The start of a beautiful ... well, something. (peerface x eldarface)

Last edited by Peer on Thu Dec 20, 2012 7:20 am; edited 1 time in total

Lost, lost, lost. Everything was lost.

Jack, crippled bum that he was, accepted his fate now. There was no more point. All those years of trying to be respectful, trying to work, trying to live honestly... and what did it come down to? The word of one brat sentencing him to never being able to use his hands again. Why had he even tried? Indignant rage boiled deep within the malnurished kid as he thought about his life decisions. Where had he gone wrong? At what point had he ever had control - at what point had he ever had the choice to not live in squalor? After days of deliberation, being "banished" from the city, and starving outside of it, he decided that that decision happened when he chose to not just take things from people when he had the chance. As a beggar, relying on the charity of others had landed him more than enough days of starving for weeks at a time. He had tried playing by the rules, but now he realized the rules were made to keep the bottom on the bottom, and the top on the top. Rules weren't made for the benefit of people like him. He should have known. He should have seen it. He should have spat in their faces every time they had told him he wasn't fit for the job he was asking for.

To say that Jack hadn't spent a lot of time crying would have been a lie. What did he have to be ashamed of for it anymore? He certainly did accept that he was not long for this world, but that didn't mean he was happy to be there. Facing death was miserable enough... facing a long, drawn-out death of starvation, alone, with not a friend in the world... Well, it was depressing, no matter who you were. The fact that his fingers were unusable sealed his fate, and the fact that they were throbbing in pain just made his death all the worse.

Currently the town's scapegoat was some distance from the town entrance, along the path. He didn't have the strength or motivation to keep walking. He didn't have anywhere to go. So, the lanky ragamuffin was just lying in the dirt on his stomach, his tearstained face tipped enough so that he could watch the road. Not that it mattered. He wanted to fall asleep forever, but the pain in his hands was too distracting to give him any kind of peace. All he could do was pray that somebody would come down the road and be merciful enough to kill him quickly.

Del’ure couldn’t quite remember when he had come to the city, but he was most certain that it was just about time to leave. Now! Not only had one of the traders started to be suspicious about his goods but also there were a few angry husbands up and about looking for him.

With a huge grin on his face, Del’ure dashed out of the city just as one of said husbands spotted him and began cursing all of hell down upon his head and yelling for someone to stop “this filthy excuse of a human”. If only he knew just how right he was with such an exclamation.

However, despite the fact that the guards were used to hunting down thieves, their shape wasn’t the best and Del’ure had quickly outrun them and had disappeared out of the towns outer walls. While they were debating the use of pursuing him any further now that he had left their city after all, Del’ure slowed down to a quick walk. The bounty had still been good, and the bag he had slung over his shoulder contained quite a bit of food and gold, which should keep him going for a good while.

Not that far down the path however, he noticed someone lying on the ground. Frowning, he moved closer, slowing down his steps but keeping himself ready to take off at any moment. Even jealous husbands and retarded guards could create traps. It was soon obvious though that this was not a trap. The man on the side of the road was barely more than a stick and really did not make a very good impression. Still, Del’ure preferred to be cautious. One could never know. Some thieves and murderers were really good tricksters.

“Hows the view from down there?”

Jack would have snorted derisively at the question if he weren't so miserable at that exact moment. He had heard the horse coming... seen it out of the corner of his eye. But he had been coming fromt he town, so he had been sure that it was somebody who would have recognized. The fact that it wasn't was a little surprising, but not surprising enough to stir any reaction. And the question was so... mocking. He decided not to acknowledge it. He didn't need any more mockery. He had half a mind to turn his head the other way, but there was still the part of him that wanted to ask the stranger to end him more quickly. He opened his mouth a bit slackly, and shifted a little bit.

As he got a little better view of the stranger, though, his eyes landed on the sack, and the scent of salted meats and fresh bread hit him like a brick. More taunts, he knew. What delicacies that he would never taste... he didn't need to be reminded of it in these last hours. But, he may as well ask for what he really wanted.

He closed his eyes and swallowed (which did no more than remind him of how dry his throat was) and sighed wretchedly. "I was hoping... you might be somebody who wanted me dead", he admitted with a mumble. "It's... not nice. The birds will rip me apart before I die... I don't want to live through that pain. Just a fast ... I don't know." He coughed out half a sob, although his eyes were pretty dry at this point. There were no tears left in him. Even so, though, in spite of what he was implying, he could bring himself to form the words that he wanted to die. He opened his eyes again and tried to shift around to get a better view of the stranger. "You ... you don't understand..." he said pleadingly. "They want it to be slow... But I never... I don't know what I did to make them hate me so much...." His voice cracked a bit, but then he let out a sigh and closed his eyes again, long since defeated. "Maybe it's for the best. Maybe so..."

He heaved an exhausted breath and let it out slowly. "But whatever they said about me... don't believe them. I didn't... I didn't do anything, I swear. I just... I just wanted... I just wanted to eat. But, just because I knew, I was to blame. Why ... "

After that, though, he stopped talking and shut his eyes tightly, bracing himself. Talking took so much energy right now. The worst thing that could happen was that the stranger would think himself too kind to take his life, and the long, drawn-out death was back on schedule. But he braced himself for the best case scenario, hoping to feel the sharp cold of a lethal blade, followed by not feeling anything at all.

Del’ure just stared down at the man, wondering why he looked so extremely familiar. Cocking his head to the side, he examined him a little closer, the tear-streaked face, dirty clothes, scruffy hair and worst of all, there was no bit of meat left on those bones. The man, boy almost, looked like he hadn’t eaten in days, which was probably true, considering the words he was trying to speak.

To Del’ure, none of this stammering made any sense and with every passing heartbeat, his eyebrows raised higher and higher and he just looked as though he wanted to ask the man what the hell he was even babbling about. However, he did not interrupt the ramblings, rather trying to make sense of them. And when the boy finally said that he had only just wanted to eat, realisation struck Del’ure.

Now, he finally knew why this poor bastard looked so familiar. His eyes immediately went in search of the man’s hands, and indeed, there was the proof. The bloodied and broken fingers. This was the youth he had seen getting his fingers broken for sticking it into the wrong person’s business. The person Del’ure had later relieved of a rather nice piece of jewellery, which he had then given to someone else’s wife as a present. Oh it would have been interesting to see the outcome of that little intrigue, but alas, he had had to move on before seeing the end of it.

Sighing, Del’ure slipped off the back of the horse, which of course he had not acquired by any legal means, and went to his knees next to the man. “You will have no such mercy as you’re hoping to be shown from me. I will not take your life.”
Pausing for a few moments to let the words sink in, Del’ure added. “However, what I can give you is a little something to eat and to drink.” Reaching into his bundle, Del’ure fished for a water skin and a nice piece of fresh bread, something the other would be able to digest considering how long it seemed to have been since he had last eaten.

From thief to saviour. Del’ure shook his head as he mocked himself. What was the world coming to?

Jacks' heart sank as he was denied a swift death. Of course not. Nobody ever gave him what he asked for - why did he even bother? People just liked watching him suffer. That really was it. All of them. The denial hit him harder than he had initially thought it was going to. He started to tremble all over, and buried his face back in the dirt. It did indeed sink in, straight to his soul.

Swimming in his own head, he almost completely didn't even hear the second part of the man's statement. It took him a good five seconds to register it after he had said so. He was still shaking, but he pulled his face back up and actually found the strength to make eye-contact, looking shocked and heartbroken and grateful all in one. The sudden kindness gave him a small surge of energy - enough, anyway, to push himself into half a sitting position, careful to support his weight on his palms, and not bump his fingers at all. As soon as he pushed himself up enough that he was sitting, he meagerly, shakily held his palms up. He wasn't about to lie idle while somebody actually offered him food.

Then, a sudden, desperate thought struck him. While he didn't know this man, this man was already the kindest person he had met. He dreaded to ask for more when what the man was giving him was already so much, and he didn't want to push his luck. But again, what was the worst that could happen? If he didn't ask, then he'd still be right here...

He had asked himself before; What could he have done to change his fate? Well... maybe nothing. But maybe, if he asked now...

"I.. I don't want to die," he admitted suddenly, doing a complete 180 on his previous stance. But it was true, after all. Between a long death and a swift one, dying quickly was obviously the kinder of two evils, but living still trumped both options. "But... I will. And... it'll be long, and... But I don't want to die. If you... if you feed me... and leave me here... it'll just take longer. I'm just... I'm just so tired. Please. Please don't leave me here. Please. I don't have anything to offer... but... just... anything. Please." He shut his eyes and bowed his head, still keeping his palms raised though. He focused all his efforts into forming his broken pleas into a solid, complete sentence. "Please, don't leave me to die here. I'll do anything."

“They rarely ever do,” Del’ure muttered when the youth finally admitted that he did not really want to die but he refrained from further commenting or even scolding the young man for such rash thoughts. He simply did not know the man’s background and life story. For him, it was easy to say not to give up, he had been born a fighter and he would go down a fighter; he stuck to that principle no matter how dire the situation ever turned out to be.

As little as he generally cared about most people, Del’ure was glad to see however that the man’s spirits had lifted a little at the mention of food. That usually did the trick with most. A small highlight as it were but it was a highlight nonetheless. Del’ure almost cringed however when he observed the way the man was avoiding using his fingers for anything. And there was nothing he could do about it. He was not a healer.

For a moment, he had been distracted by the injuries and had failed to listen to the young man, but the pleas still reached his ears and when that last fully coherent sentence came out, Del’ure’s mouth almost dropped open. Was this kid for real? He – Del’ure – take him with him? Why on earth would he want to burden himself with a broken mind like this one? Why…
“Anything?” Del’ure asked, a questioning eyebrow raised while he forced the man’s head upwards a little by pushing the waterflask against his lips. After all, he couldn’t let him use his hands, the fingers were of no use to him and Del’ure didn’t want to have the contents of the flask spilled all over the road. He could still use it.

Now anyone knowing Del’ure would probably want to scream at the young man to run away and not make a deal with this one, especially not one that involved them offering to do anything that passed through the demon’s mind, but alas, nobody was around to warn the young man.
And there was that small voice inside Del’ure’s mind that reminded him of what the town’s people had already done to the young one, not to mention what they might do to him if they found him sprawled along the side of the road, scaring off travellers and traders like this.

“Don’t be too hasty with the drinking. Your throat and stomach need to get used to it again,” Del’ure warned before he tipped the skin to release the flow of the water.

Jack didn't really heed the man's warning. Water was water, and he was so thirsty. He latched his lips to it and started drinking heavily. He had to put his hands back down, though, to keep from falling back. The water was a much-needed thing, but so was everything for this kid. He pulled away suddenly though, as his stomach started to twist, and Jack looked a bit ill. But he took a few deep breaths and managed to keep it down.

"Anything," Jack repeated, wetting his lips with his tongue, glad for the sudden influx of moisture too. Even so, he already looked more alive - his eyes more alert, and his face a little more animated. And his sentences a little more coherent. He cringed a little bit, still feeling honesty was best, and hoping it wouldn't bite him in the ass for saying so. "I don't know what I can offer in return for such a favor," he said. "All I have are my actions, and I've only ever... I've... " the shame of his lifelong begging came swelling back. He didn't have any skills that he knew of. He didn't know what kind of man this man was, not really, but he tried to reach out as a way of actually being useful. "I can... I can act as a guide for the town, if you need, I really do know everything about it. Nobody paid attention to me... I know their - oh, I know their secrets, if that's ... if that might be something you're interested in," he said, all his bargaining said so desperately. "But my knowledge only stretches to that town, I've never left it before now." He paused his stammering to take another drink from the water, this time sipping it much more gingerly, relaxing slowly as he did.

His breathing became a little more regular too. After a long minute of sipping the water, he pulled away again. "But I mean what I said. I will do anything to get out of here - anything that you want, anything that needs to be done. My fingers are a little hurt right now..." He cringed again. "I know healing is expensive, but if they can get set, I know I can help you however you need help, or however you want assistance. For what it's worth, I am a man of my word."

Del’ure contemplated the young man before him a while longer before he pulled the waterskin away as he started coughing. His own fault for not having heeded the warning. But of course, he could understand the sentiment. When food and water were scarce, any bit would be devoured as quickly as possible for fear of it disappearing into thin air.

Secrets… hmm… Humans alwas guarded their secrets so well and at the same time they did so badly at it. Del’ure often had a blast breaking into so-called secret places or revealing so-called secrets. It was entertaining to watch them crumble to bits because someone had found out their precious secret, which was more often than not general knowledge anyways.
Not one word about these thoughts passed his lips however, nor did his face reveal anything more than a slight interest in the words of the young man.

“Your fingers need healing either way,” Del’ure stated. “Whether I would ask a favour in return or not. But for now, it is better that we get away from this town. Better for both of us.” Packing the waterskin back into his bundle, Del’ure moved behind the boy and gripped him underneath his arms to put him onto his feet without even asking his permission.

“Now, can you walk? Or do you want me to carry you to the horse?” The tone was a little more sarcastic than Del’ure had wanted it to come out, then again, he had never said that he was a nice guy. Helping starved and injured strangers or not. He still wasn’t quite sure why he had not quite simply walked past, then again…

“I suggest we get to the closest town or village nearby with a healer so we can look after your hands. And after that… we shall see.” Del’ure explained his plan as he motioned for the boy to get onto the horse, or at least next to it.

"Oh... No, I can..." He focused on the ground for a moment, really doing his very best to not be even more of a hassle than he knew he was. "I can walk, I can walk," he insisted, halfway sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than the stranger. He was very surprised at being pulled to his feet- he almost jerked away in shock at first, but relaxed a second later. He just wasn't used to people touching him, really. And having somebody else pull him to his feet was energy he didn't have to use... energy that he could conserve for walking. Whether he could get on the horse or not was a completely different matter. But he moved to the horse anyway. He didn't need to ride the horse. He didn't have to. It would help, but as far as he was concerned, he was getting so much help already, he didn't want to risk it by asking for more, like a free ride. And, in fact, "You don't have to," he said. "You don't have to heal them... I just... like I said, I know it's expensive. I just can't help you if they're hurt, but just... I don't know... You're right, though, getting out of here is best. I can walk if you need, I can walk... but.. but if you could keep that water out, I would... I would be really happy," he said quietly. Again, trying his very best not to push his luck.

Anyhow, just in case the man didn't mind, he did go next to the horse as indicated, each step a bit shaky. His legs weren't hurt, but they did look like they were about to give pretty soon. He draped his arms up as best as he could, again being super super careful to not bump his mangled fingers. "Do you... want me to walk? I can, if you want," he said again. "B-But, I doubt your horse would notice the extra weight," he countered. He gave a shallow, mirthless laugh. "No, probably wouldn't notice at all..."

When the youth laughed s, something tore at Del’ure, something he didn’t know he could still experience. Shaking off the feeling, he stepped behind the boy, and muttered something about babbling too much as he fastened the bundle to the saddle.
“Brace yourself,” he then said in a means of small warning before he quite simply lifted the feather into the saddle. Without further ado, he swung himself back up behind the boy and urged the horse onwards.

A tingle at the back of his neck told him that they were not making a run for it a second too soon. The trample of hooves and shouts were heard at the exit of the town and Del’ure swore under his breath as he urged the horse forwards even quicker. “Keep your hands safe,” he told the boy, as he wrapped one strong arm around him to keep him upright and controlled the reins with the other.

They were out of sight and out of earshot of anyone on their tracks soon enough – he was glad he had taken such a good horse on his way out - but Del’ure remained restless until they reached the next town over. It had been unusual that they had really come after him at all but he wasn’t going to take any chances.
“We’re going to stop briefly at a healer’s but then we need to move on, otherwise they’ll find us soon enough. Apparently they weren’t too pleased with my visit.”
Del’ure maneuvered the horse through the small streets until they reached a house that could only really be described as a straw-hut. He knew from previous stays that this man was trustworthy and generally didn’t ask too many questions, though of course his price was accordingly.

Jack was experiencing all kinds of new things today. He hadn't been afraid of the horse, but in truth, this was his first time riding one. It was completely exhilarating, going as fast as they were. Freeing. It was hard to believe any of this was really happening. He wouldn't have imagined in a thousand years that somebody would actually stop for him like this, and that he would get a ticket away from that lot, and that hellhole. As the strong arm wrapped around him, he leaned backwards against Del'ure and kind of melted inside. In spite of the danger of being pursued, he was actually smiling a little bit. Genuinely.

"Don't take it personally," He said lightly, almost conversationally. The panic in his voice was almost gone completely. "They're nothing but a bunch of snakes in a den. I'm sure that whatever you did, or didn't do... they just like denying that there's anything rotton in their society so they blame others for their shortcomings. And they deserve whatever they get," he said. He probably should have sounded more bitter but the truth was he was in ecstasy right now. For the first time ever, he had a little bit of hope. Without thinking about it, he closed his eyes and turned his head a bit, half-nuzzling against his savior as best as he could without facing him.

"... And... I don't think I said so yet. I don't know, maybe I did. But... really. Thank you. Thank you so, so much. From the bottom of my heart."

“Yeah they probably they deserved what they did and more than that,” Del’ure replied, though he wasn’t really paying attention to it either. It was all done now anyways, no means to avoid the situation or reverse it. Consequences were what they were and Del’ure was starting to be a master at avoiding them as much as possible.

He was very surprised however when the young boy suddenly leaned against him like a little chid, or a woman, might and even more so when the man suddenly thanked him for his kindness. It was an odd sensation to have someone thank him and Del’ure was wondering whether he had ever actually heard the words, if they weren’t uttered in between moans and orgasms, which was a completely different situation anyways.

For lack of a proper way to respond to this, Del’ure waved it off by patting the boy on his head before reining in the horse on the backside of the hut.
Del’ure had not even jumped off yet when the door already opened and the healer looked at him with disapproving eyes. “What kind of trouble have you gotten into again this time, huh?”

Del’ure grinned at the older man and nodded towards the boy. “Not me this time, but him. Can you fix him up please? Quickly, I am in a bit of a hurry.”
“Chasing you again, are they? You’ll never learn.” The healer shook his head as he inspected the boy. “Bring him in.”
Del’ure turned back to the horse and as before, simply lifted the boy off the horse again and brought him into the house. “It’ll be quicker this way,” he apologised for simply dragging the boy in without even asking him or giving him the opportunity to walk himself. “And we’ll be safer, the sooner we’re on our way again. He’ll fix you up and then we ride out again, alright?”

Jack felt his face get very warm. He had no idea why. However, he decided to blame it on a light fever or something like that. But seriously, he never felt so protected before. He really couldn't account for the man being so nice, but he wasn't about to argue. It was just a lovely change. "I don't mind," he said quickly. "You're absolutely right. I don't want to slow us down."

He glanced at the healer, looking a bit flustered. "It's not his fault," he said to the healer. "They think I stole a ring - I'm sure they're just after me to finish me off." It was hard to tell if he was trying to cover for Del'ure or if he genuinely thought that they were targeting him. He added quickly, "But I SWEAR I'm not a thief. I never stole anything in my life - unless you count the thrown out moldy bread behind the bakery." He made a face. "Not that it ever did me much good though." He held his hands out shakily, still being careful not to bump them.

"I tried going to the healer in town," He explained to the doctor. "But he said he wouldn't heal a thief... and that I didn't have the money to pay. And that if I did have the money, I probably would have stolen it. What's that phrase....? Damned if you do, damned if you don't... But I never stole anything. They thought I stole a ring from a woman.... Apparently I was there when it happened." He gave another slightly bitter laugh. "She was flirting with somebody but I never knew she lost anything. And there I was, trying to not pay attention because it wasn't my business. Anyhow, the ring re-appeared on another woman. The recipient, though, said that she found it in my barrel. You know, the barrel I sleep in, because that makes sense, right? No, they just said so because they didn't want to admit to their husbands that they had been wooed by somebody else who probably broke their heart. So of course I'm the scapegoat. Nobody cares what happens to me. And that's fine, I understand, It's not like I'm a productive member of society.... but not for lack of trying. They probably just think I stole something else. Or are at least acting like they think I did, so that they don't have to come to terms with their own avarice and vices."

All through the young man’s talking, Del’ure held him in his arms until the healer motioned for him to put him down in a rather comfy looking chair, with large trays attached to both arms. The healer really had fixed this place up since Del’ure had last been here.
“For smaller injuries,” Finn shrugged as he noticed Del’ure’s questioning glance. “Or to put down massive amounts of tools and potions.” The chair itself was covered in a multitude of blankets which could easily be stripped away and washed; practicality at its best it seemed while keeping it as comfortable as possible for the patient. Del’ure was rather impressed by this.

He may not have paid much attention to what the boy had been saying all this time, but all of a sudden, he listened very closely. Because what the boy just described sounded way too familiar for his liking. Could it be that this was the same ring he had stolen? Could it be that he was the reason why this young man got every single one of his fingers broken? But he had gotten his fingers broken before Del’ure had even taken the ring, had he not? Or had it been after…?

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Del’ure considered his next actions for a while while Finn was working his healing genius on the fingers. Should he admit that this might all be his doing? Or shouldn’t he? He wasn’t a coward but he wasn’t very keen on having the boy think he had done this out of guilt. Then again, was it so much better to think he did it out of pity rather than out of guilt? Neither of which was particularly true, but charitable pity sounded better then guilt.

Finn beat him to the punch however as he had shot a glance at Del’ure from time to time in between. “You know something more about this, don’t you?”
Del’ure glared at him but Finn merely shrugged, barely managing to hide the grin that was threatening to spread across his face.

“Ah whatever,” Del’ure finally muttered and looked at the boy. “Look, I didn’t know you were around. I didn’t know they were going to act like this and take it out on you. So I’m sorry I caused you this much pain. They still deserved what they got though.” He suddenly felt defiant as though he needed to explain himself to the other two people in the room. He did not like the thought or the feeling for that matter, but there it was.

Jack was of course quite cooperative. He finished his tale without much emphasis, and was watching what the healer was doing. Doctors had always been foreign to him, and, like everything else new that was happening today, it was exciting and exhilarating. It was like magic, whatever it was, the pain slowly draining out of his fingers. He was willing to call it a miracle even though he saw exactly what was happening. It just seemed to good to be real. He couldn't wait to move them again.

Jack's attention turned to Del'ure as he started being addressed. He looked at him in confusion before he realized that what he was hearing was a confession. A confession for the crime that he had been accused of. Right? No... that couldn't be right. He peered at him dubiously, trying to figure out if he was lying or not. Surely, a man so good as Del'ure wouldn't ever be the ultimate cause for the worst day of his life, could he? But why would he lie? To protect someone else? ... To lessen Jack's hatred at the city? ... No, no, he was being earnest.

He looked shocked for a moment, and then suddenly very torn. Should he hate this man for causing him so much pain, or...?

However, this moment of being torn passed in a milisecond, when he realized that this really wasn't the worst day of his life. Sure, it had started out pretty sucky - well, really, it was yesterday that his fingers were actually broken, but he counted today and yesterday as the same for all intents and purposes. Whatever, this wasn't the worst event of his life by a long shot. On the contrary. He decided he was glad to have gone through the pain of getting his fingers broken and the fear of an uncertain future for being here with a potential future ahead of him. Something other than begging. Something like being in a new city where he wasn't already hated for being the product of some taboo relationship that he never had the privilege of having the details filled in for him. That was worth anything. And besides, Jack really didn't want to remember the pain of his broken fingers, or the fear of dying, and as he was being healed, he decided not to dwell on the bad of that day right then and there. Poof. It was like it had never happened. Sure, he remembered it, but the good that came from it very much outweighed the bad. So, the man was solely responsible for the best thing that ever happened to him; freedom from that crap-hole village.

He made a "Not bad" face, and nodded gently, turning to look at the Healer while he did his work. His expression kinda turned into a grin. "It's strange," he said. "It's almost like he has a conscience," he teased lightly. "I didn't think that human trait still existed in people." He gave Del'ure a genuine smile at that, to show that there were absolutely no hard feelings.

"But," He added quickly, addressing Finn again. "It's still not his fault." He insisted. Now he was defending Del'ure's responsibility for his fingers, rather than being chased from the village. "He didn't do anything a normal man wouldn't have done. Those people are just awful. They just don't want to take responsibility for their easily-shattered facades."

He tried wiggling his fingers, bracing himself for some pain, but not feeling it coming. He looked up at Finn in awe. "Is... is that it? Are you almost done?"

Del’ure saw the emotions warring on the boy’s – he still didn’t even know his name – face and he felt bad about it for a moment, but there was nothing he could do about it now anyways. What had been done had been done and that was the end of it. He was not about to start apologising a million times over for it either.
Although it very soon became apparent that he wouldn’t even need to.

At the words however, Del’ure glared at the boy. A conscience. Was he joking? It almost was as though the boy suggested he had done all of this to appease his own conscience. Now why would he have done that?

Finn laughed at them both and continued working. Though under his breath he muttered something about ‘conscience’ and ‘hilarious’. “Just get back to work, Finn,” Del’ure grumbled as he gave the boy a lopsided grin in return for the smile before turning away from both of them.

Inspecting some of the potions Finn had standing on his shelves – labelled for a change – he made his way around the small hut, not paying attention to what the other two were doing until the healer spoke up, confirming the boy’s question with a smile. “That is it indeed. I wouldn’t go about wriggling those things too much for a time though,” he warned as he watched the boy play with his fingers. “But you should have full use of them in a couple of days, though full strength will only be back in a few weeks.”

Taking this to be his cue, Del’ure asked: “How much do I owe you?” Finn looked at him with a thoughtful expression as he rubbed some ointment onto the young man’s fingers before he finally said: “Three.”
“Cut-throat,” Del’ure grunted and Finn burst out laughing. Yet, he handed over a few pieces of silver anyways. “You better throw in some of that ointment for his fingers for free.”
“Of course. Pleasure doing business with you as per usual, my dear friend,” Finn said as he put the small tub with the ointment into Del’ure’s hand while picking off the coins out of the other.

The healer saw them out the door and back to the horse, an oddly amused smile still playing around his lips as he observed the two. “Be safe, alright? I don’t want to have to fix any of you two up any time soon. Do you hear me?”

Jack looked surprised at the glare. Wasn't a conscience a good thing? He just smiled sheepishly in turn and gave a nervous chuckle. He brushed it off though as Finn laughed. He was obviously missing something, but it clearly wasn't important. He was just smiley right now. Everything seemed to be going okay.

He beamed and stood up inspecting his fingers as he was declared finished. "Thank you, both of you, so much." He looked back to Del'ure. "I guess it's safe to assume we should get out of here quickly, right?" He hesitated a bit. Again, he didn't want to push his luck too much by rushing his new bestie, but he also didn't want to be seen as dead weight that would lag behind either, so he peeked outside to see if he could see the townsfolk. Still no sign of them, but that wouldn't change in too long. He started for the horse though, deciding he preferred to come across as proactive and impatient instead of passive and even more of a hassle. Sure, he was still weak from hunger, but right now he had a more powerful motivation fueling him: Hope. With hope, his strength was returning in leaps and bounds. He was determined to not let his flimsy legs get the better of him.

But apparently he wasn't hopeful enough. He tried to mount onto the horse without assistance, and he just couldn't keep his grip on the saddle before falling back onto his ass. He hopped back up and grabbed onto the horse and tried again, with similar results. He climbed back to his feet a second time though and looked at Del'ure a bit helplessly, very embarrassed. "I... I don't suppose you'd mind giving me another hand, would you?" He asked. "That is... more than the ones you just ... paid to have fixed... I mean like a boost? I never rode a horse before today so... I don't think I'm doing it right."

“No, don’t worry. I’m not going to give you a completely new hand anymore. Finn’s too expensive,” he said with a grin as he looked back over his shoulder at the healer before picking up the boy again and heaving him onto the horse. He didn’t want to watch those pathetic attempts any further but the boy was quicker than him and already asking for help before Del’ure even had decided to put an end to his pains. After all, he didn’t want him to break those fingers again after they had literally just been fixed again.
“Give your fingers and your hands a rest. They won’t be able to pull you up onto that horse for quite a while yet. Even if you were doing it right.”

He purposefully did not reply to the thanks, not only because he didn’t particularly feel like he deserved it but also because Finn was doing it in the plenty.
“See you around,” he called out to Finn and vanished in the opposite direction from where they had come from, Finn’s parting words of “Hopefully not any time soon” drowned out almost completely by the sound of the horse’s hooves.

And it hadn’t been a moment too soon. They had barely left the town area when on the other side of town a huge tantrum was being thrown by the townspeople who had just arrived and asked for a fugitive on a stolen horse.
“Well, latest by now, they’re going to know that there’s two so-called thieves on the loose. Even though one of them really is one,” he told the boy. It was a good thing that they were sitting on top of the same horse because otherwise he would have had to shout against the wind of their crazy ride and would have alerted their followers to their position.

“What is your name anyway?” he asked as he veered the horse around in a half-circle in order to turn back around into the direction they had initially been going on before their little detour to look up Finn.
It would hopefully give them a head start because the townspeople were most certainly going to be pointed towards where they had just exited this last town and would hopefully keep on heading in that direction for a while before they realised they were going the wrong way. By then, if all went to plan Del’ure and the boy would already be far, far away.

Right, Jack certainly didn't want Del'ure to fish out any more money for his hands. After he was hoisted up onto the horse, he held his hands close to himself, gently massaging each finger, not for any real reason except that he was glad they were there again.

Jack glanced behind them at the townfolk, with sort of a distant smile on his face. Probably a great relief that they were still so far ahead of the mob, along with a little bit of shock that he ever made it this far.

He looked surprised to realize that he didn't actually know Del'ure's name, either, now that it was brought up. "Oh wow," he said. "I'm sorry, that's really rude of me. Here - I have a least some use of my hands, let's see if I can do this properly." He reached his right hand over his left shoulder, hoping for a little awkward handshake. "I'm Jack Dulac. Not that Dulac is a family name, since I don't know what my dad's last name is, or who he is at all, but it seemed to fit well enough. What about you?"

He looked behind them once more, over the same shoulder his hand was lingering. "I was being honest about what I said back there," He insisted. "I've never stolen anything in my life." He tightened his lips, hesitating about whether or not he should mention what he was thinking. "But... if you're willing to steal... Maybe I can help you get back the money you spent on me, and more.

"Now, I would never, ever recommend going back there for pleasure, but I do know where there is a small cache of gold coin hidden in that town. It was already stolen once, by the mayor's grandson. They tried to pin it on me too, but since they never found it, they had to drop the charges. And the grandson couldn't keep it in his home because then his mother would find it and .... well, so he hides it outside his house. There's also a scammer who lives in town. He doesn't deal with the other townsfolk because he lives there, but he makes deals with outsiders, and I know where those take place. He sells fake dragon eggs - I don't know HOW he makes them look so real, but I know for sure that they're not. It'd be really easy to intercept Stephen (I mean, the scammer) after one of his deals and take what he's earned, if that's something that wouldn't bother you. Hell, there's a whole variety of things in that town that are too easy to grab." He sort of frowned and sighed. "And it's not that I want to do bad things... I don't. But I had a lot of time to think about it over the last day or so, and ... if I had bothered to take any of that stuff sooner, maybe I could have changed my life sooner, instead of having any of this happen. Not that-" he added quickly, "Not that I regret meeting you, I don't. But maybe, when my hands are healed, I can help repay you that way, if we can't come up with something better. And, maybe a small part of me wants to take their stuff now too, since I already went through the trouble of having my hands crushed for nothing." He gave another sheepish smile. "You can't blame me for being just a little spiteful, right? May as well go ahead and do everything they thought I did, since it's not like I have a reputation to preserve."

It would be the least he could do. He still was just searching for any way he could to repay this man's kindness before this man inevitably ditched him somewhere else. Not that he would object, he certainly did understand. He didn't know what this guy was thinking, but as of right now, if he could talk this man into letting him tag along a little longer, it would please Jack just fine.

Contemplating the odd way the handshake was offered, Del’ure briefly grabbed it for a squeeze before turning his full attention back on the horse and the reins. “My name is Del’ure.”
Glancing back over his shoulder from time to time, he reined the horse into a slower gallop after a while once he could be certain that they were not being followed for the time being.

For a change, he listened more closely to what Jack was telling him, indeed there being a few interesting notions contained within the information he was providing him with. Maybe they could actually make something out of this, even if he didn’t particularly want to use Jack for doing this.
“If you haven’t ever stolen anything, then these guys might not be the best way for you to start testing your skills. Though I appreciate the information, it might definitely come in handy for when I’m, or we’re, going back there. That stash of gold sounds truly intriguing. And that from a mayor’s son, who would’ve thought.”
Of course though, money tended to go to money, but greedy little idiots like this one were Del’ure’s finest and easiest bait.
“And no, spite is good, towards people like that. They deserve a lesson in life. And it shall come for them. It partially already has anyways.” Del’ure might only have started a little intrigue, even though Jack had had to pay for it, but it could be nothing in comparison to what the two of them could come up with if they put their minds on it. But that was for another time. Taking revenge too soon would ruin its effect. “All in due time though, all in due time.”

After several more hours on horse back and without the next town in sight yet, Del’ure stopped underneath a few trees so they could rest a little and stretch their legs. In addition, he needed to take care of the horse, it wouldn’t do to run it down in the middle of nowhere.
“They do breed a mean horse in that town though,” Del’ure mused, as he loosened the saddle a little, and loosely tied the horse to a low-hanging branch so it could move about for the best grassy spots. “It hasn’t even completely used up its strength yet.”
Settling against a tree trunk himself, he looked at Jack. “What brought you to that forsaken place anyway? And why did you never leave if you were so miserable there?”

Jack dismounted carefully as they pulled to a stop. Personally, he wouldn't have minded staying sitting, but as it WAS his first horse-ride, he was a bit sore and could indeed use the break from the saddle. So he sat in the grass instead and leaned back against a tree, still with a sort of dazed smile plastered on his face. "Nah," he said casually. "There's a lot more scandal in the Mayor's family than he'd care to admit. He's the worst of it, in fact - the trend-setter for propagating the hypocrisy there." he said. "Though, you're right, patience is a virtue... and I promise you, I'm pretty much a master of it. Though.... I don't suppose you'd mind sharing a bit more of that water, would you?" He asked. "And maybe some of that bread, now that we're not in hot pursuit? If you feel we should wait, though, that's perfectly understandable."

He grinned as Del'ure asked about his circumstances. "Really?" He asked. "I wasn't going to give you my whole life story - though if you really wanna hear it... it's just boring. Shameful, really. In retrospect... Ugh, it's just embarrassing how much of a victim I made myself. I wish I HAD left sooner, but I just didn't have the means.

"So, you know how I was mentioning that there's a lot of scandal with the mayor's family? Well, he has a daughter... she's in her thirties now, I think, but attractive enough I guess. Well, when she was younger, she fell for some slime-ball and they had a wild passionate few weeks together. Shen he dumped her, she went crawling back to her father, (the mayor), and explained how she had been abused and molested by this well-to-do fellow, and called it rape, when really she just didn't want to take responsibility for her own irresponsibility. A few months later, she had a kid. That, good sir, is how I came to be. Or at least, I'm pretty sure. I've never been told so directly, but I hear the hens talk about it when they're around me, and give me looks. We both have red hair, too, her and I.

"I figured it out a while ago. When I was five, I think. I remember dreaming about it, when I was a kid, thinking that maybe if she came by and saw me, she would realize she loved me-" he snorted disdainfully at that - "- and take me back to her mansion and feed me and then I'd live happily ever after. But, it turns out, she really never wanted a kid. When I saw her for the first time (that I remember, anyhow) she spat at me, both confirming my theory that I was hers, and dashing my dreams of a happy future. So, that explains why nobody hires me, though, the mayor and his family hate me." He kicked his feet out to spread them out a bit. "Not that I really blame 'em, I guess, if I was a whore, I would look for any reason to not be reminded of my own misgivings too, and pass the blame to somebody else. Seems to be a theme in that place."

He chewed on his lip. "Well... as for why I never left... like I said, half of it's because I just never had enough anything to sustain myself between towns. But you gotta admit, with this war raging on, it can also be pretty scary moving around. I never even knew how close the next towns were. I always got cold feet and went back before ever seeing the brim of the other towns. I can't really hunt or anything like that. Tried to stow-away on a merchant's cart once - got the crap beat outta me. Never tried that again."

He grinned a bit. "And aside from that, the rest a my days were just waitin' and beggin' I guess. Those are the important bits."

He sat up straighter and leaned in excitably. "What about you? What's your story?"

Having a mind to tell the little one to get the food himself if he wanted it, Del’ure sighed and got up after all, deciding that Jack had better to go easy on his fingers and rummaging through his bag might not be the best thing to do for him anyways.
Seeing that there wasn’t all too much water left in the skin anyways, he handed the whole of it to Jack, along with a decent chunk of bread.
“Not more for now, your stomach still isn’t used to it. You’ll be eating small portions for a few more days if you’re going to stick with me, because I’m definitely not going to feed you more than that. Puking all over me and the horse is unacceptable.”

The words may have sounded harsh but they were true and Del’ure meant well. It was still an odd feeling for him but for the time being, it suited him, so he indulged his own conscience – or at least that was Finn thought he was doing.

Settling back against his tree trunk, he listened to Jack’s story, which was a truly odd one. But at least it did explain part of why he knew so incredibly much about the scandals ravaging that town. Useful, very useful indeed.
“Never trust a red-headed woman…,” he muttered, though more to himself than to Jack. Louder, he added: “Yes, dealing with whores, whether they’re officially or secretly following that practice, is never a good thing to do. They cannot be trusted.”

He didn’t reply to Jack’s question for quite a few moments before he finally heaved another sigh, adjusting his position into something a little more comfortable. “Well, there isn’t much to my own story. I can’t remember my mother, my father is a manipulating asshole and I’ve been a thief and womanizer for as long as I’ve been able to think. I move from place to place, making the best out of everything, and enjoying life to its fullest.”
He realised that it might sound silly to someone who didn’t think like him but he really did enjoy his way of living, nomadic and dishonest as it might be most of the time. He didn’t regret it though.

"Better than Nothing," Jack said. He took the skin and drank the rest steadily, carefully, then plopped the skin down and started on the bread. "Certainly don't wanna puke either. That'd just be a perfect waste, I think." He tried to go slow on the bread, but he couldn't help it. He jammed it into his mouth and hiccuped a bit as he ate too quickly, swallowed, and then wished he had saved the water until after the bread, instead of before. Even so, he relaxed back against a tree again, his brows furrowed in pleasure, and shook his head. "That was damn tasty. Thank you. Seriously. Thanks." He hiccuped once or twice more while he regained his breath (since he had favored eating to breathing for a minute or two). He gave a deep, audible exhale of satisfaction.

"Though, really, to be fair, It's prolly best to just not trust any woman, regardless of hair-color. 'Specially the pretty ones," Jack mused as he recovered from eating. "I wouldn't know too much, but in that town, all the pretty women both make someone else heart-broken or wind up crying themselves. Or both at the same time." He then considered not looking like a complete ass, so he said "Of course, not every single pretty woman, I'm just talking about them in general. Like I said, I wouldn't know for sure, but it seems like the drama comes with the pretty ones. Hell, watching their shenanigans unfold was at least a way to pass the time."

He tipped his head as Del'ure admitted to being a womanizer. In spite of Jack having JUST finished mentioning that women couldn't be trusted, saying it so forwardly seemed wrong somehow. He made a face, trying to think of why it mattered, but then decided it didn't, so he moved past it.

"What about now?" He asked. "Are you with a woman now?"

He made another slightly dissatisfied or confused face. "For that matter... is it really that fun?" He asked. "It seems like that's all that the guys want - to be with the prettiest women. I mean - I know what's supposed to happen, and it's not like I haven't wanted one myself, but... just, when I watch people, it seems like once a woman gives a guy sex, then that man just looses all his senses and becomes her whipping-boy. But they also look happier, in spite of it. Is it fun enough that it's worth it?" He frowned a bit. "Or ... Or should I just not worry about asking these questions?" He knew there was such a thing as socially appropriate conversation, and now that he was on the line of subject, maybe he shouldn't have gotten on it. "I mean, I just ... people seem so foreign to me," he admitted. "Damn, I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm asking. Not like it's important. Just bewildering I guess."

“Me? Nah,” Del’ure waved off the question. “I’m rarely with one woman for more than a few days. I lose interest too quickly.” It was a straightforward reply and he was fully aware that he was admitting to being an asshole, but it quite simply was who he was. Most women he slept with also knew that he was not going to stick around for all eternity, but merely long enough for them to please each other for a little while and then he took off again.

Sighing contently himself as he thought the conversation was now closed and they might rest for a few minutes, he raised questioning, almost shocked eyebrow at Jack when the next set of questions came along with admitting he’d never had a woman. Del’ure almost had suspected that after the rant about pretty women – though he totally agreed with most of it – but to hear it so outright, that he had not expected.
‘Wow, this guy really is very honest. Maybe too much for his own good...’

All of a sudden, he had to laugh out loud though at Jack’s clumsiness in trying to express himself. Pushing away from the tree so he could properly look at Jack, he said: “It is absolutely worth it and it is fun, very fun indeed. Not everybody enjoys it in the same way though and that’s where a little experimentation might come in handy.”
With a grin he added: “The easiest way to see whether you enjoy it or not, is to just go for it. I mean, I think it’s fairly obvious that I love it. And from what you have seen, most guys do. But attaining your own satisfaction isn’t the only part of this that is important. You need to make her feel good too and that is what a lot of men forget. So, you better remember that. But let me tell you one thing: the prettiest women aren’t always the best. They usually think they are but it isn’t always true.”
Pausing for a moment, Del’ure cocked his head as he contemplated Jack a little longer. “So you’ve never been with a woman. Have you ever kissed one? Or fancied one?”

"Oh, fancied plenty, to be sure. Kissed... heh, well, actually, yeah. When I was a bit younger, though. Twelve or Thirteen - right around when guys and girls start being attracted to one another, but not old enough that ... not old enough that girls start caring about more superficial stuff. And by 'superficial', I mean having any kind of standards at all. I'm not daft, I know I'm not any kind of catch at all, so after enough rejections, I sorta gave up on trying. It's fine, though, I'm sure that luck'll change too," he said with a grin. "All I have to do is clean up a bit. I can do that. I used to have a barrel a water to wash in, except when things started to grow in it, then I'd have to dump it out and wait for the rainwater to fill it up again. So I can keep clean if I have the water. Maybe if I clean up, they won't be so repulsed. I'm sure that'll be the cause and effect of that. I could probably nab some nice enough clothes to throw people off."

He crossed his arms behind his head as he settled against his tree. "I don't know how we got on this subject. It's not my priority though. First, I have to feed myself, that comes above everything. Sometimes, when the travelling performers came through, I got some extra food from them. Really nice folk. But that's when I really regretted not being able to get close to people. It's easy to not give a rat's ass about things like sex and love and such when you're starving. When I was a little more sated, it became something I could more easily focus on, not that it did me any good."

He nodded at Del'ure's sage advice. He really didn't know the first thing about starting to please ANYBODY, but he figured he'd learn along the way. He chuckled a bit. "Figured I'd be lonely in that town forever. I wasn't really thinking about a future with anybody at all. It's all... kind of exciting now, like there's a whole bucket of possibilities open to me that I'd written off before. Man, I can't wait to make myself presentable and straighten up like a real gent."

He tipped his head to focus on Del'ure and looked serious for a moment. "I really do mean it. I owe you everything. You could have just let me die back there..." He trailed off, like he wanted to say more, but the words didn't come to him. So he sighed a bit and looked up at the sky, his smile coming back. "So what are our plans from here, then?"

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