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The past consumes his brother. He fears it'll take him over completely again.
Casey has seen it before: the restless behavior, the turbulence in his sleep-deprived eyes, the red on his wrist. He's done what he can to help Percy, even when it prevented him from moving on with his own life. When he heard about him going over the waterfall, A part of him wonders if it was on purpose. Casey prayed that it had been quick, and if it wasn't, prayed that it didn't hurt for too long.
Casey remembers him fondly. He knows him well.
His brother was a hunter.
Even long before Casey could remember, Percy helped keep the family fed. His brother was an artist; he makes use of his kills, not a part left wasted.
His brother is a kidnapper.
Percy stood up against their foster father, once, when he tried to separate them. He's a protector, even when it left him broken and bedbound.
His brother was sunshine, a bright soul.
Percy used to hold him late at night when Casey missed Mama, tell him stories to calm him down. Percy would sneak him most of his own food when Wells with withholding it.
His brother is a killer.
Casey cannot tell you the things he would have done if it meant saving him. The brother he watched deteriorate, until it got too much for even him to handle. He regrets not trying harder; he is sick with grief. The guilt eats him alive. It doesn't matter, and it never will. He never raised the knife, pulled the trigger or stole the child. Why does this guilt follow? Why does he still feel the need to hang onto the ghost of an elder brother who no longer existed?
He fears that the past will consume him all the same.
