What happens behind closed doors

Alastor rounded the edge of the lake past a few sparsely growing spruce trees on the edge of the rocky shore, turning the corner to see another wolf at the edge of the water. His obsidian gaze lifted, falling upon the freshly bathed form of the young princess Ikigai. Though she had grown since he'd first met her as a wee pup and blossomed into a beautiful young woman, Alastor would still always remember her as the polite and proper little girl who was the first Ashen wolf to greet him at their parlay. Her argent eyes turned to him abruptly; she clearly had not been expecting anyone to come around this early, and he silently hoped he hadn't put her off with his sudden appearance.

Ikigai smiled and nodded to him, and the Commander in turn bowed his head respectfully back to her. He had a tremendous amount of respect for the young princess, accepting the arranged marriage that had unified Elysium and Ashen together. She was dutiful to a fault, raised with the utmost in decorum and performing her role without flaw. It was a hefty weight that had been placed on her, and anytime Alastor tried to imagine doing to his own children what had been done to her, he balked at the notion. But he chalked it up to different cultures and ways of life—neither more right or wrong than the other in this regard. Ikigai greeted him with a compliment about his new coat, causing the dire brute to slow his gait so he could give her the attention she deserved.

"Good morning, Lady Okiku," he greeted her in turn, remembering most of her name, or at least enough to call her by her true first name. He then blinked in surprise, his gaze turning back upon his own flowing fur that mirrored Ikigai's silken tail. Scant few wolves had ever paid his coat any compliments, so it took him aback to hear the kind words of the Abraxas lady. "Oh. Oh! Why, thank you! I actually don't receive many compliments on it. Probably because I still have yet to learn how to master keeping it groomed." He punctuated his words with a soft chuckle, a departure from the usual hearty laughs his voice filled the forests with. Looking back up to Ikigai, Alastor realized he hadn't spent much time making sure the Ashen princess had been comfortably moved into her new home. As one of the pack's leaders, he'd be remiss if he didn't check in with her and make sure everything was suitable to her. She was an important guest of theirs, after all, and soon to be a member of their family.

Massive paws diverted from his path and the monstrous brute walked over to join Ikigai at the edge of the water. He could smell the strong scent of her lilac shampoo, a fitting luxury befitting a lady of her standing. Manea was also one inclined to such indulgences, and he could see why his mate was so taken with the little fae. "I apologize for not checking in on you sooner. I wanted to give you ample time to get settled in before I pestered you to make sure everything was to your liking." Alastor's dark abyssal eyes moved from Ikigai's to hone in on the split to her lip, the swell to the end of her snout. The smile on his face began to slip away, his expression dropping as he looked over the rest of her. There was no way to tell through her fur if she bore any other injuries, but suddenly the heavy scented shampoo began to seem less innocuous in light of his discovery. "My dear, what happened to you?" asked the dire brute with a concern that few ever saw. Ikigai was not one of his own, but in this moment, Alastor's fatherly instincts had flared to life, treating Ikigai's condition and safety the way he would have if he had found Avacyn in this state at the side of the lake.

"Alastor Mendacium"