A New Perspective

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Adrien turned to me with a hardened look before tossing a thick black cloak at me. I catch it messily struggling to keep a neutral expression. Adrien yanks on his own cloak before flipping the hood on, shooting me a warning look. "Go on, put it on. We're going outside."

I force my lips to tighten knowing I'm already walking on thin ice. Ever since our previous conversation, Adrien has been rude and short with me. I'm not immune to insults and I'm not exactly afraid of him, at least as much as I was before, though I am trying to remain on their good side. It's polite. Unlike what Adrien is doing.

"Okay," I answer quietly as I slip it on. I wrap it around my shoulders before studying the strange fastening button. I finger at the metal pin for a moment trying to figure it out when Adrien's hand suddenly appear in my face. I nearly jump back but Adrien holds the cloak firmly.

I look up at him nervously, as he is standing a few inches from me, and say nothing for a moment. I hold my breath knowing he would get mad if I started breathing in his face. I remain perfectly still as I watch his nimble fingers fasten the complicated pin. Adrien continues to scowl before meeting my eyes with a condescending look. "It's a simple hook pin, Eve. Even you should be able to understand that."

I simply look away and shrug, saying nothing in return.

He gives me an agitated look before scoffing. He brushes past me before storming out of the bedroom leaving me alone.

The moment he leaves, I take a deep breath of relief. My heart settles at a normal pace allowing me to calm down and remain in the silence for a few minutes. I wrap my arms around myself before glancing nervously back at the door half-expecting him to come storming in here and yell at me to get moving.

Shiloh and Gideon are in the weapons room gathering supplies for their outing. They promised it isn't going to be like last time but I am beginning to have doubts. How could I trust them when the entire time they have been playing me, toying with me, pushing my limits to see just how far I would go. When I would break. On top of that, now I am beginning to suspect Gideon having other emotions than playing with my emotions. Earlier... he sounded almost... jealous.

I shake my head fervently, distracting myself from such shallow thoughts. This is no time to be worrying about romance. I have to stay focused for as long as possible. Though at this point, it feels impossible to continue on without feeling something other than...

Is it wrong to feel like this? What ever this emotion is: fear, distrust, sympathy, or perhaps something more complex? Why do I want to trust Shiloh so badly even after all he has done? Am I just ignoring it? Am I trying to maintain the image I have of him? Is it my fear of losing everything normal that I continue to hold him to this view? As the true victim of this mess? Why is it that I'm more curious about his backstory and feel horrible for him when I don't know what happened in the first place? Why don't I feel like this with Gideon and Adrien?

Is Shiloh the true mastermind behind this? Did he tell Gideon and Adrien to test me the most so he could stand back and watch? Is Shiloh all who I thought him to be? Is he manipulating me as well?

I groan softly, rubbing hard against my eyes as a headache begins to form. Great, now I'm paranoid again. I walk toward the door, bracing myself for whatever lies behind it. I just have to take one step at a time. That's all. Just one more step closer to home. Closer to Mom. Soon I'll return. I hope.

〰✷〰

Gideon's arm is tightly locked around mine as we step out the large oaken door. I breathe in the fresh warm air feeling a sudden relief wash over me. Though the rays of sunlight are pale, the swirling air warms my skin giving me comfort the world outside still exists. My eyes are caught by the tangle of trees and bushes scattered around the large tree which hides their home. I want to call it a treehouse but the image isn't right.

I glance discreetly behind my shoulder watching Adrien lock the door with a rusted, crooked key. Shiloh pauses at his side continuing to talk in his own language only raising my suspicions he's planning something. I understand it's their normal language and it's easier for them to speak, but I still feel like they are hiding things from me when they exchange quick words and shared looks.

Gideon's gaze flicks under his large hood before resting his golden eyes on me. He smirks with a playful look in his eyes. "Heress," he hisses lightly, "we'll protect you out here."

I stiffen under his gaze before looking away. "Yeah, I know."

Gideon's arm tenses suddenly, his muscle pressing against my arm and holding me close to him. Our sides brush against each other causing me to shudder softly. His lips pull easily into a wider grin, amused by my reaction, "Do you know where we're going?"

"Not really," I answer quietly, staring down at my feet. I catch a glimpse of my black sweatpants under the sweeping cloak as I scan the ground.

They said I was able to wear my normal clothes unless I was wearing a cloak to hide it. However, they wanted me to wear their boots which they claim are better for running and walking along the path.

"We're going to one of our training spots. It's secluded so we can start practicing," Gideon explains openly as we wait for Shiloh and Adrien to finish up.

"Practicing?" I ask unsure what he means. "I thought you were just going to show me your... abilities."

Gideon nods absently, "Yes, and we're going to start training you to fight."

"Me?" I ask edgily, slightly leaning back from him.

Gideon slowly looks back at me with an obvious expression. "Of course, how else are you going to fight? You didn't think we'd protect you the entire time and leave you to fend for yourself, did you?"

"It's true," Adrien adds in, walking past me with an incredulous look. "If we get seperated during our assassination attempt, you need to know basic self-defense just in case you run into the Guard. After all," he tosses a bored look over his shoulder, "you are our secret weapon. We can't let our secret weapon die after all of this. It's the only reason why we kept you in the first place."

I begin to scowl unsure how to respond to that. So instead, I give Gideon a worried look. "You honestly think I'll be able to tame a Masser? I can't even see it, what makes you think I do it?'

"Because we saw it," Gideon answers simply. "Since we were born here, only we can see it. And Adrien and I saw it our own eyes. The Masser touched your nose with its nose, purred, and walked away."

"It was strange," Adrien comments distantly, "it looked so peaceful at that moment. I've never seen anything like it."

Shiloh appears on the other side of Gideon with a curious look. "Did you feel anything when it happened? Anything.. Unusual that could signify your ability being activated?" he asks kindly. I swallow nervously struggling to get ahold of my new paranoia. It's not like its impossible for him to be tricking me into thinking he's the good guy. I always need to be on my guard. But what if I'm wrong?

"Um," I think for a moment, "I was terrified. I don't think I was breathing anything. I don't think I've ever felt so afraid in my entire life," I admit edgily. "I'm not looking forward to facing it again," I hint giving Shiloh a pleading look.

"Well that doesn't help us," Adrien scoffs beginning to walk down the narrow path of dirt. He tosses his hand up in frustration, "Fear may be a trigger but it isn't a sign we can track."

Gideon begins to lead me forward just as Shiloh comes around and begins walking beside me. I watch him warily as my thoughts torment me with suspicion. Now I wish I hadn't thought so much about it.

"What he means is..." Shiloh corrects quietly, "we're just trying to figure out what you feel. If you feel it then you can face the Masser. If not, then it's definitely not safe to put you in front of it." He offers me an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, Adrien's explanations can be lost in translation," Gideon adds, "he means what he says but he says it wrong."

I try not to look so unconvinced. He sounds like he does. He probably would insult me more if English were his first language. On another note, Adrien has been nothing but bitter to me ever since I got here, why should I just accept that?

Gideon suddenly brushes against my side with a pouting face, acting almost like a cat. His eyes glittering in the pale sunlight. "What's wrong, Eve? You know, Addy isn't as scary as he wants to be. You'll see," he grins brightly, "he's just a big sweetheart." His voice raises with a smug look. "Addy's like a burnt swee-puff! Hard and burnt on the outside but soft on the inside!"

Shiloh stifles a laugh sharing an amused look with me. I remain blank faced, unsure if I should be laughing. Adrien will only get worse if I do...

On cue, Adrien glares back at Gideon. "I am NOT like a burnt swee-puff! Stop calling me 'sweetheart' too!" Adrien turns sharply and stalks deeper into the forest, his cloak floating behind him. He nearly disappears into the thick trees but his burning hair sticks out like a sore thumb.

Gideon only laughs in response, unfazed by Adrien's retort. "Swee eve kaves," he coos between his laughter. "He's so cute when he pouts."

"I AM NOT CUTE!"

"Little, baby Addy," Gideon continues mock playfully.

Shiloh laughs openly seeming more relaxed than before. More comfortable.

I continue to watch in silence as my mind begins to rebel against the image its creating. The two pictures contrast so drastically like black and white. The image of the twisted serial killers clashing with the victims who made do with what they had. Brothers related by loyalty.

Is this what it's like to have a sibling? It's a thought I've considered often when I was younger. Wondering what it could be like to have another member of the family. I even wanted to ask Mom if she could adopt a baby just to give me the chance. But I realized the pain would be too great for her to raise another child on her own. Even so, I've always wondered...

Shiloh and Gideon are howling with laughter, continuing to call Adrien adorable and making kissy sounds. Adrien snaps back at them but ends up laughing right along with them. Adrien slows his pace to walk alongside of Gideon, seeming to ignore me. The mood lighter, the boys dive into stories and I'm tossed into a whole other perspective.

〰✷〰

Gideon told the story of a painful laundry day. He was assigned to do laundry during their cleaning day. He explained that he washed them and put them up on the clothesline outside to dry since it was a hot day. He had went back inside but forgot Adrien's sweater was not allowed to dry out in the sun. The moment he remembered, he ran back outside only to get clotheslined by the clothesline and ended up bleeding all over the place.

Shiloh's story began with an odd reference to "cooking with knives" and how he and Gideon were so amazing at it. One day, Adrien got sick and was unable to cook that day. Gideon and Shiloh decided they would cook for once to return the favor, also because they were hungry. They tried to turn on the stove but ended up stoking the flames too much and "almost was fireballed in the face", as Shiloh puts it. Gideon was burned by the boiling water, Shiloh nearly placed his hand on the open stove, and finally, after a string of mishaps and burns, they decided to give up on using anything hot. The two boys decided to use something they already knew how to wield.

Their knives.

They began chopping vegetables and various ingredients, even ones that weren't supposed to be cut. They chopped everything up flawlessly and put it into a big bowl. They served it in separate bowls and claimed they came up with a new style of cooking. Cooking with knives. Adrien jumped into the story and said it tasted stinky and they used too much Gingeh-root and vowed never to get sick again.

Finally, Adrien's story came around though he was not as upbeat as the others.

"Remember when Tressa wanted to look at the stars?" he began quietly. The mood sobered instantly as if cold water had been splashed on their faces. Gideon lowered his head respectfully while Shiloh nodded in remembrance.

"She missed looking at the stars," Shiloh answered quietly.

Adrien nodded with a distant look in his eyes. He stared ahead as we trekked through the thickening forest. I watched silently as my stomach calms from laughing with the boys. For a long moment, he remained silent as he picked his way through the underbrush. I stumbled over a hidden log and nearly toppling over but Gideon caught me before I could fall.

My curiosity rose at the mention of Tressa. They told me she was killed by the Guard a long time ago and by the sound of things and Adrien's reaction, I truly believed he loved her. I watched respectfully realizing this story must be more important than the others because even Gideon's smile faded with respect.

"It was late," Adrien began quietly, glancing back at me with an expressionless face. "She told us she felt like she was suffocating in the house and needed to get out." He shook his head, "I told her that wasn't possible since no one else felt suffocated. Why was she the only one suffocating?"

"She told us she was claustrophobic," Shiloh added, brushing his ink black hair back behind his ears. "She pleaded with us. Begged us to let her see the sky."

"It was Adrien who agreed to let her out," Gideon continued, his smile slowly returning. "He felt bad. And besides, we all know how much he loves the stars."

I blinked in surprise before looking back at Adrien. To my shock, Adrien shied from my gaze as he bit his lip. "I just like how they look. Just to study them, of course. Nothing more."

Shiloh shrugged with a kind smile to his brother. "There's no shame in liking the stars. They are pretty after all."

Adrien shook his head. "They are just dots in the sky. Patterns for me to recognize. On the other hand..." he trailed off with a longing look in his green eyes. "Tressa saw them as stories. When I took her outside, she told me stories about the stars and how people in ancient times saw them. She... saw the world differently. Beautiful. Innocent."

"Only Tressa would," Gideon chuckled softly, putting his hand to his lips. His eyes briefly scanned the messy path. "Being so innocent herself."

I watched sympathetically feeling an ache form in my heart for Adrien. The vulnerability in his eyes shining under the fading sun. Shadows of the branches above dance across his pale face. His long legs gracefully moving through the path with ease, as if he's done this his entire life. My eyes are caught by his burning red hair which has been tied loosely in a high ponytail. Parts of his hair slowly slipped from the tie, dangling along the sides of his narrow face.

It was then when I truly realized how vulnerable Adrien is. How sweet he could be. Hearing their stories I began to realize there's another side to these boys I would never be able to see because I will always be an outsider in their eyes.

But for that moment, I wished I could join in on their adventures. Wishing to be in any other situation than the one I am in. If I were something else, perhaps someone like Tressa, would they be treating me differently? Would they like me better? Would Adrien be kinder? What would change if I were different?

The simple word "if" tormented me throughout Adrien's story.

"We went outside and I took her up the hill behind the house. It's where we do our laundry but sometimes we can eat out there on safe days. It's a nice clearing and I knew she would be able to look at the stars from there. I like looking at the stars from there too. When we climbed the hill... I have never saw so much awe in someone's eyes in my life. She was amazed by the view.

"We sat down on the grass and started talking about them. What they make, their stories, wondering what they were... She loved going out there so I decided to make a thing out of it." Adrien drew in a slow breath with a pained look. "We went out every night."

"I remember that," Gideon commented thoughtfully. "You'd make a treat every night." He smiled softly before he met my eyes, catching me off guard. "It was very sweet of you to do that. She loved it."

"Yes, she did."

"I miss those nights," Shiloh said as he looked up at the sky. "You were so happy then."

Suddenly, Adrien's face darkened with hatred. "Yeah, I was," he forced out. With a soft scoff, he rolled his eyes before turning his head away from us. "But Tressa had to get herself killed," his voice caught on killed, "now we have to pay for it." His voice turned bitter and full of rage. "She should have listened to me."

"No one blames you, Adrien," Shiloh answered quietly, his eyes softening. "We did all we could."

Confused, I nearly try correcting Shiloh. But I snapped my mouth shut the moment I realized Adrien isn't really talking about Tressa. He blames himself for what happened to her and hates it.

"Besides, we have Eve," Gideon suggested trying to lift the mood.

Adrien glared at me, his eyes smoldering with hatred. "Yes, now we have you," he sneered.

I reeled with a hurt expression. "I didn't ask to be here," I argued beginning to bring my defenses back up.

Adrien is still Adrien after all.

Adrien scoffed before storming ahead of us. "Ungrateful-" he mumbled the rest and disappeared behind a thick wall of trees.

Shiloh sighed sadly before giving me an apologetic look. "Sorry about him, he can get sensitive about things like this." Then Shiloh gave Gideon the same bewildered look he gave him earlier when Gideon set Adrien off. "Why the heck did you say that? Of all the things-"

Gideon is about to argue but Adrien reappears behind the trees. He shot me a look before meeting the boys' eyes. "We're here."

Shiloh sighed letting the argument go. "Okay."

Gideon brought up an encouraging smile before squeezing my arm with his. "This is going to be fun! I can't wait to show you everything."

I laughed nervously, unsure about how I should feel about that. "Uh yeah... sure."

Through the trees, I could see a clearing of grass within the forest. Adrien stood in the center of it beginning to stretch his arms. I took a deep breath as my heart flutters nervously inside my chest. Here we go. And we emerged from the trees to begin my training and the reveal of their abilities.


(It has been SOOO long since I have updated. School is crazy... I hope it was worth the wait! I had a bit of writer's block for this chapter so I apologize if it sucks. But there was some important information given so I hope you paid attention~ Do you have a new perspective? What do you think Shiloh's dreams mean? Do you dare to guess what their abilities are? Also, please remember I'll post more if I know people are actually reading this. Comments are greatly appreciated~ Lustice ren, my dear followers!)

P.S: Please check the new Extra Book for the Silencers! It has the boys drawn out, imagines, and possible AU's! What AU's do you want to see drawn out or written? I am in love with the mafia/gang AU... 

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