They met on a rooftop some streets outside the perimeter of the Northcrest estate.
Garrett arrived first, taking refuge in the attic as he waited… He was silent in his patience, the attic crammed with caged magpies and he didn't fancy alerting the homeowners below.
Not that it mattered when someone ran across the roof a mere half hour after Garrett had settled himself down to wait, the way they ran made Garrett suspect that this was either their first time on the thieves' highway, or they were purposefully intending to make as much noise as physically possible.
They paused just at the edge, overlooking the street. A precarious position, especially considering night had yet to fall.
Garrett scowled as he slunk from the attic through a window, fully intending to spook the novice roof runner, perhaps run him out of the profession before the idiot got himself killed.
… Only it wasn't some novice roof runner Garrett found on the edge of the roof…
It was Erin.
Garrett stared at his sister, despite not being able to see her face, her back was to him… He knew it was her…
But that just begged the question of, what had happened?
The Haven had taught them how to walk without sound, how to move with the wind and through the shadows… And the streets had taught them why.
Yet, here was Erin… Disregarding everything she had learned…
Garrett could only stare at his sister… Silent, awed, confused.
It took him far too long to find his voice, let along the right words…
"I've missed you." He said softly into the silence between them, once he was sure his voice would hold steady.
Hollow… Disappointment settled in his chest as Erin flinched and turned in surprise.
How had she not known he was there? She always knew he was there…
"Pa has too…" Garrett continued, "You missed your name day you know…"
Erin swallowed thickly, shifting her weight nervously from one leg to the other. "You never came after me." She pointed out, her voice just as soft, if not heated and fragile, as Garrett recalled, though he could tell she wanted to sound cold, but her voice trembled ever so slightly in her throat as she spoke.
"Pa said to give you space." Garrett replied slowly, "I didn't want to… I missed you, but he kept insisting that this was your choice."
Erin heaved such a heavy sigh her shoulders slumped into the motion.
"I've… I've missed you too…" She admitted quietly as she slowly began to approach her brother.
Garrett quickly tucked his sister's head beneath his chin once she drew close enough, marveling at how familiar and warm she was against him… It had been so long since he had held his sister…
Standing there with her, Garrett allowed himself, if only briefly, to forget the past few years.
Erin arms looped around his waist as she pressed her face into his throat, Garrett shuddered. He didn't want to let go, not ever… He had missed his sister horribly… He didn't want to see her gone again, never again…
He buried his nose in her hair and stole a breath.
The still lingering scent of blood coiling around her sent the elder thief's stomach churning.
Garrett stepped away from his sister, perhaps a touch too quickly if the brief look of hurt Erin offered him was anything to go by.
Things were different now. Painfully different.
Garrett had missed her, missed her like a lost limb, if Garrett could he would have abandoned the mission to drag his wayward sister back to the Haven, back to Artemus so their Pa could talk some sense into her...
And after that? After that, Garrett would never leave her alone, ever. He'd fix their bond, he'd fix everything so Erin would never leave again, and they could go back to how things were before and-
Garrett knew that was wishful thinking...
Because now, whenever Garrett looked between his sister's eyes, he could only imagine her red and warm with gore...
Garrett offered his sister a smiled, a hollow smile, a sad smile… A smile that could never reach his eyes...
A smile Erin could see crumbling at the foundation as her brother extended an olive branch...
"How about you show me what you've learned these past few years?"