ex-pat expeditions (open)

[cabins]

Fuel for Thought


The final bell had rung for the weekend, and good lord if there wasn’t anything that was going to stop Laura from a cup of coffee for her way home. Some genius had decided the optimal place for a Starbucks was across the street from her school, and Laura couldn’t have been happier. Given that it was a primary school, she didn’t have to really risk running into any students, more so their parents. Still, it was a a sacrifice she was willing to make, and most parents weren’t getting coffee after picking up their kid, anyway.


She pushes her way into the crowded cafe where a line was already starting to form with others that had the same craving for an afternoon coffee to start their Friday off right. Already knowing what she wants, she’s lost in her phone when she feels someone brush up against her, pushing into the spot ahead of her.

“Excuse me,” she begins, tapping them on the shoulder. “I believe the line starts behind me.”


Which Way?

Despite having been in London for a few months now, there was one thing that always managed to confuse Laura. The Tube. She should have been able to figure it out- DC had metro transit, and she’d lived in upstate New York most of her life. But being a politician, she’d never had to worry about getting anywhere, someone would drive her. So her knowledge of how to navigate the underground system was severely lacking.

Which is how she’s found herself on some track, looking up at the sign telling her the next train would arrive in 7 minutes. It had been at 7 minute for the last 10. She wasn’t even sure this one was headed in the right direction- but the color was right. Circle line. So… where was the train?


She sighs, and starts peering down the hallway toward the other side of the track where a train just exited in the opposite direction.

Wait.

“…was that the Circle going toward Monument?” Honestly, it sounds like gibberish to her.


Fun Den (For Ghoul)

"...Fun Ghoul, did I hear you say?" Laura isn't about to judge the youth for his colorful name, but it gets a slight eyebrow raise. She'd been in London for a few months, getting to know the city, but now it was time to truly get to know her pack. She thought she'd start with a tour of the den and was promptly put in contact with a Mr. Fun Ghoul. Something something Americans something, she figured.

Fine by her. she figured the younger man would be honest with her about the tour, and she liked being around younger people. probably why she was a teacher.

She extends a hand to her guide. "Laura Roslin- you can just call me Laura. I want to thank you for taking time out of your schedule to give me a tour. Would you like something to drink before we start? Coffee?" She had something of an addiction.


What's your rush? (For Joss)

the sun has set about an hour ago, but Laura was still out. She'd had a few errands to run before returning to her small flat for a glass of wine and a smoke before grading homework. Best way to do it, maybe with some trashy Housewives tv show on in the background.

really, that's all she was thinking about as she made her way through the neighborhood, purse over one shoulder, bags in hand. She should have been paying better attention to her surroundings, but all she was really thinking about was just how comfortable her slippers we're going to be when she walked through her front door.

write your own! or grab me for a starter.

Comments

on the Tube

[bellbound]

There's a cat sitting on one of the benches on the platform, tail tucked neatly around its paws. Its green eyes focus unblinkingly on the woman the moment it sees her.

Werewolf.

Mogget would know that scent anywhere. She might leave without bothering him or without going to the other end of the platform, which she most definitely shouldn't do, so he says nothing for now. But he's watching.

[ghoulaid]

"Yep." Oh, he knows that look. He's seen and heard it all by now. Without missing a beat, he adds, "It's a family name," before he reaches out to shake her hand.

Yeah, she's going to be dealing with a smartass today.

Once he pulls his hand back he smiles at her in a friendly enough way, nodding at her question. "Coffee sounds pretty good." People tend to tell him that caffeine is the last thing he needs, but fuck those people because they're not here right now, are they? He gestures for her to go on ahead first, figuring he might as well get to know her a little more before the tour officially begins. "So is it just you, or...?"

It's worth asking. She seems like the type who would have one of those cute, picture-perfect families. The kind that would totally have an Escalade and a pretty dog, if the entire family itself wasn't already made up of dogs.

[cabins]

"Oh frak," she curses under her breath. At least the time on the sign had changed now. 6 minutes. Better than nothing.

With a sigh, she moves a bit further down the platform, toward the- cat.

She gives the animal a warm smile. "Oh, hello. Do you have someone looking for you?" Because that cat is going to answer you, Laura. Still, it was required by law that she say hello to the cat.

[cabins]

She takes his hand and gives it a good, firm shake. She's really good at handshakes. The joke gets a laugh, and she nods appreciatively. She already liked this Ghoul kid.

Gosh, they were all so young.

"Alright. We'll stop in anywhere you like in the area and get something to-go. You'll have to pardon me, I've got a bit of an addiction." She was trying to cut back, but was actually just starting to switch to decaf.

Laura nods. "Yes, just me." She gives another warm smile. She was a confirmed bachelorette, fresh off a break-up. With a married man. Who was running the United States. At least, the supernatural side. Still, it's a bit awkward- she knows she's probably ancient to him and still single. Whatever.

Maybe she should get a dog.

[bellbound]

"Not specifically," the cat answers.

It wouldn't be the first time he's had someone talk to him in cat form. Usually they're unsuspecting humans which means he's unable to reply. But since this woman is a werewolf, it's safe to assume that she knows something about the supernatural.

And she really does need to keep away from the other end of the platform.

The Tube

[roddy_reinigen]

"Yeah...yeah, that was," he answered, knowing how annoying it was to realize that you just missed your train. "But these trains run pretty often. It shouldn't be too long a wait for the next one."

She might recognize the boy's scent as being distinctly rodent. Roddy certainly hadn't missed the whiff of wolfishness about the woman's own scent, but despite what Rorschach had pointed out about werewolves, Roddy figured Party was pretty okay, so he wasn't too worried about it.

[cabins]

"Oh-" She doesn't know why she's so surprised. It's not like he's the first talking animal she's ever come across.

She glances around to find the station nearly empty. So she'll keep talking to the cat. "Pardon me, I didn't realize." He probably thought it was terribly patronizing.

[cabins]

If she was being honest, the rodent smell wasn't even noticeable. They were, after all, in an underground tunnel, and she was quite sure she heard the scurry of rats along the rails. Still, she looks up when he speaks.

"Frak. One of these days, I'll get the hang of this thing." She gestures at the area around them. "Can you tell I'm new in town?" Not like he wasn't American, too.

[roddy_reinigen]

"Yeah, but I'm sure you'll catch on pretty quickly. At least the trains come by pretty often."

It meant less time spent kicking yourself over a small mistake.

"Are you going to have to catch another train when you get off, or will this take you where you need to be? I could go over where you need to be next, if you like."

It wasn't like he had anything else to do while waiting for his own train, after all, and at least that would save her needing to wait extra at the next stop, if there was one.

[ghoulaid]

Oh, he gets coffee-picks? Excellent. He knows just the place. It's not too far from here, and not too far from the den, for that matter. He'll lead her right to it.

Hearing she's alone is a bit of a surprise. It shows on his face, which might be a little rude, but he doesn't mean anything malicious by it. "Really?" Huh. If anything, he'd be impressed by her... dating history. If you've got to pick one person to go after, it might as well be the guy running the country. Aim for the fucking stars, Laura.

"Are you gonna live in the den, then? You can, but you don't have to. It might actually drive you kinda fuckin' crazy if you're used to bein' by yourself."

[cabins]

"That's what I've been told," she says, a bit grimly. nodding toward the sign.

"Oh, no, there's no need for that, young man." Laura smiles at him. "But I appreciate the offer." Idly, she had to wonder if he could collect a boy-scout merit badge now: offer to help a little old lady across the street. Or across the tube system.

[roddy_reinigen]

"Yeah, that's not always accurate." But still, the sign was generally right on the frequency of the trains, even if it was a little off on the exact time of their arrival. "And I figured there's not much else for me to do while waiting for my train. Besides, I'm good at figuring my way around tunnels."

Which was amusing to him, even if most people wouldn't know why that made perfect sense, unless, of course, they knew what he was.

[cabins]

Laura nods, her lips a little tight. "Yes. I'm afraid so." She'll give you a break this time, Ghoul.

Oh, she'll aim for the stars. And rule them all.

"I don't think so- I need some peace and quiet when I grade papers, I'm sure you understand." She smiles again. She follows him toward the coffee shop.

[cabins]

"While you're waiting for your train?" She steps a bit closer to him. "So you'll take the extra time to help a girl all the way to her destination?" It's a little too good to be true.

"Really, I appreciate the offer. But I can't accept."

[roddy_reinigen]

"Well, technically, I was just going to tell you where you needed to go and which platform you'd need to be on."

Which wasn't quite as big of a deal as she was making it sound, so he figured he'd clarify that he hadn't been planning on going with her. He really did know the tunnels of the subway pretty well, though. Rodents who enjoyed dwelling underground were quite good at memorizing every twist and turn of structures like this, after all, and rats in particular were very good at remembering which twist or turn they took to get where they wanted. That was part of why they did so well surviving down here, after all.

"But either way, I'm sure you'll manage just fine."

It was pretty easy to catch onto the system, after all. At least, it was for him.

[cabins]

Ah. "Thank you for the clarification. And for the offer as well. Like I said, I don't think it will be necessary, but I appreciate the sentiment all the same." She's still got a small smile on her lips.

"I hope so- my students can navigate the tube better, and they're eight."

[roddy_reinigen]

He'd been being nice, but not that nice. Not 'completely waylay his own journey to make sure she got to where she was going' nice.

"Well, you're new at this. I'm sure they've been doing it their whole lives."

Okay, that was actually pretty bad, considering the fact that eight year olds weren't typically doing any of the navigating. But he was sure she was exaggerating, anyway.

[cabins]

it would actually be a little freaky if he did. So, thank you, Roddy, for not.

Laura winces.

"Make a girl feel young, why don't you." But she laughs, he doesn't mean any offense, she's sure of it.

[roddy_reinigen]

"Well, I mean...because you just got here recently. Didn't have a chance to learn the system, didn't spend the last eight years hearing people use terms like 'Circle toward Monument' until it made perfect sense to you."

Where the eight year olds at least saw their parents navigating the Tube for the eight years that they existed. He didn't mean to imply that she was less generally experienced than an eight year old, just that the terminology and mapping was likely different than the public transport where she was from.

[ghoulaid]

Grading papers. He truly can't think of a worse way to spend his evenings, so he ends up cringing in sympathy... although it doesn't seem like she's even bothered by homework hell.

It's called a career, Ghoul. Try one sometime.

"What classes do you teach? And are they, like... regular students?" Human students, he means. It's not that he has a strong opinion about who she teaches either way- even if her interacting with humans did bother him, it'd make him a huge hypocrite considering he was bitten and not born the way he is now. But it's just a part of the getting-to-know-you game.

As they make their coffee pit-stop, he'll even hold the door open for her whenever they enter the building. Because, shockingly, he can be nice and polite too. She'd better not tell anybody.

[cabins]

So polite, Laura muses as she moves into the coffee shop.

"I teach... well, the American equivalent is third-graders." English school. Weird. "I haven't been in the classroom actively teaching for some time, so it's nice to get back to my roots." Don't worry- Laura was bitten, too. "They're in a local school, so they're not like us." Best way to put it, she figured.

"I was considering applying for a position with Redbright... But I thought I'd wait a bit, get a feel for the climate I'm coming into." She'd heard a lot of shakeups were currently going on.

[specifiercity]

Arthur's checking the charmed watch Eames gave him when Laura speaks to him, pulling him out of his own thoughts.

"Hm? Oh, yeah..." he looks in the direction of the train that just left, pressing his lips together in sympathy. "Should be another one soon, though."

He's waiting to go the opposite direction, which should be a few more minutes yet.

[ghoulaid]

Oh, kids. Little kids. Yeah, if Ghoul had to wrangle dozens of literal children every day, he wouldn't want to come home to a bunch of den chaos, either. She made a good call there.

He nods in understanding, putting a pause on the conversation until they've got their drinks all settled. Ghoul ends up with some ridiculous combination of absolute bullshit that probably clocks in at around 600 calories, but it's breakfast, okay. It's fine.

He stands to the side until Laura's set and ready to go. Once they're outside again, he breaks the unfortunate news to her. "Sooo, I don't know what you've heard yet, but the climate you're gonna get is kinda..." He pauses, carefully searching for the right word to describe the current state of affairs. "Super-fucked?" Good enough.

[cabins]

She lets out a sigh of relief.

"alright, thank you, young man." She glances at the timer again. "I'm sure, but it feels like they're taking forever." She's sure she's not alone in that feeling.

"One day I'll get the tube system. Though you know what they say about old dogs..." a private joke between herself and herself.

[bellbound]

"Most people don't." At least she didn't jump out of her skin. Although that would have been quite funny, even if only metaphorically. "Where are you going?"

They've got about five minutes before the next train.