milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Nichola had been surprised to return to the studio after the world's most boring network meeting, to find a full crew and staff noisily getting on with their day. She was especially concerned at finding Billy napping on Wilford's dressing room couch.

Worse, Wilford wasn't answering his phone. Or responding to texts. Usually she could blast him and he'd eventually respond, but she wasn't getting anything from him.

She's decided to check the bar to see if he's hiding out in here, but it doesn't take long to determine that he isn't. Just in case, she's nervously checking every inch of the grounds, holding out a bit of hope that he wasn't stupid enough to go to Rowan alone.

A little help finding a certain moustachioed weirdo?

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Well here's someone who was accidentally a lot more helpful to Nichola last time he was here than he intended to be.

At the moment he's sat by the fire, with his legs acting as a bridge for his smallest small person, who is driving some newly fixed toy cars over him.

"Hey! Guppy, isn't it?" Nichola asks as she comes over, glad to see a familiar face. "Have you seen Wilford today?"

"I spotted him a bit ago." Guppy says. "But I don't know where he's gone. Why?"

Gil stops driving the little car and peeps over his father's legs at Nichola.

"Fuck," Nichola hisses, and then immediately covers her mouth. The kiddo didn't hear that, did he?

"His dog got out, and went to go find him. I told him not to go alone."

She's wringing her hands now.

"He hasn't answered his phone all day. I was hoping he was here."

Gil looks at her, and then at his father.

"What's fuck?" he asks.

"It's a rude word, don't say it." Guppy tells him.

Gil looks at Nichola. "You did a rude."

Guppy turns back to Nichola. "How did that happen?"

"I left the gate open," she says, still kicking herself over that.

"Someone found him all the way out by Nevada. I should have told him to wait so I could go with him."

She's never felt so guilty over anything in her life.

"Oh no!" Gil says.

"How far away is Nevada from where you live?" Guppy asks, frowning slightly.

Last time he saw Nichola she was pretty mad at Wilford, somewhat disproportionately it seemed to finding out he'd changed age a lot, which was common knowledge around Milliways. Wilford was constantly claiming he couldn't recall stuff he'd done because it was 'years ago', and had said that everyone in his world reset to saves - apparently, that was why he thought it was okay to shoot people willy-nilly when he first came in.

But Nichola had seemed pretty mad about it. She wouldn't have let his dog out on purpose, would she?

No, not intentionally. Just carelessly, which is even worse.

"A couple hours. Long enough that he should be back by now."

"A couple hours by car? How the heck did Buster get all the way out there?"

Nichola shrugs dramatically.

"Ghosts? I don't know. Anything happens out there."

Which is why she told him not to go alone.

"Ghosts? What, like, teleporting ones?"

Nichola shrugs again.

"Worse things have happened."

She has just killed her friend. She's sure of it.

"Does that coming back to life thing work on dogs in your world?" Guppy asks.

"No. And it doesn't happen when you go get yourself eaten by some angry eight thousand year old god, either."

Like the kind that likes to live under the sand out in deserts.

Edited 2018-03-13 21:35 (UTC)

"I'm not sure I get the connection." Guppy says. "Is that a common occurrence in Nevada?"

"You... You don't know?"

She says this like it's common knowledge.

"People who go out to the desert alone don't tend to come back."

"Well he was here earlier with Jim, so he's probably taken him." Guppy says.

"They're both more than capable of handling themselves from what I've seen."

She doesn't know who Jim is, but the idea that Wilford might not have been stupid enough to go alone does put her a little at ease.

Not much though. She sighs.

"I hope so. This isn't just some monster that lives out in the woods. It's more like the desert itself is just... evil."

She sits down and tries to just breathe.

"I knew he was in a mood. I should have just left him alone."

Guppy manages not to express that Wilford is always in a mood.

"I'm sure he'll pull through, Nichola." he says, more gently. She's not acting like someone who did this on purpose. "Do you want a cup of tea?"

Gil, who has been crawling around under the table in case the monster Nichola is talking about decides to make an appearance, reappears to drive his little car across it.

She shakes her head.

"You know what I'm talking about, right?"

Guppy seems to think Wilford is a superhero.

"Not really." Guppy says. "Your world is very different to mine. But I do know that the bar can rescue people from all sorts of bad situations."

And Wilford has already come back from a whole bunch of things.

"Literal ancient gods. People just disappear. You can't reset from it or anything. You drive down the wrong highway, and that's it. People say you get teleported back in time sometimes, or you just drive forever and ever and don't get anywhere. Other people say you just straight up disappear."

Only an idiot goes out to the desert alone.

Guppy nods.

"Well, I hope he makes it back okay." he says. And he means that, irritating as Wilford is. "Presumably he knows the risks, right?"

"I don't think anybody really does."

Death, sure. Everyone gets that. But nobody really knows what happens.

"You really don't have anything like this? That must be nice."

"We don't. But was also only die once." Guppy says. "So I suppose it balances out to an extent."

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