#ellios

Fen, Havoc Demon Hunter - Ellios, Shadow Priest

Senrad, Shadow Priest - Vinvine, Feral Druid

Malachys, Vengeance Demon Hunter - Donaeus, Holy Priest

Decided to put all elves into one, as I don't have that many of them. As a furry and a monster-lover, elves are just a bit too basic for my tastes. WoW elves are still pretty neat though!

Somehow ended up with a bunch of priests. Shadow Priest just fit two of them perfectly while Donaeus was mostly for filling up the roster for one of each specialization.

He lightly scratches at the bandages that cover the now red skulk covering themself. Being red feels too warm. It's uncomfortable. Ellios feels both too aware of everything and still kind of numb. Although this feeling, whatever the name of it is, is still better than the other option.

He wouldn't be able to live with himself with Mikey’s blood on his hands.

Breaking out of the funk for a second Ellios realizes they're falling behind a bit. He shakes himself a little and within a few quick strides he's caught back up.

Before he knows it they are already back home at the hobbit hole.

Its warm light reflects like a beacon across the lake. It's a comforting sight, one that Ellios briefly smiles at before the tension washes back over him. He forgets to duck under the door as much as he should and his horns scrape against the ceiling. It's a painful sound that Mikey flinches at, he's unfortunately used to it at this point though.

He sits at the edge of the bed, curling his tail around themself. Mikey is taking care of the dogs and very much trying to ignore him. Ellios fiddles with a frayed edge of a bandage, he really needs to rewrap them soon…

Ellios looks back up at Mikey who's still giving the dogs attention. They deserve it, they've been at the tavern for a while now.

He takes a deep breath and readies himself, he needs to try and fix this. Even a little bit.

"I didn't want to kill you…" he starts. The only sign Mikey gives that he's listening is a quick flick of the ear. Ellios will take it.

"I- I thought about it." Any calm he had quickly devolves into something more desperate. "I nearly did, there was this- this moment where I felt like I might."

Ellios grips his claws into his arms painfully, "...but you looked so pathetic. Not in a bad way! I couldn't do it. So I had to stall…"

He winces at himself. That really didn't come out like they wanted.

Mikey turns around at them, looking a mixture of anger and exhaustion on xem, "You knew... You knew we wouldn’t make it! You knew you'd run out of time before we got home!"

Ellios breaks eye contact and digs his claws into his palms instead, the feeling more grounding. Despite their similar exhaustion he still feels the red in him spike for a second before dying down.

He takes a deep breath before turning back to Mikey.

"I- I didn't know but I hoped."

Ve scowls back before turning back to the dogs and Ellios unclenches his hands.

"I'm sorry."

Mikey lets out a long sigh, its body relaxing with it, "I'm not angry at you." "I'm angry, but not at you. It's not your fault."

Ellios understands. Mikey’s anger is the frustration of being trapped in a game of death, at the whims of curses you cannot control and people who want- or have to kill and take what little you have. It's out of care and love. He feels the same in that regard.

There's a pause. Ellios picks himself up off the bed, remembering to crouch this time, walks over to Mikey. They hesitate for a second before gently laying his hand on Mikey’s shoulder. "It's not your fault either, y'know."

Mikey turns around and Ellios lifts his hand off xes shoulder unsure what to do. Bug looks them up and down and smiles sadly.

"I don't want to lose you."

Oh.

Ellios quickly wraps Mikey in a hug. They stay embraced in like that for a while, the silence no longer painful but comforting. He smiles. This is the way things are meant to be. This is the one thing they can control. Despite being in this death game he doesn't think he'd give this away for the world.

Then Ellios remembers a talk he had earlier that day.

“You won’t lose me. And besides, we could- well. Lamb said he wants to put his life altar here. And if that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.”

Mikey freezes for a second pulling back from the hug and looking up at Ellios, who internally panics for a second before seeing that Mikey is looking back up at them with surprise and excitement..? "You want to do a life trade?"

Ellios rubs the back of his neck, “I mean- Do you want to do a life trade? It’s your life…”

"Of course I want to give you a life!" Mikey says while attempting to shake them. Ellios can't help but giggle at that. “But are you sure you wanna be tied to me like that? It’s a big commitment.”

Ellios shrugs, tilting their head at Mikey before sitting back down on the edge of the bed. “I mean, it’s not like we’re getting married- what’s that look for?”

Mikey is giving the biggest smile with chaos in his eyes, he's not even trying to mask it. "What look?" Ellios laughs with their words, he loves that smile, "That look. What are you about to suggest?"

Giggling, Mikey hops up on the bed, sitting down criss-crossed and facing Ellios. “Well… We could get married. Lamb said that the life altar isn’t just for killing. Any sort of life exchange. It could be a wedding.”

Ellios full of laughs, slightly surprised but not really. It was only a matter of time before this happened. “Are you proposing to me right now?”

“Do you want it to be a proposal?”

"Well,” Ellios takes Mikey's hand, curling their fingers together. The size difference plus the differing hand shapes/types make it tricky for a second, but they make it work. “If it was a proposal, I wouldn’t say no.”

Mikey lifts his hand to vir mouth, planting a kiss to Ellios' knuckles. Ellios feels like they're melting. “Then I guess we should contact Lamb to officiate.”

Ellios pulls Mikey down onto the bed. Despite the excitement, the exhaustion of today is really starting to hit. He wraps around bug in a way that's both comfortable on the smaller bed and still satiates the feeling to protect Mikey.

Once again that comfortable silence is back. Ellios thinks about how they'll soon be connected. It will be a relief to get rid of this thrumming red warmth, even temporarily. For now it's satisfied so Ellios shifts to keep an arm around Mikey. His soon to be husband.