Vergence

"Vergence" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
As the aftermath of the battle continued to roll out, the injured were being moved to shelter, away from the streets in case of a resurgence of fighting from the temporarily-disorganized Conclave army. As the rebels pried open doors and windows, some of them found terrified slaves taking shelter wherever they could manage to hide, and they quickly began calling on medics and healers to treat them as they worked on releasing their collars and chains. They joined the wounded soldiers resting in the residential areas.
Yun was one of these; though he felt mostly fine, he wasn’t in top shape yet, and he was scared of jumping timelines and having to deal with his own injuries and mentally process what he’d been through. Odd scenes and details kept jumping out at him from the past hour or so–a lurch of vertigo from hanging in the construct’s belly, the sharp smell of Jin’s pistol firing, the sound of blood splattering against a stone wall. After conferring with Dario, Milae had done his best to help him into one of these temporary refuge housings, though Juro did most of the heavy lifting; the two had had a brief and quiet argument over Milae’s state of being, as well. The goat looked woozy, but still somewhat stable.
After sitting on a narrow bed, a waterskin fell into Yun’s hands somehow–he wasn’t as aware as he must have thought–and he took a drink and made a face at the taste, sticking his tongue out and shaking his head. Milae sat across from him in an unoccupied chair, leaning heavily on his weapon. Yun took the chance to look closely at him, and it was bizarre to see what looked like a real goat on two feet with intelligent eyes, moving his head around to take in the bustle of the house outside of their room. 
Yun realized he was staring and took another draft of water, but the metallic-and-dirt-tasting liquid went down too fast and he started choking, bending over on the bed and coughing in embarrassment.
akkeyagentofhelheim
“You good?” A firm hand hit him repeatedly on the back as he tried to clear his airways again, the space beside him on the bed sinking slightly when Juro sat, after discretely hovering a subtle, glowing hand by Milae’s head as he walked past him. He crossed his legs while Yun worked to catch his breath; he leaned his chin lazily on a palm, lopsided grin back on his face. He watched the younger human for a few more moments before letting his gaze wander towards Milae, then back to Yun.
It was ironic– he left to avoid Milae, but what made him return was him as well, in a sense. He risked himself to save someone else, used Library resources from the archives, and even went so far as tapping into his own magic to heal the time traveller–both of them– something he had vowed never to use again. And yet, 800 years later, he didn’t hesitate.
He raised his brows in his usual manner of ignoring his thoughts, “So. This situation is very… intriguing.” His fingers itched to write.
foresight-botgd
“Yes, well, you may have to explain this to me properly so I can find it interesting as well,” Milae said, leaning an elbow on his leg. Even though they had previously met, he still felt in the dark about said situation.
Yun fidgeted his hands in his lap, subconsciously resting his knee against Juro’s. “Okay, uh…I’m Yun.” He did another awkward little wave, and Milae’s brow raised at the name. “I’m you from another timeline.”
“Impossible. Skuld erased every other version of myself from the universe.”
“Well, she did, but Urdr pulled a fast one on her.” His fingers toyed with the strap of the waterskin. It looked like a movie prop to Yun. “She saved my essence and, like, rebuilt me from the ground up, and hid me from Skuld? I don’t remember anything before just, waking up in my apartment and getting a super weird email from her.” Milae tilted his head in confusion and Yun grimaced. “Sorry. A message.”
“You must come from a very, very different place indeed,” the goat mused. He looked down at Yun’s arms and gently beckoned. “May I see your seal?”
“Oh, sure.” Milae’s hooves were more dexterous than they looked as they took Yun’s wrist and rotated it back and forth, inspecting the intricate markings across his skin. Yun had always secretly been proud of how cool his seal looked, but he was quite self-conscious as the original Milae looked them over. Looking over the goat’s furry forearms, Yun saw his own seal, now broken–thick ridges of scarring with a thin vertical line bisecting both arms. 
“Incredible,” Milae murmured. His hazel eyes flicked up and met Juro’s amber ones, and he squinted. “You knew about this,” he accused.
akkeyagentofhelheim
Juro looked up from where he was writing, following the story very easily, even with the modern terms that slipped, joining in the observing of the tattooed seal as well; he had given into temptation and had begun bookkeeping again. Yun could see the characters in the journal– they were familiar; he’s definitely seen them before.
“Yes, well…” the Bookkeeper made a motion to push his glasses up, forgetting that they laid in his pocket, broken. He faltered slightly, his eyes sliding to the side as he remembered the original owner, before regarding Milae again, “I did. His timeline’s bookkeeper, though sometimes unreliable, does have a remarkably speedy way of updating the Library, after all.”
“But you didn’t ask.” He pointed the pencil towards the half breed, fully aware that Milae probably didn’t even know what to ask in the first place; still, it was habit to not give away information unless requested or paid, “What would you have done if I did?”
foresight-botgd
“I did not ask,” Milae huffed, “because while I was in prison, you disappeared. You know what this means, don’t you?”
Yun, trying to discreetly read Juro’s writing and only managing to make out one or two Japanese words at a time, looked up at Milae’s words. “Hm?” he said curiously. He blinked up at Juro, still getting his name wrong in his head as he regarded him. “What what means?”
“Having all our…your powers in one place.”
Yun looked back and forth between the Bookkeeper and the half-breed, his foot swinging nervously against the bedpost. “Is that a bad thing?” he said, a new knot of anxiety growing in his stomach. “I remember a lot of things, and rules about threads, and stuff, and I’ve been super careful with not splitting the timeline, I promise…”
Milae shook his head and stared down at the pommel of his glaive, which he twisted into a gap in the floorboards. His throat closed up at the idea of giving this version of him the news about the heavy burden of Frigga’s terrifying gaze. It was his fault, after all.
akkeyagentofhelheim
He caught his spinning pencil in his hand and let it hover, keeping his gaze on Milae, Ah shit…
Juro pressed his lips together, processing what he had missed; which was not necessarily unheard of. He was one person, after all. But usually other Bookkeepers would keep him in the general loop. It was different regarding these two and their stories, though; he had only two consistent sources– himself, and Jin.
“It’s… well, not great…” The bed shifted again as Juro leaned forward, and made a motion like he was wiping something away from the air before them. It rippled, then yawned open into an opening, through which both Milae and Yun caught sight of the Library. The Bookkeeper reached in and pulled out the strange black box that he had fiddled with when Milae visited; Yun, however, knew exactly what it was. It was the same notebook that Jin had back home.
“There’s a… powerful enemy at play here. You’ve actually encountered her before, with Ji– your Bookkeeper. The All Mother, the Court,” Juro typed briefly on the keyboard with one hand, and scanned quickly, squinting thoughtfully. He hasn’t posted in his forum for a couple of Earth days…
He expelled a sigh as dots began to connect. The experiments, the heightened activity, then the radio silence. It might even explain the battle itself, “She has something she wants, right here…” he gently touched slender fingers on Milae’s wrist, before bringing it on Yun’s arm, “Except it’s now here…”
His robes rustled as he leaned back on his palms, tilting his chin back and exposing the scars underneath fabric. He looked almost… regretful, “I should’ve said something; It falls under our agreement. I’m sorry…” 
foresight-botgd
“Eir visited me.” Milae quietly spoke up while Yun slowly processed, staring down at his arms with wide eyes. “In a dream. She said Frigga had switched targets. I did not understand when I broke my seal that it would not simply disappear. Now I know Urdr had instead channeled my powers into someone else.”
“Skítt,” Yun breathed. Milae looked at him balefully.
“I never meant for you to assume my mantle…I barely knew you could have existed.” He dipped his head, his horns pointed towards the ceiling. “I hope you can forgive me.”
“N-no, it’s okay, you didn’t know,” Yun stuttered, “but…I-I have to…” He got to his feet, startling the half-breed. His head swam a little. “I gotta go, right?”
“What?”
“I can’t stay here, I can’t let her hurt people.” He made as though to pull his hood up and Milae grabbed his arm. “I can hide in the silent timeline–”
“You can’t,” Milae said sternly, as Yun wrested his hand out of his hoof and continued covering his head. “You face her alone, and we are doomed anyway. Stay with us.”
“When she comes to get me, I can figure out how to trap her, or something.” Yun’s eyes were a little too shiny, and he turned away. “I have different resources here, I’ll think of something–”
“By all the gods of Valhalla, I did not spend my life learning to accept help only to watch you walk away from me with my old problems!” Milae stood as well, jutting out his glaive to stop Yun’s wrists from reaching his shoulders just in time. Yun’s arms knocked against the haft of the weapon with a dull crack. The two time travelers stared at each other, and the air was thick with tension as rebels jogged past the house, shouting distantly at each other.
akkeyagentofhelheim
Can the both of you just– shut– shut up–! Juro could only ignore the scene for so long. He stalked forward, a headache beginning to form in the back of his head as he watched the argument develop, the two same damn people clashing in the same damn way as he knew damn characters like them would. He grabbed both of them by the back of their collars, lifting them slightly as he towered above them. Again, both Milae and Yun saw the break in personality, the hard glint of amber as he was dangerously close to losing himself again.
“Okay, that’s enough.” He grit his teeth in an uneven cadence. He glared for another heartbeat, before letting them both go. Still, he clamped fingers over Yun’s shoulder, breaking the seal’s path even just for a bit.
“"We’re not sitting on our asses and do nothing until you disappear or die.” If I recall correctly, those were your own words to… me. So I’m bringing that back around to you,“ Juro peered down at him through his lashes, lips pressed in a flat line, "Think for a second, kid. Run to the silent timeline, you’re on your own with the very power source that she hungers for; she’d have nothing to lose.”
“The Golden Timeline is a double edged sword. It is the timeline where she has the easiest access to, but it’s also your best chance at protection. The Rebellion has dealt with her before, and I’m sure Milae has his ways.” He met eyes with the half breed as the crease in his brow softened.
“You’re so much more than self sacrifice, don’t forget that,” he chopped their heads gently simultaneously, then turned away from them, rubbing the back of his head.
A little stiff and frightened at another change in personality, Yun quickly looked around at Milae, and he flicked his ears, quirking his mouth wryly in response. He was already used to this from Juro. “He’s right,” he said. “Between the three of us, we can come up with contingencies for the worst. But that needs to happen here. Not anywhere else.”
Yun relaxed, wiped his nose on his sleeve and nodded. “Okay. You’re right, I’m sorry.” He sighed and moved to rubbing his eyes, as well. “God, I wish I hadn’t lost my glasses…ugh, and Jin’s SIG…” His hand dropped. “I know I shouldn’t hang out away from here, but can I still go back and see him? I don’t want him to worry…and I should get some stuff, too.”
Milae looked uncertainly at the Bookkeeper. “You really shouldn’t.” Disappointed, Yun looked at the ground and furrowed his brow, scuffing the ground with a foot. He looked up at Juro as well, through his rain-dampened hair.
“Five minutes? I’ll wait til I’m better to go. Promise.”
“Yun…”
akkeyagentofhelheim
Juro leaned against the wall near the window, tucking his arms into his long sleeves and sighed, eyes closed as the murmur of comrade and enemy alike went on outside. He kept his gaze on the ground, partly in an attempt to not have to look at their faces, but also in concentration as he reached for magic within him; things were intact despite the massive fluctuations in him in the past hour, and yet…
“He hasn’t written in two days.” he said in a low voice, neither approving nor disapproving.
foresight-botgd
“W-wait, what?”
Yun and Milae looked at each other, but neither of them were really seeing each other. Their minds were moving a mile a minute. The goat was the first to come around; he blinked and reached out to grab Yun’s upper arm, getting the young man to focus on him. With a sympathetic grimace, he squeezed tighter. 
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” he said softly. Yun reached up and gripped his wrist in return; it felt somewhat like holding a dog’s leg. 
“I won’t. I promise. I just…really need to go see him. I’m going to come back. Probably on Haligan, or something, wherever the both of you end up.”
Milae exhaled thinly. “Alright.” It was intensely peculiar to be on the receiving end of waiting for a seidkonur to do his business. He pulled Yun’s shoulder into himself and hugged him under his arms, and Yun squeezed him around his narrow shoulders. They stayed like that for several seconds.
When Yun  leaned back, he turned to Juro, poking Milae in the shoulder. He had a more determined, focused look in his eye. “Watch him while I’m gone, okay?” he said. Milae scoffed in fake offense.
akkeyagentofhelheim
The Bookkeeper opened an eye to finally look at them, and he saw the same faces staring back at him despite one being goat and the other human. He let out a soft laugh, finally a sincere emotion from him that lit him up into the friendly Bookkeeper once more, “Of course. All I ask is a story in return.”
He tilted his head with a easy smile, “Be safe.”
foresight-botgd
“Okay! I will!” Yun’s grin was almost blinding as he lurched forward and hugged Juro around the middle. “I promise I won’t get eaten by Frigga bye!!”
Before the Bookkeeper could react, he was gone.
akkeyagentofhelheim
akkeyagentofhelheim
If took a few moments for the rush of blood to calm and disappear, leaving both seidkonur and bookkeeper behind in the hazy light of the house they were occupying. The very widest grin was spread all over Milae’s face, and Juro shook his head good naturedly in return, then collected himself once more, long frame still leaning against the wall, legs crossed, pulling out his bookkeeping journal again to continue recording the rest of the fight. It was different this time–there were lapses in his memory, details that he missed, moments of unconsciousness; he had gotten involved and spun his own story.
They stayed in comfortable quiet for a while, the outside hub bub gently floating into the house, only the scratches of pen on paper heard.
“Are you feeling alright, Milae?” Juro broke the silence, pausing in his writing to check in on the half breed’s well being.
foresight-botgd
Milae had, in fact, been on the edge of either sleep or unconsciousness, neither of which seemed to be a good idea at the moment, and he inhaled and snapped his head upright when Juro said his name. With a flap of his ears, he shook his head and used the glaive to hook the strap of Yun’s waterskin and lift it towards himself. “Well enough. Whatever that enormous beast did to him–” he nodded at the bed, where Yun had been “–through some kind of odd connection, it did not leave me unscathed.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
He studied him for another breath before snapping the journal shut with one hand, then taking long strides to sit across from Milae, leaning slightly forward on crossed legs to observe him. He allowed himself a sliver of concern, especially with his oversight pulling at his chest.
“He was in the very heart of that stun, it’s unsurprising…” Juro twisted the corner of his mouth in thought, linking and connecting. His hand twitched in his sleeve, hidden from view, “You should go see a healer… Dario can help you better.” He said, with some firmness.
foresight-botgd
“I am not on the precipice of death,” he said, with a touch of acid. “He would be of more use tending to those that are.” He managed to get some water down, and then replaced the cap while looking Juro in the eye. His heart twinged. He hadn’t seen his new friend in some time. The drawn, stressed lines of his furry face loosened a bit. “I’m fine,” he said softly.
akkeyagentofhelheim
He tapped the broken spectacles rhythmically under the fabric of his sleeve as he continued to watch the half breed. His mouth hung open in intent to argue with him further, but he changed his mind and let his shoulders droop instead. 
“If you insist…” Juro placed an elbow on his leg and leaned his chin on his palm, turning his face away and hiding his mouth behind the hand, his other arm draped freely beside him. It was admittedly an awkward silence as the bookkeeper tried to find the words that he wanted to say.
“I…” He exhaled once, the warm air dissipating across his thin palm. Being at loss for words was… uncommon, for him, “I’m sorry I left while you were imprisoned…”
“I…can’t say that your company would not have been welcome.” Milae also kept his head faced away while he spoke. Digging at Juro would bring him absolutely no joy. He had just…been so sure that the Bookkeeper would have walked in at any point during his incarceration, grin and pencil and wit at the ready, to fill the lonely time at least for a little bit. And he hadn’t. 
The half-breed tried to lighten the atmosphere. “But it is past. I don’t hold it against you; I am sure you had other more important things to concern yourself with.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
He jolted at that last sentence.
How could you explain to the one person that you finally feel comfortable to call a friend… that they are the one you had been avoiding?
There are certain memories, emotions, magic that must be locked up, to keep himself and the Bookkeepers linked, to ensure the continuous existence of the Library, and to hide away from Chuugo’s old, greedy hands. Juro wanted to hold true to his old promise, but… 800 years is a long time for self imposed isolation. He enjoyed Milae’s company, he made him feel like his true young, 24 year old self once more.
Can he afford to have that, while keeping the chains intact?
The bookkeeper gave a humourless smile underneath his hand and shook his head, “There were… things. To sort out in my head. But I am here again, for now.” He flicked his eyes up to look at the half breed, if a little doubtful in the gesture, like he was afraid that Milae wouldn’t let him stay.
foresight-botgd
Milae tilted his head like a curious bird, and though his eyes were ever strange to look at–and be looked at with–they were still soft. “If I can help, I would be glad to, if such things still need sorting.” He leaned forward on his makeshift staff with a joking smile. “I didn’t lose everything with my seal. I am still able to speak with and guide others.” His ears lowered slightly, as did his tone. He knew, around Juro, that these topics were of a sensitive nature to him. “If…if you would not let me wallow in a time of distress, I feel I need to do the same in return.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
Please. He wanted to return the grin like he always did, but in that moment he found it difficult to crack even a small smile. His throat closed up as words were caught in his throat. Habit of concealing his secrets simply didn’t allow for him to be purposefully vulnerable anymore.
He gripped the edge of his seat, dipping his head so low that his forehead was close to his shoulder, and Milae could see the crown of his blonde hair for the first time ever. The goat half breed could have sworn the Bookkeeper’s eyes were a little too bright as he could only reply quietly, “In time. If you’d let me… Please ask me again in the future…”
foresight-botgd
“Of course.”
There was still distress, there was still that emotional blockage that Milae was extremely familiar with, but for now, he was happy with the reply. Milae reached out, hesitated for a moment, and then put a hoof over Juro’s white knuckles. “Of course,” he repeated, with a new patience born of normality and gained from the softer souls around him. “Whenever you feel ready. You’re not alone. I hope you know that.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
Juro stayed completely still where he sat, not accepting the gentle touch, but not rejecting it either. Slim ink stained fingers contrasted with dark hooves, and they stayed that way as seconds ticked by, the noise of soldiers outside slowly rising.
Then with a soft rustle of silk sleeves, he took a deep breath and sat up straight to meet Milae’s eyes properly. In one fluid motion, he let his hand linger under the half breed’s in a quick hold before giving his fluffy head a good natured, affectionate shove while he moved to stand, “Of course I do. I intend to be a thorn on your side now, after all.”
The easy smile was back, but this time with gratitude lighting his amber eyes, clearer without the glasses blocking them, as Juro made his way to the window to see what the crowd was about.
“It seems like I’ll be needed.”