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Tikahn wasn't often faced with a situation like the one he was in. Usually he'd come and go from his pride as he needed to, as much as his job required, and when he was home he'd see Elsa from time to time. She was a busy queen and needed to see to her duties, but there was always a few hours here and there where they could scamper off from the watchful eye of Ezen to enjoy each other's company. Sometimes they'd go out on the lake to slide around, others they'd go to their secret cave for some quiet talking, and more often than not they'd simply walk through the wooded land they called home.

But for the past few weeks, Tikahn hadn't seen hide nor hair of Elsa. There had been no pride meetings for quite some time and, while he hadn't been gone more than usual, he felt like his time at home dragged on and on. He'd stick his head around Elsa's den every now and then, but usually he'd come face to face with a very snarly Ezen who would chase him away. It was a bit disheartening, but he didn't give up on trying to find her.

He had just gotten back from a little stint in the rouge lands and decided to try Elsa's den again. Ezen was nowhere to be seen - he had heard a loud, booming voice from the ice on the way home, so perhaps he was overseeing some new ice cutting - so he took it as a sign from the gods. Elsa's den wasn't guarded, and from the smell he knew she had to be there. The only thing was hers wasn't the only scent that reached his nose.

Sticking his head into the den, he cleared his throat. "Um...hello?" he called out hesitantly. "Elsa?" He could make out a few lumps in the back of the den, one larger and...a few more that were smaller. What...what was this?

Vera yawned softly and opened her blue eyes, peering towards the entrance of the den. There was a stranger there, but she felt no fear. Something about him made her smile instead of balk, as she did whenever the massive white lion came in to see them and speak with her mother. She rolled over, paws flexing as she tugged at Elsa's shoulder. She knew this lion wasn't here to hurt them, and she paid him no further attention. It was just the end of nap time so she was still coming out of her sleepy state, and she was a quiet girl to begin with. There wouldn't be a peep from her for a while.

That didn't mean her ears weren't attentive to everything else going on, though. They swiveled this way and that, one towards her mother, the other towards the not-so-strange stranger in the entrance of the cave. Settled for the moment, she let out a little sigh and pressed her nose against Elsa's forearm, her paws still clutching at her shoulder gently, tiny claws barely hanging on to her fur.

Now if only her brothers and sisters would settle down...Vera very subtly reached out with her hind foot to shove it against one of her brother's sides to try to get him to calm down a bit. He was being much too loud and was making it hard to hear!

Jens gave a rather unimpressive snarl as his sister kicked him lightly in the face. He turned around to chew on her toes, momentarily distracted by the stranger in the doorway. He got another kick, this one harder, to his jaw, and that deterred him from chewing much more on Vera's toes. He lifted a paw to rub his cheek while glaring at his sister before turning his attention back to Elsa.

"Momma, who is that?" he asked, his voice carrying through the den nicely. "He knows your name, like Ezen. Is he another guard? He's a lot less big then Ezen. And less loud and rumbly." Indeed, Ezen was the only other lion he had met in his short life, and already the differences were stark. Where Ezen was huge and imposing, the stranger in the mouth of the den seemed timid and unsure. He turned his golden gaze to the stranger, tail flicking back and forth, unsure if he should run over to investigate or stay by his mother's side.

Elsa would tell them sooner or later...right? Or maybe the male would just check in on them and leave. Oh! Maybe he had food for Elsa! Jens was getting a bit hungry and he knew she hadn't eaten in a while, so she was due for a meal. Then they could eat as well! He looked longingly towards the male now, hoping he had brought something along with him.

Elsa had been doing her best to tend to her new bundles of joy, but it was a surprisingly difficult task. She was tired, moreso than she ever had been before, because all those little cubs were very demanding. While she had a whole team of help if she needed it, the care of her babies was up to her, and she was determined to be as good and reliable a mom as she possibly could be for them. They deserved all the best, and she wanted them to know they were loved and wanted.

She knew what it was like to lose family, to grow up alone and out cast. She was not going to let them feel the isolation she had felt when she was growing up.

Elsa looked up when she heard someone at the den, expecting Ezen or someone from her guard, but instead she was met with a very familiar and much beloved face that she was just not expecting. She was not quite sure how to react, happy to see him and feeling a burst of joy at wanting him to meet his babies, but it was tempered by the knowledge that she had not told him about them... so this was probably a bit of a shock.

When one of the cubs spoke, she looked down at him and smiled lovingly, nudging Jens gently with her nose in a reassuring gesture.

"That, Jens, everyone, is your father."

She watched Aurik wander over to Tikahn, smiling and shaking her head. She very slowly got up, feeling heavy and tired, and also not wanting to upset the cubs resting against her. One of them, Jalidi, looked up at Elsa in wonder.

"Daddy?" he asked Elsa, then he moved to follow Aurik's move, wandering a bit closer to the male. He looked up at his father with bright, big eyes. "Hi!"

Mystral had been sound asleep when the commotion started. It was only when her mother rose to her feet that she really woke up and saw the strange male standing at the mouth of their den. She quickly scrambled to her feet.

She balked when she heard her mother say that this male was her father. Of course now looking at him she could see markings that he had in common with her siblings. She wasn't sure what she was to do so instead of talking or moving towards the male like some of her siblings were doing. She planted herself behind her mother's paws, practically standing beneath her.

Elsa watched all her cubs as they each reacted to news that this was their father, shaking her head as Blanka went crashing into Tikahn in a burst of energy that was probably pretty overwhelming for the suddenly cub swarmed male. She could not blame him for looking so nervous, the poor guy. It was not easy to be told one was a parent when they had not been expecting it. She knew how that felt, in her way.

She had not been expecting a litter, but when it became obvious what was happening she had quickly come to accept it. She did not know how to tell him, though, and wished now that she had not been so shy and withdrawn from him. He should have known before they were born, so he could have been there to see it. Unless he did not want the cubs... those doubts lingered with her, as she wondered if even Tikahn still doubted her and the curse she was said to have.

Taking a breath, she chased off the negative thoughts as she moved carefully toward him, not wanting to step on any of the cubs around her. Mystral and Vera were sticking close to her, and she looked at them with a warm smile.

"Come on, say hello to your father, girls. I'm sure he would like to meet you, too."

She then looked at Tikahn hopefully, an apology in her eyes as well.

"I didn't know how to tell you... I'm so sorry to surprise you like this... I... I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say, standing near him and wanting to nuzzle him and tell him how happy she was, but terrified that he did not feel the same way.

Jalidi, named after an Uncle not even his mother knew he had, looked over at Jens and Aurik and wrinkled his nose.

"Blanka is taking all of daddy's attention!" He whined, looking up at Tikahn and padding closer, climbing up on his back paws to press his fore paws against Tikahn's leg in an attempt to be more noticeable than his brothers. "I'm Jalidi!"

Blanka gasped when he heard Jalidi, partly because he was upset but mostly because he'd had his face buried in his father's fur and suddenly needed to breathe again. Raising his head, he slid off his father's paw as he watched the other cub move forward to make himself known.

With the horrified expression Blanka wore, one might have thought he had been attacked by some kind of ghost.

"I'm not doing anything!" He wailed, "mommy! Jalidi is being mean again!" He scrambled over to his brother, a flurry of pale paws colliding with the other cub's body. He had attempted to tackle his brother, though his efforts became more a struggle to climb on top of him than anything else. He sat himself down near Jalidi's shoulders, trying to cover his brother with his own fur.

He looked up at his father again, smiling once more.

"I'm Blanka!" He said cheerfully, like no one should have noticed a thing.

Tikahn felt his heart thud painfully in his chest as Elsa apologized. He knew why she was saying sorry, but there was something about leading a hoard of cubs out of a den and saying 'sorry' that just didn't seem right. He shook his head, still getting over the shock, but not wanting her to be upset. He cared for her more than he could admit, and if he had been aware of the whole...cub situation before now, he would have been far more excited than he was now. He hadn't really thought he'd ever be a father, but Elsa was just full of surprises.

"Don't be sorry," he said quietly, holding her gaze for a moment to let her know he wasn't mad or surprised in a bad way. There wasn't really time to talk right now, as eager cubs were literally climbing on top of one another to see him, so he gave her a weak smile before lowering himself to his belly, getting on eye level with the cubs. His cubs.

"Hello," he said to them, turning to look at each in turn. "I'm...um. Your dad. It's nice to meet all of you." He tired to make eye contact with each as they introduced themselves, smiling just a bit at their different personalities.

"It's very nice to meet you all...Jalidi...I promise there's enough attention to go around." Now that he was here, at least. He was sure Elsa had had her paws full alone. Gods...he should have come back sooner! "Blanka...Aurik. If...if you'd like to you may," he added to Aurik's question. Oh dear...

Jens didn't waste any more time once his brothers began to introduce themselves. He marched forward and set himself between his brothers, staring at the much larger male. "I'm Jens!" he proclaimed, reaching forward with a paw to press it against Tikahn's nose. "And you're daddy. It's nice to meet you, daddy. Where have you been? It's been a long time since we met momma, and now you're here! Have you been out hunting? Did you bring momma food?"

Vera still hung back, peering at Tikahn and her brothers between Elsa's legs. She looked up once her mother spoke to her and glanced away shyly not long after. The male didn't seem very intimidating, but he was about the same size as her mother, and she had never seen him before! That alone made him scary.

"I'll wait," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her brothers got a bit rowdy for her quite often, so the shelter her mother provided was something she relished.

Queen Elsa smiled and watched Tikahn as he did his best to say hello to all the cubs who were vying for his attention. The poor guy, he was going to get overwhelmed, she was sure. Sometimes she was not sure how she could handle them all, really, but at least she had a head start on it. Poor Tikahn was taking it all in at once.

She glanced at Erobre as he walked over to join the other boys, Blanka, Jalidi, Aurik and Jens. They were certainly very forward and friendly, and she was proud of them for going at it, though she was not quite sure she thought Blanka was handling his little fight with Jalidi quite the way she wanted him to. She moved to intercede, bending her head down to take Blanka by the scruff and pick him up off of Jalidi.

"Please don't sit on your brother," she said, when she put him back down on the ground, not too far from the others or his father. She gave him a look, but it was gentle, then turned her attention back to Tikahn. She moved closer to him, carefully sitting down next to him as she picked a path through the cubs. She leaned against Tikahn gently, nuzzling his fur affectionately.

"I've missed you... I hope you can forgive me..."

She looked around at all the cubs, watching Vera and Mystral, glad to see the latter taking a chance to introduce herself, however quietly. They were much more like their mother in that regard, though she attributed the rambunctious attitudes of the boys to... well... their being boys.

Mystral smiled when her father greeted her. Made her happy that he had paid just a small amount of attention towards her. It was hard to get any attention with her brothers being so rambunctious. Normally Mystral wouldn't want the attention to be all on her but with her dad it was different. The only love in the world that Mystral wanted was from her mom and dad, no one else in the world mattered as far as she was concerned.

She moved closer to her father, and looking around found a spot to cuddle up beside him. She smiled back at her mom to make sure it was all okay. As much as Mystral wanted her dad's love her mom's opinion mattered to her more.