Guess I’m taking the fall

The first kill he'd ever made was a mountain goat up in the Maw, under the supervision of his father alongside his twin sister. The twins had hunted it together, and despite whatever may have happened between him and his family before and after that time, it was a rare, fond memory of his father when he remembered it. Elias actually seemed stable when he was hunting, focused on teaching and not losing prey... it kept him distracted from his fragile mind, and allowed him to prove he was an excellent mentor at least in that regard. For Dominus, there was no other moment that he could recall that had made him feel more proud in his life than that one. His first hunt in front of the eyes of his sister and his father, though that pride did not last long.

"I wonder if Ignis, Casso, or Actaea have hunted yet. What do you suppose they caught? Actaea is smart, I bet she could trick anything into becoming her meal!" The memory of Domina's voice filled him with nostalgia, nearly recreating the warmth of her presence at his side as they slept in the Mountains. Dominus pulled his thoughts away, continuing to put his focus on his assessment of the Maw. It hadn't been the same since Volkan erupted. There were never any prey here when he checked, which left him forced to hunt elsewhere and risk running into other wolves and potential packs. He longed for the day that the Maw was inhabitable again.

Dominus appeared to be a habitual creature in his maturity. He had wandered across Boreas and some of Auster, though he always ended up right back here. Despite all that happened, he did not feel a need to run away from it like he did after witnessing Domina's death. He had spent his time running, and he found his way back. Now all he wanted was to live out his days in peace and remember the good side of his dad, free of demons, and the brightness of his sister. Perhaps one day he would have whelplings of his own, and perhaps one day.. Domina would come back.

His blue eyes glistened at the thought as the gears in his brain began to overclock. Out of all the Ruina ideals, he had to say that the thought of reincarnation and the immortality of souls appealed to him most. He often wondered how many were inside of him alone. These thoughts filled his head, along with the words of his Uncle Regulus, going back and forth like a debate while his large paws carefully climbed ash-covered stone and soil. It made it hard to determine which was which.

The smell of his family awoke him from these thoughts, his pupils immediately turning into pinpoints and turning those blue eyes into open seas. His ears stood attentive and tall, and the goosebumps of his skin prickled his thick mountainous fur just a bit. The behemoth's heartrate had already been a bit elevated from the climb, but nostalgia made it soar as he followed the trail of his brother. Massive pawsteps fell in place of his brother's own as he tried to assess from the tracks alone how he was doing, gauging the scent for signs of poor health or anything otherwise. He appeared healthy. At first, it was difficult to tell if he was following Ignis' or Casso's scent, but he suspected Ignis since he knew Ignis' was alive with Actaea for some time.

As he drew nearer and the scent became fresher, he discovered it to belong to Casso. He rushed the rest of the way up the trail of the Maw, one of the same that he used to travel as a pup - an easier route that he wondered if Casso remembered too. When he actually set eyes on the back of his darker brother, he froze. All thoughts of what he would do now that he caught up to him had been neglected, his jaw opened and closed again as the sound of his heart racing filled his ears. He had no idea how to announce himself, or how to react in the event that Casso did not remember him at all.

Casso turned around, looked at him, and Dominus became as solid as ever. Those dual-tone eyes hit him hard and every muscle in the man's body tensed as he anticipated recognition of some sort. He'd been alone for so long, he hadn't realized how much he'd hoped for familiarity and for that to finally end until Casso looked at him.

"Dominus?" His brother's matured voice fell on his ears for the first time, and all tension in the man's muscles that he had been holding on to in anxiety seemed to melt.

"Casso." Paws squared underneath his form as he restructured himself to display confidence in the face of his brother, lifting his head only slightly so he could meet that dual-tone gaze with his own bright blues. They had both grown strong, and it wasn't long before Dom's eyes wandered along to assess that strength in pride. The end of his reading brought him to the determination that Casso was healthy, but the realization that his brother was alive and well despite all the worries that Dominus' had had for him in the past nearly broke his attempts to remain confident in appearance. He felt choked from the overwhelming relief.

"Welcome back. A lot has changed." Ruina's grave was drowned in ash, and Dominus took a moment to scan what was around them before his eyes fell back on Casso.

"So have we. Keeping up with your training still?" Dominus grinned as the itch to find out the potential of that strength began to grew. He didn't make any notion toward wanting to tackle his brother quite yet, but it was a feeling within him that boiled and threatened to bubble over the longer he stared at Casso. It was out of endearment, really. Reuniting with brother hit him with both love and relief, but he would be damned if he displayed that and risk looking like an emotional bi-- woman.