serguerrique:
Guerrique leans into Janlenouxâs hand, and he doesnât feel the same sort of shame about it as he had a moment ago â heâs too relieved. Things feel like they might be okay? He can talk, he has his voice, still. He canâŚhe can communicate with his brothers, they can understand him. Thereâs no barriers that keep them from continuing to be brothers.
He manages a weak chuckle at that, though it sounds a bit echoing in his throat. âI was both for a while,â he says slowly. âAnd Iâm still sober. It isnât very fun.â But heâs sure Janlenoux knows that â he isnât one to drink, the boy, but heâs seen Guerrique sober and drunk both enough times to know the difference.Â
He wants to apologize, butâŚJanâs right. He did save them, so there isnât really something to apologize for. âIâŚwanted to apologize for doinâ this. ForâŚmaking you worry.â For turning himself into a dragon, forâŚhe doesnât regret it, but he knows it must have hurt them. He shifts to nuzzle closer to the boy absently, something deep within him heâs only now noticing whispering that brother means something a lot more now than it ever did.Â
Heâs so glad theyâre here for him. Heâs still guilty he couldnât save them all, but realistically he probably couldnât have. The thing the Archbishop becameâŚit was a real miracle heâd been able to save as many of them as he had. And heâs glad theyâre here. Heâs glad they wonât leave him â heâs glad they still want him. Itâs not something he can put into words, but the rumbling in his throat takes on an almost musical quality, and itâsâŚrather joyous, whatever it is.
He blinks, though, and his eyeroll is quite a bit more impressive now that heâs a dragon. âThose two,â he mutters, amused. âCanât they be satisfied with wrestling me?â He doesnât want either of them to do it â they donât understand how different it makes you even when youâre the same, and they canât understand the gravity of the choice until they make it. HeâllâŚprobably have to talk to them.
âI suppose weâll just have to adjust to you being sober,â the younger knight says, quietly pleased that Guerrique is still talking to him - that he hasnât decided itâs no longer worth his time to try. âIâm not certain you can get drunk any longer, nor do we have the resources to give you enough alcohol to try.â Itâs an almost sad thought, but really, thereâs nothing wrong with Guerrique ending his drinking habit, even if the method is more than a little unconventional. â...Have you felt any desire to, apart from any emotional need?â Itâs an odd question, but Janlenoux thinks it might be important to ask anyway - itâs enough for Guerrique to have to adjust to being a dragon; to have to adjust to that while dealing with the effects of alcohol withdrawal would just be cruel.
He can just barely make out some of the pitches the now-wyvern is making, but Janlenoux doesnât really need a translation: he can understand that his brother is happy - or happier than he had been, at least, and thatâs more than enough to make him happy too. He doesnât need more than this.
As for their wayward brothers, he shrugs. âWho knows? But if they start to plan this in earnest, could I ask you to sit on them until theyâve reconsidered? We donât know if it will affect them differently than it has you, and it isnât safe enough to risk them doing something like this.â Janlenoux would have stepped in on this idea by himself, but they would never listen to him. Theyâll barely listen to Zephirin on the best days - a wyvern sitting on them until they think may be the best option any of them have.













