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"It's okay, Tsurai." He was beginning to feel pangs of guilt but what could he do? What could he have done? He was at loss for words and had no way to.. explain.. or help.. which was difficult. He had grown accustomed to capitilizing on his wisdom in situations like these. Without the ability to help he felt impotent.

He laughed a litte, the sound nearly meloncholy. "I don't think so. Too bad there's no whiskey. That'd do the trick."

He laughed a little, sighing. "Well.. I dunno what you wanna know. I was.. ostrasized from my family right after my junior year of highschool.. but I had been running with Denziens long before that... I dunno, Tsurai. I thought they could give me something I wasn't getting anywhere else." His eyes wandered down the tattoos on his forearms, tracing mentally.

"Religion.. I.. I don't know what constitutes a cult.." He grunted. Denzien 'education' was limited. Most of the beliefs were inheld before you arrived.. "The... main.. idea behind Denzien thought is.. to progress.. evolution, I guess you could say. The strongest should lead and the weakest should follow. As a Denzien you help yourself and if you're a GOOD denzien, your brothers, reach their maximum potential. And.. there's really only one way to test strength. So. That's what we did." He coughed uncomfortably into his fist.

"At my height, Ceta." He quickly corrected himself. "Third in command." He was the youngest Ceta in his Alpha's memory. The pride that normally would have brought a glow to his face brought grey slate of shame, now.

"Back when it started, death matches were only for the Alpha's place. But nowadays, there weren't enough people willing to join up to make it okay to off people, even if they lost.. So no. No fights to the death. Generally it was until a KO or a submission, and usually the pain and de-ranking was punishment enough."

"You take care of it yourself, unless it's something drastic like a broken bone. It's.. I guess, good karma to help an injured opponent, though. It improves your status." He grunted. "That's something your average naysayer doesn't understand. We don't just beat the hell out of each other and walk away." Alex's sneers had brought back a wierd sense of loyalty, in addition to all the anger he had felt against those who looked down on their simpler, but far more profound way of life.

"Never officially, but yes." He grimaced, remembering how long it had taken his body to heal. He had thought that his youth would give him advantage but. .. it turned out to be the exact opposite. Alphas were where they were for a reason.. not just seniority. He dug through the duffle before handing Tsurai the canteen.