♪ Tick Tock Goes the Clock ♪ Rin & Les Job

Lester Drynedi ❀ Crystal Swan

He had heard about it of course, yet the threat had seemed irrelevant to him, just another battle, another random tragic event which some other guild would take care of, too many things were happening in the world and he hardly had the chance to research into his own things. The information had been uploaded to his ilac, the tiny device carried around in his floral painted case. A slight look of caution spread across his face drawing the soft caterpillars he called eyebrows together in a pinch. The investigation of Lyca woods, it was many pages long, he had to skim through the annoying magic council words, with their fancy letters ad such. This request was sent to all guilds, he legal ones that was, so Crystal Swans representatives were Rin and Lester, it was almost relaxing, knowing that they were both B ranks now, although the trek upwards to A and S would be even more grueling. Strange mechanical beings, towns, villages, oh gosh indeed. This was a journey he was mildly interested in, yet the ache inside him at leaving something unfinished back on the ship was harsh, positives, positives, there would be something good coming out of the experience. Well he could, he could, meet new people, study different people, look at the crazy mechanical monsters or whatever they were. Also, he had time with Rin, it would be good bonding with her, relaxing over time that he had and truly learning to love certain things in life. Sometimes he just went too fast. ”Something more enjoyable would have been fun, but at the same time this is productive, it could be useful.” His eyes closed slightly, holding back the sun which dared to blind him. The beach, or a tropical island, the thought was nice except fighting, fighting on a beach would be horrid, he preferred a nice forested area that wasn’t too dense.

Rin had her map up, the soft screen of her iLac reflecting the sun into space and the oblivion beyond, yea they were getting close, yet still he did wish to press further a little, a warning hand, she let it rest on his shoulder to pull him back slightly, is long legs tended to go rather fast at times, lester often forgot to set a more steady slower pace. He nodded a little, val was safely snuggled around his neck in her resting scarf form and a small bag attached to his wrist held most other weapons and items, it was tiny, as if it were a fairies medallion hardly the size of his thumb nail. Glancing around him a slight wind tugging his hair back, blinding the young man for a moment as it all calmed down to reveal a sort of odd doorway. It was rather ugly, just wooden sort of leant together as if a child had created it in an aged forest. The odd portal type doorway arch thing at about nine meters away, his arm raised to bar Rin from entering Lester slowly inched forward. ” This odd, we should go through, proceed with caution though.” Perhaps it would be time to bring Val out, but surely no, the scenery here was so beautiful, will, not that pretty but after scenery that was so similar he could look at a white wall and call it beautiful. Blue grass, it was beautiful, yet the splendid appearance of the world was lost on him as a broken image of a girl appeared before them, cracking into existence as her words pieced together a story of the world.

Lester Drynedi ❀ Crystal Swan

He had made Rin stumble? A grimace, quiet yet harsh as the first freezing of autumn leaves flickered across the youths face as he realized where they had just walked in to, perhaps it was the lack of thought, the lack of careful planning or observation over the area and current predicament. This was indeed a portal to another world, it was, alluring almost, in the kind of way that some perfect student would look at the rugged rebel with their leather and ripped denim. Dangerous, ye that was why the human was drawn into its folds. From her words Rin had started settle a little, he let her take lead on the conversation with this distorted feminine creature, she seemed to like this place, Rin that was. Judging from the casual smile and lightened tone Lester knew that she would be fine with figuring out the details of this. He had taken a step back, plucking a few strands of the grass up, they slid into the test tube slightly, totalling about a half dozen before he slid the collection away. Blue grass, the Gardens of Eden? This place was eden for sure, its airs made him want to explore yet such a place was almost too nice. Why did they have to go through a portal to this place to save it? Why was that portal there, surely the Gardens owners or inner workings had a choice of where to place it, yet they had to stick it where he was. Bastards. The fair haired males face still remained pleasant tho, a natural smile was slightly drawing his mouth into a casual smile, Destroy the beasts, he could empathize with the vague shrug that Rin gave him.

Keep going, yea, wandering through this magical world to kill and enemy with no idea of how to get back. A sacred tree, so was it really similar to the original Garden of Eden, it had the whole tree thing, perhaps he could get an apple there as well. Gods why did he have to be here, couldn’t he just be at home, resting, testing, it was still so unfinished.He had better say something, the mechanical monsters and the tree, it sounded like a ballad. ”Yea let's continue on, they’ll probably be there, but it’ll be okay.” She had rummaged around in her bag, drawing out a tablet that was familiar to him by now, she would probably be making their journey easier, no use in traversing canyons and mountains when one could directly meander across a bridge towards the area. Her arm circled his, as the young woman's grin laid his negative emotions aside, they were already here, no point in messing around wishing he was elsewhere.  The ground beneath him shuddered slightly, he had okay balance normally, yet taking no risks would be best this early in a mission. A blossoming vine twisted its way up his leg, on the opposite side to where Rin softly embraced him the young lad carefully stood in preparation for the oncoming uplifting of the earth below.

Quite a few indeed, yea, some areas appeared to be swarming with the glimmering clockwork beasts, soft blossoming eyes swept the horizons and treelines below, Rin appeared to be losing her patience as she ruffled her hair showing pent up emotions inside. ”Yea that’s the sacred tree” He glanced behind him, the further he looked from that oversized tree the less creatures there were, from what he could tell they did seemed to be centred around that origin tree, at least that's what he judged from the slight flashes of sunlight that glanced off from around that area. The origin huh, it was like some sort of virus almost. ”I think we should go that way, maybe a glacier is a little slippery though, and we should probably stay closer to the top of the canopy.” They didn’t know what sort of sky creatures there were in the world, not to mention the damage one could take from falling from the height they were at.  

He had best do something, the rate that they were going at he knew that one of them was likely to slip and fall. Glancing at the other he smiled a little, ”take a seat, I won’t be too long.” As he turned back the scarf unwrapped from his neck, partially flying almost over to Rin it would curl around her neck, keeping the young woman warm. He crouched on the edge, reaching out to below them the trees on the ground showing signs of halted growth, that could change. It started slowly, the wood of the bark growing darker and more textured as it grew taller, towards to the glacier which was high above it all. A wide staircase slowly forming, wide steps and a curling handrail, patterned with tiny leaves and blooming flowers, it wasn’t instant, nor was it fast. Yet it was something which slowly became more beautiful, he had it so the steps downwards would grow slowly, maturing just a few meters ahead of where they would be walking. He turned back, offering the young lady his hand, ”Shall we?” A nice stroll down to just above the trees would be nice, it was quite a walk down but the little balcony like walkway one it all flattened out would be nice, just wandering along a bridge towards the oversized tree. Casual. Fun. Relaxing.

Lester Drynedi ❀ Crystal Swan

She thanking him, yet he only saw the soft blush which blossomed across her face. A lighter shade than his eyes it was softly growing across the nose of her bridge. Emotions, just caused by lending her a neck warming pet. It was a warm feeling for him as well, knowing that Val was a creature who accepted the teammates who he relied and worked with on a frequent basis, teammates was such a stagnant harsh word. The reality was that they were closer, best friends seeming far too typical, squad was their team name. No matter, it was, it was nice. A smile flickered across his face, eyes crinkling at the corners with the rather awkward little bow, oh there was no reason to act in such a way, yet the teammate he had was so sweet and caring. It was not a common thought, yet it wasn’t a bad one as he let his hair stream through is fingers as he raked it back, a chuckle escaping his as his own sign of embarrassment. ”No no rin really there is no need for that. Just be careful with her.”

It had swirled down, a surge of wood and flowers forming a staircase descending into the top of the treetops, little knolls of wood forming as if a tiny  child with a sweeping brush had danced across the floor, curling the wood with little circles. She had rushed past him in a swirl of pink hair and whirling coral hues, he had expected something a little more casual, meandering down the steps and exchanging a few words, yet her mood as of late had been rather energetic, youthful and flourishing. He didn’t dislike it, yet a lurch inside the young man caused him to partially extend his arm in worry, as if she had fallen off the banister and would need plucking up from the atmosphere around them. It looked exhilarating, sliding down the wood towards a blanket of green and brown below, with the air caressing every curvature of your body as you descended, only gravity pulling you down. Wait, race him? She had only left a half second before, perhaps he could make it just in time. Or perhaps would it be too harsh to try and beat her, a conservative second place or a more amusing first equal. The spark in his eye indicating his intentions to change his descent Lesters feet began to start off at a running pace, gaining momentum as the stairs below his feet smoothed away, breaking into one continuous slide. He attempted surfin down, feet placed shoulder width apart as he arms swayed to keep his balance centred. Not that it worked. Center of gravity that was it! Perhaps if he crouched a little lower.

It had been a valid idea, lowering his center of gravity to stay more balanced on the slide as Rin slid down the rails. Not that it had ended well. His body fell forward, the smooth slide beneath him urging the lump of meat to continue sliding towards the ground below as if he had been placed in a laundry chute. Penguin like, with more contact area he had fallen behind Rin, yet he minded not, as a conservative second [s]and last[/s] was always an option. He didn’t mind coming last in times like this, fun little competitions with friends where the reward was far more than enough and it was only a sporadic chuckle. A rush, the adrenaline flowing through his veins as the oncoming sight of a flat surface rushed up towards him. He was sliding as a penguin, slipping down the slope almost swimming behind Rin. He flopped softly, twisting onto his back, to stare at the oddity that was the sky above him.

A few moments passed, where he just blocked it all out. The sounds, the colours and shapes, the animals around him. All were ignored as he simply allowed the world around him to simply swallow him up. Engulfing all emotions and thoughts around him as if he had been wrapped in a burrito of dreams.
Pushing up he stood carefully, a stretch racked his body tight as he reached towards the sky. It would be best to get moving, perhaps the days lasted for years back home, was the time difference the same or was it different as well? Could they return home to the same day or would it be years later?

His fingers tailed along the bottom of the banister, releasing the trees from their straining position as they shrunk back to their normal size, the slide vanishing and shrinking back into the trunks as the platform they stood on curled and grew, horizontal motion growing towards the tree which seemed larger than the rest, it would be quite a walk for sure. "Shall we? I mean there isn't much we can do except go over to the tree. with all the odd enemies I don't fancy exploring too much." Yet dancing quite literally on top of the tree tops would be better than mingling with the clockwork creatures below. Although he had no doubt that the metallic creatures would soon clamber onto the treetop walkway.

Lester Drynedi ❀ Crystal Swan

It was nice to hear her chuckle, a soft laugh full of emotions and love, that was the sound which calmed him. A simple human communication letting others around them know that they had found something enjoyable or amusing. She had said a few things at the sleepover which had cautioned him, causing the youth to think about her mental state a little more. Normally he tended to separate his interests of looking at the personalities of others and his team, preferring to relax and let things happen naturally. Of course there was a time when he would slide back into casual nature around her yet perhaps with Rin it would be best to stay cautious? If he said the wrong thing she could be reminded about her memories, and the lack of them. With the glacier vanishing in a cluster of pixels which scattered into the world he fell in step beside her.

Relaxing, meandering it was nice, whilst some disliked walking and silence he did not mind either, after a life of stress and timetables, schedules always full and overlapping to be able to have time to relax was something which he always gave thanks for. Even moments such as this on a job, whilst wary of enemies he was still carefully walking with shoulders back and gaze scanning the horizon taking in every speck of detail. A slight stutter came from his partner, had she hurt herself perhaps? Although the walking surface was smooth she was known for being a bit clumsy. Soft hair wavered as he turned his head with a sweeping movement to hold her in his gaze. She mentioned the darkness, whilst the sun did appear at that angle there was still plenty of time to go. Especially since they were high darkness would only set in once the sun had truly fled. Shelter was important, shelter and warmth being two of the more important things needed to secure and ensure survival. Walking around at night could lead to problems, whilst he felt stable enough there was a chance of falling overboard, to fall from this height, even if he could teleport, it would hurt. ”Well, night could come suddenly or it could take forever, who knows if they even have night, perhaps another sun will rise. As wary as I am of it I must admit that the unknown is quite alluring.”  A small daisy grew in his hands, yet it wasn’t a daisy, with thin curling flowers like tin vies and each one coloured a different hue of purple the flower was indeed beautiful. He had grown it from the pollen in the air, taken from this very world itself the creation was beautiful.

A half step forward with soft fingers he aimed to softly fasten the bloom in Rins hair, it complimented the pink, pastel hues of purple and pink having enough contrast to be noticeable yet they worked well together. ”How about when the time comes and the sun sets you can always build us a little cottage,don’t worry about the dusk. I’m here, some plants grow better at night so it’ll be fine.”

He hadn’t thought about it much until Rin’s reaction, the sound had been noted and dismissed by the youth, yet when someone squealed it was only natural for others to take notice after all. ”What's what, Rin, Calm down a little.” She was a little off for sure, perhaps she didn’t even realize it but he doubted that she would normally be this skittish. That being said it could just be that he lacked enough knowledge of her to make a proper estimate. A cock? Eyes grew wide as his hands instantly went down to his crotch before he stopped for a moment and brought them back up to his chest. A cock, did she mean some phallus of sorts, oh gods what had this world created, what did the creatures who live here have in place of your average dick. His mind went to images of misshapen bones and squashed up long balloons, perhaps he had it all wrong! The phallus of another world didn’t have to look like his own, they could be the opposite to his! Thin, short and useless.

Edging a little closer his suspensions were put to rest with the sight of a male chicken, a cock, a mechanical one at that it appeared that they had encountered their first enemies. Was it bigger than normal? Rin presented Lily to the cock, allowing her full and glorious views of the clock as lester glanced downwards than back to the creature. Would it be better to stay serious, yet Lily’s halted laughter which burst out gave him more than enough reason to go along with it all. ”Are you sure Lily? I think it is rather small.” Spoken in a matter of factly voice a slight smile cracked through before he noted the feline bubbling with laughter. Oh Rin, Oblivious Rin. She looked so sheltered and troubled, a lost little sheep looking to him for direction.

Soft, he had to control it carefully so it didn’t appear unnatural yet the smile was smooth and sweet as it laced its way across his face. ”Its okay Rin, Lily is just being a little odd, perhaps some pollen or something here has affected her. I have seen a cock before. I have some!” It was true either way, he had one of his own back on his childhood home of a farm. Ignoring Lily’s out of control emotional display Lesters brows rose just slightly, the smile he saw on her face seemed factual for sure. ”Sure, I can help you try cock someday if you want” That, yea, sure, why not!

The whirring sound, he glanced up, it was an odd thing, flying and sort of like one of those blubby things which lived in the sea. He was enchanted by it, how it moved through the air in smooth motions it held an exotic quality about it. Get down? Well for sure it was an enemy but it looked so pretty his hips started to twitch slightly. Seeing her dive down into the ground he followed her, allowing slight foliage to grow on the walkway to cover their legs with flexible leaves. Whilst he couldn’t do anything too intricate with it all a flat walking surface and some leaves wouldn’t be too hard, not to mention then he could let Rin rest and save her artistic muse for a battle. She was starting to freak out a little, not too bad but he figured it was time to step into a more serious state of mind. Pushing it out he flattened and squished down the thoughts relating to cocks.

”Calm down rin, take a breath it's okay.” Thy just needed to think for a moment, there was a flying enemy, metal. There was very little ways to escape it as it could simply patrol the skies, would it be best to defeat it first before travelling to the tree. He had intended to simply stroll along to the sacred tree thing along top of the leaves instead of battling any enemy they came across. It was more a thought of what they would lose. Could the creatures communicate with each other? He didn’t want to be chased by a flock of cocks all vying for his meat.

Eyes turning to the skies he started to look over the odd structure.  ”Lets just watch it for a moment until it flies past, then we can decide on what to do.” Whilst they could fight it he disliked the idea of engaging in strenuous activity too soon, as he had enough stamina to outlast an enemy but he couldn’t speak for Rin.  ”Take a look and tell me if you can see anything of interest, it does look quite fragile but there is an odd scent coming from it. What do you want to do?” His nose was better than rins, harsh and bitter it was layered across that of metal and air. Adorable indeed he almost wanted to remove the insides and take the shell home, perhaps he could take one home for Theo? It would make an interesting lighting decoration.