[AFTERMATH] Red and White (Odal/Chester)

[Smerdle]

It felt strange to be lurking around the basement at Court for many reasons, but this was where Chester had been told to go, so here he was. He had heard whispers that the nobles' quarters were gone, wiped off of the map thanks to this charter business, and that didn't leave him much faith in the structure of this place. As far as he was concerned, he was walking into a death trap.

It didn't take long for the smell of wooden barrels and wine to reach him, and his strides grew more purposeful once it had. In and out, ask his question and go. He'd be back upstairs and relatively safe in no time.

"Odal? Might I have a word?" Here, fetchy fetchy.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Of course," said Odal, whose outfit this time involved a black and navy pinstriped apron. It wasn't the weirdest or worst color combo. "What is it you need, Visitor?"

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

It was a very nice apron, far nicer than the outfit Chester had ended up in the last time he had come here on business. Though he supposed fetches weren't subjected to the Court's whims in the same way. Something else to ask, but not today.

"I was wondering what had happened to the elemental items some of us made to assist with the casting. I understand if they're corrupted or unsafe to work with, but I was hoping I might take the hag stone home. Not as a souvenir, exactly, but an item to study." For all he knew, Preacher did want their stone as a souvenir, but he hadn't asked, nor would he have led with that if she did.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"They're being cleansed," said Odal, who seemed surprised to be asked. "We intend to return them once they're removed of any ill intent or magical pollution, but it will take time. I understand that time is not a resource we have in abundance, but it is important that this is done carefully and with intention..."

He seemed to harp on that a lot.

"...or it could have a catastrophic effect on the items that you all worked so hard on. Thank you for that, by the way. It made my work much easier."

He finished wiping out the glass in his hands and set it aside. "Is that all you wanted?"

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Oh. Well." He didn't bother to hide his pleasant surprise, nodding once in response to Odal's thanks. "I understand. And thank you as well. For holding everything together. It was very impressive." As much as he had wished he could have minimized his uncertainty during the whole thing, it had all gone remarkably well once the Burning Man had been neutralized. He wasn't lying. It had been impressive and far beyond his own immediate comprehension.

He paused at Odal's question. It was all he had come for, but all that he wanted? Probably not. Chester wanted quite a lot.

"Actually, I was curious about fetchhood in general, but I don't know how personal of a topic that is. I don't know anything, really, except that you serve nobility and are no longer technically alive." He shook his head, briefly raising a hand from where they were crossed in front of him to idly wave in dismissal. "But like I said, if it's too personal, I can head back upstairs."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Hmm, well, that's not really all there is to being a fetch," said Odal, "and in most cases actually we don't particularly have much to do with nobility unless we want to. We keep things going around here, but there's really no need for... hm, laundry, or other such trivialities. There's only about fifteen or twenty of us at a go... less, now, since recent tithes have been quite vicious." Odal seemed troubled by that, a frown creasing his brow.

He shrugged. "I spend quite a lot of time with the new fetches. Many of them are traumatized and unhappy once they lose their trials, you know, and need a shoulder to lean on. I never approved of becoming a fetch being a punishment... We had a different name in the old days, you know."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Chester had been at the ball on his side of the universe. He had seen a level of desperation there that could have easily turned vicious, and he couldn't say he didn't understand. Lashing out was something he resorted to quite quickly when things felt bleak. But all of what Odal said was news to him, and he found he didn't really know what to do with any of it.

"Really? What was your purpose if not a punishment? I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound accusatory..." And he didn't. He was awed and confused, though the emotions were carefully contained. "You're kind of held up as a cautionary tale these days."

shibrogan3

 

[shibrogane]

"Purpose? I don't know if there was one." Odal half-smirked. "But no, there's nothing of this that's intended to be a punishment. If anything, Silk and I viewed our changed status as a reward. We went so deep into magical study that our human bodies gave out, and the magic we love now sustains us. We're part of it, it's a part of us, and because of that we are capable of more dangerous experiments. It's not for everyone, but neither is a medium-rare steak, or a life as a stockbroker, or a dark beer."

He sighed. "But many people are horrified by the concept, and the Court needed someone to support it. Silk and I were happy to oblige, but we didn't anticipate the Charter turning us into cautionary tales and punishments. I certainly wouldn't have signed the damn thing if I knew what it was going to do to Melany or to us. It goes to show you, intention and foreknowledge is everything when it comes to the arts. Never do something because someone says you have to, Chester, that's my best advice."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

He was still a little horrified by it all himself, but that was because he had seen a few of the other fetches, the ones that looked like tanned skeletons and walking swamps. Chester nodded as Odal spoke, feeling more optimistic in spite of the choices that lurked ahead.

"I think we're all trying to achieve our goals in the least traumatic ways possible, despite what we've been told we must do."

He stood quietly for a moment, almost giving in and taking his leave before deciding to press ahead. The end of the world was coming. Who cared if he was insensitive?

"Did it hurt when you became what you are? Or did you just fade away? And how long did it take to happen?" He certainly wasn't asking for himself or anything.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"It happened so slowly I don't even really think I could pinpoint when it happened or why or even how." Odal turned back to one of the casks. "But one day I realized that when I was in the other world, I felt like I was suffocating. I couldn't breathe, I looked ill... before, I'd leave this world whenever it became too painful to remain, but over time I acclimated, and... declimated. It happens. Like learning to breathe water, and forgetting to breathe air."

He smiled to himself. "It's not something one can do suddenly."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Chester couldn't decide if he was disheartened or relieved. It seemed it could be done, but he had too much to accomplish back home to invest months in slowly and deliberately dying over here. While he had hoped there was a way to burn himself out all at once if ending the cycles went poorly, putting that much thought into it unsettled him. He was kind of glad it was not that simple.

"I see. Well, I'll keep that in mind." He supposed he had learned what he had come to, but he lingered a little longer, not wanting to squander this rare opportunity to speak to a fetch without an appointment or a noble lurking over his shoulder.

"What did they call you? In the old days you said you had a different name?"

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Changelings," he said. "Unless you mean my name. In which case, that was Robin Priestly. I was an engineer. A damn good one. But that life wasn't for me. There was so much I wanted to do and to learn. Now I have forever to do it."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

It almost hurt, hearing Odal say he had been an engineer, but Chester couldn't decide if that was because he himself had failed at his pursuit of that title, or because he wanted forever too. Hundreds of thousands of lifetimes in which to do magic. He might have rejected becoming nobility, owning a person and being looked to for leadership, but immortality by itself didn't sound half bad. Of course, there was the corpsiness for most people. And the effective end of his time in the mundane world. And, well, he'd probably be lonely these days too. Most of all, he didn't like the idea of making that choice. It was one thing to love magic so much that you accidentally became it, and quite another to seek the end so deliberately.

"It was a good name and an enviable career. But I understand why this is better. Thank you for speaking with me."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Of course," said Odal, "Travel well, Chester. Come back anytime."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"I will." He hesitated as if he had more to say, then turned and slowly walked back the way he had come.

shibrogane