Hoping for the Brave (OPEN)

[Teller]

Open to anyone

Teller

From the top of an old rusted car came the uneven scritch-skritch-skritching of pen on paper. A beam of light broke through the clouds and bathed the car and its single occupant in light. The skritching stopped.

Teller put down his pen beside his open journal and stepped away, allowing the light to cast a warm glow on the paper and dry the ink. He was almost out of precious ink, he would need to return to the store for more soon. For now, however, he bathed in light and allowed that to be his only concern.
He knew they would be here soon, in all likelihood. A disheveled ragdoll had told him not to come there, that the machines were trying to lure people here and not to go. That was okay. It would give him a chance to look for fighters. For heroes. Those who ventured here were either very brave or very foolish, and a very brave hero whose adventures he could follow would not be a bad thing.

The clouds shifted and once again the sun was hidden away. Teller felt the sand falling under his jacket, the last few grains draining. There was that flip, which he did nothing to prevent, a momentary sickening lurch as his sense of balance temporarily vanished, and then he was fine.
It was the flipside now, only he din't care. Right now it didn't matter. Maybe it was better to be on this end of the stick right now, instead of in the middle. It would give him strength to fight if fighting came, and if not...
Well, that would be seen in time. He closed the book and sat upon it, pen held like a spear in one hand as he watched and waited.

[Jacob]

Teller would probably be rather disappointed. Not only was the first passerby not exactly the brave, headstrong type looking for machines to hunt or a dangerous adventure to have, he wasn't even full-grown.

Jacob, a small, 4-inch-tall button, wandered about close to the car. Granted, he had started out just wanting to explore harmlessly; but now, he was lost. Hopelessly lost, in fact. He was seeing fewer and fewer signs of life, and things seemed to be looking, somehow, darker and darker. It wasn't precisely that it was getting late in the day, everything just.. looked blacker.. the shadows were more dangerous..

The little doll fiddled with the bottom of his greenish shawl as he walked, not willing to let his fear make him huddle in a corner somewhere. If only he could find someone, they could just point him in the right direction or something. He imagined Veer sailing over the hill over there with the pirate ship. That would be a sight, but.. probably impossible. He let out a little whimper at that thought, wondering if he was destined to wander alone forever. Child's imagination.

"H-hello?"

[Teller]

A small voice drifted up from the foot of the car. Slowly Teller shifted position, still sitting on his book, until its owner became visible. The tiny doll looked even tinier from the top of the car, and Teller wondered why someone that small would come here. Then again, not everyone had the good sense to stay away unless on business. Or maybe the little doll WAS on business. With a sinking feeling he considered that the child might be a traitor.

If the child was a traitor, he decided, it was his duty to rescue it from that place where they tortured, dissected, and killed dolls daily. It was not a good place for a child to grow up. If not, he could be chivalrous and perhaps escort it to a safer place.

He tied his precious journal to himself by means of a ribbon bookmark attached to its spine, and pen in hand dropped down onto the windowsill of the car, then the door handle, the tire, and finally the dusty ground before Jacob. He didn't smile, he almost never smiled on this end of the stick, but he tried his best to look at least somewhat friendly. "You called?"

[Jacob]

The doll's sudden appearance would have frightened Jacob more if he'd been more sly about climbing down the car. Even so, as he saw the other individual get closer, he stopped frantically in his steps and took a few hurriedly backwards. Jacob was commonly trusting to others, especially adults, but being alone for a day in a scary place had made him temporarily wary.

He didn't speak for a few seconds, turning his head to try and seem less scared, though it probably had little effect. When he finally found his voice, it was shaking.

"Wh.. I got lost.. I don't know where anyone is."

The little doll finally looked back up at Teller, studying him from where he was. "Who are you? Can you help? D.. do you know where the church is?"

[Teller]

Teller felt a little guilty that he seemed to have scared the child, but it quickly faded. Evidently he had come across one of the very foolish--if inexperienced--ragdoll. Not his intent, but as it was, he couldn't help feeling some level of pity for the chld. He supposed it would be the good and noble thing to do if he returned Jacob to his home.

He shrugged, and knelt down so as to be eye level with the tiny doll. "I am Teller. And you, my friend, should not be here," he said firmly, staring into the green doll's optics with a serious expression. "But," he continued, holding out his hand for the small doll to shake, "I can most definitely help you out, if you tell me what your name is."

[Jacob]

The child eyed Teller closely. He was not experienced, no, and he was scared, but Jacob came from a couple of very brave, determined parents, so he was raised to think things through no matter how scared he might be. After a moment or so he carefully reached out and shook Teller's hand, the motion a little over-done as the muscles of a child took over. He managed a small little smile, though it was clear that he was still nervous.

"Mm.. my name's Jacob." He murmured, ducking his head slightly and looking upwards at Teller even though they were closer to eye level now. "I lost my way.. I was tryn'a go to the Library.. mom's there.."

[Teller]

Got lost on the way to the library? Part of him wanted to be suspicious, but for the most part, it seemed that Jacob was exactly what he appeared to be. Teller gave the button a long dark look. He shifted slightly, transferring weight from his left foot to his right and back, and then stood, pulling his optics away from Jacob. "Come. It's this way."

He attempted to appear casual as they walked, but out of the corner of his vision he was carefully scanning the landscape for anything hostile. Until they reached the cathedral, the child was his responsibility, and could not be allowed to come to harm unless the child truly possessed ulterior motives, which Teller was beginning to think very unlikely.
He walked in silence, making no attempt at creating any sort of conversation, and let the sands of time slowly fall.