Burning in her flame

He listened to her every word in silence, feeling as she wrapped herself around him to hide the boy from the storms outside. He remained silent, staring wide eyed at the darkened wall beside them. Every word she spoke resonated within him, and more and more silent and still he became, untill soon he wasn't even jolting at the booming of the sky. Flashes of lightening would highlight his face and their cave, but he remained still, thinking it over, listening to her.

"You're right..." He breathed after a while, closing his cloudy eyes finally. Everything she said was right, and he felt terrible, foolish. Voltage acted as if his every move was for the sake of their family, but perhaps that was just a poor disguise for his own sorrows. He had longed so desperately for a home, for a fix to this agony he constantly felt within him that he had acted without really thinking of his siblings. Sure, he had always had their well being in mind, but he didn't consider their feelings fully. "I just...see you still as the little fluff ball of attitude that I had to leave behind when mother sent us from the family...As the young woman we gathered and brought to Alacritis that needed our guidance..." They were all growing up now, they were all adults. They could easily leave and start their lives if they so chose and Voltage could do nothing to stop it. But they were also old enough to make their own choices, and help the eldest brothers lead them.

She was right, Voltage was not her parent, but her brother. Her damaged, overly protective, emotional older brother.

He sighed then and turned to nuzzle his nose into her fur, his eyes still closed. "I'm so selfish..forgive me, my princess." He whispered weakly, lifting his head to press kisses along her neck if she would allow it. Stormy eyes lifted open, blinking through the mist that had gathered. "Perhaps we have taken the job of eldest a little too far..We don't want to dictate your lives, Serefina. We thought it was the best for our family..." They should have all done it together, he knew that now. With a careful sigh he shifted to his other side, moving to slip out of her embrace to fully look at his sister.

"When did you grow up?" He asked with a gentle smile, tilting his head. He could tell, she was maturing, growing into her own. Her fire still help its hot angry bite, but she seemed to have more control over it. "You used to be so small, Glacier could have crushed you by accident. When did that change?" He sighed then and shifted to nuzzle his head against her again, breathing in her scent, feeling her warmth and protection. When she said they would bunk together he laughed softly, grinning. "Of course, if you don't mind family sleepovers from time to time." He said with a grin. He had lost too much time not spending nights with his family thanks to their circumstances, he needed the warmth of each of his siblings as comfort still.

"I love you so dearly, I will never do anything to intentially upset you. You're stubborn, I'm misguided.." He said with a grin then, laying his head back down on his paws and sighing. "Perhaps we should...pass on the torch, as it were." He whispered then, closing his eyes as emotional exhaustion took over him. Perhaps he wasn't suitable to help lead their family, perhaps he should stay back.

He was, after all, the misnamed one.

With a sigh he thought of the conversations he had with Terrae, with Solaris and Astrea, and he decided he wanted Serefina's input aswell. "Sister, what do you believe came first, our connection to our given elements, or the names? Were we named for our connection, or do we feel it due to what our parents named us?" He asked in a tired voice, flicking his tail to lay over Serefina's as he soaked in her warmth, waiting for her thoughts on it.