Out of Time (Ashen and Krysis)(M)

[Krysis]

"Morning, sure. Time to sleep, for a night working fellow like me. Midday for you is akin to midnight for me." Fox pointed out with good humor. He moved like he would open the door for Lito, but then the other man got it himself and Tristan stood back to watch. He gave a little quiet direction, letting his new friend know where the junk on the floor was so he wouldn't stumble over it. Once Lito had found his way to the trunk of his desires, Fox lost interest in helping him and turned to help himself instead.

"Hey, that's useful." The sleight-of-hand expert picked up a larger knife to test the balance, and then the edge with the ball of his thumb to make sure it was already sharp. Other tools would soon be tucked into pockets and seams of his jacket, as Fox was pretty sure that the smith would have no further use for them. Work half done, and the forge fire left to burn to ashes proclaimed the absence of a man to work them only a little less bluntly than a corpse or a pile of bones or clothes.

"Yeah, that's a pretty blade. Very shiny." Fox tried not to laugh at how happy Lito seemed with his 'prize'. "Never been too fond of a long blade myself. Knives are easier to hide and are less likely to get a man in trouble than gu-- Er. Swords. How is the hilt? Is it comfortable for you? Would you like me to wrap it with leather, for some padding?"

The slap of leather on a counter probably got Lito turned around in the right direction as Fox sorted through some belts and straps that might include something to carry the sword with. "Strange that the smith put it away without a protective covering. I guess this fellow was a bit careless, judging from the state of the place. It's almost as dusty as your house, my friend."

[Ashen]

A night worker... Lito didn't understand that. He couldn't think of many jobs that were active during the night, perhaps besides guards of sorts, or merchants who had to be across the globe in the least amount of time. Fox struck him as neither of those. He shrugged his shoulders, and soon lost interest in the question. Whatever sleep schedule Fox had had in his own time, it would be destroyed if the two of them would have to work together.

"The hilt is fair," Lito answered, running his fingers all over the non-threatening side of the sword. He was all too excited about this opportunity. "Knives are too... lackluster," he went on. "Swords are things of warriors. They are tools used for bloodshed, or games of very high stature. The king probably has several just for display. But common folk, we do not get the opportunity to use these, and me especially. No one would dare trust a blind man with a sword. You do not see? This is... monumental. It is the acceptance of something no one thought I could carry, like an acceptance of some kind of calling, however, no one is... Ah..." Lito stopped himself, realizing Fox probably couldn't care less. Poetry's biggest fan, he was just being too metaphorical with this new toy. So, after taking the sheath, Lito wrapped the sword around his waist and he started for the door again.

"Smith was not careless," he said, but at his last syllable he tripped over a piece of metal on the floor. The man regained his balance, felt at his waist, and stood straighter. "Perhaps he was not as meticulous as some. Smith was a good man, a good worker. The works in that trunk are projects he has discarded; I think it would be a waste to wrap them properly. He sells sheaths and the like to those who shop here, which isn't many of us, as far as I am aware. Never mind. There is no reason to talk about a man who has disappeared. Perhaps, if he ever comes back, if anyone ever comes back, you should meet him. For now... Shall we away?"

He could hear the new metals Fox had picked up. He couldn't imagine why the strange man was looting so many, but then, what did the situation look like through his eyes? A blind man was taking up a dangerous weapon, and he was the only one around for him to use it on? He wouldn't question it. Lito left the blacksmith's shop and started out again in the direction he'd originally gone. He took to using his sword as a sword of walking stick, barely touching its blade to the ground so as not to damage it. "I know how to wield," he told Fox, whom he assumed was following again. "When I was a child, a friend of mine used to play with me. We would play all sorts of games, but in one I particularly enjoyed, I was a prince sent to slay a mighty foe. My weapon of choice, of course, was a sword, and so we taught each other how to wield one. I've grown skilled at sensing footsteps and striking when the time is right. My blindness helps in that sense; I may not be able to see my foe, but I am not distracted from the sound of his breath." He drew his blade up again and held it in front of him. "Never you mind. We will find nothing eventful here in England anyway. It's a pity, really. Perhaps in Winchester I shall have to cut someone down. I can hardly wait." Sarcasm tainted his words. He wasn't anticipating finding anything exciting where they were going, save for perhaps another human. Still, the boy could dream.

After a minute, Lito spoke again. "Tell me, are you not afraid? I cannot imagine how I would react in your place."

[Krysis]

It was almost cruel, to slip away from a blind man, but Fox wanted to check a hunch. The lack of living souls in the village had him deeply concerned, and only one thing could give him a moment of peace. Too many stories of plagues were swirling in his head, not to mention other deadly ailments, such as poisonous gases (perhaps something neutralized by stone walls). Things that could rear up later and bite them on their asses, if the pair were incautious.

So, while Lito waxed poetic about how wonderful it was for him to wield a sword, Tristan edged away, just far enough to peer into what he assumed would have been the smith's bedroom. The lack of a body in-- was that what people slept in? Nasty. Well. No corpse, and that was reassuring.

Finally, Tristan replied, "Well then, I promise, if we encounter someone that needs to be cut down, you are welcome to do the honors, and I will stay well out of your way. Until then, let's get you out of this shop. Either your smith liked to decorate with doorstops, or someone scattered scrap from a container I just can't spot in the clutter. If the lumps of metal were jumping around and making sound, I'm sure they wouldn't inconvenience you, but as it is, the road is safer for your toes."

The future-born man stuck his hands in his pockets and stared up at the sky once he and Lito were outside again, following the blind man by staying six feet to his right. Perhaps he wasn't out of lunging distance, but at least he wouldn't be stabbed by accident if his friend should stumble that way.

"Afraid? I suppose I am. It all seems too unreal though. Like being afraid of a dream. You can be afraid in a dream, of course, and some people have nightmares so horrible that they fear to sleep, but dreams can't actually harm your body. That's what I am feeling. Like something truly horrible is just waiting to gobble me up, and then I'll wake up and go about my life."

Then he gave a bark of bitter laughter and grinned at Lito, "What about you? This is your home, and everyone you know is gone. Isn't that frightening? If our positions were reversed, I would be running through the streets, desperate to find-- Um. Someone I knew."

[Ashen]

Lito's sword was stilled as Fox spoke. When he finished, the younger man cocked his head to the side. "You are awfully poetic, nay?" he said, mulling over his words. "I am not sure I agree with you. Nightmares are just as deadly as dreams, are they not? How many artists have awoken from such a spell, only to find their inspiration, their motivation completely vanished? My own nightmare, the wretched thing, I have not been well since.... Well." He stopped talking, and after only one failed attempt, sheathed his swords. "Right. Never you mind that. I know not of what your dreams or nightmares contain, Fox, but I am quite real. Whether that is fortunate or not, I suppose, is yet to be seen."

He considered the question himself. He had continued walking by now, using his intuition rather than a walking stick to navigate the familiar road. "I suppose it would be frightening to an average man. I am not too concerned, not yet. I revel in this silence. The people of town didn't like me much. Everyone who ever had is dead to me, even before your arrival. Everyone else saw me as a nuisance, was all. Now, there is no one to stare. I can tell when people stare, you know. That may seem odd to you, but I sense it. Now, I get no discomforts from people, because there is no one around." His fingers danced over his chin for a few moments. "This will be problematic in the future, though," he thought aloud. "I am a man of many talents. I have taught myself a great many things. And yet, there are many things I do not know how to do. I know how to prepare food, but not how to gather it. Though I could teach myself metalworking, I know not that I have the focus to make any tools without terribly hurting myself. When I do get hurt--how will I tend to my own wounds? I know some medicines, of course, but unless I taste them, how am I to know the different herbs? I cannot go around tasting every plant. Many are poisonous; I would get myself killed."

It was something he hadn't considered until then. If the population's disappearing act lasted for an extended period of time, Lito had to rely on this man for all that he did not know how to do. He doubted the future would have any of the same medicines and tools as his own time. What were they to do? Suddenly, he hoped they did find someone--anyone--in Winchester. As much as he fancied the idea, he knew, logically, he could not survive alone.

Lito cleared his throat. "Worrying leads to little," he admitted with a shrug. "We will worry when things get dire. Perhaps I am like you. I am expecting everyone to just... jump out from behind a building, or something, and shout at me. It must be a joke; an entire town disappearing? It sounds right out of a fantasy tale. We will be well for now. I know not the skills you have, but I know you have quite an array, what with what you carry on your person and what you have already spoken of. Our combined skills will tide us. For now..." He picked up the pace, going his usual speed when he went on his journeys. "Do tell me if you've problems keeping up."