[IC] [Snek] Continuations

[pyrighteous]

Comments

[pyrighteous]

So ... a copy and someone you barely know. Both suddenly a part of the family.

[neonleon]

I'm gonna point out again, he was here for a little bit before me alone.

[But what can he do? After April, they all agreed to a full round-table brother interview process to see if anyone else could be the same level as April.]

[pyrighteous]

Right, right. And that was all the time it took to start replacing you.

[neonleon]

Dude, you are obsessed with the replacement thing. What gives?

[But it's there, the thought and words digging under his skin, like the unpleasant feeling of scratching at a scab.]

[pyrighteous]

[ He arches a brow. ]

Do you really want to hear my story, Leonardo? It's hardly relevant.

[neonleon]

Not really.

I just wanna know why you're insistent that he's replacing me.

[pyrighteous]

It's simply a pattern. I'm all too familiar with how little it takes to have a brother turn his back on you.

[neonleon]

Joke's on you then, I'm irreplaceable.

[But he can feel it. The thread of insecurity he's had for years, he's the least favorite brother, Donnie literally tried to train Leo out of his Leo-ness years ago, they were all annoyed at him right when the Krang showed up.]

[pyrighteous]

[ A rippling shrug. Oh yes. He feels that thread too. He knows just how to play on it. ]

I thought so as well. My older brother basically raised me when our parents died.

[neonleon]

[Leo's easy once you know what to look for.]

Unfortunate for you. We've been inseparable our whole lives.

[pyrighteous]

Oh? You've never been separated from them?

[neonleon]

I- I mean, sure, we all do our own stuff sometimes.

[But even Belos can hear Leo's own voice in the distance, a memory.

Casey, please!

A shiver goes down Leo's spine and he shakes it off for now.]

[pyrighteous]

[ Oh? Belos gestures and brings the memory forward. ]

What's this?

[neonleon]

[He goes stiff, the memory being pulled forward. The moment playing out, Leo desperate to do what has to be done and taking the beating for it.]

[pyrighteous]

[ Belos watches it play out, a quiet ... compassion in his face? Or something that just looks like it. ]

Ah. Thrust into an inhospitable demon realm, even.

[neonleon]

For the sake of saving the world? Yeah.

[pyrighteous]

I was the same.

[neonleon]

Were you? Because the vibe I've gotten from you is that you were a jerk.

[pyrighteous]

Why not both?

[ He gestures, vaguely. ]

My brother and I ... we were heroes. Despite our orphaned status, we trained to defeat evil in the world. And like you, we were stranded in a hostile world full of those same evil creatures. The only difference is that we were together, at first.

[neonleon]

And then you said he betrayed you.

[pyrighteous]

He did. Yes.

[ There's nothing feigned about the bitter sorrow in his voice. ]

We were separated. Something attacked us - I fell down a ravine and lost consciousness. When I came to, the monster and my brother were both gone. I spent years wandering the Boiling Isles until I finally found him again.

[neonleon]

Well, if he practically raised you like you said, he was probably looking for you. You both just kept missing each other.

[pyrighteous]

[ Belos shakes his head. ]

When I found him, he had settled down with one of the monsters. Made a family with her. A child. He'd moved on with his life completely.

[neonleon]

[The tiniest sliver of doubt and insecurity slips in, just on the ground by Leo's hand, like a loose hair.]

Sounds like it was real unfortunate for you. Our family's different though.

[Even as that doubt begins to twist around Leo's wrist.]

[pyrighteous]

[ Oh yes. What a CUTE little sliver of doubt and insecurity you are. Belos just ... idly pets it, drawing out a little more of it. ]

You are the expert, of course. But ... I see the same signs here.