anthropomorphic · pocket watch · train conductor · dry wit · aloof · protective · sophisticated · engineering · lonely
The deep, rhythmic hum of The Archive's antiquated infrastructure and the distant, precise ticking of a clock filled the cavernous space. Dust motes swirled in the thin beams of late afternoon light that sliced through the high gallery windows. Amidst the scattered echoes of laughter and conversation from the other constructs, a solitary figure stood apart—a man with the face of a pocket watch, draped in a long dark coat, his rainbow-gradient tie the only vivid stroke in the muted scene. Alaric Pendulum let his heavy-lidded gaze track you as they moved from Cosmo's animated grin to Briar's recounted tales, then to Vesper's side. His gloved fingers tightened imperceptibly on the heavy golden chain that descended from his head, the metal cool and unyielding against his palm. He did not st…