As soon as Vale was coherent enough to walk without stumbling forward on his face, Elias matched him in the will to leave. They needed to get out of the dunes before Vale started to suffer from possible heat stroke, as Elias' pelt was thinner but even he was beginning to feel the dizziness that usually came first from the sweltering sun. He grabbed the ram skull he had been carrying with him, holding on to it very firmly with its horn in the grasp of his teeth as he rushed after Vale. He wanted to spend more time with Lirim, and that left him with a very conflicted feeling growing within him the farther they moved away from the West.

Every so often, his neck would twist and his eyes would find the horizon behind him. He wondered if Hailey would tell Zuriel he was nearby, or if she would come looking for him again. He hoped not, as he had every intention of returning to her as soon as he could. Elias rushed ahead of the wounded brute in his company and issued a low testing growl if Vale decided to protest against him taking the lead on their journey. Elias had no time for arguing, and he knew exactly where to leave Vale for the night. The nearest caves would suffice as a place for Vale to rest, and the way these caves caught every little noise of what was outside- he knew Vale would be safe within them.

He doubted the brute would be able to keep up with him to take the lead away from him but expected Vale to be stubborn enough to try. The lean figure of the marred up gray wolf remained in fluid movement as he healthily ran in front of Vale, just out of reach as if taunting him to keep up. He would turn and stare at him, smirk plagued over his black lips from around that ram horn as he continued his little game of keep away until they neared the entrance of the caves.

He slowed down and disappeared into the shadowing light of the entrance, his nose keen and his ears upright and alert as he waited for any signs of other lifeforms within. If he had to fight for the walls of this sanctuary, he was prepared. He needed to be able to clear it and leave Vale here for the night so he could return to his matters in the West, and the look of determination radiated from every fiber of his being.

Vale was hesitant in following his friend again, oh no not after last time. With the herbs doing their work in his system, he felt rejuvenated, running after Elias. Tongue lolled from his mouth as he struggled to keep up, the broken toes still causing some issue with his movement. He was determined though, it appeared to be contagious as it was radiating from Elias. What was the brute all excited for now? Hopefully, he didn't have anything else wild planned for the two of them. Vale wasn't so sure he could take too much more excitement, at least not until he had healed.

As they neared the cave's entrance, brute felt much more comfortable. Finally, he'd have a resting place to really let these wounds heal. He was more than appreciative of Elias and the stranger's help, but Vale wasn't quite sure how to express his gratitude. As the man began through the entrance, he was interrupted by movement. Of course, Elias had to pick the cave with someone already living there. Flaxen orbs searched the cave for this creature, but they must have been well hidden. His gaze met with that of another big creature. Was it a wolf? Before the man got a chance to turn back to warn Elias, the creature made its move. A large black cougar emerged from the shadows, and a low growl escaped the beast.

Vale countered with his own growl before it lunged for him. He managed to move out of the way slightly avoiding any bites to his neck area. He'd learned his lesson, and he wouldn't be stuck in that predicament again. Eyes narrowed and his skull lowered, protecting his vital areas as he quickly turned to face the beast. He didn't quite have the violent feeling he had with his psychotic break earlier, but there was definitely a rage building inside of him. Lips curled as he snarled at the creature, hackles raised and his spine aligned with his skull as he'd seen Elias do in their own spar. As much as he might like to avoid the idea, his new friend had taught him a lot with their one fight. He was waiting for the beast to strike again before he would make his next move.

As the cougar went for his right side, Vale let his rear be exposed so that he might grab hold to the creatures own side. Their teeth hit flesh almost in sync, as Vale felt a stinging in he rear he also tasted the creatures warm blood. It spilled into his mouth steadily as his massive jaws made their hold a little tighter. His tolerance to the pain was back, Vale's laughter was only muffled by the creatures thick flesh. Vale thrashed violently from side to side, hoping to tear the flesh loose a bit, surely sending this large cat into a frenzy. Its grip loosened as Vale did so, and the cat cried out in pain. Hopefully, that would be enough to encourage Elias into the cave, he could use the brutes help if they were gonna take this big thing down.

"Talk."

Vale and Elias VS Big Black Cougar
Round 1/3
Height: 38 inches
Build: Heavy

Once he made it in through the entrance of the cave, he stopped. His eyes still needed to adjust, the southern sun making it hard for him to see in the dark immediately. So far his ears had detected nothing, but in all honesty- he wasn't being as aware as he should have been being. He was distracted, heavily influenced by the desire to get back to his family in Lirim. He watched as Vale moved past him and continued to explore the caverns, and Elias took the opportunity to shake the sand from his pelt.

During that shake, Elias missed the sound of the big cat's pawsteps as Vale seemed to go in deeper. He whispered out, "Vale, I wanted to--" words were stopped short as the cat emitted a heinous growl. Elias' eyes widened slightly from the sudden adrenaline rush that was washing over him as he listened to Vale release another growl of his own. He wasn't prepared to allow his friend to fight when they just got his fucking wound seen by a healer.

He was acting on instinct, his paws moving him forward as Vale and the cougar started their little dance. He squared his stance and aligned his head with his spine just as Vale did, though the cat seemed pretty honed in on dat ass as Vale moved to present it. Once the cat made its move and launched into Vale's hind leg, Elias lunged at the right side of its neck toward the middle, a little low. He wanted to pinch the creature's windpipe, but he would probably need to reposition his hold to accomplish such considering their positioning.

The cat let go of Vale and cried out from the pain the two wolves were giving it, and Elias met those roars with a low and fiendish growling of his own as he confirmed they would not be letting the cat go, no matter how much it cried. It already pissed Elias off, and there was no turning back. When the cougar stopped crying, it seemed set on thrashing it's weight around to remove Elias from its neck. Elias tensed his jaw muscles and anchored his ass to the ground, but the heavy impact of the cat's sudden paw colliding with Elias' left ribcage knocked the wind out of him. Elias let go as he felt the sting of knives slicing into his side, moderate lacerations beginning to bleed. Luckily, Elias curved his body toward Vale and away from the cat's arm in time to prevent him from being able to latch a hold on Elias and those knives continued to carve down the man's side. He felt them finally release from his flesh and then lunged right back at the cat- ready for another attack while the cat stood in the afterglow of his own.

Elias quickly lowered his torso to the ground and watched for an opportunity to get to the beast's neck. It seemed to be switching its attention to Vale for now, but Elias would match it step by step if he could to keep himself in the trajectory of his target- the beast's trachea.

Vale and Elias VS. Big Black Cougar (220 lbs)
Round 1/3
Height: 42 inches
Build: Medium

Vale's hold on the big cat was still strong, as he was grappled onto the beasts left side. He was surprised that this cat knocked the wind out of Elias and let go, but only for a moment to assess their positioning and plan his next move. He had barely enough time to consider another attack before the cat came for him again, his attention seemingly focused on Vale alone. Those nasty fangs came for his neck in the same spot the healer had just tended to. Hell no, Vale wasn't going to let that slide. He leaped backward, giving them about a foot of space again. Still, the brute wasn't going to keep it like that for long.

With Elias looking at the creature's precious vitals from the other side, Vale had a plan in mind. Hopefully, Elias would see where he was going with his plan and join in with him. It would take a team effort to take this thing down, their usual tactic of throwing it off balance to get the advantage was ruined by the weight of this massive cat. A smirk played at those blackened leathery lips and he looked to Elias for a quick confirmation glance before making his move. Vale would fake the big cat out, first making it think that he was moving to his side again, leading the cat to leave its vitals exposed. At this moment, Vale leaped into action, using a paw to push the cat's face out of the way as he latched onto its thick neck. Volatile jaws closing in around the thick of the beast's neck, he could feel the blood pumping through its veins with this severe attack. Metallic liquid splashed into his mouth, the bitter taste just what Vale needed to push him over the edge again.

Voices were faint, but he was waiting for Elias' next move to focus on them. He could rely on the voices to really bring out the violent bastard he needed to finish this cat off. The cat of course flailed beneath his hold, as he couldn't use his jaws for much in the position they were in. Instead, the cougar brought his front paw up to swat at Vale. Both swipes that the cat attempted were successful. Moderate gashes in Vale's side stung, but it only fueled the man. The beast only sent him into more of a frenzy. The voices grew louder and Vale's eyes widened, a grin pulling at the corners of his bloodied lips. Those sharp teeth dug in deeper, threatening to one of those precious veins, but Vale still held some control. He wanted this bastard to suffer for trying to ruin what was supposed to be a decent evening for once.

OOC: Vale and Elias VS Big Black Cougar (220lbs)
Round 2/3
Height: 38 inches
Build: Heavy

Something about the way Vale looked at Elias made the man freeze for just a moment, hesitating as his stare lingered on his friend. The sound of the cougar brought his attention back to reality, but for a moment he could swear that Vale was planning something. He continued to watch him as he drew the attention of the cat more toward himself, Elias even stepping back a few feet as if to allow the cat to continue being focused on one.

It looked back to Elias for just a second before it started its attacks on Vale, and Elias watched as Vale slapped the bitch with his paw and couldn't stop the feeling of a grin tugging across the thick of his exposed teeth. It was amusing to watch the cat be humiliated like that, but what followed was surprising to Elias. Vale seemed to be learning, quickly going for the cat's vitals rather than trying to waste any more time. He latched onto the cat's neck and the cat frantically started beating on him with his front paws. Elias growled out every time he watched the cat's claws dig into Vale's flesh and stepped forward.

The cat managed to strike Vale twice, but the third time that he lifted his paw to attack- Elias latched onto it. He had been waiting for the opportune moment to come down on the feline's ankle, and finally just before it struck Vale he managed to find successfully find his mark. His incisors wedged themselves deeper into the cat's bones as Elias thrashed and pushed against the floor of the caves, growling out loud enough that anything dwelling within the system would hear him. He kicked against the earth and pulled on that cat's paw, forcing him to come with him as he jerked his thick neck side to side, aiming to sever more of the cat's paw little by little.

If the feline didn't want to lose its paw, it was forced to follow Elias- but that would mean it was also pulling away from Vale's hold on his neck. The cat was faced with a terrible decision, forfeit his paw or risk losing his life to the man on his throat. He forfeited the paw, in fact.. yanked it away from Elias' own muzzle as Elias pulled, aiding him in severing it partially at the ankle. Elias didn't dismember it entirely, letting it dangle in a bloodied mess of flesh from the cat's forelimb when he let go. He had no time to waste in trying to get a clean dismemberment, but his goal had been to render those claws useless- and he did just that.

He watched as the cat now completely tried to wrap his broken limb around Vale, half-severed paw draping and bleeding down the beasts back as the cat tried to get a good hold on him. Elias took this opportunity to follow through with their unspoken plan. Elias latched on to the cat's left side of its neck, the top of his fangs coming down clean through the flesh just above its jugular at the base of the neck. In his wide-mouthed bite, his jaws managed to come to the front part of the cat's neck. The well-trained muscles of a hunter began to tense, his jowls locking as he would drag his bottom fangs against the cat's flesh to create bleeding vales the entire way. He aimed to pinch the fat of the cat's neck up toward the fangs he had in the beast's jugular, to bring that vein up a bit and increase the blood flow there. While he held on to his bite, he focused his weight on coming down on the cat's injured left leg if it tried to move it. He didn't mind the arm of the cat being on Vale, because that meant the cat was forced not to use his other leg as it was the only way he was remaining balanced.

Vale and Elias VS. Big Black Cougar (220 lbs)
Round 2/3
Height: 42 inches
Build: Medium

Vale's adrenaline was at an all-time high, pumping through his veins and giving him the ultimate high. Eyes widened as he watched the beast struggle between the choice of losing its paw or sacrificing its own life. A chuckle escaped him, barely audible through the skin and fur trapped between those massive jaws. His pupils dilated, leaving the amber in his eyes barely visible. The beast lifted its mangled paw and draped it over his back and he couldn't help but feel excited. Elias then latched onto the other side of the large cat's neck and Vale knew what he had to do next.

He allowed the voices in his head to consume him, letting the sound drown everything else out. It wouldn't be too long before the cougar was dead thanks to the major blood loss, but he didn't want to let that ruin their fun. The brute was almost positive that Elias knew what he had planned next. He let those volatile jaws close around the beast's vitals further, feeling the release as his canines punctured one of his major arteries and then completely severing it. The beast's next movements were his last as the life drained from it into Vale's maw. Oh, sweet release.

The voices began hissing, "Tear it apart, destroy it." Vale was more than happy to oblige, he'd only hoped that Elias was on the same page as him. The savage in Vale had taken control, and the man had willingly handed him the wheel. His hold was already as tight as it could be, so what kind of damage could he possibly do? Barbarian was about to rip this poor thing to shreds, or at least try to. He looked up to his friend, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips, before pulling at the creature's thick flesh. Its neck wouldn't be torn apart that easily, but he was trying to make it weak. Finally, after pulling for a bit, he'd shake his head side to side, looking to sever the thing's head from its body.

The flesh on his side of its neck was beginning to sever, thanks to the lifeless creature's now dead weight and Vale's pulling and thrashing. Still, it wouldn't be enough, he and Elias would have to sever its jugular and spine to truly set its head free from the body. Vale changed his positioning since Ellas' hold was already focused on the thing's jugular, Vale clasped those jaws around his spinal cord. Letting his teeth close around the thick cord and surrounding skin and muscle. His jaws should have been getting weak at this point, but thanks to the little frenzy he was in, it didn't bother him. Once he felt confident in his hold, his eyes went wide again, placing his front paws on the creature's neck for some sort of counterweight. He tore into the carcass like it was nothing, finally, the release beneath his jaws was felt as the cord snapped all that was left was to tear through the muscle and skin. Vale did so with ease leaving his part of severing its head was done, and with Elias working the other side, it would be completely torn away by now.

Vale looked up to his friend with nothing to say, all he could do was laugh at the pitiful thing. It started out as a low chuckle that eventually transformed into a darker maniacal cackling. The man's fur was covered in blood that was likely beginning to dry, with the gashes in his side it was hard to differentiate between the cougar's and his own. Still, this was a success for him, the voices in his head praising him, begging for more. Vale's head cocked and ears twitched. Now he just had to get them to quiet down again. Letting them free was much different from pushing them to the back of his mind, and a much more difficult task. His head began pounding, and the man's eye twitched as he struggled to quiet them. At least until he remembered having to focus on Elias before. Vale searched for the man's ruby gaze, his voice strained as he managed to call for him,"Elias..." All he needed was for his friend to talk him down again. He might have been learning as far as fighting went, but he still had much to learn with his psyche.

"Talk."

OOC: Vale and Elias VS Big Black Cougar (220lbs)
Round 3/3
Height: 38 inches
Build: Heavy

Elias felt the warm spill of the cat's blood roll out against his own throat and chest. This was a massive cat, weighing in more than Elias by at least half another wolf and he couldn't believe the thick feeling of its life spilling across his entire front side. He thrashed again, teeth sinking deeper into the neck wound he'd created as the cat started moaning just before it went into shock. As it did, he felt Vale began to move and felt the flesh of the cat being jerked away from his own teeth.

As Elias began to understand what Vale was doing, it confirmed his earlier suspicions and why Vale insisted on getting on the opposite side of the cat. A wicked grin overcame Elias' own muzzle as he anticipated the inevitable snap of the dying cat's spinal cord, blood that had been pooled within his lips releasing into a pink froth around his bite. Elias salivated uncontrollably as he himself began to answer to his demons, his body so overcome with adrenaline that the titan began to shake. His jowls loosened their grip on the cat's neck for only a shortlived second before they widened and snapped shut again over the very same bite wound. He took in more flesh between his teeth and simply began to pull and tear and develop a crater as he dug through the beast's neck up toward his friend.


His eyes began to roll as his ears deafened to the world around him. The sudden life-or-death situation that had sprung upon him and triggered his fight or flight response already put him on questionable grounds in terms of his sanity, but hearing the crackling of his friend as his emotions started to level out just... well, he was slipping.

The strong voice of his mother rang in his ears, 'This reminds me of a time, Elias. Remember? When you were a young alpha and a cougar invaded your home before. History seems to be repeating itself, don't forget the bond you had with the one that was at your side then- it might not be so different from the one who is at your side now.' His sister. He had fought side by side with his sister, and with a man attempting to show his strength and swoon his mother. His mother had been more impressed with the work that her children did that day, but... the bond she spoke of was one that he shared with Eliana. Was she trying to tell him to trust this man like he trusted his own sister?

He growled out in slight confusion and continued tearing up through the cat, finishing just as Vale's teeth snapped through the tendons holding together the cat's vertebrae. He tore through the tendons on his own side until his jaw hurt, and the weight of the cat's skull was no longer supported by the strength of bone and muscle. Fragile flesh ripped and the head fell, the lifeless body of the cat falling limp onto Vale. They were both a mess, drenched in the blood of the feline. Elias' muscles ached and his head was still spinning, his world still deafened but he heard the call for his name.

Ruby eyes found Vale and he knew why he had called him, his protective nature overcoming him as he took a step over the cat's fallen skull to get closer to Vale. "It's over, you did well. They are pleased, sated. You can breathe now." He looked to the dead cat's head, "You proved your strength to your demons just now, Vale. And to me. Prove it again by calming yourself. Focus on your breathing, and focus on the feeling of this world around you. You can't let them consume you all the time, you have to focus on your strength and on your attention here in this world- if you stay in your head for too long, you become weak and vulnerable. That's not who you are. Breathe."

Vale and Elias VS. Big Black Cougar (220 lbs)
Round 3/3
Height: 42 inches
Build: Medium

Vale listened carefully, forcing the voices back as he tried to keep the focus on Elias' voice. He focused on that and his breathing, inhaling deep and exhaling his frustrations. Letting the chaos slowly escape him, he could hear background noise again, the voices now almost inaudible. "I am not weak.", he managed through clenched teeth. Finally, his sanity had returned to him, he realized Elias must be right. He proved himself to them, he didn't need to stay in his head any longer. Amber orbs searched for Elias' own ruby gaze before nodding. He felt better now, more in control of himself. So much for taking this time to rest and heal, they ended up fighting when Vale was supposed to be laid up.

Brute moved to the other side of their now lifeless enemy and chuckled. All of this excitement had brought back memories from the dunes, something he felt he needed to share."I think... I think I saw my sister in the dunes. There were two others, a male, and female, they were taunting someone for protecting another pup. The pup was definitely my sister, but the one they were taunting couldn't have been me." He looked away for a moment, the memory bringing back that pain he felt. It couldn't have been him, he wasn't weak. Hadn't he just proved that he wasn't weak? "Then I remembered, I felt the flesh tearing, the ringing in my ears. The blood too, I could feel the blood running down... running down my face. It was the man, he took them from me, and the woman she laughed as he did it. My sister, she was so frightened, I think they were going to do the same to her. I took her place. Were these my parents Elias?"

Vale was trying so desperately to understand this memory. Why would he remember this memory of all the ones he was still missing? Did his brain just pick the most painful one to relive? Perhaps it was meant to trigger him, the demons in his mind were looking to further damage him. To make him succumb to their desires and requests. "I can't say I didn't enjoy that either. What if I'm meant to be just like them?", this time he mumbled. He wasn't so sure he wanted Elias to answer that question. If that was, in fact, the case he definitely would have to continue protecting his sister by staying far away from her. Maybe that is why he left in the first place? It was so difficult trying to piece together his own reasoning and life if he only had that memory to go off of.

Vale laid next to the carcass and sighed. "Were you going to leave me here?" Maybe Elias was planning on ditching him, why else would he say that Vale had proved himself to him? As if he hadn't done so before. This thought only angered Vale, what happened to that talk of friendship this man had been spewing before? Then he started using his own twisted logic to make sense of the situation. How could he blame Elias for wanting to wipe his hands of Vale and his many burdens? He'd only been traveling with the man for a few days and look at all the trouble he'd already caused.

"Talk."

Elias could feel his limbs shaking as his adrenaline levels died down now, this was a familiar feeling to him. He sat down to hide the shaking as best as he could and to give his muscles a break from their exertion. He could see Vale responding, becoming calmer.. and then he started to speak.

Elias lowered himself, not caring that he was now lying in a pool of blood and soil. He needed to rest, he was tired- but his eyes never once left Vale and his ears never once let a word go unnoticed. He was completely attentive, as these were things he was most curious about with Vale.

When he asked if they might have been his parents, Elias lowered one of his ears.. drifting off on a thought for only a brief moment. When Vale looked away from him and turned his attention to the dead cougar, Elias followed his attention. The carcass was bleeding considerably slower now, but he listened as Vale spoke up again. When he mentioned he enjoyed it, Elias grinned again.. teeth still pink from their work. He mumbled his words, but Elias caught them.. however, for as much as Vale seemed to doubt himself- Elias couldn't stop grinning. "No, they were meant to be like you. Their anger, their rage.. they gave into it and did not harness it like we have. They were stronger than you at the time, but they were weak-minded. You are not weak-minded. You just gave in to all your rage, all your anger- you let it all out and overcome something that was trying to take your life from you. That is stress that would make anyone snap, not just men like us. Yet, you calmed yourself down... you are standing here before me, making sense of your memories. I get them, too."

He shifted slightly, keeping the side that had lacerations across it off of the floor as his thick neck laid out across the damp ground. A sigh left his nose suddenly, creating ripples in the little puddle of blood around his face while his ruby eyes found Vale again. "My demons show me things from my past all the time, but what I find is.. they're almost always relevant to something I'm going through in the moment. In fact, when we were fighting that cougar- I heard the voice of my mother. She was telling me something. A long time ago, I was the alpha of a kingdom known as Ruina. I inherited it from my father when he passed away, and one of the very first things that happened during my time there was the invasion of a cougar. It attacked myself, my sister and another wolf in our company. The other wolf tried, but he was practically useless after the first couple hits from the cougar. He served as a good deterrent, but my sister and I finished it off and it made us put a lot more faith in each other. We looked at each other after it was dead and we just knew we would have each other's backs." He felt his chest heave with all the nostalgia from the emotions he'd felt, remembering the bond he'd had with Eliana. He missed her, but now was not a time to dive into that feeling of sorrow.

"My mother told me just now to remember that bond, and that it might not be so different from the bond that I will have with.. you." He lowered his ears, it was a lot to confess such strong attachments to a man he barely knew, but this is what he felt fate was weaving. "I don't think it's a coincidence that your demons are telling you of your sister, too."

He lifted his head, looking up to Vale with a feeling of intensity behind those gleaming red eyes, "I want to bring back Ruina, Vale. I want you to be there with me. I was never going to leave you, these have been my intentions for you. I haven't run with another wolf in a long time, but something about the day that I met you told me it was time to start again. I do, however, have other things that need to be done before I can lay claim to new land."

As much as he didn't want to, he groaned.. pushing against the floor of the cave and forcing himself to stand. He shook his pelt free of whatever blood he could manage to convince to leave his pelt with his shaking. He stopped and stood before Vale, the edges of the fur on the front half of his body clumped messes. "I need your help, Vale. The ram we took down that day was the start of a turning point for me, whether or not I realized it at that moment. I need you to skin this skull and bring its bones back to me as in tact as possible. My.. pack.. we believe in bonds and we take them very seriously. I want you to be a part of this, but I need that skull. I'll explain when I meet with you again in the East. Find the burning mountain, it sits at the southern line of the tallest mountains in all of Boreas. Wait for me there. I would come with you, but.. I need to find my brother, and I need to.. settle things with my family in Lirim."

As Vale was just about to lose himself in self-doubt Elias pulled him out of that. He made it clear that he and Vale were the strong ones and his parents were weak-minded. It definitely boosting his own mood, the man was feeling better already. Vale was, however, thrown off a bit when Elias spoke of a bond between them. They had only just met, but Vale couldn't deny feeling it too. He felt a strong desire to look to Elias for guidance. He also felt quite protective of the man, and maybe a little too attached. Still, it was nice hearing that he wasn't the only one who felt this way. It made a lot of sense for his sister to have appeared in his mind around this time once Elias spoke of his own family. Perhaps the two had karmic ties, there was just an unspoken familial bond between them, despite their lack of shared DNA.

Elias began speaking of Ruina, and how their meeting inspired this desire to start it up again. Vale never considered himself to be a pack man, but he would follow Elias to anything. No matter how much the unknown may frighten Vale. The brute also understood why his friend had to leave, and could not argue for him to stay. If he could remember where he'd last seen his sister, he would probably go off to find her and settle things as well. Vale nodded as Elias' speech seemed to come to an end. He understood what needed to be done, and he would surely handle it for the man who'd managed to get so close to him. "I understand, settle things with your family, I can handle things here. I'll leave as soon as the skull has been skinned. I'll expect to meet with you again soon, thank you Elias..." He left what he was thanking him for remain unspoken. There was so much, he couldn't even list it all without rambling. The fact that he expressed his gratitude at all should have been enough for Elias. They hadn't known each other long, but the man knew that Vale wasn't much for interacting with others. A thank you was almost like a diamond in the rough with this man.

Vale expected Elias to leave, so without saying anything further, he began skinning the skull. He understood Elias wanted it as intact as he could possibly get it, so the man was careful to only run his fangs as close as he could without damaging it. Working this delicately was going to take the beast all night, but he would work until he was finished. Doing so would give Vale much time to think though, he wasn't sure how their relationship might change if Elias was to become his alpha. He already acted as the more dominant one, as he'd kind of taken over as a father figure for Vale. Still, the idea of being controlled was not something the man was looking forward too. Hopefully, Elias would understand this and allow for Vale to do as he pleased for the most part. He would have to ask for a lesson in Ruina's culture once they met up on this mountain.

"Talk."

Elias noticed that uncertain look Vale gave him when he mentioned a bond between him and it made him smirk, he understood- he felt it, too. It was bizarre to hear those words from his mother, but he listened to her- and he did not take her words lightly. It'd been awhile since he'd heard her voice, so this must have meant something to her. She was always an emotional creature, always one step away from a meltdown and following her heart wherever it took her. She was as passionate as she was strong, so the fact that she was appearing in his mind to help guide him on his social ties did not surprise Elias.

His ears perked when he heard Vale thank him, the words surprisingly unexpected. To him, the guidance and understanding he was offering Vale weren't really seen as a favor, but he was suddenly realizing what it meant to Vale. Elias gave him a nod, suppressing the urge to smile as he watched him begin to work on the ram skull. "You're welcome, Vale... and thank you."

He finally started to make his way back out of the caves, though it seemed clouds from up above were beginning to seem threatening. There was a storm coming, but he wasn't sure how far off it was yet.. he hoped he had enough time to make it back to Lirim before it arrived, but it would see. Weather was so unpredictable in his mind, and it made him stop and think- an ear flicking again before he twisted his neck to look back to Vale. "Oh, and... watch your step around Mount Volkan." He couldn't stay any longer, not with this storm threatening to take more time from him. With that, he left the cavern in a full sprint back toward the dunes.