Sorry for the long wait, life smacked me hard before letting me go, and now I'm not sure what to do with my time. Enjoy the story!
Eighteen: Something Old, Something New
"For the last time, Rhys," Marius said over the phone quietly, happy that he was the only one in the office right now, "I'm not going to go to your stag night."
"But Gwen said..."
"She didn't mention it--."
"Oh, Marius, Rhys said that he wanted to talk to you about his stag night."
Marius looked over at her as he asked, "When did he ask?"
"About two days ago. I couldn't find ya...Ianto mentioned you were lookin' for a flat too."
"Yes."
"There's one--."
"I know."
"So...are you going?"
Marius looked down at the phone and said simply, "Rhys, you can stop smirking now. I'll go to the bloody party."
--
Marius wasn't sure what was causing the headache, and a quick check told him that it was two things.
The first was surprise, fear, and hormones from Gwen because she was...wait one bloody moment...
Next was the fact that despite telling Rhys and his friends, REPEATEDLY, that he was a light weight, that he would be the DD for the time, and that they gave him one drink...
...okay, FIVE drinks...one friend decided if there was to be drinks that would show off how bad Marius was with alcohol, it would have to be one that would take them all out.
"Whoever invented tequila should be shot," Marius moaned as he sat up, slowly as Rhys' phone rang and he shook his head as Rhys spoke to Gwen, then said, "It's bad luck before the wedding!" then looked over at the awake-and-worried-sober Marius, then himself in the mirror before asking, "What happened?"
A click of the phone and Marius struggled up, glaring at Rhys as they headed out to Rhys' car. "Don't ever make me do that again."
"What're the others doing?"
"Sleeping off the effects of last night. Please tell me that the stripper--."
"I meant Torchwood."
Marius knew he meant that. Rhys knew he knew that. Marius suppressed his grin at the mild revenge.
"Making sure it's safe, or at least safe enough that she won't be hurt."
"And?"
"Gwen wants to go ahead with the wedding."
"And?"
"She's going to tell you, I'm just going to help out Ianto. I asked him to pick me up outside your house."
"Why?"
"Because I've got a headache and need something that will chase it away, and anything emotional from you two I don't--" Marius paused as he was talking, causing Rhys to worry more.
"Now what?"
"I just remembered something is all. It doesn't concern Gwen, don't worry."
"Who does it concern?"
"A friend who's pregnant. I was suddenly happy that Gwen wasn't a Sidra."
"Why? I mean, besides the demi-god thing and the lack of alcohol tolerance."
"My sister's use for excess energy was to create a few things that weren't all that pretty. A friend of mine destroyed a building and another demi-god thing with her excess energy."
Rhys was quiet for a second before Marius told him, "Ask Gwen. She was there, I was just unconscious."
--
"We're quite used to men buying dresses for their 'friends'."
Ianto glared at the sales clerk, then to Marius who was holding back physical laugher.
Stop that.
You'd look better in a different color. And Gwen was wearing a different one. Without much pause, Marius got up, pulling out another style and showing it to Ianto, comparing the dresses.
You look good too.
Yes, well, you look better. Should we take photos and ask Jack?
...later.
Marius put the dress back as he said out loud, "So, can you guess what her new measurements are?"
"Yes. How're things on her end?"
Marius chanced a quick glance then said, "They've thought of something. Gwen's being stubborn, dislikes the fact we're all up for postponing the wedding."
"Ah...you included?"
Marius looked over at Ianto, placing another dress back as they searched. "Sidra don't marry in this sense. There's...paperwork. A lot of it, and only if they feel they're compatible or are found in...compromising situations...with someone else. We take these things seriously, and so anytime you take vows of that sort, you have to realize it's for forever, in every sense. We're not big on divorces."
Ianto gave a mild smile as he moved to the other side. "No, just misplaced paperwork."
"You wouldn't believe how much of that floats around."
"Avery mentioned someone being mislabeled for a few thousand years."
Marius nodded. "That too." He finally pulled out one that, after showing it to Ianto, got a nod. "Perfect."
"Good. Let's get to the blushing bride and get this over with."
--
"Look what our friend was hiding!" Owen said, dragging out a familiar-looking organ for Jack, Ianto and Marius to see.
"And that is?" Ianto asked.
"A Protius-gland," Marius answered, giving Owen an apologetic look, "I worked with their Caretaker once, during training. It belongs to a Nosterite."
"Which is?" Ianto asked.
"Trouble," Jack told him, "Big trouble."
"Understatement of the day, Jack," Marius told him as Owen put the thing back, the group walking back into Jack's office as Marius rattled, "It's in the 'H' code for Humans, since it's a shape-shifter that tends to feed on human flesh. They're intelligent and sneaky--."
"This one is dead," Ianto pointed out as he got Jack's gun for him.
Marius added, "--and mate for life, never leaving the other one alone. So yes, this one is dead...the other one isn't."
Owen took over, telling Ianto about the fact that male carried the eggs, implanting it in a host. The mother came in when she ripped the child from the host.
The group headed out, Owen grabbing his equipment while Marius headed over to get a gun as well, Jack glaring at him as he did so. Marius had never really been on an assignment before, but with Toshiko not responding to calls, they might need help.
Plus he had the idea it would be hard to stop him from coming.
Next worry...Owen...though he seemed to be ready for this and more 'comfortable', if you'd call it that, with being dead. Marius seemed to be a good comfort for him as the group headed in, Jack commenting on the Singularity Scalpel that Owen was bringing.
"I'm better with it."
"Could we stop arguing and get to the wedding so we can save Gwen from being killed and Rhys from beating Jack to death?" Marius pointed out as Ianto said, "He has a point."
"What is it with you?" Jack asked as they all got in, "Ever since Owen died you always agree with him."
"I was brought up never to speak ill of the Dead, even if they still do most of the talking for themselves."
Jack finally agreed, adding in that he hoped Owen was sure of himself.
--
Wedding ruined (well, postponed), Marius set about to trying to find the Nostrivite as Jack explained things to Rhys and Gwen, Owen and Ianto searched for Toshiko, and the guests...
Gossiped.
This is why Sidra weddings aren't this formal, Marius thought as he passed by two of Gwen's friends, both talking about the 'hunk' that had arrived to postpone the wedding and he felt them stare at his ass. If there was ever a time he wanted to look more like the type who was forgotten against the wall, now was the time.
Marius stopped and glared back at the bridal suite. Of all the times to have too many emotions--
He came up short as he started to pass a woman by, looking at her out of the corner of his eye before heading forward, tapping his earpiece. "Jack...she's still here, and I think things are about to get bad."
"How bad?"
"...Bridesmaid heading to find a missing groomsman that was most-likely eaten type of ba--?"
A scream came from over the comms and through the hall as the wedding guests began to move back in.
"About that--" Ianto said as was ordered to contain the situation, Marius hurrying into the room as well to try and help--
"Oh this is just bloody brilliant."
--
Chaos theory—anything that can go wrong, will.
So it was with the wedding of Rhys and Gwen, at least at the moment, Marius doing what he could to keep track of the group while also trying to keep track of he Nostrovite as well.
Of course...he'd never figured he'd feel a Singularity Scalpel though a contact either, but things as they were, he wasn't about to let Gwen or Rhys get hurt.
So he was the one who got to fire the gun at the Nostrovite, blinking at he watched her explode and then shaking his head. "You all," he said as Rhys and Gwen blinked at him, Gwen recovering and smiling, "are going to get me killed one day. And if not, you're all going to need extensive therapy."
"What took you so long?" Rhys asked finally.
"I was hoping you wouldn't run out of gas," Marius said as he walked over, smiling at Rhys and helping Gwen up. "Now can we get on with the wedding? I've never seen a human one before."
--
As far as sap and love went, he enjoyed it, helping Ianto with the DJ job as the champagne was opened and he cast his fellow Torchwood employee a look.
"What?"
They looked back over to the dance floor as Jack went to dance with Gwen. Ianto quickly drank a glass and Marius said, "It's more like a father giving away a daughter."
"Is it?"
Marius looked over at him and Ianto sighed. "So now what?"
"Rhys loves Gwen. Gwen loves Rhys. You love Jack. Jack loves you. Go and cut in. Gwen needs to sit, after everything." He smiled, "I'll keep the songs going."
Ianto gave over his job, heading to the floor and going to Jack, the two closer then any others while Marius worked for a little while before joining the table and waiting as the as the rest of the guests went to sleep, having been Retconned and now, with Gwen and Rhys off for a honeymoon, the Torchwood group had a cleanup to take care of.
"That's what I love about this job," Ianto said, "By day, chasing the scum of the universe. By night, we're the Wedding Fairy."
Marius shook his head, going to help with cleanup as well as he looked down at the still-stuck band and sighed. He was feeling too much at home here...if they let him back, how could he stay away?
--
"Are you done sulking?"
Ianto looked up from his drink, despite the early hour. He had gone to his flat instead of following Jack back to the Hub, saying he had a headache and wanted to sleep. Marius, still up in the air when it came to flats and where to stay, was currently crashing on his couch and made any sort of sex in the general area impossible.
"I'm not sulking."
"Then you're drunk, but whatever it is, you'd best stop it," Marius sat down, holding a glass of orange juice in his hand.
"He loves her...more then me."
Marius waited.
"You're not saying anything."
"Despite the fact that we're connected fairly well, I'm waiting to listen to this before I give my opinion. Are you going to tell me or do I have to go in and rummage around?"
Ianto glared at him, taking a longer drink. "You're worse then Owen is...was...is..."
Marius sighed, looking over at the dawn light that was filtering in through the windows. "I will call Avery down on you."
"I don't need him to tell me that Jack's in love with Gwen. It's written all over. I...I just...I wanted something, and...and now he would've taken her if--" Ianto tried to shake his head and clear away the tears but that didn't seem to work out as well as he hoped.
Marius once more waited before telling Ianto, "I know."
"So what do I do?"
"He doesn't want Gwen. Gwen reminds him of a few people wrapped in one, and Gwen happens to like him as well. The two aren't like parents to you group, they're more like the official ones, the ones who will forever stay. You're one of them as well."
Ianto looked at him with disbelieving eyes and Marius took a long drink of his own, healthier alternative before saying, "Jack once was married."
"What?"
"When he first arrived back, before he knew that he would be immortal, he married. He decided he wanted his children to carry on the legacy he would've had, find the Doctor, and tell him what he felt. He even moved her to Cardiff when there was an accident."
Ianto waited, and Marius finished it, "There was a fight. Someone shot her, and when he went to attack, he got shot as well. He woke up, and scared the poor coffin maker to death when he did. After that, he found the guy and got his revenge, but he never forgave himself for losing her. So he continued to Cardiff and started drinking, waiting for the Doctor to get there so he could get it explained to him, as he continually died but always woke up, always returned to being alive. He was somewhere between wanting to find the Doctor and kiss him, and wanting to beat the Doctor into the ground. He almost had to do both to get him to explain what he was."
Ianto sighed. "What?"
"He's a Fact. No matter what happens, he'll be alive forever or until his final mission is completed. After that he'll die forever, never wake up."
Ianto looked down. "I won't be there, will I?"
Marius looked over at his Hub. "The only one there will be me. I'll know, I'll feel it."
"And?"
"And I can't tell you how much it hurt when he was dead for a week," Marius said, "but I will tell you that if I could preserved you and him, somehow, I would. He's never loved anyone, never cared for anyone, like he does for you."
"I'm just a stray."
"You're more then that," Marius told him, rubbing his shoulder, "trust me."
He finally nodded, dropping his head to the table, exhausted before Marius moved to take care of him.
--
"Is he okay?"
"He's depressed. You need to open up to him more."
"I--"
"I told him some of your past so he'd move along, but that doesn't change the fact that he still feels like a stray. I found something that will work for now as a flat, and in the meantime I'd like you to come over and take care of him. You can't say no either, I know what the rotation is."
A pause on the other line, "And if I don't come by?"
"I'll sick Avery on you."
"Ouch...big guns. Must be serious." Jack paused, "I'll be there in a few minutes. Anything specific, or imagination go wild?"
"Leave the doors to my mind closed, that's all I ask."
"What about your friends, the other Sidra walkin' around? I saw that lady from before looking peeved."
Marius paused himself at that. "I can take care of myself, Jack. You take care of Ianto."
--
Happily for everyone, it seemed that Marius' suggestion had worked well enough to heal the small rift between Ianto and Jack, to the point where even Gwen commented briefly on it to Marius before things went back to normal.
As normal as Torchwood could be, of course. There was still the fact that he had noticed Yvenda and some of the other Field Agents watching over the group, but it was from afar and none of them were bothering them. He was fine with that.
--
Memo from the Office of Earth-Human Relations
Subject: Caretaker Marius of the Rift, Earth, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
After various field tests were conducted and data gathered by Field Agents Yvenda, Alan, Denise and Zachery of the Earth-Human office, it is our conclusion that Caretaker Marius cannot continue with his duties as Caretaker of the Rift, Earth. His emotional and mental attachment to his Clients makes it unsuitable for him to be parted from the area for extended periods of time, as well as makes him unsuitable for work observing. Due to his heightened part in the goings-on of his Clients, the following actions are suggested after his dismissal as Caretaker:
One: It is recommended he be given a position of Field Agent and serve within Torchwood, so as to better monitor the Rift and his Clients.--Field Agent Denise
Two: It is recommended that he be removed from the field and placed under psychiatric evaluation due to having what is titled an 'accidental Hub' that does not seem to operate as such.--Field Agent Alan
Three: It is recommended he is removed from the field and placed in the hands of Enforcement pending an investigation into various matters and incidents involving himself as his 'accidental Hub'.--Field Agent Zachary
Four: It is recommended the 'accidental Hub' be destroyed in order to facilitate the re-entry of Marius into another job, as long as the functional, traditional Hub remains in place.--Field Agent Yvenda (Removed by Earth-Human Office officials due to complications of 'removal' of any Connections or Hubs within a Seidra-family line member.)
End Memo
--
"Did either of you hear that?" Jack's random comment made Toshiko look up, Marius reclining on the couch, looking over only briefly before rolling over and ignoring the question.
"No."
A few questions before the question of where Ianto was, since he would know.
"He took Owen and Gwen to the Electro," Marius said, "There's some Rift activity there, but he's mainly there for the nostalgia."
"Oh?"
"Well, he is dating you..."
Jack sent him a glare. "Very funny."
--
The rain soaked through his coat, though he didn't really care. The memories of coming there with his father, of seeing all those old films when it had been opened, were coming back as they walked in, the warmth covering them more then the rain had as they were met by one of the people hosting the event, Ianto commenting about how he used to go there to watch the Saturday kiddie flicks, not really noting Gwen or Owen's side-comments about popcorn or educational nature of the Electro.
That's right...it's a museum now...
He hated how these things changed. Ianto enjoyed change to a degree, like anyone else, but he also liked to have the old and the new.
Like Jack...He stopped his thought, instead taking the seat near the back as the owners came up, giving a speech while the small grouping of people watched the film before the images of Hope Street and old Cardiff changed to that of a small circus.
"Recognize any of your dead relatives there, Gwen?" Owen asked, loud enough to be disruptive while Gwen laughed, and laughed again at another joke Owen made about a woman with a hulu hoop.
"Would you two be quiet?" Ianto said, annoyed. What had he thought, bringing them here? Maybe next time he wanted to check on something he'd ask Marius.
"Where's Hope Street gone?" Gwen asked as the film of the circus performance began again, slowly reeling through the same same pictures again and again before--
"WAIT!"
"What?"
"I just saw Jack..."
Jack, larger then life, stood briefly on a stage, a grouping of people around him as he held a gun to his head and then under his chin and pulled the trigger--
The film ended, Owen and Gwen leaving quickly while Ianto was more reluctant to do so, slowly standing and gathering his coat, looking at the screen like it could tell him what he had seen was real.
What about him? His imagination is good.
Leave him. It's too soon.
A dark touch, a whisper, and Ianto turned quickly to see two shadows, almost brushing past him, before they were gone and he was alone in the cinema.
Ianto?
Marius?
What happened?
I...I don't know. Something in the film.
Jack's on his way. But something hit you, Ianto. It felt...
...like something from the past...something that shouldn't be there.
A mental nod. Be careful. They touched you, and hopefully they won't come back for more, whoever they are.
Jack walked in, asking Ianto what he had seen that would make him stay, Ianto telling him as he continued to scan the area, feeling frozen in that place, the only thing keeping him in time being Jack and Marius, in their own odd ways.
Jack had heard the music of the traveling show...Ianto had seen the beauty of it...Marius could feel the age that the people inside felt.
Jack left to check on something while Ianto paused only long enough to finally follow him up to where the kid who did the film, speaking to him about the incident before Toshiko called in.
Something had happened.
--
"He was part of the freak show."
"Some things never change."
"Are you being rude to me?"
Marius looked up as Jack seemed to piece it as a group called the Night Travelers, a group that only performed at night and was supposed to be a ghost story, a group of travelers that came from 'out of the rain' and then left a trail of damage and sorrow.
Marius, Ianto and Toshiko stayed behind before both Ianto and Marius noticed it.
There was something very odd...something wrong...missing--
"Jack!" Ianto yelled, Marius standing next to her as they watched, trying with his own powers before realizing what it was.
"Are you saying that people from a piece of film have just decided to go AWOL?" Toshiko asked.
"That's exactly what happened," Marius muttered as the group looked at him, Marius blinking before saying, "There's...traces of who they were, within the film, for the group. Two of the traces are gone, which leaves only what was behind them. Like they were never there."
"We need to find them, or witnesses to them. Gwen, Owen, check records, see what you can find."
"How far back do you want us to go?" Gwen asked.
"As far back as you can. Toshiko, I need you to see if you can establish a trace, find a pattern to where they might be. Marius, try to get a connection or two up with your fellow Sidra, see if they can tell us anything. Ianto, with me, I'll need your local knowledge."
"Oh," Gwen muttered as they all started to leave and do their duty, "is that what you call it now?"
--
"You know," Denise said as she sat in the small area, eating the chips and offering Marius a bit, which he declined, "you've already been put up for dismissal. They're just trying to find a suitable replacement for you now."
Marius nodded. "I got a memo about it. Yvenda seems to enjoy rubbing these things in my face."
"Have you told them?"
Marius looked off to the side, sipping on the soft drink he'd ordered. "No. There's no need to. If I am replaced, then I can just say they're helping me to get home. If I'm exiled here...well, I can be part of the team and not worry about extra reports."
Denise sighed. "They're not going to make this easy for you. Your cousin..."
"My cousin is an idiot, and so is the rest of my family." Marius stood, laying down a few pounds. "I got it. Thanks for the help, Denise."
"Sorry I couldn't be more help, but no one is ever given a full version of the Night Travelers except their Caseworker, and he's clammed up about it."
Marius nodded, heading outside before seeing the SUV pull up, Jack motioning for him to come in. "Well?"
"Nothing. They don't have a Field Agent and the Caseworker isn't about to give us anything."
"Ah, well then lucky us we found our first witness."
Marius was silent as they drove to the psychiatric hospital, Ianto leading the way and causing Jack, shortly after they arrived, to look over at Marius with a questioning gaze. Marius returned it with an 'ask him yourself' gaze as they went to meet with the lady, asking her about the group as they took her for a small stroll around the compound.
"They came from out of the rain," she told them, "at night...came to the village."
"How old were you at the time?" Ianto asked.
"Just a child...five or six. Are you visiting someone?"
Jack laughed, telling the old woman, "Christina, we've come to see you."
"No one ever comes to see me."
Marius gave her a warm smile as the trio sat, Christina looking over Jack before saying, "Your eyes are older then your face."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Yes." the blunt statement seemed to shake Jack, especially as Christina told him it meant he didn't belong, that he came from 'nowhere'.
Jack and Ianto asked about who traveled within the group, the old woman telling them what she could before looking at Ianto then saying, "They touched you."
"What?"
"They touched, I can sense it. They touched you as they passed you by." Her gaze turned to Marius, "and...you're connected...to the both of them."
"What about the man, Christina?" Marius recovered the quickest, "Could you tell us about the man?"
Christina did, telling them that the man was the 'Ghost Maker' and described the silver flask the man had pulled out, though never gotten a chance to use. It turned out her mother and father, instead, had been turned into ghosts.
--
Gwen and Owen's reports, followed up by call from the boy that had been at the Electro, caused both Ianto, Jack and Marius to head forward, Marius staying near the boy and hoping nothing would happen to either him or Ianto. Jack...well, he wasn't sure about, but he knew that Jack might be able to protect himself, even from a man who could steal breaths.
They found no one there, but it only took a minute to realize the duo that had escaped were heading back to the Electro, and there to get friends.
Of course, the smell, the feel, and the fact they had been on film for 80 years said they were now part of the film, and Jack had a brilliant idea.
--
The group hurried in, finding the owners of the Electro frozen, and when the film started Gwen was forced to drag the boy out, Owen going up to check on the person upstairs while Jack, Ianto and Marius stayed, the trio ducking as Jack began to film those were coming out, sneaking out when the last of them arrived, Jack filming before Gwen, Ianto and Marius found the Ghost Maker.
"The flask!"
Gwen's attempt to retrieve it luckily allowed Ianto to grab it, he and Marius taking off out of the Electro and down Hope Street, then down a side alley in the hopes the man wouldn't notice them, Marius starting to head up the stairs when he felt and heard Ianto scream from the Ghost Maker's touch.
Marius turned, hitting the ghost and grabbing the flask, pulling Ianto down the stairs as the man stood, glaring at Marius, who had put himself between Ianto and the Ghost Maker.
"He's mine anyway. That I didn't take his breath the moment I left, he should be so grateful," the Ghost Maker told Marius, his voice hypnotic in it's own way.
"Leave him alone," Marius growled back, holding on the flask tightly.
"Oh, I plan to leave him alone for a while, but eventually he, and you, will be part of us."
The movement was too quick, even for Marius, who threw out a psychic barrier to stumble the man only to find himself tumble backwards, the flask once more grabbed by the man as he raced further up the stairs, Jack and Gwen arriving as he unclogged the flask and threw it.
"No!" Ianto yelled, not knowing where he was getting the information that let him know how the flask worked, but knowing the breaths that were leaving it would cause each person to die...
Jack pulled out the film, the man disappearing from the exposure while Ianto caught the bottle, using his hand as a stopper and holding it up to listen before saying, "One...I think we were only able to save one...I can hear it Jack...I heard it...something inside trying to call out to me."
Marius went over, Gwen and Jack taking the flask while Marius touched Ianto, looking inside and--
There...I see it.
What?
Where he touched you... Marius frowned. "It won't close up until we give back that last breath."
Jack and Ianto nodded, heading to the hospital while Marius looked down then said, "I'll be back at the Hub. I need to talk to someone." Gwen looked over and nodded, heading over to speak with Toshiko and Owen about what had happened.
He walked only partly down the street before saying, "Hippolyta."
The woman leaned against the wall, glaring at him. "What were you thinking?"
"You'll need to be more specific, Hippolyta, it's been a long couple of days."
She stood quickly, walking up and glaring at him, "Don't you talk to me like that!"
Marius glared at her. "I don't recall getting any help from you when I was disowned, so I think I can talk to you however I want, sis."
Hippolyta, Marius' younger sister, turned away and paced before saying, "What's so special about that one? I know Yvenda talked to you about what--."
"She did, and I gave her my answer."
"You're being annoying. You know as well as I do the fact that Hubs are a nuisance, a crutch. This one in particular is more then your average crutch too...if you keep hold of him at one point you're going to have to come to terms with him dying."
"I know that too."
"So why not just do it? Why wait here? The minute you're back there won't be a connection to him. You'll be free!"
Marius leaned against the wall, then told her, "I felt one of them die already, I'm not about to have another one go through it."
"You're too sentimental. A Caseworker--."
"I know," Marius growled, reigning in his temper before saying, "What he suggested is impractical too. There's no way it can happen without some strain or obvious affect on me. I'm not going to try it just because he said it would work."
Hippolyta frowned at him. "You listened to him before. He's your favorite cousin."
"He was. Last I checked, he was the one who told our parents what happened, and who also got me into the same room as most of the family shortly after that." Marius knew it was one of the few memories he had tried to not give or share with Ianto: being kicked out of your own family was one thing for a Human, but for a Sidra? The Seidra family line always had close relationships, often only creating a mild connection with their loved ones if they felt it was right or agreed upon. Marius had broken a rule that his own family had passed on due to what Ulamo had done, and what the death of the final Hub had done, to one Sidra. That Marius had five, one that was more then a Hub (even if he mislabeled it as 'accidental' half the time) and the other who was immortal...
"You shouldn't have let it happen."
"I had to protect my Client."
"And now your Clients have caused this to happen. If it weren't for them, you'd still be working, still be a Caseworker instead of on probation until a new one is found, and not only that, you'd still be Marius. Those weirdos have pulled you down, and you feel you should defend them? If it hadn't been for them, that bastard never would've had you, or even--."
Marius hit her before he could stop himself, making her step back in shock, holding a hand to her cheek while he breathed heavily, trying to hold in that sudden anger.
"Don't you blame them for what happened to me. I made my choice, and I got burned for it. They saved my life, and took care of me when they didn't have to. Now get out of my sight. I only stood here for this long because we're blood, but I doubt that's the reason you're here."
"Kill him," she growled, "get it over with and come home. That's all you have to do, and you're family again."
There was a longer pause, mostly because she was looking down at his fist that had curled, while Marius was internally debating on how wise it would be to hit his sister.
"I'm not your family anymore. Now get out."