Ten-thirty PM…

You’d think this would be a strange time to be up, but for Elias Ainsworth, it was nothing more than a peek after sundown; after all, the time to learn and research was never ending, not until fatigue settled in and he could keep his eyes lit no longer.

Not only that, but once the sun went down and his new apprentice fell asleep, that’s when he could really start.

His new apprentice…

“Fascinating…”

The Skull Demon looked down at the small figure laying against him. A trait he learned within the first couple days of purchasing him from the local slave market, was that he fell asleep rather quickly when perched beside him. Perhaps it was from a familiar lifestyle, or perhaps from the injuries and fatigue the little Zangoose had been enduring for quite some time.

“Zangoose…”

Elias muttered the name his apprentice claimed his species was called; one that he had never heard of in his time.

He looked over at his drawer beside him; two items rested on it.

The first an old hat that the Zangoose had been holding onto. Elias was easily able to deduce that a time ago, his apprentice was a mailman of sort. Though he had learned this soon after from Aladar himself, it didn’t take much given the envelope sigil that rested on the front.

Aladar… The name of his little Zangoose; an unusual name.

Then there was the other item, a pot of daisies that Aladar had collected from outside.

Elias didn’t know much about Aladar yet, as the small male was hesitant to share his past at the current moment. He could easily sense the distress that lay within his pet; the symbol that Aladar had drawn on the pot was yet another one that Elias had no knowledge of. He didn’t know of any dragon-like sigils of that shape, and he had been doing research on it as of late. The demon had no results, but he had learned a few tidbits of similar sigils in his time searching.

However, deep down he knew that this symbol had something to do with Aladar’s past, and as a foreign creature from beyond the worlds he knew, it was unlikely that he would find it on his own without his apprentice’s aid.

Aladar didn’t talk too much. Perhaps it was from some trauma that he would learn as their bond grew with time.

The Zangoose didn’t seem to trust him all that much, but as a creature who knew magic, and one not of this world, Elias still took him under his wing, as his curiosity was too great to let some other person make the Zangoose their slave.

“But just what makes you tick?”

Despite not being trusting, Elias had quickly learned that Aladar had a bit of an allurement to him. Aladar clearly had a fondness for large men; whether it be his preference or reliability for security. Funny because the demon assumed that his appearance would have driven a rift between him and the Zangoose at the current time of their relationship, but quite the contrary, the demon’s size seemed to help him keep his apprentice close, even if just on a physical level for comfort.

There was some level of bravery in Aladar, and Elias concluded that Aladar seemed to be able to look past faces and was drawn to bodies when it came to appearance.

He watched as Aladar snoozed away; the strange little fuzzball dancing away in dreamland without a care in the world.

And speaking of, Elias himself was starting to feel the fatigue kicking in himself as the glow in his eyes began to flicker and fade.

He had spent almost the last twenty-four hours learning all he could about Aladar, from his habits, abilities, everything Aladar was willing to show him at the current time.

The demon’s breathing paused, growing heavy as he de-materialized the book that he was reading.

And for what Aladar wasn’t willing… When night came, Elias waited until the Zangoose was out by his side; he took Aladar scent, taste, cast charms and enchantments on him to sample what magic truly lay dormant in him.

Elias’ curiosity and fascination with Aladar quickly grew into an obsession. Such a specimen like no other was in his hands, and he wanted to know EVERYTHING…

“Sleep well, Dear Aladar. Rest assured that I’ll always be there~”

________________________________

So yeah, Elias Ainsworth.

I've always been a pretty big fan of this guy.
Not only is he really cool, he's also really silly at times, and not to mention pretty handsome.
I love skull-heads, what can I say?

Actually I know exactly what I can say.
I'm probably going to get a few pictures with him and Aladar in the near future of play off an AU that I've had for a little while now.
You'll learn more later, for now, just enjoy this cute pic I got from  Wuffyfluffy / FluffyWuffy from Twitter: https://x.com/FluffyWuffy_