When Dagan got within a short distance of the great, central hall; he would slow down and take to a brisk, but considerably slower walk. His hair was disheveled from having just woken up, his clothing, still torn, clung to his body in places, but was loose in others. White, unblemished skin could be seen through the holes and tears of his clothing, but he paid no attention to this. No, it wasn’t until he came within sight of the great hall, itself, that his emerald eyes flared up, and life seemed to bleed into them. If, up until this time, he had been hard in thought, nobody would know, and probably neither would Dagan, himself.

Looking at the Great Hall was as overwhelming as the first time he had seen it, if he hadn’t been outside of the city, in a completely different setting, it might have even given him a few minutes pause, as his eyes traced the building, peered upwards, through windows, and noticing details that many others might have ignored. But, alas, that wasn’t the case, this time, because he had seen and done things that were still floating about his mind; there was a good chance that many things would not compare, for quite a while.

Regardless, after some gawking at the hall, Dagan would seek out Attis, searching around, and inside the building until he found the two men, announcing his arrival by clearing his throat.

Seeing the New Arrival was enough to jog his memory about Attis’ request, it didn’t hit him too hard, in fact, but he had forgotten up until that point. Really, Dagan wasn’t too sure what to make of the man; it bothered him that he sat there, lifelessly, and didn’t seem to respond to anything. It wasn’t creepy and it wouldn’t be held against him, really, but it was just a tad bit unnerving for someone who always wore their feelings on their sleeve, like Dagan.

“How’re you guys doing?” He finally said aloud.

"Oh, hey!" Attis replied cheerily.

He didn't seem too surprised to see Dagan at all. Truth be told, he was kind of expecting him! At some point, he figured he'd see Dagan here. It was the whole reason he brought the New Arrival to the hall, anyways. He turned to Dagan and regarded him with a likewise smile. In actuality, though, Attis might look a little less rested than Dagan was. Fatigue was heavy on his face, but he was toughing through it for now. Attis figured he might have the chance to get some sleep a little later on.

The New Arrival looked up. His lips were parted ever so subtly, but only by some invisible force insistent on dragging everything towards the ground.

"You look rested," Attis observed. Dagan's bedhead said more than enough about that. It was kind of funny looking, actually, but Attis refrained from laughing about it, tough as it was!

“I needed it,” he replied to Attis, running a hand down the back of his head, but ultimately giving up on fixing his hair. “How’s he doing?”

Dagan’s focus shifted upwards, from Attis, and rested on the New Arrival, instead. Combining this with walking forwards, almost familiarly, he knelt down beside Attis, and gave the young man a quick survey. He couldn’t explain it, but he wore a slightly concerned look on his face. It was a momentary change in expression; happiness turned to hinted sadness, and it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. Unless Attis was looking Dagan in the face, at the time, he’d have probably missed it.

“You look tired,” Dagan remarked to Attis, but doing so without turning to face him. It was obvious who he was speaking to, however. “Have you been awake with him, this entire time?”

There was a degree of concern in the man’s voice, but a least this could be an explanation for why he hadn’t met Attis before all this. Really, if he was working himself this hard, it’d be a surprise if he ever had time to himself, let alone time enough to socialize with the others. And here Dagan thought Seeker and himself had the harder job, when they went to find the arrival.

Attis nodded tiredly.

"Yeah . . ."

It was one huge mess already. Attis scratched the back of his neck slightly, nervous, but much more tired than he was anything of the sort.

"There's a lot involved, y-you know? A lot of tests, medical a-and psychological, and a lot of examinations and a lot of documentation and a lot of j-just sitting a-and thinking a-and trying to figure out a-all the little problems you find, and," Attis stopped right there, only to release a sigh. He was rambling, wasn't he? Yes, yes, he was, and there was no need for that right now. "S-sorry, I really am tired. A-and I guess, um . . ."

Attis looked back to the New Arrival, then to Dagan. He wasn't the kind of person to get worked up over little thing, but wasting time . . . well, he hadn't much time to waste, personally. Attis moved forward, to Dagan, and leaned forward to whisper in his ear:

"Frustrated, I guess. I-I didn't make any progress at all-- he's been this way since he woke up."

“I, I wonder why? He was pretty lively when I met him!” the thought that Seeker having knocked the young man unconscious having been the cause of this stirred pretty violently through Dagan’s mind. He did not think Seeker had hurt him that much, but what else was there as an explanation? Maybe there was another cause, though? From the way Attis spoke, it didn’t sound like this was too common a thing, but Dagan wouldn’t know, either way.

“Is this … All that’s wrong with him?” he wanted to use other words, words like Attis had used, but he couldn’t; in fact, he might not have even known anything other than the general meaning of some of the things Attis had spoken. “He looks okay,” Dagan looked just a bit closer at the man, still kneeling beside Attis, but in front of the new arrival.

There was a moment where Dagan wanted to reach out his hand and see if he could knock some sense into the other, but he fought the urge. As good an idea as that sounded it, it didn’t seem like it’d really fix anything, but it might have actually been enough to act the part of a trigger, like therapeutic role-play, as it were, but it was too bad Dagan didn’t actually understand that concept.

“Hey,” he finally reached out, but not to strike the New Arrival; no, he’d hook his fingers at the other man’s chin, allowing Dagan to directly control the red haired man’s line of sight. “Do you remember me? Your friend... Dagan?”

The New Arrival's eyes were glazed over, as if he wasn't really there to begin with--present in body, but absent in mind. Dagan, controlling his head with fingers beneath his chin, was able to get the New Arrival to look at him, but he received no response in the end; still, the New Arrival, just as Attis explained earlier, was completely and totally unresponsive. When Dagan looked into the young man's eyes, that was likely all he'd find, someone who was simply out of his body-- but where was his mind?Perhaps somewhere in his skull, still.

Attis leaned over Dagan with a frown. This was exactly what happened with the New Arrival last night, too, and exactly why he couldn't make any progress with him. Indeed, a conclusion that this was extremely uncommon was accurate; Attis likely never had any problems like this one.

"Th-this has just never happened before," Attis remarked with a sigh, "I don't know what to do. Th-the Seeker said he was up and about a-and talked, too, but, I don't know. I can't even get a flicker of that to return."

Dagan retracted his hand slowly.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” he shook his head and looked towards Attis. “Seeker’s right, he really was pretty active before, but now… “ He sighed, “Maybe he just needs time, you think? He had a pretty rough go out there and he might just needs to recover for a bit,” Dagan turned back to the man sitting on the bench and then re-focused on Attis; he honestly didn’t know what else to say. Attis was far more the expert here than he was; in fact, if Attis didn’t know what was going on then there was no way Dagan would.

“Look, man; how about you go get some rest and maybe--I don’t know--think over what you can try with him? I can watch over him for a while, if you want.”

Once again, Dagan looked at Attis with concern; he already looked exhausted, maybe even more exhausted than Dagan had been before, and while that was debatable, it was also irrelevant; really, what mattered was that Dagan had nothing better to do and Attis didn’t seem to need to do anything else, for now. He might as well rest while he had the chance, right?

“It’s no bother,” he reiterated with a smile.

"I-- um, well . . ." Attis trailed off as he scratched the back of his neck again, "W-well, um, i-if you really mean it, um, I-- I'd actually really appreciate it . . ."

Attis suppressed the need to yawn. He hadn't slept at all since even before he met Dagan here at the Hall earlier. He looked to the western entrance. It was still partially opened. At long last, he could not longer stifle his yawn. Just looked back towards the very direction of his home fueled him with the austere need to lay down in bed, however uncomfortable his bed actually was, snuggle up with an equally as uncomfortable pillow, and sleep.

Those were the kinds of sleeps that always ended with him waking up with aches and pains all over his body, and a bit of grogginess inspired aggression--which was, in actuality, extremely weak, as Attis's idea of being aggressive was something as simple as shooting down a person's idea on principle, but in a calm and respectful way. Truthfully, it was next to impossible to tell when Attis was feeling particularly aggressive. He was just too nice of a guy.

"I'll meet you back here, okay . . .?" Attis asked; he felt like he needed a bit of permission, here--permission to leave and come back after he'd rested.

Devoid of a concept of time, they could firmly believe that an agreed meeting would happen without any indication of when it could happen. The only thing important in such meetings was where. When was unnecessary, because they had no when to know. Meetings simply happened.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Dagan answered; it would have been just as well if he had remained silent, however. It really wasn’t a bother! Dagan was already fully rested and Attis’ required at least some measure of rest, himself; honestly, there was no reason to hesitate in accepting the help, but perhaps Attis was simply too nice for his own good sometimes.

“That’s fine, too. Here’s good,” Dagan nodded in agreement as he stood up from his kneeling position.

Truthfully, putting aside Dagan’s only general knowledge and understanding of time, it wouldn’t have been a problem waiting for Attis’ to rest up, or even go on about his daily routine for a bit. He was more than capable of waiting a long time without rest, but more importantly was the fact that he thoroughly enjoyed helping. Although he had not fully explored that side of himself, he always found himself seeking adventure, even when there was none to be had, and helping others was a part of that, a crucial part, at that. Likewise, helping someone like Attis was a reward in and of itself, Attis seemed as though he’d fully appreciate the help, and that was always a plus, was it not?

“Rest up; and I guess we can talk about him later,” he gave a small gesture of his head towards the new arrival, indicating who he was speaking about. “Hopefully he snaps out of it soon, though.”

"Mm, yeah, hopefully," Attis replied with a hopeful (but tired) smile and nod.

Troublesome as it was, Attis acknowledged that he really needed to get some sleep. For how long? Well, he hadn't the knowledge of time to make quite an estimate!

Was there more to say? Or did he just have to take his leave now? Attis found himself at a bit of a social standstill; he just wasn't in these sorts of social situations enough to care what another person thought about him! After all, whatever the Seeker thought about him, it wasn't like he could possibly redeem himself. That was a man that stuck to first impressions. In the end, though, Attis's fatigue won out. He raised his hand to make a slight wave to Dagan as he walked backwards several steps.

"See you . . ."

And with that, Attis turned and left-- leaving Dagan alone with the New Arrival . . .

“Yeah, see’ya … “Dagan mirrored Attis’ wave; he momentarily left his hand raised, bringing it down slowly, awkwardly, and solemnly.

“Now,” he sighed and turned his attention back towards the New Arrival, who, sure enough, was just the same as he had been when Dagan arrived. “What do I do?”

Silently, Dagan considered that he had not quite thought this entirely through; that is, he had no idea what he was supposed to do with the new arrival! Was he supposed to just watch over the young man? At any rate, it didn’t look like he was going to go anywhere, anytime soon.

Deciding that he was probably going to be at the hall for a while, Dagan plopped back down onto the ground, sitting cross legged, and looked at the new arrival again, his brow furrowed ever-so-slightly. His level of concentration for such a simple task was breathtaking, to say the least, as he refused to blink, and kept a vigil watch over his charge.

Not even a hint of boredom escaped his (now) stern features; if the new arrival had been remotely conscious of his surroundings, he would have probably been slightly disturbed at the dedication.

Perhaps in an equally perturbing manner, the New Arrival stared back at Dagan, who sat on the floor before him. The New Arrival remained leaning forward in his chair with his eyes to the floor, but Dagan was now inhabiting that area of the floor, and therefore inhabiting the area of the New Arrival's vision. The New Arrival made no attempt to stop this. He did not avert his gaze, nor did he move his eyes. Dagan had simply taken a seat where their eyes were in a constant state of meeting.



Da . . . an . . .
. . . gan . . .
Dag . . .

Two syllables broken into pieces flooded the New Arrival's mind for what felt like an ever present eternity. To them, it could very well have been. Eternity. Forever. That was a strange feeling, but a constant one. To not know that the present could end was to believe that the present went on forever--and therefore to feel as if one was eternal. Sometimes, such thoughts could be disturbing, thoughts lost into the sea of forever; in theory, they might drive a person mad-- but only those people that didn't recognize a beginning or end to things.

His lips trembled as he moved them, an unconscious action to try and mouth out the thoughts that had been passing. They were cracked and dry and he made no attempt to wet them. Perhaps he didn't know how. Perhaps he didn't know that it would help him speak--but nonetheless, he did no such thing. Over and over, his lips twitched in minuscule, easily overlooked movement, until . . .

". . . Da . . . gan . . ." he whispered at long last.

Every movement made by the new arrival was caught by the unwavering gaze of his watcher; the smallest movement was witnessed as though it were of the most intricate detail. Without knowing, Dagan’s heart sped up, beating in his chest, as he leaned just slightly forwards, his eyes still unblinkingly focused, and his face hardening a slight bit more.

" . . .Yes! . . . "

His voice was shaky, unsteady; regardless, it was through anticipation that he seemed to unconsciously try and lead the New Arrival into saying his name. His words weren’t specifically addressed to the man, however; no, he was speaking to nothing in particular, throwing his ‘yes’ to the cosmos, rather than the semi-conscious, but apparently awakening New Arrival.

Truthfully, Dagan had not expected … this, not in the least. He was perfectly content with wasting away incomprehensible time and doing nothing more than watching the New Arrival. Needless to say, this made things all the more worthwhile.

Dagan did not pursue conversation or announce anything above a whisper; indeed, he seemed to merely lean in a bit closer, not to hear better, of course, his hearing was more or less perfect, but it was the tension that followed anticipation that demanded him to get even closer. He didn’t want to rush things, he didn’t want to say anything, he didn’t want to break the illusion, if that was what it was, or break what might have been an extremely fragile thread of consciousness in the New Arrival.

“ . . . “

The New Arrival seemed to try and speak again. Perhaps there was some flash of memory going through his mind, some recollection of the recent past, when Dagan introduced himself and he was surprised by the man's lack of decomposition. Perhaps he even started to remember the Seeker, before the man knocked him unconscious.

It would've been nice; he might've come out of this state, then. He was showing signs of consciousness, however weak it might have been. It would've fixed his problem of mindlessness and Attis's problem of not knowing and obsessing over how to fix this man.

Or perhaps it was all fleeting, as the New Arrival's lips stopped moving and his head hung slightly. His eyes now focused upon the floor rather than Dagan, and once more he returned to a state of mindlessness. Though, it might have been possible for Dagan to try and make progress. After all, he'd already made more progress than Attis had, simply by sitting there . . .

Offtopic: Sorry for the wait; holidays, etc

On the edge of his proverbial seat, Dagan was disappointed just enough to pull back a little, an exasperated and confused look marking his face. It would come to no surprise to anyone that he was not particularly fond of emotional roller coasters.

“Dammit,” his remark was hidden under his breath, barely audible, but his face slowly returned to its original attentive state.

Dagan slowly shifted his body weight a bit, ‘digging in,’ as it were, and attempting to become a bit more comfortable. As he had thought, he was probably going to be here a while, and leaning so far forwards, without actually standing up, was pretty damn uncomfortable!

Regardless, as incomprehensible as time was to the citizens of Purgatory, around five minutes would pass, Dagan had said nothing the entire time and neither had the New Arrival, probably. But to a man as impulsive as Dagan, this was incredibly boring: “So … “ He broke the deafening silence, “remember when you tried to crush me with a rock? Yeeeah, good times. Really thought I was going to eat you, huh? Saw some really cool shadow things, too. Before I met you…”