Hector felt like he was playing house with his own family. It was strangely domestic, in a way he'd never felt before and thought only existed in stories. They woke up with the sun. Quirin would make them all breakfast, and then he'd go work in his garden, or he'd help a neighbor, or do some repairs around the village. Sometimes he took Varian with him, and sometimes Adira or Hector, but never both of them at once, would watch him for the morning.
Hector would go through some of his forms and stretches, because he didn't want to be unprepared when something happened. He would then go find Quirin to see if he could help with something. If it was something that Quirin was doing on his own, he agreed. If he was already working with other people, he sent Hector on his way.
At first Hector convinced himself that his help was rejected because Quirin didn't want things to get too crowded, and they didn't really need any more help. When he saw that one of the men helping to rebuild a wall was a frail old man who looked like he could barely stand on his own two feet, Hector knew that Quirin just didn't want him around the citizens of the village.
He knew that when he was younger he had the bad habit of attacking or threatening people who looked at him the wrong way. Did Quirin not consider that he'd outgrown that behavior at least a little bit? Or that Hector had only ever attacked people that were stronger than him, never once going after those that were younger and smaller?
Hector knew that he wouldn't go after the people of this village unless they struck first and he actually needed to defend himself, and he definitely wouldn't use all his strength against them. But Quirin clearly didn't have that confidence in him.
Eventually Hector stopped volunteering to help Quirin, and he instead spent his evenings in the forest, hunting and foraging. If he was going to stay with his brother, who he still didn't know if he genuinely wanted him there, then he was going to earn his keep. Quirin could easily feed himself and Varian, but adding two more adults to that would more than double the amount of food needed. Hector could effortlessly hunt and gather enough food for all of them, and have enough left over to have some quality meat and furs to sell to other people in the village.
The days started to blur together, and after two weeks Hector didn't know if he liked this kind of life or not. He felt like being around his family was driving him mad, but at the same time they were the only thing keeping him sane
Adira was acting strangely, though Hector was sure it was just because she wasn't used to being in one place for so long, let alone with her family. She would disappear for hours at a time and she never said where she went. When she was actually around Hector would see her digging through random spots in the village, even though there was nothing there. Hector wondered if she was just going stir-crazy and needed something to do.
Adira liked to spend her time with Varian. She told him all sorts of stories about her adventures, and Varian loved to hear them. Quirin didn't.
Quirin and Adira fought a lot. He didn't like that she was putting fantastical ideas in his head, telling him about magic and such. She argued that Varian was a little kid and he needed to have some fun in his life. Quirin would say that Varian was a very imaginative child, but also one grounded in reality, and he wasn't able to understand the difference between stories and fact. Adira would try to say that at Varian's age there was nothing wrong with that. Quirin would needlessly remind her that Varian was his son, and he would decide how to raise him. If Adira was feeling particularly riled up she would ask how exactly neglecting a child was raising them. And then the fighting would really start.
Hector hated it. He didn't mind them fighting, except they kept on going on about the same things, which meant that nothing was getting resolved. Hector felt like they were actually fighting about something else entirely, but it was something that both of them were refusing to mention.
They usually fought when Varian was at a friend's house, or when he was taking a nap, but one day they started getting at each other when Varian was in the room, right in the middle of them.
Varian was crying soundlessly, looking too alarmed to do anything but watch as they fought. Hector didn't really know how it felt to be scared of loved one's fighting, because that was what he was used to. The way he saw it, if they were fighting then at least they were in the same room with each other. At least they were there.
But Varian didn't have the same experiences as him. He was also a very small and quiet child, who was currently being towered over by grown-ups who were much taller and louder than he was. That would be overwhelming for anybody.
Hector knew that Adira and Quirin would be going at it for a while, and Varian didn't need to deal with all of that. He sighed and picked up the child, who clung desperately to him, crying into his shoulder.
"Come on, kid." Hector said. "Why don't you come help me outside?" He carried the boy away from the fighting and brought him outside and behind the home where Hector had his own set-up going. This was where he kept the animals he hunted after they got their meat. He was in the middle of the process of preparing the hide of the animals he'd caught a few days ago.
Normally he would let the hide hang for a few more days before trying to work with the leather or fur, but Varian needed a distraction, and Hector didn't know what else to do. He figured the smaller game like the rabbits would be ready now, though he was going to give the deer a bit more time.
He'd already prepared the fur and hide as much as he needed to. They were cleaned, dried, and preserved shortly after he brought them here. The last step for him was to bring them down, rinse them out and loosen it up a bit, and then he would have some nice rabbit fur.
Hector had considered just selling the pelts, but now he was considering using them to make something for Varian. Maybe he'd use it to line a vest, or start making a blanket or a small plush animal toy.
"It's soft." Varian pet the fur.
"It's rabbit." Hector said. "Come on." He handed the pelts to Varian and grabbed a bucket. He took the kid's hand and walked him to the small creek that ran through the town. A few people were doing their laundry. Hector brought him to an empty spot. He filled the bucket with water and put the fur in. He didn't have soap or anything, and he was going to continue without it, but a young woman from the town recognized Varian and offered some of her own soap when she saw they didn't have any. Hector gratefully took it.
Hector and Varian scrubbed the rabbit fur, just taking that final step to clean it. As they worked, Varian had a few questions.
"Why did you kill the rabbits?" Varian asked.
"Well, we needed to eat." Hector said. They'd eaten the rabbits for dinner yesterday. "Meat gives us energy that a lot of other food can't, not unless we have a lot of it. To get meat, we need to kill animals. That's just kinda how it goes."
"But what if they had baby rabbits?" Varian asked. "Who will take care of the babies?"
"Most animals stay close to their young when they can't take care of themselves." Hector said. "Sometimes when I'm out I see a family of rabbits, or deer, or birds. I try to avoid killing the parents." He could afford to hunt for something else. "If I killed a Mommy rabbit, it was an accident."
Varian pet the fur. "It's still sad."
"Yeah, it is." Hector said. "I don't kill lightly, but I need to take care of our family, and we need food. If I need to kill to keep myself or my family alive, I do it."
Varian was thoughtful for a long time as they continued washing the pelts. When they took them out of the bucket to rinse them in the creek, Varian looked to Hector.
"If I kill for my family, am I a bad person?" Varian asked.
"I don't think so." Hector said. "Do you think I'm a bad person?" Varian quickly shook his head. "Well, there you go." Hector disagreed with Varian's assessment, though it had nothing to do with the philosophy about killing.
"Death is the most natural thing about life." Hector said. "But that's what makes life so precious. The fact that it ends." He looked at Varian, who looked far more serious than a five year old should. "I was gonna give this fur to you, but if you don't want to think about the rabbit you don't have to keep them."
"I want them." Varian said without hesitation. "The rabbits make me sad, but you make me happy, and you killed them for our family. For me. I want to remember that."
Hector's chest warmed. This kid was sweet, and seemed to be the only person in this family who thought that Hector was great just the way he was. That he didn't need to be sent away, or kept on a leash, or constantly watched in case he did something. Varian didn't think that he needed to be fixed.
"Okay." Hector said. "I'll take care of them for you." They took the fur out of the water and put it on a rock to let them dry. They sat at the edge of the creek to wait, just enjoying the nice morning air.
Hector would have been fine if they didn't talk anymore at all, and they just enjoyed each other's company. But Varian was a curious child, and he'd had a stressful morning and a lot of questions.
"Why were Aunt Adira and Dad fighting?" Varian asked.
"Honestly, I don't really know anymore." Hector said. He really didn't. "It's not that bad. You get used to it."
Varian was too smart for his own good, and he saw between the lines of what Hector was saying.
"Do they fight that much?" Varian's voice shook slightly. Hector grimaced. What was he supposed to say to the kid? He couldn't lie to him. He'd just feel like trash. But Adira and Quirin really did fight regularly. Hector wasn't concerned about it, but it was clearly too much for Varian.
"Don't worry about it." Hector said. "This isn't going to happen again. I'll make sure of it. He couldn't keep his siblings from fighting, but there was a lot he could do to make sure that Varian didn't get caught in the middle of it again. Varian was satisfied with his answer, and by the time they made their way home he was perfectly content, as though nothing had happened. Hector kept an ear out, and was relieved when he didn't hear anymore shouting. For now, it was safe.
Quirin was in his garden, and Adira was probably inside. Hector left Varian to his dad's care, and then went to find his sister.
"You can't keep provoking him." Hector said. Adira was sitting on the table, meditating. "You know we're on thin ice here."
"I don't know why you're so scared of him." Adira said. "Quirin has always been all bark, no bite." Hector had no idea what she was talking about. Quirin was nowhere near as eager to fight as Hector and Adira had always been, but he was more than capable.
"I'm not scared of him." Hector said defensively. He was cautious around his brother, because this was his brother's home, and if he didn't want them here, which Hector felt that he didn't, then he had every right to send them on their way. They were allowed to stay because Quirin was feeling sentimental, but that would only take them so far.
Adira didn't look like she believed him, and Hector didn't want her to call him out. He wouldn't be able to take it, so he redirected the conversation.
"You guys really freaked the kid out." Hector said. "He was crying, and you guys were too busy being at each other's throats to care." Adira's eyes flashed with guilt.
"We got out of hand." She admitted. "It won't happen again."
"It better not." Hector said, and he thought that would be it. They all went on with their day, and it didn't seem like that was any more tension between them. Nothing had been resolved, but it had been brushed under the rug to address, and then ignore, another day.
When the sun set Quirin put Varian down for the night. When he came back downstairs there was a tension in his shoulders and a defensive fury in his eyes. Hector was ready for his siblings to start fighting again, but then Quirin turned his gaze to him.
"Why are you talking to my son about death?" Quirin asked in a harsh whisper. Hector knew that the only thing keeping him from yelling was that Varian was just upstairs, not even sleeping.
"I talked to him about why I hunt." Hector said. "He asked questions, I answered them. What do you want from me?"
"I want you to stop trying to indoctrinate my son." Quirin nearly growled.
"I'm not." Hector said. It's just hunting. It was a normal thing that a lot of people in this farming village did. Why was Quirin making a big deal out of it?
"Then why did he tell me that you kill for this family, and that someday he wants to be strong enough to be able to do the same thing?" Quirin looked ready for a fight, and Hector didn't want to be here.
"I'm not going out there, handing him an ax, and teaching him how to butcher animals for fun." Hector was starting to get worked up. He was glad the house was so big, because otherwise Varian would be able to hear them, and he'd just get more worked up than before, because he would blame himself. "It's hunting. It's survival."
"I told you I didn't want you to talk to Varian about the Moon, and that includes her properties." Quirin said. Hector snarled.
"Whether you respect the moon anymore or not, death is a part of life." Hector snapped. "You can't just hide Varian away from it"
"He's just a child." Quirin said dangerously. "I'm not exposing him to your delusional world."
Hector thought it would have hurt less if his brother had punched him in the face. At least that injury would heal.
Delusional, Quirin said. As though he hadn't worshipped the moon at his side in their youth. As though it hadn't been the very thing that brought them together. Hector's delusions were his livelihood. It was everything he'd dedicated his life to. It was one of the only things keeping him going, and Quirin talked about it like it was the bane of his existence.
That hurt, but what stung was that Quirin didn't want Varian exposed to Hector's beliefs, which meant that he didn't want the kid around him, because they all knew that Hector held strong opinions and he didn't know how to keep his thoughts to himself. The only way to protect the kid from his dangerous ideas was to stay away from him.
"Fine." Hector said quietly. He wouldn't meet his brother's gaze. He didn't want to see the fury there. Quirin had made his thoughts perfectly clear. "Fine."
So much for being happy to see him. So much for missing him, and wanting him to stay. Quirin may still care about Hector, but he also thought that he was dangerous and a threat to his village and his son. Hector couldn't change his brother's mind about him, because that would involve changing who he was, and he couldn't do that.
So Hector would go. He wanted to be with his family, but being here didn't feel real, and it wasn't working. Besides, the whole reason he had come was because of Varian's supposed connection to the moonstone, and Hector had seen no sign of it. He'd watched, and waited, biding his time as he tried to enjoy his family's company. But he couldn't stay here even if he wanted to. Quirin obviously didn't want him around, and Hector needed to get back to his pointless duty.
"I'll be gone before morning." Hector muttered. Adira and Quirin acted as one.
"Brother, that's not what I-" Quirin started.
"You can't leave." Adira said sternly. "Please, you can't."
"What do you expect me to do?" Hector asked. He gestured at Quirin, who just looked exhausted. "He doesn't want me here." Quirin looked like he was about to disagree, and Hector didn't give him the chance. "Stop trying to lie to me. You think I'm blind? Or just an idiot? I can't just get rid of my so-called delusions. If you have me here, you have my beliefs, and they're not going anywhere."
"I know." Quirin said. "I'm sorry. I-I overreacted. I'm just scared. You have no idea how scared I am for Varian. All I want for him is a normal life. I want him to be happy."
"He is happy." Adira said. "I don't know if you've noticed, but Varian's much happier with me and Hector here. He's opening himself up more. He's asking questions. He has people he can talk to if he feels like he can't talk to you."
"I know." Quirin sat down, looking absolutely drained. "I've missed seeing that light in his eyes. I've missed him." Quirin closed his eyes. "And I'm sure he misses me." Quirin brought a hand to his forehead. "By the Moon above, I'm right here, and I'm so absent that I'm making my son feel alone."
"None of us have to be alone." Adira looked at both of them. "But we have to stand together." She stared intently at Quirin, just barely not glaring at him. "Quirin, please. We need to do this. You know I'm right."
Quirin was still for a long moment before he sighed and stood up. "Alright." He looked at Hector. "There's something you need to see." Quirin went outside, and Hector followed him. Adira was smiling to herself as she brought up the rear. It was dark out, but the moon was bright enough for them to navigate. Quirin to the path at the bottom of the steps. Quirin knelt down on the ground and started to brush the dirt away. He went on for a moment before Hector saw a glisten in the darkness. A sight that was all too familiar to him.
"What is that?" Hector knelt by Quirin so he could get a closer look. There he saw the black and blue glow of the black rocks. It wasn't the typical black rock that he was used to seeing. They were flat and small, just the size of normal rocks, but Hector would recognize these things anywhere.
"The black rocks." Hector muttered. "What are they doing here?"
"This is where Varian plays a lot." Adira said. Quirin sighed and nodded. "I've found these pebbles all around Old Corona. They're not a threat as far as we can tell, and they're easy enough to hide, but they're still here."
It was the first real sign that Hector had seen that Varian had the powers of the moonstone, at least a little bit, and it was good enough proof for him.
"And Varian doesn't know." Hector said. That much was clear. He looked at Quirin. "You don't want him to know."
"Not if it can be avoided." Quirin said.
"I'll try." Hector said, and he meant it. He did want to be here, but not if he wasn't wanted.
"I'll do my best as well." Quirin said. "I can't let my fear of losing my family be the reason I lose my family."
"So we're in agreement?" Adira asked. "We're all going to stay?" Quirin and Hector looked at each other and nodded. Adira breathed a sigh of relief, which Hector didn't think he'd ever heard her do. "Good. Finally." She gave them both a teasing and slightly arrogant look. "I told you, everything would work out."
Hector didn't know how worked out it was. Nothing was resolved. Hector had another reason to stay, and that was it. Quirin still wanted Varian to not be involved with the moonstone, when that was something none of them could help. Quirin and Adira were still going to fight about who even knew what.
But Hector wasn't going to wait for the other shoe to drop. He was needed here, for Varian's sake. If Quirin did turn around and kick him out, he'd protect the kid from afar, just like he'd been doing for the moonstone in the Great Tree. This wasn't just their family playing house. Hector's duty, both to his family and to the Moon was here, and he wasn't going to fail. There was too much to lose if he did.