milliways_bar | (no subject)

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It's a perfect day to go take a walk. Yes, it does look like rain; yes, he's supposed to be memorizing his Marx and Lenin; yes, it's Friday the 13th.

But since the door to Laigle's room seems to have vanished completely, leaving him stranded, it's a perfect day to go take a walk. To explore. To stretch his wings. He avoids the church building site on the principle that construction of any kind is a hazard, and he makes a general effort not to fall in any lakes and get eaten by mermaids, but he has no idea about the shooting range out back.

Whistling a jaunty tune, Bossuet goes to see the sights of Milliways.

((Just because I forgot that Friday the 13th was coming up is no reason for the canonically unlucky to escape fate. He's due to be set on by dogs, but if anyone wants to throw anything else in his direction, he's fair game. Just let me know before you drop anvils on his head?))

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"A better reason to be king than any I've heard. Our king at the moment has the qualifications of having had a king for a grandfather, and having run away from his country and his people when they declared that they would have no more kings. You see, I have my biases."

Lègle de Meaux: political activist, helpless cat victim. While he's speaking, he bends down to pet the cat, and then to scoop her up. "--A motor-cycle? That isn't the thing that makes coffee, is it? That thing has me amazed."

The cat rolls up on Lesgle's arm, one clawed paw on his sleeve to make amply clear that she still is victorious!

"I know about the revolutions in your country, having been treated to the interesting opinions of Enjolras and Grantaire," Teja says. "An a motor-cycle is a great metal steed, with two wheels behind each other, that goes very fast with a great roar, like a motorised, mechanical horse. The thing that makes coffee -- yes, I know of those. Yrael and Doctor Lecter had opinions upon those, when they visited my house in Tuscany, in the future."

...All right, he has to laugh now. "Well, if you've heard both Enjolras and Grantaire, there's little I can improve upon. I hold my tongue. On that subject at least. --But this motor-cycle. I haven't seen that yet. It sounds like a variety of velocipede? A draysienne? A wheel in front and in back, you sit astride? But mated with a steam-engine? A coffee machine at least won't break your neck--how fast does this motor cycle go?"

Actually, it sounds thrilling.

"Yes, it is just like that," Teja says. "Not a steam engine, either -- a combustion engine that moves even faster, which was invented after your time. And motorcycles go very fast -- I think mine can go over 200 kilometres per hour, if I push it to its limit."

"Two hundred...?"

He looks down at the cat as if she can confirm. "How do you see things in time to get out of the way?"

"I rarely go that fast," Teja says. "On a country road, even 80 is quite nice, and one may swerve or brake in time to avoid dangers."

"Eighty...kilometers per hour." He takes a moment to calculate. "You could go from Paris to Calais within four hours. Nearer to three. You might go anywhere. How--how big is it?"

"Much like a horse, but not so high," Teja says. "And indeed, one may go anywhere -- traffic allowing."

"Well, traffic allowing. Always true. --I would like to see this mighty steed of yours some time, if you can forgive me my politics and my charming way with cats."

"Of course," Teja says. "It is greatly enjoyable!"

"Does it need a special stable? How do you feed it--coal?"

...Probably he should just go and check out this wonder of the world, and ask a million questions then.

"It feeds on gasoline, which is something made of petroleum," Teja says, "and it merely needs a small shed. Would you wish to see mine, in Tuscany?"

"Tuscany! Ah, that may be a difficulty. I haven't yet found my door out of this place." Tuscany sounds very nice, though. He's never been, but he lets himself imagine a petroleum-burning velocipede spinning at lightning speeds along its roads. Sigh. "And when I do, I have a rendez-vous to make in Paris."

"You do know it would not cost you any time from your world?" Teja says.

"Not to put too fine a point on it, but I don't know if I'm capable. I haven't left yet..."

((Oh man Teja's great and I would love to have Bossuet nerd out over a motorcycle but I'm going to be out of town for a few days and I'm sending him back to Paris while I'm gone--can they have a rain check?))

"Find me again when your curiosity gets the better of you, when you wish for more servitude to cat-kind, or both," Teja says.

"I will. Or your cat will find me, she seems to have a talent for hunting eagles." He gives her chin an extra nudge.

"So she does," Teja says. "She enjoys a hunt."

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