[Video]

[secondborn]

[Alastair is sitting on a roof, looking out at the city. He has a couple of blades next to him. It looks like he might have been in the process of sharpening them when he took a break.]

The change of seasons here is pretty dramatic, isn't it? One moment we still have green, the next...

[He nods out to the suddenly awe-inspiring fall colors of the trees.]

Did it happen like this before? I'm ashamed to say I didn't notice if it did, I was... [He wets his lips and ducks his head a moment,] ...preoccupied. [Preoccupied with being corrupted. Oops.

He lifts his head and smiles.]

Regardless, it's lovely, even if it's a bit sudden. Back home... [A distant sort of look comes over his face as he remembers.] Back home it was always very slow. There was never any one day you could say "now is the end of summer," because when things were Balanced, or at least close to it, it was a slow transition from one season to the next. Maybe our seasons were longer, it's hard to tell.

[He sighs deeply and is quiet for a long moment, then smiles again.]

There's beauty in the world, everywhere. Sometimes it's hard to find it, but every now and then you have to stop and look around and remind yourself why you're fighting.

[His grin turns sheepish and he shakes his head.]

It may seem silly, and believe me, I sound a little ridiculous to myself sometimes, but do me a favor and take a moment out of your day to just appreciate the beauty around you, and remember the beauty of home.

Comments

Re: [video; private]

[daddyissues]

Are you sure we're not related? [ He smiles, but in a quietly sympathetic way. ] No, I... I think that's part of grief.

You're dealing really well.

Re: [video; private]

[secondborn]

I know.

[He blinks, shifting his eyes and his head slightly as he realizes that didn't come out quite right.]

I mean about the grief part. It's... a long process I've had... intimate familiarity with for most of my life.

[He pauses.]

All things end. It's the only way to make way for a new beginning. Death clears a way for Life.

[He sighs and looks down at his hands before looking back up again.]

I just wasn't anticipating witnessing so much death. Death without the promise of the cycle continuing.

Re: [video; private]

[daddyissues]

[ Well... "An intimate familiarity" with grief sounded pretty awful, but it could mean lots of things. They've never gone into detail about their lives back home, and Connor's finding that he doesn't agree. Death doesn't always make way for new life, sometimes it's just death. And sometimes what it makes way for is evil. Very often, in his experience, that's what death is. Alastair's thinking is very romantic, comforting in a human way that Connor can't wrap his mind around. But he won't bring that up. This conversation isn't about him.

He finds himself frowning in confusion rather than disagreement a moment later anyway. ]

Witnessing... Sorry, what exactly do you mean?

Re: [video; private]

[secondborn]

[He considers how to answer.]

Well for one thing, a world's destruction involves a lot of people dying along the way. For another...

[He pauses.]

Have I described the Balance to you before?

[He's never really sure who he's described it to and who he hasn't.]

Re: [video; private]

[daddyissues]

[ A world ending does typically mean everyone dying, yes, but he doesn't imagine anyone could see all of them. He shakes his head no at Alastair's question. ]

You haven't.

perma private video

[secondborn]

[He takes a deep breath.]

Well, are you ready for a long explanation? If not I can save it for later.

Re: perma private video

[daddyissues]

I've got time. Want me to swing by your roof?

[secondborn]

[He considers this, then nods.]

Sure.

--> in person

[daddyissues]

[ Connor peers at the video feed, trying to tell from the surroundings where exactly Alastair is -- and he's got it. He waves and turns off his bracelet.

Soon after he's hopping onto Alastair's rooftop with a sidebag hanging at his hip, as easily as if he was walking. ]

Hey. [ A quick peek to make sure there's no bracelet conversation going on that he'd be interrupting, and he's sitting beside Alastair on the roof. ] I hope you like chocolate.

[secondborn]

[He looks up as Connor approaches and smiles at the offer.]

I do, thank you.

[daddyissues]

[ He pulls a container from his bag, and cracking the lid fills the air with the scent of baking. Double chocolate chip cookies, on the less sweet side, are being offered to Alastair. ]

Sophie stress baked.

[secondborn]

[Alastair peeks in the container, and wow, those smell good. He takes a cookie and smiles his thanks at Connor.]

Thanks, these smell great.

[daddyissues]

Someone told me once that chocolate is good for your soul. It stuck with me.

[ He pulls out a cookie for himself and settles more comfortably, looking out at the city beneath them. ]

So what's the Balance?

[secondborn]

[Alastair takes a deep breath.]

The Balance is... or was, I suppose, the laws of my world. Like gravity or physics. The Balance between Life and Death, Creation and Destruction, and Time. When everything was Balanced, the world was healthy and prosperous. When it wasn't, things went wrong.

[daddyissues]

So... natural disasters, genocide, baby booms... that kinda stuff would set it off?

[ The actual question is unspoken, but hangs between them: how would it go wrong? ]

[secondborn]

Not... set it off necessarily, but it would require something to Balance it back. If the event is mostly natural, the world has a way of Balancing itself, so a natural disaster may be followed by a sudden flourishing in another part of the world.

Left on its own, the world could manage.

[He shrugs and lifts an eyebrow.]

But humans have a tendency to mess things up. And that's where the Keepers come in.

[daddyissues]

[ 'Not just humans,' Connor thinks, but doesn't say, since that might be all there is in Alastair's world. He just waits for more explanation about Keepers, taking another bite of his cookie. ]

[secondborn]

For each aspect of the Balance there is one person who is Keeper of it. It's a position that's something like royalty, a power that's passed from one person to their closest living relation when they die. The Keeper has a great deal of power, able to control both sides of their aspect of the Balance, with the goal of Keeping their aspect of the Balance... well, Balanced.

[He takes a breath and continues.]

In addition to the Keeper, there are many people in a Keeper's lands who are gifted with a single power related to one side of the Balance. So in the lands where the Keeper of Life and Death reside, there are some people who are healers of people, healers of animals, some people who can make plants grow, or even control emotion. There are also others who can see when it's a person's time to die, or can kill a person with a touch. They are also tasked with helping uphold the Balance, in their own way.

[daddyissues]

[ This is sounding a bit like Asgard houses to Connor, with way more talents. He tilts his head curiously. ]

Which are you? A Keeper or one of the people with powers?

[secondborn]

For a long time my sister was the Keeper of Life and Death, and then when she died while trying to right the Imbalance, her powers and duties passed to me. So... both, actually.

[daddyissues]

...I'm sorry. [ He doesn't know what else to say for a moment, just wondering what Alastair's sister was like and how she died, then recovers awkwardly. ] What are they? The powers and duties.

[secondborn]

[He nods, acknowledging Connor's sympathy. It's just one more aspect of grief he has to deal with.]

Having any sort of gift means having a connection with the Balance, understanding what will Balance it and what won't, usually only in direct relation to their own gift, but with some basic understanding and connection to the Balance at large.

The Keeper, on the other hand, is connected to every part of their aspect of the Balance. It's... an extremely intimate connection to the world, and I'm sure it would be wonderful under the right conditions.

[He sighs.]

Unfortunately, neither my sister nor I ever got to experience those conditions.