Victor Bristol (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pulledunder) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
zenderael_mmo2013-01-25 05:10 pm
pulledunder) wrote in zenderael_mmo2013-01-25 05:10 pm
Entry tags:
[Victor/Zach/Rhys - Reunion ... Again]
Who: Zachary, Victor, some Rhys
When: 6/23 Thursday
Where: The Undertow
Before/After: After this exchange
Warnings: Sadbros? Not too sad!
In which seeing Zachary again only makes Victor feel better about his plans.
Zachary had left a pile of aroga for Neel, slipping out while the faerie dragon was distracted. The warp mage wasn't too far, so he was able to get a warp to the Undertow before Neel ever noticed he'd left. He was plain-clothed, not looking any different from any other citizen of Safta, aside from the two-handed staff he carried, designed for melee combat rather than magic.
Once he came out of the portal, he paused to look about. That was when he realized he had no idea what the Ahura even looked like. He'd heard a basic description - red hair, scars, some rumours that he never spoke - but that was about it.
Zachary may not have known Rhys' appearance, but he had played with Zach enough times to know his. It made the cleric easy to spot, even in the change of clothes. Having spent so much time with Victor, the family resemblance was striking as well. Had he and Mal planned that so consciously?
The shock of seeing alts had already worn thin, but Rhys couldn't keep himself from piecing together what he'd known of Zach as he surveyed him now. A little emotional, sometimes, and uncertain about his feelings toward Victor. Everything about this felt dangerous, but a sense of fairness was currently winning over that.
Rhys approached Zach with a half raise of his hand to get his attention. He looked his part as the Ahura dressed in his fur and bone armor, and made no attempt to hide his scars. There was no reason to waste time, and once he met eyes with Zach's, Rhys motioned for him to follow.
Zach caught sight of the hand and looked to its owner, and almost hesitated. The scars were not what he'd expected. What could have caused them? Had he not been treated properly...?
But it did make him seem more imposing that he would've been otherwise.
It didn't much matter. Zach was here for Victor, not for the Ahura, and he gave a soft nod and started to follow, calm and silent. There wasn't anything he could do for the Ahura, anyway, even if he'd wanted to- old scars meant the wounds had already healed.
Rhys slowed his pace, hoping he wouldn't lose Zachary in the twisting bridges and walkways of the Undertow. He glanced over his shoulder now and again to make sure he was till being followed, pausing when necessary, and pulled his tree's curtain aside to let Zachary in first. No one gave them much of a second glance, and even if they did, it wasn't the oddest visitor the Ahura had. That didn't calm Rhys. Zachary, well... Rhys was glad Zachary hadn't made a scene, and hoped the two brothers could avoid any outbursts.
He motioned to the bedroom and nodded to Zachary. Rhys would stay here, giving them their privacy... but not too far. Just in case something happened. A fight, or Victor's condition worsening...
It hadn't been an easy task to convince Ash to leave his side. As quiet as she had grown, Victor asking her to step out saw a return of the fire in her eyes. Her glares were for the floor rather than for him, but his own reluctance did not help the issue. It wasn't that he wanted her to leave, but he owed it to Zachary to face him alone... no matter how much he may have been dreading it.
This wasn't right. Zachary wasn't supposed to know... it would only make the inevitable more difficult.
Trying to maintain some dignity, Victor refused to lie down. He stood, arm against the wall to support his weight as he lifted his head to look to Zachary when he heard his brother enter. Victor was still pale, even after a few days of recovery, and his breath still didn't come easy. Even with that, he looked more like himself than he used to: his hair was as blond as it had been growing up, though short-- even shorter than Rayu's after a trim-- and his features strangely more... honest. Softer, perhaps, was the word. There was no forced hardness Victor had once used to try to get people off of his trail, but his features were weighed down by fatigue.
"Zach," he greeted, frowning, and suddenly unable to meet his eyes.
Zachary was uncertain. Afraid, even. But the Ahura had gone out of his way to bring him here, there was no turning back. And he did want to see his brother, to see for himself that Victor was alive, even if not well.
Jaw set in determination, Zach gave a respectful nod to the Ahura and went to see his brother.
To see Victor standing was a surprise, and Zachary stared a moment before he remembered himself. His instinct was to rush forward to give his brother a hug, but he wasn't sure how Victor would take it. Hesitant, he stepped forward and nodded to Victor, his eyes scanning over his brother.
"Your hair," he started, unable to stop the faint smile that creased his lips. Victor looked like Zach remembered from before. It was comforting, a reminder of better times, though he knew it wouldn't last, not with Victor wanted as he was.
That moment passed as he realized how unwell Victor looked, the cleric in him taking over. "You should be resting," he urged, leaning his staff against the wall and stepping closer.
He didn't know what to expect, breath held a short moment and only catching a glance of Zachary's smile. It sent a twist through him. Zachary would never approve of what needed to be done, but Zachary was also an adult now who could-- needed to-- make his own choices without his brother's reputation dragging him into the ground. It was another reason to remain determined. By stepping forward, he could clear the Bristol name.
Victor looked up at bangs he couldn't quite see, brushing his free hand through them. He'd nearly forgotten about that already. "I should be," he agreed, and even his voice had lost Rayu's gruff edges, coming out clear and direct. Habit and paranoia had kept that around in Stonecaster, but all of that had been washed away in his resurrection. "But let me stand. ... Please."
The 'please' caught him off guard, and Zachary found himself not wishing to press the issue. If Victor had protested differently, Zach would have insisted, but to ask, to request...
Zach nodded, relenting. He'd have plenty of time to rest, after all, so it wouldn't hurt to let him be for now, would it?
He was left wondering what to say, however. 'Are you all right?' Of course he wasn't all right, Zach could tell just by looking at him. 'Did you need anything?' He was pretty sure the Ahura either was taking care of him or had someone doing so, for him to be staying with the Ahura.
"Who knows?" Ravi had told Zach, so he knew at least one person outside of the Ahura knew. The cleric who'd done it, if they'd survived the ordeal. "Nayan?"
Victor winced with the question. "No, not Nayan. You. Ravindra. The Ahura. The cleric." It wouldn't have done any good to mention Ash by name. Zach didn't know her, and if he asked, Victor would have to refuse to answer. Even for Zachary, Victor couldn't say.
"It wasn't... planned," he said, having to pause between some words, and longer between his sentences. "I'm supposed to be dead. It could be dangerous for you to stay too long."
"I know. I won't stay." If he stayed, people would start to ask questions. Someone might recognize him, wonder why he was sticking around. Even if he had come to pay his respects, it would be odd if he stayed too long to watch after a corpse.
He had to get back before Neel terrorized the innkeeper too much, at any rate.
He had so many questions. Who the cleric was, why they'd done it, what would happen. But even though Victor knew he needed his rest, he seemed reluctant to do so with Zach there. "I needed to see you. I just..." Zachary couldn't find a way to explain it. He'd lost his brother once before, and then had again. He'd never thought to see Victor again. He couldn't not, knowing he was alive.
"I'm glad to see you."
He looked back at Zachary, unable to hide the confusion in his eyes. There seemed so little to be glad for. Victor closed his eyes and took a breath. Whatever remaining distance there was between them closed with Victor drawing Zachary into a one armed hug. The other was too afraid to let go of the wall, lest all his weight end up on Zach.
"... I'm sorry, Zach. I haven't been much of a brother." He'd worked so much that he'd barely been present, then betrayed Bastan and left Zachary that ghost to haunt him. And now, he'd be leaving again. Soon. Very soon. It was for the best. It may not end how Zach wanted, but it was what he needed.
Caught by surprise, it took Zach a few seconds to return the hug, but when he did, it was heartfelt, if careful. "You did what you could." A brother should never have to take up the role of a parent, as Victor had had to do. It couldn't have been easy, but without Victor, Zach probably wouldn't have survived beyond childhood. "Thank you."
Reluctantly, he released Victor. "If I leave, will you rest?" There was a hint of teasing in there, but the concern was much more prevalent.
Victor hadn't been much of a parent, either. He tried to be both, and couldn't succeed as either. But Zachary was alive. That had been all he focused on for a time. Keep Zachary alive. And he was. Even when Zach pulled back, a hand stayed on his arm with a weak nod. The worry to see Zachary at all was being replaced by the awareness of dwindling time. The last time, depending on how things worked out.
"Yes," he said, more of a promise than a hard truth. "Listen--" He looked up at Zach, gripping a little tighter. "You're safe now, all right? They can't-- they won't get to you anymore." He wondered if Zachary understood that, or if he still worried for what Anathema had done. But Zach needed t know that even without Victor, he was safe. "I know... I know there's a lot going on. But you've... been learning," he said. Victor wasn't supposed to know. He had pretended to ignore Zachary's attempts to learn self defense. "You can follow your own path now."
His combat training wasn't the first thing to spring to Zach's mind. He'd been learning a lot, not just combat. How to live without the church, how to earn his keep, how to be careful. Though what Victor said, the way he said it, worried him a little, Zach assumed it was to do with Victor's current mental state. Resurrection had risks, risks that were not understood very well.
He took Victor's hand in his and gave it a squeeze, attempting to be reassuring, a soft smile on his face. "I'll be fine. Just worry about yourself."
It was getting harder to stand. Victor slipped toward the ground, but stopped himself with his grip on the wall. He might have been starting to ramble and took a slow breath, reminding himself not to say too much. But Zachary was safe now, and he needed to hear that reassurance himself. Zachary was fine. And maybe having to escape Bastan had been good for him, because it avoided that mess. It had given Zach a head start on living without it.
Yes. Zach would be fine. Zach could take care of himself now. It was one less reason to run away. Ravindra had his own life and happiness, too. They would both be fine without him.
He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, okay." Victor squeezed back on Zach's hand. "Be careful. Please."
Zach's instinct was to get Victor to bed, but would Victor let him? His brow creased. If he left, they'd take care of him. They had better.
"I will," he promised. Of course he would. And his brother would be fine again, someday. He didn't know when. He wanted to stay, to tend to Victor himself, but the worry of others finding out prevented that. "I should go. Write me, when you can. Or if you need anything."
Releasing Victor's hand, he grabbed up his staff and went to look for the Ahura. "He needs rest," he said. "He's stubborn..."
Write him. Victor chose to say nothing, closing his eyes. If... maybe. Maybe he would get that chance. Maybe he wouldn't. Victor released Zach and ran his fingers through his hair. He really should be resting...
Rhys was still waiting in the other room at the table, glad to know the conversation stayed quiet. They had been living together, right? Perhaps they'd come to a better understanding. He looked up at Zachary with a weak smile and a nod. Stubborn was a good word for it. He wrote on his slate and slid it toward Zachary.
Are you okay?
He figured the answer to that was complicated, and maybe one Rhys could do nothing about. But it was important to ask.
So it was true. The Ahura couldn't speak. After seeing the scars, Zach wasn't entirely surprised, though the question was unexpected. He unsure of the sincerity or why the Ahura would worry himself over someone like him.
"Yeah, I... I'm fine." Maybe he wasn't, but he was more concerned for Victor than himself. "Just look after him."
Rhys met Zach's eyes and nodded once, firm and with promise. Victor was in good hands here. Rhys could certainly handle the weight, and Ashtaroth almost never left his side. It was what came after that worried him. Maybe Zachary knowing wasn't a bad idea. He knew it wasn't Victor's first choice. Victor wanted to protect Zach from himself as much as possible, but Zachary's ties to the clerics and paladins had weakened and apparently, his ties to Victor had strengthened. Maybe there was an answer there.
One step at a time. Rhys stepped to Zach and placed a hand on his shoulder with another nod, hoping to reassure.
Zach took it for what it was. Reassurance. A promise. He'd hold the Ahura to that.
He gave a nod of his own, acceptance. "Thank you. I need to get back." Neel would be furious when he returned, no need to put it off any longer. Besides, the longer he lingered, the more he wanted to stay.
Rhys dropped his hand with another nod and looked to the bedroom. If anything did happen to Victor, there would be another painful letter to write. He didn't quite understand all of the variables involved. Resurrection wasn't something that happened on Earth... were things looking up, or down? And would anyone have told him if they knew?
Stubborn. Rhys stepped past Zachary to return to the bedroom and deal with whatever Victor was refusing to do. Stay in bed, probably.
When: 6/23 Thursday
Where: The Undertow
Before/After: After this exchange
Warnings: Sadbros? Not too sad!
In which seeing Zachary again only makes Victor feel better about his plans.
Zachary had left a pile of aroga for Neel, slipping out while the faerie dragon was distracted. The warp mage wasn't too far, so he was able to get a warp to the Undertow before Neel ever noticed he'd left. He was plain-clothed, not looking any different from any other citizen of Safta, aside from the two-handed staff he carried, designed for melee combat rather than magic.
Once he came out of the portal, he paused to look about. That was when he realized he had no idea what the Ahura even looked like. He'd heard a basic description - red hair, scars, some rumours that he never spoke - but that was about it.
Zachary may not have known Rhys' appearance, but he had played with Zach enough times to know his. It made the cleric easy to spot, even in the change of clothes. Having spent so much time with Victor, the family resemblance was striking as well. Had he and Mal planned that so consciously?
The shock of seeing alts had already worn thin, but Rhys couldn't keep himself from piecing together what he'd known of Zach as he surveyed him now. A little emotional, sometimes, and uncertain about his feelings toward Victor. Everything about this felt dangerous, but a sense of fairness was currently winning over that.
Rhys approached Zach with a half raise of his hand to get his attention. He looked his part as the Ahura dressed in his fur and bone armor, and made no attempt to hide his scars. There was no reason to waste time, and once he met eyes with Zach's, Rhys motioned for him to follow.
Zach caught sight of the hand and looked to its owner, and almost hesitated. The scars were not what he'd expected. What could have caused them? Had he not been treated properly...?
But it did make him seem more imposing that he would've been otherwise.
It didn't much matter. Zach was here for Victor, not for the Ahura, and he gave a soft nod and started to follow, calm and silent. There wasn't anything he could do for the Ahura, anyway, even if he'd wanted to- old scars meant the wounds had already healed.
Rhys slowed his pace, hoping he wouldn't lose Zachary in the twisting bridges and walkways of the Undertow. He glanced over his shoulder now and again to make sure he was till being followed, pausing when necessary, and pulled his tree's curtain aside to let Zachary in first. No one gave them much of a second glance, and even if they did, it wasn't the oddest visitor the Ahura had. That didn't calm Rhys. Zachary, well... Rhys was glad Zachary hadn't made a scene, and hoped the two brothers could avoid any outbursts.
He motioned to the bedroom and nodded to Zachary. Rhys would stay here, giving them their privacy... but not too far. Just in case something happened. A fight, or Victor's condition worsening...
It hadn't been an easy task to convince Ash to leave his side. As quiet as she had grown, Victor asking her to step out saw a return of the fire in her eyes. Her glares were for the floor rather than for him, but his own reluctance did not help the issue. It wasn't that he wanted her to leave, but he owed it to Zachary to face him alone... no matter how much he may have been dreading it.
This wasn't right. Zachary wasn't supposed to know... it would only make the inevitable more difficult.
Trying to maintain some dignity, Victor refused to lie down. He stood, arm against the wall to support his weight as he lifted his head to look to Zachary when he heard his brother enter. Victor was still pale, even after a few days of recovery, and his breath still didn't come easy. Even with that, he looked more like himself than he used to: his hair was as blond as it had been growing up, though short-- even shorter than Rayu's after a trim-- and his features strangely more... honest. Softer, perhaps, was the word. There was no forced hardness Victor had once used to try to get people off of his trail, but his features were weighed down by fatigue.
"Zach," he greeted, frowning, and suddenly unable to meet his eyes.
Zachary was uncertain. Afraid, even. But the Ahura had gone out of his way to bring him here, there was no turning back. And he did want to see his brother, to see for himself that Victor was alive, even if not well.
Jaw set in determination, Zach gave a respectful nod to the Ahura and went to see his brother.
To see Victor standing was a surprise, and Zachary stared a moment before he remembered himself. His instinct was to rush forward to give his brother a hug, but he wasn't sure how Victor would take it. Hesitant, he stepped forward and nodded to Victor, his eyes scanning over his brother.
"Your hair," he started, unable to stop the faint smile that creased his lips. Victor looked like Zach remembered from before. It was comforting, a reminder of better times, though he knew it wouldn't last, not with Victor wanted as he was.
That moment passed as he realized how unwell Victor looked, the cleric in him taking over. "You should be resting," he urged, leaning his staff against the wall and stepping closer.
He didn't know what to expect, breath held a short moment and only catching a glance of Zachary's smile. It sent a twist through him. Zachary would never approve of what needed to be done, but Zachary was also an adult now who could-- needed to-- make his own choices without his brother's reputation dragging him into the ground. It was another reason to remain determined. By stepping forward, he could clear the Bristol name.
Victor looked up at bangs he couldn't quite see, brushing his free hand through them. He'd nearly forgotten about that already. "I should be," he agreed, and even his voice had lost Rayu's gruff edges, coming out clear and direct. Habit and paranoia had kept that around in Stonecaster, but all of that had been washed away in his resurrection. "But let me stand. ... Please."
The 'please' caught him off guard, and Zachary found himself not wishing to press the issue. If Victor had protested differently, Zach would have insisted, but to ask, to request...
Zach nodded, relenting. He'd have plenty of time to rest, after all, so it wouldn't hurt to let him be for now, would it?
He was left wondering what to say, however. 'Are you all right?' Of course he wasn't all right, Zach could tell just by looking at him. 'Did you need anything?' He was pretty sure the Ahura either was taking care of him or had someone doing so, for him to be staying with the Ahura.
"Who knows?" Ravi had told Zach, so he knew at least one person outside of the Ahura knew. The cleric who'd done it, if they'd survived the ordeal. "Nayan?"
Victor winced with the question. "No, not Nayan. You. Ravindra. The Ahura. The cleric." It wouldn't have done any good to mention Ash by name. Zach didn't know her, and if he asked, Victor would have to refuse to answer. Even for Zachary, Victor couldn't say.
"It wasn't... planned," he said, having to pause between some words, and longer between his sentences. "I'm supposed to be dead. It could be dangerous for you to stay too long."
"I know. I won't stay." If he stayed, people would start to ask questions. Someone might recognize him, wonder why he was sticking around. Even if he had come to pay his respects, it would be odd if he stayed too long to watch after a corpse.
He had to get back before Neel terrorized the innkeeper too much, at any rate.
He had so many questions. Who the cleric was, why they'd done it, what would happen. But even though Victor knew he needed his rest, he seemed reluctant to do so with Zach there. "I needed to see you. I just..." Zachary couldn't find a way to explain it. He'd lost his brother once before, and then had again. He'd never thought to see Victor again. He couldn't not, knowing he was alive.
"I'm glad to see you."
He looked back at Zachary, unable to hide the confusion in his eyes. There seemed so little to be glad for. Victor closed his eyes and took a breath. Whatever remaining distance there was between them closed with Victor drawing Zachary into a one armed hug. The other was too afraid to let go of the wall, lest all his weight end up on Zach.
"... I'm sorry, Zach. I haven't been much of a brother." He'd worked so much that he'd barely been present, then betrayed Bastan and left Zachary that ghost to haunt him. And now, he'd be leaving again. Soon. Very soon. It was for the best. It may not end how Zach wanted, but it was what he needed.
Caught by surprise, it took Zach a few seconds to return the hug, but when he did, it was heartfelt, if careful. "You did what you could." A brother should never have to take up the role of a parent, as Victor had had to do. It couldn't have been easy, but without Victor, Zach probably wouldn't have survived beyond childhood. "Thank you."
Reluctantly, he released Victor. "If I leave, will you rest?" There was a hint of teasing in there, but the concern was much more prevalent.
Victor hadn't been much of a parent, either. He tried to be both, and couldn't succeed as either. But Zachary was alive. That had been all he focused on for a time. Keep Zachary alive. And he was. Even when Zach pulled back, a hand stayed on his arm with a weak nod. The worry to see Zachary at all was being replaced by the awareness of dwindling time. The last time, depending on how things worked out.
"Yes," he said, more of a promise than a hard truth. "Listen--" He looked up at Zach, gripping a little tighter. "You're safe now, all right? They can't-- they won't get to you anymore." He wondered if Zachary understood that, or if he still worried for what Anathema had done. But Zach needed t know that even without Victor, he was safe. "I know... I know there's a lot going on. But you've... been learning," he said. Victor wasn't supposed to know. He had pretended to ignore Zachary's attempts to learn self defense. "You can follow your own path now."
His combat training wasn't the first thing to spring to Zach's mind. He'd been learning a lot, not just combat. How to live without the church, how to earn his keep, how to be careful. Though what Victor said, the way he said it, worried him a little, Zach assumed it was to do with Victor's current mental state. Resurrection had risks, risks that were not understood very well.
He took Victor's hand in his and gave it a squeeze, attempting to be reassuring, a soft smile on his face. "I'll be fine. Just worry about yourself."
It was getting harder to stand. Victor slipped toward the ground, but stopped himself with his grip on the wall. He might have been starting to ramble and took a slow breath, reminding himself not to say too much. But Zachary was safe now, and he needed to hear that reassurance himself. Zachary was fine. And maybe having to escape Bastan had been good for him, because it avoided that mess. It had given Zach a head start on living without it.
Yes. Zach would be fine. Zach could take care of himself now. It was one less reason to run away. Ravindra had his own life and happiness, too. They would both be fine without him.
He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, okay." Victor squeezed back on Zach's hand. "Be careful. Please."
Zach's instinct was to get Victor to bed, but would Victor let him? His brow creased. If he left, they'd take care of him. They had better.
"I will," he promised. Of course he would. And his brother would be fine again, someday. He didn't know when. He wanted to stay, to tend to Victor himself, but the worry of others finding out prevented that. "I should go. Write me, when you can. Or if you need anything."
Releasing Victor's hand, he grabbed up his staff and went to look for the Ahura. "He needs rest," he said. "He's stubborn..."
Write him. Victor chose to say nothing, closing his eyes. If... maybe. Maybe he would get that chance. Maybe he wouldn't. Victor released Zach and ran his fingers through his hair. He really should be resting...
Rhys was still waiting in the other room at the table, glad to know the conversation stayed quiet. They had been living together, right? Perhaps they'd come to a better understanding. He looked up at Zachary with a weak smile and a nod. Stubborn was a good word for it. He wrote on his slate and slid it toward Zachary.
Are you okay?
He figured the answer to that was complicated, and maybe one Rhys could do nothing about. But it was important to ask.
So it was true. The Ahura couldn't speak. After seeing the scars, Zach wasn't entirely surprised, though the question was unexpected. He unsure of the sincerity or why the Ahura would worry himself over someone like him.
"Yeah, I... I'm fine." Maybe he wasn't, but he was more concerned for Victor than himself. "Just look after him."
Rhys met Zach's eyes and nodded once, firm and with promise. Victor was in good hands here. Rhys could certainly handle the weight, and Ashtaroth almost never left his side. It was what came after that worried him. Maybe Zachary knowing wasn't a bad idea. He knew it wasn't Victor's first choice. Victor wanted to protect Zach from himself as much as possible, but Zachary's ties to the clerics and paladins had weakened and apparently, his ties to Victor had strengthened. Maybe there was an answer there.
One step at a time. Rhys stepped to Zach and placed a hand on his shoulder with another nod, hoping to reassure.
Zach took it for what it was. Reassurance. A promise. He'd hold the Ahura to that.
He gave a nod of his own, acceptance. "Thank you. I need to get back." Neel would be furious when he returned, no need to put it off any longer. Besides, the longer he lingered, the more he wanted to stay.
Rhys dropped his hand with another nod and looked to the bedroom. If anything did happen to Victor, there would be another painful letter to write. He didn't quite understand all of the variables involved. Resurrection wasn't something that happened on Earth... were things looking up, or down? And would anyone have told him if they knew?
Stubborn. Rhys stepped past Zachary to return to the bedroom and deal with whatever Victor was refusing to do. Stay in bed, probably.