Evenin' Sheriff

Chp.10: Catching Up With The Night Sky

TORD FOUND himself outside behind the saloon yet again; thankfully under a different circumstance this time.
He was instead preoccupied with dusting off his common attire, like his hat and apron. It had been a minute since he last properly washed them, considering he had been so caught up in keeping his identity hidden. He was getting rather tired of it, but if he just kept going at this rate, he'd be outta here in no time. It'd be like he was never there to begin with...

Tord sighed deeply, setting his hat atop his folded apron beside him. He stood up and began to wander down the alley. He remembers when he had money, and one of the very first luxuries he had tasted was cheroots. His colleagues called it a stogie when they first offered it to him, back when he still worked for a supervisor.

Tord remembered how they made him feel, relaxing him when he stressed, which was very often. It helped him cope after a while.

Tord watched the clouds pass over the moon slowly, the luminescence of it flickering like candlelight. He didn't mind it. It almost felt homely. Tord wandered down another alley contently, finally grasping some form of peace.

Though, he immediately regretted it upon seeing the sheriff for the second time that night quietly passing by the alley. Tord froze, feeling a sense of deja vu as he ducked back around the corner he'd came. What he hadn't anticipated however, was the sudden turn around of his boot scraping against the ground, making his presence known for absolute certain this time.
He held his breath, allowing silence to fill the space of his fast breathing.
Before Tord could even question whether or not the sheriff had really saw him, he heard careful words spill into the still air like distilled water. "Red."

Something about hearing that word again, come from Tom's mouth with a determined tone on his confident tongue, it drove Tord mad trying to figure out the feeling. But as he watched the clouds begin to take shape over the moon anew, something in Tord's head dangerously clicked. And he couldn't help what he'd do next.

Darkness coated over the land when Tord stepped out into the alley, facing Thomas properly this time. Tord wanted to start banter, say something as confident and smug as he used to be for old times sake; but all he could do was stand there, locking eyes with Tom as best he could in the dark.
It was somewhat thrilling, waiting in the dim light - unable to see Tom or any of his movement that well, wordless as Tord was.

That feeling, that damn feeling... it consumed him as if it were any wildfire the longer they stayed staring at eachother.

But, just before the clouds could pull away from the moon, the sheriff continued down the street. Tord almost didn't notice until the moonlight had completely shined down into the lonesome alley where only he now remained.

Tord was stunned. His heart was running on a thousand beats per minute. He still had yet to pinpoint the feeling he'd got, but he identified now that it was one he liked.
Furthermore, he was willing to try it out sometime again.

-

Tord's washing cloth rubbed the inside of the beer glass both generously and mindlessly. For the bartender had his mind set on other things.
He'd encountered the sheriff out of uniform for two more nights after that, not having much success with making it a better meeting on his part. Tord found himself awestruck one way or another, incapable of bringing himself closer or even letting a single word out. Not that Tord had really minded the patient stares in narrow alleys; he just wished he could make them last longer.

Tord set the glass down on the countertop, exhaling through his nose. It was near closing time and Sheriff Thompson had yet to show. "Faen," Tord mumbled before locking up for the night.

Tord retreated to his room. He wasn't tired in the slightest, but he somehow felt too tired, or bored rather to continue work downstairs.

While shutting the door behind him, Tord's gaze trained to the moonlight peering in through the window. He approached it soon after, sitting down beside the windowsill. He leaned against the frame, gazing down at the town below.