[center][abbr=#B8041A | Alt+0248 for ø][img]https://i.ibb.co/wY7GYz8/Kaspar-Header-2.png[/img][/abbr]
[hr][color=#B8041A][b]LOCATION[/b][/color][b]:[/b] The Refuge
[color=#B8041A][b]INTERACTIONS[/b][/color][b]:[/b] Felix and Don Quintana, [@Force and Fury] — Mentions of: Ayla [@Ti]; Jocasta [@Force and Fury]; Yalen [@pantothenic]; Zarina [@YummyYummy] 
[hr][/center]
[hider=Sunsets, Sunrises]Kaspar had never been one for faith in the gods; his belief was performative, the kind that was expected of him as a noble’s son, but it could not match Yalen’s. Still, he prayed with the rest of them, accepting it for the act of kindness and caring that it was. As he settled down in bed that night, he did not feel safer in the hands of the Pentad, but rather in the hands of his fellow classmates. Strangers they may have been but a day ago, they were individuals he could trust now. 

The charcoal Halassa kept watch as he slept, tossing and turning in the heat. His night was mercifully dreamless, the kind of rest the boy needed before the trials of the following day. Though it would’ve been far more restful in the cold climate of Helbahn, it was enough. 

Breakfast was a busy affair; Kaspar ate quickly, paying keen attention to the words spoken around him. He contemplated the roles that needed fulfilled—though he did not know much about fighting or subduing targets, much less ones trained with the Gift, he was hopeless with children. The boy barely knew how to interact with adults and individuals his own age, and children required a type of tact that he lacked. He did know some Chemical magic, though—it was one of the preferred schools of the Elstrøm’s, and so he’d been taught a bit before Ersand’Enise and encouraged to study it at the school.

Watching three of his companions speak up, the boy would swallow his food and offer, [color=#B8041A][b]“I have some skill with Chemical energies, though it’s my only proficiency besides Binding.”[/b][/color]

That seemed to be enough to solidify him in the role, partnered with Felix—the Afortunado who he’d first seen at the Great Naranja, who had startled him because of how similar they looked. The boy seemed skilled, though, and Kaspar was not foolish enough to turn him down because of some unsettling similarities.

As the time drew ever nearer to the fifth hour of Shune, he and Felix wound their way up the Red Tower, preparing for an encounter with Vice Warden Juan-Manuel Quintana Rojas. They hoped to talk him down, to appeal to his calculating and moral nature. But, like all who gathered and awaited the bells, they were willing to do whatever was required of them.[/hider]
[hr][center][color=#B8041A][b]LOCATION[/b][/color][b]:[/b] The Red Tower[/center][hr]
[hider=Negotiations]It was 4:48 Shune: two minutes to the hour. The nighttime cold was eagerly transforming itself into the desolate daytime heat of the high desert as morning was on the verge of giving way to midday.

The Refuge of San Agustín de las Arenas was well and truly awake now: the daytime shift of Cardinals at their stations, Magpies and Pigeons having cleaned up after another successful breakfast, the Tethered themselves walking or wheeling about the courtyard, paths, and colonnades, the first few dipping unfeeling toes into the water of the great bath. There were two people, known as Eagles to those ostensibly in their care, who walked purposefully from area to area.

Juan-Manuel Quintana Rojas, was busy ascending the stairs of the Red Tower. Depressing place though it had become, he appreciated the brutalist bent of its architecture, the raw, unflinching purposefulness and functionality of what had once been a fort in the days of the conquest. Now, it was a place for the wretched to die. He did not like to look at them, and so he might very well keep all of their doors closed, confer with the staff, and move on. However, today brought a surprise. In the atrium by the lift was Felix - a teenaged boy and Afortunado who was very much not a resident of this tower. [color=#FACCF1]“Felix?”[/color] he asked. [color=#FACCF1]“What are you doing here?”[/color]

Kaspar’s footsteps on the stone floor seemed loud in the silence stretching between Felix and the Vice Warden. His crimson eyes slid, once, to the Afortunado who looked so much like him. By the time the noble’s gaze returned to Juan-Manuel, his face was stoic and cold.

[color=#B8041A][b]“We are here to collect you, Vice Warden Quintana.”[/b][/color] Kaspar’s voice was firm but only danced to the edge of threatening, not quite inviting itself past the tipping point. [color=#B8041A][b]“The Warden, and all who follow him, have been overthrown. What I am going to tell you I say not as a threat, but as an offering to allow you to understand the situation before making your choice.”[/b][/color]

The noble boy breathed in and back out slowly, steadying himself. [color=#B8041A][b]“The Refuge has fallen. You are the last to stand in our way. We do not intend to hurt anyone who cooperates, but if you drive us to a fight… You will [i]lose[/i]. Perhaps not to Felix and I, but inevitably to someone. You know what those housed in the Refuge are capable of, and the students of Ersand’Enise possess great strength as well.”[/b][/color]

[color=#B8041A][b]“Your choice is this: Cooperate now, and let it be known that you condemn the atrocities that transpired here. Do what you could not underneath Warden Ortega, and protect the children you were charged with.”[/b][/color] It was difficult to keep the accusation out of his voice, but Kaspar had prepared this speech—had prepared these words to avoid threatening Quintana’s reputation on the basis of previous actions. But something in his blood-red eyes hardened as he continued. [color=#B8041A][b]“Or, you can choose to try and fight us, and lose. If you do, you will spend the rest of your life known as a man who would protect and harbor the violent [i]monsters[/i] who rape and abuse children.”[/b][/color]

For his part, Felix mirrored his doppelganger as best he could. It was... uncanny how much this... Kaspar looked like him. That was a distraction. So was Luisa and just... thinking about her. Vice Warden Mirabel was a snake. Should anything happen to his Luisa, he would kill her, so help him, Eschiran. He blinked and he focused, wishing he could have the confidence and delivery of the other youth who stood at the top of the stairwell.

Juan-Manuel, meanwhile, clenched his jaw, eyes darting warily and analytically at the two youths. [color=#FACCF1]“You come here,”[/color] he began in a low, tense voice, sharp with a barely-restrained edge, [color=#FACCF1]“and threaten to hurt me?”[/color] He glared at Kaspar first. [color=#FACCF1]“I know you think you are strong, boy, coming from that fancy school, but I went there too. Do not presume to overpower me.”[/color] 

Those same flinty eyes found Felix. [color=#FACCF1]“And you,”[/color] he growled. [color=#FACCF1]“I looked out for you.”[/color] They narrowed. [color=#FACCF1]“I practically got you that call to the Afortunado. Is this how you repay my generosity!?”[/color]

Felix swallowed. He had always feared the Vice Warden as much as, if not more than Warden Ortega, but he counseled himself calm. [color=#B8041A]“That is why we have not sent a half dozen, Don Quintana, to simply come and poach you like an animal, no questions asked.”[/color] Felix bowed his head momentarily, deferentially. [color=#B8041A]“I know you have long been uncomfortable with turning a blind eye to some of what happened here. I know your hands were tied because Warden Ortega occupied the position that should've been yours. That is why I hope that you will come with us peacefully, that you will help be a voice of reason for the others who are not so astute and good-natured.”[/color]

Don Quintana scowled for a moment, eyes sliding back to Kaspar. [color=#FACCF1]“And what about this one?”[/color] he pointed with his chin. [color=#FACCF1]“What say you? Are you and this other boy who looks exactly like you on the same page?”[/color]

As Felix spoke, the Vice Warden’s attention on him, Kaspar would offer a steadying and confident gaze. It was one of his greatest virtues, this control and confidence—his ability to believe he could handle whatever might come. The noble hoped, in that moment, he could gift this same confidence to the Afortunado. 

[color=#B8041A][b]“This one,”[/b][/color] he said, laying a hand upon his chest at Quintana’s query, [color=#B8041A][b]“Does not wish to harm anyone.”[/b][/color] Anticipating the man would center a glare on him, Kaspar’s eyes would meet it unflinchingly. [color=#B8041A][b]“I cannot say I know your character. But I can say that my motives are to support those who have been wronged here—I do not have anything personal to gain here, or any reason to deviate from what we’re here for.”[/b][/color]

His voice was softer now, the hard edge bleeding out of it as Kaspar tried to help talk the Eagle down. His mind picked at the words of Don Quintana, particularly the strike at his and Felix’s shared looks, but Kaspar was smart enough to know that this moment was not one for asking these questions.

The... steadiness of this mere boy was admirable, Juan-Manuel had to admit, but he had been a watcher of people and of their lies for long enough to catch the very subtle shift in the student's demeanour. His interest had been piqued, as had the Vice Warden's. [color=#FACCF1]“You would appear to have me dead to rights,”[/color] the older man replied, holding his hands out, manner becoming easier. [color=#FACCF1]“I will not resist you so long as you do not give me reason to, though…”[/color] he trailed off for a moment, brow furrowed, head tilted quizzically. [color=#FACCF1]“I suppose you will have to find someone to complete these morning rounds.”[/color] He began walking, nonthreateningly, towards the boy from the school. [color=#FACCF1]“Before I simply give myself up, however, I'd like to know the name of the person I'm entrusting my wellbeing to.”[/color]

Kaspar felt relief course through him at the Vice Warden’s seeming surrender, though he did not relax. He would not harm Quintana, but neither would the boy fully trust him. As the Eagle approached him, the student sent a look towards Felix, the slightest of eyebrows raised—a question of the trustworthiness of this man, and an admission of Kaspar’s suspiciousness. Don Quintana had a point, after all… They'd best be on the same page.

[color=#B8041A][b]“Kaspar,”[/b][/color] he replied to the Vice Warden’s question. He contemplated, for a moment, giving his full name—but he wasn’t sure that the Don would not harbor resentment for this day. If he did… it was likely best not to give him a direct line to the Elstrøm family.[/hider]
[hider=To Kill a Mockingbird]Juan-Manuel smiled invitingly. In truth, the canned expression was something he had practiced many thousands of times, and it was done to cover the flash of disquiet that he felt when he heard the youth's name.

Seven years ago, he had been senior clerk and he remembered the file well: the family's need for secrecy and complete erasure. It had leaked to him how they'd found a replacement for a boy named... Kaspar. By Dami himself, the Vice Warden thought. Now here they stand across from each other.

He did not let the pause ring out in silence. [color=#FACCF1]“Please, lead the way,”[/color] Juan Manuel said quietly. There was yet more to say, but it could be said better at another time. [color=#FACCF1]“I place my wellbeing in your hands.”[/color] It was, in truth, Kaspar - the replacement Kaspar - who led him there, the original, discarded one struggling with the stairs. How easily he could've broken free and run for it, but he had felt the flow of energies that were people outside and knew such an action for futility if not even fatality. 

He had one last thing to say, though, in a moment when it was just him and the second Kaspar. [color=#FACCF1]“Before we part, boy, I recommend you come speak to me when you have a moment. There is something I have learned that you - and you alone - should know.”[/color]

Kaspar’s focus remained on the Vice Warden as they descended the staircase, though a small amount of it was spared to keep Felix in mind, in case the Afortunado seemed to struggle too much. As they reached the ground floor, still needing to delve further into the dungeons, the noble turned to his partner. [color=#B8041A][b]“One of us should let the others know we’re done, and make sure the children are still safe. You’ve got a much farther reach; if someone needs help, you’ll know earlier than I would,”[/b][/color] he stated. He hoped Felix would understand what he did not say out loud. 

[color=#B8041A][i]If I leave and Quintana tries something, I might not know you need help.[/i][/color]

There was also some concern that the tethered would struggle with the stairs, though it wasn’t Kaspar’s primary reason for suggesting Felix go to the others. Whether or not the boy agreed to go, Kaspar would continue down into the dungeons, ever wary of the Eagle who followed him.

He turned as Juan Manuel spoke of something he needed to know. Crimson eyes stirred in curiosity; the knowledge could be bait, but knowledge was also power. Even if it seemed dangerous, Kaspar could choose whether or not to use it and share it, so long as he had it. Trying to keep his voice level, the noble asked, [color=#B8041A][b]“How much time do I need? This moment seems as good as any other, Don Quintana.”[/b][/color]

[color=#FACCF1]“Seven years ago, when I was still the head clerk here, I processed new applications coming in.”[/color] Juan-Manuel's lips tightened and his head hung momentarily, but only that long.  [color=#FACCF1]“Depressing business.”[/color]

His voice sunk even lower, then, so that Kaspar would've had to strain to hear it. [color=#FACCF1]“I wonder if you have not already sensed it,”[/color] he continued, pausing for a loaded moment. They pushed the door ajar and were outside now. The sky was grey with clouds, but the heat was as searing as ever. Birds chirped and chittered nervously. [color=#FACCF1]“Seven years ago, I processed the arrival of a boy from Helbahn,”[/color] the Vice Warden stated factually, clasping his hands behind his back. [color=#FACCF1]“He is behind us now. His name was Kaspar.”[/color]

[color=#FACCF1][i]“I wonder if you have not already sensed it.”[/i][/color]

Something in Kaspar twisted, harsh and cold against the inside of his breastbone. There was something he suspected, but could not put words to—something that his subconscious mind [i]knew[/i], but refused to share. And it was painful in his chest, this hidden knowledge, so much so that, for but a moment, the boy considered rejecting this conversation. Outright denying the Vice Warden an opportunity to continue, to share this knowledge. 

It was such an uncharacteristic feeling that Kaspar shuddered visibly, the uncertainty crossing his face. But a beat later his features hardened, jaw setting determinedly. If this knowledge frightened him… Then he [i]needed[/i] to know it. 

[color=#FACCF1][i]“He is behind us now. His name was Kaspar.”[/i][/color]

The boy froze, stock-still. His breathing was light, but intentional and measured. He closed his crimson eyes, trying to ignore the way his hands shook as he clenched them tightly against his side. He said nothing, but his mind was racing. 

[color=#B8041A][i]Kaspar is [/i]dead[i]. [s](You are Kaspar)[/s]

He died eight years ago. [s](So did Alaric Weber)[/s]

They wouldn’t have done this. [s](They’re just like all the rest)[/s]

But they wanted me. [s](Did they?)[/s]

They [/i]wanted[i] me.[/i] [s][i](Are you [/i]sure[i]?)[/i][/s]

[i][b]They. Wanted. Me. 

[s](He. Isn’t. You.)[/s][/b][/i][/color]

It didn’t make sense. And it made all the sense in the world. His mother hadn’t wanted him, because he was a kind of defective that she couldn’t fix. But the Elstrøm’s could. 

[i]Nothing[/i] could fix the Tethering. No amount of money or power could undo the disease. It killed far younger, and few wanted to marry into families with Tethered, nevermind to a Tethered individual themselves. To continue the family name with only one child… They’d stand a much better chance with a healthy heir. And if a replacement was practically dropped into their laps… 

White-hot anger bubbled up in Kaspar [i][s](Alaric’s?)[/s][/i] chest and he took several steps back from the Vice Warden. He felt that itch to amass power, the urge to draw—to defend himself, or to hurt someone else?—but resisted hard against it, knowing that he couldn’t lose control in front of Quintana. 

Whether or not what the man said was true, it wasn’t like he could confront the Elstrøm’s now. If Felix really was the true Kaspar, he deserved the chance to know—and the boy now known as Kaspar would not withhold that from him. But they were in the middle of a rebellion that [i]needed[/i] to succeed, and it could [i]not[/i] be jeopardized like this. There was too much at stake, for far too many people. 

It took every ounce of self-control he possessed to force the anger down and ground himself again. Though it was unlikely that the Vice Warden had not noticed his distress, he would continue on anyway. Voice tight, he finally replied, [color=#B8041A][b]“Thank you for sharing this information with me. I’m unsure as to how I can fully trust your word, or how you could prove it, but… I appreciate that you have given it to me.”[/b][/color]

He turned back towards the Red Tower, suddenly feeling sick of the clinging heat, and led Don Quintana back into its walls, towards the basement where he was to be left. He hoped, based on the lack of disastrous sounds from other parts of the Refuge, that Zarina and Luisa had succeeded as well—he had faith in the Virangish girl, and trusted an Afortunado to have strength, but knew the Eagles possessed quite some power of their own. 

As the pair descended, he steadied his breathing, working hard to push everything he’d just learned to the back of his mind. It would only be an interference, to think on it now… But he suspected he might be drawing more than a single fucking turtle on the wall by the time all this was over.[/hider]
[hider=Flight of the Eagle]Everything that Juan-Manuel had said was true. He wished this fool boy well in sorting out his feelings but, right now, the youth was an enemy. The Vice Warden would not allow himself to be locked in some dungeon like a common thief. He had always tried to be fair with his charges, but there were those who could not accept that the gods had cursed them and that their misfortune was not the work of their fellow men. There was a good chance that he would be a target. There was a good chance that they would come to kill him.

Kaspar was distracted. He could see the young man struggling to keep his composure. He would be less perceptive than usual. Heart hammering, Juan-Manuel went for it. This would be his last, best chance. They were just heading down the steps when he started to fill the youth’s mind with soporifics. [color=#FACCF1][i]It is just the emotion overwhelming you, boy,[/i][/color] he willed, [color=#FACCF1][i]the mental exhaustion[/i][/color]. He saw Kaspar stagger, stumble, and the Vice Warden pummeled him, then, flooding him with a cocktail that would render him unconscious in seconds. Already, he was turning and running. If he could make it out into the courtyard, he would leap the walls and run. The heat was not so bad today and there would be rain. He could collect it and drink. He could make it to Hosta by nightfall.

Try as he might to keep the stray thoughts out of his mind, Kaspar had never been trained for [i]this[/i]. He’d barely been allowed to think about the boy who had once been him, much less process it—and everyone had told him that boy was dead. The emotions were heavy in his mind, and [i]exhausting[/i] to manage. Moreso than the boy might’ve expected, as he felt the tiredness drag suddenly at his eyelids. 

A beacon of awareness struck as he felt one knee buckle, alarms sounding in his head even as he felt gravity pulling him downwards. [color=#B8041A][i]Bastard…[/i][/color] floated through his mind in the rapidly-approaching fog of unconsciousness, and Kaspar thought he heard the footsteps of the Vice Warden, but it did not matter. Still… there was a mission to be done here. Feeling the flood of soporifics in his mind, he grabbed onto the internal chemistry and fought back, stopping what little he could. It wouldn’t be enough to neutralize entirely, but if he could just stay awake—

With a crack of sheer pain, he landed on the spiraling steps, the impact vibrating across his cheekbones from his nose, the bone and cartilage breaking with the pressure. He lost focus on his Gift for a moment, his fight against the Vice Warden’s attack slipping, but the pain itself seemed to keep him awake just enough as his blood dripped onto the stone. 

Daylight broke before the Vice Warden’s eyes, causing him to blink for a moment. He stumbled on the last step and it was a damned good thing that he did, as a brick came flying at his head and missed it by so little that he could feel the wind scream past him. [color=#FACCF1][i]Mierda![/i][/color] his mind screamed. The boy was not holding back… or was it the [i]other[/i] boy? Juan-Manuel did not know or care. He simply ran, gathering more kinetic force and pushing further, faster. He could feel a huge buildup of energy behind him and, instinctively, he shot off to the side as the ground erupted to swallow him. Felix was behind him, hop-running on his crutches, furious but losing ground. The outer walls were within sight. The Vice Warden began gathering energy for a final leap to freedom.

He stumbled up the steps, blood still spilling freely from his nose and coating the boy’s shirt, for the second time in two days. His eyes, bleary in the sunlight, still caught the form of Vice Warden Quintana as he dodged an attack from the ground, rushing toward the outer wall. Reaching out with his own Gift, Kaspar tried to make the wall itself a hostile force, rough-hewn bricks materializing and thrusting from it at the man—and, as if to prove his earlier statement that he too had power, the Eagle evaded that attack as well. His attention seemed to turn from his escape, much to Kaspar’s surprise, as he spun to face the two teenagers. 

It only took a heartbeat for Kaspar to realize Quintana intended to attack, feeling the Vice Warden trying to shift the chemicals of his clothing. The barest of stings on his skin moved the boy into action. Fibers vanished as he drew in the potential energy, converting in his blood and shoving outward rapidly as a wave of force, tearing the rest of the ragged cloth away from his flesh and casting it to the stone beneath them. 

Kaspar caught up to Felix quickly, and passed him, but Quintana was running again, evidently having thought better of trying to fight. The Vice Warden leapt over the wall and landed on the other side, his escape seemingly complete, but he was still well within striking distance, could still be sensed by his energy, and Felix had noticed something  [color=#B8041A]“He always dodges to the right!”[/color] he shouted at his doppelganger. [color=#B8041A]“I spook, you shoot?”[/color] 

Thinking back to their previous attacks, Kaspar realized the Afortunado was correct. Setting his jaw against the feeling of slick blood on his teeth, he nodded. [color=#B8041A][b]“Good eye,”[/b][/color] he replied, adding, [color=#B8041A][b]“I’m ready when you are. Let’s make quick work of it, before someone gets a mind to interfere.”[/b][/color] He wondered if anyone else could sense them now, but didn’t want to bring the likes of Jocasta out—she could handle it, but things might turn messy. And he wasn’t sure what the teasing rights were in this scenario, but he didn’t want to find out.

Felix didn’t draw everything that he had. He didn’t need to. Instead, he focused on the wavelengths of visible light and created a bright flash just ahead and to the left of Vice Warden Quintana. All at once, he released the energy.  [color=#B8041A]“Now!”[/color] he shouted, as the apparition appeared. It was all up to faith.

[hr]
[color=#D0D0D0][i]
[color=#B8041A]“Where’s Willa?”[/color]

Katka—[/i]Mom[i]—smiled at him, something sweet in her eyes. She took a few steps closer, bending slightly to be eye-to-eye with the twelve year-old. [color=#EBC56B]“Your father and I are teaching you today,”[/color] she explained, voice honey-sweet in a way that used to make him feel sick when he first arrived in Wentoft. 

The Marquis was setting up the last of a few targets across the yard, but glanced up towards his wife and son. [color=#B0B0F5]“It’s something special to our family,”[/color] he called, smiling brightly. “Our” didn’t even stick against his tongue the way it still did Kaspar’s, sometimes. 

Twisting his fingers and glancing around as though his tutor might appear if he looked hard enough, the boy questioned, [color=#B8041A]“What’s so special about it?”[/color]

Katka’s ever-present smile didn’t even shift as she chuckled. [color=#EBC56B]“Well, the Elstrøm’s are the ones who created it,”[/color] she offered. 

[color=#B0B0F5]“It’s also specifically designed to be used by two people,”[/color] Arvid added, walking across the grass towards them. [color=#B0B0F5]“One person can only do half of it. And that half can work, but it will never be as strong as both halves together.”[/color] He stopped in front of Kaspar, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. [color=#B0B0F5]“It’s both the Storm and the Stream—just as we are.”[/color][/i][/color]

[hr]
As Felix prepared to make his move, Kaspar had been pulling. He focused on where he knew the Vice Warden [i]would[/i] be, building up for the one move Willa had never taught him—Voltaic Consecration. A technique that had been honed by the Gifts of many Elstrøm’s to pull on their namesake, despite the more chemical nature of their lineage. Though he was not skilled enough to add the secondary effects, he could twist the chemicals of his target down to the very nerves—lighting him up with searing-white pain like electricity with none of the current, developed to tactfully render a target into submission with the intensity of a damageless pain.

One moment, the Vice Warden was exulting in his newfound freedom. The next, there was a flash of lightning and he was rolling to the side with almost preternatural reflexes. It should have worked. The bolt had not hit. Yet, pain split his being nonetheless: excruciating pain. He felt the edges of his vision darken and his head swam. Then, more pain on its heels. The world disappeared.[/hider]
[hider=Through Storm and Stream]Felix knew that attack. He knew, instinctually, from somewhere. Kaspar had not finished it with the obvious kinetic thrust, but with a chemical pain that simulated a lightning strike… the one, true way that the combination was supposed to be finished. How the Afortunado knew this, he was unsure, but Kaspar had known. Outside, the Vice Warden collapsed, and both took a moment to confirm that he was unconscious. Then, the one who had lived inside the walls of the refuge turned to the other who looked so much like him. [color=#B8041A]“You’re… from Helbahn, right?”[/color] he asked with some hesitation. His heart was pounding. He had a theory and he wanted to - no, [i]had[/i] to test it out.

Kaspar turned toward Felix, the heaving of his chest already lessening as their quarry lay unmoving. He hadn’t expected the Tethered to know that move—hadn’t even questioned it in the moment, it felt so right. He wasn’t supposed to remember anything of his past, and this was supposed to be a conversation for later. Nevertheless… He would not lie to the boy who had owned this life first. He nodded slowly, once, and breathed, [color=#B8041A][b]“...Yes.”[/b][/color]

Felix turned pensive. Soon, of course, they would have to go and haul the Vice Warden in, and Kinetic magic was not a main school for either. [color=#B8041A]“Is there… a place near your home with… three red maple trees, alone on a plain?”[/color]

[color=#B8041A][b]“I know the trees you’re talking about,”[/b][/color] Kaspar murmured, fighting to keep the words from sticking in his throat. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply for a moment to push away the surge of emotions—the anger and empathy, the fear and mistrust. His crimson eyes opened, looking to meet Felix’s, and he sighed. Softly, the boy offered, [color=#B8041A][b]“The Vice Warden told me something. If what he said is true… Felix, I know your family. I would not keep that knowledge from you, if you wish to have it.”[/b][/color]

[color=#B8041A]“And we are the same age, I believe,”[/color] the Afortunado added, slowing.  [color=#B8041A]“Kaspar,”[/color] he began, voice trembling, [color=#B8041A]“Are you my brother? My twin brother?”[/color] There was a look in his eyes that hovered somewhere between hopeful and terrified.

Something in his chest ached terribly at Felix’s question. Kaspar had spent eight years struggling with the concept of parents who didn’t want him, of a family where he could never belong. A part of him wanted so desperately for what Felix said to be true—to be his brother, his kin. Something more important and less painful than his [i]replacement[/i]. He had to stifle a sob, then, as the bitterness crept up his throat. [color=#B8041A][i]They’ve done nothing but break us both, haven’t they?[/i][/color]

Finally, voice shaking, he said, [color=#B8041A][b]“No. I’m… I’m not your brother. But I will be, if you want me to. I… I know your family. I’ve come from your family.”[/b][/color] He glanced away, working his jaw, his eyes growing damp with tears. When he looked back to Felix’s face, they were slipping silently down his cheek. [color=#B8041A][b]“You didn’t deserve this. No one here did, but… You’re the only one I can truly apologize to. And I’m sorry for what they’ve done.”[/b][/color] 

The whiplash from hope to… whatever this was hit Felix and it left him dull and uncomprehending, almost as if some secret compartment in his mind had opened up and sucked it in to keep the rest of him safe. He blinked and stumbled, catching himself on his crutches. [color=#B8041A][i]Defective,[/i][/color] he thought, steadying himself and gripping the handles of these [i]damned[/i] sticks that let him manage something like walking, still, for perhaps another year. [color=#B8041A]“I…”[/color] he stuttered. [color=#B8041A]“I… they…”[/color] The words wouldn’t come out. His face pulled in on itself, eyes narrowing in incredulity. [color=#B8041A]“They… [i]replaced[/i] me?”[/color] he choked out. His eyes searched Kaspar up and down for a moment. [color=#B8041A]“With you?”[/color]

He had to sit. He could not stand. Damn the uprising. Damn everything else. This was too much for Felix, who now reflected upon the bitter irony of the name he’d been given here. He found a stone bench and stumbled over, collapsing onto it. Absently, he unlocked the knees on his leg braces as the sky began to rumble. Quintana was out there still, sleeping. Luisa was with Zarina, dealing with Mirabel. It all seemed so important and so… distant. One of his crutches clattered to the ground even as he settled the other against a narrow pillar. [color=#B8041A]“You owe me nothing…brother,”[/color] he said distractedly. He swallowed, regaining a bit of himself, of his focus. He forces the shadow of a smile. [color=#B8041A]“Though maybe you should’ve been named Felix.”[/color] His fists clenched around the loose fabric of his pants, right around the knees, but he couldn’t feel them from the other end. The numbness was spreading ever upward. Luisa, who he’d met two weeks after arriving, playing tag near the Great Naranja, had already given up on walking.  [color=#B8041A][i]And now [b]this[/b] person enjoys the life that was supposed to be mine.[/i][/color] His eyes began to harden with bitterness, but he held it back and stopped them. He was a good person. He would [i]be[/i] a good person. Kaspar - [color=#B8041A][i]my name[/i][/color] - Kaspar was not to blame. He was either some poor orphan who’d have been insane to turn down the offer, else he’d had parents who had given up on [i]him.[/i] 

Felix took a deep breath, and then a second. He looked without fear, jealousy, anger, or any emotion upon this other self that existed mere feet from him. [color=#B8041A]“In truth, I fear we are both victims.”[/color] He made a temporary peace with it. There was so much else to do. He would not let this [i]sabotage[/i] by the Vice Warden destroy the plan that he had spent the past two years of his life living for. He would not let that endanger Luisa, or Amanda, Oscar, Carlos, or Marceline. He realized that Kaspar’s uncharacteristic break in concentration was because Quintana had revealed the secret to him. [color=#B8041A]“We will sort this out later.”[/color] He shook his head, still struggling to process it all. [color=#B8041A]“And I will take your part should it ever prove necessary. However, I fear we must first haul that disgusting man to a dungeon, where he belongs.”[/color] Felix motioned with his chin in the direction where Vice Warden Juan-Manuel Quintana Rojas lay unconscious in the sand. 

Kaspar tried to stay steady as Felix pieced through the rubble of their interwoven lives, finding the connections he was too much of a coward to voice. He remembered every single lesson Willa had ever taught him about breath control and meditation and emotional suppression—and at least [i]she[/i] had never known he was a replacement, or that the real Kaspar wasn’t even fucking dead.

And there was so much anger even in that simple realization, that so many people had [i]lied[/i] to him, even if she hadn’t. Part of him wondered what would’ve happened if the Marquis and his wife had cared enough to keep the child they had actually borne. Would his own mother have decided to keep him, with no one else to pawn him off on? Or would she have abandoned him as far away as she could manage and left him to die? Was his life better for Felix’s abandonment?

[color=#B8041A][i]It doesn’t fucking matter,[/i][/color] he thought, shaking the considerations away. Whatever choice he would make with the knowledge he had now… It was already done. And Felix was struggling now to understand—to [i]cope[/i]. Something in Kaspar wanted nothing more than to sit beside Felix—beside this boy who was somehow closer to [i]kin[/i] than anyone he’d talked to in eight years—and offer him some measure of comfort. But he kept a respectful distance, not wanting to insert himself into the boy’s life any more than he already had been. 

He laughed, the noise mostly hollow, at Felix’s suggestion that [i]he[/i] should’ve taken the name instead. [color=#B8041A][b]“I would’ve preferred to keep Alaric, if they’d’ve let me,”[/b][/color] he responded tiredly, though not without amusement. He remained still as the momentary silence stretched between them. As he noticed Felix begin to take steadying breaths, Kaspar realized he should do the same. Willa would’ve smacked him already, firm and caring upside the head, for not thinking to do it earlier. 

He had to breathe through his mouth, for the first time in several minutes being reminded of the state of his likely broken nose. He reached a hand up, wiping the blood away from his lips, though some still trickled down. It would need to be fixed, but that required more focus than Kaspar thought he could muster in the moment, and there were other things to attend to. He nodded at Felix’s words, turning towards the Vice Warden. [color=#B8041A][b]“Whatever questions you have, I’ll be willing to answer,”[/b][/color] he offered, before continuing, [color=#B8041A][b]“But, for now… Do you think rolling him down the stairs is too petty?”[/b][/color][/hider]
[hider=Clipped Wings]Involuntarily, Felix let out a laugh. [color=#B8041A]“You’ve been spending too much time around Consuela, brother.”[/color] He paused, brow furrowed, for a moment. [color=#B8041A]”Err… Jocasta,”[/color] he corrected. Gathering his crutches and locking his knee braces, the tethered stood. With a smirk, he shot a look at Kaspar. [color=#B8041A]“And to answer your question, no.”[/color] The smirk grew into a wicked grin. Momentarily, he reached in his pocket for some chicle. [color=#B8041A]“I don’t think so at all.”[/color] He popped some of the gum into his mouth. [color=#B8041A]“‘Sides, I still owe the fucker for naming me [i]Felix[/i]. Damned sick sense of irony”.[/color] He shook his head and took a step, pausing just as he was about to draw some kinetic energy and tuck the chicle away. [color=#B8041A]“Oh hey, you want some gum?”[/color]

Kaspar nodded, quite satisfied with Felix’s answer. [color=#B8041A][b]“Maybe I have been spending too much time around Jocasta, but when she’s right, she’s right,”[/b][/color] he responded, a smirk all too similar to the other boy’s pulling at his lips. [color=#B8041A][b]“It really isn’t our fault if he fought back and we couldn’t keep a hold of him, right?”[/b][/color] he asked, glancing over at Felix.

[color=#B8041A]“We tried our darndest to be gentle, I tells ya!”[/color] his doppelganger responded.

[color=#B8041A][b]“Definitely no harboured resentment here,”[/b][/color] Kaspar added. [color=#B8041A][b]“None whatsoever.”[/b][/color] Glancing to the chicle Felix offered him, the student tilted his head in consideration. [color=#B8041A][b]“I’ve never had any—as long as it isn’t drugged like Jocasta says all the food is. I think I’ve had enough of that for today,”[/b][/color] he replied, holding a hand out to grab some of the offered substance. 

Almost absently, Felix popped a piece into his brother’s hand. He’d decided that was the way that he was going to think of Kaspar. It made things easier and it made sense, as much as any of this could. Besides, he was a good guy. [color=#B8041A]“Healthy as a fuckin’ horse,”[/color] he confirmed, [color=#B8041A]“and, lemme tell ya, if you’d have thought of drugging the gum [i]before[/i] this fiasco, you wouldn’t have a busted nose and no shirt right now.”[/color] A shadow of concern fluttered across his face for a moment. [color=#B8041A]“Quintana’s addicted to the stuff. He got me started on it. Anyways…”[/color] Felix began drawing in Arcane energy and a bit of Magnetic since a thunderstorm was right around the corner and the air was filled with ambient charge. [color=#B8041A]“We should probably dump his carcass in the basement now. Just… lemme go through his pockets before we roll him down the stairs. He’s always got the best stuff.”[/color] Felix paused. [color=#B8041A] “By which, I mean important documents, keys, that kinda thing…”[/color] 

Kaspar placed the chicle in his mouth, for a moment observing Felix quietly before chewing it, trying not to make his clear inexperience obvious. He walked towards Quintana’s body, toeing it with a boot to make sure he was still out. It would seem that he’d been the one to underestimate them in the end—and for that, they would rob him of the contents of his pockets and whatever dignity he had left.  [color=#B8041A][b]“If someone had mentioned he was addicted to it before this fiasco, maybe I would’ve,”[/b][/color] he retorted, voice teasing. He tried not to pay too much attention to his current appearance, despite Felix pointing it out. Damn, that was going to be a hard one to explain away. 

At Felix’s suggestion, he crouched down, sticking his bloody fingers into the pockets of the Vice Warden’s clothing. He was disappointed to find only a roll of chicle, which he handed to Felix, and a few keys. He’d hoped for at least some pocket change, but supposed it wasn’t all that useful in the Refuge anyway. 

Kaspar grabbed Quintana by the ankles and began pulling him towards the Red Tower with Felix’s help. It wasn’t the easiest task, but still far better than trying to subdue the man had been. Besides, rifling through his pockets and then dumping his body in the basement seemed like a strangely cathartic bonding activity for the two, after the hellstorm they’d had to deal with just minutes ago.[/hider]
[hr][center][color=#B8041A][b]LOCATION[/b][/color][b]:[/b] Wolfieh's Mind[/center][hr]
[hider=TL;DR]
Kaspar's somehow ended up shirtless and covered in blood again, and he and Felix have been emotionally traumatized to boot. 

Vice Warden Quintana has been [s]diplomatically[/s] secured. Yay!

But Vice Warden Quintana shared some juicy drama. Boo!

Kaspar isn’t Kaspar
Felix [i]is[/i] Kaspar

Vice Warden Quintana knows Kaspar-Not-Kaspar isn’t Kaspar, and knows Kaspar-Not-Felix is actually Kaspar.

Kaspar-Not-Kaspar now knows Kaspar-Not-Felix is Kaspar. (Kaspar-Not-Kaspar already knew he wasn’t Kaspar, though)

Kaspar-Not-Felix is a smart cookie and figured out that Kaspar-Not-Felix is Kaspar, which means Kaspar-Not-Kaspar is not Kaspar

Kaspar-Not-Kaspar has a lot of feelings on Kaspar-Not-Felix being Kaspar, because Kaspar-Yes-Kaspar is supposed to be dead (and he has feelings on Kaspar-Not-Kaspar not being Kaspar, but he’s had those ones for a while)

Kaspar-Not-Felix has a lot of feelings on being Kaspar-Yes-Kaspar and being replaced by Kaspar-Not-Kaspar, because Kaspar-Not-Felix is still quite alive.

Nevertheless, Kaspar-Not-Felix has decided to think of Kaspar-Not-Kaspar like a brother, and now Kaspar-Not-Felix and Kaspar-Not-Kaspar are bonding by mugging Don Quintana's unconscious body and rolling him down the stairs like the bastard he is. 
[/hider]