OTA

[quartermaster_q]

Q'd never admit it, but he quite liked riding on the tube. He liked the way strangers were forced together, each demanding their space and ignoring one another's existence- despite the fact that they were often practically in one another's lap. In fact, tonight's ride home was a fine example of that, as Q sat trapped between two fairly young men who ignore him, and one another, while riding along in silence.

On Q's left was a small man, pale as death with hair that couldn't possibly be that shade of silver blonde naturally. Small and waif-like, he seemed to tremble as the doors slid open at each stop- until finally he rose, skittering off the train like some sort of nervous dog that had spent most of its life in its master's purse.

On the right, however, sat a very different young man. Tall and lean, but fit and still a bit tan from sun he'd certainly not seen in London. He appeared to be American, and he sat with his legs slightly spread, as if he owned the whole bloody train. ...Yes, definitely American this one. This one got off only one stop before his own, and Q watched him go, finding himself curious as to who the men were and what their stories were.

...Though that was one of the perks of being Q. He could do just that as soon as he got home. he could pull up their faces on CCTV, retrace their whole day, unravel their life stories... Perhaps he would- Right after he stopped off at his favourite cafe for a piping hot cup of tea.

(OTA- Couldn't decide who to post, so catch Logan, Winter, or Q as they get off at their separate stops. Make sure to let me know who you're tagging! XD)

Comments

[willysilver]

Willy was meant to meet Winter here but he could not seem to find him. In an act of desperation he stopped the bookish looking fellow who seemed familiar, though Will met far too many mortals to keep them all straight.

"Pardon me," he said warmly, enough of an enchantment around him to draw the boffin in. "Have you seen my brother on that train? He is slight and androgynous with silvery white hair and bright eyes..."

[quartermaster_q]

Q raised a brow, considering the tall man for a moment and trying to judge how genuine his concern was. It seemed like far too much of a coincidence... And yet Q felt inclined to believe that was all it was.

"I believe I did. Nervous young man, not very tall. He got off a few stops ago, I'm afraid. He didn't seem terribly pleased to have been on the train in the first place- Perhaps he chose to walk the rest of the way or hail a cab?"

[willysilver]

"That is likely exactly what he did. He hates the tube," Willy scowled. "Only the fates know if I'll even find him now. How troublesome."

He was looking at the posted map but to his eyes it made very little sense.

[quartermaster_q]

Q nearly just walked off- This wasn't his problem, nor did he care to make it his problem. ...Still, he decided to offer the man one scrap of assistance.

"He got off here," he said, tapping the map. "It's quite a walk, so I imagine you best option is to wait by the entrance over there, at street level. That's the side a taxi is most likely to drop him off."

[willysilver]

"Could I buy you a tea for your kindness, my friend? Perhaps a bite as well? If you are not in a hurry, that is," Willy asked...and with just a touch of an enchantment he made the most pressing things slip the young man's mind.

[quartermaster_q]

Q was certain he needed to go home to do something- And yet he couldn't, for the life of him, recall what that might be. He looked baffled for a moment, then unsure.

Q wasn't one to wander off with strangers.

"Oh, um- I should really get going actually..."

[willysilver]

"Please...just a tea. There's a bloke with a cart just there and I'll buy if you'll agree to be my company, yes? Say yes," he purred seductively, his green eyes flashing with power.

[quartermaster_q]

Anyone else might have been charmed, but the more Willy pushed, the more nervous Q felt.

"Really, I can't..." he insisted, yet his feet felt glued to the spot, refusing to let him turn and leave.

[willysilver]

"What pulls at you? Work? Work can wait. A lover? They will understand pausing to do a good deed, hmm? Unless your wife is having a baby..." Willy listed airily even as he walked to get the teas and return.

[harrowgate]

Felix did not take the tube. Ever. The idea of rushing at high speeds with half of the city touching him all while buried underground gave him the howling terrors just to think about it.

So when he caught sight of a familiar little figure escaping the tube station nearest where Felix had intended to stop for tea, he thought he understood Winter Wisp's anxious expression. "Little Winter," he called, clear voice rising over the workaday street traffic. He lifted a decorated hand to beckon the pixie away from the passing crowds.

[winter_wisp]

Winter hated the mortals' underground train. It was loud and cold, and all that metal made him feel a bit ill. Still, it was the fastest way around the city, and time was very important to a pixie who relied on a time sensitive potion.

He was trembling and pale, but stopped and turned at the sound of his name, then smiled faintly as he made his way over to Felix.

"Hello," he said, pulling his coat a bit tighter around himself as he spoke.

[harrowgate]

"You look miserable. You're not ill, are you?" Felix asked, though unlike most humans saying those words, he did not seem to be brimming with sympathy. After glancing Winter up and down, he belatedly came to the realization that he ought to do something about the situation. "Come, why don't I get you that hot chocolate we agreed on."

[winter_wisp]

"I'm not ill," Winter assured him. "I was on the mortal train beneath the city- It doesn't agree with me very much. I would love that hot chocolate though, I would like it very much, Mr. Felix."

[harrowgate]

"This way, then," Felix invited, stepping aside with a small gesture toward the coffee shop, shepherding Winter toward the warmer indoors. Though they must take care about what they said in public, Felix could not contain his curiosity completely. "Is it the iron in the subway that bothers you?" he asked in an undertone.

[winter_wisp]

"That- and it is small and the light is too harsh and faux. It makes me ill," Winter said quietly. "It feels like a cage that roams beneath the city, I do not enjoy it."

[harrowgate]

"I can't argue with that," Felix murmured, following Winter inside and sweeping them both up to the counter to order. "It was -- and I believe I am recalling this exactly, as per the terms of our agreement -- a hot chocolate, with extra whipped cream on top?"

[winter_wisp]

"Yes," Winter chirped, pleased with this bargain still- Especially since he was currently reaping the rewards of it. "I wish to have the sweetest hot chocolate they make."

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal didn't use the subway as such. He didn't like the pressing mass of people, the rude pigs getting on the trains, or blocking seats with bags and legs, or the CCTV cameras.

But even on the side walk, next to a tube station, one wasn't safe from rudeness. If one was unfortunate enough to pass it just after the arrival of a train, one could be pressed forward, or pushed sideways by the masses of human sheep exiting the station.

Such was the case now. Hannibal managed to swerve around them, not hitting anyone.

Until he was suddenly and violently pulled by his arm into an alley.


((A fight methinks. :) For whoever you like.))

[logan_echolls]

Logan wasn't one for good deeds, but a fight, or even just a hint of violence was always enough to draw his attention. He'd caught a glimpse of the doctor a moment before the attack, with no intention of stopping to say hello, but when he saw the man dragged off- Well, that was all it took to catch his eye again.

He didn't run, but he did move a bit faster, weaving through the crowd and then ducking into the alley to see what was going on.

[anamusebouche]

Even on a busy day, near a station, in the heart of London, there were places that were abandoned, where one could have a fight without alarming anyone. The alley made a sharp turn, and behind that corner, Dr. Lecter's attacker had found himself a large flat piece of wood to wield. Hannibal was not too impressed by it, and swerved an attack, dove to the ground and made a turn to hook the man's legs, getting him to fall as well. There was blood coming from his lip. Clearly punches had been thrown already.

[logan_echolls]

Not one for caution, Logan jumped right in, grabbing the doctor's attacker and dragging him back, before throwing a hard punch.

To say the young man had some anger management issues would have been an understatement. The attacker hardly got a hit in as Logan threw punch after punch, only stopping when the doctor's attacker finally managed to shove him away.

[anamusebouche]

It became so violent, so beautifully unrestrained and vicious, that when the attacker pushed Logan away, Hannibal grabbed the young man and held him to prevent him from diving into the fight again.

"Leave, if you know what's good for you," Hannibal said, darkly. He wasn't finished with the man yet. But he would save his death for another day.

"Mr. Echolls?" He asked, still holding him with his hands behind his back. "Have you calmed a little?"

[logan_echolls]

Logan was practically vibrating with need to finish the fight, but the tension eventually left his shoulders as he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," he said, breathing deeply through his nose and then nodding again.

"You alright, doc?"

[anamusebouche]

"I'm fine," Hannibal assured, and only then let Echolls go. "Apologies for my hard-handedness. I thought it best to prevent the man's hospitalization."

[logan_echolls]

"Don't know why, it looked like the asshole had it coming," Logan replied, tugging his sleeves back down and offering the doctor a nod. "It's fine, it's whatever- What the hell was his problem anyway?"