Trevadir with
Devedir
In front of a shop in Harlond (next day)
Rain flowed from the eaves, forming a steady stream that spilled down from the roof and into puddles below. A percussion of raindrops hitting the roof of the porch overhead seemed almost meant to go along with the rhythm of the notes flowing from the flute. The tune was made up on the spot, actually, in order to make it go along with the rhythm which Trevadir heard in the rain. It was a cheery tune, despite the drab look of the sky as the rain watered the earth. Because Trev figured people would rather hear music to brighten up the otherwise dull, rainy day.
He hadn’t exactly anticipated rain today, but it wasn’t that big of a problem for him. His hat, the same one he'd worn to the midsummer festival, sat on the ground, only slightly damp. He had tried to keep it sheltered as much as possible, considering straw and rain weren't a great mix. There were already a few coins inside, although he had hoped to gain a lot more before the end of the day. Although he didn't exactly need the money right now, he was trying to think ahead. Regardless of whatever news Macardil brought back, he was going to need money; whether that meant sticking around Harlond a bit longer (in which case, he would much rather stay at the inn Macardil had taken him to, than any of those he could actually afford) or if it meant he might end up going to the city. Because, although Trev wanted very much to go home to his grandmother as if nothing ever happened.. he was very nervous about that. And so he’d made up his mind that he was going to give it a bit of time, first, and that meant he would need to stay somewhere in the meanwhile. Then there was food to think of. And although he could stitch up the shirt, he would sort of rather buy a new one, since it had blood stains on it.. and so on.
As another couple of coins clinked into the hat, Trev nodded his thanks to the couple heading inside the store, and continued playing as they hurried out of the rain to get inside the store whose porch he was occupying. The store’s owner had said it would be alright if Trev hung around for a few hours, for which he was very grateful. Perhaps he thought it would draw customers in. Trev just hoped to gather enough money to be a bit more prepared for whatever expenses might come up in the near future.
“There you are.” A far-too-familiar voice nearby spoke.
The note faded rapidly as Trev froze, and lowered his flute reluctantly. He held back a sigh, and lifted his gaze to meet that of his father. “Go away.”
Devedir joined him under the porch overhang and folded his arms, shaking his head in disappointment. “How very ungrateful of you. After all that I’ve done for you.”
“Ungrateful?” Trev echoed, bewildered about what he was supposed to be grateful for. “After what you..” A wry laugh burst out. “Oh yes. I should be
thanking you for ruining my life. For making my friends distrust me. Keeping me away from my family. Making me miserable for the last five years. And while I’m at it, I’ll thank you for leaving us, too. In fact, I’m so grateful about that one, I’d really love for you to do it again.” His tone hardened at the last bit, and he glared at the man responsible for the majority of his troubles. “I want nothing to do with you, or your ship, or any of that, Dev.” Trev retorted. “So just get away from me.”
Dev rolled his eyes, with the expression on his face as if he were boredly waiting for Trev to finish his little rant. “Well there is the matter of how many times I’ve prevented the crew from tearing into you, after all the sabotage you've done to my ship. I've been very patient, enduring all of that. The crew were not so.. understanding.” He pointed out calmly. “If not for me.. you wouldn’t have seen the last few birthdays.”
“Like you even remember my birthday.” Trev replied bitterly, rolling his eyes. “Or, as I remember, you said it ‘wasn’t a big deal’..”
“You do tend to make too much out of everything, Trevadir.” Dev sighed. “You are..so dramatic.”
“What do you want?” Trev took the opportunity to clean the moisture from his flute.
“I want to invite you back.” Dev answered in a patient tone. “I..miss you. Son.”
“You sound so sincere.
Dad.” Trev scoffed, and glanced up in time to catch the brief flicker of irritation in Dev's face. He knew it irked Dev to be called that. He’d made it very clear he would not be called 'dad', or 'father', or any of those sort of terms.
“The point is,” Dev sighed, and rested a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I want you back. You are my son, and I would like for you to remain with me. Where you belong. Where I can keep you..safe.” He frowned as if in concern.
Trev frowned and quietly shrugged his hand off of his shoulder. “Well, that’s too bad, I guess you'd better get used to disappointments. I'm staying here.
This is where I belong.” He didn't exactly mean 'this spot right here' but didn't feel like specifying.
“This?” Dev raised an eyebrow, and glanced down with disdain at the hat containing a handful of coins. “Yes, I can see you’re really quite successful.” He remarked, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "You might even have enough there to buy yourself a drink of ale." He rolled his eyes.
"Well, not
here," Trev admitted, and hesitated slightly. "I don't know exactly
where I belong, but it isn't with you."
"When you were with me, your pockets were filled with gold, remember Trev?” He smiled, sliding an arm around his son’s shoulders. “Don’t you remember how wonderful it could be, having anything we wanted, whenever we wanted? Expensive clothes, incredible food… just like those snooty, rich Lords back in Dol Amroth.. better even! We weren't weighed down with all those stupid rules and expectations...”
“I told you plenty of times I wanted nothing to do with that stuff. I don't care about expensive clothes and all that.” Trev pushed his arm away. “and you kept me trapped there like a prisoner.” He clenched his jaw, trying to restrain his temper. “Now I’m finally free, and I’m not about to go back to it. So just keep away from me. I told you, I’m done with your way of life. If you really wanted to be in my life, you’d give up your criminal ways, and start over with an honest life. You
could do it, you know. If you wanted to.”
“Oh, like you’re going to? That isn’t going to work, Trev.” Devedir scoffed. “Those guards will grab you the second they spot you coming toward the gate. They’ll lock you up in the deepest, darkest dungeon… to await your execution. I don’t want you to die like that. Believe me..son.. once you’ve started on this path, there’s no hope for our sort ever going back to an ‘honest life’.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Trev frowned, unsure if it was so much ‘wrong’ as ‘lying’. “I
am starting over. I’m going to…try to salvage my old life the best I can. And nothing you say is going to stop me. All that nonsense about the guards.. and the king.. I believed all of that for far too long. Now I know it’s a all bunch of lies.” He glared at him.
“Lies, huh?” Dev frowned. “And who told you this?”
“Someone who knows better than anyone.”
“That traitor you met up with last night?” Dev shook his head in disappointment. “I heard about that. I've heard about that guy.
I sure wouldn't trust
him. So you’re going to gamble your life based on what a stranger said? A stranger who betrayed his commander.. and comrades?”
Trev frowned, not entirely sure how to answer that, or even if he wanted to justify it with an answer.
“Trev,” Dev sighed. “Don’t be foolish. You never had it so good as when you were with me. I..” He frowned. “Scar and Grisly did that to you, did they?” He motioned to his bruised eye.
Trev gave a small shrug. “I’m sure you sent them, so why bother asking? Didn’t they report back to you about how it went last night?”
The rain started coming down heavier as they spoke. The puddles just beyond the overhang were dancing from the raindrops. Trev stowed his flute away in his belt. The dagger was strapped to the side of his leg, where it was hidden by his trousers. He had decided not to trust leaving it hidden in the room, after having come close to the possibility of losing it. He leaned down and picked up his hat, rescuing it from a small rivulet of water as the puddles increased in size and began to spill across into the dry section of ground under the overhang.
“You caused a lot of damage to Grisly’s hand.” Dev commented. “It’s going to be a while before he can be properly useful on the ship.”
His frown told Trev that he was quite unhappy about this. But he was hiding his anger, that much Trev could tell because he knew him well enough by now to recognize it. “You’ll find something for him to do.” Trev answered in an unconcerned tone. He was careful to keep any thoughts of guilt securely locked away. He wasn’t falling for that, either.
“That’s not the point.” Dev shook his head. “I didn’t
send them after you, Trev. They just went to the tavern to enjoy some time on shore. The fact is, the whole crew is very angry at you. There’s plenty who’d like to see you dead. And now those two are going to be even more angry at you about last night, especially Grisly.”
“
That’s supposed to make me want to come back?” Trev raised the eyebrow that wasn’t bruised. “Real convincing.”
“No,” Dev rolled his eyes. “What I’m trying to tell you is that they’re going to continue coming after you, as long as you’re an available target. They want revenge. You angered.. well, all of us, really. Even me. I’m not happy with you, I’ll admit. You cost us quite a bit of money with that last stunt… and you will have to suffer the consequences…regardless if you choose to return to us or stay on your own.” He warned him. “The difference is… how severe those consequences will be.”
“I’m
not going with you, Dev.”
“With me, you’d be a lot safer.” Dev reminded him. “There are several who would like to kill you. I wouldn’t allow that… if you were in my crew. You know that. But out here..” He shrugged. “What can I do to stop them?”
“You could give them orders to leave me alone.” Trev pointed out with a little scoff.
“I have, of course,” Dev replied with a sigh. “But you know how they are. You caused..quite a lot of embarrassment, not to mention robbing us of the payment we would have gotten for delivering that merchandise.”
“
Merchandise?” Trev clenched his jaw, turning fully to face Dev. “My friends are not
merchandise." He informed the man, his tone suggesting he was barely holding back his own temper. "
People are not merchandise, Dev. And you know what,” He narrowed his non-swollen eye, “the way I remember her, and how grandma speaks of her.. my mother wouldn't like you one bit. She would
not approve of the things you do. I think she might even hate you if she knew you now.”
“Leave her out of this,” Dev retorted sharply, then took a slow breath to pause, and collect himself again. “That’s all beside the point, Trev,”
“Just give up, alright? I’m through with you. Done. Finished. Just forget about me. You had no trouble with that before.” Trev stuffed the coins in his pocket and scowled. “If you really cared about me, you’d tell them that I’m off limits. But you’re using this whole situation to try and trick me back under your control, and it won’t work, alright?” He glared at the man. “Just stay away from me.”
“Trevadir,” Dev caught his arm as he started to walk away, and turned him back toward him. “You’re making a big mistake.”
“No, my big mistake was the one I made five years ago, when I first spoke to
you.” Trev yanked his arm free from his grasp. “You don’t care about me, and I don’t care about you. So stop pretending, and we'll go our separate ways.”
“You’re wrong,” Dev frowned. “I do care. You’re my son. You’re..
her son.” He paused. “You saved my life once. I know you care, or you wouldn’t have done that.”
Trev cringed slightly inside, but was careful to keep it from showing on his face. “I was just a stupid kid then.” He smiled wryly. “I’m not as stupid now. Who knows if I’d do the same thing again?” With that, he strode away from the overhang, anxious to get as far away from this man as he could get.
Dev caught up to him and blocked his path, ignoring the rain pounding down on them both. “Don’t walk away from me, Trevadir. I’m your father…”
“Yeah, too bad you didn’t remember that when
you left.” Trev retorted, scowling. “Get out of my way.”
“No.” Dev frowned. “I know it wasn’t…right, leaving and all, but I’m trying to make up for it. I’m trying to be your father, now. If you’ll let me.”
“No, you aren’t.” Trev replied with a roll of his eyes. “You’re just trying to manipulate me. Like you always do. You’re trying to get me back under your thumb, any way you can.” Trev shook his head, shaking drops of water from his hair. “It’s not going to work. I’m leaving, and I don’t want to see you again, ever.” He pushed past Dev and kept walking swiftly, hands clenched into fists, ignoring the puddles he splashed through.
“Trev, come back,” Dev called, frowning. “I don’t want you to leave...”
Trev turned with a wry laugh. “Yeah? Well, now you know how that feels, huh?” He smirked faintly to himself, feeling some satisfaction in having had a chance to say that, then kept walking down the street, determined to get away from Dev while he was ahead... and before the pirate managed to wear down Trev’s defenses against his deception.
