glacial_queen | The Territory of Sceval, Kaeleer (Saturday Afternoon, Fandom Time)

Invitations had gone out, letting people know that Karla was planning to take a trip back to Kaeleer. Nothing special, just a short day-long trip, complete with picnic.

Of course, that was nothing special if you didn't know about the kind of picnic Mrs. Beale was capable of putting together with a bit of notice. Or if you weren't impressed with visiting unicorns all day. Whichever.

The portal opened up at the Hall, where the staff was packing up a single Coach with all of the supplies a group that size might need: sweetfeed, sugar cubes, apples, carrots--and provender for the picnickers, too. Guests would find themselves ushered into other Coaches; large wheeled conveyances that were powered by Craft and could be drawn by horses on roads or powered by Craft to travel over the Winds. Karla, Jaenelle, and Lucivar were not there to greet the Fandom folks; the latter two had gone ahead to ready everything on Sceval's end, and the former had vanished that morning, offering apologies and deliberately vague explanations of an errand that needed running.

Not that anyone at the Hall was going to let her absence slow down their timetable any. As soon as the last person was seated and comfortable and the last basket stowed, the Coaches took off, catching the nearby Opal Wind to speed them along.

The ride was on the longish side, lasting about an hour--apologies had been made, but Sceval was a closed Territory and portals were not permitted--but soon enough they were touching down again. This time, there was no extended hike through the woods, the Coaches landed in a large open meadow, next to a cheerful brook. Large blankets were already laid out, and the coachmen clambered down to open the doors and then begin unpacking the mountains of food they'd brought.

There were two people waiting for everyone when they climbed out. One was Karla, the other was a solemn dark-haired girl who looked about eight or nine. She gave the assembled group a tremulous smile and clutched Karla's hand tightly. Karla gave her a fond smile before looking up at her assembled friends.

"Welcome to Sceval," she said, waving with her free hand. "Lucivar and Jaenelle are already out visiting the herd, which you're welcome to do. There's food to eat if you're hungry and plenty of places to explore if you get restless. I didn't, uhh, plan any activities, so hopefully there's enough here to keep you entertained!"

[NFB for off-islandness]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

"I guess Karla never told you about the whole murder trial?" Hayley said, like it wasn't a big deal. "Things are pretty, I don't know, they are what they are. But I don't have to worry about the Gotham PD anymore. I moved back to Fandom."

From:

heromaniac

Momoko stared a few moments at the words 'murder trial,' then shook herself out of it. "No, she didn't. She probably thought it was your story to tell and not hers. You will totally have to catch me up sometime."

She grinned and reached for Hayley's hand. "But I'm glad you're okay. You're living at Fandom? That's awesome! Are you teaching?"

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

"Oh no," Hayley said, shaking her head emphatically. "I don't think I could ever teach. Not exactly like I have anything I could teach anyone. I'm just a waitress, at least right now. Until I figure other stuff out."

From:

heromaniac

"You could totally teach if you wanted, but a waitress is totally just as good!" Momoko replied with a fond 'tsk'. "As long as you're happy, that's totally what counts. And Fandom is totally the best place to be to figure stuff out. I totally miss being there, myself. It's so hard to leave when I visit!"

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

"Yeah, I thought it might be the best place, too. Gotham just wasn't the same after everything went all 'disappearing out of existence'. It took me a bit, but I just had to pack up and get out of there. Not like I had much to leave behind, neither."

She shrugged. "But I think I want to hear more about what you are up to."

From:

heromaniac

"Not much. Totally boring, really." Momoko sagged a bit, blowing at her bangs. "I got accepted into the Police Academy back home and somehow got an internship with them too. The police, I mean." She shrugged. "That's totally all I do, anymore. Classes and work. Not really very interesting, sorry."

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

"Police Academy, huh?" Hayley said. She kind of chuckled at that. "Why's everyone gotta go that way, huh? No fun at all."

She was joking, mainly.

From:

heromaniac

Momoko laughed. "Well, I didn't pass the entrance exams for university, and I did the Academy ones? I didn't know what else to do. It's a job? But you're right about it not being fun. I sit in a small booth and give people directions."

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

"Directions, seriously?" Hayley said. "You're not even doing, like, parking meters?"

That sounded worse than waitressing.

From:

heromaniac

"No. I'm only an intern, remember? Totally no authority yet." Not that she was sure giving out tickets would be any less boring. "I do get to go on rounds with the officers to collect the neighborhood cards?"

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

"Yay?" Hayley said, unable to sound excited about that. "I mean, I got nothing against good cops or anything. I was working with one back in--that's nothin' to get into now, I mean."

Way to play it smooth, Hayley. "I'm all for truth and justice and all that."

From:

heromaniac

Momoko gave her an eye. "You are totally going to have to fill me in on everything, eventually, you know."

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

"Only if you can keep a secret," Hayley said, after a moment of hesitation. "And you can't tell Dinah or anyone else that's from a Gotham."

From:

heromaniac

There was much nodding. "I know. I totally keep a lot of Gotham stuff secret already. Ever since I messed up with Roy; Dinah had to explain a lot of stuff to me before I understood it all." Totally confusing to have so many friends from the same town but in different universes and times. "Is everything okay?"

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

"I guess," Hayley said, thinking that 'okay' was a term she still wasn't entirely sure as to what it meant. "It's just..."

Hayley looked back and forth, just to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "I may or may not have spent some time wearing a mask and beating up criminals on the streets of Gotham in the past year and a half."

From:

heromaniac

Okay, sorry Hayley, buuuuuut that just earned you another hug. A very bouncy one.

"What's so secret-y about that? THAT'S AWESOME! What's your hero-name? If your Gotham is anything like Dinah's, and the others I hear about, they can totally use the help! Oh! We have to patrol together sometime, then! Ah! Next time I'm at Fandom, we are totally going to Baltimore! Can I see your costume? Tell me it's not that totally horrible yellow."

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

Hayley never felt much of a hero, but Momo's enthusiasm was nothing if not a bit infectious.

"Well it's not... it's not much of a costume, really. I just sort of wear my jacket and dark pants and a red silk hood. It's... I'm the Red Hood, I guess. That's what Speedy and Batman came up with."

From:

heromaniac

"Ooooh! The Red Hood! That sounds totally awesome and romantic!! It's a perfect hero name!" Momoko frowned slightly. "Hey, if you're a hero, why can't I tell Dinah? I mean, I totally won't, of course, but why?"

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

"I don't want anyone gettin' the wrong idea, I guess," Hayley said. "And I don't want anyone knowin' I know who Batman is, neither. That's a really big secret."

From:

heromaniac

The frowny face turned into a fond scowl and a poke. "How can anyone get the wrong idea? You're a hero! That's just silly. Although the part about Batman is totally true. I haven't met him yet; is he nice?"

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

Hayley snickered. "Depends on if he's had his coffee," she said. Though compared to many other universes, her Batman was practically a saint.

"He's pretty good. Not the best, but, he does what he can. He mainly stopped once he trained me and Speedy, though."

From:

heromaniac

"Who's Speedy?" Momoko totally didn't remember hearing about that superhero before.

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

"You know, my old boyfriend," Hayley said. "Roy Harper."

Awkward multiuniversalness, ahoy!

From:

heromaniac

"Whoah whoah whoah!" Momoko waved her hands wildly at that. "Roy?! Okay, I think I knew he was a hero at some point," and that he knew at least one of the Robins. "But 'Speedy'? I thought he was an archer?"

...

"AND WHEN DID YOU DATE?!"

From:

onlysmokesnics.livejournal.com

"Oh, not the one at school," Hayley said, shaking her head quickly. "There was, well is, a guy named Roy Harper back where I come from. He's... he's an archer too, actually."