On the road again (Adeline’s perspective):

The twins had ridden in silence for a few minutes, both needing to collect their thoughts. Adeline was waiting for Vel to break the silence this time, what she had to say depended pretty heavily on what would come out of her beautiful idiot brother’s mouth. And she genuinely wasn’t sure what that would be, which was kind of rare. She knew her twin brother oh so well, and after a family confrontation like this one, she’d always have a pretty good idea of what he’d say. It would be some misguided nonsense about how he appreciated her sticking up for him, but she didn’t need to or shouldn’t put herself in harm’s way and ARGH. Just thinking about it made her angry. It just showed that he didn’t get it, which frustrated her to no end. These last few days though, things had changed a little, and Vel seemed to finally be grasping some things. She had some hope that maybe, this time, he’d be less of an idiot. There was another thing on her mind. The way Vel had stopped Dina. That had been something alright. She knew Dina wouldn’t have actually attacked or hurt her and she was pretty sure Vel did too. Dina was a hothead who was easy to provoke, but she’d go no further than a bit of posturing. Even so, the way he had just commanded her, and she obeyed. The authority in his voice. The confidence. It had made her a bit hot under her leathers, and there was an annoying damp patch in her riding trousers.

It took another few minutes before he finally broke the silence. “You know I love you, Adi. And I love how ready you are to stand up for me.” Oh crap, this was not a good start. “And the gods only know Dina had everything you said coming.” Well, at least he got that part right. “But you don’t need to stick your neck out for me like that. I appreciate it, I really do, but it causes problems for you that don’t need to be. This time it literally put you in danger and-“ Adeline couldn’t listen to this anymore, for the second time today, she exploded on one of her siblings.

“Shut up! You still don’t get it; how do you still not GET IT?!” Vel looked taken aback, his mouth hanging slightly open. “Get this through your perfect head: I don’t just do it out of loyalty or a need to stand up for you. I am not just standing up for you!” She paused to take a breath, and her brother finally managed to close his mouth. “What do I always tell you? I exist FOR YOU. I live FOR YOU. So how you think I FEEL when someone talks shit about YOU?!” Her shouting was beginning to unsettle Celina, who tossed her head and snorted. “How would you feel if someone said the thing you live for is worthless, how would that make you feel?” Celina had calmed down again. She knew that was Vel’s doing, even though he hadn’t visibly done anything, she just knew. “And we’re twins, we’re part of each other. How many times have I said that I am an extension of you? So, when someone insults you, they’re NOT JUST INSULTING YOU!” She was done and finished her outburst with a little huff. Her brother looked dumbfounded, and perhaps a little guilty. Despite still being angry, she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty herself, seeing him like that.

He clearly needed a few moments to collect himself again, and she waited patiently. Vel tried to say something a few times, but kind of stopped and closed his mouth again. Eventually, to her surprise, he let out a kind of bitter chuckle. “You know, Adi, just last night I was telling myself to stop underestimating you. I failed at that already. I’m sorry, you deserve better.” Welp. Just like that what anger remained vanished. She felt bad now. Very bad. Gods, she loved her brother. He moved that massive horse of his closer and reached down to take her hand. “Thanks, Adi. I promise, I’ll try even harder to never make that mistake again.” He smiled at her, and everything was right in the world.