Guess I’m taking the fall

In reality he didn’t need his brother to confirm his identity. It didn’t matter that time had passed, they had aged, new scars had been won, and they physically appeared far different than when they last saw each other. He was convinced that siblings never forgot each other - that there was something tying their souls together that would eventually bring them back together at some point. This just happened to be that point for he and Dominus. No matter how long he had been away, his siblings had always been a low burning worry in the back of his mind. He hadn’t felt like he could have come back to check on them before now, but he couldn’t deny the relief he felt now that he had eyes on his brother. There was an undeniable guilt there as well for the length of time that he was gone, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. Now all he was left with was an opportunity to reconnect with his family... however much of it might be left.

He noticed how Dom seemed to pull himself up into a naturally confident stance, taking on the stature of someone who was sure of himself and was proud in his own way. It was a stance that Casso had never felt comfortable taking and surely wouldn’t try now. He was easily able to meet his brother’s gaze, but he remained more casual in the way he held himself. A small, pleased smirk pulled at his lips as he looked his brother over and verified that the larger brute was healthy and well. As much as he agreed that a lot had changed, there were some things that remained the same and for that he was glad. He had worried that Dom may have shown disappointment or anger toward him for leaving, but that didn’t seem to be the case. He could feel them falling back into the same brotherly banter they always had and it felt like a happy reunion on both sides.

”Of course,” he commented as he returned Dom’s grin. ”I assume you’ve been doing the same?” His training was one of the few things that had actually been a consistent in his life. It was often an escape and a way for him to distract himself form the constant, nagging plague of his own mind. He wondered at times if his skills were really as developed as they would have been with a proper teacher, but that wasn’t something that had been available to him for a while now. His mother, aunt, and older sister hadn’t been fighters and certainly didn’t have much to share with him in that department. Most of what he knew was from trial and error and lots of attempts. ”I haven’t found many challenging opponents lately though...”

He smirked at the unspoken invitation and started to shift into a more stable, defendable stance. In a way, a spar felt like a more real greeting among his brothers than a ‘hello’. The demons in his soul were for once silent, but his entire being felt like it was humming with anxious energy. Fighting had never been his preferred study, falling to the wayside beside hunting, but there was an undeniable joy to be had challenging himself to take on someone clearly more suited to it like Dominus. Any fear of failure he might of had was completely gone, eclipsed by an eagerness to reconnect with his brother.