Raschen's fur was prickled with diamond,  his ears high and eyes wide against the horizon as he watched for pursuers. The sun had risen over the eastern borders and cast light over them. Raschen stood in the sunlight as a vigilant protecter and a warning to any who would approach. He shuddered at the gentle sound of the Hase's voice behind him. He was a father now. It was his duty to be at the side of his weary mate and their newborns.<br/><br/>His heavy paws slowly unclenched, droplets of crimson falling from his palms to the frozen Warren floor. His eyes cut Jax in a warning and a show of trust that he would fulfill his post. The new father turned back toward the small fortress, his crystalline exterior chipping away so he were only of fur and flesh when he met his mate and little ones. His paws were heavy and hard to move. He'd stood stalwart and rigid at the defense of his mate without rest or sleep since her labor began. But the thought of his little ones meant far too much to give into fatigue now.<br/><br/>He was struck first with the scent of blood and after birth; the stinging heat that had filled the van. he left the door ooen a few inches to allow cool air to circulate, at least for a moment. As his eyes adjusted to the new darkness he found the shape of his mate laid back into gathered cloth, her used cloths tossed into a bloody corner so that she could lay cleanly with the little ones who suckled sleepily at her breast.<br/><br/>His eyes glew bright with the vitality only little ones could bestow to a father. His heart skipped several beats as he beheld his flesh and blood in the arms of his mate. Raschen knelt slowly beside them, adjuating the light to see them.<br/><br/>They were an obvious crossbreeding, fur lining the ends of their limbs and their digit bestowed paws; along their cheeks in jagged stripes and along their hips in belts of their father's DNA. He knew their lives would be hard and he knew raising them would be a challenge but he loved them with every part of himself without a moments thought.<br/><br/>His eyes wandered first to his daughter, much smaller than her twin but beautiful all the same, her fur a soft dusty colour like her father's; thin in her cub state, her fur rounded in a soft puffed collar over her neck onto her chest unlike her brother whose fur shown in a bright fiery red and went down his chest from neck to belt in a stripe.<br/><br/>They were perfect. no matter the words of the world. They were perfect. He couldn't help but smile in glee. He slowly settled beside his mate, gently coursing a oaw through her hair and brushing the sweat matted strands from her face before kissing her forhead.<br/><br/>"my love....they're beautiful..."