A Timely Knight

A Certain Song

Timothy had never seen such a large crowd of people gathered; not on Ironport, or Ivoryport or any Makinian port for that matter. He had even been to Chroneast, the largest and busiest of the continents, and it still didn't compare. Nothing did. It was overwhelming. This flood of life, this rage of being was like an explosion to his senses.

And it wasn't just the people. The street in front of them had a parade of carts like Timothy had never dared to imagine. Unlike their Makinian counterparts, these ones were brightly coloured, steam-less and considerably faster. Their engines were hidden under metallic coats, and their roars were faint yet commanding.

He had heard tales about how wild and different the world of Gunners had been. Crazy stories he had never believed: Lightning trapped in wires, gadgets powered by some mystifying form of energy, messages that travelled from small devices, as if carried by the air itself. Machines with sufficient intelligence to think and act on their own.

Old wives' tales and crazy superstitions, that's what Timothy had always thought. Yet, now, standing in the middle of this lawless display, he felt like the crazy one. The bright, flashing lights above them were entrancing, hypnotic, enticing them to venture further into this wild and possibly savage jungle.

He asked the question he had been dying to release ever since he dared open his eyes, even though he already knew the answer. "Is this really 2079?"

Emmu didn't reply. Timothy turned to face his sapphire, who was leaning against the stony wall, eyes fixated on the floor, as if trying to escape it all. When he opened his mouth, he spoke with the same despair that now filled his round face.

"I'm sorry, Timmy. I don't know where we are, I don't know. I..." He stopped himself from speaking, the blue in his eyes beginning to disappear behind a flood of salt and pain. "I got distracted and I stopped thinking about 2079."

Timothy felt as though his entire weight had dropped to his feet. "What does that mean?"

Emmu shook, hesitation dripping from his words. "A voice. I heard a woman. And she was calling to me. She sounded desperate, as if her life depended on it."

"Are you sure you didn't just get confused? I mean, come on, Emmu, hoy could you have possibly singled out a voice in the middle of that tide of cries?"

"I know what I heard," his sapphire retorted.

"Very well, where is she? Is she a someone in this crowd?"

"Come on, don't give me shit. I swear I heard a woman calling out to me." His sapphire's eyes dropped again, looking like a guilty child, the possibility of his mistake slowly crushing him. "But I guess I could've been mistaken. Perhaps... I was."

The sight of this humbled hothead was enough to make Timothy forget about any anger he could've felt. Sighing, letting go of all recrimination, he got rid of the distance that separated them and held Emmu in his arms. 

"It's okay. You don't think I'm used to your foolishness? I know if something bright flashes in front of your eyes, you drop everything and chase after it. Like a puppy."

Emmu frowned, only half-offended. "Ass."

Timothy's soft kiss made Emmu's body lighter. The stress that had been stiffening his sapphire's shape immediately left when their lips met. There was nothing quite as effective as a kiss.

"How long before we can travel again?" Timothy asked as their lips parted.

"A while. I don't know how long... a couple of hours, at least. I need to recharge." Emmu's face was covered by the shadow of guilt once again.