ARD
There were a lot of moments in his life where Ard didn’t know what the fuck was going on, and this instance was no different. For seasons he and his brother had remained in Denocte instead of joining the others back in Terrastella, an announcement that they had somehow missed, instead keeping to themselves and generally avoiding contact with the Night Court denizens. Or he tried to avoid contact, anyway. Erd, the damnable social little butterfly that he was, did his absolute best to make friends wherever he saw fit.
Ard hated it in a way that he hated most things, and in a way that had very little to do with jealousy. Or so he said.
He had no desire to remain in Denocte for much longer, and honestly, he was losing the desire, or even the want, to return to Terrastella. Little had happened there to benefit them. Oh, sure. They had met Marisol and Theodosia and had joined the Halcyon Unit, but for what good? What purpose? The whole affair did little to soothe his troubled, wretched heart, and oftentimes the young warlock found himself yearning for the freedom of an open road with no one at his side save for Erd.
His brother wouldn’t hear any of it, of course. Erd was loyal where Ard was selfish. Erd was good, where Ard was not, and it was that goodness that swayed the younger twin into staying rooted in a court he wanted absolutely nothing to do with. Goodness, yes, but mostly love and profound adoration. He would not survive without his brother.
Still, that did not mean that Ard liked the sudden, prominent influx of individuals unexpectedly crowding the Night Court streets. They came wearing elaborate masks and costumes, smelling of perfumes both foreign and native, looking akin to peacocks strutting their stuff. Ard judged them silently from the shadows, not understanding the fun they found in such a ridiculous event, but Erd… Oh, Erd, his idiotic, perfect other half, thought the whole thing was positively marvelous. They had been passing through the streets of the keep, skirting along to avoid the throngs of dressed up folk, when Erd had paused, said he would be back, and then slipped away in a billow of black cloak and taupe hairs. Then, he had returned minutes later, eager and expectant.
“No.” The single word was uttered darkly on a grunt as his gaze, narrowed slits of fierce turquoise, glared hard at his twin. It was hard to keep such a sour countenance when faced with Erd’s earnest naivety, glaring resentfully from the item offered to the rueful smile on his brother’s beautiful, stupid face.
A mask. Erd had brought him a mask. The artistic part of his brain appreciated the craftsmanship of the item. Appearing to be carved from sleek black marble, although he truly doubted that it actually was, the mask would sit and cover the eyes of anyone who wore it without covering much else of the face. Small turquoise stones had been pressed around the rim of the mask, adding an intriguing splash of color to the otherwise plain mask, and it was striking how much the stones almost matched their eyes. Ard spotted an identical mask already tied around Erd’s neck, which would take only a single thought to slip into place, and let out a longsuffering sigh.
The things you do to me, you lovable buffoon…
With notable hesitance did the silvered warlock allow his magic to stretch out and take the mask from Erd’s own telekinetic grasp, lifting it up to admire it more closely before gritting his teeth in annoyance and anxiety. He just wanted to leave…
’It will help keep you safe from prying eyes,’ Erd said softly, a statement that Ard could unfortunately agree with, ’Please, Ard? For me?’ A glance over towards his brother’s expression, eyes wide and lip jutting out in a begging pout, and Ard was undone. Without a word, he situated the mask on his face, adjusting it and carefully tying it behind his head. With another thought he pulled up the thick hood of his black and grey cloak, as well as slipping the cowl up to cover the bottom of his face.
Masked and hidden from the world, the anxiety slowly began to slip from his shoulders. Perhaps Erd had been onto something after all.
