thespherelogs | There may be murder tonight

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There may be murder tonight

Who: Seregil and Alec
Where: Their pod
When: Beginning of February/After the log with Jag
What: After their talk with Jagger, Seregil wants to know where all these thoughts about death are coming from.

It had taken quite a bit for Seregil not to say something during the meet up with Jagger, but it wasn't the other man's business. It was, however, his. If something had happened, if Alec had died - just the thought of it sent a coldness like claws around his heart. No, Alec wasn't allowed to die.

It took everything in him not to pull the other man close to prove to himself that he was solid and whole. Of course, their work was dangerous, but death, no, Alec wasn't allowed to die, nor was Micum or anyone else in his ever small orbit. He'd die first to keep them from it. The idea that such thoughts were his comparison for something that one could easily make a comparison to pieces of a puzzle, it was telling, and as soon as they were inside Seregil whirled on him.

"Alright, out with it." Deep lines creased the frown as his grey eyes stared at Alec intently. Either he'd tell him or Seregil would wring it out of him.

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If he had asked, Seregil would have explained that there was no change of heart, only the removal of all his need to fight it. He'd feared that Alec would be repulsed by his feelings, that one way or another it would destroy their friendship, and he wanted nothing ever to do that. He hoped he could remain by Alec's side for the rest of his life; no matter how many lovers the other man took or how much Seregil's heart ached at the thought of it.

Alec had allayed those fears by treating him the same as always, by wanting to remain by Seregil's side and treating him as the same man no matter his fears.

The rest, of course, came with time. This Alec wasn't the green boy that Seregil had picked up in a dungeon; this Alec was older, wiser and able to make his own decisions. There need not be the same fear of doing to Alec what Ilar did to him. This Alec was an Alec who didn't live for Seregil's praise; he was his own man.

"We need pillows." By the time Seregil had finished with the pod there would be as many comforts as he could cram into the thing, but for now, they had to love with what they had, so he carefully stood and pulled Alec to his feet. "And a hearth." Not that he was sure how he was planning on making that happen.

"Agreed, on both points."

Alec glanced around the pod, seemingly picking out which spots might be best-suited to pillows. They'd rarely had so much space in their personal quarters before. They favored the Otter & Stag for their base of operation in Rhiminee, and their rooms there were so crowded, Ruetha had grown used to simply sleeping on piles of discarded miscellany. They'd already acquired a few new pieces of junk in this place, and no doubt more were on the way. Pillows and a hearth would simply make it more homey.

Home, however, was a relative term. Home was at Seregil's side, wherever that happened to be.

Alec hadn't released Seregil's hand just yet. His thumb passed idly over the back of Seregil's knuckles, simply marvelling at how perfect it felt to touch the man again.

"Your hand is warm," Alec said, quietly, with a fond smile.

"Thankfully this world's heat is far superior to some of the best places in our own." It was off-handed, but he seemed to recall complaints of his always being cold, something he thankfully had no problems with here. Perhaps that complaint changed over the years, he'd yet to discover that.

"Have I changed that much from how to then?" He knew he shouldn't be asking. It wasn't something he needed to know, but curiosity hit him over that one comment.

"We've both changed, yes. But I just missed holding your hand."

Change wasn't necessarily a bad thing. By Alec's figuring, if people didn't evolve, they would never improve. Seregil would never have become his lover if they both had not changed, so it couldn't be an altogether terrible thing. But they'd been through a good deal of hardship together; perhaps that had changed them for the worse as well.

It brought to mind a rather interesting question; one that Alec hadn't even considered until now.

"Do you think I have?"

The response that came to mind was instant. He had, of course, Alec had changed quite a bit from the man that Seregil was with back home. The Alec he was used to was green and trusting. His innocence and naivete showed through in everything he did. This Alec was quite the opposite. He was confident and cautious, more distrusting of others. There was one thing that was the same though, he continued to be wise beyond his years and patient. Still, there were changed.

"Yes." There was a thoughtful pause before the words, one created in an attempt to allay fears that it was a bad thing. Still, he wondered if he would be enough; if the Seregil of Alec's present wouldn't be better (not that he could do anything about it). It brought a doubt that he knew would forever lay inside him while they were together here. "But I'm getting used to it."

Alec grinned, and slipped an arm around Seregil's waist, turning to face him as he brought their bodies together. There was nothing explicitly intimate about the action, nothing demanding or uncouth; simply a gentle squeeze, accompanied by a lingering kiss to Seregil's cheek.

"I'm glad," Alec said, resting his cheek against Seregil's temple.

For a moment, he didn't want to move. He was content to remain like that, arms wound around Seregil, cradled against the man simply for enjoyment's sake. It was a fine distraction from their predicament if nothing else. It was easier to forget that they were bound in a strange place against their will again, simple to neglect the realization that there were more tales to tell, and that Seregil would take them even worse than he had their tale of slavery.

Right. They should probably address that at some point, unless Seregil didn't want to know...

"Is there anything else you want to know? We've been through a great deal together."

Being like this and accepting it instead of trying to avoid and deflect it, there was a sense of rightness to it, and yet he still felt pangs of guilt. Not for the action itself, but because he didn't feel worthy of it. How could he expect to be accepted when he had pushed Alec away. He was sure he'd get another damned lecture from Alec if he ever ventured to speak the guilt out loud, so he remained silent, until the question.

It was a good question, but one he wasn't prepared to answer. How could one ask about a full lifetime, even two years for them would be more like years for others. So he went with easy questions first. "How old are you now?" He looked to be about in his twenties, which meant that not as much time had passed as it could have. It wasn't fifty or sixty years - Micum, Nysander and the rest would still be there. Perhaps there were good times mixed in with the bad. After all, it couldn't all be like Alec's last tale, could it?

"Twenty-one. So I suppose there are about five years between us now."

And that was a little strange, now that Alec stopped to consider it. It certainly had felt like longer, as if Seregil had simply always been there. As if they'd shared a lifetime already, carried on through love and danger for an eternity. Alec would never understand how Seregil made him feel like that; as if they'd always been, and always would be. Sometimes, he supposed this was simply how destiny felt.

"I was still about sixteen when we became lovers."

And they'd met when Alec was still that same age. Something had shattered his resolve not to tell the other man his feelings. Something that he couldn't predict now.

Instead of asking he merely tightened his jaw, frowning. The curiosity was there, it was always there, but at the same time what if he returned with this knowledge. "Are there things I'd change if I knew they were going to happen?" It was the safest question and the most prudent one.

"Yes."

There was no hesitation in that. There were likely a great many things Seregil would change, if he had advance knowledge of them. It was probably one of the reasons Nysander kept the prophecy so close to his chest. Had Seregil known what it would cost, he would never have done what needed doing. Or else, he'd have tried to find some way around it. And either way, they would have brought unspeakable evil into the world through inaction.

What if Seregil tried to sacrifice himself instead? Would Alec have carried on his work? Would he have been alone in Plenimar? Would he have died for good there? Would Skala have even won the war, if not for their efforts?

There were so many variables and what-ifs, it made Alec's head hurt.

"I think you would. And I can't say things would turn out for the better if you did."

He suspected as much. If he could do something to changed the fact that Alec had gone through such torture and death, he would do it without hesitation. That knowledge, however, was something that he had needed to know based on things that Alec had said. This rest was different.

"Then tell me what you think I need to know but not enough that I can change things when I return." It was the best compromise he could come to. The one here, their relationship, was something different. It was something that the bringing about of it was something he didn't know. It wouldn't change his feelings in their world or his determination not to corrupt the younger version of Alec, but it would fulfill a wishful desire here.

Alec took a slow, deep breath, measuring what was safe to say against what wasn't. Because really, there was no good way to deliver some of this news. Best to just get it all out, and let Seregil do with it what he would.

"...Nysander's passed away. The Cockerel caught fire, and Thyris and Cilla passed as well. Luthas went to live with Micum's family. Beka joined the army and leads her own turma. Phoria passed, but Skala won the war. Elani is queen now, and she's quite competent. Though she bullied us into nobility.

"We've visited your family in Aurenen. One night when we made love, they teased me for days because you'd left the window open. My bow was heavy with shatta by the time we left. We've destroyed two dyr'magnos, as well as a necromancer, and an alchemist. Thero took on an apprentice. He also had a baby girl with Klia. They're quite happy together. And you and I have sort of established a new Aurenfaie clan on our bequeathed land in Mykonos; Clan Mirror Moon. I don't think they've elected a khirnari yet."

Alec leaned back to meet Seregil's gaze. Some of that news would cripple Seregil, he knew. But not nearly as much as it would if he knew the full reason behind it.

At the statement that Nysander and the people he held dear at the Cockerel were dead, he stood up, feet needing to move as he paced and tried to put the pieces together. Nysander could have died in the war - especially with Alec's comment that Phoria was dead (not the worst of losses in his estimation). Still, to Seregil, Nysander was practically immortal. He was the one he'd known the longest in Skala and one of his only true ties there. He was like a second father to him, and he was dead.

He wanted to ask questions about the Cockerel, about how Thyris and Cilla had died, but he knew better than that. If Alec didn't tell him how, then there was a reason, and it was probably one that he could change if he knew what it was.

Seregil ran a hand through his hair, millions of questions on the tip of his tongue that he promptly forced himself to swallow down. Patience and blind trust had never been his strong points, not after everything. Taking stock, he compartmentalized the pieces of the history that Alec was giving him.

1. Nysander was dead - somehow. Most likely something connecting to the war.
2. The Cockerel burned and Thyris and Cilla dead. Possibly from an accident.
3. Beka had done precisely as well as he'd thought. The surprise was that Alec hadn't said that she was a Watcher now.
4. Skala winning the war was a pleasant thing to learn, but if Elani were queen now that meant they'd gone through two before the end. Unexpected, but not world shattering news.

No, this would have to go slower, there were questions that Alec could tell him no to if need be, but they needed asking. "We'll have to go through this one by one, and you'll have to tell me if you can't answer my questions, but before that, how the hell did Klia and Thero, of all people, have a child?" He wasn't sure if he could believe that one. Alec had to be lying; especially since wizards couldn't conceive.

The worry was evident in Alec's face. That was about the reaction he'd expected, but he was glad Seregil hadn't tuned the rest out completely. At least, not if he'd caught the bit about Thero and Klia. That was likely the most unexpected bit, considering the obvious biological issues, coupled with Seregil and Thero's relationship prior to Nysander's passing.

"Well. The oracle at Sarikali was quite a thing. Thero was bitten by a dragon while he was there. ...on the balls. The oracle seemed to imply that he would bring magic back to the Oreska, and their daughter is wizard-born, so I suppose it worked.

"And they're very deeply in love, Thero and Klia. I think it blossomed sometime while we were in Aurenen. I'd never seen him so doe-eyed and smitten before. It's heart-warming, actually."

His brows rose. This was at least something he could focus on other than the rest that he probably shouldn't be asking about - not yet at least.

Then Alec got to the point of where Thero had been bitten. It would have been a thing to worry about if it hadn't been in Alec's past. Obviously, Thero came out of it fine, so the cackling laughter that it brought from Seregil was fine. "I doubt he'll be showing off that mark any time soon."

Though, disgustingly, he had, at least to Klia. Klia, how could she fall for such a man? And the idea of Thero being doe-eyes was practically disgusting. Did the other man even have that sort of face in him? Seregil was reasonably sure that the only other liaison he'd had was fueled by magic, at least a bit. How else would she have gotten that stuffed shirt of a wizard to do anything?

"I feel for the baby, but at least she has Klia to keep her from being an ass like her father."

"You'd be surprised. He was a different person, after everything that happened."

It would be nigh on impossible for Seregil to believe that at this point in his life. Without first-hand knowledge of the trauma they'd all been through, it was unthinkable that Thero could be anything short of the ass Seregil had known him as. But that wasn't the man Alec knew any longer.

"He's a good man, and he's saved our lives more times than I can count. He nearly died for you; lost his sight for the trouble. He's like a brother to us now. And he's so good with children. The way he dotes on Mika... He'll be a wonderful father, and he and Klia deserve that after our dealings in Mykonos."

In a strange way, he and Thero were already like brothers. They had both been Nysander's disciples, but Thero had that which Seregil would always lack, and Seregil couldn't help but feel that he would always be resentful of that. And yet, Alec was telling him that they became friends, more than friends. Thero had saved their lives and changed. It was a strange turn of a world view.

"I'm sorry, talí, I just can't see Thero of all people changing."

"I know you can't. It's alright."

Alec kept his gaze on Seregil, measuring the man's appearance against his words. He knew Seregil better than this, knew he would dwell possibly to the point of obsession, and this wasn't even the most pressing matter he had to wrap his head around.

"We had nearly three years away from him. We traveled, for a bit. Then we stayed in a cabin in the mountains. A lot changed while we were away."

"It's ingrained in him, talí." Except that it apparently wasn't. It wasn't that he didn't believe Alec, it was that the idea seemed completely impossible.

"I'm afraid it's impossible for me to wrap my head around my ever being friends with that cold fish. Or that Klia would ever love him." He offered a shrug of his shoulders. Perhaps in time, he would believe it, but as he was now, he couldn't.

"It wouldn't be easy for you, as you are. Hell, I'm sure if you came to me from our future, you'd have a million more unbelievable tales for me, and I'd be in the same situation you're in now. There's no need to apologize for it."

Seregil was simply being who he was, and Alec couldn't hold that against him. He'd listened to Seregil rail against Thero before, and he could do so again. There was no reason to take offense to it.

"You'll just have to take my word for it, for now."

There was an argument there, but Alec was right, there was no way he would be able to believe that Thero would change the way that Alec had said. It was best to move on to other parts of what he had told him. The question was where to move to next. He was sure that he shouldn't ask about Nysander; it would have been the first thing Seregil would try to change if he could, and he was sure Alec had been vague about it for just that reason. It was the same with the Cockerel, Thyris, and Cilla. The monarchs of Skala was a tricky business for Seregil, so, while he would mourn the mother, he had no such emotions toward Phoria. And he knew nothing of Elani. She was the eldest daughter of Korathan and Phoria's sister, but he hadn't had very much contact with her - not since his ill-fated relations with Korathan (another reason to dislike Phoria). Which brought him to the next question - why would a girl he barely knows want him to be nobility? By all accounts, if she were Phoria's heir, she would want him to disappear into oblivion rather than keep him close, unless she thought him an enemy.

"Why would the queen demand we become nobility?" It seemed the safer of the questions, for now, and one he couldn't put any answers to himself.

"As an easy path to grant us authority in Mykonos."

It was as simple as that. Given the circumstances, it made the most sense to grant them titles and land, loathe though Seregil was to accept it. It left a bad taste in Alec's mouth too, at first; at least until he worked out the notion that titles really didn't impede them in any way. In fact, it helped them to get things done with quite a bit less muss and fuss.

"Skala gained control of Mykonos during the war, but their acting governor and his wife were brutally murdered shortly after. So Klia was instated as interim governor, and we were charged with accompanying her to investigate the murders. It simply made more sense to do it as Barons, I suppose."

"No, it doesn't," Seregil couldn't say that he was right. He'd do just as well as something else. He could, however, see Klia finding the whole thing amusing. Micum too, for that matter. "But you mentioned Mykonos before." He tapped his finger against his lips before sitting, perched so he could see Alec's face.

"What exactly happened there that's so important?" Klia and Thero deserved happiness because of it; they had to be barons because of it, brutal murders. It sounded both exciting and daunting at the same time; and he thought that this, maybe, was something he could get away with learning about without changing things.

Alec made a quiet clucking noise with his tongue. He was still trying to wrap his head around the entirety of what happened in Mykonos, and trying to relay it to Seregil without Thero's assistance was a daunting notion at best. Alas...

"As I say, the governor and his lady were murdered under unusual circumstances. They were eviscerated in a locked room with two guards right outside. One of the guards vanished too. The more digging we did, the stranger it got.

"But Klia was kidnapped just after she learned she was with child, and Thero lost his sight protecting you from a killing blow by a dyr'magnos. They both suffered quite an ordeal during our investigations."

Alec snorted inelegantly. "For once, it wasn't you or I getting the short end of it. We got out of the worst scrape with everything intact, and now we have an entire 'faie clan on our estate. Mirror Moon. It's quite lovely."

The situation that brought them there was unusual, at least. Seregil could see himself being intrigued enough to allow someone to force baronhood on him; even if it was a ridiculous idea to make him a baron. Still, Alec was vague on the details. Just that they'd been there and a small but non-telling rundown on some of the hilites. It was infuriating. But it also meant that there were things he could and would change about the situation, which was even more infuriating.

"We keep running into necromancers, don't we?" For Seregil, necromancers were bad news, but they didn't hold the same terror that he had no idea they did for Alec. But the comment was more off-handed than an actual question; instead, he landed on a different one. "Why would we establish a 'faie clan?" He was sure there wouldn't be any sort of acceptance of such a thing, especially outside of Aurenen. They wouldn't allow it.

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