The sounds had faded into nothing. And for a few days, the young cub had been alone. He waited and waited for his mother to return, but she never did. He didn't know how much time had passed...minutes? Hours? Days? The sun had come and gone at least three times now, and once again darkness had fallen. His stomach twisted and turned in painful knots, begging for food to fill it. The young boy didn't know how to hunt, he wasn't even close to the age to hunt on his own yet...he still needed his mother's milk. But little did he know, he would never see her again. He laid his head down on the cold stone slab that partially blocked the small opening that his mother had hidden him in. It was somewhat difficult to climb out, but he had remained where he was with no intention of moving until her return. It wasn't until movement in the form of a large grasshopper caught his eye, that he couldn't take the loneliness and hunger any longer. The bug had jumped right onto the stone in front of him, its huge eyes staring right at him. Likewise, he stared right back as he tried to figure out what it was. And naturally, his predatory instinct started to tickle him as his stomach rumbled again. Unable to sit still any longer, Jagger began to scramble up, claws scraping on the stone as he tried to find a grip to help him up. After many failed attempts, he finally managed to pull himself up onto the stone slab, and as soon as he started to get closer to the grasshopper, it jumped away onto the ground. Brows furrowed as Jagger looked down, and to him, it seemed quite a long way down. A few feet perhaps, but to the young cub, everything appeared bigger than it was. He mustered up the courage to half slide and half scramble down the stone until he landed with a heavy thud on the ground without the grace that older cats had. Scrambling to his feet, he bounded after the grasshopper as it jumped away each time. He got further and further from his hiding spot, focused on trying to catch his elusive prey. Large paws padded clumsily through the underbrush, and finally, the grasshopper had stopped hopping. Tail twitching, he ran forward to try and grab it before it jumped again, and he succeeded! He flung his body on top of it, pinning it to the ground beneath his chest and quickly got to work. Tiny sharp teeth gripped the end of its body. At first, he was eager to try and eat this thing, but in his haste to eat, the gross taste of the bug made its way onto his tongue. He whined and shook his head, dropping his sought-after catch half chewed and still alive. Disappointed, he sat there next to it as he looked around. Where was he? Where was mom? He was completely alone in the darkness, save for the grasshopper that was slowly dying.

Keeping a watchful eye over his children and securing the perimeter of the lands alone kept the man busy during this winter season, though on days like today when his children were well fed and sleeping under the supervision of The Demon Mother, Elias felt comfortable enough to slip away from the territory. Keeping up with their surrounding territories was something Elias knew was important, especially these caverns. Throughout the winter, such sheltered areas were the most sought-after real estate here so close to the northern border, where the climate could drop exceptionally low.

Worst case scenario was that he could run into a bear or a cougar while alone. He had fought many in groups, but never alone.. however, his idea was to mainly scout and play his cards right. If there was something too dangerous, he would call Ruina. Otherwise, he was confident he could handle anything twice his weight and under. The smell of a big cat, possibly... jaguars filled his nostrils when he came close to the entrance of the caverns, hitting him with a wave of nostalgia. He hadn't run into any jaguars since his time in the jungle of his childhood, though... this smell was faint, slightly diluted.. different.

He dipped his head to the frosted earth surrounding the entrance of the cave and continued to study the scent. It seemed to be possible only one of these cats, though.. the scents were confusing. The faint scent of milk finally aided him in piecing together the puzzle, though.. there were no fresh tracks of any significant weight coming in or out of the cave. The sound of claws scraping against stone peaked his interest, the cubs were still alive and Elias was instantly moving toward it.

Elias had every intention of eradicating the cubs as soon as he saw them, preventing any of them growing up so close to pack lands and preying on his own youth or perhaps anyone caught off-guard and alone. Jaguars were excellent predators, and Elias would be a fool not to take this opportunity to get rid of a problem before it was to arise. When he saw the cub, however.. something within him changed and outwardly, he froze.

He stood there, staring at the extraordinary coat of the cub.. taking note of the significant amount of red it held. The cub appeared to be alone and hungry... and some sort of instinct within Elias took over.

'Ruina...' called a faint whisper within his mind, something Elias barely even noticed.. though it subtly inspired him to step forward and make his presence known to the youth before him.

Without a word, the titan sprang forward and his maw split open. He wasted no time, not wanting the cub to slip away into one of the cracks in this cave and be out of his reach. His teeth would attempt to come down on the youth as gently as possible, holding the same firmness yet kindness to them that he handled Viper with when he captured her. If successful, he would pick the cub up more like a chunk of meat rather than a mother would hold a kitten, keeping his whole body within the grip of his maw.

The first thing on his mind was to get the cub to food... and judging from his size, there was only one woman he knew that was even close to being able to help him. The Demon Mother.