My Curse is Your Gift

With his precious princess perched on his back and leaning over the top of his head, Alastor smiled and chuckled softly to himself at just how downright adorable her excitement was. Avacyn's enthusiasm was infectious and her bright indomitable spirit reminded the red-streaked brute of himself when he was younger. Of course, he'd make sure she never had to know the pain and struggle he had grown with at the paws of a violent and abusive monster as a father. On his life, he would do right by his children, now and always. Her gasps and coos of amazement when the fireflies appeared were exactly what he'd hoped for. He could even feel her tiny tail beating against the back of his neck when she started wagging like crazy, making the dire wolf laugh under his breath.

Keeping his eyes turned up to where Avacyn was leaning over his head between his ears, Alastor watched the glow of her marking grow brighter in the light of the strange moon, a trait both she and her brother had adopted since the unusual occurrences had begun. Several of the blue and purple fireflies flew up to dance around the little girl's face, almost like they were greeting her and playing with her. Her giggle brought life to his frozen heart, the smile on his face so wide from genuine joy that it hurt his cheeks. Alastor gave a soft grunt when Avacyn began to scramble up on top of his blocky head, her body all but leaning across his head and muzzle with her little hind legs scrabbling up the back of his neck. Thankfully she was still light and wasn't difficult to hold.

"Comfortable, your majesty?" he teased her with a snicker, trying to remain as still as possible so as not to cause Avacyn to slip or lose her grip. Ava asked him what something was, pointing her paw to where the fireflies had gathered at the edge of the water. Turning his head to follow her gesture, Alastor saw the cloaked figure in the water staring back up at them from where they stood right at the edge of the lake. The dire wolf's smile slid from his face. Him. The creature that had "cursed" him and been the cause of his daughter and son's glowing markings. It was as he suspected... these fireflies and events, the brighter glow of Ava and Sara's marks, it was all connected to the supernatural being he'd met long ago.

Alastor didn't know how to answer Avacyn's question at first. Even he didn't know what the figure was. "I don't know, sweetheart," he said, then got a wicked grin across his face. "How about we find out?" Taking a bold risk, Alastor lifted one giant black paw and brought it down on the reflection of the Firefly Guy, watching as his paw smashed through the surface of the water and kicked up a splash, the ripples distorting the figure, which ultimately vanished when Alastor's paw came to occupy the space it had once been. "Hmm, looks like it was nothing, darling. Just a trick of the light!" Alastor laughed.


"Alastor"