The Needs of the Few...

[Red Dawson]

((Kin can be in the lobby if you want. That's one of the places that people congregate at so I was going to have Red bring Brett there. If you want to bring Kin in at that moment that's cool by me. ))

Soon he found himself in the lobby since most of the other hangout areas were vacant at the moment. Perhaps they had called an early evening or were out about their personal business. Or perhaps Red was relying on an older memory and things weren't quite as accurate as he recalled. He tried not to let that bring him down - he had enough right now to deal with than to be laid low by one misinterpreted perception. However, once in the lobby area, he did located a familiar face - one of the old guard of the Cosway, perhaps one of the people he had met when he first arrived ((as mentioned, Brett's welcome into the Cosway can happen in another thread)). He kept his introduction crisp and to the point, not wishing to dawdle much longer. Once enough of the formalities were complete that required his presence, Red set his rucksack on a table next to Brett and turned to head to his 'room'.

There weren't many around but there were a few. When he first arrived in the lobby he took a precursory glance about, catching faces when he could. Those he saw had a familiar ring with his memories but, with just recently waking once more as a living, breathing resident of Malton, he was having difficulty placing names to the faces. Sometimes it just didn't sound right in his head or it would bring a forgotten memory back into the forefront, distorted somewhat and without context, and it caused him to try to rethink what he just thought about the person. He pinched the bridge of his nose to clear away the touch of confusion and took his first step away from his traveling companion. He was sure that a bit of sleep would help to make sense of the jumbled mess in his head.

[kinrrataiyath]

Since waking uncomfortably that morning, she had decided that moving too much would be a bad idea. Though she did make one or two trips up to her room, most of her time was spent in the lobby. There she waited, staring blankly at the walls or her hands, or at nothing at all. She would speak when spoken to, but her conversation was so abysmally short and lackluster that most were quickly deterred. It was the same way she had been for days now. Ever since she had come to the sad conclusion that she could not risk going out to look for him anymore. She was too weak to do any good, and the others wouldn't help. He was lost, and all she could do was sit there.

Over and over again her mind cycled through these depressing thoughts and others. Always worrying, always wondering where he could be, if he needed help, if there was anything she could do. The day dragged on with little change, and as the sun began to set, her heart sank with it. Another day and no sign of him.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head, fatigued from the disappointment. The feeling of guilt had built up to an almost tangible degree around her, making her see and hear things that were not really there. Like the sound of his voice or the approach of his step. She knew she would only be disappointed again if she looked up, but the compulsion was too strong. If there was even a creak in the floorboards that might have been him, she was the first to check.

When her head came up and her eyes focused on the flannel-clad figure walking her way, nothing seemed to click. She stared at him blankly for a second, and then blinked. And blinked again.

Kin got to her feet and took a hesitant step forward, as if frightened that moving too fast would make him disappear. Yet it couldn't be real. She almost didn't dare to hope, even as she stopped in front of him and raked his face with her confused gaze.

"Red?"