Tick. The phantom tick tolled, the clock ever swinging, bounded by endless silence.

Tock. Ripped away from his life, from the sky, put into a featureless cell.

Tick. The hollow anguish inside him, tearing a void in his soul, in his mind. Never filled again, never whole again.

Tock. That damn phantom ticking, following him everywhere, always in ( Read more... )

Tick

Tal watched the watch swing by his face. Back and forth it swung, an endless movement back and forth. The hands frozen, stuck forever in place.

TockBroken. Not just the watch, that's how he felt inside. Always broken. No matter how good a face he put to the world, he never managed to hide all the cracks. They'd noticed, but then he hadn't ( Read more... )

Tal was playing the guitar when they came in. He didn't expect them to come in, didn't hear them enter ( Read more... )

Time is a valuable thingTal looked at the watch dangling from his hand, watched it swing from side to side with the barest movement of his fingers, the black cord teasing itself from his hand. He'd picked it up after his encounter with the Tick-Tock Men. Didn't know why.. it just appealed to him at the time. Ishtar said it wasn't magical, so must ( Read more... )

How do I tell her?

The door closes softly as Ishtar heads back to her own room.

What can I tell her?

Tal rolls over, no longer feigning sleep. His thoughts were wild, uncontrolled. He couldn't sleep, couldn't stop thinking. It wasn't that he wanted to make light of it all. Well, he did - might make it seem like it didn't happen. He can't even put it ( Read more... )