Roof of Our Lady of Fandom, Sunday Afternoon

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante hadn't been-- surprised to find himself here, or disoriented. It was Fandom, and even in the island's current state of decline, it was still prone to its tricks.

No, the problem was that he wasn't sure what to do with himself.

After spending most of Saturday milling around, vaguely hoping to bump into anyone he recognized, mostly wishing not to run into anyone at all, he found himself pulled back to this place. The church was in a decidedly better state than he remembered, for sure, but its pews and tower still made a home, of a kind.

And you still got a perfect view from the roof.

Which was where Dante currently was: sitting near the front of the church's roof, keeping an eye on the people of Fandom. A little like normal, except not at all.

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[geniuswithasmartphone]

As soon as Noah had found himself alone yesterday, he'd bolted. He was grudgingly convinced he wasn't in Georgia (and perhaps not even in his own time as Mister Eliot had said), but the idea that they were just going to give him his freedom was laughable. And so, he'd run.

And now he was furtively sneaking through the underbrush, trying to figure out a way off the island before someone set dogs on him.

[Let me know if you would Rather Not Deal with this, it'll be fine and I can delete!]

[rebelseekspizza]

Was that... something moving underfoot?

Dante squinted down from the roof. Yep. Someone, moving around, trying to be fast. "You know, you're not as sneaky as you think you are."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Noah leapt into the air by about four feet, looking around wildly. "Who there?!" he demanded. "Where you at?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Up here," Dante called, sounding amused. "I don't see anything chasing you, by the way."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Noah looked up and for a moment, his muscles tensed like he was either going to tear off into the woods or throw a swing at...well, nothing specific. But then his posture changed, hunching over, making himself look smaller and harmless. "I'se jes' tryna get home 'fore Massa gets mad, suh," he said.

Sure, the guy was wearing a mask, but he didn't talk like a slave.

[rebelseekspizza]

It wasn't a particularly convincing performance - least of all because the guy had kicked it in so late - but it was the kinda performance someone gave for a reason.

"No one's planning to hurt you," Dante said, a sigh in his voice. "And your master's probably not here. At least not for the weekend."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Why not?" Noah asked, planning on comparing this answer to the others he'd gotten this weekend. "The law ain't nice to white folk who don't bring back folks' property."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Your idea of the law's a couple of century out of date," Dante said. "We caught up to the whole 'people not being property' thing somewhere along the way."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Noah had heard there were abolitionists working on that kind of thing, but it felt kind of impossible to believe, regardless.

"An' all 'em slave-holders growin' cotton an' cane jus' agreed with it?"

Calling you out on your bullshit there, friend.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Nah, we had a war," Dante said, snorting. "It got kinda intense."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"A war," Noah repeated. "You really 'spect me to believe that white folks in the north went to war for black folks?"

Arguing with each other in court rooms and parlors was one thing, sure. But war?

[rebelseekspizza]

"That they did," Dante said, shrugging. "Called the Civil War. You don't believe me, go to a library and look it up."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Noah laughed at that. "Ain't no library let me through the front door," he pointed out. "An' ain't no slave learnt to read, neither. Illegal for slaves to learn, even if Massa Tom ain't 'bout to whip the flesh off they backs in the first place."

[rebelseekspizza]

"You walk up there to that castle, the library's in there on the first floor. No one will stop you," Dante said. He sat back. "I mean, don't get me wrong, people still find ways to be racist dicks, but it's pretty fucking illegal to keep you out just because you're African-American."

Black guy was what he usually would have said, but well. Trying to make a point.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"That sure is a fancy way of sayin' Negro," Noah said.

The word he used was not Negro.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Well, the N-word's considered kinda rude these days," Dante said.

At least, as far as he remembered. It had been a few decades or so.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

That surprise look again. "So?"

It never bothered white folks before.

[rebelseekspizza]

"So I'm not gonna say it," Dante said.

How did you have a conversation like this right, anyway? Now he missed Kathy.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"You worried 'bout bein' rude to a Negro?"

Still not the word he was using.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Worried about being rude to some guy who doesn't deserve it," Dante said lightly. "So far."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Noah came up out of his crouch. "I ain't...really used to that," he admitted.

Where he was from, the color of his skin counted as 'deserving it.'

[rebelseekspizza]

"Let me guess," Dante said, hopping off the roof. "You're from the year eighteen or seventeen... something.l

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"1857," Noah said. "Pretty sure that's it, or close 'nough to it."

The year didn't really factor in much with the day to day life of a slave, even one who sometimes was given permission to travel.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Well, welcome to 2017, where white people are still gonna try to fuck you over, but it's mostly illegal now," Dante said, shaking his head. "...You had any food since you started skulking around here?"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

He was the second white guy to say it was that year. It seemed a bit far-fetched to assume that there was some kind of weird conspiracy between them to make him think that it was almost two hundred years in the future, but then, there was a conspiracy to make black folks think they deserved to be enslaved, so...

Noah was going to keep hold of his skepticism.

"Some," he allowed. "Not today, though."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante considered the wisdom of asking this really paranoid guy from ye olden times to go anywhere with him.

"I can get you some if you're hungry," he said.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Another long pause as Noah clearly debated how badly he needed food versus how bad an idea it would be to trust this man.

"I'd...'preciate that," he allowed, finally. "Don't need much."

[rebelseekspizza]

"'s all right," Dante said. "You can hitch along, or meet me here in half an hour. Your choice."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"I'mma come back," Noah said immediately. "Half a hour."

Not even a question.

[rebelseekspizza]

"All right," Dante said easily. "Then I'll see you later."

He stuck his hands in his coat and strode past Noah, towards town.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Noah didn't stick around, on the off-chance that this really was all just a ruse and the guy would be coming back with a passel of dogs and slave-catchers.

But he was hungry, which meant he didn't go far, just retreated back into the woods, taking his shirt off so the bright white of it didn't catch the eye of anyone who came hunting.

And waited, to see what would happen next.

[rebelseekspizza]

What happened next was that, after half an hour, Dante came back holding a bag with four pizzas in it in one hand, and a picnic blanket with the other one.

He tossed the blanket haphazardly at the ground and sat down on it. "Food's here," he called.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

There was a long pause, while Noah waited for any signs of movement. A very long pause. Finally, though, he eased himself up from his hiding place and made his way back to wear Dante was waiting.

"S'in that?" he asked, nodding to the boxes.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante leaned over to flip one over. "Pizza," he said. "Think of it as a giant round slice of bread with tomato sauce and sausage and a bunch of other things."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Noah wasn't exactly sure what tomato sauce was, but the smells coming from the box made his stomach gurgle impatiently. He reached for a slice, then drew his hand back. "You eat one," he said.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante looked faintly amused, but he got it. "Sure," he said, picking up the slice Noah had reached for a moment ago.

He took a bite. And then another one.

And... look, Dante, pizza. You knew how this went.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Of course, the whole pizza could have had enough drugs to stop an elephant and Dante would be fine, but Noah didn't know that. He watched Dante eat and waited another few minutes for anything to take effect before reaching for a slice of his own.

The marks on his back probably explained a great deal about where his paranoia came from.

"This is...good," he said after the first bite.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Pizza's basically my favorite food on the planet," Dante said, taking in the marks - but not remarking on them. "Haven't had it in a while, though."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Why ain't you?" Noah asked, burning his hands on a second slice.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Food's a little scarce where I'm from," Dante admitted. "Getting back here was a surprise and a half."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Noah stopped eating for a moment, then nudged several slices over towards Dante. "You just wake up here too?" he asked.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Yep," Dante said, picking up a slice without comment. "Though I know this island."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"How?" Noah asked around a mouthful of pizza.