The Back of Beyond

[Raithen]

Raithen complimented the cook, shared a few easy jokes with the other soldiers and generally let it be known that he wasn't going to look down his nose at anyone. He was balancing three bowls of whatever had been in the pot when he approached Finn and Arvælyn with his question, handing them over without ceremony.

The first answer was unexpected but still quite useful and he nodded his appreciation. When Finn concurred with the assessment he nodded, taking a seat at a sort of angle between the two other men and beginning to eat. His head cocked, birdlike when he, in turn, was asked a question. His own lips pursed as he considered how to answer but only very briefly before he popped out with,

"I don't think so." His tone laughed a little without showing disrespect to either the brother he was speaking to or the one he was speaking about. "At least, not by the time I came along. I was raised more under the dictation of our mother to my caretakers than by any of our family. Mother praised and punished me as I earned it, so about equally."

His eyes shown with untold stories of the mischief he had gotten into, inviting others to ask if they were interested.

"Our sister I saw almost nothing of, I don't actually remember her ever speaking to me as a child. Phocion though, he spoke to me often, all of it instruction. I'm afraid I might have found him quite boring when I wasn't terrified of him. If he ever was a child I can't imagine it, so I'm going to have to assume your boulder theory is correct. Mother must have formed him from clay as a golem and has your father bake him to life."

This was not entirely fair, Phocion had emotions, they were just not to be spoken of, or acknowledged, or felt. That was fair, he could decide for himself how he wanted to feel, or not, as the case might be. Growing up without a father, Raithen had idolized Phocion, but he wouldn't have known how to say that. Even as he teased his appreciation and adoration for his elder brother came through.

He went to take another bite of dinner only to realize his bowl was empty. Food always went fast with him now. It was a risk to poke at the past but the subject had been broached so he tried,

"He probably took the spot in my head where a father would have gone. But I don't have anything to compare to. Was that what it was like, growing up with one? Wanting his attention but being afraid at the same time?" He opened the question to both of his companions by directing it half to one and half to the other. Both had been born with their paternal parent in the picture, he was pretty sure.

[Arvælyn]

“You are enjoying this captaincy far too much, amatus…” Arvælyn replied to his playful demerit with an amused smirk, “I shall remember this when I am restored to my usual place on the pyramid.” He teased playacting a little snarl that was meant to be much too cute to be genuinely threatening.

Arvælyn’s shoulders visibly relaxed on the frame of inward-arcing wings when Raithen replied favourably. He knew he was trying too hard and sometimes that made his delivery come off poorly— the nerves showing through.

“Aye, our sister might be carved from the same dragonshards that now occupy her eye sockets… and I don’t think she’d be a mite offended at my saying so.” He added, lest he seem overly keen to gossip about their loved ones in common.

The characterisation of Phocion certainly felt aligned with his own observations.

“I know I vex him sometimes… I suspect my prioritising this mission was one such occasion. I hope he has someone in his life to whom he can vent his… seemingly sundry frustrations.” He glanced to Finn, smiling slightly. He was aware of what the bard was playing at— contributing in his own fashion, even if he was leaving the brothers to do the bulk of the talking. Supporting via the medium of musical accompaniment… et al.

“Were you a handful, then?” He smirked, taking a bite of his stew and sitting back.

“I rather expect it was the last inverse of your own experience. Having a father, I was obsessed with the idea of my absent mother. My circumstances having been humble and my diversions few, I had a great deal of time to brood and… Well, I will say I regret the lack of appreciation I had for his Sacrifices. I truly hope that, in death, he has found succour for his burdens brooked under the eye of The Domina Divina.” He glanced to Finn,

“He’s the only well adjusted one amongst us. Two loving parents, comfortable but not wealthy… As far as I can tell he never got broken before adulthood. But then, perhaps that makes it that much harder to endure…” He trailed off, in case Finn wanted to make any of his own observations about his background.