For an Ascended, there was no greater secret than their Ascended ability, or, Impetus Talent as Seirios called them. In a world where the strong ruled the weak, having a hidden ace up your sleeve to be able to rely on was important.
That was why Artorias had called it uncomfortable. It was also why they were both now sitting in a tense silence, eyeing each other wearily.
They may have been family, but they had only met hours ago, revealing such secrets so early was a mistake only idiots and fools would make.
So, Artorias spoke first.
Not because he trusted Seirios.
No, that was far from the truth.
It was because he was a fool, a desperate, stupid fool who only wished to escape and survive by any means possible.
He could probably make it there on his own. But with Seirios by his side, those chances would only go up.
How did he know that? Simple.
Seirios had survived that sinister bat spawn, just like he had, and had lived long enough to tell the tale.
He was probably the only other person in the entire world who knew just how dangerous that thing was, which meant he had a rough enough estimate of just how powerful his cousin also was.
Of course, he could have also been lying, the thought still lingered in his paranoid mind, but the way he had described the fallen spawn picking them off one by one only made him more confident that he was telling the truth.
Either way, he still spoke first.
"I have three talents which I can use," Seirios straightened, his eyes widening in shock. Artorias ignored it. "My first, is my innate ability, it grants me a shroud of shadows which makes me invisible, masking me from scent and sight."
Seirios listened to him with an open mouth, understanding the significance of his action.
It wasn't just that he was revealing his powers, a heavily guarded secret for any Ascended, but more the fact that he extending an olive branch of trust to him.
To him, who had grown up in a place where survival of the fittest ruled the borders of civilization, trust didn't come easily. Not when that trust could be broken within an instant for the gain of something substantial.
His own parents, after all, had done exactly that. The people who were meant to watch over and protect him had broken that trust at the mere mention of money.
Artorias was observant enough to notice his cousin's hesitation to truly open up. He could see, through the mask of a jester he had created to survive, that he was guarded.
Trust didn't come easily because his had already been shattered by those who were never meant to.
"My second, is my actual talent, granted to me by my first Soul Core. It requires for me to look at a shadow to activate, but as soon as I make eye contact with it, I am able to directly teleport into it."
When he next spoke, it was through a veil of apathy.
"My third, is a blessing, of sorts. It's something I can only pull on temporarily before my body begins to break down…it allows me to increase my reaction speed, and the speed at which I move my body, making me physically faster for as long as its active."
That familiar smell of ozone burned through his nose, but he didn't react to it as he once used to. It was, after all, just a figment of his imagination, a reminder of who he had lost and of a future which may have been.
"Now, it's your turn."
He leaned back in his seat; his eyes focused only on the sapphire blue of his cousin. He wondered what he would do, what he would say.
Would he lie? Or would he tell the truth?
Either way, Artorias knew enough from the past few hours of conversation, to hazard an accurate guess on what Seirios' Impetus Talent may be.
The silence stretched for a few minutes. Artorias didn't say anything, simply watching Seirios in silence, practically seeing the wheels in his head turning.
He wasn't in any rush; they still had plenty of time before night would set and the hidden sun would rise.
Seirios didn't say anything for a long time, simply stewing in his thoughts under the patient gaze of Artorias, his eyes flickering occasionally to look at him, before moving to focus on something else.
Eventually, he spoke.
"I…I don't have an innate ability, or any blessings. My talent…is quite straightforward in hindsight," Seirios sighed, his shoulders slumping as he seemed to build himself up.
"It grants me enhanced scenes. Hearing, taste, feeling, sight and smell, it's all amplified so strongly that I can sense the vibrations in the air and the ground. It leaves me with practically no blind spots."
Artorias couldn't help but grace his nervous cousin with a soft smile.
That had taken a lot out of him, Artorias knew it would, but it would only benefit him from here on out. Because now, a unique layer of trust existed between them that couldn't be broken.
Though, it wasn't as beautiful as he was making it out to be. In reality, it was more akin to mutual destruction. A sort of, you reveal my secret and ill reveal yours…
He quietly hummed to himself and ignored that twisted part of his mind with practiced ease.
He hoped Seirios would too, because there was no doubt in Artorias' mind that his cousin was also thinking similarly.
Seirios had to develop that instinct and logic to survive in the border. Artorias was simply born with it.
"I had my suspicions, but thank you for trusting me with the truth," he revealed, pleasantly surprised and wearing a smile.
"Ew, stop that, you look even more like a skeleton than normal when you smile, its creepy. Keep it to the grins and smirks man, and put away that posh speech of yours, it doesn't suit you."
Artorias felt his temple throb with a pulsing vein at Seirios' crass words.
'That damn brat, I'm going to kill him.'
The throwing knife hidden in his right sleeve was in his hand faster than either of them could predict.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! I was joking! Joking, I swear! You're a gorgeous skeleton when you smile! I promise!" Seirios desperately pleaded, jumping out of his chair and hiding behind it, using it as a shield.
Artorias' pleasant smile, which hadn't vanished through the entire ordeal, slowly melted away to reveal a wicked grin.
"That's what I thought, next time you open your mouth, use that damn brain of yours and think before you speak," he threatened, shaking his head before flicking the knife back into the sleeve.
Artorias couldn't help but be amused, watching Seirios wordlessly grumble under his breath, as he took his desk chair and moved it to sit against the wall, creating enough distance between them that he would have to lunge to get to his cousin.
A fool he may have occasionally shown himself to be, he at the very least had instincts sharpened for survival.
Artorias approved.
"You mentioned having suspicions?" Seirios asked, pulling his legs up to sit on the chair.
Artorias smirked at the question, having expected it sooner rather than later.
"I had an idea of what they may be from the very start, when you mentioned finding me sitting by the fire," he glanced down at the burnt books not too far away from him, having some ideas on how he had accomplished the feat of creating fire out of two sticks.
"At the time, I was all but cationic, which meant I was probably sat still or unmoving for most of the time my body was awake- "
"-I'm still curious about that by the way. "
Artorias gave him a look for the interruption, getting an apologetic wave in return.
If he was being honest with himself, he too, was just as curious about what had happened, but he intentionally moved on from the topic before the conversation could start.
They had developed a unique trust with each other, but his issues with his soul was something that did not fall in range with that trust.
He would have to figure it out himself.
"…What I didn't tell you about my shadow shroud—my innate ability—was that it isn't as all powerful as I made it seem. It has a strict requirement to activate and has flaws of its own."
Seirios listened with rapt attention.
"For one, I have to be completely still. My body has to be all but frozen, with the exception of me moving my eyes and breathing. As for what tipped me off about your talent? It was the fact that anything or anyone with strong enough eyes or sense of smell can still find me if they are close enough."
His cousin blinked, before his eyes widened and he suddenly began to laugh.
"You sneaky bastard! Let me guess, when I mentioned hearing your heart earlier, that all but confirmed it to you, didn't it?"
Artorias only offered him a mischievous grin.
"Look at that, you're learning already."