I : video

[senseandcecilbility]

[Well, this is certainly a very shaky view of Kevin’s old fashioned dress shoes. And hey, now what seems like a thumb has blocked the camera. ]

…Hm? Oh! Is it working?

[He shakes the tablet, apparently under the impression that kinetic energy might help it function a little better. The sad truth is that it doesn't.]

Ah, I-I hope so. Hm, sir? Madam? My name is Kevin Cecil, and it recently came to my attention that now I can…heal minor afflictions and illnesses of different natures. If I can be of any assistance, do not hesitate to contact me. I’m currently at…Oh dear Lord, is that St Paul’s?!

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[senseandcecilbility]

[Still, she is the one who is away from her family. He wonders if they miss her. And if his young master his looking for him.]

Please, tell me more about how time works in Exsilium. This might be...relevant for young master's well being.

[crocodilesmiles]

( She regards him for a moment, the soft, somewhat amused smile she defaults to gradually growing warmer. It's nice to know people are cared for, and well cared for, out there. Kevin cares about William -- she hopes William has an idea of how lucky that makes him. )

Time works in a whole bunch of ways here, but the parts that'll be important to you are the kinds of things it took me a long time to believe and the proof... anyway, try to trust me on this one, okay? Whenever you have been taken from, that exact moment -- when you go back, that's where you'll return. Think of this like a really strange vacation that happens in a different place entirely than where you're from! The time that passes here doesn't reflect back there.

It's like when you go back, you're time traveling back to the same time you were pulled away from. So nothing's happening without you there, or anything. William's as okay as he was before, or if he was in danger, that danger won't be bigger or smaller than how it last was. So he's fine! He can't even notice that you're gone. 'Cause you've already gone back, you know? After all your time here ends, you already went back.

[senseandcecilbility]

[Fortunately, Kevin is actually very good at having faith. There was a time when he knew and so faith was not necessary, but these days faith is all he has and he cannot live without it.

Her reply causes so much relief he has to look away when his eyes become suddenly teary. Good Lord, he has done nothing but worry about young master all along.]

[crocodilesmiles]

( She doesn't laugh, because that would sound cruel, even if it was warm laughter. But she does smile: it matters so much to people when you worry about what it is you go back to, and who you have there, waiting, needing you. Whatever hangs in the balance... one boy, or one world, or something even larger. The entirety of a universe? )

Sure takes a load off your mind, huh?

[senseandcecilbility]

[For a moment, he is more Uriel than Kevin Cecil as he turns around to hold both her hands in gratitude. His own hands are warm and smooth, and his touch is gentle like a blessing.]

Thank you, Miss Collette.

[crocodilesmiles]

( Touch is something she appreciates regardless; and it always means something, to have someone willingly touch her like she is as normal as anyone else, forever seated in her wheelchair though she might be (by technicality and genetics).

It's the like a blessing that stirs a different memory of Mahdi the -angel-not-angel, and how some of his blessings have felt -- or even Ashraf, the holy-man-from-another-world. But surely that's just an association, probably one she makes because in his downtime, he's a priest. Her eyes widen in wonder, though she falls back on her smile, sincere as it tends to be. )

You're welcome, Kevin. Though really, call me Collette? I know it's hard ( for people from a given era ), but... I like it better without the Miss.

[senseandcecilbility]

[This human is a keeper of memories, Uriel muses with a nostalgic smile. Not a long time ago, he could have considered making her his, like Ernest and the others, but this is a new place. As far as he knows, there is no war between angels and demons here, and he must tread carefully.]

...Collete. [He tries, still holding her hands.] I cannot repay what you have done, but I will do my best.

[crocodilesmiles]

( She gives his hands a squeeze, her own version of reassurance. )

Hey, don't worry about it! There's nothing to repay, I'm just filling you in like anyone else would, if they knew.

[senseandcecilbility]

You were still the first.

[crocodilesmiles]

( But never the last, she thinks to herself, and it's a good thought: Transports are more likely to find someone else who cares than someone else who'd enjoy watching them in honest agony.

Dishonest agony... well. There're a lot of teases around! )

Hey, anytime, you know? I do what I can. Plus, I like talking, so...!

( She doesn't mind being the information dispensory, best as she understands it. Explaining people or events is what she does. Self assigned, long in standing, creating a context for the world? She likes doing that, spinning toward the positive ends, without ignoring the realistic properties around her.

She'd be a worse liar when she lies if she ignored reality. )

[senseandcecilbility]

[And Kevin will learn about such teases the hard way.

In accordance with her intentions, he has already decided she is a very reliable source of local knowledge. However, that leads to a less cheerful thought.]

C-collette...How long have you been here?

[crocodilesmiles]

Me? Must be...

( She pauses, humming as she thinks. )

By now, a year and two months? Or close to that, since we're in September!

O( She sounds and is a little too okay with this fact; she's adapted better than perhaps she should have, but she's done so with what grace can pass for garbed in good cheer, vivacity, and a love of second chances. )

[senseandcecilbility]

[He notices the excessive okayness and wonders what has happened to her all this time.]

I have never stayed away from my young master this long.

[crocodilesmiles]

( More things than she had ever wanted; fewer things than she'll ever aspire to. )

I won't say it's not hard, 'cause it is, sometimes, but on the bright side, it's not like you're alone away from your -- what's his name again?

( Gil has her used to hearing master, more or less, but even then, mostly he's... about names with Oz. )

[senseandcecilbility]

[It sounds a little bit like his own life, but for the part in which he was kicked out from God's presence.]

William Twining.

[crocodilesmiles]

( Sounds like something familiar... but she doesn't realize it just sounds like a tea from someplace. It's been long enough since she's seen any Twinings Teas. )

Will would want you to do your best without him around too, yeah? So it'll be okay! Weird because you're just Kevin and not Kevin and Will for the moment, but it's not permanent. It's pretty good, all things considered! He's safe, and you're not going to forget about him. It's like... that annoying, unplanned vacation you never wanted!

( By which time she's simply teasing. )

[senseandcecilbility]

[Kevin's life is full of tea references.

He fights the urge to laugh because he doesn't think young master has been called "Will" in his whole life.]

Unplanned and annoying indeed, though I fear young master might consider my chances of surviving without his careful guidance a tad doubtful.

[There is a high chance that he will start betting the clothes on his back, though to be fair, he can always summon more in the name of decency.]

[crocodilesmiles]

Do you think the same as he would?

( She asks, bright with curiosity. It's astounding how many seeming adults really do need other people, often younger, to help keep them focused and on track.

Or maybe she just finally realized how important it is for people to have something, or someone, to focus on like that. )

[senseandcecilbility]

[The whole raison d'être deal is a very powerful motivation, yes.

W-well, to a certain extent. Though I am inclined to believe the reverse also holds true, as presumption as it might be.

[crocodilesmiles]

So you're codependent! That's not too new around here.

( Gil and Oz are... kind of a sterling example. Huh. )

That's fine. We'll look out for you, Kev! That way if Will ever ends up here, he can know you weren't as bad off as you could be. And if he never is, you can be content knowing that he would be, if he ever had!

[senseandcecilbility]

Thank you for your kindness, M--Collette.

...Hm, codependent?

[Not a word he is familiar with, but he can certainly guess its meaning.]

[crocodilesmiles]

It means you both need each other to function. It's usually -- ( she says with a small shrug of her shoulders ) -- not healthy. But those are relationships for you! They're complex.

[senseandcecilbility]

[He gives her a rather puzzled look, since most of his current literature presents such relationships as THE BEST THING EVER.]

Unhealthy?

[Is he harming young master William?]

[crocodilesmiles]

( Time period shenanigans! Collette shrugs her shoulders a little, not sure how to say it, since it's not -- something she knows entirely. )

It's an emotional, development thing? People are meant to be functional on their own, too, but codependent people stop like... really working well without each other. 'Cause instead of finding ways to work on their own, or help themselves out, they always rely on this other person, and that person relies on them, too, so neither one is entirely helping themselves because as long as they cling to that other person they don't have to.

( She makes a series of unhelpful hand motions as she fails to explain. )

Ugh! I don't know, it just encourages unhealthy behavior, or so the last therapist told me when I asked about it.

[senseandcecilbility]

[But isn't that how true love is supposed to work?]

...I fear this casts literature in a rather sinister light.

That said, I...I believe young master is quite strong and capable of facing the world on his own. [The boy is at a boarding school, after all.] I merely think...he is a little bit lonely.