Canon is The Dark Tower series, Voice testing a very confused muse.

[and_that_is_the_truth]

...Cry pardon, Ma'am, but is this a good idea? I mean, I've got things I'm meant to be doing. Places I'm meant to be going, and people I'm supposed to go there with.

Ka-tet and all that. And really, I should be getting back. Who's gunna feed Oy while I'm gone? Or make sure he smiles every once in a while? I mean, don't get me wrong this is a nice set up you're offering and I say thankee sai for it, but I've got a place there.

....

Well, I guess if I'm stuck, I should at least ask you to find more pictures of me. And really? 'And that is the truth'? I know why, but that's some taste, Ma'am. Some taste.

Comments

[ka_sera_sera]

If you're meant to be going to those places, you'll go. Besides which, Oy's a clever fellow, he'll bide 'till you find him again. And so will your place with us. You know that.

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[...Roland had been the last person he'd expected to see in a place like this and he couldn't quite help the wide, infectious grin that spread over his face at the sight of the Gunslinger.]

I know. I just hate the idea of leaving you and Eddie and Suze. And...

[Here, he paused, looking down at his boots briefly. It was embarrassing, but if anyone would understand, it would be Roland.]

I don't want to go crazy again.

[ka_sera_sera]

[Roland's answering grin - the tiniest tilting at the corners of his lips, but a grin - slips away at that. It's difficult, knowing that based off the sorts of situations he himself's been put through, that is a very real concern. It's difficult, not saying so.]

[He takes a couple steps closer, meaning to run his hand over Jake's hair.]

I don't know about the future. But I know you. Only find someone to put your trust into, that's the important thing. Whatever happens, that'll help get you through.

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[He leaned into that hand, closing his eyes and just savoring the grounding touch for a long moment. How did he explain that he'd already found someone to trust in the Gunslinger? How did he say that he didn't think he could go through it all over again?

In the end, he only sighed.]

Ka

[Ka ka]

[ka_sera_sera]

Ka.

[His little smile comes back - he is thinking of Eddie, too. Eddie and his pointed opinion on what exactly the whole concept of ka amounts to. But whether Eddie's right or not does not change the facts.]

Things do sometimes work out for the best, you know. Even if you're too close to see it. Ka is a road that can lead many different places.

So, I have to go to work, but I'm totally still here. This has made my night. lol

[and_that_is_the_truth]

But...

[And here, he finally couldn't take it anymore. He threw himself at his friend, burying his face against that thin, strong chest.]

I want to stay with you.

yeah, i'm glad i somehow found this post so relativley soon after you put it up

[ka_sera_sera]

[His stomach clenches. His arms wrap themselves around the boy instinctively, and it's probably a good thing Jake's face is against his chest rather than looking up at Roland. Roland's thinking of a promise.]

[But that doesn't apply in this case, does it? No. No, of course it doesn't.]

[That conclusion helps. His answer is still difficult, but it isn't impossible.]

As I wanted to stay with you. But I knew I'd meet with you again. This is a detour from our path, Jake. Nothing more. There is no power in existence that can keep us from finding our way back to it. Have faith in that, and never lose it.

I wasn't expecting any response at all, so this is absolute perfection ^_^

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[To anyone else, hugging Roland would seem like hugging a fence post: Too stiff, too unyielding, and you were apt to get a splinter for your trouble. For Jake, however, Roland was everything he'd ever wanted.

And Roland wasn't the only one thinking about that promise.

Curling his fists into the fabric of the Gunslinger's shirt, the boy shook his head and tried to swallow back his tears.]

...but then who's going to keep me from falling? Or from getting...taken. Or worse.

[Because the world was not a nice place for a boy such as himself. Lud had taught him that.]

[ka_sera_sera]

[That clenched stomach develops into outright pain and Roland's arms tighten of their own volition around the boy. His own silence feels too long; the words he chooses to end that silence feel like an excuse.]

Ka will tell, Jake. It's the only thing that can.

[It can't be an excuse. It's the only thing there is.]

And we'll be there to meet you after. That I do know. And so do you.

[and_that_is_the_truth]

Well...Ka sucks

[The words were buried into Roland's chest, and they were more than a little wobbly around the edges. Was he crying? Surely not. He was supposed to be a Gunslinger, after all.

Gunslingers didn't cry. Even young ones.

Still, when he finally pulled back and dragged his arm over his face, his eyes were undoubtedly a little wet.]

But you're here, right? Does that mean that I might get to see you sometimes, at least?

[ka_sera_sera]

[It's been a long time since Roland's dealt in any real way with children. Luckily his memory is long, too, and he remembers that time well enough to turn his I hope so into something just as true but a little more optimistic.]

I don't see why not. That's the benefit of being written by someone new for a little while - we can walk more than one path at a time. Things aren't all bad, Jake, as false as that might sometimes seem.

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[To be fair, it's been a long time since Jake had acted like a child his own age. He'd grown, matured, and learned how to handle himself just as well as Roland's other two companions. But getting sucked from the side of some road, only to wake up here?

It was all a tad too familiar in far too unsettling ways.

The reassurance earned the Gunslinger a watery smile, however. And this time when he scrubbed his arm over his face, his eyes had stopped refilling.]

Okay. I..I guess that's okay then. Still not sure I like the idea of being written by anyone, but she doesn't seem so bad.

...Until she grins like that. That's a little creepy.

[ka_sera_sera]

Hm. You get used to it after a while.

[Roland watches in approval as the boy masters himself. The feat even earns Jake Roland's version of a smile.]

Feeling better?