Autumn mists hung like cobwebs, or strands or raw silk--

[crimson_seeker]

Characters: Huo (getsome_sleep) and Hawk (crimson_seeker)
Date/Time: [BACKDATED] Sunday 9 October, early evening
Location: Ancient Chinese House, Melee Island
Rating: PG-ish
Summary: It starts with a discovery in the Scavengers' Yard and will probably again spin off into parts unknown. Likely destinations include the abduction plot, Orca, the Sphere's fate, and other such

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[getsome_sleep]

Inside the house, Huo let out a long breath through his nose and let his eyes open as they had been conspiring to do for the last half an hour and more.

There was no helping it; for once he succeeded in remembering to pay attention to food and rest as well as work, only for rest to consistently evade him and food to turn his stomach. Over a week since the disaster in Frost Mountain, and life in the Sphere was returning to normal; except that it was not normal, it was nothing near normal, and the pretense sat in his chest nearly as thorny and seething as the rage that still refused to ebb over the ruin of all his meager hopes. Little was normal and nothing was peaceful.

But then, he could not fault them. The pretense was all they had.

He shifted where he lay and then sat up, pulling his robe tighter around himself - the fire had gone out while he tried to fall asleep and the house was growing cold, down to the tea that he had abandoned halfway through the cup. There was a light outside, he noticed; Hawk had returned, it seemed, but for some reason had not come in and out of the rain.

He could not blame his brother, either. He knew that his was not altogether agreeable company just at the moment. He knew it all very well.

The edge of irritable weariness was visible on his face as he edged the door open, though he fought it back as best he could. The sight that greeted him chased away much of it to be replaced with curiosity - Hawk was cleaning a spear, a handsome weapon though a little worse for wear. Its style, and the age it showed, were both powerful clues, easy to place, ad Huo blinked, and blinked again, surprised to find himself hopeful at the possibility.

"Have you found this in the Scavengers' Yard?" he said softly, careful not to startle the other man.