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The light had barely begun to bleed over the horizon as Silanos made his way back to the docks and back toward the ship that would carry him away from Greece and to his first encounter with war. He’d had no expectations of the brief stopover in Taengea and yet it had proven to be an interesting few hours nevertheless. From the unfortunate encounter with the poison merchant to a much more pleasant reconnection with friends he had not thought to see, the latter at least had buoyed his spirits a little.
He’d been surprised to have been allowed to spend the night as he wished but hadn’t been about to ask twice and so taking Nikos up on his offer had been nonsensical. It was a relief after so long in the company of men he wouldn’t have chosen as friends to be amongst those who he had more in common with.
Still, he had been careful not to get carried away, had taken his leave of Eleni whilst it was still dark, having been left in little doubt as to his fate should he not be present come time for leaving. And he’d stayed Nikos’ hand on the wine too, much to everyone’s surprise because whilst Sil was pretty good at talking himself out of trouble - as well as into it upon occasion - he didn’t think even he would be able to get away with another incident like the one when they had set sail from Colchis. There were not many things that the Valaoritis Lord would chalk up to being one step too far but that moment where he’d lost the contents of his stomach over the boots of the King of Colchis was one of them, and more than enough of a discouragement to breaking his supposed sobriety. Hopefully, his ‘seasickness’ would stay well away today.
Despite the early hour, there was already a bustle of activity on the docks, and Silanos sidestepped a man hauling stacked crates of salted fish, eyeing the precarious tower a little cautiously lest his find himself doused in its contents. No matter that he didn’t have a hangover, no one wanted that first thing in the morning. He was a little tired, for there hadn’t been an awful lot of sleeping done the night before, but Silanos couldn’t complain otherwise. A soft bed had been like a blessing sent from the Gods, and the company far more pleasing than he’d had since they’d left Colchis behind. Even the nerves at what lay ahead couldn’t entirely sour his mood.
He was a little watchful as he made his way down the stone quay, not entirely over the events of the previous afternoon. He still needed to find Mihail and see if he couldn’t sort Damocles out with his coin before the man got too tetchy about it. Whichever of the gods had thrown the brute in his path yesterday, Sil owed them his thanks. Kreios had not been at all understanding, and he had that nice little souvenir to remind him of it. He’d rather not run into the fucking lunatic again if he could help it.
But it wasn’t the poison merchant that found him this time, instead, a much more familiar voice was calling his name and Silanos turned toward it, heartened to see his brother approaching. They had not spoken much and Sil had wondered how long it would take Timaeus to relent, uneasy at the notion of going into the war that lay ahead without having made their peace. He grinned, looked his older sibling up and down and widening his eyes at the man’s sullen expression “You look like you had a less enjoyable night than me, Tim. Taengean girls not to your taste after all?”
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This character is currently a work in progress.
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The light had barely begun to bleed over the horizon as Silanos made his way back to the docks and back toward the ship that would carry him away from Greece and to his first encounter with war. He’d had no expectations of the brief stopover in Taengea and yet it had proven to be an interesting few hours nevertheless. From the unfortunate encounter with the poison merchant to a much more pleasant reconnection with friends he had not thought to see, the latter at least had buoyed his spirits a little.
He’d been surprised to have been allowed to spend the night as he wished but hadn’t been about to ask twice and so taking Nikos up on his offer had been nonsensical. It was a relief after so long in the company of men he wouldn’t have chosen as friends to be amongst those who he had more in common with.
Still, he had been careful not to get carried away, had taken his leave of Eleni whilst it was still dark, having been left in little doubt as to his fate should he not be present come time for leaving. And he’d stayed Nikos’ hand on the wine too, much to everyone’s surprise because whilst Sil was pretty good at talking himself out of trouble - as well as into it upon occasion - he didn’t think even he would be able to get away with another incident like the one when they had set sail from Colchis. There were not many things that the Valaoritis Lord would chalk up to being one step too far but that moment where he’d lost the contents of his stomach over the boots of the King of Colchis was one of them, and more than enough of a discouragement to breaking his supposed sobriety. Hopefully, his ‘seasickness’ would stay well away today.
Despite the early hour, there was already a bustle of activity on the docks, and Silanos sidestepped a man hauling stacked crates of salted fish, eyeing the precarious tower a little cautiously lest his find himself doused in its contents. No matter that he didn’t have a hangover, no one wanted that first thing in the morning. He was a little tired, for there hadn’t been an awful lot of sleeping done the night before, but Silanos couldn’t complain otherwise. A soft bed had been like a blessing sent from the Gods, and the company far more pleasing than he’d had since they’d left Colchis behind. Even the nerves at what lay ahead couldn’t entirely sour his mood.
He was a little watchful as he made his way down the stone quay, not entirely over the events of the previous afternoon. He still needed to find Mihail and see if he couldn’t sort Damocles out with his coin before the man got too tetchy about it. Whichever of the gods had thrown the brute in his path yesterday, Sil owed them his thanks. Kreios had not been at all understanding, and he had that nice little souvenir to remind him of it. He’d rather not run into the fucking lunatic again if he could help it.
But it wasn’t the poison merchant that found him this time, instead, a much more familiar voice was calling his name and Silanos turned toward it, heartened to see his brother approaching. They had not spoken much and Sil had wondered how long it would take Timaeus to relent, uneasy at the notion of going into the war that lay ahead without having made their peace. He grinned, looked his older sibling up and down and widening his eyes at the man’s sullen expression “You look like you had a less enjoyable night than me, Tim. Taengean girls not to your taste after all?”
The light had barely begun to bleed over the horizon as Silanos made his way back to the docks and back toward the ship that would carry him away from Greece and to his first encounter with war. He’d had no expectations of the brief stopover in Taengea and yet it had proven to be an interesting few hours nevertheless. From the unfortunate encounter with the poison merchant to a much more pleasant reconnection with friends he had not thought to see, the latter at least had buoyed his spirits a little.
He’d been surprised to have been allowed to spend the night as he wished but hadn’t been about to ask twice and so taking Nikos up on his offer had been nonsensical. It was a relief after so long in the company of men he wouldn’t have chosen as friends to be amongst those who he had more in common with.
Still, he had been careful not to get carried away, had taken his leave of Eleni whilst it was still dark, having been left in little doubt as to his fate should he not be present come time for leaving. And he’d stayed Nikos’ hand on the wine too, much to everyone’s surprise because whilst Sil was pretty good at talking himself out of trouble - as well as into it upon occasion - he didn’t think even he would be able to get away with another incident like the one when they had set sail from Colchis. There were not many things that the Valaoritis Lord would chalk up to being one step too far but that moment where he’d lost the contents of his stomach over the boots of the King of Colchis was one of them, and more than enough of a discouragement to breaking his supposed sobriety. Hopefully, his ‘seasickness’ would stay well away today.
Despite the early hour, there was already a bustle of activity on the docks, and Silanos sidestepped a man hauling stacked crates of salted fish, eyeing the precarious tower a little cautiously lest his find himself doused in its contents. No matter that he didn’t have a hangover, no one wanted that first thing in the morning. He was a little tired, for there hadn’t been an awful lot of sleeping done the night before, but Silanos couldn’t complain otherwise. A soft bed had been like a blessing sent from the Gods, and the company far more pleasing than he’d had since they’d left Colchis behind. Even the nerves at what lay ahead couldn’t entirely sour his mood.
He was a little watchful as he made his way down the stone quay, not entirely over the events of the previous afternoon. He still needed to find Mihail and see if he couldn’t sort Damocles out with his coin before the man got too tetchy about it. Whichever of the gods had thrown the brute in his path yesterday, Sil owed them his thanks. Kreios had not been at all understanding, and he had that nice little souvenir to remind him of it. He’d rather not run into the fucking lunatic again if he could help it.
But it wasn’t the poison merchant that found him this time, instead, a much more familiar voice was calling his name and Silanos turned toward it, heartened to see his brother approaching. They had not spoken much and Sil had wondered how long it would take Timaeus to relent, uneasy at the notion of going into the war that lay ahead without having made their peace. He grinned, looked his older sibling up and down and widening his eyes at the man’s sullen expression “You look like you had a less enjoyable night than me, Tim. Taengean girls not to your taste after all?”
Timaeus wasn't sure what burned brighter within him, the anger or shame over what had occurred over the past twenty-four hours. He had disembarked yesterday with a sense of hope. That a bright future was beginning to fall into place with his biggest worry being whether or not Georgios would laugh him away. Now he had to deal with a debt that he could not pay being brought forth by his brother. A boy without a single penny to his name, the very same young man who was currently a slave in everything, but name had managed to possibly bring the Valaoritis to the brink of ruin in one swift motion. To say that Timaeus was a little irate at this turn of events was a bit of an understatement.
If this indignation wasn't grand enough, the man calling in the debt was Sir Damocles. The man that Timaeus had sworn himself to never cross paths with again after the sheer amount of disrespect he was shown by the man in his own home. Now he was chasing after Timaeus for a hefty sum that Silanos had incurred in the few hours that they had been on the shores of Taengea. He expected the Valaoritis to pay quickly, which was simply impossible without access to their Colchian funds. Tim had luckily bought himself some time, explaining to a less than thrilled Damocles that he needed to verify these debts before a single penny would be paid. It was what any financially savvy man would do.
However, those precious few hours had been spent tearing Vasiliadon apart, searching for a boy that did not want to be found. Timaeus had not slept yet and he doubted that he would until this was resolved one way or another. He didn't know what was going to happen, but the Baron swore to himself that he would not pay any of it. Tim simply couldn't bear the humiliation of repaying such a debt. As the early dawn sun crawled across the sky, Tim had no choice to return to the docks and wait out Silanos's arrival. There were few other places he would be and this was somewhere that his brother would have to show his wretched face sooner or later.
Luckily for Tim, the Baron didn't need to wait long before the familiar face came into view.
"Silanos." Timaeus called out with a voice as flat as the lands of this kingdom that would soon become a cursed place for the both of them. Had their relationship been less fractured, maybe Sil could have picked up on the dark undertones to his words as the anger and indignation he felt replaced any trace of brotherly love that he might have had.
As the boy turned to face him, Timaeus couldn't deny that he had imagined this reunion playing out a thousand different ways. It was the only thing that could keep himself together some nights when he drove himself sick with worry about how Sil was comporting himself. They both knew, after all, that Prince Vangelis was not a merciful man. This was Sil's only chance to set things right with the man before drastic and lasting measures were taken to correct the boy's behavior -- if Vang was willing to put in the effort to try again. Tim doubted that he would and that was the worry that kept him tossing and turning most nights. Now though? There was a strange sort of numbness that had settled over Tim as he eyed the boy, making note of how he was finally starting to fill out into that stocky Valaoritis frame. That was good at least. However, it did little to outweigh the gravity of what rested in Tim's pocket, hidden from Silanos's view.
It was clear that Sil didn't have the faintest clue why Timaeus was breaking this rule that the elder Valaoritis had self-imposed of denying his brother contact. That had seemed to be the only safe option to make sure that Sil understood how deeply in the trough he was in with Vangelis as he had come to rely upon Timaeus to bail him out. The Baron had known that this was a tactic that Silanos was used to avoid any sort of consequence. Things were never that serious if Timaeus could just bail him out time after time. It didn't matter how many times Sil was screamed at. As long as Tim was there to pay the debts and reassure the angry fathers, he would never have to feel the weight of his actions. That had been his brother's mistake. He had never realized how it was making things infinitely worse. If Timaeus had done the proper thing and had left Silanos out to dry from the start, maybe things wouldn't have escalated to this point. Maybe if he had done things differently, he wouldn't be holding a letter that accused Silanos of impersonating Timaeus to hide from a debt that he knew that he could never pay. Tim could almost mockingly hear his brother's reasoning for deciding to do such a thing in the first place. He could almost see the brother's self-righteous smile as he told himself that it didn't matter who's name was on the deb, Timaeus would need to pay it anyway.
He wished that his brother would dare to give him that same smirk now. There was nothing that Timaeus wanted more than having the honor to strike it from his face.
However, the Baron managed to keep his temper in check as they stood on the decks surrounded by countless men all working to load the supplies onto the warships. His face was deadly still as his brother approached, offering no kind glance that you would expect from brothers that had been parted for so long. The mask slipped for a moment when Silanos had the audacity to comment on Timaeus's disheveled appearance. A deep scowl formed on his face as the desire to spit back some harsh commentary about how Sil would likely give his brother's name to the common whores he found in the back alleys -- the only ones who were desperate enough to touch such a despicable being as Silanos. By some miracle though, he kept it in check as he knew exactly what his brother would do the moment he realized that Timaeus was in no joking mood. He would run. That was what he did best, wasn't it? Well, Silanos was done running. The thin patience that Tim previously had was now gone and it was not going to be returned until Silanos scrounged up every last penny that Damocles was demanding from Tim. The Baron didn't care how he did it. Tim had already resolved that he was not going to pay a penny of it, now it was time to inform his brother of his new duty on top of being Vangelis's lackey.
There was a harsh moment of silence between the brothers as Timaeus refused to engage with his brother's comment, instead only harshly barking at the boy once things were appropriately unnerving, "A word." His tone was harsh enough that it left no room for argument as Timaeus turned on his heels and began to walk away from the docks, trusting that his brother would know to follow if he knew what was good for him. He didn't even glance back to check that the boy was following him. The ever-presenting annoying buzz that was his voice made Silanos's presence clear enough as the inevitable questions about the purpose of this was asked. They were left unanswered, of course. Timaeus did not have the patience to deal with his drivel right now.
The Baron was wordless until the pair made their way to an empty alley way. Once they reached the end, Timaeus finally reached into his pocket and pulled out the crisp missive that Damocles had left him, handing it over to his brother to examine and see the crime he was being charged with himself. The Captain had a certain propensity to be wordy in the worst of times and the absolute delight that had come with bringing a debt to his worst enemy had not made him sparse on the details. Everything was there. From the scene that Silanos caused to the accusation that the boy used Timaeus's name, and most importantly the debt amount that was paired with a collection date that was too soon for Tim to pay while they were on the war campaign. Nothing had been overlooked and even though it was likely that things had been embellished, there was no denying the crime that was laid out in the letter. Timaeus would take a bit of joy from watching his brother realize that he was now a rat caught in a cage, but it did little to lessen the rage festering beneath his skin.
With precious little time before they would both be called to the ships, Timaeus wasted no time in getting down to business and gave a direct order to the boy. "Explain yourself." He knew that Silanos would have a thousand excuses. The brat might even utter a sorry, but Timaeus didn't care. The stiffness that he held himself with made it clear that he was in no mood for any appeals to brotherly love as there was none of that to be had. Not when the cold demeanor made it clear that Silanos was not speaking to the Timmy that rescued him from the stables all those years ago. No, instead he was conversing with Lord Timaeus of Valaoritis, the Baron of Eubocris and keeper of the boy's fate. Given that he was rapidly loosing favor with his man that had protected him for all these years, Silanos would be wise to tread lightly as there was no one on this earth that the boy had burned than his own brother. He had finally had enough.
The two of them were on the precipice of something they could never come back from and Silanos's next few words would decide how brutal the harsh slap of reality would be.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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Timaeus wasn't sure what burned brighter within him, the anger or shame over what had occurred over the past twenty-four hours. He had disembarked yesterday with a sense of hope. That a bright future was beginning to fall into place with his biggest worry being whether or not Georgios would laugh him away. Now he had to deal with a debt that he could not pay being brought forth by his brother. A boy without a single penny to his name, the very same young man who was currently a slave in everything, but name had managed to possibly bring the Valaoritis to the brink of ruin in one swift motion. To say that Timaeus was a little irate at this turn of events was a bit of an understatement.
If this indignation wasn't grand enough, the man calling in the debt was Sir Damocles. The man that Timaeus had sworn himself to never cross paths with again after the sheer amount of disrespect he was shown by the man in his own home. Now he was chasing after Timaeus for a hefty sum that Silanos had incurred in the few hours that they had been on the shores of Taengea. He expected the Valaoritis to pay quickly, which was simply impossible without access to their Colchian funds. Tim had luckily bought himself some time, explaining to a less than thrilled Damocles that he needed to verify these debts before a single penny would be paid. It was what any financially savvy man would do.
However, those precious few hours had been spent tearing Vasiliadon apart, searching for a boy that did not want to be found. Timaeus had not slept yet and he doubted that he would until this was resolved one way or another. He didn't know what was going to happen, but the Baron swore to himself that he would not pay any of it. Tim simply couldn't bear the humiliation of repaying such a debt. As the early dawn sun crawled across the sky, Tim had no choice to return to the docks and wait out Silanos's arrival. There were few other places he would be and this was somewhere that his brother would have to show his wretched face sooner or later.
Luckily for Tim, the Baron didn't need to wait long before the familiar face came into view.
"Silanos." Timaeus called out with a voice as flat as the lands of this kingdom that would soon become a cursed place for the both of them. Had their relationship been less fractured, maybe Sil could have picked up on the dark undertones to his words as the anger and indignation he felt replaced any trace of brotherly love that he might have had.
As the boy turned to face him, Timaeus couldn't deny that he had imagined this reunion playing out a thousand different ways. It was the only thing that could keep himself together some nights when he drove himself sick with worry about how Sil was comporting himself. They both knew, after all, that Prince Vangelis was not a merciful man. This was Sil's only chance to set things right with the man before drastic and lasting measures were taken to correct the boy's behavior -- if Vang was willing to put in the effort to try again. Tim doubted that he would and that was the worry that kept him tossing and turning most nights. Now though? There was a strange sort of numbness that had settled over Tim as he eyed the boy, making note of how he was finally starting to fill out into that stocky Valaoritis frame. That was good at least. However, it did little to outweigh the gravity of what rested in Tim's pocket, hidden from Silanos's view.
It was clear that Sil didn't have the faintest clue why Timaeus was breaking this rule that the elder Valaoritis had self-imposed of denying his brother contact. That had seemed to be the only safe option to make sure that Sil understood how deeply in the trough he was in with Vangelis as he had come to rely upon Timaeus to bail him out. The Baron had known that this was a tactic that Silanos was used to avoid any sort of consequence. Things were never that serious if Timaeus could just bail him out time after time. It didn't matter how many times Sil was screamed at. As long as Tim was there to pay the debts and reassure the angry fathers, he would never have to feel the weight of his actions. That had been his brother's mistake. He had never realized how it was making things infinitely worse. If Timaeus had done the proper thing and had left Silanos out to dry from the start, maybe things wouldn't have escalated to this point. Maybe if he had done things differently, he wouldn't be holding a letter that accused Silanos of impersonating Timaeus to hide from a debt that he knew that he could never pay. Tim could almost mockingly hear his brother's reasoning for deciding to do such a thing in the first place. He could almost see the brother's self-righteous smile as he told himself that it didn't matter who's name was on the deb, Timaeus would need to pay it anyway.
He wished that his brother would dare to give him that same smirk now. There was nothing that Timaeus wanted more than having the honor to strike it from his face.
However, the Baron managed to keep his temper in check as they stood on the decks surrounded by countless men all working to load the supplies onto the warships. His face was deadly still as his brother approached, offering no kind glance that you would expect from brothers that had been parted for so long. The mask slipped for a moment when Silanos had the audacity to comment on Timaeus's disheveled appearance. A deep scowl formed on his face as the desire to spit back some harsh commentary about how Sil would likely give his brother's name to the common whores he found in the back alleys -- the only ones who were desperate enough to touch such a despicable being as Silanos. By some miracle though, he kept it in check as he knew exactly what his brother would do the moment he realized that Timaeus was in no joking mood. He would run. That was what he did best, wasn't it? Well, Silanos was done running. The thin patience that Tim previously had was now gone and it was not going to be returned until Silanos scrounged up every last penny that Damocles was demanding from Tim. The Baron didn't care how he did it. Tim had already resolved that he was not going to pay a penny of it, now it was time to inform his brother of his new duty on top of being Vangelis's lackey.
There was a harsh moment of silence between the brothers as Timaeus refused to engage with his brother's comment, instead only harshly barking at the boy once things were appropriately unnerving, "A word." His tone was harsh enough that it left no room for argument as Timaeus turned on his heels and began to walk away from the docks, trusting that his brother would know to follow if he knew what was good for him. He didn't even glance back to check that the boy was following him. The ever-presenting annoying buzz that was his voice made Silanos's presence clear enough as the inevitable questions about the purpose of this was asked. They were left unanswered, of course. Timaeus did not have the patience to deal with his drivel right now.
The Baron was wordless until the pair made their way to an empty alley way. Once they reached the end, Timaeus finally reached into his pocket and pulled out the crisp missive that Damocles had left him, handing it over to his brother to examine and see the crime he was being charged with himself. The Captain had a certain propensity to be wordy in the worst of times and the absolute delight that had come with bringing a debt to his worst enemy had not made him sparse on the details. Everything was there. From the scene that Silanos caused to the accusation that the boy used Timaeus's name, and most importantly the debt amount that was paired with a collection date that was too soon for Tim to pay while they were on the war campaign. Nothing had been overlooked and even though it was likely that things had been embellished, there was no denying the crime that was laid out in the letter. Timaeus would take a bit of joy from watching his brother realize that he was now a rat caught in a cage, but it did little to lessen the rage festering beneath his skin.
With precious little time before they would both be called to the ships, Timaeus wasted no time in getting down to business and gave a direct order to the boy. "Explain yourself." He knew that Silanos would have a thousand excuses. The brat might even utter a sorry, but Timaeus didn't care. The stiffness that he held himself with made it clear that he was in no mood for any appeals to brotherly love as there was none of that to be had. Not when the cold demeanor made it clear that Silanos was not speaking to the Timmy that rescued him from the stables all those years ago. No, instead he was conversing with Lord Timaeus of Valaoritis, the Baron of Eubocris and keeper of the boy's fate. Given that he was rapidly loosing favor with his man that had protected him for all these years, Silanos would be wise to tread lightly as there was no one on this earth that the boy had burned than his own brother. He had finally had enough.
The two of them were on the precipice of something they could never come back from and Silanos's next few words would decide how brutal the harsh slap of reality would be.
Timaeus wasn't sure what burned brighter within him, the anger or shame over what had occurred over the past twenty-four hours. He had disembarked yesterday with a sense of hope. That a bright future was beginning to fall into place with his biggest worry being whether or not Georgios would laugh him away. Now he had to deal with a debt that he could not pay being brought forth by his brother. A boy without a single penny to his name, the very same young man who was currently a slave in everything, but name had managed to possibly bring the Valaoritis to the brink of ruin in one swift motion. To say that Timaeus was a little irate at this turn of events was a bit of an understatement.
If this indignation wasn't grand enough, the man calling in the debt was Sir Damocles. The man that Timaeus had sworn himself to never cross paths with again after the sheer amount of disrespect he was shown by the man in his own home. Now he was chasing after Timaeus for a hefty sum that Silanos had incurred in the few hours that they had been on the shores of Taengea. He expected the Valaoritis to pay quickly, which was simply impossible without access to their Colchian funds. Tim had luckily bought himself some time, explaining to a less than thrilled Damocles that he needed to verify these debts before a single penny would be paid. It was what any financially savvy man would do.
However, those precious few hours had been spent tearing Vasiliadon apart, searching for a boy that did not want to be found. Timaeus had not slept yet and he doubted that he would until this was resolved one way or another. He didn't know what was going to happen, but the Baron swore to himself that he would not pay any of it. Tim simply couldn't bear the humiliation of repaying such a debt. As the early dawn sun crawled across the sky, Tim had no choice to return to the docks and wait out Silanos's arrival. There were few other places he would be and this was somewhere that his brother would have to show his wretched face sooner or later.
Luckily for Tim, the Baron didn't need to wait long before the familiar face came into view.
"Silanos." Timaeus called out with a voice as flat as the lands of this kingdom that would soon become a cursed place for the both of them. Had their relationship been less fractured, maybe Sil could have picked up on the dark undertones to his words as the anger and indignation he felt replaced any trace of brotherly love that he might have had.
As the boy turned to face him, Timaeus couldn't deny that he had imagined this reunion playing out a thousand different ways. It was the only thing that could keep himself together some nights when he drove himself sick with worry about how Sil was comporting himself. They both knew, after all, that Prince Vangelis was not a merciful man. This was Sil's only chance to set things right with the man before drastic and lasting measures were taken to correct the boy's behavior -- if Vang was willing to put in the effort to try again. Tim doubted that he would and that was the worry that kept him tossing and turning most nights. Now though? There was a strange sort of numbness that had settled over Tim as he eyed the boy, making note of how he was finally starting to fill out into that stocky Valaoritis frame. That was good at least. However, it did little to outweigh the gravity of what rested in Tim's pocket, hidden from Silanos's view.
It was clear that Sil didn't have the faintest clue why Timaeus was breaking this rule that the elder Valaoritis had self-imposed of denying his brother contact. That had seemed to be the only safe option to make sure that Sil understood how deeply in the trough he was in with Vangelis as he had come to rely upon Timaeus to bail him out. The Baron had known that this was a tactic that Silanos was used to avoid any sort of consequence. Things were never that serious if Timaeus could just bail him out time after time. It didn't matter how many times Sil was screamed at. As long as Tim was there to pay the debts and reassure the angry fathers, he would never have to feel the weight of his actions. That had been his brother's mistake. He had never realized how it was making things infinitely worse. If Timaeus had done the proper thing and had left Silanos out to dry from the start, maybe things wouldn't have escalated to this point. Maybe if he had done things differently, he wouldn't be holding a letter that accused Silanos of impersonating Timaeus to hide from a debt that he knew that he could never pay. Tim could almost mockingly hear his brother's reasoning for deciding to do such a thing in the first place. He could almost see the brother's self-righteous smile as he told himself that it didn't matter who's name was on the deb, Timaeus would need to pay it anyway.
He wished that his brother would dare to give him that same smirk now. There was nothing that Timaeus wanted more than having the honor to strike it from his face.
However, the Baron managed to keep his temper in check as they stood on the decks surrounded by countless men all working to load the supplies onto the warships. His face was deadly still as his brother approached, offering no kind glance that you would expect from brothers that had been parted for so long. The mask slipped for a moment when Silanos had the audacity to comment on Timaeus's disheveled appearance. A deep scowl formed on his face as the desire to spit back some harsh commentary about how Sil would likely give his brother's name to the common whores he found in the back alleys -- the only ones who were desperate enough to touch such a despicable being as Silanos. By some miracle though, he kept it in check as he knew exactly what his brother would do the moment he realized that Timaeus was in no joking mood. He would run. That was what he did best, wasn't it? Well, Silanos was done running. The thin patience that Tim previously had was now gone and it was not going to be returned until Silanos scrounged up every last penny that Damocles was demanding from Tim. The Baron didn't care how he did it. Tim had already resolved that he was not going to pay a penny of it, now it was time to inform his brother of his new duty on top of being Vangelis's lackey.
There was a harsh moment of silence between the brothers as Timaeus refused to engage with his brother's comment, instead only harshly barking at the boy once things were appropriately unnerving, "A word." His tone was harsh enough that it left no room for argument as Timaeus turned on his heels and began to walk away from the docks, trusting that his brother would know to follow if he knew what was good for him. He didn't even glance back to check that the boy was following him. The ever-presenting annoying buzz that was his voice made Silanos's presence clear enough as the inevitable questions about the purpose of this was asked. They were left unanswered, of course. Timaeus did not have the patience to deal with his drivel right now.
The Baron was wordless until the pair made their way to an empty alley way. Once they reached the end, Timaeus finally reached into his pocket and pulled out the crisp missive that Damocles had left him, handing it over to his brother to examine and see the crime he was being charged with himself. The Captain had a certain propensity to be wordy in the worst of times and the absolute delight that had come with bringing a debt to his worst enemy had not made him sparse on the details. Everything was there. From the scene that Silanos caused to the accusation that the boy used Timaeus's name, and most importantly the debt amount that was paired with a collection date that was too soon for Tim to pay while they were on the war campaign. Nothing had been overlooked and even though it was likely that things had been embellished, there was no denying the crime that was laid out in the letter. Timaeus would take a bit of joy from watching his brother realize that he was now a rat caught in a cage, but it did little to lessen the rage festering beneath his skin.
With precious little time before they would both be called to the ships, Timaeus wasted no time in getting down to business and gave a direct order to the boy. "Explain yourself." He knew that Silanos would have a thousand excuses. The brat might even utter a sorry, but Timaeus didn't care. The stiffness that he held himself with made it clear that he was in no mood for any appeals to brotherly love as there was none of that to be had. Not when the cold demeanor made it clear that Silanos was not speaking to the Timmy that rescued him from the stables all those years ago. No, instead he was conversing with Lord Timaeus of Valaoritis, the Baron of Eubocris and keeper of the boy's fate. Given that he was rapidly loosing favor with his man that had protected him for all these years, Silanos would be wise to tread lightly as there was no one on this earth that the boy had burned than his own brother. He had finally had enough.
The two of them were on the precipice of something they could never come back from and Silanos's next few words would decide how brutal the harsh slap of reality would be.
It didn’t take Sil long to realise that his brother was not in a conciliatory mood after all, and the well-meaning teasing died on his lips which instead pressed together into silence. He’d clearly managed to do something to offend and there was a wariness to the gaze that had landed on his older sibling before the other barked his order at him and turned on his heel, leaving Silanos to trail in his wake and wonder what in Hades was going on.
“Okaaaaaay” The latter part of the word lingered on and belied his confusion, but Sil followed obediently as Timaeus moved slightly away from the busy dockside. As he watched his brother’s straight back and set shoulders and thought about what would bring about a sudden thaw in the silent treatment he’d been given,the worry that something was really wrong began to niggle. Silanos wondered suddenly if there had been word out of Colchis, if Tim had received news of their mother, or Roxana. The thought had his stomach plummet, and he was calling the question after his brother whilst afraid for him to answer
“What’s going on, Tim?” But he received no answer, his agitation only growing as he followed his brother into a quiet out of the way corner, so that by the time Tim finally turned and thrust a piece of parchment at him, Sil had imagined any number of tragedies that he was about to learn of. For once, his thoughts hadn’t turned to first to himself. Perhaps that was a mistake.
Frowning, he reached out to take the parchment, not recognising the handwriting, but as he read, Sil began to grasp what was provoking his brother’s curt attitude, Not grief or worry, but anger. And as he read through the damning account of the previous day’s events, he didn’t doubt that said anger was directed squarely at him. Fuck. Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.
‘Explain yourself’ came the inevitable, and Silanos glanced from the letter up to his brother and back again, his mouth opening and then closing again. It didn’t sound good, what he was reading, and he could imagine how much Timaeus hated the smug overtones from the Captain who’d stepped in to help him. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek, shaking his head.
“I can see how this might look” he began, finding his brother’s gaze and holding it “ But I didn’t think that I’d be back here…I’d forgotten, honestly that I owed…” He doubted that his brother would look kindly upon the fact that he’d barely been sober enough during his time in Taengea to exactly take measure of what he was spending, nor recall what he owed to whom. Breaking off because that sounded like excuses, he tried again. “ I was going to sort it. I was going to speak to Mihail and get Damocles his money. I’m… I wasn’t going to bring it to you”
Which was true. He had wanted to sort it on his own terms. Might have gotten to it if he hadn’t taken Nikos up on his invite and now the young lord was kicking himself.Nice as it had been to sleep in a soft bed and with a soft body beneath his own he wouldn’t have if he’d known this would be waiting for him. He looked at the sum on the paper and then rubbed at the back of his neck nervously because it was more than he’d realised. This was going to be bad, he could tell.
“ I’m really sorry that you found out like this” he tried, waving the parchment. “ If fucking Damocles had given me chance I was going to sort it I swear.”
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It didn’t take Sil long to realise that his brother was not in a conciliatory mood after all, and the well-meaning teasing died on his lips which instead pressed together into silence. He’d clearly managed to do something to offend and there was a wariness to the gaze that had landed on his older sibling before the other barked his order at him and turned on his heel, leaving Silanos to trail in his wake and wonder what in Hades was going on.
“Okaaaaaay” The latter part of the word lingered on and belied his confusion, but Sil followed obediently as Timaeus moved slightly away from the busy dockside. As he watched his brother’s straight back and set shoulders and thought about what would bring about a sudden thaw in the silent treatment he’d been given,the worry that something was really wrong began to niggle. Silanos wondered suddenly if there had been word out of Colchis, if Tim had received news of their mother, or Roxana. The thought had his stomach plummet, and he was calling the question after his brother whilst afraid for him to answer
“What’s going on, Tim?” But he received no answer, his agitation only growing as he followed his brother into a quiet out of the way corner, so that by the time Tim finally turned and thrust a piece of parchment at him, Sil had imagined any number of tragedies that he was about to learn of. For once, his thoughts hadn’t turned to first to himself. Perhaps that was a mistake.
Frowning, he reached out to take the parchment, not recognising the handwriting, but as he read, Sil began to grasp what was provoking his brother’s curt attitude, Not grief or worry, but anger. And as he read through the damning account of the previous day’s events, he didn’t doubt that said anger was directed squarely at him. Fuck. Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.
‘Explain yourself’ came the inevitable, and Silanos glanced from the letter up to his brother and back again, his mouth opening and then closing again. It didn’t sound good, what he was reading, and he could imagine how much Timaeus hated the smug overtones from the Captain who’d stepped in to help him. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek, shaking his head.
“I can see how this might look” he began, finding his brother’s gaze and holding it “ But I didn’t think that I’d be back here…I’d forgotten, honestly that I owed…” He doubted that his brother would look kindly upon the fact that he’d barely been sober enough during his time in Taengea to exactly take measure of what he was spending, nor recall what he owed to whom. Breaking off because that sounded like excuses, he tried again. “ I was going to sort it. I was going to speak to Mihail and get Damocles his money. I’m… I wasn’t going to bring it to you”
Which was true. He had wanted to sort it on his own terms. Might have gotten to it if he hadn’t taken Nikos up on his invite and now the young lord was kicking himself.Nice as it had been to sleep in a soft bed and with a soft body beneath his own he wouldn’t have if he’d known this would be waiting for him. He looked at the sum on the paper and then rubbed at the back of his neck nervously because it was more than he’d realised. This was going to be bad, he could tell.
“ I’m really sorry that you found out like this” he tried, waving the parchment. “ If fucking Damocles had given me chance I was going to sort it I swear.”
It didn’t take Sil long to realise that his brother was not in a conciliatory mood after all, and the well-meaning teasing died on his lips which instead pressed together into silence. He’d clearly managed to do something to offend and there was a wariness to the gaze that had landed on his older sibling before the other barked his order at him and turned on his heel, leaving Silanos to trail in his wake and wonder what in Hades was going on.
“Okaaaaaay” The latter part of the word lingered on and belied his confusion, but Sil followed obediently as Timaeus moved slightly away from the busy dockside. As he watched his brother’s straight back and set shoulders and thought about what would bring about a sudden thaw in the silent treatment he’d been given,the worry that something was really wrong began to niggle. Silanos wondered suddenly if there had been word out of Colchis, if Tim had received news of their mother, or Roxana. The thought had his stomach plummet, and he was calling the question after his brother whilst afraid for him to answer
“What’s going on, Tim?” But he received no answer, his agitation only growing as he followed his brother into a quiet out of the way corner, so that by the time Tim finally turned and thrust a piece of parchment at him, Sil had imagined any number of tragedies that he was about to learn of. For once, his thoughts hadn’t turned to first to himself. Perhaps that was a mistake.
Frowning, he reached out to take the parchment, not recognising the handwriting, but as he read, Sil began to grasp what was provoking his brother’s curt attitude, Not grief or worry, but anger. And as he read through the damning account of the previous day’s events, he didn’t doubt that said anger was directed squarely at him. Fuck. Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.
‘Explain yourself’ came the inevitable, and Silanos glanced from the letter up to his brother and back again, his mouth opening and then closing again. It didn’t sound good, what he was reading, and he could imagine how much Timaeus hated the smug overtones from the Captain who’d stepped in to help him. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek, shaking his head.
“I can see how this might look” he began, finding his brother’s gaze and holding it “ But I didn’t think that I’d be back here…I’d forgotten, honestly that I owed…” He doubted that his brother would look kindly upon the fact that he’d barely been sober enough during his time in Taengea to exactly take measure of what he was spending, nor recall what he owed to whom. Breaking off because that sounded like excuses, he tried again. “ I was going to sort it. I was going to speak to Mihail and get Damocles his money. I’m… I wasn’t going to bring it to you”
Which was true. He had wanted to sort it on his own terms. Might have gotten to it if he hadn’t taken Nikos up on his invite and now the young lord was kicking himself.Nice as it had been to sleep in a soft bed and with a soft body beneath his own he wouldn’t have if he’d known this would be waiting for him. He looked at the sum on the paper and then rubbed at the back of his neck nervously because it was more than he’d realised. This was going to be bad, he could tell.
“ I’m really sorry that you found out like this” he tried, waving the parchment. “ If fucking Damocles had given me chance I was going to sort it I swear.”
Timaeus didn’t know what had gone wrong. The Valaoritis family had been a shining beacon of honor and military strength within the noble houses. Their legacy had been nothing to scoff lightly at as they enjoyed the limelight of being the royal family’s favored house for generations. They had been the barony that could be depended on to not only get the job done, but also ensure that the next generation would be just as adept politicians and skilled military leaders as the forefathers before them. How on earth had one boy brought all of that crumbling down? Silanos held no title beyond the one that he inherited by birthright. He had never stepped foot into a senate meeting and yet singlehandedly brought the entire family to the brink of ruin multiple times. His run-ins with the royal women had almost cost their family their nobility and now his unpaid debts would cause the Valaorotis to fall into an unfathomable financial disaster.
As if that wasn’t bad enough and to think that this could only be the start of it. Silanos himself admitted that he did not know how many debts were in Timaeus’s name. If there were only a few more floating about with the same debt amount as this… there would be nothing that Timaeus could do. The Valaoritis family did not have some vast cache of wealth that the Baron could dip into in order to make it all go away. In terms of nobility, they were rather modest with only a few quarries and investments to turn to in these moments. Not to mention that the family was already in a bit of a financial stretch given the loss of one of their few ships. The Valaoritis could not afford whatever debt that Silanos had incurred.
Saying that this was a bit of a problem was an understatement. It was not something that the baron had directly discussed with Vangelis as he did not want to stoke the prince’s anger, but Timaeus had his suspicions that the family’s good financial standing was a factor in his decision to keep Silanos’s scandal private. After all, had the family been on the brink of ruin, what would be the point of keeping them after their heir had committed such egregious crimes against the Kotas? Timaeus might barely know what he was doing, relying more on his advisors than he would care to admit, but he was not foolish enough to even consider for a moment that Vangelis would find the kindness in his heart to allow this noble family to continue cause problems like this when it would be infinitely easier to start over and find a new overseer for Eubocris -- preferably one that would not kiss the prince’s sisters.
“You had forgotten.” Timaeus angrily spat back at the boy, making no mistake in how infuriated he was that this was the answer he was getting, “Just as you forgotten that this family does not live on top of pile of gold that you can use as carelessly as you see fit!” The Baron might have been known to have quite a temper in the best of times, but this was something that Silanos would have never seen before. His brother’s face had turned scarlet as he barked out his harsh words made hotter by the boiling blood under his skin. All the deliberate calmness that he had held in beckoning Silanos to this secluded spot had disappeared as a snarling dog came to life instead. Timaeus was practically foaming at the mouth, more than ready to sate his rage by tearing his own brother’s throat out for this slight.
And to think this was Timaeus’s reaction before Silanos revealed his grand plan to repay his debt.
It was bad enough that Silanos had sent Damocles to chase after Timaeus for these funds, but that was nothing compared to the thought of having a Thanasi breathing down his neck as well. Why on earth would Silanos bring this to Mihail knowing full well how frigid the relationship between the two houses was. Timaeus was not subtle in his belief that they were little more than a coven of power-hungry witches that would do anything for a crown. Nor had he ever failed to scoff at the womanly antics of the youngest serpent. From the time that the two of them were children, Timaeus and Mihail had always been at each other’s throats. Did Silanos really think that Mihail would not take this debt as an opportunity to humiliate the Valaoritis Baron that had vexed him so as children?
“Shut it.” Timaeus gruffly barked in a tone that invited no argument, “Do not ever suggest bringing a debt that is under my name to a Thanasi again. I will sooner sell you to the mines of Dolomessa than have a Valaoritis be indebted to the coven.” As harsh as his words were, it was true. Timaeus’s distaste for the family went as deep that the Baron would make such a sacrifice to avoid the shame of turning to them for help. After all, this was something that the family would hold over Timaeus’s head for as long as he lived. He would not tolerate such an embarrassment. In fact, the mere thought of having to do so was so vile that Timaeus refused to even acknowledge that his brother had taken an ounce of accountability in resolving the matter.
“You would have resolved this?” Timaeus sputtered back with a disbelieving laugh that his brother thought that this would somehow reassure the Baron, “You, the same boy who had nearly been murdered after kissing one princess, but then decided that there was no harm in kissing the other. The same boy who decided that instead of growing up and taking accountability for your actions that you would sneak out of your guarded room in order to get blackfaced drunk at a tavern. The same boy who has somehow managed to rack up a debt that cannot be paid while he is the slave of another!” It was all so ridiculous. How on earth had one boy managed to screw up so royally in the course of just a few months? If this nightmare wasn’t Tim’s life, he would have thought it impossible.
With blood vessels practically bursting from his skin from the sheer rage of it all, Timaeus had to consider what an outrageous list of crimes Silanos had racked up. It was seemingly neverending and not once had his brother ever been truly remorseful for the damage he had caused. There was always some sort of excuse and a promise that it would never happen again, but it kept happening. Timaeus knew that he had a part to play in it. He had always been there to clean up Sil’s messes and never allow the boy to properly deal with the consequences of his actions. This was something that he had realized in Silanos’s absence and now it was just being confirmed by the mere fact that his brother had felt entitled enough to use Timaeus’s name on the debt. He was so sure that Tim would pay it in the end that he had not even bothered to put his own name on the paper. This could not continue. Tim had put up for Silanos for long enough, but this? This was the last straw.
Thrusting the letter back to his brother in a fit of anger and laid down one final punishment onto the boy. “Forget it. You are going to resolve this yourself as I am not paying a single cent. Damocles will be made aware that this your debt to pay and not one of the Valaoritis household. Do not ask me for funds. Do not write to my mother asking for help as our cousins will in informed that they are to burn all letters from you. From this moment forward, I do not want to hear my family name on your lips as you have no right after being so careless with everything that has been built for you over and over and over again!” The words practically tumbled out his mouth as a temporarily feeling of relief washed over Timaeus as he made it known to the world that Silanos was no longer his problem. Vangelis might have taken custody of the boy, but with everything being so secretive, he was still seen by the world at large as responsible for the boy. That ended today and it didn’t matter that in a few hours Timaeus would come to regret this choice. He had been pushed to his point by his brother’s carelessness and Sil had left the Baron with no other option. Nothing else had worked so it was time to cut the last few fraying cords that had held the boy to the family he was dragging down with him for the past few months.
Timaeus was not going to be swayed to think differently. This was something that he could not afford to change his mind on. The legacy of everything their family had done and the comfort of their mother and cousins depended on this leech being removed from their bloodlines. Silanos was going to have to accept it as there was no mercy to be found in the glowering rage of the older brother he had burned one too many times. As far as the world was concerned, Silanos of Valaoritis was dead. A hideous blot that had never truly existed at all. Instead, his brother would be known as Silanos of Eubocris, a penniless slave without so much as a scrap of honor to his name and debt that exceeded whatever meager earnings he would make in this new life of his.
And it was entirely the boy’s own fault.
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Timaeus didn’t know what had gone wrong. The Valaoritis family had been a shining beacon of honor and military strength within the noble houses. Their legacy had been nothing to scoff lightly at as they enjoyed the limelight of being the royal family’s favored house for generations. They had been the barony that could be depended on to not only get the job done, but also ensure that the next generation would be just as adept politicians and skilled military leaders as the forefathers before them. How on earth had one boy brought all of that crumbling down? Silanos held no title beyond the one that he inherited by birthright. He had never stepped foot into a senate meeting and yet singlehandedly brought the entire family to the brink of ruin multiple times. His run-ins with the royal women had almost cost their family their nobility and now his unpaid debts would cause the Valaorotis to fall into an unfathomable financial disaster.
As if that wasn’t bad enough and to think that this could only be the start of it. Silanos himself admitted that he did not know how many debts were in Timaeus’s name. If there were only a few more floating about with the same debt amount as this… there would be nothing that Timaeus could do. The Valaoritis family did not have some vast cache of wealth that the Baron could dip into in order to make it all go away. In terms of nobility, they were rather modest with only a few quarries and investments to turn to in these moments. Not to mention that the family was already in a bit of a financial stretch given the loss of one of their few ships. The Valaoritis could not afford whatever debt that Silanos had incurred.
Saying that this was a bit of a problem was an understatement. It was not something that the baron had directly discussed with Vangelis as he did not want to stoke the prince’s anger, but Timaeus had his suspicions that the family’s good financial standing was a factor in his decision to keep Silanos’s scandal private. After all, had the family been on the brink of ruin, what would be the point of keeping them after their heir had committed such egregious crimes against the Kotas? Timaeus might barely know what he was doing, relying more on his advisors than he would care to admit, but he was not foolish enough to even consider for a moment that Vangelis would find the kindness in his heart to allow this noble family to continue cause problems like this when it would be infinitely easier to start over and find a new overseer for Eubocris -- preferably one that would not kiss the prince’s sisters.
“You had forgotten.” Timaeus angrily spat back at the boy, making no mistake in how infuriated he was that this was the answer he was getting, “Just as you forgotten that this family does not live on top of pile of gold that you can use as carelessly as you see fit!” The Baron might have been known to have quite a temper in the best of times, but this was something that Silanos would have never seen before. His brother’s face had turned scarlet as he barked out his harsh words made hotter by the boiling blood under his skin. All the deliberate calmness that he had held in beckoning Silanos to this secluded spot had disappeared as a snarling dog came to life instead. Timaeus was practically foaming at the mouth, more than ready to sate his rage by tearing his own brother’s throat out for this slight.
And to think this was Timaeus’s reaction before Silanos revealed his grand plan to repay his debt.
It was bad enough that Silanos had sent Damocles to chase after Timaeus for these funds, but that was nothing compared to the thought of having a Thanasi breathing down his neck as well. Why on earth would Silanos bring this to Mihail knowing full well how frigid the relationship between the two houses was. Timaeus was not subtle in his belief that they were little more than a coven of power-hungry witches that would do anything for a crown. Nor had he ever failed to scoff at the womanly antics of the youngest serpent. From the time that the two of them were children, Timaeus and Mihail had always been at each other’s throats. Did Silanos really think that Mihail would not take this debt as an opportunity to humiliate the Valaoritis Baron that had vexed him so as children?
“Shut it.” Timaeus gruffly barked in a tone that invited no argument, “Do not ever suggest bringing a debt that is under my name to a Thanasi again. I will sooner sell you to the mines of Dolomessa than have a Valaoritis be indebted to the coven.” As harsh as his words were, it was true. Timaeus’s distaste for the family went as deep that the Baron would make such a sacrifice to avoid the shame of turning to them for help. After all, this was something that the family would hold over Timaeus’s head for as long as he lived. He would not tolerate such an embarrassment. In fact, the mere thought of having to do so was so vile that Timaeus refused to even acknowledge that his brother had taken an ounce of accountability in resolving the matter.
“You would have resolved this?” Timaeus sputtered back with a disbelieving laugh that his brother thought that this would somehow reassure the Baron, “You, the same boy who had nearly been murdered after kissing one princess, but then decided that there was no harm in kissing the other. The same boy who decided that instead of growing up and taking accountability for your actions that you would sneak out of your guarded room in order to get blackfaced drunk at a tavern. The same boy who has somehow managed to rack up a debt that cannot be paid while he is the slave of another!” It was all so ridiculous. How on earth had one boy managed to screw up so royally in the course of just a few months? If this nightmare wasn’t Tim’s life, he would have thought it impossible.
With blood vessels practically bursting from his skin from the sheer rage of it all, Timaeus had to consider what an outrageous list of crimes Silanos had racked up. It was seemingly neverending and not once had his brother ever been truly remorseful for the damage he had caused. There was always some sort of excuse and a promise that it would never happen again, but it kept happening. Timaeus knew that he had a part to play in it. He had always been there to clean up Sil’s messes and never allow the boy to properly deal with the consequences of his actions. This was something that he had realized in Silanos’s absence and now it was just being confirmed by the mere fact that his brother had felt entitled enough to use Timaeus’s name on the debt. He was so sure that Tim would pay it in the end that he had not even bothered to put his own name on the paper. This could not continue. Tim had put up for Silanos for long enough, but this? This was the last straw.
Thrusting the letter back to his brother in a fit of anger and laid down one final punishment onto the boy. “Forget it. You are going to resolve this yourself as I am not paying a single cent. Damocles will be made aware that this your debt to pay and not one of the Valaoritis household. Do not ask me for funds. Do not write to my mother asking for help as our cousins will in informed that they are to burn all letters from you. From this moment forward, I do not want to hear my family name on your lips as you have no right after being so careless with everything that has been built for you over and over and over again!” The words practically tumbled out his mouth as a temporarily feeling of relief washed over Timaeus as he made it known to the world that Silanos was no longer his problem. Vangelis might have taken custody of the boy, but with everything being so secretive, he was still seen by the world at large as responsible for the boy. That ended today and it didn’t matter that in a few hours Timaeus would come to regret this choice. He had been pushed to his point by his brother’s carelessness and Sil had left the Baron with no other option. Nothing else had worked so it was time to cut the last few fraying cords that had held the boy to the family he was dragging down with him for the past few months.
Timaeus was not going to be swayed to think differently. This was something that he could not afford to change his mind on. The legacy of everything their family had done and the comfort of their mother and cousins depended on this leech being removed from their bloodlines. Silanos was going to have to accept it as there was no mercy to be found in the glowering rage of the older brother he had burned one too many times. As far as the world was concerned, Silanos of Valaoritis was dead. A hideous blot that had never truly existed at all. Instead, his brother would be known as Silanos of Eubocris, a penniless slave without so much as a scrap of honor to his name and debt that exceeded whatever meager earnings he would make in this new life of his.
And it was entirely the boy’s own fault.
Timaeus didn’t know what had gone wrong. The Valaoritis family had been a shining beacon of honor and military strength within the noble houses. Their legacy had been nothing to scoff lightly at as they enjoyed the limelight of being the royal family’s favored house for generations. They had been the barony that could be depended on to not only get the job done, but also ensure that the next generation would be just as adept politicians and skilled military leaders as the forefathers before them. How on earth had one boy brought all of that crumbling down? Silanos held no title beyond the one that he inherited by birthright. He had never stepped foot into a senate meeting and yet singlehandedly brought the entire family to the brink of ruin multiple times. His run-ins with the royal women had almost cost their family their nobility and now his unpaid debts would cause the Valaorotis to fall into an unfathomable financial disaster.
As if that wasn’t bad enough and to think that this could only be the start of it. Silanos himself admitted that he did not know how many debts were in Timaeus’s name. If there were only a few more floating about with the same debt amount as this… there would be nothing that Timaeus could do. The Valaoritis family did not have some vast cache of wealth that the Baron could dip into in order to make it all go away. In terms of nobility, they were rather modest with only a few quarries and investments to turn to in these moments. Not to mention that the family was already in a bit of a financial stretch given the loss of one of their few ships. The Valaoritis could not afford whatever debt that Silanos had incurred.
Saying that this was a bit of a problem was an understatement. It was not something that the baron had directly discussed with Vangelis as he did not want to stoke the prince’s anger, but Timaeus had his suspicions that the family’s good financial standing was a factor in his decision to keep Silanos’s scandal private. After all, had the family been on the brink of ruin, what would be the point of keeping them after their heir had committed such egregious crimes against the Kotas? Timaeus might barely know what he was doing, relying more on his advisors than he would care to admit, but he was not foolish enough to even consider for a moment that Vangelis would find the kindness in his heart to allow this noble family to continue cause problems like this when it would be infinitely easier to start over and find a new overseer for Eubocris -- preferably one that would not kiss the prince’s sisters.
“You had forgotten.” Timaeus angrily spat back at the boy, making no mistake in how infuriated he was that this was the answer he was getting, “Just as you forgotten that this family does not live on top of pile of gold that you can use as carelessly as you see fit!” The Baron might have been known to have quite a temper in the best of times, but this was something that Silanos would have never seen before. His brother’s face had turned scarlet as he barked out his harsh words made hotter by the boiling blood under his skin. All the deliberate calmness that he had held in beckoning Silanos to this secluded spot had disappeared as a snarling dog came to life instead. Timaeus was practically foaming at the mouth, more than ready to sate his rage by tearing his own brother’s throat out for this slight.
And to think this was Timaeus’s reaction before Silanos revealed his grand plan to repay his debt.
It was bad enough that Silanos had sent Damocles to chase after Timaeus for these funds, but that was nothing compared to the thought of having a Thanasi breathing down his neck as well. Why on earth would Silanos bring this to Mihail knowing full well how frigid the relationship between the two houses was. Timaeus was not subtle in his belief that they were little more than a coven of power-hungry witches that would do anything for a crown. Nor had he ever failed to scoff at the womanly antics of the youngest serpent. From the time that the two of them were children, Timaeus and Mihail had always been at each other’s throats. Did Silanos really think that Mihail would not take this debt as an opportunity to humiliate the Valaoritis Baron that had vexed him so as children?
“Shut it.” Timaeus gruffly barked in a tone that invited no argument, “Do not ever suggest bringing a debt that is under my name to a Thanasi again. I will sooner sell you to the mines of Dolomessa than have a Valaoritis be indebted to the coven.” As harsh as his words were, it was true. Timaeus’s distaste for the family went as deep that the Baron would make such a sacrifice to avoid the shame of turning to them for help. After all, this was something that the family would hold over Timaeus’s head for as long as he lived. He would not tolerate such an embarrassment. In fact, the mere thought of having to do so was so vile that Timaeus refused to even acknowledge that his brother had taken an ounce of accountability in resolving the matter.
“You would have resolved this?” Timaeus sputtered back with a disbelieving laugh that his brother thought that this would somehow reassure the Baron, “You, the same boy who had nearly been murdered after kissing one princess, but then decided that there was no harm in kissing the other. The same boy who decided that instead of growing up and taking accountability for your actions that you would sneak out of your guarded room in order to get blackfaced drunk at a tavern. The same boy who has somehow managed to rack up a debt that cannot be paid while he is the slave of another!” It was all so ridiculous. How on earth had one boy managed to screw up so royally in the course of just a few months? If this nightmare wasn’t Tim’s life, he would have thought it impossible.
With blood vessels practically bursting from his skin from the sheer rage of it all, Timaeus had to consider what an outrageous list of crimes Silanos had racked up. It was seemingly neverending and not once had his brother ever been truly remorseful for the damage he had caused. There was always some sort of excuse and a promise that it would never happen again, but it kept happening. Timaeus knew that he had a part to play in it. He had always been there to clean up Sil’s messes and never allow the boy to properly deal with the consequences of his actions. This was something that he had realized in Silanos’s absence and now it was just being confirmed by the mere fact that his brother had felt entitled enough to use Timaeus’s name on the debt. He was so sure that Tim would pay it in the end that he had not even bothered to put his own name on the paper. This could not continue. Tim had put up for Silanos for long enough, but this? This was the last straw.
Thrusting the letter back to his brother in a fit of anger and laid down one final punishment onto the boy. “Forget it. You are going to resolve this yourself as I am not paying a single cent. Damocles will be made aware that this your debt to pay and not one of the Valaoritis household. Do not ask me for funds. Do not write to my mother asking for help as our cousins will in informed that they are to burn all letters from you. From this moment forward, I do not want to hear my family name on your lips as you have no right after being so careless with everything that has been built for you over and over and over again!” The words practically tumbled out his mouth as a temporarily feeling of relief washed over Timaeus as he made it known to the world that Silanos was no longer his problem. Vangelis might have taken custody of the boy, but with everything being so secretive, he was still seen by the world at large as responsible for the boy. That ended today and it didn’t matter that in a few hours Timaeus would come to regret this choice. He had been pushed to his point by his brother’s carelessness and Sil had left the Baron with no other option. Nothing else had worked so it was time to cut the last few fraying cords that had held the boy to the family he was dragging down with him for the past few months.
Timaeus was not going to be swayed to think differently. This was something that he could not afford to change his mind on. The legacy of everything their family had done and the comfort of their mother and cousins depended on this leech being removed from their bloodlines. Silanos was going to have to accept it as there was no mercy to be found in the glowering rage of the older brother he had burned one too many times. As far as the world was concerned, Silanos of Valaoritis was dead. A hideous blot that had never truly existed at all. Instead, his brother would be known as Silanos of Eubocris, a penniless slave without so much as a scrap of honor to his name and debt that exceeded whatever meager earnings he would make in this new life of his.
And it was entirely the boy’s own fault.
Sil realised quickly he’d underestimated his brother’s level of annoyance. Maybe it was because it was their first interaction in weeks, maybe it was because it had come from Damocles, a man Timaeus bore little love for, but the older of the Valaoritis was incensed and Sil actually took half a step backwards when his words were spat back at him, such was the fury in them.
‘You had forgotten. Just as you forgotten that this family does not live on top of pile of gold that you can use as carelessly as you see fit!’
Sil’s jaw set stubbornly, a frown scoring a crease between his brows. “ Look, it was months ago and if you hadn’t noticed, quite a lot has happened since then” And then he went on to explain that he’d at least tried to own his mistake, all the while cursing the soldier who’d dropped it at Tim’s feet before he had the chance. But that only added fuel to the flames of his brother’s discontent, and Sil shut his mouth, knowing that to try and talk to Tim before he’d had his little yell wasn’t going to be worth it. Yes, he’d fucked up, but he was going to fix it, he was taking responsibility which was what his brother had wanted wasn’t it?
But as Timaeus went on, Sil began to get the impression that that wasn’t good enough either, because of whatever bullshit problem Tim had with Mihail. It shouldn’t be about that, the point was, he was sorting out his own mistake. It was unfortunate that Tim’s name had been dragged into it but Sil was still adamant that his plans were valid. It fucking smarted then, when his brother decided to ignore that, raking up everything that had gone before like Sil hadn't made any effort to change like he wasn't trying.
“Yeah I fucking did those things” he retorted, his own temper beginning to build under the scorn Timaeus directed at him. “ Is that what we’re going to do?Just bring up everyfucking thing I’ve ever done wrong anytime you want to make a point? This happened ages ago, and I said I was trying to sort it!”
It wasn’t fair if he was going to be slammed with the past every time his brother wanted. Sil was doing his penance, he was going to fucking war because of it and he’d apologised what felt like a thousand times already. When his brother hurled the letter back toward him, the younger caught it with a defiant look. Let Tim yell at him if he wanted, but he couldn’t do anything else about a thing he was guilty of doing half a year ago, or what the fuck ever it was.
And he rolled his eyes to heaven, prepared to weather whatever bile Tim needed to spew at him to get it off his chest before they could move past this. Or at least he was, until Silanos caught hold of his brother’s words and then he gaped at him.
“Your mother?! Your family name?” Fuck's sake Tim, come off it. This...” He waved the letter “...was a blow, ok. I get it. But it's not anything I’ve done recently! I’ve been trying...I’ve done everything, all your military shit, let Maleos push me around and I’ve...”
He’d done what he’d been told, he’d -mostly- followed the rules that had been set, he wasn’t drinking, he hadn’t had a smoke in weeks. This was bullshit and he didn’t understand why this was the hill his brother was pretending to die on. “ Let me talk to Damocles. He’s a reasonable guy I’m sure he’ll wait until we get home or whatever. Just calm down”
Sil pushed an agitated hand back through his hair, leaving it even more dishevelled that its usual state of disarray. “ I reckon if we give him half he’ll shut up for now,” he said, confident that he’d offered at least a partial resolution. The depth of his brother’s frustration and fury didn’t seem to have sunk in.
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Sil realised quickly he’d underestimated his brother’s level of annoyance. Maybe it was because it was their first interaction in weeks, maybe it was because it had come from Damocles, a man Timaeus bore little love for, but the older of the Valaoritis was incensed and Sil actually took half a step backwards when his words were spat back at him, such was the fury in them.
‘You had forgotten. Just as you forgotten that this family does not live on top of pile of gold that you can use as carelessly as you see fit!’
Sil’s jaw set stubbornly, a frown scoring a crease between his brows. “ Look, it was months ago and if you hadn’t noticed, quite a lot has happened since then” And then he went on to explain that he’d at least tried to own his mistake, all the while cursing the soldier who’d dropped it at Tim’s feet before he had the chance. But that only added fuel to the flames of his brother’s discontent, and Sil shut his mouth, knowing that to try and talk to Tim before he’d had his little yell wasn’t going to be worth it. Yes, he’d fucked up, but he was going to fix it, he was taking responsibility which was what his brother had wanted wasn’t it?
But as Timaeus went on, Sil began to get the impression that that wasn’t good enough either, because of whatever bullshit problem Tim had with Mihail. It shouldn’t be about that, the point was, he was sorting out his own mistake. It was unfortunate that Tim’s name had been dragged into it but Sil was still adamant that his plans were valid. It fucking smarted then, when his brother decided to ignore that, raking up everything that had gone before like Sil hadn't made any effort to change like he wasn't trying.
“Yeah I fucking did those things” he retorted, his own temper beginning to build under the scorn Timaeus directed at him. “ Is that what we’re going to do?Just bring up everyfucking thing I’ve ever done wrong anytime you want to make a point? This happened ages ago, and I said I was trying to sort it!”
It wasn’t fair if he was going to be slammed with the past every time his brother wanted. Sil was doing his penance, he was going to fucking war because of it and he’d apologised what felt like a thousand times already. When his brother hurled the letter back toward him, the younger caught it with a defiant look. Let Tim yell at him if he wanted, but he couldn’t do anything else about a thing he was guilty of doing half a year ago, or what the fuck ever it was.
And he rolled his eyes to heaven, prepared to weather whatever bile Tim needed to spew at him to get it off his chest before they could move past this. Or at least he was, until Silanos caught hold of his brother’s words and then he gaped at him.
“Your mother?! Your family name?” Fuck's sake Tim, come off it. This...” He waved the letter “...was a blow, ok. I get it. But it's not anything I’ve done recently! I’ve been trying...I’ve done everything, all your military shit, let Maleos push me around and I’ve...”
He’d done what he’d been told, he’d -mostly- followed the rules that had been set, he wasn’t drinking, he hadn’t had a smoke in weeks. This was bullshit and he didn’t understand why this was the hill his brother was pretending to die on. “ Let me talk to Damocles. He’s a reasonable guy I’m sure he’ll wait until we get home or whatever. Just calm down”
Sil pushed an agitated hand back through his hair, leaving it even more dishevelled that its usual state of disarray. “ I reckon if we give him half he’ll shut up for now,” he said, confident that he’d offered at least a partial resolution. The depth of his brother’s frustration and fury didn’t seem to have sunk in.
Sil realised quickly he’d underestimated his brother’s level of annoyance. Maybe it was because it was their first interaction in weeks, maybe it was because it had come from Damocles, a man Timaeus bore little love for, but the older of the Valaoritis was incensed and Sil actually took half a step backwards when his words were spat back at him, such was the fury in them.
‘You had forgotten. Just as you forgotten that this family does not live on top of pile of gold that you can use as carelessly as you see fit!’
Sil’s jaw set stubbornly, a frown scoring a crease between his brows. “ Look, it was months ago and if you hadn’t noticed, quite a lot has happened since then” And then he went on to explain that he’d at least tried to own his mistake, all the while cursing the soldier who’d dropped it at Tim’s feet before he had the chance. But that only added fuel to the flames of his brother’s discontent, and Sil shut his mouth, knowing that to try and talk to Tim before he’d had his little yell wasn’t going to be worth it. Yes, he’d fucked up, but he was going to fix it, he was taking responsibility which was what his brother had wanted wasn’t it?
But as Timaeus went on, Sil began to get the impression that that wasn’t good enough either, because of whatever bullshit problem Tim had with Mihail. It shouldn’t be about that, the point was, he was sorting out his own mistake. It was unfortunate that Tim’s name had been dragged into it but Sil was still adamant that his plans were valid. It fucking smarted then, when his brother decided to ignore that, raking up everything that had gone before like Sil hadn't made any effort to change like he wasn't trying.
“Yeah I fucking did those things” he retorted, his own temper beginning to build under the scorn Timaeus directed at him. “ Is that what we’re going to do?Just bring up everyfucking thing I’ve ever done wrong anytime you want to make a point? This happened ages ago, and I said I was trying to sort it!”
It wasn’t fair if he was going to be slammed with the past every time his brother wanted. Sil was doing his penance, he was going to fucking war because of it and he’d apologised what felt like a thousand times already. When his brother hurled the letter back toward him, the younger caught it with a defiant look. Let Tim yell at him if he wanted, but he couldn’t do anything else about a thing he was guilty of doing half a year ago, or what the fuck ever it was.
And he rolled his eyes to heaven, prepared to weather whatever bile Tim needed to spew at him to get it off his chest before they could move past this. Or at least he was, until Silanos caught hold of his brother’s words and then he gaped at him.
“Your mother?! Your family name?” Fuck's sake Tim, come off it. This...” He waved the letter “...was a blow, ok. I get it. But it's not anything I’ve done recently! I’ve been trying...I’ve done everything, all your military shit, let Maleos push me around and I’ve...”
He’d done what he’d been told, he’d -mostly- followed the rules that had been set, he wasn’t drinking, he hadn’t had a smoke in weeks. This was bullshit and he didn’t understand why this was the hill his brother was pretending to die on. “ Let me talk to Damocles. He’s a reasonable guy I’m sure he’ll wait until we get home or whatever. Just calm down”
Sil pushed an agitated hand back through his hair, leaving it even more dishevelled that its usual state of disarray. “ I reckon if we give him half he’ll shut up for now,” he said, confident that he’d offered at least a partial resolution. The depth of his brother’s frustration and fury didn’t seem to have sunk in.
Timaeus did not know what was more ridiculous.; the price that Damocles demanded or the fact that not once had Silanos offered any sort of apology for the things that he had done. Sure, the boy had offered a half-hearted one in regards to Damocles needing to confront Timaeus -- but that was a far cry from taking responsibility for what was really riling Tim up so greatly. Not only had Silanos taken out a loan that he could not pay (and quite frankly had no intention to do so) but he had used Timaeus’s name. Now there was at least one creditor out there who was cursing the Baron’s name and he had actually done nothing wrong. His brother might think so little about the implications of such a thing, but Tim’s experience with court taught him that having even so much as a rumor of having a debt like this could be dangerous. Not only would it affect Tim’s ability to organize trade, but if such a rumor got into the hands of someone who did not like the Valaoritis, which it already had, it could be twisted in other ways and generally affect how the house was seen.
Or at least this was what Tim was considering as he stared down his brother, nostrils flaring in anger. In short, the debt could technically be paid. Damocles would not get the amount in full in the timeframe that he wanted it, but Timaeus could very easily arrange for his cousins to send the necessary funds to Magnemea. However, Timaeus had no desire to do this. He had already resolved himself to not doing this. The Baron was just far too prideful to give Damocles even a penny of his funds and it had been his intention from the start to have Silanos pay the amount in full. Timaeus would have given the boy a portion of the funds in order to placate his debtor and leave him to sort out some sort of arrangement in how the rest of the funds would be paid. How? Tim didn’t know nor did he care. This was Sil’s mess and thus he would be responsible for sorting it out himself.
That was out the window now. Silanos might think that things have changed, that his mere intention to figure it all out would be enough to placate his irate brother. Maybe under different circumstances, it would have been. However, the boy completely undermined his own effort by treating this issue so flippantly. It might not have seen like it was a big issue for Sil -- because quite frankly, it wasn’t. Timaeus had always been there in the past to sort out any disaster he found himself in. After all, how many times had they been in a situation like this? As sick as it was, this was almost a routine for them and this was something that Tim had realized in his brother’s absence. It needed to be broken. It needed to be broken now as Timaeus could not keep doing this for Silanos. Not while his brother was a sinking ship that was dragging his older brother down with him.
This was something that Timaeus had recognized for a long time. He had even mentioned to Maleos that if the boy did not change, things would eventually come to this. He had hoped that it wouldn’t as losing Sil was Tim’s greatest fear following the death of Nico, but he was just at the end of his rope. If Vangelis couldn’t change the boy, there was nothing that could be done. Silanos was hopeless and this would honestly be for the best. Maybe with the boy gone, Timaeus could fix the damage that had been done to the Valaoritis reputation.
Maybe.
“It does not matter how long ago it was!” His words came out in a hiss as Silanos tried to defend his actions with the flimsy excuse that time should be a factor in this situation, “It is still a debt you never had any intention to pay yourself and by your own admission, this may not be the only one that is out there in my name. Can you not see how fucking serious this is Silanos? Or do you just not care?” Timaeus didn’t know if he needed to say it in a different language for the boy to understand the gravity of the situation. Silanos had borrowed money in another’s name. This was something that could have very easily seen him sold into slavery if he was not outright killed for such a lie and this wasn’t like any trouble he had been in before. What incentive did have a merchant have to keep this debt quiet and sweep it under the rug? Vangelis, at least, had his own family to think about when he commandeered Silanos. It was not beneficial for the Kotas to let the world know that Sil was a selfish boy that felt entitled to anything he could get his hands on. Could the same be said for his debtors? For Damocles, who would love to see Timaeus suffer from disrepute after that war meeting?
As much as Timaeus would like to think that his brother had a glimmer of potential still somewhere in him, that there was some chance that he could change his ways, he could see that it wasn’t true. Their time apart had not made Tim’s stubbornness thaw in the slightest. Nor had his brother changed, not really. Silanos might be used to hard work now, but he was still the same selfish brat who expected everything to be handed to him free of charge. He had grown fat and indulgent in this cozy life hat nobility had offered him and that could not be clearer in his words as the boy did not seem to understand that he needed to apologize, not stand here complaining about how rough Timaeus was being on him. As if Silanos could not see where he was pushing his brother with his refusal to even acknowledge his wrongdoings.
His brother ranted and raved about how Timaeus should just let the past go, but quite frankly that was something that the Baron was not going to do. After all, why should he? Silanos had yet to say that he was sorry and on top of that, what reason did Timaeus have to do such a thing? Sil’s debtors were not going to forget that the Baron of Eubocris owed them a debt nor were they going to pretend that there was some sort of expiration date on being repaid. Why on earth should Tim give his brother that sort of luxury when he was all too keen to thrust these unexpected costs upon his brother? Truly Silanos must have lost his mind.
Sil’s words were met with stony, uncomfortable silence. Timaeus might not have said anything, but the slight upward curl of his lip into a sneer and the tightness in his posture showed that he was not happy with what his brother had to say. In fact, the more Silanos spoke and demanded leniency without giving Timaeus a reason to give it to him, the angrier Tim seemed to be. This only seemed to grow as Tim’s fingers twitched. His palms were all too familiar with the sensation of feeling Sil’s insolent skin beneath them and based on the way that this conversation was going, they were eager for another taste. However, Timaeus forced himself to hold back for once. As much as he wanted to let this angry go through bringing his brother physical pain, Silanos’s was no longer fair game. After all, the baron had made himself perfectly clear that his brother was no longer legally his blood and to make matters worse he was the slave to the Crown Prince. Tim did not want to have to deal Vangelis being angry that his Baron was now damaging his property.
However, that did not mean that Timaeus could not let loose his rage in other ways. As he was already a tightly wound corkscrew, just ready to burst, it was little surprise that he finally snapped when his brother set forth his brilliant plan. The brothers would pay Damocles half. No, Timaeus would pay the amount. A fire was lit in his eyes at the mere suggestion at this, especially right on the heels of Tim disowning the boy. As if that was not enough, Silanos told Timaeus that he needed to calm down which was not going to happen any time soon. Not with his brother being so entitled that even as a penniless slave with no name and no family he was demanding that a nobleman pay his debts.
“Shut your trap you pathetic, whining bitch.” Timaeus roared at the boy, using language that he would have never used against his own flesh and blood before. “Who the fuck do you think you are to be telling me what to do? ‘I reckon if we give him half... You are never getting another penny out of me you spineless, shack of shit! Not today, not tomorrow, not even when I’m in my fucking grave!” The Baron was practically shaking from the wrath that was consuming him as he finally unloaded onto his brother every single hateful shred that was within him. This moment was a long time coming and even though Timaeus truly never wanted to do this, Silanos was leaving him with no choice. There just wasn’t any other option given how selfish the boy was and how clear it was now that things were never going to change. Ever.
“As if I was not clear enough, let me spell it out for you, you self-righteous brat. You are no longer my brother! I am done dealing with the dogshit you leave behind for me to clean up when you can’t even muster up the humility to admit that you’ve done anything wrong! You are a fucking disgrace, can’t you fucking see what the hell you’ve done? For the past four generations, the Valaoritis house was a name to be respected. Now you have singlehandedly made us a laughingstock and ensured that we are one misstep away from being stripped of our title! Not once have you ever said sorry or taken responsibility for your actions. There is always some excuse or you somehow make things worse!” His words may have been harsh, but in truth, it was a great relief to Timaeus to finally get this off of his chest. Truly, the Baron could feel some great weight being lifted from his shoulders as he hissed at the boy. It was as if some of the worry and stress that had been a constant in his life since Sil had returned home was being forced out of him with every hateful syllable.
Maybe that was why Timaeus was able to bring his tone down a bit as he landed his final verdict on Silanos. “You are a liability to the Valaoritis household and you are clearly not capable of change. For that reason, from this day forward, you will no longer be recognized as one. If I catch you using this false name, I will personally drag you down to the executioner myself. I suggest that you take my words for the truth that they are as I am not changing my mind on this matter. Am I understood?” As much as the Baron wanted to storm off and leave Silanos to wallow in his own misery, Timaeus needed to hear his brother confirm that he was no longer a Valaoritis. That would at least make it a lot easier to hold him accountable when the boy inevitably broke this very simple rule and attempted to use his family’s name to his own advantage. Timaeus would come to regret this decision later, but he truly had no choice. Silanos was not going to change, he could see it now. He had to cut the cord while there was still time.
He just didn’t wish that things had to end like this.
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Timaeus did not know what was more ridiculous.; the price that Damocles demanded or the fact that not once had Silanos offered any sort of apology for the things that he had done. Sure, the boy had offered a half-hearted one in regards to Damocles needing to confront Timaeus -- but that was a far cry from taking responsibility for what was really riling Tim up so greatly. Not only had Silanos taken out a loan that he could not pay (and quite frankly had no intention to do so) but he had used Timaeus’s name. Now there was at least one creditor out there who was cursing the Baron’s name and he had actually done nothing wrong. His brother might think so little about the implications of such a thing, but Tim’s experience with court taught him that having even so much as a rumor of having a debt like this could be dangerous. Not only would it affect Tim’s ability to organize trade, but if such a rumor got into the hands of someone who did not like the Valaoritis, which it already had, it could be twisted in other ways and generally affect how the house was seen.
Or at least this was what Tim was considering as he stared down his brother, nostrils flaring in anger. In short, the debt could technically be paid. Damocles would not get the amount in full in the timeframe that he wanted it, but Timaeus could very easily arrange for his cousins to send the necessary funds to Magnemea. However, Timaeus had no desire to do this. He had already resolved himself to not doing this. The Baron was just far too prideful to give Damocles even a penny of his funds and it had been his intention from the start to have Silanos pay the amount in full. Timaeus would have given the boy a portion of the funds in order to placate his debtor and leave him to sort out some sort of arrangement in how the rest of the funds would be paid. How? Tim didn’t know nor did he care. This was Sil’s mess and thus he would be responsible for sorting it out himself.
That was out the window now. Silanos might think that things have changed, that his mere intention to figure it all out would be enough to placate his irate brother. Maybe under different circumstances, it would have been. However, the boy completely undermined his own effort by treating this issue so flippantly. It might not have seen like it was a big issue for Sil -- because quite frankly, it wasn’t. Timaeus had always been there in the past to sort out any disaster he found himself in. After all, how many times had they been in a situation like this? As sick as it was, this was almost a routine for them and this was something that Tim had realized in his brother’s absence. It needed to be broken. It needed to be broken now as Timaeus could not keep doing this for Silanos. Not while his brother was a sinking ship that was dragging his older brother down with him.
This was something that Timaeus had recognized for a long time. He had even mentioned to Maleos that if the boy did not change, things would eventually come to this. He had hoped that it wouldn’t as losing Sil was Tim’s greatest fear following the death of Nico, but he was just at the end of his rope. If Vangelis couldn’t change the boy, there was nothing that could be done. Silanos was hopeless and this would honestly be for the best. Maybe with the boy gone, Timaeus could fix the damage that had been done to the Valaoritis reputation.
Maybe.
“It does not matter how long ago it was!” His words came out in a hiss as Silanos tried to defend his actions with the flimsy excuse that time should be a factor in this situation, “It is still a debt you never had any intention to pay yourself and by your own admission, this may not be the only one that is out there in my name. Can you not see how fucking serious this is Silanos? Or do you just not care?” Timaeus didn’t know if he needed to say it in a different language for the boy to understand the gravity of the situation. Silanos had borrowed money in another’s name. This was something that could have very easily seen him sold into slavery if he was not outright killed for such a lie and this wasn’t like any trouble he had been in before. What incentive did have a merchant have to keep this debt quiet and sweep it under the rug? Vangelis, at least, had his own family to think about when he commandeered Silanos. It was not beneficial for the Kotas to let the world know that Sil was a selfish boy that felt entitled to anything he could get his hands on. Could the same be said for his debtors? For Damocles, who would love to see Timaeus suffer from disrepute after that war meeting?
As much as Timaeus would like to think that his brother had a glimmer of potential still somewhere in him, that there was some chance that he could change his ways, he could see that it wasn’t true. Their time apart had not made Tim’s stubbornness thaw in the slightest. Nor had his brother changed, not really. Silanos might be used to hard work now, but he was still the same selfish brat who expected everything to be handed to him free of charge. He had grown fat and indulgent in this cozy life hat nobility had offered him and that could not be clearer in his words as the boy did not seem to understand that he needed to apologize, not stand here complaining about how rough Timaeus was being on him. As if Silanos could not see where he was pushing his brother with his refusal to even acknowledge his wrongdoings.
His brother ranted and raved about how Timaeus should just let the past go, but quite frankly that was something that the Baron was not going to do. After all, why should he? Silanos had yet to say that he was sorry and on top of that, what reason did Timaeus have to do such a thing? Sil’s debtors were not going to forget that the Baron of Eubocris owed them a debt nor were they going to pretend that there was some sort of expiration date on being repaid. Why on earth should Tim give his brother that sort of luxury when he was all too keen to thrust these unexpected costs upon his brother? Truly Silanos must have lost his mind.
Sil’s words were met with stony, uncomfortable silence. Timaeus might not have said anything, but the slight upward curl of his lip into a sneer and the tightness in his posture showed that he was not happy with what his brother had to say. In fact, the more Silanos spoke and demanded leniency without giving Timaeus a reason to give it to him, the angrier Tim seemed to be. This only seemed to grow as Tim’s fingers twitched. His palms were all too familiar with the sensation of feeling Sil’s insolent skin beneath them and based on the way that this conversation was going, they were eager for another taste. However, Timaeus forced himself to hold back for once. As much as he wanted to let this angry go through bringing his brother physical pain, Silanos’s was no longer fair game. After all, the baron had made himself perfectly clear that his brother was no longer legally his blood and to make matters worse he was the slave to the Crown Prince. Tim did not want to have to deal Vangelis being angry that his Baron was now damaging his property.
However, that did not mean that Timaeus could not let loose his rage in other ways. As he was already a tightly wound corkscrew, just ready to burst, it was little surprise that he finally snapped when his brother set forth his brilliant plan. The brothers would pay Damocles half. No, Timaeus would pay the amount. A fire was lit in his eyes at the mere suggestion at this, especially right on the heels of Tim disowning the boy. As if that was not enough, Silanos told Timaeus that he needed to calm down which was not going to happen any time soon. Not with his brother being so entitled that even as a penniless slave with no name and no family he was demanding that a nobleman pay his debts.
“Shut your trap you pathetic, whining bitch.” Timaeus roared at the boy, using language that he would have never used against his own flesh and blood before. “Who the fuck do you think you are to be telling me what to do? ‘I reckon if we give him half... You are never getting another penny out of me you spineless, shack of shit! Not today, not tomorrow, not even when I’m in my fucking grave!” The Baron was practically shaking from the wrath that was consuming him as he finally unloaded onto his brother every single hateful shred that was within him. This moment was a long time coming and even though Timaeus truly never wanted to do this, Silanos was leaving him with no choice. There just wasn’t any other option given how selfish the boy was and how clear it was now that things were never going to change. Ever.
“As if I was not clear enough, let me spell it out for you, you self-righteous brat. You are no longer my brother! I am done dealing with the dogshit you leave behind for me to clean up when you can’t even muster up the humility to admit that you’ve done anything wrong! You are a fucking disgrace, can’t you fucking see what the hell you’ve done? For the past four generations, the Valaoritis house was a name to be respected. Now you have singlehandedly made us a laughingstock and ensured that we are one misstep away from being stripped of our title! Not once have you ever said sorry or taken responsibility for your actions. There is always some excuse or you somehow make things worse!” His words may have been harsh, but in truth, it was a great relief to Timaeus to finally get this off of his chest. Truly, the Baron could feel some great weight being lifted from his shoulders as he hissed at the boy. It was as if some of the worry and stress that had been a constant in his life since Sil had returned home was being forced out of him with every hateful syllable.
Maybe that was why Timaeus was able to bring his tone down a bit as he landed his final verdict on Silanos. “You are a liability to the Valaoritis household and you are clearly not capable of change. For that reason, from this day forward, you will no longer be recognized as one. If I catch you using this false name, I will personally drag you down to the executioner myself. I suggest that you take my words for the truth that they are as I am not changing my mind on this matter. Am I understood?” As much as the Baron wanted to storm off and leave Silanos to wallow in his own misery, Timaeus needed to hear his brother confirm that he was no longer a Valaoritis. That would at least make it a lot easier to hold him accountable when the boy inevitably broke this very simple rule and attempted to use his family’s name to his own advantage. Timaeus would come to regret this decision later, but he truly had no choice. Silanos was not going to change, he could see it now. He had to cut the cord while there was still time.
He just didn’t wish that things had to end like this.
Timaeus did not know what was more ridiculous.; the price that Damocles demanded or the fact that not once had Silanos offered any sort of apology for the things that he had done. Sure, the boy had offered a half-hearted one in regards to Damocles needing to confront Timaeus -- but that was a far cry from taking responsibility for what was really riling Tim up so greatly. Not only had Silanos taken out a loan that he could not pay (and quite frankly had no intention to do so) but he had used Timaeus’s name. Now there was at least one creditor out there who was cursing the Baron’s name and he had actually done nothing wrong. His brother might think so little about the implications of such a thing, but Tim’s experience with court taught him that having even so much as a rumor of having a debt like this could be dangerous. Not only would it affect Tim’s ability to organize trade, but if such a rumor got into the hands of someone who did not like the Valaoritis, which it already had, it could be twisted in other ways and generally affect how the house was seen.
Or at least this was what Tim was considering as he stared down his brother, nostrils flaring in anger. In short, the debt could technically be paid. Damocles would not get the amount in full in the timeframe that he wanted it, but Timaeus could very easily arrange for his cousins to send the necessary funds to Magnemea. However, Timaeus had no desire to do this. He had already resolved himself to not doing this. The Baron was just far too prideful to give Damocles even a penny of his funds and it had been his intention from the start to have Silanos pay the amount in full. Timaeus would have given the boy a portion of the funds in order to placate his debtor and leave him to sort out some sort of arrangement in how the rest of the funds would be paid. How? Tim didn’t know nor did he care. This was Sil’s mess and thus he would be responsible for sorting it out himself.
That was out the window now. Silanos might think that things have changed, that his mere intention to figure it all out would be enough to placate his irate brother. Maybe under different circumstances, it would have been. However, the boy completely undermined his own effort by treating this issue so flippantly. It might not have seen like it was a big issue for Sil -- because quite frankly, it wasn’t. Timaeus had always been there in the past to sort out any disaster he found himself in. After all, how many times had they been in a situation like this? As sick as it was, this was almost a routine for them and this was something that Tim had realized in his brother’s absence. It needed to be broken. It needed to be broken now as Timaeus could not keep doing this for Silanos. Not while his brother was a sinking ship that was dragging his older brother down with him.
This was something that Timaeus had recognized for a long time. He had even mentioned to Maleos that if the boy did not change, things would eventually come to this. He had hoped that it wouldn’t as losing Sil was Tim’s greatest fear following the death of Nico, but he was just at the end of his rope. If Vangelis couldn’t change the boy, there was nothing that could be done. Silanos was hopeless and this would honestly be for the best. Maybe with the boy gone, Timaeus could fix the damage that had been done to the Valaoritis reputation.
Maybe.
“It does not matter how long ago it was!” His words came out in a hiss as Silanos tried to defend his actions with the flimsy excuse that time should be a factor in this situation, “It is still a debt you never had any intention to pay yourself and by your own admission, this may not be the only one that is out there in my name. Can you not see how fucking serious this is Silanos? Or do you just not care?” Timaeus didn’t know if he needed to say it in a different language for the boy to understand the gravity of the situation. Silanos had borrowed money in another’s name. This was something that could have very easily seen him sold into slavery if he was not outright killed for such a lie and this wasn’t like any trouble he had been in before. What incentive did have a merchant have to keep this debt quiet and sweep it under the rug? Vangelis, at least, had his own family to think about when he commandeered Silanos. It was not beneficial for the Kotas to let the world know that Sil was a selfish boy that felt entitled to anything he could get his hands on. Could the same be said for his debtors? For Damocles, who would love to see Timaeus suffer from disrepute after that war meeting?
As much as Timaeus would like to think that his brother had a glimmer of potential still somewhere in him, that there was some chance that he could change his ways, he could see that it wasn’t true. Their time apart had not made Tim’s stubbornness thaw in the slightest. Nor had his brother changed, not really. Silanos might be used to hard work now, but he was still the same selfish brat who expected everything to be handed to him free of charge. He had grown fat and indulgent in this cozy life hat nobility had offered him and that could not be clearer in his words as the boy did not seem to understand that he needed to apologize, not stand here complaining about how rough Timaeus was being on him. As if Silanos could not see where he was pushing his brother with his refusal to even acknowledge his wrongdoings.
His brother ranted and raved about how Timaeus should just let the past go, but quite frankly that was something that the Baron was not going to do. After all, why should he? Silanos had yet to say that he was sorry and on top of that, what reason did Timaeus have to do such a thing? Sil’s debtors were not going to forget that the Baron of Eubocris owed them a debt nor were they going to pretend that there was some sort of expiration date on being repaid. Why on earth should Tim give his brother that sort of luxury when he was all too keen to thrust these unexpected costs upon his brother? Truly Silanos must have lost his mind.
Sil’s words were met with stony, uncomfortable silence. Timaeus might not have said anything, but the slight upward curl of his lip into a sneer and the tightness in his posture showed that he was not happy with what his brother had to say. In fact, the more Silanos spoke and demanded leniency without giving Timaeus a reason to give it to him, the angrier Tim seemed to be. This only seemed to grow as Tim’s fingers twitched. His palms were all too familiar with the sensation of feeling Sil’s insolent skin beneath them and based on the way that this conversation was going, they were eager for another taste. However, Timaeus forced himself to hold back for once. As much as he wanted to let this angry go through bringing his brother physical pain, Silanos’s was no longer fair game. After all, the baron had made himself perfectly clear that his brother was no longer legally his blood and to make matters worse he was the slave to the Crown Prince. Tim did not want to have to deal Vangelis being angry that his Baron was now damaging his property.
However, that did not mean that Timaeus could not let loose his rage in other ways. As he was already a tightly wound corkscrew, just ready to burst, it was little surprise that he finally snapped when his brother set forth his brilliant plan. The brothers would pay Damocles half. No, Timaeus would pay the amount. A fire was lit in his eyes at the mere suggestion at this, especially right on the heels of Tim disowning the boy. As if that was not enough, Silanos told Timaeus that he needed to calm down which was not going to happen any time soon. Not with his brother being so entitled that even as a penniless slave with no name and no family he was demanding that a nobleman pay his debts.
“Shut your trap you pathetic, whining bitch.” Timaeus roared at the boy, using language that he would have never used against his own flesh and blood before. “Who the fuck do you think you are to be telling me what to do? ‘I reckon if we give him half... You are never getting another penny out of me you spineless, shack of shit! Not today, not tomorrow, not even when I’m in my fucking grave!” The Baron was practically shaking from the wrath that was consuming him as he finally unloaded onto his brother every single hateful shred that was within him. This moment was a long time coming and even though Timaeus truly never wanted to do this, Silanos was leaving him with no choice. There just wasn’t any other option given how selfish the boy was and how clear it was now that things were never going to change. Ever.
“As if I was not clear enough, let me spell it out for you, you self-righteous brat. You are no longer my brother! I am done dealing with the dogshit you leave behind for me to clean up when you can’t even muster up the humility to admit that you’ve done anything wrong! You are a fucking disgrace, can’t you fucking see what the hell you’ve done? For the past four generations, the Valaoritis house was a name to be respected. Now you have singlehandedly made us a laughingstock and ensured that we are one misstep away from being stripped of our title! Not once have you ever said sorry or taken responsibility for your actions. There is always some excuse or you somehow make things worse!” His words may have been harsh, but in truth, it was a great relief to Timaeus to finally get this off of his chest. Truly, the Baron could feel some great weight being lifted from his shoulders as he hissed at the boy. It was as if some of the worry and stress that had been a constant in his life since Sil had returned home was being forced out of him with every hateful syllable.
Maybe that was why Timaeus was able to bring his tone down a bit as he landed his final verdict on Silanos. “You are a liability to the Valaoritis household and you are clearly not capable of change. For that reason, from this day forward, you will no longer be recognized as one. If I catch you using this false name, I will personally drag you down to the executioner myself. I suggest that you take my words for the truth that they are as I am not changing my mind on this matter. Am I understood?” As much as the Baron wanted to storm off and leave Silanos to wallow in his own misery, Timaeus needed to hear his brother confirm that he was no longer a Valaoritis. That would at least make it a lot easier to hold him accountable when the boy inevitably broke this very simple rule and attempted to use his family’s name to his own advantage. Timaeus would come to regret this decision later, but he truly had no choice. Silanos was not going to change, he could see it now. He had to cut the cord while there was still time.
He just didn’t wish that things had to end like this.
Silanos’ gaze had fallen away when Timaeus pointed out that he’d simply had no intention of settling the debt to Kreios. He couldn’t really argue that given he hadn’t remembered it, and he supposed his brother had the right to be angry about that, about Sil having carelessly used his name. His voice had lost some of the defensiveness of before when he answered. “I do care..I’m sorry alright. Things were..fucked up when I was here last time, it just…”
Alright. He’d known he owed Kreios something. He hadn’t known it was so much and he didn’t have a clue why he’d given the man’s Tim name. That had been a delight to discover when he’d run into the poisons merchant.
But he realised it was that uncertainty that wasn’t helping his cause and had his brother so incensed. Silanos didn’t know what he could say that wouldn’t be a lie. He hoped there wasn't going to be any more skeletons that fell out of his time in Taengea but he couldn’t swear it because so many of his days were just...nothing. Wine soaked or walking dead because he couldn't sleep. In Eleni’s bed or someone else’s. Looking back on it now through the perspective the last month or so had given him, he could see what a dangerous line he’d been walking then, and afterwards. It was so much easier to be rational when he was - to some degree- rested. And sober, though he never would have thought to thank the Crown Prince for instilling that condition.
He was still focusing on trying to fix the situation at hand because he couldn't do anything else about what had gone before, but his words only seemed to incense Tim more, and Silanos recoiled a little, blinking in a rapid reassessment when his brother bellowed at him, loud enough to jolt him.
He was used to Timaeus yelling at him. Indeed it was the most dialogue they had with one another recently but the venom in his brother’s voice was new and the insults..they were on the harsher scale he’d ever been on the receiving end of from his elder sibling. “What? I’m just trying to sort out wh…”
Timaeus cut him off and Silanos just stared at him, his face betraying just how he hadn’t processed the baron’s earlier words and was just registering Tim’s intent for the first time. His brother had threatened before now, but it had been just that, a threat and Sil had...he’d changed hadn't he? He’d toed the line, Tim wasn’t seeing it, that was all.
“I’ve….I’ve said sorry” he protested dumbly. He had, countless times, in arguments like this one, only he wasn’t fucking good at apologies and Tim? Tim wasn’t good at listening. “I’ve tried to fix what I could!” There was a tightness in his chest that wouldn’t subside, and Sil felt mildly sick. Trying to walk his brother backwards from what he seemed on the verge of doing, and he didn’t know how. Not when he was spitting rage and looking at him like that.
‘You are a liability to the Valaoritis household and you are clearly not capable of change. For that reason, from this day forward, you will no longer be recognized as one’
“You don’t mean that” It came on a whooshed breath like the air had been knocked out of him. After everything - and Sil knew he’d pushed his brother - that had happened, for this, when he was making an effort and thought he was doing okay, it was unbelievable. He shook his head, rejecting the idea of it as even as Timaeus doubled down. Silanos felt cold all over, hed lifted one hand toward his brother in a gesture as if he might stay his words with an upraised palm but he yanked it back when he noticed it was trembling slightly. “Don’t. Let me be better, I’ve been better…”
His eyes were wide, overbright and fixed on his older brother who wouldn’t do this to him. “ You can’t Tim” And Sil couldn’t even bring himself to care that he was throwing himself on his brother’s mercy. He would go to his knees if he needed to. This couldn’t happen. Silanos didn’t know how to be anything other than a Valaoritis, he didn’t even know what it meant.
‘I suggest that you take my words for the truth that they are as I am not changing my mind on this matter. Am I understood?’
“....no,” he said numbly. And then louder when he found his voice “No. Timaeus I am begging you. I swear on everything.” He fisted a hand in his hair, tugging hopelessly as if it could reset this whole fucking nightmare. “I’ll go and talk to Damcoles myself. I’ll get the money somehow, this doesn’t have to..don’t do this to our family, Tim.”
His voice cracked a little on the last. Because their mother had lost a son already and Sil knew he hadn’t been the best son, but she loved him and this would break her. He couldn’t think about it and spun away from his brother to vent the frustration and fear that rode him. “Fuck! FUCKING HELL. This is stupid, why are you even talking about it.?”
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Silanos’ gaze had fallen away when Timaeus pointed out that he’d simply had no intention of settling the debt to Kreios. He couldn’t really argue that given he hadn’t remembered it, and he supposed his brother had the right to be angry about that, about Sil having carelessly used his name. His voice had lost some of the defensiveness of before when he answered. “I do care..I’m sorry alright. Things were..fucked up when I was here last time, it just…”
Alright. He’d known he owed Kreios something. He hadn’t known it was so much and he didn’t have a clue why he’d given the man’s Tim name. That had been a delight to discover when he’d run into the poisons merchant.
But he realised it was that uncertainty that wasn’t helping his cause and had his brother so incensed. Silanos didn’t know what he could say that wouldn’t be a lie. He hoped there wasn't going to be any more skeletons that fell out of his time in Taengea but he couldn’t swear it because so many of his days were just...nothing. Wine soaked or walking dead because he couldn't sleep. In Eleni’s bed or someone else’s. Looking back on it now through the perspective the last month or so had given him, he could see what a dangerous line he’d been walking then, and afterwards. It was so much easier to be rational when he was - to some degree- rested. And sober, though he never would have thought to thank the Crown Prince for instilling that condition.
He was still focusing on trying to fix the situation at hand because he couldn't do anything else about what had gone before, but his words only seemed to incense Tim more, and Silanos recoiled a little, blinking in a rapid reassessment when his brother bellowed at him, loud enough to jolt him.
He was used to Timaeus yelling at him. Indeed it was the most dialogue they had with one another recently but the venom in his brother’s voice was new and the insults..they were on the harsher scale he’d ever been on the receiving end of from his elder sibling. “What? I’m just trying to sort out wh…”
Timaeus cut him off and Silanos just stared at him, his face betraying just how he hadn’t processed the baron’s earlier words and was just registering Tim’s intent for the first time. His brother had threatened before now, but it had been just that, a threat and Sil had...he’d changed hadn't he? He’d toed the line, Tim wasn’t seeing it, that was all.
“I’ve….I’ve said sorry” he protested dumbly. He had, countless times, in arguments like this one, only he wasn’t fucking good at apologies and Tim? Tim wasn’t good at listening. “I’ve tried to fix what I could!” There was a tightness in his chest that wouldn’t subside, and Sil felt mildly sick. Trying to walk his brother backwards from what he seemed on the verge of doing, and he didn’t know how. Not when he was spitting rage and looking at him like that.
‘You are a liability to the Valaoritis household and you are clearly not capable of change. For that reason, from this day forward, you will no longer be recognized as one’
“You don’t mean that” It came on a whooshed breath like the air had been knocked out of him. After everything - and Sil knew he’d pushed his brother - that had happened, for this, when he was making an effort and thought he was doing okay, it was unbelievable. He shook his head, rejecting the idea of it as even as Timaeus doubled down. Silanos felt cold all over, hed lifted one hand toward his brother in a gesture as if he might stay his words with an upraised palm but he yanked it back when he noticed it was trembling slightly. “Don’t. Let me be better, I’ve been better…”
His eyes were wide, overbright and fixed on his older brother who wouldn’t do this to him. “ You can’t Tim” And Sil couldn’t even bring himself to care that he was throwing himself on his brother’s mercy. He would go to his knees if he needed to. This couldn’t happen. Silanos didn’t know how to be anything other than a Valaoritis, he didn’t even know what it meant.
‘I suggest that you take my words for the truth that they are as I am not changing my mind on this matter. Am I understood?’
“....no,” he said numbly. And then louder when he found his voice “No. Timaeus I am begging you. I swear on everything.” He fisted a hand in his hair, tugging hopelessly as if it could reset this whole fucking nightmare. “I’ll go and talk to Damcoles myself. I’ll get the money somehow, this doesn’t have to..don’t do this to our family, Tim.”
His voice cracked a little on the last. Because their mother had lost a son already and Sil knew he hadn’t been the best son, but she loved him and this would break her. He couldn’t think about it and spun away from his brother to vent the frustration and fear that rode him. “Fuck! FUCKING HELL. This is stupid, why are you even talking about it.?”
Silanos’ gaze had fallen away when Timaeus pointed out that he’d simply had no intention of settling the debt to Kreios. He couldn’t really argue that given he hadn’t remembered it, and he supposed his brother had the right to be angry about that, about Sil having carelessly used his name. His voice had lost some of the defensiveness of before when he answered. “I do care..I’m sorry alright. Things were..fucked up when I was here last time, it just…”
Alright. He’d known he owed Kreios something. He hadn’t known it was so much and he didn’t have a clue why he’d given the man’s Tim name. That had been a delight to discover when he’d run into the poisons merchant.
But he realised it was that uncertainty that wasn’t helping his cause and had his brother so incensed. Silanos didn’t know what he could say that wouldn’t be a lie. He hoped there wasn't going to be any more skeletons that fell out of his time in Taengea but he couldn’t swear it because so many of his days were just...nothing. Wine soaked or walking dead because he couldn't sleep. In Eleni’s bed or someone else’s. Looking back on it now through the perspective the last month or so had given him, he could see what a dangerous line he’d been walking then, and afterwards. It was so much easier to be rational when he was - to some degree- rested. And sober, though he never would have thought to thank the Crown Prince for instilling that condition.
He was still focusing on trying to fix the situation at hand because he couldn't do anything else about what had gone before, but his words only seemed to incense Tim more, and Silanos recoiled a little, blinking in a rapid reassessment when his brother bellowed at him, loud enough to jolt him.
He was used to Timaeus yelling at him. Indeed it was the most dialogue they had with one another recently but the venom in his brother’s voice was new and the insults..they were on the harsher scale he’d ever been on the receiving end of from his elder sibling. “What? I’m just trying to sort out wh…”
Timaeus cut him off and Silanos just stared at him, his face betraying just how he hadn’t processed the baron’s earlier words and was just registering Tim’s intent for the first time. His brother had threatened before now, but it had been just that, a threat and Sil had...he’d changed hadn't he? He’d toed the line, Tim wasn’t seeing it, that was all.
“I’ve….I’ve said sorry” he protested dumbly. He had, countless times, in arguments like this one, only he wasn’t fucking good at apologies and Tim? Tim wasn’t good at listening. “I’ve tried to fix what I could!” There was a tightness in his chest that wouldn’t subside, and Sil felt mildly sick. Trying to walk his brother backwards from what he seemed on the verge of doing, and he didn’t know how. Not when he was spitting rage and looking at him like that.
‘You are a liability to the Valaoritis household and you are clearly not capable of change. For that reason, from this day forward, you will no longer be recognized as one’
“You don’t mean that” It came on a whooshed breath like the air had been knocked out of him. After everything - and Sil knew he’d pushed his brother - that had happened, for this, when he was making an effort and thought he was doing okay, it was unbelievable. He shook his head, rejecting the idea of it as even as Timaeus doubled down. Silanos felt cold all over, hed lifted one hand toward his brother in a gesture as if he might stay his words with an upraised palm but he yanked it back when he noticed it was trembling slightly. “Don’t. Let me be better, I’ve been better…”
His eyes were wide, overbright and fixed on his older brother who wouldn’t do this to him. “ You can’t Tim” And Sil couldn’t even bring himself to care that he was throwing himself on his brother’s mercy. He would go to his knees if he needed to. This couldn’t happen. Silanos didn’t know how to be anything other than a Valaoritis, he didn’t even know what it meant.
‘I suggest that you take my words for the truth that they are as I am not changing my mind on this matter. Am I understood?’
“....no,” he said numbly. And then louder when he found his voice “No. Timaeus I am begging you. I swear on everything.” He fisted a hand in his hair, tugging hopelessly as if it could reset this whole fucking nightmare. “I’ll go and talk to Damcoles myself. I’ll get the money somehow, this doesn’t have to..don’t do this to our family, Tim.”
His voice cracked a little on the last. Because their mother had lost a son already and Sil knew he hadn’t been the best son, but she loved him and this would break her. He couldn’t think about it and spun away from his brother to vent the frustration and fear that rode him. “Fuck! FUCKING HELL. This is stupid, why are you even talking about it.?”
Amidst the vitriol and rage that was blinding Timaeus, the Baron did not stop to consider how others might be affecting by the decision that he was making after a long, sleepless night of searching for the brother who had been nothing but trouble for the past few months. This would be something that he would not be able to escape from in the weeks to come when Timaeus and Silanos were on two different ships, sailing to an uncertain fate in Egypt. Little did the boys know that the sheer guilt that Timaeus would feel about doing this to not only his brother but his mother, a woman who would not understand what was happening on account of her fragile mental state, would eat him alive and he’d spend many nights sobbing his eyes out below decks. Not that Silanos would really care about this given that Timaeus was sentencing him to a fate worse than death given how thoroughly Silanos relied on his name to get by. Seven hells, Vangelis had likely only taken Sil on his ward on account that he was Timaeus’s heir. What reason would the prince have to keep him alive if Silanos was no longer legally the heir to the Valaoritis name?
This would be something that Timaeus would fret over himself in the weeks to come as he would start letter after letter to both the crown prince and his family, explaining what had happened and why he had made such a decision. However, each letter would be crumpled and set aside to be burned as Tim would not be able to put his crime against his family down on paper. It would impossible for him to get through a few lines without needing to start over to find another way to write what he needed to say. Find another way to explain how he had been given no choice. Find another way to express how sorry he was that things had to come to this. But if this was really the last time that the brothers were going to meet, Silanos would never know any of that. His younger brother, the same boy he rescued from their brother’s horse and who he threw snowballs with, would never know that deep down beneath this stressed out and angry exterior that there was a man deep down who only wanted the best for Silanos. Who desperately wanted to wrap his brother up in a cocoon, safe from the same dangers that had taken both father and elder brother away from the boys. Timaeus wasn’t heartless, but he had others to think about. He wanted to have a legacy to pass on to his own children one day and he wanted to ensure that when their mother’s time came, she would be somewhere familiar that still had some traces of the man she loved and the sons that she had lost. Not some hovel that they would have to scrounge around for if Silanos was allowed to continue this treacherous path that threatened all of them.
As much as he truly loved his brother, Timaeus had to do this. The two brothers might be the only ones who carried the Valaoritis name, but they were far from the only ones that Tim needed to look out for. Maybe one-day Silanos would understand. If they were lucky and Sil had carved out a safe niche for himself in the world, maybe the two of them could be brothers again, long after the dangers that he posed had passed. However, this would be decades in the making. The two of them would be old and gray with children the same age that they were now before Timaeus would even consider letting Silanos return to the life he once knew.
Silanos might not see it now, but this was for the best. For both of them.
Someday he would surely understand.
These were things that Timaeus wished that he could convey at this moment and had the fates let him, he would redo this moment a hundred times over. If the Baron had been clear of mind, he would have hugged his brother and explained that this wasn’t something he was doing out of spite or to scorn Silanos. Maybe he would have found a better way to convey that this wasn’t necessarily about the debt, but about all the other little things that his brother had done, that would prove to be more dangerous in the long run. Perhaps Timaeus would have had the heart to pay the debt and arrange for a small fund for the boy so that he might have the best shot of building a life for himself in the military or whatever else Silanos chose to do.
However, he wasn’t in the right mindset for any of this. Not when all he could see was red and every sniveling statement from the boy who now had no family only made things worse. Timaeus rolled his eyes at his brother’s words. It was his right as the head of the family to decide who had the privilege to be within it and there was nothing that no one else could do about it. Not even Prince Vangelis could force Tim’s hand here in order to allow Silanos to keep his status as a nobleman. This was solely Tim’s choice to make and he had already made himself more than clear.
The twenty-four-year-old recognized though that engaging with Sil was not something that he wanted to do. He knew how his brother worked and he could already feel those emotional seeds of doubt beginning to creep in. The boys had gone around this carousel enough times to know that if Timaeus said anything this was likely to end one of two ways; either Tim went back on his decision or the brothers would resort to physical violence. Neither were really options that Timaeus wanted to do. After all, not only was this decision the best for his family but now that Timaeus was not a member of the Valaoritis household, there could be consequences for striking him. Especially if he was now legally the property of Prince Vangelis. Tim was not going to rise to this bait.
So the young man tensed his jaw and refused to open his mouth. He knew that it would not end well if he let out even a squeak so Tim just allowed Silanos to come to terms with his new reality. It would likely not set in for a few days, but it would be best if Silanos saw that in the immediate aftermath of these moments that his brother was not going to budge. The last thing that Tim wanted, after all, was this boy chasing him through Egypt, begging for a second chance. Hopefully, his silence at this moment would curb that, only to be broken when Silanos had paused in his rant to give the boy one final parting statement that showed how severed things were now between them.
“Goodbye Silanos of Eubocris.”
His words were callous. They were just as cold as a frigid winter day and there was no warmth for the boy before him in his blue eyes. Timaeus was not going to lie, his words seemed foreign on his tongue, almost as if they didn’t belong there at all. However, he supposed that he would get used to them in time, just like Silanos would as Tim was not backing down in his decision. He was not even going to give Sil a chance to convince him to rethink things as almost as soon as the words were out of Tim’s mouth, his feet were moving.
Left, right. Left, right. Moving at a brisk pace, Timaeus walked away from Silanos, leaving the boy he once recognized as his brother in that alleyway to consider his fate. Neither knew what would become of Silanos, but whatever fate was in store for him, it was simply something that Timaeus was not going to be in. Silanos was on his own now and if that had not been already been made clear enough; it would be with the way Tim slipped into the forming crowd of soldiers, quickly disappearing among the other men so that Sil could not track him down. Timaeus didn’t know what he was going to do next. Find Damocles and inform him that this wasn’t a Valaoritis debt to pay? Crawl into a Tavern and drink the pain of this day away? Visit Steph who was stuck on the ship? Tim didn’t know, Tim didn’t care. He just wanted to do something that might wash the ugly scar that this morning had left on him away. It would take him a while to come to terms with the fact that both his brothers were now legally dead, but it was something he would not waver on as he kept telling himself that this decision was truly was for the best in regards to both of them.
Timaeus could only hope that this sentiment was right as there was no way to go back on what he had done now.
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This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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Amidst the vitriol and rage that was blinding Timaeus, the Baron did not stop to consider how others might be affecting by the decision that he was making after a long, sleepless night of searching for the brother who had been nothing but trouble for the past few months. This would be something that he would not be able to escape from in the weeks to come when Timaeus and Silanos were on two different ships, sailing to an uncertain fate in Egypt. Little did the boys know that the sheer guilt that Timaeus would feel about doing this to not only his brother but his mother, a woman who would not understand what was happening on account of her fragile mental state, would eat him alive and he’d spend many nights sobbing his eyes out below decks. Not that Silanos would really care about this given that Timaeus was sentencing him to a fate worse than death given how thoroughly Silanos relied on his name to get by. Seven hells, Vangelis had likely only taken Sil on his ward on account that he was Timaeus’s heir. What reason would the prince have to keep him alive if Silanos was no longer legally the heir to the Valaoritis name?
This would be something that Timaeus would fret over himself in the weeks to come as he would start letter after letter to both the crown prince and his family, explaining what had happened and why he had made such a decision. However, each letter would be crumpled and set aside to be burned as Tim would not be able to put his crime against his family down on paper. It would impossible for him to get through a few lines without needing to start over to find another way to write what he needed to say. Find another way to explain how he had been given no choice. Find another way to express how sorry he was that things had to come to this. But if this was really the last time that the brothers were going to meet, Silanos would never know any of that. His younger brother, the same boy he rescued from their brother’s horse and who he threw snowballs with, would never know that deep down beneath this stressed out and angry exterior that there was a man deep down who only wanted the best for Silanos. Who desperately wanted to wrap his brother up in a cocoon, safe from the same dangers that had taken both father and elder brother away from the boys. Timaeus wasn’t heartless, but he had others to think about. He wanted to have a legacy to pass on to his own children one day and he wanted to ensure that when their mother’s time came, she would be somewhere familiar that still had some traces of the man she loved and the sons that she had lost. Not some hovel that they would have to scrounge around for if Silanos was allowed to continue this treacherous path that threatened all of them.
As much as he truly loved his brother, Timaeus had to do this. The two brothers might be the only ones who carried the Valaoritis name, but they were far from the only ones that Tim needed to look out for. Maybe one-day Silanos would understand. If they were lucky and Sil had carved out a safe niche for himself in the world, maybe the two of them could be brothers again, long after the dangers that he posed had passed. However, this would be decades in the making. The two of them would be old and gray with children the same age that they were now before Timaeus would even consider letting Silanos return to the life he once knew.
Silanos might not see it now, but this was for the best. For both of them.
Someday he would surely understand.
These were things that Timaeus wished that he could convey at this moment and had the fates let him, he would redo this moment a hundred times over. If the Baron had been clear of mind, he would have hugged his brother and explained that this wasn’t something he was doing out of spite or to scorn Silanos. Maybe he would have found a better way to convey that this wasn’t necessarily about the debt, but about all the other little things that his brother had done, that would prove to be more dangerous in the long run. Perhaps Timaeus would have had the heart to pay the debt and arrange for a small fund for the boy so that he might have the best shot of building a life for himself in the military or whatever else Silanos chose to do.
However, he wasn’t in the right mindset for any of this. Not when all he could see was red and every sniveling statement from the boy who now had no family only made things worse. Timaeus rolled his eyes at his brother’s words. It was his right as the head of the family to decide who had the privilege to be within it and there was nothing that no one else could do about it. Not even Prince Vangelis could force Tim’s hand here in order to allow Silanos to keep his status as a nobleman. This was solely Tim’s choice to make and he had already made himself more than clear.
The twenty-four-year-old recognized though that engaging with Sil was not something that he wanted to do. He knew how his brother worked and he could already feel those emotional seeds of doubt beginning to creep in. The boys had gone around this carousel enough times to know that if Timaeus said anything this was likely to end one of two ways; either Tim went back on his decision or the brothers would resort to physical violence. Neither were really options that Timaeus wanted to do. After all, not only was this decision the best for his family but now that Timaeus was not a member of the Valaoritis household, there could be consequences for striking him. Especially if he was now legally the property of Prince Vangelis. Tim was not going to rise to this bait.
So the young man tensed his jaw and refused to open his mouth. He knew that it would not end well if he let out even a squeak so Tim just allowed Silanos to come to terms with his new reality. It would likely not set in for a few days, but it would be best if Silanos saw that in the immediate aftermath of these moments that his brother was not going to budge. The last thing that Tim wanted, after all, was this boy chasing him through Egypt, begging for a second chance. Hopefully, his silence at this moment would curb that, only to be broken when Silanos had paused in his rant to give the boy one final parting statement that showed how severed things were now between them.
“Goodbye Silanos of Eubocris.”
His words were callous. They were just as cold as a frigid winter day and there was no warmth for the boy before him in his blue eyes. Timaeus was not going to lie, his words seemed foreign on his tongue, almost as if they didn’t belong there at all. However, he supposed that he would get used to them in time, just like Silanos would as Tim was not backing down in his decision. He was not even going to give Sil a chance to convince him to rethink things as almost as soon as the words were out of Tim’s mouth, his feet were moving.
Left, right. Left, right. Moving at a brisk pace, Timaeus walked away from Silanos, leaving the boy he once recognized as his brother in that alleyway to consider his fate. Neither knew what would become of Silanos, but whatever fate was in store for him, it was simply something that Timaeus was not going to be in. Silanos was on his own now and if that had not been already been made clear enough; it would be with the way Tim slipped into the forming crowd of soldiers, quickly disappearing among the other men so that Sil could not track him down. Timaeus didn’t know what he was going to do next. Find Damocles and inform him that this wasn’t a Valaoritis debt to pay? Crawl into a Tavern and drink the pain of this day away? Visit Steph who was stuck on the ship? Tim didn’t know, Tim didn’t care. He just wanted to do something that might wash the ugly scar that this morning had left on him away. It would take him a while to come to terms with the fact that both his brothers were now legally dead, but it was something he would not waver on as he kept telling himself that this decision was truly was for the best in regards to both of them.
Timaeus could only hope that this sentiment was right as there was no way to go back on what he had done now.
Amidst the vitriol and rage that was blinding Timaeus, the Baron did not stop to consider how others might be affecting by the decision that he was making after a long, sleepless night of searching for the brother who had been nothing but trouble for the past few months. This would be something that he would not be able to escape from in the weeks to come when Timaeus and Silanos were on two different ships, sailing to an uncertain fate in Egypt. Little did the boys know that the sheer guilt that Timaeus would feel about doing this to not only his brother but his mother, a woman who would not understand what was happening on account of her fragile mental state, would eat him alive and he’d spend many nights sobbing his eyes out below decks. Not that Silanos would really care about this given that Timaeus was sentencing him to a fate worse than death given how thoroughly Silanos relied on his name to get by. Seven hells, Vangelis had likely only taken Sil on his ward on account that he was Timaeus’s heir. What reason would the prince have to keep him alive if Silanos was no longer legally the heir to the Valaoritis name?
This would be something that Timaeus would fret over himself in the weeks to come as he would start letter after letter to both the crown prince and his family, explaining what had happened and why he had made such a decision. However, each letter would be crumpled and set aside to be burned as Tim would not be able to put his crime against his family down on paper. It would impossible for him to get through a few lines without needing to start over to find another way to write what he needed to say. Find another way to explain how he had been given no choice. Find another way to express how sorry he was that things had to come to this. But if this was really the last time that the brothers were going to meet, Silanos would never know any of that. His younger brother, the same boy he rescued from their brother’s horse and who he threw snowballs with, would never know that deep down beneath this stressed out and angry exterior that there was a man deep down who only wanted the best for Silanos. Who desperately wanted to wrap his brother up in a cocoon, safe from the same dangers that had taken both father and elder brother away from the boys. Timaeus wasn’t heartless, but he had others to think about. He wanted to have a legacy to pass on to his own children one day and he wanted to ensure that when their mother’s time came, she would be somewhere familiar that still had some traces of the man she loved and the sons that she had lost. Not some hovel that they would have to scrounge around for if Silanos was allowed to continue this treacherous path that threatened all of them.
As much as he truly loved his brother, Timaeus had to do this. The two brothers might be the only ones who carried the Valaoritis name, but they were far from the only ones that Tim needed to look out for. Maybe one-day Silanos would understand. If they were lucky and Sil had carved out a safe niche for himself in the world, maybe the two of them could be brothers again, long after the dangers that he posed had passed. However, this would be decades in the making. The two of them would be old and gray with children the same age that they were now before Timaeus would even consider letting Silanos return to the life he once knew.
Silanos might not see it now, but this was for the best. For both of them.
Someday he would surely understand.
These were things that Timaeus wished that he could convey at this moment and had the fates let him, he would redo this moment a hundred times over. If the Baron had been clear of mind, he would have hugged his brother and explained that this wasn’t something he was doing out of spite or to scorn Silanos. Maybe he would have found a better way to convey that this wasn’t necessarily about the debt, but about all the other little things that his brother had done, that would prove to be more dangerous in the long run. Perhaps Timaeus would have had the heart to pay the debt and arrange for a small fund for the boy so that he might have the best shot of building a life for himself in the military or whatever else Silanos chose to do.
However, he wasn’t in the right mindset for any of this. Not when all he could see was red and every sniveling statement from the boy who now had no family only made things worse. Timaeus rolled his eyes at his brother’s words. It was his right as the head of the family to decide who had the privilege to be within it and there was nothing that no one else could do about it. Not even Prince Vangelis could force Tim’s hand here in order to allow Silanos to keep his status as a nobleman. This was solely Tim’s choice to make and he had already made himself more than clear.
The twenty-four-year-old recognized though that engaging with Sil was not something that he wanted to do. He knew how his brother worked and he could already feel those emotional seeds of doubt beginning to creep in. The boys had gone around this carousel enough times to know that if Timaeus said anything this was likely to end one of two ways; either Tim went back on his decision or the brothers would resort to physical violence. Neither were really options that Timaeus wanted to do. After all, not only was this decision the best for his family but now that Timaeus was not a member of the Valaoritis household, there could be consequences for striking him. Especially if he was now legally the property of Prince Vangelis. Tim was not going to rise to this bait.
So the young man tensed his jaw and refused to open his mouth. He knew that it would not end well if he let out even a squeak so Tim just allowed Silanos to come to terms with his new reality. It would likely not set in for a few days, but it would be best if Silanos saw that in the immediate aftermath of these moments that his brother was not going to budge. The last thing that Tim wanted, after all, was this boy chasing him through Egypt, begging for a second chance. Hopefully, his silence at this moment would curb that, only to be broken when Silanos had paused in his rant to give the boy one final parting statement that showed how severed things were now between them.
“Goodbye Silanos of Eubocris.”
His words were callous. They were just as cold as a frigid winter day and there was no warmth for the boy before him in his blue eyes. Timaeus was not going to lie, his words seemed foreign on his tongue, almost as if they didn’t belong there at all. However, he supposed that he would get used to them in time, just like Silanos would as Tim was not backing down in his decision. He was not even going to give Sil a chance to convince him to rethink things as almost as soon as the words were out of Tim’s mouth, his feet were moving.
Left, right. Left, right. Moving at a brisk pace, Timaeus walked away from Silanos, leaving the boy he once recognized as his brother in that alleyway to consider his fate. Neither knew what would become of Silanos, but whatever fate was in store for him, it was simply something that Timaeus was not going to be in. Silanos was on his own now and if that had not been already been made clear enough; it would be with the way Tim slipped into the forming crowd of soldiers, quickly disappearing among the other men so that Sil could not track him down. Timaeus didn’t know what he was going to do next. Find Damocles and inform him that this wasn’t a Valaoritis debt to pay? Crawl into a Tavern and drink the pain of this day away? Visit Steph who was stuck on the ship? Tim didn’t know, Tim didn’t care. He just wanted to do something that might wash the ugly scar that this morning had left on him away. It would take him a while to come to terms with the fact that both his brothers were now legally dead, but it was something he would not waver on as he kept telling himself that this decision was truly was for the best in regards to both of them.
Timaeus could only hope that this sentiment was right as there was no way to go back on what he had done now.
Losing Nico had been without a doubt the worst moment of Silanos’ life. His eldest brother- so strong, with so much ahead of him. The rightful heir to their house, there had been no question that he would be an excellent baron. But Thanatos had come to claim him far too soon, and it had shaken their family, so close on the heels of losing their father.
Silanos had been sideswiped by it, had run away to Taengea and tried to readjust with the help of whatever he could find. The ache of it barely healed, he hadn’t thought to know it again.
But as he looked back at Timaeus, closest to him in age, looking at him without a scrap of warmth in his eyes and with a cold goodbye that confirmed he was not going to be shifted, Sil decided this was worse. That his brother was choosing to discard him, denying him everything that made Sil who he was...he was dumbstruck.
He hadn’t thought it would ever get so far: Tim had made threats before but his brother was just hot air..he would scream and shout a while and then blow himself out and everything would settle again. This was not that. This was something else.
He’d been trying. He didn’t understand how Tim couldn’t see it, had just given up on him. He ought to be stopping him walking away but couldn’t make his mouth work to call after his brother, tongue thick and mouth dry. Sil didn't know what he would say. He’d already begged.
The shock of it ran through his veins, cold.
What did...where did that even leave him?
Numbly, he stared as Timaeus rounded the corner and left his sight. And he kept staring because part of him was still convinced that in a moment the man would be back to tell him he didn’t mean it.
He didn’t know how long he stood there. Until someone stopped and gawped at him and Silanos realised that the sky was lighter and that he was supposed to be on board and that he’d made sure he wasn’t going to be late and now here he was standing like an idiot and risking it all the same. With a jerk, he came back to himself and without really knowing how, walked to where he was supposed to be, followed the orders he was given and tried not to think about how his whole fucking life had just been ruined.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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Losing Nico had been without a doubt the worst moment of Silanos’ life. His eldest brother- so strong, with so much ahead of him. The rightful heir to their house, there had been no question that he would be an excellent baron. But Thanatos had come to claim him far too soon, and it had shaken their family, so close on the heels of losing their father.
Silanos had been sideswiped by it, had run away to Taengea and tried to readjust with the help of whatever he could find. The ache of it barely healed, he hadn’t thought to know it again.
But as he looked back at Timaeus, closest to him in age, looking at him without a scrap of warmth in his eyes and with a cold goodbye that confirmed he was not going to be shifted, Sil decided this was worse. That his brother was choosing to discard him, denying him everything that made Sil who he was...he was dumbstruck.
He hadn’t thought it would ever get so far: Tim had made threats before but his brother was just hot air..he would scream and shout a while and then blow himself out and everything would settle again. This was not that. This was something else.
He’d been trying. He didn’t understand how Tim couldn’t see it, had just given up on him. He ought to be stopping him walking away but couldn’t make his mouth work to call after his brother, tongue thick and mouth dry. Sil didn't know what he would say. He’d already begged.
The shock of it ran through his veins, cold.
What did...where did that even leave him?
Numbly, he stared as Timaeus rounded the corner and left his sight. And he kept staring because part of him was still convinced that in a moment the man would be back to tell him he didn’t mean it.
He didn’t know how long he stood there. Until someone stopped and gawped at him and Silanos realised that the sky was lighter and that he was supposed to be on board and that he’d made sure he wasn’t going to be late and now here he was standing like an idiot and risking it all the same. With a jerk, he came back to himself and without really knowing how, walked to where he was supposed to be, followed the orders he was given and tried not to think about how his whole fucking life had just been ruined.
Losing Nico had been without a doubt the worst moment of Silanos’ life. His eldest brother- so strong, with so much ahead of him. The rightful heir to their house, there had been no question that he would be an excellent baron. But Thanatos had come to claim him far too soon, and it had shaken their family, so close on the heels of losing their father.
Silanos had been sideswiped by it, had run away to Taengea and tried to readjust with the help of whatever he could find. The ache of it barely healed, he hadn’t thought to know it again.
But as he looked back at Timaeus, closest to him in age, looking at him without a scrap of warmth in his eyes and with a cold goodbye that confirmed he was not going to be shifted, Sil decided this was worse. That his brother was choosing to discard him, denying him everything that made Sil who he was...he was dumbstruck.
He hadn’t thought it would ever get so far: Tim had made threats before but his brother was just hot air..he would scream and shout a while and then blow himself out and everything would settle again. This was not that. This was something else.
He’d been trying. He didn’t understand how Tim couldn’t see it, had just given up on him. He ought to be stopping him walking away but couldn’t make his mouth work to call after his brother, tongue thick and mouth dry. Sil didn't know what he would say. He’d already begged.
The shock of it ran through his veins, cold.
What did...where did that even leave him?
Numbly, he stared as Timaeus rounded the corner and left his sight. And he kept staring because part of him was still convinced that in a moment the man would be back to tell him he didn’t mean it.
He didn’t know how long he stood there. Until someone stopped and gawped at him and Silanos realised that the sky was lighter and that he was supposed to be on board and that he’d made sure he wasn’t going to be late and now here he was standing like an idiot and risking it all the same. With a jerk, he came back to himself and without really knowing how, walked to where he was supposed to be, followed the orders he was given and tried not to think about how his whole fucking life had just been ruined.