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Story
+ Angel Hunt ~ Streifen +
Future Effects
Twenty Years brings many changes...
A story collaboration between Angel Hunt and Streifen
Twightlight
[Book 02 : 05]
It had been two days since he and Jun had arrived and the meeting with the white-haired Selestarri new houseguest had occurred. For the most part Sashi had gone between everyone, keeping things as separate as possible to avoid having the remainder of his house charred from within. It wasn’t overly necessary however, since the Bright remained either out on the grounds or in his brother’s room and Zeph had barely caught a glimpse of him. The workers from the village had already arrived to begin repairs to the study, and with all the people in the house Yamashita-san had her hands full cooking and baking for everyone and he didn’t have to read her mind to see that she loved every moment of it. The raven-haired telepath had returned immediately to work, citing missed deadlines and annoying editors, but which the blonde recognized as a classic Sashi avoidance technique.
Not that he really knows what to say to his brother since it’s obvious that the older Dark either isn’t aware or won’t admit that he’s in love with Lan. Had it been like this all those years ago when the situation had been reversed and he’d sat in the guest room at the loft and confessed how confused he was about Jun? Probably, and the fact that he was just a teenager and Sashi is a full grown adult doesn’t make much of a difference either since his brother has extremely little experience with relationships. This whole damn situation still just seems so odd to him and no matter how much he and the Angel discuss it, he still sees red flags every time. Jun continues to encourage him to talk with the Bright to find out what his intentions are, asserting that not only is it impossible to lie to a stronger telepath, but if there’s any chance of returned feelings or even just an explanation then it might prove to be helpful and set him a bit at ease. Zephyr knows that his boyfriend is trying to make the best of a difficult situation, but there’s little doubt that anything Lan says will forge some kind of trust or respect on the Dark’s end. He’s lived on Nova for far too long to believe that words can speak louder then actions and the only thing he’s seen from the Bright thus far has been instability and violence held in check by the most slender of threads.
Lifting a branch heavy with millions of delicate white flakes, he bends his tall frame to duck beneath before completely stopping in his tracks as a new presence crawls across his magical awareness. Speaking of the unwelcome guest… The darkness of the teleport blacks out the sun, the suddenly unsupported branch snapping back through empty air. Moments later Zeph stands higher up on the mountainside not far from the shrine to the crow spirit, an area he’s familiar with from numerous sparring sessions with Jun and Sashi. Standing well within the trees, he can see the slender form of the Bright in the center of the small clearing, flames twisting out in long tendrils to melt the snow in all directions. The blonde remains still in the shadow of the overhead canopy, watching as power builds up rapidly, fire blazing in every shade of red, orange, and yellow to curl up and around with increasing speed. Sparks fall to the ground like glittering rain, hissing against the wet grass before dying out, some even landing on Lan’s feet and legs, although if the white-haired man notices it, he pays no attention. The air is rapidly filling with heat and a thickness the Dark can feel across the empty space, elemental magic rushing out as if a floodgate has been unlocked. Zeph has been around enough mages to recognize when energy is about to spin out of control, the power too much for the user to handle. Hell, he’s been down that road himself many times and is well aware that if Lan can’t control the forces surging through him then there’s a risk the whole forest will burn. At the last moment the Bright rips the magic back through himself and down into the ground, black scorch marks streaking away from him in jagged lines and the smell of burnt soil replacing the thickness of the heat.
Panting hard, Lan struggles to catch his breath as Zephyr finally moves, yellow eyes rising to meet him as soon as he steps from beneath the trees. So there’s more Angel in him then just the hair, it would seem. He’d suspected as much and knew his presence would be smelled even if he wasn’t sensed. Silence hangs between them as the seconds tick by, each man taking the measure of the other until the younger Selestarri finally speaks. “You know that old human story, the one about the duckling that’s not like the rest of the eggs and is cast out from the rest of the pond after he’s hatched? He winds up wandering around the countryside until he finally finds some other birds who tell him that he’s beautiful and when he doesn’t understand they explain that he’s a swan and in truth all those who abused him in the past are the ones that are ugly. It’s all about how appearances can be deceiving and in this case the swan is my boyfriend, the one you attacked without so much as a word.” Midnight eyes narrow and a faint edge of ice creeps into his voice, but otherwise the Dark remains still. “I’ve heard how you were imprisoned by the Angels, how they experimented on you and used you for years and it had to be hell on Earth to endure, but you picked the one of them that’s nothing even remotely like the rest of his race to take it out on and never even stopped to think about it, did you? You just lashed out and never even considered that he could be any different.” Snow crunches under his boots as Zeph shifts his weight just slightly, studying Lan for even a flicker of reaction. His telepathy reaches out automatically and it takes a fair amount of effort and the echo of Jun’s words in his head to stop it. The Bright doesn’t move beyond the barest tightening of his hands, although his gaze drops away. “My brother is a swan too, treated like shit by both our factions and bearing all the scars to prove it. From his first day all he’s heard is how tainted he is and he could have turned it all back on them, destroyed everything with the kind of magic he has, but somehow he’s pulled away from it and is finally able to begin truly living his life.”
He’s so proud of Sashi and what he’s been able to overcome and there isn’t a chance in hell that he’ll just stand by and watch as someone interferes without understanding what the older Dark has been through. “So tell me why I should let you stay here when you threaten everything he’s worked towards?”
Lan: panting heavily just after he’d managed to snap the fire back inside, the white haired Bright struggles to catch his breath as the smells of the burnt soil beneath him permeates the crisp winter air. Ever since the workers from the village had arrived to repair the damage he’d done in Sashi’s study two days prior, he’d been coming to the empty shrine in order to continue on with his efforts to get his body back under control, the grounds of the Dark’s home too conspicuous for the time being with so much human presence for him to continue there. He’d been working so hard up until that point to master it and it had been unsettling for him to find how easy he had lost it when faced with what he’d thought to be at the time, a very real danger that had caught up to him at last. And even though the only thoughts he’d had at the time was to protect the raven haired telepath, losing control in any situation wouldn’t do anyone any type of good. In this case, Sashi and those he cares about got hurt; both physically and mentally and he wants to make sure that it will never happen again, he wants to finally be in control. So he’s been letting more and more of it out over the last few days, and it was continuing to fight his assertion over it -wanting nothing more than to be unleashed and very hungry to consume everything that surrounds him. But he won’t let it; he will master it no matter how long it takes. He’ll make sure he never hurts Sashi again the way he did two days ago, even if he’s the one consumed by it in the process.
Just when his heart rate has started to slow and the air begins to refill his lungs Zephyr’s scent hits his nose, carried to him with the slightest shift of a wind. Yellow eyes travel quickly up to meet cold midnight as the younger Dark steps out from the thick covering of snow covered trees, both men silent as they simply regard one another for all their worth. He’d known this time would come eventually, that he’d end up facing the one he’d attacked. He’d taken the telepath’s advice and kept himself sparse in the presence of his brother so as not to upset the blonde any further than he already had, but he knew that he would not be able to avoid him forever and that at some point, he would either chance into him at the house or the Dark would just seek him out. Apparently it was going to be the latter.
Sun warmed eyes fall away as Zephyr speaks, taking in every ice edged word that’s directed at him without one said in return. He can tell by the subtle shifts in his tone and the way he chooses his words that the other Selestarri doesn’t like him, and he doesn’t blame him for that whatsoever. He deserves every word he’s receiving and most likely so many more because when it comes down to it, he did attack his boyfriend without a thought lent to the act at all. He did harm someone this person loves and even if the reasons behind his initial outburst had, at least at the time, been very valid in his own mind, it doesn’t change that he’d hurt them both when they did not deserve to be hurt. So how can he explain why he panicked and why he’d been so scared? How can he tell the Dark that he’d only wanted to protect the man who’d taken him in and given him some hope after all these years of having none? He has no excuses for what he did. He’d lost it, plain and simple -lashed out in fear in desperation to keep the person he cares for safe from a danger that never truly existed in the first place and there’s nothing he can do or say that will change that. And truthfully speaking, if he were to be presented with a similar situation again, without the control over the fire he’s trying so desperately to attain, it will probably happen all over again because when it comes down to it, he simply will not risk losing Sashi the way that he’d lost her.
“I… made a promise to him…” Lan’s finally says quietly as his gaze slowly rises back up to meet the deep blue before him, his tone very even as he continues. “One that I never intend to break… What I did, to you and…Jun… I will never be able to change it and I know a simple apology will most likely mean nothing when someone you care for was harmed by my hand… but I am very sorry for it anyway. I’ve been running from them for so long…” the white haired Bright’s hands clench just a little tighter and his gaze once again falls away, his voice dipping a little low. “I thought… that they’d found me again and I panicked because…” he stops, keeping his gaze locked on the scorched ground beneath his bare feet before his eyes travel back up to once again meet the midnight before him, a soft smile forming on full lips. “I never want to lose him.”
Zephyr: Well, the Bright isn’t lying, that much he can tell without extending too much of his telepathy. The apology and the words about promises and not losing Sashi make little impact, and midnight eyes retain their chill when presented with sun warmed yellow. He can appreciate the show of remorse for the unwarranted attack on himself and Jun, even though it doesn’t change the blisters and heat damage that litter the arms of the one he loves. Nor does it change the fact that Jun still feels sorry about what his people did, despite the fact that he has almost no contact with them outside of Taz. Hurting his boyfriend is an almost unforgivable act in the eyes of the blonde, no matter what the reason and motivation behind it.
Then there’s his brother. Is he really supposed to believe all this? Even separated from his faction and altered in genetics, there’s little chance that the white-haired Selestarri has just waltzed in here and decided he’ll protect and care for Sashi. The Bright are strict in their codes and ethics and even though Zephyr knows that something like prolonged imprisonment and torture can change one’s outlook on things, it still seems pretty improbable that he’d truly hold to his word when push came to shove. The older Dark doesn’t need all of this in his life. He’s suffered enough through the years, and any further heartbreak and hurt may cause damage that’s completely irreversible. That’s not fair to Sashi and he won’t stand by and watch it happen again. His brother has already developed feelings for Lan, something that’s rare for the disaffected telepath, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Bright is in any way deserving of such a gift. Lan has already shown that he’s unstable and emotional, both of which send warning signals off in Zeph’s head, so he’ll take Jun’s advice and talk to him, see if he can’t push hard enough to discover why the white-haired man is here and what he hopes to gain from all of this. Then he’ll have the proof to show Sashi, and even though he hates to hurt him in any way, it will be better in the long run.
The trace of a frown slips over pale features, adding to the cold that seems to emanate from the younger Selestarri. “Promises? You think he hasn’t heard it all before? ‘Sashi, I’ll be there for you.’ ‘Sashi, you can rely on me.’ ‘Sashi, I’ll stay with you’.” Zeph’s voice is mocking as he glares at Lan. “All lies to further their own ambition or greed with little or no regard for what they were doing to him. He may not show it on the surface, but every word, every action like that wounds him deeply.” His brother is so much more sensitive than he shows, so open to hurt, and so quick to blame himself when others lie. The raven-haired Dark had been through it all so many times that he was forced to shut his true self away, the walls thick enough that no one could get through, not even those who truly care for him. “So why will you be any different? What will keep you from betraying him like all the Bright have since he was just a kid? It’s the Elders’ fault that he can’t socialize or relate to others in the first place, with their poisoned words turning everyone against him. So it’s no surprise that he has major trust issues. It doesn’t help either that Sashi’s been let down in one way or another by anyone who’s ever mattered to him—including his partner and me.”
Over the years he’s tried so hard to help his brother, to find ways for him to be happy, to escape the damage that had been done by the Seeker and the rest of their people. He’d stayed close, opened his home, made an effort to be available, and done everything he could think of to ease the constant loneliness the older Selestarri suffers from. Sashi’s words in the kitchen the other night, when he’d said that the visits and phone calls weren’t enough anymore, meant that Zephyr has failed. He’d let him down, something he’d sworn never to do… “So while your pretty words about unbreakable promises and all are nice, they aren’t going to undo the damage that’s already cut into him with the same intensity as the scars on your skin.” Dark blue eyes flick down to the burns and healed over marks that mar the Bright’s body, an even sharper edge shifting into his tone. “Whatever you imagine you can gain from being near him won’t happen and if you think you can just leave your own fresh set of wounds on him and walk away, it’s me you’ll find waiting.”
Lan: scarred fingers rise up to the collar of the kimono top draped so loosely over his damaged chest the moment midnight eyes flick to his skin and he slides it closer, closing the gap even as his sun warmed gaze shifts away to stare out over the shrine stairs to the scenery resting far below. Zephyr… loves his brother very much. He can tell by the icy words that he throws so effortlessly towards him, the protective tone he holds for the other Dark and the finality of the actions the blonde speaks as if he’s already said and done. And while he can appreciate just how much he cares for Sashi and how determined he is to protect the telepath from what he seems to view as a danger, the other man has it all so very wrong. How can he explain this to him exactly, though? How can he convey it through words when any word spoken from his lips will fall on the deaf ears of a person who’s already seemed to have made up his mind? It seems as far as the Dark is concerned, he’s already betrayed Sashi and already left him alone - neither of which is true, neither of which will ever be true.
It seems that; to Zephyr, his words are only that – simple words with no true meaning. ‘Pretty words’ as he put it and despite the fact that he truly does mean every last bit of what he’s said, he does understand that it could be seen in that light to someone who apparently has only ever seen others hurt the person he knows he’d never be able to hurt. It’s truly sad to find that the reason Sashi is so buried, is because of people who apparently couldn’t see someone so beautiful waiting inside. So how is he different from them? He just is. And while it’s true that he’s Bright, he’s simply not the same as he had once been before – he’d spent the last twenty years of his life having his views, his prejudges and his hang-ups burned away by the fire that streams so freely inside of him now. But like with his partner, he can’t blame Zephyr for feeling the way he does towards him in the end. For as much as his own faction is against the Dark, they appear to be equally against his as well. But if Halacie’s words of hate weren’t enough to push him away, then nothing the blonde could say, would achieve this either.
“Every day the sun rises in the sky…” the white haired Bright says finally, yellow eyes traveling up to stare out at the sun shining strong behind the fluffy white clouds that work to cover it. “Even when storms hide it, or the clouds are so thick that it can’t break through…” Lan narrows his eyes only in the slightest and his tone falls drops a little low. “…You still know that it’s there without fail, strong and bright… a light burning solely for you…” trailing, sun warmed eyes fixed on the moving clouds shifting in the sky for the space of a few moments before they finally fall away, sliding back to meet the Dark’s gaze before him as his fingers fall free of the collar of his kimono and slip up to messy strands of white, pushing them away from his face. “Sashi is my light, Zephyr… he has been since the moment I met him and one day perhaps… I hope to be his as well.” And he does hope for this very much just as he hopes that Hail can forgive him for the path he’s chosen to take, a path that continues to lead him farther away from her side in Eviternity with every passing day…
“I don’t expect… anything of him at all.” the Bright says as he slips his fingers from his hair and returns them to his sides, his even warm gaze kept constant with the ice cold blue eyes that continue to regard him. “There’s nothing beyond his heart perhaps, that I truly wish to gain because he’s already taken so much of mine…” Lan smiles warmly. “But even if that’s locked too far away behind his walls and barriers and there’s no possibility that I’ll ever be able to break through, it won’t change where I’ll continue to stand regardless – which is by his side until the very day he pushes me away…”
Zephyr: Midnight eyes stare disinterestedly and the cold that emanates from the younger Selestarri slides between the two of them like a thick wall. More words that again are pretty, but mostly meaningless. People lie all the time and this seems especially true where the telepath is involved. Sashi’s been lied to so often that it’s a wonder he ever believes a single thing told to him. Zeph hadn’t been stretching things in any way when he’d mocked the supposed promises Lan claims to have made, his brother has heard all of those things from others over the years. People who had been seeking to use or hurt him, to gain political power or bragging rights, and Sashi took it all, the wounds sinking deeper and deeper into a soul so badly damaged to begin with. When the lies were exposed it always hit the older Dark hard, much harder then he let on, but each time it added another layer to the walls and locked Sashi further away. Zephyr doesn’t even know where to begin trying to assess the real pain that the raven-haired man has experienced. Yet despite everything that has happened to him, the lies, the betrayal, the hurt, Sashi still wishes for love and the sense of acceptance and worth that goes with it.
Perhaps that’s how, almost in defiance to his past, the telepath has developed feelings for Lan—real, true feelings that Zeph can so clearly see in Sashi’s actions and hear in his voice. Why this person out of an entire planet, and why now, the blonde has no idea, although it had been mentioned that they’d experienced similar things. Grudgingly he’ll also admit that he’s never heard anyone speak of his brother in the way that the Bright does, claiming that Sashi means so much to him and that he wants nothing from the Dark except his love. His telepathy hasn’t picked up anything yet, which means that Lan is either an exceptionally skilled liar or he at least believes the words to be true. Still, it doesn’t make him dislike the Bright any less or make him any less wary of this whole situation. He will not stand by and watch Sashi get hurt again, so even if all the pretty words turn out to be true, Zeph won’t let his guard down for his brother’s sake, he’ll protect him and ensure that this won’t be another situation where the older Dark ends up left with more scars.
Deep blue eyes narrow in the slightest even as a hint of a smirk slips over Zephyr’s mouth. “So what will you do when he does push you away? Because he will, you know, probably more than once.” How many times had he been a recipient of Sashi’s sarcasm or fervent commands to leave? It had taken years for the blonde to gain even a semblance of the raven-haired telepath’s trust, years of being shut out, ignored, and told to fuck off. It’s not easy to be on the receiving end of that, and it takes dedication and true caring. “The walls and barriers won’t let him simply open everything up for you, even if he wishes for it, and as you said, his heart may be too far locked away. They’re built strong and sunk in deep, and make it extremely difficult not just to get in, but for Sashi to get out. What will you do then? How much do you care? Will you stay when he shuts you out, when he refuses to tell you anything, when he won’t even let you touch him? What are the limits you’ll go to for someone you claim as your ‘light’?” The questions stream out in succession, each one more demanding than the last. He wants to know if Lan will be able to take it all, if he has the tenacity and patience to fight for Sashi—even against Sashi himself. His brother deserves someone who will be with him no matter what, and if the older Dark means as much to the Bright as he says, he should be willing to prove it.
Slender fingers casually push strands of white gold from his face, midnight eyes never once leaving the white-haired man. “You say you want nothing from him, but that’s not true, is it? Everyone has things they expect from someone they invest time and energy into, it’s the very nature of relationships and to deny that they exist is only the short path to failure. Sashi will have expectations, even if he does not voice them aloud. Is it wrong of him to have them? Will you deny that they exist and believe that what he wishes for is identical to you?” It would be foolish to do so, but Zephyr continues to press the older Selestarri, determined to get a clear answer from the Bright. “Actions speak much louder then words in our faction, Lan. People lie all the time, so it’s the things you do that truly give a measure of your intentions and worth. Believe that I will be watching, even when you think there’s no possible way I can see.” To protect Sashi he’ll break the usual commitment he has not to interfere with his dreams or memories. Zeph doesn’t trust the Bright even in the slightest, so even if his brother finds out and is angry, it’ll be worth it in order to keep tabs on what’s happening. And then of course there’s Lan’s own mind, which he has made no promises to stay out of…
Lan: A soft sigh slips free of the Bright’s lips and he shakes his head in the slightest, pulling long, scarred fingers up to messy snow colored locks in order to once again rake them away from his line of vision. “…What would you have me say to all of that, truly?” pulling his hand from his hair, Lan’s yellow gaze rises back up to meet midnight eyes that continue to stare at him with a coldness that rivals the blanket of white that surrounds them. “You say that actions speak louder than words, yet you are demanding that I explain everything that I’ll do regarding Sashi with those very same words you’re holding so little stock in. So tell me… since what I’ve already said seems to mean so little to you, what it is exactly that I possibly can say that would satisfy you…?” though asking that was probably as much of a waste of time as his words are turning out to be since he highly doubts there’s anything in the end that he could tell the other Selestarri that would actually be enough for him. This is what he’s gotten from their talk so far anyway… but despite that, he does owe the Dark for what he’d already done to both his boyfriend and himself a few days prior and so he’ll attempt to continue explaining himself anyway.
“If I said that I had no intention of just walking away, no matter how many times he may push me to, or how many times he shuts me out, or refuses to speak to me as you’ve said he will, would this actually matter to you? If I told you that yes, it is very true that I expect nothing out of him beyond what he wishes to give me, would you believe it to be nothing other than the lies you seem so convinced I’m telling? If I told you that there are no limits in which I’d go for him, or that I’d give my own life without a second thought even if it wasn’t asked of me, would you honestly believe any of that at all?” whether it was believed or not though, it wouldn’t change the fact of it. He would give everything that he is in order to keep the raven haired telepath safe, absolutely everything. He’d made a promise to Sashi and he will uphold it until the very day he dies.
“…I had nearly twenty years of my life stolen from me and I’d cursed every single day that I’d been kept alive until I met him. I’d lost everything…” including the most important person in the world to him, a person he’s sure feels that he’d betrayed when he’d made the decision to walk the path he’s now walking… The fire suddenly shifts inside of him at his own thoughts and he clenches his fists in the slightest, pushing it down and doing what he can to keep it quelled within so he can continue. A frown forms on full lips and the white haired Selestarri’s voice dips low. “I had nothing left after they’d taken me… not my body, my mind, my home, our people - nothing. I had no reason to live, no reason for anything up until three weeks ago and it was your brother that changed it just as he continues to change it every day that I wake up to find that this-“ Lan raises a heavily marked arm and gestures to the world around him. “-is truly real. I feel for him what I’ve only ever felt for one other person before… and each new day that I open my eyes, that feeling only grows stronger and each new day, I want desperately for it to continue - even if it turns out that he can never return it, or even if he never even wants to… it won’t matter as long as I can remain near.” just as it won’t matter if she never forgives him for it when all is said and done. He’ll find a way to cope, just as he’s been coping with everything else since the day his world fell apart.
“But these are just words, aren’t they?” the Bright says quietly. “Words that mean nothing because if it’s really as you’ve said and you’ve heard it all many times before, then how can I possibly explain the true measure of my feelings with what amounts to be nothing more than ‘pretty words’ to you in the end? What could I possibly say that hasn’t already been said by others before? How can I convince you that I’m sincere when it appears that no one else has ever been sincere in the past? A little over three weeks… this is how long I have known your brother and I realize that it really isn’t very long at all and because of that, I can understand the reasons behind you not trusting me, but those three weeks have been more than enough time for me to decide just where I want to be. Which is as I’ve said already – right by his side.”
Zephyr: He listens in silence as Lan does his best to explain and justify things that, as far as the Dark is concerned, have no acceptable explanation. It’s exactly like the Bright said, that there is little he can say that will impact Zephyr’s opinion of him. That’s not the point to this line of questioning, though. He’d wanted to see how far he could push because he knows Sashi will push twice as hard and be stubborn and unresponsive on top of that, and if Lan can’t handle this form of hostility, he’ll never have the patience to deal with the telepath. It’s only for his brother’s sake and the sake of the feelings he knows Sashi has for the white-haired man that he even bothers with any of this in the first place. It’s so rare that Sashi takes to anyone, and if Zeph had a say it would not be Lan he has interest in, but he can’t tell his brother whom to care about, and so all he can do is measure how deserving this stranger is of such a gift. The fire magic flares up when the Bright mentions what had happened to him in the past, which sends a white-gold eyebrow arching up over a midnight eye, but the older Selestarri is able to subdue it after a moment.
Silence falls between them when Lan’s quiet words trail off, and the Dark allows it to linger, the frigid stare he’s maintained since entering the clearing still firmly in place. “I will be the one to judge you by your actions; by the way you treat my brother and how well you manage to restrain that fire to keep him safe. Those are my criteria, and make no mistake in thinking that I will be impartial or unbiased where Sashi is concerned. If it were up to me I’d toss you back into the street that you came from, because I think your instability will only damage him more in the end.” Zephyr lifts a slender, toned arm and pulls back the jacket sleeve enough to reveal the bandages. “I know firsthand how little it takes to set you off, so you can say everything in the world to me and it won’t change my mind in the slightest.” The blonde lowers his arms to once again cross over his chest, the slush shifting wetly beneath his boots. “All of those questions were for Sashi, because it’s to him that your words will weigh heavily, each syllable having the power to heal or wound. He takes a lot of stock in the meaning behind things that are said, so if you don’t mean what you say, understand that you will cause him pain. As I’ve said, he’s sensitive even if he doesn’t show it, so if it’s true that you wish not to cause harm, then choose wisely.” Midnight eyes narrow, and the tone of the younger Selestarri’s voice becomes razor sharp. “And do not hurt him.”
Turning, Zeph walks back toward the darkness of the tree canopy, the teleportation magic already spiraling throughout his body. Tossing a glance over his shoulder, he catches one last look of the Bright who so closely mirrors the surrounding winter-cloaked landscape. He doesn’t like any of this, not at all, but he wants his brother to be happy above anything else, and so he hands out one piece of advice. “When he shuts down or refuses to answer, you need to ask directly and then keep pressing. It’s one of the only ways past the walls…” The energy spins open the passageway to the black void and in a moment there is no trace of the Dark…
When the teleport fades and the snowy mountainside is replaced by the manicured gardens that surround the house, Zephyr’s senses are all but overwhelmed by the presence of his brother. Moving over the neatly shoveled pathway, he finds the raven-haired Selestarri in the hot spring, submerged in the steaming water up to his neck. Thundercloud tinted eyes are shut as Sashi leans against the rock, the slow movement of the pool fanning out strands of black in every direction. The younger Dark eases down at the side of the spring and slides his boots and socks off, chilled feet slipping beneath the surface a moment later.
Idly swirling his legs through the heated liquid, Zeph threads his fingers into his hair and pushes it away from the line of his vision. Sashi makes no movement to acknowledge the blonde’s presence, and actually, it’s only the slow rise and fall of his breathing that even indicates that he’s alive. The sound of saws and hammers comes from around the corner of the house, breaking what would otherwise be a quiet winter morning. Zephyr studies his brother in silence for several long moments, conflicted about what action he should take concerning his brother and his houseguest. He’s so worried that Sashi will get hurt again, especially when the person claiming to care so much about him is obviously unstable and damaged after the trials he’s been through with the Angels. What can he do, though, when the telepath has obviously developed strong feelings for the Bright? Jun had been right when he’d pointed out that Zeph wouldn’t have liked anyone coming between them, so other than his concern for Sashi’s emotional and physical well being, what right does he have?
A soft sigh escapes full lips and slender fingers untangle from messy strands to rest on the cool rock surrounding the spring. [I think that Jun and I will go home tomorrow,] he says quietly, the sound causing gray eyes to crack open in the slightest. [Your house is a bit… full… at the moment and besides we only came to make sure that you weren’t overworking yourself for some stupid deadline…] He wants to say a hell of a lot more, to lecture his brother about the possible dangers that Lan represents, to try to protect him in any way, but there’s no point in making Sashi angry when it won’t do any good in the long run. He knows how badly the older Dark wants to have the kind of relationship that he and Jun have and he wants that for him, too, just not this way… [So, I’m going to go snowboarding for the rest of the afternoon, but we’ll have dinner tonight, okay?]
Black locks twist on the surface of the spring as Sashi nods slowly, and Zeph rises to his feet, collecting his belongings before turning toward the house. [You don’t like him.] It’s a statement and not a question, and in its echoes, the blonde can hear traces of lingering sadness.
Bare feet deep in the snow that covers the decking, he stops and glances back at the telepath. The storm tinged gaze meets and holds midnight blue and the younger Selestarri sighs again. [Well, he did attack both Jun and myself with no cause or warning, and I feel like that’s pretty good reason to be concerned about your safety.]
[Is my happiness or an end to my loneliness not of concern, then?]
Zephyr opens his mouth to protest, but the words his brother spoke in the kitchen on the night of their arrival suddenly ring though his head. It’s not enough anymore… He’s failed someone he cares deeply for, someone he’d promised always to look out for, and he hadn’t even been able to see how much it was all hurting Sashi. [No, Sash,] he whispers sadly, continuing to the door and then into the warmth of the house. [Happiness is all I’ve ever wanted for you…]