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! :) ]

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"It's my favorite thing in the world," she says, which, although it's true, probably won't be very helpful for Alanna.

"The speed and the power are exhilarating," she continues, starting to get a far off look in her eyes. "You push yourself, and the machine, to the absolute edge... and yeah, it's dangerous, but I love the rush."

"Like a good gallop," Alanna guesses, though she's no fool and knows it would be beyond even that. "One of my favorite things. Or an excellent practice session with a sword."

Her eyes gleam at the thought, her blood pumping a little faster through her veins. She's familiar with pushing herself to the limit.

Horses are fast, but they usually don't break the sound barrier. Carol's not really sure about Asgardian horses. Who knows about those.

"Even at a gallop, a horse isn't as fast as a plane, but yes. And I'm probably in more danger on a horse than in a plane, to be honest."

Animals are much less predictable than machines, after all.

"Especially if I was waving around a sword at the same time!"

Alanna looks horrified.

"You don't just wave it around!"

Carol laughs.

"Trust me, kid, if it were me? There'd be waving."

She flails her right arm around a bit for emphasis.

"At least I know not to hold on to the pointy end!"

"Right," Alanna gives a skeptical nod, watching her arm, "you only do that with throwing knives."

D'uh.

"You could try mine." Beat. "If you want."

It might be funny.

Watch out Milliways, we've got a badass over here.

"That could be cool."

"As long as I don't have to ride a horse at the same time."

Alanna fails to smother a laugh.

"I wouldn't do that to the horse."

She grins, wide and unguarded for once.

Carol would be insulted, except that she's too busy laughing.

Yeah, the kid can stay. He'd make a pretty good Avenger someday.