(Untitled)

[dualites]

Silence pounds against Thomas' ears just as the roar of the crowd did only instants ago. His knees, formerly supported by the mattress behind the set, sink into the grass and dirt, and his palms press against the ground. The change is too much of a snap, too sudden for him to immediately process all of it.

Comments

[get_over_here]

[dualites]

Lacking any other response, Thomas nodded back, brow creasing a little further as he kept trying to rationalize what was going on. He was well aware of the tolls that stress could take on the human body - he was no stranger to the milder side effects - but this didn't seem typical in the least. Everything was too real. Too tangible. Whether or not that was a good thing remained to be seen.

It was fortunate, he supposed, that he'd come across someone at all, or rather, that someone had come across him. The only problem was that he had no idea where to start. He wasn't the sort of person who was ever caught out of his depth if he could help it. Whatever advantages he could use, he had taken, yet in the space of a single moment, he'd lost whatever metaphorical cards he'd had to play.

[get_over_here]

[dualites]

"Thomas Leroy."

His tone was clipped at best, his entire frame held stiffly as if in anticipation of something just as bizarre as his arrival here to happen again in the blink of an eye. (He wouldn't deny that he almost expected it, if asked. Given what was already happening, it didn't seem too far out in the realm of possibility.)

[get_over_here]

[dualites]

"Something like that."

'Arrival' wasn't necessarily the term that Thomas would put to the turn of events, given the all-too-abrupt transition. That said, he had no better way of explaining it, and as such, he didn't intend to put up any argument. Expediency was of the essence - perhaps not strictly in practice, but the quicker he figured out what was going on, the quicker his mind could be put to ease (although he doubted that any explanation was going to do so much).

[get_over_here]

[dualites]

That merited nothing but a long pause and an expression that more than clearly conveyed the disbelief that Thomas was feeling. There was something extremely surreal about the whole situation - not just the island, but the way the man spoke, as if this were all normal. He couldn't afford to be here. There was damage control to consider. There was a mess to clean up that, all things considered, probably wasn't going to end well for anybody.

"You're serious," he managed, although the statement was more rhetorical than not. (There wasn't exactly any other way of explaining this. Well, there were, but none seemed any more plausible than the others.)

[get_over_here]

[dualites]

Thomas couldn't help a small shake of his head, the simple gesture managing to convey the extent of his incredulity, before beginning to move towards the path. His reticence wasn't characteristic, but given the circumstances, but he couldn't help it. The situation demanded some suspension of disbelief despite the fact that everything was actually happening. Besides, he didn't trust himself to say anything coherent, at least not in English. His thoughts rattled along at a different pace from his motions, rapidfire French contrasting with the stolid English that the other man was speaking. He'd been fluent for a long time, but that didn't mean his mouth wouldn't occasionally get ahead of his brain.

[get_over_here]

[dualites]

"I don't know where I would start," Thomas admitted, offering Hanzo a sidelong glance. "But I appreciate the offer." It wasn't an attempt to end the conversation. Rather, he honestly had no idea where to begin if he were to take up a line of inquiry. What occupied the forefront of his mind was still what had happened after the ballet. While the island was admittedly more immediate, he couldn't help it. Mortality had made its impression.

[get_over_here]