Patience was something Halcyon was not born with. He was always moving fast, it was how he had managed to survive this long. Anything dangerous coming his way he ran away as fast as his legs would allow. Of course, this also meant that his mind also had to work just as fast to keep up with the rest of the body. This meant that patience was something that had to be placed on the backburner. So it was understandable that he had wanted an answer from his captor as soon as possible. When he didn’t get it it only made his anxiety grow. He watched a flash of anger in her eyes and with a force strong enough to knock him off his paws she shoved him once more, assuming dominance. Before he could object she spoke of his parents and his ears shot up in surprise. ”How do you know my parents?”

But she continued as normal, ignoring his rude interruption. Names were said, the wolfess introducing herself as Aithne, Empress of Iromar, and another that he cared little for. Something about demons, again he couldn’t bring himself to care. These things were unknown to the pup and Aithne was about to find out that King Iblis had died before telling his youngest son of his hatred of the demon clan. That hatred had died with Iblis, leaving his children with a clean slate. As she spoke, Halcyon gave her a confused glare but it ebbed away slightly at the offer of having a temporary place within Iromar for the winter. Already the days were cold and the nights even more so. What little food the inexperienced pup could catch was scarce. Most of his days were spent trailing other wolves in the hopes that he could pick off of their meal when they had finished. This always ended one of two ways; either with them leaving him very little or him being chased off. The winter had only just begun but the effects were already starting to show. His fur was thin and his ribs were starting to poke through his skin.

Staying on the ground beneath the queen, Halcyon thought about his chances of survival. Last season he had stayed with Ame and his family in Diveen. But the land had since been in turmoil and the pup thought it best to steer clear for now. Aithne’s proposition seemed almost too good to be true. He still didn’t understand completely why he had been brought here but it obviously had something to do with his parents. His brown eyes stared up at the queen, meeting her gaze. ”If you wanted me to come here, you could have just asked, you know. I don’t know what happened between you and my father but he’s gone now and he’s never coming back. I can’t learn from him and I certainly can’t make it through another winter alone.” There was pain in his voice, but he tried to not let it show. ”I will take you up on your offer and stay with you for the winter. Thank you, Lady Aithne, for your invitation.” He added. He remembered the formal way his parents used to speak and tried to do so now in the hopes that he would lessen the anger he had caused.

Taking the chance that it had, he stood up and shook himself. It was clear he was missing something from this whole escapade and he wanted to know something. For a moment, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know more about who his father had been. To him, he was a hero and a King. Iblis had told his children of the great war between Angels and Demons and how he and the great king Heyel had onced saved a damsel in distress. But it was clear that there was a darker side to the old king. One he had kept secret from his children. Halcyon looked at Aithne. ”Tell me, please. How did you know my father? You make it sound like he was an enemy of Iromar. What did he do to make you think you needed to kidnap me?”