milliways_bar | EP: Kate Barlow

The door opens to a golden sky, so thick with dust it looks like orange meringue.

The soft chnk of spurs precedes the cowgirl, collar turned up and hat low over her eyes. Once the door closes, she tips her hat back and takes a look around. And smiles.

As soon as she settles at the Bar, she's presented with gift after gift after gift after gift, along with a plate of Solstice sweets and a few gingerbread ... robots? She eyes everything with delight, surprised when she realizes how much time has passed. She wasn't expecting she'd be gone so long. She best start on the thank-you notes straight away.

But first, she does happen to have a few gifts of her own. She unshoulders her bag and leaves the tardy presents with Miss Bar.

Dr. Lecter receives a fine buffalo pelt, along with a small parcel of meat, and a handwritten note.

The Sandhu's receive an ornate chess set along with a fine oak board, and five parcels of candy suitable for each family member.

Mr. Tommy Gavin receives a bar of lye soap and a suggestive note on what to do with it, along with a very attractive silk teck tie wrapped in tissue.

Mr. John Marston receives a fine gentleman's hat: it's a high top Derby, and it's bulletproof. The accompanying note says: Keep your head on straight –Kate

Mr. The Kid receives a pair of chocolate brown dancing shoes and a framed picture, along with a handwritten note.

Master Elrond receives a book of poems by Lord Byron, and a jar of Kate's spiced peaches, along with a handwritten note.

Ms. Remy receives a lidded trinket box in the shape of a white cat with big blue eyes, filled with her favorite sweets. The accompanying note is signed: –Blue Eyes

Ms. Ellen receives a set of very practical gifts: a nice length of good rope, tooled leather boots, a fine set of spurs, and a pair of lambskin gloves, along with a handwritten note.

Ms. Dixie receives a set of dime novels and a pair of lambskin gloves in pink, along with a box of chocolate bonbons and a handwritten note.

Ms. Clementine receives a box of saltwater taffy, and while Kate is setting it aside she asks Miss Bar to add a pint of Peach Cobbler ice cream to the parcel.

Enzo & Dani receive a traditional engagement gift: silver spoons, along with a set of silver civil war cannon trinkets, and a gold locket. A formal note of congratulations accompanies the gifts.

Ms. Pyrrha receives a paint box set with several fine colors, and a few horsehair brushes. While Kate is at the Bar, she asks that a bushel of ripe avocados be added to the parcel.

Teja receives a pommel sword and sheath with a gold eagle head hilt and gold inlay along the blade, as well as a handwritten note.

Ratonhnhaké:ton receives a fresh set of writing tools, along with a toy stagecoach and a small parcel of sweets.

William Evans receives a new collection of books, mostly American authors as it's what she could find in Galveston, and a dime novel slipped in. They're accompanied by a small tin of caramels, and a handwritten note.

To everyone else go a jar of spiced peaches and a small parcel of sweets, nuts, and dried fruit.

That done, she settles down to write her thank-yous, occasionally admiring the clay cat and pondering a name change to 'Queen of the Bandits'. No doubt she'll soon break into the sweets, though there's far too much to eat in one sitting. It's a good turn of luck that she feels inspired to share.

[ooc: I've missed all of the fun! Feel free to catch me up and link me to anything you'd like to have tagged, I'm happy to bounce around and see all of the shenanigans. ^__^ This is open throughout the weekend and perhaps longer. Hello again.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"The Port Authority? Nah, it's what all new Guardians do to ease us in. It's mostly pretty slow, and when there is action, there's a lot of us there."

She nods, pursing her lips.

"Good, then. I'd hate t'lose one of my finest stable hands."

And, just like that, the solemnity melts into playfulness. She winks, and gestures to a nearby waitrat.

"Would y'like anythin'?"

She's gonna have to get used to the fact that he's in a hazardous format eventually.

"Thanks! Just an energy shake right now, and a saucer for Minus.

"So, hey, I like 'em, but how come spoons?"

Kate relays his order, and the waitrat scurries off with a squeak.

"Ah, they're silver, darlin'. S'a tradition in my world t'give them as gifts for life-changin' events. Weddin's an' christenin's an' the like. The silver's precious, an' it carries a wish for your lives t'be filled with wealth, plenty, an' sustenance. Givin' an' sharin'."

She shrugs a little, smiling softly.

"Guess it's a symbol of your new beginnin'. My momma held onto hers her whole life, an' then they passed on t'me."

Though she left them behind when she left Green Lake, she knows the Hawthorne's will hold onto them for the rest of their lives, or until she returns. They tend to be very sentimental items.

"I think I get it. That's cool. Dunno if Dani's world, or her time, has that. Mine doesn't. We've got some traditions the same, but not all of them. Like the rings. Sprites don't wear rings much. We are planning to, but we're still saving up."

"Well, sugar, if it helps you save up y'can trade any of my gifts in."

She smiles brightly.

"They're jus' a symbol of my love for you both. If they can help you get somethin' y'really need, that'll make me happy."

"No, no, it's cool. Spoons are more useful than rings, and the sooner we're wearing them, the sooner the press in Dani's world will know we're engaged."

She chuckles softly.

"Still haven't put your announcement in the papers?"

"They're gonna go random once they find out. We're giving ourselves a little peace and quiet first."

"Oh?"

The waitrat returns with Enzo and Minus's refreshments.

"Dani's quite well-known, then?"

"She and her brother are the only two actual superheroes in their world."

So, yes.

"Oh."

Her eyes grow wide.

"Well, I shouldn't be surprised. She is a bright, driven girl. I didn't realize she had such celebrity."

"Yeah, she's going for a normal life in between kicking ghost butt, but their secret identities haven't been secret for years now, so, y'know, sometimes their parents have to threaten the paparazzi with bazookas."

"Paparazzi?"

Bazookas?

(The unasked question is really the worthier — Kate is quite fond of weaponry.)

"News photographers. The kind who follow you around and butt into your private life."

"Oh, that's awful. I reckon with cameras gettin' smaller in the future, it's easier t'chase folk around. Well, enjoy the peace an' quiet while it lasts."

She looks sympathetic.

"An' keep your eye on what the papers end up sayin'. They don't always check their facts."

"Oh, her parents threaten them too." He says this with affection.

She laughs.

"Sounds like my kinda woman. Though I haven't exactly marched through any doors on my behalf before."

"Actually, even if they're nosy, they're pretty good about sticking to the truth. I mean, when you're writing about someone who can fly through walls and shoot energy blasts from her hands..."

Kate's mouth forms an 'O'.

She blinks once, twice, and clears her throat.

"Right, I reckon that might sway things a bit."

She can't help but laugh.

"Now, the comic books, they make almost everything up. But that's their job, and they want her to look good, so it's cool."

She flashes a grin.

It's not so different with the dime novels of her day.

"So when y'get hitched, are all the newspaper folk gonna follow you around askin' for your picture? Or maybe your autograph?"

"Oh, they do that already. The mysterious boyfriend who claims to be from another dimension but won't give details? C'mon."

Kate giggles.

"So they don't know 'bout Milliways?"

"Nah, we just said we have an unstable portal. Guess we'll have to upgrade that to a stable portal, now that, well, we do."

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