[crow]

Faber faltered, then shook his head slowly. Akala frowned. "What, nothing? Where've you been staying? Wait, you didn't steal these, did you?" he asked, taking out the granola bar that Faber had given him earlier.

"Um," Faber said. Akala rubbed at his forehead. Of all the people he could've found, he'd wound up with this, this... Whatever Faber was. Words failed him at the moment, or perhaps the boy failed the words that Akala knew. He was alright with children, but having gotten past his teens himself, wasn't equipped to deal with them any longer; and Faber had a great deal of eccentricities that were uniquely his own. Akala hoped they were unique. The thought of a whole collection of Fabers going about their business in town seemed fit to give him a migraine.

[crow]

Right, that was it. He ought to be taking his leave now. His ancestors could do barrel rolls in their graves; nothing was worth this. True enough that Faber had done nothing worse than act intolerably spacey; and it had been thanks to the boy that Akala had made it out of the caves as easily as he had. The thought that he had reason to be grateful to Faber was an uncomfortable thought. But Akala comforted himself thus: if it had not been for Faber, he wouldn't have come out to such a place to begin with. They would never have met, and Faber had only undone the wrong he'd inflicted by getting Akala out of the cave, as it had been Faber who had lured the man in.

... But he really did look so scruffy. And so skinny. His thoughts warred with themselves for a while longer before he finally gave in with an inarticulate noise of frustration. Faber turned him, head cocked, looking slightly concerned.

[crow]

"Sir, are you alright?" Faber asked, reaching out a hand, though he knew not what to do with it. Akala batted it away, impatient with frustration at both the boy and himself.

"Yes, fine. Don't call me 'sir'. Look, I'm not offering you a home or anything, just a place to crash, maybe a meal or two til you can find a job or your relatives or... something, alright?" he said, getting it all out in a rush, in case he changed his mind. He really should change his mind. He tried to, but couldn't manage it. He waited, past the point where even Faber should have caught up to his words, then said, "Well?"

"Oh, uh. If you like, I guess?" Faber gave a shrug, and grinned lopsidedly at Akala before, of all things, beginning to fiddle with his guitar again.

[crow]

Akala hadn't expected much. Even gratitude might have been out of the question, considering Faber's age, but this was... No, if he thought about it, that reaction made sense enough with the rest of the boy's character. He probably didn't notice a bit of starvation now and then. Akala wouldn't put it past him.

But Faber hadn't said no, and Akala's better judgement was refusing to kick in, so that left him with the task of getting them back to his place. "Let's get going," he said, still none too cheerful about the whole affair. He had walked a few steps before he realized that Faber hadn't followed.

"What are you doing?" he called.

"Oh, you go first. I'll catch up!" Faber replied. He had the audacity to wave goodbye. Akala scowled. This wouldn't do.

[crow]

He stalked back immediately, and grabbing Faber by the arm, hauled the boy bodily to his feet. Not that he would admit it, but it pleased the man that he could manage it, for Faber had so much height on him. But he really was skin and bones, and his resistance had been further diminished by surprise. Faber stared at Akala uncomprehending, even going as far as to look wounded at the sudden rough treatment.

"If you think you're just going to teleport there, you got another think coming," Akala said. He didn't feel guilty in the least, and this was definitely not an attempt to excuse himself. "You said you could only teleport yourself to places you know, right? I sure haven't seen you in my neighborhood before."

To his surprise, Faber grinned, and the grin gave way to laughter. "What's so funny?" he asked indignantly. If the boy was making some kind of fool of him---

"No, don't get mad," Faber said, and made a valiant effort to stifle himself. When he regained some semblance of calm, he said, "It's just been a while since anyone took care of me. So, thanks for that."

[7][5]

[crow]

Akala wasn't sure how to respond. In the end, all he could do was clear his throat uncomfortably, and look off to the side. What could he say? 'Don't mention it'? 'I'm not doing this for you'? His life was turning into one of those comedies, wasn't it? He hadn't asked for this. "Yeah, yeah," he said, waving his hand dismissively. Inwardly, he winced. Still trying to play it cool, huh? He had a feeling that karma, or whatever, would punish him for that later. He had a feeling that there wouldn't be much left of his pride to preserve when the ordeal was over.

Faber had no interest in maintaining appearances at all, for his part, and shouldered his guitar at once with a beatific grin. He then set off with as much eagerness as his gangly, distracted self could manage--- in the wrong direction.

This was going to be a long, painful acquaintance.