Kichi was really quite excited over having a friend.  It was a great help to get past his frustration with Lurid ditching him to get herself badly injured.  That really had upset him and he wasn’t letting go of the grudge too quickly.  Anger helped push away sadness, it was a lesson he had figured out months ago after the bad day.  Still, when he woke up in the morning his first thought wasn’t about grudges but instead remembering he had a friend that needed to be bested in battle.  ‘Morning’ was a matter of perspective as the sun wasn’t actually up yet but there was a faint bit of light that was starting to fight the darkness for its space. Kichi got up, taking a moment to stretch before running with a long stride to where Al was.  He looked at the giant but instead of seeing their size difference Kichi saw how he wasn’t as small as he use to be to the monster.  In truth it was still an absurdly large gap between the 6month old pup and the dire wolf brute, but Kichi was use to having to look up.  Now Al wasn’t standing though, he was still sleeping and that just wouldn’t do.  Kichi’s tail started wagging as he thought on that and walked off a bit.  Crouching down, tail wagging he took aim then charged straight at Alastor and leapt directly on top of his head, “It’s an attack!!” Kichi hollered it good and loud next to Al’s ear where his front paws and one back leg were perched on his muzzle. "Speech" Think

Sleep had been something Alastor no longer looked forward to. His slumber as of late had either been plagued with nightmares of that cursed cave or mercifully dreamless at the best. In the aftermath of the ordeals he and Lurid had faced, Alastor was forced to take on all of the responsibilities of caring for her and Kichi. Lurid would be incapacitated for some time with that broken leg, but so long as he recovered back to her full capabilities, he didn't mind shouldering however much of the work he needed to. The dire wolf had been floating in a black void as he slept, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, just barely existing. It was surprisingly peaceful... And then it wasn't peaceful anymore when a sudden weight landed on his head and he heard Kichi's voice yelling in his ear.

Black eyes slowly opened to peer out at a dark world while something hefty squirmed and flailed on top of his head. It was still very early, so much so the sun still hadn't begun to break the horizon yet, though the brightening eastern horizon signaled its approach. Small paws clambered all across his face while Kichi 'attacked' him, gradually rousing the sleeping giant back to consciousness. "Lurid, your child is pouncing on my head..." he grumbled, voice groggy with sleep that hadn't escaped his grasp yet. As much as he tried to hold onto it, Kichi seemed hellbent on waking him up, and now the growing pup had succeeded. With a stretch, a groan, and a yawn, Alastor brought himself back into the waking world, still just allowing the little pup to attack his face. "Oh no, I'm being attacked by a feral beast! I am beaten; I am slain! Oh, woe is me!" he cried out in jest, the formation of his smile slowly creeping its way across his muzzle. "But wait, what's this? Counterattack!"

Alastor sat up abruptly, careful as he moved to make sure he slid the pup off of him, but making sure he didn't harm him in the process. Another wide yawn escaped the monstrous wolf before he fixed Kichi with his onyx gaze, his smile returning. "Good morning, Kichi!" he said, monitoring the volume of his voice so he didn't disturb Lurid from her sleep. She needed it to heal up. "Couldn't stay sleep, eh? Or just trying to get your sneak attack in when you could?"

"Speech" — Thoughts

Aww, he hadn’t fallen for the holler of being attacked!  Kichi would have to think up some new way to try and scare Al.  The tail did start wagging a lot faster at Al’s dramatics, going so far as leaning up to grab at an ear, but it wasn’t as easy as planned when Al was moving about.  Then Al sat, and Kichi ending up on the ground in an unplanned sitting position with a soft ‘urf’ sound as rump hit dirt.  Well, there were many worse landing positions when you fall off something. Kichi quickly got up into a defensive stance considering the warning of counterattack.  With the greeting, it appeared the counterattack ended once he had fallen off Al. “good morning!”  For how excited his voice was he didn’t speak quieter this time to not have Lurid get up if she hadn’t already. “Oh, sleep, that’s boring.”  His form now dropping into a play bow and then leaping back a bit, “C’moonnn you said you like fighting.  I wanna make sure you’re a good fighter.  I can’t be best friends with a weakling you know.”  Ok, so Al would be his only friend but ‘best’ still sounded good, right? “Unless you’re too tired from hunting to fight?” There wasn’t a thoughtful understanding in the question but, a challenge that Alastor prove himself.  Kichi had too much energy and that blind puppy trust that no matter how huge his adversaries neither would ever hurt him.  Besides, he was going to show Al how amazing of a fighter he already was. "Speech" Think

The amounts of boundless, raw energy contained inside the little gray fuzzball was astounding to the adult wolf. Even at this ungodly hour of the morning—could it even be called morning?—the boy was active and ready to seize the day. Good for you, Kichi! Don't let a single opportunity slip away! he thought to himself while watching the pup bounce about in a playful stance. Resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't going to be getting back to sleep, Alastor gave one final yawn to rid the cobwebs from his sleep-addled brain and then fixed Kichi with his wide smile, an uncharacteristic warmth in his coal-like eyes. So he wanted to fight, huh? Well, Alastor did promise him a "spar", and the dire wolf was a man of his word—well, mostly.

Giving one last cursory glance to Lurid to make sure they hadn't disturbed her, he turned back to Kichi and, with a flick of his head and a smile, motioned for the boy to follow him. "Come with me. Quietly now, don't want to wake up Lu Lu," he said, voice barely above a whisper while he got to his paws and shook out his dense coat. Stepping out of the hollow tree they used as a den, Alastor was immediately greeted by the crisp, cool morning air of autumn. It was invigorating, rousing him like a sudden slap in the face as he and Kichi abandoned the warmth of their home to brave the outside world. The grass around the forest was still wet with dew, some beginning to glisten faintly as the sun rose. The woods were otherwise silent, with only the occasional songbird breaking the quiet to welcome the dawn. "Keep close now! We're going to find the perfect spot for a fight, haha!" Alastor said to his smaller companion, leading the way out into the forest.

His experience protecting Lurid and a lifetime of being cautiously on guard had taught Alastor to always be keenly aware of his surroundings and to make mental maps of wherever he was, lest he need a quick escape and not know the way out. As such, he knew of a few clearings close enough to the den that if Lurid were to call, they could hear, but they'd also be able to make all the noise they wanted without rousing the sleeping devil. As they walked, Alastor hummed a soft, melancholic tune to himself, smirking all the while. Jet black eyes swaying this way and that to make sure they were alone. He treated Kichi with the same level of protectiveness he afforded to Lurid; nothing was going to threaten the child so long as he was around.

Once they arrived at a small clearing a short distance away, Alastor took a deep breath, tasting the fresh morning air as it filled his lungs, then released it with a loud exhale. He stretched his body forwards, backwards, bowing down to stretch out his legs and shoulders, loosening up tired muscles for the inevitable "fight". "Yes yes, this place will do nicely! What do you think, Kichi?" he asked while turning back to the boy. "Good, open space... Clear line of sight in all directions... No natural hazards to deal with... I think this is a splendid arena for a fight!" He set his eyes upon Kichi, a touch of darkness growing in them as he asked, "Have you ever been in a fight before, Kichi? Has Lurid taught you the basics?"

"Speech" — Thoughts

It was true,  he didn’t want to wake up Lurid.  She had to heal up for one thing, and for another she’d probably be grouchy if woken up early.  LuLu.  Kichi grinned about that as he considered calling her that to see if he’d get away with it also.  She might not like it though so he better try it when prepared to duck. Kichi knew the terrain well from all his roaming and games of upsetting the bear Ilyn when it had the unwanted job of protecting him.  Kichi would never have bothered thinking of how far out they should go in terms of contact with Lurid but not waking however, as his mind simply went to being with Al meant he was safe and they’d get back to Lurid later who would know they were safe.   The weather felt wonderful to Kichi, it just made him want to fight and run all the more.  He glanced about the area at the question then back up to Al with a brisk nod, “looks great, and sure I have! I fought with Lurid sometimes.”   Of course due to the comparing size the fights had been a bit watered down but they had still been challenging for the pup. “I know lots of basics.” It was said with perfect confidence but the only one he’d ever sparred with for comparison was Lurid.   Truth was though he still didn’t have a clue of how he could beat Al, or Lurid if it was ever a true fight.  They were huge and fast and smart and Kichi was small and novice and not as fast.  He wouldn’t tell Al how rough to fight though, Kichi was determined to not be an embarrassment to himself or Lurid’s teachings.  “Don’t worry about me.  I can take anything!” Boldly stated. "Speech" Think

Alastor couldn't help but chuckle at Kichi's endless enthusiasm. The boy certainly had a fire in his belly and spirit in his heart! This was why Al loved puppies so much; they were so pure, so innocent, and everything was a game to them. They hadn't been tainted by the foul miasma of the world yet. In his ashen heart, the brindled brute hoped that Kichi would never be touched by the same malice or madness that both he and Lurid had been, though he knew being raised by both the demons had a far greater chance of corrupting him than any cruelty the world could throw at him. That didn't stop him from wanting to be with the boy, teaching him and watching him grow and learn with the days. And if he gave in to the evil... well, then that would be one more prince of darkness in this fucked up cesspool of a world...

"All right then, killer, show me what you know," said Alastor as he stretched his neck with a roll of his head. Big black paws spread across the grass to assume a more stable fighting stance, head coming down to align with his spine. He fixed Kichi with his empty black eyes and wide smile, showing off every sharp dagger-like tooth in his mouth. "Show me those basics. We can do a lesson on some more techniques if you'd like, or if you're feeling confident, come get me!" He would leave the decision up to Kichi. Would the boy want further lessons from the behemoth of a devil, or did he want to take his chances and launch right into a practice spar? The decision was his.

"Speech" | Thoughts

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.
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