Elias is hesitant. Ash understands, right, how bad this whole thing made both of them look? Elias doesn't have that many friends, and he can't afford to lose the ones he does have because one of his followers made an oopsie what they both know is an honest mistake.

Ash will need to make a show of loyalty, to show they're still cool, but like, in a minute, okay? Once people aren't as mad anymore and they've remembered that the Fog does worse things to them all the time.