undergrounds | [OPEN] Bromley & Bexley Claims + Afterparty

Balem wasn't used to throwing parties in the mortal realm, least of all during Summer, but given the recent victory (not one but two territories claimed in the span of two days) it seemed apt to do so.

They faced surprisingly little resistance, so the ordeal may not have qualified as a massive triumph, but it may have caught potential enemies off-guard and certainly sent a message that the fae would not stand by and ignore everything that was going on. That, he felt, was something to be proud of, and aside from that he felt like quite the trendsetter given that his fellow fae hadn't bothered to stake their claim here before. A hundred years ago, even, he would have felt the same way: taking territory here was beneath him, it legitimized human conflicts too much. But that was before he knew that some of them were powerful enough to seal off the Other Realm.

He could be found out and about, drinking wine and eating snacks (which visitors may want to be careful about; it is Faery food after all) and generally being in a pleasant mood. The stars were definitely in his favor tonight.

[Doesn't have to take place at the party if Balem's promotion comes later!]

Upon hearing of Balem's recent change in title, Heiji made a point of showing up with a nice bottle of autumn-appropriate wine wrapped neatly in leaves that glistened as though moistened by the dew.

"Congratulations on the new appointment," he said, presenting the bottle to Balem with a smile. He wasn't the only one who was moving up lately...

“Thank you,” he said, accepting the gift.

The appointment was not something he expected, but he was quite pleased with it. He didn’t quite know what the reaction would be from the court as a whole to his claim, but he was glad to see they seemed to support his more aggressive stance towards meddling humans even if it contradicted the usual apathy.

Although he didn’t abandon his usual space-like attire, he had adorned his cloak with hand-crafted leaves in gold and bronze that fell in lines and appeared to collect at the bottom.

“I’m certain your work will be rewarded as well, in whatever way that may be,” he said, although he didn’t know how exactly the Seelie court would react.

"Likely after all these years, this is actually a bit of excitement," said Heiji. At least if Balem's new position was any indication.

"So. Any plans for celebration? Or maybe after all this moving around, it'd be better to have a quiet night under the stars." That was a pretty nice cloak, Balem. Not really Heiji's style, of course, but he also didn't wear space-themed clothes as a general rule.

"Some quiet will do me good for now, I think," he said, and although he was in a good mood he did look somewhat drained. He'd have to gather up some extra energy soon. Find a human who owes him something, perhaps.

"Besides, the height of summer may not be the proper time to celebrate autumn. My time will come soon enough."

He laughed. "True enough. But there's always the Perseids to look forward to." He rather enjoyed those himself.

"So, they tell you what responsibilities you'll need to take on?" Not that he'd really know all that much about those; who knew what London's customs were?

"Goodness, no. We Unseelie tend to find out about responsibility when we're needed and not a second sooner. But I am prepared, and it keeps life exciting," he said.

Heiji laughed. "Funny, I never hear that from people older than me. Then again, I guess I don't usually spend quite as much time with the Unseelie."

Respectable Seelie fae, after all, had responsibilities. And Heiji did come from a family of good repute.

"We like to remain spontaneous, I suppose," he said, "And I may be old here but in father's terms I'm practically a child. And he won't let me forget it, either."

Fifty-thousand was young in comparison to billions, but Balem sure wished he could be taken more seriously by the celestial community. As it was he had to use up most of his energy just to get them to do anything.

Heiji laughed. "Yeah, I guess that's true. How many billions of years old is your old man?" Well, that was more of a rhetorical question, perhaps, unless Balem actually knew. Most fae he knew got a little iffy on the specifics after a while.

"I kinda thought the spontaneity might be nice when I came out here. Y'know, out of the influence of everyone back home. But now that I'm here, I kind of miss 'em. Just a little bit."

"He's stopped keeping track. He cares more about size than age. Older than our sun, though, probably by a good deal of time," he said.

"I've never stopped missing my old homes, although I don't think about them often anymore. It's difficult to get over them."

Heiji managed, but only just, to keep himself from breaking into a rather immature snort of laughter at Balem's comment about size and age; he nodded solemnly instead. Sorry, buddy. You were talking to a 200-year-old, after all. "Maybe some humans might be able to date him a little better. But I figure anyone that old'd do the same."

This conversation did, however, bring up an interesting question: "So where was your favorite home? You've had a bunch by now, yeah?"

"I'm sure they will eventually, but he's rather far away. Even with magic it took mother a few centuries to get in touch with him," he said.

He always assumed that he was mother's favorite child, simply because of all the effort it took to make him. He would have gloated about it before her death.

"I lived in Greece for the longest, I suppose. I was quite fond of their plays, and their academic culture. And their reverence for powerful beings from other realms."

"Centuries? Guess she must've liked him a lot. I can't imagine doing the long-distance thing like that." Of course, Heiji couldn't really imagine getting serious with anyone.

"I like their food, too! But they're goin' through some money troubles, yeah? What's that, their third bailout? Plus they gotta watch out so people don't make a run on the banks." Well. Civilizations rose and fell.

P.S. No one wanted to hear about how your parents made you, Balem.

"It was curiosity more than love. Curiosity and opportunity," he said, but he didn't view that as a bad thing. He didn't really believe in love anyways.

"Alas, that's how it goes, I've found. Almost no greatness lasts forever," he said, and then thinks on it, "Well, not among humans, anyways."

Because he's been great for 50,000 years and will keep on being great.

[OPEN] Bromley & Bexley Claims + Afterparty

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