Aurum had been resting, when the frantic voice of Whisper reached his ears, causing him to shift from where he was laying on the porch of his home. He was still in his tigon body, despite the children having been born and fed already, mostly just due to a sense of exhaustion. Even though everything had gone well, having and raising children was hardly what anyone could consider to be easy. The tiredness was nearly enough to cause Aurum to remain rooted in place, even as his lover called for him, but he fought through it, getting to his feet and heading for the border, where the other was. Once he stood in front of the other male, he hesitated before saying softly, "Oh... hello. I'm... I'm guessing you heard about the kids?" He didn't have anxiety in his voice over the tiger formerly known as Draekon getting caught – considering he had changed so much and was in an entirely new, unfamiliar body – but more over having to deal with the fact that he had hidden his babies away, until now.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #722227; font-size: 24px;"][color=#c16f78]— AURUM

Aurum frowned when he heard his lover's tone of voice, wincing at the hurt and betrayal that he could hear in every word. He had never meant for things to happen like this, and he felt awful about it. He sighed heavily, giving Caustic a nod in greeting before turning back to Whisper, since the other had already introduced himself. The proxy shifted his paws nervously for a moment before he finally spoke, his voice hesitant, "I... I'm sorry, Whisper. I just didn't know if you'd be happy to hear the news. After all, it was sort of just a chance encounter between the two of us. I didn't think you'd want to be bogged down, by cubs and Tanglewood and me..." He hadn't wanted to pull the other into Tanglewood with him, or force him to act as a father for the children. He had no idea if the other had ever wanted children, and whenever he'd considered going and telling him, the lion's throat would close up. Glancing at Caustic, Aurum added on softly, "He's a loner, and also the father of my children. So there's no need to worry." He didn't really think that Caustic was worried, but he didn't want anybody attacking Whisper out of the blue, acting under the assumption that he was threatening Aurum or anything.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

The arrival of Chirin should've been a happy moment, really. After all, it was a reunion between child and father, and it should've been something beautiful and sacred, which left the day brighter than before. Unfortunately, Aurum had gone and fucked it all up, just by not telling Whisper about what was going on. The lion winced as soon as he heard Chirin's words, his head shaking from side to side in disapproval. No, no, he had never wanted his children to despise their father. Hell, he hadn't even wanted them to dislike their father, as he had done for so many months of his life. A soft cluck of the tongue left the proxy after a moment, the tigon reached out and attempted to snag Chirin with a paw, pulling them into his chest if he was successful. He then rumbled softly, touching his nose to his child's head as he spoke, "Non, non, non, petit agneau. Please, do not blame Whisper for my mistakes. It is my fault that he hasn't been here for you. I got so caught up in carrying you children all on my own that I didn't even think about how I should've told him. He is a good father, and I am sure that he is here to be with you, little one. You and your siblings." Aurum didn't care how much of a bad light that put him in – he wouldn't have Whisper suffering for his mistakes.

Signing heavily, the tigon looked up from his child to Whisper, a heavy pain settling over him when he noticed the look on the other's face. He hadn't meant for things to go this way. He hadn't meant to cause the tiger any pain. Still, he could try his best to make amends, even if he was just making up for his past mistakes. Nose still buried in the soft fluff of Chirin's head, Aurum muttered tiredly to Whisper, "I'm sorry... but I can't go back and change the past now. I was terrified, and exhausted, and I didn't have it on my mind to go searching for you while I was trying to keep my cubs safe. But I won't stop you from being there for them now, and I won't stop you from being their father." His expression then hardened, some of the sorrow leaving his voice as he continued, "And I don't believe you would really do this, but I mean that I will not prevent you from joining here to be their father. I will not have my cubs taken away from me." He didn't think Whisper would ever actually do such a cruel thing, but motherhood had put the tigon on edge as of late.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM