Private Sibling's bond

[Aknoby]

Aknoby walked cautiously toward where Iandre was standing; he knew the planet was as beautiful as it was deadly.

He wasn't wearing military fatigues, but his boots looked like a civilian version of military boots,
designed to protect against venomous creatures that might attack his shins.

"Iandre"

He called out without stepping through the door. He suspected she had sensed him from miles away, unless she was completely distracted.He waits smiling

Iandre Athlea

 

[Iandre Athlea]

Iandre had sensed him long before he reached the doorway, but where she ordinarily might have called out first, today she hadn't. She sat at a desk covered in papers and datapads overlooking the Sanctuary grounds, the warm Veradune air drifting through the open windows, though little actual work was being accomplished, given she had been staring at the same page for ten minutes. At the sound of her name, she finally looked up and simply regarded him for a moment before a smile broke through her defenses despite herself. Aknoby always possessed a remarkable ability to bypass the walls she didn't realize she was maintaining.

"You know," she said, leaning back slightly in her chair with a familiar dryness, "most people use doors. Though I suppose on Veradune, those boots may qualify as proper survival equipment." The smile lingered for only a second before softening into something heavier. If he paid attention, he would feel the anger. It would never be directed at him, but present all the same as her grief slowly transformed into frustration, resentment, and a thousand unanswered questions she was increasingly tired of carrying.

Yet, somehow, seeing him standing there made the weight feel a little lighter. "Come in, Aknoby," she invited genuinely, a faint spark of humor touching her eyes. "Unless you've decided to remain in the hallway dramatically smiling at me, in which case I should probably be concerned. It's good to see you."

Aknoby

 

[Aknoby]

I roll my eyes with a smile and walk inside
"The boots are because I heard this planet is full of tiny poisonous animals and plants and who knows what else."

I chuckle softly and quickly look around
"You've made yourself a cozy little spot."

I look at the table piled with files and a data pad but say nothing
"Are you settling in well here?"


Iandre Athlea

 

[Iandre Athlea]

Iandre followed his glance toward the desk, briefly considering hiding the datapads before letting out a quiet, heavy breath.

"You are very kind to call it cozy," she murmured, the corner of her mouth lifting with a trace of dry humor that faded almost as quickly as it appeared. "I believe most people would call it a nest of paperwork."

Her eyes drifted toward the open window, where Veradune's endless forests stretched out: vibrant, beautiful, and entirely indifferent to the things people lost.

"As well as I can, little brother," she admitted, the title carrying a quiet, protective affection, even if the honesty behind it felt fragile. "The dangers here have not found me yet, though I have not given them much opportunity. I have not gone out much."

It wasn't the untamed wilderness of the planet that kept her trapped inside, but the suffocating weight of her own mind; grief had shrunk her world down to the walls of this room, and a simmering, quiet anger lived just beneath the surface, exhausting her with the sheer effort it took to simply keep moving forward.

Yet, as she looked at him, the tension in her shoulders eased slightly, replaced by a profound sense of relief at seeing someone safe, someone who belonged to a time before everything shattered.

Leaning back against the desk, her voice softened, carrying a genuine warmth she hadn't felt in months.

"What about you? How have you been? And do not give me the abbreviated version, Aknoby. I think I have earned the full story."

Aknoby

 

[Aknoby]

"We faced a disease that spread throughout the Order, but we had outside help to deal with it. We lost some people, but we carried on, and now we're entering a new alliance. From what I understand, this group seems quite altruistic, and you'll have a lot of freedom as part of it."

He looks pensive

"Our father seems to have become a bit more protective since you left. I'd say he's been a lot more annoying toward me, not letting me have much autonomy."

I cross my arms and huff.

Iandre Athlea

 

[Iandre Athlea]

Iandre listened quietly as Aknoby spoke, relieved to hear that the Order had endured. The mention of losses tightened something in her chest, but there was comfort in knowing they had survived. A faint smile appeared when he mentioned their father becoming more protective. "I suspect that has less to do with you and more to do with the fact that I disappeared." The smile softened. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about that."

Her gaze drifted toward the window for a moment before returning to him. "Not for leaving. I needed to. If I had stayed, I would have kept pretending everything was fine until I broke completely. But I do regret how suddenly it happened." The admission carried a quiet weight to it. "I left Laphisto carrying more than anyone should have been asked to carry. I left you. And part of me still feels guilty about that, even knowing I wasn't helping anyone by staying. The truth is that my head wasn't on straight, Aknoby. I was angry. At the galaxy. At what happened. At people who didn't deserve it. Some days I still am."

A small, self-aware smile touched her lips. "Turns out running away to find yourself is significantly less glamorous than the stories make it sound." The warmth returned to her expression as she looked at him. "But hearing that you're still here, that the Order is moving forward, and that you've all managed to build something new... I think that's exactly what I needed to hear."

Aknoby