Imprints in Stone [AU]

[Bethany]

"I'm not... I just... I can do both, my magic is... weird," Bethany whispers. "I can do all kinds, I just... I'm good with one... type and okay with everything else. I want to be able to heal. I don't... I don't like fighting. I want to make things better." She pauses, sniffling. "Vangal? Vows?" She smiles wanly through her tears. "That... fits. You're a guardian, a protector. Always have been."

[Carver Amell]

"You hate this," he protests. "You always hated us leaning on you, making demands. Having to fix us, make us hold fast. If you learn to heal, it'll be that forever."

[Bethany]

That causes her to stop, to think. He's... not wrong, exactly. I did hate having to quietly keep things running and stable in the background. Never being the important one, never having my voice matter. Playing peacemaker. "It's... it wasn't about the... tending. It was... that you never listened. When you and... when you fought, it was like I didn't matter until it was time to patch you both up. To soothe things over. That's what I hated." She shrugs a little. "I don't think I'd mind being depended on, as long as I felt like I was heard. I... I just need to learn to shout."

[Carver Amell]

"But you think strangers will listen better? They'll come to the temple and demand you heal them and walk away satisfied, won't they?"

[Bethany]

"As long as they pay the fee," Bethany replies. "Not any different than any other job, really. Right? Well, maybe they just donate and the temple pays me?" She blushes a little as she realizes she's not entirely sure how it works. "B-besides, if they're really pushy, I'll sic my big brother the paladin on them. Or Dad, if they try and hide after seeing you." Dad?

[Carver Amell]

"D-dad?" he stammers, blinking. 

[Bethany]

Bethany gives him a puzzled look, then blushes furiously, eyes flicking to the dwarf across the clearing who's just finished getting the loose tea from their bags. "Umm... I just... I didn't mean to..."

[Carver Amell]

Carver's face hardens, and he pulls back. "He's not our father," he says, his tone dark. I can't forget what Father did. How he abandoned us. I have to make sure I don't grow up to be like him.

[Bethany]

"I- Carver? What's... why are you? I just... sometimes, it's nice to... pretend. Please don't..." Hate me. Fight. Hate him. Blame him. 

[Carver Amell]

"You can call him what you like. I just-- I can't forget Father. I can't." He shakes his head. 

[Bethany]

"Why not?" Bethany says sourly. "He forgot about us easily enough."

[Carver Amell]

"Like Father, Like Son," he scowls. "I can't forget what he did, how he hurt us. I can't let that happen again."

[Bethany]

Can't let- oh. Oh. "Carver, no," she says instantly, ignoring everything about Summer. That's nothing alike. Carver didn't abandon me, or- or us. He just... drifted over a little. He didn't leave. Just got busy. "You would never."

[Carver Amell]

"Because I remember." He shakes his head. "Do what you want. It's not my business."

[Bethany]

"What if I want it to be," Bethany asks softly. "Carver, I don't... I don't want us to... drift anymore."