Everyday life... hadn't really changed much for Cerberus. He stayed with Siren, or more so his other siblings since the loss of Viper. Though someehere deep down or maybe that far down, he wasn't quite himself. Every wolf he knew was close enough to him to know or notice, though if he had met a stranger they probably wouldn't have known a difference or that he was festering some kind of emotional turmoil down inside.

Albion, Scylla, and Rusalka were all out of the den exploring, training, or whatever they would do normally. Cerberus laid here in Siren and Dalila's furs, silent as he was. While he was already mostly quiet and reserved, he liked to be around his siblings more than anything else, or even Siren or Dalila. But these days he didn't really feel up to it. He hadn't honestly felt like he killed Viper, or at least knew that it was an accident. He was smarter than that, but he had wondered what they could have done better to prevent it. It was in the past now, or sort of. Because while Siren was more of a mother to Cerberus than Viper, she still held that special immediate blood bond to him. Viper was a very coarse woman, but she showed him much more than that. He was the most special to her.

"Cerberus Klein"

Life was life. It continued even when some of it ended. With the death of Viper, many strange feelings had come up. Feelings that he couldn't dwell on too much since he had a pack to run, a family to care for, an empire to build. There was a part of him that missed the russet and black woman, but there was also a sense of relief at her passing. She had been unhappy. He had feared that she would try to run with their son. That... was something that he would never have allowed and would have ended her life himself to prevent. Perhaps it was better this way.

Moving across the long deck of the complex, Chimera happened to look inside the rooms that Dalila and Siren shared. The boy in question was laying there. Shifting, Chimera moved into the room and nuzzled the child's forehead. "Cerberus," he rumbled low. "Are you alright?" Ears perked as the beast towered down over the pup, though he was certainly growing, he had a lot of catching up to do with his father.

"Speech"

He hadn't even flinched to the sound of Chimera inside the room though his mind was subconsciously aware that he was there. With heavy eyes, they looked forward and didn't look towards Chimera as he approached him. When he was nuzzled, his head pulled itself off the furs carefully though he didn't really want to look him in the eyes. There was some sort of fear in him that if he did, it would bring out emotions he wasn't sure what to do with. His entire life he had been quiet and neutral, there was nothing for him to regret or wish he had more. Sure some other pup may have wanted more from Viper, but he did not. He got everything he needed from the rest of his family, and from Viper.

"Yeah." His breath skipped as he spoke, probably showing just how much he was holding in and it hurt him to think he had let it out as hard as he was trying to hide it. But with an exhale, he went to lay back down on the furs in front of Chimera, "I just want to stay in today." Or well he did every day, he may have thought he could fool Chimera, to no real harm in the attempt. But really he was just avoiding what he need to feel, and what he needed to let go.

"Cerberus Klein"

Cerberus hadn't learned to lie. Just like his mother, his face was an open time. The trouble was there, clear as day for all to see. Now, Chimera had no issue with others having emotions. None at all. For a Fenmyre prince though, Cerberus would need to eventually work on controlling those emotions in front of others. Chi expected that, but he also expected his son, his children, his family, to be able to show those emotions to him without fear of judgement or reprisal. He would show the boy this now.

"Cerberus, there is nothing that you ever need to hide from me." He began, his tones unusually soft. Shifting his big frame, he curled around the boy so reminiscent of his mother's coloring. A perfect culmination of Viper and Chimera curled against his side. "Tell me. Let it out and we can work through whatever it is you need." He didn't want the boy to suffer in any way. For all of his children, he wanted nothing but happiness. Cerberus was his eldest. He needed the boy to be okay.

"Speech"

Cerberus let out a sigh of some kind of relief, but all of his troubles were not gone. He didn’t want to be emotional, even though Chimera told him it was okay to be. Even if only in this moment with his father. But it still wasn’t okay to him.

"Aunt Siren has always cared for me more, and Dalila." He stated through harsh tones, maybe wishing that Viper had showed her love in the same ways or amounts. He couldn’t have asked it of her, but he also couldn’t go back in time. "I miss her." It was simple, what boy wouldn’t miss their mother? Or at least his mother who tried as hard as she could to be one. He knew at least that what she had, or hadn’t done was purely just the way she was. He knew her better than to think so lowly of her actions.

His chin down on the furs, leaned up against Chimera’s paws, his eyes were closed still without tears to fall and only the emotion through his voice. "They say it’s my fault. But I don’t believe them." Remnant of his voices, really maybe only his deep, dark subconscious that he was stronger than to cave into what wasn’t a whole truth. Viper could have easily killed him had he not done what he did, and the sickness is what tipped her over the edge. He knew that.

"Cerberus Klein"

The boy was hesitant to share his feelings even after being told that it was okay. This was also okay and Chimera would wait. They would be on Cerberus' time and when he was ready, they would speak. There was silence for a time, and then his son spoke. At first he admitted that Siren and Dalila cared more, but after another moment of silence, he admitted that he missed Viper. Chimera's ears slicked back against his crown for a moment as he looked down at his eldest son. It was a difficult situation. In the end, he had disliked Viper himself, but... "I miss her too," he spoke softly. Viper had filled the very first hole within him and for that, she would always hold a place in his heart. He hadn't been able to be what she needed, but there would always be a modicum of love for the black and russet woman within him.

Upon hearing that Cerberus was being blamed by someone, a low growl pulled from the black and white beast. "And who is telling you these lies?" Chimera tried not to give in to his anger, lest Cerberus think that it was directed at him. It certainly wasn't. Someone would pay for their words, however.

"You are not to blame, do you understand? The sickness took her mind. It ate her until she wasn't Viper anymore. You protected yourself as you were supposed to do." A softness crept into Chimera's usually clear voice and he pulled his son closer against him, nuzzling into the top of his crown. "You are very important to me, Cerberus. You gave her mercy. Had she killed you... she would have suffered at my teeth. Never blame yourself for doing what was necessary." Chimera's tongue pulled between the boys ears, trying to be comforting despite his harsh but true words. "We'll work through this together, I promise."

"Speech"

The clarification of Chinera missing Viper too was less strange than could have been expected. He was sort of relieved but in no obvious way. From an outsider looking in, Cerberus may have seemed to come from a broken home. But that was not the case at all. Not to him. Everyone cared for him more than he could ask for, his mother, his aunt, his father, Aliana and Dalila. There was no reason for him to hate the life he was born into, and he would never regret this way of life.

Not really knowing that the voices were bound to him, or maybe just to his blood as it was Chimera’s, his head was able to pick up off the ground while his eyes wandered the room. Only a hint to what he was experiencing as he was starting to question the reality due to Chimera’s reaction. He took too long to respond as he bit his tongue, Chimera continuing on but no doubt would he not let the subject go.

"Nuada." Cerberus quietly corrected his father, not knowing this truth through Viper’s time as his breathing mother. He was more intent than he had been in the last few moments, but his emotions nearly stale aside from the rim of tears he felt just being this close to his father. "Her name was Nuada, she comes to see me sometimes." He didn’t hold fear in telling Chimera this, and it didn’t scare him that it was happening. "She doesn’t want to talk about what happened."

While Cerberus could understand the difference in feeling love towards himself or Viper, he wasn’t mad by what Chimera stated to him. If Viper had hurt or killed him, she would have suffered more than she had. It may have been justified, but he also couldn’t help this internal cringe and burn of thinking that Chimera would have willingly slaughtered someone that Cerberus himself had cared for so much. A sign of how much he was like his father maybe. Though he held the knowledge of understand the justification behind it. "I love you too."

"Cerberus Klein"

Nuada. It was a name that Chimera didn't know, but the absolute certainty in his son's voice was enough for him. Viper had told him a bit about her upbringing, but his memory was a bit muddy about the specifics. The fact that her ghost was visiting the boy was something else. Chimera's mismatched ears shifted backwards as he looked down at the child that was so very much Viper's. "I see them too, though not as often as I did when I was your age." He shared with the boy so that he would know that he wasn't alone. "They can't speak to me, so I call them the Silent Ones." The black and white giant hugged the boy against him, mixed feelings about this new issue flaring through him. "You can talk to your Aunt Siren about them too. If they bother you, let me know." He didn't know what he could do about it, but he would do something.

Cerberus expressed his love after Chimera had told him that he would have shredded his mother and a soft huff of amusement left the man. He placed a lick on his son's cheek and hugged him once more. "I do love you, Cerberus," he affirmed. The boy meant so much to him. More than he was able to express. Moreso now that his mother was dead and gone. Well... maybe not gone. Cerberus was the last piece of Viper that he would ever hold. Not only that, but the boy himself was a precious thing. Chimera wanted nothing but happiness for him, though it seemed as though Cerberus might be a pensive, somewhat overly thoughtful type. That usually led to problems like depression and other things. He could only hope that the boy would grow out of it.

"Is there anything else bothering you? Anything that you'd like to talk about?" Chimera nosed one obsidian cheek. "You can tell me anything." He wanted all of his children to trust him. To be able to come to him with any concern at any time. Not having parents and having no one to confide in... it had taken its toll on Chimera. He didn't want that for his children.

"Speech"