[open]

[entitles]

[1 – The Royal Observatory – Open to All]

As detached as he acted, Balem did have a certain fondness for some places in London, and this was one of them. It was where he went whenever he felt like mingling with humans, or whenever he needed a change of scenery from his own observatory. While he knew a lot about space and the stars and planets in general, the humans knew them in a different way than he did. He was taught about magic and constellations and what the alignment of Earth and other planets in comparison to the stars meant, but not about physics and elements and the rest of the science behind it all. He learned that as the humans did.

He was dressed in a navy-blue suit and appeared to be a normal young man, although he had a certain dreamlike aura about him and those with a talent for seeing through magic would be able to tell that he was still wearing his golden collar, although he charmed it to be invisible to most. He stood alone, running one hand slowly over the old meteor that was on display. As with everything else here, he seemed to attach some deep significance to it.

[2 – Balem’s Observatory – Open to Fae (or anyone who would be in the Other Realm)]

The stars were finally more favorable to him than they had been the last few weeks, so Balem was in a much better mood than he had been. Redbright’s announcement still hung over his thoughts at times, but generally he was in a pleasant mood. And so, he decided to open his doors to visitors once more instead of sulking alone. The observatory itself as well as several rooms holding various artifacts he’d collected over the years were open; the only room closed off completely was the master bedroom, which had a marble slab blocking the knobs.

Balem himself was seated on a large ornate couch in the center of the observatory, bathed in starlight. Although it was night, the stars could be seen bright enough through the clear crystal roof that there was more than enough light to see by. Once in a while a lower-ranking fae in his servitude would scuttle by and ask him a question, but he was otherwise alone.

[3 – Wildcard!]

[Have another idea? Feel free to run with it!]

Comments

[entitles]

"Night has always been bright enough for me - starlight was enough to read or work by, at least. Sunlight is far too bright. That star in particular is more fond of you," he said, and by 'you' he meant 'Seelie'.

"Good. If they leave us alone, we'll leave them alone, as it has always been, but if they insist on involving us they cannot expect us to stay back," he said.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji looked up at the star that Balem indicated, tails waving slowly in the air as he did so. He'd heard about the way Balem withdrew when the stars were not in his favor. Perhaps this was an extension of that proclivity?

"I agree. Besides, it's good to show we're still around every now and then. No matter the lesson, humans always seem to forget in a generation or two..."

[entitles]

"When they start to forget about us, they also become easier to deal with," Balem said, "There were times throughout history when most humans knew how to tell if they were talking to a fae, and how to avoid their tricks. Nowadays they seem oblivious, or they simply don't believe it."

They used to take advantage of his inability to lie, and would avoid faerie rings as much as they'd avoid a predator's den. Not usually the case anymore.

[detectiveofthewest]

There was a gleam of mischievous interest in Heiji's eye just now. "Oh? Fool anyone interesting lately?"

Of course, for Heiji it was a bit of an inconvenience. Hard to interact with people when they viewed your kind as some monolithic hive mind. "Where I come from, children at least know one fae from another. Maybe not the difference between a kotengu and a daitengu, but they'd definitely recognize my kind."

Which Heiji rather liked overall. People knew the drill, basically, which meant that you received something like celebrity status. And also that there was less screaming before they got to the good part.

[entitles]

"I have, but that's a story for another time," he said, because stories about how he's actually a vain monstrosity stealing life from unsuspecting humans in order to get rid of his wrinkles might not be the best conversation for a second meeting.

"Come, I should show you the gallery."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji swept on after Balem -- it was sort of hard not to, with the tails. As he did so, he cast a final glance back at the starlight. It was nice.

"Of course. I'm really curious about the kinds of works you've collected over the years!"

[entitles]

"Come along, then," Balem said, and he led Heiji out of the observatory and into the gallery next door.

Inside were numerous paintings, gold carvings, and marble statues from various eras. Most of them were of him, as they were gifts made specifically to honor (or bribe) him and Balem was notorious for his vanity. There were a few that he had acquired through other means, though, and those were of landscapes, gods, animals, and royalty.

The shamisen that Heiji had given him was mounted on the wall beside a lute, and next to them was a large white piano with intricate gold flower-pattern designs all over it.

[detectiveofthewest]

Well, it was certainly an... extensive collection, even if the subject material was rather limited. In fact, Heiji recognized the work of some of the artists featured. Certainly not all, of course; many had been forgotten over the long years, and he was relatively young.

Heiji wove his way along, remarking on one piece or another, though his favorite was actually a large painting of a lush green landscape. It was an artist's depiction of what Faery must look like, and though it didn't look particularly like the Other Realm of today, the sentiment was certainly there.

"Quite a collection. Do you have a favorite?"

[entitles]

"I'm quite fond of this one, actually," he says, gesturing to one of the paintings, yet another portrait of him.

It wasn't a very large painting, but there was something unique about it: Balem's eyes were shining brightly and his entire body seemed to glow beneath the folds of his dark clothing. The glow made him appear obviously inhuman: his skin was a light blue color dotted with bright white freckles, his hair deep navy like the midnight sky. It was also the only portrait he had where he wasn't wearing his collar.

"The artist followed me at night to where I was staying and caught me like this. At first I was angry, but all he wanted was to paint me," Balem said, "My magic is...rather chaotic in that state, so it couldn't have been comfortable for him. He tried using a larger canvas first, but my presence burned a hole through it before he could finish. Still, I am happy with the result."

[detectiveofthewest]

Well, it certainly was luminous. Perhaps this was closer to Balem's true form? Heiji could certainly got a sense of the artist's single-minded purpose from the energy of the brush strokes.

He glanced from the painting to Balem. The absence of the collar didn't escape him. "He must have been pretty determined. What happened to him?"

After all, 'chaotic' could mean many things. TL;DR Balem did you give someone space cancer.

[entitles]

"This was a few centuries ago. He passed away when he was old, as humans tend to do," he said. Thankfully, he hadn't given anyone space cancer, but he could cause some serious fire damage when his emotions ran high.

"You know," he said, gesturing to an empty space on the wall where it looked like he was going to mount another frame, "I almost owned The Starry Night, once. But the deal fell through and I haven't yet convinced the humans to part with it. They're rather attached to that one."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Well, he certainly left behind a lasting work," said Heiji, looking at the painting for a little while more before shifting his attention to the empty space.

"I would be, too, if I were them -- the brushstrokes are amazing. Though I'm kinda partial to Green Wheat Fields, Auvers, and Almond Blossoms. And his sunflowers, of course." There was sort of a theme going here.

[entitles]

"Yes, he did," Balem said, a hint of nostalgic longing in his voice. It was rare that a human saw him as a fae at all these days, let alone in his true form, and he was rather flattered that this artist found him so beautiful like that.

"Humans have good taste every now and then," Balem said, gesturing to a golden Egyptian vase painted with vibrant blues and reds, thankfully with no pictures of Balem on it, "You might enjoy this, as well. It's over four thousand years old, given to me as a gift after I caught a thief trying to steal it and several other works of art."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji examined the vase, and clearly he did enjoy it; it was terribly rare to find a piece like that in such good condition. Vain or not, Balem did take care of his collection.

"So... is there a reason you don't usually show up..." Heiji motioned to his own face, indicating the rather unusual skin and hair color Balem displayed in his portrait.

[entitles]

"The gem on my collar contains active starfire, which I need for some of my more complex magic," he said, "And it helps keep my own magic in line, not so influenced by moods and such. Besides..."

He unlocked the collar briefly, and instantly the room is noticeably warmer, and brighter. Although of course it wasn't enough to damage any of the art or artifacts - not in such short time, anyways - a small spark of blue flame occasionally crackled over him. He locked the collar back up again, regaining his usual form.

"Outside, perhaps, it wouldn't be much bother, but in closed quarters it would start to get rather uncomfortable after a while."

[detectiveofthewest]

Well. Consider Heiji impressed. It wasn't every day you met a guy who kept starfire on his collar. "Ah, so that's why that artist had to bear a bit of discomfort." And also explained the collar in general, since Balem was mostly barechested.

"Hope no one's ever tried to take it from you. That sounds like it could backfire real fast."

[entitles]

"I only take it off when I sleep, and I haven't even told my own siblings where I keep it then, so no one has tried to steal it from me," he said, "But it would backfire very fast. If the fire were removed from the collar it would no longer be contained and would easily burn up everyone close enough to it. Even I'd have no luck stopping it."

[detectiveofthewest]

"You have siblings?" Somehow, Heiji had thought of Balem as an only child. "Don't think I've ever met them. Are they in London?"

He was interested half for the sake of knowing, and half because... well, he didn't have a lot of family in London himself.

[entitles]

"My entire family used to live here: my mother, my brother, my sister, and I. All of our servants, too. This palace was built for many," he said. While the observatory and the gallery got a lot of attention, there were several empty rooms further back.

"After mother's passing they went their own way. They show up in London every now and then, but I couldn't even guess where they are now," he said.

[detectiveofthewest]

"That's too bad... if you got along with them, that is. I'm an only child, so it's not like I have any siblings to lose track of. My folks are both still alive, though."

He looked around again at the expansive gallery room. "Does it ever get empty in there without them around?"

[entitles]

"At times, I do miss them, even though we didn't always get along," he said, because any family as ancient as theirs was bound to have some conflict, "But I'm not one to complain about a spacious castle. The stars are always there, if I get lonely."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji smiled. "Well, I think that's true of all siblings. 'Specially if you live a long time." As the fae were wont to do.

"Do you think they'll come back and visit? One of these days, that is."

[entitles]

"Oh, I'm sure they will. They aren't nearly as old as I am, but they're still quite old, so it may take them a while," he said, "But if they do return, I'll make sure to keep them here a while. We could use the extra hands, even if they'd rather run off and play."

They were both thousands of years old, but he still saw them as his little siblings.

[detectiveofthewest]

He nodded, examined another painting -- this one of Balem on a horse with a flowing dark mantle. Very dramatic.

"So I'm curious. We've had a few people present themselves to the court recently. Any one of them caught your eye?"

[entitles]

He remembered that one well - mostly because he had to sit awkwardly posed for a long time as no real horse was present. A real horse wouldn't be still long enough.

"Lady Mab seems promising," he said, and he was putting in a good word for her partly because she flattered him.