“Holy shit,” Howard chuckled.
“How did you think I felt when I heard it the first time?” Lexus gently pulled the reins of the stag to halt on top of the hill. “I was too stunned to tell him who he was. Might have been for the best. Can’t imagine the past few days with Gabriel knowing that I knew Arthur.”
Howard stopped beside him with his stag. “Well, tell me how it was with you two. Was he scared of you?” The man chuckled, leaving Lexus to glare darts at him as he amused himself over his own joke.
“It was a damning couple of months,” Lexus continued after Howard stopped laughing.
“Tell me about them.”
Lexus sighed.
“The kid’s too young to think, clumsy on his feet, frail, and gullible."
“He’s starting to sound like Arthur a little bit.”
Lexus made a small smile at the corners of his mouth. “He does.” He let go of the reins and rested his arms on the saddle. “Got something else like the idiot too. His conscience.”
“Is he bouncing himself into trouble because of it too?”
“Thankfully, no. He’s polite and shy.”
"That’s good.”
"Mm."
The blades of tall grass started to sway with the building gentle winds. A sparrow sang in the distance. The two weary travelers were facing the sun rising from the far grassy mountain terrains, seeing the light hit the beginning parts of the town there.
This silence was rare in Lexus’ life. He absorbed every bit of it as much as he could with every one of his senses. But a feeling of unease was still there.
Howard shifted in his saddle. “He isn’t Arthur, you know.”
“I know.”
“Maybe ‘cause he’s a good kid, he’ll stay out of trouble.”
“He will,” Lexus said, but with little confidence in his voice.
“Heavens, why are you keeping quiet with me? Just get it out.”
Lexus looked at his hands, which were resting on the horn.
He took a deep breath and sat still, thinking carefully on how to choose his words. Then, he slowly started phrasing his thoughts. “I’m thinking this might be a good place for him. It’s safe, and he could use the time to learn how to fight. Maybe even join us afterwards.”
Howard turned to him quizzically, his mouth was open with no words for a few seconds. “Ho…Hold on, Lex…”
“Just a few months... I’ll leave him here for just a few months,”
“Now wait just a minute –“
“A few months so he could at least hold his ground when he comes back–“
“Hell no. The boy doesn't like it here like he does the Watchman. You told me he was with you for the last couple of months.”
‘Why does that matter?” Lexus said, starting to sound tempered.
“Because he’s a kid! A human kid! Leaving him here with no other humans or familiar people… He’s gonna think you fucking disowned him!”
“At least he’ll stay out of the fight.” Lexus retorted, raising his own voice angrily.
“Oh, is that it?” Howard yelled back.
One of the stags breathed sharply out of their snouts, unamused at their owners’ sudden volumes. The two adults grew quiet on their saddles, not saying a word to each other.
After a while, Lexus narrowed his eyes. “What are you going on about?”
Howard sighed and raised his head. “I’ve known you long enough to realize you ain’t leaving him just because you think it’ll keep the kid safe.” He turned to Lexus, with a look that was both stern but more concerned. “When you got scared, it wasn’t because of the dark or the monsters we fought in those cages. The Lexus I know was scared of having to watch them kill off people you knew best.”
Lexus remained still.
Howard lowered his voice. “I guess that’s why you wanna drop him here. You don’t want your fucking heart ripped out again.”
“He’s human,” Lexus said, his voice shaking ever so slightly that it could only be detected by Howard’s keen ear. “Fuck, he could be shot clean through the chest too and not get back up. He could die in a couple of seconds. Arthur was gone at the moment I held him.”
Lexus felt tempted to raise his arms like he did that night, but he couldn’t. Doing that might be too much.
He shook his head to wipe the vision off, and after a long silence, he spoke. “I see him in Gabriel all the damn time. I feel like I’m raising our kid.”
Howard exhaled softly through his nose, nodding his head.
“You two would have taken good care of the kid,” he added softly.
Lexus could only scoff wearily. With no strength on his shoulders and arms, he felt helpless.
Noticing his friend’s vulnerability, Howard reached a hand onto his back and patted him a few times. “When Arthur first heard about having a younger brother, he bolted right out, Lexus. He gave up everything he built with us to go care for that one family he never got to meet.”
Then Howard chuckled. “And I know you grew to like that kid a lot already. Probably even before you knew he was related to Arthur.”
The sound of the townspeople starting to move around the roads reached them. Lexus ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
He cleared his throat. “Yep,” he murmured, smirking at Howard.
The other rider gave a small smile back. “The idiot wanted to take care of Gabriel to pull a stupid move like ditching us. And for one, he was right to do it.” Howard tucked his feet back onto the saddle and held the reins. “Stay with him. Be the brothers the kid never got to meet. When Arthur hightailed it out for Gabriel, you sure as hell would have followed him then.”
Lexus paused in thought, then pulled the reins on his stag to start going down the hill, and back to camp. “Yeah,” he said weakly, clearing his throat afterwards.
Howard followed him at his side. “Yeah?” he chuckled, giving Lexus a hearty pat.
Lexus smiled and shook his head with his eyes closed. “Glad to have someone yell some sense to me again.”
“I’ll do it again if you stop taking my cigarettes,” Howard responded.
An uncharacteristic amused laugh left Lexus’ mouth, echoing through the woods.
---