"Athiel, it’s pulling you."
"Athiel, should we call the knights?"
"Answer us, Amie. I swear to all the Gods I will kill that creature."
"Athiel!"
"Amie—"
"Enough!" Athiel snapped, his voice cutting through theirs.
He needed a mont.
Just a mont to think.
’This is new,’ he thought, his mind already trying to piece it together. ’The reaction... the timing...’
But their voices kept coming, sharp and urgent, filling the room, pressing against him.
He couldn’t focus.
So he acted.
Athiel reached into his coat without hesitation, fingers finding the familiar vial. He took a steady breath, then threw it straight at Kree.
The glass shattered on impact.
The reaction was imdiate.
Kree’s body jerked, muscles locking as the shock coursed through him. A strained sound tore from his throat as the glow beneath his skin flickered violently.
The tentacles tightened for a split second—
Then began to loosen.
Very, very slowly.
Almost unwillingly.
As soon as the pressure eased, Athiel pulled free and pushed them away, stepping forward.
"What is that?" Lilior asked, still tense.
"My zappy zappy stoppy thingy," Athiel answered, almost casually as he moved closer to Kree.
"What kind of na is that?" Hyacinthe asked with the sa disbelief in his tone as Johnson did a few days ago.
"It makes it easier to rember what it does," Athiel replied, already stopping in front of Kree.
Kree was still convulsing, his body trembling under the lingering effect.
"Are you sure you should be going near it...?" Lilior asked from behind him.
"It’s not going to hurt ," Athiel said. "It only grabs when it’s being needy, but—"
He heard movent behind him.
Footsteps.
One of them was getting closer.
Athiel didn’t turn imdiately.
But Kree reacted.
Even while shaking, even while restrained by the shock—
One of the tentacles moved swiftly.
Athiel barely had ti to register it.
He turned just as it shot past him.
Straight toward Lilior.
"Lili!" Athiel called out, his voice sharp.
But—
It didn’t strike.
It didn’t lash out.
It gave Lilior a firm push.
Lilior stumbled back a step, caught off guard.
"...Huh?" Athiel blinked.
"What the hell?" Lilior muttered, steadying himself as the tentacle pressed against him again, forcing him further away. "Amie, why is this thing pushing back?"
"It’s still being electrocuted," Hyacinthe said, his voice low. "How is it even moving?"
He tried stepping forward as well.
The reaction was imdiate.
Another tentacle shot out, stopping him the sa way it had stopped Lilior.
Not attacking.
Just—
Keeping them away.
Athiel’s eyes widened slightly.
’That’s not random,’ he thought, watching closely now. ’It’s selective.’
He turned back to Kree.
Kree’s gaze was locked on him, red eyes clouded with pain, his breathing uneven.
Still focused.
Still aware.
’Could it be...’
Athiel took a slow step closer.
"Are you..." He started, lowering himself slightly to et Kree’s eye level. "Jealous?"
Kree didn’t answer.
But the reaction ca anyway.
The tentacles hesitated.
Then began to withdraw.
Slowly retreating, slipping back as if the tension holding them had been released.
By the ti Athiel stood directly in front of him, they were already disappearing.
Gone.
"Athiel, what is going—" Hyacinthe started.
"Don’t co any closer, Hya," Athiel said without looking back.
"What? Why? Is it dangerous? Athiel, I swear—"
"It’s not," Athiel cut in. "It’s... jealous. I think."
"Jealous?" Lilior and Hyacinthe said at the sa ti, disbelief clear in their voices.
Athiel didn’t explain.
There wasn’t ti.
’I need to confirm it,’ he thought.
"No ti," Athiel said, already reaching for Kree’s arm and pulling him up. "I need to take him back to the lab."
"Back to the lab?" Lilior stepped forward slightly. "Do you need help?"
"No," Athiel said quickly. "It might aggravate him."
"That sounds like more reason for us to help," Lilior argued.
Athiel didn’t respond right away.
His grip tightened slightly on Kree.
’No,’ he thought, watching the way Kree’s attention stayed fixed on him. ’I need to handle this on my own.’
His grip tightened slightly on Kree’s arm.
"We’re leaving," Athiel said, his tone final.
His brothers should know now what that tone ant.
"Athiel—" Hyacinthe started.
"Stay where you are," Athiel cut in, sharper this ti.
He didn’t look back as he began walking toward the door, Kree following close behind him, almost too close.
The faint sound of movent trailed him, uneven steps, restrained but tense.
"Amie, this isn’t funny," Lilior said, pushing himself up from the couch. "That thing just shoved ."
"And it will do more if you keep moving," Athiel replied, glancing over his shoulder briefly. "So don’t."
As if on cue—
"Hiss."
Kree’s reaction ca again, low and strained, the sound dragging through his throat.
Athiel felt it imdiately.
The shift.
The tension is building again behind him.
He didn’t need to turn to know.
’It really is jealous.’
"Stay," Athiel repeated, more controlled this ti, his voice steady.
This Athiel wasn’t their little brother.
This was the clever Athiel.
Lilior paused.
Hyacinthe did too.
Both of them exchanged a look, sothing unspoken passing between them.
Kree shifted again, another faint hiss slipping out as his body leaned slightly toward them, like he was ready to move if they took another step.
Athiel stopped walking.
Just for a second.
He didn’t turn fully, only enough to glance at his brothers.
"I’ll explain later," he said. "Just... don’t follow."
There was a brief pause.
Then Hyacinthe raised his hands slightly. "Fine. But if it hurts you—"
"It won’t," Athiel said, cutting him off again.
’It hasn’t,’ he added in his thoughts. ’Not once.’
Lilior frowned, clearly unconvinced, but he didn’t move forward again.
"Go, then," he muttered.
Athiel gave a small nod.
"Goodbye, brothers."
‧ . ‿̩͙⊱༻♕༺⊰‿̩͙ . ‧
"So..." Hyacinthe started, his gaze still fixed on the closed door, as if expecting it to open again. "We can both agree that this creature is the strangest he’s brought."
Lilior let out a quiet breath, running a hand through his hair as he leaned back slightly. "That, dear brother, is a no-brainer."
The room felt different without Athiel in it.
It almost felt empty despite the fact that he wasn’t alone.
Lilior’s eyes lingered on the door for a mont longer before he turned to Hyacinthe. "Should we do sothing?"
Hyacinthe didn’t answer right away. His arms crossed slowly over his chest, his expression tightening as he thought.
"Definitely," he said at last. "It’s... not right."
His gaze dropped briefly, replaying what he had just seen.
"That thing," he continued, more quietly now, "it doesn’t act like a creature. It’s a little too aware." He frowned slightly. "I’m starting to feel like it’s closer to a human than anything else."
Lilior huffed faintly, though there was no humor in it. "I noticed that too."
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"It watches him," Lilior added. "Not like prey. Not like sothing waiting for instructions either."
He paused.
’It was looking at him like...’ he didn’t finish the thought.
"It’s attached," he said instead, more firmly. "And not in a normal way."
Hyacinthe glanced at him.
"Amie is usually every monster’s worst nightmare," Lilior continued, his tone dropping. "They fear him. They avoid him. Even the docile ones never... cling like that."
He shook his head slightly.
"A monster getting jealous?" Lilior muttered, almost to himself. "That doesn’t happen."
Heavy silence settled between them again.
It was a bit...uncomfortable.
"I don’t like it," Hyacinthe admitted.
His fingers tightened slightly against his arm.
’It moved even while being shocked,’ he thought. ’And not to attack... but to keep us away.’
That part stayed with him the most.
"It felt intentional," he added.
Lilior nodded slowly.
"I feel like it’s attaching to Amie for a reason," he said. "Not just instinct."
He hesitated.
Then said it anyway.
"As if it wants to take him."
The words hung in the air.
Neither of them laughed.
Neither of them dismissed it.
"Right," Hyacinthe said quietly.
For a mont, neither spoke.
Because the truth was—
This wasn’t like before.
Athiel had brought ho strange creatures before. Dangerous ones. Unstable ones. Things that should have worried them.
But they never did.
Because none of them ever looked at Athiel the way that thing did.
None of them ever reached for him like that.
None of them ever reacted to them with... intent.
Hyacinthe exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening.
Athiel was strange.
That had always been true.
But he was theirs.
Their brother.
The one who laughed too easily when he was being dramatic. The one who clung to them despite insisting he didn’t need anyone.
The one who reminded them too much of their mother to ever push away.
And that—
That was exactly why this felt wrong.
’Sothing is off,’ Hyacinthe thought.
Lilior straightened slightly beside him, his expression hardening.
’If it even tries to take him...’
"We have to talk to Father," Hyacinthe said, finally breaking the silence.
Lilior nodded imdiately.
"Yeah," he said. "We do."
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