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Pity does a man no good, the voice in her mind echoed but she could not deny the unmistakable feeling of overwhelming sorrow she felt for the man. The fangs of death had sank its fangs into him and poisoned him with fear. Kiari didn't try to comfort him like the two men did because she understood death was not something to mess with; or at least she didn't want to be the one to try. It lead her to a crossroads. Did they try to help, and if so how, or did they simply leave this man to the fates? Pluvio snapped her out of her daze and brought her back down to earth with his smile. Most people described their feelings for another individual they were attracted to as being lifted up on dreamed up clouds into the heavens. However, that was not what she needed or wanted. Kiari didn't want to be out touch with reality, she needed something to make reality sweet. Her eyes met his and her hand gave his a subtle squeeze before letting it drop a heartbeat later.

Touching him reminded her of being shocked and she found a little irony in it.

Pluvio's realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Suddenly, everything got more clear and complicated at the same moment. Her bottom lip caved beneath her teeth, as she tried to slow the confusion within her mind before a headache could form.

"Well, could we repair the rip?" she asked in a small voice that conveyed the doubt in her own suggestion.

(Phone mistake)

Miriela listened to the entire discussion. As soon as the Chronomancer began to talk about seeing ghosts, she realized the man was seeing multiple timelines. So that was the curse of being a Chronomancer... to see all of the possible outcomes of even the slightest change to the course of someone's life. To have to choose carefully how they manipulate time... because even the smallest change could throw all of nature out of balance.

She observed Pluvio and Kiari hold hands, but she made no comment. It was not her place to get involved in the love affairs of other people.

The suggestion of a rip in time made the gears in her mind start turning. Was it an accident? Or intentional? Was this mage even from their timeline? Her brow furrowed. There were more questions than answers.

It was clear to her that the mage was ill. But if he was ill, why was he in a place where there was a time rip? Was he using it for something?
She spoke up finally. "How did the distortion of time happen? Did it have a purpose?" A distortion of time... to create a bubble in time that separates from the rest of time and space... to stop the clock from ticking the time accurately... to make the tower disturbed and shudder with the entrance of intruders.
Was this man trying to escape something? Death?

As the inputs were carefully noted and listened too, he realized this man's actions were a clear sign of timeline interference. He was a bit worried that this event conspired because of something else.

He was slightly shocked and saw the clear sign of what happened, he looked up to the Chronomancer with a slight frown.

"I'm sorry." He spoke now with a soft tone. It was evident why he didn't want to be fixed or why The man was hiding. Sasuki walked closer and pushed himself up with shadow limbs so he was equal to the. Chronomancer.

He reached in his back pocket and took out a dark red Handkerchief, the rag itself looking to be stained and used often. He dabbed away the black blood of this man with concern and looked into his eyes, both of the Wizards looking a bright Emerald-Hazel again, no fear, no hatred, nothing but grief and hospitality.

"Is there anyway I can fix this?" He asked quickly, trying to save as much time talking so he could fix the problem. It wasn't the fact that he is killing a man, he has killed many before, he was more concerned of making this man's death evident due to an accident the town made them pull, he was not liking the idea of having his head on a pike because the town wanted them too.

The magician watched them, wide-eyed, his pale fingers as luminescent as ghosts in the frail cloak of moonlight that gleamed through the clock's grand faces. His mad gaze darted between them, bloodshot and dazed. He did not see the expressions of serious thought that had come over the faces of Miriela and Kiari, nor did he seem to recognize the tender pity in Sasuki's. He looked through them, past them, into them. He saw everything but what was right in front of him: these four adventurous souls that had come to save a clock, and found a wretched wizard instead.

"I..." he began, and the single syllable gurgled. The chronomancer's cloudy eyes stared without seeing at the fire mage's face when he dabbed the black away. "I, I-I," he repeated, his mouth gaping and already dripping again. The dark substance came from no wound, but seemed to churn out of him in trickles and lines as though it had subtly overflowed his systems. "I d-d-did--I, I am the c-c-cause. The f-fracture, the fracture, the f-f-fracture in Time. It, it, it is m--it is m-m-mine."

Numbly, he pointed at the hourglass that Sasuki had removed with one shivering finger. "One hour," he uttered. "Two. Three. F-f-five. I want to--t-to live. What is life... what is life but Time? Sweet, p-precious--p-precious Time!" The man shed a tear, but his eyes were still unfocused and empty of feeling. "I, I, I--I am wasting yours. I-it is--it is done. Leave me; it is done. It will collapse and consume you, this--th-this hungering maw of the Universe. Sweet souls, you did not know."

He smiled a bit and chuckled softly, he dabbed away his tear once more before pulling the handkerchief away from him and into his back pocket.

"We are always ignorant of something, we were ignorant of this and now we have you." He gave out a soft laugh and smiled with a bit more hospitality. "I think you have only made the fracture that you cam fix. Right now it doesn't seem present, but for this moment you still have a good amount of time to do what you will, we've all taken steps out of our home, and though this may not be, or it may, we are willing to wait for you if you wish to leave this home."

He laughed a bit and smiled, "I'd rather die with people I love and know around me to give me a wish of safe passage on than to die alone and have the whole room be filled with the stuff that will keep you alive for another second or two." He spoke as he eased down back to the ground.

"I apologize for disrupting anything you have made, but if you can make it again and perfect it, don't let us stop you, we have a large amount of time to wait around and prepare for a new member."

He laughed and gently patted his forehead with his palm, "of course," he commented finally after a moment of time, "if you want." He spoke clumsily.

Pluvio had gone silent. He was still embarrassed about how he had lost focus. He stay kneeling next to the time wizard. It looked like he was in worse shape than he thought.

The mage bit his lip as he became lost in his thoughts. Luckily, it looked like the dark wizard knew what to say. Sasuki had earned his respect.

He had an idea and chimed in, "Would you like us to find a healer in town?"

The city was full of apothecarists, healer clerics and doctors. Of course, it would not be easy to find one at this hour.

Kiari stood glanced out a nearby window. The night outside was dressed with a raw darkness whose breath stretched out as icy tendrils that entered the building through cracks and missing bricks. Wisps her hair were toyed with by the breeze that left behind goosebumps on the back of her neck. Exhaling, she trembled beneath the weight of a chill and rubbed her hands against her upper arms in order to establish warmth with the friction. The man before them who could reshape or defile the essence of seconds, seemed to cause them to become as long as hours. What did that kind of power feel like? And Kiari could not help but wonder if the price he was paying in the present worth it all.

The glossy irises of her eyes lingered thoughtfully on him before moving to Sasuki as he spoke. His words were soothing and supportive, but she wondered if it was enough to extract sensibility and rationality from the poor man. He seemed so sure that his time was about to run out...

Kiari nodded her encouragement after Pluvio had concluded his thought. More than likely, they could find a sorcerer who was able to tend to the men's unusual wounds. The woman stepped out and gently laid a hand on the man's shoulder. The palm of her hand hardly bared weight on him as the tone of her voice turned soft and hopeful.

"You're not wasting our time, Sir," she murmured. "Not if you let us help you."

Miriela stood back, listening to each member of the group speaking. For the most part they all seemed to be completely confused about what the others were saying. She sighed a little. This was going to be a long night. The girl had no interest in being further involved at this point. She would let them sort out what they wanted to do for themselves.

The Mage had had enough of the clock tower's incessant ticking. He stood up from the man, after having extended his hand to him for awhile. His ears were throbbing, his feet hurt and he was ready to get some sleep.

Without saying a word, he turned and started to walk out the room. He stopped and looked back one time. Death was nothing new. He had looked it in the eye before, on a battlefield in a stinky desert somewhere and the thought of it honestly angered him. He raged with his own internal dialogue. If the man was content to die, he was content to die...

"I'm going into town." His voice carried a sense of urgency. "I can't take this damn ticking... I'll send for help. Anyone who wants to stay here, be my guest." The suddenly callous words escaped his mouth faster than he could think it, which apparently, was nothing new. Without looking to see who followed, he turned and left the room.

Sasuki kept where he stood, the sound of the ticking was calming to him, no matter how large and loud it was. He smiled faintly to the drow as he walked, out, "will do, friend." He commented softly as hem left, but was probably not heard well through the sound of ticking. He looked at the other three and waited to see if anyone was going to leave.

For all he knew him and Edward could stay alive for the end of time, so the waiting game for them was a going to be a while. But he was sure that Edward would drop if he didn't do anything before it took too long, but he wasn't sure if he would drop today or next year, but he was not sure.

Miriela stood for a moment, torn. But the words of the wizard about the time tear killing them made her nervous. So, for the sake of staying alive, she followed Pluvio down the ladder. The noises of the tower were grating on her nerves. And all of the confused babbling was agitating. While she didn't like leaving Sasuki, Kiari or the wizard there, she didn't want to stay there if death was in fact possible.

Then again, it was better than some alternatives. For a moment she paused. Death by time rip... death back at home... possible death at some other time. She was going with avoiding the time rip death for now. With that mentally decided, she followed Pluvio.

Never before had Kiari ever settled for giving up. Stubborn to a fault, she always took on affairs with no intentions of quitting. However, choosing not to follow in Pluvio's footsteps would possibly mean missing out on something great. There was nothing she could do to help with wizard, no matter how much she wanted to. Death was a harsh reality that she didn't know how to stop or prevent for a human. The deafening 'ticks' were like rhythmic drums of pain, making it hard for her not to become agitated. Despite, it all, the woman was hesitant.

Sasuki didn't give any hints with his body that he wanted to leave. Perhaps, he felt pity for the man, or he was like her and just stubborn. Either way, Kiari could not leave him here alone with a dying men's ramblings with a good conscience.

Also, if Edward did face the end, she didn't want him to be alone.

"I will catch up, " she said, just as Pluvio stepped outside.

Pluvio had given her a glimpse at a new side of him. Up until this point, he had been courteous and gentle. Kiari couldn't blame him for being fed up with this place, but she was not happy to see him go either.

Miriela did surprise her by leaving Akane but she didn't question it. They seemed to be all stressed out with the idea of lingering any longer here. If Kiari had not been so comfortable with death, she would be the same way. 'Comfortable' was not completely accurate. It had just become part of her life and after so many years, she was hardened to it.

Going over to a distant corner where she recalled seeing a bucket with a tin cup beside it on a wooden board fastened onto the stone wall, Kiari scooped up some water using the cup and brought it to Edward. After sitting it at his side, she stood back to allow enough personal space and folded her arms as she waited to see what he would say or want to do.

Sasuki was a bit saddened that his friends had left, especially, Miriela, he knew she was a bit tolerable of things, bit this was something he didn't suspect. He sighed a bit as they both left and caused him to feel a bit deepened in his sadness, the sound of the clock beside him ticking and echoing within his hollow form, the Chronomancer next to him made him feel less hollow.

He glanced as saw the other elf, pure shock flowing over his form as he was the woman working with him and helping the Chronomancer with him. He smiled ever so softly as he didn't see the woman ever joining him in something, but then again, this wasn't because he was here, it was because Edward was here and she was not here because Sasuki wanted to help, she wanted to as well.

He reached his hand out and smiled a bit more as he gently tapped her shoulder to get her attention. His smile was warm and evident of his care. He mouthed the words, "thank you." As he put his hand back down and stood up straight, putting his hands by his sides as he thought out a plan to either fix the problem or if there is a way. Magic was a complex thing and he knew much of it, but Chrono magic was not something he knew very well, so the fact that tearing up the time limes and trying to fix up a problem like this was not in his power, but what stopped him from doing this before?

The Mage got to the ladder and stared downwards. Perhaps it was a bit more quiet, he thought to himself. He had heard footsteps behind him, which actually surprised him. He turned and looked, noticing the younger female at his side.

A sense of regret swept over him. This is what happens when his powers are drained and he is away from the temple too long. Pluvio the charmer, had a dark side. Without constant meditation, he can be as turmultous as a summer storm at sea...

"Look, I..." He said to Miriela. "I didn't mean to leave... I just can't focus in here and need some fresh air."

He started walking back towards the room and motioned for Miriela to follow him. "This is why I don't have many friends... Well, I bet the healers and such are asleep. Maybe we should just camp here until morning. What do you think, Miri?"

The two walked back into the room continuing the conversation.

Miriela listened to the Storm Mage and she could understand his agitation. She was after all a Water Mage. And any Mage with any sort of affinity for Water or Storms tended to need a breather at times. Water was unpredictable and chaotic, beneath the still surface.

She hesitated to go back to the room. "Well, would it be such a bad thing for you to at least step out for one minute to get a breath of fresh air? I, for one, need to get out of here for at least a minute, other wise I'll lose my cool completely." She furrowed her brow, but followed him. "I'm not against spending the night here, but I don't think we all have to sit up here all at once. There's nothing wrong with taking shifts to get out for a minute or two and then come back."

Trying to remain reasonable while under this much stress was driving her crazy. The Water Mage had about 10 more minutes in this place before she was going to lose it completely, but she wasn't about to let any of them know that. Being honest was most definitely not in her nature.

The dark tendrils of her hair bounced subtly as she turned her head on cue to the gentle nudge of her shoulder. Sasuki's gratitude surprised her. Kiari had not expected him to be anything more than indifferent to her presence. The women's composer relaxed slightly as she smiled in return and nodded her head. Turning back to the other male in the room, Kiari sighed. It had been an exhausting evening, and she doubted it would end soon.

Before her thoughts could linger on her negative emotions any longer, she heard Pluvio and Miriela make their way back into the building. She had not expected them to return, especially after choosing to leave her and Sasuki behind. However, she was glad that they had decided not to go. The place seemed less eerie with more of them there.

The obnoxious sound of gears of the clock grinding together was starting to bother her even more so with exhaustion setting in. Soon, she would need to go outside, even if it were for a few minutes, for a moment of peace and silence.

After some amount of time was brought, the ticking seemed to be a faint click from the outside. The moon was an inch from the centre of the sky and the midnight blue hues of the plain above them made the moon seem more interesting than the starts that burn brightly in dots over the area. The night was truly beautiful for exploring, and it looked much better due to the Drow's work previous, but nothing could be held for what the night had.

The sound of his custom wingtips tapping the stones were echoing through the foyer of the tower as the Dark Wizard and Farmer walked out of the door, he sighed a bit as he was a bit disappointed to the actions that occurred up there, but he was relieved that all of it happened up there instead of in the faces of all the group, less someone would either get angered or upset.

He looked over to the two that were outside and smiled ever so faintly, "well." He commented with a languid, yet slightly saddened tone to his smooth, dark tenor, "he didn't make it. Time was all he had to control, but unfortunately his time was not within his hands, just what he thought was his." He resumed, his words coming out like the Chronomancer was laying in a coffin right in front of him, his words were to bring him to the gods to be purified of some life long problem.

He could see it clearly in his mind too, the tall and lanky man was laying down, his hat in his hands and his copper hair groomed, into a clean look, his eyes closed and arms resting at his sides, forearms on his waist. His purple robes draped over his bone thin form and his skin was pail and dry, the black ooze was no longer there, but he was not certain if it was a good thing.

He cleared his head and shook it gently as he walked forward again, out the door further, "for now, we must rest. Letting a dead man we knew but for today is not something we should mourn over for a month. He died here and, quite honestly, it was our faults." He realized that the others would be offended by the words, 'our' and quickly reiterated himself, "it was my fault." He fixed, making sure that no one else was going to be mad at him.

He draped his arm over Kiari as he walked out and brought her with him, he did this for no more than a second before letting her go, he was certain that despite his warm presence and personality, he was some kind of cold against her and would not make her uncomfortable because he was being friendly.

He marched passed them and gently petted night with his palm, the dog happily panting to his touch. "Let us move on." He spoke with a broad tone, "less anyone is interested in sleeping here for the night." He commented, looking back at them with a soft smile, trying to joke with them to lighten the mood, though jesting was a dumb idea here.

Pluvio lowered his head as the dark wizard spoke of the chronomancer. He was extremely disappointed. The feeling of butterflies twisting into unpleasant knots shook his stomach into an audible rumble. It was one of sadness rather than hunger.

This was why Pluvio usually stuck to his own small village.

"I saw an inn not too far down the road", he said for the second time during the night. It would still be a decent hike.

The group made their way, back outside the gates and along the path that was carved through the natural terrain. A bitter breeze blew in from the west... The winds of change, as they were sometimes called. The Mage wrapped his gloved hands around his arms, shielding them from the environment's cold attitude.

In the background, a pack of coyotes could be heard. Their yapping, an animal personification of teamwork and unity seemed to weigh on Pluvio's mind. He really wanted the chronomancer to join him in the journey.

Having said that, the clock was fixed and the team had accomplished what they set out to when they left the tavern. It had seemed like years ago when they were all celebrating together.

The path had returned to the forest. As the team made their way deeper into the dense woods, the sounds of wild dogs was replaced by the familiar nighttime buzz of crickets and toads. Soon the path came around a bend and just around the corner was a small, one story building. An attached roofed, but open area with hay on the ground was barely visible in the moonlight. It was the inn with an empty horse hitching area.

Seeing the inn again was anticlimactic. It hardly looked like much, almost like it was barely used. Maybe there would be interesting characters inside.. Pluvio turned to Miriela. He was aching for conversation after the quiet trip to the shelter. "Doesn't look like much, huh?"

He dug one hand in his left pocket, searching for a few golden coins. Hopefully it would be enough. He opened the door and held it for the group as they began to step inside...

Kiari's jawbone flexed as she stared at death's victim. Only a few times had she been confronted with the eerie stillness that transformed living people into unthinking corpses. Sasuki's words bounced off of her unwavering facade and tripped her heart, causing it to skip a beat. Yes, it had been their fault to an extent but she could not permit all of the blame to weigh solely on her shoulders. Each person had his own choices to make and they are subjected to the consequences. If they had been able to heal the man, what kind of life would he be living? The same one that caused him to die?

Kiari had the ability to help the man but, as she had learned the hard way as a child, the costs were too much for her to pay.

Sasuki's arm snapped her out of her thoughts. It was comforting but she could not summon a smile to convey the emotion. After he had dropped his arm, her eyes sought out Miriela for the first time since they had come back. She wondered how she was coping but asking her in front of everyone would only put her in the spotlight-and not in a good way. If the other women was anything like Kiari, discussing emotions in front of other people, or in general, was not fun.

Once outside, she lagged behind everyone else and stared into the black silhouettes of trees in the distance. Kiari shivered, but not because of the cold. Death had been close enough tonight to breathe chills down her back. The woman rolled her shoulders, trying to shake the feeling of dread. Maybe after a warm shower, the memories of tonight would wash away.

Pluvio's voice cut through her thoughts but its tone was too soft to be directed toward her so she didn't bother looking away from the trees. Thankfully, they soon arrived at the inn. She craved something a little more potent than water this time.