Under the ladder

The night was dark and full of terrors. At least, that's what the saying was supposed to go, but Mercury disagreed. The Commander had sat himself on a tree branch, his legs dangeling while his eyes were fixated on the sky. He could never grow tired of the sky. Though Elliot was missing, there was still Levy, and Juliet, and who could forget Missy. Though they didn't fill the void with Elliot's sudden disappearance, it was enough to make him calm. But this night had been so exciting. An outsider had turned up, someone like the,. though Minerva said he was cursed. Mercury didn't want to believe it, but she had been here way before him so she was probably right.

Softly humming, Mercury waited. He had become a pro in waiting, nothing seemed to happen around this place anymore and he was getting sick of seeing the same rocks and the same trees. Even the stars started to bore him. He wanted to know what they would look like from the other side of the world. Would Levy still be that bright in Navarre? Maybe Juliet would disappear if he looked from the golden sands of Valyria. Maybe that mischievous Missy would hide behind another star when he would visit Nymmerwell. Mercury liked to imagine that, stuck in his own world, dreaming of things that were probably never bound to happen. But as soon as someone would release him from his shackles, the world was his.

When you got this old, you started to notice things around you. You learn to hear footsteps, to hear the change of someones breathing and what it means. Of course, being a vampire made that all a lot easier, but even then, you didn't always know what it meant. It was still difficult for him to hear someone approach that did not have a heartbeat, but he was getting there. The cursed one, however, had thid distinct step. Maybe because he was so different from the rest, that Mercury could easily not he was close by.

He could feel the eyes of the other burning in his back, or rather his face. Mercury knew what he was staring at and he understood. Quickly, he shifted his gaze from the sky to Mort, raised his brows with a smirk and looked back again at the sky. ''It's okay. You can stare.'' Mercury said softly, letting his feet dangle as if he was a child on a swing on a playground. ''I don't have any demons who are ready to tear your head off. That's Minnie's thing. She can't help it.'' Mort liked to talk, especially with people he didn't know, with outsiders. With people who maybe were like him. But Mort didn't seem like an outcast, no, he seemed perfectly fine. The boy worried too much and he sure as hell wasn't intimidating, but he was nice. Very different from the people Mercury was around with. And that was exactly something he needed right now.

He wanted to get to know this outsider who called himself Mort and who was cursed with a blessing. Mercury was intersted, to say the least. He again, shifted his eyes from the sky to the stranger, a smile tugging at the side of his lips. He would enjoy this conversation. But the other seemd to have different plans, or well, different things on his mind. Why? He had an eternity to worry, why do it now? Mercury just pushed those thoughts away, told them to come back later like that annoying pop-up screen that told you to restart your pc because it had important updates to download. And that didn't even exist yet. ''Oh, by all means, stare. I don't care, you could be staring at my dick and I still wouldn't mind.'' He spoke like nothing mattered. Not that it did, for him to say the least.

Mercury hopped down from the tree, landing softly in the grass. Star gazing time was disturbed, so he better pay attention then. The vampire tilted his head a little an frowned. ''Why would she? Did you get on her nerves? She easily gets on her nerves. Just like you, but differently.'' As far as he knew, Mort didn't have any voices in his head, or he was great at hiding them. Just as Mercury had become great at hiding whatever was left from his past self. ''What's troubeling you?'' Councelor Mercury on the field. This might get a little teary.

For a moment the vampire stood where he was. His gaze went up to the sky again, but the stars were still there. They weren't important now. So, Mercury looked down at Mort again and without saying anything, sat down next to him as the other vampire started to talk. Mercury frowned and listenined, nodding along. He could understand. He didn't have a purpose too until.. war happened. Then things got interesting, but not for the better. Not for him. But before he was this, before he turned into this, he would have felt how Mort felt right now. Maybe not the best thing to think back to.

''Why wouldn't you be a good person?'' Mercury decided to ask, rasing a brow but looking forward over the grassy field. Everything was so beautifully silent he wanted to stay in this moment forever. But forever was a long time, and Mercury had learned that by now. He let Mort think about the question, let it linger in his mind while he patiently waited for an answer. It wasn't ike he was going to die anytime soon.

Figuring people out was one of his parttime jobs, it was the way he could influence them without having to use his magicks. Once he understood how a person thought, what his pattern was, it was easy to walk along that pattern and somewhere make a little push to let them go astray. And then he would talk and talk and pave them a path that was to his benefit. Maybe it was rewiring someone's thought process, but if it meant he was saving peoples lives, Mercury was all in.

Carefully, the old vampire watched the young one. There was no heartbeat he could hear, or a change of breathing that would note him of something significant. This needed concentration, recalling every word that had been said so far. Mort seemed to be on the depressing side of things tonight and Mercury couldn't stand it. If only he could just get his hands on the head of the boy and make him happy. I mean.. he could, but it would only be temporary. Mercury tilted his head a little to the side. ''And does that define your whole life? That decision?'' The Commander of Peace questioned him. How easy it was to get stuck on one thought and repeat it in your head, over and over and over again.

This boy, this poor, poor boy. He was so stuck in his head, so concentrated on the bad thoughts. He was immortal now, how could he be this depressing? Mercury would almost start to feel for the boy. With a thoughtful look he examined Mort. He probably had gone through something to make him end up like this but if he heard his words correctly, if he truly had turned his brother against his will, well then.. Mercury could understand.

Again, the Commander nodded. He could understand where Mort was coming from. ''If you could, would you turn back time and erase your decision?'' Was his follow up question, trying to catch Mort's gaze. This dude seriously needed some therapy and Mercury might not be the best councelor, he could at least try and give the push in the right direction.

The urge to just lay his hand on Morts shoulder and take that pain away was big. But Mercury had learned through the years that it didn't solve everyones problems. Maybe temporary, but they would eventually have to face them and it would only come back ten times as hard. Maybe that was why Minerva had such issues with her demons. But she had been fighting them long before he had come around, so he guessed it was truly in her head and not something he could fix. But he wanted to, he wanted to fix everything so badly. Even now, sitting here with the cursed one, he wanted to fix him. Rewire, reprogram, anything but to get that sadness out of his eyes and a smile on his face.

Nothing came easy. He had learned that the hard way. He just wished others didn't have to go through the same as he had. ''So what you're saying is, is that looking back now, you would have done it again?'' Mercury spoke, breathing in deeply. This talk might take a while. Not that he was annoyed or anything. On the contrary, Mercury loved to talk, sad or not, it was his way of getting his mind of things. ''How is your brother now?'' He decided to ask next, giving the other vampire some stuff to think on. Mercury leaned back in the grass again, his eyes locked with the sky. It felt empty with a star missing, but he knew that one would soon fill that void again. Just like sadness was only temporary, if you wanted it to be.

They were making progress. Slowly but steadily it seemed that the other started his way out of his dark well. It was Mort himself who would decide how long it would take to get out, mbut Mercury would be glad to lend him a hand. He felt the other fall down as well and softly smiled. The words the cursed one spoke, on the other hand, felt like vague memories in the back of Mercury's head. Reconnecting with your human side.. it had been too long ago since he had his blessing that he could remember what it was like. All he could remember was that he was.. Mercury. And nothing else needed to be added there. He was proud of who he was, no longer would he hide behind his fears and insecurities, no matter how badly they were gnawing at him.

''I'm sure he'll understand. Look at me! I'm centuries old and my life is perfectly normal.'' Mercury spoke with a light tone. But he didn't know anything but this, so this was normal to him, he didn't know that Mort probably thought differently. The vampire let his eyes wander over the sky. ''They're burning bright tonight.'' He noted softly, letting his eyes fall on one of the softer stars in the smeared pallet called the galaxy. ''They have no purpose, and yet they shine.'' Why did it matter to have a purpose? Why not just enjoy everything you had in hands reach? The youngling laying the opposite of him, needed to understand that. And with the right words, he probably would. In time.