Noctisardor Bypass How would it ever get the guy?

Gideon looked happy, but then confused. Anselm was not Father of the Year, so he didn't connect his gruff exterior would have profound consequences until he saw them writ across the boy's face. He relented a little more, trying to be soft --how he remembered his parents were to him.

He'd been so very loved. It was hard for him to channel this, given how that love had in turn wounded him deeper than any fang.

The boy's attention span was mercifully short - Anselm did not have to feel bad for long. In any event, any remorse he had for being Pricklish evaporated the moment Gideon's little teeth pierced his skin. Fuck! Anselm exclaimed, retracting his paw and instantly standing up. It'd been instinctual how quickly he rose and snarled -- but he realized seconds after this wasn't appropriate behavior for a father, either.

Jesus Christ, parenting was hard. Anselm figured he was done offering toes to the children -- at least for the day. That hurt, you little sh---- Remembering he was the parent, and not a child himself, Anselm caught himself mid-swear. Perfect... little.. child. Thing.