Older brothers and younger bothers Finished

He had no reason to hit the girl, no reason to hurt her. But she was treading on thin ice right now. That older boy was far too dangerous to go messing around with, didn't she know better? And what on earth was she doing with her mouth? Did he have some candy in his that she was trying to eat? Why didn't he just hand it over to her if she was that desperate to get it? It seemed pretty weird. But they seemed to enjoy it. Probably because the candy was so good.
Kaegen was trying to decide if he wanted to shoot dean, and risk hitting the girl, or worse, appear like an enemy, when he heard someone getting closer. A student, but who it was was anyone's guess. And then came the voice. It just said his name, but questioning, asking if he was there or not. In a heartbeat, the slingshot was aimed at the boy, pulled back far, much farther than it had been the last time he had shot the boy between the eyes and given him a concussion. That time he hadn't been given the chance to pull back. This time was different.
"If you speak above a whisper, you will die with me."
It was a clear threat, there was no way around that. But his voice was exactly the same, betraying no emotion at all. It was like a breeze rustling through a few leaves. A faraway whisper, that never seemed to come from where the boy was. If Appy was loud, if Appy doomed him, then the stone would be going through his skull. Kaegen had no desire to bring someone down with him, but he would follow through with his threat. And his threat was very necessary. If that older boy ever got a bead on him, he was pretty much over.

Alright. That was it. He couldn't stand any more of Kaegen and his Fens-hunter ways anymore. Adam glared into the darkness, where he knew the other Ravenclaw boy lurked. His threatening reply and the tell-tale sounds of the hunting slingshot that Kaegen always carried with him let Adam determine roughly where he was positioned in the bushes, and that's where Adam looked. Speaking through gritted teeth, hands slowly clenching into fists, Adam let out an exasperated sigh before answering.

"I don't plan on getting either of us caught," he said, making sure to keep his voice quiet as the other boy had so politely requested. "But the wild-animal act is getting real old, real fast. Understand, Kaegen? I don't know what you're still doing down here, and I don't know why you and Dean are so obsessed over each other, but it's not helping anyone. So it's going to stop." Adam sensed that he wouldn't get much of a reaction from the boy if he stopped there. It was a good thing that he was feeling particularly angry. He felt the frustrations of the past few weeks rearing their heads once again and let himself be taken over, finally confronted with the person who had started it all.

"You like hitting people with that thing, don't you?" he asked, nodding towards where the slingshot had sounded like it had been. Adam couldn't see very well in the fading light, which made this whole thing a bit less intimidating than he had hoped. "Does it make you feel honorable? Like you're defending something? What do you have to defend, Kaegen? Friends? Not the last time I checked. I talked to Eris just a few days ago -- want to know what she said? Want to know why she hangs around you? It's because she feels bad for you, Kaegen. That's what she said. She feels bad for you, and I do too, because apparently the only conversations you can have take place while armed. You don't fit in here, and you make no effort to, either."

Adam didn't know what he was trying to accomplish, yelling at his once-friend in the quietest tone of voice, but it felt good nonetheless. He had just come out here to check up on the boy. Adam hadn't wanted anything else to happen to Kaegen, had been on his side when Dean went after him. But that was before he started acting stupid and fell back on his weapons yet again. Now, Adam was all anger, no thought. He hadn't had the chance to do this before, and he knew he'd probably regret it as soon as the next morning. None of those thoughts crossed his mind now, though, and he kept on with his rant mindlessly. "I bet it feels good, looking at all of us and knowing that our bruises come from you. At least I hope it does. Because I can't think of any possible reason that you'd keep on shooting the people that are trying to help you. You're not dying, Kaegen. Neither am I. We're both going to live with what happened. So I suggest you move on, get your head in order, and for God's sake, learn to apologize once in a while." Glaring intently into the bushes, Adam stood and waited for his classmate's reply. He really hoped it wasn't another rock.

He wasn't sure if he could dodge one of those.

Well, he wasn't sure what to think. He knew one thing. Once things got angry, they reveal more of themselves than they ever meant to. Things rarely lied when angry. If a creature was angry, it would snarl at you, or at your enemy. That was how things worked. A angered fox is a trustworthy fox, it's when they're calm that you should beware. And Appy was certainly not calm. Which was good. He had learned something. Learned that he had been fooled. He felt stupid, but a little bit thankful. Something good had come out of his apparent friendship with the red head. He had learned that no matter how happy something makes you, it doesn't make it real. She wasn't his friend any more, he didn't need pity. Had no use for it. Pity was something you gave to babies, things that had to have help to survive. The ravenclaw boy was 11, that was more than enough to be treated as a predator. Not this nonsense with pity. She could keep the knife, although he would change it's name. It was first-knife, the one who is to be given to the first friend. Now it would be first-knife the tricked. Names meant a lot to Kaegen. They symbolized what he thought of things, they were his labels. The knife had been tricked from him by someone masquerading as a friend by using pity. It was unexpected. He wasn't sure how he would deal with her from now on. Her name was still on his scarf, what was he supposed to do about that? He couldn't rescind his protection, could he? He had followed his grandfather's instructions on how to use the quill. Written her name down certain at the time that she was his friend, that he would never leave her side. He had swore to himself to protect her, come what may, he had given her a name and vouched for it with his own. There was a way to take it back, but it would hurt his reputation a lot. Grandfather would not be happy. He would find a way into the school and beat the boy, more than likely. But there was no way around it. He couldn't proclaim himself the protector of a friend that wasn't his friend, could he?
He had thought her his friend, then not her friend, then her friend again. This would just keep going endlessly unless he put a stop to her. Why would she even do this? Her pity hurt more than indifference would have. He wouldn't hold a grudge, he would accept the world for how it was. And if he was destined to be friendless, then so it would be. He still had access to silens fax, they would serve as protection, at least. Protection was close enough.
Now to address the rest of what the boy said. What act was he even talking about? He wasn't obsessed over the older boy, he just didn't want to be hit by a spell. This boy was amazing, he spoke his opinions so frankly, he had told Kaegen how the world worked and most importantly, he had let the boy know that people were horrible, horrible creatures. Horrible creatures Kaegen would work with, he would talk with them, interact with them. It changed nothing but his perception of them.
The scenario was so enlightening, so obvious that Kaegen laughed. Who cared if the older boy found him? If the older boy fired off a spell, then what was the worst thing that could happen? Nothing at all. There were two witnesses, and one of them had been talking about how bad it was for the older boy to be obsessing over Kaegen. People covered themselves, there was nothing that boy could do. And even if he did shoot a spell at Kaegen, he would get a stone in the face. No one could fire off two spells fast enough to spot his rock, it just wouldn't happen. Worst case scenario, Kaegen died. Right now, it was worth it. He could die here, and be happy with everything he had done. It would save him the pain of what was to come, anyway. Kaegen's life was empty, like a emotionless breeze rusting a large pile of leaves. It was unnerving, lacking joy, and life and fond memories. It was just a husk. Dead leaves and wind. Kaegen stood up, and walked out of the bush. He nodded at the girl in the window. He would ask her later what kind of candy it was, and then he headed in the direction of the lake. He would revoke his authority there, and await an angered grandfather.

"What, you're not even going to say anything?" Adam asked, angrily, completely forgetting to keep his voice down as the other boy stood up from his place in the bushes. He didn't think it mattered much, anymore. Kaegen seemed to have forgotten that he was there completely. This wasn't the reaction he had expected. In fact, he didn't quite know what to do with this quiet, unresponsive Kaegen. His anger was slowing, no longer fueled by the actions of his fellow Ravenclaw. "Kaegen?" he repeated, confused. Why wasn't anything happening? Something should've been happening.

Watching him start to move towards the Great Lake, Adam instantly felt guilt crash down upon his conscience and tried to take back what he had said. "Wait, Kaegen, I didn't mean that, that's not what she said. We're both glad to have you around. You ground us." It didn't seem to work. Adam knew he'd need more than just that. From what he had seen, not much could stop the other Ravenclaw from doing something he was intent on doing. "Come on, Kaegen, we've known you since the train. We were right with you up until the chase, and I know we abandoned you, and I don't really have a reason for that. But that doesn't mean you should abandon us, right? Right?"

This wasn't going to work out. What was up with Adam tonight? He was all over the place, a feeling that seemed to be coming more and more often during his time at the school. First he had been mad, then apologetic, and now he felt anger building up inside of himself again. "You know, why do we even bother with you? You clearly don't care about the friends you had. When you're ready -- no, no, if you're ever ready to be a part of society, go see Eris, okay? She still kind of needs you. And if you come after me, Dean, or anyone I know with that slingshot again, it won't just be him you'll need to run from, understand?" Adam had never really threatened anyone before, either, at least not someone that wasn't his brother. He'd never been serious. He was now.

He didn't wait for an answer. "Good. So, got anything to say for yourself?"

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Up in the corridor overlooking the place where Kaegen and Adam stood, Sydney broke away from her boyfriend and stared intently out the window. "Syd?" Dean asked, confused as to why she had turned from him. "What is it?" Sydney didn't answer for a moment, staring down onto the grounds. Finally, as if confirming something she hadn't wanted to see, Sydney sighed and whispered, "You've got to be [EXPLETIVE] kidding me."

Dean was surprised. He wasn't used to his girlfriend swearing. She tended to be against it, which concerned him even more. Asking again, trying not to sound too worried, Dean replied, "Syd? Something wrong?" She shook her head, turning back to him.

"You were right. The kid's down there. Let's go."

He was king of pretty much everything right now. He could hear the two older students up above, they had noticed him but he didn't care. Adam was acting so pathetic, this world was pathetic. They couldn't touch him, there was simply nothing they could do about any of this. You couldn't change the universe, could you? He had no reason to shoot at Adam, but he had a tiny, tiny cocky streak that wanted to make sure the other boy knew that Kaegen was not scared. He was scared of the unknown, or something that could defeat him. And even then he had a firm belief in his own powers. And so he smoothly, with perfect fluidity, turned and shot a rock less than an inch from Adam's ear. And then he took off. He was on the ground, on the grass and the dirt and it was amazing. The boy seemed to fly, his scarf pluming out behind him. He wasn't the best at classes, but there was nothing here that could stand in his way, this was the outdoors. He changed his plans slightly. By the time the older students had made it down the stairs, Kaegen would be long, long gone. He would no longer be anywhere close to here. But, there had been something interesting. Something he wanted to learn about, something he did not know. And so, as soon as he passed behind a little rise, out of eyesight, he slipped around to the lake bed. And slipped around the edge, back towards hogwarts. This was what he was meant to do. Sneak, hide and mess about. The only thing that could find him now would be the human seeking spell, but that would more likely than not just find adam. Or any of the other children at play. The other students acted as his protection, his shield. And his unpredictable actions were his cloak. Why would he go back to hogwarts? He was at a disadvantage there, easily picked off. The answer to that was simple. He had to talk to the older girl. Find out what they were doing. It was something that he wasn't going to let go of so easily. He ran it through in his mind. The older boy would bank on his faster legs, and Appy's stories. Heading out towards the forest or the lake. He would tell the girl to stay, wishing to protect her from sling stones. Then he would go up, and talk to her.
As he moved, he thought about eris, and why she was doing what she did. And then he started to remember more. How her eyes looked, they had looked horrible, dead. Adam's had been fine, just fevered. But hers, hers had been ghastly. A sick thing. When he was younger, he had seen a weak, sick little kitten that lashed out with sharp claws in anguish. And yet it pitied the large beast that had a cut, licking the minor wound clean. So that was it, she pitied him even as she was in agony? At least he knew what to do here. He had seen the beast take the little kitten under it's wing. Take care of it. If eris didn't want to be his friend, that was alright. He would be hers.
For now, he just had to wait to speak with the older girl. That wouldn't be too hard.

It didn't take long for Dean and Sydney to reach Adam out on the grounds, and when they did, Adam was ready to give chase. The only reason he had waited for his brother was because the older boy knew a lot more spells than Adam did. When Dean got close enough to hear Adam, the younger brother called out, "Come on, he went out this way."

Dean gave him a surprised look. "What, you're not going to stop me? Not going to talk about how messed up this is?" Adam shook his head, already walking towards the Great Lake, where it looked like Kaegen had gone off to. "Not this time. He almost shot me -- again. I still don't want to hurt him, but he's not in a good state of mind right now, and we at least need to find him. Come on." The two boys ran off towards the darkening lake, caught up in the newly-restarted chase, leaving Sydney standing alone on the lawn.

"Be careful...." she called, watching the Harringtom boys depart and standing in the evening air. Sydney was used to the erratic actions of her boyfriend by now, even if she didn't fully understand all of them. She figured that it wouldn't be long until the boys would return, hopefully with a third student in tow, but she started to get worried regardless. What would she do if they weren't back before curfew? Would she have to leave them alone? Could she go out and find them? Sydney knew the boys could handle themselves, but sometimes, they needed an extra push. After another moment, she had made up her mind. She was about to follow the two of them towards the lake when she felt a strange sensation. It was almost like...like she was being watched. People had always told Sydney that she was an observant girl, but she never really noticed until moments like these.

Looking behind her, Sydney kept her voice strong and confident, trying to sound authoritative and mature. She might have been making a fool of herself, calling out to nothing, but she didn't think that nothing was exactly what awaited her."Hello? Who's there?"

Kaegen stepped out into the open. He must have looked pretty pathetic, a 11 year old boy with eyes that seemed to look for the danger in everything, moving smoothly, less like a boy, more like an animal. He had questions, but he had no reason to believe that this girl was any less dangerous than the other two were. In fact, she may be more dangerous. Before he did anything else, he had to make sure he knew what was going on. Make sure he knew which side of the fence she stood on, and most importantly, see if he had to take her out and run for it. That last option would probably be unpleasant.
"Hey, I have questions. Would you mind...???"
His voice was similar to a tiny breeze, blowing through some leaves on a barren tree ready for winter. It came from faraway, and seemed to carry on the wind, blowing across to the older girl. She looked nice enough, but looks never meant anything. Well, it meant something, even though Kaegen didn't know why. A few of the girls looked cute, but he didn't think that about any of the boys. Why even was that? Maybe boys were naturally uglier. Was he naturally uglier? He would find a mirror later.
If she pulled out her wand, he would shoot her with his slingshot as he ran.

Sydney smiled down at the boy, relaxing and internally scolding herself for getting all worked up about nothing. It was just a first-year, a Ravenclaw, and he wanted help. Well, if there was anything that Sydney could do, it was help someone. "Of course," she answered, taking a step closer to the boy. Had he come out from the bushes? She couldn't tell, but she thought that he might have. That was an odd place to be standing, especially on a night as cold as this. Was the boy okay?

"Anything specific you wanted to know about?" Sydney continued, trying not to scare the kid off with all of the questions going through her mind. "The castle can be a confusing place, even to sixth-years like me." Sydney was a bit ashamed of all of the times she had gotten lost in Hogwarts, even after nearly six years at the school. She'd had to call Dean to come find her many times this year alone, and she'd do all she could to save this boy the embarrassment of doing the same.

Of course, that was assuming that he was lost in the first place. Sydney was beginning to have her doubts. The odd look in his eyes, the place he'd emerged from, the odd way he was holding his hands, like he was trying to conceal something -- this wasn't just a first-year with a question. A slight smile turning up the corners of her mouth, Sydney looked him up and down. "Hold on a minute. You're that boy that Dean's been chasing around all night, aren't you?"

This girl was weak. It was the first thing the boy noticed about her. His mind was feeling trapped, the little part of it that was devoted to nice and happy things of the hearth and home was being suppressed by the larger part that was screaming for survival. The survival part of his brain was being suppressed by his curiosity. It wasn't the healthiest mindset to have but the boy didn't know any better, didn't even think to try and fix it. The slight breeze was cutting through the cloth of his clothes, but he didn't really pay attention to it, his eyes moving with an eerie speed, focusing on a object quickly before moving on to something else. He had already examined the girl in front of him from head to toe, every inch of her scrutinized quickly and effectively. He wasn't entirely sure why he got the impression she was weak, but he did. She was kind and nice and most importantly not dangerous. That meant he could go ahead and ask her the question that he was currently curious about, and he would answer some of hers.
The castle wasn't confusing, really. It was a death trap of hard floors and horrible stair cases. He didn't like much of anything in the place, save his bed. He let that question slide by, ignoring it and dismissing it as unimportant. A shiver threatened to move through his spine but he suppressed it. The fens were colder than this, he wouldn't shiver, wouldn't move. He guessed that Bean was that boy that had been chasing him a bit ago. No one else had been after him, right?
"Bean is that crazed older boy?"
It wasn't exactly a answer to her question, but it was as good as one. The older boy really was crazed, attacking for no reason. Bean couldn't even eat Kaegen, why attack?
"What were you and Bean doing earlier, in the window?"
The girl was smiling, happy about something that Kaegen couldn't know about, something locked away in the recesses of her mind. The adrenaline started to fade from his systems and just for a moment he lost control. After a large rush of adrenaline there is always those few seconds of weakness, a few seconds where you feel shaky and weak and all over the place. In those few seconds, the bright eyes looked sad, tired. The shiver made it through his spine, and his limbs. He was only 11, and his little mind could only keep up the constant assault for so long. So far his stay in Hogwarts had been one massive battle. One massive rejection orchestrated by every student that had any common sense. They weren't being mean or cruel, Kaegen just didn't fit. His very core and mindset were at direct opposition to everything most of the other children believed in. And everyone that did spend the time to talk with him did it out of pity. He would make it through, he would make it through anything life threw at him. He was strong enough, he was fast enough. But he was young. In the long run, he was weak. All he could do is hide and run from the millions of things his slingshot couldn't fell. The mists that nurtured him back home didn't reach the castle, and for those few seconds he felt horribly miserable, like he was going to cry and crawl in a ball on the ground forever. But the seconds were short, and before long his eyes were back, his composure had returned. He could keep himself together a while longer, it was too dangerous to be weak right now. And besides, he was still curious.

Sydney's smile faltered, a result of the confusion that had began to overtake her when the younger boy had opened his mouth. Sydney had always thought of herself as a fairly well-spoken girl, but the questions that this first-year was asking threw her for a bit of a loop. It wasn't the questions themselves, she supposed, but just the randomness with which he asked them. She wasn't sure where to start, so she just nodded and tried to think on her feet. This wasn't at all how she'd pictured this night happening.

"Yes, Dean is the crazed one," she laughed. Sydney had learned to deal with her boyfriend's hyperactive personality when they'd first started dating each other, and she sometimes forgot that others weren't as used to it as she was. He might have been a crazy teenage boy, but he was her crazy teenage boy, and she loved him regardless of his wildness. God, listen to me. I sound like I belong in a rom-com.

Then, he asked his second question. Sydney felt herself blush, and tried to keep an embarrassed expression from creeping over his face. "Um...what? What were we doing in the window? I don't really...I don't really know what you're talking about..." Sydney had always been taught to be modest, to be mild, to not draw attention to herself. The idea that this eleven-year-old had watched her and her boyfriend kiss in the window ashamed her a little bit, and she tried desperately to change the subject.

Luckily for Sydney, the boy started to shiver as she answered. Sydney hadn't realized how cold it was getting outside, and she realized that the poor first-year must be freezing. His robes were dirtied and on the brink of tearing, and he looked pretty worn-out from the chase. Smiling warmly at him, Sydney slid her scarf off of her neck and slowly offered it forward, hoping he'd accept. "You look a little cold...are you sure you don't want to go inside?" she asked, hoping that he'd changed his mind. Above all, Sydney wanted this boy to be safe. "I'm Sydney, by the way. What's your name?"

As long as Sydney kept treating the younger boy civilly, she thought she might be able to coax him to come out of the cold and calm down for a few minutes. She knew that Dean and Adam could find their way back to the castle before curfew, after all. It was up to her now to make sure this Ravenclaw remained in her care and got back to his Common Room safely.