Chapter Text
Clockwork's first meeting with their future apprentice and counterpart was, unbelievably, pure happenstance.
They had been immersed in monitoring countless timestreams outside their own, at the behest of the Observants; as such, being alerted to a presence at the entrance of Long Now took them by genuine surprise.
With a wave of their staff, they dispelled the shifting tapestries of times that had-could-would've been and was brought back to the Now. Another wave, and one of many mirrors rippled and changed to reflect the view from the entrance of their Lair.
There, floating anxiously, was a young ghost, seemingly not long Dead by the way his chest rapidly rose and fell with unneeded breaths. His thin frame, evident even beneath well-loved clothes, held tense as the boy's head jerked back and forth, green eyes wide and white hair whipping against his face.
What fascinated Clockwork was not the child's near-impossible feat of stumbling upon their Lair (though that was remarkable on its own); no, it was the kaleidoscope of futures that flowed beyond him, events branching and layering in unimaginable ways to form a vast, glittering mosaic.
It was that interest that prompted the warden of Time to invite the young ghost to stay with them, under the pretext of providing him shelter.