"I can't do this Linh, and you know it." Tam was laying down on his bed, glaring at the ceiling.
"You saw what Umber did, how she injured Sophie and Fitz," when he said this, he sat up and hugged his knees, "No elf should have that power. Why did I agree train with Lady Zillah again?"
Linh rolled her eyes. For a supposedly surly emo boy, her brother sure was dramatic.
"Hello?? I want to talk to Common Sense. They seem to have left your brain." She splashed her brother's face, laughing at his scowl.
"Lighten up, dear brother. I understand this may be a serious matter, but you aren't thinking clearly. No elf should have the power, but Umber has it anyway. Isn't it better to be able to defend ourselves from it?" Linh smiled at the sulking boy, encouraging him, but internally, she was rolling her eyes. It was as if they switched personalities.
Tam sighed as he unwound his arms and flopped back to his previous position. His sister was right of course, he was just grasping for excuses.
"I know you're right, it's just... Sophie's supposed to be the one with all powerful abilties and it's just..it's just..." Linh, to her credit, patiently waited for him to finish on his own, as he struggled to express his emotions in words.
"When Elwin hailed me over, I admit I didn't know what to expect," he finally said, quietly. "But one person did that to them. A shade. Well, a shade with some help." He amended. "I was scared of course, but I just labeled Umber as evil. And I put whatever creepy stuff she did in the because-they're-evil category." Tam shuddered. And Linh nodded sympathetically.
"But then Lady Zillah explained the shadowvapor. And still, it didn't worry me as much. But when she said I have incredible potential, it..it scared me."
Linh hugged him, and even saw tears trickling down his cheek. He was always strong. Trying to protect them. Protect her. And she could tell it was her turn to comfort him.
"Do you remember when we went to Ravagog?" She asked gently, her arms still around her twin. Tam snorted, which gave Linh hope.
"Of course I do, who can forget? It's when we got involved in the trouble that seems to follow Sophie everywhere," he said with a hint of a smile.
"I learned something, from that trip. When I flooded part of the city?" Linh thought about it, and added a bit more. "And when I plugged the hole in Atlantis. That no matter how much we're scared of that potential and power, it'll be there. So we either shrink away and waste it," she sent a determined glance to Tam, "or we utilize it. I think Sophie's learned that as well."
Tam's slight smile grew bigger, and he hugged his sister back. "When did you get so wise again?" She giggled.
"Maybe I always was and you were just too thick to realize it." She teased back, before hopping off the bed.
"I think I'll go give Wylie a visit. And I think you," she said pointing her finger, "should talk to Lady Zillah." Tam groaned, and Linh was relieved to see he seemed back to normal.
But Linh would still remember that moment, when Tam finally allowed himself to seem vulnerable.