The Book of Many People

Miscellaneous

"No razors?" Brith asked.
"No," said Tenn. "I'm sorry, Brith."
"Of course not," muttered Brith. "Damn bastard wouldn't need to shave."
Tenn heaved a sigh. "Brith. Briteharn. It's not a failing of yours that you can grow a beard." Stretching out his fingers, he slid the tips of his digits across the stubble on Briteharn's face. "And it's not a failing of Celestar's that he can't. Besides, I think you look rather fetching like this. Won't you calm a little?"
Briteharn growled, low in his throat. "Tenn. You don't understand. It makes me like them."
"Like who?" Tenn had not taken his fingers off of Brith's face.
"You know who," Brith spat. "The real monsters."
"Brith..."
Briteharn slapped Tenn's hand off of his face. "I won't take this from you!" He shouted. "You think I shouldn't be angry. You think I should just accept what they did to my mum, why I'm like this! You're wrong! I have every reason, every reason, to be angry. And I will not be seen looking like one of them, with these stupid hairs on my face!"
Immediately after the words left his mouth, Brith realized he'd made a mistake. It was evident in the narrowing of Tenn's eyes, the way he clutched his slapped hand to his chest. A red mark bloomed on the skin.
Brith's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say sorry. Tenn beat him to it.
"Yes, yes, you and all your talk about the real monsters," snarled Tennebrath. "I'm all for it. Really, I am. But you seem to think you're the only one they hurt! It's not like we were all beaten, all starved, all frozen in the winter with no blankets to go 'round! Wasn't I hungry? Wasn't I cold? Didn't Kaia cry when Lore was taken away? You still insist on your stupid right to be angry, angrier than the rest of us, like we weren't treated the same!"
"Tenn, no," Brith protested. His voice was weak. The statement was weak.
"Don't even bother denying it," growled Tenn. "That's all you care about, you and your petty revenge. You don't even care about what happened to Vraide, and Yute, and Foss, and Kaia and Lore, and you certainly don't seem to care about me!"
"That's not true!" Brith shouted. "You can't say that. I care about all of you, more than I care about myself!"
"Then what's this?!" Tenn shoved his stinging hand in Brith's face.
"I'm sorry, Tenn," Brith said, meaning it.
"I can't even look at you right now," growled Tenn. He whirled around and stalked off.
Away from Brith.
Away from his best friend.
Briteharn felt hollow.