Broken

[Preliat Mantis]

[media]https://soundcloud.com/tres-huevos/sun-kil-moon-carry-me-ohio[/media]


Concord Dawn

So, there Preliat was. An angry, middle-aged man. He had nothing left. No family. Barely and friends left. And his home- gone. His life had been torn apart before, but this time it was different- an act of betrayal destroyed his life. An act of betrayal buried his wife and child under volcanic ash, killing them- and leaving nothing but memory for them to bury. Why should he have survived? Why him? Why would the galaxy punish him, and continue to do so? Preliat sat on the hill, crouched beside the speeder that brought him up here. It was no secret he was on the planet- in fact, he was the talk of the village he was staying at. They rarely had visitors, and especially not ones with a reputation like him.

But he was so lonely there. Everyone feared him. They knew what he had done. What he was. Who he was. He heard their hushed tones. Animal. Savage. Murderer. Traitor. Some called him a hero. Some called him a soldier. Pirate. Mercenary. The issue was- none of them were correct, but none of them were wrong, either. He didn't know what he was. He knew what he had done, but not what to call himself.

So he sat alone on a wind-swept hill, gazing downward at the village that housed him. Grain fields in the distance fluttered in the wind. He heard children laugh below. It made the pain all the more unbearable. To that, he finally broke- he cried. He leaned his head into his chest, and he cried. He was stripped of his armor, it lay forgotten under the bed of the house he was at- and he intended it for it to lay there for quite some time. He reached down and touched his beskar leg, designed none other than by his wife. His daughter used to hold onto it, in their moments of solidarity. She wanted to be like her father. She wanted to be like her papa. Wanted to hunt, fight, and win.

But this is where it got him. This is where being the Wolf got him.

Alone.

Utterly, entirely, alone, crying on the side of a hill with no real recourse. This was his lot in life. To suffer. He hadn't had the pleasure of dying yet. Death, seemed to follow him around- but never graced Preliat with his touch. But everyone else in his life, it touched with fervent abandon. So what was he to do? Was he to return to the galaxy, gun in hand? Or should he remain here, a lonely has-been with nothing to lose, to do- except be alone? The questions came, but the answers eluded him. So was the great mystery of his life.

Preliat just so happened to hate mysteries, himself.

He wanted answers- but got nothing.

 

[Cassus Akovin]

Six months.

Six months ago Triam's life had been irreparably changed. It was not worse, it was yet to be seen if it was better, but no matter what happened it was her life now. She never expected it to happen, never anticipated or prepared for it. As a Mercenary, as a natural born fighter... it quickly became a nightmare. Instincts she never even knew she had cropped up, that set into her a kind of protective paranoia she never knew she had. Paranoia was bad for anyone, but it was especially bad for someone who has made enemies in her field of work.

For the first in four months, she had been thinking of everything she could do to protect the bulge that now characterized her stomach, but mostly she abandoned the galaxy again. Securing herself in her ship, flying from system to system. Her 'business', if it could be called such any more was so stagnant no one knew what it was any more, and despite her technical ingenuity she was vastly out of date, out of touch.

Triam had always struggled with herself over the years... what she was, what she was supposed to do in the galaxy. Right now, the only thing she could do was pray (something she does not do) she would deliver this child safely. Her companion, Crol, went on an expedition to Dxun looking for something to turn himself into a protector... but he overestimated his abilities, and was now a kind of pain which truly distressed her. Even untouched by the force, she could feel the darkness pour into him against his will, and she felt sympathy for a man only concerned with her well being.

She had been sitting and waiting for nothing to happen the past six months, but sometimes... sometimes you needed something to happen, and you needed to do it for yourself. James Justice was concerned with his family of course, and her child, but he wasn't the sort of man she could depend on. There were very few men she could depend on, and trust.

If there was any man in the galaxy that had affected her life more than anyone other than her father, well... it was the Wolf of Mandalore. It was always so difficult to understand their relationship for her... she was a friend, a confidant... but he was dangerous, and she often let him be dangerous. A part of her which had always sought it, which drew her in. Going to him was only natural for her when she felt a crisis in her life... but went against everything her new instincts begged her not to do.

Even the part of her that pushed her to Concord Dawn, wasn't truly certain what she was doing. She didn't even know if he was alive, what new horrors filled his head, what hatred consumed his heart, or what fragility plagued his mind. She went anyway, unarmored save for a cloak of shell spider silk, with hidden devices in the neck collar. Since her stomach began to push outward, wearing her armor had become too dangerous to depend on, even as it pained her to part with it.

Waddling through the spaceport, she inquired about her old friend, and acquired the appropriate transportation to the last town he had last attended, who then told him of the village he had wandered into. Her droid, Mr. Follow, dutifully stayed by her side the entire time as she tracked him down through hearsay and rumors. When she finally came into the village, doubly surprised by her visitation, they pointed and directed to where the Wolf had wandered off to.

Her stomach roiled, and not because of the child in her stomach kicking her... a feeling so odd and peculiar in of itself. She didn't know what she was getting herself into, but it was far too late to back out of it now. He was on a hill, and suddenly she sighed in mild frustration. She soldiered on regardless of her complaints. She wondered briefly, what he thought of her as she climbed the hill, wearing unfamiliar clothes and an unfamiliar physique, as he clearly tried to mourn in solitude. It was not wise of her to disturb him, but Triam was known for her knowledge, not for her wisdom.

[member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Silas Mantis]

It had been years since he'd seen him, would he even recognize him now? Contract after contract, war after war, he had't had time to stop and visit or even make a call, which made him sound an awful lot like the man who he'd tracked to Concord Dawn. But when he'd heard the news about his sister-in-law and his niece, his precious yet ferocious little niece, he knew he had to find the Wolf of Mandalore. For all Preliat knew he was dead and he was without family, but now, standing on a hillside opposite his brother the younger Mantis' stomach dropped.

His brother, his hero, was fallen to pieces. He didn't know what to do, he felt frozen, his feet heavy as the beskar ore that forged the armor that he wore. The wind blew, the fabric of his kama fluttering in the air as he stared from behind the 'T' of his visor. Even when Preliat had stopped writing, cut off all contact with his family and shut himself away, he still loved his brother. He wondered now if Preliat was the same way?

You shouldn't be here

Get out

He remembered the exact words his brother had spat when he'd come to rescue him from that hellhole and he'd gotten little more than venomous hatred in return, what would he get now? A knife to his abdomen maybe? Then he saw a pregnant woman ([member="Triam Akovin"]) slowly approaching [member="Preliat Mantis"]. Instinctively he almost drew a weapon, for a moment being so blind as to think the woman's stomach was a bomb. Damn fool he cursed at himself, his hand falling away from the holster of his blaster as he stared on with somber eyes.

In silence he waited for something to happen, for anything to give him the strength to face the brother who he'd failed as he'd once failed him.

 

[Preliat Mantis]

To say that Preliat was recently devastated was an understatement, to say the least. To put it in perspective, he had spent the last eight years of his life devoted solely to his family and raising his daughter. He gave up, for the most part, being a Mandalorian warrior- a soldier no more. He was a father. He was a husband. He was a provider. He was a lot of things- but they were everything to him. His brother could take care of himself. He never worried about his brother anymore. He didn't have to. Silas was like him. Silas was too much like him. His mother wasn't. Their family dynamic wasn't that great anymore. Preliat shifted in his seat, as he heard two sets of people coming. His instincts reached behind him, to the speeder. There was a long rifle situated there, not much more useful than for hunting. Not enough punch to put down anyone with serious protection.

But then, the cloak moved, the grass shifted, and time came back for just a moment, and lingered. Lingered on a memory long gone. There she was. The only other woman that had touched his soul, his being, more than Aditya did. And they were only somewhat connected. But now, as the cloak shifted and her frame got closer, his hawk-like eyes picked up details. Fat under her chin. Bulge from her midsection. She was with child. He rose to a stand, to signify to her that she was in fact, intruding, but not exactly unwelcome.

"Hello, Triam."

His voice was coarse and gravelly, formed from years of hardship and mannerisms picked up from other men of his caliber. He rolled his shoulders, then looked outwardly, towards another direction, where another familiar presence lingered. Preliat knew who he was. He just wasn't sure how to greet him.


[member="Triam Akovin"][member="Silas Mantis"]

 

[Cassus Akovin]

Triam stopped a moment to catch her breathe. I haven't felt this out of shape since I was toddler. Then, she looked to Preliat, taken aback slightly. Where Triam seemed to change, Preliat looked as ever the man she had first remembered him as... sans a leg made of beskar. That was new for her. How long had it been? All she could remember was a bar and a lot of police... or perhaps, a lot of lights? Either way, she remembered many of their encounters being bars, but drinking hadn't been their exact prerogative usually. Whether or not either would admit it, they were beings that seemed to revel in each other's emotions. Triam drawn to his danger and pain, and Preliat allowing her to be drawn so he could, from what she had observed - release. At least, that is what she felt within her perspective.

"It has been a long time..." She said finally, though hesitant in how to continue. She was never sure exactly how to talk to people in ways that weren't related to buying or selling something, inventing something, or fighting that kark out of something. Simple talking for the sake of the act, was always something unfamiliar with her. There was a sneaking suspicion she had that she had been emotionally stunted in some way, that provided her with difficulty in effectively empathizing with others. These sorts of things took time with her usually, though luckily this hadn't been her first visit with Preliat. It helped she had once been infatuated with the man, when she was younger and not as pregnant.

"Much has changed," She continued, "I'm sure we both have our stories... to tell or not to tell, as we please. May I sit with you?" She didn't ask as any sort of gesture, she asked because her swollen ankles hurt, and her heart was begging her to rest. Her obvious fragility bothered her to no end, frustrated the great Triam the Relentless could be tuckered out by a shallow hill.

[member="Silas Mantis"], [member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Silas Mantis]

He moved slowly across the grass, every step cautious as he approached the two. Silas nearly laughed, he'd gotten jumpy over the years. He didn't recognize the woman, but she obviously knew Preliat. As he approached he wondered if there was more he could've done? If he'd been there maybe he could've saved them, that or he'd have been buried in volcanic ash as well.

Rising up the hill the red armored Mando stared at the two before prying away his helmet. "I'll give you two a minute." He stated, nodding to Triam and his brother before turning on his heel and taking a seat further down the hill, simply enjoying the breeze in his face.

(Sorry about length, busy as hell today)

[member="Triam Akovin"]
[member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"I wouldn't stop you."He said blankly to Triam, finding something to say in their long silence. He had a lot to say. He had a lot he wanted to tell her. He had a lot he wanted to share with her, to reminiscence, to inform- but mostly he wanted to seek solace in her, in a small way. What solace there was to be found, remained the question to be asked and the answer to be determined. What they would say next would determine what they were going to go with.

His eyes moved over to his brother- an entirely separate, and wholesomely his issue. Triam didn't need to be there for that. But she was now. So she would see the ugly result of bad blood, distance, and apathy from two brothers who should've been there for each other- but weren't. Preliat blinked at his brother, not sure what to say. He had a lot more to say to his brother than to Triam. But what to say, again- he wasn't sure. He had yet another calamity in his life, and he was going through it more or less alone.

His eyes fell back on Triam. The next move, was hers to make.

[member="Silas Mantis"]
[member="Triam Akovin"]

 

[Cassus Akovin]

"Thank heavens for that," She replied, and rested herself on the ground near to him. Her droid stayed farther away, unsuited for personal interactions. It turned around and scanned the horizon, and the village and anything around them it could pick up. Searching in the event danger would arise. Though she always found herself creeped out by its peculiarly protective programming... it was nonetheless a useful and loyal droid. It was unfortunately a remnant and reminder of her battle on Geonosis, something she would rather not remember around Preliat considering that particular point of contention between them. She didn't know where to begin exactly, so she started with the obvious.

"So I'm pregnant. It's a boy. I was doing business as usual... then suddenly I wasn't, and caught a little surprise. Now I'm here bloated as a beach ball and losing my mind over what to do next. My company is going belly up, my reputation was sunk a long time ago, and everything I know about my livelihood has been completely changed. I think my days of fighting are numbered... at least my days of fighting for myself." She didn't look at him, but rather the village. Though she knew she walked a dangerous road, somehow, she began to feel at ease.

"I kept my promise to you by the way. I stopped the dirty dealing. I even hung out with a few good Jedi kids for a while, gave them free stuff and fought alongside them. Never did find out what happened to them all, once they joined the GA on the other side of the galaxy. Still... even with that, I've got no idea what I'm doing with my life. I've got no purpose here... well, until this guy showed up." She said laying her mechanical hand over her stomach, in a gestured that accepted both as being a integral part of herself and her identity.

"Yet even with all that... I know from one look at you, you've got baggage, and a lot of it." She turned her head to look at him. Whether or not he opened up was up to him, but she figured she'd give him a chance to speak his thoughts now that she had given him a summary of what she was dealing with. In this respect, she always felt weak around [member="Preliat Mantis"], and just looking at him it was hard not to, but even more so when you compared the hardships they endured. Although she felt weak, she had always felt... respect. He never belittled her for the problems she shared with him, even if sometimes Triam tried to "fix" whatever was broken inside Preliat to ends that were less than pleasant. She still remembered that day on Mandalore.

Yet here she was even still.

Momentarily she would glance at [member="Silas Mantis"], wondering what their connection would be, though from the looks of their faces she had a feeling they were related. Whatever social quagmire she had wandered into, she wasn't sure. Regardless, she was here, tired and sitting, and needed the comfort of the only dangerous things she could be around without worrying about her personal safety - a Mandalorian she knew and placed her trust in several times over the years. And maybe his brother.

 

[Silas Mantis]

The two obviously shared a history, Silas had gathered that much. The extent of said history, how deep their bond ran, and anything else of importance was mystery to the younger Mandolorian, the last time he'd seen her he'd been fairly intoixcated. Quite frankly it wasn't his business who she was or what her connection to Preliat was, so long as she wasn't out to harm him. Not that much of anything could, the running joke had been that the beskar leg had actually been a downgrade to the Wolf of Mandalore's defense.

What was he going to say? That he was sorry he wasn't there? That he never called or made contact? That he'd become more like him than he cared to acknowledge? The irony wasn't lost to him, it weighed on him heavily in every moment. What had he let himself become? It was an odd cycle, him and Preliat. He'd donned beskr to save his brother from some Sith hellhole, and his brother had then tried to save Silas from himself, and now here Silas was once again, trying to rescue Preliat, but something told him it was too late for that.

Placing his helmet onto the grass Silas simply waited, the knot in his stomach growing by the second.

[member="Triam Akovin"]
[member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

Preliat thought on her words for a while, enjoying the silence for a while. He smiled after a moment. It could've been him and her. Could've been. Now, it simply was how it was. Between them, at least.He ran a hand over his face, thinking on her words for a while. Baggage seemed like an understatement. He wasn't as open to sharing as she was at the moment. She probably heard some things through this and that way about why exactly he found himself where he was. He turned his head towards her, looking at her up and down. She'd changed.

"I now believe that we all do not have any purpose. Just as much as my wife and daughter had no purpose- other than to suffer and die at the hands of others." He said it very matter-of-factly. He sighed when he went over her words again. She was on the straight and narrow, more or less. And he- he was a rocket, curving his way through the galaxy with the only intent to destroy. at the end of it all. Destroy himself, at the end of everything. "Let me ask you something, Triam- do you think you are here for my comfort, or to find some of your own?" He mused to her, before cocking his head to his brother in the distance.

He saw the wordless worry in his brother's eyes. He pursed his lips. A look told Silas all he needed to know. That all was forgiven. He was glad he was here. And that they'd be okay. Not good, or even better than now- maybe ever, but they'd be okay.

[member="Silas Mantis"] [member="Triam Akovin"]

 

[Cassus Akovin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifQ3JRS4gqc​

Triam frowned. She was expecting loss, she expected this. There was little one could do though, to comfort one who has lost so much. As she has for some time now, she felt powerless. Though she imagined, not in any capacity that could be compared to Preliat's deep depression. His scars were earned, the sadness in his heart was one she could never know, a sadness one could not wish upon anyone.

Except she knew there were people who did, people he had been fighting his entire life. People she once assisted out of her own personal greed, something she regretted, because of what it had done to those she trusted the way she trusted Preliat. She paused to think how she would respond to his question, but suddenly, she didn't need to think, and the words came without her.

"We both know there is nothing left to comfort you, Preliat," The words bit at her, and hurt her for saying them. To say so easily, and naturally condemn her friend to a life of loneliness forever more. A Wolf without a Moon.

After a moment of hesitance, she tried to steal back her words. Though she knew she was too late. If damage was done, it was done, and she would live with it.

"I'm sorry..." She started to say, but then stopped.

[member="Silas Mantis"], [member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Silas Mantis]

He nodded to his brother in understanding, the slightest smile tugging at the edge of his lips. He didn't need things to be perfect between them, they never had been. Even as kids there were times where the two bickered, but then as now, [member="Preliat Mantis"] had protected him. Silas had come to that realization, that his brother had desperately tried to stop him from becoming like him, but that was the thing with little brothers, they always aspired to be like their elder, as for better or for worse the elder was the hero of the younger.

The man could tell [member="Triam Akovin"] and his brother evidently had more to speak about, especially after what she let slip from her lips. He winced at the statement, as he still blamed himself for his brother's state, as if he somehow could've done something to save him from this. Preliat hadn't been able to stop Silas from becoming like him, what good could Silas do to save his brother? He didn't know, but he'd try.

He glared down Triam like an animal about to strike. He didn't say a word, he didn't move, he just sat in silence and watched.

 

[Preliat Mantis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m4tYUfYCj4​

​

​

Daggers. Knives. A Sith's blade. A building on his leg. Torture. Capture. All painful things. All terribly painful things. Losing his wife and child was a whole new level of pain, but Triam's words- were so awful and truthful that it was hard for him to say anything. He opened his mouth to protest, but words failed to grace his lips. Thoughts failed to come- and most importantly, a reply. A retort. A rebuttal- something to refute her, something to revoke her statement.

But the worst thing about what Triam said, was that it was true.

"You're not sorry because you'd never be sorry for telling the truth."He bluntly stated, looking to his brother, who shared the same level of hurt as he did. He sighed and looked to Triam, lighting a cigarette that he produced from his jacket pocket.

"I think I know another reason that you're here, Triam."

He shook the lighter that he used to light his cigarette, to dampen the flame.

"I think we both know that it could've been my child that you're carrying. That it could've been you buried under all that ash. I think that's part of the reason you came here. Is because no matter how much I like to think otherwise-"He paused to take a long drag.


"You and I were this close- to becoming something more than to what we have now."

 

[Cassus Akovin]

What else was there to say?

Her heart skipped twice. Once for fear, and once for... well, she couldn't describe. There was no way to put into words what she was feeling. Relief? No, but it wasn't exactly sadness, either. There was nothing that could be denied, yet at the same time... she couldn't have seen it going any differently. They were always on separate paths, no matter how many times they converged. Was that still the truth? Was it best they stayed that way? Was it what she wanted?

She didn't know the answer to that, and felt perhaps the answer didn't actually exist.

In the end, it didn't matter what she thought or felt. What they spoke of, was the past. The past was dead, along with the people that mattered them, and the future held things for both of them that forbade the revisiting of those fading memories. Though perhaps... there was still a chance, however slim, something may become of them. Though not in any way they may have expected in the past. The future flowed in mysterious patterns, and nothing was certain until it is gone.

There was only thing she had left to ask.

"Then... what do we have now?" Looking puzzled she looked to her stomach, her hands, the grass besides her... "What do we do, now?" She looked to Preliat, and to Silas. The one she assumed to be his brother, had been silent nearly the whole time, but it did not mean his silence did not voice the fluctuating emotions of the group. The subtle changes of emotion. The sadness, the uncertainty, the anger, the compassion, the loneliness, and all in no particular order, were expressed by Preliat's fellow Mandalorian brother.

She had always admired the Mandalorians... admired Preliat... but she had always betrayed herself, and could never think to ask for the privilege for the rites to become one, or to approach Preliat as anything more than an admirer and confidante. There was nothing she deserved less than those two things. She was lost in the galaxy in her head, seeking guidance from someone who didn't really belong to it any more.

There was no room for her in that life, and she believed it.

[member="Silas Mantis"], [member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"We endure."

He said blankly, after another long drag from his cigarette. He turned and stared at her. Emotions danced around his eyes, moreso than his face. He expressed emotions through his eyes- rarely did his face convey emotions unless the situation warranted an outward reaction.

"We hope for the best."

He began to walk towards his brother, Silas. He paused, one last long look at Triam.

"And we think on what could have been."

He approached his brother, hands in his jacket pockets. He looked at him up and down, before sighing. He turned and looked at Triam. At one point- Preliat loved her. And should've told her. But time eroded what remained of his heart. Rage burned through his passions, destroying what made him so quintessentially him.
"You look...angry, brother. You look..."Like me, he wanted to say. Like an animal.


"Like me."

[member="Silas Mantis"] [member="Triam Akovin"]

 

[Silas Mantis]

He wasn't entirely sure how to respond. To hear them from strangers, employers, hell even fellow mercenaries was something he was used to. But to hear it from the man himself? It gave him a sinking feeling in his gut, perhaps of remorse or something deeper. Silas knew good and well his brother was speaking to much more than mere physical appearance, his kin could see into his soul practically.

Uncomfortable with his own state, the anger in his eyes lessened, and something resembling a smile formed on his face, however slight. "That bad huh?" A joke, it felt alien to him, odd, he'd had such a sense of humor as a child. It had been the first thing to go when he took his first steps into the life of a warrior, there was no place for it any longer. Rising to his feet he looked to his brother. Sorrow returned to his eyes as the circumstances surrounding their reunion resurfaced in his mine.

"I should've been there."

It was all he could manage to say.

[member="Preliat Mantis"] [member="Triam Akovin"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

Yes, you should've. Yes, I wish you were. I wish you were there so many times over the years. I wish you were here more than you were there. But Preliat's mouth didn't speak the words his heart yearned for. His hands rested on his brother's shoulders after a moment, and he looked to the ground, to finally formulate the words. His heart was aching, but he felt a strange calmness and comfort around his brother. His brother- the one that had not been there, but was here now.

Preliat looked his brother in the eye after a while."But you are here now, brother. You are here now."Forgiveness. Forgiveness was a rarity in Preliat's life. And the only one he could remember in his adult life to receive it, was his brother. The humor also felt alien to Preliat, an oddity in his current state. But, it produced at least a light chuckle from him.

"I'm the one who clearly got the looks, anyway."

[member="Silas Mantis"]

 

[Silas Mantis]

Silas let out a soft chuckle, the very concept of the two Mantis brother's cracking jokes seemed plain odd, not to say he wasn't welcome to it. "Whatever you say Preliat." The name itself felt foreign to speak, yes he obviously spoke of his brother by name, but it had been a long time since he had actually addressed the man by it. Too long. That was how it had always been between them, too long apart, first his brother and then him. What was it that perpetually flung the two away from each other for such periods of time?

He had not been there, just as Preliat had not been, but for once they were both finally there. No dramatic rescue, no trying to persuade the other to give up the path they had chosen, just two brothers finally standing by each other. There was also a pregnant woman, who was of fairly significant importance to his brother. Triam was an enigma to him, he had met her maybe once, and he'd seen her mentioned in reports of various battles, but she was an unknown to him.

The man searched for something to say. Did Preliat have a plan? Would he hunt the Ace of Spades like Silas? Would he join the ranks of some other army to find purpose? Would he perhaps just stay here and live out a quiet life? At this point, the younger Mantis didn't know what to expect.

[member="Preliat Mantis"] [member="Triam Akovin"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

The two brothers had a long silence between them. It was a silence filled not with words, but with unspoken debts paid. The two brothers were faced with a startling, eerie sensation- their fate was finally theirs and theirs alone. No more tricksters. No more threats from beyond their worlds. The eerie thing about the two brothers was that their paths were now entirely their own to choose. Preliat had chosen a while ago, siding with an entity that he had once considered evil, solely out of purpose. Purpose that he had been long without. If his brother came, so be it- and he would prefer that he did. But if he didn't, he did not mind.

"I know you're wondering about the Ace, brother."He took a step back, looking over the village, absorbing it's tranquility, it's serenity in the midst of a galaxy strife with Chaos. He turned back to his brother. "I have been on many hunts, and I determine to make this my last."He said solemnly. He was done with the wars, the fights- it exhausted him. It hurt him, physically and mentally.


"Come. Let me introduce you to Triam."


He held out a hand, gesturing to Triam. He started to walk, hoping his brother would follow.

"She is what I could have had."He said solemnly to his brother, and quietly enough that Triam would not hear.


[member="Triam Akovin"]

 

[Cassus Akovin]

Triam listened and left only a pregnant pause while her friend - she decided now, he was a friend, albeit one that was very hurt and sometimes broken - walked to speak to his brother, to reconnect as Triam reconnected with Preliat. She let out a heavy sigh, and put her hands to her head, staring at the village below them. She watched the pair converse out of the corner of her eye, and could see the tension, as well as the release of it in small doses. Her mind was empty save the thought of enduring, of hoping for the future, her future... and the future of her child.

Her stupor was broken, as she saw them returning to her, together. She was glad to see them together now, rather than distant only because she seemed to demand his time and attention, ever greedy for more attention as she was greedy for many things. She liked to believe her greed was not so all consuming that she was not a bad person as a whole, but greed was a powerful and dangerous thing, which had more than once throughout her life lead her astray. She corrected it, or at least in appearance, for Preliat. Though whether or not that act in of itself was merely out of greed for Preliat, was another story, and something she didn't know how to answer.

"You must be Preliat's brother. The resemblance is uncanny," She began to stand up slowly, so she could shake his hand.

[member="Preliat Mantis"], [member="Silas Mantis"] (sorry for late reply!)