Started on Aristo's Page
The snake turned, its body moving in such a hypnotic fashion that Aristo couldn’t help but stare. It slowly led them away from their path, Aristo following blindly with Elo unable to get his attention at all. The red lion was following the snake on pure instinct, and that would either end very well or very bad for him sooner rather than later.
Smoothed by years upon years of sand, the stones they found their paws connecting to were soft and gentle and cool. Much cooler than the almost superheated sand. And the snake easily gained traction as they did, still stubbornly weaving along the path guiding the two lions.
Elo stared at the red lion ahead of him, Aristo was following the snake as intently as a cub chases a locust. There was no need for this level of focus. For heaven’s sake, Aristo couldn’t even hear him! What was he supposed to do if something happened and Aristo didn’t move?
The snake did not seem a threat, quite the opposite, but that did not mean it wasn’t leading the pair to a trap. Elo wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if anything happened.
All thoughts went silent as huge shadows started to be cast over the trio.
“Home!” Aristo shouted, seeming to come back to life.
“Home?” Elo thought to himself, looking at his lover’s bright eyes and excited face. This was not home.
Aristo bounded ahead, his eyes trained on the massive statue of a lion ahead of them. Elo tried to get his attention, calling after his lover desperately, but Aristo was unreachable. He was focused solely on the statue, on the temple behind it.
Before Elo could do anything, Aristo was gone over the edge of the hill. He was alone. He did not want to be alone. Paws moving before thoughts, he was up the hill and searching for his love before there was any idea in his mind. There was no sight of him. An eerily familiar shade of red cloud behind the statue though.
“Aristo?!” He shouted, racing over to the light.
Before him was a sight that he had never imagined. Aristo was floating, his face twisted into a roar as the red-ish glow surrounded his body and began to turn orange and gold. His lover was twisting and moving as though he was changing from the inside out. When he began to lower, Elo pushed away his shock and raced to Aristo’s side.
As the lion opened his eyes again, they shone gold for a moment.
“He wasn’t my father…” Aristo groaned, “I’m him. Helios is me.”
