While his mother continued to cry into his hair, Arcturius stared over at his brother. Taranth’s skin was pale with gold tribal tattoos on the upper arms and his irises were like a galaxy of stars. His hair was white with streaks of all different shades of blue running through it, though mostly the darker shades. Recalling his predicament, he remembered that all the other elves looked similar to this. The only exception was the tattoos. Only Taranth and his father had those. When his mother finally pulled back, he looked down to find he was also missing the tattoos. “That’s right,” he thought “only nobles that have fought in wars or high-ranking warriors can get those tattoos.”
Before the disease had taken him from consciousness, Taranth had been given orders by father to head out to command the battlefield. Taranth had only ever trained until that point, so he hadn’t been given his tattoos yet. Father had wanted the eldest son to have some experience before the true round of invading and conquering would hit in a few years. The Nexus had been a few months away from incorporating a new batch of galaxies. It would protect the newly incorporated for a maximum of five years from invaders too far above them in level. The protections would fall away earlier on particular planets if they managed to do well in the [TUTORIAL] and the first couple of years. It turned out that Taranth had still been sent away, come back safely and had been presented with the tribal tattoos.
Arcturius wasn’t surprised. Atticus was furious and disappointed in his father. Arcturius had been about to die. What if the war ground Taranth had been assigned to had taken too long to conquer? Arcturius could have died while his brother was away. There was sickness and almost a tragedy within the family but his Father had carried on with life as if it had been any other day.
Getting sentimental about his new family that a part of him had always had, he wrapped his left arm around his mother and his right around Taranth’s neck, then pulled them both in for another hug. Both of them gasped in surprise. He knew that neither Atticus nor Arcturius would have been this touchy feely before the merge, but they had both already died once. He had learned that he needed to treasure these moments with his loved ones. The two family members weren’t the only ones he was thinking of as he held them. His Aunt Lila was back on earth. If she managed to survive the initial incorporation, then she would have gone home and found his body by now. She was all alone. Aunt Lila hadn’t exactly been a social butterfly either, just a few close colleagues from work and a best friend from high school that she rarely talked to because the friend was always busy with her own family. There was nothing he could do for her now except hope that she gained enough power to survive the new world.
He had now processed his new circumstances and came to a conclusion. Treasure the two most precious people in his current life and live life to the fullest. Nothing too drastic of course. Make a few friends, rediscover his new culture and hang out with his brother whenever time allowed. Apart from that, he liked his beauty sleep, and as the youngest son of a rich noble family he was sure he could enjoy it to the fullest too.
“Arcturius, you still have not answered Mother. Is something wrong?” Taranth asked.
“Everything’s just fine now” he answered “I would like something to eat though, I’m hungry.”
His mother nodded as she pulled back again and wiped at her tears. “I’ll make your favourite myself” she said while getting off the bed and heading out of the room.
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Pausing after opening the door she looked back and gave a happy smile, tears still on her cheeks “I am so relieved my child, please don’t worry your dear mother like this again.”
After their mother left, Taranth also released the hug showing a serious expression. For someone so quick to release the hug, he sure had been holding on tight. Arcturius smirked. Taranth’s frown became more pronounced. “Now that you are cured, you should continue your lessons with great haste. You have fallen behind by a fair margin. I know of your reluctance on taking so many private classes but there is no need to fear. As I have returned, I will make time to tutor you until you are caught up.”
Taranth took a deep breath to continue quickly, as if expecting resistance “I know you have rebuffed my guidance before, but now there is no time for that. I have the best expertise besides maybe Father, but he is far too busy with his work to assist.”
Arcturius smiled as his brother’s face was going red with determination. He found it absolutely hilarious that Taranth was finding so many excuses just to watch over and teach him. In fairness, the Arcturius of before had wanted to do most things himself, in the same way their father did everything himself. Because of this he had constantly turned away Taranth’s good intentions and in turn, his brotherly affection. He had never bothered to put much thought into his families’ interactions before, but now that he had Atticus’ more objective perspective, he knew that his annoying big brother actually just had a big heart. Mother’s influence no doubt. Bringing out the memories from the back of his head, he found that his parents had not married for love, it had been a political move. And while his father didn’t appear to be disdainful of their mother, he was not friendly with her either. In their father, Ithilwen’s, eyes it was a purely business relationship. The birth of his sons had not changed this.
Concentrating on the conversation once again he heard Taranth going on a tangent about how it was imperative that he help out Arcturius. Putting on his best stern face while trying not to laugh he interrupted his brother saying “If this is how it must be, then so be it.”
For but a moment, Taranth’s face lit up with a smile like the sun. A moment later he regained his stoicism of clouds and rain, the brightness but a memory. “Very well, we shall start with a bout of swordsmanship at sunrise and then focus on your ‘Highborn Behavioural’ and ‘Battle Strategy’ classes. I’ve already looked it over and those are the three main lessons you are falling behind in. In fact, you were even behind in these lessons before your illness.”
Arcturius choked on air. After regaining the needed oxygen, did elves even live on oxygen, he blurted out his plan “Taranth, I have only just regained consciousness after a full two months. I think I will need a full week to properly recover and regain my bearings. Also, I find no issue with how I left my classes. I will just continue on as always.”
Taranth sat up straighter, full big brother mode activated “As always?” his eyebrow arched “you expect me to believe that skipping lessons and ignoring your tutor’s lectures constitutes no issues?”
Arcturius inwardly groaned. It wasn’t that bad. Some of the teachers he had dismissed had been real asses. And skipping a class here and there to read for his own desires wasn’t the end of the world. The young teen let out his frustrations to his more accomplished twenty-seven-year-old brother. “There is no need to worry, I have been keeping up enough. Besides, so long as I have the basic responsibilities of being a noble down, then I don’t need the rest anyway. You’re the older son, I’m just the back up for marrying off to make ties with strong factions.”
Taranth’s eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to refute the younger brother’s claim, but in the end could not completely renounce it. “Your lessons are still important” he settled on saying “you never know when you might need them. I suppose a week’s rest is warranted to regain your strength. I will join you for breakfast tomorrow. T, T, To check that you are truly cured and well!” Taranth stuttered the last part as if coming up with the reason at the last second.
Arcturius just smiled again. “Very well then.”