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Vax would not consider himself an honest man. Hell, sometimes he wasn’t even sure he was a good one.
But if there was one thing he was confident that he was, it was damn good at looking out for those that were his. No matter what that entailed or cost him, he looked out for his twin. For the little group they’d accidentally built around them.
Which meant that when Vex gave the order to free Percival Fredrickstein von Something or Another, he listened but that didn’t mean he trusted the human as far as he could throw the guy.
Honesty, in Vax’s experience, was not a cheap commodity afforded to mercenaries, and too many things about Percy didn’t add up.
Vex could see where the truth led them all she wanted. Vax was going to keep his guard up and let Percy prove who he was.
Words were cheap.
Actions were not, and they often spoke far louder.
So he would wait.
“Is something the matter, Brother?”
He raised a brow at Vex, pulled from his thoughts as they picked their way through the woods at the head of the group. “What do you mean, Stubby?”
“You look like you just bit into a lemon,” Vex deadpanned, glancing over her shoulder. “Is this about Percy?”
“I just have my reservations.”
“Give him a chance.”
“I am.”
Percy tended to… grate on Vax’s nerves.
It wasn’t that the man meant to, at least as far as the rogue could tell, but…
Those first few days…
It felt so painfully clear that Percy just… didn’t fit in. Sure, they were a mismatched group, and it wasn’t like he and Vex were complete strangers to money thanks to their stint in Syngorn…
But Percy was different. In how he carried himself, in how he spoke… The fact he was a noble seeped out of him and left Vax rolling his eyes at turns of phrases and shaken reactions to Scanlan’s lewdness.
Yet… Vax was the only one who seemed to think like that.
“What snake crawled in your boot?” Vex huffed, the only one brave enough to confront him as he stalked along the deer trail they were following towards their destination.
With the cult leader dead, they’d had to recalculate how to get their next paycheck. Especially considering that breaking Percy out of jail paid like shit. Which was why they were now hunting the elusive cult they’d previously been working for.
Vax grit his teeth, before he sighed. “Doesn’t it bother you?”
“A lot of things bother me, you’ll have to be more specific,” Vex deadpanned.
“Percival.” Vax glanced away. “He’s not like us.”
“So? Neither is Keyleth. Or any of them.” She rolled her eyes.
He scowled. “He’s-”
“Have you even given him a chance?”
Vax glanced away.
“You’ve barely known him three days, Scrawny.”
“Fine. But if I think he’s lying to us…”
“He’s not.”
Vax sighed. “I’ll give him a chance to prove himself,” he finally conceded once more.
Maybe he was just… letting Syngorn get to him again…
Hopefully…
Vax’s next decision was that he didn’t understand Percy.
It wasn’t like the guy hadn’t been attempting to pull his weight the first couple of days, but he’d suddenly seemed to start putting in triple the effort. Volunteering for different chores and duties.
More than his fair share, even.
It didn’t line up with being a noble.
Didn’t line up with the skittishness Vax caught constant glimpses of, the nervousness when one of them moved too quickly.
Nothing about Percy made any damn sense.
One moment an aloof asshole who seemed three seconds from sticking his nose up in the air and scorning the group for their antics, the next volunteering to do the third thing in an hour…
He sighed out a huff as he rose. “I’m going to get firewood.”
“We have plenty…” Keyleth murmured.
“I’ll come with you,” Percy offered, already rising.
Vax wrinkled his nose, but a warning look from Vex kept him quiet, turning his rejection into a nod. “Let’s move then,” he grumbled.
It was… an opportunity. Perhaps he could set his mind at ease, see if he could figure out some sort of motivation behind Percy’s actions…
He led them further from camp than strictly necessary, Percy trailing quietly and gathering suitable wood as they went.
“What’s your deal?” Vax finally demanded, practically spinning on his heel to face the nobleman, eyes narrowed in a glare.
Percy flinched back a step like he’d been struck, and Vax grit his teeth in irritation. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean,” Percy finally managed.
The half-elf sucked in a breath, swallowing back dagger-sharp words. “I mean, what’s your game?”
“I don’t have a game,” Percy retorted, a scowl settling onto his own features.
Vax snorted, derisive. “Everyone has a game, especially fancy nobles,” he bit out. He wouldn’t even deny that he had one, it was just that he tended to play ‘survival’.
“Oh? And what would you know about fancy nobles?” Percy challenged.
“I know they’re so far removed from reality they wouldn’t know it if it smacked them in the head. That everything is given to them without them doing a damn thing to earn it.” Vax spit the words out, the image of Syngorn bright and shining in his mind, the complete opposite of his time there.
And oh, what he wouldn’t give for the city to look as rotten as it was.
Percy recoiled like he’d been struck, clutching the firewood he’d gathered so tightly Vax was half-surprised none of the sticks had snapped in two.
The rogue scoffed and slipped past the noble without another word.
Vax and Percy didn’t speak again, which worked just fine for the rogue honestly.
Or, at least, it would have.
Honestly, given how hectic things got over the next week, he almost forgot the conversation entirely.
If it were anyone else, they both would have. The strain of the road, or a bad job, or just one truly bad day had led to far worse fights between members. Fights that usually healed over quickly, a quick apology or silent gift at most and silent nods or mutual forgetfulness at least. Shit happened, words could be sharp, but at the end of the day, they had one another’s backs and they understood that.
It was why Vax didn’t think twice about it as they continued on, as they fought a cult. As Percy…
Well…
If Vax was honest, watching Percy… The man was an enigma, a frustrating and complicated and conflicting mystery, but he wasn’t… He didn’t seem fake in the way a liar or an actor was. His words with Keyleth and Pike were genuine, his attention to Vex and her orders rapt and sharp, and his gaze and mind were as bright as the sun…
Vax had to admit when he was wrong, and he’d been wrong. Percy… He might not fit in with their usual crowds, but he did belong with them all the same.
The last few hours had been nasty, finally confronting the cult in a bloody battle.
Cult was gone, now they just had to get back to their employer and get the coin for taking care of their mystic problem.
In hindsight, he should’ve noticed. He was the one in the shadows, the one always watching and listening. The protector.
He should’ve noticed.
He should’ve done better.
He’d never been very good at the things he should be doing, just ask his father.
But he didn’t. Not until he heard a stumble behind him, heard Vex’s yelp of Percy’s name.
He turned, frowning as any potential tease to his sister or Percy about the worry or the trip died on his tongue.
Percy was pale, had been pale since they picked him up like a starving stray cat. He was even paler than normal now, weakly pulling himself out of Vex’s hold only to end up leaning on a nearby tree, a hand pressed to his side.
“Percy, what’s wrong?” Keyleth asked.
“Nothing, I assure you,” Percy huffed, though the strain in his voice would’ve made it more believable for him to claim to be able to fly.
“Percy,” Vex warned, even as she worked on trying to move the noble’s coat aside, much to his sputtered offense.
Vax must’ve seen it at the same moment his sister did, because she froze as Percy pointedly looked away, the blue coat pulled away to show the white shirt Percy was wearing underneath strained crimson under the press of his hand.
“Percy!” Vex repeated, and Percy flinched. “Darling, why didn’t you say something?” Vex muttered, softening almost instantly.
“I…” Percy’s gaze flicked to Vax, then fell away as his shoulders hunched, pulling into himself. “I didn’t want to be a burden. I can carry my own weight, really, I-I know not to expect handouts.”
Vax’s stomach dropped, and for a moment he thought he might be sick right then and there as realization set in.
“Darling,” Vex whispered. “Of course, you’re not a burden. But that wound is serious… It should’ve been bandaged hours ago!” She took a breath. “Please, let Pike heal you?”
Vax glanced to Pike, the cleric clutching her holy symbol, eyes wide and expression sad.
He looked back to Percy just in time to catch the human’s eyes, the noble’s gaze falling immediately. “I… I really will be fine…” he whispered, peering up at Vax like he was trying to convince the rogue of that more than himself or Vex.
Vex, brilliant as she was, finally seemed to catch on to Percy’s wandering gaze and turned to follow it.
Vax froze as her eyes landed on him, her expression growing tight. “What the hell did you do?!” she spat.
Vax hunched his own shoulders as he instinctively took half a step back. “I didn’t-”
“You didn’t what?!” Vex snapped, taking a step towards him.
“Um, guys-”
“It sounds to me like you didn’t think at all!” Vex continued, steam-rolling right over Keyleth.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen!” Vax defended himself, even as guilt twisted deeper into his gut.
“Oh, I’m sure that fixes everything! I can’t believe-”
“Enough!” Pike stepped between them, features settling on a scowl. “Figure your shit out later, right now yelling’s not helping anyone.” She softened a moment later, stepping around Vex to approach Percy. “Percy, can I heal you? Please?”
“If… it’s not any trouble.”
“It will never be trouble.”
Vex glared at him again.
Vax stared at the ground.
The group moved on in uneasy quiet once Pike was satisfied.
Vex was giving him the cold shoulder, and while that stung…
It was almost worse to think that Percy could’ve bled out, or even caught his death of infection, because of Vax.
Because he’d been careless and judgemental.
“I’m sorry.” He didn’t bother beating around the bush, stepping in front of the noble as the group started to pack up to head out. He could see Keyleth pause out of the corner of his eye, no doubt already debating running interference.
He couldn’t blame her anymore than he could blame the skepticism in Percy’s eyes.
“It was wrong of me, to judge you from where you’ve been. Gods know I’d hate for you to do the same. I was being an asshole. You’re… You’ve given me no reason to believe you don’t belong here. Not that you need my approval but… You’ve more than earned your stripes with us, as far as I’m concerned.” Vax tried for a small smile. “Just no more trying to prove yourself by hiding that you're hurting, alright? Doesn’t help anyone in the end, trust me.”
He did the same thing.
It never made it hurt less.
Percy studied him for a long moment before nodding, just slightly. “The… apology is appreciated, Vax.”
Vax nodded. “You belong here, Percy, just as much as any of us. Don’t let me or any other idiot tell you otherwise,” he muttered, slipping away to help Pike with the supplies and making sure the fire was out.
They didn’t speak of the argument again.
When Vax got sent flying in their next fight, Percy reached out to help.
When some vendor or another in the town they’d been heading to tried to swindle Percy for a small fortune, Vax stepped in.
It’d be a road to trust, to friendship…
But it was a start.