Gone too long? [paragraph]

"Possibly some sort of curse," Hannes concluded, as he examined the asphalt paved road stretched out before him. It did certainly take a while before his curiousness got the better of him and he dared to poke it... ... ... Nothing happened. There was no magic in it. No magic? How very peculiar... No, this was Earth, he reminded himself. He had been gone far too long. It had a distinct scent too, but whatever this strange substance was, at least it seemed not to be spreading to the sides any longer. Hm... Clearly those white lines in the middle must have been the source. What if they were footprints...? He could not remember any beast with feet like these, but he tried to imagine what it would look like... If so, he wondered which direction it was going. Somehow that was not very obvious. Eventually he decided on his left side, and began to follow it...

Dammit. He was going to miss the bus. Again.

The Commonwealth briefly considered running after the vehicle, but judging the distance and the full coffee cup in his hand that, while covered, would be sure to splash all over his sweater, decided against it. It was the second stop he’d missed, and at this rate the young man figured he was better off just walking anyway.

It wasn’t like the other states weren’t going to be late for their meeting, Florida (raised by Spain and all) practically made an art of it. Massachusetts grumbled, stopping to check his watch. He had at least thirty minutes to get there, thirty-seven if he wanted to beat New York. “Well this is all in a day’s work,” Massachusetts reasoned with himself, “Walking to the office... public transportation failing me. Flippin’ a.” The red head readjusted his bag and rolled up his long sleeves, switching his precious coffee from one hand to the other before setting off again at a brisk pace. Maybe he’d catch the next bus, although it seemed unlikely.

As he rounded the next corner, he narrowed his eyes at the street... and the strange man standing in the middle of it. He did know that roads generally had cars on them, right? Maybe not buses that ran on schedule... But still, the man seemed in no rush off the street, and the last thing Massachusetts needed to be held up with was a police accident report.

“Tryin’ to get yourself killed out there or somethin’?” He barked.

The shout abruptly woke him up. Apparently his mind had also been wandering for a while. Who was it? His hand moved instinctively towards the hilt of his sword, but he stopped himself, for a moment eyeing the one who had issued such a threat against him. With the many strange impressions he had had up until now, Hannes even felt a little pleased at it. The people of Earth were the same as ever... He gave a quiet laugh, then grinned at his foe. "That I am well aware of. I have not yet had your na--"

Before he could finish the sentence, he blinked as he was interrupted by a loud roar and what looked like a giant... Whatever it was, with a pair of huge, glowing eyes heading right towards him at high speed... Would this be the creature he had been following? He could feel himself tensing up slightly as his hand clutched to his chest, estimating the arrival of the beast to be in a few moments. If it was hostile...

The red head turned his head towards the sound of the oncoming traffic. The man was still in the road, it seemed almost as if he was turning to greet the cars. His coffee, his precious medium hazelnut coffee with cream and one sugar, splashed at his ankles as he dropped it. The young man’s momentum as he ran across the street pushed both he and the other man into the opposite sidewalk, just as the leading car whizzed by.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Massachusetts yelled in alarm, rolling off the man and warily getting to his feet. All annoyance dropping from his tone as he rambled, “Why in the bloody hell were you standing out in the road you nutter? There are cars and...” Massachusetts leaned over to catch his breath. “Bicycles... and possibly trains and the like...”

The Commonwealth sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look. Whatever life may seem like now is no reason to... that,” he finished weakly. Massachusetts held his arm out to the other man to help him up, “Are you hurt?”

"Waaah!!" It was not for more than an instant that he had let his attention be diverted off the enemy, but as soon as he found himself lying to the ground he condemned his own eyes for that disastrous moment of negligence. All the while flailing and struggling to get away-- Eh? How now, was his captor simply going release him? Halfway sitting up, Sycrensia did hardly have a guess as to what the man before him was talking about, either. Except he still seemed angry... or... "What in blazes," Hannes mumbled aloud, his look changing from a glare to one of confusion at the extended hand. Was he hurt? No, not in the least. He hesitated, not knowing if he dared to accept the offer. "... ...You intend not to harm me...? Who are you?" He demanded.

Massachusetts raised an eyebrow in alarm but quickly covered it with a laugh, “Not unless you’re a Yankees fan. My name’s Charles.” He smiled briefly, continuing hesitantly, “That’s a nice... sword... you got there. Must be a long way aways from home if you are trying to greet cars in the middle of the street. Regular Ford Prefect.” Massachusetts considered the man, there was something familiar about him, not in any physical sense, but something else. Massachusetts couldn’t put his finger on it, it reminded him of England. “Anyway,” he shook the thoughts from his head, “You might have hit your head when we fell. You should go to the hospital. You seem old... off. I mean off. You never know with head injuries.”

Charles... was it? ... ... As Charles continued, it began to dawn on Sycrensia that the young man had not recognized him. Either that, or... of course. He had to be one of those, a hero! That would explain his actions, why he was not running in fear... Hannes tilted his head as he rubbed his neck. Or did he seem a little nervous...? One never knew with heroes. "I am unharmed," he stated as he got up standing, turning his head after the cars disappearing in the distance. He took a moment to brush himself off, then gave a bright smile as he looked to the hero again. He reminded himself, he knew better than to be careless around such people... "You have my gratitude for saving me. Charles... ´tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He bowed slightly, then continued, "I am a traveller come from far away. Those cars are not among the most intelligent of creatures, do I presume? ...I shall take heed not to repeat my mistakes."

The Commonwealth laughed with amusement at the old-fashioned manner of the man. “Well traveller, I’d have to say you are more than a century away. Cars are just things, they can’t think for themselves.”

He seemed friendly enough, sans sword, but the red head was sure there had to be a logical explanation for that. And an explanation for not knowing cars and the flowery language. And the sword. Definitely the sword. So maybe Charles was curious. “So what brings you here? Sightseeing? Business? If you need any help finding where you’re going I’m sure I can point the way.” Charles looked at his cell phone for the time. Yep. Late. Oh well. “I bet...” he started slowly, distracted by typing a text message to one of the others explaining his absence, “You... could probably... use a guide?” Send. “At the very least coffee. I at least, need coffee.”

"A guide...?" Now that he thought about it, Hannes had no idea where he was. It appeared the hero was a useful one. He nodded happily. "That would be most gracious of you." He had to play this carefully, not to reveal too much and arouse suspicion... Yet he was not fond of lying. At least not before giving a war declaration... and this man was not even an enemy. For the time being, anyhow. What would he say? "...I am here to... due to a matter of importance," he began hesitantly, unsure of how to continue. Hm, that had most likely been a bad thing to say. "... ... ..." Suddenly he grinned as he took hold of Charles´ sleeve, dragging him towards the nearest streetlight. "What are those? Will you tell me more about cars? Where is this? What is that little item you have?" Hannes glanced curiously over his shoulder, prepared to jump away in case it turned out to be some sort of weapon in disguise. "...What is coffee?"

“Coffee is the singular greatest beverage humankind has come up with,” Charles replied smartly. “And the best coffee outside of Europe is from Dunkin Donuts. You can’t trust what Washington says, he’s lying and he knows it.”

The Commonwealth paused for a deep breath, studying the man closely. “Are you...?” He began to ask, before shaking his head. “No. That’s silly. I mean...” Massachusetts began to play with the hem of his sleeves nervously. Something awfully familiar about him, and it bothered the Commonwealth to no end that he couldn’t make it out. Someone had to be very old, or very stupid, to simply not know about all the technology around them and pop up in the middle of a city like this. And Charles sincerely doubted the man was stupid.

“This is my cell phone,” Charles said quietly, waving it in his hand. “Let’s me call anyone I want, emails, text messages... even takes pretty good pictures,” he continued dismissively while absently scrolling through his list of contacts. He looked up at the strange traveller briefly, and, gathering his nerves, he decided to simply ask. “Do you know Arthur Kirkland? British man... big eyebrows.”

Outside of Europe... To Sycrensia, Europe defined a few countries... all three of his main targets included. That was indeed very useful to know... He nodded and kept on listening.

Soon raising a discrete hand over his mouth... At first Hannes had feared he made a mistake, and that he now had to divert the hero's attention somehow. But when he saw the curious look from behind those glasses, his mind changed at once. The magician seemed to have a difficult time hiding his delight, but at least tried to keep himself from laughing-- How he loved having secrets. Especially when he could stare at those who desired to know... Even though the consequences would be somewhat disturbing should Charles manage to find out his intents, revealing his presence before he could announce a formal war declaration against Earth. He pretended a yawn.

"Do you know Arthur Kirkland?" The question had him startled. "A-- Ah..." There would be no use hiding it now. His head lowered a little, a smirk appearing on his face. "Arthur... is an old acquaintance of mine. Why?"

“I figured as much,” Massachusetts hummed, unsettled a bit by the man’s grin. “You remind me of him, just a little. But then again, the sun never set on the British Empire, it’s hard to avoid the influence he had on the world.” And you share the same look of arrogance, Massachusetts thought darkly to himself.

“So I suppose we’re going the same direction then,” he continued, pointing down the street. “Well not the ultimate destination, but same building nevertheless. But before we do, it would probably be best for both of us if we knew who you really were. I haven’t met you before, and while we’re forgettable compared to America, no doubt I would have remembered you.”

He tilted his head figuring he might as well start in good faith, “Massachusetts. I’m one of America’s States. We’re having our own meeting, but the countries should be having there own, at least as far as I know.”

"Massachusetts... is that so?" For a while holding the back of his hand against his forehead, still that name brought nothing to mind. He dismissed any doubtful thoughts by assuming America to be one of the smaller countries. And being what he was, the hero would inevitably turn out an enemy after all... Sycrensia did not let his smirk fade. As peculiar as this man was, he was already coming to like Charles a little. "Ere long you shall know who I am," he said, pulling his hood up before he began to walk. As far as he recalled he had never been welcome in the towns here on Earth. "... I... do suppose it is possible we have met once before, yet pardon my memory, it... has been long since. My home is a rather isolated place. Pray tell, how fares England? ...I was intending to see him, but it appears as to where his house is from here, I am lost."