Pleasure to be meeting you; quite a pleasure!

Oh, the brute was brave after all! Each measured step the Syndicate wolf took closer to him delighted and impressed Alastor evermore. He had expected nothing less from the man coupling with his daughter. Mariah was strong in mind and spirit. Whoever he was to have captured her heart would be nothing less than spectacular, of that the Mendacium patriarch was assured. The wolf's rich emerald eyes studied him, impassive and guarded, a clinical look that he recognized from the healers and surgeons of Elysium—though this wolf had an appearance more akin to a wartime trauma surgeon than the genteel manner of Ikigai or Aliana. From the lack of surprise in his countenance, Alastor could only assume the Syndicate wolf knew this meeting was coming sooner or later. Good. That would make the next parts easier to get to. Each step the obsidian brute took closer Alastor followed with his eyes, yet all the while he remained relaxed and at ease. The poor lad looked ready for whatever would come next, be it hell or high water. Alastor's grin widened. Oh, it was so much fun to make the boys his daughters brought home squirm!

The dark brute came to a halt mere paces away, the tension in the air going by unnoticed by the Mendacium brute. He felt no need to acknowledge the electrical suspense when he was the one smiling ear to ear. A smile was an invaluable tool, after all. It kept his enemies guessing—though this wolf had yet to deign himself friend or foe. How this interaction went was entirely up to how he responded and if he answered honestly. The pair of scarred brutes sized each other up from up close. Alastor could see a canvas of a painful past etched across the brute's body. He bore more outward scars than Al did, but not every scar Alastor bore was visible. Perhaps they would be more alike than he initially thought... The stranger smiled, though his eyes remained guarded and alert. Of course he knew Alastor. He spoke with confidence, and the ebony and crimson brute's smile widened as he dipped his head with a dramatic flourish of his paw. "The one and only." A rich baritone chuckle escaped the elder wolf, abyssal black eyes sparkling with mirth. The game was afoot!

Alastor did not interrupt as Caedes introduced himself as a Saxe, as a member of the Syndicate, and as the one who loved his daughter. Well now, that was an interesting declaration to make! "Caedes Saxe, the first of your kin to interact with us Mendaciums. Pleasure to be meeting you, quite a pleasure!" Caedes was straight to the point, asking if he was here to talk or to fight. Alastor tilted his head to the side a fraction of an inch as if considering both options, weighing the pros and cons. "Come now, Caedes, it's not polite to tease me with foreplay when you've already expended your energy all over my daughter. Besides, I don't think Mariah would take too kindly to either of us harming the other." Alastor couldn't help poking a bit of fun at the Saxe brute. After all, the situation between them was dour enough as it was without needing to drag it down any further. "I simply wanted to meet this brute that had swept my little girl off her paws. She's quite smitten with you from what I hear. I just had to see what all the fuss was about!"

With a flourish of his flowing tail, Alastor brought his hind legs up and reclined on his haunches to sit more comfortably with Caedes. He was showing two things—that he did not intend to do harm to Caedes (today, at least) and that he did not see Caedes as a threat to him. Alastor had killed wolves far more imposing than the Saxe lad, but he had no desire to spill his blood. There would likely be enough of that in the near future soon enough. A giant black paw gestured for Caedes to sit as well. "Mariah is very precious to me, Caedes—more precious than you will ever know. Her happiness and health are all I've ever wanted, though it seems I can only ensure one of those things." Caedes was undoubtedly aware of Mariah's afflictions by now. The curse bestowed upon her as a sick gift from his blood. Alastor's greatest regret. He hid that remorse away though; Caedes was not permitted to hear that story yet. "I want to talk to you, brute to brute, as someone who was also brought into the Mendaciums by love. I want to know if you're aware of the circumstances we find ourselves in, if you are aspiring to be more than just the lover she hides away in tunnels." "We", because the Mendaciums were one cohesive family unit—but the Mendaciums had some beliefs that could not be compromised on. "What has Mariah told you of our family? Of our spiritual practices?" What did Caedes know of Mariah's soul and being her soulmate?


"Alastor"