Jerico waited on the stairs. For hours. Rhe had walked by, seeming to have been looking for him... but apparently Jerico's mood had come through, and the boy kept walking. Well... never let it be said he didn't have a decent, if youthful, instinct.
He continued to wait. Legs going numb, back starting to hurt--but he didn't want to leave. He wanted to be there, to be witnessed there, when Nikkira emerged. And she must emerge.
His stomach was making ridiculously odd sounds by the time Brandon found him, smirking with proper viciousness for the situation. Not that Brandon had ever found a situation in which he was not prone to smirking viciousness... "Waiting for something?"
Jerico glared, though it lost a bit of its power through sheer hunger. He'd already been there... quite a bit longer than he'd planned. "Looking for a little 'company', are you?"
Brandon nearly looked offended--but it was gone in a flash and a shake of the head. "Pathetic. You live in a castle without any responsibilities for a few days and already you're a spineless little--"
"What the hell are you trying to say?" The interruption wasn't loud, so much. Wasn't even upset in the least; but it served to keep... some sense of peace.
"You... are waiting. Patiently. This is not something that's ever happened before." Brandon pointed out slowly.
"It is damn well not patiently." Jerico argued.
"She doesn't require your services." The words were almost painfully blunt.
Immediately, Jerico corrected, "She does. You all do."
Rather surprisingly, that seemed to keep Brandon quiet. They were both of a... certain kind of profession, in their former "homes". Jerico retained a lot of that, his training far more extensive--and used. Not for their originally intended methods, however. He had adapted, and that decision had gotten them out of a great deal of danger. Brandon had attempted to leave them behind altogether. Possibly to their detriment, sometimes.
"Then you wait here." The words were sudden, sharper than Jerico's voice normally was. "I'm going to get something to eat."
"I didn't agree to--" the protest died quickly under an unexpectedly harsh gaze. "Bring back food."
Jerico nodded once, then turned and left a rather confused Brandon behind him. Confused of the situation, of his own words... and most certainly about the fact that he remained.
The hell of it all was, he didn't know why he was angry. Nikkira wasn't really the whole of the problem. Oh, she was aggravating enough, but that was only because he utterly understood the way she wove toward and away from information about herself. Frankly, he wasn't one to answer direct questions, and certainly not about his past, but... that was only part.
Trying to understand what the other parts might be was another matter, requiring another large, savage bite from the apple. They didn't know her enough to care for her situation... didn't even know her situation... but something very fundamental was not right. That was basis enough. What were they even doing there, for that matter... three male prisoners let loose in a castle with one girl and... her rather monstrous brother. Not that he counted, as he was behind that door, unable to protect her. Probably rather unwilling, as well.
Jerico was used to a life where nothing was answered. Where the very concepts of peace of mind and "sanity" were to be laughed at. But nothing had quite prepared him for this.
Well, little it mattered. He would collect some food to bring back to Brandon, as had been requested. Rhe was good at fending for himself. As was Nikkira.
"Eat." Came the order, not looking back as he climbed. "I'm tried of waiting."
