Lelan shook his head quickly. "That's--"

Tragedy waiting to happen.

"No." He shook his head again. "Do you know a lot about this place? Really? At all?"

Lelan didn't know too too much about Reapers, it was true--but he knew enough to get by. He knew enough from what he heard from other Reapers to lure out other Reapers. That was enough for him, since he was hunting a particular Reaper before and all.

"Ulster is full of mages. Why do you think Emain Macha is so damn restrictive? There are so many magic barriers in place that there's a whole cadre of mages on hand at all times keeping it active. They don't want anything going down in there that might disturb the country's capital city. Outside, though, we don't have those. That means mages can be up and about. And whirlwinds don't just come out of nowhere, you know."

Eld crossed his arms and glared at Lelan in frustration. "No, I don't know anything about this country. Or even this continent." Of course Lelan had no way of knowing how he was transported, and Eld was beginning to think the Dirige needed to step up its briefings a bit. Or perhaps it was just Scott.

"So, do you have any ideas then? If he's close, how do we find him?"

Lelan was shooting down all his ideas, but he wasn't offering much himself. Eld figured the thief had to be close--it was just a matter of finding his hiding spot, or flushing him out.

He'd shut down several of Eld's ideas--but with good reason. Nonetheless, Eld hadn't really gone so far as to ask Lelan about his ideas. He had patience, and nothing more to do with his life than this, the search for Gaiasouls. This search could have lasted all month for all he cared. Procuring his main weapon from their thief was a guarantee for him.

Lelan shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it all depends."

Sure, he had several ideas. Two main ones, actually. It depended on two different ideas, really. If their thief was close by, then one would work brilliantly. If he wasn't, then they might just be shit out of luck.

"How close do you think he is? On this half of the city, maybe?"

"At least, I think." Eld frowned--it wasn't an exact thing, nothing he'd tested. He had only an educated guess; he knew Kageko couldn't talk to him from too far away even if no one else laid a hand on her. Before he joined the Dirige, he never heard her when he ventured out of Hillcrest. Here, when he first arrived he could only hear her voice faintly, and just now he'd been able to hear her clearly, and see her, though it was darker than usual.

He tried to avoid thinking about what he'd actually seen; it was only going to get him worked up again.

"Could even be within a few blocks." He got the impression he was only able to talk to her as well as he did because he was relatively close, but just how close was impossible to say. "That might be being optimistic, though."

"A few blocks . . ." Lelan thought.

Well, it could work--the first idea, that is . . .

This wasn't the first time Lelan had done this, for this exact type of task. First and foremost, Lelan took his hood and pulled it over his head. He looked to the ground and shoved his hands into the pockets of his hooded jacket.

"Destino interruzione," Lelan whispered under his breath.

All things fell silent. Somewhere, in a house not too far from Lelan and Eldridge, a mother stitched a hole in blanket for her young child in the other room. The child couldn't sleep without the blanket; it was his security. She hummed peacefully as she reconnected the threads, but soon her needle slipped between her fingers, and before it touched the floor, it stopped. It stopped just as the mother's subtle tune, just as the child in the other room ready to barge in and check on the status of his security blanket, just as all things--

--stopped under the veil of a dismal orange glow.

Lelan shut his eyes. This was such a useful ability--yet . . . sometimes, the color got to him. He didn't like to look at it.

With his eyes shut, Lelan remarked, "If you don't touch anyone, you'll have all the time in the world. You can kick down doors, you can bust in windows, you can do whatever you want. You just can't leave the sphere--and you just can't touch anyone. Especially anyone over . . ."

He pointed at one particular house. It was a single story house, a small thing, where single mother had been fixing a blanket for her young son.

". . . there." The next statement was, for the first time, serious in every way. Not a threat, but a promise: "If you do, I will kill you."

Eld gave Lelan a confused look at his odd threat. There didn't seem to be anything special about the house, and it didn't seem likely the thief would be there, so why did Lelan think he'd disturb them? Did he know people in the area?

"I won't," Eld replied anyway. It seemed like the same technique he used when they fought, at least in effect. The hue was different, though. If he remembered, it'd been azure before.

As much time as I need, though...good! He won't be able to get away.

He spread his senses out, trying to sense all the souls encapsulated by Lelan's technique. Once again he doubted he'd be able to tell the thief's soul from anyone else's, but there was a chance.

Assuming he noticed nothing out of the ordinary, he'd begin a systematic check of the entire area, being careful not to touch anybody, but given that he could sense everyone that wouldn't be hard. As he had as much time as he needed, he wouldn't stop until he'd either found the thief, the scythe, both, or had looked at every soul in the barrier.

Lelan didn't explain--and he wasn't going to, either.

Eld and Lelan went separate ways for this. They didn't need to be together anymore. If one found the thief while the other was looking elsewhere, the items could just be taken and kept until the other was found again. Splitting up meant that they would cover more ground over a shorter period of time, the best of options for this particular task--made much easier now that they had tracked the thief a somewhat specific area, and no longer had to worry about a massive crowd. Likewise, Lelan was able to use this now as opposed to earlier. Prior to temporarily parting ways with Eld, he had noted that when he met their thief in the bar before, he couldn't make use of this, having already used it once that day.

But today was a new day.

And so, they split up, Eld going right, Lelan going left, both agreeing to come find the other after getting back the stolen goods.

Indeed, Eld hadn't found anything special when he attempted to feel out spirits--quite literally. He didn't feel anything. Just like before, his control over spirit in general was a little hazy while he was in this field. Had he been a man of magic, he'd find just the same difficulty. It was going to make things a little harder, but this was still comparatively easier. They wouldn't have to worry about alerting town guards or anything, and if they broke into some houses--so what? No one was going to know. And Eld would see perfectly fine, not having to go into Purgatory to find the thief.

Time meant nothing here. Several hours here was a fraction of a second as far as everyone else was concerned. And several hours had been spent searching. Hours and hours--Lelan's legs started to hurt after awhile, even, and he took a good thirty minutes of resting on a married couple's bed, while the married couple themselves remained frozen in place downstairs, woman stopped in mid-scream, man stopped with his hand raised to her.

Though, finding the thief was still difficult. If he was hidden under or behind something . . . such as perhaps under a large pile of trash heaped up behind the town guard main station itself, with a gap between them for breathing sake. The fortress of trash bags would definitely serve as a warm place to sleep, that much was for sure . . .

Unfortunately, whatever power Lelan had interfered with Eld's Qi--he couldn't sense spirits while everything was frozen like this. That made the search more difficult, but with all time limits effectively removed that wasn't much of a problem. It did mean he had to enter every building to check, though, and in some cases there was no easy way in; he had no choice but to break into those houses. It wasn't something he liked doing, but Kageko's safety was far more important than a little property damage.

The search dragged on, and so did the hours. House after house, alleyway after alleyway--and nothing but stillness, people frozen in place in whatever activity they were doing. After the first few houses where encountered...awkward situations, he stopped paying too much attention to what people were doing if they weren't the thief, but it didn't change that walking through a lifeless city was a bit eerie even by his standards.

Fatigue ebbed away at his body; two nights without sleep and a full day of walking were taking their toll, and at the moment he couldn't bolster himself with Qi. But resting now wasn't an option. Not when the thief could be around the next corner. Besides, there was no way he'd be able to sleep even if he tired, not until he passed out from exhaustion.

It was impossible to keep track of time, but certainly several hours had passed before, walking behind the main building for the town guard, he noticed something peculiar. There was a veritable mountain of garbage bags there, simply piled up. That in itself boggled his mind for a bit; it couldn't be sanitary just having it all sitting here. How long had it been here, anyway? The smell alone would probably keep people away, though thankfully in the halting of time seemed to prevent the stench from reaching his nose.

The smell...? It would be a horrible smell, he realized. The kind of smell that would stay with you long after you left the spot, especially if you didn't bathe. But...with all those layers separating you from the cold night, you'd be pretty warm.

And while the garbage bags were packed pretty tightly in most spots, there was a small but noticeable gap in one area; not big enough to stash anything in, but wide enough for air to flow through it....

He told himself that he shouldn't get his hopes up--whoever stacked them there probably just slipped up in one spot. But...he had to look. He could leave no stone unturned, especially one that fit in so many ways.

Carefully even though his heart was beginning to race, he began to remove garbage bags, starting from the top. Remembering Lelan's warning not to touch anybody, he made sure he only grabbed areas he could see, so if there was someone behind the pile there would be no contact. And he would continue, until he either spotted someone or it became absolutely, unequivocally clear that no one was hiding here.

Lelan was a good ways away, on the opposite side of the "sphere." It curved overhead and down into the ground, not literally a physical layer interwoven into the earth, but a color signifying the area effect. It was how the technique worked. The differences in sensations between being within and outside of the sphere were so minute that they were almost impossible to really notice, not when one was on a mission to find something (or someone), at least.

Leaving meant returning to normal speed--and no longer seeing the sphere, as well as not maintaining the effects of it even if one were to walk back into the area the sphere supposedly covered. By that point, it was gone, anyways.

Trash bag after trash bag was heaved into the alleyway, until finally an arm could be seen--wrapped around something, held close to a chest. Another trashbag revealed a torso wrapped in a bulky long coat. Another trashbag removed revealed the man's head, forehead pressed up against the pole of a scythe. Just as described, he was tall with long, greasy hair, a terrible complexion, pimples around his hairline, all just as described, the same man recognized as a crazy person, the one Eld had concluded to be homeless. And indeed, he was. Eld's scythe was gripped tight, held close to his chest with his body essentially wrapped around it, half-way on top of it, blade going opposite the way of his head.

It couldn't possibly be safe to hold onto a scythe like that while sleeping--but that's the way the thief had been sleeping, and there was no way to change that . . .

Eld practically froze solid. Here he was. There was no doubt; he matched the description perfectly, and the thought of another homeless man clutching a scythe existing in the city stretched credulity and broke it.

It was lucky his Qi was subdued here, because he wasn't sure what it would do. A myriad of impulses struck him, but mainly two: grab the scythe, and kick the man as hard as he possibly could. He was breathing heavily before he finally managed to calm down enough to make a rational decision--and not from exertion.

His decision was that, no matter what else he did, his temporary partner should probably also be present. He didn't know if he could touch the scythe without stopping Lelan's power--after all, Kageko was a person, and was sealed within. And the location--behind the guard station--was less than ideal. If he started anything here, he'd get authorities on him quickly. Not a problem for him so much, as all he really needed to do was wrench the scythe away and escape into Purgatory, but Lelan needed his gauntlet back as well, and a jerk though he was Eld owed him for his help, and would keep his part of the bargain.

"LELAN!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping to draw the collector's attention. When he didn't come immediately (not that Eld really gave him much time), he went to the end(s) of the alleyway and called again. Eventually he'd call from a little further away, but no more than a minute's sprint to the place, always keeping the alleyway entrance in sight. There was no chance he'd let the man get away, but a confrontation now wasn't the best. Perhaps Lelan had a way to make the situation more favorable.

It was only the knowledge that with time frozen for everyone but the two of them Kageko wasn't suffering more every second he waited that allowed him to be even this patient. Fortunately, the location enclosed in Lelan's ability was comparatively small, and without the noises of regular life going on, there was nothing barring his shout from being heard across the entire area. Only being indoors would, but with the regularity (and desperation) that Eld shouted it was only a matter of time before Lelan stepped outside even if he was indoors and heard him.

There was no call back. No matter how loudly Eld shouted for his would be partner, he received no reply--and minutes later, there was still no other adolescent making his way into the alley from either side of it. For Eld, it was a bad scenario. It meant that if he wanted Lelan there, he'd have to go look for him himself, requiring him to let the thief out of his sight.

Then again, he and Lelan were currently dislodged from time. If Eld left, there was no reason that the thief shouldn't be there by the time he came back. Nonetheless, it was up to him. He could either go in search of Lelan now, or work on trying to get the items back and search for him later . . .

Kuso, where the hell is he?!

It seemed no amount of shouting would summon Lelan, and Eld's voice was getting hoarse. Was he ignoring him? He didn't see why; surely Lelan knew the only reason he'd get this worked up at this point was if he found him.

The mere thought of letting the thief out of his sight for more than a minute aggravated him. However, if Eld did anything there, he'd have to most likely deal with city guard as well.

Calm down. Time's frozen. Nothing's happening. You have all the time in the world.

He repeated that like a mantra, but thought it would be best if he took some precautions anyway. Before he left, he stacked some of the garbage back onto the pile, enough so that the thief was covered anyway. At least if something went wrong, the thief would have no reason to think his hiding spot had been discovered--and therefore no reason to move.

Having covered that, with much hesitation, he left the alleyway in search of Lelan. His hope was that he had a way to either bring the thief into the time disruption or move him without breaking the effect.

Finding Lelan wouldn't be a task that proposed much difficulty. Whenever they broke into houses, he and Eld both shut the doors behind them when they left. It served to do two things: to lessen the confusion of people whose houses they had broke into and to make it easy to find one another if one was in a building. Surely, people were going to be confused either way, but this, at the very least, but the effect could sill be lessened.

There was only one house in the vicinity with its door currently open, the only one nearby--the only place Lelan could be at the moment. It was a single story house that looked pleasant enough, quaint even, a well kept place with a trimmed yard, a garden, and stepping stones leading to the front door.

Stepping inside the lit up house invited one to see a well kept, well furnished living room--inhabited by Lelan Jericho himself, but all was not well. Just to the right, the kitchen was easily accessible, but it was torn up, like a tornado had gashed through it. All cupboards were opened, pots and pans were littered about with wild abandon, and utensils were scattered like bugs to the other cooking supplies. No food was raided, the deep freezer was untouched.

Across the room living, a short hallway lead to another room, and its door was barely cracked open.

A small shoed foot pressed up against a thick chest, a young leg curled back to a young body pinned to a mattress--the body leaning over him a much older one, heavier, pants at his ankles--

It was easy enough to not notice, the door almost closed and all. Anyone with a one tracked mind would have just saw Lelan in the living room and paid no attention to anything else. Barely any details, but just enough to know. No faces, no hair--barely anything could be seen all. For someone in a rush, it truly was an image that could be brushed by, unseen, at least until one started to finally look around, and for Eld, that may have been necessitated when it became clear after perhaps a second glance that Lelan was holding a knife.

Only a sliver of anything could be seen, the door half shut. But just from the initial living room, enough could be seen across the hall to disturb any conscious thinking human being. Enough to make them want to leave or report this finding to the authorities-- but Lelan was there, and he hadn't left yet. Lelan was still in the house, still where he could see that image just by looking straight forward, sat within a barren wooden chair in the well decorated living room, the only chair that looked plain, sturdy, but plain. Dirty, even.

And there sat Lelan, hunched forward, elbows upon his knees, a kitchen knife in hand. He was staring at the floor, not shaking, but not moving at all, either. Were it not for his breathing, he would have looked just like everyone else that was frozen in time. He hadn't done anything short of raiding the kitchen for a suitable weapon, a long knife with serrated meant for cutting meat and bone.

Eld entered the first nearby open door, and was grateful to find Lelan. It was lucky they'd done this at night; during the day, who knows how many front doors would have been open? It would have made finding eachother much more difficult.

He stopped in the living room, having found the person he was looking for. But before he could speak the annoyed question of what he was doing he sensed something was wrong and shut his mouth.

Lelan was just sitting on the couch, knife in hand, not moving. Only his breathing separated him from the stillness of everyone else. A quick glance at the kitchen told Eld where he got the knife, but why he had the knife was another question.

Until he looked in the other direction, glancing through the half-open door down the hall. He visibly tensed, feeling his blood run cold. It was the kind of scene that knotted his stomach, the kind that instantly made him forget anything about the desire he once had to be a doctor, to save lives no matter whose.

Had he not witnessed someone he cared deeply for going through something even more horrible, would he be able to stop himself from driving a knife into the man's back, letting time flow once more? He doubted it.

For the first time, he looked at Lelan not as some force that had interfered with his life, but as a person. Which was why, though his body was still tense, he managed to speak to him with empathy for the first time. "I found him," he said softly. "What do you want to do?"

"You did?" asked Lelan, but he didn't sound all that interested--not genuinely so at that moment, not right now, not until he was out of the house.

More than anything else, he sounded . . . dark. Depressed. Ominous, even. He still had his hood up and over his head, hiding his face; Eld couldn't see it, no one could, it was good for that sometimes, a good way to escape the persecuting eyes of others, if they mattered. Sometimes, though, pity was worse than any ridicule.

It was a rhetorical question, in any case. Of course Eld had found the thief, he wouldn't be here to contact Lelan otherwise. Lelan's arms relaxed a bit. He didn't let go of the knife, though. He couldn't get himself that far. He was of two minds, and neither could really win over the other in this argument. What exactly does one do, here? How does one accept this?

Not just anyone, though. How does someone like Lelan deal with it? Someone who didn't know the child or the man, but the experience.

Sometimes, this skill could be a real bitch. Useful. It was so useful that it had no physical drawbacks. Sure, he could only use it once or twice a day or so, but what sort of drawback was that? He could have killed anyone here, stolen anything, and even if he brought another person in, if they were a mage or a Reaper or anything of the sort, all the powers they knew were useless. There was no downside. There couldn't be.

Except what he saw.

At least gods only killed each other.

"Where is he?"