'So you want me to bring back souls to satisfy the demons?' Elias glanced around for a second, considering this question before offering a single nod.
"Yes, but also keep a careful eye on the souls we collect throughout the year. Not every Lamb remains a Lamb, some need to be trained. Some learn that Ruina is their true home, some do not. The ones that do not are the ones we cull." He reiterated the importance of this, to let Vale know that capturing souls was not the only duty. Souls required care, they required building.. the stronger a wolf mentally and physically, the stronger their soul.
"My intentions for you, Vale, are very close to the intentions I have for myself. I want you to learn to listen to your demons and learn to keep them satisfied so that they may empower you rather than control you. There is a difference, and it took me the first three years of my life to truly understand this difference. I used to loathe them, I used to have trouble understanding why a good man like my father even served demons like this. It is hard to understand when you feel so out of control of your own self, but now, I understand." He paused for a moment, watching Vale very closely.
"As I said, Autumn is the season of reaping within Ruina. We hold a festival known as Servus Meti near the end of Autumn, that is where we prep the souls we have collected and offer them ceremoniously to our demons, it is a very deep ritual- I remember the feeling of their power in the air strong enough that you could taste it. I'm not sure if we will be able to hold it this year, but I want to celebrate it alone.. with you." He didn't move for a moment, thinking internally.
"I need you to trust me. I know it seems like I am asking you to hold a lot of secrets, but my children and I have been apart for their entire lives. I do not know how they will react, and I need to tell Zuriel first and foremost, she is not even aware yet what is in store for her as The Demon Mother." He flicked an ear, trying his best to hide the anxiety that surrounded him around that thought. He wanted her to stay, but could she handle it all?
"However, I do not have time to idle while I work on warming them up to all of this. That is why I am trusting you, and I think that is the intentions our demons had for us ever since they led us to one another. I do not think it is a coincidence that we met in Autumn, I do not think it is a coincidence that we had to fight for our lives together. None of what is going on here do I believe is a coincidence. I think you were meant to be here, beside me, running with these Ruina wolves and showing them how to serve their demons." He did not want to tell him his plans for making him The Cerberus just yet, but he hoped this was a big enough hint that he had his eye on Vale to see if he was worthy enough to be at the top, right beside him.
