#LIAM AND LAURA KNEW WHAT THE FUCK THEY WERE DOING AND THEY CHOSE VIOLENCE ANYWAY

[waltwhitmansbeard]

Kiki and Vex for Trust #19

19. opening up about their own struggles when they see the other's problems s2 tlovm for this one

Vax sighs, his head cracking back against the stone outcropping he's ducked behind. Half an hour he's been tugging at this damn armor, and it won't budge, like it's been glued onto his skin. He's not entirely sure what deal he made with the Matron of Ravens back in that fucking temple, but he's pretty sure it didn't involve a permanent fashion statement.

He sighs again. Fact of the matter is, he has no clue what that deal was. He knows what he meant to bargain, what he thought he was giving up when he pled for his sister's life. Maybe it would've been easier if he'd gotten his wish, instead of...whatever the hell this is.

He feels the eyes on him before he sees her; she's never been the most stealthy among them. "Hey, Keyleth."

She slides into view, cheeks reddening as she grips her staff nervously. "Uh, hey there. Just...thought I'd check in. You...kinda disappeared on us." Again, he hears in the silence that follows.

"Sorry about that." He doesn't have the energy to muster a smile. "Just...needed a minute."

"Yeah, I get that." To his surprise, she comes around to sit on the ground beside him. She pulls gently on one of the feathers of the Deathwalker's Ward. "Kind of on the nose, isn't it? Your new burden literally being on your shoulders?"

Vax snorts. "You know, I hadn't really thought about that."

With a half-shrug, she says, "I think about burdens a lot." She tucks her knees into her chest, wraps her arms around them. "I'm not gonna pretend I know...anything about anything that happened back there." Vax blinks; the last thing he expected was for her to bring that up. "I'm not the most devout or anything like that. But..." She eyes his armor. "I do know what responsibility feels like. Expectation. Especially when you didn't ask for it."

But I did, Vax thinks. Even if I didn't mean to.

Instead he says, "Yeah, I know you do."

"I'm not trying to compare—it's different, I know it is. But...even though I know on paper what I'm supposed to be doing out here, what my people sent me out to accomplish, it's hard not to feel like I've been left to the wind sometimes. Like I'm just supposed to float around until I eventually end up where I'm meant to be."

"Like you're waiting for fate to catch up to you."

She smiles at him, a sad smile of shared understanding. "Yeah. Like that."

He closes his eyes. "So what do you do? During the waiting?"

"Well, I think we're doing it. Helping people. Saving the world." She laughs, and the sound is such a tiny joy, precious and bright. "I mean we're fuck-ups, don't get me wrong, but...I don't know. The wind blew us here. Let's see what we can do with it."

He opens his eyes, and she's smiling again, but it's less sad this time, more hopeful. For the first time, Vax thinks that maybe fate might actually be on his side. "Yeah," he breathes, "let's see what we can do with it."

[waltwhitmansbeard]

“Liam and Laura knew what they were doing and chose violence anyway.”

That they did. So… from now on, I will say “Vex’ahlia” instead of Vex lol

That said, same prompt as before?

19. opening up about their own struggles when they see the other's problems aight let's run this back. s2 tlovm again.

When they make camp, Vex is ready to pass the fuck out. She's still exhausted from the whole dying debacle, and fighting off those flying fire demon things in Pyrah didn't help the situation. All she wants to do now is huddle up near the crackling campfire and sleep until Grog's snoring wakes her in approximately three hours.

As she spreads out her bedroll and shoves the last of her gathered berries into her mouth, she sees movement at the entrance to the cave they've claimed for the night. Her hand flies to her bow out of habit, but even in this low, flickering light, she recognizes those antlers. She sets the bow down and frowns. Where is Keyleth going at this hour?

The others are busy chatting or getting ready for sleep or, in her brother's case, struggling with the Vestige that he can't seem to get off (another problem for another day), so Vex hauls herself up from the craggy floor and follows after Keyleth. She finds her sitting with her knees pulled to her chest just outside the cave, her circlet appearing gray in the silvery light of the moon. "It's freezing out here," Vex says, and Keyleth jumps, startled. "Don't you want to come inside?"

Keyleth shakes her head, resting her chin atop her knees again. "Not really in the mood to sleep."

Vex settles onto the hard ground beside her. "You know, it was pretty fucking cool how you turned into that giant fire beast. Not sure what that was all about, but it'll be useful all the same."

"Useful." Keyleth says the word with scorn, and Vex doesn't think she's ever heard such derision in her voice. "How many people in Pyrah had to die until I was finally useful enough to stop the slaughter?"

Oh. "Keyleth, you know what happened there wasn't your fault."

"Maybe not. But if I had been on focused on my Aramenté, on the path that I was supposed to be following, I could have been there earlier. I could have stopped it."

Vex lays a hand on her shoulder, which trembles beneath her palm. "You don't know that." Vex worries her lip between her teeth. "You know I studied dragons?" Keyleth nods. "My studies left me with an...ability, I guess you'd call it. A new sense, in a way. I know when dragons are near."

"Yeah, I remember, with Brimscythe."

"Well, I felt them approach, in Emon." Keyleth doesn't ask who she's referring to. "It felt like my head was exploding. Four dragons, all descending at once. The pain was so debilitating, I could barely tell Vax what was going on." She shrugs. "Maybe if I had, we would have been able to warn more people. Maybe if I had, Sovereign Uriel would still be alive."

Keyleth twists her head to frown at her. "Vex, we had seconds to figure out what was going on in Emon. You barely had any more warning than the bells gave us. There was nothing you could have done differently or better to save people."

"Exactly." Keyleth's eyes flick up in annoyance as she realizes the trap she's walked right into. "Keyleth, you got to Pyrah when you did. Before the rest of us, don't forget. You saved the people you could save. You did what you could. That's what we do. That's all we can do. Our best."

"It doesn't feel like the best," she says quietly. She rubs at her eyes with the back of her hand. "It feels like I failed."

"That's because you're a good person. It's kind of annoying, actually. You know you're the best of us, right?" Keyleth's eyebrows furrow. "You and Pike, I'd say. The ones who make sure that we're always doing the right thing, even when we're scared, even when we don't want to. I mean, fuck, the way you took off when my brother tried to ignore the danger in Pyrah? That's not the action of someone who failed, Keyleth."

And finally, Vex sees the hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Vex shoves off of then ground and extends a hand out to Keyleth. "Come on. Warmth and food, and you'll feel fine again."

Keyleth lets Vex pull her to her feet, and then, to Vex's surprise, she throws her arms around her. "Thanks, Vex," she murmurs. "You're a good friend."

And wow. Yeah. They're friends. Who would've fucking guessed? She hugs Keyleth back. "We're in this together, remember? Gotta have each other's backs if we're not gonna be devoured by a league of murderous dragons."

Keyleth chuckles, and then they go back inside the cave, where the rest of their friends talk and laugh and sleep.