lt_safe_house | (no subject)

Current Location: Park of the Manor

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(no subject)

Date: May 6th, night to 7th
Place: Outside
Status: Public
Summary: Dustfinger comes back.

Dustfinger started to wonder if the money he had taken from Arty had been cursed. Oh but he should have been more careful when talk had started of magic. Instead he stupidly took the large amount and went away...

...and for the third time now he was walking this way again.

He shook the head. What did money help him if he could not get away from here when he had it? He hoped if he returned it to Arty he would lift the spell. Otherwise he would never get home. Never.

Now it was too late to ring the bell and he still did not think they would likely let him inside very gladly. He did not need to go inside either. Like Gwin he could just sleep outside when it wasn't raining.

The sun would wake him up surely. Then he could ask for Arty and give back the money. For now, he laid down near to the building were he would stay dryer even if it started to rain at night, rolled up and tried to sleep.

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Gabriel nodded. "So it's not your birth name, then." Perhaps he was one of those children who had never been given a name at birth; though that was a little rarer now. "I'm Gabriel."

Dustfinger shrugged. "I wouldn't know", he said. "I don't know my mother."

And sometimes it helped if he could get people to feel sorry for him. Then they were less likely to chase him away.

Gabriel nodded. "I'm sorry."

That was why he didn't know the man's name, then. Still, Dustfinger was an odd name to have.

Dustfinger forced a smile on his face. "You didn't do it", he said. Playing on sympathy too much was just as bad as not getting any at all.

And then he thought of something else. What if he was not because of a curse drawn here? He hadn't experienced this before but they all were able to know a Silvertongue when they saw him. And he had not met one yet that was good at it and experienced. So maybe one like that would cause such a pull?

After all he had heard there was one on this island and not all that far from here.

"Is there someone here who spends a lot of time with books?" he asked Gabriel.

Of course he could also avoid books, but they were all drawn to books. Even those who did not read aloud to keep things from coming out or going in. It was not likely that any Silvertongue avoided books completely.

Gabriel shrugged. "Myself? I'm the librarian, so I spend most of my time surrounded by them. Aziraphael is very fond of books too, and some of our other guests do enjoy reading. Why? Did you find a book lying around?"

It was certainly an odd question from someone in Dustfinger's state.

Could it be? It was certainly too much too hope. But he could try. If the other new nothing about Silvertongues he would believe it to be a wild tale he had made up to go with his busker persona.

"Once there was a man who live happily with his wife and daughters", he said. "He was of the colorfull folk. Not a thief but a performer. He was happy until one day he blinked and found himself in a different world. A world with machines and cars and fire that is angry to the touch and bites. And he learned that he had come out of a book that held his story and his world and everything he loved. He was torn from it by a Silvertongue. A man with the skill of stealing things from books and bringing them into his world. For the past nine long years he has been looking for a way to return home. The man who brought him out of his book refuses to put him back in, so now he is a travelling busker looking for another person with the skill in this inhospitable world."

He waited.

That was... an interesting story. Something about the way he said it, though, told Gabriel it wasn't mere fiction.

But if it was true... Gabriel had never heard of Silvertongues, but this might pose problems. Bringing people and things out of books? No human should have the power to do that. On the other hand, the man might be raving, though he looked calm enough.

"That's a sad story," he said carefully. "I hope the man finds a Silvertongue, and would help him if I could; sadly, I have never met one."

Edited 2010-07-21 00:33 (UTC)

Dustfinger shrugged. "So do I", he said. "So do I."

He watched Gwin eat the rest of his meal and wondered what to do next.

"I really can't just leave you in the lobby," Gabriel repeated. "It will be cold and uncomfortable. Please allow me to get you a room. They come with bathrooms, if cleanliness is what you're worried about."

Dustfinger sighed. The hopelessness of his quest washed over him in a wave of despair. "I just want to go home", he muttered. "I can't pay for a room because I have to give my money back and I don't even know how I could find the person I'm looking for. I spent the last years chasing hints that never brought any good. I... I just want home."

Gabriel placed a hand on Dustfinger's shoulder, squeezing gently. "If I could bring you home, I would. Don't worry about money. I'll get you a room, or if you would rather not have a new room you could just use mine. What sort of clues are you looking for? Where exactly is your home?"

"I'm not crazy", Dustfinger said. He put all his hope that the man would believe him into that sentence. "I'm not crazy even if it sounds that way. Please -"

He couldn't very well show the man his book. The risk was just too great.

"I never said you were," Gabriel said as soothingly as he could; which was quite a bit. "Calm down. It's alright. I simply want to help you."

Oh, it was easy to believe this man when he said such things. Too easy. Did it even matter?

He reached into his bad and pulled out his book. Luckily it was still dry. He was always careful that he did not put it where it may get damaged.

He showed it to the other man but did not let go of it. Never he would let anyone else hold it. It was probably the last one that existed

Gabriel noted the bright cover of the paperback. "I don't think I've ever heard of it. Might I have a look at the contents?"

If he said no he would give away just how important it was to him. The other one could take it away from him and keep it and force him to do things. If he just let him look at it he would maybe give it back easily.

Or maybe not. Or--

He almost trembled as he held the book to Gabriel.

"It's alright," Gabriel said soothingly, taking the book and holding it gently. "I promise to be careful with it."

With one hand supporting the spine, he carefully opened the book at a random page, and his eyes widened as he took in the illustration. He looked from the real Dustfinger and Gwin to the small, black-and-white Dustfinger and Gwin in the book. "That's you, isn't it?"

Dustfinger wanted to grab the book and tear it out of Gabriels hands but he restrained himsef. Every moment that the book was in the hands of someone else increased his fear that he would not get it back.

He nodded. "That's me, yes." He said. "It's my book. I die in the end, but I want back into it anyway. We all have to die some day, right?"

He also wasn't going to let the scribblings of some coward disctate his life in there once he got back.

And this... this was one reason why Gabriel admired humans so much.

"How exactly does a Silvertongue read you back into your book? As far as I know I'm not one, but I... have certain abilities, so I could always try."

Dustfinger shrugged.

"I don't know." he said. "They just do it. They read and something comes out and something goes in. And I want in."

"I've read lots of books and nothing's happened, so I doubt that I can help you." Gabriel admitted. "But we have a lot of strange guests at this Manor. If you stay here, I can come and get you if I meet a Silvertongue. For now, though, you need somewhere warm to sleep."

Now he took back his book carefully and put it away carefully as well.

He nodded. "Somewhere to sleep." He said. "I always stay warm."

"I don't mind letting you sleep in my room," Gabriel repeated. "The bed's soft enough, and you can use the shower if you wish. And tomorrow you can find Arty."

A thought struck him. "Do you have any... gifts? Supernatural abilities, perhaps?"

Dustfinger kept his eyes onthe floor. "I command fire", he said. "A little."

He waited for a moment.

"I am better with it at home. Fire here understands no jokes. It burns if I let it."

Gabriel himself was a Seraph, a spirit of fire. He watched Dustfinger curiously. "And the fire from your home understands jokes? How?"