simplestgift | One Bell: [Written/Accidental Video] No Gallows Can Touch Me

[Written in a shaky hand]

I don't know if anyone is really out there. I seem to be caught up in a tree. In my defence, the tree looks worse than I do. I think I am winning. However, it is very cold and windy up here, and I can't seem to make it down on my own. I've heard about safe falling, but the only guideline we have about falling in the navy is "don't do it." If anyone can see this, then, I need your help. In the meantime, I'll keep writing, if you don't mind. It's just about the only way to keep moving up here.

I am Lieutenant Kennedy aboard His Majesty's Ship the Renown. If you'll believe it, that used to mean something. You may call me Kennedy (with or without the "mister"), or, since I suppose it makes no difference here, just Archie. I've answered to both. While I am sure you are dying to hear the endlessly dull story of my life and death, my literary skills are limited by my half-frozen fingers and my ability to manipulate this infernal book. Maybe later.

I can only hope this place has a decent glass of whiskey somewhere. I have a headache. Probably a permanent one. Not to mention I'm aching in body parts I actually did not have before. I suppose I should be glad to be alive again. Maybe that will come later.

Damned wings. I've no idea what to do with mys

[Accidental video: a flying shot of, well, mostly a grey-and-white blur as the book falls from the tree. A man's fingertips, nearly blue with cold, pass just in front. There's a dismayed shout and the sound of tearing cloth as the journal thumps to the ground, lying open. Barely visible in one corner is a very cold new feather, barely hanging on to a tree branch far above the ground. His pants seem to be caught and tearing. For a moment, he freezes with his arms around the branch, breathing heavily. Seconds later, he chuckles as if he just got a joke. He can barely be heard when he speaks.]

Looks like I d-didn't escape a hanging after all, H-Horatio.

[After a few more wheezing, half-hysterical chuckles, he goes very quiet.

The rest of the shot is of a location just outside the west side of town, north of the river.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Twenty-ten. [He glances back. Judging by the original message, he's guessing it's quite a bit earlier.] What about you?

...[He takes a bit to translate that into an actual year he can comprehend. A little over two centuries. That's a long time.

Eventually, he registers the fact that his look of shock must be a little odd, and clears his throat, wiping the expression off his face.]

Eighteen hundred and two, actually. Sound a bit backwards?

It sounded as backwards then as it does now.

[Mull on that one a bit, Archie. By now they're in front of that community building. Jack lets himself in. Feel free to do the same, he isn't going to hold the door open for you or anything.]

[Archie waits until Jack can't see his face to roll his eyes. He does let himself in, letting the door close behind him and letting his eyes close as he feels the wave of heat crash into him. Where does that sort of heat come from? The place is uncomfortably foreign, and after standing still for a moment, he sits himself down on the first step of the stairs, waiting to feel his feet again.]

Damn.

[He could SENSE that. Only not really. Once Archie is seated, Jack is already heading back to the door.]

Stay put. I'll grab you some warm clothes. After that, you're on your own. [Sorry Archie. Maybe if you were a hot babe and he had a chance at scoring with you, he'd go all the way. But this is about the extent he's willing to go to have you in his debt.]

[Actually Archie's pretty grateful about being left alone. It's not that he doesn't appreciate the help, but he doesn't like having to be helped, and any further assistance would only be patronizing. He's been independent since the age of eleven, after all.]

Thank you, sir. [He gives a slight, sincere nod.]

Call me Jack.

[With that, he's out again.

Some time later, a half hour at the most, the door will bust open and Jack will be coming back in from the cold. He's got a bundle of clothes (and a pair of boots) under his arm. They're certainly not Archie's uniform, he'll have to go find those on his own time. But they're more or less his size and appropriate for the weather.]

That should get you started. Oh, here. [He pulls out a pack of beef jerky from his pocket and tosses it over.] Something to snack on until you find something real to eat.

Thank you. [Tight smile. Really, the fare is about what he's used to. He has a bit of a hassle getting the packet of jerky open, but eventually works it out, strips off the plastic, sticks the meet between his teeth, and sucks on it as he pulls the shirt on. It's a sweater, definitely not something he is used to, but his brain registers the practicality of such an item. Gathering the rest of the clothing, he gets up to try to find a safe place to change his pants. He's not doing it in front of someone who looks like Cleveland.]

Thank me later.

[He points towards the hallway.]

Chances are there's an empty room down there you can sleep in. If not, there's always the seven floors above. You got a name?

[Now that he's warming up and his brain is turning back on, Archie is not greatly trusting of this man. He doesn't like giving his name to someone like this. Lying about it won't make a difference, though, since in a small town they're bound to run into each other again. Of course he would run into a shifty person first thing, given his luck. And now he owes him a debt of gratitude, and this Jack, whose name alone does not give him to trust, has made it clear that he intends that debt to be paid. What has he gotten himself into?]

Kennedy. That is my name, Jack.

[What indeed. Jack just flashes a smile as he heads towards the door. He has the guy's name. He has him in his debt. Now it's time to go back to what he was doing.]

Nice meeting you, Kennedy. Welcome to Luceti.

[With that, he's out.]

One Bell: [Written/Accidental Video] No Gallows Can Touch Me

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject