Island Causeway- Monday Afternoon

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

Humphrey should have been used to the long travels by now. He had made the trip from England to the Caribbean after all, so a trip up to Maryland shouldn't have been that difficult. But maybe it was the heaviness of what he was leaving behind and the unshakable feeling that he was running from something he should be facing up to... But whatever it was, Humphrey had been distracted and nervous, more so than usual, during the trip.

But he was here now. Somewhere that was very much not Saint Marie. And also somewhere very much not London. Though the chill in the air made him think of back home; it was quite a change from the sunny balmy Caribbean that was for sure! And with the boat he had arrived on already sailing away, Humphrey looked around the causeway where he was standing. He had arrived a few days ahead of his official start to his new job. Humphrey figured it would be good to get a feel for the new island that he was going to be calling home for the foreseeable future.

"Is that... really a castle?" he muttered gawking at the island's very obvious focal point. The very next thing to catch his attention was the stairs. So...many..stairs.... "Well, guess all that's left is to get to it!" Humphrey said as he gathered up his bags and suitcases and headed down the causeway. He didn't even get to the end before he had already dropped his bag once and tripped over one of the cobblestones a couple of times. This was going to be interesting. He really hoped there was some way to avoid some of the stairs... maybe?


(Humphrey is now on the island and the post is open to anyone who wants to meet the new guy!)

(Also myself and entire family has the Flu so there will be SP most likely from me at times)

Comments

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana wasn't the helpful type. Certainly not when it came to things like fetching or carrying or what-have-you. But she was the lazy type, which was quite fortunate, at least for Humphrey's current distress, as she happened to be passing by in a rickshaw just as he tripped.

"Oh dear," she said. "Stop the coach." Wait, no, habit. "Err, rickshaw."

And then she leaned out the side, a pale, aristocratic woman with long black hair held away from her face by a gold headdress, wearing a thick purple mantle over what appeared to be a purple gown - or, at least, a very voluminous dress, and asked, "Are you in need of some assistance, darling?"

To be clear, most days Liliana would have had no compunctions driving right past and letting the man sort himself out, but today she was in a lovely mood and Humphrey got to be the beneficiary of it.

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

Humphrey had been a bit preoccupied trying to juggle the bags and suitcase. So he gave a small jump at the sudden realization someone was talking to him.

"Oh ummm.. good morning.. or afternoon is it... time zones and all, bloody difficult to keep track of" he said awkwardly as he shifted the bags to hold out a hand. "Humphrey Goodman, just arrived and well, frankly, I am trying to find the hotel so I can drop my bags off" he said just as one of the aforementioned bags started to slip again.

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana took the proffered hand, her own hand cold in his, far moreso than one would likely expect for even a chill day.

"There's a hotel on Thunderbird," she said, gesturing in the appropriate direction - which yes, included more stairs. She eyed his precarious hold on his bags dubiously. "Coming for an extensive visit? Or simply staying there until you find a more permanent residence?"

Don't even think about trying to claim a mansion in the woods that looked, for all intents and purposes, like it was abandoned (and creepy), Humphrey. She had dibs.

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

Was a shame... he would have taken quite a fancy to the place were he to ever visit.

"Ah, a little of both really? I'm here to start a new job and figured I'd come by a few days early and get settled in for some temporary lodgings ahead of my official start." Humphrey looked around and shook his head a little. "Island life I amused to though, I admit, Saint Marie looked nothing at all like this." Not even a teeny tiny little bit!

[deathsmajesty]

He was more than welcome to come over for visits and parties! He just wasn't allowed to claim it.

"Saint Marie?" she asked, since she'd barely stepped off the island to explore this plane. "Also, would you care for a ride? I can take some time out of my schedule to drop you - and your baggage - off at the hotel."

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

"Saint Marie, it's an island in the Caribbean. Beautiful sand, sun, and water. I worked there as a detective inspector for a few years" Humphrey said fondly with a somewhat sad smile as he thought about the islands he had just recently left.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to be a burden or an inconvenience," he said awkwardly.

[deathsmajesty]

"Oh, darling, if you were either, I'd leave you here to fend for yourself," Liliana assured him. The island was already filled with do-gooders, she felt no need to add herself to the number. "Oh!" She realized a bit belatedly she hadn't finished her half of the introductions. "Liliana Vess."

She didn't add 'at your service,' because she was not, nor 'a pleasure,' because she didn't have enough data to know whether or not that were true.

"Though, if you truly insist, I can certainly summon another here for you instead. Though, if you'd rather drop your suitcases down the stairs in a misguided attempt to prove you can handle them all on your own, I can certainly leave you to it."

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

"Oh no I... I mean umm... that is very nice of you..." Humphrey stumbled over his words suddenly not knowing quite what to do in the situation. He was used to being pretty self-sufficient but even he had to admit that it didn't always work out the best in the end. New place, new job, new people, maybe it was time to try things a little differently. "I'd appreciate it, thank you... Ms. Liliana Vess" he added with a small nod.

[deathsmajesty]

She gave him a pleased smile as he chose the sensible option.

"Just Liliana is fine," she said, waving the honorific away with a dismissive hand. 'Countess Vess' or even 'Lady Vess' were more appropriate, but she only used either when she had reason to stand on ceremony and helping a poor man gather his bearings about the island certainly did not count.

She alighted from the rickshaw, and gestured to him. "Why don't you get your luggage situated first?" she suggested. "If it turns out we don't fit, you can send it along ahead. Walking will still be much easier without your bags."

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

Humphrey nodded and began getting his bags situated the best he could, and tried his best to not spill the contents of his suitcase all over the causeway in the process. He really didn't want a repeat of when he was trying to catch the boat here that morning. Humphrey would rather his clothes not all end up strewn about, especially in the present company.

"Alright there... I think that should do it" he said finally after some pushing and maneuvering to get the bags in with hopefully enough room for the two of them still.

[deathsmajesty]

One did hope, since Liliana was not in the habit of sitting on strange men's laps.

...Anymore. Currently. Whatever.

"So you're coming to be a detective?" she asked, climbing into the rickshaw first because of course she was, her purple silt gown rustling as she did. "Or are you branching out and trying something else?"

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

Humphrey followed, trying to climb into the rickshaw as gracefully as he could for someone who very much seemed to have two left feet.

"oh good heaven's no, I couldn't do anything other than police work," he said as he got situated on the seat next to Liliana. "Much to the chagrin of my Father" Humphrey said with an awkward shrug. "Detective work is all I have ever done, and is one of the few things I am actually good at."

[deathsmajesty]

"When your father decides to live your life, he can have an opinion about it," was Liliana's reply to that. "Why? What would he have you do instead?"

[hasaknightjob]

Oh look, a fellow Brit passing by! Steven waved when he saw the newcomer.

"Hello. Are you looking for someone?"

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

"Ah... ummm yes... well sort of" Humphrey said as he set his bags down so he didn't have to keep fumbling with them. "I am supposed to meet a..." here he tried to fish around in his pocket for a scrap of paper which he finally found. "A... detective Watts?" he said as he read the name he had scribbled down. "I'm a few days early actually."

[hasaknightjob]

Steven brightened. "Well that's a bit of luck for you then! I know him rather well."

Intimately, one might say.

"Any particular reason you're looking for him?" Steven asked.

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

"Ah brilliant" Humphrey said as he shoved the paper back in a completely different pocket this time. "I'm supposed to report to him regarding my new place of employment here on the island." Then suddenly remembering the basic social protocols of introductions, he held his hand out. "Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman" he said with a smile.

[hasaknightjob]

"Steven. With a V," Steven said, gladly shaking hands. "Steven Grant. I work at the Museum here in town. You're newly arrived, I take it?"

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

"Steven, nice to meet you" Humphrey said as he shook hands. "And there's a museum here? Wonderful! I will have to check it out sometime." He had to give a small grin at that last bit. "So new the ink is still drying on the official job offer I think" he laughed. "Just got off the boat not even a quarter of an hour ago."

[hasaknightjob]

"Well welcome, welcome," Steven said. "You'll find Detective Watts is a good man. Excellent to work for. You've good timing as well, one of the men who works there is currently on paternity leave so extra hands will be helpful."

Yes, the island rarely had cases. Steven was an optimist, of course he was going to find the positive outlook on things.

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

"Ah good timing indeed" Humphrey said as he looked around at what he could see of the island from where they were. "I have to admit this is not at all what I expected... It's a far cry from Saint Marie, that is for sure!"

[hasaknightjob]

"It's a bit unusual, only fair to warn you," Steven said. He started rummaging through his satchel. "Though I say that and realize I don't know what your Saint Marie is like. That's where you're from, I take it?"

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

"By way of London first. But yes I've spent the last few years in the Caribbean working with a local police outpost on the island of Saint Marie. Working mostly murder cases but also other cases that came along." Humphery tilted his head as he considered Steven for a moment. "Unusual how exactly?"

[hasaknightjob]

"Best take that one slow, I think," Steven said. He found what he was looking for in his bag and held it out for Humphrey. "Here. Map of the island if you need it. I found it dead handy when I arrived. Er - don't mind the bits written in biro. It hasn't been officially updated for new buildings yet so I've filled those in.

"I'm here from London as well. And, er, I suppose we could start by you telling me about your Saint Marie? Or London? Then I could have an idea of what would count as unusual for you. If it helps, pretend I'm from an entirely different planet and I've only just arrived myself."

[mess_and_i_are_friends]

"Ok well.... London is cold, crowded, rainy, and usually pretty grey. Lots of people bustling around, you're never alone but always kinda feel alone in a way, if that makes sense? Lot of buildings, cars, news reports, more pigeons that you can shake a stick at..."

Humphery gave a small somewhat sad smile as he thought about Saint Marie.

"Saint Marie is the exact opposite. Tropical paradise, lots of sand and waves, and hot... so very very hot. But the people are so welcoming and friendly and you just find yourself becoming more and more like one of the locals the longer you stay there. I actually started learning to surf while I was there...sort of.." he admitted with a grin.