location: brightwater keep, during a visit for the holiday season. set after the fight at the Hightower home.
@lucreziasredwyne
the echoes of his former bastard self lingered, a subtle residue that clung to him at unexpected moments. even when he wasn't aware, remnants of old habits crept in, remnants of a time when formality and the expectations of nobility were still learning to coexist with the bastard boy he once was. harlon found himself relaxing himself when around his friends and his new family. the new him for what he was, what he had been when he was a boy. the kid who tagged along with everyone else. the young man who was told by his “father” he could not come home to hornhill right away after the summers and who was allowed to stay longer at the arbor. if it had been anyone else harlon might have shrunken away from embarrassment at being so rejected by his own “father” but not with lu and not with lady redwyne who made him feel welcomed and not a burden.
lu had been like a sister to him during those times. sometimes the most annoying little sister he could ever imagine but still a strange feeling of family he was not used to. and now somehow it felt like a miracle they had become actual family.
seated beside his goodsister, harlon flashed a comforting smile at her. "lucie, i have to admit, you seem... i don’t know, distracted? that doesn't seem like the right word, but it’s something." he observed, his eyes scanning her face for any signs of concern, adopting the role of an older brother, watchful and concerned for the well-being of his family. “what is going on?”