-- 2 {Written/Action}

[6610_c]

[Ethan is standing in the shade beneath some trees, just barely into the forest. Having been here for a month, he's relatively relaxed, but his axe is still leaned against the tree beside him just in case. He's just closing his journal after writing just the following question:]

How important is family to you?

[He's going to stay in the shade until

Comments

[purpledemoneyes]

My family consisted of only me and my sister, so... very important.

[6610_c]

How far would you go to help your sister, if she did something wrong?

[purpledemoneyes]

That would defend on what she did that was considered wrong. If it didn't hurt anyone, I would have tried to protect her.

What made you think about this question?

[6610_c]

I remembered something just before I arrived here. It's been on my mind.

...I'm sorry to press you like this. I'm just trying to figure it out myself.

[purpledemoneyes]

Can I ask what it was?

It's fine. If it helps, then that's what's important.

[6610_c]

...

[There's no real reason to hide it here, he's aware.]

An enemy of mine -- someone who betrayed me... I had amnesia, and I must not have wanted to remember. He was my brother.

I don't know what's happening in my world without me, but... this isn't something I can be hesitant about. I need to decide what to do.

[purpledemoneyes]

I'm sorry. That's painful to go through, and I can't imagine how devastating it must be to find out it was your own brother. If I had a sibling that did the same, I would have forever nursed the hope that I simply didn't know the whole picture.

At least you put out a warning here now, so if he comes to Luceti other people might know he's untrustworthy. But, uhm. What was it he did that made you realize it?

[6610_c]

...

Ever since our parents died, he's tried to be independent. It ended up being about proving he didn't need other people... not me, or anyone.

He was so confident in his own strength, he just broke when we defeated him. He didn't want to believe that anyone, or anything, could bring him down.

...He called me 'brother'. That was all it took to remember it.

[purpledemoneyes]

So now he's broken, and you're wondering if you should forgive him for the betrayal or not?

[6610_c]

No... I wish it was that simple. Some of his men escaped with him. I don't know what he'll do now.

[purpledemoneyes]

You don't think he'll hurt people, do you?

[6610_c]

I don't know what he'll do. He hasn't experienced any kind of defeat since we were young.

I just wish I was there. I don't know what's happening without me.

[purpledemoneyes]

What did he do, the last time he experienced it?

I understand that. Even when siblings want to be independent, it's hard not to want to protect them, or protect people from them.

[6610_c]

He was only sixteen. Our entire village... was razed to the ground. We were the only two survivors.

In the time before anyone found us, he was terrified. We both were. After that... he swore he'd become strong enough that nothing like that would ever happen again.

But... it's gone beyond independence. He wanted to prove he could be stronger than anyone, all on his own. I think... he honestly thought he was.

[purpledemoneyes]

In my experience... those kind of people need to be protected more than anyone, or else they'll run themselves into the ground. They're not able to see their own faults, or they're in denial of them.

Did you ever find out why your village was targeted?

[6610_c]

It was during a war, but I still don't know why our village was destroyed. Apparently it was the work of a renegade soldier.

But I agree... he can't see anything clearly. It's not just him I'm worried about, it's what he'll do now that his world view's been destroyed. He's not someone to be taken lightly, and now he's even less stable than before.