Requiem for the Soul

[Anonymous]

It was one thing to be herded into a stranger’s abode and offered to shower without any visible strings attached (he still thought she was hiding something), but to stand in the open, without so much as a towel to clothe himself, and a rather small one at that, was a much different story.  He didn’t know such feelings as embarrassment or shame as he saw Della’s face go an interesting shade of scarlet as she fumbled for words.  Still, that didn’t stop him from gripping the edge of the towel awkwardly and reaffirming what coverage he had.  Void only nodded as she rushed off toward the upper floor, searching for what he hoped indeed would be clothes.

He remained there for a few more moments until she appeared with a set of clothes that were surely not his own.  The size of what looked to be nightclothes seemed that while they would be loose enough for comfortable movement, they would only reach to the top of his ankles.  Sometimes it was a bitch to be so tall, but he really had no other choice but to make use of them.

Yet as the wind thrashed against the side of the manor, a look of horror nearly befell Della’s face, where once a trying smile grew.  Void gulped in response to the lashing of the trees outside; it seemed as ever nature would continue to be wrathful against man.  “The storm outside’s brewing,” he said softly, gently taking the clothes with a free hand and grasping them as if they were precious artifacts.  His eyes darted toward the walls around him, taking in the fact that this building must have withstood storms in the past and there was a faint sense of reassurance that it should continue to do so through this one.  For one in tune with the atmosphere of a natural world, Void felt the tumult outside grow and cease for a few moments.

It was only then did he realize, however, just how long he’d been standing here, half-naked, when he should be changing into the clothing she offered him.  Jumping a little and shaking his head at this revelation, he fumbled for words as he tossed his gaze to the floor.  “I-I’m…s-sorry.  I’ll, uh…um, change now…  Th-Thank you.”  He nodded quickly and walked back into the bathroom, sealing the door behind him.

Inside, he prepared to equip the proffered attire, finding after slipping on the trousers and shirt that his assumptions were correct: The clothes were too small on him.  The fit itself was loose as he expected but the length only disturbed him a little.  To compensate for such misfortune he proceeded to roll up the leggings to his knees to give the appearance of shorts.  After doing so, he buttoned up the shirt and too rolled up the sleeves to compensate the shortness.  “Well, at least, if it’s to look funny…it’s gonna look funny with my authorization,” he whispered as he wiped the mirror down a bit with the towel.  It was only then that he exited the bathroom, ready to face any humiliation that awaited him in the hallway.

But he saw only the tiny puffball he’d noticed eying him earlier.  Stepping cautiously around it, the cat stepped from its seated position and began following Void as he strode down the stairs.  When he reached the landing, he was further surprised to be countered by another cat, this time silver and much larger than the orange one.  Panic was ready to set into his veins.  He was here for no more than perhaps an hour and already the native residents were ready to gang up on him!

[Anonymous]

Left stunned and still mildly embarrassed, Della blinked rapidly after Void shut himself in the bathroom once more. She was often curious why people closed themselves behind doors to undress, but after her blatant ogling earlier, she didn't blame him. She stood swaying on the spot, disoriented and mentally struggling for some sort of rational grasp on this whole situation. When none came, she shrugged a shoulder, signifying to whatever powers that be that she was willing to just ride this one out, and then wandered downstairs and into a small washroom off to the side of the kitchen.

A loud clap echoed through the house as the first sign of thunder reared it's ugly head. Both cats were startled, as was Della. Moments later, another roar of thunder sounded,  causing the larger cat to dart right under her feet. She stumbled, falling to the floor and tossing a basket full of laundry straight in to the air.
“---GAH! Quicksilver you skiddish little bastard! If it weren't raining like hell just broke loose out there, I'd... oh!” she was once again startled as Void entered the kitchen. Della removed a stray undergarment from atop her head and tossed it back in the basket from her seated position. She leaned slightly out the doorway to find Void and Quicksilver in the middle of what looked like a staring contest. The cat perked it's ears and it's hair stood on end.  Void appeared challenged.

“He'll win, you know.” She said, still planted firmly on the cold floor and covered in laundry. Why bother trying not to look stupid? It was bound to happen no matter what. Might as well have left the panties on her head, really. "Kind of a cheeky little thing, that one."

[Anonymous]

The phrase was hanging on the edge of his tongue, he could practically feel the letters of each word on his taste buds.  What he really wanted to say but couldn’t find the means was, “What did I do to deserve this?”  Seriously, a staring contest with a cute, fluffy cat was not Void’s idea of fun; not that he really knew what fun was, but if he did, this definitely wouldn’t be it.  Instead silence overcame the time-shifter for all he could do was endure the discomforting gaze the big yellow eyes awarded him.  So this was what it was like to undergo what humans called a ‘stalemate’.

After noting that Della was in the vicinity and hearing her advice, he muttered in agreement, “I don’t doubt it.”  He blinked stupidly for a moment as if upon a revelation.  “But does he really have to be so…obvious about it?”

That’s it!  Void blinked once more and jumped as the silver cat that he had heard her refer to as Quicksilver hissed and ran off with his tail pompously in the air.  Damn cats.  As Void reclaimed his breath, he knew he was right never to trust animals and doubly more that he never trusted humans.  Well, enough of that, there were more important things to attend to than be bothered by an egotistical feline.

He saw that she was on the floor for the first time and gave her only a bewildered gaze.  How’d she get there?  “What are you doing on the floor, Della?” he asked without a hint of amusement growing on his gray face.  Seriously, how would one as confused and outlandish as he laugh at something that was so obviously funny.  He just didn’t get things like that.

[Anonymous]

A thin eyebrow lifted at Void's inane question, and Della shifted her weight on to her knees. "Uhm... yeah..."  She gave him a rather quizzical look. What was wrong with him? There was no emotion in his eyes, no feeling whatsoever. Her eyes narrowed and she stared at him for a moment, puzzled. It was as though under that sallow skin he was almost... machine.

A sudden thick and sickly fear oozed over her as the wind blew hard against the old house. Had her intuition mislead her? Technology had an intoxicating way of masquerading it's self as something harmless and helpfull... perhaps she should have held on to that stick...

A trembling hand began returning the pile of disheveled clothing to the large basket it belonged in, and Della's mind raced wildly. Her heart pounded against her chest as anxiety set in around her, blurring her vision and making her squeeze her eyes shut in an attempt to close it all out. This was just an unfortunte chain of events, this was.
Her thoughts strayed to her father; he would know exactly how to handle a situation such as this, where as Della falt as though she was failing miserably.

Laundry room finally tidy, she rose to her feet and mustered up her courage, looking Void right in the eye and making her best attempt at being emotionless and cold, to match his game and hopefully win some brownie points. What was there to do really, other than wait it out?
"Don't they have cats where you come from?" His behavior was unlike that of any Sevenwinds resident, nor many of the travellers she had met before. "Quicksilver's just the man of the house is all, he doesn't mean any harm..." Or did he? Was his distaste for their guest an indication of Void's intetions here?

"Are you hungry?" She asked, bluntly, not knowing what else to do.  "I don't suppose you happen to eat wood nymphs, by chance." The saracsm in her voice was muddled and strange.
"...what are you really doing here, anyway?"

[Anonymous]

To compare Void to a machine was like trying to transform glass into gold, one could never be the other.  Furthermore, the time-shifter was just as ignorant to the new forms of technology that had arose as Della was (which was why he were here in the first place, to learn the ways of this new world).  Yet she was correct in at least a few aspects of her evaluation.  Like a machine, Void couldn’t comprehend emotions or the use of them; specifically feelings like mercy, joy, or love.  For all his years of existence, he’d seen the destruction of many a world and learned that these happenings were brought about by passionate feelings like hate, anger, or pride.  He knew that no being of any species could be trusted, the logic of his mind adhering to this like a frogfly to a muck pond.  Everyone was either out for greed or revenge and just why such emotions of hope existed were beyond him.

Standing here in the room with Della was enough caused to make his visage even more bollixed.  He noticed her face change, or at least the gleam in her eyes dim, and suddenly the pounding of a heart not his own began to echo in his ears.  He would have asked if she was alright had not a violent squall berated the side of the house the moment the thought struck his mind.  Oh!  The storm must have startled her.

The questions that followed her sudden change of façade were simple enough but held a tiny hint of suspicion behind them.  He grinned shyly, as if he was completely unaware of what she was going to (which he almost was).  “Uh…no,” he answered, looking to the floor before peering up at her with sparkling magentas.  “Where….” He began again slowly, considering his words carefully, “I’m from…we have…savage creatures.  Your, uh, cat just has an interesting way of greeting guests is all.”  He added an innocent shrug and moved to the window, keeping his eyes on the rain falling outside so that he wouldn’t have to stare Della in the eyes.

Almost as if he was lost in the fascinating sights around him, he replied rather absentmindedly, “Yes.  I’ve often enjoyed the native cuisine in my travels.  Er, well…when I traveled.  Now I’m rather stagnant.  As to my purpose…”  He turned back to Della and gave her a gaze as if he could see right through her.

An uncomfortable pause ensued as he refused to finish his statement.  After a short while of looking at her, he quirked his eyebrows together and inquired quite honestly, “Do you always have a habit of asking a question more than once?”

[Anonymous]

Della's hands rested on her hips and she shot Void a daring look.
"Generally."

Was he insane? Of course his intentions were to be questioned. He was a stranger in a strange land! There was a chance that she was wrong, but she was pretty sure that was fair reasoning for suspicion in any society, since like, the dawn of time. She looked him up and down, and considered for a moment being snotty and repeating her question about his appetite just to be irksome, but then decided against it.

Her long hair was mussed and tangled from the wind, and hung about her shoulders in stringy locks, and her eyes were nestled in large dark circles; the evidence of a long day. She crossed her arms in front of her  and blew some stray hairs out of her eyes, finding herself somewhat impatient with Void's lack of explanation. Why come along with her, if he didn't think he could gain something from her? Food and shelter could have been fairly easily obtained on his own, and Della was growing more and more curious what he wanted with her.  Granted, now he had to hang around until dawn if he wanted his clothes back.

“Well...” she started, unsure of what to say, “...there's a guest room on the second floor, there's a leak in the corner, but it's warm. Your clothes should be good as new by morning.” She paused, scratching her forehead. “I'm uh, going to go up there and sit by the fire. Feel free to join, I guess?”

Della's room was also on the second floor. It was small and cramped, but it had been her childhood bedroom, and it had a bay window that she loved. Several times over the last few years she had considered moving upstairs into the luxurious master bedroom, but never found the strength within herself to clean out her parents' things. Thus the old pajamas. At least someone was benefiting from it!

She edged gently toward the stair, which Void of course was blocking full on.  
“uh... I need to...” yeah. go.. that way.  She pointed, indicating the direction she had mentioned she was going to be traveling. “Unless of course... you're hungry? In which case... we can stay. In... the kitchen?”

[Anonymous]

He found it suddenly unusual how quickly he became semi-accustomed to her presence.  She still bothered him and made his skin feel pricklish but that could be helped with some distance a few sentences of friendly conversation.  He didn’t want to make her feel as if he was a waste of time (though she certainly was wasting his when he had important time-travelers to look for).  For wasn’t it her that invited him to stay over?

She said something that he didn’t hear too well as he kept his attention on the lightning flash in the sky and a subsequent thunder roll that shook the house.  Wow, he hadn’t seen a storm like this in ages!  Even the horrendous sandstorms on the desert planet of Cycer were like gentle ocean waves in comparison to this tsunami.  But it was a refreshing experience that he wouldn’t want to pass up at all.

But as she perdure in her words, he turned about, giving her his full attention.  Hungry, eh?  Since she mentioned it more than once, like her question about his origins and purpose, he decided to give in this once to her ‘begging’.  “Alright,” he nodded slightly, giving a soft genuine grin as a show of trust.  “I’ll try what you’ve to eat.  To be honest I like trying new foods.  I just…uh, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a nymph before.  I always thought they were just mythological creatures.”  He looked across to her horns and squinted his eyes in curiosity.  “But I never knew nymphs had horns?”

[Anonymous]

Had the idea that she was "begging" in any sense of the word been expressed out loud, it would have been followed by an abrupt scowl.

Della stole a glance at herself in the high window above the old, wooden kitchen table, taking in the large dark circles under her eyes and the large dark horns that circled her pointed ears. She looked exhausted. More than exhausted. dead, even. For a breif moment she mourned the apparent loss of her good looks, and then wondered why it even mattered in the first place.

"Nymphs don't have horns, " she stated simply, "but I'm fairly sure we exist." Her expression was sour, her patience growing scarce. "I am however not on the menu, if that's alright with you." Her eyes narrowed as she assesed him for the hundredth time, searching blindly for some thread of reason.

"A Satyr's blood runs through my father's veins." She continued carefully while stooping in the pantry to fidget with the icebox. Moments later she emerged, a large glass jar in hand, and began to build yet another small fire under  a black kettle in the kicthen hearth. "Fetch me that ladle there, will you?" she demanded, uncerimoniously dumping the thick and sweet smelling contents of the jar into the kettle, and perched herself on her cooking stool being careful not to let her skirts fall too close to the flames. She considered for a moment adding another jar to the pot, but decided against it since her own appetite had once again subsided.

[Anonymous]

Confusion seemed to be the sentience of the day for all of her reactions ended with a misinterpretation on his part.  He couldn’t quite understand why she kept stating that she didn’t want to be eaten.  He had no intention of eating her!  What did she think he was, some kind of maniac?  Huh, it seemed he didn’t even have to tell her that he was looking for a time machine for her to think he belonged in the nearest halfway house.  Things were not looking good.

Void smashed his eyebrows together innocently as he watched her head disappear into a cabinet where a bunch of dry goods resided.  She said that her father was a Satyr.  “Oh,” he said simply, trying to smile good-humoredly. “That makes sense now.  So, your mother is a nymph and you father is a satyr.  I understand.  Thank you for clarifying that.”

He watched her as she set down the items she had, his magenta eyes glittering with curiosity. It was rather interesting how beings gathered different ingredients, added them together, and consumed them for sustenance.  In all honesty, Void didn’t need to eat, but he took some sense of pleasure in emulating mortals in their toil of survival.  There was a certain charm in watching the survival of different creatures and when age set in, it might be said that he was almost jealous of them.  Yet it remained a fact that he wouldn’t know exactly why they fought to survive; purpose was often lost to him.

Suddenly, his head jerked out of his deep trance as he realized that Della had ordered him to do something.  “This?”  Reaching out, he grabbed the indicated item and handed it to her.  Looking at the stuff she poured into the kettle, he sniffed and narrowed his eyes.  “What is that stuff?  It smells…pleasant.”

[Anonymous]

Despite her growing weariness, Della found herself laughing out loud.
"Never seen a stew before, have you?" She quirked an eyebrow at him, traces of her broad grin still visible on her narrow face.  That thought was hard to believe, and she didn't really. The idea of anyone not recognizing a stew was in general rather absurd.  Yet, when her eyes rose to meet his there was a blind innocence in his expression. "...really? Never?" she inquired, amused.

A thunderous roar grumbled through the house, making Della shudder as she reached out to grasp the ladle, (though it could be noted that she tried to hide her discomfort), and raindrops could be heard taking wild suicide dives onto the rooftops. She appeared thoughtful as she gingerly stirred at their supper, gently nibbling on her bottom lip. A notably good cook though she was, she was hardly interested in being impressive at the moment.  Drowsiness washed over her again, more sudden and brief this time. Her eyes drooped momentarily and her cold and uncaring facade faltered.

"You know... Void, was it?" It looked at though fluid speech required much more strength than was available at the moment, and she slowly batted her dark lashes out of sleepiness. "I don't believe I've ever met anyone quite like you. I'm not sure I understand what you're doing here."

The words didn't make any sense as they came spilling out, but what did it matter if he thought her strange at this point? She continued to slowly stir the contents of the kettle in a clockwise motion, the scent of barley and bay leaves wafting through the air.

[Anonymous]

The smell was rather wonderful and gentle to his olfactory senses.  And after centuries of hanging around in dead space, the warmth and smells of the kitchen were a welcomed change of surroundings.  It sure as hell beat the exhilarating experience of rocketing through the atmosphere too, shooting down through the gases and clouds of inconsumable poisonous air.

When Della shot an awe-filled look at him, all Void could do was shake his head.  He'd never actually had a 'stew' before.  Most things he'd ever eaten consisted of raw vegetation and scarce articles of meat.  Besides, it wasn't that he had to eat anyway.  But he would indulge in her cooking if that's what she really wanted him to do.  What harm could there be to him in trying out this interesting and so wonderfully smelling 'stew' that she brewed in that ancient cauldron?

Her actions were momentarily fluid as she stir the liquid inside the pot.  Yet when the manor's walls were once again punished in the wrath of the storm, he noticed her countenance had changed significantly from the calm nymph that he'd seen only a second before the crash to a shaking victim attempting to hide her fear.  Taking a glance out the window, Void wondered how someone could fear something that was nothing more than wind and water.  Sure, there was a certain admirable violence in it, but it was nothing that he was afraid of.  He was learning more and more about the ways of Earth beings already!  Progress so far was going great.

He turned his attention back to her when she spoke, bringing up the subject of what he wanted to do with this time on this planet.  He looked at her curiously, narrowing his magenta eyes and then transferred his gaze toward the window again, as if unable to look at her.  The aroma of the stew calmed his nerves and made him feel at ease with Della's presence.  Could he tell her?  Would she lack the sense to call him crazy?  Perhaps.  But that all remained to be seen.  "Do you really want to know?  Promise me, you'll just listen first."

Pausing, Void took a moment to prepare the news.  "I'm--er."  Oh, just blurt it out, will ya?  "I'm looking for something.  Something I found out might be here, on Earth."  There, was that so hard?  It was easy!  Vague, but easy!

[Anonymous]

A deep breath swept it's way through Della's lungs and calmed her as she exhaled. Silly storm, making her all uncomfortable... it wasn't so much that she was frightened, exactly...
Her stew began to bubble finally, signaling to her that the heating process was finished and the cooling process was about to begin. She removed the kettle form the fire and placed it on the counter, atop a thickly folded piece of burlap, and in it's absence the fire cast a warm glow throughout the small kitchen, illuminating the tiny insignificant things that made it cozy.
Made it home.
The subtle change in light relaxed the nymph considerably, and in some way seemed to warm not only the room, but Della herself. She smiled faintly at Void as he searched for a response to her casual statement, and his eyes hinted at some inner turmoil she could not decipher. She decided to politely turn her head to save him from any implied scrutiny, and instead busied herself with the careful addition of some powdered cayenne pepper to the concoction on the counter top.

“Do you really want to know?” he asked, a slight trace of anxiety in his cool and steady voice. Della had to fight to contain her excitement at the thought of gaining further information. As though that in it's self weren't thrilling enough, the way he worded himself and the tone he used suggested he was speaking to her in confidence. As though she were trusted.  It was the first time since those long hours ago when they first met in the wood that the mechanical nature of this man melted away, and for one fleeting instant she could sense the humanity in him. For whatever inexplainable reason, her heart nearly leaped right out of her chest, and her eyes carefully met his, displaying an emotion somewhat similar to fondness.  

“Promise me, you'll just listen first.”

She nodded, silently.

His confession wasn't exactly what she had expected, but something to go from regardless.

“So... you're on a rescue mission, of sorts?” She tried to clarify, straining to understand what he was trying to convey in so few words.

That was valiant!  Impressive even. For the first time, she felt like she might know this stranger just a little better than before. The thought was intriguing, and even a teensy bit comforting.  She tried not to get excited and/or jump to any conclusions. Her father's voice rang in her ears.
Guard your trust, child. It is a weakness and an infinite danger to you.

She grimaced, stung by the echo of stern reprimands, and began to scoop steaming spoonfuls of stew into two small bowls.

[Anonymous]

Void definitely wasn’t the valiant type, but he wasn’t going to tell her this.  For Della had every right to come up with as many fantasies as she pleased.  It wasn't that he was a coward, but bravery was a topic that was up for much scrutiny.  What one might consider a brave and honorable action was possibly the stupidest thing a person could do to another.  Of course, the same could be said of honor.  The best way around this was to keep one's morals to oneself...and keep as few of those as possible.  When it came to taking action when appropriate, morals had an annoying way of interrupting that which must be done.

He gave a trying smile for a second watched as she continued with her tasks about the kitchen.  He wasn't paying attention to the change in the glance she gave him because he now took his vigilance to the floor.  "I guess you could look at it like that, if you really think hard on the situation."  Coldness reverted back to the smoke of his magentas as he glanced back to her for another awkward second.  A faint hint of the need to be understood lingered in his steady look, imploring.  "It's a little more complicated than that."

Taking the bowl of hot stew after it was filled, Void smiled genuinely and thanked her in a nod.  Unsure of what to do next exactly, he supposed now was as good a time as any to finish explaining himself.  "What I'm really looking for is--well, frankly this will probably sound crazy, so please brace yourself--a....a....  I'm looking for a time machine."  He forced his eyes to look down at the ground again, to keep himself from having to peer up at that gaze he knew she was bound to give him.  After all, it wasn't like every day, a guy fell from the sky only to tell you that he was looking for a time machine.

[Anonymous]

She had almost expected something more fantastical.
Well, he was sure interesting, if nothing else...
Della's eyes fluttered gracefully for a second as she tried to comprehend a notion such as a time machine.  Once, her father had spoken to her of a device which measured time, even in the shadows, and that it was made to wind up like a leopard before a long-shot of a pounce. She wondered if that was a time-machine? Or perhaps related to one, somehow? Her brow wrinkled in thought, and she peeked tentatively up at Void, only to sharply return her gaze to her hands, absently wringing her skirt in her lap. His expression mixed with her intuition told her that this machine in question was far more important than some silly children's story.

She was fairly certain he was expecting shock, or even horror in response to his words but the only thing that came was confusion, and a hint of embarrassment.  It seemed there really was so much more out there that she was unaware of. Much, much more than she'd even even dared to imagine.
Blink. Blink. Blink.
She tilted her chin upward, and shyly stared.  This was going to be so painful to admit.  
“I...” she started, biting her lip after only one word to pause for consideration. It was so rare that she wasn't in control of image she drew herself as, the Della she wanted people to see. Everything up to this point was bearable, all the strings of awkward moments and even the part just a bit ago, when she fell on her ass in the laundry room, she had taken it all with a grain of salt.
Just not this, the admittance that she didn't KNOW something. It ate at her for a good three minutes of silence, burning bright in her pale cheeks until she bit the bullet in her quest for understanding and gave in with a sigh.
“What... is a time machine, exactly?”
Her face softened and appeared somewhat childlike. Naive.  And then, it turned apologetic.  She realized, looking up at Void, that he had been in some very small way been silently hoping she would have understood what he was doing, even if it meant her calling him crazy. What good was the release of divulging a secret when the outsider didn't know what the hell you meant?
She backtracked, trying to mend the spot where her ignorance  had caused his momentary lapse of confidentiality to be worth nothing. Her hands continued to wring the skirts resting in her lap, her knuckles turned white with tension.
“You don't... have to explain.” She muttered, in between shallow breaths. “Unless you want to, of course.” she added, as an after thought. She half expected him to hack  her to pieces now that she was obviously useless.  
Her hand, every so slightly trembling though it was, left her lap to absently stir her stew, which sat untouched on the counter in front of her.

[Anonymous]

There couldn’t be much that he expected her to say in response to his outrageous statement…  Well, one he thought she would consider purely crazy.  But it seemed things were going better than he thought they would.  He found her distraught with the term and fighting to find the right words for a suitable response.  Her confusion was only half realized on his part, however, and knowing whether or not she would understand what he was talking about was another matter to be contended with another time.

As she fumbled with her words to finally spill that she hadn’t a clue what a time machine was, Void couldn’t help but feel an amused grin tug at the ends of his mouth, his normally drawn, ashen face brightening at the face of her bewilderment.  A faint sense of relief washed over him as he feared that she might throw him out in the rain (not that he would have minded such an action, weather was a very curious thing to him).  It wasn’t every day people fell from the sky looking for time machines, was it?

He observed her expression altering, reminding him a bit of the transcending colors of a semi-imploding cosmo, but prettier and much more vital.  His congenial grin widened went further to brighten his face.  With eyes flashing faintly, he said softly, “I wouldn’t mind doing so, but um…”  He searched for words.  Now, he suddenly realized just how much her naďveté would benefit him; with her ignorance, she was virtually harmless to his quest, for she would promulgate no knowledge of an object as outlandish as a time machine.  However, he also realized, that she wouldn’t be able to tell him where he could find one either.

“Well, you see, this, er, thing is a…  It’s a machine, of course, that tells time.  Something like a clock but much bigger and…complex.  It’s very important that I find this and, as you’ll know, I can’t afford to take many risks.”  From where his eyes had once been bright with conversation and amusement, his magentas turned somber and burned once again the failing ashes of a heart gone.

[Anonymous]

It was a difficult thing, to force herself to eat slowly and look semi-normal. Della began to wonder, however, if Void's perception of “normal” was anything close to hers.

A minute ago, as he was watching her agonizing display of ignorance, he had grinned so widely that it softened his whole expression and made her question whether he thought her stupid or cute. Perhaps both. Either way, she flushed a furious rosy pink and refused to meet his eyes.

She listened quietly as he attempted rather hopelessly to explain a time machine. Her dark eyes glittered slightly when he mentioned the word “clock” and recognition of her silly children's story settled in. This was, in fact, related and also far more complicated. Her spoon dropped insignificantly from her hand into her bowl, only about a two inch fall, and pale though she was already, she went whiter still. Even the rose of her cheeks drained away, leaving her sallow and ghostly.

When realization of something unfathomable hits you, it comes in a long, slow but violent wave, and Della, while composed and outwardly still, was secretly drowning in it.  Her eyes glazed over, and she felt mildly faint. This was it. The proof that there really was a whole lot more out there to be afraid of, the reason she had been fighting so hard to keep the wood at optimum health, and perhaps the most painful realization of all: this was proof that Dimatticus, her beloved father, really was fighting a war out there, somewhere beyond the stars.

“Mister...” she managed to choke out, any knowledge of his name momentarily escaping her. “You don't know where you are, do you?”

[Anonymous]

Now he was really beginning to have his doubts.  Not so much about the fact that she would think he’s crazy but of where he was.  Wasn’t he on Earth?  He knew things were really different than when he’d last been here but he didn’t think that he’d lost complete familiarity with the place!  He couldn’t quite comprehend her exact meaning.  Did she mean to indicate that his senses had been wrong?  Sure this planet was the Earth he once knew but exactly how it was different now was only so beyond him.  Suddenly he now felt out of time and out of touch more than ever.

“What do you mean?” he asked, once again drowning in a sea of puzzlement.  There seemed to be no end of his confusion.  But perhaps he assumed to much already.  “Why do you say such things?  Where exactly am I supposed to be, if not on Earth?”

[Anonymous]

Della blinked slowly, several times. What was he talking about? Overwhelmed and suddenly groggy again, she struggled to lift her head and face reality.

"I'm not sure exactly where you're supposed to be..." she ventured, "...but this is Earth."

She paused, studying his body language, hoping perhaps she had eased his mind at least a little. A bowl half full of stew was pushed to the center of the counter, unwanted, and Della raised her elongated hand to press on her temples. Her head was heavy, pounding alongside her heart.

"It sounds as though you are familiar with this planet... do you not find it odd that things... grow here? There are no tall buildings, no concrete, no machines. Is this the Earth you know?"




[[sorry for so little so late. Work's been killin' me!]]

[Anonymous]

Things were as ever to become an awkward state of conversation for Void.  Would he ever learn to effectively socialize?  That remained to be seen, but he currently at to deal with the cutting nerves of the moment at hand.  "Well, then I'm in the right place..." he said softly, setting down the bowl he held in his hands and turning back toward the window.  The rain continued to thrash against he ground, the soil drinking in the water as would a prisoner who hadn't seen a clean glass of water in years.

"But nothing is as I remember it...  And nothing is as I thought it would be.  It's almost as if I'm rather lost.  So long...so long..."  He sighed softly.  "I envisioned a different world.  Things here are close to the past but everywhere else is virtually...mechani zed.  Man couldn't be trusted with machines.  I was right to trust my instincts.  This is the closest thing that dares embrace my memory...  It's quite amazing what I've been through."

Suddenly he turned back to Della, curiosity burning in his magenta eyes.  "Do you know what happened...to the planet in my absence?  Why are things so different?"

[Anonymous]

Thunder roared as the scene in the kitchen took a slow-motion pause. Della gazed up curiously at her company, and he stared just as curiously back. So many questions, and such little understanding hung heavily in the air like damp laundry on a line. The fire flickered violently as wind swiftly persuaded it's way down the chimney, and the shadows on the walls leaped from wall to ceiling in a fierce and surreal display.

Della shook her head, overwhelmed and unsettled.
"I know nothing of machines... of technology. I don't know where you've come from. Or where you've been." she paused, carefully thinking how to explain herself. "The only history I can give you is the history of Sevenwinds, and the mountains to the East. I've spent the entirety of my 22 years here, in this valley that I only recently realized is one of the last pieces of paradise left on this... dying planet.”
It seemed a gulp of air was necessary after such an immense statement, and after a deep breath she added quietly, “and something tells me your kind likely has a longer life span than mine.”