milliways_bar | (no subject)

We ride at the hour past dawn tomorrow.

Duke Roger's closing words continue to echo through Alanna's mind long after she should have been asleep. Tossing and turning begins to lose any appeal around midnight, so she checks her binding, pulls on her clothes and scoops up a sleepy Faithful. After buckling Lightning to her hips, Alanna pads out of her room, past Jonathan's, and only lets herself breathe once she's alone in the hallway.

The decisions made in the meeting of Duke Roger's commanders are making her extremely uneasy and a little ill. She knows Jonathan is angry at his new command, far from Fort Drell, but Alanna is upset for other reasons that have everything to do with a deep suspicion of the man who decided to place him there.

"Maybe a few hours at Milliways will allow me to rest," she murmurs to the heavy cat wrapped around her neck. "I doubt we'll be able to go there again for a long while, after all."

Faithful fails to respond.

She moves quietly through the halls and is careful to look around before slipping through the door to the bar. It's loud and bright after the quiet corridors of the sleeping palace, but she's glad of the noise, the life. If she can't get to the Dove, this is the next best thing.

Rubbing one of her eyes, Alanna settles into a chair by the fire and hopes a wait rat will happen by soon. She's awake, yet curiously far too tired and preoccupied to see about getting some tea herself.

[OOC: I wanted to go ahead and get this up. I will be around for a bit, but I'll need to beg slowtimes almost immediately this AM. It is open forever, however, and I will be around to tag as much as my super annoying body lets me! :) ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

At least she isn't asleep?

"It has," she agrees, giving him a wan smile. "Much has happened. For one thing, I am no longer so surprised by this place."

That isn't a challenge, Milliways.

"How are you?" Beat. "Am I interrupting?"

"Yeah, the place is finally looking like it's fully to rights...granted, it's not the same as how it was, but there's no taking back the past." He's got a wry smile in return. "I got a little time, hopefully after I get that table's order to them."

"Can I get you anything while I'm on the job? Didn't get to cook today, but there's some good stuff coming out of the kitchen right now."

"No, there's little anyone can do about the past," she mutters darkly. "Unfortunately."

She nods, keeps nodding, and finally says, "Tea and anything sweet you'd suggest. I'm enjoying sweets now while I can. We're riding out tomorrow."

"Riding out?" There's the reserved polite way of just asking about that and not the details of where.

"I'll be right out with the tea, and whatever I think is especially good."

Honestly, she looks like she could use a few slices of hot pie. Pumpkin maybe, or that orange raspberry one.

He's trotting off to take care of the orders then, and returns with a laden tray for the table of four, full of drinks, and the smaller tray on that for her with the teapot and cup. Beauford's got to give the big table their drinks first, before dropping off her tray. A nice hot plain brown pot of sweetly scented black tea, and little pots of cream and honey to add according to her own tastes.

Edited 2012-11-19 00:25 (UTC)

"I'll explain when you get back. Honestly, it makes me so mad I'd probably do a better job after having some tea."

She purses her lips and eyes the fire, picking at the fabric on the arm of her chair. The entire time he's gone, she might as well be a statue.

"To war," she tells him as she reaches for the pot. "Or a near approximation of it, anyway."

"...to war? how long has it been for you since I saw you last?" He's sitting down and taking off the waiter's apron for a moment, brows coming nearly together in concern.

"It's only been two months for me..at least by my viewpoint."

Time, it has such a way of becoming weird around here.

A nod. Accepting the differences in the passage of time has been one area of growth.

"Almost a year."

She swallows, pouring tea.

"Unfortunately reason often takes time, but it takes hardly any at all to be stupid."

"And there's never a shortage of idiots." He's snorting, but more so in sympathy for what is going to be horrible.

"...what's the war being fought over?"

"Why is that?" Alanna frowns. "You'd think the Gods would see about doing away with some.

"Our border with Tusaine. Can you sit? I'll tell you more if you promise to distract me with other things after."

"If the gods were kept busy with removing idiots, I think we'd be living in lightning storms non-stop." He has to glance up to check the kitchen doors for a sign that his order for both the four table and Squire Alan is up yet.

"Probably for a little bit, and I'll definitely be able to distract you with other things later."

"That would be inconvenient," she smiles.

Pleased that he's willing to stay, she leans forward to start to explain, "Our border with Tusaine has historically been a point of contention between our countries. Their king's brother, Duke Hilam, has decided to take advantage of my king's perceived weakness: a desire for peace. The mountain passes have opened and he has amassed an army around the Drell River Valley. It's as stupid a place to fight as you might imagine."