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."
