milliways_bar | (no subject)

*Snow sets the kids up with their bottles, then notices who's at the bar and staaares*

Uh, Bigby? Richard's at the Bar.

*Bigby looks at the man behind the bar... and stands.*

I'll be back.

*she waits in the booth, keeping an eye on the conversation with caution.

*Tim gives Bigby a weak wave from his table. The boy looks like shit.*

*Bigby frowns, and moves towards Tim's table (http://www.livejournal.com/community/milliways_bar/3568807.html).*

Enter one Wolf, who somehow has entered the bar through another door, since the front on has a Tim in front of it. (http://www.livejournal.com/community/milliways_bar/3569884.html#comments)

He bounces over, tail wagging. "Good morni-" Mid-sentence, he stops and sniffs the air. There is a very strong scent this morning; wolf with more than a hint of cigarette. He's smelled it before - it must be Snow's husband. What was his name again? Bigby, that's right. ...Wait, if he married Snow White, does that mean Bigby was a king? Wolf scratched his forehead with the side of his fingers. Hmm.

Let's try this again.

"Good morning, Snow!"

*Millie smiles at him*

Good morning, Wolf. *she wraps an arm around Bigby* This is Bigby. Bigby, this is Wolf. He arrived here about a few days back.

*Bigby takes note of the newcomer. The tail, the general demeanor, the smell... sizing him up. He utters one single word.*

'Wolf'?

He gives a little wave at Millie and looks at Big B Wolf. ....wow. Somehow, he does look like the Big Bad Wolf. ...and does a very good impression of a not-generally-pleasant person. ...okay, maybe it's not so hard to accept the stories anymore.

"Yes, sir. Hello."

Wolf is still slightly confused, you see. How should he treat Bigby? Somehow he doubted the Kingdoms would think of the wolf as royalty. But still...

*He pauses, exhaling a cloud of smoke, obscuring his face, deciding where to start ~~and ends up being in a run-on sentence for effect~~.*

... what's with the tail?

He looks down at his poor little innocent tail, just lying there. It didn't do anything. Poor tail. Looking up (ooc: I have decided Wolf is slightly smaller than Bigby. Yes.) he attempts a placating smile.

"I've always had it?"

*Bigby's expression reflects his thoughts. These consist of, "Is he playing dumb on purpose?" Mind you, given Wolf's bouncy entrance... Bigby is of the opinion that he might very well not be playing dumb.*

... most people don't, you know.

He may act dumb, but he's really not. He's just... bouncy, sometimes. He tends to be more of a puppy than a grumpy. Except during the full moon, but we just won't go into that. It won't be for at least another week, so yay.

"I'm not most people. The name should hint something to that. I'm a half-wolf."

*Bigby feels like he's leading around a newborn, but at least Wolf got to the information that seemed pertinent. Maybe there's hope for him. Maybe.*

Wolf's not that uncommon a name. Or nickname.

... you don't act like much of one. *There's a certain amount of disdain that comes with that sentence.*

Wolf shrugged. Not everyone's perfect. He didn't want to be an animal any more. And it had paid off. He wasn't hated by everyone in the Nine Kingdoms just because he was a wolf. People actually smiled. Sometimes.
Being a hero was kind of nice.

*Bigby eyes Wolf and his reaction.*

... maybe you should change your name to something more... appropriate. *Another cloud of smoke is exhaled.*

Interestingly enough, Wolf has quite nearly polar opposites for states of being now that he's not bad'n'stuff. He's not really wanting to get in any sort of argument with Bigby. ...A non-confrontational wolf. How about that.

He's still facing Bigby and standing straight - even meeting his eyes. "That might get people confused and they'd just keep calling me the wrong thing, so I'll just be fine as I am."

He doesn't really look all that bouncy any more. How sad.

*As subtle a change as it is, Bigby's rather observant and picks up on it. Maybe Wolf does have a bit of backbone, after all.*

Maybe. But you don't seem fine.

*Bigby taps his cigarette over an ashtray, the burnt length flaking off into it.*

Observant bastard.

He slumps. A little.

"'m stuck here."

The obligatory "Without Virginia" is left off the end of his sentence, but it's palpable. You can always hear a wolf missing their mate. Even Bigby should understand. After all, didn't Snow say that she had been Bound to the bar for a while before Bigby came?

".... Not sure how to pay the bar, either." Yeah. Those few Wendells he had? They were very few. They're gone by now. And as much as he hated to be racking up a debt, the idea of living off of the demonic bunnies didn't sound appetizing. Or very good for the social skills.

Left someone behind? *It doesn't show, but Bigby is tentatively inclined to think a bit better of Wolf... the reason it's tentative would be the complete lack of details.*

There's limited permanent work. Most get by oddjobbing or tapping into funds in their home realm.

Schlump. Just a little further. Juuust enough to get that full effect of miserable-ness.

"Virginia."

It seems like a stupid answer to give someone who doesn't know her, but it's an answer than only a wolf can give. So many words and emotions are within that one word.

My beloved. The mother of my cub. The one I sacrificed everything for. The girl I followed through the possibility of death. The one I wanted to protect during the full moon. My mate. The one I can't live without. My Virginia.

"Don't really know how I could get money from home." A beat. "Do you know of any available jobs? ...Or maybe someone I could ask about them?"

*Wolf's got a bad poker face. Or poker anything, really. Bigby still remains largely expressionless, despite getting the gist of things.* Who's she?

It's like debit cards. Set it up with the bar and they'll handle it.

As for work, they're doing some renovations. Might be late to join the bandwagon, though. Ask Bernard.

There are other tactics beyond remaining expressionless. And since Wolf utterly fails at that one, he's particularly good at wearing other, just as flamboyant, expressions.

"My mate." Somehow, talking with Bigby isn't really leading Wolf towards his normal rambling.

He blinked, giving Bigby a confused stare. "De-bit cards?"

Like, construction work? He could do that. "What's he look like?" Bernard, of course. Because he only knows the man as "Ber'd."

She a half-wolf like you? *Idle curiosity? Maybe.*

*At Wolf's confusion, his brow furrows a bit.* ... what year are you from?

Redhead. Wears all black. Crooked teeth.

He shook his head. It's a long story. One he's been telling a lot lately. "She's from New York."

Wolf blinks again, brow crinkling. What-EVER is the man talking about? "197 A.A.; why?"

...hmmm. That description sounds familiar. "...Is he Sunny's father?"

*He looks pensive, and makes an idle remark, mostly to himself.* ... lot of people from New York here.

A.A.? Guess your Earth must be some alternate from the past. *His brow wrinkles a bit as he's dealing with a completely novel sounding means of measuring time. The presence of a New York there, though, does hint that it is some kind of Earth.*

... guess you've met him then.

"After Apple. I'm not from Earth. I'm from the Nine Kingdoms." ...it kinda sucked, having all this stuff to learn about.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward. "Actually, no. Have only seen him. It was Sunny that I met."

... Apple? *His eyes flicker in the direction of Snow for a moment.* And so there's a New York in the Nine Kingdoms? *His brow creases.*

*There's a brief ghost of a smile that vanishes rapidly behind a puff of smoke. When it clears, his face is back to its usual expression.* Met or was bitten by?

*Snow does a mental facepalm at the mention of the apple and snuggles closer to Bigby*

"No, there isn't. There's a New York in the Tenth Kingdom. ...which is Earth." He frowned. "I think."

A wince, then a smile; "Yes."

*Bigby puts a comforting arm around Snow.*

So, you're from the Nine, she's from 'the Tenth'. *A mental picture is evolving to have a similar kind of duality with the Homelands and the Earth he knows. Without a frame of reference for Earth-based time, though, he can't be certain of how similar things are to what he imagines it to be.* Do you know what distinguishes the Tenth from the rest?

*At Wolf's reaction to Sunny, he merely chuckles. That's definitely Sunny.*

Cuthbert approaches Bigby's booth, nodding and touching a hand to the brim of his hat. "Sai Wolf. Long days and pleasant nights."

Cuthbert. How goes it?

"Recently? Well enough. There was some trouble in here a few nights ago--it's taken care of now, but I thought you might want to know, if you haven't been told already."

A few nights ago? *He shakes his head.*

Cuthbert pauses, wondering how best summarize things. "Well, there's a bit of complicated backstory, but the relevant bit is that about a week ago, a friend of mine--Roland Deschain, he's been a patron here for some months--got trapped in todash space, which is the space between worlds. A few nights ago he found his way back--and the inhabitants of todash space tried to find their way in with him."

I see. And these 'inhabitants'?

Cuthbert grimaces. "Are not so much of the 'hey, a bar, let's sit for a while and have a drink' variety, and more of the 'hey, living creatures, let's devour them on sight unless they kill us first' variety."

*Bigby grimaces also upon hearing it.* Anyone or anything get hurt?

"Nothing serious, I don't think. Some of us were wounded in the fight, but Moiraine Sedai was with us, and I think she took care of everyone who needed healing. As for the bar, there was some...debris, but a bunch of small, singing orange men cleaned it up, which no one seemed terribly surprised by, so I'm guessing that was business as usual."

Loompas. They're part of the custodial staff.

*He thinks about it for a bit and then agrees with a small grimace.* ~~Madness~~ Business as usual.

Are they likely to come back? Any repercussions, potential or otherwise, from the whole thing?

Cuthbert thinks for a moment, then shakes his head. "Roland got pulled into todash space through a door that no longer exists, created by a man who's no longer alive. I suppose it's not out of the realm of possibility that something like this might happen again, but I don't think it's very likely. Also, if we were to have the beginnings of a repeat situation, I think I'd be able to recognize them."

Good. *He nods thoughtfully before continuing.* Although the dead do turn up here. Who was he?

Oh, gods. The thought of Walter coming back again is not a pleasant one.

"Goes by different names, but usually Walter or Flagg. And...his appearance changes somewhat based on which he's using--they're not so much names as different aspects of being, seemingly. In any case, when he's Walter he usually wears a black robe, and when he's Flagg he usually dresses pretty similar to the way I do." Cuthbert pauses, then adds, "He was an old enemy back in my world. Had a hand in the revolt that destroyed Gilead, as well as a personal grudge against Roland."

Hmmm. *He frowns.* Cross that bridge... if we come to it.