bakerstreet | when things break bad...

This was not the turn of events that David had expected of the encounter with Balthier, not by any measure. He had taken the Hume to Eryut Village, left him to speak with the Viera there, and acquired his supplies via trade. And he'd stayed silent about it, not prying into what Balthier had gone through when the Hume returned to him. Nor had he pressed when he had been asked for shelter for another night or two. Instead he had guided Balthier back to his home, expecting the Hume to carry some of the supplies.

And they had even had a few quiet, peaceful days. David had clearly gone hunting for fresher meat, and focused on preparing what he could to restore strength to the Hume for whatever new path he would set out upon. His entire goal had been to help the Hume feel better and give him the strength to carry on, maybe even prepare supplies for him to resume in whatever his life was to be.

Then he had heard the voice of the Wood, and both fear and longing had rendered David a bit more quiet for a few days while Balthier had prepared to finally depart. He kept the secret of the word of the Wood, right up until it was time. It took nothing with the way the Hume was still so withdrawn from the world to insist on walking him to the limits of the Wood, and less to offer to carry some supplies for him, to keep Balthier's strength up.

But now here they were, and here David must commit to what he was told. Fear and longing.

"Where does your path take you from here?" he asked, standing at the border that he knew that, once he crossed, he could no longer turn back.

Telling his tale had been difficult. He knew it would be, but the Viera staring at him silently, knowing in his heart how many of them judged Fran for leaving -- it had rattled him. He'd told most of it with silent tears on his face. But it had been relieving, too, to let some of it out, and as he left, Mjrn had stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder. My sister was happier after she met you.

David was waiting for him as he left, and Balthier mustered what strength he had to beg another night or two of shelter. He wouldn't make it out of the Wood alone, he knew, and now that his task was done he was faced with the surreal reality that he needed another. Truly, he had not considered what came after this.

As low and withdrawn as he felt, it was a blessing to have David's steady company, and especially that the other expected him to help. He would miss this. But he would not ask for more. Already he'd been given so much. Already, his mind was turning over what books to get the other, where he might find them, trying to skirt away from the painful reality that many places he'd passed freely before were not safe anymore.

Still, the time came, and Balthier couldn't help feeling sadness at parting from this new friend. He doesn't mind being delayed here at the threshold, one he may not cross again.

"Balfonheim, I think." Honestly he didn't love Balfonheim, but that meant it had fewer memories. And it was independent. "I will take stock of the state of things, see if there's work that interests me." Perhaps he could help people fleeing the Empire, or offer his services to Rozarria as they prepared for war. "They have good fish there, too."

"I've never had fish," David observed, then took a step forward.

He almost staggered as he crossed the line. There was a lack in him, one that hurt. But this was the path he had been sent down, and he had no choice. The line had been crossed, and he would keep going.

Balthier's eyes went wide, knowing what it meant to cross that edge. And if he didn't David's normally elegant poise turning to a stumble would have alerted him.

"David?" he asked, instinctively moving to steady the other. "Does the Wood have business for you out here?" Perhaps to make sure he could not return -- that would make sense, to cut him off. He was a hume and had cost one of theirs.

Some frantic part of him worried perhaps this was exile, that somehow he'd tainted David with his association.

David had to focus on breathing for right now, on trying to find a center with the new gap in his mind and heart. The wood was gone, the word lost, and he was alone. More alone than ever before.

"She said I must go. Balance must be found, or the jungles and villages would burn."

It was exile for him, and he had never been more scared in his life.

Fran spoke of how hard the first weeks were without the Wood. Balthier wasn't going to insult David with empty sympathy, but he does put a hand on the other's arm, squeezing it firmly.

"She must respect you a great deal to entrust you with this."

Balance or the Wood burning. It makes Balthier's stomach tight, but he had worried about as much himself. He just -- didn't honestly see what one Viera was going to do about it. But he wasn't about to let David try to follow that objective alone, especially knowing so little of the Hume world.

"You will travel with me, as long as you wish to." He wasn't sure how appealing of an offer it was, but David had it so long as he wanted it.

"I think she believes no other would agree," David countered. Faith in him? No. The Wood would not be so foolish.

It was a relief, though, to know he would have companionship.

"I am grateful. I do not know what to do. The world of the Humes is unknown to me."

"Do Viera turn down the Green Word?" Maybe it's insensitive to ask right now, but it genuinely surprises him.

The vulnerability, though, reminds him to be mindful. "Balfonheim is a port, and it is independent of the warring states. It is a good place to find information." He squeezes David's arm again. "They have good book shops, too."

"You've seen plenty of Viera out of the Wood," David points out. He knows it happens. It is rare, but it happens. "And had I refused, she would not have turned me away."

He, though, had not chosen this. Even if he might have wanted to.

"You will not abandon me then?"

That's fair enough, and Balthier doesn't know how explicit the Green Word is presented. Still, the last bit makes him consider his words. After that first night, he did not push David on his interest in the outside world, but it's clear the Viera has it. There's a reason he did not refuse, even if the cost is enormous.

"You may travel with me as long as you wish," Balthier reiterates. "And I'll probably tell you to wait if you try to part with me before I'm sure you can navigate Humes alright. They're not nearly so direct as Viera, or as logical."

"I fear that this new will mean that I am bound to you for a while. Are you certain that this is something with which you will be comfortable?"

He knew the man might not wish the weight of another Viera on his shoulders, this one inexperienced.

Balthier shrugs, giving David a wry smile. “It gives me a purpose that means something. I’d be a fool not to take that compass direction.”

And honestly, he enjoys David’s company.

Well, that was something he could accept.

"Then I shall try and not hinder you."

“I dont suspect that will be an issue.” He’s been enough of a hindrance, morose and — while they have been weaker — plagued by nightmares. “Or at least, I will be enough of a hindrance to make us even.”

Still, there’s no sense staying here, where David likely can no longer pass, and so he takes a few steps to see if the other wishes to progress.

"You know the way the world is outside of the wood," David countered.

But Balthier was moving, and so the Viera straightened himself, tried to ignroe the pain, and began to walk. What else could he do after all?

"Is the distance we must travel long?

It doesn’t escape Balthier’s notice that David’s gait is altered. He will keep an eye. Grief is a heavy burden.

“Yes. It’s probably a week to where we can find airship passage, assuming they are still running ships. Longer if we need to go by sea. I don’t want to go by sea.”

"Is there an issue with transit by the sea?"

Not that David had ever known bodies of water so large as a sea. He would likely be shocked to see it.

“It smells of sour bodies and I get sea sick. But it’s reliable should we need it.” He ought to let David make up his own mind, but he can’t help the distaste in his reaction.

He feels like he ought to say something else, but what does one say to loss of home, a breaking point? Balthier has been there more than once.

“I’ll be glad for your company,” he says.

Well, David could accept that his company was welcome. The Hume was still clearly in need of care.

"I suppose I shall have to learn the magics used outside of the Wood now. And hope to be able to keep up with you."

“I can help with the basics of some,” he offers. When he left, distraction was helpful.

Perhaps that’s a story he needs to offer, but right now it sticks in his throat, somehow the point he’s chosen for when everything started to be his fault.

“Perhaps it’s fortunate I’m moving slow these days. Glad to have some use for it.”

"Until you feel stronger, I will do my best to protect you. But please teach me to deal with Humes. I imagine not all of them are like you, and you are the first I ever met."

And so all he knew of their people was what he knew of Balthier.

His pride flares but he bites it down. David has to be wildly untethered; he doesn’t need to take this from the Viera. “Appreciated. When we pass a market I will acquire a ranged weapon and hopefully be of more assistance.”

To the latter though, he pauses, looking back to catch David’s gaze. “I will teach you, and I will not leave you to fend for yourself.” Was that how male Viera were trained? Regardless, passing through smaller trade camps on their way may be valuable.

He doesn’t even notice the way his mind slips easily to these tasks, the first time in weeks it’s felt any clarity or purpose.

It is not his fault that Balthier came to him weak and unarmed. It was clear that Balthier still needed time to grow stronger, to be as fit as he clearly had been before.

"My gratitude for the lessons. My kind do not meet outsiders at all."

That he had met Balthier at all was a shock.

Balthier had met Fran when she was accustomed, in her way, to Humes. He would have to keep adjusting his expectations. But it made it easier too, that they were different.

“We will go at your pace. I don’t know that anything will prepare you for a city, but we will find quiet spaces for you should you want them to rest in. And I think you will enjoy watching the landscape change.”

"Quiet spaces?"

See, he wasn't at all prepared for the idea that things could be more noisy then Eryut village was. He would truly be shocked and confused when he encountered it.

"Change?" he asked. The man had spoken of it before, and now David wanted to see it. "Please, then, guide me. Show me more of your world."

Bad End AU Meme

The Time Skip Discussed

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