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icey--stars · 1 year ago

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Ghost Hounds (Headcanons)

Headcanons, names, personalities and histories of Eris's ghost hounds and loyal companions.

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Day 4 of @erisweek2023 (Hounds / Autumn Equinox)

a/n: okay. so. i have some very interesting headcanons for eris’s hounds, so here you go. I got bored one day (while preparing Born for Tragedy) and decided “hey! let’s write some history for Eris’s dogs!” also i apologize, i was a bit scatterbrained in this lol

WARNINGS: lightly mentioned domestic abuse (beron. again.) Down towards the bottom, it mentions the loss of a pet. If you wish to skip this, stop reading after Rue (dog name)

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Okay, so we all know Eris has 12 ghost hounds. I literally have HCs for all of them. Some more than others so let's go through them, shall we?

Eris’s first ghost hound was a birthday gift from his mother. A little puppy appeared at his door miraculously that day and his mother was extremely happy when the boy came in cuddling it in his arms asking if he could keep it. (She told him she got it for him after saying yes)

The puppy was named Percy (recommendation from LOA) and Eris fucking loved that dog. Spoiled the little shit. Percy is BY FAR one of his most loyal dogs.

Percy’s training wasn’t as straightforward as the others’ were, but Percy is also extremely, extremely intelligent and loved Eris to death so he did his best :)

When Percy first witnessed Beron yelling at Eris, he snarled and leaped in front of the boy. The hound got a whipping for it (and still has those scars…) but since then, Eris has loved the dog like none other just as the dog has done for him.

Eris also began hating his father after he hit his doggo because who wouldn’t?? Don’t hit my puppy sir. You will pay for it. Dearly.

Now, when Eris gets a new puppy, Percy is always the one to train them in the basics of being a good puppy. Like potty training, no biting, and KISSES because Percy knows his owner loves them :)

Eris of course takes on the brunt of the training for them all and likes to train them in hunting, tracking and sometimes, for the stronger ones, attacking. Naturally, however, they all learned to defend him (ex. standing in front of him or distracting someone attacking him).

Now, Eris is pretty… well, not liked in the ACOTAR world. We can agree on that. So, when Eris is out and about in the Autumn Court, he often has his doggos with him. If he’s away- the pups get so nervous for him. They just love him so much!

Now, Eris’s next dogs are two females in a litter that he bought himself: Vixen (named for her personality) and Selena (named after a female Eris liked for a while).

Vixen is the equivalent of “I will only listen to one person” and Selena is just happy to be there. Vixen was the first to be trained in “attacking” (also known as Schutzhund for my dog nerds out there) and she was really good at it. She could take down a full-grown fae easily.

A little HC I have about the ghost hounds is that because of their fae blood, some of them can winnow. Vixen is one of the ones who can winnow- but she can’t go very far. (maybe like 15 feet)

Eris was still terrified and overjoyed when he learned of this power though and instantly was trying to strengthen it so that she could use it for every advantage it held.

Selena is a good girl and is very happy. If Eris is sad, she’s coming over there with a big goofy grin and then licking his face and pinning him down like a puppy that won’t sit still while being cleaned. In her mind, Eris is both her owner and her puppy she has to take care of.

The next dog Eris gets is once again bought for himself, but instead of a litter, it was an adult male. Now, this male has already been through a lot. His name was Cadoc and he used to have a mate. The reason his owner was selling him was because his mate died of an incurable sickness.

In my mind, ghost hounds are very like fae. They can winnow, and they are extremely intelligent, just like doggos in real life! But, they also have lovers in the same way. Mates.

So, when Eris did get Cadoc, he was a very sad pupper. He wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t get up, wouldn’t even drink. Eris took to taking care of him very gently. Bringing him his food (more on this in a minute) and water and even hand-feeding him when Cadoc wouldn’t even raise his head. And yes, sometimes it did get down to force feeding, but Eris would not give up on Cadoc. He knew the hound had more to him. He was more than just a breeding stud- he could be amazing!

Briefly, let’s also just mention that Eris feeds his dogs very well. Raw diet with a variety of meat, and other healthy things. (so, envision that really expensive raw dog feedings that we see on social media named the BARF diet for doggos)

Cadoc was still suffering however. Eris did his best, but after a year, there seemed to be no hope.

Unknown to Eris, however, Vixen, his spunky little female who listened to nobody, seemed to take pity on the sad male. She growled and forced him to his feet when Eris arrived and then practically dragged him outside to come on a walk.

Eris found it very endearing, to be honest. Vixen wouldn’t give up on Cadoc either.

Cadoc eventually began to stand on his own in greeting, if even just to avoid a nip from Vixen when she urged him to his feet. He began to trot outside and smell things.

Eris began to train him as well and he took to schutzhund training very easily. The male was bulkier than Percy and was perfect for taking down either fae or deer. Cadoc’s condition began to look up steadily.

His personality began to come out. He was very protective and obedient. He liked to please and he was kind of like the equivalent of a big, gentle giant.

Vixen and Cadoc also grew a lot closer. Because they were trained in similar things, they hung out a lot.

Now- I want you all to imagine a tragic, romantic scene between Vixen and Cadoc and then- yeah. Basically, they become mates. Spunky female and gentle giant.

Cadoc is one of Eris’s most loyal doggos (right behind Percy).

The next puppers aren’t bought by Eris, however. Mama Vanserra has been keeping an eye on Eris and his pups and has the perfect gift in store.

It’s three littermates. Three ghost hound puppies. Nimbus (male), Sorrel (female) and Soot (male). Eris could barely contain his excitement at the gift tho. Like literally, he was close to squealing. He for SURE was catering to his mother’s every need for at least a month. Checking up on her, offering her tea, getting her lunch personally from the kitchens- all little ways to show his appreciation.

Now. Sorrel and Soot are the troublemakers, first off. Nimbus is a little quieter, but he’s one of the strongest ones.

Sorrel is by far one of the fastest ghost hounds Eris owns. Absolutely blazing speed. If only there were enough ghost hounds to race them, huh? Eris tries to find one and manages to get one little competition, but literally, it's just three dogs and obviously, Sorrel wins. The ghost hounds are much too fast to race against like greyhounds or something. And not many have them in the Autumn Court- most have hunting dogs for their good noses.

Nimbus is Eris’s sweet little boy who’s one of the best at cuddling. (though, Selena does come close). The pup just sneaks into his bed in the middle of the night, undetected, and Eris wakes up with an armful of ghost hound. (he loves it)

Soot is forever the troublemaker (equal with Rue, who we will talk about later)

He gets into the food, the chicken coops, the farms, the sheets, the kitchens– all of it. He is a chaotic pup and while Eris can try to tame that troublemaker spirit, he will never break it. Soot is one of his worst in obedience for that reason. But, Eris still loves him of course. How can he not with those adorable almond-colored eyes?!

The next pup actually, is not bought, nor gifted. Vixen was found with a more swollen-than-usual belly and exhausted in her kennel one day (when she didn’t arrive to greet Eris like usual) and Cadoc right beside her, licking her ears.

Eris at first panicked, of course, and thought that Vixen was sick and dying of some horrible thing. A vet reassured him that she was in fact not sick, just tired, needed more food and rest, and that she was pregnant.

After that, he’s honestly even more panicked. He knew this was a possibility, but he’d expected it later! When he’d done his research already!

As soon as possible, he reads every book ever on ghost hounds, pregnancies with dogs and everything related. He even managed to request some books from Day Court’s libraries temporarily.

After he’d done his research, he was still anxious, but less so. He knew what was going on now and what would happen once the pup(s) were born. And what he needed to do to support his pupper.

The pup is born without any issues at all. And Cadoc and Vixen turn out as wonderful parents.

The one pup is a male that Eris names Ash.

Ash has adorable quirks to him. He always barks when Eris comes in and rolls over onto his back once Eris does start petting him and is especially playful with the other dogs. (after all, they were like aunts and uncles to him!)

The next two dogs aren’t related, but I’m grouping them together because I don’t have too many headcanons for them actually:

The next pup is Taunya (female), bought by Eris. She kind of has that “mother” personality. As a pup, she always was licking the other dogs and when she grew up, she often was found urging them toward their food, or resting with them when they were tired.

Nimbus takes a fascination to Taunya specifically (and let’s not get on about some age gap thing. Just look at feysand or nessian, alright?). And yes, they do become mates. Nimbus is extremely protective over Taunya and Eris always laughs when he seems to panic as she goes to cuddle with some other dog as if he’s thinking “you are so darn hard to protect woman! goodness! quit cuddling with the threats! gods!”

Taunya doesn’t change though, of course. She’s always gonna be the sweet one.

The next pup is a male called Pyro, also bought as a pup by Eris who is just loving the fact his ghost hound obsession is growing and Beron doesn’t seem to mind. I mean, honestly, they’re quite helpful. They come with him to the military and are perfectly behaved, they help him win hunting competitions… all of it.

Pyro is named for his more amber-colored eyes.

This pup has the farthest ability to winnow out of any of the ghost hounds. He’s quite powerful, to be honest. When Eris fully tests it, Pyro is able to winnow from the Winter Court border to the Forest House with ease. Even from the Summer Court border!

Eris doesn’t dare take his dog outside of the Autumn Court except for missions though. He doesn’t want to risk any rumors or threats or harm to his pups.

The next dog has a bit of story. This dog’s name is Rue. A chaotic, insane little pup.

Rue was gifted to Eris by Hue, his brother. Hue actually wanted Rue’s name to be “Hue,” but Eris was not going to allow it and simply settled for something that rhymed. It’s not like it was that bad of a name either. Just confusing when both his brother and dog responded to his call.

Rue is a troublemaker like Soot. However, he’s a bit better at paying attention than Soot and better at sitting and staying. Soot has no self control compared to him.

Rue loves to hunt. Whenever Eris pulls up on his horse with a bow around his shoulders, Rue is up and at ‘em and ready to sprint through the forests to his heart’s content. Even if he’s not as big and strong as Cadoc or as fast as Sorrel, he’s perfectly happy just being there. He’s so enthused when he gets the order to track an animal or catch a rabbit- just so happy.

But, to be completely honest: Rue is the most lazy of the dogs. He groans as he gets up to greet Eris and then proceeds to lay right back down to take a nap. Absolutely loves to nap in the sun.

Eris did have another dog between Jack (later) and Rue. He used to have a dog named Adria. A female who was the best tracking dog that he ever did have.

She was the pup to grow up with Lucien.

However, on that fateful day that Lucien had to run to the Spring Court, Adria followed. Unluckily, she caught an arrow to her chest and died.

She loved to chase deer out of anything, just bounding through the forests.

Eris still misses her (as does Lucien. He didn’t expect the pup to follow him)

The last dog is another pup of Vixen and Cadoc. Eris’s last ghost hound. Jack.

Jack is like Cadoc but not ever having been sad. He’s a happy pup who’s always wagging his tail and barking excitedly at anything and everything. Almost similar to Percy as well.

He was raised before Adria died.

Adria was actually still quite young when Jack was born so they were the best playmates. Even after the female’s death, he was still happy as can be. Eris does see him staring off into the woods she ran off into every once in a while though.

Eris never got another dog after Adria’s death. It hit him so hard. Like a blow to the chest, he just couldn’t do it anymore. So, afterwards, he took to putting most of his energy into the dogs that he already had. He spoiled them rotten after he found Adria’s body on the border that day. He’d care for any future pups that arrive but never buy another dog.

Adria’s grave sits outside of the heated cabin that houses the dog’s kennels. (anyway, im sobbing now, im sorry for that)

List of the Hounds in Order: Percy, Vixen & Selena, Cadoc, Nimbus & Sorrel & Soot, Ash (V+C), Taunya, Pyro, Rue, Adria 💀, Jack (V+C)

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Btw, feel free to ask more questions about the headcanons <3

TAGLIST HERE! - see post for specifics <3

Tagged in all ACOTAR Stories: @bunnymallowo, @officiallyunofficialperson, @margssstuff, @rebloggiest-reblogger, @inpraizeof, @graciereads, @eos-princess, @bubybubsters, @thegirlintheshadows101

(please let me know if you'd rather not be tagged in Eris Week or would like to!!)

#erisweek2023 #eris vanserra #acotar #headcanons #acotar fanfiction #acotar fanfic #ghost hounds #pro eris vanserra #mywriting

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