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[not_his_pa]

The morning after Cubefall, William went to the counter to get some breakfast and got a note with his coffee.

He tucked it away before starting on his meal and reading The Black Arrow, which he had began before Cubefall.

Its a good distraction though he is keeping an eye out for that girl who got hurt though he doesn't know if she was in her own shape or not, but she'll need looking after.

Comments

[gavin62truck]

Goddamn, but it's good to be bipedal and have thumbs again.

Tommy orders a cup of black coffee and begins to light up his morning cigarette when he notices the familiar kid reading a few seats down the bar. He can't remember the last time they'd met.

"Hey. William, right?"

[not_his_pa]

"Yes, sir,"

William's really enjoying his coffee and being able to hold a mug, drinking out of a trough is weird. Tommy's not someone he immediately recognizes as its been a while.

[gavin62truck]

It's been a real long while, but since then, Tommy's met a few more cow-folk, and he's sort of compartmentalized them all into their own category under People He's Met at Milliways.

Nodding, he eyes him through an exhalation of cigarette smoke.

"Just call me Tommy. You're the one with the ranch out West?"

[not_his_pa]

"Yeah, I mean its my family's land,"

He is the man of the family but its for all of them and its hard to think of it as just his.

[gavin62truck]

Nodding again, he takes a sip of coffee.

"Ah, right. Yeah, I've met a few people here who talked about ranches and stuff, but I remember you 'cause you're like around my daughter's age."

[not_his_pa]

"I can see how that would help. Is she in school?"

There's a small pained note in his voice that he's not even aware of as it always hurts to know maybe in another era, he would be able to do more.

[gavin62truck]

"Oh, yeah, she's in high school. She's got a couple years to go and I got no idea what she wants to do afterward, if she's gonna go to college or get a job or whatever, I just hope it ain't something dead end."

William might be surprised to know that in another era, some kids are prone to squandering their education.

[not_his_pa]

"What would make something dead end?"

He knows what the phrase means but in his time, its still more to do with geography.

[gavin62truck]

"Eh, y'know, doin' something that makes you miserable, living from paycheck to paycheck 'cause you got no other choice, or maybe 'cause you're just too lazy to better yourself. I ain't sayin' my kid's lazy or nothin', it's just that as a dad, I kinda tend to think the worst will always happen, and in my family, that's usually the case."

[not_his_pa]

"Oh, that makes sense and yeah, I know how that is,"

Its what his family's luck is like and he's pretty sure he's in a dead end.

[gavin62truck]

"Yeah. If only luck grew on trees, huh?" he says with a shrug and tic of his head as he takes a puff off his cigarette.

"So, hey, did you do the Cubefall thing?"

[not_his_pa]

He takes a long drink of his coffee before finishing with a variation on the saying,

"Then we'd all be happy. I did, this was my third time. Its a nice way to rest."

[gavin62truck]

Happy. Yeah. That's not something he's going to be any time soon.

But he chuckles, "Rest? If by 'rest' you mean 'take a break from real life,' then I agree, but I changed into a huge dog, and I don't think I've gotten so much exercise in my entire life. What did you change into?"

[herr_bookman]

Cubefall was... a learning experience, but Autor has had enough of those for a little bit. His injuries put him in a far more vulnerable place than he liked; he isn't going to live down the memories of bones snapping or--even worse!--the teasing Sunshine gave him for a long while.

In any case, it's time to get back to his daily routine. First stop? Tea.

"Oh," he says, and scans the book cover first. "Hello, William."

[not_his_pa]

William's deep in the midst of a fight scene so jumps a little at Autor's voice, "Oh hello."

[herr_bookman]

Autor jumps back in response, blinking. "I didn't mean to startle you. Good book?"

[not_his_pa]

"Yes, it is, one of my favorites that I found here. Its from a bit after my time and a good adventure story,"

He likes how Robert Louis Stevenson writes, because while there are adventures, they feel closer to what he knows.

[herr_bookman]

"I don't think I've read it," he says. The school library is only so big after all. "What's the plot like?"

He does, of course, order some scalding hot tea.

[not_his_pa]

"Its about the War of the Roses and the main character Dick Shelton's tryin' to fix what he can while not making things worse. There are men who are sort of like Robin Hood but not really and the plot gets confusin' but good,"

The coffee by William has gone slightly cold as he was reading.

[herr_bookman]

Autor nods. "Glad to hear you like it," he says, and samples his own tea. He loves seeing other people enjoy themselves while reading, and William seems to always have a book in hand. "Did you do anything for Cubefall this year around?"

[not_his_pa]

Books are his escape and he knows they're one of the few ways he can keep learning,

"Oh yeah, I was a horse. This is the third time I've been one and its always fun. What about you?"

[herr_bookman]

Autor blinks at him, and then immediately cracks up.

"A horse, were you?" he says. "I may owe you lunch."

[not_his_pa]

"A palomino though you probably don't know what that is, light colored horse. Why would you owe me?"

[herr_bookman]

Autor shakes his head. "Cubefall shenanigans," he says. "Suffice it to say that I would have had to crawl back to the bar without you, which would have been annoying. Now, what would you like for lunch?"

[not_his_pa]

"You were that girl who punched the steel? What finally got you to the infirmary?"

Because he was being stupid about it in that form and is healed now.