Such A Wonderful Day, Not

[Runako Xanthias Bachur]

Working wasn’t as much fun as it used to be. In the earlier days, when he was just learning the ropes, he managed to get many things under control, but there were still bits he had yet to master. After three long years, though, he had basically grown tired of the constant work they would have to do year round. It was the same old thing every day. Harvest the crops, plow new fields, tend to the stalks, water them regularly, all that jazz that he couldn’t stand. It was a constant pattern that would never change. He sighed as he reached up and wiped the sweat off his brow and then heaved up one last pile of fallen stalks, placing them all into a wheelbarrow nearby.

He went around to the handles and started pushing the little contraption forever. He had been asked to carry the stalks to the clearing, but he was quite a ways from there. It could take a short while before he would even see less cornstalks; right now, it was like he was in a jungle. He was still getting used to this place, but it was more than easy for him to get lost. About ten minutes later, he realized he had been going in the wrong direction when he came out at the edge of the cornfield, and silently cursed under his breath before turning the wheelbarrow around. But the wheelbarrow got caught on a small hole and thus tumbled over onto its side. “Great!” He yelled in frustration as his hard work went sprawling all over the ground. With a firm shake of his head, he bent down to set the wheelbarrow properly and then started picking up the spoils.

He was quite close to the edge of the cornfield, so close that his hair would basically brush against the stalks. Because of that, he wasn’t aware that several of the corn cobs were a bit loose, a bit sagging to say in the least. One of them, leaning from its end about a foot above him. Poor Nako wasn’t aware of it, until an small impact was made upon the back of his head. The very corn cob had fallen off from the slight movement that his head had made by being in contact with the stalk, and had landed right on the back of his head. “Ouch!” He bent down, pressing his forehead to the ground from the strong pain ringing through his head as he reached up immediately to try and comfort it. He was also doing his best to fight back tears.

[Sly Cooper]

Jacob had just left the clearing a few minuets before hand, having to deal with little girls and talk of dragons. He was already tired from being awake at all ours of the night from John Peters and his constraint yelling profanities and dolphin noises. And he was a bit upset about his best friend getting married. So not only was Jacob tired and frustrated but he was lost. In the corn, and in thought. It was easy from him to get lost in the corn do to his farsightedness. The corn was always so close to his face, and so everything turned into a yellow and green blur. It’s the reason Damon had given him a cow bell. If, and when, he would get lost, someone would hear the bell jingle. And so it did.

But it didn’t help much because he wasn’t where anyone could hear him. So instead he tried to make his way through the corn like he always did. Getting lost, contemplating a nap. He took a huge breath, closed his eyes, then opened them again hoping that things would clear up. “Damn it!” But just as he swore, he heard someone else. His hope rose, maybe if there was someone else he was heading in the right direction after all. But then when he pushed through—no. It was just some other boy—by the road. This meant not only was he lost, but the boy he was hoping would lead the way was lost as well. “Damn it!” Jacob swore again. He just wanted to get back out of the corn.

[Runako Xanthias Bachur]

His face red and his eyes filled with water, he let out a soft sob here and there as he started to softly rub the back of his head, the pain starting to go away but slowly. The corn cob’s fall had been more than enough, because of its distance and its weight, to harm the sensitive teenager so bad that he hadn’t really moved much except for his shuddering and mild sobbing. Moments had passed, and it was not long after he had started the rubbing that he heard someone else cursing in the cornfield. Blinking to try and dry up his eyes, he was now in a rush to heal himself. He didn’t want others to really see just how weak he was, since from lessons in school he had learned that most communities would believe that survival was only for the fittest. In a place like this, it was likely. Highly likely.

When he heard the rustling getting closer and closer, he decided to kneel up and face away from the source so that his face could have the time to cool off before he would be caught. Teenagers weren’t supposed to cry, he was sure of that, and so he started picking up the stalks. However, the pain in his head was still ringing because he had moved up too quickly. A spell of dizziness hit him for a slight second, but after some more blinking he was seeing clearly again and feeling like he was in balance. He would then steal a casual glance to try and see who it was but his peripheral vision wasn’t really good. So, instead of trying to get an idea of his new companion, he just focused on working on his task, trying to finish it up quickly. He was already picking up the last of the stalks at this point.

[Sly Cooper]

"I would ask you from directions," Jacob let out a huge sigh, "But seeing as you're here, not somewhere else, and that directions wouldn't do me much good even if you told me-- I guess i won't ask." He squinted his eyes and looked down the road a little, seeing if he could see which direction Gatlin was in so he could take the road instead, but-- no. "Hmm-- On the upside, corn means I'm in the general right area-- Nebraska that is." He slouched over. "Where's Damon when i need him--" Jacob grumbled to himself, then rubbed hid forehead

"In any case," this time actually talking directly to Nako for the first time through his whole dialogue. "Sorry to have disturbed you-- I guess." He started to turn around, and was going to attempt to make his way back, but the corn was all but laughing at him. Disheartened, he whimpered slightly, and his forehead wrinkled as his eye brows pushed together in the middle. His dark blue eyes became slightly glossy, and he just stopped dead in his tracks. “What’s the point—“

[Runako Xanthias Bachur]

The other had started to speak to him. Part of Nako had hoped that he would’ve been invisible to the newcomer, but he was glad, at least, to have a new companion. Unfortunately, it sounded like that this young man had gotten lost. The only reason Nako had ended up out here was because of his going in the wrong direction. It was easy, of course, with all that yellow and brown and such everywhere being the same here and there. It was a bad, tiring sight, for many people. It might’ve been a good place to hide and such, but it was never a good place to trek through.

The other had been talking to himself for quite some time until finally he had started to send words Nako’s way. With a light smirk, barely visible, he glanced toward the other and started to basically study him. He did seem a bit familiar but he wasn’t sure of the name, nor anything else for that matter. He did hear a name being mentioned, so figured that this person wasn’t ‘Damon’. “Hmm,” said Nako as the other started to whine after turning round to face the cornfield. “Um… I can try to get us there… Just… let me take a little break, my head’s a bit sore.” He lied about the latter, his head was very sore. He was already automatically rubbing his head gently, trying to get the pain to subdue.

[Sly Cooper]

“Really,” he turned around slightly, “You’ll try and get me out of here?” He thought to himself for a moment. Sure it wasn’t Damon, but hey, if he could get out with the assistance of someone else, Jacob was more than willing to take him up on his offer. “Thanks mate. I can’t ever navigate myself out of here. I always end up late for meeting and stuff. Damn corn all looks the same when I’m so close to it.” Jacob had a way of over talking at times, but at other times he would be very quiet.

He took another quick look around. The corn was just a big blob. He squinted, but nothing changed. It wasn’t likely that Jacob would let another know of his impaired eyesight, and most the time he didn’t need to, other people got lost after all. “Ugh—I wish I still had my glasses,” he mumbled to himself, feeling extremely helpless.

[Runako Xanthias Bachur]

He shrugged lightly as he glanced upward, casually and carefully, at the other. “Sure, but it’s really easy to get lost in there so don’t hold your breath.” He had a point, and he was quite right. “I think only those that’s lived here their whole lives knows more about this place than we do, since I basically moved here three years ago.” Moving wasn’t really the correct term, kidnapping was more like it. Or rather, he was kidnapped and pretty much forced to stay here, giving in to his fear of the others who were quite deadly in his opinion. He did feel that the stranger was more than likely to be just as deadly as the rest, since he was around Nako’s age, so he had to be cautious. But he did need help, in case something was to happen.

He stood up, brushing off the dirt from his knees and then holding his head immediately as a spell of dizziness hit him. He bent down and put his head between his knees to knock it out, “Oh…” He felt like he was going to puke, but he held it in as much as he could, not wanting to be a wimp in front of the other teenager. Gently, he stood up straight again and stretched out his back, letting it pop slightly before turning and facing the other. “I’m Runako. You can call me Nako, though. What’s your name, man?” He asked politely as he held out a hand offering a friendly handshake. “You ready to get lost again?” He smirked lightly.

[Sly Cooper]

“Ah, I’ve lived here my whole life and I can’t navigate through the rows. Sometimes I think the He Who Walks Behind the Rows likes it when I get lost and laughs at me—“ Jacob pouted, in his mind thinking how they really should give He Who Walks Behind the Rows a name, like Stanley. “I Like Stanley—“ He cleared his throat, “Right I’m Jacob,” he took the strangers hand and shook it firmly. After all that’s how you make a good impression, a good firm handshake.

With arms crossed, Jacob looked at the other boy. “You don’t look so great. You sure you’re ready for this?” Observation was always one his stronger suits. Strangely enough the only person he couldn’t read very well was his best friend. “I mean—by all means take your time. I’m not too eager to take another stab at it. As you said we’re probably just going to ‘get lost again’.” He offered a friendly smile, like he often times did to most of the children, except those select few.

[Runako Xanthias Bachur]

He scoffed but with a smile at Jacob’s comment of He Who Walks Behind the Rows, and shrugged in return as to answer his theory. “Perhaps… All I know about him is that he’s just downright creepy. I’ve never seen him, but I believe Isaac has. Maybe even Malachai, but who knows. They aren’t probably going to tell us anything even if they wanted to.” He shrugged again with a soft tilt of his head, just before Jacob had been kind enough to return the introduction. “Well, Jacob, it’s a pleasure to meet you, then,” the handshake was accepted and it was firm but friendly.

“I’ll be fine… I got hit in the head,” he glanced around to see if anyone had actually hit him, but then saw the corn cob on the ground. He reached down and picked it up, continuing his statement casually, “And this is the culprit.” He tossed the corn cob and let it flip around in the air before it landed back in his palm on the other end. He inserted it into the piles of stacks in his wheelbarrow and shrugged, “Guess we have a little something for supper, I suppose.” He reached up and patted Jacob lightly on the shoulder but retracted his hand quickly, as it would probably be awkward to be that friendly after their first meeting.

A couple of minutes passed as the teenager considered the other’s offer to not move around just yet, and he nodded firmly in agreement. “I suppose we can maybe just sit here and wait until someone finds us. Or maybe at least get some rest. I’ve been working endlessly since this morning,” he sighed, and it would be obvious he was telling the truth because of his clothes being a bit wet from the sweat. Even the odor was noticeable. “Would be nice to cool off for a bit,” he said as he sat down on the grass, at the edge of the road, and glanced in either direction to see if they would have any company soon. “Been quiet for a while around here, hasn’t it? So how old are you? Married yet?”

[Sly Cooper]

He shrugged off the gentle pat, and didn’t think much of it. Jacob sat himself down next to Nako on the edge of the road. He thought it was a little strange that he hadn’t heard any of the commotion between Malachai and the blue woman. But then again, if he was working as hard as he said he was, and looked like he did, then he would be oblivious. He smirked slightly; sometimes it was better to be unaware. “My sixteenth birthday was less than a month ago. But I haven’t yet gotten married. And honestly I don’t want to. Why are you?” What a odd question to ask a stranger, Jacob thought to himself.

He then got slightly irritated. He and his best friend made a pact not to get married. Granted it was three years ago when the cult just started, and they though girls were gorss then, and quite honestly Jacob still thought they were, but he was still angry. And it showed quite clearly on his face. He hid his face from Nako. “I mean, isn’t that what we’re supposed to do. Get married and procreate?”

His face then wrinkled up when he made yet another face, this time of disgust. Yet another thing that sounded less then fun. He tried to not be so opinionated, but it was just the way he was. He looked down the stretch of road, but he still couldn’t tell which way was Gatlin. “I wish it would rain again sometime soon. It would cool things down,” he noticed the sweat stains on his shirt—and a slight odor. But mostly he was trying to change the subject.

[Runako Xanthias Bachur]

He nodded in response, just like any cool teenager would do when they were listening to someone else their age or around. He was right, that his new friend was around his age, although a year older. He did understand, somewhat, Jacob’s not wanting to marry, although he wouldn’t really know the other’s reason. He knew his own, but he wouldn’t dare state it out in the open. “What? Oh, no, I’m not married, and I probably won’t ever be. I guess… I just don’t like any of the girls from around here and I’m pretty sure He Who Walks Behind the Rows would want us to be happy. Well, maybe not for me, since I’m not really from here.”

He shrugged gently, glancing across to study the other’s face. “We got to marry and then have kids to keep our little civilization going. Although there really isn’t much of one,” he sighed, a bit heavy-hearted at the idea of their little community possibly dying out, something like that. Well, it wasn’t really his, but he did feel bad for the other kids, especially the younger ones. He nodded at the other’s comment about the rain, “Yeah, and we wouldn’t have to work if it was raining. Shame it’s almost always sunny around here.” He looked back at the cornfield, thinking he had heard movement, but it was really just the wind causing the stalks to sway gently. “Oh, yeah, I’m fifteen, by the way.” He said, just remembering that Jacob had told his age to Nako.

“So, well,” he was going to ask if Jacob had a girlfriend, but he could sense that there was discomfort from Jacob about that particular issue, so shrugged it off and rummaged through his mind for another subject to pick. He lay down on the ground and put his hands behind his head, glancing up at the clouds. He was now officially resting, although he wasn’t going to let himself fall asleep. That would be bad especially if he was caught sleeping on the job. “What do you do,” he suddenly asked, averting his gaze to Jacob quickly, “I mean, for your job.”

[Sly Cooper]

What do you do Jacob hat to think about it for a moment. He was supposed to work the fields but it wasn’t very productive since he can hardly see what he’s doing. “I do whatever Isaac tells me to do. That’s how it works I guess. Usually things that need an embodied male.” He looked up to the sky, not a cloud in sight. He let out a heavy sigh. For once he wished it wouldn’t be a nice day, for once he wished—a lot of things but they weren’t coming true. “You are obviously a field worker, or you really enjoy doing extra work.” Jacob chuckled, then played with the grass between his feet by running his hands across the green carpet.

“So—what do you do with your days off,” he inquired, trying to come up with random subjects to talk about. He didn’t much enjoy silence, but one the other hand he didn’t really like to talk to essentially, stingers. “I mean, you know, when it rains.” He continued to fumble around blades of grass between his, awkwardly trying to be friendly.

[Runako Xanthias Bachur]

He scoffed lightly. “No, I’m not a field worker, nor do I really enjoy the extra work. If I had my way I would rather be at home watching movies or hanging out with my friends.” He chuckled softly as he remembered them, but he knew he missed them and felt that if he was ever to get out of this place they wouldn’t recognize him. He had grown, and so had they, and all that time in between did make people forget each other if they hadn’t even seen a hair nor hide of each other. He sighed at the thought of that, but he had made a promise a long time ago, to get the hell out of here and to find his hometown and friends. His remaining family as well, in particular his grandmother and his uncle. They probably didn’t remember him or cared much if they hadn’t tried to look for him by now.

He shrugged, “I don’t really do much. I’m supposed to patrol the town, make sure there’s no adults around. But eh, I already did that this morning, and I haven’t heard any cars so I doubt there’s any unwelcome guests around at the time. Just figured I would help out with the corn stuff, but usually I either go swimming or I just look around the place.” He wasn’t really sure what else to say, so he stood up and stretched outwards to relax his muscles from the tension he was already feeling in the atmosphere. “Um, how about we go ahead and try and get to wherever you were trying to go?” He gave a friendly smile as he grabbed the handles of the wheelbarrow, lifting it up. He was feeling slightly better by now, but just sitting around here with a stranger trying to spark a conversation wasn’t really fun at the moment. It was more like awkward, actually.

[Sly Cooper]

"Trying to help out--" Jacob murdered, as if it was something unfamiliar to him. "I just want to get out of the cornfield really. But if we could find Gatlin that would be a plus." Although in all honest, Jacob couldn't care less about Gatlin, or most of the crazy cultist children living in it. But it was home, unfortunately and it always would be till the day he walked into the rows and didn't come back. He stood up and was ready to follow the other boy.

"So-- you have any hobbies?" he asked randomly, but once he thought about it, it sounded like a spy question to ask. The truth was almost all of the children did something that they weren't supposed to. But it must've been okay if He Who Walks Behind the Rows didn't tell Isaac to crucify them. "Like I-- I like to draw. Even if it's only in the dirt with a stick. Which most of the time it is." Jacob figured that if he gave up his weakness it would build up some sort of trust. "Some of the girls like to make clothes-- or at least that's what I've heard-- my sources could be wrong. I mean I get that you swim, but is that it? What about the cold months?"

[Runako Xanthias Bachur]

He chuckled lightly at the other, and nodded firmly offering yet another pat on Jacob’s shoulder. “Well, then, let’s see if we can’t ditch this joint,” said Nako as he lifted the wheelbarrow and started hurling it forward into the cornfield. He would be making a clear path, not caring whether he would’ve pushed down any more stalks along the way. The path was there to help his new friend keep up, and he wasn’t about to let anything happen to him anyway. Although he had just met this stranger, he had a feeling that they would bond quite well, and besides, it was helpful to have friends around here. All the little kids seemed like they were more than eager to kill off their elders, after all. Bloodlust did that to people, unfortunately.

He shrugged, but he was pleased that his friend was into drawing. “That’s really nice. I think you’re one of the first few I’ve met that likes to draw. Maybe you should show me your drawings sometime,” he smiled kindly, trying not to pressure the other or make him uncomfortable. He wanted things to get better between them so that it wouldn’t be so awkward anymore. He shrugged again at the comment about the girls making clothes. “I don’t really see any boys making clothes anyway, do you? We just get them the supplies they would need, really.” He thought long and hard and then decided he would answer honestly, “When it’s too cold to swim, um, I just pretty much look around and try to build clubhouses, stuff like that.”