bloodbound. (earinor & akira)

    • Whatever it was Luciens plan or not, Dayan did not only indulge them, he also didn’t need much convincing in that regard - Lucien knew what he wanted when he set his eyes on it, and he also knew how to achieve just that, so his precious honey didn’t have to do anything but give orders to set the plan into motion. What a despicable and yet fun life this was; if everything went well, they’d have everything to themselves eventually and they’d make good use of it - they just needed to find one. “Baby brother? Last time I checked you were half a year younger than both of us!”, Dayan laughed, but Lucien was like that - Richard wasn’t his brother in law or anything, according to Luciens logic, because he was Dayans younger brother, he was that of the redhead as well - and while that logic wasn’t sound, everything else about Lucien seemed to be, to a degree at the very least. “Richard, he doesn’t mean it like that - he really just wants to help.”, he spoke, but he knew that Lucien probably did; he was so damn clingy the last few days, Dayan had no idea what was going on in that pretty little head of his, but they had all the time in the world to talk about it later.

      He audibly groaned after that, in frustration, and he didn’t want to hear anything more. “Creeped out? He’s still sitting behind a curtain, you can’t even see him if you don’t look for him. Fuck, fine, I’ll bring him his food myself … how are you anyway? Sorry for springing all that work on you.”, he admitted and gave Lucien a kiss, as if all of this was going to mend the the labors of paper work that he’d indeed sprung on his lover - he should do that himself, but he’d rather made sure his little brother was fine and eating, just like right now. Dayan followed suit and offered Lucien some of his own food, soon after - he hadn’t eaten yet, had he? “What’s it those gloomy looks? You two don’t even know each other that well yet.” But even then, Richard had every right to hate Lucien, who Dayan adored more than anything else in his life at this point - like some prized possession that had fallen into his hands at the right time. Dayan ate, but he was offering Lucien something every few bites, all the while he smiled at his brother, as if that were to ease anything. Did it? Probably no. “Speaking of him, do you want to visit him whenever you feel up to get out of bed? No need to rush, I’m not going anywhere and our old man hardly moves, so I doubt he’s going to book it out of here.”, he commented, before pointing his finger at Richards nose and booping it. “Stop looking like that, Lucien isn’t going to hurt you - and the food is fine, I wouldn’t eat it myself if it weren’t!” … well, unless he did ask for Lucien to intentionally poison him, but that was besides the point.
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "That's besides the point!", Lucien simply answered and while Dayan almost immediately started eating, as much as he was fed all those lies he just ate up, Richard was only slowly doing the same. Richard already felt him losing this fight about his brother. Lucien wanted him for himself, that was painfully obvious and Richard wanted Lucien to have nothing of him at all. It didn't work out, whatever Richard said, even though he seldomly was very direct about it. He didn't want to lose his brother after all. "Besides, what would a wedding be without all the family there?", Lucien chuckled, though he seemed to remember something. "Though... we won't invite Ares I guess." That was his problem? Richard knew that the wedding hey both, or more like Lucien wanted was supposed to be a huge deal. There was no way Dayans brother that was currently hiding could attend. Ares was the one spilling the beans, claiming the fallen prince and his father were the demon and the shadow - well it was true. But what wasn't true was that they killed their own family. Dayan did his best to silence those stupid rumors, but Richard was pretty much fallen indeed now, if he hadn't been before.

      "I'm soooo exhausted honey!", Lucien complained and after a view bites let himself fall onto the bed next to Richard as if his soul just left his body. All he wanted was attention as he always did. The gloomy looks that were directed at the redhead next to him didn't stop, but at least he focused on his plate when Dayan pointed it out. He almost dropped his fork when Dayan asked about Nayantai however and he had even more reason to stare at his plate instead of in anyones face. "I...", Richard started, but his voice was incredibly hoarse all of a sudden. There was barely any sound coming out of his throat. "I'm not sure if he wants to see me...", he mumbled putting the fork down to hide the fact that his hands were trembling. The truth was that he wasn't sure if he wanted to face Nayantai, but he rather redirected the focus that otherwise would be cast on him. He only looked up rather surprised when he felt Dayans finger on his nose, then he looked back at the food that suddenly was a welcome distraction he could hide his true feelings behind. "Right...", he mumbled picking up the fork again to start eating. "Well as for your dad, it can't get worse like that, so it might be worth a try.", Lucien suddenly chimed in humming.

    • "Then give me a good one, I'm waiting, peaches." And as far as Lucien was concerned, his king hated waiting and sitting idly by - Dayan made the best of attempts at being righetous and having his life together, but during all of that, he also showed that he was off the deep end in more than one way and that he wasn't even going to try to hide it in some circumstances. Lucien didn't seem to mind, though, but it hardly mattered to someone like Richard what a person like him even was capable of thinking about - and Dayan couldn't help but wonder if something was off with both of them, or if his little brother was the one that had simply lost it and didn't appreciate his to-be husbands beauty. "Ugh, who wants your brother there anyway. Just thinking about it makes me gag - he'd somehow beat me by having the better wedding a month after ours.", he reckoned and if not by now, it would only become more and more obvious that Dayan was terribly jealous of those who had what he couldn't, of those who bested him at things he didn't excel at, and it only became worse and worse the more Lucien fed into the fantasy for him. "What about being the ringbearer?", he suddenly suggested to Richard. Somehow, he could already feel his little brother glaring daggers at him - and he smiled, as if to apologize profusely.

      "Awww, poor you. I guess I need to cuddle you lots and lots, don't I?" And yet, he didn't indulge the redhead immediately, instead, he studied Richards behavior, as if all of the reactions he'd received so far would allow him to get an insight into the headspace of either. Why, though? In reality, Dayan didn't even know if it was the right thing for him to do - maybe he should leave the mind games to Lucien after all. "You?", he wondered, and suddenly, Richard had abandoned his prior task and wasn't facing him anymore. Something was up, and the explanation that followed seemed to be plausible one, even though Dayan only shot Lucien a glance that, for Richard, could probably mean thousands of things, meanwhile, Lucien would most likely understand. "Not sure if he wants to ... see you? I mean, Lucien is right, yours is the only face he hasn't seen yet, but ... if you don't feel up to the task, we have plenty of time - there's always tomorrow and besides, like I said, he's not going to make a run for it.", Dayan shook his head, then finished eating and stood up to set the plate aside, before looking at Lucien, who was sprawling himself out on Richards sheets as if he owned the place, or the bed, before his little brother had done. "Whatever the case, just think about it for a bit. The ringbearer thing, too. And you, peaches, get up - I'll carry your weary bones, if you'd like.", he joked, before offering his embrace to Lucien.
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "The point is he's your little brother, hence he is now mine too!", Lucien explained with a grin. Richard couldn't stand him but whenever he was here he just grew silent and let the two of them be in love. He didn't want to upset his brother, so he shut his mouth, feeling increasingly secluded in his room. When Dayan wasn't there he mostly looked outside the window, wishing he could just be free, but he wasn't. He noticed more and more that instead of escaping prison, he just found himself in another one. Dayan was different, not much, but something was off and if anything Richard felt more like an accessoire to him than his family. "Don't be silly. Ares won't marry now that our father can't pick him a wife.", Lucien replied with a giggle. "Besides, our wedding will be the grandest ever." Richard didn't want to see this happen, but what could someone like him do anyway? He didn't want to be the ringbearer and Dayan didn't even ask him to be best man or whatever, but Richard stayed quiet, taking what felt like daggers thrown at him. "Yes cuddle me!", Lucien demanded and spread out his arms next to Richard and before he could even say something regarding his dad, Lucien already jumped up and into Dayans arms to be carried out, leaving Richard alone with three plates of food.

      Richard felt lonely, almost as lonely as in that dark cell and Dayan who he initially thought of as his savior, didn't help him. Richard finally got out of bed though and he agreed to meet his father in an attempt to connect to someone. Now that he was in the hallway connecting their rooms though, his heart was starting to race. He tried to hide his shaking or at least tried to shake it off as him being weak on his legs because he spent so much time in bed, but no, that wasn't the case. His whole body felt cold as he stumbled against the hallway wall, his head was spinning but he shook off Dayans arm that wanted to help him. He panicked, he was scared and he felt like being dragged back to that room, to the torture chamber he spent so much time in. Holding onto the wall while walking he eventually arrived at Nayantais room and had he been alone, he would have turned back. With Dayan and Lucien watching however he raised his trembling hand to knock at the door and he raised it again when he lay it on the doorknob to open it slowly. Nayantais room was dark, the curtains closed and initially he couldn't even see him. He wasn't sure if that was a relief. "D-dad...?", he carefully asked into the room, like a child asking the monster under its bed if it was truly there. He didn't dare step in, he didn't want the door close behind him and trap him in here.

    • Lucien was on a tangent about all the things he liked and wanted, about how he had every right in the book to have what one would describe as a fairytale wedding and Dayan, who either was as naive or insane as him, wasn't denying Lucien a single thing. Not only that, he made attempts to figure out why or what any of this took place and then abandoned them immediately. Some cuddling sounded nice, despite leaving his brother to his own devices, but it hardly mattered to any of them - Dayan wanted a bath, Lucien wanted cuddles, and they both got what they wanted in the end, but it did take them a fairly long to even get anywhere. "Demanding, are we?", he simply teased, but there was nothing else that Lucien didn't know yet - he knew what hurt and what didn't, knew what Dayan liked about him and about the way he was touched, but they weren't doing anything out of the ordinary, in fact, Dayan felt drained enough to just pass out while cuddling and eventually, would find himself being busier anyway - meaning that he couldn't spare as much time for Richard, even though he tried, with or without Lucien attached to his hip. Was it just him or did Richard not like his new brother in law very much?

      They eventually struck a deal and while Richard was staggering through a hallway that Dayan himself disliked, that seemed to be endless, he kept watching out for his brother, though, but Richard didn't even want his help as he offered it up, and Lucien was looming close by, too. Why were all three of them headed for an useless old man again? What did it matter, Dayan was already irritated enough when Richard opened the door and didn't know whatever he wanted to be inside or outside of it, which meant Dayan gave the door another firm knock and brushed past his brother, going for the curtains that were always closed in here and opening them himself. "Are you still hiding? At least enjoy some sunlight.", he sighed, directed at his dad that still sat in his desolate little corner, hidden by another curtain entirely. There was no reaction to Dayans gestures, but he seemingly peered up and peeked out behind the window as he heard Richard, asking the simplest of questions with a single word. "We brought you food.", he stated, as a matter of fact, putting the plate on the desk - there was a water pitcher here, not even emptied halfway, but it proved that his father at least drank, even if the servants had to fetch and bring plates of what would turn out to be wasted food. It didn't matter, not to a king. There was silence, with Dayan leaning against the desk, Richard at the door and Lucien behind Richard, but there was nothing - if one didn't know Nayantai spend his days sitting behind a curtain, nobody would even think somebody was in this room. He hardly left, ever, but at least he looked presentable - well, he did take a bath today. Dayan looked at Richard instead, gesturing at Nayantai - it was an invitation to come in, as if nothing would happen anyway.
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Richard was a little spooked when Dayan just knocked at the door again and brushed past Richard with energetic steps. Richard held on to the doorway and Lucien sighed as if he wanted to say that he was supposed to be the not so sensitive one. The king opened the curtains to let some light into the room and he spotted their father and exposed him. It was sad to look at, Nayantai acted like an animal, not like a human and maybe that scared Richard even more. Dayan just talked to him normally, told him about his food and it seemed like he expected an answer but didn't get one. Was he annoyed by that? Richard wasn't sure, but when Dayan prompted him to come inside, leaning there as if he just took a short break, Richard could hardly not comply. His trembling hands let go of the doorway and he walked in with insecure steps. He felt weak, even more so being in this room. The air felt heavy and damp, it reminded Richard of that place and he looked at Dayan. "Can... we open a window?", he asked, though maybe none was open in case Nayantai would jump out. He wasn't a wild animal though, he was able to open windows himself and if not, he could break through the glass if he really wanted to.

      Richard came closer, the window just gave him so much time, he eventually had to face his father. He slowly walked closer, it was easier with Dayan in the room, yet harder with Lucien waiting at the door, as if he could lock them in any minute now. Nayantai could have attacked them, teared them to shreds, but was that really how he was? Richard wasn't sure what he was supposed to think, but he walked around the bed to be able to look at the shadow of a man cowering on the floor. He was thin too, he barely ate but Dayan told Richard that already. The blonde pitied his father yet he still was afraid at the same time. Still, he came a little closer and stopped only a few meters from him. "Nayantai...?", he asked again, trying to get his attention or anything. Dayan said he never spoke a word and he hardly did anything else than comply to what people asked of him. Change clothes, drink a little, take a bath, stuff like that. Richard didn't know exactly what happened to Nayantai when he hadn't been in the same room as him, but last time he at least spoke to the guards and apologized to Richard. Could he even help him by being here though? Did he want that?

    • Dayan never had any idea what to do with or about his old man - ever since they arrived here, he'd wondered if he could get him to speak up, to tell him what had happened and if he'd done anything to Richard, he'd at least could have killed him then and there and just told Richard that the to-be-expected happened, but that didn't take place. Whatever he told his father, as long as he bossed him around, he did. But if he asked nicely for it instead, the old man wouldn't budge, as if he was going deaf instead and not just being persistent and resisting every single word that reached his ears. "Sure, fresh air is always nice.", he spoke, then went to open it himself while his brother struggled with coming in here. Why? Because some old, scared man sat in a corner, looking like a shadow of his former self, hardly even doing anything on his own because he felt like he couldn't? Richard was silly, and so was his reaction, but Dayan couldn't help himself and instead just sighed, as he peered through Lucien, who didn't dare come in here - he didn't need to, though, and his to-be husband prefered him out of the room, actually. "Peaches, leave us alone, will you? We'll do something later.", he sighed as he went back over to the door, gesturing at Lucien to leave. Once he did, Dayan himself stood in the doorframe, keeping it open with one foot - he didn't care to watch Nayantai, but he kept his eyes on him for Richard. Maybe bringing him here was a mistake, though, they could mend their wounds together, maybe, if there were any left to take care of.

      Frankly, if his old man did die, Dayan could at least claim that he tried to keep him alive, that he tried his earnest and hoped that he'd get something in return, but that was neither the case right now, nor at any other point before. His lips formed a thin line as he watched the pitiful display. Nayantai himself had held onto that curtain for far too long and for a moment, when light poured into the room, the whispers stopped - they had been plaguing him for ages, and as deaf as he found himself to be, his tired eyes looked at what he assumed to be a frail frame staggering at him. Was it Rain? It might be, no? But why now? "You ...", his expression lightened, grew from sullen to curious. He didn't know, hadn't listened up until now and didn't even know what all of those shadows from his past, talking over one another, wanted from him. For alle the old man knew, he was either going blind, deaf or insane, and he was still stuck in a tepid cell, though, the sudden influx of light and the wind that he felt was something else, something that ... didn't fit with his mental image, especially not when the blurry frame of Rain was still coming closer, before halting. Nayantai didn't know what to say and couldn't make a noise at first, but he slowly reached his hand towards what he thought to be his husband, not even coming far. The voice didn't sound like Rain, not at all, and he pulled his hand back when the illusion before his very eyes splintered - that wasn't Rain, it was Richard. The expression he wore just earlier changed again, his entire face seemingly lost color if anything like that was possible and he found himself facing the corner again that he didn't want to come out of. "I ... I'm sorry ... please ... I don't ... I didn't ... I ... I'm sorry ... sorry ... so sorry ...", he started, speaking the same thing over and over again. Dayan huffed. "God, this is such a waste of my time. It's the same fucking thing over and over again, and now that I thought he might say something interesting, he goes right back to apologizing. Ugh."
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Richard was glad to feel some air, he was glad to smell the fresh wind from outside and maybe it helped Nayantai too. He also was glad when Dayan walked towards the door and sent Lucien away that had been waiting there, fairly aware that his red hair probably didn't help a broken man. To Richards surprise Lucien left and Dayan now stood at the door. He wouldn't lock Richard in, would he? He wasn't just some illusion was he? No, this was real, everything was real, as real as Richards hurting body that he barely could hold up straight. Eating nothing and not moving at all left its toll on him too, it made him weak and thin. His blonde hair was so much longer now and he wasn't surprised that Nayantai mistook him for his father, who had always been thing and fragile, albeit smaller than Richard. It hurt though, that it wasn't him that made Nayantai look up almost hopefully and once he realized Richard wasn't who he wanted to see, his expression changed once more, leaving him a complete mess again. He didn't even look at Richard anymore as if a guard could come round to tie him up again any minute.

      Richard hesitated to come closer and he hesitated accepting the apology, but maybe Nayantai didn't even apologize to him. Richard looked over his shoulder to Dayan however, who had nothing but disgust for his father, or at the very best he was incredibly annoyed. "He can hear you, you know?", Richard spoke into his direction, then turned towards his father again. He was scared, incredibly so, but he was angry too, at Dayan right now. Richard had all the reasons to hate his father, Aramis did this to him, but his head was telling him exactly that. Aramis was responsible for everything happening to them and not Nayantai. Dayan, who should be at his wits was just blabbering what Lucien, Aramis son, whispered into his ear. If he couldn't rely on Dayan to care about Nayantai, who else was there but himself? Even though Richard was still scared he came a little closer and crouched down to be able to see eye to eye with his father. He pulled something out of his pocket, the engagement necklace Rain gifted to Nayantai so many years ago and he put it on the floor. Then he softly pushed it over the floor, closer to Nayantai, before pulling his hand back again. "Here...", he told him, "... I took care of it, but you should have it." Richard knew Dayan tried this before to no avail, but maybe he'd take it from Richard.

    • Sitting here, unmoving, in all the darkness he never asked for, he'd always thought he was sitting in this cell, still waiting for something to happen, for someone to drag Richard into his direction and show them what they'd do to him next, and how long it would go on if he didn't do something about it. He felt helpless, even now so, when he apparently finally realized the blurred surroundings he'd ignored for so long, and instead of refusing, he didn't want to for the first time in what felt like forever - he was miserable in his own regard, but what was worse, the only person he thought about was someone that ought to hate him by now and was long gone, instead of making amends for the living, the ones he'd hurt for so much less and so much more, all because he couldn't control himself and was a horrid father at that, too. He didn't deserve to, not when Dayan was alive and well - an oversight on Nayantais part, and it stung, because that meant he could at least have saved two of his children, but as it stood, Dayan had been left all alone and obviously resented him for that, or rather the attempt made on his life. Nayantai hated himself even more now, now that he was fairly aware what was going on around him, as the whispering had subsided.

      "And what do I care? It's not like we'll get a reaction out of him. He's useless, Richard, just forget about him - he's a tool, and he doesn't have anyone to use him, so obviously, he's not going to do anything to anyone.", Dayan snapped, rolling his eyes at the display in front of his eyes. In truth, he was fed up with Nayantai, unable to hate him and yet not able to love him either - and all he did was yap at his little brother, fairly certain that he couldn't even help himself with the silliest of things and it would only go on from then on out. Nayantai, however, looked at Richard - the closer he came, the tinier he tried to make himself, hide away, as if it would hurt not him but his own son if he got too close, and then, when he backed off again, he opened those eyes he'd pressed shut, hiding tears that he was crying silently, almost all day long - he was tired, had a headache, and yet, he wasn't able to sleep at all, not until all the voice stopped messing with him and he saw Richard again, who looked ... not much better, but he was save now. Nayantai looked at the necklace, looking as beaten up as before, being shoved into his direction, but he only picked it up from the floor to shove it back into Richards direction. "I ... don't ... I shouldn't have ... keep it ...", he voiced, exasperated, forcing the gloom out of his tired face for a moment, looking at Richard somewhat teary-eyed, forcing a smile on his face. "I'm glad ... you're save ...", he suddenly mumbled, before averting his gaze again, burying his face in his knees, which seemed so much easier when he hugged his legs. "You ... can just ... you don't need ... to ... It's ... I ... I don't ... want to ... hurt ...", he trailed off, unable to collect his thoughts, but he was looking at the floor now, not Richard, or the wall, just sitting there, trembling on occassion. Dayan, on the other hand, seemingly wasn't impressed. "Can we leave now? Or do I have to coddle my good-for-nothing father, too?"
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Richard didn't listen to his brother and it was good he didn't because despite him not believing in his father at all, Richard wanted to and he was right. Nayantai shied away first, made himself smaller and smaller as if he was scared of Richard, as if he was the one going to hurt him and maybe in a way he did down there. He never saw it like this before, but he probably caused him the most pain by being there, being tortured and maybe it was worse than what Richard endured. Nayantai eventually picked the necklace up, but he only shoved it back towards Richard, seemingly unable to form even one coherent sentence. He even smiled at Richard at what seemed to be a clear moment he had, only to fall back into his daze, mumbling words to no one in particular. It hurt Richard seeing him like this, but he took the necklace at least. "You still have dads... right? I'll hold onto this one then...", Richard spoke softly, putting it away into his pocket again. Telling him anything more was probably useless, it may have even hurt him and Richard too. He wasn't ready to talk about what had happened yet and he didn't want to lie to him, telling him that everything was alright and he loved him still. But he was here and alive. Dayan rudely interrupted, but Richard wasn't done just yet. "I'll visit you again, alright...?"

      With that Richard slowly stood up. He didn't want to cause Nayantai any pain by being here and he himself hurt as long as he was. He looked at him one more time, then left for the door where Dayan was waiting. Before closing hi he looked back once more, not sure how to get truly through to his father, but for now it was enough and he knew it. Those things needed time. Once the door was closed though, Richard felt relieved and a little stronger than before, even though his legs weren't used to walking around anymore. He stood up straight however and looked at Dayan. "Why are you like that? It doesn't help him if you call him a tool or good-for-nothing. Do you want to hurt him? No wonder he didn't say a word to you!", Richard eventually barked, albeit keeping it down, he didn't want Nayantai to hear any bantering between them. At first Richard had thought Dayan was trying to help Nayantai by visiting him and by checking his room at night, but if he acted like this all the time, nothing obviously would come from it.

    • There was no need to fall back in whatever state he'd been earlier, but Nayantai couldn't keep his thoughts in order and while Richard was saying something again, he wondered if it was him or the careless whispering that seemed to pick up pace again. There was but one question and it seemed to be about something that ... belonged to Rain? Nayantai nodded, accompanied by a short "mhm" as if he'd understood, but he didn't do anything more. Actually, he was exhausted, he wanted nothing more than to sleep, now that he knew Richard was save - and then, when he looked at the door as Richard got up, he saw Dayan, too, who seemed so very real, and so very mad about something that his old man couldn't discern. Did it matter, probably not? Richard had blabbered something about visiting again, and while the old man didn't know what it was that he meant, he got up himself, after a while, his bones weary and he himself was not only sickly thin but also sickly pale, still bruised, and none of his injuries even really healed - at least they didn't feel that way. Before long, he sat down on the bed that he hadn't touched in forever and pulled something out of his pocket, something Richard had mentioned, and hoped that truly, Rain didn't hate him - that this was fine, and that it was alright to be alive a little bit longer, if it would mean he could apologize and nothing else.

      Dayan, on the other hand, was grumbling and mumbling, about to storm off, when his little brother seemingly stopped him in his tracks - had he always been that small? No, he'd either have shrunken in the wash, which seemed unlikely, or Dayan had grown in the past half a year - it was uncanny, they usually saw eye to eye. "Why am I like what?", he hissed, then listened to the tirade that Richard went on. Of course he was the one that got the blame shifted onto him, because who else would it be? His old man tried to kill both of them, had killed Flora and Atwick and ...! "Why are you still picking his side? He almost killed you, he almost killed me and he killed our siblings! I don't know what happened in Aramis' little torture chamber, but I'm damn near convinced he tried to get him to kill you again! Richard, don't you get it? You can't trust him! He's a tool, and anyone who knows how to use him will eventually have it out for me, for both of us!", he tried to reason, and he wasn't exactly silent about it either - if Nayantai heard, he heard, it wasn't like he cared anyway, and he doubted that any of those words truly reached his father to begin with. "I tried being nice to him, but it led nowhere, and it pisses me off that every damn time something happens, he only cares about you - I'm his son, too! He left me for dead and he didn't even care about me one fucking time since he got here, how the hell am I supposed to feel? You know what? Forget it! If you want to pick his side, be my guest!", Dayan barked, before storming off - why did he even fucking care?
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Dayan stopped in his tracks and turned around. He looked down on Richard who felt smaller than him anyway. Richard was yelled at by Dayan in turn and while he could understand his brothers feelings somewhat he at the same time couldn't, but he also noticed Dayan not only putting himself over Nayantai, but also his brother, by being much more concerned about who'd be after him first and foremost, before also mentioning Richard. He had reason to be upset however, Richard was always wondering why he was the one being saved and it didn't matter if Dayan was alive or dead in that scenario, but it wasn't about sides, even less could anyone understand what was going on in Nayantais head right now. He wasn't himself, if he were, of course he'd be happy to see Dayan alive, but Richard couldn't tell Dayan that as he waltzed off already. "Dayan!", he yelled after him, but he could hardly follow. His legs were to weak, his whole body actually and thus he leaned against the wall to catch some breath, eventually sinking on his knees. He didn't feel saved at all, all was crumbling down and Richard felt bad for even yelling at Dayan.

      Eventually a maid found Richard who couldn't bring his body to stand up again and even though he didn't want to bother her, she helped him up and back into his own room. There he lay down on his bad and for the first time taking out the necklace again to hold it. Nayantai was the only dad they had left, the only family apart from eachother, but Dayan had his fiancee who lulled him in, while Richard felt so incredibly alone. Maybe he was selfish, but in actuality he didn't trust Lucien and he wanted him to keep his hands away from his brother. Would he mention it Dayan would just be mad however, as he was before. Richard was frustrated and he didn't know what to do. He felt even more alone when Dayan didn't show up for breakfast the next morning. The plate the maid brought remained untouched. Richard felt tired, so incredibly tired and for the first time since all of this transpired, he seriously wondered if it would be easier for everyone if he just died. Never had he actually wanted to take his own life, not even in Olette, but too many things hammered at him and kicked him while he was already laying on the floor for so long. Even though it was only a fleeting and lonely thought, it still crossed his mind.

    • Was he wrong for just leaving his brother there? Very much so, but instead of coming right back to him, to apologize and carry a sniffling Richard back home, he didn't return and instead looked for solace in Luciens arms, who asked a boatload of fairly annoying questions. Dayan knew that this would transpire eventually and that he'd have to make a choice, and yet, it still felt like it was sprung on him, all the while he was soothed by someone that was so horrid at it, Dayan felt bad for just a fraction of a second - Nayantai was better at this, Rain was, too, and Richard already knew what was up on the rare occasion that his usually valiant big brother needed a hug. No, he spend the rest of the evening and night there, unmoving, and when he got back up in the morning, he didn't even think about Richard, he only found himself plagued by immense guilt - and thus, he threw himself into work instead, before receiving word that, for whatever odd reason, his old man had eaten his food and wasn't hinding behind a curtain anymore. It made Dayan feel even worse, knowing that he could do nothing to soothe any of them - and when one of the maids spoke up, about how she had to come pick Richard up, he just crumpled whatever paper had found its way into his hand and slammed his hands on the desk.

      "Leave my stuff alone, I'm coming back later.", he told Lucien and was out of the office by then, already hastily making his way to Richards room, a plate of fresh food in hand because someone hadn't eaten his breakfast, according to recent news. This was the last thing he wanted. Why couldn't Richard and Nayantai work in tandem, with him, not against him - and why did it feel like both of them were just spiting him, almost spitting in his face with their actions. A knock, but he didn't wait for an answer, he just slipped in and looked at his brother, who wasn't asleep anymore at this point. "I ... want to apologize. What I did yesterday was out of place.", he admitted, ducking his head, before walking over to the bed and placing the plate of food in Richards lap. There was nothing he could do but ask for forgiveness, and if Richard was willing to offer it up to him, he'd take it, no questions asked. "I just felt so irritated when you talked to him and he opened up, but he didn't even look at me once. I tried being nice to him before, but it didn't work either, so I thought, maybe I'd ... be able to do something if I picked a different approach, but that ... didn't work. I shouldn't have left you by your lonesome, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Richard just lay there, looking at the window and the curtain swaying in the wind. The birds outside made him feel bad, it was stupid but, he didn't understand why they got to be happy, while his own life crumbled more and more. Almost nothing was left of it. Rain died, so did Flora and Atwick, Nayantai was as good as dead too, sitting ins his room not even able to speak and Dayan was taken from him by the last person he wanted to see with him. Even Yujin forgot Richard by now, there was no one left and he felt so incredibly alone. It was worse than the torture he endured and so he lay there, not moving for the whole day, until eventually there was a knock and the door opened up right after. It was Dayan storming in suddenly and Richard turned to look at him, actually sitting up right away. He was... apologizing...? "No I...", Richard spoke, but Dayan wasn't done, he explained his behavior and once he was done, Richard put the plate away and instead grabbed Dayans hands.

      "Dayan, no, I'm sorry...", he mumbled thinking about the words Dayan spouted yesterday. He was hurt, that much was clear, but he also was incredibly bad at showing that. "I'm... I don't know... what to say...", Richard admitted trying to collect his tired thoughts and care for somebody else for once. He was so selfish, he noticed that, all was always only about him being angry, him being alone, him wanting revenge, him wanting someone in his corner. No wonder Dayan latched onto someone like Lucien. "I'm sorry we left you behind... I'm sorry I didn't look for you...", was saying that stupid? Maybe, but what else was there? "I'm sorry he didn't... I'm not picking his side, or yours, I... I just want my family back, all of whats left of it." Richard pulled at Dayans hands to make him sit down on the bed next to him, so they could look eye to eye at each other. "I'm not mad at you, you have every right to be upset..." Richard was sorry Nayantai picked him over Dayan, but he could hardly argue for his father in that case. "I left you too... I should apologize, I'm sorry. I should have felt you were still alive, I shouldn't have hidden away..." Richard swallowed down a lump in his throat, his mind was all over the place and he just wanted his brother to not resent him and also not their father. "We'll make it through this... right? All thee of us...?"

    • Dayan had come here for his own selfish reasons, not because some little redhead told him that it was better to get his brother on their side, no. Lucien instead had suggested that they'd rid themselves of Richard, at the very least, or of both of them, whatever the case, he'd support his kings choice, but Dayan hadn't felt up to the task yesterday, and all that aside, he wasn't good at making decisions that involved parting - he'd only just found what he'd lost by looking for two needles in a colossal haystack and Lucien was already suggesting that they'd throw the needles back into the haystack, where they obviously belonged, because they were only causing trouble for both of them. He felt bad when Richard grabbed his hands, and forced him to sit down - this felt so much like him, but the situation was more dire than a little squabble over who had too much alcohol or who broke the wooden swords in the courtyard, no. This was about a wandering corpse that lived among them but hardly seemed to want to have to do anything with it. It didn't help that Richard was apologizing - as his elder brother, he shook his head and sighed. This just wasn't right. "Richard, don't worry. You were on the verge of dying, too ... and dad only did what he could think of, I'm sure.", he suddenly admitted. Their father had been the one that made all the plans, that had the grand ideas and offered them up to anyone that would take them - and their dad was the one that executed them, he didn't have to think for himself a lot, and if he did, he almost always was controlled by an underlying emotion.

      "It's alright, I looked for you, and for him, too - I ... like I said, I wish it would go back to the way it was before." To their fathers waiting for them at the dinner table, and Flora and Atwick asking the silliest of questions, ever inquisitive and always curious, but that wouldn't happen, all of this was in shambles, and right now, there was no way to rebuild it. "You couldn't have felt that, please, don't beat yourself up over it, yes?", he asked of his baby brother, squeezing his hands as if to reassure him that he wasn't going to go anywhere this time, that he was to be trusted somehow and that all he did, he did because he wanted to, and not because he was orchestrated to do so. "It just ... takes time to get around it, for me at least. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be like that, I sometimes just ... struggle to contain myself." Dayan leaned forward, to actually headbutt his little brother - it wasn't hard, and he left their foreheads where they touched - he wasn't moving. Still, it wasn't about excitement, however - it was about pain and the dampening realization that he was the one left behind, the unwanted one, so to speak, and the one that had to clean after the other two and the messes they left behind - but in terms of power, he had the most of it, if only to his social status. "Mh ... we will, together, yes?", he tried to reassure Richard - Lucien would hate that suggestion, complain about a ruined wedding, and Dayan would have to figure something out, some other lie, that would justify sending his brother away. "Also, I ... do have news for you. Dad apparently ate something after you talked to him ... I didn't pay him a visit yet, but ... he also slept in his bed, in fact, he's apparently still out cold, but fine." That meant he was getting better, right? "Do you think ... you could ... talk to him again?"
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • That Dayan agreed with Richard surprised him a little bit, but he was his older brother after all and they shared so many years together. There once was a time they knew each other in and out and even though they both changed, the strings connecting them would never fully rip would they? Richard didn't want to fight with Dayan, he wanted them to be as carefree as they were before all this. He wanted them to do everything together again. "Dayan, I want you to know...", he said while closing his eyes, just feeling his brothers presence with him as they pressed their foreheads together. "... we both missed you very much, me and dad. I fought with him a lot at first, but... what connected us was thinking about you and Flora and Atwick. It's probably no compliment that we made a grave for you, but... we did. And we connected by sharing our stories. Dad loves you as much as he loves me, you have to believe me.", Richard spoke softly. All that he said was true and Dayan needed to know that.

      The situation was tender, but also somewhat depressing. Dayan was the one usually lightening up the mood and he did so by reassuring Richard that he didn't need to beat himself up, yet Richard felt like sharing another little tidbit. "Also I told him about the time you got stuck in that tree... that I knew...?", he admitted, more than a joke than anything else. The story connected Nayantai and him, maybe it would do the same to Dayan. Whenever Lucien wasn't around this felt nice actually as if everything could go back to normal at some point. Richard continued listening to Dayan and eventually let go to look at him. "So he's better?", he asked about his father. He was somewhat relieved to hear that, even though thinking about seeing him still sent chills down his spine. "We should both talk to him.", Richard decided. There probably was reason why Nayantai only opened up to Richard before, but now that he was better, maybe he recognized Dayan too.

    • Walking on eggshells was one way to describe their current relationship with one another. Not only were they both making attempts at things they had little to no idea of, they also were trying to recreate a bond that was about to fizzle out not so long ago; without Lucien here, to keep his attention on the redhead, it was bearable - it didn't matter why or what Richard sprung on him now, but Dayan was willing to listen, to hear his little brother out and if he could, fulfill all that he wanted. Richard was simple, always had been, always would be, but right now, he seemingly struggled to find words - and Dayan kept looking at him, at a pair of eyes that he'd seemingly not find on anyone else - they belonged to his brother, and if anything, they were sad little orbs that looked somewhat glassy, as opposed to his old mans murky eye, something that would come to haunt him eventually. Instead of instilling his own fears, however, he smiled and listened to all Richard had to say - he'd be lying if he said he didn't like what he heard, but it was bittersweet, if anything. "I'm glad you missed me - and I guess the person I once was needs a grave, for dying then and there. I thought about doing the same, but then I figured, it'd be like accepting defeat. I knew you two were out there, but ..."

      Silence followed and for a moment, Dayan seemingly didn't know what to say. He averted his gaze, as if he had committed the worst crime in human history, but instead, he sighed once more. "Richard, you know how I said fathers grave was empty? After you two left, I ... had it emptied out and let the body be burned to nothing but ash. I kept an urn, in the hopes that you two would show up and dad could let go of him, but ... I can't spring that on him like this, I think I'd do more damage than good.", he mumbled, knowing that in thrian tradition, it was important to let go of the dead, to not let them rot beneath the soil that nurtured itself on all the corpses forevermore, because thrian ground didn't take any of it. Their grandfathers were, as per their request, buried together - but Nayantai never had wanted that, for either him or rain. A tombstone was fine. "That old story!?", he suddenly expressed, somewhat confused. "Oh my god, that one is really embarrassing - you connected over that? Now I feel ashamed." The young Dayan was dead, but the new one had a face that was getting red with embarrassment - his father didn't need to know that! He always wanted to be as cool as him, make it look as effortlessly, but he never had been and it had been frustrating to no end; Richard was doing him a disservice. "Sort of.", he answered, not sure what was suddenly getting into his brother. "Yes, but you eat your pancakes first or I'll be mad. A little birdie told me you haven't touched your food today."
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "We all changed... don't worry. But I still recognize my brother and I'm grateful that you got us out of there...", Richard admitted and as long as Lucien wasn't here that was true. maybe he shouldn't be like that though, Dayan was happy with him, wasn't he? He also needed someone, just as Richard flung himself in with Yujin way too fast. Too fast was true though. Was Dayan really sure he wanted to marry that guy...? Now was not the time to ask that however and instead he listened to what Dayan had to say about their fathers body. Whereas Richard felt the thought of bringing his corpse back up from the ground gruesome, burning him wasn't and he shook his head. "If anything he might be glad to hear it... but you're right, maybe not now. I don't know. When we were in Silesse I was wondering if it hurt him to know that dad wasn't burned... I learned a lot about Thrian traditions. I'm not sure why he never taught us.", Richard explained and raised his arm, the one full of scars that were months old. "There is a tradition. Hunt for your eighteenth birthday basically... I fought a bear. Did you know bears in Silesse are about double the size than here? Well that happened." He raised his arm and tried to smile a little. He did that for Dayan not for himself, but he didn't dare say it, it felt odd now that he found out he was still alive.

      "You don't need to feel ashamed.", Richard replied with another small smile. "He also asked about the crown that went missing? I told him it wasn't me, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't you and that Flora actually could be quite a menace if nobody looked.", he further elaborated. Maybe talking about old stories was good for Dayan too and remembering their family was only right. There were so many stories they could share and when Richard felt like shit, that actually did wonders for him in the end. "Alright, fine.", Richard then replied and grabbed the plate with the food. He wasn't hungry, he didn't want to eat but he forced the food into his stomach to make his brother happy and afterwards he planned on mending the relationship between him and his father. Everything would turn out alright, wouldn't it? Everything would turn back to normal and maybe Dayan would even kick out Lucien as h should have from the start.

    • "It's just natural at this point.", he concluded, but it wasn't fun - this never had been, and he was almost certain that all of their decisions had muddled one anothers judgement. Dayan wanted nothing more than to go back to the way it was before, though, for a moment he doubted that Lucien would like him, then - but what did it matter? He could think about that another time, and Richard was save now, here, with him. "I'm glad I found you, but ... I wish I'd been faster. If only you'd known before, I'd have just hidden you away." Or he wouldn't ever see his brother again, because they were smart enough to not leave Thria behind - and that would be fine and fair to Dayan, who eventually had to tell Richard that nothing could go back to the way it was and that for Dayan to remain seated where he was, Richard had to either bite the dust or disappear out of harms way, lest someone like Ares took note that their current king was in some sort of bind and clearly not upholding his own end of a bargain he never made. "I mean, father always encouraged it, but ... maybe he just ... I don't know, he had lots of doubts about his heritage all the time, maybe he felt like he shouldn't be allowed to." In hindsight, it would make sense - or maybe it would pain their old man who was stuck here, in Adrestia.

      Whatever the case, Dayan observed what Richard wanted to show him, and among all those wounds he'd sustained, he found new scars, plenty of them, and Dayan marbled at them with a spark of curiosity in his eyes, if only for a bit, before he wondered how easy it would be to redo what he was told about. He winced, however, upon hearing what Richard had done. "You killed a bear? Richard!", he suddenly expressed, almost mad at his little brother. "Ugh, you turned into a menace - being strong and idiotic was supposed to be my type of thing.", he laughed wholeheartedly, smiling while doing so and ruffling his brothers hair afterward. They were nothing but a set of idiots, let loose on one another yet again. He missed this, he missed Richard. "Oh, the crown? Hm, lucky for you, I was the instigator - but Flora took it from me, I didn't tell you that?", he chuckled and it was funny to admit. Dayan had a few tricks up his sleeve, and while he usually shared everything with Richard, he was now grinning like an idiot about it. "And here I thought you'd notice earlier, oh well!" That one was on him. He watched his little brother eat, they shared some banter inbetween and when all of that was done, he helped him stand up and gave him proper support this time - at least for now. "Do you want me to hold my hand or do you want to waltz out of here on your own?"
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • It was stupid that they pranced around Adrestia and never found out that Dayan had been crowned king. it almost felt like fate was simply against them, against their whole family to be honest and it was just unfair. What did they do to deserve this? The longer they were apart the more difficult it got to find each other again, though Dayan and Richard made a good effort now, smiling and laughing together about stupid things like a stolen crown. Killing a bear should have been Dayans thing, yes, but Richard did it for him and when he felt like giving up, he took part of his brothers strength to be able to stand back up again. Even though he thought Dayan was dead, h still helped him and he'd always be his big brother. Richard was glad that Dayans laugh didn't change and that he was able to laugh at all, not like Richard who shut himself so far away at some point. There was trauma, lots of it, but as long as Richard had someone to talk to and a task at hand he felt like he could get through this. He still dreaded the lonely nights in his bed though.

      Once Richard had finished eating Dayan helped him up. Richard probably looked like a mess and a half, but h could take a bath later maybe, now they wanted to talk to Nayantai first. "I'm not an old man, I can walk on my own.", Richard smiled and made his best effort to not have to rely on his brothers arm. The way to Nayantais room wasn't far, but it was exhausting for Richard, yet he felt lss scared than last time and having Dayan - only Dayan - with him after sharing some quality time together was very helpful. Eventually they arrived at the door to their fathers room and Richard knocked more certain this time. He only waited for a very short time before opening the door, since neither of them expected and answer of Nayantai at this point. All Richard wanted was to connect his brother and his dad somehow while also working through his own problems with him, but in that regard he came after Rain. There was someone he loved in pain, in need, so whatever was going on in Richards heart didn't matter right now. They actually found Nayantai without having to look behind th curtains, that was a good sign, wasn't it? "Dad? It's me. Are you better?"