Caustic was used to others annoying him, bothering him in his labs as he toiled away in his free time. It was one of Octavio's favorite activities. The speedster would come into Caustic's lion den of scalpels and noxious chemicals, move away papers and vials of liquids, sit himself pretty on the counter like a show animal to be judged. While he had complicated feelings about Octavio that Caustic distanced himself from, the speedster knew all the correct ways to poke and prod at a sleeping dragon.
He should visit the chee- the speedster soon. Octavio's letter from a few days ago was troubling, and unknown, hurtful feelings panged at his chest. Caustic wanted to see Octavio, inspect him and memorized him every time. He knows in the heat of passion that Octavio becomes his muse, focused and all consuming obsession. If the set up were different and the technology provided, Caustic would have been all too delighted to be in this dimension, as it would have been an opportunity to relearn Octavio's body in a new form.
Octavio was different from Luc in so many ways, but it was simple. He and Luc had plans to settle down, build a house together, and.... he rumbles, sitting up from his table. Caustic attempts to rub exhaustion from his eyes but hits himself in the face with a paw instead. The wire cutter falls from his paw, clattering onto the workbench and coming to a rest.
Octavio was simple. He didn't have any strings attached, he lived in the moment, he was fast and passionate and each understood their boundaries and parameters. Caustic sighs, realigning the wirecutter with the other tools and falling from his chair, catching on the floor.
His stomach pinged him, and a deep sigh leaves his throat in a cloud of green gas. Fine, then, that was his next task. Caustic moves up the stairs, pushing it open with his paws and turning around to lock it, the key hiding itself in his fur. The wolf makes a beeline for the front door, paw pulling down the latch and using his nose to slowly push it aside. Smells hit his nose immediately, feathers and herbs, books, scents that emanated from Selby and Moth's home. Why were they here? To yell at him about their children- oh. Caustic is halfway out his door as his gaze lands on Ivan, stepping out the rest of the way and closing it behind him with his hip. "Ivan," he has learned the name of this one, at least. His head tilts and his eyes narrow, focusing in the way a judge inspects a hound. "Do you need something? Walk with me." He turns, locking the front door too, then stepping down his stairs. Caustic stops to confirm the child is following him, hoping whatever discussions or questions he had were trivial.

Caustic considered himself to be a good father. He had a particular softness for them, be it a natural instinct or something else. Alexander's parents were nurturing, so he likely picked up the fundamentals of his own skills from them. He had helped raise Natalie with Luc for several years. She was beautiful and magnificent, killing Caustic plenty of times in the ring. It was an honor to be vanquished by Luc's daughter.
He would never have another though, as far as he planned. Octavio was too wild and he had no intentions to settle down, ever. Caustic's heart was too closed for such things now, nor could he thrust that upon Octavio.
Octavio would be an awful partner to have a family with, and would probably make the same mistakes as Mr. Silva.
He trods along with every step, seemingly unaware to any noise he made, making a beeline for the Tavern. He idly wonders what food he would find in there today, knowing he would have to shoo the child away when he finally sat to eat. It was an unspoken rule of the wolf. While blood on his hands and teeth were a regular occurrence, he never had to consume the flesh of another in this way. His mind wanders at the morality of it, as they were animals, but they also ate other animals. What if the animals typically deemed 'prey' had their own language and society but they simply could not understand? He is pulled away as Ivan starts speaking. One ear tilts in the direction of the cat as he speaks. He grimaces, waiting for the boy to finish, "Ivan, I want you to understand a precursor to any philosophical conversation with me." He coughs, "I am an atheist. I do not believe in a God." The wolf rumbles, tumbling the ideas proposed to him over in his head. "Are you familiar with Darwin's theory of evolution? It's very simple. All species of organisms arise and develop-" His voice strains for a moment, a small cough leaving him, a pause in his walk, then he continues. "Through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. Now," he raises a paw as if to accentuate his statement, then remembers he has to use that paw to walk, and continues his pace. "Very simply, the strong will filter out the weak. Suffering a part of the order of the universe. Prey suffers when we kill and consume it. My work requires the suffering of others in order to perfect it. And you... will face suffering in your life as a natural part of your growth."

Caustic stops for a moment, turning his head, one of the dots above his brow raising and giving a small hum. It was a simple matter. Religion was dying as a whole in Caustic’s time, and he prided himself on being a logical intellect. Therefore, religion was a nuisance in all regards to science. ”A wise choice, at your age. Be sure to keep your mind open to other ideas though.” He is not encouraging an exploration of religions but he is congratulating Ivan on his current decision.
He continues walking, wondering how much longer this conversation would carry on. Caustic can see the tavern in the distance, and he weighs out in his head what he should eat. He wonders if he can shake off the child by then or if he would have to let this conversation persist. Likely, the latter; he wanted to encourage Ivan’s intelligence, just as he had done with Natalie for so many years. ”I’m walking to the tavern by the way, you can grab something to eat while we are there.” he knows that if Ivan tried to sit down and have breakfast with him that the eating would be one-sided. Caustic didn’t even eat in front of Octavio. ”Anyways, I find Darwin’s theory to be fundamental to life.” Caustic doesn’t find any nobility in defending the weak or innocent, especially when it came to the games. It just got you killed easier. The scientists mindset is different- he spent uncountable trials in the games. Plenty where he came out on top, but also plenty where he was killed himself. Caustic filtered out the weak, for he had evolved to be better. ”I do agree that constructs such as civilization and rationality can be an obstacle for it, as-“ he almost said humans, he coughs. ”When we civilize,  we have a natural tendency to protect the sick or weak of our herds. This, thereby, allows the weak of our groups to live, and eventually reproduce to create more weak members.” He doesn’t want to point it out to the boy, but Ivan’s sister Alice crosses his mind. Humans became an expert at such a task, stopping natural selection in its tracks for generations. He coughs again.

On the subject of rationality, Caustic pauses, mulling it over in his head. ”Ivan, you speak of Rationality and how it is more than a fight for genetic survival... but after all, is that what you need to do?” He had heard the Selby was a herbivore and such a trait could be passed to his children. "Fundamentally, no matter how we consciously detach ourselves from it, we are both animals.” It’s a sickening thought in Caustic’s head. He had no desire to be this way. He wanted snacks and bread, coffee or black beans. He nearly salivates, but quickly pulls himself back to reality. ”We are both carnivores, and we must eat the proteins of others in order to survive. This could be murder, in the case of one rational predator attacking a rational prey, but we must do these things for our survival.”
He’s getting off topic, he realizes, at that wasn’t the boy’s initial rebuttal.
”In this way, you are going to cause prey to suffer in your future. You are destined to by predisposed organs and bodily functions.” He pauses, stopping to give a few coughs, then continues the the tavern. It’s closer now. ”And I say that you are going to suffer in your life because, well, everyone does. Whether emotionally, mentally, or physically. It’s a haunting thought to loom over, but one that comes with an expectation of the future.”

Oh, how philosophy and science butted heads. Why we must have a body was simple to answer- to survive. Bodies were made of uncountable molecules, cells and blood vessels. caustic debates his comment over in his head. The simple answer was that Ivan thought too deeply about it- he only asked if the boy wanted something to eat, and now he was listening to a lecture on bodies.
A topic that would be more interesting on a full stomach.
Besides, we didn't want to invalidate or criticize the boy's studies, so he keeps to silence for now.
He, too, desired to be human. It was who Caustic truly was, and the wolf figured a return to his former self would solve at least a few of his problems. He could work on the portal device with a far more steady hand. Caustic glances down at his paws for a moment, re-imagining them as callused, white hands. The dysphoria always stuck a nerve in him, because his human consciousness knew this was not his true self, and the wolf in the mirror was a monster on all accounts.
Not to say Caustic himself was not a monster, of course.
He listens to Ivan speak, ears perking at the tavern draws ever closer, to where he can stop outside and gaze down at the boy. "I do not mind if you eat with me, but I do mind if you stare." Thatw as Caustic's only condition, fur raising at the idea of someone getting too close to him. Caustic was an open bonfire, and Ivan needed to keep his distance from him. Eating bothered Caustic for more reasons than one, so giving Ivan the opportunity to watch him in the act made him uncomfortable.
"While I do agree with you, elaborate to me what you mean." It's leeway into the next conversation, as Caustic takes the steps up and into the tavern.