[Bradley's bandit group was made up of bandits, of course. Trying to capture the rest of them wouldn't be nearly as effective as just killing them. They got the head of the organization. His group was scrambling, they were easy targets.
The twins could've just let them dissolve into obscurity into the North.
They say they "love" humans and care for 'em. They've made plenty of towns in North protected by them... until they don't like how it's goin' and abandon them. Least Owen and Mithra don't put on airs.
[... Rupert lost them. Bradley lost them and there wasn't anything you could do. There was no shadowy darkness in Bradley's world. He knew the twins did it. He know the twins acted deliberately.
He knew he couldn't fight it, trapped the way he was. If you can't change the past, the most you can do is learn from it. This memory... he's not sure about.]
Might not mean that much comin' from me. [He's not from his world. He's well aware of death happening at all times in the North.] Sorry ya had to deal with that.
[he takes a seat as well. the smile on his face is bittersweet, melancholy, but no less fond for either of those things.]
Jeez, where to start... Joan and Cecily, I guess. They're two of my best friends. I mean, I guess Joan technically worked for me, but she never listened to what I said anyways, so we were on pretty equal footing. [joking.] She was the leader of the knights that protected the kingdom. So - you know how that type is. Really strong and really brave. Way tougher than me, at least in a fight. And when she needed to, she was a really great leader. Cecily and her are really close. I think there was - something there between them, but they didn't get the chance to figure it out beforehand. But, Cecily was a really great friend. Incredibly supportive and incredibly kind. I don't think I've ever met anyone as energetic or funny as her.
[To him, talking about the people he's lost back then, in the bandit days, feels like caressing an old scar. All his human siblings who couldn't survive as long as he did. Those are old hurts.
For Rupert, he imagines they're all much fresher.]
Knight captains are just like that, huh? [Cain is the same way.
His smile is a little softer than it tends to be, encouraging.]
[he thinks about it for another moment, deciding who to describe next.]
There was this kid named Wenceslaus who'd be staying with us for a while, too. His parents weren't around any more, and I'd met him a couple weeks before I came here, so he headed over to the castle to ask if he could stay with us for a while. [he laughs] Don't get me wrong, he was a real pill sometimes! Very snarky. But he could be really sweet, too. Really endearing, even when he was up to trouble. He never crossed any huge lines or anything... He was just the kind who needed a little bit of structure, some guidance.
[He nods to himself. Kids who are a handful tend towards being free spirits. He doesn't mind kids like that, who like to push their boundaries and see how far people will let them go.]
[he moves on after that, his expression growing a little more tender as he continues.]
Moving on to family, I guess... Well, we aren't related by blood, but - like I mentioned, I only met my dad once, and my mom and I had a kind of complicated relationship. One of the people who worked in the castle, though, the chamberlain... I didn't get a lot of chances to make friends when I was young, so I spent a lot of time with the people who worked here. You know, people who were paid to be nice to me. [he snorts.] I was a weird kid, though, and a lot of them would end up finding a polite way to say they were too busy or that they didn't have time to talk. He never did that, though. Not that he wasn't busy, but - he always found time to humor me, and if he absolutely couldn't take the time, he'd let me talk to him while he worked. I grew up with him right there, so - he was more like a father to me than my biological dad ever was.
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The twins could've just let them dissolve into obscurity into the North.
There's a nod in response. The twins are awful.]
Humans get tricked by 'em all the time.
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[he's interrupted as the dust settles around them again, though, and another memory (cw: mass death) begins.]
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He knew he couldn't fight it, trapped the way he was. If you can't change the past, the most you can do is learn from it. This memory... he's not sure about.]
That's the shadow thing you were talkin' about?
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Yes.
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It does, actually. Mean a lot coming from you, I mean. [...] Thank you.
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... Yeah.
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We don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to. I know it was - a lot.
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When we were still a full crew, whenever one of our guys died, we’d talk about ‘im while eatin’ his favorite food.
Dunno if it's somethin' that'd help ya.
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[morbid, but he tries hard to stop his voice from cracking as he says it.]
But I could tell you about them. At least - the ones I knew best.
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[He sits down somewhere there's space. Story time.]
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Jeez, where to start... Joan and Cecily, I guess. They're two of my best friends. I mean, I guess Joan technically worked for me, but she never listened to what I said anyways, so we were on pretty equal footing. [joking.] She was the leader of the knights that protected the kingdom. So - you know how that type is. Really strong and really brave. Way tougher than me, at least in a fight. And when she needed to, she was a really great leader. Cecily and her are really close. I think there was - something there between them, but they didn't get the chance to figure it out beforehand. But, Cecily was a really great friend. Incredibly supportive and incredibly kind. I don't think I've ever met anyone as energetic or funny as her.
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For Rupert, he imagines they're all much fresher.]
Knight captains are just like that, huh? [Cain is the same way.
His smile is a little softer than it tends to be, encouraging.]
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[he thinks about it for another moment, deciding who to describe next.]
There was this kid named Wenceslaus who'd be staying with us for a while, too. His parents weren't around any more, and I'd met him a couple weeks before I came here, so he headed over to the castle to ask if he could stay with us for a while. [he laughs] Don't get me wrong, he was a real pill sometimes! Very snarky. But he could be really sweet, too. Really endearing, even when he was up to trouble. He never crossed any huge lines or anything... He was just the kind who needed a little bit of structure, some guidance.
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Moving on to family, I guess... Well, we aren't related by blood, but - like I mentioned, I only met my dad once, and my mom and I had a kind of complicated relationship. One of the people who worked in the castle, though, the chamberlain... I didn't get a lot of chances to make friends when I was young, so I spent a lot of time with the people who worked here. You know, people who were paid to be nice to me. [he snorts.] I was a weird kid, though, and a lot of them would end up finding a polite way to say they were too busy or that they didn't have time to talk. He never did that, though. Not that he wasn't busy, but - he always found time to humor me, and if he absolutely couldn't take the time, he'd let me talk to him while he worked. I grew up with him right there, so - he was more like a father to me than my biological dad ever was.
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[If anybody should know, it would be him. In some ways, a family of choice feels better than one only bound by blood.]
Kind guy.
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[he pauses for another moment. one person left, but...]
Amir, he... [...] Sorry. I-I can't, not right now.
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How'd it feel?
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