[ P ] death mask

If there had been a way for her not to hurt him then she would rather not. It had been easier to hate him from a distance, resent him for his existence and for father’s favour. Standing before her youngest brother all that weighed her down was regret and grief. Roisin couldn’t hate him. He was just a child. The same age she had been when she had been taken to the mainlands as a hostage. Raith wanted to know what Kiel was like and her heart twinged with sadness like fingers were strumming its strings, flooding her soul with its melancholic notes. ”Kiel bha e na ghille caoimhneil. Neo-fhoighidneach, stòlda agus fada ro shunndach airson a leas fhèin,” (Kiel was a kind boy. Impatient, stubborn and far too nosy for his own good.) she offered her true opinion of her elder brother. As a girl she had admired him to the point of being his little shadow, but now she could see the truth. ”Cha b’ urrainn dha a-riamh rudeigin a leigeil seachad mura biodh e a rèir a mhothachadh air ceartas. Tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gur e sin as coireach gun robh e cho dèidheil air a dhol dhan arm. Bha e airson dìoghaltas a dhèanamh air a' bhanrigh Ailein” (He never could let something go if it didn't align with his sense of justice.I think that's why he was so keen to join the army. He wanted to be avenge Queen Aileen.)

”Is e gaol a th’ ann,” (It’s love.) she admitted, ruby eyes looking over at him finally. She owed him that much, to be able to look at his face without flinching. ”Tha mi duilich” (I’m sorry.) she sighed, trying to apologise for placing an emotional burden on him that wasn’t his.

@Raith

Art by curiotea

RAITH SAMAIRE
Temperance is my virtue

He observed her for a few moments, deep in thought as she answered his question with what sounded like a complaint at first, making his ears twitch in distaste. Where he couldn’t deny he liked knowing what was going on at all times, he knew he wasn’t a nosy man that went head first into things without thinking most of the time. Most of the time, the thought made his brow pinch for a second, knowing there were times where he could ignore the concept of making a plan, especially when it came to something that involved fighting. His prowess in fighting was none existent and he nearly always got bested in a fight, rarely winning any matches and it wore on him, knowing his father must be disappointed he wasn’t living up to the strength of the first born but that first born also died so was he even a good fighter either? That was probably the last thing he should be thinking about but Roisin’s words pulled him in that direction.

"Dúirt máthair nach mbeidh mé riamh Kiel agus fuaimeanna sé cosúil i roinnt bealaí go bhfuil sí ceart agus i gcásanna eile tá mé i bhfad ró-mhaith dó,"(Mother said I’ll never be Kiel and it sounds like in some ways she is right and in others I’m too much like him) he said softly, his tail swaying in a defeated fashion. He wanted to be as much of his own person as he wanted to be a proper replacement, torn on which was the right direction to go as it seemed others all wanted different things out of him. Mother wanted him to thrive as himself, father wanted him to take on the crown, Blythe wanted him to stay buried in the ground and Roisin…his eyes fixed on her, trying to gather what she wanted from him. To stay away from her was her first reaction but now she lingered, trying to mend something he hadn’t demanded of her.

A small smile did form as she said it was out of love, his tail giving a couple more happy sways. "Mura bhfuil an iomarca trioblóide ann, iarraim ort foghlaim grá a thabhairt dom mar mo mhac tíre féin, cé go bhfuil tú ag leanacht orm má theastaíonn an ceann a chailleann tú má chabhraíonn sé. Ní bheidh mé air, ach ba mhaith liom a bheith i do dheartháir is féidir leat meas a bheith agat ar an oiread."(If it isn’t too much trouble, I ask you to learn to love me as my own wolf, though lean on me if you need the one you miss should it help. I won’t be him, but I do want to be a brother you can admire just as much.) He didn’t like being so forward about his emotions, preferring to keep them bottled up for he knew others often found what he had to say off putting or strange. Perhaps it was why he stayed silent so much.

With one dip of his head, he would start to draw away again but this time it wasn’t entirely in farewell. "Ní gá duit ach más mian leat, tá cead agat a bheith liom ar patról,"(You don’t have to but if you want to, you are free to join me on a patrol) he offered with a vague shyness, having a feeling she wouldn’t accept but that was fine if she didn’t. She probably needed breathing room away from him.

-exit raith-

code by claerie