Little Fiery One

Watching their small bundles of joy nursing at Manea's side had filled Alastor with a giddy high that showed in the stupid grin he had on his face. He had always loved pups, but there was something special about his own that just filled his black and fractured heart in ways nothing else did. Manea nuzzled his neck and assured him that she had only been able to do so well because she had him with her. He gave a quiet rumble of affection and nuzzled her back, content to just drink in this happy moment with his expanding family. That is, he was, until he saw the sad smile on Manea's face. He didn't understand at first; with their first pups having been fortunate enough to be blessed as twins, he'd forgotten about the culling that needed to occur. When he watched Manea begin to inspect and probe their newborn pups for signs of mutations, the dark realization dawned on him. His expression lit up with understanding, then darkened with dread, ultimately falling into a hard and impassive frown while he watched his mate work. Neither of them said a word. What was there to say when you were waiting for the love of your life to execute two of your own children?

Red-tipped ears folded flat to his skull as he watched the inspection continue. He saw the look of doubt and remorse on Manea's face when she studied their smallest daughter and knew instantly what she had decided. She was the runt of the litter, after all. It would have taken some great mutations to spare her life. Alastor looked at his galactic daughter with sorrow. He would never get to carry the little thing on his back, never get to use his superior size and strength to pin her for mandatory tickle times, never feel her getting lost as she played about in his flowing fur. Alastor looked back up to Manea in time to see her regard their ebony son with the same look. She had decided. Alastor heaved a sigh as he looked to his all-black boy with the same heartbreak. Even being the largest hadn't saved his life. In that moment, Alastor saw a future of teaching his son to fight and hunt, watching him grow like Saracyn to rival him in size, going on to be an Elysium warrior—all of it fantasy, never to be reality.

"You don't have to stay." Alastor's head snapped back to Manea as she spoke, his emotionless expression betraying nothing of his thoughts—but the tears in his obsidian eyes certainly would. Again Manea offered him a way out; she could handle the culling on her own and she wouldn't think any less of him. No, she might not, but he would think less of himself. He knew what he was signing up for when he'd begun courting Manea all that time ago. She'd warned him, offered him the chance to leave then. Alastor gave a hard shake of his head. "I'm never leaving you." No matter how difficult things got, he had made a vow to her. He wouldn't abandon her now in their most challenging moment, even if it meant torturing himself in the process. "Let me just... I... They need to know this isn't their fault."

Shifting around, Alastor sat up and leaned over Manea so he could reach his children. With tears falling freely down his muzzle, the dire brute displayed an uncharacteristic level of tenderness as he scooped first the melanistic boy in his large paws and nuzzled and licked his head and back, then repeated the same for the tiny girl. If they had to perish, he wanted them to know that they were loved in the short moments he'd known them. Each pup would take a piece of his broken heart with them today. "Daddy loves you both so much," he whispered to the little squeaking pups, fighting with all his might to keep his voice even and steady. "I'll see you two again someday soon." It was a lie, of course. These perfect little beings would return to whatever otherlife existed beyond their world to live as angels, while he would burn in hellfire for the rest of eternity. He would never see his children again. After placing one more gentle kiss to each of their foreheads, Alastor pulled away with great reluctance, as if a weight was around his neck. He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to steel himself for what came next, and then nodded to Manea. If they were going to do this, they would need to do it now. He wouldn't have a paw in murdering his own children, but he would stay with his mate while she did what she had to.

"Alastor Mendacium"