conjunction [ota]

[entitles]

Balem’s observatory was closed up and locked – and would remain so until July. Balem had left the Other Realm in favor of staying fully in London for the time being, so he could be closer to the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. Such planetary alignments were good for both his power and his mood, so he was a bit more pleasant in demeanor than usual.

From Earth, it appeared as if Venus and Jupiter were about to collide, although of course they were still separated by great distance even if they were aligned. A beautiful event, that understandably astronomy enthusiasts all over the city would be watching, although Balem stood alone.

He could be found anywhere with clear skies and high ground throughout the week – on hills, or the tops of buildings, standing still as a statue, sometimes muttering something to himself. He will still notice anyone talking to him, however, although he might be a bit jumpy.

Comments

[detectiveofthewest]

"Twice more this year," said Heiji, making his way up along the grassy hill. "Or that's what they say. I'm not aware of anything for the 8th, though."

The plans had been set. Now it was just a matter of time.

[entitles]

"It's beneficial that this happened now," he said, "It will take a lot of power to stake our claim, even though I don't expect much resistance."

Unless something catastrophic happened in the skies, he'd be able to store up the boost he got from this event as long as he went light on magic until then.

[detectiveofthewest]

He nodded. "It's after this -- after we're established -- that defending the territories we do hold will be a concern."

"I delivered an offer of cooperation to the East End Pack, by the way. Thought you'd want to know. We'll have to see what they say. No promises for formal aid in territory claims on either side, more of a nonaggression pact. Since officially speaking, the Pack isn't opposed to the Night Council... it could get awkward for them if they suddenly took sides."

[entitles]

"I met a young witch named Nancy at the feast," he said, "She opposes Daybreak, and said that while she didn't know if she and others like her would be making a major move any time soon, they should stay out of our way as long as we have the same enemies."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Strawberry blonde hair, wearing a necklace?" Heiji brought up a hand to approximate Nancy's height.

"Seems like a decent sort. She won a previous Litha contest, and she's had dealings with the fae before. It's a good policy, in any case, considering how few dark witches there are at the moment."

[entitles]

"Yes, that's her. I'm not fond of witches, given their...complicated relationship with our kind, but as I told her, the enemy of my enemy is my friend," he said, although he still didn't consider himself an actual friend to any witches, just an ally out of convenience, "I've been speaking with my father, but unfortunately he thinks we should just ignore the humans altogether and won't get involved."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Your father?" Hahaha, let's not get into Heiji's relationship with his own father. "I don't think we've ever met. But that's the stance of many fae, I expect. Not everyone cares about the goings-on in London. It's a minor miracle we've managed to agree to extend our forces into the human world in the first place."

[entitles]

"Oh, no, my father is...unconventional," he said, looking back up at the sky, "But it's difficult to understand squabbles over territory when your own territory is so vast."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji raised an eyebrow. Was Balem's father connected to the sky somehow? Sure, there were stories in every civilization about gods born from unconventional origins -- from a comb, from the washing of one's right eye. Well... maybe that was a question for another time.

"I can understand that. I am a little surprised you're gettin' involved, though. Usually older fae care a little less about this kinda thing." Then again, one tended to get bored after a thousand years or so.

[entitles]

He chuckled, seeing Heiji's confusion, "My father is known as VV Cephei, the red supergiant. Not a father in the conventional way, of course, but he lent some of his fire to my mother long ago, and it became part of me."

"And if anything, I've only gotten more stubborn with age," he said, "In my younger years I didn't care much about what went on outside of our realm. When I did encounter a human they treated me with reverence and wonder - or perhaps fear. I can handle that. I cannot handle being treated like a pest to be shooed away."

[detectiveofthewest]

Not quite the same as springing from someone's head fully-formed, but definitely unconventional. And it might explain Balem's true appearance, as well. "Well, I guess supergiants would stay out of petty terrestrial conflicts. Though his involvement would be something to watch."

He crossed his arms as he listened to Balem's take on the recent human activity. "Makes sense to me. Personally, I think it shows poor manners. After all, we're neighbors, in a way."

And boarding up the front door of the house next to you certainly wasn't very neighborly.

[entitles]

"It certainly would be quite the spectacle, but I doubt I'll conquer his apathy any time soon," he said, "And yes, it is quite rude of them. We need to strike them down before they decide to try and seal us away entirely."

[detectiveofthewest]

That gave Heiji a bit of pause. "You really think they'd try?"

Well. They probably could be that foolish, but --

"Even if they wanted to, it'd mean they'd need the cooperation of all the territories in London. Not saying that's impossible, but that's quite the undertaking."

[entitles]

"Try, certainly. Humans are often overconfident, sometimes to their advantage, sometimes to their own downfall," he said, "But I wouldn't be genuinely worried, as long as we can push back they'll see it's a futile endeavor."

Provided that their magic hadn't gotten a lot more powerful than it used to be in the last few centuries, at least.

[detectiveofthewest]

"It's a bad idea, even if they could," said Heiji, looking back up at the sky.

"This realm and ours are connected, side by side. You can't take one from the other without consequences."

[entitles]

"I'm not sure they understand that anymore. Most of them don't believe we exist at all, and even the ones that know we do seem to view us as separate, as invaders to their realm," he sighed, "Although the fields of science have come quite far, humans have otherwise gotten more naive than they were thousands of years ago."

[detectiveofthewest]

"That's because they've closed their eyes to what they can't see." This made way more sense if you were a fae, probably.

"Even since I was born, they've changed. Maybe not in what they do to themselves and others. But in the scope of it." And Heiji really wasn't that old in the grand scheme of things.

[entitles]

"Yes. Wars have gotten larger, certainly. Communication all across the world has never been easier. They've been to space, and it took them long enough," he said, having been waiting for that to happen for who knows how long, "Witches and vampires and werewolves and the like still seem to operate on a smaller-scale, although I have to wonder if they'll catch up."

Supernatural wars spanning countries would hardly be ideal.

[damnyank]

The alignment of stars should matter to a witch, for they provide the right conditions for certain spells-- spells that Jackson has never had a need for, and thus Captain Homer Jackson could care less.

He's cutting through a park on his way home, thoughts of a fair maiden's touch and that new bottle of gin tucked beneath his jacket knocking around his head. However, when he sees Balem stargazing, he can't help but turn and gaze at him-- the Fae always had that affect on him, even if it took Jackson awhile time to realize what they were. It was a nagging feeling of this person is different.

Stepping toward Balem, Jackson draws out a cigarette and strikes a match, polluting the night air around him with the haze and stink of smoke.

"You won't get a good view in a city like this."

[entitles]

"I can see it just fine, I assure you," he said, as if that didn't make him look even less normal than before. And yet, despite the light pollution of the city, in his eyes the reflections of the stars and planets were surprisingly clear.

[damnyank]

Color him curious. Jackson leans forward, trying to get the same perspective of the sky, but to him, the London stars appear as they always do -- dimmed and choked out by the false city lights. Nothing like stargazing from the heights of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.

"Just fine?" He snorts, taking a drag of his cigarette. "You can see it, but are you really seein' it?"

[entitles]

"I assure you, I am. I've had better views, but the stars are always brighter than anything that tries to drown them out," he said. At least, they were to his eyes, but he could read and write by starlight alone.