Soren knew Elias had learned his lesson.
Ever since then, Soren had taken it upon himself to nag him relentlessly or, at times, punish him with cold silence whenever Elias failed to show restraint. It wasn't done out of spite or pride, but out of quiet fear.
After all, it was never Soren who stood in the path of danger when Elias lost control but it was always Elias himself and that was precisely what Soren could not bear. He would rather be misunderstood, even resented, than watch Elias rush headlong into harm again.
So, when Soren noticed that Elias was acting strangely over the past few days, he couldn't simply brush it off. Elias still spoke as he always did but to someone who knew him as well as Soren did, the differences were impossible to miss.
They were subtle things like a pause held a second too long, a glance that lingered before turning away, and an attentiveness that felt almost forced.
Just like before, Elias had grown overly mindful of him.
