It was quiet in this little cave. And mostly dark...but the little pools that practically glowed here and there lit his path. Ixionn didn't know how he ended up in here. But it was a beautiful place...like an underground heaven. It sounded strange but from his view in here it was so clear to understand. Paws would grace the stony earth as his bloody red eyes would sweep the stream and the pools surrounding it, the tip of his tail sweeping at the dusty ground casually. He was so tempted to drink from these pools...but why? Because he thought they'd grant him good luck?
Tears would form in his eyes suddenly as one of the larger pools in the corner came into view. Without a second thought, the man slowly stepped over the quiet little stream of shimmering blue water, crouching over the pool and staring into his reflection. He saw Hajime...no, he saw himself. A tear drew away from his face and plopped into the water softly, making a final noise in the underground pass. But these weren't tears of sadness, or anger. But of joy.
"I'll be like you, dad. I'll be the greatest goofball in the world..." Slowly, he moved down onto his belly, sprawling his arms out into the water and smiling weakly. "I'll be like Quelt...I'll be a king someday. Just like you wanted me to be..." The masked boy slowly tipped his muzzle up, tail thumping softly against the ground and making poomph, poomph noises that echoed like millions of wolves in the cave. "I promise...I promise."
Finally he stood up and smiled, calmly moving into the water and drifting at the surface. As if he was dead, he would turn over on his side and just sit there. The water eventually calmed and he was just that big random figure in a pool of nothing over than beauty. And as Ixionn thought, good luck. Yes...he'd be a king someday. He'd die trying. Hajime wanted his pups to be heirs...and so, alongside Renhet, he would be. Even if he died trying.

Denki would grace him with the best guidance. And Quelt was glad for that, he wasn't a overly religious man, but he was still a follower of Snowlit just as Hajime had been and many of his children as he had been taught the teachings of the religion since birth. Though it was something based around following your heart, and the man was only doing just that in the hopes that everything would work out alright. He of course had an active imagination. But both he and Allen had spoken to Hajime in their dreams in the after life. And Quelt was glad the man found a place with their sultry god Denki. And of course, he kept a positive mind-set but he wasn't all steel like many thought he was. They had never seen him sad, or down, and he didn't want them to see that. After all, the children had hard lives, he had no right to complain. When he left home, all his family was alive, they had never separated and they had a nice childhood. Quelt really had NOTHING to complain about. His mate had been stolen but he was easily getting her back soon. His sister, Serra was getting married and leaving his wing, all things to be excited about. Yet somehow, he was upset, worried but held it in. As he came across the small cavern though, it reminded him of when he saved Koi. Koi he had only later on recently learned was related to the walkers, but he mentioned nothing of it since he hadn't seen the girl since the earthquake. That was before the pups had even been born. Regardless, his ears pulled forward when he smelled Ixionn. The pup was a huge explorer, perhaps the more social one of the group, and the most damaged next to his brother Levaithi. Quelt still worried about all of them, and he didn't want to intrude on the boy but he overheard what he was saying. "There isn't a need to promise, young one." Quelt would stand above Ixionn, towering him. Even more so since he was as youngling. He smiled softly at the boy, damaged was he? But somehow the tall man wanted to heal him, wanted to make him feel alright. "As long as you are true to yourself, the gods and Hajime will love you Ixionn. No matter what happens, whenever you step back up again, you gain a new skill a new strength. You ARE strong, just like your brothers and sisters. But you will always be uniquely you." he stated, looking at the sides of the cavern. Speech,

It wouldn't take Ixionn too long to notice the aroma of his father wafting in the air. His eyes immediately opened, and there the slate blue boy stand, eyes staring into him. Speechless, the masked boy would roll over, continuing to stare up at Quelt with curiosity. "There isn't a need to promise, young one." His soft voice would repeat in the cave, over and over as a simple echo. Ixionn felt the need to reply to the statement- but noticed that Quelt hadn't finished. "As long as you are true to yourself, the gods and Hajime will love you Ixionn. No matter what happens, whenever you step back up again, you gain a new skill a new strength. You ARE strong, just like your brothers and sisters. But you will always be uniquely you." The words were a lot to take in...so after a few moments of the man trying to understand, he stared up at his foster father with a sigh. He figured Quelt found him stronger than the other pups...which almost made him feel a bit saddened. But proud that he could be seen as the guardian or the leader of Elsa's litter. That overprotective older brother who won't leave you alone. A smile played upon the face of the boy, and he finally spoke, "I hope you're right, Quelt. I hope I can be in your place someday...I hope I could ever grow to be as strong as you." Ixionn slowly crawled out of the water, sitting beside his father and leaning into him for a moment. His red eyes drifted to the water, and again, his voice ripped through the cave. "So...could you tell me about my mom? I don't remember what she was like..." The boy would turn up to Quelt, eyes shimmering with interest and almost sadness. Speech,

Of course this question was difficult for him. Quelt had never met Elsa, he was connected to the children through Hajime and Hajime only. The stories he had were from the boys word of mouth, of his experiences passed through all of them. In this world they just had to keep living and hoping they were on the right path. Ixionn noted he wanted to be like Quelt one day, and a flutter of pride hit him. Yet his swatted it down as he sighed a little, looking at his own reflection in the water. "Just because you don't have a crown doesn't mean you aren't a king Ixionn. You only need to be yourself to live a full life. Care about the ones you care about, and protect what you think is worth protecting. Trust me in the beginning the only reason I wanted to be king was because I hated being underneath others. But serving under Bass taught me that's not what it's all about." the man sitting on his haunches as Ixionn came to lean against him. "I didn't get to meet your mother, she was gone before I met all of you. But Hajime told me she was a wonderful woman. White as snow with blue eyes, trying to find her place in the world. He blamed himself for her death, since he himself had lost almost everyone he had gotten attached to. He figured it was a curse, but I told him I was determined to break it with you guys." His bi-colored orbs looked at Ixionn. "Ixionn you do know that you are a prince by birth-right right? Would you like to hear the story of the Atka kingdom? If you can deal with the sadness that sits within it, but also the pride that arose from those dark ashes."" he asked the young boy. He was almost a year now, that was when Hajime killed his brother. He was certain Ixionn was as ready as any of his other brothers and sister, and Renhet had already heard this story. Speech,

"Just because you don't have a crown doesn't mean you aren't a king Ixionn. You only need to be yourself to live a full life. Care about the ones you care about, and protect what you think is worth protecting. Trust me in the beginning the only reason I wanted to be king was because I hated being underneath others. But serving under Bass taught me that's not what it's all about." These words sorta made sense to the masked boy. If he wanted to ever step into the place of Quelt someday...he'd have to love and respect others. Even if they seemed suspicious or unworthy to trust. Especially his pack and family members. Those who relied on him most... Quelt sat and then continued on about his mother. And though he had stated not ever meeting Elsa...all that he said was plenty enough. "But Hajime told me she was a wonderful woman. White as snow with blue eyes, trying to find her place in the world." The orangey tan boy drifted into thought with a weak smile slowly appearing upon his face. His eyelids slid over his rubies and he huffed quietly. White...blue eyes. How nice. The boy didn't know exactly everything about her, even with the help of Quelt now. Although he was told she was wonderful multiple times...and that's all he needed to hear. Ixionn opened his eyes again and looked into the water, smile fizzling slowly. He was about to speak but Quelt seemed to continue. Huffing softly, the boy nodded and he spoke. "I would love to, Quelt. I know I've been acting very selfish and sensitive lately...so as long as this story doesn't mention the death and disappearances of my real mother..." Ixionn rolled his shoulders forward and bit down on his lip. Speech,