entranceway | 002 | Video/Action

[Balthazar pops up in the feed looking drawn and stressed-out, his voice terse and sharp.] I have a question. Has anyone out there with peculiar weaknesses tried them on their own Shadow? Out of curiosity. Living with them indefinitely seems a bit--

[The voice of his Shadow comes from offscreen, but close.] Draw your sword. Let's try it. I won't even fight back.

[Flinch. The angel's eyes lock on the screen as he attempts to ignore the antics of his duplicate self in the background.] --seems a bit of a tall order, when they're so utterly determined to needle us.

Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you're a coward. Well, never mind. At least you know I won't stab you in the back, either.

[His jaw twitches, and he goes on through gritted teeth.] Mostly, I'm curious whether spells and sigils can trap them effectively, but mine seems determined to stay close and disrupt my concentration.

Haha! Get it? Because stab--

[The sound cuts off abruptly, and a hand covers the video screen while Balthazar waits for replies.]

((OOC note: Still studying for my test, so replies will be very slow, but I will get to tags when I can.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Balthazar doesn't want to talk about back stabbing. His shadow probably would be happy to.] I don't think they'd work on your shadow. I was half hoping angelproofing or a summoning circle would work on mine. I could send you directions how to do a summoning, if you're willing.

You can tell he's desperate, turning to a human for help. [The shadow tells Clara conversationally.] No offense meant, of course. I'm sure you're very useful.

Oh, none taken.

[Clara snaps, crossing her arms over her chest.]

Don't lie, you're considering summoning him straight to the bottom of the ocean.

[She can only shrug in response to her shadow, because yep, that's pretty much the thought here.]

All that aside, go ahead and send the directions. I'll see if I can't get it to work and give you a few minutes of quiet.

Please ignore him. [The real Balthazar groans softly and rubs his temples.]

Or--no, don't ignore him. Go ahead and summon him to the bottom of the ocean. Worst that can happen is I'll end up getting wet, too. [Sigh.]

I'll send you something in just a moment. As for you-- [He turns to his Shadow as he reaches to put the video on mute. There's no sound once he hits the button, but the way his lips move suggests distinctly that he's telling himself to 'shut it'.

The original Balthazar moves out of frame to grab some paper and a pen, but the Shadow version rests his chin in his hands and simpers cheerfully across the feed.]

[Clara watches his shadow with genuine curiosity, unsure of if she really has the heart to summon it to the bottom of the ocean, or anywhere else for that matter. She wonders if it would actually work, and if not, what sort of thing could happen.]

And you're sure this won't do anything to you?

[It's not as if she's seen a great deal of Balthazar, but he's an angel and could eventually become a friend, and she doesn't want to harm him.]

[When he returns and turns the sound back on, the shadow looks highly amused, but it seems willing to be quiet for the moment.] I can't be sure, actually. But if it summons me, as well, you can just break the circle and let us both go. No harm, no foul.

Even if you did summon us both into the ocean, I can't die that way. I assume he can't, either, which is fine. I don't necessarily want him dead, just away from me, you know?

Yeah, but if I summon you both into the bottom of the ocean, he wouldn't be away. He'd be stuck with you.

[She points out, eyebrows arching. She's more curious to know how this works than anything, and to see if she's actually able to be of some use. She hopes that she's able to, she'd hate to look foolish and useless in front of an angel.]

Is this something that would work better if I came to you?

I admit, that would be uncomfortable. [He frowns, thinking it over.]

Perhaps not the bottom of the ocean, then. Are you sure you want to come to me? It'd be easier to explain in person, but then there's this jackass to deal with. [He jerks his head at his Shadow.]

And I'm not sure how much fun yours is to be around, either.

Oh, she's a riot. [This is so very dryly spoken, and Claire rolls her eyes.]

She's easy enough to ditch for a bit, though. Think I got all the brains, out of the two of us.

[She arches her eyebrows with that, basically insisting that she come over.]

I remember where your room is, I'll pop right on over.

[And with that, she cuts the feed and takes off at a run, abandoning her double in her room. She runs as fast as possible, hoping to ditch it entirely, and doesn't stop until she's at Balthazar's door. She knocks quickly, hoping he'll let her in before it's too late.]

Hurry up, come on! It's me!

[Balthazar clearly has no objections to her coming over, merely giving a terse not as she signs off. When she shows up at his door, though, it's the Shadow that answers, bright yellow eyes sweeping over her with inordinate interest as he peers out at her.

Before he can say anything unfortunate, though, the original comes up and yanks him away by the collar. There's the sound of a brief scuffle behind the half-open door, then the original pulls it wide and beckons her in, apologetic and mussed.]

Worlds of fun, aren't they? Come in.

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