100 proof bonding

It might have been a slow process to get Caedes to show any sort of real emotion or reaction, but Alastor's tenacity finally earned him an amused chuff from the other brute. Caedes took the bottle of whiskey and, with a wordless toast raised, the two men drank together. Ah, father and potential son-in-law bonding... When asked about his family and himself, Caedes' stories were short and simple. The Saxes were not known for warmth or welcoming, but brutality and strength. Yes, Alastor had gotten that impression just by looking over the other brute's body, a veritable canvas of scars. Where he fit into all that was as a warrior and a healer. That intrigued Alastor, and suddenly the Mendacium patriarch realized what shared interests the man and his daughter had in common. Both dealt in the world of healing, medicines, and poisons. He imagined they made a good pair if they shared their passions with one another outside of just the bedroom.

Alastor's expression remained fairly neutral, taking in Cae's story in stride, reserving his thoughts until the end. As Caedes explained the Saxe way of being one made from fear and respect earned through bloodshed, Alastor gave a considering nod, swishing his whiskey about before pulling another long drink. He was a large brute and it would take a lot to get him drunk, but he was already on his way toward a pleasant buzz. "Well, that explains why your family isn't very popular with the locals," Alastor mused aloud, somewhat humorously, giving a passive shrug of his shoulders. "Many wolves in Ardent don't respond well to those kinds of values. But they don't understand them. They didn't grow up with them being indoctrinated into their brains from the moment they were born." Alastor's dark eyes stared out at the ocean, but they did not see the inky black sea. In his mind, the fire-marked brute was miles and years away, back in Mirovis, back as a pup learning the harsh lessons of the cruel world he was born into. Maybe Caedes would pick up on Alastor's show of empathy. He understood what it was like to come from a place where blood was the currency of the world and might made right.

But there was still an unanswered question left between them. Caedes had told him about his place in his family, but it had been a clinical response. A cut and dry factual answer. Alastor took a long sip of whiskey, let it burn down his throat, then returned his gaze to hold Caedes' while the fire crackled and burned behind them, casting both brutes' features in exaggerated shadows, the pair looking as if they were cast from the shadows themselves. "And what about you, Caedes? What do you believe?" A pause before Alastor posed another question to the man, this one much more lighthearted, though equally profound. "If you could have anything in the world right now—anything at all—what would you want?" Caedes had already won the heart of his daughter. What would he crave now that he had something so invaluable?

"Alastor Mendacium"