#but I'm still trying to figure out how to do that subtly aksjdfflasdj

[archerofazzure]

17. looming

I really loved this scene on first read bc it was it's the first time we see Sholto (not Shotlo, as I learned while writing this) break from his smart-ass persona and I just think that's nifty.

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Shit. He should not have brought Rye here.

Sholto watched the color drain from his brother’s face as Rye looked through his strange little device. Rye must have realized what a foolish hope it was to think that Sholto had a plan. There was no magic solution, no easy fix to all their problems. Just the massive, indifferent ocean looming over them.

If he could wave a magic wand and transport them both home, away from all this, he would. But obviously, that was impossible.

Sholto had refused to admit it to himself, but he had no plan. He had no clue what he was doing when he found his way here, when he impersonated a guard, and especially when he brought Rye to see the horrors of the Dispatch Area. He had hoped his brother’s restlessness would finally simmer down after being shown the reality of the situation, but instead it had broken him completely.

“Oh Rye, I am sorry!” he blurted out. He scrambled for an apology, the words rushing out of his mouth like a tsunami crashing on the shore.

“Fool that I am! I should not have allowed you to hope. Dirk would have known better. He is good with people. I am not. But that is no excuse…”

Rye’s breath relaxed. Sholto was confused – he had not expected his outburst to be of any comfort. Nevertheless, he would take what he could get. He grasped his fingers around Rye’s shoulders.

“Come. We will go back to the cell,” he murmured. “We can release the captives, and give them a fighting chance.”

But Rye did not budge. Instead he turned to Sholto, blabbering about his bag of tricks, insistent that it held the solution. The fire in his eyes alarmed Sholto. It reminded him of Dirk.

Although Sholto was still hesitant to believe that his absence had lasted a full year, it was obvious that Rye had grown up. He was braver, more ambitious.

But his youthful naivety still remained. Whatever powerful mechanisms sealed this door shut, there was clearly nothing to be done about it.

Sholto argued with him: how could he possibly think his bag of tricks could open the door? But when Rye hissed defiantly that Sholto was wrong, Sholto was reminded of many late night arguments with his mother. He heard his own defiant confidence in Rye’s strained whispers.

So when Rye slammed the golden key against the door, he was not shocked. After all, it was exactly what he would have done.

When it actually worked – that’s when he was surprised. The door’s seal broke and it cracked open. Sholto froze, saved only by Rye grabbing his arm and jumping as the tide rushed in.

#roddacember ficlets 2021 #roddacember 2021 #sholto of weld #rye of weld #the three doors #this one is Late bc I spent a lot of time with it but I'm still not sure it came out how I liked #there's supposed to be a connection between the water about to crash in on them and Sholto about to have a strong emotional moment #but I'm still trying to figure out how to do that subtly aksjdfflasdj #also rereading this scene made rye click a little more for me #that boy is just so much more emotionally mature than everyone around him and he just psychoanalyzes them for no reason it's so funny #I think he learned it from rowan