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“What! I can’t move!” Garroth exclaimed, He was back on that Snowy mountain, Heart beating in his chest, Running his fastest to help Aaron, to help Aphmau
No,
No, that wasn’t the scene ahead of him. It had changed, so suddenly but without notice at all.
It wasn’t Aphmau walking Aaron to the ledge and slicing him up, instead, Ein walked Zane towards the ledge, berating him.
“You FAILED me, Zane, you insolent BRAT. I asked one thing of you, and you couldn’t even do it” the Wolf spat, venom laced his tone. Garroth’s brother’s face, though hidden, reeked of fear, his unnaturally green eyes shrunken in horror.
“I’m sorry Brother, I’m sorry” Zane whispered, repeating it like a mantra, “I’m sorry Brother, I’m sorry”
Ein continued to walk him back, getting closer and closer to the ledge, to the edge of the cliff
Garroth screamed, yelled, begged Ein to stop. He tried his hardest to fight Lucinda but he was helpless
Zane slipped in the snow, Ein caught him by the collar. The wolf stared at his victim for only a moment, allowing Garroth one more cry of anguish before dropping Zane to his death.
Then he woke up, with a start, clutching his sheets and comforter, breathing heavily, It took Garroth a moment to realize it wasn’t real
The Blonde Ro’Meave rolled onto his back, arm laying over his head, exhausted. It was the third night since it had all happened, and he hadn’t been able to get a full night’s sleep since, awoken by 2 to 3 nightmares each night.
He didn’t think their continued stay at the lodge was helping.
The blonde allowed his head to lull to the side, catching a glimpse of the late hour(1:50 AM, yeesh) and Zane’s empty bed. He freaked out, only for a moment. Zane was,, alive. Not fine, but alive.
Garroth store at the empty bed for another moment. He wanted desperately to roll over and go back to sleep, but Zane hadn’t been sleeping at all, he hadn’t slept the last few nights in a row.
Sighing, he threw his comforter to the side, resigning himself to the opposite of a midday nap. his heart was still settling down, his thoughts racing, and his throat dryer than hell, Garroth couldn’t fall back asleep no matter how much he wanted to
The Blonde grasped his sweater hanging just beside the door, with so many horrible memories now sewn into it. He didn’t put it on, the chill felt nice against his hot skin.
Upon exiting his temporary room, Garroth was met with the sight of Zane, perched on the bench infront of the fire. The blonde Ro’Meave stopped for a moment, long enough for his baby brother to quietly acknowledge his presence.
“Did I wake you?” Zane muttered as his Brother reached the floor & rounded the corner, making his way to the huge fireplace. His voice was hoarse, dead. Garroth tried not to think about why
“No,” the Blonde Ro’Meave assured “it’s been hard sle-“
Zane didn’t look at him, but Garroth was close enough to see the fire glow on his face, to see the bags under his eye which further confirmed what Garroth already knew. Suddenly, what he was about to say felt inappropriate
“I had a nightmare.” He changed course, Zane only nodded at him. “Would you like a Water?”
Garroth saw it on his face, the urge to say no, but for whatever reason his baby brother sighed and simply said “Please.”
The kitchen was far colder than the Blonde’s room had been, Garroth almost regretted not grabbing his sweater. Once he stepped back into the lobby with 2 cups of water, he felt more relieved in his decision again.
Silently, Garroth handed his little brother the drink as he sat beside him. They stayed quiet for minutes, the only sound being the cackling of the flames and the sipping of water.
Eventually, Garroth cracked
“Why haven’t you been sleeping?” He asked the Younger Ro’Meave, tone even. Garroth wasn’t trying to guilt Zane or shame him, just wanted to know why.
Zane inhaled sharply
“I can’t.” He breathed, chest still heavy, voice still hoarse “I can’t lose control, I can’t let my guard down. He’s still out there, still inside me.”
Irrational thoughts, Zane knew that. Lucinda had assured him over and over and over that the counter potion scrubbed all of Ein’s commands from his head, that his mind was his own again, and that Ein was dead.
Zane trusted Lucinda, atleast he thought he did. But the feeling of falling asleep, felt so similar to life under that forever potion, to life under Ein’s control, and it was impossible for him to surrender to that feeling.
He didn’t need sleep.
Silence surrounded the estranged brothers again. Garroth, left with the same feelings he always had, a lack of understanding Zane’s feelings and how to help him. He cursed himself as such a failure of a Brother
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you.” Garroth spoke suddenly, lowly, his mouth moving faster than his brain “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you either.”
Garroth paused, only for a moment, fingers circling the rim of his cup. The painful things Zane had said under Ein’s potion rung in his ears, the hints Zane had been giving him since highschool of where their relationship was going, the hints Zane had been giving him about where it had gone, all echoed ever loudly in his head
Was all this his fault?
“I’m just sorry, for being a shitty big brother.” Again, he spoke before his brain fully caught up, resent making it’s way into his tone “I thought I was better. I should have been better.”
For a few moments, Zane quietly soaked in the apology he had always wanted. Eventually, the younger Ro’Meave scooted closer to his ‘shitty big brother’, close enough for their shoulders to touch.
“It, wasn’t entirely your fault.” Zane began, forgiving Garroth by absolving him of the blame “our father sucks.”
Zane half expected Garroth to deny those accusations, defend their father as he had done many times in their younger years. Instead, his brother chuckled heartily
“You can say that again,” Garroth mused, sitting up and setting his drink to the side. The blonde Ro’Meave found himself staring into the fire, using it as a distraction from the overwhelming guilt that loomed over his head.
Then, suddenly, Zane was leaning on him. Shoulder to shoulder, with Zane’s head of hair hitting Garroth’s cheek. The blonde sat in shock for a moment, Zane rarely initiated physical touch with his best friend, Aphmau, even less for his own family.
Slowly, Garroth pulled Zane closer, adjusting their posture so they could lay comfortably together, so Zane could lean against his Big Brother comfortably. Zane’s body was strewn over half of Garroth’s chest, his head fitting perfectly against the older Ro’Meave’s neck.
Finally, Zane fell into a peaceful sleep, and Garroth hadn’t felt this warm since middleschool. It had been so long since he last cuddled one of his Brothers, Garroth hadn’t realized how much he missed it.
Eventually the older Ro’Meave too fell asleep on the bench, too afraid of awakening Zane from his first sleep in a few days to try re-locating. Garroth managed to go the whole night without another nightmare, though he woke up with one hell of a kink in his neck and back that morning.
Garroth was certain he had woken up to a snapshot sound, and a bright flash, a photo being taken