[ic] from the earth thou springest

[honouraryfitz]

Rusty still isn't sure how she got here--the door she'd opened was supposed to be to a supply closet, not a glittering hotel--but she's not about to complain. The huge crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling is like something out of a movie, and same with the marble floors and huge wooden front desks. Maybe you could see something like this in New York City, but she certainly hasn't before.

It's funny to think of being like a pioneer in a big, empty hotel, but that's what she feels like. Now more than ever, she's on her own, and she'll need her wits about her to figure things out. First things first: Don't hotels usually have restaurants? She might not be able to afford it, but she could offer to work for some food.

When she gets up to the restaurant floor, there's a buffet piled high with everything she's missed about America: great pots of baked beans, mounds of fluffy mashed potatoes, thick cuts of brisket and turkey, slices of apple pie with sugared crust, and more. Best of all, there's no price listed--to the contrary, the sign seems to indicate she doesn't have to pay at all. Rusty's too hungry to debate further; she piles up a plate with food and sits down to eat.

Comments

[kethedammit]

Not all of them. But enough. Mildmay shrugs, "yeah. Think she might be the same as Pelgy-Gala from the Tinderbox Queen, but it ain't like I got proof."

[honouraryfitz]

Rusty shrugs. He might as well be speaking Greek when it comes to the titles of his stories. "I haven't heard of that one, either. Where're you from?"

[kethedammit]

"Marathat," he says. "And I'm guessing you-" Wait, she could be Corambin or Caloxan, and you ain't never supposed to get those two confused. "I'm guessing you ain't." Real clever, Milly-fox.

[honouraryfitz]

Rusty shakes her head, her plaits swishing back and forth in front of her shoulders. "Uh-uh. Is Marathat down south?"

[kethedammit]

"Yeah. Past Alchemic, next to Kekropia."

[honouraryfitz]

Rusty frowns. "What states are those in? I lived in New England when I was in the States."

[kethedammit]

Mildmay would frown if he could. "Uh, good enough state, I guess. The fires was years back, so things're okay."

[honouraryfitz]

"No, I mean..." She begins counting them off on her fingers. "Kentucky, or Virginia, or North Carolina...? One of those?"

[kethedammit]

Mildmay pauses to consider. "I ain't never heard of none of those."

[honouraryfitz]

"The United States of America? You've never heard of it?"

[kethedammit]

"Nope," Mildmay says. "It far north?"

[honouraryfitz]

Rusty shakes her head. "It's in the middle of North America." She's not sure what to do with names as alien as Marathat and Kekropia, so perhaps she'll just have to let them go. "Anyway, it's where I was living before."

[kethedammit]

Mildmay shrugs. "Ain't never heard of no America. Know some Americos, though." They're mostly assholes. "You live here, now?"

[honouraryfitz]

Rusty shakes her head. "In England. I guess you haven't heard of that one, either, huh?"

[kethedammit]

"Nope." He looks around, and thinks a minute before saying anything. "'Spose we're from different... worlds?" Like roses in the sky.

[honouraryfitz]

"Is that possible?" Rusty grins. "You don't exactly look like a little green Martian."

[kethedammit]

"The fuck's a martian," Mildmay says, shaking his head. Of course, he's only ever envisioned different versions of normal people on other worlds.

[honouraryfitz]

"Boy, you swear a lot." He almost reminds her of Beth Hatherly, except the accent's different, and she likes the word 'bloody' a lot more. "A martian's an alien. From the planet Mars."

[kethedammit]

"Huh," Mildmay says. "Never heard of them, neither." Mildmay tries to think of something everyone on Meduse knows about, no matter what. "D'you ever hear of Cyllumene?"