milliways_bar | (no subject)

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A young man (quite young, early teens, if that, smallish, skinny) walks into the bar carrying a folded up cape under one arm and a broom over his shoulder. His clothes are dirty, worn, well-traveled. His black hair falls into his eyes, and he hardly bothers to push it out of his face.

It takes a moment for him to realize that this isn’t the café where he said he’d meet Dorothy after she talked to the Wizard, and when he does, he looks more annoyed than anything at the realization.

“And on top of everything, I’m lost,” he mutters. He hadn’t thought he could get lost, even in the Emerald City. He was sure he’d been paying attention.

He reaches one hand into his pocket, counting the coins there without pulling them out (in case someone watching should decide to relieve him of his small purse), and realizes that he hasn’t enough to purchase a drink here and at the café.

Still, it can’t hurt to stay just a little while in an attempt to get his bearings.

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"You aren't the only one lost," says a very pale young man, bone-white fringe of hair laying just a little over his eyes.

He looks oddly at the broom and cape, but says nothing about them.

"What's that?"

He hadn't meant to say that out loud, really.

"You said you were lost," he repeats softly.

"Did I? Well, I'm not."

He's not quite as accomplished a liar as he's learning to be.

"Oh."

He doesn't know what to really say after that, and he just stands awkwardly for a minute. Eventually he gestures at the cape and broom curiously. "What are those for?"

Liir looks at him for a moment like he must be slow. "You've never seen a broom before?"

"I have. But I don't see people carry them around often," he says.

He's far from slow, actually, but he isn't very good at talking to people, especially if he's nervous--or unsure of where he is. Both of which qualify now.

"Especially not with a cape under one arm."

To be fair, folded like that, the cape looks mostly like a large, heavy swath of black fabric.

"How else should I carry it?"

The only immediate answer is a slow head-shake. "It wasn't the way you were carrying it that I meant. Just that I don't see people with them very often when they're not inside their houses."

"I meant the cape. You seem to take exception to it being under my arm. How else should I carry it?"

"Why wouldn't you wear it?"

He feels like he's getting something wrong, and while Silas is very familiar with this position he very much doesn't like it. It makes him want to fall quiet and leave, find somewhere to hide until everything is forgotten.

"Because it isn't cold outside."

William looks up from his book, its the Aeneid,

"Its Milliways and first drink's free."

All he really cares about in that statement is that the first drink is free.

Though, of course, that makes him a bit wary. "Why's that?"

"I don't know. I guess cause most folks are pretty confused when they come in the first time."

"Why are they confused? It's only a tavern."

"Cause it ain't like most saloons seein' as how its at the End of the Universe and you got dead people and people from different worlds and times here,"

William gestures at the Window, he doesn't like looking at it.

Liir at first assumes that 'End of the Universe' is a neighborhood of the Emerald City he's not familiar with. But the rest of the statement catches him off-guard.

"Dead people?" He looks around, half-expecting to see Elphaba sitting in a booth somewhere.

"Yeah, but they don't look dead. It takes some gettin' used to,"

William follows Liir's search but he's looking for his father.

"Am I dreaming?"

"No, can pinch if you that'd help."

"How would that help?"

"Cause that's usually a good way to make sure you're awake. I've never been able to sleep through someone pinchin' me."

"But if you're part of my dream, then no one is actually pinching me."

William sighs and hits the other boy on the arm with his book,

"Then if that didn't wake you up, walk out the front door and go back where you were."