The Devil is in the Details [open]

[Jaime Stark]

That silly woman. She always had such a look of depression on her face. The happiness had fled it entirely when Jaime left. Why though, why was she always looking so upset over nothing? She was shedding all those tears for Jaime, yet he was alive and well, for the most part, not dead.

The boy watched from the shadows of an alleyway as his mother purchased some items and slowly made her way away from the marketplace. She hadn't seen him... she never saw him. It was a good thing, though, Jaime didn't want to be seen. Not by her.

It was past noontime, but still a few hours from sundown. The dark-haired child could spend all the time he wanted away from the other children for the time being, considering he had actually remembered to eat lunch today, and wouldn't have to go wandering all the way back just to get something to eat. For now, he simply wanted to watch the afternoon activities of the town...

[Dmitri Evans]

It was mid-afternoon, there was nothing really to do. Although, he did bump into his mother at the market. Let's just say that didn't really end well, considering it ended in a rather heated argument. It wasn't much of an argument since she ignored him, therefore it was more or less him shouting at her.

Either way, he found himself walking around, angry, annoyed, just plain old upset. However, his eye caught the presence of someone familiar. Though, he'd approach slowly, casually, sneaking up upon the boy as he seemed so fixated on something else.

"Why are you hanging out here, little faggot? Could you get any creepier?" The teen would say, his words more malicious than anything anyone else could probably say to him.

Yes, this was his brother, only by blood, nothing else. There were no spiritual bonds between them, not even a simple friendship. Their hatred for one another ran deep, deeper than the blood that flowed through their veins.

[Jaime Stark]

It was true. Jaime was so busy watching the woman who used to be his mother walk out of sight, that he had not bothered to notice anything else. Until a voice, and a speaker to go along with it, had begun to approach, speaking to him... Obviously Jaime couldn't forget him, he knew right away who it was. Could Jaime get any creepier, he asked? "Oh, I probably could," and with that, he gave his older brother the sweetest of looks. Underneath his innocent expression, however, he harbored more hatred for Dmitri than he did for probably anyone else in the world.

"When I heard my big brother was back in town, I just had to see if it was true," yeah... not in a million years. The lie was so ridiculous, Jaime was surprised he didn't laugh aloud himself, right after he had uttered the nonsense of that sentence. Obviously, Dmitri wouldn't believe it either. He would have to be a lot dumber than Jaime thought he was, for him to believe something so ludicrous. Anyway, it was only sarcasm. In reality, Jaime would have preferred to avoid this brother of his.

[Dmitri Evans]

"I see." The teen simply scowled at his brother, hating every passing moment he stood in his presence. There was no one he hated more than Jaime, except for their mother, that was the one person in the world he absolutely despised above all else. No one could even come close to pissing Dmitri off the way that she has, it was almost impossible.

"This is why you're going to grow up into some creep who kills cats and touches women inappropriately or something. You're a sick fuck. Just like your no good daddy." He'd aim to strike the boy, yet not physical but rather with words. Dmitri wasn't the type of person to watch his tongue or even hold back, therefore whatever popped into his mind was said out loud. His feelings were no secret.

He wanted to pound Jaime's face into the dirt and simply kick the life out of him, however he had the reserve not to, somehow....

[Jaime Stark]

"Don't you know? Those who 'grow up' are sacrificed to our god," the younger boy pointed out, still with a casual smile on his face. Jaime had already accepted that he wouldn't live long enough to really mature past the point of being a teenager. "Children are innocent, brother, adults aren't," Jaime glanced at Dmitri for a moment, up and down, too bad he was still technically too young to be an adult. Dmitri would have made for an excellent sacrifice.

"Even that man who was my father is too old to be allowed to continue... living," Jaime's false smile faded. It would please him more to get rid of Dmitri, than it would to sacrifice any of the town's adult population... But he was still conflicted about what to do... Lillith wanted Dmitri for other purposes. Dumb purposes. A stupid plan, that he certainly did not agree with.

"Oh, and about the cats... I do have a nasty habit of murdering them already. You know me so well! Meanwhile, Lillith is a woman and she has the habit of walking around entirely naked. I hear you two have met?"

[Dmitri Evans]

Bullshit. Every last word of it. There was no such things as God, Satan or anything else along those lines. Those were just concepts that man created in order to make the world an easier place to explain. It made things so much easier when you put your faith into the hands of supernatural beings rather than using science to figure out the facts. Not that it couldn't be possible, it just was unlikely, at least from his stand point.

"Sounds like bull to me. He'd reply rather coolly, no hesitation in his words, the air of confidence around him never faltering. "Besides kids can be evil as well. It's not the age that makes someone bad, but rather who they are in general. If you went to school and read a book for a change you'd know that."

There were tons of bad people in the world, adult and children alike. For example, Jaime wasn't exactly a good person nor were either of their parents. If anything, Dmitri felt as though he was a much better person than all three of them. They were nothing like him nor would they ever be. And that was a good thing.

"Eh. You used to be cute, what happened? Oh wait, you learned to walk and talk...that's right."

[Jaime Stark]

Jaime took the silence for a 'yes'. It had not entirely been a question about whether or not Dmitri had seen Lillith anyway, he already knew that it was true.

Kids could be evil too, sure, but they weren't inherently evil, and that was the point he had been trying to make. Whereas, once a person begins to approach adulthood, his innocence is more than likely gone already, one way or another.

And... and Jaime used to read books fairly often! Clearly, by appearances alone a person could easily see that Jaime was more of the... sit down and read a book type than the athlete type. There weren't so many books out in the cornfields, though. "Did your military school teach you that?" he asked curiously. Delinquents were sent to places such as that, because they needed to be disciplined more than the average kid. His brother was one of the delinquents.

"You're clever," Jaime commented in a sarcastic tone of voice. "What could Lillith have possibly seen in you, I wonder?" the boy saw nothing here in front of him but the harsh, distant brother he had known his entire life. "I don't think it's your winning personality..."

[Dmitri Evans]

"Actually, that place has taught me plenty of things. I'm getting a top notch education, unlike that shithole you call a school." He wasn't lying, they drilled information into the brains of all the students there. Not only that, they were physically conditioned to be able to handle the toughest of environments. Their food intake, their courses, their exercise was all closely monitored. That's why he had the body of an eighteen year old and the education of a college freshman. Leaving Jamestown was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Hell, before he left this place he was a lot weaker, much more unintelligent. He had improved in so many areas since then, though no one praised him for his significant growth. No one ever praised him for even the most difficult of feats, that's how it always was. Unappreciated, unloved, alone...yet it rarely bothered him. He no longer needed such things as love or praise, it was beneath him.

"Hm? What does she see in me? I think it is my personality. I mean, I'd rather have a personality then be just a template for human such as yourself. The only people more brainless and boring than yourself are the corpses lying in the graveyard." He was being dead serious, his brother really had no personality. It was like he was a living, breathing human recorder, repeating back the smart ass things Dmitri says.

"It's alright. Maybe if you pray enough to your corn fairy or god or whatever, you'll one day have a personality. And maybe a boyfriend, since we all know you're gay."

[Jaime Stark]

Apparently Dmitri didn't know Jaime at all. But did it hurt the younger brother to realize that? Not completely... considering his older brother had never taken the time before to just act like a sibling to him, so he didn't expect Dmitri to understand him at all now, either.

Dmitri's words washed past the boy as if they were nothing. He was entirely wrong about Jaime, but why bother to argue it with someone so stubborn? Someone who didn't care about him, just as much as he didn't care back. How stupid and pointless, it was a waste of time, this whole running into Dmitri business.

"You'll excuse me if I have better things to do than to quarrel with you?" Jaime questioned, his tone was less polite than it had been earlier, although it remained relatively calm. He turned away from his brother, aiming to part from his company before Dmitri could continue on with his senseless insults. "I'm busy."

[Dmitri Evans]

He knew his brother well to where he knew he had struck a nerve, he wasn't all that oblivious. Otherwise, the two probably still would have been arguing or something along those lines. Neither usually ended such arguments unless they got their feelings hurt or something. That's just how things were. That's how they always were, usually, that is. However, Dmitri would react differently on this day, just once...only once.

He approached his little brother from behind and would simply attempt to wrap his arms around, embracing him in a firm hug. That's how he truly felt for his brother deep down inside somewhere. Despite all their differences, Dmitri still adored the brat slightly. Maybe not in the way a brother should, but it was worth something that he even cared for him, right?

"Don't be so lame..." The teen uttered softly, almost as if he were trying to mesmerize his younger counterpart and keep him close. Ah yes, how he loved his brother....kind of. Sort of.... yet not in a very brotherly manner.

[Jaime Stark]

Jaime expected some sort of retort about how he was a mindless zombie with no important duties to take care of. Something along the lines of hearing his brother Dmitri call him by some name before heading off in the opposite direction, uncaring.

But... that... wasn't what happened...?

For a moment, Jaime thought he'd felt his heart skip a beat inside his chest. Arms wrapped around him in a hug... his brother's arms. And the younger of the two didn't move to break free, all the while the shock of it all held him there in place. "I don't understand, Dmitri..." he found himself saying, as a pink blush slowly crept up his face.

Certain emotions began to crash down inside of him all in one gigantic mess. His feelings about Lillith and her plan. His feelings for his family, and for Dmitri. For the other children in the cornfields... and for the town. For his wolf companion. Jaime had earlier been at the beginnings of not feeling like he belonged with the other children anymore... but neither could he return to his family in town... There was no place for him. And now, his brother was making him feel that much worse. "Let me go."

[Dmitri Evans]

Despite what Dmitri thought about Jaime, it seemed as though the younger boy was still warm, still alive. He held onto him tightly, enough where he could feel the boy's heart rate creeping up, feeling each pulsing beat. It had been such a long time since he held him so closely, so endearing. Although, it was a bit strange considering their relationship and whatnot. However, they were still brothers, right?

Even he hadn't expected to hug him...yet here he was.

"I'm not sure why..." He answered so simply, almost as if he were compelled to answer his brother. All the same, he held on, just a bit longer. Even if it was against Jaime's wishes. Though, soon enough he would aim to plant a gentle kiss upon his brother's cheek while he was still vulnerable before letting go. And once his embrace ended, he'd simply turn around and walk away. That was al he could do, right?

The feelings he had inside were complicated, jumbled, unexplainable even. Yet he felt good about the situation... "See ya." He'd say rather coolly, hands in his pants pockets.

[Jaime Stark]

The kiss on his cheek was almost as unexpected as the hug that had come before it. Something had gotten into Dmitri... that had to be it. He wouldn't act this way under normal circumstances. The only thing Jaime could think was that, since his brother wasn't being himself anymore, then it must have been something he ate... or drank. Maybe, he was drunk?

Again, it was a bit of a surprise when Dmitri listened to Jaime and actually let him go. Jaime listened as his brother's footsteps began to get farther away behind him. The boy sniffed, but dared not to glance back. Unable to put his finger on why his brother's words of farewell had put a knot into his stomach.

Jaime couldn't utter anything in return. He ran, as fast as his feet could manage to carry him. To get out of there quickly. As he ran, the boy completely forgot what he'd gone to town for in the first place. His only thought was to get out of there, now. He wiped his sleeve over his eyes, nobody could be allowed to see, the confused tears streaming down his face...