It had taken him long enough to show, Predak thought, sitting up contemptuously on the cot, and she wasn't going to make it easier for him.
Gelltor had strode down the hall with head held high, trying to give the impression to the rats and any sneakily watching siblings that he was unconcerned, that he was definitely not sneaking, but Predak could tell otherwise. She could see the yellow cowardice flecking every swish of his tail and overdone attempt at composure when he strode into the infirmary, really slinking.
Gelltor approached her cot, poleaxe in paw. He hesitated and glanced at Predak before he took his seat, but he did it nonetheless. His dark cloak settled around his shoulders and in a cascade down the chair. Only one rat was working in the infirmary, and Gelltor gave them a sour warning glare to hasten their departure. Predak listened to their footsteps as they skittered towards the door. When it slammed shut, she and Gelltor were left in dusty silence in the infirmary's filtering light.
"So my dear brother arrives," Predak said.
"How's your leg?" Gelltor said, ignoring her scorn and leaning on his poleaxe. Predak stretched to touch her splinted and cast bound leg.
"Well enough," Predak said.
The silence wobbled between them as stiffly as Predak on her crutches. Gelltor grew irritated at the silence, and Predak could see his ears flicking back, but his ground his teeth on his tongue to hold it. His tail bristled in clumps. Predak didn't know if hers was doing the same.
"Vannan said you could walk again," Gelltor said, breaking the deadlock first.
"Aye," Predak said. Her claws curled around the crutch lying next to her.
The break hadn't been too severe, and only after a few days of being bed-bound, she was able to stagger around the infirmary. Mokkan's mouth had quirked as he watched her, resisting the urge to give voice to a bevy of snide comments. Predak was too intent on making her sore, bruised body move to focus on him or care if he did.
Mokkan abandoned the room when he realized his sister wasn't permanently damaged,and Vannan and Ascrod showed up to alleviate her boredom and snipe at Ziral simultaneously, who was there to terrorize the scant infirmary staff with her presence and to snipe about how Predak needed to watch her step. Lantur showed up around evening, and after she was done making pithy comments about her sister being a half cripple, she settled down to tie her loose bandages into bows before disappearing into the castle's bowels.
The only one who hadn't shown up other than a few lazy seconds at the infirmary door was Gelltor. A lack of loud quarrels in the infirmary, Predak thought, could be explained easily. The remaining family was united in the predatory wait to see Gelltor arrive. They could smell Predak's silent, building fury as well as they could blood. They wordlessly yearned to see Gelltor fall to it, and tended to Predak as much as possible to make sure the fire would be well stoked and strong when he arrived, binding their time as they did.
It was no coincidence they had all innocently disappeared from the infirmary hall today.
They didn't even know the true reason for her anger or the quarrel, Predak thought. She would make certain they never would. Ire rose up her spine, placing a bitter taste in her mouth and making her leg ache. But if it was a fight they wanted to see—they were going to get their fill of that.
"When are you goin' to get out of here?" Gelltor grew more tense and confident as Predak refused to go along with him. "It isn't that bad."
"Mayhaps when my leg is well and ready to let me out," Predak said, "and if you're that impatient for me to get up, you should've thought of that before you lost your temper and shoved me, don't you think?" Her voice curdled to arctic levels. Gelltor glared at her. "If I needed more useless conversation with a brother of mine, I would call back Ascrod and Mokkan; I prefer it from them."
"Since when do you talk to Ascrod and Mokkan at once in your free time?" Gelltor demanded.
"Since they showed up to see me at the same time," Predak said. "Funny, I notice you've come visitin' when none of the other siblings are here. How convenient for you. You don't have to be ashamed they'd see Gelltor the useless sneakin' back to see his smarter half."
Gelltor winced. Predak was glad of it.
"You pressed the argument!" Gelltor said. He bristled, but he refused to press any closer than his chair already was. "Hellgates, I was tired of everyone thinkin' I couldn't do anything without you. I just wanted you to back off for a while."
"Back off from what, tryin' to prevent you from doin' something stupid and tryin' to help myself? Your inadequacy isn't my problem, Gelltor; deal with it yourself. 'I don't want you around' I'm not a shadow you get to order about like some rat, brother, and I won't bite my tongue and make myself dumb to maintain your stupid pride. Let Mokkan mock you all he wants."
Gelltor shut up when Predak snapped at him, showing her teeth. She withdrew, crossing her arms and sitting on the bed, fuming. He hadn't shown up for many reasons, one of them being that Predak would've snarled at him and given him the cold shoulder until he departed without getting anything in but hurt pride. Gelltor knew the exact amount of time to let her cool.
But it angered her he hadn't tried, Predak thought, cool tears of rage building up in her eyes. It angered her he hadn't came and tried to apologize only to be thrown out when he knew he would. She hated him for not trying when he knew he would fail, and she would've hated him for trying, because then she would've thought he knows better and her heart would've bled and frozen at the betrayal. But Predak didn't know which hatred she would rather be feeling.
Gelltor remained silent until the unshed tears and sliver of bared teeth vanished. He knew Predak too well to believe that speaking a minute earlier would've been a good idea.
"The cliff was small," he said. "You wouldn't've died no matter how you fell off. I lost my temper, but I didn't mean to… I was tryin' to hurt you, but I didn't want to kill you; I was just tired of…" Gelltor shrank with every word. He fumbled through the ceremony, tail tucking between his legs and loathing its shame. "...I'm sorry."
Predak's leg ached in an angry burst of pain the same instant her heart lightened.
I'm sorry. Rare words to hear from Gelltor, even ones muttered to her. Far, far too rare compared to his usual snaps and bursts of temper, though he regretted those without words. But she didn't care about those. Those were just Gelltor. She cared about the fact he had pushed her turned back over a cliff, apology or not. Predak burned on the inside just thinking about it. Oh, Mokkan would be having a parade if he knew the truth of things, she thought, her jaw setting. Gelltor sat nearby, trying to look as if he didn't care and wasn't fearfully awaiting her answer to his apology.
...well, fine, Predak thought. Something clicked into place within her anger. He wanted her to accept his apology? She would. After all, no matter how angry she was at Gelltor, he was her only close ally, and she knew it. Gelltor had to know the same thing. They depended on their alliance to survive. If he wanted the acceptance of his sister, fine; he would get it, Predak thought, and nothing more. She would need Gelltor but she wouldn't need him, the same way Mokkan and the rest needed him but didn't need him, and damn him if he thought otherwise. Predak's heart flinched at the stitches jerking it back together, her back still burning where his paws had shoved her.
"...I accept your apology," Predak said. Gelltor blinked and untensed when he heard her reply. Predak picked up her crutch and graciously extended her paw, letting Gelltor help pull her out of the cot. "After all, I can't stay mad at my sibling forever, now can I? T'would be unreasonable. Get the door for me, would you?"
Gelltor opened the door. Predak limped out on her crutches, her relieved brother behind her.
"The others are goin' to be surprised to see you out," Gelltor said. He sped up, trying to fall into his usual place beside her. "They'll have plenty to snipe about."
Crack. Gelltor narrowly dodged Predak's crutch slamming down where his next step would've been, and he stumbled back to avoid it.
"That they will," Predak said sweetly. Gelltor trailed behind her instead of level with her, wincing. Predak went down the hall as fast as she could on her crutches with her head held high, not bothering to see if he kept up. "And we'll have plenty to tell them, won't we, brother?"
They trailed towards the stairs leading down to the main hall, the echoes of Predak's crutches following in her wake like Gelltor.
They were Predak and Gelltor Marlfox, and they were not the smartest, or the oldest or the cleverest, or the youngest or the prettiest. They could not take on the rising heirs Mokkan or Ziral or Vannan on their own, or outdo the childish charisma of Lantur or Ascrod. The only ones they could possibly handle on their own were each other.
And Predak had learned to guard her back from her other equal, because defeating each other was the only victory they could get.
A.N: Why no, I am not dead! Busy doing nothing and enjoying the last remnants of my break, for certain, but not dead. I hope everyone has a happy New Year. —MS