Hallelujah (I'm Not Dead)

Cináed had been spending more and more time outside of the pack's boundaries, exploring more, fighting more, hunting more. His father wasn't around to stop him so why wouldn't he? He had thought that his father and siblings had just been distant and busy or distracted for the first week or two, but as the weeks turned into months and months turned into seasons his doubt and resentment toward his missing father and siblings only grew more and more. He had held true to the pack as he was sure was expected of him, had gone to a tournament to fight in their name, was constantly trying to improve himself to live up to this name that he was told was important, but it didn't seem to really matter. He was still left behind, still abandoned.

When he heard his father's howl he had a very real moment of consideration where he thought about not attending. His father had abandoned him, why not abandon and ignore him in return? With a huff his sense of duty and loyalty finally won out and he pushed himself to his paws, carrying him up to the usual meeting spot on the ship. He was just a couple months shy of being a year old now. The last time he had seen his father he had towered over him, but that wouldn't be the case now. He was just a few inches shorter than his father, very nearly able to look him straight in the eye. He was clearly the largest of his siblings, only slightly lanky as he continued to fill out to his full height and build. He had put in the most work to build himself. So why was he one of the ones that had been left behind?

He was one of the first to arrive, finding his father flanked by Ifrit and Vulcan. The two siblings seemingly favored by their father. He didn't greet them, instead quietly taking his place near them and sitting back onto his haunches to wait for the others. Internally he was seething, but on the outside his expression was perfectly smooth, perfectly neutral. He carried himself with his usual grace, far more stoic and calm than he had probably been the last time his father saw him. Not a hair out of place, determined to make his father realize he had made a mistake in ignoring him.

Cináed Praetor