Monsters Are Real

His bloodgem eyes were glistening with fresh brimstone intensity as he silently awaited Acere's judgment, his ears solely honed into the sounds his pale sibling emitted as he sat there, waiting in agony for some kind of answer to his own selfish request to a promise from his just now-reunited kin. Guilt formed a lump in his throat as he thought of this, thought of his own actions and how truly undeserving he was to even ask this of Ace after only just now running into him again. It took a lot to make the colossus feel small, but in his brother's shadow, he felt immensely insignificant.

That is- until the promise came. 'I'll stay with you,' his brother's words freed Elias from metaphorical shackles that he himself had placed in almost an instant. He had Eliana, but even Eliana at times made him fear for what he might do to her if his mind split in her company. It never seemed to do so, but he never truly did stay around her long enough to test his theory that she was able to soothe his thoughts. It was too risky, however, with Acere- it had always been different. Growing up, Acere and Elias bested each other in their training spars constantly. They were two titans, and he never held the fragile psyche Elias had inherited his mother.. because that tainted blood simply did not run through Acere's veins. Acere was a pillar of stability in Elias' eyes, and with him promising to remain at his side once again made his skin come alive with inspiring hope.

They had been inseparable in their youth, and Elias had always thought his actions unforgivable in the eyes of his brother. They were heinous and wicked, his own chaotic energy forcing him to succumb to the will of vicious thoughts inside of him - thoughts he believed to be the workings of demons testing his own strength. He had been weak after what he had done to Dae, he had been unable to fight them. He was almost five years old now, and a lot of that history was something he never wanted to see become apart of him again. He would never let them make him feel weak again.

And if he was wrong? If he was unable to fight them like he suddenly felt the confidence to do, he had the strength of his brother to correct this. 'You still deserve to get your ass beat into the dirt,' Elias knew Ace could do it, if he had to. He honestly thought he could trust him, even after all this time his doubt in his brother was a very small voice in his head- one only there in the first place due to his own guilt, his own insecurities. Though, when Ace unexpectedly bumped into him and sent Elias back into the sand on his side, a nearly instinctual reaction split his maw into a toothy grin while his red muscle reared backward in preparation for an assault. He let out a throaty growl, deeper now than the demonic puppy whines Elias often emitted as a child, as he got back on his toes and suppressed a chuckle.

He grinned at his brother for a moment while his well-muscled limbs found their square placement beneath him once again, keeping him stable. He was overwhelmed with this sudden sense of relief of no longer being alone, but he was... calm. He was happy and full of newfound hope and the growing thoughts of his aspirations. "I may be short, but at least I'm not ugly." He gave a charming wink to his brother before he could no longer suppress the laugh and it came out in a short, light chuckle.

His features relaxed as his ears turned into the wind coming from the east. His eyes drifted as he sighed away his final feelings of stress and doubt, at least.. the final ones he would let arise out of this moment. He lifted his chin, looking to Ace with the firm stare he'd learned from their father. "I'm glad you found me. I hate to cut this short, but you are right. I need.. to meet with the last woman. I met her in the east, and I'm going to start searching there. I need to take care of this quickly, before it's too late. I will come back here, my children are here... and Zuriel. If you are serious about that rain check, stay close."

The gray wolf, seemingly chiseled from stone and hardened by the weather that was the events that led up to his present day, seemed to be back in appearance. His face was a still, serene and expressionless center point to his smoothed out features and fluid movements as he began his walk back into the desert. He moved with his spine perfectly aligned from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail, he moved like the fighter he had been trained to become, he moved like a man with a purpose.

-exit Elias-