[video, un: billy & un: clary] open to stars & moon

[driving]

- does this really go out to everyone? Okay. Anyways, hey, I'm Billy.

Sure does! ( Helpful, Clary! She turns to the video feed properly, giving a not-very-cool-at-all half wave. ) And I'm Clary. I know I've talked to some of you before, especially about the branded and what they're up to. And... there's seriously no good way to say this, but we have some updates on that.

They were involved in the attack last month, and probably the famine, too. At least, the monster that killed me had that same brand. [ And the whole 'it killed me' business is as good of a segue as any to the topic of Death itself. ]

I was brought back by Death. It told me that the branded had something to do with Temperance. Death used to have her soul, but it was stolen a few months ago.

Which is probably around when the branded started showing up during harvest. ( The takeover between them is smoother than it has any right to be; an easy back and forth as the information is shared. ) As some of you know, a few of us got blank tarot cards from a guy named Vuzor after he said 'balance comes for us all'. Well- ( Clary holds up her tarot card. Temperance is displayed across the front in all its glory with gold writing over it saying TEMPERANCE RETURNS. ) Temperance stands for balance, usually. Keeping it. Which is sort of the theme that the branded have been running with. ( As though needing another ominous piece, Clary turns the card around to the back where a countdown is happening. ) And now we might have a deadline.

Death says we need to prepare ourselves and from the sound of things, it was dead serious. [ Okay, he covers his mouth to stifle a laugh. He didn't mean to make a death pun, really. This is very important information. ] So we've got less than a month to get our shit together, find out what we can, and either try to stop this from happening or get ready to face something that makes everything else we've fought so far look easy.

So if you know anything, or find anything, you better cough it up. [ He stands with his fists clenched like he's about to steal everyone's lunch money, before he clears his throat and his stance relaxes a little. Maybe threats weren't the best way to go about this. He's still getting used to being nice. ] I mean, shit, this doesn't sound like something any of us can face on our own, so it'll be better if we work together.

( And Clary has to turn away from the screen to hide her dumb smile at the bad joke, gaining her composure back in time for Billy to finish. ) Which we've all been doing a lot already, so we should be getting pretty good at it! But like Billy said, if you know anything we haven't mentioned, or find anything out, please let everyone know.

( With that, Clary will reach forward in order to turn the video feed off. )

Comments

[agonise]

We're not doing that.

[darkined]

why not? isn't it a kind of 'balance' like they like anyway? they take one of us, we take one of them.

how long before they try to take us out?

[agonise]

Exactly - they're trying to take us out. What makes us any better than them if we do the same?

If it's balance you're concerned about, they took care of that at the feast. But balance can be achieved other ways, like sending us back where we came from.

[darkined]

you don't have to be better to survive. sometimes you just do what it fucking takes.

and let me tell you, taking out a cult sounds a lot easier than taking out a god.

[agonise]

You're right - it is easier. But we don't have to kill them to stop them. We look for defectors, imprison the others we catch. Undermine the stability of the cult. Without its numbers, it'll come crashing down.

[darkined]

fast enough to beat that countdown? if they only have one that holds out to the end, that might be all they need.

[agonise]

If we can find them all to kill them, we can find them all to incarcerate them. All that would be accomplished by killing the branded is becoming just like them, if not inciting further attacks.

[darkined]

that is extremely fucking annoyingly complicated.

we might as well try your idea. but in my experience, cult beliefs don't die just because you throw them in jail. and is a lifetime in jail to save the world really better than death?

[agonise]

Yes. For us. It doesn't make us killers.

[ lmao just assumes all these people here haven't murdered ]

[darkined]

some of us are already killers.

( o h bruce )

[agonise]

[ O...h... ]

You don't have to be again.

[darkined]

( ... )

you and i should talk in person. mister kindly's told me some stories lately.

[agonise]

[ Hm. Death did call him 'Bruce'. And rip his cowl off. That's pretty identifying. ]

You got him back?

[darkined]

from the fucking Warlock of all people.

but yeah, he's back. thanks. ( for more than just this. )

[agonise]

Good.

We can talk whenever you're ready.

[darkined]

see you soon.

i'll try not to kill anyone on my way to visit you, too. ( come on she's funny )

[agonise]

[ groan ]

Ha.