Midnight Fire

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.