Anonymous Asked: Honestly I just want a fic where Sparx learns why Antauri is like that, not to justify him but to understand him. Maybe the Verans did some real shitty things. Maybe they so called teachings where more strict and harsh that Space originally thought. Is not that Antauri wasn't devoid of all emotions, he was stripped of them... I just want those two to be in good terms ;_;

Multi-Faceted

Lady Cravenheart

Sprx had never liked the Varon Mystics. They swore to protect the universe–yet they removed themselves from it. They sat in a pristine hall of crystal while the rest of the universe suffered. But, he couldn't argue with results. Antauri was one of the better fighters on the team, and definitely a fair bit more knowledgeable than the rest of them.

But he wasn't… He wasn't very approachable. He was distant. Too distant, really. Like he'd been stripped of any and all emotion during his time with the Verans. Sprx liked to think of himself as being pretty good at reading people–but Antauri? Hah. His face was too blank. Too perfect.

It only got worse after he became the silver monkey, really.

But at the same time… it also seemed to change, a bit.

The first time Sprx really noticed it was when they bought that pinball machine. (One of the sillier things they had spent credits on, to tell the truth.) Antauri had never touched video games before–unless you were talking about the holo-chess board he and Gibson liked to bring out during free time. But. But, he played that pinball machine–even going so far as to cheat!

After that, it was like Sprx's eyes had been opened. Antauri was suddenly more present in day to day life. The nuances in his expressions were easier to pick up. Being the silver monkey hadn't made him harder to read–it made him easier to read.

At first he thought it was because Antauri wasn't used to his new body. But… then… Sprx wondered.

He wondered. Because, shortly before they lost Antauri, Antauri had discovered some rather… unpleasant truths about his mentor. The one who he had looked up to. The one who taught him almost everything he knew. The one who, likely, taught him how to hide behind a mask–if a metaphorical one, rather than the literal one Verans wore.

The only real way to find out would be to ask him. And, well. Sprx didn't really think he was ready for that yet. He and Antauri weren't really… the closest lately. So he wondered, instead.

…and enjoyed getting to see these new facets to his brother.