Surprises All Round It Seems [Lucan]

[Griff Aubert]

It felt like an age since Griff Aubert had last been in Camelot. In reality it had only been a few months, but it might as well have been an age for all the similarities the kingdom now bared to the one of Griff's memories. He had left before Morgana had taken the throne and even though months had past since Uther had been restored to power, there were still echoes, especially in the city. It seemed as if nobody had been left untouched. He ran a hand through his hair - something he'd been doing a lot lately, so his hair probably looked just lovely right now.

As it often did, his mind was wandering back to thoughts of Caitrin and the reason why he was in Camelot in the first place. He missed her. He loved her. It was as simple as that. Unfortunately, he couldn't just turn up at the de Archer estate and hope for the best. She hated him. So he was left with no other choice but to try and find Lucan and hope that his brother would give him lodgings. Only Lucan was no where to be found in the city because he was annoying and unhelpful. Well, if he wasn't in the city he would probably be at his uncle's - that was the plan anyway. Griff never spent that much time with Allard de Ireby, after all, the man wasn't his uncle, but hopefully he'd at least be able to point him in the right direction if Lucan wasn't there either.

By the time he reached the estate his feet felt like they were on fire and probably covered in blisters. Well that was going to be fun. This is why he should remember that horses are actually good. But then his thighs would hurt...it was all very inconvinient. And neither here nor there, he told himself. He was here to find his brother, not to complain. Well, alright, that was entirely accurate. He was here to complain at his brother, rather than internally.

After standing in front of the door for an annoying amount of time, a servant eventually showed him in and told him to stand in the parlour. Because he clearly hadn't been on his feet enough.

"I shall inform Lord Ireby of your arrival, my lord."

"Actually I'm here to see my brother, Sir Lucan. Is he here?"

"I shall find out for you, my lord." The servant quickly left so now Griff was stood rather awkwardly in the middle of the room. Well, this was lovely wasn't it?


Tagged: Sir Lucan
Location: The House of the Morrisey de Ireby Estate
Timeline: During the series three-four gap.

[lucan]

Lucan sat with his Uncle Allard in the solar. Nightfall was decending upon Camelot and he'd thought it a good idea to stay with Allard so as they could discuss many aspects of Lucan's life that would be changing. One of them being his upcoming wedding. Lucan had written to his father who had immediatly replied, saying that he wouldn't miss the affair for the world. Unfortunatly Elaine would be there but that didnt matter to Luc. He'd found out from Rouland that his brother had left Camelot after something involving both the words 'Caitrin' and 'Money'.
Lucan had merely sighed with disapproval when he'd heard. Trust Griff, trust Griff to screw it all up when he had finally been going somewhere.

"You look like you need this, long day?" Allard asked, handing him a goblet - hopefully of something strong.

"Tiring" Lucan smiled and took a sip, "never the less im still in one piece"

Allard gave a small chuckle and drank from his own goblet. Lucan got up and walked to the window, "did you ever worry about not being able to fulfil your duties as a husband before you married Aunt Helena?" Lucan asked. Allard shifted slightly, he never really liked to speak of Helena since her death - but he could see that Lucan was now worrying more the closer it drew to his and Camila marrying. "All the time my boy, all the time..."
Both of them were interrupted as one of the servants entered the room. "My Lord, Lord Griflet is in the parlour to see Sir Lucan."

Allard darted a look to Lucan who turned away from the window and looked at his uncle. He knew what Allard was thinking. "I know..." he sighed. "I didn't say anything" Allard looked at him blankly, "No, but I know you were going to". Lucan headed for the door and then out into the direction of the parlour.
There he saw Griff standing quite awkwardly in the room waiting for him.

"Griff" a look of relief crossed his face, just because his brother had been an idiot, it didn't mean to say that Lucan hadn't been worried about him. "Where on earth have you been?".

[Griff Aubert]

Going straight for a the jugular then, Griff thought, when really he shouldn't be surprised that his brother had dispensed with the pleasantries. He could have said anything, hell, even a "hello" would be nice. It would certainly be appreciated. But no. Lucan, it seemed, wasn't interested in that. Griff had probably managed to interrupt something important. Brilliant timing, as ever. He started scratching his neck. Somehow he didn't think Lucan would approve of his life choices over the past few months. "Oh you know...around." Because that didn't sound suspicious at all. "Didn't really stop anywhere long. Anyway. Let's talk about you." It was probably safe to say that Griff didn't understand the meaningof subtlety, or if he did, he took great pains to ignore it. But then it not being subtle at all meant the conversation turned from him to his brother sooner rather than later then he was all for it.

"How about you? How have you...been?" As soon as he started speaking he realised what a stupid question that was. How had Lucan been? Well, he'd been living under Morgana and, because this was Lucan, probably fighting every step of the way, like the loyal idiot he was. Griff had thought about his brother rather a lot since he'd left, especially when news of Morgana's rule had reached him. Lucan would never give up on Arthur, he'd fight to the bitter end. Griff had had to convince himself over and over again that he'd be fine - he was a knight after all, knights were supposed to be able to deal with this sort of thing. He also wasn't entirely sure how he should react to this. Obviously he was relieved. He didn't know what he'd do without his big brother, but it was expressing that relief that was causing him problems. "You're not dead!" This was clearly the best way to deal with this situation - by pointing out the obvious. "I was worried, what with Morgana and...everything...this isn't going terribly well, is it?"

[lucan]

Was that it? Around? Lucan rolled his eyes as his brother seemed to shrug the whole thing off altogether. "I was worried about you" he told him, "why the hell didn't you tell me what happened?"
Ok he knew why, because Griff obviously thought that he'd give him some kind of lecture - but no, Lucan wouldn't have given him that even if he had wanted to. Lucan sighed, "I'm sorry to hear about you and Caitrin though - you actually seemed as though you had your life together". Even if him and Caitrin hadn't got along, Lucan still felt gutted that Griff had lost something that Lucan could see he felt strongly about - which is why he didn't want to answer Griff's next question.

"I.." he paused, wondering whether to tell Griff about Camila, and then shook his head. "Look enough of this, come and sit down with me in the solar and we can talk - you look like you need a good drink."

"You're not dead!" Lucan laughed at this, gesturing for Griff to follow him down the hallway, "Still living" he replied and opened the door to allow Griff to walk into the solar. Thankfully Lucan saw that Allard had vacated the room. "I was worried, what with Morgana and...everything...this isn't going terribly well, is it?"

He poured them both a glass of wine and passed one to Griff, "Im secretly thankful that you were not in Camelot to witness her...well I can't even refer to it as a 'reign'. I was locked up in the dungeons with the others. She tried to make me pledge allegiance to her, but I would've rather have been executed than bow down to her. I'm just glad that Arthur took back what was rightfully his..." He trailed off. Lucan hoped that Camelot would never have to go through that again.

"and anyway, in answer to your last queston - it's going far better than usual" he gave his brother a smirk and took a sip of his drink. "Im just glad your safe." He looked over to Griff and smirked, "and you shouldn't worry about me, Im still here and that's all that matters."
Worry - he had enough of that with Camila without also having Griff be worrying for his welfare. Then again Griff was his brother (and the closest family he had) whilst Camila was his future wife. His father hadn't worried for him (then again Corneous never bothered with him for most of the time so Lucan had expected this) so to have people care about him was quite a blessing.

[Griff Aubert]

Griff offered a small smile, one that tugged at the corner of his lips, at Lucan's words. Hearing his brother tell him he'd been worried just made him feel guilty, but he'd had to leave and there had never seemed like a right time to go back. It still didn't feel like the right time. But he was here now and he couldn't up and leave again, not so soon anyway. Lucan mentioning Caitrin didn't help matters. He pressed his lips together, not quite looking his brother in the eye. He didn't want to talk about Caitrin. He'd been trying so hard not to think about her, but he never could stop. Coming back to Camelot just made everything worse, and although he needed to see her again, it was all still raw, far too raw to talk about. He didn't say anything, he just sighed and ran a hand through his hair. What was he supposed to say? He loved her, he'd left her and he wouldn't blame her at all if she hated him and never wanted to see him again. Nothing Lucan could say was going to change that or make him feel any better about it, and Griff had never been one about expressing himself so there was nothing to be gained by talking about it. The sooner the conversation changed the better.

"Look enough of this, come and sit down with me in the solar and we can talk - you look like you need a good drink."

A drink was probably the last thing he needed, but he wasn't going to complain. Recently he'd stopped caring about what he needed and focussed solely on what he wanted. It was like starting again. He didn't have to care about anything except himself and obtaining things for his own gain, alcohol being his primary concern. There hadn't been a day gone by since he'd left Camelot that he hadn't ended up drunk - more than a few of them had started drunk. So no, he didn't need a drink and he certainly didn't need a talk, but he wasn't going to get out of that one, so instead of protesting he just followed his brother because it was easier than thinking.

When they reached the solar Griff immediately went to sit down. His feet were still aching and he couldn't remember being in a place so comfortable for months. Tavers weren't renowned for their fine upholstery. Even though he had never spent that much time in the d'Ireby estate, it still felt safe and warm and somewhere he could just be and not think about anything, especially with Lucan. They might not have had the best of relationships in the past but he was his brother. He'd always feel safe around him. He took the wine from him gratefully and rather enthusiastically. He probably hadn't drunk anything so fine in quite a while so he was going to enjoy it. His first sip was a slow one - a savoured one. There was nothing quite like a good wine.

As Lucan spoke of Morgana's reign he couldn't help but feel guilty about not being there - not just because Lucan had quite clearly suffered (not that he would have been much use anyway) but because he was sure Caitrin would have suffered too. She and Arthur were good friends and she was too stubborn to pretend otherwise, even if it put her in danger. If Morgana had gone after Arthur's allies, the de Archers would definitely have been affected. He should have stayed. He might have been able to have done something and even if he couldn't at least Caitrin wouldn't have suffered alone. His brother trailed off, obviously not wanting to speak too much about his experiences. Griff couldn't blame him. From what he had heard about Morgana's reign it was better off forgotten. "At least you're save now." He said, they were not the most comforting of words, but it was true. No matter what he'd been through, he'd survived and, knowing his brother, come out all the stronger for it.

"And anyway, in answer to your last queston - it's going far better than usual."

Was Lucan smirking? Why was Lucan smirking? Griff just looked at him, his confusion evident across his face. Only moments ago he was recalling how he'd suffered during Morgana's takeover and now he was smirking. His brother was confusing at the best of times, but this time he was being impressively so. "What are you talking about? What's happened?"

[lucan]

Lucan decided it best not to mention Caitrin and his thoughts on the situation. His brother looked wounded by it all, and it was only now that Lucan was realising that Griff was starting to take his own life into his own hands. He could tell that Griff knew he'd made a big mistake about the whole thing, so he hoped for his brothers sake that things would sort themselves and that eventually he and Caitrin would be reconciled (however much he and the woman didn't get on he still cared for his broth's welfare.)
He smiled weakly, "Everything will turn right, I know you inside out and it's not in your nature to just give up on something you truly care about...well, someone" he corrected himself.

"I'll have you stay here until you sort yourself out. Uncle won't mind, after all - although you may not technically be his nephew, he still sees you as one." There was no way he was allowing Griff to leave in the state that he was in. Lucan sat back in his chait and toyed with the contents of his own goblet, listening as Griff spoke about him being safe. "Hmmm" was all he could muster. The whole effect of the events that surrounded that awful time wouldn't fade, and would leave scars forever.

"What are you talking about? What's happened?"

He was going to have to tell him. He couldn't keep something like this from his brother even if he knew that recent circumstances had worn Griff down. He sighed and leant forward in his chair. He was going to just come out with it.

"I'm getting married"

[Griff Aubert]

Griff knew that his brother's words were only meant to help and he did appreciate them and his brother's concern, but he didn't want to talk about Caitrin, or think about her either. He'd tried so hard to move on with his life and failed miserably so the least Lucan could do was not mention her. Besides, it wasn't the most convincing speech. The youngest Aubert might be used to getting whatever he wanted but something told him Caitrin was going to be the exception to that rule. It was only fitting.

"Yes, well, I'm not entirely convinced about that." He said with a rather defeated tone despite the small smile across his lips. He wasn't trying to be miserable, he was actually trying to put it all behind him. It would do him no good to spend his life wallowing in self pity - his time out of Camelot had taught him that - and it wouldn't be terribly fun for Lucan. "But I'm fine, really. Some things just don't work." He said with a shrug, trying to be as nonchalant and casual as possible in the hopes that Lucan wouldn't continue talking about it.

Griff nodded at Lucan's next words. He had been hoping he'd say something like that. Turns out spending months in various taverns doing nothing but drinking quickly left him without any money so if Lucan hadn't offered him a place to stay he would have been left with nowhere. "Thanks Lucan. I appreciate it." It wasn't just having a roof over his head, it wasn't having acceptance and people around him, people he could talk to without having to give them money or flirting with them. He was somewhere where he could just get himself back together again.

"I'm getting married."

Griff just stared at his brother, blinked a few times and continued to stare. He was getting married? As in to a woman? He'd gone and found himself a woman who wanted to spend her life with him? Since when was Lucan in the habit of speaking to women, let alone proposing to them? His brother was far too serious to be a romantic. "You're getting married?" Griff just repeated, the information still not setting in. Griff wasn't even aware that he was courting anyone. Why wasn't he ever told these things? "Since when?!"

[lucan]

Luc decided to steer clear of the Caitrin debacle for now - just seeing his brother's face made it clear that he didn't wish to speak of it anymore, and Lucan wasn't about to launch into one of his lectures. He smiled and nodded when Griff thanked him. "You're my brother, im hardly going to turn you away am I?" he snorted, "besides, with father being the way he is, you wouldn't want to even resort to going home anyway...not that you would given the relationship that you have...but you have me, you'll always have me whether you like it or not". He was going to make that clear. Lucan didn't want to be at loggerheads with his brother. They were only just starting to build things up between them again.

Griff face was now blank as Lucan told him the news. He sighed and rolled his eyes at his reply. Yes, ok - he knew that he hadn't been the casanova of the pair of them when they were younger, but Griff was forgetting that Lucan had changed since he'd left home. Camila had also changed him for the better. Yes he still had those little qualities he had when they'd first met, but now...now he was just looking forward to making her his wife.

"Yes...to a woman, and yes I know i've never been able to talk to a girl in my life, but...but she's just...well..." he shook his head, "I can't even describe her - I love her Griff, and it was only when I was sat in the dungeons when Morgana threw me in there, that I realised just how much I can't live without her."

He looked up from where he'd been staring at his lap, to Griff. "I went to see her for the first time in two weeks, a few days ago. I proposed" he simply shrugged, "So go on, now it's your turn to lecture me, give me some stick" he sat back and waited for the teasing to begin.

[Griff Aubert]

Griff had to laugh at Lucan’s words about their father. They both knew the last thing either of them would do was to go back home. There were definitely some things that should always remain the past, some things that couldn’t be unsaid, and actions that couldn’t be undone; Corneous had managed to do that with both of his sons. But, as Lucan said, they still had each other, and his words had a rather humbling affect of Griff. He knew his brother often disapproved of his actions, and Griff was constantly telling Lucan that he needed to lighten up more, but they were brothers – they were going to argue and hate each other and want to throw large, heavy and preferably sharp objects at each other’s heads, but they were always going to be there for each other, no matter what happened. “You’re going to regret saying that.” Griff replied with a grin, trying to lighten the mood after such a serious turn in conversation.

As Lucan started talking about this mysterious woman, Griff had to press his lips together to stop himself from either laughing or grinning like an idiot. It was obvious just how much Lucan loved her, and for someone as...well...emotionally restrained, shall we say, as Lucan it was rather surreal for him to be sat there going on about some woman. “I’m happy for you, I really, really am. Slightly concerned for her though...”

But as happy as he was for his brother (and he really was happy, Lucan was always far too serious, maybe this woman could help him enjoy himself more) it was impossible to hear him talk about how in love he was without thinking about Caitrin. Lucan’s words had struck a chord, one that Griff really hadn’t wanted to hear. He didn’t want to start going down the self-pitying route because this was about Lucan, not him, and his moping wasn’t going to make any difference. He wasn’t going to have the happily ever after with Caitrin, or even the not-really-happy-but-just-getting-by ending. They’d already had their end and it had been anything but happy or getting by.

“I’m not going to lecture you,” Griff replied, trying to shake Caitrin from his thoughts. “But I am going to demand details so...have you er,” he shifted, leaning from side to side ever so slightly, “You know. Yet?”

[lucan]

Well at least they had the same understanding about their father, as his brother was now laughing. "We'll just see about that" Lucan smirked at his brothers words. He wouldn't regret it, Griff was his brother after all and ok he could sometimes be a total pain in the butt. At the end of the day they were family.

“I’m happy for you, I really, really am. Slightly concerned for her though...”

Lucan gave a small chuckle. "You and me both." He was more concerned for Camila meeting the whole family. He had no idea what his father and Elaine would be like when they were introduced to her. Now Griff was asking very personal questions and Lucan rolled his eyes. Trust Griff to come out with something like that. Then again he hadn't expected any less.

"Im so pleased that you think so highly of me" Lucan sat back and shot a glance at his brother, "and no, to answer your question."

[Griff Aubert]

Griff was rather surprised by Lucan's reaction. He'd expected him to be more...animated, for a lack of a better word. But no, he just seemed slightly annoyed. That was interesting. Annoyed that Griff had asked or annoyed the answer was no? Knowing Lucan it was probably the former, but he was going to ask anyway because he was Griff and this was the sort of thing he liked to tease his brother about.

"No? I'm shocked." He grinned at his brother, trying to decide why that was. Maybe Lucan hadn't tried...or maybe he had and found himself rejected. Poor Lucan. He couldn't imagine how that felt. "Any particular reason why...?" He tried to keep a straight face but wasn't really working. Oh well. Why be serious about these things? "Because if there's a problem, you know, with you...I might be able to help, what with my experience." He doubted Lucan would be keen to share if there was a problem, but Griff was being nosy, and, in fairness, if there was a problem Griff would help. It was the brotherly thing to do after all. Lucan was giving him a roof over his head, and Griff was giving him advice. His brother should be grateful, that was Griff's logic, anyway.

[lucan]

Trust Griff to come out with something that would make him feel uncomfortable about the whole situation. Mind you - he probably wanted to make some kind of joke out of it, and that Lucan wasn't going to let him do.

"Because if there's a problem, you know, with you...I might be able to help, what with my experience."

"There is no problem!" Lucan snapped at him, already annoyed that his brother was now delving deeper as to why he hadn't taken a total 'Griff' approach in this relationship. Why hadn't he? Because Lucan was a gentleman that was why, and unlike Griff - he wasn't about to bend the rules of chivalry just for an evening. "And your experiance is probably best left unsaid, this is something i'm standing my ground for Griff - now shut up and drink your wine before I actually feel the need to say something i'll regret."

He had no idea why he was gettng so angry about this, most likely because he was half scared to death about the fact that it wouldn't be long before he was married. There was also the detail about whether he'd be a rubbish husband or not. Luc got up and walked to the window, staring out at nothing in particular, he just didn't want to suddenly flood his brother with all the feelings that were now whizzing around his mind.

[Griff Aubert]

Alright, his words had actually touched a nerve. Griff hadn't expected his brother to be quite so sensitive - surely Lucan knew he wasn't being serious? Well, judging by his reaction he had assumed that. He just sat there rather awkwardly as Lucan started ranting - or not really ranting, just being annoyed, unjustifiably so in Griff's opinion. It was a long held opinion of his that Lucan needed to stop worrying about everything and just enjoy life. It would really do him no good to get so wound up about everything - especially not this. He was going to have to do it at some point, he'd have thought his brother would want to be a little more pro-active about it. Did he really want to be a disappointment his first time? Obviously he did, but, it was his decision so Griff would leave him to it.

He threw his hands up, giving his brother his best look of innocence. "Alright, I take it back." His hands were still in the air, rather tentatively, as if trying to protect their owner from another of Lucan's rant. "I just thought you might want some advice, that's all. Obviously not..." He trailed off with a definite tone. He might not be able to convince Lucan that he was right, but he could definitely be judgemental about it. Really, all Griff was caring about here was his brother's wellfare, but Lucan was determined to be an idiot about it.

[lucan]

He ran his hands down his face. "Im sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you." he apologised, "But I don't need any advice". He walked over to where the wine jug had been placed on the table and poured himself another drink. Luc seemed to be drinking more than Griff was this evening, which was certainly a turn as usually Griff couldn't say no to anything alcoholic.

"I guess everything's just all hit me at once now..." he sighed, "It's actually real, im getting married, I have to provide for another person. Think I can pull that off?" he asked almost pathetically. Would he even survive the wedding without passing out or suddenly have one of his 'woman' traits hit him unexpectedly? What would Cam think? There was no way that he was going to admit to his Uncle that this of all things, was to be the most scariest thing he'd ever encountered.

"If there's one thing I need from you it's this. Support" he told him honestly, "You're the only person I really have to talk about this Griff, so jokes aside - will you do that for me?"

[Griff Aubert]

Griff looked at his brother curiously - eyebrows furrowed, lips pressed together, head slightly tilted. There was clearly something bothering him, something more than Griff being a tad inappropriate. Maybe it was the wedding. Griff had been engaged himself, and although things hadn't gone exactly to plan - he and Caitrin hadn't made it this far, he was still fairly certain he knew some of what Lucan was going through. The thought of getting married, of giving yourself completely to one person and letting someone know every single thing that made you want you are, it was terrifying.

He ran a hand through his hair, stood up and walked over to where Lucan was getting himself a drink. "It's my fault." He said quietly, apologies didn't roll off the tongue easily but even he could see there was something troubling his brother, something that was partially his fault.

Did Griff think he could pull it off? It was almost a laughable question. Since Griff arrived in Camelot it was Lucan who'd set him on his feet again, given him a roof over his head, stability, family. And now he stood there wondering whether he could look after this woman of his? Of course he could! "Luc, are you serious? Without you I'd probably be living in a ditch right now." He put an arm around Lucan's shoulder, "You'll be fine."

Lucan's next words caught Griff off-guard somewhat. His brother never asked him for anything, well, anything that didn't involve him leaving Lucan alone. His brother must really be worried if he was asking Griff for support. "Of course I will. You're my brother." Despite all the years of not knowing each other and despite growing up in his shadow, Lucan was his older brother. He was always going to be there for him. It was just what brothers did.

[lucan]

Luc finally sat down, drink in hand and looked at the floor as Griff went on about his help and where he would be without him. He gave a small snort, "I very much doubt that - you've always been the one who would pick himself back up again." No, Griff wouldn't be in a ditch, he would've carried on until he'd found an inn or something. "I hope you're right." Feeling his brother's arm around his shoulder he smiled weakly. For once things were actually working out for them.

What made Lucan even more at ease what that he had Griff's backing that he'd support him. He'd never thought they'd even be this close, when they were children they always spent their days apart - with the exception of suppers and other occasions that brought them both together, but Luc had never thought they'd grow closer than they already weren't. "Thanks Griff" he smiled, "I just...I need someone here to actually tell me it's all going to work out - I know Allard is here and all, but he'll be going to Glouchedon to help out father soon, and I just..." he scratched the back of his head, "I just need some help actually going through this without messing things up."

He looked to Griff sincerely, "I love Camila too much - sometimes I wonder if it's even possible to love her as much as I can, and the thought of marrying her and making her my wife, geez even spending the rest of my life with her..." he trailed off, "I guess...I guess it scares me a little..." he chuckled slightly, trying to shake off how he was feeling that that moment.

[Griff Aubert]

Griff found himself rather surprised by his brother's words. He'd always seen Lucan as the one who get himself out of anything. He was the one with the knighthood, the proper home, the stability, he even had the girl. Whereas Griff was living with his brother's uncle, just wandering through life and doing anything but getting the girl. It seemed a little odd then that Lucan was telling Griff that he was the one who would "always pick himself back up again". Maybe it was because Lucan had never had to do that. Yes, he left Glouchedon but he'd quickly found his feet again. When Griff ran away it wasn't to find some nice relative to take him in, it was to keep away from all relatives in general and forget what it was that made him run in the first place.

He just looked at his brother for a moment or two, trying to fully process what he'd just said. Lucan couldn't actually think he was good at that sort of thing? Before he came back to Camelot he was wasting his life in taverns, it was only until someone told him to get a grip and get over himself that he came back. Griff wasn't definitely not one for looking after himself. Of course he didn't say any of that. That was a road he didn't particularly want to go down and it wouldn't make Lucan feel any better. He needed to say something good, something reassuring, only he wasn't very good at that sort of thing either. "Of course I'm right." He said firmly, the merest trace of a smile betraying his otherwise completely serious exterior. "When am I not?"

Griff smiled back at his older brother, it felt weird hearing him say that he was actually needed. Normally it was the other way around. Griff would turn up a complete mess and Lucan would sigh and making some judgemental comment and then everything would be alright again. But now it was Griff who was expected to make everything alright and it was a rather strange role-reversal. "It's all going to work out," he replied, still smiling before adding, "Seriously. You're getting married! You should be excited. You can panic the day before."

When Griff had been in his brother's shoes, he'd certainly been excited. Yes, he was terrified as well because this was Griff Aubert - he didn't do responsibility or having to care about someone else, but then Caitrin had walked into his life, or rather, he'd become a slight stalker but the details weren't important. Either way, she'd changed his mind considerably and become someone he couldn't imagine life without. So of course he'd had to go and ruin that because that's what he did. His smile faded somewhat as Lucan spoke of Camila. The feelings he'd been trying to ignore for months were no longer willing to remain dormant. He missed her, quite simply. He loved her. She was, Jesu, she was everything to him. She was going to be his wife, she was going to make everything alright, going to give his otherwise failing life some sort of meaning. Because that's what she did. He'd been useless and miserable and wasting his life, he'd been doing everything wrong but not really caring about it because there'd always been just him. And now there was just him again and he was having to smile and be happy and watch his brother find his own happiness, knowing that he'd gone and ruined his own chances of ever doing the same.

But he was damned if he was going to let Lucan know any of this. So he put on a smile and desperately tried to ignore all his thoughts about Caitrin. This was not a time for self-pitying and it certainly wouldn't help Lucan any. He wasn't exactly sure what would help Lucan, so he was just going to make that up as he went along. "Well, you love her so," he shrugged, "that's more important. Yes, you're scared but the thought of her being your wife...doesn't that make up for it?" For once, Griff was actually speaking through experience, even if his own engagement hadn't...quite worked out.