[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

The darkness plunged deeper as Alistair stepped through the doorway, his large, muscular frame blocking what little light entered from outside until the door swung shut and the dimness was cut off altogether.

"Have you no use for a light, Brother?" scorned Caelan, turning to face Alistair in the darkness, eyes slightly brighter than the shadows which surrounded them.

Alistair raised his own eyebrow, though he doubted it could be seen in the darkness. "When have you or I ever needed light to see?" he growled.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

A dismissive sniff was all the answer he received, but it was enough of one, and Alistair folded his arms as he leaned back against the door.

"It's time we talked, Brother" he sneered, emphasizing the hated tone. There was no love lost between the two of them, each having said their piece and having parted ways long ago, and standing in the dark room with Caelan after bailing him out of prison had his temper almost at breaking point - an impressive feat for the normally stoic male.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Caelan snorted, choosing to sit cross-legged on the floor, perfectly straight back belying the soreness emanating from his right hip. Alistair narrowed his eyes, though it was not the time to speak of it, and in all honesty he doubted it ever would be.

"No sweet greeting for me, Brother? Whatever would Mother and Father have said?"

Alistair snarled, though his brother's impassive face revealed nothing. "Mother and Father are dead and gone, and have been since long ago."

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He paused to collect himself; nobody had ever made his blood boil in quite the same way as his younger brother could, and he found it difficult to keep his temper at the best of times. This wasn't the best of times.

"Pity, don't you think? They would have been so proud to have seen us talking." The impassive voice only served to fuel Alistair's ire, and he took a deep breath before he could snarl something that would derail them altogether.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"As proud as they would have been of our career choices, you mean? A soldier for hire and an assassin. Carrying on the great family traditions." The icy tone he inflected had cut lesser men down in their tracks, but Caelan merely sniffed, as if dust had gotten on a fancy coat, or as if a glass of wine wasn't quite up to his standard.

"Indeed, what would Mother have said had she lived to hear of all your drunken foolishness?"

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"Meanwhile Father would have beaten the snotty self-absorbed ungratefull self-righeousness straight out of you." He had snarled again, and narrowed his eyes until they were almost closed, practically panting with the effort of keeping himself under control.

Caelan's eyes had narrowed slightly, but that was the only indication that Alistair's words had even been heard, and he closed them fully as his Brother began to circle him slowly, like a predator circling its prey looking for weakness to exploit, or an opening in his defenses.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"You were locked up, for six months, of what should have been a life sentence" growled Alistair, taking in every scrap of evidence that his brother had been mistreated - that fine, silvery scar on his shoulder hadn't been there when they last met. "I got you out for business, brother, but that doesn't mean I don't think you deserve to be locked away. A contract killer, for those whom you deem worthy to be struck down - seems like you've lost your mind."

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

The tip of Caelan's left ear twitched, almost imperceptibly, but the rest of him remained still and stoic. "My god commands that all things must die, one day" he recited, almost as if he had learned it parrot-fashion. "I am merely his vessel for making that occur - if he sends someone to me for a contract, and the cause is justifiable, who am I to go against the wishes of my Holy Guide? Who am I to question His Will?"

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Alistair snarled, and paced faster around him. "There is no will, dear brother - the 'Clients' who attend you are nothing more than usurpers who seek to raise themselves above those who they deem less worthy, and you assist them to do so. There is so much blood on your hands, you can never remove the stain. Is that what you expected, what you wanted your life to be?"

He drew in a deep breath, and listened, awaiting his brother's rebuttal.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"They will each receive their own punishments in due course, as Xai're commands it to be so" Caelan replied, tonelessly, voice calm and steady. His even breathing rang out in the dark room, and for a moment Alistair held himself still so as not to lose his temper completely.

"So what you are saying, Brother," he snarled, unable to keep the derision from his voice, "is that this is all a business transaction for you, led by your 'God'." He paced forward, to stand in front of Caelan.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"And such a reliable pattern, too - evil gets removed, you get paid, evil is replaced by equal evil, who in turn is removed when the next evil comes along and pays you to do so? Convenient, very convenient, how clever of you to have created your own little niche in the world, though it seems like such a waste of your time. A pity you weren't the only one to hop on the bandwagon, though I'm sure you're the only one who thinks of it as a Holy Mission".

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He paused, eyes narrowed, as Caelan's eyes opened slightly to glare at him.

"And what of you, brother?" he replied, eyes lidded and face impassive. "Such a high platform to be judging from, for a mercenary - a sword for hire, for anyone who has the coin, and whose time is spent in Brothels and Bars whenever you're not selling yourself for profit. Little better than the women you waste your coin on, you may as well join them for all the difference it would make."

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He took a breath, and Alistair's lips fluttered open, baring his teeth which were gritted together as a low growl escaped his throat.

Caelan continued as if the low sound was nothing more than background noise. "At least my work has moral value, even if the uninlightened such as yourself cannot see it. Do not worry, Brother, for I am sure Xai're will take pity on you when the time comes." He looked up at his brother's face then, hidden in the darkness save for his eyes and the slight shine on his teeth.

[Wild Pet Found]