Pleasure to be meeting you; quite a pleasure!

Though his words were terse, Caedes did join him for a sit in the snow, passing Alastor's first test with flying colors. It would have been easy for the obsidian brute to simply decline him, to turn and leave, but he showed he was willing to engage in a bit of conversation. Good. Caedes listened attentively and respectfully, and when it was his turn to speak and answer the questions posed, Alastor returned the same active listening in kind. Caedes affirmed that Mariah was precious to him as well and that he valued her health and happiness the same. Yes yes, Alastor had gathered that much, given the scent of his daughter intermingled with the smell of sex coming from the brute in front of him. Alastor was a fiercely protective father over his children, but he was not unrealistic or out of touch. Mariah was no longer his little girl, but a fully grown fae. He and Manea had never been shy around raising their children to be sex positive, but to always be careful. This would be the test to see if Mariah had heeded their advice.


Caedes revealed that he knew the gist of Mariah's ailments, to which Alastor simply lowered his gaze—out of shame or guilt? Perhaps... No one could ever really know why Mariah was the way she was short of dissecting her and looking for a cause, and of course that option was just right out. But what Alastor was more interested in at this time was what he mentioned next: the Mendacium laws and traditions the family was bound to. Alastor's Stygian eyes lifted to once more meet Caedes' verdant ones, holding his gaze with an adamant intensity while the Saxe brute declared that he would not be a fleeting lover to Mariah and that he wanted to be with her in full. The circumstances of their position were... precarious, and he seemed acutely aware of them too. It came as no surprise to hear that Mariah did not want him to choose, but ultimately a decision would have to be made at some point. The Mendaciums' and the Saxes' ways of life were not symbiotic it would appear. And if Caedes meant what he said when he claimed to not be a temporary lover, then there was really only one answer.

"Thank you for your honesty, Caedes," replied the dark dire brute. He could tell Caedes was being truthful with him by his body language and the ease of how he spoke—or he was the best liar Alastor had ever met. He preferred to think it was the former. "I love all of my children very dearly, you know. There was a time I believed I would never sire children, never believed I was worth being a father. I was seen by a monster by the world, scorned and hated just for existing. I felt like I was destined to be by myself until my dying day, and that I didn't deserve stupid things like family or happiness." The smile began to slowly return to Alastor's lips, the mists of memories crossing his obsidian eyes. "Until I met Manea. She made me feel like I was someone worth loving. She made me feel like I wasn't a monster or alone. She gave me a purpose, a drive—and then she gave me a family." It had been everything Alastor had ever wanted, everything he had thought he would never have. But he had to make the same choice Caedes was now facing to obtain it all.

"When I met Manea, I was a part of a very old pack—a fallen empire looking to revive itself in Boreas. Like you, I found where I belonged with her. She made me feel ways no other wolf ever had. And when she told me of her family's laws and customs, I had to make the same choice you do. I had to betray my oath to my past to take the future I wanted." Alastor breathed a slow sigh, shaking his head. "I took the leap of faith. I swore myself to Manea and took the soul mating ritual to bind myself to her. In return, she blessed me in her family's name, awoke the Ancient soul inside me. I thought it was all religious hogwash and did it just to make her happy... but then things started happening." Alastor gestured down to his long flowing fur, to his luxuriously cascading tail. "My appearance began to change. My children were born with rare gifts and mutations never seen before. Traits I'd lacked before started manifesting." Alastor lifted a giant paw and flexed his digits, extending the retractible gemstone claws for Caedes to see. "Maybe it was all coincidence... but I've seen things that defy logic and reason. These Ancient souls... they are our family's means to power, power we share with the wolves destined for us."

Alastor stowed his claws away and looked over Caedes briefly. The brute possessed no obvious mutations or gifts that would outwardly make him a suitable soul mate for Mariah—but Alastor knew better than anyone else that looks were deceiving. "Mariah bears an Ancient soul, Caedes. The same soul that gives us our powers and gifts. It is her destiny to find her soulmate so they may bring the next generation of gifted Mendaciums into this world. This soulmate will be a brute that can offer her strong pups with exceptional gifts. You... are rather plain." Alastor cocked his head to the side, as if studying Caedes beyond the surface level with an appraising smile. "But I think you're like me, Caedes. I believe there's more to you than meets the eye. Mariah is probably the smartest of all my children. If she sees value in you as a partner, then I trust her judgment. If you mean what you say, that you wish to be with her forever, then maybe you have latent gifts waiting to be awoken in you too." And now for the caveat... "But for you to be with Mariah, for you to sire pups with her, means you will need to take the soul mating rituals and bind your soul to the family, just as I did. That is the choice you must decide to make if you speak true of your commitment to my daughter—or you put her soul in mortal danger of being lost forever."

With a lot said, Alastor drew in a deep breath and gave a dramatic exhale as he looked around at the barren trees and snow-covered rocky landscape. "But that is not a decision you need to make now... or tomorrow... or next week. You're both young and you have so much time still. And since my daughter is so fond of you and you seem quite keen on her, I'd like to spend some of that time getting to know you too... although maybe in less drab and dangerous settings." Alastor turned a knowing smirk over to Caedes, a mischievous look in his dark eyes. Would the brute see this part coming? "I don't exactly relish the idea of my daughter and her lover coupling out in wild lands where anyone could be skulking about. The world is a dangerous place right now, you see. Danger could be lurking anywhere, and while I know you're no threat to my daughter, I don't think the rest of your family is as benign. So, if you want to continue seeing Mariah and... ah, enjoying your time together, I simply ask that you do it in the safety of my house, in the privacy of her own den, where I know you'll both be safe." Alastor grinned, pausing for a moment to let his words sink in to Caedes. "I'm offering you open access to come visit Elysium whenever you want to see Mariah—and to get to know your potential in-laws better. What do you say, Caedes?" Alastor's smile widened, almost menacing if it weren't for the hopeful hidden deep in his obsidian eyes as he offered a paw towards the other brute.

"Do we have a deal?"

"Alastor"