[FINISHED] Big Brothers

[riku]

His throat was killing him. It was actively ending his life, right this minute. Every breath was a wash of needles down his esophagus as Riku trudged down into town from the castle. His cracked lips were kept closed to limit how much painful air he took in, though the need to breathe was setting a fire in his lungs to top it all off. Riku wasn't drying out, he was already dried up. The thought of anything liquid entering his system was almost enough to make him delirious, but the headstrong teenager knew how to keep his focus in these times by now.

Normally this wouldn't be a problem. A man with his condition learned to carry plenty of water with him, after all. The bottles clinking around in the half-Oocca's leather pouch were already empty though, so they wouldn't be of any use right now.

'No need to panic anyone,' he reminded himself to keep from panicking on his own as much as anything. 'You know you aren't going to die from this any time soon, it just hurts. You're right in town. Just get to the store and buy more water.'

Riku repeated the goal to himself a few times as he got to the streets of Hyrule Castle Town and made for his usual watering hole. He kept a stoic demeanour, hiding his laboured breathing beneath the rim of his light brown cloak so only his nose and sharp eyes were seen above it. He wasn't tying to be stupidly brave, it was just that everything he was reminding himself of was true. He'd been like this before and he wasn't going to die. Best to take care of it himself instead of needlessly worrying some stranger.

If he weren't still sweating from before that might have been the correct choice. Unfortunately for Riku that condition was not met and he suddenly found his head spinning to match some quickly-blurring vision. After a few now visibly unbalanced steps the blue-haired teenager collapsed forward onto the ground, his single angelic wing falling out from under his back-hanging cloak to lay on the side of the street beside him.

"Water..." he managed to keep enough mind to mutter a few times. Riku wasn't exactly known for luck but he wasn't alone on the street. Somebody would help him. Somebody always did. After all, that was why Riku thought "somebody" was worth paying back "someday" and "somehow".

[Rwaht]

By now people were starting to joke that Rwaht was the guard always on duty. After all, you didn't really see Azler Wilder out and about patrolling the streets that often, whereas Rwaht was slowly becoming a near-permanent fixture of the city's landscape, scowling at crowds everywhere. He was the sort of person you either desperately loathed or sort of didn't notice much, and that was more or less the way that Rwaht was content to have it. Hybrid street-urchins loved him, of course, because he was an extremely powerful man with a soft spot for them and a habit of giving them food and coin, but that was about it.

That day, there wasn't really much to draw Rwaht's attention, for once. Fairly normal day. Plenty of people about. Most of them smelled bad. As a matter of fact nearly everything smelled bad. This was, after all, a castle town. Those places stink.

He watched a few people walking about, the usual cast of colorful characters circulating amongst the familiar backdrop of people in dull-gray-brown clothing with no particular noteworthy trait. Those people were everywhere. Rwaht was starting to relax before he noticed something out of the corner of his eye; a young man beginning to waver and stagger, almost as though drunk. Rwaht frowned. Then he staggered, and Rwaht walked forward, moving briskly. A single wing fell out of his cape, and Rwaht's eyebrows shot up.

Ah. His own experience with Vriska had told him that Hybrids often got shat on when Oocca DNA was in the equation. He'd just never seen another one. He walked over and kneeled down, putting a hand on the man's shoulder and shaking him a couple times to try and revive him. He was shocked at how much clothing there was, and how little person there was.

Barely more than a child, he realized.

"Hey, kid. Kid. What's wrong, are you--"

"Water." Rwaht raised his eyebrows again, but hurriedly pulled out the flask he carried at his hip. No one went out in the heat without water. That was just common sense.

"Drink," Rwaht commanded, though he hadn't meant it to sound like an order. He supposed that was just an accident.

[riku]

It hardly needed to be an order. The mere smell of water was enough to move Riku's mouth on instinct, showing off his parched tongue as he sucked the flask dry in a ridiculously short amount of time. It was so quickly in fact that it almost seemed as if the boy was filled with sand and that Rawht's offerings would do little more than evaporate inside him without actually providing the needed moisture. The real events inside of Riku, fortunately, were not so grim. Almost as quickly as he had drained the life-giving liquid the teenager's mind and body seemed to perk up and gain fresh color. It was almost ridiculous how much good one drink seemed to be doing him, actually. The half-Oocca stirred softly against the firm hand of the "guard" and looked up at what was now his most recent in a long line of saviours.

"Thank you," Riku said quite simply but without any room for doubt allowed by the sincerity of his expression. The soft smile faded slightly as he moved to pick himself up and stood before Rawht, noticeably shorter than he.

The wing curled once again behind the boy's cloak as he looked around and re-oriented himself. He still needed to get to the store and restock his own water supplies, after all. This wasn't meant as a dismissal of Rawht's actions, though, as he gave the man his full attention again once his bearings were straight.

"I'm on my way to buy water now. Come with me and I'll pay for your refill," he said, gesturing with his mostly-covered hand toward the direction he had been walking. This particular saviour didn't look like he needed any protecting so the least Riku could do was give back what had been given to him.

[Rwaht]

Rwaht watched curiously as the boy didn't so much as drink the water as he did inhale it. He had thought, at first, that he had something caught in his throat, or that he was wounded in some way Rwaht couldn't observe, and wanted the water to help clear his head. But it had been neither. As far as Rwaht could tell, the water had an almost instant invigorating effect on him. Even his skin colour seemed to return to a more healthy tone. When the boy thanked him, Rwaht muttered,

"Think nothing of it," almost on instinct. He was still more concerned with this strange, strange young man. He watched the wing curl behind the boy's cloak, and he realized that it was his only wing. Wings moved clothing a certain way, and only one such wing was moving that cloak. It was the sort of thing you only noticed after a lifetime of observing body movements, in case those movements might lead to a drawn sword.

He didn't answer the boy directly, but he did ask,

"You're a hybrid, aren't you?" It was, normally, a somewhat rude question to ask, but the tone that Rwaht used was not jeering, or even inquisitive. It was really more of an observation, that he at least wanted the young man to be able to confirm or deny for himself. He followed the boy anyway, though he still didn't mention anything about being paid for the water. Rwaht could afford it, after all.

[riku]

Think nothing of it. Riku had heard those words countless times from many kind people. To actually think nothing of their acts of kindness, however, would have been incredibly rude. At the very least he should remember to follow their example be kind to others as well. It was such a common phrase yet one you'd have to hear spoken to you over and over before you realized just how wrong it really sounded for the way it is used. Riku kept these thoughts to himself though and, when the stranger seemed compliant to his offer for a refill, he began back on his way to the general store.

It sure was good to be hydrated again. His lips and tongue no longer showed any cracks and he took in sweet breaths without the fear of pain again. It was enough to make Riku smile a little more, now without hiding his expression behind his cloak. This expression ended at Rwaht's next inquiry from behind the teen. Once questioned Riku's mouth and eyes changed to reflect a more puzzled look as he turned his head back toward the brown-haired man. His feet kept moving though, still knowing that he should get his own water supplies filled back up as quickly as possible.

"Uh, yeah," the blue-haired boy answered after only a moment's confusion. He wasn't offended by the question but he was a little surprised. It wasn't as if he had fish scales on his face or a fin growing out of the back of his head, after all. Most hybrids were indistinguishable from their dominant parent's kind. "How'd you guess?"

[Rwaht]

Rwaht watched the young man curiously, though there was very little he could ascertain in between his speaking. The way his clothes moved as he walked, it became obvious that he was very slight of build; and the sword spoke volumes, though Rwaht didn't know if the boy knew how to use it. Knowing how to use a sword was, of course, one of the things Rwaht valued most, but he didn't exactly demand it of everyone else. As a matter of point he actually wished no one had to use them, but that was stupid. By now Rwaht was beginning to suspect that the boy's dependency on water was more than just usual thirst; the change in demeanour was bizarre. Maybe he needed it.

Or maybe he was poisoned, Rwaht thought in a moment of inspired optimism.

Rwaht smiled lightly and pointed at the cloak,

"The wing was the first hint. And I suppose you could call identifying hybrids to be something of a business matter of mine. I'm Rwaht Orin, the Praetor of the Sentinels," he said lightly, extending a hand towards the young man as they walked. "What's your name?"

[riku]

"Your name is "Wrought"? That sure sounds like it was inspired by something," Riku said with interest as he misinterpreted the man's name. He imagined what the story was behind this man's birth for parents to be inspired to such a name, but sadly those fantasies were mislead. Regardless he found it interesting to meet others who's name had a story behind them, so correctly or not he began to feel more familiar with the no-longer-a-stronger who saved him. Smiling again now from his thoughts the teenager turned back toward his goal, as walking without watching where you were going was still a bad idea. He was so interested in the name, in fact, that he didn't bother to wonder about the title that was also given.

"I'm Riku. Mom says it comes from some old word that means "land". You know, because I can't fly with just one of these things," he explained, stretching his single wing a little outside of his cloak for emphasis. The blue-haired young man looked down on it with a bit of sadness. "So this gave me away huh? Didn't think of that. I guess I stopped believing I only have one wing because I'm a hybrid a long time ago."

[Rwaht]

Rwaht laughed, rubbing the back of his head. The Praetor's face didn't exactly convey a bevy of emotion, but it was normally so hard to crack a smile out of the man that if anyone who knew better was around they probably would've marked it down for posterity. He saw that the boy was smiling--named Riku, he learned--and felt a little better. It was good to do something without any broken bones involved, for once.

"It's Rwaht, actually R-w-a-h-t. It's an anagram of wrath. I never bothered to ask where the name came from," Rwaht said plainly, having long given up the maddening prospect of attempting to discern his name's origin. He'd tried when he was younger, but that had led him to nowhere pleasant. So since he was a child, he had ignored the thought. After all, his parents weren't around to ask.

"I'm afraid so. Like I said, it's sort of my business. One of my Lieutenants, she's part Oocca, and she has--well, I suppose I shouldn't say, but she has unusual wings. Getting one fully formed in the bargain probably wasn't as bad as you'd think. Abnormalities in supplementary limbs is fairly common among hybrids. Take me, for example," Rwaht said, pointing at his ears. "I'm part-Hylian, but no ears. I know. Not exactly a big change, but it's the sort of thing you can notice if you look for it," Rwaht said, rambling off into 'boring old dude' mode. He realized this promptly, then laughed at himself. "Sorry. My friends say I take some things too seriously. They're probably right."

[riku]

Riku was a little disappointed about the name, but too busy feeling embarrassed about getting it wrong to actually feel it. He did indeed look back to inspect Rawht's ears when prompted though. He didn't really notice anything that wouldn't make him think the man was only human, but the hybrid supposed that he wasn't "trained" in spotting them like his new friend was.

Sure Riku thought of them as friends now. Why not? They knew each other's names and he'd managed to make the man laugh, even if not intentionally. That was always a good way for a first meeting to go, wasn't it? Oh right, and the whole having his life saved thing. That counted too.

"You have Lieutenants?" Riku suddenly wondered out loud, a bit too softly to have actually been meant as a question. It was clearly more like he just realized what he missed. "You said you were with something called the Sentinels? Are they a part of the castle guard?"

Riku hadn't actually spent much time in the Castle Town itself during his stay down on earth. Not enough to learn about differing branches of the Hylian Knights, at least. The blue-haired teenager's interest in the subject of the castle guard was readily apparent, though. His voice and eyes now dripped with respect.

[Rwaht]

Rwaht had to admit, he liked the kid. There was something infinitely reassuring in meeting someone who was, in the most uncomplicated way, nice. Rwaht tried to do as much as he could for others, of course, but that was only because of his own guilt. A young hybrid who apparently had a crippling weakness and the constant taunting of the sky's freedom could have very easily been bitter, but Riku wasn't, as far as Rwaht could tell. Something about that gave Rwaht hope. He laughed when Riku asked if he had Lieutenants. Yes, he could have said, one is a caustic self-proclaimed ***** and the other is a drunken human with a cat and a fish for a mother and father, who has a gun called variously Johnson or Boner.

He did not, of course, say any of those things.

"No, we're not a part of the castle guard. Technically we oversee the Hybrids that live in all Hyrule, though since many of our recruits come from the Hylian Knights, or Castle Town itself, we've been localized to the Town here for a long time. We don't have much to do with the guard, truth be told. The nobility are sufficiently protected as is," Rwaht said, his tone free of resentment. Normally, it was a touchy topic with him, but he could tell that Riku had asked only out of ignorance. "We accept all kinds, though. Half-bloods of any mixture, as my own Lieutenants can attest."

Rwaht paused and looked at the sword at the boy's side. He was struck by a thought.

"Tell me, can you use that sword of yours?"

[riku]

Riku didn't know that such a group existed. If he had actually succeeded in what he was doing earlier then it was likely he'd have been directed their way. Once people found out about his wing, that is. Riku was fairly certain that the people he'd been with before passing out still thought he was a human. Ah, but those thoughts were better left for another time.

"Huh? Uh... yeah. At least, for a little while."

Riku had been broken out of his musings on the events that led to his most recent fainting spell by Rawht's sudden inquiry. Because of the surprise he hadn't the chance to think about his answer and the bit of depression he carried over his many obstacles managed to slip out through an additional, unnecessary sentence. One he didn't realize he had added.

It didn't escape the teen that if Rawht was a leader of recruited hybrid warriors then his question might have a business side to it rather than being pure friendliness. Sadly that slight possibility didn't inspire too much hope in him after how his last few days in Hyrule Castle Town had gone. So, stifling said hopes, he approached the door of the shop he'd been heading for.

[Rwaht]

Rwaht watched Riku curiously, wondering what was going on in that head of his. "For a little while" ... what could that mean? Maybe he lacked stamina? Perhaps it had something to do with the observed need for water. He watched as the young man slumped a little, and he suddenly felt compelled to try and help him as best he could. There was something sad about him that struck home.

"Well, would you like to learn how to use it? And maybe how to use it longer?" Rwaht asked, stepping ahead of Riku and opening the door of the shop ahead of him. He looked at the boy and raised an eyebrow, gesturing into the shop with his free hand. "You seem like a good lad, Riku. The world could do with more people like you. However, given the number of people in the world who are not quite so gentle, I find it is often necessary to learn how to defend oneself. And others, if need be."

He let the sentence hang. Rwaht had a very strange sense of humour.

[riku]

As Rawht let the sentence hang Riku's eyes widened, so little only someone as observant as the Praetor was would even be able to notice it. Was this it? Were his dreams being given a chance to come true? Was someone going to teach him how to protect what he loved? Every single thing Riku had ever done had been obscured by obstacles and hurdles. Having something like this drop right into his lap right after it had seemed to be pushed farther way then ever before... and there came the downer. Thoughts of how the dream had seemed to be pushed away reminded Riku of the day's earlier events and his eyes quickly returned to normal. He smiled again, but it was sad now.

"When you find out what led me to falling in the street back there you might want to take back your offer," he explained his change in expression with. "Don't worry, I won't be hurt if you change your mind."

Truly he wouldn't be Riku thought as he entered the opened door and took his four empty glass bottles out, requesting five water refills to the man behind the counter. The hybrid understood why he wasn't usually allowed to follow his desire to protect people. It just seemed sad that he couldn't.

[Rwaht]

Rwaht watched the boy's face, with some degree of satisfaction. It was nice to see his eyes widen--not much, but Rwaht looked closer at faces and body language than most people--for a few moments, so looking forward to what Rwaht suspected was a privately nursed dream. Learning how to use a sword hadn't been Rwaht's dream so much as something he was fiercely determined to do; that determination had been tested quite hard when he realized how many hours of agonizing, repetitive drills were involved, how there weren't so many lessons as there were days of teaching your muscles to remember which way to move. Of course there were finer, more complex points, but those usually came later, unless Riku knew quite a bit about swordplay already. Then Riku's smile seemed to evaporate.

"Hm. I don't think you need to worry about that," Rwaht said calmly. He already had his suspicions about what Riku's weaknesses were, and if he was right then they would, of course, be hugely problematic; but that wasn't a problem, it was a challenge. Challenges could be overcome, and the process would produce a better warrior and a better person out of it.

"I'll pay for the water," Rwaht said, walking in front of Riku and producing his own flask and putting it on the counter. When the man went to fill the bottles, Rwaht spoke over one shoulder to Riku. "That was me taking control of a situation, taking it away from you, without giving you a chance to respond. Of course just now I'm only being infuriating and rude. If I was doing it with a sword you'd probably have fun new holes to examine. So, there's lesson one. Never let someone do what I just did." He was joking, of course. But there was a hint of truth to it.

[riku]

Riku looked up to Rawht again only after he had finished taking out his wallet, placing the required number of appropriately-coloured Rupees on the counter by reaching past the man in front of him now, and put it back into the pouch behind his cloak. Even though this was done after the speech it wasn't in some reaction to the fellow hybrid's words and the lesson given because Riku's body language hadn't stalled for even a moment. The half-Oocca already long suspected that Rawht might be the type to decline his offer to pay for the refill and so simply did what he sometimes did when people refused: He quietly ignored the offer and made sure he proceeded to pay anyway.

Back to the present Riku clicked in that his proceeding to pay defied what had been said to him. The teen looked back down to the gems briefly before turning back to Rawht, who had said he would pay but hadn't actually offered the money yet.

"Is lesson two that actions speak louder than words?" the shorter man offered with an amused shrug. Rawht's insistence wasn't wholly unexpected. Riku found that mean people tended to keep acting mean and nice people tended to keep acting nice. This guy was just continuing to act nice. Was he ready to accept that it wouldn't end, though? Hope had always been a big part of Riku's life. No reason to fully throw that away. Losing the amusement he'd had before Riku looked back to the now-filling bottles with self-reflection.

"I tried to join the Hylian Knights," he explained, realizing that more had to be said than that. "Twice, that is. I guess they didn't notice I was a hybrid or they'd have pointed me toward the Sentinels already. I don't look like much though so I had to pass a basic exercise drill as a first test."

Riku shook his head and looked back to Rawht, his expression not sad but rather understanding. The boy knew his lot in life, he just hoped to do the most he possibly could with it.

"Even with four bottles of water I could barely finish half of it. To say I'm not cut out for fighting is an understatement."

[Rwaht]

Rwaht grinned.

"No, lesson two is that shopkeeps typically do what the guy with the big scary title tells them to do," he said, picking up the rupees and shoving them in Riku's hand. "I'm afraid you'll have to forgive me this one. As a rule I don't accept money from others for doing my job." When Rwaht heard his story, however, a brief shadow of displeasure passed over his face, though it vanished quickly.

"The Hylian Knights care more about blood than anything else. Some of their leadership is different, but the infrastructure is full of more swollen heads than a field of drowned lettuce."

He tactfully left out the time they'd tried to have him hanged. When Riku explained his condition, Rwaht nodded. He'd expected as much.

"Your body isn't cut out for fighting, I think. You, however, that is another matter. We'll think of something, even if the elegant solution is to strap a dozen bottles onto you," Rwaht said, his mind working towards a solution. He didn't have one yet, of course, but he had ideas. They were all highly improbable and very stupid.

Well, have to start somewhere.

The shopkeep returned with the water, and Rwaht quickly took his flask and returned it to his side. He looked at Riku.

"It'll be tough. But if you really want to, I can teach you how to fight. And when we're sure you can handle yourself, I can give you a job."

[riku]

Riku, still showing a clear respect for the Knights and anyone who took up arms in the name of peace, was a little ruffled by Rwaht's comments about them. Still, Orin himself was a part of the very group of people that Riku admired and he wasn't one to directly cross an authority figure like that. He was apparently a leader among their ranks, after all.

"The Knights can't be all bad," Riku offered without trying to sound defensive or protestant. He just genuinely thought it was true. The one-winged Oocca collected his refilled bottles and returned them to his item pouch. "The only reason Hyrule is at peace, why people like me can live here safely and be taken care of, if because people like them all over the country put their lives on the line to keep it that way, right?"

It was Rwaht's final words that really shook the teenager. It was all spelled out plainly. Even if he wasn't able to really join any groups officially because of his condition, this man was still willing to teach the hybrid personally anyway. Riku, living as he has, learned long ago not to reject the kindness of others because of pride.

Seeming to be lost in thought or awed by Rwaht's generosity Riku seemed about to say more when his eyes darted over to the shopkeeper. The man was now expecting his Rupees and was clearly listening in on their conversation, which seemed to still the blue-haired boy's tongue for a moment. He wasn't too shy though so even personal matters like this he wouldn't hold back entirely, not when his dreams seemed within reach.

"You would really... take me as a student," he said, not as a question but as reassurance to himself that he wasn't dreaming. Hope filled his face as the warrior-to-be looked at his new guide. "You'll teach me how to protect people?"

Well, that was what Riku really wanted. Whether he was suited to fighting or not he didn't care. The boy just wanted to be suited to keeping people safe somehow.

[Rwaht]

Rwaht's grin remained fixed, as he pulled a few rupees out of his pouch. He turned to the shopkeep and asked,

"How much do I owe you? Ah. Here you go," Rwaht muttered. Then he turned back to Riku.

"You are right, of course ... they're not all bad. But there are a few bad eggs," Rwaht said knowingly, remembering exactly how it felt to have a noose around his neck. As he recalled it felt like injustice and white-rot rage, but maybe that was his memory colouring things a bit. He smirked, then dismissed the thought. It was perhaps best saved for another time.

It was, however, deeply entertaining to see the ... happiness, or hope, or whatever, springing up on Riku's face. Yes, Rwaht thought, I'll train you how to protect others, though you might want to jump off a tall building halfway through. Rwaht had learned things the hard way, and he didn't really know any other way to teach people. But the hard way, Rwaht noted, produced results.

"The first time wasn't some cruel trick," Rwaht said dryly. "Yes. I'll teach you how to use that sword, come hell or high water. High water in this case being, I think, ideal." He clapped the boy on the back, perhaps a bit harder than he'd meant to. Those clothes made him seem larger than he actually was. "All right, now. Do you have anywhere to be?"

[riku]

"No. Not yet, at least," Riku answered after recovering quickly from the hard clap on his body. Being both small and light he was used to dealing with impacts that were tougher on him than they were supposed to be.

Not yet. For the first time the yet didn't seem so far away. Oh it was still far, but now Riku believed that it might actually exist at all. He made his way out of the store and back onto the streets of Hyrule Castle Town, the fresh air filling his lungs with a more invigorating feeling than it had before. He didn't just have purpose now, he also had a path to follow. After going from being without to having anything at all he wasn't about to complain because it would be hard. The blue-haired boy's gaze was drawn upward to the cloudy sky. Somewhere up there was his home and his family. Somewhere up there were people he wanted to inspire.

"I won't have anywhere to go myself for a while, it seems. Not until I can be what I want to be for my family."

Riku turned back to Rwaht, smiling but showing much more determination now.

"Big brothers are supposed to be able to make life better for the ones that come after them, right? When I can do that, then I'll finally have someplace to be."

[Rwaht]

"All right then, that's perfect. Come on, we're going to take you to the castle and get you some gear. Whether or not you join the Sentinels is up to you, of course, but the armour will help keep you alive. And it's light," Rwaht said helpfully, "So it shouldn't be too demanding. If it is, well, wearing it will help you develop the strength you'll need."

Rwaht seemed to pause at the boy's last words, and for a moment shut his eyes. Big brothers ... yeah, Riku had the right idea about what big brothers were supposed to do. Rwaht, as it happened, hadn't been a very good one. He found himself admiring Riku's determination more and more, and promised himself he'd help the young swordsman learn how to protect those he cared for. It only felt right.

"You're right," Rwaht said, after a long pause. He realized his eyes were still shut. He opened them and turned towards Hyrule Castle. "Come on, it's over this way. We're planning to get additional barracks in other cities, soon ... but for now this is where we're centred. Now let's find you a suit of armour that can accommodate a single wing, hm?"