[P] silence like a cancer grows

[Anonymous]

A N O N Y M O U S There's a moments hesitation before the stranger replies. And he wonders, if he sees in the smaller man's eyes some sort of memory flicker through. A reel playing on the big screen. He's a perceptive man, trained to notice small details that might be oblivious to the common eye. That being said, he's not a mind reader, and perhaps it was simply a trick of the imagination. The answer to his stated (not asked) question is delivered with a stutter. It emboldens him to think that he might be so intimidating as to induce stuttering just by uttering a single sentence. Despite the feeling, he rationally concludes that he cannot be the singular cause. The wraith-like stallion moves off the path, presuming that the assassin wants to move past. And then he asks for directions. Anonymous does not reply at first, instead staring and examining the brute. He felt a nagging, thinking that some part of the question is a ruse. The stranger had not appeared lost or in search of anything when he'd appeared by the trees. After a pregnant pause, he answers. "I've smelled the sea on the western wind. I suspect if you follow this creek eastward you may find it merges into a river." Anonymous continues to watch the stranger with barely narrowed eyes. There was no great cause for suspicion or doubt. And yet there it was. If he knows anything at all, it's to trust his gut. "Who are you?" The tone of his voice indicates that he expects an answer, no sidestepping, half-truths, or outright lies. Not that he intends to reveal Anything about himself. @Only

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