The Beautiful Monster

"It\'s been a while since she last saw Alaric. He\'s really hurt her in the past," Tyler said before walking after Melina.

Elias watched them go, frowning to himself. He knew that Melina and Alaric had past encounters, but he didn\'t know much about them.

He decided to ask later. For now, it seemed like Melina needed her space. He wanted to check in with Alyssa anyway.

He just hoped that Melina got her head back in the game soon. He couldn\'t fight Alaric if she was distracted.

She was a big source of power for Elias in her own way. They played off of each other\'s abilities, and he would\'ve died without her help too. They needed each other.

"Thanks, Alyssa," Scott said, nodding to her before following Tyler and Melina back into the woods to head back to the RV.

Elias approached Alyssa, watching her tuck Melina\'s supplies back into her bag.

"Did your poultice work?" he asked her. He saw Scott walking off, so he must\'ve felt a little better after what Alyssa did to him.

Maybe Alyssa had a little magic in her as well. She already had the power and skill of healing.

Alyssa smiled a little and shrugged.

"A little. It\'ll be enough to curve the pain and discomfort a bit," she told him as she hung Melina\'s bag on her shoulder. She stepped closer to him, inspecting the wounds on his face. "You could probably use a little."

Elias smiled and nodded. He was glad that she was putting her healing skills to use. He could tell that it made her happy and proud.

As soon as he could, he would have her back in the hospital so that she could save more lives.

She didn\'t deserve to be running for her life all the time. That wasn\'t her calling, and that wasn\'t what he wanted for either of them.

"I wouldn\'t mind that. I took a beating," he said as he gingerly touched one of the scratches on his face.

He needed to recover for a little bit before they ran into Alaric again. Hopefully, Alaric didn\'t bring in another witch.

Even if he defeated Helena, she had still been a tough match and had dealt some damage to him and the others in the group.

Alyssa gently took his hand as she gazed up at him.

"I was so worried about you. I wanted to step in so many times, but I knew that I\'d just get myself killed," she said.

Elias twined their fingers together, pulling her closer to him. It warmed him that she wanted to try to help save him, but he was glad that she kept herself out of harm\'s way.

He needed her in one piece for when all of this was finally over.

"I\'m just glad that everyone is okay," he said before pulling her into a soft hug. He would\'ve held her tighter, but he ached all over.

He hoped that Alaric wouldn\'t try anything in the next few days. Alaric had gotten decently injured too, so even he needed to rest.

Alyssa rested her cheek against his chest, breathing in deep.

"I hope things stay that way," she said, sinking into his arms.

Elias hoped for that too. He knew that they needed to get back on the road soon, but he stood there for a few minutes and just held her.

He was glad that he had the opportunity to, and he cherished that moment with her. He wasn\'t sure when he would get another moment like this because the future was uncertain.

However, they fought and lived to see another day. Now, they had to fight twice as hard to see the next one.

***********

Everyone needed to rest after the fight. Once the tire was replaced and they drove for the next day, they stopped at a rest stop for the night.

It was a temporary stop just so that everyone could get some much-needed sleep.

They were also too nervous to stay in one place for too long in case Alaric tried to attack again. None of them were ready for that.

Elias and Alyssa laid in the bed in the back, laying on their sides as they gazed at each other.

The scratches on Elias\' face were healing a little faster than normal thanks to Alyssa trying out a new poultice. Things were settling down for the most part, but he hadn\'t talked to Melina in a minute.

She seemed closed off, choosing to sit in the passenger seat to be close to Tyler while he drove.

She mostly stared out of the window, hardly even talking to Tyler.

When she did talk, it was short answers, but Tyler seemed to get the gist of what she was saying.

Whenever, Elias tried to ask Tyler what was going on, Tyler merely shook his head and told Elias to wait for Melina to tell him herself. It worried Elias.

He didn\'t want Melina to lose her spirit, especially now when they needed it the most. He felt so in tune with her, but she seemed like a shell of her usual self.

It didn\'t help that she wouldn\'t even let him talk to her hardly.

"What\'s wrong?" Alyssa asked him with a concerned look on her face.

Elias relaxed his brow, realizing that he had been frowning. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I\'m worried about Melina," he admitted to her. He didn\'t like seeing Melina like this. It just wasn\'t her, and he could tell that something was bothering her.

It had to do with Alaric. He wanted to ask her, but he also didn\'t want to push her and make her even more upset. He relied on her. Everyone did.

Alyssa nodded as her face softened slightly.

"I am too. She\'s been so quiet lately," she replied.

At least Elias wasn\'t the only one who noticed how off Melina was acting lately. He reached out to take Alyssa\'s hand, threading their fingers together for comfort.

"Tyler said that Alaric really hurt her in the past," he told her.