[Back-Dated, Open] Titus A-muddled, or Natural Brother

[77th_emo_earl]

He may have a natural brother...

For a long time, Titus often dreamed of having a brother, dreamed of having an older brother to bear the title and the crown and the inheritance, but not like this, not in this place, not in this place, where titles and bloodlines barely mean anything. In their world, if he had known this sooner, he would gave handed over his crown gladly. Now more than ever, the words that the Steerpike he had known had snarled with his last breath haunt Titus: "You were lucky..."

But now that his suspicions have been all but confirmed, he is not sure what to think nor what to feel, much less what to make of the situation, and these thoughts leave him restless on his bed. His discreet encounter with Robin kept his mind off these things -- it was easy to forget with Robin's mouth working it's magic on his inexperienced flesh -- but now that he is alone, his mind returns to the notions that left him troubled.

His worst enemy and he may share the same blood, the same father, though clearly not the same mother. If this was Gormenghast, his enemy might be the rightful heir, and he, Titus, might be the usurper.

These ideas crawl through his mind like creepers, pushing aside all other thoughts like the roots breaking apart the stones they climb upon. No longer able to sleep, he pushes back the covers, letting them slide to the floor, before rising and pulling on his trousers and a dressing gown, shoving his feet into his shoes. He heads down to the kitchen, in search of some warm milk and a biscuit -- a childish way to settle one's whirling thoughts, but it seems as good as any at this point. Though he might also be hiding from himself the fact that he's hoping to find someone to talk to and to help him make sense of everything that is whirling in his head right now.

Backdated to a day or two after he made some unsettling discoveries. Looking specifically for Helen (M2), but he's open to other people offering an open ear and a concerned heart.

Comments

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

Iphigenia's had another one of her nightmares, and so she's downstairs in the kitchen as well, sipping on some tea (oh, how the elves have rubbed off on her). When she sees Titus, she'll smile at him tiredly and nod.

"What are you doing up?" she asks. "Come here and sit by me. You look like you need company." She stifles a yawn. "I'm tired, but I can't sleep." She doesn't mention the dreams, and won't unless he asks.

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

He's a bit bleary-eyed himself, but he manages a small smile as he spies her and joins her at the table. "I hope that I did not disturb you: I've had a hard time sleeping tonight and so I came down to find something to refresh myself," he says.

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

She shakes her head. "It's quite all right. If I may ask, what's the matter?"

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

He manages a small smile. "It might be easier to ask me what isn't the matter with me. I've had a rather unsettling time during the past few days.

"It started when I found a shelf of...books, with rather racy stories and poems in a discreet corner of the library," he says. "I got myself rather distracted by them, and I did not realize that someone was watching me, much less that the contents had...warmed my flesh, noticeably." He blushes and looks away as he admits to this.

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

She smiles a little. "I think that's normal, to feel embarrassed about that sort of thing. I know I would be if someone caught me reading something like that."

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

"Some who caught me that way were more understanding: one married woman even asked to read it, finding it amusing," he says, smiling a little at this. But growing serious again, he adds, "But some were not so accepting of this: my sister Fuschia was horrified and one older woman hit me with the book and told me that I was wasting my time. And a young man whom I know from Gormenghast taunted me for it."

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

"...Someone else here is from Gormenghast besides you and your sister? Who is it?"

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

"His name is Steerpike, I knew him only as an older man, in his thirties, but this appears to be a younger version of him," he replies, phrasing this carefully. He gave his word that he would not cause trouble for his enemy, but he's certainly not going to praise him either: he's trying to keep this as neutral as possible.

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

"...Steerpike? That's what you said his name was?"

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

"Yes, that is his name," he says. "Do you know him?"

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

She nods. "We are...familiar, yes." Oh, this is awkward. Hm.

"In fact, I'd say we know each other fairly well."

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

"Ahh, I see." His instinct is to warn her off the young man, but he stops himself. He gave his word that he would not stand in his natural brother's way, and calumniating him for what he hasn't yet done would likely fall under that head, since it would make the other's way harder. "I hope I do not seem too short when I speak of him: when I knew him, we did not get along well, but I suppose one cannot get along with everyone."

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

"Why didn't you get along with him? I think he's fairly polite, at least."

[umpteenthdream.livejournal.com]

Helen goes back and forth between being an evening and a morning person, and this is one of the nights when she's awake - in fact, she might wander to the kitchen for a cup of herbal tea, in between breaks.

The alchemy she's been studying is fascinating, but grueling, and she's been wanting to surprise Alphonse with something new, so her efforts have redoubled.

When she spots Titus, she pauses in the doorway.

"Good evening, Titus." Her voice is gentle and soothing as ever.

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

"When I knew him," he says, carefully emphasizing these words, "He served as the Master of the Ritual, and I suppose that because I despised performing the Ritual that was the life of the castle, that likely colored my opinion of him."

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

"Oh. Maybe you should get to know him better, then! He might turn out to be a friend, perhaps."


Iphi clearly has a solution to every problem.

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

He's found a bottle of milk and is pouring some into a pan, preparatory to heating it on the stove. "Good evening, Helen," he says, looking up. "Are you having trouble sleeping as I am?"

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

He only wishes it was that easy, but he's not about to let on in so many words. "I would hope this could be possible, but I doubt that it might come about," he says, wagging his head slightly. "I said some things to him, accused him of things he has not done, at least not here."

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry to hear that, then," she says sympathetically. "So, I'm guessing your meeting with him here didn't go so well?"

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

"The first time that I met him, when I was looking over the listing for the university here, no, that did not go well. That was when I confronted him," he says. Then with a wry smile, he adds, "But this time, he returned the favor and confronted me, as it were."

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

"What did he confront you about?" she asks.

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

"My reading habits, and how they affected my flesh," he admits, blushing a bit.

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

She giggles a little, reaching for his hand. "He does like to tease, I'll admit."

[77th-earl.livejournal.com]

He lets her take his hand, if only for the comfort of the touch of another human being. "I think that he was in earnest this time," he says.

[ohmaiden.livejournal.com]

She pales a little. "That's not very nice of him. Do you want me to tell him that?"