The Perk, Wednesday Afternoon

[pocketpretzels]

It had been a while since Watts had been by the Perk as anything more than a quick stop before heading somewhere else, so he’d missed the addition of certain fall-themed drinks to the menu.

But now that he was actually taking his time to peruse the (still overwhelming) list of available drinks, he did notice.

“Pumpkin spice?” he vaguely remembered Annie mentioning it, as well as Constable Crabtree, even, saying something about the Inspector’s pumpkin seeds and his coffee… “Why not. I’ll try that. With the oat milk, please.”

No, Steven wasn’t accompanying him, nor did they have plans to meet up today, so he could just stick to the regular milk, but he also liked the oat milk just fine.

[ooc: am i cursing myself by making an open post on a day that so far appears to be slow work-wise? maybe.]

Comments

[two_idiots_one_body]

Arthur nodded. "I was just a boy in England then." He opened his mouth to say something about that time, then remembered how he'd felt hearing about World War II. "You mentioned there are all sorts of foods you can try now?"

[pocketpretzels]

Watts knew about the first World War, if only because he'd told Steven about the incident with the Japanese and Russian spies, and so naturally the topic had come up as a result of that.

"Mm, yes," he nodded. "My-" and here he hesitated. He could say friend, and it wouldn't be a lie, exactly. Or he could- not do that. And face the consequences of revealing what he was to someone from a time not so far removed from his own. "My beau and I, we've made a point of taking a lunch each week whose origins are someplace new for at least one of us. Most recently was Egyptian, for example."

And now he was just going to find his own coffee very interesting as he waited for Arthur's response. Perhaps subtly try and scoot his chair back an inch or two to make it easier to bolt.

[two_idiots_one_body]

Fortunately, Arthur had never cared much about people's personal lives, and Travis and Stark had paved the way here for the fact that people discussed these things nowadays.

"Egyptian? What's that like? How many different sorts of foods are there?"

Arthur had mostly been indulging in all the fresh produce he could.

[pocketpretzels]

Watts visibly relaxed at the lack of reaction. "Delicious. I highly encourage you to try it- we had... a dish of mixed rice and pasta along with, ah- falafel and a chickpea soup. I don't know that I could quantify how many different foods there are out there, honestly, but it's a fascinating way to experience even just a bit of a different culture. There's a good selection of restaurants here on the island, and there are- have you picked up a mobile telephone for yourself?"

[two_idiots_one_body]

"I have one," Arthur conceded reluctantly. "I'm still trying to figure it out."

"You mean I am," John piped up testily. Arthur sighed. It was true that it didn't help that the person doing most of the figuring was a splinter of an eldritch god that only knew most things about Earth as they filtered through Arthur's brain in the first place.

"It hasn't been easy."

[pocketpretzels]

"There is a steep learning curve," Watts acknowledged. "But once you get the hang of it I think you'll see how revolutionary a device it really is. Access to all sorts of information, whenever you might need it. And- you can use it to order food for delivery. From nearly anywhere." When you had a food delivery app with access to Portalocity, that was.

[two_idiots_one_body]

"That does sound handy," Arthur acknowledged. "I got rather used to the deli down the street in Arkham. I've been largely living on what the hotel has recently."

Which brought up another thought. "Is it just me, or are the prices these days outrageous? Each night in the hotel costs a month's wages back home!"

[pocketpretzels]

"Oh, they're absolutely absurd," Watts agreed. "Thankfully, the wages have risen to match. Have you managed to find employment yet?" he asked.

[two_idiots_one_body]

"I've asked around, but I haven't taken anything yet," Arthur said. "I was a private detective at home, and there's one here, but I'm not quite sure about her interviewing methods."

[pocketpretzels]

"How so?" Watts had not, of course, met Rosa yet himself.

[two_idiots_one_body]

"She claimed not to be the detective, and sent me to find the detective, but described her as the blacksmith." Arthur shook his head. "The smith claims she just does this sometimes."

[pocketpretzels]

"Well, to be entirely fair, there is not always a lot for us detectives to do in a place like this," Watts told him. "It is possible she is, as the modern saying goes, 'making her own fun'."

[two_idiots_one_body]

"You're a detective, too?" Arthur asked. "I - oh, I've been terribly rude." He held out his hand in Watts' direction. "Arthur Lester."

[pocketpretzels]

"Llewellyn Watts," Watts took the offered hand and shook it. "Nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Lester. And yes, though I work at the Trooper Station and not Miss Diaz's agency."

[two_idiots_one_body]

"Trooper? Is that what they call the police nowadays? Or are you military?" Arthur asked.

"He doesn't look military," John offered.

[pocketpretzels]

Watts grimaced slightly at the suggestion that he might be military. "It's- the Troopers are the local equivalent of constables, as I'm given to understand it. They- were here long before I arrived. I think they may have been military at one point? They wear very strange armour, in any case. But I myself am not military, no."

[two_idiots_one_body]

"Odd. Still, a pleasure to meet you, Detective Watts." Arthur smiled ruefully. "It's good to know someone else with an idea of the challenges of the modern world."