An Owl's Rise

With a conflicted look on his face, Verrader began a mental tug of war. The voice he had heard several times telling him what his mission was played over and over again. The voice that assured him that his sister was to blame for all his pain and that she had stolen a power that was rightfully his.

But all he needed to do was bring her out of the Roost and when his master got ahold of her and finished some test, the powerful item would be his as it rightfully should have been

His master had nursed him back to health after being trapped in a cage for so long. He had given him valuable items to advance all the way to the awakened rank, and in return he only wanted one simple thing and that was Evelyn. The sister that had abandoned him to rot.

It was all supposed to be simple. He would find Evelyn, gain her trust, and lead her into a trap. Things had not gone the best when he was unable to keep his emotions under control when they first met, but thankfully his other sister Aralee had been able to act as a buffer. And he had also later been given a scent bag that released a calming perfume that relaxed individuals and lowered their wariness.

Slowly he had gotten closer to Evelyn, until finally she left the Roost with him. Yet now that he was ready to make his move, she not only saved him from being crippled by using a rare medicine, but forgave him for something he felt was unforgivable. Suddenly the slight bit of hate in her eyes that she had always looked at him with had vanished, and she had truly looked at him like her little brother.

Now he was faced with a decision he never thought would be difficult to make. To give Evelyn up or not.

When he had first left his master's care for his mission, he was certain that he would easily be able to deliver Evelyn without any difficulties. But now, he was conflicted on what to do.

'Even now I cannot see any hate in her eyes anymore.' Verrader thought.

Despite Evelyn having seemingly figured it out, Verrader could not see any of the disdain she used to look at him with.

"Yes, I have been working for a group of humans. My master, the man that saved me, wants you desperately. And it is my job to deliver you."

After admitting this Verrader hung his head low. Ashamed that he had just let down both his master and Evelyn.

"I see. Have you already given me up. Are the humans on the way or already here?" Evelyn asked, remaining calm.

She knew that snapping at Verrader when he was this mentally unstable would not get her the information she wanted.

"No, I was not sure what to do. All I had to do was slip away and send out a message detailing where we are, but I never could find the time before you left, and afterward I just couldn't bring myself to do it. If only you had just been the monster I wanted you to be, I could have done it."

Listening to Verrader, Evelyn could hear the regret in his voice. Clearly, he wanted to follow through with his mission. Yet Evelyn reaching out to connect to him had forced him to reconsider something he had already figured was a set conclusion.

"Verrader, you must realize that whoever saved you must have been connected to our parents' killers. Why would you ever think about working for him?" Evelyn asked.

"I KNOW! I know he is the one in charge of the people that killed our parents. But what else was I supposed to do. He saved me. Gave me a place to live. A purpose. All I had to do to repay him was give you to him, but I have failed him. No, it is not too late. I can still send the message. You may kill me, but I could still do it." Verrader said, becoming more deranged.

Watching this, Evelyn could only imagine what sort of mental torture this master he spoke of put him through. The moment he had thought about going against this man, Verrader's sanity seemed to begin to slip.

"Verrader, we both know you already made your choice. You would not be telling me all of this is you really planned to betray me. By not going ahead with it and allowing yourself to be conflicted, you already picked not to give me up. You have not caused me or any of our other companions any harm. It is not too late." Evelyn said, giving Verrader a sympathetic look.

This only hurt Verrader further. Frankly he wanted Evelyn to lash out at him, to condemn him. That was why he was telling her all of this, yet she seemed intent on forgiving him even for working with the same people that had killed their parents.

"Why won't you hate me!?" Verrader eventually asked, on the verge of breaking down.

"What reason do I have to hate you?" Evelyn said taking a step closer to Verrader. "You say you indented to betray me, but you haven't. You are even spilling you plan and goals to me right now. I know that you feel like you owe this man who you call your master, but I can assure you he is just like the other humans. They killed our parents and tossed them away like trash. They would do the same to us if you gave me up to them. I am sure that you realized this deep down. To them you are just a pawn. But to Aralee and I, you are our brother. I know I was cold to you when we reunited, but I also had my on lingering anger and pain just like you. We went through something horrible together. Let's not take it out on each other."

During her speech Evelyn had moved closer to Verrader and was now close enough to wrap her wings around him.

She remembered when Melisandre had acted as her anchor while she was dealing with her own emotional turmoil and knew that having someone there for you helped immensely.

Feeling Evelyn's wings embrace him, Verrader lost all strength in his legs and collapsed onto her. He could no longer hold back his tears.

At the end of the day, he was simply young owl that had lost his family and been repeatedly hurt throughout most of his life. Evelyn could sympathize with this. Having gone through many similar things.

A year ago, Evelyn would have killed him the moment she realized he was a spy. She was sure about that.

But after all she had been through and the growth she had experienced, she felt that she at least owed it to hear Verrader out if he was willing to talk.

'Plus, I am tired of losing my family. I have already lost two sets of parents and Mason. I will be damned if I let my new siblings die this time.'