Welcome to Gaia! ::

Arriving on Jupiter had Alastor frowning, not because he wasn’t happy to be there but because he’d immediately picked up on something feeling off. Storms were common, and expected, but the pressure in the air felt so dense that it almost felt like something was stuck in his throat.

He’d have known it was a bad storm even if his chest wasn’t aching obnoxiously.

“I know,” he sighed. Atticus wasn’t the best liar, but undoubtedly he was just trying to make sure they weren’t worrying about him. Alastor appreciated the effort, no matter how unrefined it was.

“I don’t blame him for it. Danger of this scale is new to him. He wasn’t born for war.” Maybe no one was, but he’d found himself in his own, and duty drove Michael to it as well.

“I’ll talk with him some when we get home. Elliot’s been helping, but that’s a lot to put on their shoulders. I know he must be worrying, too. Has he told his parents?”

Alastor looked down at Princess for a second, and while there was nothing wrong with the way Sessrumnir was scratching behind her ears, concern had welled in the pit of his stomach so he did what any rational person would do: he waited until it looked like Sessrumnir was about to pull away and then he scooped her up into his arms.

She was huge but she was no stranger to his arms, and as soon as he scooped her up, he kissed her on the snout and pressed his face into her fur. “It’ll be okay,” he promised her, and Michael. “We’re here to take a look at things. If it gets to be too much, you just come visit me at Alastor, won’t you? There haven’t been any storms there for me.”

Alastor held Princess in such a way that she was certain to be comfortable, but that also meant much of his vision was obscured. He’d put her down in a minute, she just looked so sad.

Thankfully, he knew this place well enough that he wasn’t worried about running into anything.

“We can check around here first. Do you want to drop by your Code and make sure it’s comfortable? If poor Princess is having a time,” he kissed her again, “then I can only imagine what it’s going through. She’s so strong and brave. We can visit the library after a quick check to make sure everything looks good around here?”

Alastor held Princess for a long moment, peppering soft kisses on her face and snout and whispering soft reassurances. He set her down only just before they entered the grove, not because he wanted to but because he wasn’t sure if the strange purple haze was going to agitate her. He pet atop her head, scratched behind her ears, and then followed Sessrumnir in.

It was hard not to just scoop his husband up into his arms and hold him in her place. The grove felt uncomfortable but Alastor consciously resisted the urge to clear his throat or rub at his chest. He knew Micael was worrying, it was practically radiating off of him.

Alastor did not speak to the Code, in part because every time he saw it he felt as if he should apologize, but more so because he knew this was important to Michael. He placed his hand on Michael’s back, rubbing gently as he scanned the area.

Michael appreciated the hand at his back, and Princess by his side. He reached out to place a hand on her head, and leaned a little into Devyn’s touch.

Even as they searched for clues about what to do, he felt like they were moving farther and farther away from any answers.

“A world devouring serpent is thought to be on its way to Earth. Storms like this one,” he paused to gesture to the purple haze around them, “Have been appearing in various places throughout the galaxy. From what we’ve learned, it’s possible that it was once imprisoned by the Moon Kingdom, but something happened and it broke free. We have an unknown benefactor providing us a little bit of information -- the images of the murals of the place some had been taken to. And they recovered some kind of conducting instrument. A long spike with a star filled bulb on top. Based on the murals, there are supposed to be six that use electricity to trap the creature in between. Here…”

He held up his hand with his signet ring, using the upgraded technology to access the images. He didn’t know if the Code was able to download the information, but he moved closer to at least let it look.

“I’m hoping to find something to stop it. Earth hasn’t faced a creature of this size before. We’re hoping it might be smaller than it’s depicted, but… if it could cause enough destruction to render a world destroyed? There has to be something we can do. I know it’s taboo to enter the vault with personal interest, but if there’s something there that could help…”

He didn’t want to. It felt wrong knowing that Sessrumnir was entrusted with keeping secrets in full confidence, yet if there was something inside that could point them towards how to save Earth… shouldn’t there be an exception?

His weapon? Sessrumnir drew out the chained stormglass. Its contents looked like it had crystalized and was ready to break through the glass itself. Definitely not a storm it had been designed to detect.

“I’ve been fortunate in that I haven’t had to test out my magic recently,” he admitted. “Although… if you consider Princess as part of my magic,” he frowned and glanced over to where his summon had curled up at Devyn’s feet, even though the ground was muddy.

“With the storms… I have felt dizzy more frequently. Like an overload of energy, maybe. Or lack of. It’s difficult to describe,” he said, although didn’t seem like he was too pleased with his own explanation.

Almost reverently, Sessrumnir held his weapon out for the Code to inspect, worried that maybe the crystalline nature of its contents would prevent him from using it effectively.

“I see,” the Code said, authoritative but unimposing. “Difficult to describe or not, you have clarified enough for me. Make sure you’re not spreading yourself so thin, Sessrumnir. You have a penchant for pushing yourself too hard. I ask that you be aware of your limits. Which is not to say I am disappointed when you push beyond them. I only wish for you to be at your best. You’ll need to be.”

As Sessrumnir’s weapon was presented, the Code grew bigger, brighter–and the light extended. It was a soft glow at first, gliding over the surface of the weapon.

“I will want you to test your magic, soon. I need you to make sure it’s functioning correctly. And you’ll want to get used to this, too.”

Sessrumnir’s weapon felt heavier; the familiar shape of a weapon he’d had for years melted in his hands and then rapidly reforged itself into a great blade.

“Tell me if that feels right in your hands.”

Alastor’s eyes had narrowed just slightly, not quite in distrust or confusion, but in obvious interest. The look he gave Sessrumnir confirmed that he saw the same thing. Alastor’s weaponry spoke of both beauty and brutality, so to see a sword here with such similar markers piqued his interest.

As if the Code modifying Sessrumnir wouldn’t have done as much already.

If Alastor had taken but a moment to dig through the armory at the Hall, he probably could have found a dozen swords that could have passed as sister styles.

It didn’t take long for him to relax, and his face settled into a little smile. Now, he reached down to scratch behind Princess’ ears reassuringly.

“What did you do to it?” he asked the Code. He spoke with respect, as one should with any timeless entity, but he wasn’t really one to reign in his curiosity without good reason.