The offer to listen - the offer to keep his eyes closed, of all things - grounds Ryo, at least a little. "You...you don't have to do that." Wait. "Close your eyes, I mean. It- it's fine."
He settles and tries to figure out where to start. "I told you that my brother left." He takes a breath and sighs. No, that's...not it. Not all of it, at least. "...and I told you that the town that I grew up was...superstitious, about twins." That, unfortunately, is it. That's where he needs to start. "They believe that the younger twin is...a curse. That it's an evil creature who takes the older twin's form and follows it out into the world, causing misfortune and- eventually killing the older twin." Another deep breath. Why had it been so easy to tell Endon and Orion? Why is telling Thanatos so hard? "Ryoga is fifteen minutes older than me, and we look alike...and our mother died, when I was born. That's...all it took to convince everyone. My father had promised my mother he'd take care of us both, and he did, but- he never forgave me, and he didn't care if I knew it. My brother loved me, and my uncle, and everyone else...ignored me, blamed me when things went wrong, took their anger out on me, even- attacked me if I was alone." Torren. Gods, Torren. "I was a curse, and they'd be happier to see me gone.
"My uncle tried to get us both out, every time a caravan came through town, but my father would never let Ryoga go." You can take the curse, but you can't have my son. "That's why he left - he knew I wouldn't go without him, but with him already gone, there was nothing to stop my uncle from getting me out. We were just...waiting for the next caravan.
"But before that could come, we got a pair of travelers who needed help. Someone sent them to me - because when you hate strangers, you send them to the curse, right?" His voice wavers just a bit - it's a comment at his expense, and even though he made it, he still hates it - but he keeps going. "I helped them, and we got to talking, and...I found out they were twins themselves, though you'd never know it by looking at them. Once they heard what life was like for me, they- they offered to take me with them." His voice breaks, and he has to stop. Talking about his past is hard enough, but talking about Orion and Endon just hurts, especially when he'd been so hopeful that he'd be introducing them to Thanatos instead.
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He settles and tries to figure out where to start. "I told you that my brother left." He takes a breath and sighs. No, that's...not it. Not all of it, at least. "...and I told you that the town that I grew up was...superstitious, about twins." That, unfortunately, is it. That's where he needs to start. "They believe that the younger twin is...a curse. That it's an evil creature who takes the older twin's form and follows it out into the world, causing misfortune and- eventually killing the older twin." Another deep breath. Why had it been so easy to tell Endon and Orion? Why is telling Thanatos so hard? "Ryoga is fifteen minutes older than me, and we look alike...and our mother died, when I was born. That's...all it took to convince everyone. My father had promised my mother he'd take care of us both, and he did, but- he never forgave me, and he didn't care if I knew it. My brother loved me, and my uncle, and everyone else...ignored me, blamed me when things went wrong, took their anger out on me, even- attacked me if I was alone." Torren. Gods, Torren. "I was a curse, and they'd be happier to see me gone.
"My uncle tried to get us both out, every time a caravan came through town, but my father would never let Ryoga go." You can take the curse, but you can't have my son. "That's why he left - he knew I wouldn't go without him, but with him already gone, there was nothing to stop my uncle from getting me out. We were just...waiting for the next caravan.
"But before that could come, we got a pair of travelers who needed help. Someone sent them to me - because when you hate strangers, you send them to the curse, right?" His voice wavers just a bit - it's a comment at his expense, and even though he made it, he still hates it - but he keeps going. "I helped them, and we got to talking, and...I found out they were twins themselves, though you'd never know it by looking at them. Once they heard what life was like for me, they- they offered to take me with them." His voice breaks, and he has to stop. Talking about his past is hard enough, but talking about Orion and Endon just hurts, especially when he'd been so hopeful that he'd be introducing them to Thanatos instead.