The more the pup looked at him, the less he seemed to trust him. All he'd done so far is get the little punk food and even chew it up for him and this is the thanks he gets? Rotten little fart. He'd show him. He would just get up and leave him right here on this bank but something held him from doing that. Something about actually taking care of something felt almost...satisfying. It was odd that a vampiric cannibal would worry about such things. Maybe he had a secret fatherly instinct coming up or something. Not that Belhara was around much this winter to satisfy said instinct but hey, he could wait. He had all the time in the world, after all. And apparently this little guy wasn't going anywhere fast. It looked like he might follow him everywhere from now on but he might get glared at the whole time. Maybe some day he'd try to teach the little punk some gratitude. He didn't talk much; that was for sure. Hadn'd he heard his parents and siblings talking like other pups? Did he even have siblings? Cuirass glanced around as if he might see another pair of eyes staring but no, it seemed they were pretty much alone out here. An only child or did they all just scatter in the marsh?

If they were all alone, maybe the others didn't make it. Or maybe they too found a wolf to cling to and badger food off of and glare at them like little jerks, too. He sniffed at the thought of a couple more little punks like this one doing exactly the same thing to other wolves. He even chuckled when he thought about Belhara finding herself in possession of one of them. He could see the lack of amusement on her face now. The pup didn't act stupid but it was like no one taught him anything or something. He couldn't hardly speak but in single words and he sure glared and growled a lot like he was either trying to be evil at a young age or it's all he'd ever known. It was almost sad to think about but Cuirass wasn't the type to feel pity. Suck it up, buttercup. He'd just have to grow up tough, just like he did. His parents taught them things but they certainly weren't ones to coddle. They practically threw him and his brother out into the world and wished them the best.

They made it so he could too. As the pup laid down, Cuirass stretched out in front of him. He huffed in reply when the pup dared to bare his teeth at him. Yeah, yeah, try it. He'd whack his paw on top of the little snot before he could so much as lunge. He could sense the pup wanted something but since he couldn't rightly voice it, it wasn't like Cuirass could read his mind to know what he wanted so oh well. He's either have to learn to communicate or get over it, whatever it was. He asked the question and could tell the pup was really trying to concentrate on what he said. But then all he did was repeat the last part back to him. Cuirass nodded slowly as if that would help him understand.

"Yes, your parents. What are their names? Do you know what they look like?"

The pup thought for a moment and then he started speaking. The first name out of his mouth was Malleah. Cuirass knew he'd heard it before but he didn't think he'd ever met the wolf. Didn't she used to live here or something? He didn't think she was here anymore. Apparently that didn't matter anyway though cause the pup was saying she wasn't his parent. So why even bring her up? He scowled at the pup. So maybe he still didn't understand. Then the pup said another name and this one, he knew. Aranck. The former alpha that was now dead by the new alphess' own fangs. His dad? He raised a brow, surprised. So Aranck left behind children. How...interesting. Did the new alpha even know they were here? Maybe she didn't care. Probably didn't consider them a threat. Did they even have someone to watch over them though? He still hadn't named a mother figure besides that Malleah chick whose apparently not his mother.

Then the pup repeated his question about names and Cuirass tilted his head, ears pricked forward as he waited cause it seemed the pup wasn't done. He then just said dad in a questioning way as if that would solve everything. Oh boy. Yeah, they really needed to work on communication skills. He nodded finally after a long sigh.

"Okay...so who's taking care of you now?"

This wasn't looking ominous at all....