pullmeoutalive | log > for lack of a better place to do so

He had to wonder how it was that, if no one save a very, very select few could leave Whitechapel, he kept ending up elsewhere. Indeed, this wasn't the steam-driven, smog-choked section of city he called home. This was somewhere else entirely - and startlingly modern in comparison to the Victorian England he was so used to.

It was unseemly of him, but he found himself staring - tall buildings all steel and glass towered over him, and over that lay the clearest sky he'd seen in his entire life. The sun was bright, brighter that it had ever been in Whitechapel, with its constant overhang of smoke. All the better, he supposed, that he was wearing his usual attire, complete with dark glasses.

Alabaster stood alone on the street, a tall figure in smoke black stark against the clean, polished world he now found himself in. There seemed to be no one around. This city, if it was indeed a city and not some ludicrous dream, appeared to be deserted.

He reached into the pocket of his coat, fishing out a pocket watch. In this alien place, was Grandfather Clock - his God, and God over Whitechapel - still watching him through the clockface? Or had the connection been severed with his sudden disappearance?

Such things would be answered in due time, he told himself. For now, there was only the question of getting back. It wouldn't do to have Grandfather Clock's elite agent up and vanish in the middle of a rebellion, now would it?

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"I don't suppose I can hire you as a housekeeper, can I?" Following up the solemn question with a grin to show that she was only (half) joking, she walked closer. The inquiry about her quick nap brought a hint of color to her cheeks, but all she could do was shrug sheepishly in response. "It wasn't bad, although the timing could've been better. You're top priority, after all. Catnaps can wait!"

A quick glance over his shoulder revealed what he'd read up to, and now it was Saga's turn to arch an eyebrow. "Interesting choice of reading material, though."

"I doubt you'd do me much good if you're sleep-deprived," he stated matter-of-factly. Not that he wanted her sleeping the days away, but he didn't see why a, as she put it, catnap was a bad thing.

Alabaster glanced back at her, giving sort of a half shrug. "Most of it seems to be going over my head anyway."

"Actually," she replied just as matter-of-factly, reaching out to gather the sheaf of papers, "I tend to do my best work when I'm exhausted. And I'd be worried if you could understand this. Sometimes I don't think I do."

And yet, the brunette was now flipping through pages with no trouble whatsoever, eyes quickly skimming over the words, and recalling the information she'd jotted down. Another page was turned, and then she continued, "What we need to do now is figure out a way to get the rune to appear again. I felt it when you arrived, but unless we can find a way to draw it out, or if it sends something else from your world, I can't locate it. Learning why you're here and what this journey means is a good start for now." How they were going to accomplish that was still beyond her, however.

((sob need to sleep yaaay opening ;; will tag back tomorrow!))

Truthfully, he was happy to let her have the notes. All he was getting out of them was a big fat headache. He leaned forward, propping an elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hand (the real one). "You make it sound easy," he remarked dryly. A mechanized limb dropped the apple into his free hand. He turned it over in his palm a time or two before taking a bite.

Saga snorted softly, setting the papers down in favor of stretching her arms above her head. "It's a talent of mine, right up there with juggling. The good news is that it really isn't as hard as it sounds, other than your own personal revelations." She couldn't help him there, after all. She was just the guide here.

Ah yes, that. Alabaster frowned, eyebrows knitting together slightly. "I'm afraid lighting hasn't struck yet, nor does it look like it's going to anytime soon." He was having a hard enough time coming to terms with where (and when) he was, the why escaped him completely.

"It's never that simple, or you wouldn't still be here." She needed something substantially stronger than tea, so retreated to the kitchen in search of the coffee pot. "We'll just have to go along with it."

She didn't speak again until the smell of freshly-brewed coffee had begun to permeate the air, and then she reemerged with a steaming cup. "If it helps, you should be able to return to the very moment you were pulled from. You won't have missed anything."

Truth be told, that thought had crossed his mind, but hearing her say it made him feel much more at ease than any of his own hopes had. "I'm glad to hear that," he said, and meant it. Big things were unfolding in Whitechapel, and it wouldn't do for him to miss them.

Alabaster leaned back in his chair, finishing off the last of his snack as his mechanized limbs folded back into place against his exposed forearms.

The girl only paused long enough to take a deep swig of coffee (and without sugar this time, the brave soul) and savor the taste, before she set the mug on the counter.

"If nothing else, we should try getting you a little more accustomed to this place, and that means going back out." She folded her arms across her chest, giving Alabaster a scrutinizing glance from head to toe. "Although you might look a little out of place out there. Well, we'll just have to improvise."

"A tour wouldn't be unwelcome," came the reply as Alabaster sipped on his own drink thoughtfully. He took a moment to look at how he was dressed in comparison to his companion - fashion had certainly changed in the last hundred-and-some-odd years. He would indeed look, as she put it, a little out of place, even without his sleeves rolled up. "Perhaps a disguise of sorts would be pertinent."

"There are a few men's clothes here, but..." Saga sighed and shook her head. "Just from observation, they might be too small for you, except maybe the jacket. But that leaves everything else... so! I guess we're going shopping!"

Alabaster quirked an eyebrow. He never did any shopping at home, so going shopping here would prove to be a new experience in every way. "It's a good enough place to start as any."

((Maybe we should start a new thread for their shopping trip so we don't stretch the post too badly?))

log > for lack of a better place to do so

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