OOM: getting personnel

[merryeccentricities]

Joly leans back against the hearth and smiles. It's a new feeling to be able to talk openly about his friends, without fear of spies and secrets.

"Let me think, here-- some of my friends have been here quite some time. You may have met them already? Enjolras maybe? Severe looking fellow, looks to be about your age, very blond? He's wearing all black, in mourning for- well, us, I suppose." He has to laugh a little at that, but it's a soft, surprised sort of laugh. However often he says I'm dead the evidence still seems all against it. "And for others. All in black, with a cockade? Sometimes he can be a bit reserved, but he's the finest of men. And if we can convince him to join our endeavor, we may see a theater before the seasons change-- he has a fantastic way of focusing.

"Grantaire, I gather , has been here longest. Dark hair, dresses much like me..." Joly rubs his nose distractedly. How would Grantaire look to someone who hasn't known him for years? "...he's often drunk, and rather loud, you may have heard him, too. He's a loyal friend, and he's got energy, if he chooses to use it." And Joly would never count him out.

"Courfeyrac dresses like all of us, but better. Dark hair, very properly curled. A little energetic" says Joly, from his sober perch of two more years' experience "but quite sincere. Wonderful fellow, you'll like him." He feels no fear on that front. Everyone likes Courfeyrac.

"I think Bossuet hasn't been here much longer than me." Joly doesn't notice his voice warm, or the way his shoulders relax, but he wouldn't be surprised by it. Thinking about Bossuet is comforting and comfortable. "He's tending bar a good deal; you'll probably see him there eventually. Usually smiling; he's got an excellent sense of humor. I'm sure he'll be game for anything we try with the theater. He's easy to spot, he's bald even though he's only a little older than me, and wears this old coat, I think we'll have to wait until it dissolves in midair to get it away from him--we tried a few times, back in Paris, to get him into something more recent, but of course then he wouldn't be so easy to find..."

Joly's smile falters a little. We had meant something a little different, back in Paris. He makes his voice light again and goes on.

"If you see any of them, if anything happens, please let me know-- especially Bossuet, he's one of the cleverest men I've known but things do happen to him-- and if you ever need to get a message to me, any of them will pass it on." Even Grantaire. Well. " Though you might want to make sure it's written down, with Grantaire."

Joly thinks for a moment, then adds "If you've met any of my friends, it's probably Gavroche. I gather he's been here the longest by years, though he died with the rest of us, back in France. He's much changed from the boy we knew; still, he is a friend. And seems to know a good deal about the workings of this place, though that may only be so to my eye."


He tilts his head to Autor. "What of your friends? If a flying horse falls on your head, who should hear the news?"

Things do HAPPEN to Bossuet.

Comments

[herr_bookman]

Autor logs all of this information away, nodding politely and humming his assent when it was called for.

Joly may not notice that his shoulders relax when he mentions Bossuet, but Autor certainly does. He also notices the faltering smile, and knows exactly what it's from.

"Thank you for telling me about them, Joly. I know Bossuet," Autor says, once he feels comfortable speaking. "He ate my croissants, once, and brought me some apple cider he'd made for bartending. And I know Gavroche as well. He is... a genuinely good person, and I am impressed with his willingness to aid others."

Joly's question makes him stop and think for a long moment. He's past the point of wondering whether he has friends; indeed, he's now trying to choose between them. He's shocked he has so many.

"I hope no one would need to be notified. My best friend is a fiery woman by the name of Rae Seddon," he says, adjusting his glasses. "Some people call her Sunshine. She baked cinnamon rolls and runs around the lake at dawn and generally keeps me out of trouble. I'm very grateful to her."

That may be a blush on his face. Perhaps. "I also have a friend named Oswin who--bakes croissants and listens to opera." He's rather protective of Oswin, so he doesn't say anymore. Especially not about her propensity for demanding he pop off his shirt, which may be what the blush is about.

He relaxes when he speaks of his next friend. "And then there's Lohengrin, the Knight. He's amazing; he can telescope arrows and has wonderful advice.

"And then there's Lucas, and Sherral, and gosh, I really have too many friends than I know what to do with."

And he's content about that, smiling softly. He knows they all have his back, and he has theirs.

[merryeccentricities]

Joly nods to himself when Autor mentions having met Bossuet-- that would explain where he'd heard Joly's name before-- and at Gavroche's name. "Yes, Gavroche was always very brave in his kindness." There's some sadness in the thought, even if the child has clearly wound up in a more promising life.

But any past shadows slide away again as Autor starts describing his friends. Autor has been completely polite and social, but there's a quietness about him, and a certain distanced air, that vanishes as he talks about them. It's a familiar attitude, and an endearing one.

"I'm sure they would all want to know if anything happened to you. I look forward to meeting them; I'm sure I will, if they're all residents here. You're lucky to know fine bakers, it's a fine skill." He says nothing about Autor's blush. Joly is definitely the sort to tease a friend about such things a little, but not on such short acquaintance. "I admit I have no idea what telescoping an arrow is, but I'm glad you've found a good adviser here."

He thinks of another conversation with a rather stranger patron. "I hope there's not much need of knights here, though?"

[herr_bookman]

Autor watches Joly, watches the shadows slide across his face and the past weigh on him. He's amazed at how bubbly the man is despite everything.

"I'm fairly certain there's no need of Knights here; we've Security, after all, and I don't know who he'd report to besides," Autor says, nodding. "He's a patron like everyone else. And telescoping is when you shoot one arrow into a target and then shoot another one in the same place, so that the first one splits."

Autor tilts his head, regarding the man. "How long have you been coming to the bar, Joly?"

[merryeccentricities]

All right, Joly's no weapons expert, but that sounds fun to watch. But as for time...

"Ah,one of the mysteries of the place!" Joly grins. Mysteries are fun." As I said, I am somewhat new here. To me it seems only a few weeks. But Gavroche says it has been as many months; and Bossuet's count of days does not quite align with mine either, though we can each account for the other on every day we remember. Though there may be days we don't remember, too. I'm told time plays other tricks that are even stranger here. It will be something to study, at some point, if no one else has a solid theory already."

A second thought occurs. " Although-- you say coming to the bar. As far as I can tell, I have simply come to the bar, full stop, no more coming, because no more going. Unless you count going to the larger grounds of Milliways. I have no complaints, it's a larger plot of land than I thought I'd be roaming after death. But I'm a fairly permanent resident, I think. Do you have free passage back to your own world?"

[herr_bookman]

Mysteries are fun, but Joly's makes Autor blink rapidly as he process it. "Oh, goodness," he says, blinking again. "That sort of temporal dysfunction has to keep you up at night. I hope you sort it out soon."

The boy adjusts his feathers in the sand. "I have a stable door, and free reign of my town. But, Joly, I think... No, I know that people in your position can visit other worlds for three days at a time before fading back into the bar," he says, tilting his head. "Shoot, did I put that in the guide? I don't think I did."

[merryeccentricities]

"There's a guide? I was told some rules by Mssr. Teja and-- wait." What Autor's actually saying catches up to him. If this were a slightly different universe, there would be swelling strings and the beginning of an orchestral theme.

It's not, so there's only the sounds of the bar. Joly's voice is very soft for a moment. "We can go anywhere?"

[herr_bookman]

Autor recognizes that sense of wonder and wanderlust in Joly; he's got quite a bit of it himself. He smiles a little at the man's expression, having worn it more than once.

"Yes, anywhere," Autor says, his own voice matching Joly's for softness. "Anywhere and anytime you can convince someone to take you through their door, and then you fade back into the bar with no ill effects."

Then he leans back a little and reaches into his pocket for a folded brochure. "And yes, there's a guide, though I'm still working on it, so any feedback you could give as a new patron would be most helpful." He presents the guide to Joly, hoping he finds some answers in it.

[merryeccentricities]

There's a guide. Joly looks over it quickly, blinking hard for no reason at all.

"No,you have it-- the bit about us being able to travel, it's right there! But there are people here from everywhere, from worlds in space and places with magic-- from our own future!"

"I know, I knew Bossuet had left once. With Lecter." Even in his excitement, Joly's voice is bitter on that name."But we didn't know it was..reliable."

He keeps looking over the guide. "This is wonderful! It must have taken some time to discover all this. Autor, you're fantastic; thank you."

[herr_bookman]

Autor's not used to being called fantastic. He rather likes the sound of the word, though his modesty kicks in. "Um, you're welcome. I'm, er, glad it suits," he says, and he is. "And I'm glad I wrote that bit in about the travel, too. I'm forgetting what I've written in there."

He shakes his head. "One of the things I've noticed about traveling is that the translation spell here doesn't travel with you, so one of you needs to know the language. But you're right, there are people from all manner of places, here. I've been to the moon, and the society and politics there were just as exciting and strange as the magic."

Autor decides not to touch the subject of Dr. Lecter; he tries very hard to keep his face impassive while Joly speaks of him. "If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?"

[merryeccentricities]

"Anywhere?" His voice probably sounds strange to Autor. It sounds strange to him.

Anywhere. Anytime. If he weren't thinking about who in the bar could come still and go--

He wants to go home. He doesn't want to go home. He wasn't even thinking of this five minutes ago--

Joly covers his face with both hands for a moment. Where would it be good to just go, with no second thoughts...?

He sounds normal again when he answers. He feels normal. "Somewhere- somewhere impossible, I think. A world underwater, or in the stars! You've been to the moon, that would be something to remember--!" He shrugs a little apologetically. "I've not met people from very many places here, yet, so I don't know of too many named worlds to choose from. Crane's America sounds wonderful in its way; Doctor Tam's world surely has much to learn from; I do not think I could bear the world of talking horses for long, but it would surely be interesting to see. How can I choose?"

[herr_bookman]

Autor watches Joly carefully again, wondering if he's unearthed something that should have stayed buried. He has a bad habit of that.

"The moon is where I picked up my flying carpet," the boy says, nodding again. "I can't imagine you floundering for long in any place, with so much to learn everywhere. Though the ponies might be a little much. You'll meet people here, and I'm sure they'll take you home if you ask." He doesn't need to add 'politely'; he already knows that Joly would be.

[merryeccentricities]

And there it is again. He sits very still and tries to breathe and looks at the guide without reading it.

"The moon. I'd heard it was a rock."

His voice is strange and far away to him again. Just as well, he doesn't know what he'd do with it. He should give Autor some other answer. He doesn't know what.

Home, for three days. For the asking. That simple.

[herr_bookman]

Autor observes Joly quietly. The change is remarkable; clearly the man is deep in thought, though Autor doesn't know if he's picking up on sadness or overwhelm or both.

"On many Earths, it is," Autor says softly. And then he reaches out to him. "Are you quite all right, Joly?"

[merryeccentricities]

"Ah." He laughs; that sounds strange too. "I really thought I was. I'm sorry."

He should take his leave, before he says says something really idiotic. He's not sure what.

If he tries to walk, he'll probably fall over.Even not considering the leg.

"You were saying. Flying carpet. The moon. It..it sounds like a fairy tale." He's not trying to mislead. He's just trying not to fall over. "Something with genies and magic rings. And probably a lot of purple in the illustrations, I'm not one for art but even I noticed that, a lot of purple and gold in those." He's nattering and he knows it, but his voice is starting to feel like it's coming from him again.

[herr_bookman]

Poor Joly, Autor thinks, paying close attention to the way his voice changes during the nattering. He has no idea why the man is so affected, but clearly he is, so Autor reminds himself to tread carefully.

"Yes, a carpet, and the moon," he says, "the former of which you can ride anytime you like. When I was there I worked three jobs, the foremost of which was an apprenticeship to a former ruler of a city. I served her tea and we discussed a literacy program for the populace. It was a very down-to-earth fairy tale--for a whole summer."

[merryeccentricities]

That does get a real smile, even if it's small. "A former monarch, attempting to train a stranger as an apprentice, to start a reading program? I've never heard a better fairy tale."

There, he almost sounds like himself again. Next he'll be braving the exciting world of motor control.

[herr_bookman]

Autor nods again. "It was, really. I miss them there," the boy says, matching that smile. Then he furrows his brow. "Can I offer you tea or something? You look a bit careworn."

[merryeccentricities]

Joly shakes his head. It doesn't feel quite so much like he's moving a puppet. "No, thank you. I should--" He pauses. Should what? "I should go check on Bossuet. He was still sleeping, when I left, and between his head and the drinks.." Yes. That sounds right. Practical.

Joly stands up only a little awkwardly, and even that's mostly the leg. "The Guide-do you have other copies? May I borrow it?"

[herr_bookman]

"Please take it," Autor says, gesturing to the guide. I meant for it to be distributed, and if you ever need an extra copy, the bar will produce one if asked."

The boy bows his head. "Best of luck with Bossuet. And thank you for talking with me."

[merryeccentricities]

He's distracted, but his smile is still sincere. "You're very kind. I--"

All of the usual, simple farewells are suddenly unpronounceable. Thank you, It was good to meet you, thanks for the company, even I'll see you later is a rock in his throat.

"I'll see you at the Bar." There. It's practically rude, given how helpful Autor's been, but it's what he can say. He bows again and heads for his room.

[herr_bookman]

And Autor inclines his head in return, watching him leave. Curious fellow, the boy thinks, and decides that Joly, like Bossuet, is definitely one to be watched.