New Daddy Day

Alastor beamed with all the love of a new father shining bright in his obsidian eyes when his little kindling went to climb up onto his back. One major melancholic lesson he had learned with his first litter was how quickly they seemed to grow up. It seemed like just yesterday he was carrying his little firefly twins around on his back as they explored Boreas, and now they would both be nearly two—full grown wolves, adults in their own rights. He thought of his strong and strapping son and his beautiful and sagacious daughter. Oh, how they'd grown to be so amazing... but secretly there was a part of his heart that yearned for those early days of carting fluff balls around on his back and chasing them in the fields and the many, many tickle wars he'd waged on their squishy puppy bellies. The lesson had been bittersweet the more he reflected upon it, but if it had taught him anything, it was to cherish the time he had with his children, and Fiametta would reap the benefits of his lesson learned.

Once his precious ember was safely snuggled up in his plush fur, Alastor rose to his full height, letting Fia tower above the world that normally dwarfed her. "Hang on tightly, little love!" he reminded her, and then he set off down the mountain path from their family den. Alastor moved at a steady lope, his paws trotting along the rough, craggy ledges of the cliffs while the Mendaciums made their way down to the pine forests below. Although he moved briskly so as to thrill and delight Fia, the dire brute never once went any faster than he was sure was safe for her. He didn't run or sprint, not with the precious cargo on his back. Like a living shadow, Alastor wove between the trunks of the trees, letting Fia enjoy the sights around her while he took them out farther than she'd ever been before. They reached the lake, then continued on past it, moving along the rocky shore and back into the trees in the direction of the land bridge. This was farther out than he'd taken his daughter before, and all of these sights would be new discoveries to her youthful eyes.

Alastor's gait made short work of the trip, and it wasn't long before the father and daughter emerged from the tree line to the pebbly shore of Alias' coast. The smell of salt on the sea breeze was stronger by the water than it was inland, and the partly cloudy day allowed for a few scattered rays of sunlight to break through to dance and glisten off the rolling waves of the sea. Above them, a flock of gulls cried while they drifted lazily in the breeze, looking for fish. The tide was low right now, and the land bridge over the strait to mainland Boreas was clear and visible—as was the mass of the continent that lay beyond it. Alastor lowered himself to his belly to allow Fia to disembark and explore her new surroundings, gesturing with a massive black paw to the landmass off in the hazy distance. "Do you see that big land over there, Fia? That's called Boreas. There are many, many more places to see and many, many more wolves that live over there." The jovial father turned a wide smile to his child and leaned in to boop her forehead with his nose. "When you're older and bigger, you'll get to go over there with your mother and I and see it all for yourself too!"


"Alastor"