[FRAG] House of Liars

Hour Star opened his eyes.

He stirred, the blankets clinging to his form. The soft weight of Marion in bed next to him was comforting, but his partner had managed to drape themself over some of the covers, and Hour groaned. He tugged at the fabrics, but Marion didn't stir.

Alas, he would not sleep in this morning.

He rose from his bed, magicking up a comb to run through his hair as he paced to the window. From the vantage point on the hill that their house was constructed on, he could oversee all of Trivea from his bedroom window. In the early hours of the morning, the town hadn't quite woken up yet, but the early birds had risen and were mulling about. He could see quite a few familiar faces lingering by the well, probably chatting.

He let the comb dissipate, his hair sufficiently fluffed. With a snap of his fingers, his normal high-collared outfit magicked onto his body, overtaking the tank top and shorts he normally slept in. As he stepped towards the door, he absently tugged at his tie's knot. 

"Up already? It's the crack of dawn," came Marion's voice, from the bed.

Hour paused at the doorway, turning to offer a warm smile to the other. "You know me. Workaholic."

"You can spend another hour with me in here," Marion sleepily grinned back, patting the bed. They'd shifted to release a few of the blankets.

Hour's eyes flicked to the mattress. It was still slightly depressed from where he'd laid all night, and likely still cozy and warm. It was a trap, but a lovely, attractive one. With an amused sigh, he paced back over to the bed, pulling his collar loose as he perched on the edge. Marion wrapped arms around his waist and buried their face into his stomach, purring.

"You seem a little on-edge," they said, peering up after a moment.

He ran a hand through their hair, letting his eyelids droop. "I'm just fine, Marion."

"I'm sorry if anything I did yesterday upset you... about your brother."

Ugh. Uuuuuuugh. UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH. "No, you're fine. He's... it wouldn't be your fault."

"People are going to be talking about him today, Mayor Hour," Marion said, resting their chin on their crossed arms. "You know they will. Varnia and Cellabora talk. Are you going to be okay with that?"

"Of course. I can put aside my feelings to check up on the citizens." Hour wiped his mouth off. "I'm glad Varnia is okay."

Marion smiled, cupping their cheeks in their hands, "I'm glad, too. Were you really that upset at Morning Star?"

"...What do you mean?" he asked, stiffly.

"You had a major argument with him. Were you really that angry, or were you just emotional?"

Hour huffed under his breath, rubbing his neck. "I was really that angry."

"You two seem so tense... what happened between you both?"

He sighed, glancing to Marion. Marion's expression was lifted in hopeful innocence, their curly hair framing their soft cheeks and bright eyes. There was an expectant look in his partner's eyes, but some sense of warm idealism kept it from becoming too harsh or jaded. It was a familiar stare, one that he often both found comfort and annoyance in. 

"Hour?" Marion piped up.

With a groan, he flopped backwards onto the bed. "I told you - Morning Star left. All of us. He cared more about the Coalition and all that bullshit than he did his family, me, or Trivea. I don't ask for much, but I ask for loyalty and dedication."

"Hmmm," Marion hummed, in his dubious-cynical tone, eyebrow raised.

"What."

Marion sat up. "You still like everyone in Vaulis."

"That's - that's different, come on."

"Is it really that different?"

"Why are we having this conversation?" he snapped.

Marion frowned. "I just want you to be happy, and your relationship with your brother is something that makes you unhappy. I'm sorry if I crossed boundaries I shouldn't have."

"I..." Hour rubbed his eyes again. "No, I understand what you were trying to do. I'm just on edge, that's all. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Arms slid around his waist, and the warm embrace of his partner stilled his frustration. Hour leaned into Marion's chest, closing his eyes as the other murmured "It's okay, I understand."

Why was that so hard for Morning Star to say, when Hour brought up his frustrations and anger with his brother? Why couldn't Morning Star just listen to him? Clearly he knew what he was doing; he had an entire town under his wing, who looked to him for guidance and care. It wasn't fair, to keep trying to undermine him at every turn. Morning Star had been the one to run off to the Coalition, so why the hell couldn't he just stay there?

He buried his face in deeper, and let out a pathetic whine.

"Maybe you should just stay in today, not go to work," Marion cooed, petting through Hour's hair lovingly. The sensation was darling. 

"No, I'd like to get some work done after being away for so long," he murmured, peeling himself from Marion's chest. Hour received a small smile in return. "And it'll be good, for everyone to see me around."

Marion reached forwards to brush some of Hour's hair out of his face. "Alright... just be careful, okay? Don't overwork yourself."

"I won't, I promise." they shared a kiss before Hour rose from the bed once more, heading out the door with a tiny wave.

He stepped out of his house, feeling the breeze pull at his tie and fur. WIth a pleasant sigh, he ran a hand through his hair, letting his eyes glide over the village. From his porch - past all the plants Neb kept, of course - he could see the bustling beginnings of a busy morning, residents mulling about, chatting, sharing things they'd found, ideas they'd cooked up.

With a smile, Hour stepped down towards the path to his town. This was where he belonged; he was sure of it. There was never a moment's doubt in his head every time he saw the smiling visages of his residents, his people. Trivea was his, this Timeline was his - no one else had a connection to it like him, no one else had dedicated their lives to building it up. He was the perfect shepherd for this flock.

"Mayor Hour!" came a familiar, deeper voice. He turned to smile at Keiton, who gave a minor salute back. "Glad you're back."

"I'm glad to be back," he said amusedly, putting a hand on his chest. "The fresh air through my lungs, the sound of Trivea's economy? Stars, I missed those." 

"Ever dramatic, Mayor," Keiton half-laughed, falling into step next to Hour. 

He kept the smile on his face, pace relaxing into an easy, sauntering gait. Keiton's armor clinked as they walked down the path together, Hour drinking in the beautiful sights before him. The well had become a hub of activity, with several residents lounging around or on it, talking. They waved at the duo's approach, and Hour gave a flourished nod in return.

"Heard your brother paid us a visit," Keiton began, as they turned down main street.

Hour sucked in a breath. "Is everyone going to talk to me about Morning Star today?"

"It's likely. Guy made a lot of waves, helping Varnia." Keiton's fingers busied themselves playing with the hilt of his sword. "The whole place was buzzin' last night."

"Oh, fantastic. So who else should I expect an assault of questions from?"

"Ellise?" Keiton shrugged.

Hour ran a hand down his face. "Of course." 

"It's not all bad, at least. Varnia's still singing his praises. I can't really blame him... that gold injury must've hurt like a bitch. You ever get hurt with gold, Mayor?"

He kept his stare focused on the town hall, stoutly standing next to the waterfall. It was only a few more yards. "No, but I don't plan to."

"Hah, understandable." Keiton paused, letting go of his sword. "Well, I'll get back to patrol, Mayor. Nice seeing you around."

"Nice seeing you too, soldier," Hour said, giving Keiton an easily-mustered smile. The knight nodded, saluted with two fingers, and then ducked back down main street.

Hour waited til he was out of earshot to huff, adjust his tie, and let out a long sigh. He steeled his shoulders, glancing up at the town hall, at its curved roof, worn doors, sagging stairs. It was homely and familiar, his workplace, his office. It was nice to be back here, after spending so long cooped up in that stars-cursed hotel. 

He licked his lips, then smiled to himself as he climbed the porch, sliding open the door.

"Oh, there you are!"

Hour's smile disappeared instantly as he stared down Nebulous Star. His younger sibling was sitting in the middle of the floor, levitating a plethora of documents and pencils, all of which fell as soon as Hour stepped in. With gritted teeth, Hour's hand twitched slightly as he stared at the new mess on his flooring.

"Sorry," Neb said, leaning back slightly. "I was getting bored waiting for you."

"So you decided to... ruin my office space?" Hour asked, closing the door behind himself and pacing across the entrance hall to the aforementioned office space.

Neb followed, scrambling up to their feet. "Yep," they said, nearly blankly, "pretty much. Didn't even think you'd come in today. We did just get back." 

"Whatever, Nebulous," Hour muttered, shuffling into his actual office.

It had remained largely untouched, besides the lack of papers and writing utensils. His desk still awaited him, leather chair pushed in, framed photographs of Marion and himself still dust-free. That, at least, was comforting, even though having to levitate back in all his paperwork was infuriating.

"So," Neb began, tossing themself into Hour's chair. He raised an eyebrow. "So."

"What."

Neb glanced down at the now-full pencil case. "So. The Morning Star thing."

Oh. For. Fuck's. Sake. "Listen, Marion and Keiton both already chewed me out for everything. I don't need you on top of it."

Neb spun in the chair. "Well, I'm just saying, you were a rude-ass jerk to him last night."

That was it. He'd warned Neb that he didn't want to talk about this. Why the fuck did everyone always keep needling him whenever he tried to politely turned down a conversation? He just wanted to get some work done, sort his paperwork, feel productive after having to mope in a hotel room for a week. His hands itched to pour over any sort of democratic essay written by his residents, come up with solutions for the proposed problems, and help make Trivea a better place.

Why was the entire world trying to stop him from doing his life's work today?

"Why are you taking his side so much lately?!" Hour snarled, malice dripping from every word, turning on his heel to glare down Neb.

His younger sibling barely looked perturbed, flicking a bug off Hour's desk. They raised an eyebrow at his expression. "I mean, come on, Hour. Morning's been through a lot lately. I don't think he needs us getting on his ass that hard. Yeah, he's always kinda been a wuss, but he's our wuss, y'know?" 

"No, I don't." he crossed his arms. "Wusses don't come into my town and disrupt my job."

"He didn't disrupt your job, Hour, stop being a drama king. He offered to help, you accepted, he helped, you got jealous. That's all it was, and you know it."

A tinge of blush rose to Hour's cheeks as he crossed his arms, harder. "I just-"

"-Hour, seriously, people aren't gonna rebel just 'cause you couldn't patch up some gold," Neb muttered, adjusting a few stacks of papers. "Everyone in Trivea loves you."

Inexplicably, those words were soothing. Hour stared as his sibling continued to fix up his desk for him, before sitting quietly in one of the plush chairs of his office. The wood creaked as his weight settled into it, a warm, grounding reminder that this was real. He knew he should say something, maybe argue his stance more, but it just didn't feel worth it any longer. Words had become stuck in his throat.

It was so silly, how easily such a simple sentence could stamp out his anger. All Nebulous had to do was string together some pretty-enough sounding comforts, some reminder that he was beloved, and all the negative feelings washed right out. Even the bad taste in his mouth that Morning Star always left was gone. What did that say about him, he briefly wondered? What kind of person did it make him?

"I guess you're right," he gruffly responded, playing with his hands, wings fluttering slightly. 

Neb finally glanced up, a tired smile on their face. "Am I ever wrong, really?"

"Eh... it's a fifty-fifty chance." Hour grinned back, giving a pleasant shrug. Just like that, they returned to playful banter. It almost scared him, how well Neb could manipulate him.

Well, as long as Morning Star wasn't around. Then all bets were off.

"Wow! Such betrayal!" Neb gestured to the desk, "And after I cleaned up after your slob ass!"

Hour peered at the other's work, "Well, you seem to enjoy de-organizing my papers...."

"Oh, Mayor, please, this is perfectly sorted. See, this one's your inbox and outbox, your pencil case is all set up, I even sorted your stamps, look." Neb pointed at the plate of stamps and ink on the edge of the desk. Sure enough, they were sorted in alphabetical order. "Even got your dumb seal of approval closest to your chair, 'cause you use it so often."

"Alright, this is actually pretty nice," Hour muttered, waving a hand to shoo Neb out of his chair. The other appropriately moved, and he sat, the leather squeaking.

Neb grinned, putting their hands on their hips, tail swishing back and forth.

Hour eyed the motion before cupping his chin in his hand and grinning up at his sibling. "I guess I'll give you a raise."

"Wait, you're paying the others?" Neb asked, in mock incredulity.

The two descended into snickers - not quite full laughter, but enough to shake shoulders and make Hour Star's smile widen of its own accord. As the amusement subsided, he let the smile remain, gaze falling on the youngest Star sibling in warmth and care. He normally didn't like letting those emotions flare so often - they were good for distracting himself from work - but how could he resist, when seeing the fruits of his labor so well? 

Neb's shoulders slumped as they caught Hour's eye, and he raised an eyebrow. Hour merely quirked one in return, the smirk still over his face as he leaned over his desk.

"Oh, going to waste the rest of your day sifting through those?" Neb asked, crossing his arms.

Hour gave a light shrug. He was in a good mood. "Not all day. I'll go see Varnia and Ellise later today, after I get some of this settled. It's not like I could work on any of this while in the COR."

"We have a guest, you know."

Hour paused, then looked up, brow furrowing. "What? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Wanted to see your reaction," Neb replied, twirling a finger in the air. "They're from Vaulis."

There was a pregnant pause between both of them. Hour launched to his feet, papers scattering amid Neb's annoyed huff, ignoring the other's dismissive wave as he paced around his desk. The bolt of panic that rose in him was unfamiliar, but he quickly compartmentalized it into a corner of his head, trying to keep focused.

"You should've let me know right away," Hour hissed.

"It slipped my mind, sorry," Neb replied, with a mischievous grin.

Hour pushed past the other, anger bubbling to the surface. No point in withholding those emotions now. How fucking stupid could his sibling be, to not alert him immediately when Vaulis residents came to him? Did they just not remember how important this was to Hour, or did they just like seeing him squirm? He knew it was the latter, but he ground his teeth into his cheek anyways. Stupid fucking family.

He glanced over his shoulder. "Are they in the-"

Neb pointed towards the waiting room of the town hall, sequestered through a curtained archway on the western wall. Hour gave a curt nod and powerwalked over, careful to keep himself from stomping. Didn't want to disturb the ambassador, after all, didn't want to startle them with any sort of misplaced anger.

He brushed the curtain out of his way, and nearly gasped at the individual lounging on the couch. The other looked up calmly, meeting Hour's eyes with a levelled sort of near-intimidation.

"Didn't expect you to make that face, Hour," he said, a smirk spreading on his features.

"Didn't expect you to show up in my town again, Chrysis," he replied, letting the curtain fall as he stepped in. Neb poked in a second later, watching Hour slide uncomfortably to sit on a recliner. 

Chrysis brushed some of his bangs out of his eyes, which bore into Hour intensely. He nearly wilted under the other's stare. "Yes, well, this is strictly a business meeting."

"Let's get to business, then," Hour remarked, ignoring Neb slinking to a different chair.

"So." the couch creaked as Chrysis shifted to lean forwards, elbows on knees. "You disappear for an entire month. Some weirdos from outside the Timeline show up and occupy both Trivea and Vaulis. They disappear, and then you're back the next day. Care to explain, so I can tell my residents why some of them are bleeding profusely from gold injuries?"

Hour Star swallowed. "It was not my fault. I was detained and removed from the Timeline against my wishes."

"You felt it break, too, didn't you?" Chrysis pressed.

Hour didn't blink. "Of course. I'm connected, too." 

"Riiight. Then pardon me if I don't strictly believe you had absolutely nothing to do with it. The occupation talked, you know." Chrysis leaned back, glaring down his muzzle at Hour. "They were talking about the Coalition."

Hour tensed, blood turning to pure ice. The sudden chill was enough to nearly make him hyperventilate. "W-well, that's not-"

"-Is it not your brother who ran off to the COR? And you're certain that he had nothing to do with this? I don't know, Hour Star. I can put two and two together. Some assholes who hate the Coalition show up and poke our Fragments with some golden swords, and then the rest of the Star family disappears. It doesn't take a genius to know you and your brother meddled somewhere you didn't belong."

"What Morning Star pulls is outside of my influence," he hissed through gritted teeth, curling his fists in his pants. 

"He's your brother. Keep him in line, or you risk another splinter faction," Chrysis warned, standing. "The peace in our Timeline is tenuous at best, you moron. Vaulis isn't going to move against Trivea, but if you had some dissent growing among your own ranks... well, that'd make a right mess of your town, wouldn't it?"

Hour stared at the floorboards, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood.

"Right." Chrysis flicked their hair. 

He stood, too, although his hands remained balled into fists. "If Vaulis remained under the protection of Trivea and me, we could've healed your wounded."

"It's gold, moron," came the response.

Hour tried to keep his breathing steady. "Varnia was wounded with gold as well. Morning Star can heal it. But I guess you're too busy trotting around on your high dragonid to care about your people, huh, Chrysis?"

The slap stung, but it was worth it. Hour let smugness take over his face as he slowly turned to face Chrysis again, although the other bearing down on him was enough to make his ears flatten against his skull. A sharp stab of fear settled in his chest, but he kept his glare steady.

"Your pride's going to get you bitten in the ass one day," Chrysis retorted. "More than it already has. You think you get to be the arbiter of this Timeline?"

"I'm oldest." 

A crooked grin overtook Chrysis. "Your precious brother is, Hour Star. Nice try, though. Guess you'll just never live him down?" 

"Well," Hour began, mouth tightening, "Morning Star isn't here right now. I'm eldest by default. And I'm connected to the TImeline."

"And I'm connected too. You think that makes you any special?"

"Am I interrupting?" came a familiar tone.

All turned to the archway. Marion glanced between the three, expression growing more and more anxious, but they attempted a smile and small wave.

"Oh, your pet's here," Chrysis muttered, beelining for the door and shoving Marion out of his way. "Whatever. I'll be in Vaulis if you want to bother trying to help, Hour Star."

"Don't let the door hit you on your way out," he snarled, but Chrysis had already teleported.

Hour breathed in slowly before slumping against the back of the recliner, shoulders shaking slightly as the adrenaline drained from his system. His mind was swimming with a plethora of emotions, most of which he detested: anger, frustration, panic, worry, anxiety. They made him want to claw out his throat and bury his heart in some forgotten plot of soil, away from the valley, away from Trivea, away from everything he cared about.

Stupid fucking Morning Star. This was all his fault. He never realized the repercussions of his fucking actions, never had to face any consequences. He just pranced around, thinking he knew best, "helping" and overstepping and smothering and ruining everything he touched. He didn't even know how much shit Hour took for him, how much abuse he'd sheltered Morning Star from. 

His fingers curled into fists, and he grit his teeth as tears welled up.

Marion's fingers curled around his shoulders gently. "Hour, Hour! Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I mean, it's kinda obvious - Chrysis was here," Neb whispered behind a hand. 

Through gritted teeth, Hour managed "I'm fine."

The worry did not leave Marion's expression as they searched his face for any sign of truth. Hour brushed them aside - gently - and stood, the frustration and anger swallowing any other feelings inside of him.

After a second, he bolted for the door. After a surprised jump, Marion and Neb followed him, pausing as he slammed out the front door, nearly cracking the wooden frame.

"Where the hell are you going?" Neb asked, leaning out the doorway. Marion tried to peek over their shoulder, worry painted all over their features, hands together.

Hour tried to ignore his partner's anxious gaze. He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. "I'm going to the starsdamned Coalition. I'm going to tell those bastards that our Timeline's going independent. We don't need their fucking drama, and we don't need Morning Star pretending he's some ambassador of us to them."

"You don't even know how to get around their building," Neb half-barked, stomping out of the town hall to follow Hour down the porch. "You're going to get fucking lost, you'll have to ask Morning Star for help!" 

"Alright. Then I will." he pulled at his tie. "But Trivea and Vaulis need my protection, no matter what. If that means I have to ask Morning Star for help in our independence, I'm willing to do that."

"Hour-"

"Sorry, Neb. Hold down the fort while I'm gone." and as Hour Star snapped his fingers, teleportation overtook him.