Diamond in the Rough

[Hadrian]

Hadrian noted the freeze, felt the softness of the hand. They were neither of them menial workers, if their hands were any evidence. His grip was firm, but not hard. He was trying to project capable strength, but not a predatory nature. The only way he could win the boy's trust was to keep proving himself worthy of it. If he found that the boy was in some terrible position, he might have to hypnotize him out of it, but that was a last resort, or near to it. "Well, then you've got mine on loan until you can tell me," he said with a smile. He didn't want to let go of the boy's hand for fear he would run away or circumstances would arise that would take him away against his will. Ah, there was the compassion, so carefully hidden. He sighed and let go of his hand. "Come on, then." He led the way around the corner to an inn whose owners' auras shone with decency, although they looked and acted much like the average denizen of Sunberth. He even approved of the sharp glances they, the woman and her husband, gave him walking in there with a battered boy. His own stomach began growling at the smell of food; he often forgot to feed himself, so this was a good opportunity for him too. They waited in silence, though, until the woman came back with rather large bowls of stew and hunks of brown bread. It was simple fare, and the water replaced with watered wine because it was easier to prevent illness that way. "Eat first, if you wish," he said, momentarily confused by the lack of a napkin to lay over his lap, but he took up his own spoon. When in Sunberth... "We can speak when you're done." He almost said something about not speaking with one's mouth open, but he reminded himself this wasn't his child, even if he already felt a sort of responsibility for him.

[Grasis Deviil]

He didn't want to let go of Hadrians hand. He hadn't been able to hold onto anyone since he had woken up, and he felt as if he missed it. That, before he had been able to do so and liked it. But he didn't have a choice, Hadrian had let go of his hand and to keep holding on would have been rude, if not suspicious. So with a sigh of his own he let go of Hadrians hand, and smiled slightly. "Thank you Hadrian."

With a nod he would follow Hadrian closely, no more than a step or so behind him. It's not that he was attached to Hadrian or anything, just, he didn't want something to happen to take him away. Despite his reservations he felt as if this was the best thing to happen to him in the days since his awakening.

As they entered the building he would duck his head, trying to stay behind Hadrian as best he could, keeping the man between him and those already in the Inn. As they sat down at a table, waiting for the food to come, he would study Hadrian carefully. His eye's sparkled with delight, as he watched Hadrian. Who was this man, he had come from no where. Well, no that wasn't true, he had come from the doctors. But, he was a stranger who cared. A stranger who helped others. He had started to believe such people didn't exist, and then here was this man.

As the food came to the table he would look at it then to Hadrian. 'Eat first' he said. But why? Couldn't they speak and eat at the same time, it wasn't so hard and it saved so much time. Lifting a spoonful of soup to his mouth he would taste it before smiling and looking to Hadrian, "Well I uh, need help remembering things. Like my name...who I am, what I am. I dont know anything!" He would shake his head as he goes on, tears rising in his eye's.

This was the first time he had said those words aloud. The first time he had vocalized his problems. He had always kept them hidden, kept it to himself. For who could he have told? Who could he have relied on?

[Hadrian]

Hadrian ate sparingly; he never had much of an appetite, which was how the magic burned away any excess energy he had. Thus he could never manage to put on weight, if he ever wanted to. There was no point in worrying about one's physique when one wasn't attempting to impress anyone and anytime he needed to be strong, he had a magical discipline to augment his meager physical strength. But he did eat, not wanting the boy to think the innkeepers were in cahoots with him and there was poison or a sleeping draught in the food. As he imagined, the boy probably hadn't eaten this well since... well, since he could remember. And that's why he suggested eating first, but he didn't reprimand him for speaking while eating. After the boy blurted out his dilemma, Hadrian could see how critical it was, but also how little the boy actually might say. If he couldn't remember his own name, that was a rather large problem. Hesitantly, for he was not naturally a warm person, he put his hand over the boy's. His hand was pale, long-fingered, and cool, but it was an attempt to calm him and comfort him. "I can tell you that you are human," he said. "I can read it in your aura." There was little he couldn't divine from someone's aura, given time and concentration. He concentrated more and frowned not at the boy, but for the effort he was putting forth. "There is some sort of magic about you, but I can't quite say which yet. But as for who you are..." He slid his hand back, not sure what might set the frightened boy off, but the touch had made it much easier to focus on his aura, which had been bright and pure. Hadrian decided that the boy could not be faking it, and that he was not some catspaw for a more wily criminal. "I cannot say, but I will try to help you find out." He paused. "When you are done, we'll get you some clothes. Then we'll see about getting you a place to live for the time being." He put his bread into the half of the soup he hadn't eaten and pushed it toward him. "Eat up. You're too skinny."

[Grasis Deviil]

My Aura? What was he talking about? What was an aura? Was that something he had forgotten, or something that wasn't commonly known? How could he ask about it, without revealing his ignorance of it? But, he couldn't just keep stuff back. He was trusting Hadrian, he couldn't do it with half his heart.

"Hadrian. Whats an Aura?"

He would ask shyly, as he munches on the bread. He was human, that was good. At least he wasn't some monster and didn't know it. He had a magic, well hypnotism. He knew that one as well. But who he was he couldn't see on his aura apparently. At least he had tried, whatever it was.

As Hadrian started to withdraw his hand from his, he would clutch at Hadrian's hand slightly. Not enough to force him to keep it there if he didn't, but enough to show that he didn't want Hadrian to let go. Clothes? He had clothes. Sure it was cold but he had it. Hadrian was going to buy him more? He was being so kind, perhaps to kind. But he didn't care, someone actually cared about him for once.

"I'm skinny? Your one to talk." though after saying that he would look down at both the stews and the bread and with his one free hand, start to eat the stews rapidly. Obviously having not eaten in quiet some time.

"Am I allowed to pick out what I want for clothes? I'd understand if you want to pick it out, it is your money but..." He'd trail off, glancing between Hadrian and his food as he continues to eat.

[Hadrian]

"The aura," he began, then paused as the boy clutched at his hand. He smiled apologetically for his reaction, let the boy hold onto him if it was comforting, and continued. "The aura is the soul. It's made of djed, which is the energy that permeates Creation. Magic. Energy. Whatever you want to call it. The soul is the most complex arrangement one's likely to ever see. The aura is, well, an emanation of the soul, I suppose. I'm an aurist among other things. I can read the pattern of your soul as it's reflected through your aura. I can know some things, but there are limits. The longer I know you, the easier you are to read, but already..." He squeezed his hand. "I know the pattern of your soul. I could be blindfolded in a dark room and find you." He supposed that might have been a chilling thought, though he meant it to be supportive. The one person it seemed was being nice to him knew how to track him somewhat. Shrugging off the astute observation, he smiled and nodded. "Magic burns through energy. I sometimes forget to eat. So I don't really carry any excess weight. I should be better about that, or else I'll be weakened. And I'm not going to tell you what to wear, but I'm not going to buy you silken underthings either. You're young. You'll grow out of them quickly. Best get them a size or two too big." He sat there hand in hand as the youth gobbled down both their meals. At least he knew he had been right to feed him first; clearly it was a priority. But he was already calculating a timeframe for this problem. There had been no real hints in his aura as to what the problem was with his memory. He could keep looking, but there was a tight schedule with the knights and the delegation from Zeltiva. If he wanted to help the boy, he might have to put him up until such time as he returned from Sahova -- which meant surviving Sahova which was never a sure thing -- and perhaps take him back to Zeltiva. At least there he had a better chance at survival, whether his memories could be recovered or not.

[Grasis Deviil]

That explanation. He didn't understand any of it, the aura was the soul? But it was also djed? That didn't make sense. He was sending his soul into other people when he hypnotised them? He wanted to ask about this, but to do so would be to reveal his magic. And that, could very well send Hadrian away from him. Magic was dangerous and to be feared here, even if he seemed to have a magic of his own.

Nodding politely as Hadrian explains what an aura is and why he's so skinny, he would continue to eat. Untill he got to the point of his clothes. At skimpy underwear, he would blush furiously "Hadrian! I wouldn't want something like that...I dont think." He'd shake his head desperatly trying to hide his blush.

"But I did see an outfit i wanted. I-it wasn't really umm, warm...but...It was neat." Nods and smiles slightly up at Hadrian, still holding onto his hand. Hadrian seemed to get lost in thought for a moment, and so he simply stared into those wierd eye's of his. He could stare at them forever, they seemed to hold so many mysteries. He knew he shouldn't, this man was a stranger. He knew nothing about him beyond his name, yet he was feeling as if this man would protect him from anything.

Foolish.

[Hadrian]

His eyebrows shot up at the sudden blushing. He didn't understand, and then he did. he might have blushed himself, to think that the boy might think he was thinking what the innkeepers thought he was thinking. Complex, and untrue. "No, I... Oh." Had he not so thoroughly scanned the boy's aura, he might have balked at the sudden way he had something already picked out for purchase. But no, if there was a deception here, it was too subtle for Hadrian to see it, in which case it ought be rewarded, perhaps. But he was going to give the boy some trust since he was going out on a limb to trust Hadrian. "Well, you can show it to me." That was about as far as he was willing to go. He wasn't the sort to make promises sight unseen. He was thoughtful as the boy ate, wondering if he had used up some boon from Kelwyn to run into Hadrian, one of the extremely rare people in Sunberth likely to help him without an ulterior motive. He reached out and took a piece of soup soaked bread from the only bowl remaining now the boy was catching his stride with the eating, taking his own advice and feeding his skinny frame. There was no telling what dangers awaited him in Sahova. He would need all his strength. After a time, he realized the boy was done with his food. Still clinging to Hadrian's hand, he was gazing at him wide-eyed. Hadrian blinked. "Is everything all right?" A foolish question given the boy's predicament, but it was the first thing to come tripping out of his mouth.

[Grasis Deviil]

"Is everything alright?" He would parrot back without realizing it. Smiling he would nod slightly, everything was all right. He had met this man who was taking care of him. Who actually cared about him. Who had he pleased to get this lucky?

"Yes everything is fine. I was just uh, watching you." He would say softly, "Your amazing!" He would blurt out that last, afraid that if he didn't he never would. How could he be saying things like this. He had known this man for possibly an hour. But, perhaps that was why. In Sunberth, in that time he should have been knifed, robbed, mugged, or beat. Or a combination of all four. But no, Hadrian had been kind. More than that, he had been...Amazing.

"Your everything. I'm just wondering when realities going to snap back and take you away." He would sigh with that, looking down at the table. His hand in Hadrians tightening slightly, against that thought. His inner emotions were a toil. Happiness, despair, longing, and caution all at odds with one another as the thoughts of whats happened and what he expects to happen play throughout his head.

[Hadrian]

The eyebrows shot up, but he didn't say anything to dissuade the boy. Hadrian couldn't imagine being alone in Sunberth at his age, whatever it was exactly. Perhaps he seemed like an avatar of Priskil, goddess of hope, to one who had been on the verge of despair. It was difficult to know these things, and Hadrian said a grateful prayer to the gods that he had been brought up in such a sheltered home. "Well, look," he said, seeing no point in beating around the bush, "I'm soon for Sahova on a... well, on business. I can't take you there. That would be out of the pan and into the flame. But we'll get you some clothes, then come back and get you a room here and meals until I get back. If we can't figure things out by then, you can come with me to Zeltiva. I teach at their University, and I run a home for children like you. I don't know that you're an orphan, but the orphans will welcome you until you know which way to steer your course. "This is all very strange and sudden, but I can't in good conscience just leave you here. I'm not a healer, so if there's something wrong with your brain, we will have to find you a healer to look to that..." Of course, there was a Healer-knight in town who might do the trick. "The timing isn't amazing, though, so you'll have to bide here awhile, but you ought to be safe as long as you are smart. And you will at least have a safe haven here. "Are you ready to show me where this amazing clothier is?" he asked. He set out the proper payment for the meals, and edged out of the table, not letting go of the boy's hand if that was what he wanted. "On the way, you can tell me anything that you do remember, or whatever you do remember of your life so far. The more I know, the more chance I can help." He didn't want to be put on a pedestal. He was not perfect. But if it helped the boy trust him, then it was for the best. Trust might be necessary to unravel whatever tangle of mysteries lay locked within him. Hadrian did like a challenge.

[Grasis Deviil]

Hadrian was leaving. Just like that. He knew it was coming, he had predicted it. It had been to good to be true. This man who had come into his life, that he had started to having feelings for already. He was leaving. And going to this dangerous place. He might never be back. In fact, he might be lying and just not want to stick around. A handy excuse to ditch Grasis if he grew tired of having him around. To Hadrian's auristics it would be very obvious how Grasis felt. Heartbroken.

"I...ok." He would let his hand drop as they stood. A depressed look on his face. "The shop was somewhere down the road." His voice would be dejected, Grasis obviously thinking about Hadrian leaving. at the word road, his voice would crack a little as he tries to keep the depression out of it.

He still wanted to help. He should let him. But he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth to say more. This man, Hadrian, was leaving. If he let him get closer, he might never see him again. He just had to remember what Sunberth had taught him. Nothing is ever as it seems, and this was exactly like that. He was foolish for having let himself fall for this man he barely knew. He also knew he was foolish for having thought Hadrian was there just for him. Of course he had a life of his own.