#And Morella’s first manifest was such a good time

[angstmongertina]

Reunion (BoL&S)

I love writing sibling dynamics so much and oh my GOD I love Adrina.

This was meant to just be a shippy thing but it got serious somewhere towards the middle. And a bit out of control in general lol.

AO3 Link

He had barely set foot inside his former quarters after showing his… companions to their guest rooms before Adrina pounced on him, a smile bubbling on her lips.

“So…”

Tyril sighed, though if he were to be perfectly honest with himself, he wasn’t entirely surprised; his sister had always been far too keen on knowing the intricacies of his life, social and otherwise, and while that, in some ways, made her far more suited to the political dance that was Undermount society than he was, it also meant she was far too perceptive for her own good, or at least for his.

Then again, he had also deprived her of a year of such observations, and, if the state of his family’s estate, as well as its lack of servants, was any indication, it had been a trying year, during which time he had abandoned her to aid their father with minimizing the damage of his own folly. No, he had earned it, through his own actions, and he owed it to her for all she had done in the meantime.

Still, that did not mean he would make it easy for her, or dare show any sign of his resolution for fear of her pressing the advantage. Instead, he scowled. “So what?”

His disapproval had never had any effect on her, a fact that a year apart apparently had done nothing to change. She tilted her head, observing him with a gaze that vaguely made him feel as though she were seeing straight through him.

“So… Tell me about her!”

“Who?”

She rolled her eyes. “You know who I’m talking about! Csilla! Your… girlfriend?”

“Naturally. I return back to Undermount with a multitude of friends but why would you ask about anyone else?” He crossed his arms, willing himself to stay impassive despite her choice of words. “What about her?”

“If you genuinely think your attitude will get me to stop, you’ve clearly been away from home for too long.”

He sighed again. “Apparently so.”

“And…?”

“And what?”

His lips twitched as she scowled, suddenly looking much more like the younger sister he remembered from their childhood rather than the capable young woman she had become. “And tell me everything! How did you two meet? What is she like? Are you two really together?”

Taking the bait in spite of himself, he raised an eyebrow. “I believe you already asked her that last one.”

“Yes but I want to know what you think.” She grinned. “Besides, it’s much less weird to grill you for the details, especially on how you two even managed to get together, considering how stuffy and serious you are even at the best of times.”

The sound that escaped his mouth could only be called a groan, to which her eyes lit up. “Fine, but one question at a time.”

To his surprise, the sound that greeted his statement was silence for several heartbeats, before she smiled, an oddly warm expression replacing her typical teasing. “All right. What do you like most about her?”

Taken aback, he blinked. “I… was not expecting that to be the first thing you asked.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I have plenty of other questions too, but this seems the most important.”

At that, he couldn’t help but offer her a genuine smile. He had always known that he had grown up in a society where utility and consequence were the most important aspects of any interaction, but it was another thing entirely to realize just how ingrained it was in his view of the world, and how antithetical it was to everything he had witnessed in Morella, that her simple inquiry took him by surprise.

That, however, did not make the question any easier to answer, particularly when Adrina was studying him with that full intensity of hers. He cleared his throat, willing his face to remain neutral. “She… is determined.”

He was not entirely surprised when his answer earned him an eyeroll of epic proportions. “Of course she is, if she can somehow convince you to be affectionate. I have no doubt I can go ahead and add patient and forgiving to the list as well, knowing you.”

“I don’t know. I suppose… I don’t know if it’s because she was not raised in Undermount but she’s not like anyone I’ve ever met.” He paused, relaxing in spite of himself as he remembered those quiet nights and warm conversations of the past weeks, despite everything that had seemed to have gone wrong, despite the heavy weight of the world upon their shoulders. “I feel… comfortable around her. Like I could tell her anything and she wouldn’t judge me.” He shrugged, glancing away. “I suppose I feel like I can trust her, which is a rare feeling.”

He was turning red in the face, he was sure of it, but for once, Adrina had no quip prepared, no joke at his expense. Instead, she smiled, slow and warm. “That’s good. You might have thought you managed to hide it, but you’ve always been closed off to everyone, other than…” She cleared her throat, pointedly looking away as he shifted, and he looked down to find his hand clenched into a fist at his side. “Well, at any rate, I’m glad you found someone to support you. We, father and I, feared the worst when we didn’t hear back from you.”

Her expression was earnest and he looked away, finding himself strangely unable to meet her gaze. “I apologize. I… had much on my mind but I know now that I was also a coward to run away like I did.”

For a moment, the room was quiet other than his breathing, harsh in the silence, and the weight of his own confession hanging between them.

When Adrina spoke again, her voice was uncharacteristically hesitant. “Tyril? What actually happened? Father said you only told him that you lost a duel.”

He sighed heavily. “That I did.”

“But… You lost? How?”

Drawing a deep breath, he sat himself down on the edge of his bed, sweeping his gaze across the once-familiar room. Everything was as he had left it, that night he had returned from the Ancestral Masquerade, battered, bruised, and heartsick. It was easy, too easy, to remember looting through it all, blinded by grief and shame and, underneath it all, terror at what had befallen his only friend, at what would befall House Starfury. Even with his absence, with their fall from grace, not an item had been touched, left as he had last seen it, and he sighed again, brushing a finger over the wooden bedpost.

“How much do you know?”

“I know… I know that you came home from the masquerade and immediately left again without telling Father anything other than the fact that you lost a duel.” He flinched, but there was no judgment in her voice. “I know that your friend—former friend?—Kaya beat you soundly and won prestige for her house, that she has been acting… different than I remember from before she left, and that House Duskraven is now House Ascendant. And I also know that you were easily the best duellist in all of Undermount. So what actually happened?”

He sighed again, feeling the words stick in his throat, almost seeming to burn his tongue. “The Shadow Court.”

“What? You were serious?”

“Did you think that I was joking?”

Her expression turned sheepish. “Maybe? Though I should have known better; you rarely joke about anything. Perhaps it was more wishful thinking on my part.”

“I would not make light about Kaya.”

The smile she offered him was small, placating, and similar enough to ones from their childhood that he almost, almost, smiled back. “I know. It is just a… disconcerting thought, that the House Ascendent might be led by someone possessed by the Shadow Court. That does not bode well for Undermount.”

“No, it does not.”

“But… Are you absolutely sure that it is not some manifestation of her own ambition?” He opened his mouth to cut her off but he could do so, she held up a hand, and he forced himself to hold his tongue. “I know she was your dearest friend, but… There is no harm in being overly cautious.”

“I know who she used to be. She could not have deceived me.”

For a second, she met his gaze, eyes careful, scrutinous, as though weighing his curt words, and then she nodded and a warmth of affection flooded his chest.

“The Shadow Court, then. So they made her… what? Stronger so she could defeat you? How did they even get to her?”

“Technically, she went looking for more information about them. She thought there was more to the story about how they were sealed away, but…”

“She found more than she bargained for.”

At that, he sighed. “I do not know what their end goal is with Undermount. I do know that they made her much stronger and faster, and they may have to others as well.”

“And her cunning and ambition? She has taken over contracts and council sway, finding the most vulnerable points of each house and exploiting them to her own gain with all the precision of a surgeon.”

He hesitated. “I do not know. The Kaya I know is kind and humble, but clever too. It is possible that they did not need to change anything except for her morality… all of this. But the changes had to have started before her return. I should have noticed, should have found a way to have prevented all of this. I cannot ask for yours and Father’s forgiveness enough. But I will fix this. I promise.”

Her sigh was almost exasperated. “You need not do this alone. This is not just your fight.”

Despite the gravity of their discussion, the weight of his failure and its consequences, he could not help but smile, much to her apparent surprise. “I am quite aware. Csilla has informed me as such as well. Multiple times.”

When Adrina raised a single eyebrow, he shook his head, fighting in vain against the heat rising in his cheeks. “No, she has her own stake in stopping the Shadow Court. They have taken someone dear to her as well.”

“And does she know about Kaya?”

“She does. She knows that is what lead me out of Undermount in the first place.”

“No, I don’t mean like that.” That time, her sigh was lighter, amused. “Never mind. Speaking of which, however, have you had a chance to see…?”

“Yes.” The word felt heavy on his tongue, and yet somehow freeing as well, as though acknowledging it alone had taken off a burden from his shoulders. “We saw her just before coming here, at the shrine. She apparently wished to hand-deliver an invitation to this year’s masquerade.” He cast a keen eye over his sister. “You are not surprised.”

“No. Recently, she had taken to haunting our gardens more than she has any reason to, almost as if she has been awaiting your return to gloat some more.” She made a face, muttering something no doubt highly uncomplimentary under her breath. “It was beginning to get quite annoying, to be honest.”

He chuckled, nearly missing the sharp look she directed at him. “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“Liar. You wouldn’t give me that look unless something was wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Adrina.”

She shook her head, a faint smile on her lips. “Truthfully. There’s nothing wrong, per se. I just… am surprised, that’s all. You’re not the same as the person who left Undermount after last year’s masquerade.”

“I should hope not.”

She rolled her eyes. “Can I be sincere without you deflecting it for once?”

“I believe that is usually my role.” When she scowled, he gestured expansively towards her, earning him a genuine, if reluctant, laugh. “Very well, then. Go on.”

“Thank you, I…” She paused, her expression souring once more. “Well, all of that just ruined the mood, now, didn’t it?”

“For you, perhaps.”

At that, she snorted. “Yes, yes, I get it. I won’t draw out embarrassing you with all of this talk of emotions any longer. Though didn’t Csilla call you sensitive earlier? And I can’t even talk to you without you getting all embarrassed.”

He coughed, clearing his throat. “She’s… special.” Hesitating, he opened his mouth, but after a moment, closed it again. It would only give her more ammunition, and the prospects of going back to normal were still far out, too far to consider.

Still, she seemed to read his mind, her expression soft as she threw her arms around him for a sudden, tight embrace. “I like her, brother. I’m glad she brought you home”

He couldn’t help but smile as he hugged her back. “Me as well, Adrina. Me as well.”