For All You've Done

The late days of summer were truly the dog days, hot and humid, but the cooler climate of northern Boreas helped keep the dark brute from overheating in the afternoon sun. Though he usually kept to Alias Island these days, he could not refuse Ikigai's summons out to the lake Elysium owned. Besides, he liked the lake, and water in general. A swimmer at heart, maybe one day he'd teach her children how to swim in one of the lakes. That thought played in his head as the gargantuan brute crossed the bridge over to the mainland and climbed up from the shores to the lake, spotting the alabaster woman and her three lovely little children playing around the shore. A little smile played on the corners of the Mendacious man's lips as obsidian eyes watched the new family for a moment. Gods, he was such a sucker for puppies! Even if they weren't connected to him by blood, Alastor felt almost like a grandfather to them just as he felt like a father figure to Elysium's pale princess.

Padding up with heavy footsteps on the pebbly beach to announce his presence, Alastor came to sit alongside Ikigai. The new mother looked tired but happy, a look he knew well from the numerous litters he and Manea had had. "The little hellions aren't giving you too much trouble, are they?" he teased with a rumbling chuckle. The hulking brute sat and watched the three tiny wolves playing around on the lake shore for a moment. Little Kintsugi, Damira, and Dominus, all looking more like their mother than their father. Thank the Ancients for that. "Motherhood suits you well, Ikigai. Have your mother or father come to see the little ones yet? I know I'd want to be the first in line to see my grandchildren if my own offspring ever decide to give me any!" A surprisingly lighthearted laugh left the giant brute at the prospect of being a grandparent. Hell, some days he still caught himself surprised he had a family of his own at all!


"Alastor"