Ruin Maketh Me

54 - Broken Ties

Lutra

He stares at the male standing in front of him. The broad pale back, the narrow waist, the waterfall of gleaming black hair darker than the night, all resonate deeply within him like they're fragments of his own body. Yet, this male is a stranger. This male has become foreign and alien and in the change, more distant and far to reach than ever. His Julius, his brother, so perfect, so powerful, so deserving of standing at the peak of the world, so "Why?"
Julius shifts, silent, elegant, beautiful, so beautiful the breath sticks in his throat, "I've warned you once."
His chest heaves, the nauseating image of the Human shining in and out of his mind. The powerless limbs, the thin body, the utter lack of magic, what about him could ever attract a demon such as Julius? A sourness rises up his throat, impossible! How could he even entertain the very notion? But. "But he's just a human!"
"Do I need to explain myself to you?"
Lutra stands rooted to the ground. Why is Julius treating him in this way again, his brother, his kin for a mere creature? He's done nothing wrong. The only thing wrong about this whole thing is the human, "Why am I not allowed to touch him, wasn't that all designed so we could share him?"
"It was an experiment." Julius turns, pinning Lutra down with the sheer pureness of the red in his eyes.
"An experiment for what?" Lutra's claws slice into the flesh of his palm, "What could he ever help you achieve? You were even willing to share Ralphus with us, so why this change?"
Julius's eyes flash, and a heaviness crashes down onto Lutra's body, his legs shakes and his knees crunch downwards, "You're testing my limits Lutra."
"Me?" A hoarse cry emits from his mouth, and the sound fills him with terror. This Human, that wretched thing has reduced him to such worthlessness; this can't go on. He'll ruin Julius. His precious, powerful Julius. He'd rather die at his brother's hand, feel the familiar power rip through him and drench him in his own blood than watch this nightmare farce go on, "It's you who has changed."
      Nothing stirs at the bottom of those bloody orbs. From whence did the connection between them break? It was thin and fragile, true, but it was undeniably present, and now, nothing. He could not glean the very faintest kindle of reason.
     "I seek something different to you."
     The words ring dull and hollow to Lutra's ears, "Different? From birth I always sought what you wanted. Together, we've enjoyed all the pleasures that could be enjoyed, we've dined, we've sparred, we've killed. What's different now? Did that Otherworlder affect you so much?"
      "NO." Julius's shout tears through the air.
      Lutra's bones shake, but he leaps forward. Now, something's growing brighter, some strangled truth, "Yes! It's her isn't it? The reason behind all this strangeness towards that human. What could that—
     "Enough."
     The words slip out empty and non-existent from Lutra's mouth. His vision dims and all that he can see is the brightness of Julius's eyes. Never have they been equal, but at least there had been a sense of belonging. And now, now, that tether was gone too. A great raging pain shreds his chest apart like he's being cleaved in half through the middle by invisible claws. Julius, Julius, Julius Julius JuliusJuliusJuliusJul
     "You're both getting side-tracked." Zus's cool voice threads a string through gap in his chest, "The reason we're here at the academy is to find Ashford's weakness, or have you forgotten?
     That's right. A gnawed-out breath expands Lutra's lungs. That's right, the tether's still there. They have to kill the bastard runt and give Julius back his throne. How could he have forgotten? His feet find their footing again, and he stands upright, "I haven't forgotten."
     His eyes snap back to Julius.
     He still needs me.
     He still needs me until I give him his throne and bow down at his feet and call him "My Lord Mal."
     And so, the human has to go. He won't allow Julius to grow weak.