Filthy Mess

”Ah yes, there it is. Once again, I am wrong, and you are right.” she said dryly, even as he conceded he could see where she was coming from. He had never agreed with her. No once, ever. He had always pushed and pushed to make them something they weren’t, to be something other. Even now he contradicted her. Why? Because he could. Because he was Loren, and only he could perceive the ills of their familial ways. ”Perhaps you are a victim. But I am not. My suffering has made me stronger, so I might not ever suffer again, and keep my family from that same fate.” The weak suffered, the strong survived and conquered. These were principles that were indisputable. She accepted what they were, what they had been bred to do, and instead of fighting it, she leaned into it. Let them test her, and she would quash all who tried to bring ill and suffering to her family. Her eyes narrowed further as he questioned her. ”You really are quite stupid for how enlightened you pretend to be.” she said dryly. ”I trusted you. You were my Left Hand. When you suffered for weakness, I made every effort to help you grow strong. I changed and worked differently with you. You were family when we had been torn apart. And you so despised us all, in spite of my efforts, that you abandoned us.” she said, nose wrinkling, lips pursing. ”I thought you died.” she said in a quiet hiss – and though her face was mostly blank and words sharp, the barest hint of sadness shone in her eyes. Fault Zariah as much as you’d like, but she loved her family. All of them. Even Loren, as aggravating as he could be. Of course, he followed it up with a terribly pedantic question and she rolled her eyes, sighing with exasperation. ”No one, at the moment. But that doesn’t mean the threat won’t come.” she said dryly. That said, Neron had gotten himself tangled up in some sort of binding agreement with something (someone?), which she also sought to dispel. ”Really? Well that’s news to me, as you go on and on, complaining about your unfair treatment, as though you are some great exception.” she snapped at him, eyes glaring daggers into his soul. She had spent months of one on one training with the most despicable of their creed, one whose standards were so high they could not be met, each one goading into one punishment after another. Edrei and Neron had also enduring childhoods of grueling training for the sake of strength. And while his treatment make have varied, given his struggles with magic early on, at the end of the day abuse was abuse, and they had all suffered it. zariah If my strength intimidates you, I hope you realize that is a weakness of yours.