Tick-Tock {Open}

[Lesu]

Today the port bustled more than usual because of tomorrow's impending Threadfall. Lesu sat on "his" crate at the entrance of an alleyway, alternating between watching the crowd pass and surreptitiously stashing his marks until he only had a single coin left on the ground in front of him. Seeing a mark encouraged a passerby to toss more to Lesu. As though the one mark gave the new arrival "permission" to help out the boy.

While he stashed the marks and mark pieces, he counted them. Five, halfway there. An innkeeper in the northern outskirts of Port Hope agreed to put him up for the day in the security of the inn's stone in exchange for 10 marks.

People holding equipment ran by, and two hold-folk turned to watch them as they rushed off. One of the hold-folk noticed Lesu and searched through his pockets until he found a half-mark. He threw it at Lesu's feet. Which meant he needed three and a half or four more to secure his safety for tomorrow. Then the duo wandered off.


For the first time in a while, Lesu had new clothes. He'd purchased a thick shirt a size too big because he doubted he'd stay this small forever, and he had no idea when he'd get enough marks to buy another shirt. He also purchased a pair of too-long trousers that he now wore rolled at the ankle. The storekeeper took pity on the "waif who wants to up his station in life" and decided to gift Lesu a pair of sturdy boots two sizes too big. Lesu used his old shirt to make himself a new bag. Faded gold thread and silk made for a strong, fancy carryall. Anyone with a keen sense for clothing knew the "bag" and Lesu's current boots to be a better quality material and higher stitch count than his newer clothes. The most discerning eye knew Lady De Reinin's work anywhere.

Another coin clattered on the stones in front of him. To reach down and pick up the mark, Lesu grabbed the edge of his sleeve, taking care not to let it drop in the mud or dirt. "Four more," he whispered and tucked the mark into a thin, cloth bag looped over one shoulder and then draped diagonally over his narrow chest. He readjusted the bag to make sure the mark didn't fall out. Glimmers of gold strands caught the light.

Not that anyone noticed a street boy's appearance only his presence and overall disheveled appearance. Lesu didn't care. He missed his home and some of his family, but he knew no one cared about him around here, so he didn't care about them. Basically no one. The storekeeper made an impression on Lesu. He almost told the man his true identity but he thought better of it when he remembered what happened the last time he trusted someone. Almost being kidnapped by dragonriders.


More people with equipment rushed by. The leader said "Make way, make way!" and some of the crowd parted. The onlookers muttered about the upcoming Thread and a handful looked up toward the sky. A chitter of restless fire-lizards echoed in a chorus of colors.

Their noise sent a wave of nervousness through Lesu. The boy on the crate couldn't help risking a glance toward the sky too. Clouds drifted overhead. As though by an unbidden cue, when he looked up, a breeze blew through. It ruffled his hair. He sat up straighter. Grabbing a piece of twine from his pocket, he tied his hair back.

Another coin spun toward him and jingled as it pivoted and then fell to the ground. Lesu snagged the two marks (the new one and the one he used to encourage. Even though the Thread wasn't due until tomorrow, Lesu decided to make his way closer to the inn. "I'll find the others along the way," he said and pushed himself off the crate. He drew his fist to his chest and began to wend his way through the crowd toward the port's main road.

[Fiadh]

Oh the hustle and bustle of the crowd made for great pickpocketing opportunities, if the dockbrat wasn't already carrying a string of fish and her trusty (stolen) fishing rod. There were no nervous glances to the sky from Fiadh, no rush for safety like all the grown folk and certainly she wasn't going to run about with equipment to deal with the groundwork Threadfall required.

No, what she was going to do was find herself a place to sell these nice fish. Usually the young teenager would hand them off to some fishwife in exchange for a couple of marks so the older woman could upcharge, or to one of the inn's chefs in exchange for a big bowl of stew if she was desperate. With Threadfall on the way, she may even see if this string would be enough for her to hang out in the stables. So Fiadh started snaking her way through the crowd, not being careful in the slightest if the slimy fish hit anyone on her way, bumping them into a boy she's sure she'd seen just sitting around half the time "Watch where yer goin' scrap" The girl warned.

Hm, were they heading the same way?

[Lesu]

He sensed rather than saw something coming toward him. Quick on his feet after turns of dodging most of his family, the kitchen staff, and other servants in the past, and now everyone in the world, Lesu bent his torso and took a step backward to neatly avoid being hit by a bundle of freshly caught fish. He had a brief face-off with a staring eyeball. Lesu shoved his bounty into his pockets, followed by his hands so no one else got any ideas or sticky fingers. Lesu fell into step with the taller girl and her swinging fish. Unperturbed by her attitude, he spoke to her in a neutral tone. "You, girl. Are your fish for sale?"

[Fiadh]

It seemed the boy was cautious of pickpockets, good, maybe he had a head on his shoulders. He ended up walking beside her, making Fiadh raise her eyebrow when she glanced his way and spoke to her.

"Aye, but not to wet lil' brats like yerself" the dockbrat wiggled her fish in emphasis. "Ye can't afford even one o' em"

He probably could, but that wasn't going to be her point. "Don't ya know how to fish scrap? Ya smell like one o' us" Who was the 'us' she was referring to? She didn't say.

[Lesu]

As they walked, Lesu adjusted his bag to set it right around his shoulder and smoothed it against his hip. He tied a leather throng around the bag's strap and fastened it to one of his open buttonholes. It was nice to talk to someone who didn't want to kill him. Walking in stride with her meant he had to walk faster, but it didn't bother him. He kept pace with the girl and his gaze flickered toward her raised eyebrow before settling on her blue eyes. He stared up at her with hazel eyes, the dark circles under them making it look as though he hadn't slept well in a while. Lesu shrugged off the girl's scornful words and didn't seem bothered that she didn't want to sell him a fish. Between his family and the port, he'd heard everything rotten thing a person could hear by his age.

"Do I smell?" He said instead, the tone of his voice tilted in surprise, and he too arched a brow, their raised eyebrows mirrored each other. He obliged her by sniffing his armpit, meanwhile tugging his sleeve down to fasten it at his wrist. As he lowered his arm, he nodded in agreement to her words. "You're right. I do smell. How unfortunate." He frowned briefly but shrugged that off too. "No matte' a bath at the inn tonight will fix that. Oh yes," he continued with a note of pride in his voice. He fastened the wrist button of his other sleeve too. "I know how to fish. Catching your own food is the least expensive way to eat around here."

[Fiadh]

Fiadh snorted when Lesu went and actively sniffed at himself "Everyone smells boy, yer fine. Nothin' a good ol' dunk in the ocean an' scrub with som' sand can't fix" Oh how a hot bath did sound nice, like a luxury. Fiadh herself was rather proud of her layers of grit, it set her apart from the soft little holders that ran around, but maybe once in a while she'd like a true bath when she got real nasty. Maybe. She wouldn't be caught dead announcing that though, she'd be ridiculed. Ostracized. What would the other brats say??

She nodded along though as the boy said he knew how to fish, rightfully stating it was the easiest way to eat. At least, it was the easiest way to eat that didn't have the guards on your tail or a knife at your throat for petty theft. "Oh good, but are ya good at it? To be askin' to buy one o' mine says ya ain't" the girl teased, stepping ahead of the younger brat and shouldering her way through a denser part of the crowd instead of going around. "Name's Fiadh by the way"

[Lesu]

Lesu laughed at her "everyone smells" comment and nodded as he replied with a soft, "So true." They walked a few more paces and then she replied to him and it felt good to have a companion. It appeared they continued to be heading in the same direction.

It was his turn to snort and he rolled his shoulders back to stand taller the way he'd seen his older brothers do when they wanted to "puff up" to impress a girl. Not that he wanted to impress the guttersnipe next to him, but he did pride himself on keeping himself alive for however long he'd been stuck in this smelly dirt hole. "I'm good enough to keep myself alive." Lesu grinned.

"I asked to purchase one because I'm feeling lazy." He added the last part with a mischievous glint in his eye. Of course, she missed it because she wanted to go in front of him. He naturally slowed to give her the ability to bully her way through the crowd. It felt good to have someone do it for him because it meant he wasn't jostled about as often. "I'm Lesu. A pleasure to meet you, Fiadh."

[Fiadh]

Oh now that was cute, seeing the boy puff up like he was grown, almost making Fiadh want to poke him and see if he deflates or pokes right on back. She doesn't though...yet at least, there may be an opportunity later, let the boy strut around more. It's healthy, letting the younger ones have some confidence in themselves, it's how they'll survive out in the wild. But knocking them down a peg or two was also healthy and formative for any growing dockbrat, else they pick a fight they can't win down the line and end up tied to someone's anchor.

"Cheeky pup" Fiadh called back as she bullied her way through the crowd, intentionally sliding the fish along a man's bare arm because he didn't move out of the way quick enough, turning her head back and grinning at Lesu to make sure he was still behind her as the man made a disgusted sound and shuffled away from the pair. Once they were through the crowd the brat stopped briefly to make sure he made it out and to let the boy catch back up. "So Lessie" Lesu's newly assigned nickname, the first of possibly many if the pair make a habit of interacting. "How long've ya been pickin' yer way round here?"

[Lesu]

Lesu laughed at her response when she called him 'cheeky'. It was better than some names the Keep's cooks called him. He was still there when Fladh glanced behind to check on him.

She turned away no sooner than an attentive younger man who didn't want to get fish-slapped dodged around Fiadh. The man didn't see Lesu and to get away from Fiadh, his cut between the two children. Lesu found himself alone in the crowd. What rotten luck. It was no different than the crowds of a Gather. He wasn't helpless by any means. Lesu slithered through the people with ease. Although he was taller than he had been, he was still skinny enough to turn sideways and squeeze between them. He dodged to the left lest he run into a portly woman carrying a basket full of angry birds - tied down so they couldn't escape. All this weaving and dodging caused him to lose sight of the girl for a few footsteps. It was the end of the bouncing fish pole that he saw first.

His independent movements meant they managed to crest the crowd into the clear patch of the road almost simultaneously with Lesu on the far side of the street. So while she did have to wait for him, it wasn't because he was stuck in the crowd. It was because he hadn't been able to follow her through it. He straightened his new shirt as he crossed the road toward Fiadh. The unexpected question about his background caught him off guard. "How long? I'm -" Lesu's voice broke as he choked on his words. He shook his head. "I am unsure... a turn? A few months?"

"I was - " He began as though he meant to offer her more. But, no! What if she was part of the people who wanted to hurt him? Those people who attacked him on the pier. Another part of him thought, what if she could help him? All of a sudden emotions strangled him and warred within him. He felt horribly, terribly lonely, and homesick. The boy pressed his lips together and finally ended with a shrug. His shoulders sagged as he looked away from her and down to the street. He clenched his hands into fists. His last words were almost a whisper. "We should... get going."

[Fiadh]

What the girl had thought would just be a casual question turned out to have struck a nerve, yikes! Fiadh wanted nothing to do with sad emotions, those soft things that had kids crying for their parents or family or whatever, she's outgrown the need for all that. Not like her mother would have abided by it anyway, not like it did anything productive, not like it put food in your belly or gave you a warm place to sleep. Not like she'd even admit to herself her own yearning for the ship she'd called home or the crew who'd been an extended family. You need to make those yourself when you're left alone, needed to toss those things to the bottom of the sea and leave them to be eaten away by the salt and fish.

Still though, Lesu looked like he was still learning that particular lesson in being left to fend for yourself, still needed to let the salt toughen his skin. "Long enough for yer voice to start cracking eh?" she teased, looking to divert the mood anywhere else as she started walking towards the inn again. "Been here almost a month meself, Ma won't show up for at least another..." she waved the fingers that were holding the fish, electing to not wave the fish around again "Oh I dunno, maybe four? Five? Takes any longer than that and i'll just join up with another crew, 'm just about old enough now" It's not like she needed to be on the same ship as her parents anymore anyway, but she DID want her sword back first, she earned it through years of hard work! "Didn't think Thread would hit here so soon though" she clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Annoying thing ain't it?"

[Lesu]

Lesu tried to laugh at Fiadh's taunt, but couldn't do more than muster a strangled chuckle. His hands still in fists, he kept his head bowed as the feeling of loneliness bit into him and tore up his insides. It was obvious he'd get no sympathy from her. Why should he? No one here had shown him a lick of sympathy even if they had the potential to earn some marks by returning him to his family. Not that he admitted anything like that to anyone... so much for telling the girl anything. After she spoke her handful of words and started walking again, Lesu shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. He fell into stride next to Fiadh on the far side of the fish stick. He moved fast to keep pace with her.

Thread. Now Thread he could deal with because it was everywhere, all the time. He'd never known a Turn when there wasn't Thread. It was a subject that everyone agreed on. No one in their right mind liked Threadfall. Fiadh chose the right subject to switch to and Lesu felt a wash of gratitude for the girl wash through him. He almost thanked her. He wasn't strong enough to lift a flame-thrower properly so he wouldn't be useful in the groundcrew. And, as far as his father was concerned, and therefore Lesu, fighting Threadfall was for other people, not the noble-born. He suddenly heard Lord Feytolian's scoffing voice in his head. Let the dragonriders do their jobs. We feed them. What more do they want?

Lesu too sighed with exasperation and nodded as he echoed the girl's sentiments about the terrible inconvenience. "Yes. It is most annoying. I overheard that it was coming here by tomorrow or the next day. It's the reason I'm going to the inn. The strong stone building will protect me better against the 'Fall. Some old people I know talk about a time 'when Thread didn't fall'; however, it's been around my whole life." He shrugged again. Old people baffled him. Something else Fiadh said registered in his mind. "You said you're old enough to join another crew soon. That's good! It is good, right? Being a fisherman is a worthy craft."

[Fiadh]

Lesu was right in that he wouldn't get any sympathy from Fiadh, at least in the traditional sense. The young pirate's sympathy was...well, focused on keeping the cheer up and ignoring everything else. "I'm goin' for food, I ain't scared of Thread" she hasn't seen what Thread could do to a dragon pair, or the fields, or livestock caught out in it. Maybe she'll change her mind once she does, but for now there's absolutely no sense of fear in her for Pern's greatest threat. "Aye the old folks are always wishin' things were back how they used to be, softies." she clicked her tongue, as if disappointed in the previous generation.

Now, Lesu seemed to think she was simply a fisherman, and Fiadh wasn't going to correct him, she'll let him figure it out in due time if the subject ever comes up. "Aye it's good, life on the sea's better than one inland i'll tell you" Said the girl who's never been out of sight of the ocean, the furthest she's gone has been the edges of whatever hold she'd been left at for that spell. "You're 'bout old enough too ain't ya? Why don't you join a crew"

[Lesu]

It was Lesu's turn to scoff at Fiadh's obliviousness about Threadfalls. In as firm a tone as he could muster and doing his best to sound like his father, Lesu replied, "It is wise to fear Thread. It is dangerous." He left it at that. There was no reason to push the issue because either she'd figure it out and be respectfully afraid of it like he was, or she'd wind up standing in the middle of the field with her mouth open watching it fall. He did; however, share her disapproval of the previous generation.

"Hmph. You're right. Softies." Lesu nodded in agreement. Lesu canted his head to one side to look up at Fiadh. A fisherman, really? How gross - they always smell. Who wants to be a fishmonger? Etiquette training won out over the desire to say a snarky comment. He kept his rude thoughts to himself and instead, he shook his head with a smile and a shrug. "No, thank you," Lesu replied politely.

He had a lot of ideas for what he wanted to do in the future. Being a fisherman was not one of them. The crowded street forced him to dodge a grouchy-looking woman with a basket laden with all manners of fruits and vegetables. He considered snagging one of the tubers that dangled oh-so-temptingly from it. But, not realizing that Fiadh was a pirate, he didn't know what her thoughts were about stealing, so he kept his hands in his pockets. "I think I'm going to find my way home."

[Fiadh]

Fiadh snorted at the very notion that she should fear Thread, as if it wasn't anything but a cursed rain, then she barked out a laugh when the boy let out a polite no thank you to the idea of joining a crew. "Not like ya'd get much work outta those arms anyway" she reached out to pinch at his bicep quickly, her own weren't that much more impressive but they were toned for her age. One day she'll be the stocky powerhouse, taking after her father rather than her willowy mother, built like a battering ram. "Probably couldn't haul a net to save yer life"

The girl eyed the woman with the basket of food as Lesu dodged out of her way, turning her head to watch with a thoughtful hum. Sounded like he might be far from home if he has to find his way there, a kidnappee? "Wah, ya lost it somewhere?" her tone was light, joking around, seeing as she wasn't very keen on seeing the boy start to get sad again.

[Lesu]

The groups of people thinned. The wharf and stalls gave way to the port's inner streets. The road curved gradually to the right and they came upon a row of two-story buildings. Proper shops in stone buildings. Some had residents on their second levels. Halfway down the street (on the left) situated prominently between the blacksmith and a shipwright was the inn.



An image of Fiadh standing with her mouth open while her little boat floated in the middle of the ocean with no cover floated into Lesu's mind. He chuckled softly at the idea. Not that he had a death wish for her. It was only that he thought her silly not to have a healthy fear of something that could kill her. Thread was dangerous. She could think what she liked about it. He'd certainly not stand out in the middle of a 'Fall.

"I'm getting stronger. The fishing helps." Lesu shrugged off her insulting suggestion that he wasn't strong. Who cared about hauling up nets? That was work for smelly fishmongers and peasants. When Fiadh pinched him, Lesu jerked his head toward his arm in surprise but didn't make any verbal protest. He'd inherited his mother's thin build, and with most younger children didn't have much in the way of muscle definition. Although the months of fending for himself had added to his muscle mass and definition, he still didn't have much in the way of a biceps. It was a thin, tight cord under Fiadh's questing fingers.


"Lost home? Something like that." He felt a pang of homesickness and fell silent. His mind wandered to the recent events of the past. In a minute or two, he spoke again. This time in a tone of increasing frustration. "Port Hope's interesting. It's been nice to meet friendly people like you. But, I'm tired of being worried if they'll come back. Of sleeping under a tree! Of wearing the same clothes! Tired of - gah! All of it." In a sudden sweeping gesture Lesu cut his hand through the air to indicate everything around them. A deep frown pulled the edges of his mouth down and a furrow creased his forehead. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets again. Lesu muttered. "I want to go home."


By the time he finished his rant, they'd reached the middle of the block and the inn.