Three plus two makes five

Caring for a pregnant mate had become a task Alastor was intimately familiar with and highly knowledgeable in after having gone through two back to back years of siring children. Manea's pregnancies seemed to come easier and easier as both parents became more experienced in the course of the natural cycle, so when his rather round mate awoke one night with a pained gasp, the giant dire wolf knew exactly what was happening. Their babies were arriving! Alastor awoke with a grumble, peering around the den with bleary eyes and confusion until Manea finished rousing him with the news, and then he was up and at her side while she went to pace the main chamber. Alastor sat nearby with a yawn, watching Manea pace circles around the cave while her body prepared for its annual ordeal.

Manea turned an excited smile to him and asked for him to call for Ikigai, to which Alastor returned her smile. He was glad she had asked him to call for the sweet Abraxas lass and not the blonde bitch she usually turned to. "But of course, my darling!" he replied, stepping past her to the mouth of the cave. Into the evening he released a summoning call, his richly toned voice carrying across Alias in the clear autumnal night. While they waited for Ikigai to arrive, Alastor returned to Manea, staying out of the way of her pacing while he watched her go through her routine. "Can I fetch you something in the meantime, my love? Some water or something?"

"Manea & Alastor Mendacium"