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{ Video; UN: potentia.regere }

What am I to make of this? {The voice of this new user is entirely too calm; too collected considering the circumstances. But he has been uniquely trained by, shall we say, a vibrant life? Which, incidentally, ended abruptly (and painfully) in his memory.}

An introduction, perhaps? All of those start to sound the same, I imagine. {He finally comes into full view, smiling in a way that could be polite - if it weren't for the mischievous glint in his eyes.} Something like: I am Earl Vincent Phantomhive? Does that suffice? Should I add "of England"?

{He gives a light chuckle before remarking:}

I must say this is the queerest afterlife I can imagine.

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[He's good at that. He's had time enough to know how to do things right while he's figuring them out.]

In a way, we all do. We're not immune to that ourselves. [I mean, have you seen his face lately?]

What father isn't? The good of it is you do so for his benefit and not always your own. I've known fathers who didn't deserve the title.

{That's the plus side of living, basically, forever?}

Certainly not. Our skin is not made of steel. {Yet he is as handsome as ever!}

It comes from love and that emotion cannot be selfish if it is to remain pure. {His babies deserve the purest of love.} I like being a father.

[That and it's terribly boring doing the same thing again and again.]

Not even in this day and age, it seems. There are ones here who have their own and I've not seen it all, but it would be terribly impolite of me to ask. [Oh stop looking in the mirror.]

You're a good father, I think. Better than that. Your son appreciates that in a way he might not be able to understand now, but he will one day. You were young once, you know what that's like.

{Yes, he becomes bored easily too.}

Impolite or not, I would have a hard time not bringing it up. {He is actually looking at Undertaker! Vincent has a fine eye for beauty in men and women.}

I do. But it hurts to know I will not be around for him to grow or to see any of his future endeavors. Appreciation would be nice, yet it matters little compared to simply living in the same world as him.

[This is why they get along so well.]

Then bring it up as you will. They're not so sensitive here sometimes that they won't answer a question or two from a stranger. [Well then.]

[He could comment, but really, as the survivor of so many he cared about rather than it being the other way around, what would he know, other than a light sympathy for the matter?] We have this place, milord. We have now, and no knowing when we may be sent home again. For now, this place is home, and your son is here for you to see him as he is now and what he will become.

I have often thought if you cannot speak of your demons, they hold far too much sway over you. {Of course he is speaking...metaphorically...maybe? The Phantomhives are a special, singular family.}

I will cherish who he is now and who he will become. {Undoubtedly.} I admit I am pleased he is still small enough to hold.

[There's an interesting way to put it. Too bad he's still holding onto his, quite literally, at times.] That or they're something no one else should ever know. I guess it all depends on your demons though.

[To that, he simply hums and nods. He can't rightly comment on how small Ciel actually is still, but he still hasn't quite hit his growth spurt yet. May just simply be a late bloomer, and with everything the boy has been through in life thus far, he wouldn't blame his hormones for that.]

{Vincent has had to look his demons in the face and let them go. He is all for conquering them, but that isn't always possible or the best solution to a problem.} Mine will help me when the time comes.

{Revenge is a messy business. He will need his metaphorical demons to remind him to not show the least softness or sympathy for his enemies - no matter who they might be.}

If they're to your benefit, all the better. [Maybe Vincent should hold onto them, if that'd be the case, but he couldn't help noticing the irony of the conversation at hand. Both father and son with their own demons, what forms they took. It wasn't that they were alone or unique in that, but the phrasing...] Just like you Phantomhives.

What ever could you mean? {He smiles - all innocence and benign charm.} I only wish to cut deep when I strike. That can be hard to do when you're on your own.

[The false innocence means nothing to him. He knows far better than to fall for it.] That is what I mean. But strange though it might seem, we haven't yet found enemies here, so you may get to keep that in your arsenal a while longer.

I admit I am disappointed. {Though he smiles and sounds calm - bordering on content - he is very angry.} I have more time to prepare than I thought.

[So much like someone he knows. His own grin widens a fraction. It's amusing to see in Vincent and sad - for him - at the same time.] Oh, give it a little patience, milord. The portal what brought you here is a strange thing. You may yet see who you wish to use those preparations against sooner or later, and when you do, it will be all the sweeter.

Sweet may not be the word for it. {His smile disappears and a harder look takes its place.} Sweet would be so much more than revenge. But I promise to wound them for every person they took from my household.

[The grin on his face doesn't disappear, but shifts again, turning into something a little more toward the devilish, something one might expect to see on a demon not unlike the one that had chained himself to Phantomhive son's soul. His humanity hadn't quite left him, but he had ceased being human long ago, and this family meant everything to him.]

I'll call it what you wish, my lord, as long as it pleases you. Your sons were my priority, though I admit I had had it in mind to serve those who did this with a lesson they can't forget. But your boy and you are bent on doing that yourself. Far be it from me to think I have any right to deliver the message.

{He closes his eyes sadly, laying a hand on Undertaker's shoulder.}

I will not have you endangering yourself giving them their dues. I believe he will be successful and if he is not, he can join his mother and I. A home can be made in many places.

[That... has so many meanings to him, so much envy he had for those who had passed on as they were meant to do and those like him who had not. Thus far only Ciel knew what he was for certain, and no one else in this world was the wiser except Jason, who only knew that he was far older than any human should be.]

[He had not even told Vincent why the man meant so much to him, why he held his family in such high regard now when so many others before, so many others he had buried as a mortician had left no impression.]

[His voice softened, as it so rarely did.]

Don't worry yourself over it, my lord. I've been more than just a mortician in my day, but I will keep out of his way as I had with you. If he is to die, I'll care for him as I did you and yours and so many others before you, but we don't need to look forward to that just yet. I believe he has more to give to this world and our own than another body in a coffin.

{He has been blessed with an open mind. In his position, he has seen and been party to many an odd circumstance. Vincent has an inkling that the world is composed of more than what most people see day to day. His mother has instilled in him an appreciation of many sorts ~~even if it seems like most people cannot see the bespectacled figures that frequent crime scenes~~.

To accept... To appreciate... It is a form of love, is it not? Vincent is fine giving that to those who look to be in sore need of it.}

I have never asked. {A mortician was needed and so, why rock the boat?} I know he is in good hands with you, alive or deceased. I cannot remember a time I did not see you, here or there.

{Sometimes with his mother hushing him - only for him to find other ways of expressing what - and who - he saw. ~~His drawings were ghastly.~~}

[Nothing on him changes in those next few steps down the road, though he does link one hand in his other behind himself. He can't see the way clearly and he may never again do so, but he knows exactly where he's going, exactly where his feet fall.]

You haven't needed to. I'm quite used to being the one who buries the bodies in our place and time. Who better to need my services than one of the ones who see to a good deal of my business? It's only natural that we would be in touch so often.

[It's a valid excuse, of course, but a sorry one if he does say so himself. He doesn't even know the man who provides the wood for his coffins so well or the woman who provides him the silks and fabrics that line the insides to make so soft a bed for his customers.]

{Vincent keeps a sharp eye on any obstructions, skillfully maneuvering to make the way clear for his guide. It's the least he can do, really.}

When you put it like that, I sound like a serial murderer. {Well, it isn't incorrect.} Isn't it funny how where you stand affects your morals? If I wasn't a Watch-Dog, I would have been thrown in jail or executed for my trouble. But since I am...was...

{He amends, sighing.} all is well. All is right.

[It's cute watching Vincent pick around their path for them, almost as if he knows how blind Undertaker really is. Maybe the man was a bit more perceptive than he gave him credit for with regards to his person. He'd done all he could to hide his poor sight, after all.]

Rank in society tends to afford one certain benefits, doesn't it? What'd be unfair to one might not be to another. Surely if I'd done what you had been forced to do as the Queen's dog, I'd have been locked away with the rest of those poor wretches. You're not wrong there. But here, you'll find those things just don't exist. Rank and file are... different.

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{ Video; UN: potentia.regere }

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