Something was wrong with Varian.
He'd always been a lonely child who had learned from a young age to hide his problems and try to fix things by himself instead of asking for help. He'd never been a particularly happy child, and there had been times where Hector wondered if his mere presence was somehow making Varian worse. Could these dark feelings that rarely left Hector alone be contagious in some way? He desperately hoped not. Varian deserved better than that.
Ever since Varian had turned fourteen he'd been getting worse. Quirin and Adira seemed oblivious about what was going on, but that was just because the kid had subtly been avoiding them. He'd been spending more time with Hector, and he saw just how badly the kid was doing.
Varian was more withdrawn, and yet at the same time he was clingy. He followed Hector everywhere, but he was still caught up in his own head. It was a sudden change that seemed to have come out of nowhere. Hector wondered if something had happened, but at the same time he thought that maybe there really was no specific reason.
Varian was starting to come of age, and his birthday had been under the light of the full Moon. It had to be a sign. He hadn't seen many other indications that Varian embodied the moonstone, but the little black rocks that occasionally showed up couldn't be a coincidence. The power was probably just lying dormant, but it would wake up eventually, and Hector thought that it had to be soon. Maybe the power was the reason why Varian had been acting so weird. Hector knew that he would definitely feel angry and upset if he suddenly had the powers of the Moon and he didn't even know it.
Though Varian didn't talk to him a lot about anything really meaningful, Hector could tell that he wanted to. Whenever they were together Hector would see Varian staring at him out of the corner of his eye, looking like he had something on his mind. Sometimes he looked like he was about to say something, but changed his mind at the last second. Varian would then get more upset and isolate himself more.
He didn't want to push the kid, but he was tearing himself apart. Varian needed to talk.
"Hey, kid, you wanna go camping?" Hector suggested one day, because he was getting desperate. "Just the two of us."
"Camping?" Varian looked confused, but hopeful. The kid had never been a fan of the outdoors. If he was looking forward to camping, he must be desperate to get out of the house. Maybe Hector could get him to loosen up and finally talk to him about what was going on. "Why?"
"Why not?" Hector asked. "You're fourteen, and you've never been outside of Old Corona without your dad. You need to get out. And frankly, I think you need to get away from your dad, just for a little bit."
Varian looked a little guilty, but he didn't disagree. Varian had been avoiding his dad, and Quirin probably hadn't even noticed. They needed some space, and if there was no chance of Varian running into his dad, he might be more willing to talk to Hector.
"But will Dad allow it?" Varian asked. Hector scoffed.
"It's okay to do things that your dad doesn't want you to do." Hector said. Varian glared at him.
"You don't." Varian said, and that hit Hector harder than it probably should have.
"No, no I don't." Hector admitted. "Though lately I've been thinking that maybe I should." Varian should have learned about the moonstone years ago. Even if he didn't have the powers of the Moon, he should know about his heritage.
Varian looked conflicted for a minute before a look of determination came to his eyes. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"Cool." Hector said. "Just let me handle your dad. I know how to get what I want from him." It didn't always work, but he wasn't afraid of trying.
Varian giggled slightly. "Can I watch?"
"I don't see why not." Hector said. If Varian was there, it might keep things from getting out of hand like they so regularly did. They made their way to Quirin's garden, where he was working as he normally was. Hector went up to his brother and leaned against his shoulder. Quirin grunted, and then groaned.
"Hector, what are you doing?" Quirin asked tiredly.
"You know, Adira bet that I was such a freak that I couldn't even stand like a normal person." Hector said. He put more pressure on Quirin's back, leaning heavily against him. He smirked when he heard Varian giggle. "What do you think?"
"I think you should grow up." Quirin said.
"You know, I tried that once." Hector practically sat on Quirin's back, lounging. His brother didn't even attempt to nudge him off. He just knelt there, taking it. "It didn't really work out." Varian laughed louder. Quirin sighed and finally stopped his gardening. He looked over his shoulder at them.
"What are you two up to?" Quirin asked.
"I was thinking of taking the kid camping." Hector said. "Just some uncle-nephew bonding time."
Quirin was quiet. Hector didn't give him the chance to think of a reason why he should disagree. "Come on, it's been a rough couple of weeks. He needs some fresh air, and I need to get out of this place for a bit."
Quirin looked tired. Hector got off of him and Quirin stood up. "Will you remember what I asked of you?"
Hector's throat tightened. "I didn't plan this just to go behind your back." He knew they disagreed about telling Varian about the moonstone, and that wouldn't change any time soon, but Hector wouldn't betray his brother's trust like that. Not unless he had a very good reason.
Quirin's gaze softened. He sighed. "I know." He looked towards Varian. "As long as you don't go more than half a day's journey away, I suppose it'll do you both some good."
Hector beamed and looked back at Varian. "See, kid? I told you. Guilt tripping gets him every time."
"It does not." Quirin shoved him. "Go get ready before I change my mind." Though they all knew it was an empty threat.
Varian ran inside to gather his stuff. Hector didn't really have anything to grab, so he just stayed outside with Quirin. Once Varian was inside Quirin gave him a concerned look. "Have you been doing okay?"
Hector shrugged. "I'm not doing bad." He never really had good days. Just days that were bad, and days that weren't. Quirin studied his face for a long moment before he sighed tiredly. "Have you seen Adira lately?"
"I've seen her around these past few weeks, but not a lot." Hector said. He hadn't thought much of it. Adira frequently came and went. It was nothing to be worried about, but Quirin seemed to think otherwise. He scowled and looked conflicted. Hector frowned. "What's wrong?"
"I think we need to sit down and talk about some things as a family." Quirin said. "Go have fun with Varian. We'll talk when you get back." Hector felt hopeful. Maybe this was finally about the moonstone.
"Kay." Hector said. "We'll see you in a few days." He went inside to help Varian pack. He wanted to get going. It was still fairly early in the day, and there should be plenty of time to find a good place to camp.
They were ready to leave within the hour. They just walked, though Varian got a little nervous when Hector brought him to the borders of the kingdom.
"Dad didn't want us to go too far." Varian said.
"We won't." Hector said. "Come on, kid, live a little." Despite Varian's hesitation, he followed Hector. While he was very familiar with the forests around Old Corona, Hector didn't know this land. He didn't have a destination in mind, he just walked.
Varian looked more relaxed now that they were out here, but he was also incredibly tense.
"How can you stand it?" Varian said eventually. "Knowing that my dad doesn't trust you?"
"I don't think anyone trusts me." Hector laughed it off. He didn't even trust himself. Yeah, it bothered him when Quirin and Adira didn't seem to trust him about specific subjects, but they were probably right to think that they needed to keep an eye on him.
"I'm serious." Varian said. His voice was whiney, but there was also a coldness in it that let Hector know that this wasn't a concern to be brushed off with ease.
"It hurts." Hector admitted. "But I can't blame him. Quirin struggles to trust family. He always has. It's just part of who he is. Just like how I don't trust people outside of our family."
"But it's not the same." Varian kicked a pebble, scowling in frustration. "Families shouldn't lie to each other."
Hector grimaced. He knew that Varian had been getting more and more suspicious, and he had every right to. "Yeah, I think so too. But sometimes we have to do things that we don't like for the sake of the better good." Against his better instinct, he'd done as Quirin requested and kept Varian in the dark, because if he didn't then he wouldn't be allowed to protect Varian. He needed to do what he thought was right to achieve what he knew was good.
Varian pursed his lips. "Adira said something like that, and I hate it. Why can't we just be honest?"
Hector sighed. "I don't know." He hated that he was at least partially responsible for Varian's bad mood.
Varian scowled. "I just don't want there to be any more lies." He clenched his fists, his eyes glistening with tears of frustration. "Is that so much to ask?"
Hector felt uncomfortable. He didn't know how to deal with Varian's anger. When Quirin or Adira got mad he would match their tone. He couldn't do that with Varian. But he couldn't comfort him either, because he just didn't know how. So, of course, Hector just ran his mouth without really thinking about it.
"I wouldn't call it a lie." Hector said. "It's just…not really telling you the truth."
Varian growled, and Hector felt like an idiot. The kid stomped off in frustration, and Hector let him go. He wasn't the right person to be doing this. Adira was so good at persuading people, even if she infuriated them in the process. And Quirin was Varian's dad. He'd actually be able to explain why the secrets were needed, because unlike Hector he actually understood the reason.
Hector was just following their example and going along with things, and now he had upset Varian, and didn't know the first thing about making it better.
He wanted to tell Varian the truth, but Quirin had specifically asked him to not do that during their trip. Hector couldn't betray his brother's trust like that. But he was betraying Varian's trust by not talking to him. Hector was being forced to choose between his family, and he couldn't. It was tearing him apart.
He just wanted to go home, but he didn't really know what that meant. Quirin's place? The forests around Old Corona? The Great Tree? The Dark Kingdom? He had considered all of them his home and safe haven at this point, but right now none of them felt quite right.
Was he just longing for his family? He didn't know why he would. It would just mean lying to Varian, getting into another fight with his siblings, and questioning what he was even doing here.
Hector scolded himself for a few minutes before he made himself stop wallowing. Varian was out here by himself, too worked up to properly pay attention to his surroundings. He knew that Varian probably wanted to be alone, but this wasn't the time or place for that. He needed to find the kid. If Varian was still mad and took it out on Hector, so be it. At least he'd be safe.
It was all too easy to track down Varian. The kid didn't even try to cover his tracks. Hector found him soon enough, but the sight before him when he saw Varian shook him to the core. The kid was sitting on the ground, his head buried in his knees. He looked like he was crying, but for a moment that wasn't Hector's first concern.
There were black rocks everywhere. They weren't glowing, so they weren't active, but they were still there. Hector hadn't seen true black rocks since he'd left the Dark Kingdom. The pebbles he found around Old Corona didn't truly count.
"Varian," Hector kept his voice quiet, but urgent. "Can you come over here and get away from those things?" It didn't look like more black rocks were shooting out of the ground. They looked almost dormant, but black rocks were notorious for being unpredictable.
Varian lifted his head and looked towards him. He didn't look scared, because he had no idea how dangerous these rocks could be. "Hector?" Varian stood up, frowning when he nudged one of the black rocks.
"What are these things?" Varian frowned. "I didn't even see them before."
Hector felt like his heart jolted. "You didn't see them? Or were they not here when you got here?" Varian was pretty upset. If Varian's recent temperament was because of the moonstone's influence, then it wasn't surprising that the black rocks would pop up now.
Varian gave Hector a confused look. "Why wouldn't they have been here? Rocks don't just pop up out of the ground."
"These aren't normal rocks." Hector said. "And I'll tell you about them, but we need to get away from here and talk to your dad and Adira." Whether Quirin liked it or not, Varian needed to know the truth before things got out of hand.
Varian's eyes got a hint of fear in them. He approached Hector. "You're scared of these things. You're not afraid of anything."
"You get a healthy respect for things when you see them impale someone." Hector said without thinking. Varian paled and looked terrified. Maybe he shouldn't have been so blatant about it. Varian may have reached the age that meant the start of adulthood for their people, but he was still just a kid.
Varian hurried to Hector's side, clinging to him. He led him away from the black rocks.
"We're not camping, are we?" Varian asked.
"Maybe later." Hector said. He wanted to camp, but the black rocks changed everything. They needed to be addressed before anything else was. "Right now we have to get home." The black rocks couldn't really wait.
Hector took his boots off, shoving them into Varian's bag. Hector crouched down. "Get on." Varian knew to not question. He climbed onto Hector's back, holding on tight. The man started running, feeling the earth beneath his feet. He could run faster this way, and also more carefully. And he knew that if the black rocks started getting active and came out of the ground, he'd be able to feel the vibrations in the earth and have just a moment more warning to get away. When it came to the black rocks though every moment counted.
Things were starting to get out of hand. Whether Quirin liked it or not, it was time for Varian to learn about the powers of the moonstone. If his brother still refused, then Hector would take matters into his own hands. This was what he had come here for. If he couldn't protect the moonstone from those who would misuse it, and if he couldn't protect innocents from the dangers of the moonstone, then what was he good for?