A Ballad of Sacrifice

His eyes flitted back to Absinth, her statement eliciting a gruff chuckle from him. The absurdity of the situation was not lost on him; they were two dangerous beings standing in the midst of a chaotic world. To his surprise, there was something akin to relief in her voice. It wasn't a promise that everything would be okay - Aresenn wasn't naive enough to believe in pretty lies - but it was a start. A glimmer of hope for these pups to survive, even if their lives were bound to be as tumultuous and twisted as their heritage. They were small and fragile, yet resilient and determined to thrive in this cruel world. "The world sure is fucked up," he muttered mostly to himself, gazing down at the tiny beings with a mix of pity.

He raised an eyebrow in amusement at her playful comment, his gaze darkening with an unreadable expression as he locked eyes with her emerald orbs. "Is that so?" His tone was questioning, and the corners of his mouth turned up into a half-smirk as he leaned back on his heels. "I’m sure you would have been just as pleased," he teased, blurring the line between jest and sincerity. Noted.

His gaze affixed on the pups once more - Aurelia's brood and Absinth's combined in an odd harmony against nature’s course. There was very obvious uncertainty; it hung thickly in the air, a palpable weight that pulled at the corners of his mouth and furrowed his brow. Despite the assuredness of his words, there was a hint of doubt. What were they getting themselves into? His thick tail twitched behind him, casting flickering shadows in the moonlight as he watched Absinth nurse the pups.

He glanced back at her, his face a study in stone. He hesitated, caught in a tangled knot of conflicting emotions. There was relief there, yes, for the lives he'd managed to save, but also frustration and anger. Finally, he settled on blunt honesty. "Aurelia didn't make it," he said flatly. He paused, his gaze drifting over the pups again. His words hung in the silence between them like a specter, stark and undeniable against the backdrop of their new reality. "Sephiran …" Aresenn cleared his throat uncomfortably. The truth was harsh, bitter to swallow, but necessary. It wasn’t that he was surprised he killed her, it was the fucking grotesque manner he had done it in. How could he even describe what had happened? "He beat her to death." Among other things. But that was a start.

"Caedes knows. He was there," Aresenn's voice was more of a growl, his eyes clouded with anger. He shook his head, a bitter laugh escaping him. "But Sephiran was amidst a psychotic breakdown. As for Kaino and Rhazien... I can't say. I didn't stick around to exchange pleasantries. I took the surviving pups and left." His words dripped with sarcasm as he gnashed his teeth together. The conversation hung heavily in the air between them, as stoic and cold as the snow-covered valley outside their den. His gaze was distant, as he remained lost in the grizzly scene. “He beheaded one of them, Absinth.” He said lowly, not making her eye contact. “He cut off the head of his own pup …” A moment of silence hung between them, the air thick with the weight of the revealed truth. Killing he respected. Killing infants? Well, that was brutal. “What kind of sick fuck would do that? To his- his own.” Perhaps it was his own newfound fatherhood that stoked the flame of his fuming rage. For all his character flaws, Aresenn could never fathom such brutal savagery against infants, let alone one’s own progeny. He snorted harshly to himself, mostly out of disbelief. But a good part of not knowing what was to come next.

"Aresenn Praetor"