You're going to have to be faster than that

She certainly hadn't expected him to easily go along with their customs without any concerns. That was the reason why she wanted to be truthful and upfront with him before she led him into this life with her. She had seen it happen before with her cousins or aunts where they found the male they wished to mate with only to have them leave after the birth of their first litter because they had been too afraid to tell them the truth of what would happen. It was her deepest fear and refused to ever let that be her future. She would rather accept the heart break that Alastor wasn't going to be willing to live like this with her and continue her search than live with him and have that happen between them. She could see the darkness cloud his onyx gaze and she was quiet for a moment while she allowed him to work through his own thoughts at his own pace. She was in no hurry and was willing to give him all the time he needed.

Once his attention refocused on her as he mentioned that he had questions, she nodded and opened the floor to him to ask as many as he wished. His question was a valid one, though it did make her curious about why that in particular was important to him. She didn't question it now, instead more interested in explaining things for him. "Almost immediately after..." she explained calmly. She understood that they were discussing murder of innocent pups, but it had been a part of her life as soon as she was old enough to comprehend the stories so it no longer held any real weight to her. "Sometimes it's an easy choice... The runt of the litter, one that is born with a defect, one that is noticeably less energetic than its siblings... Sometimes its not as easy, and we have to rely on the ancestors to help us chose, but... Nearly always its the pup that is the largest and strongest of the litter that has the most dazzling fur patterns and colors and sometimes even something unique about them like my horns and claws..." Did any of this make it easier for him to accept? She didn't know, but she liked to explain the reasoning behind their choices all the same.

"Pups mean the world to my family..." she assured him, though he might think it contradictory to what she had already told him. "We do this so that one pup will get every ounce of love and attention and give them unrestricted access to any resource they might need... We may only keep one pup from each litter, but we make sure that one pup is blessed beyond measure..." She paused, brushing her paw against his cheek once again, giving him a curious look. "What are you thinking about...?" she said softly as she watched the fathomless depths of his eyes for answers to what seemed to be plaguing him far beyond what she was telling him.

Manea | Temno