Gathering Post - London Calling

[londoncallingmods]

The world at large seemed heavier this week, bad news from across the pond drifting over like a bad storm and raining down on the city. Still, stiff upper lip and all that. If London had stopped every time things had seemed bleak, it would have fallen long ago.

And so life went on, as it must. 

The skies were a bit grey and the streets slightly damp, but the Christmas lights were coming on early this year, and Harrods already had the streets lit up with wonder and sparkle. Cafes and bars followed suit, and twinkling lights were everywhere you looked, casting a much needed bit of whimsy and wonder over the stark looking faces that passed by. It was hard to stay grim when children and adults alike seemed so entranced by it all.

There were plenty of events going on as well. From the Lord Mayor's Show or the Dulwich Christmas Bazaar, to the usual concerts, festivities, and even bowling. 

London may have looked a bit foggy and miserable, but there was pleanty of joy to be found for those who went looking.

(Gathering post! Just a nice mellow post to combat those post election blues, and balance out the drama from Halloween. As always, this post will be open for at least a week, so tag in and check back often to tag others. <3)

Comments

[pixiesweat]

"Do you need money?" he asked. Her odd behaviour already had him suspecting she wasn't human, though he was thinking some sort of supernatural creature. As far as he knew, aliens didn't exist.

[jannikarr_mahliah]

"Yes," she answered without shame. "Prince A...Vod left the living quarters and there is no food." She self consciously pulled her has down more firmly over her ears.

[pixiesweat]

Oh, she really wasn't used to being in the human world.

"Here," he said, pulling a note and a few coins out of his pocket and holding them out to her. It was change he'd gotten from an oak leaf he'd enchanted to look like a twenty.

[jannikarr_mahliah]

"This is the local currency?" It was paper! She was a bit skeptical that the shop boy would accept it.

[pixiesweat]

"Yeah," he said. "Have you been in London long?"

Though really that was his socially acceptable way of asking, have you been in the human world long?

[jannikarr_mahliah]

"No. Only a few cycles. I only meant to visit, but now I'm living with Vod." She fidgeted with the money in her hands. "When I woke up he wasn't there, and there's nothing to eat. Just whiskey."

[pixiesweat]

"It's okay," Manuel said. "You can buy something. What do you want?"

[jannikarr_mahliah]

"Food." The scents from the chip shop were so tantalizing. "What can I do for you? I must trade you labor for this currency."

[pixiesweat]

"You don't have to," he said, and even blushed a little. "It's fine."

[jannikarr_mahliah]

"It's my understanding that currency must be earned here through an exchange of goods or services." Mahliah's English was awfully rusty, and she only knew what she had learned at the military academy. Which was awfully formal.

[pixiesweat]

"Yeah, but not always. Sometimes people just give you things. Like I did."

[jannikarr_mahliah]

“No one's ever just given me something before," said Mahliah. Outside of the social customs of hospitality, gift giving was not a part of Kathaari culture. Neither was charity, for the most part. "If I can ever repay you, please come find me at..." She looked over her shoulder, realizing that though she would never lose her way, she did not know how to adequately describe the place she lived. "Back that way."

[pixiesweat]

Manuel had no intention of ever taking her up on that, but he figured if he just accepted it and moved on, it would get her to stop insisting she was in his debt.

"Did you want some chips?" he asked.

[jannikarr_mahliah]

"Those warm sticks made from root vegetables, right?" Vod had brought home chips one night. It had been a good night. "I am particularly fond of them."

[pixiesweat]

That got a small smile. "Yeah," he said. "You could get some."

He'd go with her if she went into the shop. She clearly had no clue how anything in the human world worked and he wasn't sure she'd be able to manage buying chips on her own.

[jannikarr_mahliah]

"Come with me, friend, if you like." Mahliah was distracted trying to make sense of the currency in her hand, but she lead the way bravely into the shop and marched straight up to the counter.

She held out the money in two open hands, right under the nose of the spot-faced teenage clerk. "Chips, if you please," she said rather more loudly than was neccessary.

[pixiesweat]

Manuel followed her in. Her method of ordering was a little unusual, and he felt slightly bad for the clerk, but so far she hadn't messed anything up too badly. For the moment he just stood behind her and waited, ready to step in if she needed help.