The Park, Monday Morning

[shiroi_tiger]

For some, the weekend spent on the island had been quieter than for others. It wasn't that Algren wasn't interested in getting out there and fighting zombie gremlins (though there was some Fandom-related trauma there that had involved both zombies and gremlins, once upon a time, that he didn't care to revisit), and it wasn't even that he hadn't wanted to see if he could find any familiar faces at the various dances and parties and gatherings that had been going on across the island.

No, mostly it was that he'd just opted to reacquaint himself with the quieter aspects of Fandom. A walk along the beach, or through the preserve, right around dawn or dusk. That sort of thing.

This morning, it was the park. He had a thermos of tea - and yes, he had absolutely gone out to buy a thermos for the occasion, using money he still had inexplicably left over in the bank here from his tenure on the island - and was seated on the grass, watching the ducks swim and the flamingos... be flamingos, whatever that entailed.

There might also have been a sword resting on the grass beside him, serving as a silent warning to any gremlins that might get any ideas. Yes, Fandom, Nathan Algren remembered you well enough, even after being gone for a few years.

[OOC: I had to get him out somewhere this weekend! Open park is open!]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

"How they ended in my world, no," Hannibal agreed. "But every world is different." He smiled. "I've never heard your name in the history books, for instance."

[shiroi_tiger]

"Well, I'm just as happy without," Nathan chuckled. "I've known a good many men more worthy of that dubious honor than myself, besides."

Any historical reference to him would probably be a damning combination of praises, and stories about stupid things he'd done while drunk, he was sure.

[sharp_as_knives]

It was certain to be nowhere near as colorful as Hannibal's place in his world's history!

"What brought you to Fandom?" he asked. "Did you intend coming here?"

[shiroi_tiger]

"Not even remotely," Algren chuckled, shaking his head. "There was a bit of an incident, during my trip to Japan. Imagine hearing 'Man Overboard' referring to yourself in the middle of the Pacific, only to wake up... here."

He'd strayed the tiniest bit off-course, there.

"It wasn't so bad, though. It gave me a chance to find my feet a little before finally making it to where I was going."

[sharp_as_knives]

"This place can be good for that," Hannibal said. "Certainly it's better than the fate of most that hear such a sound. I imagine the time change was quite a shock, though."

[shiroi_tiger]

"It took a fair bit of getting used to," Nathan agreed, wryly. "Take my first flight on an airplane, for example..."

That had been educational AND TERRIFYING.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Worse than going through a portal?" Hannibal asked. Either, he would have thought, would seem equally strange.

[shiroi_tiger]

"Much longer than going through a portal. And at least with a portal, my feet tend to stay on the ground. More or less."

Important distinction, there.

"With a portal, at least I could close my eyes and tell myself that I wasn't actually traveling as far as I wound up."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Point taken." Hannibal nodded. "And what did you think of the plane once you were used to it?"

[shiroi_tiger]

"That," Algren chuckled, "is a question I'll have to answer someday in the far future, if I ever do get used to it."

Which didn't seem like it was something that was ever reasonably going to happen, no.

"I'm not planning on spending enough time in the here and now to really get the chance."

[sharp_as_knives]

"You'll be returning to Japan, then?" Hannibal asked curiously.

[shiroi_tiger]

"I've been living there for nearly five years now," Algren explained. "It's more home to me now than America ever was. And Fandom is pleasant enough for a visit. Take a walk on the beach, avoid the bars, fend off an invasion or two. But I don't know that I'd choose to live here again. Not in the near future, at least."