11-10-2017, 01:52 PM
Elsewhere
Kalen Holliday was a tall, willowy creature cast in pale contrasts. Once upon a time, before his world came crashing apart, he had been more solid. More built for speed and war and The Good Fight (whatever that happened to be), but things had changed. William had never known him when he had a limp, when his gait was impeded and served as a reminder of when his sense of stability, both literal and figurative, had disappeared. Perhaps he had that stability in Denver once, but he wasn’t in Denver anymore, was he?
Except, he was in Colorado.
“Why are you here?” he asked, voice uneasy.
“I saw this happening,” Kalen replied, “I saw you slip and I thought… if I could… But of course, I didn’t. I couldn’t stop it. Like with Melody… like Marcellus…”
“No! No no,” William put a hand up, shook his head and tried to offer something like a reassuring smile that seemed more like a week old helium balloon. “This-this isn’t like that, not at all. There is nothing you could have done- this isn’t you. This is me.”
His once-and-barely mentor sighed, closed his green eyes and shook his head, “oh Fae… I didn’t want that to be true. I should have seen it when we first met-”
“Seen what?” William’s posture squared, jaw set.
“What everyone else in Baton Rouge saw.”
He knew he had a concussion, but there was no explanation for what left like a stab in his lungs, something that dared take his breath for a moment and leave him grasping for a lifeline. Teeth grit, eyes closed. Did we win? he hears. Ned’s voice, but faint. Something that sounded almost like Ned, but couldn’t be more than some lingering effects from the dead. Maybe some indication of needing answers before he’d past on. Barely, Margot’s voice replied.
The Hermetic pulled himself into a standing position, and it was a feat of willpower and sheer fuck you to the universe that he was standing. Kalen made no attempts to approach or assist when the younger man brought himself into a position built for moving. He put a bloodied hand on the nearest wall and started his approach to leave the study.
“I’m parked outside,” Kalen told him.
“We can’t leave yet, help me bury them.”
“I can’t,” nonchalant. Detached. Off in his own world and thoughts cast out to the ever-expanding cosmos.
“Why?” Will’s voice was sharp.
“I can’t contaminate the scene, and I won’t be implicated in assisting with a High Crime.”
William stopped, motion halted and again the phantom injury to his lungs acted up. His breathing grew shallow.
“… what do you mean?”
“Look at what you did- the signs, the sigils, the entire makeup. You were consorting with demons, devils, the forces that eat our souls and you… are the only one who walked away.”
“It wasn’t like that-“
“Look. At. It.-“ Kalen snapped “-what your intent was doesn’t matter. Look what happened.”
Silence, then the older man with the youthful face grew almost sympathetic, almost reached forward to offer at least offer some kind of support for his former student before pulling back, letting his hands pull close into his own body.
“You always mean well, Elijah. You always do what you think is right… but this always happens. Once can be forgiven, but…” he sighs, looks away as though this entire act was something that pained him.
“This isn’t your fault,” William insisted, pleaded, didn’t catch the hitch in his voice that insisted the same kind of I’m sorry that punctuated almost the whole of their dynamic, “I can fix this.”
“We need to leave, I’m sorry but I have to tell the Order. You owe that to Henry and Richard and all the other people who vouched for you.”
Kalen had to tell the Order. Telling the Order meant a Tribunal and high crimes weren’t exactly things that left the mage in question walking away. This meant… this meant that, in a best case scenario justice would pull through. Someone would believe William, someone would know what happened, right?
Mr. Holliday remained impassive, and waited patiently as William quietly breathed, quietly tried to piece things together and calm himself (”It’s October thirty-first, there was a ritual and my friends are dead. There is blood on the floor but everything is going to be okay. The Order can sort this out and everything will be okay.”) The two started out to leave the house.
Hey, big night? a familiar voice says. Kiara?
… that’s not right. Something...
He shook his head and continued down the stairs.
--------------------
Earthbound.
The world around him continued as it normally would. At one point he seemed as though he was holding his breath, though after that it grew shallow and quick, straddling that line between hyperventilating and not. There was no real change, though. For his part at least he was manageable, and patient.
Kalen Holliday was a tall, willowy creature cast in pale contrasts. Once upon a time, before his world came crashing apart, he had been more solid. More built for speed and war and The Good Fight (whatever that happened to be), but things had changed. William had never known him when he had a limp, when his gait was impeded and served as a reminder of when his sense of stability, both literal and figurative, had disappeared. Perhaps he had that stability in Denver once, but he wasn’t in Denver anymore, was he?
Except, he was in Colorado.
“Why are you here?” he asked, voice uneasy.
“I saw this happening,” Kalen replied, “I saw you slip and I thought… if I could… But of course, I didn’t. I couldn’t stop it. Like with Melody… like Marcellus…”
“No! No no,” William put a hand up, shook his head and tried to offer something like a reassuring smile that seemed more like a week old helium balloon. “This-this isn’t like that, not at all. There is nothing you could have done- this isn’t you. This is me.”
His once-and-barely mentor sighed, closed his green eyes and shook his head, “oh Fae… I didn’t want that to be true. I should have seen it when we first met-”
“Seen what?” William’s posture squared, jaw set.
“What everyone else in Baton Rouge saw.”
He knew he had a concussion, but there was no explanation for what left like a stab in his lungs, something that dared take his breath for a moment and leave him grasping for a lifeline. Teeth grit, eyes closed. Did we win? he hears. Ned’s voice, but faint. Something that sounded almost like Ned, but couldn’t be more than some lingering effects from the dead. Maybe some indication of needing answers before he’d past on. Barely, Margot’s voice replied.
The Hermetic pulled himself into a standing position, and it was a feat of willpower and sheer fuck you to the universe that he was standing. Kalen made no attempts to approach or assist when the younger man brought himself into a position built for moving. He put a bloodied hand on the nearest wall and started his approach to leave the study.
“I’m parked outside,” Kalen told him.
“We can’t leave yet, help me bury them.”
“I can’t,” nonchalant. Detached. Off in his own world and thoughts cast out to the ever-expanding cosmos.
“Why?” Will’s voice was sharp.
“I can’t contaminate the scene, and I won’t be implicated in assisting with a High Crime.”
William stopped, motion halted and again the phantom injury to his lungs acted up. His breathing grew shallow.
“… what do you mean?”
“Look at what you did- the signs, the sigils, the entire makeup. You were consorting with demons, devils, the forces that eat our souls and you… are the only one who walked away.”
“It wasn’t like that-“
“Look. At. It.-“ Kalen snapped “-what your intent was doesn’t matter. Look what happened.”
Silence, then the older man with the youthful face grew almost sympathetic, almost reached forward to offer at least offer some kind of support for his former student before pulling back, letting his hands pull close into his own body.
“You always mean well, Elijah. You always do what you think is right… but this always happens. Once can be forgiven, but…” he sighs, looks away as though this entire act was something that pained him.
“This isn’t your fault,” William insisted, pleaded, didn’t catch the hitch in his voice that insisted the same kind of I’m sorry that punctuated almost the whole of their dynamic, “I can fix this.”
“We need to leave, I’m sorry but I have to tell the Order. You owe that to Henry and Richard and all the other people who vouched for you.”
Kalen had to tell the Order. Telling the Order meant a Tribunal and high crimes weren’t exactly things that left the mage in question walking away. This meant… this meant that, in a best case scenario justice would pull through. Someone would believe William, someone would know what happened, right?
Mr. Holliday remained impassive, and waited patiently as William quietly breathed, quietly tried to piece things together and calm himself (”It’s October thirty-first, there was a ritual and my friends are dead. There is blood on the floor but everything is going to be okay. The Order can sort this out and everything will be okay.”) The two started out to leave the house.
Hey, big night? a familiar voice says. Kiara?
… that’s not right. Something...
He shook his head and continued down the stairs.
--------------------
Earthbound.
The world around him continued as it normally would. At one point he seemed as though he was holding his breath, though after that it grew shallow and quick, straddling that line between hyperventilating and not. There was no real change, though. For his part at least he was manageable, and patient.