WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

[deadgirlslikeme]

A door opens, and suddenly the sound of a baby wailing echoes across the nearby chunk of the Nexus. A bleary-eyed Victor Van Dort steps through, bouncing said wailing baby in his arms. "It's okay, it's okay. . .look, we're -- um." He blinks a few times as he registers where he is. "This isn't. . .oh, dear, how did I manage to choose the wrong door?" He goes to step back through --

Then stops, shakes his head, and proceeds to the nearest safe-looking bit of furniture, still cradling his son. "No. Perhaps someone can help here. At least, Alice and the others will get some decent sleep for a change. . ." He looks up, an exhausted man at the end of his rope. "Is there anyone around who's had at least one child and might know why they sometimes just start crying in the middle of the night and won't stop no matter what you do?"

Comments

[deadgirlslikeme]

[He's certainly not going to look good in the classic solid black shades. . .or aviators. . .Victor finds a rather nice pair with smoky black lenses in a plain metal frame and offers them to Smeagol to try on]

[lastest_ringbearer]

*Probably about the best they're going to get.* That is much more easy on our poor eyeses, my love. No more nasssty brightness.

[deadgirlslikeme]

[Victor smiles] Good, I'm glad! Most everything is probably too bright when you've spent so much time in caves and darkness.

[Alice ticks things off on her fingers] All right, sunglasses, clothes. . .now for the chair, I think.

[lastest_ringbearer]

Chair, yesss! But where will Smeagol put it? Home cannot be reached any longer.

[deadgirlslikeme]

[Alice blinks] That's -- a good point. But I'm pretty sure I've heard of places to live in the Nexus. . .of course, we'd have to find one that allows people to stay for free.

[Victor looks around, making a joke] Honestly, with how big this place is, you could probably live in here if you were careful about it.

[lastest_ringbearer]

Too many people here. *Said with all seriousness, since for all he knows people live here already. The Nexus is more than odd enough for that.*

[deadgirlslikeme]

[Victor is willing to take it seriously, though for a different reason] That's true -- who knows how busy this store can get. And that's not even counting the employees, who might object to someone living in their store. . .

[Alice, thinking] Maybe there's an unclaimed spot where you could set up a home of sorts? Not in here, but in the Nexus in general. It has a little of everything, after all. . .

[lastest_ringbearer]

We will look, once this isss done.

[deadgirlslikeme]

[Victor nods] All right then. . .I should check my little welcome kit too. It's from ages ago, but -- maybe there's still some relevant information.

[Alice is thinking more practically] Perhaps we should see about a tent? It's sort of a house on the go -- at the very least, you'd have something over your head until you found a more permanent dwelling.

[lastest_ringbearer]

Tentses? We don't know about those. *Which goes to show just how miserable his life must have been, not to mention how uncomfortable the Quest was for everyone.*

[save_us_alice]

[Alice, a little startled] Really? Not even when you were being pulled along on the quest with the two hobbits? Huh. . . Well, it's basically a big cloth over a frame that you put up, and it gives you some shelter from the elements. Not as sturdy as a cave, admittedly, but it's good if you're on the go.

[Victor] Plus this is the Nexus. There might be magical tents that won't move in the strongest gale, or have multiple rooms inside them, or things like that. I've learned to expect just about anything from this place.

[lastest_ringbearer]

We had no frames. Cloth, a bit, but nothing to put it on. Hobbitses slept on their cloakses while Smeagol went sssneaking.

Odd place it isss, yes.

[save_us_alice]

[Alice frowns] Well, sounds like a bloody miserable way to travel. All of you must have been terribly cold -- and wet, if it rained.

[Victor shakes his head] I wouldn't want to be caught out on a long trip without one. . . And yes, it is an odd place. You haven't even seen it at its oddest yet, I bet.

[lastest_ringbearer]

Wasn't doing it to have fun. None of usss were.

We're sure we haven't, my love.

[save_us_alice]

[Alice] I know that, but I can't imagine dealing with the elements made a hard journey any easier.

[Victor, smiling faintly] If you stick around long enough, you will. There's always something. Like sky-whales.

[lastest_ringbearer]

It certainly didn't, my love.

Whales? *One of the few places he never visited was the ocean.*

[deadgirlslikeme]

[Victor, doing his best to explain] Big creatures that usually live in the ocean. There's one that floats around in the sky sometimes in the Nexus. It's kind of hard to miss when it passes by.

[Alice] We should have brought a pen and paper -- we could have done you a sketch.

[lastest_ringbearer]

We'll have to go look some time.

Are nice Men any good at drawing? There's many things Smeagol would like drawings of, not just your large fish-thing, but I never learned to draw and Gollum hardly careses.

[deadgirlslikeme]

[Victor nods] It's quite the sight.

[Alice nods at Victor] He's quite good, and I'm no slouch myself. I tend to draw more fantastical things, though -- like creatures from my Wonderland.

[Victor smiles, looking a bit shy] I do landscapes and animals usually -- you could probably wallpaper a room in my butterfly sketches.

[lastest_ringbearer]

We could draw a map, we think, but not much else. Would you like a map?

[deadgirlslikeme]

[Victor, curious] A map of your world? That would be very interesting, yes. They must have paper somewhere in here. . .

[Alice looks around] I think we need to find another directory. And figure out what drawing paper and supplies are under. "Crafts?"

[lastest_ringbearer]

Focus, my loveses, one thing at a time. Don't want to get too distracted, do we? Bad things happen when one doesn't pay attention! *He voice becomes a singsong on the last word, and his smile sharpens for an instant. He's been those bad things on more than one occasion, so he's all too well aware of the dangers distraction can bring.*

[deadgirlslikeme]

[Alice gives him a look] You're the one who asked us about drawing, I should like to point out. But I'll give you that we should probably focus on the thing we were looking for first. If only because you'll need somewhere to sit while making that map.

[Victor, smiling in a slightly uncomfortable way] Which means we're introducing you to the moving stairs next. You can judge them all you like once you see them.

[lastest_ringbearer]

Yes, so we did. Ssso we did.

Which way?

[deadgirlslikeme]

[Alice takes a moment to orient herself, then waves them on] This way -- unless I'm wrong.

[She's right, though, and they come across the escalator in the middle of the store. It's -- well, an escalator, moving smoothly upward while its counterpart on the other side works in reverse. Victor indicates them with a hand] I mean, you can still walk up them if you like. . .