I am one with the animal inside

Alastor was not in a particularly good mood. Besides his continued issues with Relm being distant and the implosion of their pseudo-relationship, now poachers had started hitting some of the herds in Elysium lands. These poor unfortunate souls had caught the Commander in a bad mood, so the great dire wolf was headed out to do the dirty work himself. It had been a long, long time since he had taken the lives of other wolves—not since he and Manea had founded their pack and started their family—and the shadow and blood brute was greatly looking forward to getting to vent some of his anger out on some more deserving beings. The Mendacium had fully intended to go out and handle this matter on his own, but on his way out of the pack, his son's not-girlfriend had stopped him. Maybe she sensed his ire. Maybe she could detect his violent impulses and wanted in on the action. Or maybe she was just bored and needed something to do. Either way, when the tiny slate and cream fae asked to come along with him, Alastor was taken by surprise. His initial instinct was to refuse her. Nobody needed to see him in that kind of state, especially after what had happened with Relm. But despite his hesitance, Scylla was gung-ho on coming with him.

That was how the giant brute and petite fae wound up walking through the maze of broken ruins and overgrown foliage in the twilight hours of the mild spring day. Despite his size, Alastor's masterful hunting skills allowed him to move almost silently through the grass and rubble like a wraith. Obsidian eyes remained focused and steely on the path ahead, each step he took swift yet methodical. He could smell the other wolves on the wind, the gentle breeze bringing their scents towards flared nostrils, drinking up the smell of the inevitable kills with a feverish excitement he had forgotten he harbored deep inside. The animal within him began to stir; the hunt was on. Rounding a fallen pillar, the bright orange glow of a campfire could be seen bouncing off the surrounding stone and the muted sounds of indistinct conversation rose in the still night air above the chirp of crickets. There were multiple raiders; likely to be a marauding party for a rogue band of wolves trying to scrounge off the excess bounty of Elysium. They had made a grave mistake taking their chances.

Prowling around the fallen stones, Alastor eventually found his way around to where he could spy the poachers. There were a half dozen of them, relaxing around a campfire and gnawing on the bones of their freshly stolen kill. From the shadows, Alastor watched the wolves, all males and all looking disgustingly pleased with themselves. They thought they had gotten away with their trespasses scot-free. Oh, how wrong they were... The only thing that kept Alastor from charging blindly in there with fangs and claws out was Scylla at his side. He had to consider the Klein girl's safety in this as well. He wasn't concerned for himself, but for her... "Are you sure you want to be part of this?" he asked the younger woman in husky whispers, shooting her a warning glance. He did not want to expose her to the macabre and wanton violence he was likely to wreak on these unsuspecting brutes. But if she wished to stay, he would not turn her away. He looked down to Scylla, a brow raised as if to ask "what next?" in case she had a plan beyond just running in guns blazing.

"Alastor Mendacium"