Watching how their children grew like weeds over the last few weeks had been one of the greatest joys of her life. It felt like every day they were growing and changing. They had gotten so big so quickly that she probably could have allowed them out of the den before this, but with the poor weather and copious amounts of rain they experienced through the later part of the season she had kept them in to keep them from catching a cold. Today though, at the very cusp of winter, it was clear and sunny if a bit chilly. She knew she wouldn't be able to contain either of her children or their energy for much longer anyway so early in the morning before Avacyn or Saracyn woke up she sent Temno and Ciemny out to scan the surrounding area and make sure there were no notable dangers to report back. Once the ravens returned with the all clear maybe a half hour later she gave Alastor a grin and leaned her head down to gently nudge awake each of the sleeping pups curled between them.

"Wake up, my darlings... Would you like to go on a little adventure today?" That woke them up pretty quickly and she chuckled as she rose to her feet and gave her pelt a shake. "Come on then. Lets go see what trouble we can find for you." She walked out of the den first, her breath causing a cloud of steam around her nose as the warm air met the chilly air of this early winter morning. It was sure to warm up a bit later in the day, but for now it seemed like they were in for a cold first outing. "Stay close, you two. Stay where we can see you."

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

The day had finally come! After weeks of watching their children play, explore, and grow, they were finally big enough to go outside. No longer would the curious little faces at the door be disappointed whenever he and Manea went out. Now they could come along with them and the prospect thrilled and terrified Alastor. The overprotective father in him wanted to only shelter his little fireflies from all the sins and pain of a cruel and unworthy world. But the repressed child in him wanted nothing more than to take his son and daughter out to run through the prairies, swim in rivers and lakes, see the world that belonged to them! And today would be their first steps into dominating their world.

It was the start of winter. Alastor could smell the chill of frost in the air that seeped into the warmth of their den from the outside world. The rains had stopped, a fortunate turn of events, though he half expected to find snow outside early in the season. It was early morning when he and Manea awoke, the dark brute taking a few moments of lovingly stare at the two bundles of hyperactive fluff nestled up snug as could be between their parents. He looked back up to his wife with a wide grin and gleaming eyes, watching as she nudged their greatest achievements once her ravens had given her the all clear. There were sleepy puppy yawns and confused looks from both children, but the second Manea mentioned going outside, it was like a switch had flipped, and both of them were scrambling over one another for the door, Saracyn barking like a happy little maniac. Alastor laughed and stood, ruffling out his coat as well before heading for the door to peer outside.

As predicted, the world was chilly, with the plains covered in a thin sheen of frost that crunched under his massive paws. No snow however, so it wasn't that cold yet. Still, every exhale left a cloud of humidity hanging in the frosty air with each breath. Behind him, Saracyn was craning his neck outside to exhale hard, producing as much condensation as he could and grinning with those sharp little needles of teeth up at his father. Alastor laughed and motioned to both of his children to come outside with a flick of his head. "Come along, little fireflies! The world awaits its prince and princess!"


"Alastor"

Warning: Alastor is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
As his mate, Manea may enter any of Alastor's threads not marked Private.
____________________

Avacyn had her nose tucked into her father's fur as she slept, hiding from the chill in the warmth of her parents while she remained snuggled up to her brother as much as possible. She had stirred slightly when her mother had whispered some kind of command to her ravens, but had easily drifted back to sleep a moment later. It wasn't until she felt her mother's nudging and prodding that she finally blinked open her eyes and lifted her head drowsily with sleepy ebony eyes. That sleepiness and grogginess was swept away easily when she heard the question that really needed no answer since it was something they so obviously wanted to do. Her expression brightened immediately with a grin and she nodded eagerly, scrambling to her paws and fluffing up her galaxy colored fur with a shake. She eagerly ran with Saracyn toward the entrance of the den, pausing at the line that they hadn't been allowed to cross until this moment, her tail wagging excitedly behind her.

While Saracyn made misty clouds of hot breath she kept her watchful gaze on her parents as they led the way out of the cave they called home, giving a dutiful nod to their mother's instructions to stay close and not leave their sight. As usual though, their father was the more fun one of the two and she grinned as he beaconed them out, calling them the prince and princess of this world. She stepped out into the cold, crunchy grass, only making it a couple of steps before she paused to peer curiously at the grass under her feet, experimentally crunching and crushing the frost covered blades of grass while she got used to the feeling of it under her feet. It only distracted her for a couple of moments though before she lifted her head with a grin and ran forward to where her father was standing, making it most of the way to him before she tripped over her overly large, rounded feline paws as they got hung up in the grass and she fell forward into his forelegs with a "oof". She shook herself off and looked up at his matching black gaze and grinned, her ears folded back bashfully.

"Avacyn Mendacium"

Contrary to his sister's curled up form transforming her into a snuggling little ball of fluff and fuzz, Saracyn was flipped completely upside down, his side pressed to his sister's and mother's while he let the air cool his belly while he slept. Tiny puppy snores were completely uninterrupted while Manea and Alastor prepared for their big day unbeknownst to either child. Saracyn was a pretty heavy sleeper, so nothing disturbed him in the slightest until his mother gently nudged and nuzzled them in turn. Saracyn gave a sleepy grumble, arctic eyes flickering open from behind black and red eyelids. He wiped the drool from his cheek, glowering up at his very alert parents and wondering what they'd woken them up so early for—until Manea offered to actually let them out of the den! That got Saracyn awake with a start, the larger black and cardinal red pup scrambling to his paws and rushing to the door with Avacyn at his side, yapping excitedly. It was finally time! Time to see the wide world that mom and dad had said belonged to them!

Manea and Alastor stepped outside first, Saracyn watching with fascinated eyes while his parents' breaths hung in the early morning air like phantoms dancing above the ground. He leaned out of the den and into the cold world, sucking in a deep breath and letting it all out in a long, controlled breath, watching as his own exhale took physical shape into a fine mist before his very eyes! He blinked wide eyes, a wide smile on his little face at the new discovery. Their parents beckoned them to come out, and with all the bravado of a wolf who felt utterly indestructible, Saracyn took his first step out into the world.

Crunch!

Saracyn recoiled back when he heard the snap of the grass under his paw, hesitating while he looked at the grass. It felt so much different than the soft grass he'd felt when he'd tried to sneak out of the den a couple of times and Mom had stopped him every time. The world was chilled and fragile now. How interesting...! Avacyn went running out after Dad, and Saracyn shot out shortly behind her, trotting proudly across the crunching grass and hard earth, surveying the low hills and vast plains of the prairies. Th world was big, wide, and empty. It looked and felt so much different than the warm and sunny or dark and wet world he'd spied since he could remember opening his eyes. Was the world always changing like this? He snickered when he watched Ava go tumbling over her own feet, sauntering over to where Manea was waiting for them and pressing his nose almost entirely to the ground, sniffing furiously to take in as many scents and sensations as he could get his paws on.

"Saracyn Mendacium"

Warning: Saracyn is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
Saracyn's designated wolf to protect as a Bodyguard is Avacyn. She may enter his threads not marked as Private.
____________________

Manea watched her pride and joys as they experienced the world for the first time, chuckling with amusement at the reaction both of them gave to feeling the frozen, crunching grass under paw for the first time. It was so interesting to see how the two of them approached things differently. With all the litters she had ever been around only containing one pup before now she had never gotten the chance to see different personalities blossom side by side like this and it was absolutely fascinating. Their son most certainly took after Alastor with his bold and headstrong way he approached the world while their daughter was a bit more cautious and calculating as she was, but perhaps even more so. She watched Avacyn as she ran forward toward Alastor only to tumble into his legs after tripping her own paws, making Manea grin and give a sympathetic chuckle. She knew that feeling all too well, but she had no doubt that her little doppelgänger would get the hang of it in no time.

Turning her attention to her son, she walked over to where Saracyn was sniffing intensely at the ground as he explored and took everything in all at once. She sniffed the air with a more practiced nose, lowering her head to find the trail of some pronghorn that had passed by maybe a few hours before, clearly beginning to take note of the wolves that had taken up residence here and were moving through this portion of the prairie when they weren't around to snatch them up. The scent was still pretty strong here though so she gave Saracyn's cheek a little tap with her nose and nodded to where the scent was strongest maybe half a dozen feet from where he had buried his nose in the grass. "Can you guess what that trail would lead you to?" she questioned with a little smile. Pronghorns were plentiful around this prairie and were an easy, quick meal she or Alastor could catch on their own so it had been a frequent meal for the pups recently so the scent should be at least moderately familiar for her little firecracker.

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

It was impossible to keep back the proud fatherly smile on Alastor's face while he watched his little prince and princess step out into the world for the first time. Little Ava was trepidatious as always, making those first few steps count while she observed the world around her. Mighty Sara was far more bold, stepping out as if he knew he owned the world—as he should!—and made his way over to Manea, sniffing at everything he could find. Obsidian eyes sparkled while he watched Avacyn smile and come bounding over to him, getting caught on her larger feline paws and tumbling across the crunchy grass. Had he not known how squishy puppies were, he would have been extremely worried. Instead, the giant wolf gave a barking laugh and returned his daughter's flash of teeth while she looked up at him from where she'd tumbled into his legs.

While Manea stayed with Saracyn as their son explored the world and sniffed out a trail of nearby pronghorns, Alastor focused entirely on his little girl. Obsidian eyes stared down into the familiar black irises that mirrored his own in such a beautiful, seraphim face. Avacyn would no doubt carry her mother's godlike beauty and regal grace as she grew, but that smile and those eyes... those were distinctly his. It was almost enough to bring a tear to the demon's eye. "You know, throwing yourself at another wolf is considered a challenge in some places," he teased his tiny daughter, using one massive paw to easily roll her onto her back and run tickling digits over her exposed tummy. He tormented his daughter with tickles for a few moments before relenting and letting her get back to her feet. "Would you like to see everything from up there?" He pointed up to the top of the hill their den was built into, the same place he and Manea had made love and watched the sunset on time and time again while waiting for their little pieces of stars to be born. Up there, she'd be able to see even more of the prairie surrounding them, and maybe some lands beyond too.


"Alastor"

Warning: Alastor is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
As his mate, Manea may enter any of Alastor's threads not marked Private.
____________________

Her little tail wagged with her father's laughter, giggling softly along with him. Now that she was back on her feet she wound her way around his leg, finding herself between his front feet as she peered up at him happily, nuzzling against his much larger, dark furred leg. She loved both of her parents, but she really, really loved her dad. They had matching black eyes after all and no one else she had seen so far had eyes like that - not her mother, brother, or Iri - so they were obviously extra special. Her face lit up when he mentioned getting a view from the top of the hill, following where he was pointing to with a wide grin. She nodded eagerly and immediately darted over to his side, bouncing in place and waiting impatiently for him to lower himself enough that she could hook her little claws into his thick fur and climb onto his back like she had done so many times before while they were playing in the den.

Avacyn climbed up onto his back and crawled up to situate herself on the back of his neck where she could look over the top of his head toward the hill in question. "Lets go, dad!" she insisted with another giggle, holding on tight to the thick fur around his neck so she wouldn't fall. She suddenly realized that her brother wasn't with them and that he had separated a short distance away with their mother and she craned her neck around to look at him. "Sara! Sara, come on! We're going up there!" she called before her father could go anywhere, too worried about leaving him behind even though they weren't even going to be that far apart. This was really the biggest distance that had been between them since they were born and it felt strange to not have him right beside her at all times.

"Avacyn Mendacium"

The world was a symphony of smells! Every which way he turned his eager little nose, Saracyn found more and more unique smells! It was so difficult to separate them all out and find what scents led to what. How did the adults do it so easily?! As if on cue, Manea walked up beside him and began sniffing as well, then asked if he knew what a certain smell would lead to. Saracyn furrowed his brow as he focused reeeeeally hard on the smells around him, taking a few deep whiffs where his mother had and finding the musky smell right away. He sampled the air a couple more times, focusing as hard on the smell as he could. He recognized it from meal times. Ah, that was it! Grinning up at his mother with little puppy teeth, Saracyn responded simply with, "It smells like dinner!" Well, he wasn't technically wrong.

The sound of his sister's voice calling his name made him turn around in a hurry, spotting the purple fur of his twin atop their father's back as they started heading up to the top of the hill their den resided in. Grinning from ear to ear, Sara gave a happy yap and took off after the two, bouncing as fast as his little puppy legs would take him. He caught up to Alastor a moment later, looking back to make sure Mom was coming too, then followed Dad up to the top of the hill. As they crested the summit, Saracyn immediately hopped up onto a nearby rock to give himself a little more elevation to look out over the land. The prairie stretched on for as far as his eyes could see. Out to the west, more arid lands lay in wait, and to the east was a distant sea. Mountains bordered the horizon to the north, and to the south was a massive thicket of woods. The world looked so big and so awesome!

"Whooooa! Look at how big everything is!" Saracyn cooed as he practically spun in place to see all the things surrounding him. "Mom! Mom! Have you been over there before? Or over there? Or there?" Saracyn just kept pointing as various landmarks he could see and asking if she'd ever been to them, suddenly wanting to go exploring everywhere his little paws could take him.

"Saracyn Mendacium"

Warning: Saracyn is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
Saracyn's designated wolf to protect as a Bodyguard is Avacyn. She may enter his threads not marked as Private.
____________________

Manea watched her son sort out the smells around him with adoring pride, a little smile on her lips as she gave him the time to explore and sort it out for himself. When he looked up at her and told her the pronghorn trail smelled like dinner she gave him a bright grin, chuckling as she leaned down to nuzzle his cheek. "Well done, my darling. That's a pronghorn you smell so it most certainly could be dinner." It was never too early to start weaving the basics of hunting into their knowledge. He'd be an incredible hunter just like his father one day. He really was her little Alastor in more than just appearance. She wondered to herself if this was how Alastor would have been as a pup if his life had been more kind to him and it made her want to give Saracyn the most incredible childhood she could manage. These pups were her miracles and they would know nothing less than pure and ultimate love.

The sound of her daughter's sweet voice pulled her attention and she lifted her head to look at the little princess riding on Alastor's back like he was her noble steed. She chuckled and grinned, happy to see that even now that they were not forced to remain at each other's sides the twins were still drawn together. They would be each other's greatest allies as they grew older and she wanted to encourage their relationship as much as she could. She followed behind Saracyn as she ran off to join Alastor and Avacyn, pride filling her chest as she watched her little family out in the world for the first time.

She leaned over to give Alastor a light kiss as they made their way up the hill together, getting their children a much better vantage point of the world around them. Saracyn immediately started questioning this wide world, exclaiming his awe at how big everything was and pointing out various places in the distance and asking if she had been there or not. She laughed lightly and scooped her son up with a large feline paw, giving the top of his head a kiss before lifting him up to get on her back so he could have the same vantage point as his sister. "I have and one day you will too," she told him.

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

From on top of the hill, Alastor allowed his little princess to survey her new world, grinning from ear to ear as she experienced all of the sights and sounds and smells for the first time. He heard Saracyn come running up beside him, watching his fearless son bound up on top of a rock to give himself a little more elevation. Pride swelled his heart when he'd heard Avacyn call for her brother, and seeing how close the twins had bonded already gave him confidence that nothing this world threw at them would over overcome them, not so long as they had each other. He chuckled, then turned obsidian eyes to Manea when she came up to him and shared a light kiss. Despite all the madness and chaos dwelling inside him, Alastor had never felt happier than he did in this moment. Here with his new family, it made all of his suffering worthwhile. He'd go through a thousand childhoods at the paws of abusive fathers just to stand where he was now.

He watched while Manea picked up their son and placed him on her back just like he'd done for Avacyn, allowing the two small pups a better vantage point of the world they would one day dominate. His cheeks ached from smiling so much, but Alastor refused to drop his grin. Saracyn excitedly asked about all the places he could see, and Manea laughed as she assured him that he would see them one day too. "That's right, my little stars! One day, this world will be all yours," he said over his shoulder to the little purple pup clinging to his back.


"Alastor"

Warning: Alastor is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
As his mate, Manea may enter any of Alastor's threads not marked Private.
____________________