Moonspear monster mash,

All of that she had said was all that he, and Arcturus, had ever shown her. She did not think of him as a pawn; she thought of him as lost. Not a lost cause. Simply always wandering from one point to the next, anchorless, and careless too. He never thought ahead, her brother. Perhaps he tried, but his perspective was stunted. And every opportunity he had to prove himself, he had failed. 

The realization struck her then, as he fell silent and morose. She said too much, perhaps, but she felt she could be candid with him. And maybe...

Maybe I ask too much of you, she hummed, though her tone was absent of judgement. Her expectations were high; he never managed to meet them. Perhaps if he had never left. Perhaps if he could use his head and not his brawn. Hydra had thought of him as only teeth once, true, but in pairing him with Ying she had imagined perhaps he had become more in his time away. But his battle with Arcturus had reduced him to that once more. She believed only what she saw, and only Revui could reveal himself to her. No rumor, no hearsay—only he himself. She continued in any case, But it was only because I believed you capable of it. You were always more than enough to me, Revui. I do not know why you do not see this yourself, here she shook her head. 

The matriarch sighed. She did not know that he imagined she thought nothing of him, though were she too she might echo the sentiment now. What else had he shown her? Hydra rose to all fours and shifted to nose him. Prove me right, was her final request. Hydra never viewed him as less than; he was her brother. She wanted to vanquish their enemies together, not have him do the dirty work. An extra set of eyes, of teeth—but when had she never used her own? Her empire was an empire for their family; she would protect and fight with them.

Hydra would never use any that ran with her as a means to an end, and for all intents and purposes the Queen considered that Revui did, as things stood. Rest more first, though, she advised, imagining Kukutux would come to see him. Before she departed, she waited to see if he might say anything else. Her sisters rose with her, shadows at her back.