Joint post | Balfour showing off Amery

[blueeyedflyboy]

_{[It sure didn’t take long after Amery’s first post for the feed to come on again, this time showing a beaming face. Well, actually two faces, but Balfour was beaming, his arms wrapped around Amery’s shoulders from behind as he showed him the broadcasting device. He held it in one hand and grinned out to the public.]}

Hey everyone! I know I’ve mentioned him before, but this is my brother, Amery! Say hi!

_{[He nudges Amery, intent on his brother making a good impression among his new friends.]}

Hello.

[Amery doesn’t look nearly as happy about this as his brother does, but he’s dealing with it. If only because it’s Balfour.]

It seems my brother has been sharing stories about me in my absence.

Of course I have! You’re my brother!

_{[So obviously, Balfour would be telling tales. He adored and looked up to Amery, after all.]}

Anyway, I just wanted everyone to know who he was. Please treat him kindly!

_{[And that goes for you too, Amery.]}

Balfour, though I appreciate the gesture, I do believe I’ll be capable of dealing with people whether or not they decide to treat me kindly.

_{[Balfour sighs, looking at the man he’s draped over for a moment.]}

Amery--

_{[But whatever else he was going to say is lost. He kills the feed just as he begins that sentence. Privacy was a valued thing for Amery, after all. Balfour knew this.]}

Comments

[blueeyedflyboy]

_{[Okay, that hurt look just punched Balfour in the gut, but he was serious. He couldn't allow Amery to come to any harm! What if something happened? What if this place decided to take him away? He couldn't lose his brother again!]}

Reid, you don't understand. I can't risk it. I can't do that! I can't chance something happening to him and him never coming back! If-if you don't meet, if you don't go near each other, and he comes, at least you'll know who's who!

_{[Because Chase would seek Reid and Caleb out. Balfour looked rather panicked at the thought of losing his brother, and for the first time, he thought he understood how Reid felt about losing Tyler, Pogue, or Caleb. He couldn't lose Amery. Not again! Because if he lost him now, he'd never ever get him back. Never.]}

[garwin]

[Somehow, that hurt even worse.]

You don't know Chase. You don't know what he's capable of. Just the fact that your brother looks so much like him-everything he did would hurt so much more coming from that face.

And what, you think if I was around him it'd fucking jinx things or something? Or that I'd hurt him? I wouldn't fucking do that. But if you think me being anywhere near him is so bad, then fine. He's all yours.

[blueeyedflyboy]

You don't understand. It's not just you. I can't let anything happen to him. Reid I can't lose him. If he goes, he's gone.

_{[Oh. Here come the waterworks. Balfour scrubs at his face and scoots well away from the room where his brother had wandered off to, lowering his voice. He didn't want Amery to know he was upset.]}

If he goes, if he dies, that's it. This is my only chance to be with him. I'm not going to let anything hurt him. I can't. I can't!

[garwin]

I get it. You care about him, you're worried.

[He did get it. But that didn't make any of the other things hurt less.]

But you're acting like I'm going to do something to him. And from what I just saw he's not a child, either. I'm sure he can take care of himself, too.

[blueeyedflyboy]

I don't want him to disappear.

_{[He drops the comm device and brings his knees up to his chest, resting his face on his knees as he looks down at it. And damn, does he look miserable and frightened, like a young child.]}

If he disappears... Right now, he's here. He's here, and everything's okay. If he leaves, if he dies, nothing will be okay again. Nothing was okay before. Right now, I don't have to be him. Right now, he can show me how things are to be done.

_{[Without Amery, he was lost. Well and truly lost. He was just very good at hiding that.]}

Right now, everything is okay. I don't want him to disappear.

<sub>[But, if you want, you can meet him. He tries to say this with the look. He's just scared, trying desperately to find a way to keep his older brother in the world of the living, when really, he belonged in the world of the dead. Amery was back, which meant that something was going to have to go terribly wrong. Balfour just hoped it wasn't Reid, Amery, or Caleb caught in the crossfire.

He drops his tone to a whisper.]</sub>

People don't come back to life without someone paying a price.

[garwin]

[He was half wondering now if Balfour had suddenly lost his mind or something, and he almost asked aloud, but bit his tongue at the last second. That wouldn't help. Despite the fact that he was still a little angry, he was now concerned too.]

It's alright, Balfour. Nothing's going to happen, okay? He's here and everything's alright. I won't let anything happen to either of you, alright? I promise.

[He meant it, too. Family was important, and obviously Balfour's brother was important to him, unhealthy bits and all. Which Reid was tempted to comment on, but he didn't. That wouldn't help right now either, he didn't think.]

[blueeyedflyboy]

<sub>[No, Balfour wasn't in the greatest state of mind right now. He was incrediiibly stressed and frightened, as well as completely thrilled that his deepest darkest wish had been granted. For so many years, all he'd wanted was to have his brother back. He knew the rules of his world, however. No one came back from the dead.

If they did, there would be hell for someone to pay.

The tears he'd barely been holding back finally came as Reid made that promise, and he shivered. Could Reid protect them? Really? Or would he be caught in the crossfire as well? Would Reid be the one to pay the price?]</sub>

You have to be careful too. I can't lose you either. Please?

[garwin]

[Well. There went the rest of the anger. To think, before Reid had been ready to say fuck it all, now he just wanted to be there to hold Balfour.]

I'll be careful. I promise.

[He smiled a little, trying to reassure him.]

[blueeyedflyboy]

You have to be careful. I don't want you to be caught in the crossfire.

_{[Because nothing was going to convince him that nothing bad was going to happen now. He had his darling brother back, yes, but something bad had to happen now.]}

[garwin]

What crossfire?

[What was Balfour even talking about right now.]

[blueeyedflyboy]

He's here. He's alive. Dead people don't come back to life, not wihtout a serious price being paid. Someone's going to have to pay and I don't want it to be you or him.

_{[It's all said in a rush, words slurring a little bit. He was terrified.]}

Promise me you'll be careful. Promise me you won't get caught in this.

_{[This was his fault; he wished a dead man back to life and got his wish. This was his fault.]}

[garwin]

I-what?

I think you're being a little superstitious. I mean, come on. It's this place, it brings in people from all over, it doesn't mean something bad's going to happen just because he's alive again.

[blueeyedflyboy]

No, this is how it works. It is! That's why, even with all the magic in the world, there are no necromancers. THe few who existed, many years ago, either paid with their lives or the lives of their loved ones. Or the one they brought back committed suicide.

_{[It was enough to tell any magician who had a talent that could work in such a way to not use it.]}

[garwin]

Maybe back home where you're from, but we're not there. I don't think things work like that here.

[He was really trying to be reassuring.]


I don't think you need to worry so much, really.

[blueeyedflyboy]

<sub>[Balfour shook his head. It really didn't help, what Reid was saying, because he knew for a fact that the dead didn't come back to life without someone paying a price.

Someone, somewhere, would have to pay for his wish.]</sub>

[garwin]

Balfour.

Nothing's going to happen. Seriously. Besides, wouldn't it have, you know, happened already if it was going to? I doubt shit like this would wait until just the right moment, you know.

[blueeyedflyboy]

No. No, it does wait. It does.

_{[Why could Reid not understand?]}

There's a price for everything. There's a limit to everything. Even this.

[garwin]

Even here? In a place where everything is free, people appear and disappear at random and hey, there was that time you talked to pillows and I could fly.

[Somehow he doesn't think that, here of all places, people are going to be punished for someone coming back from the dead.]

[blueeyedflyboy]

That's the rule of the world, Reid. Everything has its cost and its limit. Just because it seems as if there is no cost, no limit, doesn't mean there isn't one. We just...haven't found it yet.

The cost of being here, having this... It's the chance that it can be ripped away without warning, and you will never see that person again.

_{[It was falling in love with someone not even from your world, so the chances are that when they do go home, you'll never see them again. Balfour didn't mention this. At least Reid had Tyler.]}

[garwin]

This place doesn't exactly seem to follow the typical rule of the world. Nothing's going to happen.

[He already knew what would happen when everyone got to go home. He didn't want to think about it. It was why he never talked about wishing he was back home.]

[blueeyedflyboy]

No, it does. Didn't you notice? You finally got the chance to be happy, and...

_{[And Tyler left. Pogue left. Amery showed up looking like Chase. Balfour was causing even more trouble than usual.]}

And it's being taken, little by little.

[garwin]

And what? I'm not allowed to be happy? The world doesn't want us to be happy or some shit? Screw that.

You're worrying over nothing, Balfour. Nothing's going to happen.

[blueeyedflyboy]

I don't trust that. I can't.

<sub>[He looks at Reid sadly, then glances toward where Amery is. He's so scared, and it's clear. He wants to cling to them both.

Someone would pay for Amery's presence. He knew that.]</sub>

Reid... I don't want to lose either one of you.

[garwin]

Alright, alright; fine.

[Maybe it was just stupid to try and argue with Balfour over this.]

Well, I'm not going anywhere. You're not going to lose me.

[blueeyedflyboy]

Good. I don't want to.

_{[But those reassurances were certainly not going to help too much, at least not until he managed to calm himself down. He didn't know how such a happy topic got twisted into such ugly superstitions and painful worrying...but it did.]}

I'll be home soon, but I'm not staying long. I want to stay with Amery for a couple days, okay?

_{[Subject change, anyone?]}