Alone in the town

He woke suddenly at the familiar crack of a gunshot. After several heartbeats had washed the fantasies of sleep away he guaged that the violence bore no connection with him and at any rate had failed to escalate. Gradually he relaxed to the point where he blamed the interruption entirely on his own mind and moved to the window to check on his next concern: time. Hyram found the sun miserly in its wakening. It took a moment longer than usual to dress as his belongings were hastily strewn about the unfamiliar space. Quietly closing his room door he fancied he felt the whole rickety building sway even with his weight and pondering whether this held some advantages in keeping sailors legs seaworthy moved out on to the 3rd storey balcony. Remembering the yells of the punters last night he expected an aftermath to match, sleeping drunks like the dead lying in pools of recently shed wine. Upon inspecting the view he was not entirely disappointed, he allowed himself a private grin.

It was too early to buy any breakfast or get anything useful done but the morning teased at him. He cast his eyes about the street once more for inspiration before making his way down to ground level via roughly held together ladders, a short uneven staircase and even what appeared to be some recycled rigging. The bar creaked as Hyram stretched awkwardly over it fishing for a bottle of plonk and then repeated the motion to deposit recompense. Standing in the doorway he took a breath and began (at a leisurely pace) to follow the gulls to the beach.

((erm- first post be gentle))

Noe was cloud watching.

Dawn had risen on the coast, and was now spreading over the roofs of the small harbor houses near the Widows Walk. So she was perched on the edge of one cobblestone curb, hair blowing about in the sea breezes that manages to whistle their way through the streets. Feeling the tenor of the wind, she let out a little note, one that vined it's way through the harsh wooosh of the gusts and trilled up and down a scale that was entirely different than the one she had been taught by the galdor tutors.

Sighing, Noe let the harmony go, saving her voice for when there were customers about.

Hyram paused again to see if the tune repeated itself. When it did not he savoured the frustration and backtracked along the alley returning to the main street. Removing his hat to feel the warmth of the sun he let out a tentative note of his own, it was a strangled thing. He frowned before making a second, more competent, attempt and listened to the complex acoustics the close-knit buildings created. Seemingly satisfied he continued his hunt for the siren along the main street.

The close buildings reverberated with the reply, low notes smoothing their way through their own echoes, layering and fading. Noe started, looking around, taking her eyes from the sky and back to earth, where the light of the butter-yellow sun shimmered blue and cream on the ocean. After decinding that the singer was not an immediate threat, she swayed a little to the tune, livening in the warmth of the sun.

Smiling, Noe once again sang, this time a more steady and less fey assortment. The wind was barely a whisper now, and her voice carried, it too bouncing off of walls and shop fronts. Adjusting her belt, she resituated herself, stretching her legs. If her mysterious accompaniment wanted to find her, he very well could, but she was comfotable just as she was.

Led by the revived melody Hyram saw the closing stages of the little game were at hand and felt more than a little foolish. His pace slowed as a messy blur focused into a dark and not unattractive woman. He realised he must have been staring longer than was strictly polite and made a stiff bow during which he was reminded of his bottle by its weight. “Good morning” he began then paused a moment, torn between escape and curiosity. “Though the quality of your voice commands a better offer, would a toast to talent be pleasing to you?”. The die had been cast inexpertly but was loose none the less and Hyram felt lighter for it.

As the man walked away from the shadows of the alley, Noe did a quick scan; could he hurt her? How fast could she get away? She kept her face instinctively passive, yet her mind was assesing the situation. However, none of it was necessary, and as he stepped closer, she stood, stretching nonchalantly with a smile.


Her expression lightened, the clouds of worry and fight-or-flight instincts dissipating into relaxed ease, and Noe bent to pick up her haversack. He offer was a godsend; she hadn't eaten a proper meal in days, and her former coin from home was running low. Tugging her wrap better into place over the corseted shirt, she made a flowery curtsy, eyes dancing with mirth and amusement.

"I wouldn't be adverse at all to a drink, shadow-man." She stepped off the street and onto the walk, hand extended in the Anaxi greeting, the handshake. "I am Noe."

“It seems a shame to give up such an evocative moniker, but it might be simpler to call me Hyram”

Hyram took the proffered hand gently and shook it once. He saw she had gathered her belongings to move so he began to lead them down to the beach, the Widows Walk was in no real state to receive customers. The stunning view was mostly lost on him as he had decided to find a place to sit as well as to make an attempt at opening the bottle with his knife, failing at both he cursed under his breath.

“What brings you to the withered rose?” he said Foolishly adding the third distraction of conversation.

Hmm, these Anaxi boys do have their charms, and they aren't at all unattractive. She took a seat next to him, and hummed a few bars from the pilgrims lullaby, closing her eyes and basking in the warmth of the sun.

"Hmm, Mr. Hyram, I come for many things. Work, and boredom, mainly though. I find that Anaxas is far more interesting than Mugroba." And the job opportunities were better for a performer. Running a hand through her hair, she smiled up at the taller man. He had this strange feeling about him, something she couldn't place, but it reminded her of her father somewhat.

“Interesting?” Hyram snorted “that’s one word for it” his thoughts suddenly went back to the manner of his waking. Testing his theory that the cork was now well punctured he poured a little wine on the sand which quickly bled away. There were no glasses, he could have used his workbag about now but it was safely in his room, at least he hoped it was. He took another long but better concealed look at Noe.

She seems healthy

He took a long swig from the bottle before handing it over, and in the action noticed he had cut the back of his hand several times.

At least I know they sharpened it properly he thought bitterly drawing out a handkerchief in preparation to stem the flow before it was too obvious. "Please excuse the lack of suitable vessels" he added Wincing.

Noe looked at the cuts on the back of Hyram's hand, and suddenly felt old addictions well up, clawing at her mind with seedy desires. No, I'm not going back to that. Instead she took the bottle and took a swig, delicately touching the drops of wine that clung to her lips to dry them. Mmm, not a great vintage but not bad.

"It is fine. And yes, it is very interesting. I never said better, just... interesting." She shrugged delicately, curling one strand of hair about her finger. She knew flirting wasn' the best idea in the world, but who gave a damn anymore. Things were hard, they were only going to get harder. She was far enough from home that any dishonor wouldn't come to her father;s ears.

"So, what is it that you do, my kind sir?" Noe was looking over her knees, head tilted inquiringly.

“Any mark I make on this world will be on a metal slab” Answered Hyram as he fumbled in his pocket for an example. The watch he produced was not his finest work but illustrated his point adequately. “Product of Forrester and Co., sadly now defunct”. He tossed the piece over in what he hoped was a playful way recalling a night about 5 years ago when from written descriptions and his imagination he rendered an image of a mighty dapao on the watch. As he waited for Noe’s appraisal he groped toward the bottle. “Has your voice found it’s self an audience? I dare say my digs could do with some proper entertainment some nights”.

Something was wrong with that sentence

“oh I’m staying at the Widows Walk, a public house” his cheeks counterfeited the wines hue rather well.

Noe caught the watch deftly out of the air, eyes lingering on Hyram for a moment before turning to the timepiece. It was of relatively good make, for an Anaxi watch; back home they were better. Then again, back home everything was better fashioned and more beautiful. Yet that was not important, it was a good watch and the man had every right to be proud of it. That was when she saw the Dapao on the back and her heart gave a little flutter. The river rulers themselves... she was astounded, shocked into silence. Suddenly it had become worth so much more.

"This is a lovely piece, Hyram." She relectantly handed it back, her fingers alighting on the engraved Dapao longer than perhaps they ought to. She sighed, and shrugged to his other question. "I'm currently looking for a job. My last one ended when the woman whose restraunt I was cleaning got her daughter married off to some rich merchant." It was sort of the truth, her daughter had been married away. However, Noe hadn't been working in a restraunt. The defunct whore house had paid her well enough to clean, though she hadn't sold herself, and she got to see how things were done here in Anxas. If she got desperate, she could always do that. Grinning at his last words, Noe tossed her hair and batted her eyelashes.

"Why, Mr. Hyram, is that a proposition in those words?" She giggled a little, making sure he knew she was joking. He looked too poor to be able to afford anything like that, and Noe was saving more than her voice for performances.

Rather than see if he could dig a deeper hole, Hyram shook his head in acknowledgement of his poor choice of words and complimented Noe’s laughter with a chuckle of his own. “It seems the tide has made a better advance than I” he noted and threw a small pebble for emphasis. The projectile described a long ark before piecing the sea with aplomb. Hyram experienced a brief daydream wherein a particularly irritated water tiger emerged to return fire, it was only now that Noe’s heartfelt endorsement of his work struck him and his ego returned. “Mugroba” he mused, “I wonder if it’s for me”. He knew he would never go but he had heard it told life was good there. Then again his sources were usually boastful spice merchants who had diversified into less legal goods. “I think when I make my fortune I will buy a ship.” He thought he was joking but something clicked in his mind.

The pebble slipped under the glossy, glass-colored surface of the sea, and Noe suddenly felt a sense of sadness settle over her, it's tendril ends catching at her middle, the sinking of the stone a match for her own feelings. She looked into the vastness of the horizon, unsure how to answer her companion. The sky and the ocean were all the gay, glowing color of morning, but there was just lackluster pallor to her thoughts.

"Mugroba is a beautiful place. It's barren of all things but the winds and the sands." Eyes searching the waters and the shimmering reflections of the sun on the waves, Noe herself picked up a small rock, running her fingers over it, memorizing it's flawed beauty. She bit back anything what was welling up inside, and threw the pebble angrily into the ocean, the splash it caused making her feel slightly less tense. "If I could just sail away, I would." She rested her chin on her knees. "I hate being tied to the ground. I just want to fly away."

With that, she stood, and throwing off her boots, hiked up her trousers and walked into the surf, the rocks jabbing into her feet and the water stingingly cold. She waded far enough that the crest of each wave tickled the inside of her knee, and she could feel the splash on her pants. I need to feel alive for once in this godforsaken place.

Hyram was about to offer the services of his, as yet fictional craft before the abrupt cold seriousness of the girl cut him short. He thrust out his right to retrieve a ball of sand, which he slowly sifted though. As the grains fled, his mind forced away the ocean leaving a naked bay twisting and writhing under cooked air. The two stones continued to tumble downward occasionally striking at one another with cat like playfulness. Two dark figures stood across the expanse at the very edge of perception, eye contact managed to arrest even across that distance before the couple moved on in measured steps, heads bowed to the strain of the heat. Noe chased the stones into Hyram’s Mugroba as the last of the sand fell away breaking the spell. He realised that the sun retained the intensity conferred by his imagination and moved to take an awkward position at the edge of the water.

She wanted to dive into the water and forget about everything... Numbness was the alternative to her addictions, and right now withdrawl was a hellish companion. Her fingers grazed old scars, fading things that still held the moment of their conception in vivid clarity of sensation. It would be so nice to dive in and deny that she wanted it again.

Yet, the image of Hyram standing behind her was locked into her minds eye. So, with a sigh and roll of her shoulders, Noe made the much longer walk back up to shore. The rocks felt twice, three times as sharp this time around, though how much was pain and how much was shame remained a mystery. Smiling sheepishly, she stood in front of Hyram, biting her lower lip.

"So... um. That was a bit of a silly thing to do on my part." Noe shifted her weight from one foot to the other, trying to go back to the moment before her mood had swung to the darker side of her. The water lapped at her ankles, sending cold shivers up her skin. "I'm a bit of a moony sometimes." And thats an understatement, Mr. Hyram.

Hyram’s admittedly out of shape social senses deemed it inappropriate to reach out and comfort the girl before him. He was surprised the thought occurred to him at all. They had been talking barely fifteen minutes but it had become apparent something sour was haunting the lass.

“Nonsense, spontaneity is a gift of character.”

The words were as hollow as the space he hoped they would fill. Hyram only managed to break the following silence when prompted by the searing cold of the water entering his shoes.

“Is everything, well with you?”

He knew it was rash but he had to say something, and she seemed genuine enough. However he didn’t know what he would do if she asked for any kind of real help.

"I'm fine. Just... sometimes off. You know how it goes, one minute the sun is shining, the next it's pouring. I'm more fickle than the weather!" Oh Hulali why did I act like that? I am such the fluff. Stepping onto the shore, she planted herself on the rocks and began pulling on her shoes, trying to cover her still ringing embarassment. Fussing with her hair, she tried to capute the nonchalance of earlier... and failed.

"I don't know. Perhaps I am homesick." She sighed and looked up at Hyram, sea-colored eyes wide with some emotion even she couldn't name. "I guess life's just harder here than I thought it would be."

And everything had been going so well, it was time to kill these blues.

“Well if it makes you feel any better I see little in the way of clouding today” though sun and sand are probably the offending reminders. clock! am I actually about to discuss the weather?

The water was at his heels.

“And Anaxas has its good points, on a day like this the sun is still free and a fried hingle breakfast is not much more”

Hyram scuttled up the shore and made a feeble effort to shake his feet dry, his speech was uninterrupted.

“The town will be awake and hungry by now, much like us both I suspect. Lets head back, find some breakfast and spice it up Mugrobi style”

Hyram paused in his hopping-one-legged-shoe-drying caper to flash his most winning smile as punctuation for the masterstroke plan.

Noe hadn't had a good meal in longer than she liked to remember. Even if it was only fried hingle, she was starved. Leading forward, she attached herself to Hayram's arm and smiled into his eyes, once again sparkly and adorable. The only reminder of her dark mood was a few lines of seawater on her pants and a flickering shadow in her smile.

"Breakfast you say, why, an occasion I wouldn't miss for the world!" His adorable scurry out of the water had lightened her mood, and it wasn't like Hyram was unpleasant. In fact, she rather liked his company... enough that she leaned into him, just to have that contact. "Well, lead away, my gallant companion." I like Mr. Hyram. He is very sweet.

Encouraged by the rapidly lightening mood Hyram continued to weave a caricature of himself. This was accomplished with a few more delicately timed hops and a grand farewell directed toward any seagull that would take note.

As Noe pressed close Hyram congratulated himself on his generosity, luck and the reward they had earned. Soon though he was forced to recognise discomfort with the unfamiliar contact, he tried to wish away the tenseness, but only exacerbated matters. In this way the duo marched on to the rhythm of softly squelching shoes. Distracted, Hyram headed toward his destination of habit and current residence: The Widows Walk.

"Mm, the Widows Walk, never eaten here." Noe used approaching the building as an excuse to step away from Hyram; she felt that he wasn't entirely comfortable with her nearness. Damned stupid girl, you're scaring off the first nice person you've met since docking. Slow down. Not everyone here is as open as you are.

Thoroughly chastised, she smiled sweetly at Hyram, hoping he at least felt a little less nervous now that she's pulled away.

"So, do you come here often?" It was lame, it was stupid, but it was all she could think of to say. Normally she let her emotions talk for her, but she liked him too much to let him get the wrong idea about her.

Hyram shook his head, partly with the sudden realisation they had arrived and partly as a personal reminder to remain calm. Halting Noe with a gesture he stalked forward to the door and, right to left, took in every detail. “I think it will be quite adequate” he reported, content that the establishment had recovered from its earlier state and appeared ready for another day of healthy commerce. He then moved on to her question “Well depends what you would call often, I’ve been sleeping here for the best part of the past 2 weeks.”. He waited for some of the venom to drain away before continuing “I have been dealing with matters of inheritance in the area” Not a topic that will cheer I’m afraid.

Noe quieted, and looking at Hyram with big sad eyes, touched his hand briefly.

"I'm sorry you lost someone." She knew how hard it was... her mother had died only a few years ago. It still rubbed her raw. And to think if she knew I was... well. Not a pleasant thought. Noe's mourning could still be seen in her scars, the deepest of which were tribute to her love for her mother... and the pain of her loss.

The sympathy warmed Hyram through and his face betrayed it. He murmured a sound that could have meant thank you and hurried inside as if to outpace the next bout of melancholy. He busied himself with ordering leaving Noe to settle on a table.

What the meal lacked in imagination was made up for with excellent timing and filling nature. Rich smells from the kitchen had stirred both their appetites to new heights, when the food was served they dealt with it in short order. The snatches of conversation that made it though the feasting veered away from personal history for the most part; it was too soon to risk uncovering more wounds. Hyram sheepishly drew out a handkerchief to remove the results of his hasty consumption, as he did so he broached a question. “If I were to ask you, as a friend, to spread word of my business I suppose I would have to supply you with an example.” He placed the dapao watch on the table flattering himself with the anticipation of Noe’s reaction. “For credibility’s sake you understand.”