Bearly Alive

The band had begun to move south towards Auster away from the Hot Springs, just as Manea had intended them to. Summer would soon be upon the lands, and though Alastor had never been down to Auster before, he was certainly willing to go wherever his mate desired. She'd struck up a friendship with the empress of Ashen, who had recommended they go meet a sister pack, Fenmyre, that had taken up residence off the east coast of the southern continent. So with their next destination in mind, the Mendacium family had packed up, and before the end of the season, the Elysium band had made their way south to their new temporary home. Alastor, as before, had stayed behind to make sure none of their supplies or belongings were forgotten, while Manea led their band southward across Auster. He would catch up soon enough, of that he had zero worries.

Traipsing casually down through the southern lands, Alastor glanced down towards his rapidly growing violet-furred daughter, no longer having to peer down quite so dramatically to look at her. His beautiful little star was growing like a weed, reaching the size of many of the medium wolves he'd met, and still showing signs of growing further. Already as she approached adolescence, Alastor could see much of her mother coming out in her, from her long legs and leonine paws, to the way she carried herself and mannerisms and even her walk. He was so proud of both of his children, but if Saracyn was his manic prince, Avacyn was his majestic princess. Beaming with love at his daughter, Alastor led the way down the craggy paths of the fjord, following the scent of the band toward their new temporary home.

"We're almost there, my little star shine!" he declared as they rounded past a cave in the mountainside, an eager bounce in his step. "Thanks for staying with your old man to keep him company. You certainly made this trip a lot less lonely!" A sudden roar from within the cave they passed caused Alastor to come to an abrupt halt, moving to position his bulky frame between the cave and his daughter. Obsidian eyes scanned the darkness within with guarded cautious, red-tipped ears flicked up and honed to pick up the heavy breathing from within. It took a moment, but then several heavy footfalls boomed towards them, and what emerged from the cave instantly set the dire wolf father on the defensive.

A massive grizzly bear came lumbering out of the cave, its body studded with crystals that no longer glowed and mushrooms growing out of its ears. The bear appeared disoriented and from the blank, vacant look in its eyes, didn't recognize the wolves as wolves. The predator appeared almost as if it was being controlled, a puppet on a string without any free will or life left in it. It was a shell, a husk for the infection that had rotted its brain out and made it a mindless killing machine. Black lips peeled away from pearly white fangs while Alastor stood off against the bear, snarling to try and ward it away, but he knew it would be no use. The bear was long dead; this was just a deadly mech of meat trying to kill them. "Avacyn, stay away from its front," he ordered his daughter, veering to the side to try and distract it away from his child so she could get to somewhere safe—or at the very, least, away from those deadly teeth and claws. Then Alastor rushed in and nipped at the bear's paws, causing the ursine to roar in anger and swing at the wolf who leaped deftly away, dodging the attack while spinning the bear away from the pup.

WC: 630 / 1500

"Alastor Mendacium"