@civilight : " Brother, " Char tilts his head, tapping a finger against his chin and offering Camille a smile - twisted, uncanny, like his face is someone else's. He remains a distance away from the man, but even from here the weight of his mere presence is suffocating enough. Flowers close their petals, animals scurry away out of his sight. " What a shame, I thought I'd have more time to run away before you'd catch up. " ( i'm here to bring angst . ) — unprompted.
the voice alone was enough to still his steps. it settled somewhere beneath old scars, beneath duty, beneath years of carefully cultivated restraint, until it found the place camille had spent decades trying to bury. the heart — or rather — the deepest part of it which was still holding onto the past. ❛ ...char. ❜ the name escaped him before even realizing his lips formed any words. he stood there, muscles tense and hands formed into fists, so much so they began trembling under the pressure. for a moment, everything else around him ceased to exist. like staring through a tunnel, he could only see char at the end of it.
a stern gaze settled upon a face he knew more intimately than his own. a face he had unconsciously searched for every morning in polished steel and quiet reflections. one he had studied countless times, trying so hard to mimic, a futile attempt to understand his way of thinking and acting. he couldn't help it. after all, every mirror forced the same impossible question upon him, again and again. why? and sometimes even… is it still me? or am i becoming you?
there was no doubt that time had altered them both. though, not just clothes, expressions and lives were different, it seemed even their views on the world and its people had changed. while camille tried to stay true to what their mother had worked so hard to build, a connection between others, char seemed to try and rip it all apart. yet, despite everything, the resemblance remained undeniable. they were twins, and nothing would change that. maybe… had fate been kinder, he thought, perhaps strangers would still mistake them for one another. perhaps they would have laughed about it, as they once did. instead, the smile before him felt borrowed, twisted and wrong. as though someone had painted familiarity over something hollow.
his chest tightened, his heartbeat increased. more than fifty years spent following rumors, bloodstained trails and whispered names across talos-ii. the many times he could have ended it but never dared to, allowing the chase to continue. and now, here they were once again. he knew the outcome of this encounter depended on his own decisions. camille's jaw tensed up as he clenched his teeth together. on the outside, he tried to appear composed but his eyes couldn't lie, there was a storm raging inside him and he was fighting every ounce of himself to keep it restraint. anger rarely surfaced before reason, now it did, and all because of him. it was no longer the controlled resolve of a keeper. with each passing second, he could feel his blood responding instinctively, eager to answer the presence of his other half. to become whole again. if he took one more step, just one, perhaps he could end it here. end this cat and mouse chase. force him to answer. demand—
a quiet metallic chime cut through his thoughts. his gloved hand reached for the pair of keys resting at his waist. old and new. the weathered keepsake char had once placed in his hands and the newer key gifted aboard endfield. home, past, present. fingers lingered there only briefly before slowly falling away, then a measured breath. another. the blood threatening to boil over just moments ago, slowly settled down. no, not like this. that was precisely what char wanted and he refused to play the cards in his favor. the vampire straightened himself, the storm behind his gaze receding into the familiar calm that had earned him his reputation among seš'qa's keepers. a faint shake of his head. ❛ ...you haven't changed. ❜ his voice was quiet but with a hint of resolve. then he added. ❛ but… i have. ❜
closing his eyes, he took another deep breath. ❛ you still believe running away means you're ahead. ❜ only then did he meet char's eyes again. not as the brother who had spent decades searching. not as the frightened child prophecy had torn apart — but as the man endfield had allowed him to become. ❛ i didn't come here to chase your shadow anymore. ❜ a crimson spear slowly formed in his hand, its edge catching the dying light. ❛ i came to face you, brother. ❜ a pause. the grief remained, but so did the love. neither had disappeared, neither would any time soon. they simply no longer held the reins. not anymore. he would not allow it. ❛ ...so don't insult either of us by pretending this is another game. no more running. ❜
