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The backstory:

These two are a classic enemies-to-lovers and a Romeo and Juliet situation.

Their meeting was unlikely, their pairing forbidden, their love? Unbreakable.

Their colony is one of the largest in the East, split into different sub-clans that represent an element in nature. Each clan was meant to be a pillar that held the entire community together, focusing on trade and managing key resources needed for everyday life. Each clan had a sister element, meant to bring balance to one another and strengthen them as they naturally do in nature. Fire and Sun, Ice and Wind, Earth and Metal, finally…the clans that these two hail from.

Water and Moon.

In a sad irony, the two clans that should have been partners in complete unison devolved into bitter enemies, and a brutal war soon erupted between them. The Moon clan, convinced they were superior, believed they should dominate Water. After all, the moon's power controls the ocean's tides, so it's only natural that they should rule. From birth, Moon clan members are trained in the military, expected to serve for a set number of years before they are qualified to retire and have the honor of having their own families. Similar to the way the Romans and Spartans were in ancient times. Members of the Water clan are raised with a profound sense of pride, taught that death is merely the start and that no greater glory can be achieved than dying in battle. This mindset fuels their fierce, animal-like drive to defeat their enemies, making them formidable opponents who charge directly into enemy lines fearlessly, seeking glory for themselves, whether through victory or death.

Water, on the other hand, was the scholarly counterpart to Moon. They also believed they were superior and deserved to lead. After all, wasn't water the most powerful element on the planet? Although it might be slow and steady, with careful planning and time, even a small trickle of water could carve out an entire canyon. They valued intelligence, charisma, and cunning. What they lacked in pure military strength, they made up for with iron-clad strategies that would confuse and outsmart almost any opponent. They won battles by exploiting natural resources and geography to gain the upper hand, targeting weaknesses in armor and rank, and sowing chaos among the enemy. On the battlefield, what they lacked in numbers, they made up for with advanced, developed weapons. They used natural gases to daze and poison enemies, complex traps, and walls to funnel the enemy into bottlenecks ripe for surprise attacks. They had developed armor to protect vital organs from attacks. And with their vast network of spies, it was rare for them not to have the upper hand and a detailed dossier on their enemies before engaging in one-on-one combat. Ironically, if the two clans joined forces, they'd be an unstoppable force that could take over the entire colony. But blinded by ambition and a deep-seated hatred fueled by centuries of fighting, they're too caught up in their conflict to see that they're driving themselves to extinction.

How they met:

Tiamat was a high general of the Water army. Strong, reliable, and fierce on the battlefield. With her large, muscular build and intimidating presence, she earned the nickname the Goddess of War for her valor and numerous victories against the Moon clan. She was stern, calculated, and a woman of few words.

Enzu was born into the noble royal family of the Moon clan. Cunning, sly, and self-absorbed, they rose through the ranks as a great spy and assassin for their clan through their own merit and skill. Earning them the reputation of being the bane of the Water clan’s upper military ranks, as they were one of the few skilled enough to successfully assassinate their target behind enemy lines - and live to tell the tale.

His mission was clear and simple; it should have been a simple in-and-out endeavor. Kill the General before the next big battle to weaken their forces and drive chaos in their ranks, as they shouldn’t have time to reformulate an entire battalion to different leadership before the Moon’s planned surprise attack.

Victory was all but assured. He just had one small task to do.

Sneaking past the lines was easy, slipping into the general’s cave was even easier. However, he was not expecting to be met face-to-face with the claws of his target against his throat and the pointed stare of the general back at him. Remarkably, she didn’t kill him on sight; instead, she was intrigued by the noble and how he managed to evade her forces. So, she offered a challenge. Beat her in a game of riddles, and he would have his prize; if she won, however, he would give up his tactics and weak spots in her line.

The two found each other to be completely evenly matched. They spent the night engrossed in their game, going back and forth with different riddles but never truly outpacing each other.

Finally, the sun arose, and the two found themselves mourning the loss of their game. It was back to being enemies, back to their normal lives. Before he left, Tiamat laid a proposal too good for Enzu to turn down: If he truly wanted her head, then he could return the next night and try his luck again. Her offer and challenge still being on the table as long as he thought himself willing to beat her.

And so, he returned the next night. And the night after, and the night after. Each time he promised himself it would be the last time, that tonight he would finally beat her and claim his victory. Yet, it became a pastime instead.

Months went by, and one day, news reached the other side of the Moon’s line: The Goddess of War had suddenly retired and returned home with little notice.

Enzu was furious. How could she leave HIM. How could she just suddenly drop their game with no warning?! Who did she think she was?

And so, he went searching for her under the guise of a covert mission to gain more understanding of the enemy’s change in rank and future plans now that Tiamat was MIA.

What he found instead was something he never could have expected. Tiamat, quietly retired and trying to live her life in peace with cubs bearing undeniable Moon clan markings mixed with Water markings.

Their "meetings" had borne forbidden fruits. Literally.

s**t.

How they react to the kids:

Tiamat: Though at first she was enraged at the thought of suddenly having to retire from her position, she finally accepted that this was probably what she deserved for fraternizing with the enemy. Truthfully, a small part of her was relieved to have an excuse to escape duty and experience what civilian life was like. Now that the kids have arrived, she is a loving, doting mother who cares deeply for her children. They are her little unexpected miracles, and though she can’t openly share them with her clan, she strives to provide the best life she can for them.

Enzu: He is flabbergasted and extremely annoyed! These little things were ruining her life, his life, and most importantly, their situationship. He suggests dumping them off somewhere to be raised by another family, and is met with daggers from Tiamat at the suggestion.
Eventually, he might warm up to them, but he’ll be reluctant to do so.

Ravati is a princess from a colony in the deserts. She was arranged into a political alliance marriage into a powerful warlord's harem of wives, where she eventually gave birth to a litter of three sons, who became her entire life as with most mothers in the harem, since having their son become the crown prince was the ticket to ultimate safety, security, and power within the colony. But they were also just the one source of light in her dark world.

Sadly, a great plague and then a resulting famine from the lack of hunters struck the colony. It was decided that to renew life back into the land and appease the gods, a pact must be made: The warlord was to sacrifice his own flesh and blood to save the colony. Such is his burden and responsibility. All sons of the warlord would be put to death.

Ravati refused to accept the price of this "pact."

Using the finery and jewelry from her dowry, Ravati arranged for a traveling caravan to smuggle her children to safety and rehome them to safe families under new names where they could live out the rest of their lives in peace. This plan was foiled, and she was caught mid-hand off with only one of her small sons being successfully passed off to the caravan before they fled into the night.

Ravati and her other sons were captured. As punishment for her crimes, she was forced to watch her children be murdered in front of her before being brought in for questioning. The pact was not complete until all the sons of the warlord were dead. Ravati, knowing that they could employ questionable methods in attempts to extract a confession on the whereabouts of her surviving child, committed an act that would deem her, in the eyes of the colony's courts, as mentally insane. An ultimate act of defiance and desperation.

She slit her own throat.

Fortunately, she didn't perish from the act. Healers got to her side and stopped the bleeding, finding that she had accidentally missed her aorta by accident but her vocal cords had been partially severed. Unable to get any further information out of someone who couldn't speak. Ravati was deemed insane and tossed out into the desert to die a slow, painful death from the unbearable heat.

Fortune had once again been on her side, fate had decided not once but twice she had a greater purpose, and she needed to live. A group of travelers found the half-dead female and brought her into their fold, nursing her back to health until she was well enough to leave on her own accord.

Ravati nowadays wanders alone. Depressed, skittish, and distrustful of most people. Her vocal cords were cut, making her unable to speak without immense pain. Her voice, which was once renowned for its soft, beautiful tones, is now a harsh, garbled whisper when she forces herself to speak. Instead, Ravati mostly expresses herself through body language and her paintings. She is a master of crafting pigments from plants, bugs, and other materials, and creating murals with them, using her paws and tail as paintbrushes. Though, admittedly, most of her artworks are extremely morbid and off-putting for most people - a reflection of the inner turmoil she is struggling to overcome.