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 Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 5:46 am
Hale stretched slightly as he walked down the main street of Aimes on his way home from his first night of work a week after finding his bottle. He was happy to find that it didn't activate while he was at the club working, which would cause many problems for him if it did. Hale was against taking it with him at first, but didn't feel it was safe to leave the poor thing all by its lonesome.
He sighed and pulled the bottle from his pocket to check the time; it made a handy clock too as it was always on time. He sighed, it was 2am and all of the city clubs were on the wind-down, the patrons heading home to sleep off the alcohol and party stupor. Yawning and placing the bottle back into its pocket, Hale smoothed out his black suit a little and waved to a few people here and there that he designated him that night.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 6:15 am
Not usually one for a night out and also not being incredibly uncomfortable with the layout of Amies - having lived exclusively on the boat for the most of his life - resulted in Inge being hopelessly lost. His slightly drunken state also worsened the situation as he stared down the street, a perplexed look upon his face. He could've sworn that he recognised this street, the name of alehouse nearest to him seemed familiar, yet he didn't remember how to get from here back to the docks and ultimately... His bed.
He sighed and decided that the best course of action would be to enlist in some help... In his current state he would have no chance of getting home before morning, and his father would be furious should he arrive home late - slowing down the departure of the boat and reducing the amount of fish they would catch. The only problem was... Picking the right person. It was likely that many on the streets at this time of night were either;
a) like himself, aka, drunk,
or
b) up to no good.
Glancing around, he was just about prepared to sit down and give up - accepting that he would suffer the wrath of his father at a later date - he noticed a man, striding down the street, a bottle in his hand. Inge grinned, remembering his own bottle; currently nestled on his pillow, swaddled in blankets. "Excuse me, you with the bottle! Can you give me a hand with something?" He called out the man, hoping that he could trust the fellow soon-to-be dust parent to be a good samaritan and help him find his way home.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 6:32 am
Hale had just finished putting the bottle back into his pocket when he heard a call from a young man and he turned, setting his dark olive gaze upon the boy, "Well, good morning to you, young man," Hale greeted him with his usual Host voice and charming smile.
He eyed the boy carefully, taking in the situation; he appeared to be somewhat inebriated, but why had the boy chosen him of all of the other people in the street. Hale had been farther away than the next five closest people, so had the boy chosen him because he was carrying a Dust Bottle? "What can I do for you?" he asked, concerned that the boy may have had too much to drink and was taken in by Hale's good looks; no, that couldn't possibly be the reason. Hale shook his head slightly, having had much to drink that night as well, his thinking wasn't entirely straight.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 6:56 am
Inge returned the greeting, "Morning sir," before examining the man closer. He had olive eyes and long black hair, reaching to his waist, quite the imposing figure on closer inspection. To be quite honest Inge was a little taken aback - the fellow dust carer seemed to have such a piercing gaze, like he could see right through Inge, it was intimidating for the fairly sheltered boy. He shook his head slightly, regaining his ability to speak to the man as he remembered why he had asked for help - his mind really was made clumsy by the alcohol.
"I am, as you can tell, slightly... Tipsy...?" He chose to say tipsy rather than drunk so as not to put the man off.. Although it was fairly obvious that he was more intoxicated than that; if it wasn't just the fact that he was out so late and asking a relative stranger for help, his slightly wobbly sense of balance and breath would've also shown the effects of the alcohol on him.. "I am, uh, lost... So I was wondering if you could help me?"
He motioned towards the man's pocket. "I thought I would be able to trust you because you have a dust bottle." He explained, smiling warmly before continuing; "I have a bottle as well. Although I left it at home for the night..." He nodded, almost to himself, before waiting hopefully for the man's reply.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:49 am
The man watched Inge carefully for a moment, worried the boy might fall over or something, though he would not hesitate to catch him if he did. Hale smiled to himself, the boy seemed to be intimidated by his looks, though this reaction was nothing new to the Host; he got it quite frequently at first meetings, even seconds.
He gave a chuckle, "Tipsy, eh?" he winked, knowing full well that the boy was outright drunk; again, the symptoms were nothing new to the man, having to deal with drunks all night long. "I'm not overly familiar with the town, but I'm sure I can help you find your way better than you can in your current state," he said, feeling compliant as usual. The boy was asking politely, and was surprisingly well spoken for someone who had had a fair amount to drink.
At the mention of a Dust Bottle, Hale raised an eyebrow, "Oh? So you have one too?" he asked, "What's your essence?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:02 am
Inge nodded gratefully, he nearly went to hug the man but realised that still, even if he had agrreed to help him, he was still a complete stranger. His mind registered this midway through leaning forwards to embrase the man and Inge turned it into a stumbled so as not to look weird. "Haha, sorry about that. Lost my balance." He laughed causally, putting a hand on the wall next to them to feigne steadying himself.
Righting himself he smiled casulally, recalling what the man had said - everything seemed to be going in one ear and out the other... He rubbed his eyes asif trying to rub away the effects off the drink. "Ah, yes... Essence." He mumbled, remembering what the man had said. "According to Aren, the dust guy, my bottle has a rust dust in it." He chuckled as he finished the sentence, amused by the fact rust and dust rhymed.
"And what essence does you bottle have?" He asked, peering at the pocket in which the man had placed the bottle when walking over.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:12 am
Hale chuckled softly has he easily saw through the young man's feign, "It's alright, you look like you've had a bit too much to drink tonight. Make sure you drink lots of water before sleeping so you don't have a hangover from dehydration in the morning," he said, giving tips from experience.
"Aren?" Hale inquired, raising an eyebrow, Sojo hadn't mentioned him yet. "My Dust is Time," Hale replied, pulling out the bottle again and looking at it once more to check the clock. "I learned of my Dust from a man named Sojo," he added, in case the boy asked.
"Where did you need to go? I can escort you there to make sure, rather than just giving directions," he smiled softly, wanting to make sure the fellow Dust Guardian got home alright.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:36 am
Interested in the bottle Inge stared prfusely at it, and was suprised to see a clock ticking on the surface of the bottle, a major difference to his bottle, that simply had a rusty appearance to it's surface with no really unusual features.. "That's so cool! Compared to mine, your's is almost useful. Does it tell the correct time?" he asked, reaching out to take the bottle and have a closer look - probably not the wisest ideas in his drunken state.
In a more uninterested voice he added the location of his home; "I live on a boat, at the docks, with my father." He grinned, "Smells fishy all the time."
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:44 am
"Oh," Hale quipped, "my bottle also ticks too," he added, holding it close to the boy's ear so that he could avoid having it removed from his hands by the drunken teen. "It always tells the right time, even with I go through a shift or freeze," he said, reaching out and taking hold of the boy's arm to lead him towards the docks; in the opposite direction he had been travelling in the first place.
"My name is Hale," he said, introducing himself finally, "I work in this district at the Host Club," he added, feeling uncomfortable about not introducing himself yet.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 11:18 am
Inge yawned, the rhythmical ticking made him feel almost... Sleepy. He rubbed his eyes, a dull throbbing pain was beginning in the back of his head - most unpleasant.. The beginning of what would probably be a killer hang over. "I'm Inge, thanks for helping me." he mumbled, trudging along next to man in the direction he was being steered.
The street they moved onto was cobbled and made it difficult for him to walk without stumbling, especially in his drunken state. He leaned heavily on the man, using him to prop himself up when he fell. Embarrassed by the situation and his constant falling he gave the other man an apologetic look.
"Sorry about this.. Hopefully the next few roads will be less... Cobbly." He said, staring up at him from the floor where he was sitting after a particularly bad fall.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 1:06 pm
"It's a pleasure to meet you Inge," Hale replied couteously, taking a hold of the boy's arm so that he could walk more steadily.
As they moved to the more cobbled streets, Hale wondered if Inge would be able to manage, though it wasn't long before his unasked question was answered as he found himself looking down on the boy after he had fallen. Hale smiled andknealt down next to Inge, "Here, get on," he said, offering a piggy-back, "It'll be easier for the both of us, plus it looks like rain is coming, and I really do want to get back before a storm strokes again," he said with a bit of a nervous laugh. Hale was terrified of tunderstorms, though he would never tell that to a complete stranger.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 1:17 pm
The man bending over infront of him baffled Inge, what the hell? Was his initial thought but then it clicked that he was being offered a piggy back. He considered it... Could the man carry him all the way? It was true he was light - being a skinny teen - but was the man strong enough to be able to lift him all the way home. "Thank you," He hopped on, there seemed to be no point in refusing the man's offer, if he was too heavy the man would say and he would walk the rest of the way.
Glancing up at the sky he too noticed the billowing black storm clouds moving across the sky towards the city. They were coming from the ocean and he winced as he realised that would spell trouble for the next day's fishing... So his father's anger would be even greater!
He sighed deeply and waited for the man to lift him and continue on their way...
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 1:23 pm
Hale smiled softly as the teen accepted his offer; Hale may not have been strong physically, but he could still lift using knowledge of physics. Adjusting the boy a little, Hale stood carefully and took off down the street at a good pace. He was glad that he wasn't clumsy, so he didn't have to worry about tripping on the cobbled streets.
"I hope that fishing isn't going to be dangerous in the morning for you," he said as they reached the docks and he let the boy down. Hale wasn't too keen on giving someone a ride on the slippery docks where he might lose his footing despite having excellent coordination.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 1:53 pm
Inge nodded graciously at the man as they arrived at the docks. Evidently he hadn't been too far away, the piggy back was quite a short one. He shook his head at the man's comment, "Oh no. I doubt we'll even go out if the weather is bad. You never tend to catch anything in rough seas... Just damages the nets.." He blinked slowly and took in the docks. Which pier were they moored at? Whilst he strained his memory to recover the vital information he decided to ask the man about his job.
"So, what do you do exactly at this host club?" He inquired, peering at the numbers at the end of the piers.. Pondering if it were 7 or 8 that he should go down to find the boat. "I've never seen nor heard of it. But then again, I don't get out too much."
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:12 pm
Hale chuckled a bit at the boy's question, "Well, firstly, you must be nineteen or older to enter," he said, pointing out that Inge was probably too young to even consider entering the place. "Think of it as a sort of dating place, except you pay your date for their hospitality," he said, trying to think of the best way to explain it. "It's not like it's anything adult though," he added, hoping that the young man didn't get the wrong impression.
"Um, are you sure you know where you live?" Hale asked after a few moments, noticing that Inge was having trouble remembering where he lived. Lightning flashed in the distance and Hale froze, "Um, young Sir, I really do have to be going," Hale said nervously, watching the clouds roiling in the black each time the lightning lighted up the sky.
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