Rosethorn Hall, Residence of Wisteria Avorthal, Arch-Mage - 4E 1 17th of Frostfall

A knock at the door, followed by the click of the latch as the door is pulled open. Westron steps in and removes his coat, handing it over to Eyja who gives a small, yet respectful, bow before hanging the jacket over arm and turning to a small closet.

Eyja: Her usual self. Ready to server and eager to please. "Good-day, Master Westron. Lady Wisteria is waiting in the sitting room, she's asked that you join her at your earliest convenience." Eyja hangs the coat and retrieves her own. "She's asked that I take my break early today, but I have prepared a table with tea and mead and treats. Please help yourself." Eyja exits after wrapping a coat around her shoulders, as it was rather late into the Autumn and there was a chill in the air.

Westron: Reserved, he has a neutral face but gives off an air of... emotional distress. "Very well, good day Eyja." He nodded to her as she exited the manor and walked down the hall to the sitting room.

Wisteria sits off to the right, by the fireplace, and appears to be rather engrossed in a book. Westron makes his way into the room and helps himself to a candied apple slice and pours himself a glass of mead. Wisteria, legs crossed, places the book on a table to her right and gives her brother a heavy stare.

Wisteria: "Sit down, Westron. We need to talk." Her voice, as usual, is no nonsense, and is supported by her serious tone. She gestures to an open armchair and waits a moment.

Westron scowls for a moment, his back to his sister, before turning with a faux smile and sits down. Even sitting, his sister's form towers over him, and he has to look up even from across the room.

Westron: "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call dear sister?" He pops another candied apple in his mouth. "You're often too busy for social visits."

Wisteria uncrosses her legs and then recrosses them the other way, folding her hands neatly over her knee. She sits in her armchair, specially designed and significantly larger than the other furniture in the room, as is required to fit her height.

Wisteria: "I did not call you here socially, Westron." Westron pops another candied apple in his mouth and Wisteria's eye twitches ever so slightly. She waves a finger and the apples in his hands vanish in flame. Westron is unfazed, and she continues. "I'm not blind, Westron. Perhaps you think I am, but I am careful to keep tabs on all of my associates, especially my little brother. You've been busy, Westron."

Westron folds his arms and looks away, receding into the chair, clearly displeased with the topic of conversation. "What I get up to on my own time is none of your business Wisteria. I am not a child to be sheltered and ordered about, nor am I a servant. What I do is what I do, and has nothing at all to do with you. So kindly shove off."

Wisteria narrows her eyes until two small slits of blue are all that is visible. "Your business becomes mine when it leaves behind bodies. Sithis?!" She hisses the name. "Are you so foolish that you would have me save you from one Daedra then you would willingly bind yourself to a similar entity so easily? Not only that, but we spent months on end protecting the same people that you now so non chalantly MURDER."

Westron stands quickly, turning away from his sister, but finds himself shoved squarely back into the armchair. He scowls. "Release me at once Wisteria, you've no right to keep me here."

Wisteria stands suddenly, rising to her full height. In a home built for smaller individuals and with Westron's arse planted firmly in his seat, she seems even taller than before. She towers over him, her torso curving so as to hover abovee him. "I am the Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild. Which exists not only to learn and teach magic, but also to PROTECT the Empire AND it's citizens. I sit on the Elder Council. I am sworn to protect the people of Cyrodill AND the provinces and you are a MURDER who has claimed the lives of dozens. I have every right to end your life here and now should I so choose." The fire flickers and the room grows dark as Wisteria seems to grow even larger, dwarfing the entirety of the room. Despite himself, Westron finds a trickle of fear filling his heart. He is powerful, of course, but is well aware of his sister's power. She sits down, smoothing out her dress as she crossed her legs. The room brightened again and she pursed her lips. "But I am also your sister. And though I don't often show it, Westron, I love you. Deeply. More than you know or may think. That is the only reason I've not brought you before the Elder Council to pay for your crimes. You will find other ways to do that. I need to know, though, Wes. Please tell me, of all things... why this."

Westron curls into himself, bringing his knees up into his chest and hiding his face in his knees and mumbles something incomprehensible."You wouldn't understand."

Wisteria purses her lips. "I may well not, I do not claim omniscience. I want you to tell me regardless."

Westron ignores her, continuing to hide himself from her view. Wisteria, as per usual, insists. "Westron, tell me. Now. Please."

Westron throws his arms out suddenly, standing now that Wisteria isn't actively holding him down. "Why do you care? You're never around. No one is. Emmerson ran off to be with his wife. Beren went off to be Guild Master of the Fighter's Guild. You're always somewhere else. Always too busy. I was alone, Wisteria. And Martin was dead. And then... then IT happened... and I was completely alone. And... everyone was still alive. The world went on like nothing happened! Like Martin was never there! Everyone got to go on with their lives pretending that he didn't die for them! They didn't DESERVE to live. MARTIN deserved to live! It's... it's not fair... I..." Westron looks at Wisteria's stoney expression. "See?! I TOLD you... you would NEVER understand. You've ALWAYS been alone. You don't care about any of us."

Wisteria crosses her legs again, folding her hands over her knee. "If I did not care, you would not be here. If I did not care, I would not know. I do not keep tabs on you for fun, or because I think you'll turn on me. I do it because I need to know that you're safe. And you were, you are. But you're not well."

Westron: "Leave me alone Wisteria."

Wisteria, standing. "Very well, Wes. But you are not the only one I brought here. There is someone else who would like to see you. Someone who's not been able to contact you because you've been too keen on disappearing." She turns to the door. "Come in."

Wisteria smooths her dress as Beren enters the room, nodding to Wisteria before turning to Westron. Wisteria takes his place at the door, and he sits on an armchair to Westron's right.

Wistera: "I will leave you alone Wes, for now, but I want you to know. This cannot continue. Your dealings with the Dark Brotherhood are over. I will have a close eye on you, and should I discover anymore involvement, I will sever your ties with them myself. Out of respect for you, I have not utterly destroyed them yet. But in due time."

Beren nods to her, even as Westron sinks back into himself. He does not note Beren's presence as he sinks back into himself. Wisteria takes her leaves, closing the door firmly behind her before vanishing, presumably to somewhere else on Mundus. All is quiet for a long while until Beren finally speaks.

Beren: "Hello, Westron." He pauses again. "It's good to see you again."

Westron remains quiet, not speaking, and another silence ensues, thought shorter than before.

Beren: "I've... tried contacting you. You know. I wrote letters, even sent them off. But they were always returned to me when you couldn't be found. Your house in the Imperial City is vacant, I think. And so is the one in ... I... brought them with, in case you wanted to read them."

Beren removes a stack of letters about 6 inches thick from his coat and places them on the coffee table in front of them. Westron peaks, albeit slightly, and something rises in him as he takes in the size of the stack. He realizes after a moment, that it's shame.

Beren: "W... Wisteria told me about what's going on. I... I can't condone what you did. I know your reason, but that doesn't make it right. What you're doing, what you did... it's evil Wes. And I know you're hurting. Martin... was a friend. His loss changed all of us. You most of all, I know, but even Wisteria... she puts on a good show. But she's hurting too. Martin, Baurus..." A lenghty pause. "Dorian. We lost a lot of friends... people we cared about that day."

Another long silence, this one longer than all the rest. Minutes long. It is broken by a heavy sigh from Beren as he begins to speak, but is interuppted by a choking sob from Westron, who suddenly starts batting at his eyes with his sleeve.

Westron: "It's... it's not fair Beren... why did Martin have to die... why did everything have to happen... why do I have to be so alone."

Suddenly, a flurry of movement. Beren is on his knees in front of Westron's chair. His arms wrapped securely around the other as he feels tears peak at the corner of his own eyes.

Beren: "No! Never alone, Wes. Never." He says, squeezing Wes tight. "It isn't fair. What they did was wrong. It wasn't fair. It never will be. But you're never alone. I know I wasn't always there. I lost someone too, and I disappeared. You needed someone, and I was gone and I'm sorry. But you're not alone. Wisteria and Emmerson hurt too, and they busied themselves rebuilding. And I ran away to mourn Dorian but I shouldn't have left you. I should've stayed with you."

Westron cried into Beren's shoulder, returning the embrace as they shared the moment. His sobs filled the house for what seemed like an eternity before he quieted, still in Beren's arms. Beren had begun combing his fingers through the other's black hair, his arms wrapped about him as he tried to calm him. When Westron quieted, he did not say a word, but Beren did.

Beren: "I'm sorry I left you behind. This is partially my fault. And I know changing now won't bring them back, but the hurt you're feeling... the people you've... you've killed... Westron. Imagine how their families must feel. They're hurting too. And I know it's not fair. But Martin died to save everyone. You, me, and every single person in Tamriel who's life was threatened by Dagon and the Mythic Dawn. Don't... don't let his death be in vain by killing the people he died to protect Westron. Don't... tear apart your soul the way you've been doing. If not for Wisteria, if not for the innocent people who don't deserve this. Do it for Martin. Do it... for me. Because I lost someone too. I lost Dorian. I lost Martin, a friend. I lost Baurus. I lost my mother. I lost people and I can't lose you."

Westron gripped Beren's shirt so hard his knuckles grew white. After a moment, he nodded into his chest.

Westron: "Okay." He mumbled.

Beren nodded as well, and crushed Wes into him again with a hug.

Beren: "We'll make it right. We'll do something to help those who've... been hurt by the Dark Brotherhood. We can't bring them back, and you'll have to live with that, but we can do something to make it... better."

Westron nodded again and then after a moment looked up to meet Beren's eyes. They're gazes met and held the others for several seconds before Westron leaned forward suddenly, pressing his lips to Beren's. Beren froze for a moment, but then returned the kiss, bring a tender, yet callused, hand to Westron's jaw, holding his face in his hand as they kissed. It was innocent at first, but deepened after a moment. Westron's hand travelled to Beren's belt, but Beren pushed him away, holding him at arm's length.

Beren: "No Wes, not now."

Westron, whining: "Please Beren, I need it."

Beren, shaking his head. "No Wes. You're not well. And... I love you. I... I want to explore this further. But not now. Not for a long time. Not until you're well again, okay?"

Westron searched for something to say, but found nothing and could only nod.

Beren nodded in return, and tilted the other's face up to meet his gaze. "My feelings for you never changed, Westron. I loved Dorian, I still do, but I never stopped loving you. I can give you what you want, as much as I may want to. Under better circumstances, I would give you everything you want. For hours. I would make love to you until you begged me to stop because I love you so much, but I can't. Not now. You understand?"

Westron nods once more, looking down.

Beren tilts his gaze up again, but Westron refuses to make eye contact. "Look at me, Wes. I can't give you what you want, but I can give you this."

He leans forward, then, and gently presses his lips to Westron's. Westron whines into the kiss, his body melting into Beren's hands. Beren wraps his arms about Wes again and holds him close. They kiss for a long time, and then Westron, exhausted from his fit, relaxes into the male's arm. Beren holds him for a long time and then stands, picking him up and carrying him to the guest room upstairs where the two fell asleep together.

~End~