Dirk
This was never supposed to happen. You vowed to hide Dave. You made a promise to yourself. You promised he would never be involved with the Nephilim. You're dad had started training you from the time you were able to walk. You should have been training at a local Institute but he wanted to do it himself. By the time you turned six a war between the Nephlilim and the Downworlders had broken out. You're not sure exactly why. You thought the Shadowhunters had treaties with the Downworlders but apparently that wasn't enough.
Your mother is a downworlder. A werwolf. When the war started your parents couldn't stay together. They were on two different sides of this fight. You weren't old enough then to understand and your brother was too young to remember anything. You think you understand now though. Your parents couldn't take care of you two, not with the war going on. So they hid you as Mundanes. You guys traveled from foster home to foster home all over the state but no matter where you guys went you saw the demons.
You had found one of your fathers books when you were ten, wrapped in a shoebox. It was obvious that you were supposed to find it. It was titled The Shadowhunters Codex. You read the book over and over again, finding out all you could about everything. The Nephilim, the Downworlders, the Demons, Idris, weapons, the Silent Brothers, the Iron Sisters. Everything.
You also know why your dad named your brother David. He named him after David the silent. The first ever Silent Brother. Your brother. He was exactly like your dad. He wasn't scared of the demons he saw. He looked in wonderment at them, like they interested him. Just like your father did. You on the other hand, were more like your mom. Practical and logical, always trying to find a safe way to abscond.
It was always too obvious that you two had angels blood coursing through your veins so you tried to stay away from everything. You both have the Sight. You can see past glamours. That's why you could see the Shadowhunter you are now currently following. When you turned eighteen, you got the apartment the farthest away from the institute you could find.
You were successful in keeping Dave away but now that was over. Now you had to follow this little lisping prick back to that place. He knew who you were talking about when you said your fathers name. You can tell, but why? Why would he know your father. You don't even know if your father is alive, or your mother.
You look over at your brother. He looks so confused. You feel like, in a way, you failed him. You dragged him into a life his didn't deserve. But this is what he was born into. You know you have to talk to the head of the local institute, they have to be aware of all Shadowhunters in the area. Though, they can't force either you or your brother to train and be apart of the Nephilim.
It's frowned upon not to but if it's the best thing for your brother than you will do it. But...you have a feeling it wont go like that. Dave...you know that once he finds out who he is and what he's supposed to do..he's gonna want to train. He's going to want to live at the institute with the other Shadowhunters and become what he was born to be. And you can't stop him. But you're also not going to leave him. If he decides to train, so will you. He's your little brother and you're supposed to protect him, you're the only family he has.
It doesn't take long until you can see the large building that serves as the Institute. It was huge, could easily hold a hundred Shadowhunters. Though you never see very many of them out, you're guessing that at the most, there's only thirty to forty living there now. Pretty empty. The building was elaborate, something people would expect to see in history. It defiantly didn't fit in with the modern city. But nobody else could see it. It probably looked like an empty lot or some broken down building to the Mundanes.
You follow the young Shadowhunter up the steps and through the large doors. Inside is dim, the only light emitting from witchlight stones lining the walls. The ceiling is tall, probably twelve feet, maybe more. Their are old looking paintings on the walls, you recognize one as the Angel Raziel. You look to see Dave looking around in wonderment. Other people may not be able to tell but you know how to read him even when he looks emotionless. He was amazed by the shear elaborateness that the building has. How historic it looked.
"Quite gawking and lets go, I don't have all day to escort you people around." Oh yeah, you had almost forgot that the annoying teenager was still there. You roll your eyes behind your shades but follow him anyways. You have to grab Daves arm and pull him away from one of the paintings that he was staring at.
You both continue walking, following the black haired boy down a dim hallway lined with witchlight stones. That seems to be the only light source in this building. You a path of maze like hallways until you reach a set of double door. You follow the young shadowhunter through them and into a large office.
At the desk in the middle of the room sat a man, he looked around fifty with gray hair and gray eyes. He looked pretty nice, but you were still cautious as you walked in, making sure Dave was behind you.
Though the Shadowhunter obviously knew the man.
"Hodge?" The boy speaks his name to get the mans attentions. Well now you know his name is Hodge. He looks up from whatever paper he was reading and gives a kind smile.
"Yes Sollux? Can I help you?" His voice is soft but an underlying tone of roughness, like he used to yell a lot. The boy -Sollux apariently- point to you and your brother.
"I found these two. I was in the middle of dealing with the Drevak you sent me out for and these two could see me. This one -" He points to you. "- claims they're Shadowhunters. Striders to be exact."
Just like when Sollux heard the name, Hodge freezes, looking between you and your brother then back to Sollux.
"Dean Strider?" He asks and Sollux nods. You narrow your eyes. They know your father. DO they know where he is? Hodge stands up behind his desk and gestures to the door.
"Thank you Sollux, you've done me great service. But for now, I must talk to these boys. Do not go far, I may require your services later." Sollux nods and pushes past you to leave the room, closing the doors behind him. Hodge gestures to the two chair set up on the other side of his desk.
"Please. Sit. Make yourselves comfortable." You hesitate and Dave waits for you to move before he follows. You sit in one seat and Dave in the other, you never take your eye off the man as he sits back down and searches through some of his drawers, finally finding what he was looking for after a moment. He reads over the paper in front of him then looks at you, folding his hands together.
"You are Dirk, correct? And your brother is Dave?" You nod slightly and he smiles. You glance over at Dave to see his confused expression.
"Well boys. I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience of being brought here but i'm glad we found you two." You furrow your eyebrows and speak up for the first time.
"You were looking for us?"
"Oh well of course we were. Having the offspring of Dean Strider here in the institute with us would be the greatest privilege. However, once the war broke out, there was no trace of you two. We suspected your parents were trying to protect you." Finally Dave speaks up, obviously sick of being left in the dark.
"Okay, somebody explain what the fuck is even happening. Where are we?" You open your mouth to tell him to be quite, that you'll explain later but Hodge stops you.
"I will explain. You, David, obviously don't know anything. Looks as if your brother has sheltered you from your origin. Now, where you are is the New York Institute. Is a gathering point for Shadowhunters in the area and where we communicate with the downworlders." Dave tries to speak again but Hodge holds his hand up.
"Let me finish. You want to know everything right? Well it's going to be a long explanation." He sits back in his cahir before continuing.
"Now, Shadowhunters are children of the angel Raziel. People become this by drinking from the Mortal Cup of, as you two are, born from a Shadowhunter. Our job is to fight the demons coming from the Void and into the Mundane world. It is also our job to keep the peace between downworlders consist of Vampires, Warlocks, the Faeries, and Werewolves. You will learn more about each as we go." Dave looks confused but you guess he believes it, since he can see the demons and all.
"Your father, Dean. He was one of your best Shadowhunters. He was an excellent fighter. An expert in Monomachia, Stealth, Agility and Grace, Languages and many more. Dani, your mother, was a Werewolf. Werewolves do not pass on lycanthropy, therefor no, you are not any part werewolf. You are full Shadowhunters. A couple years after David was born a war broke out between the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders. That is why your parents most likely hid you two, to keep you safe. Your father was killed a few years ago by an unplanned encounter with a rouge werewolf. We do not know where your mother is at this time, she doesn't belong to any pack."
It was a lot to take in. You knew a lot of the information already, but the stuff about your parents..well it was a lot to comprehend. Hodge stays quiet for a moment while you and your brother try to retain the information before he speaks again.
"Usually Shadow hunters start their training at a young age and become full trained at age eighteen. However, in your special case, we will allow you to train. If you so wish to." You want to say no, to leave this building and never look back. But you can't protect your brother any longer. He knows now and he's old enough to make decisions on his own. If he wants to train...then you will too.
"You two can think it over for the night. It would be safer if you stayed here for the night. There has been an increase of demons in the area, especially near where you were found by Sollux." You hesitate, you don't want to stay here. But..if it's safer.. You don't know how to fucking fight demons, sure you taught yourself and Dave some basic moves of sword fighting but thats nothing near what training you need.
"Fine.." You sigh and Hodge smiles.
"Great, i'll call Sollux to take you to your rooms." He turns around in his chair and Dave looks at you.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" You look back at him.
"Because Dad didn't want us to know. I was just doing what he wanted. Protecting you." Dave sighs and slouches in his seat, staring at the ground in thought. You also had some serious thinking to do tonight.