Chapter Text
After falling into the Abyss, Ajax had come back changed; he was more often than not consumed by battle hunger and bloodlust, and nothing his family did could help. Ajax would prowl the streets, looking for people who rubbed him the wrong way and fighting them ‘til he was victorious. With every passing day, his behavior worsened, until his family eventually couldn’t take it anymore.
In his family’s small dining room, Ajax’s parents gathered.
“I can’t take it anymore,” Ajax’s father growled, face tight with tension and slight hints of fear.
“It’ll be okay,” His wife comforted, but even she knew her words rang false. Her shoulders trembled in fear and she worried her apron with her hands. Silence reigned for a few moments, until she haltingly asked, “What should we do?”
Her husband took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders and setting his jaw. “At this point, I believe we’ll have to call the Fatui to take him away.”
She looked at him in disbelief, tone growing fraught with worry. “Ajax is a child, he’ll never be able to survive that. And moreover, he’s our son. How could we just send him away like that?”
He gave her a deep stare. “How else will we deal with him? We’ve tried everything, from talking to him to trying to tire out his energy. His older siblings are scared, the villagers are scared, and everyone’s pressuring us to take care of his behavior. What else can we do?”. His voice trembled with suppressed anger and grief at what he was saying, but he knew he couldn’t do anything more for his son.
His wife clenched her fists. “I-,” she trailed off, “I think we can try one last thing.”
“Please,” she begged, staring up at him with desperate eyes, “give him one more chance. If this doesn’t work out, we’ll send him to the Fatui. Let’s just try one more thing.”
Her husband silently gestured for her to continue.
Tremblingly, she murmured, “My oldest sister, the one living in Liyue, just put up a bakery. She told me about it in one of her letters the other week. What if we send Ajax there?”
“Can your sister even handle Ajax? Even for us, he’s too much to handle,” he stated coldly.
“She’s a vision user. She should be able to handle him. And maybe he’ll be able to learn how to manage his emotions with her; she’s always been able to calm people down.”
Ajax’s father put his head in his hands, evidently thinking about it. “Okay,” he said. “Write to your sister and let her know about this. I’ll break the news to Ajax and let him know about this.”
His wife nodded, slumping her shoulders in relief as she hurried off to their room. “I’ll write to her now.”
Ajax’s father sighed as she left. ‘I’m sorry Ajax, but this is the best we can do for you. We can’t let you keep hurting everyone around you,’ he thought. He stayed where he was until nightfall, when everyone in the family had come back.
That night, Ajax’s older siblings were evidently keeping a wider berth from him, while Tonia, Anton, and Teucer stayed close, unaware of how dangerous being in his vicinity was. Ajax’s cheek was cut, and his clothes were lightly splattered in blood, though none of them knew whether it belonged to a human or an animal.
His parents both stared at him in slight horror, before his father finally broke the silence that had fallen over everyone.
“Ajax,” he cleared his throat, expression unreadable, “your mother and I have contacted your aunt in Liyue. You’ll be living with her starting tomorrow. Pack your bags. We’ll leave in the morning.”
His children were startled by his sudden announcement, devolving into chaos.
“Papa, what’s going on?” Ajax exclaimed in shock and fear. Why were they sending him away? He had tried his best to fit in with everyone after those grueling months in the Abyss. While he knew he wasn’t perfect, he was trying. Didn’t they see his effort?
Tonia was clutching their father’s sweater, trying to ask why he said that Ajax would be leaving. Anton gripped onto Ajax’s hand, processing what their father had said amidst all the noise. Teucer, still a baby, was babbling in Anton’s hold, unknowing of the fact that his brother would be leaving them soon.
Ajax’s older siblings remained silent, staring down at the floor while inwardly sighing in relief. While they loved Ajax, that love was not enough to cover their fear of him. Guiltily, they wished him the best, not even trying to argue against their parents’ decision.
Ajax felt his heart breaking, unable to come to terms with what was going on. His parents shot him a guilty look, with his mother trying to comfort him. Unfortunately, as soon as her hand reached out to pat his head, Ajax jolted. The unexpected movement shocked her, causing her to flinch away from him. Seeing this flinch, Ajax lowered his eyes to the ground, heart turning cold.
Eventually, he mumbled out an affirmative reply. He gently gave Anton’s hand a gentle squeeze before slowly releasing his grasp on him. Then, he trudged up to his and Tonia’s room, face unnervingly blank and mind empty. Upon making it to their room, he closed the door and sat on his bed, still unable to process everything his father said.
Everything was slowly sinking in. Ajax wanted to shout, to cry, to do anything he could to make his parents and family take him back. Tears dripped down his face as he started sobbing in heaving breaths, shuddering all the while. His mind was filled with thoughts of what he could’ve done–how he could possibly convince them to let him stay.
‘Stupid Ajax. You should’ve held back. So what if they didn’t believe you? It’s fine. So what if they’re all scared of you now? You should’ve done something–anything.’
Ajax was beating himself up inside his mind, full of regret and hurt. After a while, he finally managed to get his bearings. He took a deep breath right as the door opened and Tonia entered, looking worse for wear. Her eyes were red and teary, and he knew his weren’t any better.
Upon making eye contact with him, Tonia’s tears burst out once more as she cried even harder. Her tears wouldn’t stop, and she desperately gasped for breath as she snuggled herself into his chest. Ajax blankly wrapped his arms around her, trying to stop his tears from flowing out again.
He was the big brother; he should take care of his siblings. Although he wanted to join her in crying, Ajax knew he couldn’t. He needed to support her, be there for her.
However, those thoughts flew away the moment Tonia’s arms wrapped around his neck, squeezing him as though she never wanted to let go.
“Brother, it’s okay,” she mumbled against his chest, “I’m here for you. Let it out.”
Ajax took a shuddering breath before the waterworks suddenly erupted. He buried his head beside Tonia’s, breathing in her scent and feeling comfort surge through him.
“I’ll miss you,” He hiccupped out before the tears took over again.
The two siblings eventually tired themselves out, collapsing onto each other and passing out in bed.
The next morning, Ajax was awoken by a rough shake and a whisper of his name.
“Ajax,” his mother whispered softly, “You need to get up and pack. You’ll be leaving today.”
He opened his eyes to the bright morning light and to the sight of his mother’s eyes, wet with unshed tears and glistening with unspoken grief. Tonia stirred in his arms as he moved, clutching onto his clothes tighter as she murmured in her sleep, “Don’t go, big brother.”
Ajax felt his heart break even further, but he gently moved her away. His movements, gentle as they were, still woke her up. Tonia blearily rubbed her eyes open as she moved closer to him, trying to pull him back to sleep.
However, the sound of their mother’s movements caused her to shoot up in alarm. She glanced around warily before finding their mother rummaging through his closet, grabbing what clothes she could and packing them up into a bag.
Immediately, Tonia’s mind flashed back to last night and she let out a piercing shout, “Mama, what’re you doing? Is brother really leaving? Please don’t do this.”
The shout woke everyone up, causing them to barrel into his and Tonia’s room in alarm. Ajax looked up at them all. His older siblings were blank-faced, staring at him with hints of guilt and sadness in their eyes. Meanwhile, Anton, holding Teucer, took a quick look at what was going on before scrambling to Ajax and Tonia.
“Don’t go,” he tearily mumbled.
Ajax’s father was already dressed, evidently ready to send him off to Liyue so that he could be someone else’s problem. His gaze was heavy yet stern, filled with suppressed grief.
“Change your clothes, son,” He said. “We’ll leave after your mother packs your things and we have breakfast.”
Ajax nodded mutely before grabbing a pair of clothes to change into. Numbly, he stepped into the bathroom to take a quick shower and freshen up. Once finished, he went back to his room to remember it one last time. His mother, long finished with packing, handed him his bag before going down to the dining table. His siblings were most likely down there as well, since his room was devoid of people.
He took one last glance over his and Tonia’s room, memorizing its scent and appearance. Then, he turned away before the tears could escape and closed the door softly, feeling as if he had just closed the door to his own heart.
Ajax took slow steps downstairs, finding his family gathered around the table. The table was laden with syrniki and blini, the scent of food heavy in the air. Ajax sat down and took a few pieces of each, biting down without tasting anything.
The mood was heavy. No one spoke, focusing on the food and sneaking glances at him every once in a while.
Finally, breakfast was finished. His parents stood up and called him to them.
“Say goodbye to your siblings,” his father said as he gripped his shoulder tightly. “We’ll be heading out after that.”
Immediately, Tonia and Anton pounced on him, hugging him tightly and begging him not to go. The rest of his siblings mumbled out brief goodbyes, wishing him well. His mother gave him a worried gaze, “We’re sorry Ajax, but we don’t know what to do anymore. This was the only thing we could think of that could help you.”
Ajax wanted to rage upon hearing that. ‘You could’ve done more,’ he venomously thought.
‘Why didn’t you love me enough? Why was I not good enough?’
He said nothing, giving his mother a small nod. Then, he bent down to press a kiss to his younger siblings’ foreheads, seeing his older siblings startle out of the corner of his eye.
‘They’ll never love you again. They’re scared of you,’ the venomous voice in his mind hissed.
Ajax ignored the voice, ignored how hard his heart was hurting. He pulled away from Tonia and Anton and turned to his father.
“We can go now.”
His father nodded tightly and gazed at him again in unspoken grief.
“Let’s go.”