Here Attikias was, being dragged tooth and nail (literally) to a tunnel that he'd rather starkly remembered as another place centered on family. Except, this time, he wasn't helping his own family, this time. Surely, Vivilene liked this monster, but... This put a weird line in their family tree. He was pretty sure he'd be smelling meat breath for days, too.

Was this worth it? Probably- it wasn't like the kid would be unsafe or anything. If it took after the monster, then it'd be more than capable of defending itself, too. He didn't want to think about how the two of them were going to mix, though. That was a slippery slope- the others were, well, normal animals. Ortho (Alpha?) was really anything but. And, it still reminded him of the Overseer he met so long ago.

Family lines are weird, Attikias had decided halfway through being carried like a lost alligator child.

They'd reached their destination soon enough and the man rolled to the ground, simultaneously grateful for the ride and dreading a possible visit back into that maw. A little shiver ran through him- no, he could probably walk, the monster probably had things to do, right? This was its home, after all. One trip was enough for a lifetime.

It was a wonder that he hadn't seen the chrysalis debris last time he was this way. But- well, he wasn't in this area for long, more focused on the weapons anyways, and he hadn't wanted to explore too far into the heat. A brief glance shot to Alpha before he'd approached towards the indicated spot. Right, how did he do this last time? The memory was fuzzy, and that drove a minor mental wince to flicker in his mind.

This time, it was his conscious decision to do this. And- "A deer's not easy to carry back," he spoke with caution as he looked to Alpha's more than capable teeth. This was for a trade, even if he didn't fully agree with it, not out of anything else. "I'll just, uh..." He trailed as he reached to his tattooed gem upon his shoulder, an idle finger tracing a divot within from the last time he had kids.

What would Vivilene do with Alpha as a step-parent?

He inhaled softly in a sigh as he popped a sliver off of the top of his gem, increasing that divot just a little bit more. "Just promise that the kid'll be safe." He just needed to hear that they'd be okay. That'd alleviate all his worries about this, surely, right? Alpha had grown up fine, so it knew how to survive, and it knew how to take care of kids if Vivilene liked it.

Getting over the worn spires weren't much an issue with his sandals on, and he knelt (albeit shakily) to place it right inside the cradle, next to Alpha's paw. Hand? Claws.

He didn't like thinking about that, either.

Attikias waved a hand, dismissing the idea of payment through food. With that smell Alpha had, he wasn't confident that anything would be edible after being in its mouth.

He looked between Alpha and his future child as the beast didn't do anything to dispel his fears. Of course, survival... He huffed himself out through his nose as he shuffled back.

The noise it made snapped him to attention, like an alert going off in his mind, and he stared at the puffing monster. Was it bleeding before? He quickly diverted his gaze to the growing chrysalis, folding his arms over his knees.

Those last few times, he was lucky with the results. No awkward monstrosities had come from him, not like what could possibly come from whatever elves were. Maybe the kid would come out like Alpha? Just a larger, brown version of him that glowed. He could hope, at least.

He was silent for a long moment. Visitation hours didn't seem like they were negotiable unless it was for a practical purpose, but he could still, perhaps, nudge the beast into that direction. "If they need training, just bring them my way," he finally settled on as he spoke through his teeth. Maybe it wouldn't want to fight, either, but knowing how he came out as a kid...

Ah, boy, he just made another monster, huh? His lips drew askew on his face as he tapped at his chin, watching the chrysalis. Giving life like this, lending his family like it wasn't something to love and cherish, it weighed on him and not for the first time in this whole affair. Still, this was a reach for an alliance, and it'd be more inclined to protect Vivilene, especially when she had a sibling with it.

He finally looked at Alpha after a bit of introspection. He rose to his feet carefully and navigated out of the pebbly remains of glass, tail flicking to keep his balance, before turning to face Alpha fully. "What now?" He sounded smaller than he intended as he drummed his fingers on his hips. "Should I visit? Or- Maybe we could arrange something?" His shoulders rolled in a shrug despite the concerned expression he held.

He could visit, then. But how often? Ach, this tunnel was far from Eridanus- he might as well set up a more permanent camp near here if he wanted to be there when the kid hatched. Maybe that old one was still around?

That was a line of thought for later as he held his hands up, palms facing to Alpha in a defensive motion. "I don't think I could hurt them if I tried at this point." Unless, it meant touch them emotionally. The more Attik stood there, the more he realized just who he'd started to make and who he made them with, eyes drifting down to the growing selenite.

"I won't." It took him a moment to finish that sentence in response to putting his little hands on them. He was quiet after that, thinking, but-

"Wait. Vargas, like Over- He's a Master now?" His mouth ran before his mind. Energy paved over the anxiety as his tail lashed, velvet fur raising in excitement. "That's- shit, that's great! I figured you were related, but I didn't know you worked with each other."

That gave him some relief that family values would still be, at least minorly, upheld.

He straightened again and tapped at the back of his jaw this time. "Actually- I should've seen that sooner. Hm." Asking for numbers and referring to a name as a designation all seemed to fall into line together. Also, his name? That was something Attikias didn't recall- but, it's been a year, so who could blame him? Vargas- he repeated the word in his head, stamping it down to remember it properly this time.

"Where would I find him?" That seemed to be a good start. It'd been too long since he'd seen the now Master of the caves. What specialties even came of that? Delegation? There was Astraea, and he was powerful, did what he wanted and needed...

Now that he realized it, he didn't know where to find Astraea, either.

Oops.

Inertia carried between the two of them as Alpha fed off of Attikias's excitement, it seemed- that, or it was surely surprised at Attik's own enthusiasm. Either way, he found himself standing up taller, interested, purely, in the conversation and putting aside the odd circumstances that surrounded it.

He drew back on memory- he didn't recall any shadows, or at least he'd forgotten if he'd seen any. Did that hunter that came for the lion count? No, that was too soon after meeting Astraea- but it could work? He was a bit out of loop anymore. "There was, uh..." His eyes closed tight for a moment in thought. "How long ago was he made Master?" He sure hoped he hadn't missed something as important as a high-end promotion.

But, he did miss a lot, anymore.

He huffed, not out of malice, as he judged the orthoclase far above him. If he hunted regularly, then of course he'd see the kids- would he even recognize Attikias in the kid he'd helped make? Maybe. Or, he could wait around to meet again- which seemed to be the better option, if he didn't have his own life to take care of. "Ah- okay," he spoke to give some acknowledgement to the fact that Vargas'd come around.

Attikias turned back to the chrysalises, now, hands on his hips. "That's all, though, right? I mean, nothin' else to do but go home and wait?" One hand gestured to the structures with a half-shrug.