Oh, Christ, Aarav! What did you get yourself into now? Silas thought bitterly. He quickly made his way over to where Aarav was, coming to his side. He gingerly touched his swiftly reddening cheek. Aarav's face twisted from surprise to bitter resentment.
A man cleared his throat, catching Silas' attention. Who was this guy…?
"I will have to ask you to refrain from touching my brothers," the man said. Brothers… this was Ruk's older brother, then? Wings, was it?
Aleson leaned closer to Aarav now, his face only an inch away from the other. "You do not have the right to speak to me in such a manor. Don or not, I could have you killed in a matter of seconds – by my own hands, if I so wish – right here in front of everyone, and no one would bat an eye."
Aarav was silent. Aleson's voice was low and had a warning tone. "Do you know why that is, boy? It's because you are just another person in this city. I have plenty of reason to kill you – you punched Ruk and you touch Koska in a way he nor I approve of. Yet I pity you, and therefore, you will live. For now. I cannot say I will do the same if you ever call me anything but Don Aleson ever again. Do you understand me?"
Aarav stared in shocked silence. He hadn't expected the man to speak so smoothly such harsh words. Now, Aleson stood tall. He straightened his tie, glancing to Silas. He nodded a small greeting before walking away.
"What… what on earth did you do, Aarav?" Silas asked, his voice high with worry. Slowly, the confusion turned to bitterness. Aarav frowned deeply, rubbing his cheek gingerly.
"I didn't use a title for that stuck-up prick… Christ, the one time I try to be kind."
Now Ruk let out his laughter. He held his stomach, bending over slightly. After a moment, he stood up a bit straighter, still letting out some laughter. He wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh, you idiot! You're so arrogant! Hah! Y'see, Wings… well, flattery does nothing for him. All he felt was that you were sucking up to him – and he took that as an insult!"
Aarav gave him a dumbfounded look. Ruk took a moment, still laughing, to catch his breath. "Oh, man… oh, man you are dumb! Wings thought you were using Koska to get to him, you idiot… only Koska and I can call him Wings – you fucked up immediately there – and then you just kept pushing! I'm surprised you're still alive!"
Silas slowly turned to look at Aarav. He was baffled. "Are… are you kidding me? You berate me constantly for getting in stupid trouble all the time, and this is the type of stuff you do on your own? Seriously?"
Aarav scoffed, looking away. "Shut up… what were you doing anyway?"
Silas paused a moment. Well, that wasn't a great follow-up, he thought. He opened his mouth to speak, but another voice cut him off.
"Oh… of course, you two are friends," Lia's disgusted voice came. Ruk's snorting came to an abrupt stop. Silas glanced back, watching as Lia turned her attention onto Ruk now.
"Hello, Kurukkan, darling," she said with a sugary-sweet voice. Ruk looked at her dully in silence. All hints of amusement disappeared from his face.
"Evening," he muttered.
Lia didn't seem put-off by this, of course. She seemed to ignore it, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around his neck. She smiled sweetly. Ruk forced himself not to cringe, glancing away.
"You know, I've been wondering… when will you and I get dinner, hmm? You promised me dinner – you do remember that, don't you?" she questioned. Ruk raised his eyebrows in mock surprise, clearly uninterested.
"Oh? I do not remember this."
"Oh, don't be silly… of course you remember." Ruk hesitated, glancing at Silas.
"Well, she's a bitch," Aarav muttered, still rubbing at his cheek. Silas stood, clearing his throat a bit. Lia glanced at him, finally letting go of Ruk. She raised an eyebrow, as if daring him to challenge her. Of course, she knew he wouldn't. He was far too… inept, to dare challenge her.
"It wouldn't be right for a taken man to go out with another woman, now, would it?" Silas challenged. He felt a bit better knowing Aarav was next to him. Ruk being there wasn't a horrible thing either….
"Taken man?" she questioned.
Silas stepped closer to Ruk. Still, she was silent, not understanding. Silas sighed inwardly, placing a small kiss on Ruk's cheek. Ruk gave him an almost baffled look. Luckily, Lia didn't catch onto this; she was too busy looking extremely disgusted.
"By you?" she asked, looking disgusted. Ruk placed an arm around Silas' shoulders – he was almost surprised Silas didn't jump or pull away.
"You aren't that smart, are you, Lia?" Ruk said innocently. Lia went silent, unsure what to say. She scoffed, before quickly stomping away.
"Thanks for helpin' me, darlin," Ruk said, walking Silas and Aarav out into the quiet streets. It was well into the night by now, almost early morning. Silas was exhausted. After Lia left them alone, the night was quite uneventful. Ruk and Koska had 'business to deal with', as they put it, leaving Silas and Aarav alone for most of the night.
"No problem," Silas said, suppressing a yawn. A small smirk crossed Ruk's face.
"You know," he said, "I think you're warming up to me. At the beginning of the night, you wanted nothing to do with me, but then – well, then you kissed me. Unprovoked, I might add!" He winked.
"Unprovoked my ass," Aarav scoffed. Silas smiled a little, rolling his eyes.
"Whatever," he muttered. "Aarav and I can walk home from here. I'm sure you have places to be anyway," he said, stopping and turning to face Ruk.
"I've got time," Ruk said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Don't you want to invite me in?"
Silas gave a small pause, feigning thoughtfulness. "No," he said sweetly. Ruk placed a hand on his heart, giving an exaggerated frown. He stepped closer.
"Well, at least give me a kiss goodbye, my love," he said, leaning down a little. Silas placed a hand on his face, stopping him.
"You want another bruise on that pretty face, pervert?" Aarav growled, glaring at him. Ruk tossed him a smirk, stepping back in pretend fear.
"Bad dog," he said. Aarav narrowed his eyes as Ruk's smirk grew.
"Oh, stop fighting," Silas groaned. "It's too late for all that."
Aarav rolled his eyes, looking away. Yawning, Silas started to walk in the direction of their apartment. Reluctantly, Aarav followed. Ruk watched silently as they walked down the street, unmoving.
His smirk slowly fell as he watched them. He placed a hand on his cheek. A bit of red smoke poured from his eye as the two turned the corner, vanishing out of view.
"Kuruk! Wake up!" Koska's annoyed voice came. Ruk grumbled, rolling over on his bed. He heard Koska give a loud, annoyed sigh. "Kuruk, Wings is going to kill you if you're late one more time," he warned.
"Late for what?" Ruk groaned, sitting up. He stretched, yawning.
"Oh, gods, Kuruk! You can be such a nuisance sometimes! Wings told us to go around fixing stuff," he explained. Ruk looked at the roof, quietly thinking.
"Oh," he said simply, "that's right. Why do you get to work on the park, though? That's the easiest job…." Koska stood tall at them, seeming angry and indignant with Ruk for casually blowing off his work.
"The park," he said, clearly proud, "is especially important! Wings trusted me with it, because I can handle big projects without – you know – getting into trouble."
"What, and I can't?" Ruk asked, standing. He walked over to the closet, rummaging through to find some clothes. Koska tiled his head a moment, thinking.
"Well… that's not what I meant, brother," he sighed. "It's just… you know… you get – well, sidetracked very easy!" Ruk snorted at that. Oh, we'll see who gets sidetracked easy, he thought, grabbing a shirt.
"What about Tops, can I bring him?" he asked, buttoning up his red shirt.
"Haven't seen Tops in a while… I guess so, if you can find him," Koska said, shrugging. "Wings didn't really say you can't – but he'll tell if you don't do anything, and if Wings finds out you don't, Kuruk, he's gonna—"
"Gonna get pissed, beat me to a pulp, yea, yea," Ruk said, waving the comment away. He pulled on black slacks with suspenders, tying a bowtie around his neck. "That's right… Tops doesn't live in Valcad anymore. He's nearby, though, isn't he? Maybe he lives here in Sino."
"I doubt it… monsters aren't really welcome in Sino – especially not monsters that want to sell food. I mean, have you seen any monsters here? I think… I think he's in Revend, actually."
Ruk wrinkled his nose at that information as he pulled on his suit jacket. Revend was under the control of the Don of Domov, and the Naši brothers… they weren't exactly on good terms with this don. Especially Wings… Ruk shook his head.
"Well, I'll check there first, I suppose. Is Wings home, by the way?" Ruk asked. Koska thought quietly for a moment, thinking.
"No," he concluded. "He went to uhm… talk 'business' with Orah again."
Ruk shook his head a little, leaning on the desk in his room as he spoke. "Hope they can work things out," he muttered. "Guys got good alcohol…."
Koska wrinkled his nose, making an exaggerated gagging noise. "Doesn't matter to me. Disgusting, greasy food with drunken brawls all over the place…" he shuddered. "No thank you!"
Ruk shrugged the insult to one of his favorite bars off. "Oh, you wouldn't know good alcohol if it bit you in the ass," he said, pushing himself up. "Anyway. I better go find Tops, before Wings chews me out again. Good luck with the park."
Both brothers gave small waves before Ruk disappeared.
Tops hummed a quiet, cheery tune as he pushed his food cart. In a few moments, he'd be in one of the busiest places in Revend. The town wasn't exceptionally large, granted, but there were lots of hungry rich people to sell his goods to.
He wasn't expecting a tap on the shoulder, so when it came, it startled him greatly. He twisted around, but no one was there. Had he imagined it? He shook it off, but grabbed his bat from under the cart – just in case. He continued to push the cart, but didn't hum, trying to listen.
After a moment, there was another tap. He twisted quicker this time, swinging the bat. Now he knew someone was messing with him. He just barely missed a figure, quickly swinging again – but he knew the figure had vanished.
He stared around, waiting for the person to show themselves again, feeling a bit of fear build in his soul. A small 'boo' from behind him yelp and fly forward. He twisted around, looking at the smiling prick that was leaning on his cart.
"Ruk? Oh my gods, Ruk – you nearly gave me a heart attack!" he laughed breathlessly, placing a hand on his chest. Ruk smirked, chuckling a little.
"It was always so easy to scare ya," he said, shaking his head a bit. "How've you been, anyway? Haven't seen you in – what, months? Ever since ya ran away from me."
"I didn't run away," Tops said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway… business has been good. Otherwise, things are alright, I suppose – what about you?" Ruk shrugged a response. "What brings you to Revend, anyway? Usually Ale would throw a fit if you were here, wouldn't he?"
"You won't tell, will you?" Ruk asked, raising his eyebrows. "I was looking for you. Have a… favor, to ask of you."
"Oh yea?" Tops said suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. "It doesn't have to do with pulling some pranks on your brothers, does it?"
Ruk grinned. "You insult me, Tops. I'm a changed man! Nothing like the boy I was years ago."
"Why do I find it hard to believe that?" Tops said, tilting his head. Nonetheless, he had a gentle smile on his face. Ruk glanced up a moment, thinking.
"No idea," he said. "No, that's not what I need. But, thanks for the ideas… anyway – remember that time Wings' was experimenting with his magic, and half the wall blew out because he messed up?" Ruk asked. Tops groaned, rolling his eyes.
"Lords, that took weeks to fix!" Ruk chuckled at his old friends response.
"Well, I have a bigger job than that for you," he said.
Tops raised his eyebrows, surprised. "Bigger than that? I've only been gone for a few months, what trouble have y'all been gettin into?"
"More than you know," Ruk chuckled.
The prospect wasn't daunting to Tops, though; while pay here was good, work got slow quick, and there wasn't much else to do. "I'm listening…," he said, leaning forward a little.
"Well… you see, Wings got a bit of land in Sino, and now he's havin' us goin' around and fixin' the place up… y'know – making it seem like a better place for all the people that live there."
"Ahh." A look of understanding came onto Tops' face. "I see. You want me to come an' do all the work, so you can be lazy, and Ale won't kill you?" Ruk placed a hand over his heart in mock astonishment that Tops had even considered such a thing.
"Of course not!" he said indignantly. "I just want a good pal to hang around while I… y'know… do the work, and what not."
"Oh, right, because you'll definitely do any work," Tops joked, raising his eyebrows. He smiled, shaking his head. "Really though, I'm down. I've got nothing else to do, so… would be nice for some work."
"Sure Sirek won't miss you?" Ruk asked, getting ready to teleport away. He brushed a bit of dust off his shirt. He glanced at Tops, who had randomly gone quiet, immediately noticing the pained look on Tops' face.
"He uh… he's working all night," he explained, looking away. Ruk gave him a sympathetic look.
"He's still workin at that damned place?"
Tops sighed. "He won't listen to me! Thinks he owes that damned man somethin… I mean, he was fourteen, for god's sake! It's not like that stupid boss of his is making anything better… he's using him," he spat, gripping the bat tighter as his eyes glossed with anger.
Ruk placed a hand on his friends shoulder, offering a gentle smile. "It'll be alright, Tops. Things will work out, alright?"
Tops took a deep breath before nodding. He gave Ruk a small, hopeful smile.
"Yea… you're right."