Sunbeam Lair eventually, the world stood in our way

Asterr was unable to tell if she was being listened to or not, nor could she see if her words were at all effective. When he shook his head, she’d opened her mouth to speak some more—to ramble, rather—but closed it before even a single word could be uttered. He had a point; if not for the time spent with Damien, it was not guaranteed that he would have answered her request for him to be there for the birth of her children. He had a reason to have followed Nekoda to the lair, she knew, but wanted to believe that he would have come either way. They were friends, after all, so surely he would have visited her if her life was at risk—or maybe he wouldn’t have, she didn’t know.

When he growled, she’d felt herself unconsciously moving backwards. Never had he harmed her, and yet, she’d been unable to keep herself from putting distance between them. It had been for only a moment, though, for as soon as he’d turned away, she moved towards him. The girl was careful, cautious, as she drew closer, seeking to touch her muzzle to his shoulder in spite of how he might react. “Had I not been with him in that exact moment, you and I might have never found one another,” she’d said, believing her own words. Everything happened for a reason, each decision leading to an entirely new one. Had she never found herself in Damien’s company, then she knew not if she would have ever found her way to Ukko in the end.

“I do not want to lose you,” she continued shortly after. “I had wanted for you to serve as my guardian in the beginning, but now I do not care if you protect me. I only want for you to stay here with me—with our children.” She had lost several others, but he was the one that she would not allow to be taken away from her. Draco had approved of him, had pushed her towards him, and so she could not stay silent and let him walk away.