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Elliot (really Ellius) and Elijah (pretending to be Ellius) meet up so the Valkyrie can be returned. Unfortunately, things turn ugly. Right after the filter to Elijah.
He'd been pacing around nervously for the past forty or so minutes, he was sure of it. While, yes, he'd caught a brief glance of his brother during the Miletos rebellion, speaking directly with him like this - it was so unnerving.
...Of course, by the looks of it, they would barely speak at all. Elijah sounded like he would just take the staff and return to the city as soon as possible.
So much hatred... he couldn't blame his younger twin, he supposed, not after everything he had to have gone through...
Staring at the city gates as they got closer and closer, Elijah couldn't help but wonder what had prompted his brother to return after all this time. Just give the staff back? No, no, there had to be more to it than that. There had to be. His brother had ruined everything by leaving and taking that blasted staff with him.
Granted, he had never really taken Ellius to be some sort of grand evil mastermind, but that wasn't the point. There had to be something else...
With a sigh, Elijah glanced towards the gates one last time, catching a glimpse of his brother on the other side, and quickly passed through them to meet him. He could do this if he just kept calm and didn't think about how much he would enjoy punching his brother's face in... "Ellius."
He nearly jumped when he heard his brother's voice so close to him. "...Brother..."
As different as they had turned out in terms of personality, looking at Elijah was still like looking directly into a mirror. And for him to be so close, it was... a sensation he'd almost forgotten entirely.
It took him a moment to snap out of it and hold out the staff, still in its wraps. "This should... ah... take care of any rumors of the staff being used somewhere else..."
Elijah's hand couldn't have shot out to grab the staff fast enough. Once it was in his hands, however, he held it close to his chest, cradling it carefully in his arms. He might not be able to use it, but that didn't mean he had no respect for it's power. "This never would have happened if you hadn't gotten sentimental about your new friends and used the damn thing. You never did bother thinking things through..."
"It was a child..." Now that he had a child of his own, he could understand the father's despair to some extent. He couldn't possibly have just sat by and not done anything... "How can you say such a thing? This was part of why we wanted to leave... use the staff the way it's meant to be used, and not just as a tool in someone else's political schemes..."
"'We' wanted to leave?" Elijah demanded. Oh, how badly he had wanted to just take the staff and go. But no. It could never be like that, could it? Not until Ellius knew the full extent of what he had done. "No, no, my brother. You were the one who insisted on it. You were the one who thought it would be a fantastic idea to take the staff with you. You were the one who never realized anything." He didn't even notice that his own twin had hated him for their entire lives, did he? "A child is just a child. We have this power for a reason... and it's not to save inconsequential children." Didn't he see? They had this power to save the ones who deserved it. They, with this staff, controlled life and death...
"...'I' insisted on it?" He frowned at all the accusations. That - it wasn't true. They'd planned it together. They were sick of the gossip, of the reprimands, of the way others chose how they should live, of the prejudice...
"...When did you... become that which we despised the most...?" He couldn't have been mistaken about his brother all his life. No, the Elijah he remembered would never have said such a thing...
Elijah couldn't help but laugh at that. His brother had always been so innocent, hadn't he?
"You really have been blind all this time, haven't you?" he asked, a smirk ever present on his face. "I have despised you since the day I was old enough to know what that was. I have always hated you"---the moment the words were out of his mouth, the rage and the anger that had built up over twenty-six years immediately bubbled to the surface... so much so that Elliot could see his eyes narrow and Elijah's hands grip the staff even harder than he had previously---"The perfect child who do no wrong just because you were the one with the major blood!"
The instant he had finished, the staff had fallen from his hands to the ground and Elijah had viciously backhanded Elliot across the face.
Not being one very used to being physically attacked, Elliot more than quickly found himself on the ground, his cheek rapidly growing a bright shade of red from the impact. No... no, he couldn't have been blind... that wasn't the brother he used to know... Elijah had... changed. Did his departure really impact his brother that much...?
"I don't believe it," he murmured, sitting up. "You... you weren't always like this..." The perfect child...? Him...? He'd always loathed it when people would treat him better. He'd always - he would always hold his brother after and tell him that they were all wrong. Elijah had always been better than him at everything. While all of his training was focused around staves, his brother could do everything - he could fight, he could heal...
Even now, the difference was still evident. How could he think that...?
Change? Elijah had always been like this, although he had been wonderful at hiding it all this time out of necessity. Who knew what would have become of him if he had spoken against the unfair treatment? Their parents would have been furious, having always just assumed the boys would have been inseparable...
What fools they had been, Elijah reflected as he clenched his hands into fists. "I've always been like this, but you were too blind to notice! No, you were more concerned with lamenting how sad and miserable your life was because of the 'unfair treatment'." No one had even really considered what he had wanted, despite being able to do what he pleased. He hadn't been the one with the major blood, after all. No one had ever really noticed or cared. And his brother...
His brother had pretended to do so. He knew that now. Everything had become perfectly clear the night his brother had left.
"You weren't... I didn't... I never once thought my life was unfair, you... you had it so much worse than me." He rose to his feet, frowning. "That night... when you didn't show up, I thought... maybe you didn't come because you thought you would be better off without me, but I always-"
Elliot shook his head, looking at his brother, his frown deepening. "There wasn't a day when I didn't worry about you, Elijah..."
"Pretty little liar." How could he expect anything less? Elliot had his face, after all. "It's not true. None of it is. You abandoned me here, Ellius." How dare he try to say otherwise?
"How could I abandon you, brother? You were always the only one I--"
"LIAR!" He never would have taken Ellius for the sort, but... "You left, took the Valkyrie with you, and you never once looked back. If you cared at all, you would have tried to find out why I didn't meet you or come back, but... you never did! And I will never forgive you, Ellius!"
"I told you! I thought you would be better off without me! I... I see the error in that now, but... I couldn't have known..."
"You always said you were the one who knew me best, my mirror." Yes, that was right. It was his face that had tormented him these past few years, wasn't it? Every time he looked in the mirror... "But you didn't really know me at all, did you?"
He shook his head, still not quite believing that his brother had always been like this. "What happened, Elijah...? What... changed...?"
"Nothing," Elijah replied, the smirk returning to his face, although there was certainly pain in his eyes now. "This is how I've always been, but you were always too blind to see." He gestured to himself, the smirk seeming to grow in that instant. "I'm afraid what you see is what you get. It's your own fault if you never noticed, you fool... Always so trusting of everyone and everything. Are your new friends that are clearly more important to you than I ever was really your friends, or are they just using you, I wonder."
"That's not true, brother," he said, daring to take a step closer. "You've always been... the most important thing in my life, even now..." How could he doubt that? Everything he'd done these past few years... hiding from others, running away, not growing attached to anyone, everything - all to ensure that his brother would be able to live his life free of his shadow. All for naught, yes, but... still...
"That's a lie." Everything that had ever come out of Ellius' mouth was a lie, wasn't it? Without allowing time for his twin to respond, Elijah reacted on impulse, punching him somewhere, anywhere, as long as it got Elliot to fall silent and stop lying to him like that. He had never been important to anyone, especially not to him.
And it did, because the punch to the stomach knocked the air right out of him, and back to the ground he went. But... unfortunately, he couldn't stay silent for long.
"It's... not a lie, brother." Stubbornly, he stood again, holding his stomach this time. "I love you, more than anything."
And Elijah had to hear it, even if he probably wouldn't believe it... he had to at least know. For Elliot's own peace of mind, he had to know...
This wasn't supposed to be happening. Ellius wasn't supposed to come here and tell him these things... that he loved him... How absurd! Ellius didn't love him or care; he had made that abundantly clear when he had left.
"SHUT UP!" Elijah had thrown another punch in the vicinity of Elliot's cheek now, just enough to force him back. "I'm tired of hearing this from you. You love me... it's a lie, all of it." It had to be, especially after he had spent these years hating him...
His brother's violence was quite disheartening, but he still wasn't quite willing to give up. There had to be some way to make him believe...
A little bit of blood trickled down the corner of his mouth from that one, his lip now mildly busted. "Why else would I be here now...? Returning the staff..."
"Scared your lie will be found out, no doubt," Elijah replied, kneeling down to pick up the fallen Valkyrie where he had dropped it. "Your cover was blown the moment you decided to use this, anyway. Can't have more people learning of your lie." He sighed, turning back towards the gate with the staff cradled gently in his arms. "I suggest you go now, Ellius. The moment I return, I'm alerting the guard that the traitor has come back and has made an attempt on my life."
Why was he telling Elliot this, anyway? He couldn't actually still care about his brother, could he...?
He smiled a little, in spite of himself and the tears flowing from his eyes. "I'm sorry, brother... Sorry I've always... made the wrong choices... sorry that you had to feel this way... but if it makes you happy, then... at least..."
He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought before moving to fetch his warp staff, and stealing one final glance at his brother's back before leaving. Elliot wished he could stay, talk to him, go back... but he'd promised he would return. His daughter... Nayan... he couldn't leave them behind.
He couldn't put them through the same thing his brother had gone through.
Elijah paused once he reached the gates, turning back just in time to watch his brother disappear. He couldn't figure out why he was doing so, of course, but, in the end, he supposed it didn't matter.
It was better if he hated his brother. This way he never had to feel sad about the whole mess.
He'd been pacing around nervously for the past forty or so minutes, he was sure of it. While, yes, he'd caught a brief glance of his brother during the Miletos rebellion, speaking directly with him like this - it was so unnerving.
...Of course, by the looks of it, they would barely speak at all. Elijah sounded like he would just take the staff and return to the city as soon as possible.
So much hatred... he couldn't blame his younger twin, he supposed, not after everything he had to have gone through...
Staring at the city gates as they got closer and closer, Elijah couldn't help but wonder what had prompted his brother to return after all this time. Just give the staff back? No, no, there had to be more to it than that. There had to be. His brother had ruined everything by leaving and taking that blasted staff with him.
Granted, he had never really taken Ellius to be some sort of grand evil mastermind, but that wasn't the point. There had to be something else...
With a sigh, Elijah glanced towards the gates one last time, catching a glimpse of his brother on the other side, and quickly passed through them to meet him. He could do this if he just kept calm and didn't think about how much he would enjoy punching his brother's face in... "Ellius."
He nearly jumped when he heard his brother's voice so close to him. "...Brother..."
As different as they had turned out in terms of personality, looking at Elijah was still like looking directly into a mirror. And for him to be so close, it was... a sensation he'd almost forgotten entirely.
It took him a moment to snap out of it and hold out the staff, still in its wraps. "This should... ah... take care of any rumors of the staff being used somewhere else..."
Elijah's hand couldn't have shot out to grab the staff fast enough. Once it was in his hands, however, he held it close to his chest, cradling it carefully in his arms. He might not be able to use it, but that didn't mean he had no respect for it's power. "This never would have happened if you hadn't gotten sentimental about your new friends and used the damn thing. You never did bother thinking things through..."
"It was a child..." Now that he had a child of his own, he could understand the father's despair to some extent. He couldn't possibly have just sat by and not done anything... "How can you say such a thing? This was part of why we wanted to leave... use the staff the way it's meant to be used, and not just as a tool in someone else's political schemes..."
"'We' wanted to leave?" Elijah demanded. Oh, how badly he had wanted to just take the staff and go. But no. It could never be like that, could it? Not until Ellius knew the full extent of what he had done. "No, no, my brother. You were the one who insisted on it. You were the one who thought it would be a fantastic idea to take the staff with you. You were the one who never realized anything." He didn't even notice that his own twin had hated him for their entire lives, did he? "A child is just a child. We have this power for a reason... and it's not to save inconsequential children." Didn't he see? They had this power to save the ones who deserved it. They, with this staff, controlled life and death...
"...'I' insisted on it?" He frowned at all the accusations. That - it wasn't true. They'd planned it together. They were sick of the gossip, of the reprimands, of the way others chose how they should live, of the prejudice...
"...When did you... become that which we despised the most...?" He couldn't have been mistaken about his brother all his life. No, the Elijah he remembered would never have said such a thing...
Elijah couldn't help but laugh at that. His brother had always been so innocent, hadn't he?
"You really have been blind all this time, haven't you?" he asked, a smirk ever present on his face. "I have despised you since the day I was old enough to know what that was. I have always hated you"---the moment the words were out of his mouth, the rage and the anger that had built up over twenty-six years immediately bubbled to the surface... so much so that Elliot could see his eyes narrow and Elijah's hands grip the staff even harder than he had previously---"The perfect child who do no wrong just because you were the one with the major blood!"
The instant he had finished, the staff had fallen from his hands to the ground and Elijah had viciously backhanded Elliot across the face.
Not being one very used to being physically attacked, Elliot more than quickly found himself on the ground, his cheek rapidly growing a bright shade of red from the impact. No... no, he couldn't have been blind... that wasn't the brother he used to know... Elijah had... changed. Did his departure really impact his brother that much...?
"I don't believe it," he murmured, sitting up. "You... you weren't always like this..." The perfect child...? Him...? He'd always loathed it when people would treat him better. He'd always - he would always hold his brother after and tell him that they were all wrong. Elijah had always been better than him at everything. While all of his training was focused around staves, his brother could do everything - he could fight, he could heal...
Even now, the difference was still evident. How could he think that...?
Change? Elijah had always been like this, although he had been wonderful at hiding it all this time out of necessity. Who knew what would have become of him if he had spoken against the unfair treatment? Their parents would have been furious, having always just assumed the boys would have been inseparable...
What fools they had been, Elijah reflected as he clenched his hands into fists. "I've always been like this, but you were too blind to notice! No, you were more concerned with lamenting how sad and miserable your life was because of the 'unfair treatment'." No one had even really considered what he had wanted, despite being able to do what he pleased. He hadn't been the one with the major blood, after all. No one had ever really noticed or cared. And his brother...
His brother had pretended to do so. He knew that now. Everything had become perfectly clear the night his brother had left.
"You weren't... I didn't... I never once thought my life was unfair, you... you had it so much worse than me." He rose to his feet, frowning. "That night... when you didn't show up, I thought... maybe you didn't come because you thought you would be better off without me, but I always-"
Elliot shook his head, looking at his brother, his frown deepening. "There wasn't a day when I didn't worry about you, Elijah..."
"Pretty little liar." How could he expect anything less? Elliot had his face, after all. "It's not true. None of it is. You abandoned me here, Ellius." How dare he try to say otherwise?
"How could I abandon you, brother? You were always the only one I--"
"LIAR!" He never would have taken Ellius for the sort, but... "You left, took the Valkyrie with you, and you never once looked back. If you cared at all, you would have tried to find out why I didn't meet you or come back, but... you never did! And I will never forgive you, Ellius!"
"I told you! I thought you would be better off without me! I... I see the error in that now, but... I couldn't have known..."
"You always said you were the one who knew me best, my mirror." Yes, that was right. It was his face that had tormented him these past few years, wasn't it? Every time he looked in the mirror... "But you didn't really know me at all, did you?"
He shook his head, still not quite believing that his brother had always been like this. "What happened, Elijah...? What... changed...?"
"Nothing," Elijah replied, the smirk returning to his face, although there was certainly pain in his eyes now. "This is how I've always been, but you were always too blind to see." He gestured to himself, the smirk seeming to grow in that instant. "I'm afraid what you see is what you get. It's your own fault if you never noticed, you fool... Always so trusting of everyone and everything. Are your new friends that are clearly more important to you than I ever was really your friends, or are they just using you, I wonder."
"That's not true, brother," he said, daring to take a step closer. "You've always been... the most important thing in my life, even now..." How could he doubt that? Everything he'd done these past few years... hiding from others, running away, not growing attached to anyone, everything - all to ensure that his brother would be able to live his life free of his shadow. All for naught, yes, but... still...
"That's a lie." Everything that had ever come out of Ellius' mouth was a lie, wasn't it? Without allowing time for his twin to respond, Elijah reacted on impulse, punching him somewhere, anywhere, as long as it got Elliot to fall silent and stop lying to him like that. He had never been important to anyone, especially not to him.
And it did, because the punch to the stomach knocked the air right out of him, and back to the ground he went. But... unfortunately, he couldn't stay silent for long.
"It's... not a lie, brother." Stubbornly, he stood again, holding his stomach this time. "I love you, more than anything."
And Elijah had to hear it, even if he probably wouldn't believe it... he had to at least know. For Elliot's own peace of mind, he had to know...
This wasn't supposed to be happening. Ellius wasn't supposed to come here and tell him these things... that he loved him... How absurd! Ellius didn't love him or care; he had made that abundantly clear when he had left.
"SHUT UP!" Elijah had thrown another punch in the vicinity of Elliot's cheek now, just enough to force him back. "I'm tired of hearing this from you. You love me... it's a lie, all of it." It had to be, especially after he had spent these years hating him...
His brother's violence was quite disheartening, but he still wasn't quite willing to give up. There had to be some way to make him believe...
A little bit of blood trickled down the corner of his mouth from that one, his lip now mildly busted. "Why else would I be here now...? Returning the staff..."
"Scared your lie will be found out, no doubt," Elijah replied, kneeling down to pick up the fallen Valkyrie where he had dropped it. "Your cover was blown the moment you decided to use this, anyway. Can't have more people learning of your lie." He sighed, turning back towards the gate with the staff cradled gently in his arms. "I suggest you go now, Ellius. The moment I return, I'm alerting the guard that the traitor has come back and has made an attempt on my life."
Why was he telling Elliot this, anyway? He couldn't actually still care about his brother, could he...?
He smiled a little, in spite of himself and the tears flowing from his eyes. "I'm sorry, brother... Sorry I've always... made the wrong choices... sorry that you had to feel this way... but if it makes you happy, then... at least..."
He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought before moving to fetch his warp staff, and stealing one final glance at his brother's back before leaving. Elliot wished he could stay, talk to him, go back... but he'd promised he would return. His daughter... Nayan... he couldn't leave them behind.
He couldn't put them through the same thing his brother had gone through.
Elijah paused once he reached the gates, turning back just in time to watch his brother disappear. He couldn't figure out why he was doing so, of course, but, in the end, he supposed it didn't matter.
It was better if he hated his brother. This way he never had to feel sad about the whole mess.