I Guess This Means I'm a Grown Up Now?

Alastor had always known this day would come to pass sooner or later. The den he and Manea shared, the home they had build to birth and raise five amazing pups in, was now forever quiet. Mariah and Malico had both opted to find their own dens, which now that they were both fully grown adults was to be expected—the time had just come faster than Alastor would have liked. The big softie of a dire wolf felt like he'd missed out on his youngest litter's entire youths. They'd both been out learning new skills and honing their passions, and he would always be forever proud of them—especially his little Mariah—but the lingering guilt that ate away at his heart would remain for the rest of his days. He hadn't been the best father to Mariah and Malico growing up, but maybe he could make up for that missed time now that they were back home.

The Mendacium brute had been racking his brain trying to think of a suitable denwarming gift to give his not-so little girl, wanting to find something fitting to who she was and what she meant to him. It took some time, but eventually an idea came to Alastor. The dire brute found a solid piece of wood from a felled pine tree in the woods and carved out a plaque from the trunk. He spent the next several days slowly whittling away at the wood, carving each of their family members' markings into it like a little decorative family tree of sorts. He paid great care in his attention to detail, getting every loop, swirl, and curve of each Mendacium wolf's markings just right, from Manea's intricate ivy-like marking to his wild flames, to Avacyn and Saracyn's matching marks, all the way down to Mariah's double-sided markings. When he was content, he carefully smoothed out any rough edges until it was flawless. Then he wrapped the plaque in canvas tied up with string to keep it concealed until Mariah could open it.

It had been a couple of days since Alastor's first interaction with Caedes and his offer for an open invitation into Elysium so they could get to know Mariah's secret lover. That had really been the tipping point for Alastor. While many fathers likely would have been shocked or angered by their young daughter sneaking around with a secret lover, all Alastor saw was another way he was missing out on his daughter's life. He had never wanted to give any of his children the impression that they couldn't be themselves or be open with him and the real fear that he was losing opportunities to see Mariah happy struck a deep dread in his heart. Hopefully this little gesture would begin to bring him and her closer together again. It was all he could hope for... Carrying his gift down from their mountain home, Alastor walked the familiar paths down to the base of the mountain, then made his way around until he found Mariah's den on the eastern side of the mountain range. The smell of woodsmoke was coming from within and the flickering light hinted to her presence at home. That, or she left the fire on. Hopefully not the latter. Basic fire safety was very important after all.

Alastor approached the entrance to the den and peeked inside. "Knock knock!" he called inside, stomping a giant paw on the ground to simulate knocking. "Mariah! May I come in? Your old man wanted to come see what you've done with your new place!" Putting on his signature ear-to-ear smile to hide away his deep seated worries and try to mask just how tired he looked with the concerns of what Fever had been telling him, Alastor waited for Mariah to grant him permission to enter so he could see his daughter's new home and how she'd livened it up with her unique style.

"Alastor Mendacium"