Mom's Suicide

[00:17] Revan Task says, "... Hello brothers."
[00:18] Valero Task says, "Yo."
[00:18] Revan Task asks, "How have you both been?"
[00:18] Valero Task says, "Almost died."
[00:18] Valero Task says, "But, I'm still standin'."
[00:18] Revan Task says, "So you're still a Task, this is good."
[00:18] Revan Task asks, "What tried to claim your life this time?"
[00:18] Valero Task says, "Long story, but I think I can shorten it."
[00:19] Valero Task says, "Someone threatened Walter's life. I snapped, chugged a rage potion, and started swingin'."
[00:19] Valero Task says, "Someone stopped my swingin'."
[00:19] Valero Task says, "Don't remember much after that."
[00:20] Revan Task says, "Mmh, sounds like fighting Barsburg for me. "
[00:20] Revan Task says, "Atleast you made it out alive."
[00:21] Hades Task exclaims, "Hah!"
[00:21] Valero Task says, "Course I did. I bet there was a line of people moving to protect me the moment I was knocked unconcious."
[00:21] Valero Task says, "That's just how great I am."
[00:22] Revan Task says, "You have managed to accue your own following, I cannot deny this."
[00:22] Valero Task says, "Course I have."
[00:22] Revan Task says, "I am.. Quite proud of you, Valero."
[00:22] Valero Task says, "I'm a fucking Warlord."
[00:23] Valero Task says, "...And thank ya'."
[00:23] Revan Task says, "You're welcome. "
[00:23] Valero Task says, "I ain't used to-"
[00:23] Valero Task says, "..."
[00:23] Revan Task says, ".. You're doing a better job than i expected. "
[00:23] Valero Task says, "Wait..."
[00:23] Valero Task says, "Actually."
[00:23] Valero Task says, "Hades, Revan..."
[00:23] Valero Task says, "We need to have a chat."
[00:23] Revan Task asks, "Mmh..?"
[00:24] Valero Task says, "I just remembered somethin'."
[00:24] Valero Task says, "C'mon."
[00:24] Revan Task says, "I'd enjoy catching up, frankly."
[00:30] Once properly seated within their old home, Val would kick his feet up onto the table, leaning a bit back in his seat, a rather solemn look on his face, as his one eye drifted between those present.

"This ain't really got... Much to do with catching up, but-" He pauses for a moment, as he rests his sights solely on Revan, squinting at the man. "I was havin' a conversation with Father not too long ago. Came up with a rather neat plan, but the plan isn't the focal point of this particular tale."

A quick bob of his head follows.

"Out of the fucking blue father dropped on Hel of a bombshell on me, that I'm honestly still trying to process. I wonder how you two will handle it..." His voice trails off, as he attempts to formulate exactly how to break the news, but in the end he decides to go about it the same way his father had broke the news to him.

"He never loved our mother. Yes, yes, I'm sure you're both relatively aware of that, but... And now this part is the real twist. Mom didn't die in childbirth. Father... Said that she couldn't come to terms with his lack of feelings for her, and..."

His quiet's himself once more, before slowly shaking his head.

"So she ended her own life."
(Valero Task)
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[00:36] "That's... heavy."

Too heavy, probably.

Hades reclines in his chair, folding both arms over his chest.

News about their mother was destined to sting.

Rather than speaking on the issue, he allows Revan to speak, eyes looking up at the ceiling.

"So what do we do with this information?"
(Hades Task)
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[00:46] Entering their old home, it had been far too long since he spent any true time in here. Occasionally he passed through to let Lilly use the golden anvil, but it was always a fairly short visit.

Taking his seat against the wall, his arms would cross one another as his hands slipped into the opposite sleeve. Golden hues peered through the porcelain windows towards the redheaded Task, his demeanor seeming to shift after having graced him with a compliment.

A head canting as he listens to the set up for why they were really brought here, if not to catch up. Plans and schemes, normal things.. But, then the words come out, hitting the floor like ten tons of nyeshk.

"He.. Never.. Loved her..?"

He was raised by the man, but he wore the mask that now donned Revan's face for all his years- many aspects of his own Father were an enigma. Revan had assumed there was love there, perhaps because he wanted to believe there could've been a loving mother present to have wrapped his bandages, or shown him some form of love.. But it seemed their Father never had any for anyone.

She killed herself.

A second wave of realization would thrash the cloaked Task. Valero had nothing to do with it. He had cursed him for all their years for being the youngest, for being the last one out, to be stained in her blood. Yet that wasn't it at all.. He could feel cracks forming throughout his stoic, stony visage, his view of the world shattering behind the mask that kept him looking so composed.

So what do we do with this information.

"I.. I don't know.. Right now.."
(Revan Task)
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[00:55] Honestly, Valero wanted to know what Revan looked like behind his mask right now. Was it a look of sorrow? After all, finding out one's mother committed suicide wasn't a pleasant thing.

Maybe he looked guilty right now. After all, he had just found out that all of those years of him blaming Valero for their mother's death was... Well, wrong.

How he wished he could see his face.

Oh well.

"What you do with it is entirely up to you." Slowly, Valero would lean back in his seat. He had a year to process this particular bit of information, so any real signs of sorrow were long gone. "You had the right to know, so I told you."

"That's all it really comes down to."

He'd give a quick shrug, as he kicked his boots up onto the table.

"If you wish to catch up now. We can, but I understand if you both need a bit to soak in all of that."
(Valero Task)
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[01:10] There were so many questions racings through his mind, what was the point of it all, what was their father's reasoning for just letting their mother kill herself. What do I do with this information. He couldn't just wallow in the details he couldn't change.. What did change because of this?

Valero is innocent.

Revan had been avoiding the Warlord's gaze for some time, he didn't know what to think of him. He had been a slacker and a degenerate for all of their childhood, with such little ambition- he had said his red hair was a curse for what he had done, being the only triplet without the black locks.

Though perhaps it came from jealousy, a gift from their mother the other two were neglected. Over the years, the bandaged Task had learned he had a tendency to tear people and things down, he thought it was his coarse way of making them stronger.. However, perhaps it was rooted in some jealousy, or inadequacy with himself.

The members of The Dragon's Tooth had helped Revan grow a lot from the cold and cruel child their father had raised. Still cunning and manipulative, he atleast learned a thing or two about emotions.. How to use them, and how to control his own. This was a crushing moment.. But what mattered more than family? They were still Tasks, still brothers.. And one would have to swallow their pride.

"Val I.. I can not.. Truly apologize for what I have said in the past.. But.. No matter what you ever did, or what I ever said.. You were still always my brother.. And.." A gulp would follow, this was taking a lot, it felt like he was with his guild members, and then Valero's word's from years past would ring.

Don't get soft now.

Should he continue, or stop now?

"I'm going to do better.. By you and Hades.. And if Father will answer some damned questions."
(Revan Task)
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[01:11] Hades Task says, "I'm gonna sleep on it."
[01:23] "Too little. Too late."

The Task's voice was filled with venom as he adjusted himself within his seat, allowing his feet to rest on the wooden floor of his home, as his emerald eye glared at his brother. The usual stoicism that came with Valero had faded away, and with it his rage would once more begin to bubble to the surface.

He was beyond furious.

"You're not apologizing because you want to." The venom within his words remained as he spoke, and if anything it seemed to only grow as he continued. "The only reasons you decided to apologize is because you found out you were wrong. Not because it was the right thing to do, or what fucking ever."

Claw-like hands would find themselves curled up into fists, as he exhaled sharply through his nostrils.

"So don't even FUCKING-" In the midst of his rage, he'd bring the fullforce of his fists down onto the table smashing it right down the middle, rending it entirely useless. The large noise scares Cameo off. "FEED ME THAT HORSESHIT!"

The poor rabbit.

"I'm done with you Revan." With the table sufficiently ruined, Valero would turn to make his way to the door. "You still have a chance with Hades, but us?"

A quick shake of the Warlord's head follows.

"We may share the same last name, but we are not brothers."
(Valero Task)
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[01:34] Hans had given a long exposition on how Revan should've sat down to talk with Valero, to try to understand how he viewed things and their upbringing. It was something the bandaged Task wished to do, but he had never truly been able to bring himself to face Valero.

As Valero smashed the table and raised his voice, so to would the fireblooded, his mana raging around to dance with his own anger.

"YES I WAS WRONG."

It was already hard enough for him to admit, and he knew he had a lot to do before he could even truly begin to make things right between him and Valero, even as he cast them into the dust.

"But I didn't have to apologize for it. I've been trying to grow, not just in strength, but in spirit too.. I know I was always hard on you, and I pushed you down more than Hades, but that's because I knew you could do better."

Rising from the splinters of the table, a thumb would press over each of his first joints, popping them slowly as he tried to keep from his rage from controlling his actions entirely.

"You can be done with me, but I'm not giving up on you, Valero. You don't need my help, don't need me to watch over you.. Haven't needed it for a long time.. But I will never be one to stab you in the back, Brother."
(Revan Task)
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[02:01] Just when he was about to depart, Revan caught his attention. While he stopped in his tracks, he hadn't turned around to face the Task. He just stood there soaking in his brother's words, as the frown on his face seemed to only grow in size.

"Yes, you were wrong."

He repeats his brother's his words, more for himself than anything else. There was something oddly satisfying about it. Yet it would be the rest of his brother's statements that gets him to pause.

"Remember what I said the last time we fought?"

Slowly, the Warlord would turn to face the masked figure, his one emerald eye studying the masked figure carefully, before shaking his head.

"I can never be all that you want from me, and I am broken... I will fail you constantly."

A step closer would be taken towards his brother, as his own body ignited with violent mana fueled by his own rage. The suffocating feeling Valero's occult swiftly swept throughout the entirety of the house.

"I wasn't the one who was broken. It was never me. I was never the issue. Every single fucking issue we've had was because of you." A claw-like finger would jab out towards his brother. "You're the broken one, not me. I'm sick, and tired of pretending I'm the fucking problem. I ain't, I ain't, I ain't."

The finger would retract, as his hands once more found themselves balled up into fists.

"I don't need-... No. I've never needed you."
(Valero Task)
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[02:13] Revan would stand tall in the wake of what had transpired over the short confession, not because he felt like he was right by any stretch of the imagination, but his pride would not let him falter. Valero was ready to cast him aside, to give up on his blood. Revan had done a lot of wrong in his life, but there was one thing he swore he would do when he proclaimed himself the older brother, and that was to look over the other two.. Even if now it meant just keeping them together.

An inhale would be taken, a nod following as Valero repeats him, another nod confirming he remembered their last fight. Though as he repeats his message, Revan would shake his head.

"You're wrong. You've already exceeded my expectations by being a competent warlord- You're strong, I'll give you that.. But I didn't think you'd have what it takes to truly lead. For that.. You've once again shown me how wrong I was."

It was a game of back and forth, one correcting the other or pointing out a wrong, but the ball was still in his court, and he was ready to serve.

"We are broken. I will bare the burden for being.. Most of the issue, but you are not without fault yourself. I think you are forgetting one of Father's core teachings.. Enlightenment is achieved by throwing one's body and spirit into mortal turmoil. This breaks us, but we do not achieve greater strength unless we put outselves back together. To mend our injuries and grow beyond what we were."

A finger would be pointed at him, but Revan would simply hang his arms open at his side, palms facing his brother. It wasn't a full offering for a hug, simply an open gesture of acceptance.

"You say you don't need me.. And perhaps you don't.. But you are broken, Valero.. You can not run or hide from it.. And when you are ready to face it, and learn how to use that dark fire properly.. I will be here for you."
(Revan Task)
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[02:29] "I am not BROKEN."

The Warlord roared out, as the violet mana continued to rage around him, pushing back the nearby chairs, as the full pressure of his raw occult mana was unleashed. Unfortunately for Revan any chance of having a sensible conversation with Valero had been sent soaring out the window.

The occult had rested it's grubby mitts on his sanity, and odds are it wouldn't be fading away anytime soon.

"I am... I am..." He repeats those two words a few more times, before shaking his head. The raging torrent of violet mana would slowly begin to dim around his form. "I am..."

One last time, before...

"I am Valero Task. A Warlod, and the second Black Knight of Theria, a proud occultist, and I don't need anyone" He pauses for a moment, to turn away from his brother, the miasma of foul magics that enveloped his forms finally faded away as his vibrant red hair made itself known.

What he said was a lie.

In all of Esshar there were three people he desperately needed, that he had latched himself onto. Hades, Dun, and Walter. The were all family two him. The first two literal, Walter on the other hand that was a bond too strong to be considered just friendship.

He was the older brother Valero always wanted.

Which is why he went into such a rage when Finn threatened his life... It's why he had almost died.

"I just need myself."

Without another word, the Warlord would walk off.
(Valero Task)
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[02:46] All that would be seen through the occultist's rage and tantrum would be the blank expression of the mask, the same mask of their father silently staring back. Revan had tried to lay the ground works, but he could not build while Valero was stomping about.

The angered flame before him would tire itself out, a tell of something amiss. Only a nod would be given, acknowledging the Warlord was heard.

The older brother had been neglectful, greedy in his own pursuits for personal power.. Or perhaps he had gotten distracted, lost his way and gotten soft. Either way, he was making his return to Theria, so not even his brother would escape him for long.
(Revan Task)