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Ketsueki sat quietly by the river bed, not far from where Morgana's den lay. Ever since the attack on her pups, the elder wanted to stay nearby this time in case of the threat of another ambush on her family. It pained him to know that otters couldn't live peacefully anymore without fearing their own kind. Wolves and bobcats hadn't proven themselves a threat in a while, but it was the cannibalistic instincts of some of the new Oasis residents that posed as the true predators recently. There were even those who went as far as to steal pups...

Ketsu sighed and gazed blankly into the distance. He wished he had been around sooner to save Morgana's youngest. He couldn't bear thinking how his dearest friend and her children seemed to be constantly at threat. The blind, scarred otter wanted nothing more than to be at her side, to protect her and her family, to comfort them, or provide a shoulder to lean on whenever needed. He just couldn't find the right words to say to Morgana about how he felt.













Scarlet stirred in her sleep. She was exhausted from the stress of loosing her baby brother and even more worried about what could happen to Akira now that he and her mother were all she had. There had been the friend she made who stood up for her when she had been attacked. Even Ketsueki, whom Akira concluded to be their father, offered to help in finding their brother.

Yet Scarlet couldn't help but think how Mikhail was before he was kidnapped. He seemed angry for being scloded because he had pushed her into the water. Though the joke took her by surprise, Scarlet still forgave her younger brother. But no matter how she and Akira tried to persuade him, he still seemed to reject their presence. Did he think they hated him? Did he hate his siblings? Even though they tried to save him from the demon that attacked, did he still hold that grudge against them?

Scarlet woke slowly, the fur under her eyes slightly wet. She blinked a few times before peering around the den, letting her eyes adjust to the soft light. Ruffling her wings lightly, she looked to make sure Akira was close by.

Ketsu blinked warily and stood to stretch. Another sleepless night; no surprise. He felt like that he was on gaurd duty. Which, in a way, was somewhat true. He dipped his paws in the water to wash them before padding slowly along the riverbank.


Scarlet fluttered her wings lightly, pleased to see her mother and brother safe and sound in the den. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she rose slowly to her paws. Wobbling slightly from attempting to walk and stretch at the same time, she padded over to Akira and nuzzled him softly in a playful manner.

Ketsu yawned, not sure as to why since he wasn't exactly tired. He contemplated taking a stroll around the area when the sound of someone yelling 'PAPA!' caught him off gaurd. Not used to being called the term, he bagan to wonder if one of the new fathers (seeing as there were quite of few as of late) was being called by their pups. Realizing the owner of the voice was running in his direction, Ketsu picked up the sent and flushed, recognizing the scent of Morgana's son. He remembered how Akira had come up with the assumption that he was their father. Long given up trying to persuade the pups otherwise, Ketsu smiled warmly and sat down as the pup quickly approached. "Good morning! Did you and sister get a good rest?"

Scarlet squeaked in surprise as she received the bop to the head. Recognizing the game, she began to scramble after her brother. She looked up out of the den in time to see her brother running towards an older male. She grew tense, seeing as many of the attackers on her family were large, strange males. Realizing who the bloody elder was, the white angelic felt relived. "Ohh!" She wiggled with anticpation before nudging her mother's pelt lightly. "C'mon Mama!" She then scampered after her brother in attempts to tag him before he could use the bloodied elder as a convientent sheild.

Scarlet huffed as Akira ran behind Ketsueki. Unable to curve away in time, she accidentally collided with the elder. "Sorry!" She apologized, giving the elder's foreleg a swift lick in greet before veering to the side to try to get Akira out from behind his hiding spot. "We slept really well, but I think Akira snores." she said through a small fit of giggles, hopping the joke would lure her brother out.

Ketsu smiled lightly, leaning down to brush Akira's forhead as the younger otter nuzzled his front leg. "Did you now? That's good to hear." He chuckled softly as the older sister joined in the game, bumping into his leg before trying to navigate around him to get to her brother. He tucked his tail in as the two moved around him. "Surely he doesn't snore if you were able to sleep through the night with no trouble at all!" he teased. Lifting his head and smiling warmly as he easily recognized Morgana's scent, whom was following steadily after the two siblings. "And you," he noted softly to the angelic elder with a small purr. "Have you been alright so far?"

"Do not!" She defended, weaving around the two elders in attempts to catch her brother. She finally got in range to strech out her arm and tap the fin of her brother's tail. "Got'cha!" Thinking it was enough to properly tag Akira, she darted towards the underbrush, careful to stay in sight of the den.

Ketsu leaned to the side as the pups moved around them. "Moderately," he murmured. "But I'm fine." he assured. His ears tilted as Scarlet ran off in a different direction, making sure the sound of her pawsteps didn't travel to far. "You haven't seen any strange otters around here as of late, have you?" he asked. Altough he hadn't smelled anyone else in the area recently, he wanted to make sure that Morgana's family had been clear from the threat of another attack.

Scarlet ran ahead, grinning playfully as Akira gave chase. She looked for a spot to hide as her paws drummed against the earth. Glancing upwards, the white angelic darted towards a tree. With a small leap and a boost from her wings, Scarlet managed to grab ahold of one of the lower branches of the tree. For the most part anyway. Her hind paws swung in mid-air as she hung by the branch with her forepaws. Finally with a small kick, she scrabbled onto the branch and turned in time to see Akira approach and wagged her tail triumphantly. Perhaps she may not have made the best landing, but it was a landing nonetheless.

Ketsuki nodded slowly. "That's good to hear. As long as there's none of those predatory otters around..." He sighed and closed his eyes. "You don't know how much ease I'm at when I know you and you're children are safe," he murmured softly. "I made a promise to you before that I intend to keep, but... I feel I should've been there to help when your son..." The elder paused and shook his head warily and glanced away. "I'm sorry,"

"Up here!" Scarlet called down from the low branch. She crouched on the branch and ruffled her wings, hating to see her brother so worried. A drop of blood rolled off her halo and tapped the ground under the branch, pin-pointing where the angelic was in case her brother still couldn't spot her. "You forgot to look up, silly. With how light my fur is, I'm surprised I didn't stick out like a sore paw!" She teased.

Ketsu smiled softly as she moved closer, feeling the warmth of her cheek against his own. He scooted closer and pressed against her side comfortingly. "Don't say things like," he murmured, nuzzling Morgana's forehead lightly. "You were more than ready to be a mother. You're care showed how healthy your pups have grown and no one could have raised their pups better than you did on their own. There was a time when the Oasis was safe enough for any single parent to raise three pups. Things may have gotten out of hand since then, but you have friends who are willing to help you find your son, parents ready to watch your back for the sake of keeping their children safe as well..." Ketsu sighed and gave Morgy's cheek a lick in assurance. "And I want to be there for you and your family too... To protect you at all costs... To make sure you don't have face anything alone anymore..." he whispered softly.

"I flew! I think..." she responded meekly, remembering how many times she had to swing around before she was able to pull herself onto the branch. Scarlet knelt down, preparing to jump, when she suddenly realized how far away the ground seemed. A couple meters probably wasn't much to an angelic elder, but to an otter who had very little experience in flying, it was a big leap. "...though knowing how to land would be a big help." she noted with a nervous laugh.

It was something of a relief to get that little confession off his chest. Altough he had grown so comfortable around Morgana to open up to her, there were still some things he found hard to express straightfoward. It felt as though he were holding his breath as he began to wonder how she would react to his words. When her soft whisper broke the silence, Ketsu nodded steadily. Though he couldn't see her expression, he held his muzzle close to hers in hopes she understood. "Of course, Morgana. You know I would be ready to stand up for you in a heartbeat."