text; un: adversary

[wingstosee]

Oh. Hey there.

[ the voice that drifts through the communicators defies description. it is venus's voice, and it is not; like a young tenor, barrel-aged since the beginning of time and only just coming into its own. it sounds like fresh hookah and tastes like music. it's like static and honey, gently sifting out of electronic speakers. ]

This place... [ a sigh. ] It's beautiful, isn't it? A thousand thousands, living their own truths. It's flawed, and uncut, and cracked down the edges. It's the most beautiful, wonderful gem I've seen.

[ for a few seconds, the recording stays silent. all that remains is the background noise of lunatia: voices trickling up from the streets. the whirr of machinery and the hum of crystals. ]

There are hundreds of you, and I know so few. [ there's something ancient in her words. deep, old, sad. ] So while there's still time... Tell me. Remind me of your name. Let me see your face so I never forget it again.

[ an exhale, long and smooth. ]

And if you're hurting, or lonely, or you've forgotten too... Find me. I'm waiting. I'll always wait for you.

[ there's a soft laugh, barely audible - a fond exhalation more than anything voiced. ]

Until then, my darling.

[ the recording clicks off. ]

Comments

un: grimm, video

[hagrides]

[Grimm's face is a hard one to forget.]

Hello, Venus. Or should I call you something else at the moment?

[She isn't not Venus. Just as the Nightmare King isn't not Grimm.]

[wingstosee]

Hello, Grimm.

[ for grimm, the video is switched on - a courtesy for a courtesy. and sure enough, that's venus - if a venus far, far past her awkward teen years. her hair reaches well past her shoulders; what once were two wings have become six, magnificent and extending beyond the frame.

she smiles, reaching forward to run a finger down grimm's reflection on the device, and speaks again. ]

Would you prefer to? [ it's an honest question. titles, epithets, names - all are things she's gone by, long ago. ]

[hagrides]

[Venus has blossomed beautifully. If this is what awaits her when the passage of time rights itself again, Grimm is glad for it.]

Venus is a lovely name. It suits you, I feel.

[wingstosee]

I agree. So I'll stay Venus.

[ there's a fondness in her voice, something almost different than the sad love from earlier. it's not romantic, exactly? it's friend rather than child. it's the acknowledgment of one celestial being to another. ]

Are you and your child still safe?

[hagrides]

We are. They quite enjoyed their time with you in the museum.

And you, my friend?

[Friends and equals on the celestial stage.]

[wingstosee]

Did they? [ a quirk of the lips, a soft laugh. she covers her mouth with her wrist, smiling all the while. ] I think... I enjoyed it too. Yes, I'm certain of it.

[ the hand drops down. her gaze casts off to the distance. ]

It has been... a long time, for me. So, so long. So many people to watch for. So many faces I've known since they were first sculpted. [ there is a note of excitement there - an almost impish delight, a bit of who she once was shining through. ] And coming back here, and knowing so few of them! I want to see all of them. I want to learn their names.

[hagrides]

It seems you and I have travelled in opposite directions. I spent a fair bit of time the other day as the same size and age as my child.

[Two tiny bugs playing tag.]

[wingstosee]

[ for the first time since her post, the devil laughs - high, pleased and clear. there isn't a trace of malice in her voice or face; delight tinges every crevasse. ]

How wonderful! Oh, I wish I'd been here to see you. [ the laugh eases into a smile, and the smile eases into something softer. fondness, maybe, or admiration. ] A father who sounds nothing like a god, playing with his child as an equal. Doesn't that sound magical?

[hagrides]

Perhaps if it happens again, I will remember to invite you to play.

[More likely, the Nightmare King will remember - Grimm didn't remember much of anything, but having another in his head who wasn't aged down helped considerably.]

[wingstosee]

I... yes. I would love that.

[ perhaps they'll have the chance to. perhaps not. this city works in its own, mysterious ways, doesn't it? ]

Grimm. [ there is a gravity to her voice, heavier and weightier than it has any right to be. ] Will you hear my plea?

[hagrides]

I will always hear you.

[Even if there is little he can do about the things they both want, sometimes, he will always hear her.]

[wingstosee]

My time here is so, so short, Grimm. A single blink across a hundred million lifetimes. [ there is a sadness, there - but not a self-pitying one. ] Soon, I will be gone, and another devil will take my place.

[ there isn't any need to regret that. they are both the devil, after all. one can take the other's place easily enough. and yet... ]

Will you watch over her for me?

[hagrides]

I will. I swear it.

[Both of their times are short, but no less valuable for that. There will be another devil, and another Grimm. But while he is here, he will see that Venus is safe and happy.]

You need not worry.

[wingstosee]

Ah... Thank you, Grimm. It means more than you know.

[ how much time does she even have left? she can feel her grip on reality, the centering pull of gravity, beginning to lighten with each minute. she isn't scared, of course, but...

it is lonely, being the devil. ]

[hagrides]

You would do the same for me and mine.

[Someday, he will be the one hoping that others look after his loved ones, after his own time is spent.]