keep my eyes open. And her ears listening, as always, for who or what this lion was aiming for when going for the Brook. Talisa of all lions understood that sometimes going after a pride and its leader wasn't meant to be a personal attack but in the more recent cases, it absolutely was a personal attack every single time.

With the Rike constantly knocking at their doorstep, it was hard not to simply believe that it was an enemy that came. Sounds like quite the kerfuffle. But, as expected, @Cassandra and her pride and its allies came through to protect each other. That was why they made these bonds in the first place. Even when I was your age, lions didn't much like women leading. Even if it was their wife or daughter, it never sat well. Over the years and with their father giving birth to more daughters than sons, it was inevitable but with Nymeria leading them forward through a new dawn they had persevered time and time again.

Oh, Saga isn't directly related to Eyvindr. Only by marriage, I do believe. She pauses, reflecting on their connections quietly while she gazed to Saskia and her four sleeping siblings. Though, she did feel extensively guilty for not saying what she wanted to say. Talisa was not the type to keep things from her loved ones, especially not her mates or children, but seeing as they had no physical evidence of the event she didn't wish to have misinformation spread. Nor did she wish to get anyone's hopes up for nothing.

At the mention of the other names she shifted a little bit and tried her best to point to each one. This brown little cub is Radahn. Then this little dark brown-black girl is Lavender. I think these two are Morrigan's just based on looks. One of them was gently snoring if your head was close enough. These two here have the most obvious Eyvindr-markings. This one is Einar, with the black and white head and the wheat colored body. This is Espen, she points to his backside, he's got cute little pointy ears with a white top-head. Very Eyvindr-y but also with a splash of Morrigan in there. Then, obviously, they had Saskia who was quite the over-achiever and never missed when it came to finding her food source or beating out her siblings to get there.

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Her dark ears pushed back slightly in annoyance that her mother didn't have any idea who her challenger had been either. She hated not knowing who it was that had challenged her for the Brook this time around, but she had more important things to focus on at the moment, like raising her own children and making sure her pride was fully protected at all costs from any and all threats.

Her tail would flick slightly as her mother spoke of men not liking lionesses leading, and her expression turned cross. "I dare them to tell that to Amara or to Morrigan. Both of them would definitely put men like that in their place in a heartbeat. Amara especially." Cassandra said with a snort. She and Amara might not always agree on everything, but she had tons of respect for the Bluffs Queen. She was strong and had held off many challengers that she had been aware of.

She wouldn't press anymore with regards to the Skagos healers relationship to Saga, seemingly sensing her mother wanted to stop discussion of Saskia. Instead, she would focus on the other four cubs as @Talisa pointed to each one in turn. "Maua really blessed you three with a big litter huh? And not just in number of cubs." Cassandra said with a chuckle. It hadn't escaped her notice that some of the cubs in this litter were quite large in size.

"I'll definitely have to bring my five up here once these guys are more mobile to meet their new aunts and uncles. It's weird to think my children have aunts and uncles that are younger than they are." The Brook Queen said with a soft laugh. "You doing okay after everything that's happened? With Morrigan and the recent challenge, and then having had these 5 big babies." She asked, turning her duotoned gaze from her youngest siblings to her mother's, hoping to meet her gaze.

She wasn't up to speed on everything that had happened at the challenge since she'd been busy staying home and caring for her own newborn children.

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Some lions are just stuck in the patriarchal mentality, and she supposed they always would be. While so many females had ruled the prides with an iron fist over the years, many males seemed to take offense to the fact that women could just as easily beat them. As said, Morrigan and Amara were prime examples of this -- and yourself. Talisa did not wish for @Cassandra to think that she was not a part of that. To have defended the Brook twice now from challengers and won both was a feat and she deserved to be recognized, especially by herself.

Talisa had a lot of things on her mind in an effort to truly never let anything come to her doorstep. She had always had a strong urgency to protect her kin, but after seeing what had happened to Morrigan... well, that urge was stronger than ever. A pinpoint in her life where she wasn't going to bend anymore where others expected her to break. She was done playing nice and most certainly did not wish for anyone to have to go through the scene that she had witnessed. Especially not the young children she now protected.

I suppose I should have expected it. Eyvindr is a big guy, bigger than Mummy even. Perhaps it was a part of why she loved him so. Talisa was beginning to recognize that she most certainly had a type. Big, strong, burly types that also had a big heart; that was all it took to find their way into her heart. With a deep breath to her daughter's question she hummed as she exhaled, shrugging a shoulder. It was such a hard question to answer without bumming the company. But she was a truth-teller. I am... she paused, not sure if any word was enough for what she was feeling. Changed? Frustrated? Absolutely dying to get revenge on that stupid Rike for near murdering my one true love? Nah, she couldn't say that.

I'm just happy that Mummy is still alive. She finally mentions, not realizing that Cassandra didn't yet know(?). One of these days she is going to enter into a fight and not come out breathing, it was her greatest fear in this life. To lose Morrigan. Talisa did not fear death, not for her or anyone else, but she did fear losing the one thing that had made her life truly worthwhile. Someone who had brought her happiness, sadness, joy and grief because she wouldn't change any of those things but boy, would she do anything to keep that heart beating.

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