"I love them, too," the masked man purred alongside his wife while the company was still small. He knew their intimate space would not stay so private for very long once the pride got wind of new cubs in the Hollow. He looked to his sister as she looked over the two cubs with unexpected appearances: one with folded ears and another with a shorter tail. If Avana wasn't worried about them, though, neither would he. "Special blessings," the mauve lion smirked as he aimed another nuzzle against @Faelyn's cheek.

With the sound of footfall outside the den, Roan took note of @Tobin's approach only to then see the man linger outside. The king appreciated the space and knowing that their den was well guarded should anyone unwelcome try to come around. @Jai wasn't one of those unwelcomed, though, as the boy would be the next family member to meet their new brood. Roan aimed a gentle nuzzle against his cheek once his son came closer before attempting to nudge him closer towards the cubs. "Come meet them, Jai," the Hodari added on to his wife's words. @Hanneth then arrived and added some sentiment to the boy's new role as a big brother. Roan could only hope that his son would take to his younger siblings as he had done with his own little siblings. Granted, Roan had been a good bit older by the time he received any younger kin, but all the same, it was nice to feel like he could protect them.

The High Sovereign looked to his step-mother as she congratulated the pair before mentioning Dero. "Thanks. I wish he was here," Roan mused quietly, though he managed to still hold a light smile on his face. "At least they'll have a grandma, though." Even if Roan didn't call her mother, Hanneth had certainly managed to fill that role over the years when he needed it. And now, he could think of her no less than to be grandmother to his cubs. Call it an unspoken adoption between Hanneth and Roan.

Just for a second, the hair on the king's spine raised at the sight of someone not blood or marriage related entering the den. @Quill's presence within Obsidian was still rather new, but his smaller size helped to ease the king out of his instinctive need to protect his small family. The moment was gone in a flash before the palomino lion approached with the offering of herbs. "Thank you," the mauve lion echoed his wife's thanks with a dip of his head. He'd offer it as a sign that the smaller male was allowed to stay if he wished.

Looking back to said family, though, Roan was amused when Faelyn offered their son the opportunity to name one of the children. They hadn't even discussed it, but it was always the mauve man's intentions to do with Jai what Dero and Hanneth had done with him. Naming a sibling was a special honor and it had helped Roan feel connected to a litter he wasn't actually blood related to. He would hope it could do the same for Jai if he named a cub. It was always a risk, however, to give a child such freedom. Eagle wasn't the worst name to give a cub (definitely better than flamingo, at least), but luckily Avana came up with a perfect answer to it all. Tai. Coincidentally, the Swahili translation for eagle sounded so close to Jai. "Tai sounds perfect. What do you think, Jai?" Roan would look to his eldest son for the final approval.

With the Jai and Tai thought in his head now, Roan had an idea for another name that might sound particularly close to another relative. His minty gaze landed on the black cub, the one Avana had said looked so much like their father. There was just enough difference in him, though, that the masked man didn't want to simply name the boy Dero III. He saw an opportunity to include Hanneth, in part, in the naming. "What about Hero for the black cub?" His father was his hero, after all, but the name would hold a multitude of meanings. "Sorta like combining Hanneth and Dero," Roan went onto explain a little more as he looked to the bronze female for her reaction.

Table & Ref by Amanda | Background | Lines by Sixbane

His gift was taken and appreciated and he wasn't immediately ran off. So that was something at least. He hadn't really looked at the young himself but hearing them being discussed he couldn't help the low exclamation. "Changelings." The words was whispered and he stole a glance at the cubs. Were they about to be tossed out as he had been? He would have to keep an eye out to see that they weren't discarded. And if they were then he felt it his duty to watch over them.

With the plants and the meal delivered there was really nothing else for Quill to do here. This wasn't his family, these weren't his friends. The lioness had had no trouble with the birth to need further intervention. She also had a lot of support from others.

The small male took the opportunity to slip quietly away while all of the focus was on the new mother.

Quill Exits

Jai and Tai. Now that just sounded too precious. And then the little black one was being named Hero? Avana could just feel her heart burst. She'd linger in the background long enough to hear the last two be named. Bakarea sounded like it would make for a strong name for the plum boy, and Alvena sounded so sweet and precious for the pale girl. Already, her brothers seemed to dwarf her as the maned medic continued to watch over their movements from a distance. Even with the flopped ears and snubbed tail of the two unique cubs, nothing seemed amiss in their development. She didn't expect their uncommon traits would pose any problems for them going forward. They would just be a bit different than the rest. For that matter, though, all four of the cubs were different colors, but then that wasn't that uncommon for the Hodari. Even Avana's own littermates were different colors from one another. Such was just the way genetics went, she supposed.

All her idle thoughts aside, the maned aunt looked fondly over the children, happy to see her family expand by four more. When it was clear that she was no longer needed, Avana would politely excuse herself from the den, content to let the growing family have some time to themselves.

exit Avana

Table & Reference by Amanda | Base by Drifty | Background from unsplash

Well, that was two named and two more to go. The name Alvena would eventually become the moniker for the little pale girl. Such a light and delicate name felt fitting for the precious child. Roan leaned down to plant a quick kiss upon each of her folded little ears as her name was given before their attentions would rest onto the last of the brood. The plum boy. Not only the one with the shorter tail, but also a bit of an old color to crop up between them. The Hodari didn't know much about Faelyn's ancestors, though, so who knows where the differences came from. Bakarea felt like a nice Swahili name to fill in with the rest of the litter. To match the blend of different colors and physical attributes was a nice mix of name origins. Two Swahili names, an elven name like Fae's, and one with a bit of ancestor ties. Roan could only hope that his father would get to meet the little boy named for him someday, if only he could have been here to see the birth of his grandchildren. With the mist gone, though, the mauve lion would not give up home of his father's return. Everyone else had made it back, after all.

With everyone now with names, the spectacle of new royal cubs for the Hollow would eventually simmer down. Once the den had emptied out a bit more, Roan would find his place tucked up alongside his wife and now five children, content for a little quiet time with the youngest Hodaris.

exit Roan

Table & Ref by Amanda | Background | Lines by Sixbane

It seemed as though no one was concerned about the different appearances of a couple of the cubs, and Faelyn nodded in relief. She didn't really think it was anything to be concerned about, but she'd never seen such features in a lion. It must just make them more unique. She wouldn't let herself be concerned about it unless as they grew it seemed to be a problem for them. Then they could figure out what to do as a family, when the child was old enough to understand the conversation.

Others began to file out now that introductions had been made and names had been given, and she settled herself in to start enjoying being a new mother.

-exit faelyn-

The others were starting to leave now, after he'd heard the little ones be given their names. They seemed lovely, all of them, and Tobin looked forward to seeing them running around the tunnels in the months to come. Children were always lovely, so pure and innocent, without the need to be tested. It was only as they grew up that they began to take things for granted. He had a feeling that these children, raised by parents such as Roan and Faelyn, wouldn't have to worry about that. Surely they would bring them up well.

He rose as the last few filed out, setting off after them to leave the happy family to it.

-exit tobin-