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When Siel made the trek to Belrea he assumed he’d be spending more time with his older sister than he was. In actuality the Bard was doing his best to avoid getting in the way as she and her husband did their best coping with a pair of infants. Siel had gotten a letter explaining their condition and how much work it took to keep them healthy but seeing it up close…was a harrowing thing. Yona may have faired better than Zev, though not by much, and their bodies were so tiny that Siel was terrified to hold them. What if he dropped the brittle things? One wrong move and he might very well snap a bone.

And their breathing. Was he supposed to be able to hear them like that? Spirits, he had no idea how they were holding up.

With things so tense back in their home, Siel had it in his mind that he wanted to do something special for his nephews. While he knew he wouldn’t be able to separate his sister from her offspring, not long enough to relax anyway, he thought he might be able to do it for the boys. It couldn’t have been easy, especially with all they’d endured anyway. His plan had been to pick them up from their studies, but..well…Arden had gotten sent home early. Again. So he really didn’t want to be around when Ygraine found out.

Still, he waited outside for Colm all the same.

(via Moose on discord)

"Spirits, how much taller are you planning to get, Colm?" Even if he had seen his nephew just yesterday they had all been sitting first in the dining area and then in the sitting room. Watching him now felt like he was seeing first hand the process of growth and it felt a little daunting. The last time he'd gotten to spend any real time with Colm he'd been small enough to laugh at Siel's dumb jokes and be interested in whatever sort of rock the older hybrid showed up with.

Would that still work? Or was he too 'mature' for that sort of thing now?

"So, I've been thinking. If you aren't up to anything today maybe you'd want to hang out? I'm still getting used to the city and I just know I'll get lost."

This kid acts like an eighty year old geezer. Sheesh, Siel knew that Ygraine was a stick in the mud and that her husband was a prude, but he'd expected a little pep from Colm. He could be shy, a little backwards, whatever; just not....this. It was almost like the boys had developed in wildly different ways instead of sharing a shred of normalcy between them.

"Yeah, well, I'm not here for Arden, am I? I came for you!" Siel reached forward, clearly intending on wrapping his arm around Colm's shoulder before he stopped at the last second. "Woah - uh, sorry - you probably don't...like that kind of...thing." So, instead of going through with it, Siel gave Colm's shoulder a little fist bump.

"Come on, let's get a move on. I'm afraid if we stick around for too long your mentors - professors? - might think I'm trying to sell you something."

For a moment Siel just paused, seemingly caught in his awkward little group before his gaping maw turned into a full on grin. "Eyyyy!" That fist bump turned into a full bear of a side hug and the hybrid happily put his head against his nephew's before legging the poor boy go. "That's on me for assuming." For some reason Siel had always just assumed his nephew was like his father in that regard. The one time Siel had tried to latch onto Asa the man became as stick as a tree trunk and he was afraid the man's heart had stopped.

"Your mother? Nah. I'm actually avoiding her." He fiddled with a loose ring on his thumb while he walked. "I get the feeling most days I'm not her favorite sibling to have over and...well, while I was on my way to see you I got word Arden was sent home early so...yeah. Gonna let that breath for a while."

Siel didn't think he would ever truly get used to Belrean streets. They were so far removed from anything he knew in Matori and even when he ventured North to see Sol it wasn't like this. It almost felt as if the buildings could swallow him whole at any moment. "Male bonding? I guess? It's not because you're older, though; I still would have come if you were tiny. I just thought you might like the break. Maybe someone to talk to, something warm to eat and a way to blow off some steam? Can't be easy being the oldest."

"Yeah, I kind of figured they were." And then Siel added, "Your classes." He wasn't about to prod any further than he already had, and as long as Colm got some sort of freedom from today then Siel was fine without prodding at all. All he wanted to do was give his nephew some kind of stress relief.

"Axe throwing sounds like fun." He remembered being on a pier once, when he was much smaller than his nephew was now, and helping to throw spears with Morain. It was an absolute mess, but a fun one. Of course he'd seen it in passing more than a few times since his stay, he still had to work after all and what better place to play than with a constant audience, but Siel had never actually played any of the games.

"I've got coin enough for the both of us and an afternoon to play with. Let's eat until we're sick, throw a couple weapons around, and maybe win one of those cheap swords that'll break the moment you hit someone with it?"

Oh now that was unsettling. Siel just gave a nervous laugh and kept walking, masking his awkwardness with talk of the town as they passed. While he didn't jabber away the walk he did ask questions when it came to certain streets, businesses and the like; little things to remember the next time he got out. Was he likely to stroll into an apothecary? No, but he did show interest in the strange plant that grew in the window. Even more so with the portly woman who tended to it. She was plain enough if one looked past the bulbous way her right eye seemed to hang from her head. Was that an experiment gone wrong or a birth defect?

He'd have to pin that one for later.

Paying the entry fee was done with the same ease as breathing. Siel had no reason to hoard his coin and thusly had little concept of budgeting. He couldn't take it with him so why not spend it! Especially when he didn't have to worry about paying for an inn; that's what rooming with siblings was all about!

"Mmms the word." The axe took some getting used to, but Siel felt confident that he might not accidentally hit his nephew with it. "Wanna go first?"

Siel, for all his size and muscle, was a shoddy marksman. While he had the strength to throw the axe it went wide the first time, causing the game attendant to squeal out and after a brief moment Siel couldn't help laughing. The sound was so childish to come from such a gruff face! And honestly, just seeing the tension in Colm's frame start to ebb away was better than actually hitting anything.

Over time he hit the target, even got close to an impressive toss, but for the most part Siel postured. He tried a few trick shots, hoping to impress the lad, and for a moment he actually had himself thinking they might land.

"Then bring him! I think he'd really like it." Siel reached over and gave Colm's shoulder a playful shove. "It'd be good for you guys."

“HELL YEAH!” Siel pumped his fist into the air when his axe slammed into the bullseye, and subsequently slapped both of his thighs before turning that enthusiasm Colm’s way. If he noticed his nephew’s internal struggles he didn’t comment on it, and chose instead to reach over to shake his shoulder. “Whoo, aww man, this is a rush. Maybe I missed my calling. I could have been a fighter, y’know? I could go to war!” In that moment Siel could have burned a building with the fire in his blood, or at the very least taken on a hoard of something. Maybe he could arm wrestle with Arden later or hell, maybe he could shake Ygraine up and wrestle with her? Couldn’t do it with Colm though. Poor kid would snap.

“The twins, huh? I dunno, you could take them over there for darts or something like that. It’s light enough that it won’t tucker ‘em out, but still competitive. You’d have to bank on a good day though which…ugh…is tricky.”