Compensating for Something
Friedrich Schreckt
Hermit

Age: 354 | Height: 6'3" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#1
F R I E D R I C H


Friedrich stared up transfixed at the looming spire. It was not part of skyline he remembered. His back bowed slightly under heavy thoughts. Where were the legions? Where was his house? Where was his favorite tea shop? Where were the corpses?

Well, maybe some questions didn’t need answers immediately. Or ever.

He had waited as long as he could in his study, but the lack of house surrounding his solid concrete cube suggested a regime change. And, that his social capital may be worth less than he had hoped in the ‘new world’.  His gaze focused back on this unfamiliar edifice, narrowing his eyes at this interloper intervening in his moonlight.


Amun Arlun
Potter

Age: 41 | Height: 5'7'' | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 11 - Strg: 31 - Dext: 34 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 30 - Int: 1
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#2
if I ever start to think straight
Amun stumbled through the fog of the portal, heading for the signpost that would take him home. Coming from Torchline (or was it Halo? his mind was as foggy as the portal) had left him exhausted and he just wanted to lock himself in his studio and never come back out. Taking the steps out of the Spire—though he fell down a couple of time on the way up—he emerged into the woods around it.

Walking forward, with Zhanshi nipping at the potter's heels, Amun headed in the direction he thought would take him home. However, there was a figure standing there, staring at the black tower. Grinning, the potter waved at the stranger.

Walking up to join the other man, Amun turned to follow the stranger's gaze. "Pretty neat, huh." The potter grinned. "I know it's all broken up inside and got that big shaft hole down the middle but I still like it."
this heart will start a riot in me
Amun
Friedrich Schreckt
Hermit

Age: 354 | Height: 6'3" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: - Strg: 10 - Dext: 5 - Endr: 10 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#3
F R I E D R I C H


”It’s certainly impressive, its gleam in the night,
but between you and me, it is blocking my light.”


He gestures to a crumbled entryway obscured largely by moss in a nearby hillock, sitting in the shadow of the great Spire. Further, Friedrich turns a bit of dirt with a pointed shoe and the potter recognizes some weathered evidence of his own craft: a tarnished porcelain shard, curved like it once belonged to much more of a cup. Even a nice cup, likely.

“It certainly appears there's something I missed,
but when I lived here it didn’t look quite like this.
I don’t suppose you would care to reveal
how my old domicile has lost its appeal?”



Amun Arlun
Potter

Age: 41 | Height: 5'7'' | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 11 - Strg: 31 - Dext: 34 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 30 - Int: 1
ZHANSHI - Mythical - Landshark (Airbending)
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#4
if I ever start to think straight
Looking between the Spire and the stranger, Amun squinted. "You have a light? Can I see it?" He put his hands together palm-to-palm and brought them up as if he was praying. "Please?"

Following the other man's gesture, Amun frowned. "Huh. Weird. Is that a doorway?" Then he grinned. "Wait, do you think there are secret tunnels into the Spire?" He stumbled forward a few steps.

At the sight of pottery, though, he immediately knelt down to pick it up. Turning it around in his hands, he brought it up to his eye and moved it forward and back a few times.

Glancing up at the stranger's words, the potter cocked his head to one side. "Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about, new friend buddy person. The Spire is like, hundreds of years old. I think"

His eyes widened. "Ohhhhhhh are you a newcomer? Or are you sick? There's something going around you know." Nodding, he stood up. Wandering over to the other man, Amun attempted to pat the stranger's shoulder but completely missed. "That's okay. We'll get you sorted out."

Zhanshi, who'd been inspecting the entryway, tunneled back to them. Beginning to circle at the feet of the two men, the landshark fashioned his teeth on the potter's boot. Amun wagged a finger at his companion. "No biting!" However, the potter was grinning, showing off the fangs that were the trademark of the Ascended.

Well that and their unfortunate tendency to explode when exposed to fire. Pretty, pretty fire.
this heart will start a riot in me
Amun
Friedrich Schreckt
Hermit

Age: 354 | Height: 6'3" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: - Strg: 10 - Dext: 5 - Endr: 10 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#5
F R I E D R I C H


“Well, this ‘secret tunnel’, or what now is left,
used to connect to two bathrooms, three beds.”


Friedrich allows himself a brief sigh.

”It was, but it seems to have be razed or burned.
I suppose I am left now with what I have earned.”


The man bobs his head for a moment as he comes to internal conclusions, but then straightens abruptly as if pulled up by marionette strings, eyes fixing again on Amun and his particular features.

”I’m terribly sorry, I’ve been terribly rude.
I am Friedrich Shreckt, and what may I call you?”


His tone is earnest, highlighting an antiquated accent.

”Furthermore, you said that are sick,
Is this the work of the enemy, a new devious trick?
before I… went to sleep, it was propaganda, sure,
but I was often told WE were ‘unassailably pure’.”



Amun Arlun
Potter

Age: 41 | Height: 5'7'' | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 11 - Strg: 31 - Dext: 34 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 30 - Int: 1
ZHANSHI - Mythical - Landshark (Airbending)
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#6
if I ever start to think straight
Amun's eyes widened. Grinning, he took a few steps closer to the doorway. "Did the Voice live here?" He glanced at the stranger.

"By a fire?!" Although the potter peered into the doorway, he didn't see any sign of a flame. Sighing, he deflated somewhat.

Then the rest of what the other man registered and Amun reached out to pat the stranger's shoulder. This time, the potter actually managed it. "That's okay. We'll get you sorted out." Then he frowned. "Wait, did I already say that? Or just think it?"

Smiling, he sketched a very, very ungainly bow. "Amun Arlun. Nice to meet you Friedy." He chuckled.

Scratching his head, his brow furrowed. "No one knows. I thought so too, about us, but Sam said I was wrong."

A thought struck him and his jaw dropped. "But you said you were sick and now you're not? So that means you have the cure! Come on, we have to tell everyone." Reaching out, he tried to grab Friedrich's hands to tug the other man forward. Zhanshi assisted the potter: the little landshark attempted to bite down on Friedrich's pant leg and pull on it.
this heart will start a riot in me
Amun
Friedrich Schreckt
Hermit

Age: 354 | Height: 6'3" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#7
F R I E D R I C H


“I don't remember anyone called by ‘The Voice’,
I lived fairly isolated, by necessity... and I think by choice."


The man sounds unsure, as if the long sleep had made his own memories an unreliable narrator.

"And, unless the cure you seek is an excess of rest,
I suspect that discretion would seem to be best.
Perhaps in lieu of quite where I am,
You could start with explaining just who is this ‘Sam’?”


Friedrich takes the tugging largely in stride, but spends a long moment looking down at the landshark  with a thin smile before chuckling,

“Alright, I suppose I’m resigned to what you want to do,”

Before adding chidingly, bending further down toward the beast,

“But, I don’t have many more of these suits… do you?”


Amun Arlun
Potter

Age: 41 | Height: 5'7'' | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 11 - Strg: 31 - Dext: 34 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 30 - Int: 1
ZHANSHI - Mythical - Landshark (Airbending)
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#8
if I ever start to think straight
Amun's eyes widened as Friedrich mentioned he didn't know who the Voice was. "Whatttt? But everybody knows who the Voice is even if they don't like her! Oh, okay, so you must be new then." Nodding, the potter grinned. "Sam's another Ascended. If you're new you don't know what that is, though, do you?"

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "That's too bad about the cure." Letting go of the other man, Amun nevertheless led them through the trees. "But hey, you don't have to live alone anymore. So that's good!" Chuckling, he smiled.

Stopping, he turned to face Friedrich. "We can do what you want! Whatever it takes to get you acclimated."

The potter gave the other man a once over as he bent over to look at the landshark. Zhanshi let go of the pants and swam over to Amun. He laughed as his companion returned to him. "I don't think anyone has suits like that anymore. That's okay, we can get you something even better."

The potter winked. "Or nothing at all, if that's more your style." Chuckling, he plucked at his own rather ratty looking clothing, but he didn't really have the capacity to take care of himself properly at the moment.
this heart will start a riot in me
Amun
Friedrich Schreckt
Hermit

Age: 354 | Height: 6'3" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: - Strg: 10 - Dext: 5 - Endr: 10 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#9
F R I E D R I C H


Friedrich thinks for a moment,

“Hmm, the issue may be not so much that I’m new,
But perhaps I am, by some counts, much older than you.

You see, the thing I recall best, before I shut my doors,
was the all consuming drumbeat  of war.

So, unless you’re a deserter, or perhaps just very sick,
I seem to have managed to outlast that last bit.”


The shadow crossing his face at the subject of the war fades in the face of the suggestion of nudity, earning wry smile. Having taken some stock of his present company Friedrich feels comfortable enough to trot out a more frivolous take.

“Getting acquainted with some new faces would be… nice.
Though, If I may offer some unasked for sartorial advice:

Even if one believes himself the standard of physical perfection,
without clothing it’s harder to conceal an erection.”



Amun Arlun
Potter

Age: 41 | Height: 5'7'' | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 11 - Strg: 31 - Dext: 34 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 30 - Int: 1
ZHANSHI - Mythical - Landshark (Airbending)
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#10
if I ever start to think straight
Frowning at Friedrich's words, Amun gave the other man a closer inspection. Then the potter grinned. "You can't be that much older than me." Chuckling, he shook his head. "No more than forty, and a good looking forty at that," he declared, waving his hand in the air vaguely.

He cocked his head to the side for a moment as a snippet of song that only he could hear floated through the night. Then he focused on Friedrich again. "So your old world was at war? Bummer."

Thankfully, they were both smiling for the next topic. "What's wrong with my face?" Amun pulled at his cheeks and lips and ears, trying to figure out what was wrong. However he lowered them and chuckled at the second part of the other man's comment. "That's not a problem I have anymore, because I am erection free. But it's okay, I can do other things." He nodded.
this heart will start a riot in me
Amun
Friedrich Schreckt
Hermit

Age: 354 | Height: 6'3" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: - Strg: 10 - Dext: 5 - Endr: 10 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#11
F R I E D R I C H


”A bummer indeed,
To find one has not the life they wanted to lead.
So, I shut myself away in what you might call a ‘mine’
And consigned both friend and foe to the ravages of time.”


The man hides guilt behind a façade, dusting nonexistent matter off his suit in a dismissive gesture.

”Ah, well please forgive my levity,
In the absence of wit, I can at least exemplify brevity.
Suffice it to say, on the phallic account
based on my own luck, you're not missing out.”


He looks slightly abashed, but it’s not like he expected to travel hundreds of years through time and then not put his foot in his mouth a bit. Though, the thing itself seemed to have picked up an idiosyncrasy of its own along the trip.

“Were we not going,
to meet the others you thought worth knowing?”


Friedrich gestures broadly with an arm and a slight bow in the direction the two had been headed.


Amun Arlun
Potter

Age: 41 | Height: 5'7'' | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 11 - Strg: 31 - Dext: 34 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 30 - Int: 1
ZHANSHI - Mythical - Landshark (Airbending)
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#12
if I ever start to think straight
Shrugging, Amun reached out to pat Friedrich on the shoulder. The potter missed, and ended up patting the other man's upper arm instead. "Nothing wrong with that," Amun declared. "Not fighting when you don't want to is just plain old good sense to me."

Running his hands down his body, he grinned. "Like I said I got bitey things. You're fineeeee." He winked at Friedrich again, though the potter's body listed in the direction of the winking eye as he did.

Eyes widening, he nodded. "Right! You wanted to meet my friends. They're great. We'll start with the Queen. Wessex is the best ever and she's my best friend even if I'm not hers." Laughing, he started making his way through the trees again, Zhanshi leading the way.
this heart will start a riot in me
Amun
Friedrich Schreckt
Hermit

Age: 354 | Height: 6'3" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: - Strg: 10 - Dext: 5 - Endr: 10 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#13
F R I E D R I C H


Friedrich braces his swaying companion with his upper arm, brought into contact by the pat, and wondered if everyone he met was going to be quite this… jovial.

But he enjoyed the lightness, if not literal, of his new friend. Though, he did seem somewhat cross-wired at the moment. Perhaps he could make a better go of it this time around.  He couldn’t imagine anyone this friendly and unguarded in the war. Maybe this was a different place, less dire. He could certainly hope.

But a Queen, a chill ran down his biologically superior spine. He couldn’t explain why, but something forgotten in the sleep of ages made him uncomfortable in the presence of such official power. Probably the desertion, he supposed. He doesn’t remember getting leave to nap till the whole thing sorted itself out. But then again, he doesn’t remember many things.

He tries to shake such recollections and reaches under Amon’s arm to brace him more thoroughly as the pair continue into the woods. It was instinctive, casting disregard on his coat and the threat of disease. And, a memory finds him:

Bracing up another younger man around the back. He too feels hot and unwieldy, Friedrich looks down and counts three shoes. His own and a boot. But, the man smiles. A smile Friedrich would fail to return.

He clears his throat to interrupt his own reverie. Not this time, he told himself. Queens and monolithic eyesores be damned. This time would be different.

The pair saunters into the woods toward what Friedrich assumes is the location of the Queen. The night was yet young and the older Ascended now smiled broadly, but a critical observer could be forgiven for thinking he may be compensating for something.

-FIN




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