Out with the old

It all happened so fast, he didn't know about Kite's personal grudge but he knew he'd throw his support behind her any day. She was, ultimately, his biggest blind spot. Because deep down he understood. He harboured the same anger and resentment she did. He'd just internalized it where his sister had always externalized it.

He heard the snap, saw the way her leg dragged and he grit his teeth. 2 years, his whole life's worth of resentment bubbling so close to his throat. And Charlie... Fuckin' Charlie. "Dad's not perfect Charlie, grow up!" He growled, a gentle bump on Riya's shoulder was all she needed to dash off after Kite. "Before him Dad's heir was someone who tormented us. Me, Kite, Vanta. He hated us. Do you know what he did to our sisters? He pushed Kite's face into a fire. Broke out sister's toes. And he stayed in power." He shifted steely gaze to look at his nephew as he continued. "The one thing I've promised myself since Azure left was that I'd never let anyone treat us like that again. His son or not." It was a message for his brother more than Basilisk but he wanted to twist the knife a bit. "Unfortunately his son is exactly the man I feared he might be." Then he spun around and stormed his way towards the caverns of the Col. He had one objective and one objective only. Make sure Kite and Stratum were safe, that his nephew couldn't hurt them. He'd drag his brother kicking and screaming from the Col if he had to. But they were the ones who needed to get away the most.

-Exit Crux-

"Speech"