milliways_bar | (no subject)

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She comes in from outside and goes up to the bar-- at which point a broom-shaped package wrapped in brown paper appears, addressed to her. Susan Delgado looks very startled, and then beams.

Shortly afterwards, she's curled up in her usual spot, with hot chocolate. The broom is leaning against the end of the couch where she can see it clearly-- and she is still smiling, say true.

[Susan meets Ben Hawkins, for great language confusion and then further confusion at finding out that he's a messiah, of sorts; talks with Lysistrata about oceans, weather, and Caspian; accepts Roger's apology, discusses AIDS, and suggests he see Simon; and then talks with Rent!Angel again about the Phantom situation and his friend's trouble, for unexpected pain, as the friend is Val... (slowtimed)]

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"Time is a face on the water, it's said." Wryly, very wryly. "And I've seen people here from different times, oh aye."

At the quietly-imported news, every ounce of color drains from Susan's face, and one hand goes instinctively to her own abdomen.

(charyou tree)

"Nay-- say not so--" It's nearly a whisper.

He's good at reading body language, and Susan's is currently saying that was a bad, bad thing to mention, true or not.
"Wish I could. I'm sorry, if I'd known it'd hit close to home I wouldn't have said..."

She flinches again, and forces herself to clasp her hands together in front of her, neutrally.

A deep, ragged breath, and she finally manages to say, "Aye-- it-- it reminded me of-- of another such loss, say true."

More than one, actually, her own and another's. A second careful breath, and she looks up at him.

"How-- how does yer friend fare?"

"I haven't seen her... since before it happened. From what I've heard she's not taking it very well at all, which I guess is only to be expected."

"It's a hard loss, aye," she says quietly. "But -- it's something that ye can adapt to, as well."

And if she's thinking of another, all steel and strength, she doesn't say it.

"Is she a friend of yers from yer New York, then?"

"From here, actually." And only then does he realize that he's worded it so far to where it could have been Mimi or someone. It's not worth lying about, though. "Most of the ones from New York... aren't really interested in having kids, or in much of a position to support them."

She blinks at that, for it's a different world indeed-- but then Susan realizes that if it's someone here, it might be someone she knows--

"--from here?" She's looking up at him, grave and worried now.

He nods. "She tends to overwork herself anyway, especially when she's worried about something, and... that may have contributed. I just hope she doesn't come back and try working herself to exhaustion right away."

"I'd hope not," she says softly. "There's a lot of people here to do work--"

She breaks off and looks at him wtih grave concern.

"It weren't Clarice, were it, sai?"

"No. I don't even know that I've met her - don't think I have."

Susan sighs. "There's so many people here -- but Clarice works in the stables, and I'd-- I didn't think she'd been overworking, but best to know, do'ee ken?"

"Yeah, I know."

Silence falls between them for a moment, in which she doesn't press for further details about his friend-- it's a painful subject, and well she knows it.

After a few moments, Susan stirs, and looks curiously at him. Tentatively, she asks,

"Ye're from New York, ye said before-- would'ee tell me a little of it, mayhap?"

For she knows others from New York, oh aye, and is curious now... for more than one reason.

"It's... a fairly crazy place, most of the time. Big city, at least a million people, wouldn't be surprised if there's more than that. I can never decide whether to tell people that it's not as interesting as it sounds when you've never been there, or that it is and that's the problem. I think I'm starting to lean toward the latter, though, since once I left school I had a hell of a lot of fun there."

"A -- a million?"

For all of Jake's words and Eddie's describing, somehow the sheer complex size of the city had never sunk in, and Susan finds herself having trouble grasping it still.

"I take it you're from somewhere a lot smaller, then? The sheer size of it can be a bit overwhelming at first, and I think it's only going to keep getting bigger."

Her smile is faint and somehow very wry.

"I've never myself seen a city, sai. Never in life."

"I doubt I could have managed that, at least not in the part of the country I was in. I grew up near... a smaller city than New York, but one that's still fairly big in its own right."

"Aye, well-- Mejis is far different from yer world, I wot." A hint wryly, still. "But -- do'ee like it there?"

"It was nice on the whole, yeah. The people made it great as much as anything."

"Ye don't live there now?"

"I died. Can't go back, as far as I know, and I don't want to try because I rather like this place. Besides, the rate things are going, everyone I want to see is going to end up coming here sooner or later."

"Cry yer pardon, sai Angel," she says quietly. "I didn't mean to trouble ye."

She looks up at him with open sincerity.

"But I understand, I think."

"It's all right - I've had some time to get used to the idea. And I'm not sick anymore, which is a definite improvement."

"Aye, and it could be seen so, I wot."

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