The Perk, Thursday afternoon

[existencemisspent]

Eliot was not, as a rule, much of a reader. He preferred his media to come with audio and visuals, thank you. But Margo was doing some sort of . . . retail thing at the town's answer to Lush, and there was little else to do in this place before the bars opened.

And he'd already spent far too much time this week handwavily harassing the portal gnomes. If he did any more, they were bound to portal him to Outer Mongolia in revenge, which would play havoc with his coiffure.

So he was at the coffee shop. With a book. One on plants he'd picked up in an attempt to make sure he and Margo didn't accidentally poison themselves while they looked for more appropriate lodgings and/or a way back to Fillory.

"Khat, huh?" he mused to himself as he read. "Ooo, induces a state of clear-headed euphoria. I'll just . . . bookmark that one. . . ."

[open!]

Comments

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon wanted tea, and while the Perk wasn't Martin, he had to admit that theirs had been somewhat better than his own.

Mainly because his way of making tea involved "microwave water, stick in a tea bag, forget it until it goes cold".

So, he was here again, getting an English breakfast for lunch. And nodding as briefly as was polite (well, for him) to the man muttering over the book.

[existencemisspent]

Eliot inclined his head in return, then ended up doing a small double take as he processed the full effect of the man's look.

This guy had definitely Been Through Some Things.

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

You could definitely say that, yes.

Jon ordered his tea and sat down while he waited for it to brew. And nodded again, awkwardly, to the man who was still looking at him.

Jon hadn't even said anything yet! How could he have screwed up social interaction this soon?

[existencemisspent]

Eliot reached into his waistcoat and pulled out his flask, holding it out towards the guy.

"You look like you've had kind of a rough . . . lifetime."

Well. At least he was willing to offer booze with his judginess?

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon snorted. "Not an inaccurate assessment."

He eyed the flask, but shook his head. He'd just gotten drunk last night, and he didn't know who this man - Eliot - was or...hm. Apparently Eliot liked quite a few mind-altering substances, so...yeah, best not.

"No, thank you."

[existencemisspent]

Eliot shrugged, took a sip of his own, then tucked it away.

Then finally got around to social niceties like saying “Hi. I’m Eliot.”

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Jon." He nodded. The barista brought his tea, and he nodded at her. Then fiddled with the cup, looking for something to say.

"So, you, um...you like plants?" He nodded to the book Eliot was reading.

[existencemisspent]

"I like not being unexpectedly poisoned by them, certainly," Eliot said. "Or deliberately poisoned by them, if the poisoning is fun."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Why...erm. I wouldn't think poisoning could be...fun." Jon had seen a lot. Jon was still giving you an odd look for that, Eliot.

[existencemisspent]

“Then you haven’t truly lived,” Eliot said easily. “So. Jon. Been in Fandom long?”

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I...um. I'm pretty sure I've lived enough," Jon said, voice a little flat.

He shook himself out of it. "Only a few weeks now. You?"

[existencemisspent]

“Crossed the one week mark yesterday.” Eliot drummed his fingers on his book. He felt a little like they were interviewing each other for some reason. He decided to lean into it. “And what brought you to this lovely corner of America’s arm pit?”

Maryland was a little low on the Atlantic coast to truly be the arm pit, but geography wasn’t one of Eliot’s strengths.

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon debated with himself. He really probably shouldn't, but... he was tired, and in the last week he'd nearly taken a statement, had a student half terrify him, and gotten drunk on jello.

He sipped his tea and sighed. "Eldritch fear entities."

[existencemisspent]

Eliot blinked. He’d been crowned High King of a fantasy land by a horny half-goat deity, it took a lot to get him to do that.

“As in . . . ‘in search of’ or ‘escaping from’?”

He was a little concerned about the answer.

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

And that was a loaded question. Jon grimaced and tried to think of a way to explain it in less than three hours.

"More...pulled along with? In the wake of?" Attached to?

[existencemisspent]

"I swear to god if I end up dragged into some second rate hentai," Eliot said, shaking his head. ". . . Again. . . ."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I...what?" Jon shook his head, utterly confused. "What is hentai?"

He winced.

Yeah, Jon, you were going to really regret that compelling.

[existencemisspent]

"Illustrated Japanese pornography," Eliot said, a faint frown creasing his brow. "Anime or manga. The term can refer to really any sort of 'perverse' erotic material but in the US it's most often used for tentacle porn and, uh, hey, quick question, did you just truthie me?"

That question flowed out just as easily as the definition had, and none of it had any more emotional inflection than anything else he'd said so far. But that frown was getting a bit deeper, and he poked his coffee cup with a suspicious finger.

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I- oh, god, I'm so sorry." Jon looked back down at his tea again. "I, uh...I was startled, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

[existencemisspent]

"I would have told you anyway," Eliot said, more confused than actively offended. He leaned forward to peer into his drink. "When did you even slip it in there? I didn't even see you move."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I...w-what?" Jon followed Eliot's glance. "No, I didn't drug you! I just...I just asked. Sometimes it does that."

[existencemisspent]

Eliot looked up, frown back in place. “Sometimes you just . . . make people tell you things.”

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I-I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to. I...heh. Especially knowing the answer, really," Jon admitted. "I'd have been just as happy not knowing."

[existencemisspent]

“Uh huh.” Eliot made a little square with his thumbs and forefingers, looking through it to see what magic Jon might be wielding.

And immediately flinched and dropped his hands, staring at Jon, wide-eyed.

“What the ever loving fuck are you?”

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon flinched. "I'm. I'm the Archivist."

He didn't know if that meant anything to Eliot, but it was as good a place as any to start.