Alex is on the balcony; clad only in the loose black pants he puts on during his meditation. He has erected a shield around the balcony to stay dry as the rain continues to fall outside. The raindrops hit the transparent forcefield nonstop, only to dissolve into a sparkling display akin to silent, white fireworks, distorting the view of city night into something whimsical in the backdrop.The Alpha is moving slowly, unhurriedly as he always does when he is practicing his control... his powers. His arms and legs move in delicate, graceful twists, turns and swirls as he flows through the familiar routines.He has been at it for a while, Win can tell by the way the sweat runs down the expanse of his tanned back in rivulets. They glisten, caught in the candlelight, drawing attention to the alluring ripples of his well-muscled torso.Win has to wrench his distracted mind back to the present to focus on greeting his husband and apologizing properly."Alex..." the call comes out softly, almo

Win glances around, taking his first-ever look at the base as the door shut behind them.He's surprised by how normal everything looks. Well, the entire area exudes an extremely luxurious and wealthy aura, of course, but it is all very un-welcome-like, in Win's somewhat frazzled opinion. Whatever he's been expecting, this lavishly appointed, massive lounge area that seems to belong in a parlor of some ancient mansion, is definitely not it.Whenever the subject of the hardly-ever-discussed topic of main base came up, Win used to imagine a large, stone structure built in the shape of a complicated maze. It would always be dimly lit with fires blazing in the braziers hanging on the stone walls along the long, twisting corridors. They would be dotted with big, imposing wooden and metal doors at unpredictable intervals, always closed and warded with hissing men, and invisible deathly scent in others. There would be all kinds of gun's, machine's and otherwise, lurking in these endless dark

Win drops his gaze, letting the flickering flames on the seal go blurry in his vision. Despite the almost melting temperatures in the chamber, he feels cold inside, as if his own life force is fading along with his husbands'. The manifestation of the final dying throes is watching above them, hovering like a carrion bird, eager to witness the birth of the new realm - the one that is being born out of the scattered, buried energies of its own recent annihilation.He blinks at the way the flames on the stone floor lick at his knees, feeling detached, almost numb. A tiny part of his scattering mind wonders why he hasn't been set ablaze by the fire surrounding him. He's not completely aware of what he's doing when he slowly gets back to his feet again. Win watches from the center of the floor, his expression a blend of exhaustion, sorrow and relief. He thinks Win is leaving, having finally seen his point, and is relieved.The time slows and stretches. They are both caught in a monumental