Clockwork Dream

xvi Dreams of Madness

Leo stood on the doorway to the engine room, clenched first hovering inches above the door. The memory of being chased away was still fresh in his mind, but he wanted some company aside from crazy inventors and even crazier pirates. He had taken Jonathan's presence for granted, he realized with a pang. He had missed the older man's gentle teasing and quiet companionship.

With that in mind he deigned to knock, carefully swinging the door open, happy when it didn't creak. The steady hum of machinery hid any noise that he could have made though, only a thin metal barrier, a few inches thick, between this room and the massive engines that ran the ship. He sank down onto a thin metal bench, content to just absorb the sound. The heavy vibrations reminded him of the Bells, and for just a moment the madness of the past few days melted away.

"Oye, find some other place to loaf."

Leo opened his eyes to see Spiders tall lanky form hovering over him. There was a scow etched on the man's face, but as he had yet to see him without a scowl, he had to wonder if it was actually indicative of Spider's emotions, or just a permanent feature. He probably would have intimidating if it wasn't for the balding hair and singed eyebrows.

"I'm sorry sir, I had actually wanted to see if you wanted help with anything?"

"No."

"Then do you mind if I just stay here for bit? I promise to stay out of the way."

"Why the blazes would you want to do that?"

"Because I'm afraid Lazarus's insanity may be contagious, and this seemed like a good place to detoxify."

Spider snorted. "I can't argue that." He eyed Leo for another long moment. "Fine, you can stay, but don't touch anything. The minute I find you annoying, you're gone."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Don't you bloody sir me..." Spider grumbled, apparently to himself as he walked back into the depths of his workshop.

Leo followed him. He was beginning to see why Spider didn't want him to touch anything. It was a perfect example of organized chaos. He didn't have a doubt the man knew exactly where everything was meant to be but if he picked up a wrench he wasn't sure he could find a surface to put it back down on, much less the right one.

Spider grabbed his box of tools and swung open the heavy metal door that lead to the engine room. The noise level was multiplied ten fold and he found himself wishing for some cotton to stuff in his ears. Spider didn't seem to be in the mood to offer any.

The other man walked around checking gages and lubricating pipes, occasionally glancing back at Leo with mild annoyance.

Leo just watched him work, bitting his tongue every time a question tried to slip past. Not even a little, 'how does that work?' or, 'what does that do'. It turned into a sort of game, coming up with possible explanations as to what the man was doing. On occasion he was pretty sure he even got it right. He'd never been on an airship before, but he had pulled the engine of a motorized carriage apart before, much to the owners chagrin. Steam-powered machines were still far outside of his area of expertise. His one true love would always be clockwork.

"Blazes!" Spider swore.

He'd been stopped in front of one particular machine for a while now,muttering under his breath.

"Is there anything I could help with?" Leo asked

"My bloody eyesights gone to hell."

Leo peered over the mans shoulder into a tangled mass of metal. There was a sort of organic organization to the thing, like the tunnels of an ant farm.