The band had begun to move south towards Auster away from the Hot Springs, just as Manea had intended them to. Summer would soon be upon the lands, and though Alastor had never been down to Auster before, he was certainly willing to go wherever his mate desired. She'd struck up a friendship with the empress of Ashen, who had recommended they go meet a sister pack, Fenmyre, that had taken up residence off the east coast of the southern continent. So with their next destination in mind, the Mendacium family had packed up, and before the end of the season, the Elysium band had made their way south to their new temporary home. Alastor, as before, had stayed behind to make sure none of their supplies or belongings were forgotten, while Manea led their band southward across Auster. He would catch up soon enough, of that he had zero worries.

Traipsing casually down through the southern lands, Alastor glanced down towards his rapidly growing violet-furred daughter, no longer having to peer down quite so dramatically to look at her. His beautiful little star was growing like a weed, reaching the size of many of the medium wolves he'd met, and still showing signs of growing further. Already as she approached adolescence, Alastor could see much of her mother coming out in her, from her long legs and leonine paws, to the way she carried herself and mannerisms and even her walk. He was so proud of both of his children, but if Saracyn was his manic prince, Avacyn was his majestic princess. Beaming with love at his daughter, Alastor led the way down the craggy paths of the fjord, following the scent of the band toward their new temporary home.

"We're almost there, my little star shine!" he declared as they rounded past a cave in the mountainside, an eager bounce in his step. "Thanks for staying with your old man to keep him company. You certainly made this trip a lot less lonely!" A sudden roar from within the cave they passed caused Alastor to come to an abrupt halt, moving to position his bulky frame between the cave and his daughter. Obsidian eyes scanned the darkness within with guarded cautious, red-tipped ears flicked up and honed to pick up the heavy breathing from within. It took a moment, but then several heavy footfalls boomed towards them, and what emerged from the cave instantly set the dire wolf father on the defensive.

A massive grizzly bear came lumbering out of the cave, its body studded with crystals that no longer glowed and mushrooms growing out of its ears. The bear appeared disoriented and from the blank, vacant look in its eyes, didn't recognize the wolves as wolves. The predator appeared almost as if it was being controlled, a puppet on a string without any free will or life left in it. It was a shell, a husk for the infection that had rotted its brain out and made it a mindless killing machine. Black lips peeled away from pearly white fangs while Alastor stood off against the bear, snarling to try and ward it away, but he knew it would be no use. The bear was long dead; this was just a deadly mech of meat trying to kill them. "Avacyn, stay away from its front," he ordered his daughter, veering to the side to try and distract it away from his child so she could get to somewhere safe—or at the very, least, away from those deadly teeth and claws. Then Alastor rushed in and nipped at the bear's paws, causing the ursine to roar in anger and swing at the wolf who leaped deftly away, dodging the attack while spinning the bear away from the pup.

WC: 630 / 1500

"Alastor Mendacium"

Avacyn trotted along beside her father, taking in the sights and changes in the scenery as they went. When they first left the island behind she had been less than thrilled about leaving the place that they had come to know and love, but once they began to travel she was reminded of the first big move they had made to go to the island in the first place and how exciting it had been to see the various different terrains along the way. She did not remember that trip very clearly, but she did remember the feeling of adventuring and going these places with her parents and brother for the first time. She did not remember the last trip being so tiring, but she also had mostly stuck to riding on her father's back during that first trip as well. Now that she was a bit older and taller she felt a bit silly asking her father to carry her... though she did strongly consider it as her paws slowly became more and more sore.

When her father spoke and disrupted the quiet of their walk she looked up at him, their matching obsidian eyes meeting as a smile pulled across her face. She could have gone with the others and most likely could have ridden in the cart if she had really wanted to avoid all of this walking, but staying behind with her father to spend some time with him and keep him company felt like it was worth the extra effort. "Of course, daddy," she said in response when he thanked her for keeping him company and making the trip less lonely, making her white tipped tail wag gently in response. Before she could say anything else a sudden roar from a cave they were passing stopped them and her ears perked with curiosity at the sound.

The massive, deformed and infected bear that came lumbering out made her ears flick back and a frown pull at her lips. She had thought that perhaps the rest of the world had healed around the same time that her father, uncle, and herself had, but it seemed that was not the case. The dead, lifeless look in its eyes made her stomach turn uneasily. She did not care to think about the fact that the same mushrooms that grew from its ears and undoubtedly played a large part in its current condition were at one time growing from her as well. The only difference was that she had been able to recover from it and come out on the other side mostly unscathed while this beast clearly did not.

She gave a nod when her father instructed her to stay away from its front, already knowing to do just that. She was not nearly as reckless as her brother—she was not going to dive into a fight with a massive, crazed bear. She started slowly slipping off to the side while her dad began pulling its attention so that she eventually ended up behind the bear while her father prodded it on and dodged its swipes. Avacyn watched its movements carefully for a bit and waited for an opening before she eventually lunged forward, ducking down as she jumped toward its side to strike before it noticed she was there. Luckily its reaction time and awareness of its surroundings was greatly depleted so it gave her plenty of time to land a hard blow on their opponent. She reached under the bear with teeth and claws, tearing quickly into its soft belly until it was spilling blood freely, hearing it roar in pain as she jumped back and out of the way before it could retaliate. She quickly took several hops back to give some space between her and the bear.

WC: 633
Total: 1263/1500

"Avacyn Mendacium"

Alastor was glad to see that Avacyn was following his directions to the letter. It kept her out of harm's way and allowed him the freedom of not needing to keep an eye on her at all times while he did his thing, taunting and enraging the bear while dodging its clumsy strikes. Alastor was not the most agile of wolves given his size and bulky musculature, but the bear was incapacitated enough that it didn't matter. From the corner of his eye, he watched Avacyn studying the way he moved and how the bear moved, looking like a chess master analyzing her next move. Meanwhile, the demented dark brute was laughing and having the time of his life avoiding deadly claws and irritating the hollow husk of the bear. "Nope, not fast enough, you great ball of fat and fur!" he jeered at his opponent, not entirely sure if the bear still held the cognitive functions to understand taunts. The next thing he heard from the bear was an earsplitting roar of pain. A glance beneath the creature found his daughter claws and tearing away at the great beast's soft underbelly. The stench of hot blood filled the air, and when Avacyn pulled back, her face was smeared in the sticky red fluid.

The bear heaved a few angry breaths, then turned on the young violet fae. That was all the reason and distraction Alastor needed to end its life. Charging at the bear with a roar of fury, the behemoth of a wolf barreled into the bear's side, throwing his weight against the ursine's injuries to cause it to topple over in pain. Once on its side, Alastor made an impressive display of leaping on top of the flailing predator, lunging with open muzzle to latch his jaws around the base of the bear's skull where it met its neck. Confused, the bear tried to swing for the wolf on top of him, but Alastor moved faster, large black paws grabbing the bear's head on either side while Alastor held its neck still and then twisted with all his might. The bear's head jerked and turned at an unnatural angle, and a sickening series of snaps of vertebrae popping out of place punctuated the end of the fight. The bear immediately went limp, flopping dead across the ground. Alastor released his hold on his opponent when he heard the final death rattle of breath leave its body, then climbed off of the gargantuan carcass left in his wake.

Alastor didn't bother casting another glance back at the bear while he approached his daughter, looking her over briefly to make sure she wasn't injured. When he was sure she was fine, a proud, beaming smile split the dire brute's lips as he nuzzled his daughter's crown. "Well done, my princess! You were precise and deadly!" Pulling back to look over her blood-splattered face once more, Alastor couldn't have been more proud of how Avacyn handled herself in the face of danger. "Come on, let's go get washed up and find the others. Last thing I want is your mother giving me hell for fighting bear with you alone," he said with a chortle, leading the way down to the river at the base of the fjord. That was more than enough excitement for one trip.

WC: 556
Total: 1819 / 1500

"Alastor Mendacium"