[b]Brown L. Cheeseman[/b] - [@PerfectThought]

Isolated, alone, yet also crowded, Brown finds himself in the crowd. Without Eckehart there, it seems his unique status wasn't as apparent to the crowd. Soon, the respectful space that had been designated about him wanes. At length, he is pressed in with the crowd. The few Bikura present in the city could not be everywhere at once, and whatever power that made him special in their eyes did not directly speak to the common denizens of Xaktin. He is hard pressed to make his path, but it is not impossible. The flow of the crowd is wild and pattern-less, but his goal is always visible on high and away. The path is simple, all he must do is press on and he will arrive.

But a hand grips his staff suddenly. Slender fingers, pale in the light of the moon and the flashing of the fire filled sky, gripping it as lifeline. The hand is attached to a very human arm, save for the silvry veins wrought within the skin. They glowed softly from within of their own luminescence, and the arm was attached to a shoulder, itself to a body, which was composed of the appropriate two arms, two legs, neck, and head. A girl, about his age by estimation, who appeared human save for the glowing patterns within her flesh, had pressed through the crowd and stumbled onto his path. His staff had served as her buoy in rough waters, and as she lifted her head to him he witnessed an incredible light within her eyes. Her hair was short cut, rough, messy hewn locks of brown. Her face was dirty; smudged, smeared in some black foulness about her lips and eyes. The light within her eyes and skin contrasted this comparative filth. She was mouthing words, but no sound escaped her lips at first. She stared at him- and then her eyes seemed to widen, and her other hand began clutching at the clothing of his chest as if trying to cling to his person. At last her words reached his ears, and it was like the grating of nails upon chalkboard, metal upon metal, all the wrong keys being pressed at once on a piano, and a radio struck by lightning but still clinging to life all at once. Her words did not match her lips, and when they rose to Brown's ear it was a whisper that shook the entirety of the world around him.

[b][i]I̵t̸ ̸h̸u̶r̴t̷s̸.̶ ̵T̸h̴e̶ ̷p̶a̷i̶n̵.̶ ̷I̵ ̵c̴a̶n̷'̴t̶ ̴h̷e̴a̴r̵ ̸i̴t̶.̸ ̸S̵i̷n̸g̸ ̵t̷o̴ ̸m̵e̵.̸ ̷S̸i̸n̵g̷ ̴t̵o̸ ̸m̵e̵.̷ ̶S̶i̷n̶g̷ ̷t̸o̵ ̴m̴e̷.̴[/i][/b]

And just like that the world snaps back into focus. Everything is clear again, The Song washing over him, and there is no sign of the girl whatsoever. The moment the words left her mouth, she was gone- or, perhaps, was never there to begin with? It had all happened in an instant, and was gone with the wind. The bustle of the crowd flows about him, idle chatter of pleasantness and wholesome enjoyment.

"Huzzah for Yo'Bikur!" A voice calls, someone leaning from a rooftop balcony. "Huzzah! Huzzah!"

"I wonder what the Princess will declare for the year?" A nearby girl(?) gossips loudly. It was a formless blob, but something about it emanated a femininity with some certainty. It was a little disconcerting how it appeared to vibrate and the words manifested about it.

"Two hundred years of peace! Let there be one hundred more!"- this cry is met with a stern retort by a wizened figure bent upon a cane; "Damnable short lifers, let it be one million more."

Brown was in the midst of ample and resplendent joy. And yet, the Song beckoned.

[hr]

[b]Everyone Else[/b]

[quote=Audrey Springer]
[color=a0410d]"So it sounds like the matching bell is missing, and that that's weird. But it also seems like something had to be done on [i]this[/i] end for the bell to even work, yeah? Like, I dunno, they have to be rung at the same time or something? Look, I'm gonna go along, we'll talk to the princess. But it sounds like [i]someone[/i] did this to us on purpose, and if I find out it was her... Well, she's not gonna make friends that way."[/color]
[/quote]

"Succinctly," Eckehart says, splaying his fingers as if to show himself disarmed. A warrior's tic. "It is 'weird', yes." A thoughtfulness grips him again. "...The bell, yes, the bell-" He shakes himself of his thoughts again, looking to Audrey. "You are a keen one, asking goodly questions, shaking loose long thoughts. The bells are connected but are also mutually exclusive. Ringing one transports you to the other. There need not be someone on the other to receive you. So if you came by bell, yet arrived within the Silvermere, then there is something curious about this. The Princess had no certainty of your arrival, so I do not suspect any whimsy of hers."

At this, he turned to Damon and fixed him with his smile. Fanged and bright.

[quote=Damon Howard]
When Audrey first mentioned wanting to return home, Damon wasn’t concerned yet. What really caught his attention was Eckehart’s answer. [color=b284be]“Does that mean Rulania has no friends?”[/color] he frowned. It’s what she’d asked for, and she had to wait for some to come from another world? [color=b284be]“And she’s [i]sixteen[/i]?”[/color] They were the same age, but it struck him that the princess was young.
[/quote]

"She is sixteen years of age, with seventeen approaching come the winter. I cannot truly speak to her loneliness, but I have known of her predecessors and I can vouch that they often expressed a desire for companionship. I have done what I can, but Eckehart is merely Eckehart- and you all are the Ones Expected. All I can say is that we must see what Yo'Bikur has in store for us, and I will focus myself upon your plight of travels. Once again, you all have my sincerest apologies at your discomfort and confusion."

As Eckehart bows low, Freyja Hoar seems flustered and, frankly, embarrassed at all the special treatment. She claps her hands together;

"Everyone ready? I'm not trying to cut short the questions, but I'm getting antsy standing on this bridge. My engine's running, so to speak, so if the questions are gonna continue I'm just gonna run ahead and ask the lady myself."