-Back at the Coros home-
"... I am ordering you! Do it, do it!" Hylo's demanding voice yelled.
Azir and Etherna poked their heads into Orako's room, where Hylo's voice was coming from. They curiously watched Orako wiggle his index finger.
Hylo smiled at herself, feeling proud someone was starting to listen. She kept her eyes on the bullet marks left behind on his shoulders. Each time Orako moved, his body would recover a little.
"Young Orako!" Hylo blurted out. "Wiggle your toes!"
On command, Orako did it. The blanket covering his body shifted up and down as Orako tried his hardest to follow orders. With each movement, he felt just a little better.
Etherna looked down at Azir, who kept a bright smile on his face. She grabbed his shoulder, then pulled him out of the room. Upon feeling his sister's touch, Azir broke out into a wild hiccup frenzy.
The sounds of a squished squeaky toy caught Pearl's and Hylo's attention. Luring them both to the door, where all four encountered each other.
Pearl got on one knee, hugging Azir, then picking him up. He hugged Pearl back, brushing his soft cheek against hers.
"What happened? Hylo, why are you in Orako's room?" Pearl asked.
In response, Hylo pointed at Orako. He continued to wiggle his toes and index finger, recovering quicker than before.
"Neddy, she was yelling at him. And he was listening to her!" Etherna snitched.
"Really?" Pearl and Azir turned to Hylo, a disappointed face on Pearl's. "What has gotten into you?" she frowned. "Can you please stop yelling at your siblings and demanding stuff?"
Hylo felt tears forming as she let the shame and guilt wash down her back. All she wanted was for someone to treat her like Ether did. Yet nobody seemed to get it.
She loved when Ether gave her harsh lessons, even if those lessons made her uncomfortable or scared. Deep down, Hylo knew it was all because he loved her and this is what she wanted to be.
Etherna took a step back, not wanting to get involved in her sister's emotions. She watched the tears slide down her cheeks, dropping to the floor with a wet thud.
The cold inside made Hylo feel even worse. Instead of having the gentle crackling of Ether's flames, she had the tragic emptiness of no fire at all. Everything felt against her in that moment.
Before Hylo could control her mouth, she blurted out. "I want to be a warrior, so I don't have to be with you all! I'll die in a fight and no one will care!"
Pearl jumped out of shock, she planted the worried Azir down and turned to Hylo. Like a strict parent, she slapped Hylo across the cheek. Leaving a cold print where her hand landed.
"Don't talk like that. If you say stuff like that, I'll punish you. Clean your tongue or cut it off, Hylo. The only 'in-between' is meant for the Variants who know self-control," Pearl taught.
Hylo kept her hand on her hurt cheek, tears still pouring out. "I just want attention!"
"You get plenty of that," Pearl sighed. "Am I not enough? Is it that I'm not supposed to be a parent?"
"No," Hylo shook her head. "It's that you're one Thawed! Orako is hurt, Etherna and Azir always play. And I am always alone without Neddy. So I want to be more like Neddy, so I can feel welcomed."
Pearl took a breath, assessing her thoughts before continuing. She reached around Hylo, then brought her in for a hug. In response, Hylo hugged her back.
Azir and Etherna slipped past them into the room, hoping to catch Orako moving again. And he was. Unlike last time, Orako was starting to move his knees slightly, feeling better as his body shifted.
"I'm sorry," Pearl apologized into Hylo's hair. Causing her voice to sound muffled. "There are things I can't change. Etherna and Azir are close, and I am sure they love you. But they are closer together."
Hylo's tears dropped onto Pearl's shirt, staining the gray into a darker tone of itself. She felt ashamed for everything she did leading up to that point.
"Look," Pearl pulled back her head. "When me and Ether were back in the Light Legion, I always admired how well he and his brothers worked. During our Age of Recruitment, their team kicked my team's butt."
The story caught Hylo's attention. She knew Pearl never shared stories just for fun, each story she told had a meaning behind them. A gist for those who heard it.
Pearl brought a hand over her left breast. "I was in Wave Knocker at the time. Ceres and Talis were my teammates, which was a good line-up. Except for the fact Talis saw this as a competition, not a team."
She grinned. "When Kas told us to go, our team already lost. Divinity had a strategy planned out and when it failed, whichever sibling was closest would adjust the plan."
"Talis had the idea of 'smashing Ether's head in' and Ceres wanted to play it smart," Pearl continued. "That's our issue. Ceres wanted to do one thing, I agreed to it. Talis saw it as a contest and protested."
Hylo gasped, realizing it resembled her and her siblings perfectly. Azir and Etherna built off each other, and when they left Hylo out, she saw it as a contest of who got more attention.
One she would always lose because nobody was around them more than each other. Hylo imagined herself in a battlefield, reaching down for an armored Zawed - her sister. And she pulled her up.
Bringing her onto her feet, and together they fought. While they danced like empowered warriors, Azir erupted out of the ground and trapped, anchored, and staggered enemies. Making them powerful.
Pearl noticed something was off inside the room. She looked over Hylo to see Orako was moving a lot. Almost like he was having a bad dream, or worse, something was happening to his brain.
The movements devolved to become erratic shaking, which moved the bed just as much. Azir and Etherna panicked, stumbling back out of shock and horror.
Before Pearl could get up, Hylo nonchalantly walked into the room. Her eyes were calm and so was her posture. When beside Orako, Hylo smiled and waved.
"Young Orako! How are you doing?" she happily asked.
Orako stopped shaking, then turned his head to Hylo. "Give me more orders."