As Ethaniel's gaze shifted again, more frantic than ever as he searched for anything that could possibly help him out of this mess.
It passed over everything too quickly until one figure caused his vision to stop entirely, forcing his attention back onto it as something about the presence didn't align with what he expected to see.
For a brief moment, he almost overlooked him, treating him as just another monster among the rest, but that initial dismissal didn't last.
The familiarity was too strong to ignore, making his eyes snap back as his thoughts struggled to catch up with what he was seeing.
Varkesh, the tigerkin.
Recognition didn't come because he was searching for him, but because his mind rejected what he was seeing.
That was his comrade, the one he had left behind, the one he had already accepted was dead, and yet he was standing there, alive, among them.
Unlike Varkesh, Ethaniel didn't believe for even a moment that his comrade had betrayed them.
