Forerunner

The moment Dragon started speaking the shit he was saying, Lykos completely stiffened. At the same time, anger flashed through his eyes. Why did he even try? Why did he even try explaining himself or his thought process? How could he have possibly thought that Dragon would actually try thinking in his paws? Or even just thought about it in a manner that wasn't a closed-minded 'I'm right, you're wrong'. He never once before tried to understand Lykos' perspective. He never once tried to talk to Lykos after the whole incident went down. He just assumed that his - their - mother was a god, and always right. That her views couldn't be skewed of the situation. That she was unbiased. But then again, he never cared about unbiased, huh? Not ever. It wasn't even worth the fucking try.

That wasn't what Gryphon thought, though, and that was why Lykos had tried. And secretly, he had hope inside too. He hoped that Dragon would actually listen. That instead of getting angry, instead of getting butthurt and instantly assuming that himself was right and everyone else (read: Lykos) was wrong, that he'd listen. And try to understand, even if he didn't. Gryphon had hoped that too, and it was all in vain.

It wasn't until Dragon spoke those final words that Lykos' eyes flashed in raw pain... and anger. How dare he? How dare Dragon try to take that away? Only then did Lykos respond, moments before Gryphon himself exploded in anger. "Do you think that will make me want to be by your side?" he hissed. "Do you think that being so closed-minded, that being so insistent that you're right and I'm wrong will make me want to have a relationship with you? This is why I don't. Do you think that behavior, which is all you've shown me in over a year, makes me want to have you as family? No. It makes me ashamed to have you as family, because my own brother isn't even mature enough to listen to other sides of a story. That he isn't mature enough to see other perspectives. That he isn't mature enough to actually care for his family, because if my so-called brother cared... then you'd have listened when I needed someone to listen the most!"

He didn't even know why he bothered answering. He already knew how Dragon would respond. Dragon would respond that Lykos didn't come to Dragon. He would respond by, of course, blaming it all on Lykos. He didn't come to Dragon. He didn't try explaining first. He hid away. He tried leaving. And Dragon would never understand that the reason Lykos didn't approach him was because he couldn't trust his brother. He never could. He couldn't know. He couldn't trust his brother to ever try understanding a different perspective than his own view. He couldn't trust his brother to ever be mature enough to admit it when he was wrong. He could never trust his brother to make an unbiased decision. He could never trust his brother to ever make a decision regarding a situation where someone else was displeased. Lykos would never win this; it was why he never bothered with Dragon... or Kharnage. For all their preaching, they sure as hell turned their back pretty quick. Sure as hell never gave any effort. And when something went wrong, they were all to happy to abandon him and say that of course he was a traitor. And of course he was even more a traitor when he wanted to leave and get out of such a toxic environment.

Lykos' head had slowly dropped where he was staring at the ground, and he lifted his head again at Gryphon's words. He had half been listening, but what Gryphon was saying never really sunk in until Lykos himself was mentioned. Then it sunk in. Gryphon spoke of similar things that Lykos had thought, and on top of that, when mentioning him... he stared at his brother with wide eyes, emotion roiling through them. A mixture of pain, gratitude, appreciation, admiration and love. And when Gryphon officially issued the challenge, Lykos said nothing more, instead silent.

When Gryphon spoke to him, Lykos nearly nodded - until, of course, he realized that Gryphon was still fully focused on his other brother. "I will," Lykos replied just as quietly, before adding sadly, "His reaction is why I want to leave. They all act like that, except you." He twitched at the 'no matter what happens' part, knowing that if Dragon tried hurting Gryphon, Lykos would want to interfere. And he'd be torn, between helping Gryphon, and following Gryphon's wishes. Lykos hoped it didn't come to that.

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art by birmapus