20 Catching up, Learning more

Most of Saiph's freshman year passed by without further incident. Through his general studies class, he learned many, many things about the vast worlds of the Tower. Paired with some of the techniques he learned from various professions, Saiph felt confident that if he retook the general exam he would almost ace it.

Spending all of his time studying was exhausting, though, so Saiph spent a bit of time hanging out with Enzo, the boy he met in his dorms the first day he arrived. It also helped lighten his mood, which would sometimes dip due to a nightmare the previous night- usually about the traumatic experience of losing his arm.

Saiph and Enzo got along pretty well. Saiph was more conservative and mild-mannered whereas Enzo liked to have fun, often getting the boys into trouble, with the usual hijinks being, "I betcha I can climb that building faster than you."

Besides the occasional hanging out with Enzo, Saiph didn't do many recreational activities. Studying was fulfilling enough for him. His diligence to become stronger overwhelmed the possibility of feeling boredom.

Although, there was one event that rocked Saiph's world a few weeks through the year- one which he would have a hard time dispelling from his consciousness and subconsciousness alike.

He was walking down the street one day when he took a cursory glance at someone walking towards him. He then immediately did a double take- it was his sister, Velvet. She was just strolling down the street, not recognizing Saiph.

He had meant to try and find her before, but just never really got around to it. In truth, Saiph wasn't sure if he was mentally prepared to face his sister. It had been two and a half years since they had last seen each other; were they even going to get along? Saiph also felt slightly embarrassed about his running away from home. What if she reprimanded him regarding it?

Tossing all of these stupid, insecure thoughts from his conscious, Saiph turned around and jogged up to his sister.

"Velvet!" he called out to her.

The girl -- who was still slightly taller than Saiph, even now -- turned around and looked him in the face.

Yes, indeed, this was his sister. She still had an olive skin tone, very dark brown hair, and the same radiant blue eyes Saiph himself had.

"...Saiph?" she questioned, face contorted in uncertainty.

"Yeah, it's me." Saiph could only reply with a smile at his sister's confusion, figuring that he had grown up quite a bit if she couldn't recognize him.

Velvet rushed over to Saiph, slamming into him. He received her embrace warmly, tears streaming down his face from raw joy.

Velvet soon let go of Saiph, inspecting his shoulder. "Holy shit, Saiph, did, did, you lose your... arm?" she whispered.

"Ah, yeah, that…" Saiph succinctly told his sister of his misadventures through Carina.

"Damn it. I'm so sorry that happened to you. Fuck! I can't believe it. What are the odds?"

Saiph quickly diverted the topic to something more lighthearted, which kept the duo chatting for a bit before Velvet stopped talking, face contorted in conflict.

"What's wrong, Velvet?"

"Saiph, answer me seriously. This has been haunting me for the past two years. Did Father hurt you while I was gone?" she asked, voice and face bursting with hostility.

Saiph was slightly put off by the drastic change in attitude but still answered with honesty.

"Umm, well, I guess…? But, he didn't do anything the last half a year I was there. Nothing direct, at least."

"That son of a bitch!" Velvet yelled, not minding the passersby gawking at her. "What did he do, Saiph?"

"Well, he…" Saiph went on to explain the events of how he was sent to the neighbor's with the spoiled herb and the 'moderate punishment' incident from the tax collectors. He also mentioned, in a side note, how he had tried to keep Saiph at the house before the exam.

"But that's not all that bad, right?" he finished. "I mean, he did give birth to us. He has the right to be a bit rough with us, right?"

SMACK

Saiph recoiled from the impact, grasping his cheek.

Why did his sister slap him? Damn, that really hurt.

"What the heck, Velvet?!" The indignant Saiph stepped back and glared at his sister.

"You take that back!" she shouted.

Saiph looked around only to be received by icy glares from the curious strangers gawking at the siblings' performance.

"I don't really know what you're talking about but shouldn't we take this somewhere else?" he said smoothly, trying to calm her down.

"Come with me!" she harrumphed, grabbing Saiph by the collar. The unfortunate boy was dragged down the street a ways, eventually being pulled into a dormitory.

"This is where I live," Velvet explained. She brought Saiph upstairs and into a bedroom, tossing him down on the bed.

"Okay, are we done now?" Saiph complained. Being met with a nod, he followed up, "So, why did you slap me?"

"Because you excused the vile actions of that man you call a father."

"But Velvet," Saiph protested, "He didn't do anything all that…" Saiph's voice trailed off as he found himself lost in contemplation. He eventually took a deep sigh and continued.

"Velvet, that man is our father, no?"

"I wouldn't like to think so. But, arguing over semantics is pointless. I'll give you facts. Do you know what emotional abuse is? Mental manipulation? Our 'dad' is pretty good at using those to make you feel like nothing is wrong. Here is the reality of it, though: he's a lying son of a bitch whose vile existence warrants a painful and ruthless death." Velvet's eyes were swollen and red, her cheeks damp with tears.

Saiph took a deep breath, not making any retorts to the severe comment.

"Saiph," Velvet continued, "I've been here a while. I've… made some friends. I'm really sorry that you've had to suffer and deal with all of this without knowing any better. But, I know better than you now. I know that situation, that home, is anything but normal. Normal families love each other; normal kids don't feel like sleeping out in the fields to avoid running away from home; normal parents don't threaten their children's lives and happiness for fleeting moments of the feeling of power and to satisfy their fucking lust, damn it!"

Velvet took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

'Saiph," she started after a few seconds, "we were fucked. Me more literally than you, perhaps, but it seems like you got off just barely better than I did. At least I never was on the brink of death. But, please, please, Saiph, realize that he's not your father and that you shouldn't love him or feel obliged to help him out. Or, that woman who let him get away with all of that abuse in the first place; they're two peas in a pod."

Saiph didn't know what to say to this accusation. Really? Were his suspicions back on the day he was thrown into the silo true? Was his father really not a real parent?

"Wait, how come you never came and rescued me?"

Saiph's observation seemed to wound Velvet, who shuddered fiercely after hearing his words.

"Its, its, not my f- fault. It, it was like Hell Above me. You couldn't understand. No, never. Not being woken up in the middle of the night and being…" Velvet's voice trailed off as she refocused her gaze back on Saiph.

"I'm sorry, Saiph. The Academy wouldn't let me go back at first. You have to enter your 3rd year to leave Veritate. And this year… these past few weeks, I… I just couldn't bring myself to actually do it. I don't think that I can ever look at him again. I was… embarrassed, even, for letting it all happen in the first place, hiding my hardships from you and, ultimately, failing as an older sister by not killing the bastard myself."

Velvet's face was soaked in tears by now, Saiph's not faring much better. The siblings embraced each other once more, bawling into the other's shoulder.

Eventually, they said their adieus and went on with their day.

…

Saiph and Velvet kept in contact after that, occasionally meeting up for lunch. It was a great boon to Saiph's mental pressure to have his sister around in such a turbulent time in his life. Generally, the two made sure to divert their conversations away from the past for obvious reasons.

However, after their initial meet-up, Saiph started having even harder times falling asleep every night. The trauma from losing an arm, the trauma from finding out that your father was one of the evilest people in the entire Tower… which was worse?

Saiph was troubled by thoughts such as reporting this all to the authorities, but he also doubted that they would do anything without evidence. Like he had said to Velvet, his father hadn't technically done anything directly in years. It also wasn't like the situation was that severe or consequential; there's no way the Academy would unleash its full investigative might to uncover any residual clues left over from the years.

Then, however… what was Saiph going to do when he inevitably met with him once again? Make him pay the ultimate price like his sister seemed to have wanted?

Saiph quickly shook off such dark thoughts when they inevitably encroached upon him at night, but they left their impact.

What was a boy to do in a situation like this? Saiph felt helpless in the face of it all.