The smell of blood hindered his senses, annoying him even further through-out this whole journey. He did not know the man behind him, but his scent was familiar enough to him that.. he could fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle to this story. He tried his best not to let his imagination explore that territory, that was something he just could not even handle right now. Right now, his only thought was how much he loathed his torturous being behind him. For weeks now, Elias had not let Kane out of his sight. He hardly let him sleep, hardly let him rest... the days were spent traveling and on a rare occasion, hunting- but even that was few and far between after Kane's last attempt to get away from Elias. Kane was no puppy anymore, but at barely two he was no match for a scarred up, veteran fighter like his captor. He was also bulkier, his barreled chest wider and more of a drag as opposed to Elias' lean body-type. Elias outran him with surprising speed during their last hunt, where Kane had attempted to get away. Elias held on to his neck so strongly, Kane thought surely the man was going to snap it. It still hurt to move, his muscles whined from their puncture wounds and bruising every time Kane even tried to look around... why didn't Elias just end it all right then? It wasn't until territory started to seem vaguely familiar that he realized he was back in Boreas and not Auster. Something told him that Elias was returning him to Zuriel, and when they finally arrived at the border of Lirim.. his suspicions were confirmed. This was a rescue mission? This wasn't enslavement...? Why didn't Elias just tell him? Was all this stress and forced captivity necessary..? Kane looked at the man at his flank, his singular and red gazing ruby narrowed with agonizing frustration, burning through the gray wolf with a seething rage. It wasn't a long stare, though, as his neck screamed at him for holding such a posture. He looked back ahead of him and tried his best to make of the situation what he could. He was so confused as to what to feel in this moment, but his heart yearned to at least see the faces of his family while he was here. It was almost embarrassing, to be honest. He had been gone for so long, in search of his brother.. never once able to find him. He felt too ashamed to return home after the months that had transpired, after the scars he'd collected... he denied himself his own happiness and home. Now, a stranger forced him to comply with the use of violence.. in order to make him face what he wanted the most? What was this? It wasn't long before the booming, yet raspy from dehydration, howl nearly sent him out of his skin. His ears shot back as Elias called the pack, and all he could do was wait with his unruly heart fiercely beating against the bars of its cage.

It had been over a year since he had last spoke to Zuriel, or any of the women from.. his breakdown, but he could not say that living in solitude was doing his sanity any favors. He could not even say what most conspired most of his days while he was away, he was in a state of mind almost completely... feral. When fate led him to the tracks of Kane, something awoke inside of him- a part of him he was quickly losing touch with. His heart.

He remembered the promise he made to Zuriel, that he would find them.. and after he'd given up on his abilities to ever fulfill that promise, after he'd given up on himself- it seemed the Gods threw it at him and forced him to go through with it. He had no idea what to even say to the young man in his possession, so every question his son had was met with one-worded and simple answers. Luckily, Kane never asked about Elias' relation to him... but something told Elias that Kane already knew. They were the exact same height with the exact same eyes, it was hard to mistake their similarities in scent and mannerisms.

The whole mission nearly fell apart when Kane fled during their last hunt. They needed to eat for survival, to make it through the long journey from Auster to the Emerald Valley, and Kane's disobedience would not even allow for that. Elias nearly lost his mind with frustration, and though Kane got a good hold on his left forelimb.. it only fueled the blind-rage from the berserker as Elias' adrenaline rushed to overpower the black beast. When he got him to the ground, he was a growling and infuriated mess- he wasn't sure if he could pull himself out of it. The taste of his own son's blood flooded his mouth as he held him down, pushing his weight on top of him until Kane stopped fighting back. Elias' own fear of losing himself and hurting Kane beyond repair gradually subsided, though he did not take a chance like that again. He never let Kane out of his sight, never stopped and gave the young man another opportunity.

Over the next few days, the two didn't eat.. didn't sleep, they only walked. Both were starving, both were suffering in their physique but he would not let them stop. They had to make it to Zuriel, and he had to deliver on his promise. Whatever happened after that would be out of his control, but at least he could say he did one thing right.

He loomed over the shadow ahead of him rather menacingly the closer they came to Lirim, and the look that came from Kane once he realized what was happening said it all. He was mad at Elias, but confused... and Elias himself had no idea how to even begin to explain. He stared at his son for some time after he turned his head away from him before throwing back his crown and releasing a frustrated howl. He had come too far to turn back now.

ooc: SCREAMING With Miach home it had both calmed her worries a tad and reignited a hope that she might have all of her children with her again. She had been on small trips out of the pack, usually with Daelos, in an effort to look for Kane. There hadn't even been the slightest sign of him, but that didn't stop her. She could simply mention hunting for herbs to her daughter and Daelos was willing to walk for miles. Today though, she was home near her den. What had been a fairly quiet day suddenly broke with a haunting howl. Her ears perked forward to listen and her body froze for a moment, mostly with confusion. She knew that voice, but it didn't seem to make sense in this context. It was a voice she never expected to hear near Lirim, but there was no denying that it was him and that it was real. She darted to her feet and immediately took off toward the call, the pendant on her necklace swinging to the side and ending up over one shoulder as she ran. She was desperate to get to him before anyone else did. As she got closer the confusion gave way to surprise and shock. She slowed to a stop when they came into view, stopping maybe a dozen feet away. She hadn't seen Kane since he was little more than a pup, but she knew. "Kane- she said softly, half choked with emotion. The relief was staggering and for a second she completely forgot that Elias was right behind him. Seeing the two of them together was a bit startling. The resemblance was certainly there and undeniable. Daelos looked just like her and Miach reminded her quite a but of her father, but Kane certainly took after his father. She hurried forward once she finally got the communication to move down to her legs. Without a hesitation she nuzzled her cheek against his, having to reach up a bit to do so since he was quite a bit taller than herself now. "I'm so happy to see you," she said after a moment, her voice still thick with the tears she was holding back. She glanced over Kane's shoulder, her gaze finding Elias'. Their last conversation came to her mind and his promise to help find their sons. "They're all home now," she told him, her gaze silently thanking him. That's when she happened to noice the scent of blood on the air. She took a step back and looked Kane over, seeing the wounds on his neck. Her eyes widened and her ears flicked back against her head, startled by the realization. "We need to get these taken care of!" Her gaze flicked to Elias and started looking him over for wounds as well out of reflex. "What happened?" "Talk" "You" Think

Kane was very inward with his thinking at the moment, not quite sure what to expect now as he waited at the borders of Lirim for his family to come answer the call. Would they answer? Was his mother still here? He assumed so, but he felt mildly embarrassed that he'd had to be collected and brought back like he was in this moment. What would he say to his mother...? To his sister that he'd left behind? He sighed quietly, his single eye closing for a moment as he waited for what seemed like ages. The man behind him had been forgotten, he was purely reflective for the time being.

When she came running, he immediately lifted. There was something about the sight of his mother that nearly brought the now grown man to tears and made him want to whimper and whine out of relief that she was alive and okay, too. His ears lowered down, and he swallowed hard and remained impervious to those feelings of what he believed to be a weakness. He definitely looked a bit emotional, but he remained solid and strong as his mother stood in front of him and spoke his name. He perked his ears, quietly wondering if she was scared of him now that he'd accumulated so many scars, and grown so much taller than she.

She came running and he couldn't hold back anymore, those mental whimpers became audible as she nosed into him and his tail hugged his flank as he tried his best to keep it from wagging out of control, just the very tip writhing as his emotions soared. He was happy to see her and happy that she accepted him back into her life. He noticed the necklace that was tossed over her shoulder in her hurry, and as she came closer to him he picked it up gently with his teeth and pulled it back into place, letting go of the delicate accessory very carefully before his wet nose lifted and pressed into her neck lovingly. He still didn't know what to say, but it seemed that she was talking to his captor for the time being.

She knew this man, and that was quite obvious by the fact that she wasn't asking him questions. He was almost positive of his suspicious now, that this was his father. He looked back to Elias for a brief moment, thinking quietly about him as the curiosity that he had previously shadowed in his mind came dappling into the light. Who was he? Why was he back in his life now, after being absent for absolutely all of his childhood.. and.. would he stay?

He wasn't an emotional being, but there was still a bitter taste in his mouth after all of this that he wasn't able to quite give up yet. This man had beaten him, and his mother noticing the blood in the air and asking questions only reminded him of this. He didn't know what to say, he didn't want to just blurt out what Elias had done and seemed like he couldn't take it, he didn't want to give Elias that sort of satisfaction. "Mom, it's okay. We were hunting," he flashed his eye back to Elias, narrowing it for the briefest of moments and hopefully out of view of his mother. He then turned back to Zuriel and lowered his thickly pelted neck so she could inspect it if she wanted to. "It was an accident."

OOC: I'll be posting on Elias tomorrow, hopefully. I'm pretty tired! Aaaaa.

When Zuriel appeared, without anyone in her company, he had to say he was a little surprised. It was a bit unlike what had happened last time when Zell and the rest answered the call, he'd had to elude them and make his way out of the pack lands. This time, it was just Zuriel and that almost made Elias rather concerned for her safety. Why was she answering alone? He had been ready to face the pack this time, ready to face their questions and demands. His red gaze shifted from her to their son for a moment, watching him as Kane would attempt to keep himself collected.

He watched their interaction, and something inside of him felt hollow. They embraced each other with love and affection, and it made him.. think. In another life, perhaps he could have had a family, too. In another life, perhaps Kane could have been met with such affection toward him. He was not jealous, per say, but rather feeling that familiar feeling of immense guilt that often came when he was around these bastard children of his.

He looked to Zuriel when she questioned him, a single ear flicking though his face remained otherwise neutral as he thought. Kane answered before he could, and he was almost mad at him for covering up what he had done. Almost, but not quite. His eyes lingered on Kane's single eye when he looked back to him, his thought process dancing around with so many questions as to why his son would cover for him like that. Too bad Kane was horrible at lying, and Zuriel probably saw through it all.

As she inspected him, she would notice the bite wounds on his left forelimb around the ankle. Elias treated them like they were not severe, but they were quite obviously festering and most likely burning from pain due to the infection and lack of proper rest so they could heal. He wasn't thinking about his wound at the moment, but he was sure she was.. and that she could smell the foul scent of it. He finally spoke up, wanting to distract her and come clean before she got carried away with worrying about his wounds. He hoped she'd focus on Kane's first and foremost, he wasn't worried about his own.

"No, it wasn't an accident. We were hunting, yes.. but I didn't exactly tell him where we were going. I wasn't sure how he would react, so I never said anything during our travels. Rightfully so, he tried to run instead of coming back with me.. so I chased him down and unfortunately hurt him in the process. I'm not a healer, but I tried to get us back here as fast as possible. We are both famished, weak, and that wound certainly needs attended to."

His ears folded back slightly, his face lightening up a bit as he lifted his chin and looked over to the blue-eyed woman, trying his best to hide the emotions overwhelmingly swirling in his brain and making his heart race by just the sight of her. He wasn't sure what sort of relationship she wanted him to have with their children, and so far he had said nothing of him being Kane's sire out of respect for her.. but he longed for her company, and it was quite obvious by the way he looked at her. "I am happy they are back home. We should talk. That boy is just as tall as myself and let me take him down with hardly any fight, and I don't know if you've seen him- but he clearly lacks proper training in self defense. He needs to be trained." Elias caught himself. What was he doing? He was just back in contact with Zuriel and he was already barking orders about how Kane needed molding.

He stopped himself, biting his tongue. He couldn't help but feel compelled to speak his mind when he cared like he did. It was a struggle to care, and know that he did not deserve to care at all. He tried to quickly change the subject, his voice still holding it's dehydrated hoarseness though it came out much quieter, much less demanding. "If you need, I can go find food for him and I while you see to his wounds. I don't know how well Lirim is doing these days, but seeing you come to me alone has me worried. Are you alright?"

Daelos had a heavy moment of hesitation when she heard the howl from the borders. It wasn't directed to her exactly, but it was to her mother. Daelos was close enough to her mother's den to spot her form suddenly dart away from the den and start running toward the howl. That seemed really unusual for her usually even tempered mother. She was curious enough that it overcame her nervousness and decided to go check it out as well - even if just from a distance. She didn't hurry quite like Zuriel did so by the time she arrived she could hear a male voice describing the events of something and asking questions. She stopped a short distance away, hiding for a moment behind a tree that she peeked around to see who it was that her mother was in such a hurry to see. One of the men there she didn't recognize at all, but the other reminded her of someone... Once she caught his scent it clicked and her eyes opened wide with surprise. Daelos finally stepped out from behind the tree and padded closer, her dual toned blue gaze curiously glancing at the stranger standing next to Kane before she looked to her brother with a big smile, her tail wagging behind her. In a way it had been so long since she had seen him that she didn't really know how to react. She was happy of course because she loved her family, but she didn't really know him either. "Kane! Hi!" She didn't notice the wounds and tension in the air at first but her smile faltered a bit when she did. She looked to her mother, wondering what she should do. "Mom?" "Talk" "You" Think

ooc: I'll split this up a bit and make a thread for Kane and Daelos and a thread for Elias and Zuriel after this post! The joy she saw from Kane when she ran up to him warmed her heart. He was a full grown adult now and she missed out on most of his childhood, but for a moment she could imagine he was small again. She could never express how happy she was to have him home - even if the trip to get here had been a bit rough. When he dipped his head down to let her take a look at his wounds she could easily see the bite marks through his dark fur and she frowned with disbelief at his thinly veiled explanation. Luckily Elias spoke up before she could question him further to try and get to the truth of it. She looked to Elias as he spoke and her brows pulled together with concern. The picture that formed in her mind of Elias attacking Kane wasn't one she cared to ever have there, but she couldn't find it in her to be mad at him. She knew all too well what he was capable of and yet... somehow she could look at this man and still feel some kind of concern and warmth for him. When he went on to comment on Kane's lack of training her ears flicked back and her eyes narrowed a touch. Zuriel knew it was ridiculous to feel offended at his comments since she certainly didn't have the chance to make sure Kane was well trained in anything, but he was her son and she was really the only one that could possibly be blamed for it since Elias hadn't been in the picture... well, until now it seemed. Before she could answer his next series of statements and questions, she heard Daelos' voice and her attention got pulled away to look at her daughter. Daelos seemed so innocent in this situation and Zuriel almost envied her for that. To her daughter's concern Zuriel put a smile on her lips and replied, "It's okay, sweetheart, they just had a bad run in on their way here." Somehow she would find a way to explain it all to them somehow... but for now she just needed to get everyone taken care of and find a way to talk to Elias alone. "Daelos, lets take Kane back to our den so we can get those bites treated. I'll grab some herbs and come back and take care of Elias." She turned her gaze back to Elias, her words more firm as she said, "Stay here. I'll be back. I'll bring you some herbs and food. Just don't leave. You're right, we need to talk." With that she ushered her children along, guiding Kane back to the den. Every once in a while she would glance over her shoulder to make sure that Elias hadn't moved until she was too far away to see him any more. - exit thread - "Talk" "You" Think