[PP-F5] Reflected Truths on a Sword's Edge - Complete

[Teion 0]

Teion sat on a wooden bench inside of her smithy, Forged by the Sun, polishing her newly-forged blade. The dark metal of Obsidian Fang shone when she was finished and, satisfied, Teion placed the dagger on a display next to the couple of unimpressive items she'd made so far. Comparatively, the dagger stood out even further, and she was hopeful that someone would stop by soon to show interest in it. After a moment, she realized her fingers were fidgeting--she couldn't hide her nervousness from herself. She pulled up her menu and scrolled through her messages, re-reading her last message to Emerath. She had invited him to the fifth floor to check out her newly-opened shop, as she visited his alchemy lab. It seemed like it had been a long time since she'd seen the brothers; she hoped they were doing alright. Teion moved back to her work area, starting to organize her tools to keep her hands busy.

Edited October 23, 2015 by Teion

[Emerath 0]

Emerath had received Teion's messages, and after taking care of a few guild matters in his office, he figured he was ready to go see Teion in her new shop. After discussing it previously, they had gone back and forth in messages for a while trying to think of a good name. Finally she had decided on Forged by the Sun, and Emerath thought it fit for where she had chosen to be. So he made his way to the Teleport Gate, and made his way to the fifth floor to meet up with his friend. He had hoped she was doing well.

As he went to the location on his map, he began to tug on his suit, before finally removing his suit jacket and loosening his tie and the top button of his dress shirt. He pulled at it to let some of the body heat out, but the truth is he just wasn't dressed for this kind of weather, and he had begun to grow accustomed to his home in his shop on the fourth floor. As he made his way into Teion's shop, he was practically dying from heat exhaustion, and had ended up changing into his basic gear rather than his suit due to it being a lighter material. He probably looked like a mess as he came in, and this wasn't really how he had wanted to show up, but here he was.

He saw Teion placing a nice dagger on a display, and wondered idly if she had made it before deciding that she wouldn't really be doing that if she hadn't. He walked up to her with a wave, as he said, "Hey Teion, nice dagger. Good craft. It's too bad I don't use daggers at all." He smiled at her, and opened up his equipment screen to put his suit back on. He didn't like being out of it for too long, especially around others. He could live with the heat in the shop if that was the case.

[Teion 0]

Teion turned as she heard the doors open, seeing the familiar red hair as Emerath entered. She smiled, but couldn't help herself from feeling nervous when she saw him. She quickly supressed a chuckle at his appearance--he clearly wasn't suited to the temperature change from his winter wonderland. As he commented on the dagger, Teion's eyes sparkled, her attention drawn to her masterpiece. "Ah, thank you!" She glanced over to admire the blade. "Yeah, me neither. But I'm looking forward to selling it. If you know anyone who's good with daggers, point them this way." 

While Emerath equipped his formal clothes again, Teion rocked back and forth on her heels a moment. "Oh!" She exclaimed, rushing behind her counter to grab something. She opened her inventory and brought out two cups of water, placing one on the edge of the counter for Emerath. "I know we don't need water here, but it should at least help cool you down."

[Emerath 0]

Emerath, feeling the almost immediate effects of putting his formal clothes back on, quickly rushed over to the water. Teion was right about that at least, it had helped cool him down, though he still ended up loosening the top few buttons of his dress shirt and rolling up his sleeves anyway. He sighed, "I suppose this is what I get for wanting to both look good and live in a cold climate. Now I can't stand the heat. The worst part is, in real life we live in a desert!" But that was why he had wanted to live on the fourth floor, wasn't it? He had wanted to know what it was like to live in the cold, after all the stories he had heard.

Emerath shrugged, and continued to drink the water greedily, until the cup was empty. He placed the cup back onto the counter and gave a loud sigh of relief from the drink. "Well, that feels a bit better. Thank you." He smiled at her, and then looked around, "This is a really nice shop. I think I might have competition for looks alone." He gave a chuckle and looked back, "Also, I think I might have a dagger user. A guy named Hans joined the guild and he's a dagger wielder. I'll message him for you later and tell him to come pick it up."

[Teion 0]

Teion smiled, holding her cup with both hands as they spoke. "Mm, the snow is pretty, but I just don't think I could commit to it." The shop wasn't much designed for casual conversation, but Teion pulled up a chair and her wooden bench, sitting on the latter as they continued speaking. "I think indoor areas are more temperature controlled. Even though I'm forging in the middle of a desert city, it doesn't feel as hot until I go outside." She laughed lightly, more out of reaction than from her words.

"Oh, perfect!" She spoke up again when Emerath mentioned a potential buyer. Teion had almost forgotten that the brothers had started up their own guild. It would certainly explain why they've seemed so busy lately. "It must be a lot of work." She commented, and then realized her thoughts had led her to the statement, adding, "Running a whole guild, I mean."

[Emerath 0]

Emerath scratched the back of his head, as he found his own seat on the chair that was offered. "Well, it certainly isn't easy, that's for certain. So far I've already had two new recruits want to sign up, and that has kept me very busy indeed. One seems to have a lot of potential though, and I'm going to see how far I can push him to go. Hans also seems to have a lot of potential. I think he'd make good use of the dagger you made." Emerath looked at it again, the blade was fine and sharp, and he was proud of his friend for being able to make such good craftsmanship in the early stages of her career.

He gave a bit of a sigh as he considered Endilix for a moment. He looked at Teion, a bit worried, "Has Endilix said anything to you lately? He hasn't really done much since we started the guild. I know he's still alive. I check my friends list occasionally. And when I look he's usually in his bar, but I don't want to bug him if he's busy crafting or working with customers. But I'm still worried that maybe... maybe he doesn't actually have interest in helping me run the guild anymore."

[Teion 0]

Teion smiled proudly at the idea of someone using a weapon crafted by her. She hadn't been having much luck since the dagger, giving her the idea that a lot of it really was luck. 'Maybe it'll get easier as I raise my blacksmithing level...' She thought, figuring that would only make sense for game mechanics. Shaking her head lightly to dismiss her idle thoughts, Teion turned her attention back to Emerath. He started speaking about his brother, and she shifted in her seat. As the man trailed off, Teion's gaze drifted to the wooden floorboards. "That's just how he is." The response came almost out of reflex, and she immediately regretted the words, bringing her hand up in front of her. "I-I mean, he's always like this in games, right? He's probably just fine, maybe the responsibility of running a guild is a bit scary?" She tried to recover with a nervous smile.

[Emerath 0]

Emerath reflected on what Teion said and looked at her a bit confused. "No, I'm usually the one to go running off in games." He rubbed his chin, "He almost always stays behind with you." Emerath sighed and leaned back in the chair, taking another drink of the cool water. "If he didn't want to help run a guild, he never should have made those plans with me to begin with. I could've done it by myself and just had him be a part of it. Or heck, joined you in Mack's guild. I wouldn't have been upset. You two would've been having fun."

Emerath leaned forward, "But, I'm sorry I brought it up. I was just wondering if he had contacted you lately, that's all."

[Teion 0]

Teion gave a bit of a nervous laugh with Emerath's reply. She shook her head lightly. She wasn't thinking straight. "Oh no, don't be sorry." She fiddled with the cup in her hands. She felt the conversation had become awkward, so she tried to explain. "I just meant, he can be kind of fickle sometimes, I think. He'll get really involved in something and then move on pretty quickly." Before she knew it she started speaking without thinking. She chuckled nervously, trying to change the subject. "Ah, but I'm rambling! I'm sure everything's fine."

[Emerath 0]

Emerath gave a sigh. He knew Teion was right, but a part of him didn't want to admit it. And before he knew it, a bit of a rage had bubbled up inside of him at the thought of what exactly had made him act this way. He found himself gripping the cup in his hands until his knuckles were white. When he realized what he was doing, he let out a breath and released his grip on the cup. "Oh..." was all he managed, before looking up at Teion and trying to give a smile. Didn't work all that well though, as his eyes drifted to the side, looking idly at the dagger Teion had placed on the display. "I guess a part of me didn't really want to admit it, but I'm pretty sure he has run off with a girl again." He sighed, he felt like he shouldn't be telling Teion this, but if they were going to trust each other in this game, he couldn't hold back these kinds of things.

"Some girl named Flints. Now granted, I became.... friends with her, as well. But he took that a step farther, as he usually does. Only, rather than him coming back the next day as if no girl ever existed... he has let her stick around." Emerath gave a bit of an annoyed noise as he continued a bit more, "He asked me to go on a date with her in his place. I turned him down. Told him to suck it up and if he really cared about her he'd not lie to her. Besides, last time that happened..." and then Emerath realized he had said too much as he looked up at Teion with a bit of a wide-eyed expression. He scooted back in his chair a bit in surprise at himself, and quickly took a drink from the water to try to hide his sudden reaction.

[Teion 0]

'...he has run off with a girl again.' The words left Emerath, and Teion felt like they had physically hurt her. Before her mind had time to recover, he continued, and the words that followed just dug deeper. At first she felt anger--how dare he continue his selfish, womanizing ways when they were caught in the middle of this deathtrap? '...he has let her stick around.' Teion had been staring at the floorboards as Emerath spoke, but she wasn't sure how obvious her emotions displayed on her features. Betrayal. She couldn't decide whether it was better or worse that Dael hadn't kicked another girl to the curb.

As his words trailed off, Teion's expression went blank and her thoughts were fuzzy. Her mind was trying to make connections that she didn't want to recognize. A situation she had always thought to be true in the back of her mind, but one she did not want to accept. An uncomfortable amount of time had already passed since Emerath stopped speaking, but Teion couldn't bring herself to laugh or divert the topic of conversation. She forced herself to lift her head and look Emerath in the eyes. "The cafe." She whispered the words, but the room was so quiet that her words came out clearly.

Edited October 22, 2015 by Teion

[Emerath 0]

Emerath just about choked on his water when Teion finally spoke. They weren't words he had been expecting, of all the things she could have said. Emerath gave a coughing fit as the water he had been drinking went down the wrong pipe, and the cup clattered to the floorboards, rolling into a nearby display stand and spilling water between the two as they talked. Emerath coughed until he felt that the water had been cleared from his lungs and then took a deep breath. He sat hunched over, staring at the floorboards, breathing a bit heavily from the fit he had just gone through.

Finally, after a few moments, he cleared his throat and gave another light cough, before sitting up and back into his chair. He put a hand over his eyes and leaned his head back. "....Yes. The cafe. I'm not surprised you either figured it out, or have known this entire time."

[Teion 0]

Teion was silent for a while before speaking again. "I guess I just didn't want it to be true." The words left her after a while and she tried to keep her voice steady. She still wasn't sure of the proper way to react. She was trying to stay calm, but something inside of her stirred her emotions until she stood and spoke again. "Was it just going to stay a secret forever?" Her voice grew louder. She had been lied to, not only by one of the brothers, but both of them. And they had been sweeping it under the rug this whole time, like nothing had ever happened!

Edited October 22, 2015 by Teion

[Emerath 0]

Emerath didn't want to look at Teion. He kept his hand over his eyes, and his face leaned back as he said slowly, "If it were Endilix's... Dael's decision.... probably." He gave a heavy sigh, and his body began to shake a bit. A small, thin stream of water ran from underneath his hand, but surprisingly his voice stayed relatively calm. "I've wrestled with the idea of telling you for what... years now? But I never had the courage." The thin stream of water running down Emerath's cheek stopped and he wiped his face with his sleeve, as he finally looked at Teion, "You're the only person I ever agreed to it with." Emerath turned his head and gave a sad laugh, "It was all a huge mistake, but I think I wanted to get closer to you. I was always so jealous of my brother, and you two had become such good friends... when he was just going to throw in the towel with you and move on like he always did, I didn't want to see that happen. So he asked me to go in his place, and well... the rest is history."

Emerath stood up, and smoothed out the wrinkles in his suit jacket as he did so, "If you hate me, I understand. I've been running away from the truth, from you, for years now. And not just you either. I hurt someone else at the same time. But maybe that's a story for another day. One revelation at a time, or else we might just go insane..."

Edited October 22, 2015 by Emerath

[Teion 0]

Teion wasn't sure which brother she should be more upset with. Her confrontation with Endilix would be another time, but she could already feel her blood boiling at the thought of seeing his face. Emerath's words rang in her ears and she didn't know how to react. She could feel tears welling up at the corners of her eyes, but fought to keep her composure in front of him. She slowly sat down again and kept her eyes to the floor between them. She wanted to be angry, to cry... But she just felt more tired now than anything. She suddenly missed home, where she could crawl into bed and be alone for a while.

She had to clear her throat before speaking again. "I don't hate you..." She spoke softly to keep her voice from trembling. "I guess I just don't know how to feel about a lot of things right now." She let out a heavy sigh.

[Emerath 0]

Emerath scratched the back of his neck sheepishly as he looked towards the door. He wanted to just walk out. It wouldn't honestly be that hard of a thing to do. But that was no different from what he had always done, and things had never actually been laid on the table like this. He sighed and turned his gaze back to Teion. "I never meant for any of this. I hope you can know that. I've felt horrible and regretful this entire time. That's why I always avoided you, or ran off in games." He placed his hands in his pockets and looked to the side, "When you and Dael started being friends again, even after what had happened, I had reached the goal I was looking for, even if I felt horrible. So it worked out in the end."

[Teion 0]

Teion let out a small sigh through her nose. She place her head in her hands to rest her head, which felt heavy with the conversation. She would need some time alone before she could speak to the twins normally again. "I always thought something was off." She gave a sad smile, still staring at the ground. "When I talked to Dael afterwards, he was clueless. He tried to play it off and act cool, but the whole ordeal seemed to have caused everyone more pain than he thought. I don't understand--" Teion stopped herself and trailed off, covering her face with her hands as she took another breath. She didn't want to understand. She didn't want to hear Dael's pathetic explanation. "What goal were you looking for?" She asked the question out of sheer curiosity. Right now she felt like they had been sitting on a time bomb for so long and it just went off before either of them had time to react.

[Emerath 0]

Emerath didn't want to look at Teion. He knew any answer that he gave wouldn't be good enough. But he forced himself to turn his head, to look into her eyes. She deserved the truth that he had been hiding from her all this time. Anything else and Emerath might never have been able to face his demons. Not now that they were actually out in the open.

Slowly, he began, "The night after he had asked you to the cafe, he came to me. He told me that he was going on a date with you. He said that he'd go on the date with you, and then probably just dump you like every other girl after he got whatever he wanted. I'd heard it so many times. He always used me being close to him to make him seem more attractive with the twin effect, because I'm not generally the type of person to go chasing after girls." Emerath gave a pause, as he huffed a bit, "It was absolutely disgusting. What he did. But I never told him otherwise, because I looked up to him. I was jealous and I wished that I could lure in girls the same way that he did. Back in those days, the only time we were apart was when he was with a girl."

Emerath's fists clenched hard, his knuckles turning white as his brow furrowed and he stared at Teion, "You were the final straw. You... weren't like other girls. I had actually become friends with you, and that was the difference. I always stayed away from the other girls, because I knew what he was doing. But I had gotten close to you. So when he told me what he would do, I told him that I would go in his place. His eyes lit up and he accepted a little too readily. And so it happened."

Emerath looked down at the floor, his fists still clenched, "My goal was to let you down easy. Be your friend and tell you that would be all we were, so that we could all just be friends and be happy without Endilix hurting you. Things... didn't turn out like that."

[Teion 0]

Teion could feel her cheeks grow hot. She put her head down and covered her face with her hands again. Her elbows rested on her knees as she felt her heart squirming and twisting in her chest. She thought she knew how she felt toward the brothers, but now her feelings were mixed and she was remembering things she hadn't wanted to think about in quite some time. She took a deep breath after letting him speak.

"I... I think you should go." In all honesty, she didn't blame him. Not for everything, at least. She was hoping he wouldn't beat himself up too much once they parted ways for now. She just needed time to herself. And before anything else, she had to talk to Dael. "I'm sorry. Thank you...for telling me the truth." She was glad that she knew the whole story, even if it took this long. She didn't want to hate them, and she didn't want to get hung up on the past, especially with the danger they were constantly in since they were all trapped here. Teion forced herself to lift her head and look up at Emerath, a sternness in her voice now. "Stay safe."

[Emerath 0]

Emerath nodded at Teion, as he made his way for the door at her request. As he slowly made his way, weaving through the displays that she had set up throughout the shop that would one day host his friend's wonderful creations. As he walked he said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth sooner. You deserved to know way sooner than this. I was just afraid. So far, this is the only lie I've ever truly told, and that sickens me. It feels good to finally let that regret go, even if I lose you as a friend." As he reached the door, he looked back at her and gave a sad smile, "You stay safe too. I don't want to hear any news of something unfortunate happening to you, even if I never see you again." And on that note, he made his way out the door and back into the sweltering heat. He shielded his eyes from the sun and shook his head as he brought up his equipment menu once again, equipping his basic starter clothes to keep a bit more cool as he made his way to the Teleport Gate.