undergrounds | August Catch All

[Bexley]

Balem was absolutely one to wallow in his victories for a long, long time. He sat alone on a bench in a park, his cloak glamored to look like a regular business suit. He held a small bag of popcorn, and appeared to be trying really hard not to burst out laughing.

If one sat beside him, they could see various people wandering through the park, only to disappear for a brief moment and reappear somewhere else in the park. Some of them walked right into trees. They all looked around confused.

Balem may be fifty-thousand years old but he wasn’t above playing silly tricks on humans, it would seem.

[Other Realm - Observatory]

Balem rarely ever went long stretches of time without his collar – his magic was much more difficult to control without it and he couldn’t disguise himself as well – but it was the night of the Perseid meteor shower, and on nights like this he preferred to just relax and revel in the beauty of the cosmos.

So he lounged about in front of the observatory, clothed in flowing white fabric and appearing in what might be called his ‘true’ form. His skin ranged from light blue to bright white (where his freckles were), and his hair was dark navy. He emitted a soft, warm glow all over, strongest in his eyes and his chest. The atmosphere around him was noticeably warmer, and sparks of white-hot fire danced across him every now and then. It was a good thing his clothing was enchanted to be fireproof.

Having just recently been crowned Lord of Autumn and devoured a soul, his power was strong and his spirits were high. He had a glass of deep red wine with gold flakes swirling around in it like tiny galaxies, and welcomed any visitors.

[Anywhere in London] - Open to first responder only

Unfortunately, all of his magic was harder to control, including his basic fae abilities, so as he strolled around outside his observatory he managed to slip out of the Other Realm and into London proper.

He turned sharply, realizing that he had been spotted. Fae rules were…well, complicated, and if a human saw him in his true form he’d owe them a favor (within reason, of course). If they ran away and didn’t claim their favor, he’d have the misfortune of being summoned to their side the next time they vaguely wished for something, and he certainly didn’t want that.

“Who’s there? Stay where you are!” he said, hoping it was a stray animal or something equally harmless.

[Wildcard]

[Write your own prompt!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Lovely, you say? Do go on," he said, in a joking tone but he did always welcome compliments. Especially in his true form, he loved being admired: the fae part of him may be bloodthirsty and ambitious, but the star part of him really just wanted to lay back and be admired once in a while.

"Spectacular, indeed. My power has grown; I'll be able to feel them stronger than ever," he said, referring to his new position which he was also quite proud of.

"Mmm, why do you hide?" She smiled a little at his only half teasing tone, lifting a finger slowly enough that he can step back if her touch isn't acceptable before moving to trail it along another flare on his right breast, her own cool power insulating her from any real harm though her finger flared like a sparkler for a moment.

"Yes, I can feel it." The look she gave him held pleased interest. "What wonderful timing in that case." He preened like a boy given a gold star but she seemed to enjoy it. The power was not insignificant at all.

"My power is...difficult to control, when I'm like this," he said, as evidenced by the fires that swept over him every now and then.

He let her touch him without flinching or drawing back, "It's been a long, long time since I've shown the true power of my House. I think most have forgotten, by now. I'll have to remind them."

"That is inconvenient." And really it was, one must be able to contain one's powers if for no other reason that to keep from incinerating people that they do not wish to incinerate. "I suppose the most beautiful things are generally double edged swords." They should know, they were fae.

Her fingers had rested high on his chest as she spoke and she finally pulled them away. "Speaking of showing power, if you find you need an outlet, I stumbled upon several lone wolves who were too dangerous for the local packs in Lewisham. I had planned on ... subduing them this evening if you have time."

Fire flared up along his shoulders for a moment before calming down again. He did love being called beautiful, and pride fueled his fire like nothing else.

"I do love a good subduing, especially on a night like this," he said.

Well, his emotions certainly are easy to read in this form. That could be useful to know, not that Balem skimped on expressing himself.

Her lips quirked a little. "Yes, it did seem like something you would enjoy. I plan to give them the option to swear loyalty but assuming that isn't amenable," which she suspected it wouldn't be, "they must be dealt with quickly and efficiently." And Heiji couldn't be brought along or he'd just try to get her to make friends.

"Very few of those rogue types are civilized enough to offer their loyalty, I think," he said, "But that's fine with me. There's nothing liek the thrill of the hunt."

And with that, he conjured up his collar from the place he had stored it (a place he'd never told anyone about, just to be safe) and clamped it over his neck, returning him to his usual form. As much as he'd love to light up the city, if a human saw him in his true form he'd be stuck owing them a favor, and that was never fun.

Mab looked amused at that. "True." Though some could tell a more dominant personality and knew when to back off at the very least. She couldn't disagree with enjoying a hunt.

Her eyes followed the collar and wasn't it interesting that he needed such an aid to contain him impressive power? It was a disappointment to see the full glow of his power disappear but Mab was clearly happy enough to get on with business. Turning she began moving toward the open door to Lewisham. "I plan to find a way to lock the doors so only those we wish to travel through may do so." She offered expecting Balem to keep up.

"You don't think they'd be a genuine threat to our realm, do you?" he said, "It would be a nuisance if they got in and stole something valuable, though."

Like his collar. It couldn't be destroyed easily, but if someone took it he'd have a hard time finding them, and he still didn't know how his mother made it.

She raised a brow. "Certainly not." She replied as though the very though was beyond imaginable. They'd be walking meat if they stumbled in here. Many of the lower fae tended to feast on anything that was easy to catch. "But yes, theft is not unknown, as well as inconvenience. I would like a more permanent door that the humans will not find so easily, somewhere we can easily get to that is centrally located for emergencies. And if people are constantly going missing there it would be difficult to keep it accessible." She glanced sidelong at him. "And I do not particularly wish to have any traipsing into my home like lost children in the woods."

"Hm. No, I don't fancy sharing the beauty of my home with wandering drunks," he said, "I do, however, fancy sharing the beauty of my wrath with some pesky wolves."

She wasn't fully convinced the humans who stumbled upon a doorway were so often drunk, though drinking did make it easier to realize too late where you'd ended up.

"Excellent. Shall we then?" She made a gentle gesture and turned to move along toward the nearest gate that had been opened in Lewisham.

August Catch All

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