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[Does this look like a harassed clock with a human face? Does it? Good, because it's Cogsworth, sitting in front of a window on the Marvisa and he looks like he just swallowed about a half a dozen lemons. In his tiny brass hands he is holding a piece of paper, and he keeps fiddling with it, shifting it between his two hands.

He puts one brass hand up to his mouth, clears his throat, and then fumbles with the paper for a moment. Could he be ... nervous? It's possible.

Lips pressed together, the time hands on his face twitching, he states flatly.]

Hello. My name is Cogsworth and I am a ... [now he has to look at the word.] Ho-mo-sexual. I realize that I am a ... clock, but I assure you that I am not a ho-mo-sex-ual clock, but a ho-mo-sex-ual man. I have been ... told. Rigorously.

[Here he is glowering.]

That I need to ... 'embrace' this. So. If there are any ... individual males who would not mind ... being complimented by a ... human clock, then, ah. Please! Come forward.

[Okay he'll try a smile but it's more of a sheepish grimace at this point. God help him.]

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[ A talking clock. Had he lost his entire mind this time around or what? Then again, he also once believed he talked to deceased people on the phone. How could he really judge? ]

It's real brave to admit to somethin' difficult like that.

Oh! Well thank you, monsieur. I am not sure if it is as much brave as reckless and foolhardy but ... nothing ventured nothing gained.

[Besides Lumiere would never leave him alone about it.]

And you have a lovely accent, monsieur.

[ A tiny smile filled his face, despite the fact he still thought just maybe he had lost his mind. ]

It's always hard to be honest, especially to yourself.

[ The smile widened a little. ]

Thank ya, sometimes I find people have trouble understandin' me. Yours is real nice. Clear and concise.

[Oh look, he got a smile! He must be doing better at this. Then he looks quite serious.]

That I know only too well, monsieur. It has been a painful secret to keep ... but I feared retribution more than anything else. Now, I fear feeling nothing at all if I do not. So - here I am.

[Now he beamed in turn, puffing up a little.]

I am British, and we are known for our conciseness. I like how your accent rolls.

[ Despite the oddness of it all, Rick found the talking clock rather easy to talk to, which again made him slightly question his sanity. The charming quaintness only added to the entire picture.

Maybe he really had knocked his head. ]

Being numb is worse than anything else. [ A lack of feeling Rick knew all too well, in fact. ]

[ With a slight laugh, he relaxed a little more. Charming. ]

That's usually why people can't understand me. [ A pause. ] You're very shined up.

[Cogsworth settled himself in, a pleased smile resting on his clock face, clock hands ticking up and down with each word he spoke.]

I ... could not agree more. I had been numb for quite some time, before this.

[The first year after the curse had begun had not been a good one.

Oh! He laughed again, and he looked less tense.]

I cannot imagine why, I hear everything you say perfectly well. And so delightfully too. [He pauses, and then puffs up a little.] I take a great deal of pleasure in my personal appearance. One must try to look their best to feel their best, I have always said.

[He looks at the man before him thoughtfully.]

You know ... you're already a handsome man. Dressed in some finery I would think you were nobility.

[ With a nod of his head, Rick related all too well to the numb feeling because sometimes it had been necessary just to survive. ]

Back where I'm from, it was real easy to become numb. [ He paused. ] Sometimes ya had to or you'd go crazy. [ So many succumbed to the darkness of the world and allowed for what lingered within them to cast in shadows. ]

[ Oddly endearing in a way, something Rick never thought he'd think about a talking clock. ] Can't say I've always put a lot of effort into mine. But I'm tryin'. [ Not that he really had a lot of time in the past with death around every possible corner. ]

[ Another short laugh, Rick looked more than a little amused by the statement. ] Don't think anyone would ever mistake me for nobility. But I thank ya. Were you nobility in your world?

[Cogsworth adjusted the phone slightly, looking into Rick's very kind blue eyes.]

Yes ... yes sometimes you must. Otherwise you get caught into hopelessness, and no one wishes for that. [Ten years of going mad would have done him no good whatsoever.]

[He smoothed down his wooden sides, proud to be at his dapper best.] Oh, you really should. Clothes make the man, after all.

[Three laughs! Cogsworth was getting good at this.] Me? Oh no, never. I was the steward to a large castle, head of the servants - but still a servant.

[ With a slight nod of his head, Rick settled back a little more. Not looking as tense as he usually tended to, especially lately. There were too many unknown factors and it made Rick unease in every way possible. They needed answers but he also needed to keep calm all the same. ]

I'm thinkin' ya must have quite the story to tell 'bout what happened. If ya ever need to talk to someone 'bout it. [ Through the past couple of years, he heard plenty of stories and while he usually judged them fiercely, he would simply listen this time around. ]

[ An amused expression filled his face as he looked down at his clothing for a moment. ] Never really been one for bein' fashionable. Usually, had on my uniform back home before things took a turn. Then, it was just anythin' clean.

A castle. I've never been in a castle myself. Did ya like it? Besides, all the servant business.

[Cogsworth looked pensive when the other man - Rick - gently stated that if he wanted someone to hear him out, tell the tale... ]

Oh, it was quite the tale ... a tale of a selfish boy and the rather stupid servants who cared for him and stood by like stooges while he insulted an old woman. Who turned out to be an enchantress. And decided to punish the lot of them.

[Bitter? Ever so slightly.]

I keep telling myself if I had been there - I would have spoken up but ... but well, I honestly don't know if I would have.

[That may have been the hardest part to admit. To see such a thing coming and not be able to help oneself.]

Oh you had a uniform? I adore uniforms. [A beaming smile.] You must have looked quite dapper. Were you an officer in the army?

[He looked quiet.] It ... was wonderful. Being around beautiful things, taking care of them. The people were, if not sometimes lazy -- kind. Some of them generous to a fault. We were close-knit crew, all things considered.

[ Until recently he would have positively scoffed at the mention of an enchantress but in some crazed way it seemed to make sense. A curse rather than just a randomly talking clock. It meant he hadn't lost his mind completely and still held onto some strands of reality. ]

It was a trick, then? To see if she needed to do the curse? [ One false move and everything changed, something he knew all too well with his own troubled life. ]

It can be hard sometimes to be the only voice speakin' up for somethin', especially if it goes against everybody else. [ Yet another thing he knew all too well but he never tended to mind speaking up against things but he built a profession on it. ]

Was never any way to - uh break the curse?

[ A thin blush might have dusted his cheeks at the remark. ] I was a Sheriff's Deputy if that means anythin' to ya? Somethin' like a cop? Officer? [ Time period differences would constantly confuse him. ]

People can surprise ya. Do you have anyone here for your home?

[Well you know, some places there was magic that was used in questionable ways to teach life lessons, don't you know.]

...Yes I rather had a feeling that the Master would have failed, no matter what we did. [A long sigh.] I also have the feeling that we all would.

[A quiet huff.] Trust me, I have often tried to be the voice of reason with mixed results. Mostly resulting in my utter frustration.

[Another sigh.]

Yes, of course. The Master had to convince some girl to fall in love with him on his personal merits alone - and let me tell you that's no easy task. He's ... a bit of a grump.

[Cogsworth frowns, then brightens.] Ah yes! We call them maréchaussée. Local law officers. Well that is quite dashing!

[Cogsworth paused, then sighed.] Yes, well, I suppose there is Lumiere.

[ The curse oddly enough made sense and apparently Rick now existed in a world where such things were not only possible but probable. Later, he would need time to come to terms with it but for the time being he wanted to just exist in the moment. A feat he normally had trouble with because he always tried to plan ahead for every little thing.

He gave a slow nod of his head. ]

If he managed, the curse would'a broken on all of you? [ It made him wonder for a moment how many were cursed but he decided not to ask for the time being. ] Sometimes ya just gotta let others make their own mistakes. Ya can try to lead them but people can be stubborn. [ Things changed quickly, though, and there were times enemies went on to become something more. ]

Not sure how dashin' it was but I sure miss the uniform. Things always made sense when I had it. [ Probably a tragic sort of confession but things were in such a disarray. ]

[ Cogsworth didn't sound too happy about the Lumiere. ] Do ya not get along with this Lumiere?

[It seemed that Rick and Cogsworth had more in common than some might think - especially when it came to the fact that Cogsworth always tried to plan ahead for every little thing and -- and ended up a clock.

Sigh.]

Yes, and I would be human again, so would Lumiere. [Which would be a huge relief ... before he sighed softly.] Yes, well, yes. I just ... wish that mistake hadn't led to this ... situation.

[Cogsworth turned his entire clock head.] No I am absolutely certain you were as dashing as can be. But ... I understand the comfort of certain clothes. [Or clothes period.]

[A Pause.] We have a tumultuous sort of friendship, and relationship. We tend to ... get underneath each other's skin. A lot.

[ A year ago, if someone told him he would eventually bond with a clock, he would have thought they lost their entire mind but here he found himself doing just that. They had some things in common and at least Cogsworth had been a person at one point and not just a charmed clock or something. How could he even think such a sentence as if it made any kind of sense?

Things had sure taken a turn in his life. ]

Was it just you two? What happened to the - object of the cursin'? Did he turn into somethin'? [ Again, how could ANY of this make any sense? ] Sometimes you can make somethin' out of a mistake you never would have.

[ A thin blush stained his cheeks and he ducked his head to the side for a moment at the compliment. ]

Usually that's because you know each other so well. Usually means there's more there.

[Oh Rick, don't try to make sense of it. Just think that Cogsworth is as human as you are inside, and that's all that matters. If it wasn't all that mattered, well, he was sort of stuck anyways wasn't he?]

No ... no,, it was the entire household, and yes. The Master - well. He became a dreadful beast.

[He sighed softly.]

From my end, probably. Him? He is utterly blind.

[ He has to try and make some sense of things, Cogsworth. ]

Must've showed your true selves. [ A certain kind of irony there and one he couldn't imagine dealing with.

Had this turned into - Rick Grimes - cupid in training? ]

You ever talk to him 'bout it? Life is short. Never know when you'll lose the chance to say anythin' at all.

[He paused, then snorted softly, at both statements.]

Yes ... yes it did. In more ways that I could have imagined.

[Another more pained sigh.]

Oh, I think he'll just laugh at me, all things considered.

[ For a moment, Rick considered the words because he knew how difficult it could be to speak up. He never really mastered the whole flirting aspect or even talking about feelings. ]

I've found it's best to do somethin' when ya got the chance to. If you miss that moment, it might never come back.

[ The words were a little pained, thoughts of Lori floating around in his mind but he quickly shoved them away. ]

At least, you'd know. The wonderin' can be worse.

[Cogsworth sucked in a sharp breath, and exhaled it, his little clock belly sticking out further than it usually did.]

Well. I suppose. At some point. Soonish. I could possibly ... say something about it. Perhaps.

[Ugh. UGH.]

Well I have been wondering for about thirty or so years I don't think another thirty would be that much of a stretch ...

[ It seemed rich of him to nudge someone else in the romantic direction when he could never do the same on his own end. He tended to not be able to make first moves very well. ]

Wouldn't you rather have a chance for somethin'? Especially now you've admitted things to yourself?

Never know until ya try.

[Cogsworth huffed again, before he stated a little tartly and with some embarrassment.]

Well it is easy for you to say, Rick. You are a handsome man who could get the attention of anyone you wished. I am ... a clock.

[He sighed.] Even when I wasn't I was just - well.

[ A frown tugged at his lips at the words, the natural dad inclination floating to the surface. ]

I'll tell ya the same thing I've always told my son - appearances don't last that long, especially once ya get to know somebody.

You start seein' 'em in a way no one else can because you're seeing who they actually are. Through their personality and what bond you're puttin' together.

[Cogsworth stares at him for a long moment, before a faint little smile crosses his clockface.]

I say, I rather wish we had you around for our Master. He could use a talk like this to help lift his spirits and his confidence.

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