Chapter Text
Having Garroth around was nice. He and Vylad had struck up some unspoken agreement in which they spent as much time around one another as possible– Vylad would linger while he trained, Garroth would hang around at the garden. During group events, one was rarely seen without the other.
The funniest thing was, they barely even spoke. Communication was done through subtle gestures and looks. It never-endingly freaked Travis out.
“I don’t get it,” he said, using this as an excuse to put down his hammer and stop working for a moment. “Garroth. How can you always tell what he’s thinking?”
“We’re magically connected,” Garroth mysteriously said. “Ask Vylad anything, I will know his answer.”
Vylad remembered this game. They played it all the time, especially to irritate Zane. It had started when Garroth wanted to see if they were magic users and just didn’t know it. He kept trying until Vylad finally got sick of it and just started pretending he was always right.
“Think of a number,” Travis said, arms folded. Laurance had also stopped working, peeking past the house’s foundation to watch with a barely contained grin on his face. At this rate, they wouldn’t get anything done. Vylad wasn’t sure why he wasn’t used to it by now.
“I’ve got it,” he responded, trying his best to sound as serious as he used to during these ‘shows.’ “Garroth…?”
Garroth made a spectacle of pressing his fingers against his temples, holding his breath. Vylad bit back a laugh. “I predict… 17!”
Not even close. Vylad gasped loudly. “How did you know?!”
“Are you serious? How did you do that??” Travis cried.
Garroth nodded, puffing his chest out proudly. “Why, of course– October 17th, your birthday!” A sudden, inexplicable pit started growing in Vylad’s stomach.
“Hey– that’s coming up, isn’t it?” Laurance asked. “Vylad. I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.”
“It’s tomorrow,” Travis confirmed. “How did we never know?”
Vylad had long forgotten that date. He had long forgotten he had even been born at all. “I don’t usually celebrate it.” He wasn’t sure he even knew how to celebrate in the first place.
“What? How come?” Garroth asked. “We used to have so much fun with it as kids. Remember how Mother would make waffles in the morning?”
Those were questions more loaded than Garroth could ever comprehend. Of course, his birthday was always fun– it was mainly a blur now, but Vylad remembered laughter and smiles, the crinkling of paper as he opened his presents. Nothing was ever done for Vylad’s birthday. After the metamorphosis, he had no real purpose for celebrating, anyway– too much work to do. It just fell out of his memory.
Vylad shrugged, looking to the ground. “It’s just another day.”
“Whatever you say, brother,” Garroth said easily, but Vylad could hear it in his voice– he was planning something.
Vylad narrowed his eyes. Garroth responded with an innocent smile. Vylad refused to trust him. “And even if I did celebrate it, I wouldn’t want it to be a big thing,” he reiterated, voice slow and calculated.
“Naturally.” Garroth didn’t stop smiling like an idiot.
They stared at each other for a moment longer, neither moving.
“Okay,” Laurance suddenly said. “How about we all get back to work? This house sure won’t build itself, am I right?”
Vylad took another moment tearing away his gaze. “Great idea.”
—
Garroth was a nightmare to be around for the rest of the day. He made an actual effort to be seen as conniving, Vylad was convinced of it. He stayed sequestered to his garden, taking hours upon hours to weed it just so he didn’t have to deal with Garroth whispering in people’s ears and looking at him funny.
What even happens at a birthday? Vylad wracked his brain for various birthdays over the years. He knew the basic formula– food, gifts, parties. He didn’t want any more parties. Garroth’s birthdays were always so loud. Vylad assumed it was because he had been the heir, making them obligated to put in more effort. The obvious conclusion was that Garroth would make this a loud, exciting party.
Garroth probably thought he was being so clever. Vylad had already devised a plan– he had no clue what Garroth was planning, but whatever it was, he certainly didn’t want to be a part of it. If he woke up early, he could get a head start and get into the forest before sunrise. Garroth would never find him then. The next day, he could come back out and all would be well. They would forget he even had a birthday to begin with and everything would go back to normal. It was perfect.
Katelyn, walking past, halted when she saw him. “There you are, Vylad. I needed to talk to you.”
“Hello. What do you need?” Vylad got to his feet, expecting a job.
“What do you… like?”
He blinked. “...Pardon?”
Katelyn thought for a second, clearly struggling with her words. “Your– hobbies. What do you do in your free time?”
“Free time,” Vylad echoed.
“When you aren’t working,” Katelyn said. “I like to spar and drink tea. What do you do?”
He processed this. “What– why?”
She shrugged, looking away. “Just– making conversation.” Her eyes met the garden bed. “You like… gardening?”
“I suppose so?”
Katelyn nodded, looking at him intensely. “Perfect. Thank you, Vylad. Have a good day.” She walked off with a determined spring in her step. Vylad had never been so confused.
Maybe she had finished everything she needed to do that day already and was looking for something new to try. That sounded about right. What an admirable pursuit, Vylad thought– new things were hard. He made a mental note to check in on her progress later.
Much to his chagrin, Vylad had to leave the garden eventually. If only becoming a Knight had made him immune to boredom. He needed a new job to do. He ran through the list– building, hunting… Zoey and Garroth were talking in the town square.
Vylad felt a part of him reverting to an older self– one much more suspicious and cautious of everyone around him. He had no time for that, though. He tried to listen in.
“--Strawberry,” Garroth said. “He’d like that best.”
Zoey nodded. “I’ll make it tonight so it’s fresh tomorrow morning.” She smiled. “You’re so sweet, Garroth. I’m sure he’ll love it.”
He broke out into a huge grin. “Do you really mean it? I was worried– I haven’t seen him in so long, but I’ll make this the best birthday ever.”
Vylad didn’t want to hear any more. He slipped away as fast as he could.
Really, he should’ve been more worried, but his plan was just about foolproof. There was no way his brother was going to embarrass him in front of the whole island with a huge party. That was just crazy. Even worse was the fact that Garroth thought he’d get away with it. Vylad felt a little bad, of course, but it was better this way. He didn’t need this, nor did he want it.
He was beginning to go a little insane, he mused. He paid this no mind.
Vylad passed Travis and Katelyn sitting on the steps of Katelyn’s home.
“ Please Katelyn. I have no idea what to get him,” Travis was saying. “It can be a group gift! I’ll get it!”
“I’m not telling you,” Katelyn said, stoic as ever. “You’ll just have to ask him what he likes yourself. It was like pulling teeth to– Vylad!”
“What?– ah! Hi!” Travis turned, startling when he saw Vylad standing there.
“...Hello,” Vylad said, suddenly suspicious. “What are you. Talking about.”
Travis and Katelyn exchanged a nervous look. “Nothing,” Katelyn quickly assured. “Just… making conversation.”
“Yes,” Travis said. “I love making conversation, but boy am I sick of hearing about Katelyn. Care to join, Vylad? What do you like to do in your free time?”
Vylad glanced at Katelyn. He didn’t know a person could roll their eyes that hard. That was unimportant, though– there was obviously something off about this topic, especially seeing as Katelyn had asked him the same thing earlier. He would have to answer perfectly: something fake to throw them off his scent, but something believable to keep them guessing.
He panicked. “...N- nothing. I like doing nothing. Goodbye.” He walked off before either could respond. Far from perfect. It would have to do.
Vylad refused to be interrogated like this. He made a beeline for his tent and attempted some meditation to pass the time, which was moving unbearably slow at this rate.
He was so averse to the idea of a birthday– why? The thought of it made his skin crawl, but when he searched for answers, his mind came up blank.
The passage of a ‘year’ was certainly an odd thing for him nowadays. His inability to comprehend the passage of time on the Overworld had grown to be a source of embarrassment. Maybe it was rooted in that.
No, it was something deeper. Vylad could tell. Some things were just… like that, he supposed. Horrible without meaning. He had vague memories of hiding in the walls on his birthday, squeezing through cobble-lined windows to get out of the castle and wandering around town until his legs hurt. The strict static of Garte’s voice still seemed to burn in his ears, but it was only an afterimage– he couldn’t quite remember what was said or done.
It had been a long time since he thought about Garte.
He tried hard to ignore the topic. The man was never kind to him, never the father he was supposed to be. It made sense– Vylad was a bastard child. In Garte’s eyes, there was a dirtiness about him from before he was even born. Vylad just took that as an order to do what he now did best– disappear. He barely remembered anything about the man. A part of him prefered it that way.
With Garroth now around, though, he kept remembering the little things. Them playing in the yard. Taking walks. Lessons Vylad’s mother taught him– this is how to make eye contact, and this is what to say when they ask you how your day is, and their much less polite echoes from Garte. Stand up straight. Don’t make your impurity so obvious. Speak only when spoken to. The insults. So many demeaning words now buried in his subconscious– impure, foolish, bastard. None were very creative. That didn’t stop them from hurting.
It was funny– he couldn’t even picture Garte’s face. All he imagined was clouded static topped with golden hair, just like Garroth’s.
Garroth was better than his father, though. He was supposed to follow right in Garte’s footsteps, but his legacy was stamped out the second Garroth had any control over his life. Vylad watched him grow in Phoenix Drop. He remembered how strong he had grown, how different it was from when they were kids. Leaving home changed the both of them so drastically– for better or for worse.
Vylad didn’t think he’d ever quite leave Garroth’s shadow. He wasn’t sure he really wanted to.
Regardless. Vylad cracked open his eyes, remembered his plan. I should probably get going soon.
He would head for the mountains, he decided. Maybe he’d pick up some food on the way, make a picnic out of it. Quietly, he opened his tent flap.
Vylad met the wide eyes of his stupid, stupid brother.
Garroth’s bored face grew into a triumphant grin before Vylad could even open his mouth. “I knew it,” he whispered, barely containing his excitement.
“Knew what.”
“That you’d try to leave so we wouldn’t celebrate your birthday. You always hid when we were kids!”
The thought left a bitter taste in Vylad’s mouth. “I don’t want a party. Could you just… let me go? We can forget this even happened.”
“Just trust me,” Garroth said. “It’s not what you think. Really.”
His eyes were always so genuine. Vylad sighed. “...Okay.”
Garroth smiled again, lopsided and unbelievably happy. Just like when they were kids. “Follow me.”
Garroth lead him a little ways away from town– it was the route Vylad had planned on taking, ironically. A path had been made, lined with fairy lights that glowed nicely in the pre-dawn air. The cool of autumn was truly beginning to set in. Vylad shivered a little, but couldn’t complain.
They arrived at a clearing. Vylad didn’t know what he was expecting, but it wasn’t this.
More fairy lights had been strung up. A table had been pulled in, and things were placed upon it– wrapped things and a cake. Only a small number of people were around– Katelyn (standing stiffly in a corner), Laurance (fussing with decorations), Travis (looking half asleep), and Zoey (trying to keep Travis awake). Vylad was almost surprised to be happy to see them there.
“Well, well well,” Laurance said, abandoning the fairy lights to walk over. “Look who’s finally awake.”
“Good morning,” Vylad responded, wondering if he looked as startled as he felt. “This is…”
“Nice, right?” Garroth said, gently elbowing him. “I knew you wouldn’t want something big. Do you wanna open your presents?”
Laurance laughed. “Vylad, you look like he just offered you your weight in diamonds. Don’t get too excited.”
None of this felt real. “...There’s a cake,” Vylad said all of a sudden. “On the table. Is… is that…?”
“I made it,” Zoey said. She brought him a plate. “Garroth said you’d like strawberry.”
Vylad stared at it for a moment. It was so beautiful. “...I do like strawberry,” he murmured, almost awestruck. “You make good food, Zoey.”
“Consider it your gift from me. Happy birthday.”
Nothing would ever compare to his mother’s cake, but it got pretty damn close.
It didn’t take much coercing from the others for Vylad to start opening the presents.
There weren’t many, only three, but it was more than he had ever gotten. They were each wrapped in fabric– one small and rectangular in green, one smaller and in grey, and one behind the table propped up by a tree, a long stick with something large attached on one end, wrapped in wrinkled blue.
“Open mine first,” Travis said, pointing at the smallest present. “It’s the best one.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Laurance responded, raising an eyebrow.
“Open mine first instead.” Katelyn nodded to the biggest, looking a little embarrassed. “Just so we can get it out of the way.”
“I’ll go largest to smallest, then,” Vylad decided. He was most curious about Katelyn’s, anyway. He picked it up, surprised at how heavy it was. He gave her a confused look. She rubbed the back of her neck, eyes darting away. He took off the fabric, revealing the head of a new shovel. “Oh!” He said.
“A shovel,” she explained, “for. Gardening.” It was a little funny to see her so self conscious.
Vylad smiled. “It will be put to good use. Thank you so much, Katelyn.”
She eased up a little at that, responding with a sheepish “Happy birthday.” Vylad turned to the next gift, Laurance’s.
It was a book full of blank pages. He flipped through a couple times, making sure he wasn’t missing something.
“It’s a sketchbook, buddy,” Laurance said. “You draw in it. I, uh– I think your map sketches are really pretty. Would be cool to see you draw other things, too.”
Vylad nodded in understanding. “I’ve used one before, I think,” he said. “Thank you. I’ll have to draw you something later.”
Laurance grinned. “Thanks. Glad you like it.”
Finally came Travis’ gift. It was small and light. Vylad held it gingerly, unwrapped it with a sense of reverence. The things flashed in the morning light. Vylad unwrapped them fully to find that they were earrings made of opal and some sort of animal bone.
“An old pair of mine,” Travis proudly said, “I made them myself. I noticed your ears are pierced but you never wear any, so I thought you might like some.”
Vylad held them up to the light, starstruck by their glimmer. “They’re beautiful,” he breathed. He hadn’t worn earrings in so long. Especially now with his Knighthood, the holes would probably never stay open for long enough to wear them regularly. He appreciated the gift nonetheless. “Thank you, Travis.”
“I thought you said you didn’t know what to get him,” Katelyn furiously whispered, as if Vylad couldn’t hear.
“I didn’t. I’m just better at giving gifts,” Travis whispered back. Katelyn gave him a succint, one-fingered gesture that ended the whole conversation. Vylad had never been happier.
What an odd thing. He had never been appreciated like this. He had never been thought of so thoroughly. He didn’t know how to react.
“Thank you,” he said suddenly, voice small. “This– this is very nice.”
“Of course,” Garroth said, patting him on the shoulder. “You deserve it.” You deserve it.
For a moment, however brief, surrounded by people he cared about, Vylad understood what it meant to be loved.