Welcome to Gaia! ::

Vergil's eyes grew wider with each word that Aragost spoke, until it almost seemed as though they were going to pop out of his head.

"Yeah ... but how do you know?" he breathed.

Aragost folded his hands in his lap. "Why did your brother leave you?" he asked in reply.

Vergil sucked in his breath, instantly angry. "Not your business!" he hissed.

Aragost wasn't bothered by his reaction. Instead, he simply nodded, as if he had expected that - which he probably had. "There are some questions," he said firmly, "that ought not to be asked. Something to keep in mind. If you ask a question and receive no answer, sometimes it is for a reason."

Vergil bit his lip to keep his anger inside, and as Cindy patted his head he felt his anger dissipating. He sighed. "Sorry," he muttered, leaning against her. "I get mad real easy ..."

Aragost rose from his seat, and his height startled Vergil. The others had been tall indeed, but this elf ... he really was a giant!

"You are still young," he said softly, reaching for a walking stick that was near his chair. "You have much to learn, and much time to learn it in. You must remember that ... there is no hurry for you to do anything. Those around you will be here for a very long time ... and you will also live for a long time, as your kind does ..."

"I'm little," Vergil replied sourly. "I'm stinking little. And I'm always gonna be. None of the Seconds grow anymore!"

He hugged Cindy's arm.

Aragost leaned on his walking stick. "You must learn to have patience," he murmured. "You have a long life ahead of you ... be the little boy that you are, and you will have a far more fulfilling life than if you try to be old so quickly."

Vergil folded his arms across his chest and pouted. "Nothing good about being small," he mumbled crossly. "And if it's nothing good then it's only bad."

Aragost sighed and leaned on his stick. "You will learn," he murmured softly. "Someday ... someday."

Vergil looked up at Cindy, his expression still slightly angry. "I want to know!" he demanded. "I want to know what good being small is! Because I don't think it's any good at all!"

His frustration was understandable ... after all, he had once thought himself to be quite strong, powerful, and very intelligent ... and now all of that had been stripped away from him. He had nothing left of his pride, and it left him defenseless and fearful, and his fear manifested itself in anger and frustration.

Vergil still wasn't convinced, but he stopped arguing. He just sighed and lay back in Cindy's arms, giving the appearance of having given in to her argument, even though he still didn't like being small. He didn't know how he could be inventive, and he didn't care about getting around unseen. He just wanted to be big and do everything that the big people could.

Aragost pulled his cowl up, hiding his face in shadows, and stepped towards the door. "You have much growing up to do, young Vergil," he said quietly, "but you will never be able to if you do not allow yourself."

Vergil snorted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Vergil was about to retort again when Cindy mentioned Celebor, and he couldn't help it - he was curious.

"Celebor?" he repeated, his temper vanishing once more. "Who is that?"

It was amazing how much a little distraction could do to keep him calm. Or at least, calmer.