That Which Lies in the Dark

27

"So... wait... let me get this gay." Remus chuckled slightly as he jumped up in front of Virgil who was currently trying to climb over a log. "When you said that bag was all you had, you were being serious?"

"Well... yeah?" Virgil frowned in confusion as Remus just stared at the back as if trying to see its contents. "I didn't have anything, to begin with."

"But you bought that at Farven? So what you're really saying is you didn't have anything at all." Remus spun about making it so he was walking beside Virgil as Roman walked up ahead of them both. "Not to mention the daggers... Those are definitely brand new. Did you find them at the markets too?"

"Actually Remus- I uh... um..." Virgil panicked a bit, before completely shutting down making Remus falter in concern.

"Emo? You ok?"

'They were gifts.' Remus's eyes flashed hearing Roman's voice in his head, making him jerk back a bit in surprise, trying to hide it by faking himself tripping on a root. Roman simply shot a look back at the other, with his tired expression. 'And considering what was given to him... he would be wise not to show them to any hunters.'

'Roman, did you give him a protection charm?' Roman did not respond, turning back to what was in front of him instead, only making Remus slow a bit as his mind truly thought it over. The only reason Roman would say Virgil shouldn't show a hunter something is if it was moon related. Roman's the only one of them that has each and every single sigil, mark, and offering memorized and what they mean. Roman is the only one of them that follows the moon after all. So if Virgil was suddenly gifted something Selen related, to which Roman knew about, it made sense that it was some sort of charm. What was surprising was that ROMAN gave him anything at all, let alone something meant to protect him.

"You know, Virgil..." Might as well start wiggling his way in. Remus sighed, as he tried to put on a calm smile. He cared about Virgil, and if it wasn't clear before it definitely was now that Roman did too whether or not he realized it himself. He might as well started to pull Virgil into the truth of things. "Those daggers are pretty sweet."

"Oh, really? Thanks." Virgil smiled as he pulled one out, letting Remus look at it. "I thought the way the iridescent blue swirls about the sparkly white was beautiful." Remus chuckled softly, seeing how Roman seemed to twitch over the words. "They're very pretty."

"Mhmm." Remus hummed as he let himself look over it all before freezing up at the charm carved into the pommel of the hilt. It was shallow and carved in a way where the eyes tend to just pass over it, but it didn't change the fact that it was there. "Moonstone does have a very pretty color to it."

"Oh, uh... right. Moonstone." Virgil curled away a bit making Remus smile more as he handed it back.

"What? Afraid I'll pull the 'hunter' card and condemn you for having something that's tied to the moon?" Roman growled loudly only making Remums laugh more. "The last thing I care about is all that 'the moon is evil' bull shit." Roman growled even louder giving Remus a very clear glare. Remus just sighed as he rolled his eyes and nudged Virgil's arm. "I'm not like my brother."

"Not this again." Roman grumbled catching Virgil's attention.

"Yes, again. And I'll say it every single chance I get to. Selen aren't inherently evil." Virgil's eyes shot wide as Remus hissed at his brother. "It's the scorned that are evil. The Selen are just beings. I don't care about hunting the bad ones but not all of them are monsters. And that means, not all moon-inspired imagery are evil either."

"Keep talking like that and someone might peg you a sympathizer." Virgil teased, although awkwardly, as Remus's eyes met his with a serious look.

"I am." Virgil completely crashed as Remus just shrugged. "I don't judge people for what they are, just what they've done. My brother, however-..."

"All monsters deserve to die and you will NEVER change my mind on that Remus." Roman snapped, as he whipped around with a growl. "How many times do I have to repeat myself? I-..."

"Oh, hush, Roman." Roman quite obviously bristled as Remus patted his shoulder walking past him with a laugh. Virgil just stared between the two before racing after Remus with this questioning look. Roman sighed, as he ran his hand through his hair letting the conversation the other two were having filter into the background. He just couldn't bother with it all. There was so much changing around him and frankly, he wasn't quite keeping up with it all. He would much prefer to keep to the silence until the next town. Then Virgil will part ways and Roman would no longer have to deal with the incessant buzz in his skin.

"So Bolton... You said your brothers there right?" Virgil jumped a bit at Remus's sudden question but smiled regardless with a nod.

"Yeah... He's been in Bolton now for a while now. I haven't had the chance to see him again so I thought it might be nice." Remus just nodded a long, giving Virgil this look, as the younger stared off at nothing lost in thought.

"Is he older or younger?"

"Oh, older by far." Virgil laughed as he seemed to light up about it all. "Remy raised me. I've been with him my whole life until last year."

"Why the change?" Virgil's faltered as he looked back to see Roman's curious look. His voice was soft as tilted his head in thought making Virgil chuckle a bit at the expression. "If he's your brother... and has raised you said... why are you not with him?" Remus's eyes darkened seeing the pain in Roman's expression. "You're brothers-..."

"He wanted to settle down." Roman's eyes widened a bit as Virgil shrugged and looked away. "He wanted to live his life and I didn't want to get in the way of that. I never really was good at keeping my head down." Remus couldn't hold the laughter back making Virgil laugh too with an obvious gesture. "Clearly considering how many times I jumped into the fray with you two. I just... I didn't want my brother to give up what he wanted because he thought he still had to care for me. That's not what I want."

"What do you want?" Virgil paused in his tracks, letting Roman hesitate at his side with this odd look in his eyes that Virgil couldn't read.

"I want those I care for to be happy and safe. I guess that's all I can really ask for, huh?" Roman blinked watching Virgil walk away again, just frozen there in his spot. "Hurry up, Ro. You don't want to get left behind."