A traveling clockmaker's predicament (closed)

[Red_Tower]

"Right... I have a feeling saying that I meant it in a friendly way won't really help... But what I mean is, I've never met someone quite like you, your personality, the way you act... I'm not making this better." Bill said, fumbling over his words a little, thinking of ways to fix things a little. He considered climbing up again, but decided that space would help. "Who's Seto?" He asked, wondering if he might get a little insight into her past.

"Are you really this stupid? I mean, you still could have complimented her without say that, couldn't you? Yeah well, what was your option? I didn't think so."

[Deleted]

"Seto is-was a friend of mine from before and during my time as an apprentice. He ocassionally spoke what came to mind instantly on accident, despite how odd or frustrating it could be sometimes I didn't have to worry much about his motivation or any dishonesty." She was still fine with the situation but her smile was a bit bitter, most likely due to the way they had been separated.

[Red_Tower]

"Ah, I see... He sounds like a good friend, you were lucky to have him." Bill said, getting caught up thinking of his old friends. After a moment of this he shook himself out of it and started digging through his satchel. Finally he found a small bottle and two glasses. "Care for some wine?" He asked her as he uncorked it, starting to pour one glass. "Nothing wrong with a friendly glass of wine, right? After that stupid comment, maybe... Just wait and see." He thought as the day waned on.

[Deleted]

"I tend to avoid alcohol, sorry. I don't really like the taste and past experience with others being heavily drunk does that." Kano grinned and moved back down anyways. Sipping at her water instead, the shifter gestured for the feline to join them. He looked up but then placed his head back on his paws, preferring to sleep while he didn't have to deal with the clockmaker.

[Red_Tower]

"That's fine, just thought I'd offer." Bill said as he shoved the cork back into the bottle and put it back in the bag along with the second glass. He quickly grabbed the same red vial from before and poured some of its contents into his glass, taking a sip. "But don't worry, I can't get drunk." He started say, before lowering his voice for no apparent reason, seeing as they were on top of a mountain. "And honestly, I don't much care for the taste either." As he took another sip, grinning out at the view. "I can still enjoy this though..."

"Well, this could be going better. But I think it's going well considering. And it's not like you had any expectations, right Bill my boy? Right..."

[Deleted]

"Any other questions?" Tuono looked up for a moment, checking to make sure the shifter wasn't running off before laying it back down. A particularly strong gust of wind caused a bit of noise from the objects in the girls pockets clanking together and she reached up instinctively to grab her hood before realizing it was already down and grasping the bark of the old tree again. With a quick movement Kano removed her coat and placed it to the side.

The numerous pockets clearly filled with objects of various sizes made the coat heavier than her movement and the cloth would make it seem. Her orange shirt was of male design but was tailored to fit, the sleeves only a little shorter than those of her coat. Reaching over to one of the pockets the bottle of water was placed back inside with ease.

[Red_Tower]

"Hmm, do I have any other questions... A good question." Bill said, thinking to himself if he actually did. "Anything else can come out as she wishes, I'm set for now." "None that come to mind..." He said as she took her coat off, briefly attempting to identify the items in it. The wind didn't really bother Bill, but he made sure he was well balanced on his branch anyways. He looked lower down the tree to check on Tuono, quickly seeing the feline was happy and safe where he was.

[Deleted]

"Okay then. What do you think of Tuono?" While this wasn't as important to her as the cat it did affect to an extent how she viewed Bill. Many things affect perception, personal opinions, views on their opinions, past expierience and so on. Looking ahead Kano noticed that the sun was begining to set and laughed a bit. "Seems you have your sunset," The shifter's grin was no longer bitter and her golden eyes reflected the sunset's current yellowish hue easily. Tuono stood and made his way up to his owner, her crouch on the balls of her feet making it impossible to get on her shoulder or lap irritating him a bit. Instead he moved around her and sat between her and Bill, blue eyes blinking several times to adjust to the change in lighting.

[Red_Tower]

"Tuono? I like him, though I still can't tell if the feeling is mutual... Cats tend not to like me, so that might be affecting my judgement." Bill said, glancing down and watching as the cat made its way up the tree to join them. Bill looked up and into the horizon as the sun began to set. "So it seems, but it only gets better from here." He said with a grin, smiling as the sun cast its slowly fading light on them.

"Was this for her, or for you, trying to relive old memories? And so what if it was? We both get to see it this way..."

[Deleted]

"Oh he likes you. More than most people anyway, he is often seen as a useless stray so it's nice to know you don't think so lowly of my friend." Her lopsided grin remained and she reached over and scratched behind the tom's ears. A purr sounded out in response to the action, but Tuono soon moved to prove Kano's point by rubbing carefully against Bill, avoiding upsetting his balance. 'Once the sun is down it's going to be cold and windy.. What will I do then? If I stay with Bill I'll have to stick to the trail and avoid moving to quickly, if I don't I have to keep anything from going after Tuono and choose a town to head to. The sea would be nice, people often have clocks in need of repair because of the air and a lot of them to keep track of the tide....' The sky was now varying shades of orange pink and purple, signaling that the sun was going to start setting faster soon and would probably be done in ten minutes or so.

[Red_Tower]

"Oh, I could never treat him like that. I'm just glad to hear he likes me." Bill said as Tuono began to rub against him, reaching down to scratch behind the cat's ear as well. He leaned back a little as the sky became like an artist's painting, a plethora of colors and shades, shining into the clouds, letting the smooth colors flow across the horizon like an ocean. The shadows and unique colors gave a new perspective of the land around them. "This is my favorite part..." He muttered, his smile small but warm, closing his eyes, capturing the image in his mind.

"I wonder, will she even stick around now with the sun nearly down? I'd happily go with her, but I have a bad feeling she sees me as a burden at this point. Ha, if I had both my legs I could easily beat her in a foot race, no contest. I can do pretty well now, but I'll wait and see what she thinks." Bill thought as the sun dropped through the sky.

[Deleted]

The satin purple of the sky was no longer colored to Kano, her night vision erasing all semblance of such a thing but providing detail and brightness instead of color and darkness. "What do you plan on doing now?" Eyes the shifter knew as blue but saw as grey turned towards her Tuono waiting expectantly for the next plan of action. The girl was most likely seeing in better detail than most at this point with the sacrifice of the color others would still see and be able to navigate with only a little less certainty than would have been had when the sun was brighter.

Grasping at the coat to her side she pulled it over her shoulders, the black and white reflecting exactly how the world was according to the two pairs of feline eyes that kicked in night-vision earlier than necessary. Noting that the moon wasn't up yet Kano thought to many twilights spent racing through streets or climbing clock-towers for maintenance when people weren't relying on them. 'So many are uncertain of what they see but don't stumble because it's not dark enough yet, and the moon may not even rise tonight. I haven't been paying that much attention.' Settling weight back into her heels the clockmaker stood up from her crouch for a moment before settling back into her previous crouch. The plan was to head to the sea, the method of travel and whether or not this occurred was adaptable.

[Red_Tower]

Bill sat there in silence for a long moment, thinking about his options. The sun was nearly down before he answered, just a sliver of it firey rim on the horizon. "I want to stick with you." He said firmly, still staring at the distance, not daring to look at his companion. "Kano, if you knew where I've been in my life, would you even consider letting me stick around? But she doesn't know, and she won't until she asks. I would tell her, wouldn't I? Could I lie to her? Stupid thoughts, I should be focused on the now." Bill sat there, scared to speak up again. He meant what he said, so he wasn't going to try and back out. The sun fell below the horizon, and though a bit of light remained, it would soon fade. The mage blinked a few times, his night vision kicking in. Better than human, but not on the same level as the shifter.

[Deleted]

"Okay then, let's get going." In a move that was dangerous even during daylight or already on the ground Kano simply moved her legs out from underneath her. The cat merely blinked and jumped down, both landing in easy crouches and standing. The sky was now a dark blue, stars easily viewed spread across the sky, neither pair of eyes, gold or blue, could tell this though.

Hood up and coat flapping, fur swaying and sleek posture, the pair made excellent figures in the night. Both accustomed to standing atop towers or buildings for different reasons many children may vaguely remember their silhouettes through windows and holes in curtains. Moving across the summit their pace was exactly that of daylight, not a single falter or unsurety could be seen. "You ready or do you need something?"

(This is the point where I suggest you make the last post and a new thread is started. You can choose who starts it or if we just stick here...I'm open to suggestion.)

[Red_Tower]

Bill was almost shocked, but he made sure his face didn't show it, and after moving a couple branches down, dropped, coat tails flaring up behind him for a moment. With staff in hand he was right behind Kano and Tuono. He stopped for just a moment, enjoying the stretching cosmos above, before nodding. "Ready to go." He said, ready to match her pace. It would be a little tougher for him, but he could manage.

(Sounds like a good idea. I hate to ask it, but would you mind terribly making the new thread? *Cringes* I'll happily do it if you'd like me to, but there are a couple reasons it would be easier for me if you did. Of course it would be easier for you if /I/ did...)