milliways_bar | (no subject)

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After his "conversation" with the Dark Dragon and Mia's subsequent tongue-lashing, Autor found himself chastened and in need of a bracing cup of tea. He picks up a face mask for protection from the flu and soldiers out to see if his worries about Oswin and Rae being infected are well-founded.

Catch him out and about in the main bar.

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"I doubt you've ever flown on a magic carpet, either," he says, tapping his chin through the mask. He eyes her rather seriously, and then pulls a small cloth out of his pocket. "Want to?"

Bonnie blinks at it, in astonishment.

"I would." she says.

"But if I'm going to be taking rides with a young man, I better know your name at least, or folks will talk."

How funny, the writer thinks. She caught on.

"I am Autor. Effugium," he says, and the carpet expands out from all four corners to end up taller than he is.

"Nice to meet you Autor."

Her eyes widen slightly at the carpet.

"I ain't gonna fall off am I? Looks a little floppy."

"No," Autor says, and straightens the carpet out on the air such that it floats solidly at about waist-level. "Here, give me your hand. I'll have to attune you to it."

Bonnie reaches out her hand. An observant fellow like Autor will likely notice that it's a very calloused hand, of someone who clearly does a lot of manual work.
I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
"Will it fit through the back door?"

Autor takes her hand, briefly, closing his eyes before releasing it.

"It will," he says, stepping up and on. "The carpet doesn't need to be this stiff all the time, just when we get on it. Are you ready?"

[OOC: *cackles*]

She steps on. This is probably insane. He's a total stranger, he could throw him off to her death. But when has that stopped her doing anything?
Tell me Princess, now when did you
last let your heart decide?
"Ready."

"You may want to sit down," he says, and waits for her to do so before zipping out the door. The rush of cool air strikes their faces and he shivers--but gestures down at the glittering lake and long expanse of frosted grass of the grounds.

"Good job I got pants on." Bonnie says, clinging onto the rug.

Wow, just, wow.

"What?" Autor says, cheeks growing warm despite the chill. "Yeah. Er. I suppose."

He fidgets a bit and loops them over the forest. "There are demon bunnies in there, by the way, so be careful wandering around alone."

"What's a demon bunny?"

"Just as it sounds--a small animal with sharp teeth who breathes fire," Autor says. "No one knows where they came from, and they're poisonous if eaten, so they're best avoided all together."

"This is a strange place..." Bonnie says.

"What about the blue unicorn?"

"Oh, you met one of those, did you?" Autor says, settling in on the carpet. "Well, the ponies are patrons, just like the mermaid. And it's only strange if you're not used to it, which sometimes takes a while."

He peers over the edge of his rug. "The grounds loop, by the way--should you travel in one direction for long, you'll end up back where you started."

"I saw it. That's why I thought we were abducted by aliens." Bonnie says. "It looked infected so I didn't go over."

She peeps out cautiously.

"What's that?" she asks, pointing to the obstacle course. "Army training?"

Autor leans over to get a look at what she's pointing out. "What? No," he says. "While there are some soldiers who attend Milliways, there's no standing army. I think that's just an obstacle course for anyone who wants to use it. Um."

He directs the carpet to drift and cleans his glasses. "As far as I know, a lot of the features in and around the bar were set up by current and former patrons for their use."

"Is that a workshop?" Bonnie points at the forge.

"Sort of," Autor says. "It's a forge for a blacksmith by the name of Teja."

He shivers again. "Here," he says, directing the carpet elsewhere, "let's fly over the Caribbean inlet, which is always warm, and where the mermaid lives. Watch out for her, by the way; she'll charm you."

"Are you cold?" Bonnie asks.

"Charm me how?"

"Er, she'll, uh," he stammers, turning his face away. "You know. I actually don't know if she charms women, but she's um... She'll kiss people. As opposed to eating them outright of course."

He clears his throat. "And no, I'm not cold. Are you?"

"Huh. I don't kiss women all that often." Bonnie says.

She shakes her head. "Got my overalls on."

Given the heat radiating off of his face, Autor no longer feels cold. "Good," he says. "About the overalls, I mean, not the--not the other thing?"

Oh, he looks embarrassed. Bonnie corrects with haste.

"I don't think there's nothin' wrong with people kissing who they like." she says quickly. "But it was Bill I married."

The boy clears his throat again. "Mmhm, right," he says. "I'm, er, sorry I brought up the mermaid. But do be careful should you talk with her."

That said, he directs the carpet to hover straight above the water, close enough that she can reach down and touch it should she choose to.