Amends

Chapter 11: Alter

Ingressus comes to terms with the fact that Amantius is going nowhere without him, and so he humours him, hoping that he might just help

And all seems to be going fine as they trundle closer to the shoreline. At least until they encounter and unexpected guest, and Ingressus' worst fears manifest themselves into panic, affecting Amantius more than he realises

Author's note: hehe so remember Zirian Mendoris from "Unbroken" and how he belongs to my "Aftermath" co-writer and we clanbent him to be a Mendoris? well for story purposes we revived the bitch and now he's a Nestoris again! strictly speaking, that's not entirely true, but I had to pay for this one since I do nothing but abuse OCs XD

(I paid dearly for this one when he asked if he could borrow my beloved Yvana...) XD

iirc, there was supposed to be an illustration for this one, but lord alone knows I didn't get it finished and I can't find it for the life of me. I got no idea where it's gone

also, Ingry do start to be pulling back some of his canon character. he gonna start being a strong dude again and I love it. writing him suffering brings me pain that when the plot calls for a more characteristic play, I get myself excited I'm like "INGRY'S BACK!" like an idiot XD

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The day had fully dawned by the time that Amantius and Ingressus had made decent headway along the dirt path towards Nestoria, meaning that both were as exposed as they were going to get walking under the bare, winter-borne trees with the bright December sun poking between the branches and glistening on the dewy grass that lined the edges of the path. It unnerved Ingressus to be walking a path that he had only previously walked in the dead of night, for his cloak could now only provide him with so much cover before it would become clear who he was and why he had attempted to disguise himself.

But like Amantius, he had to push his fears deep down and continue forward; although as he looked on ahead at the smaller Ardoni, he had begun to realise that Amantius was better at hiding his anxiety than he was, as the Nestoris skipped in front, brushing his hands along the bushes and tree trunks. Every so often, he would even giddily swing around the barren trunks as though he had all the energy in the world.

And every so often, Ingressus found it more difficult to stifle his amusement at the younger Nestoris.

Amantius reminded Ingressus so strongly of Achillean when they were growing up together. Ingressus would take years to relax enough to join Achillean in his spontaneous tree swinging, or his unprovoked pond-dives. He'd had to live by such strict rules in his camp to stay safe that Achillean's careless freedom hurt him for a while, knowing that the children of other clans could do almost whatever they liked with minimal consequences. In realising that he was now a part of this clan, he learned that he could be the same – free.

He just never quite felt it all the way. Less so now than ever.

Aegus was a big part of who Ingressus was in the end, even after all that had transpired. Without the help of the Nestoris Master, Ingressus would have been killed long before he and Achillean had learned what brotherhood was. He would never have been granted a chance at life, and especially after the Master had rescued his dying body from the mine network seven years ago, Ingressus always felt indebted to the old man for doing so much for someone he should never have thought twice about – for someone who had done nothing to deserve such care.

And he suffered all the more for it. He only wanted what was best for both of them. He tried to stop Achillean from thinking the Aggressium Prime Song was the answer; but ultimately Achillean was weaker than even he realised, and he had not accounted for the infinitesimal emotions that drowned the boy. He tried to stop Ingressus from attacking the clans before the Great War; but ultimately Ingressus' mind wasn't in the right place to hear reason – he only heard revenge.