Nexus. The Black Dog. The Knight Errant and His Squire Part 1

[dens_extra_pups]

night: *falling softly over the Backwater, though the moon's too busy fighting with Deherree behind the Black Dog to be up in her sleeping basket yet*

Black Dog: *peaceful, as the patrons sit around and eat, drink, and talk*

footbeats: *sound on the path leading up to the bar. Two animals walking slowly as though tired*

riders: *one is a tall, very skinny man in a suit of armour. A shield with a sorry looking face hangs from the saddle horn of the silken coated white creature that he's riding, and a lance is butt rested in his opposite stirrup* *the other rider is a strong looking young woman in a breastplate. Her riding animal has a darker coat striped with brindle markings, and is bearing small panniers behind the saddle*

tShowtime: *leans forward slightly from where she's seated with Mirage and Knockout, curious*

riders: *pull up by the water trough to one side of the front steps, and then the woman dismounts with easy grace and comes to help the man down by taking his lance and turning so that he can lean on her shoulder*

man: *soft groan* I think you were right, Aldonza. I should not have ridden today.

Aldonza: *smiles up at him with amused patience, then looks toward the people on the porch* *brows lift with interest* Senior Quixote, don't be startled.

man: *gives her a quizzical look, and then glances up at the porch. Blinks and removes his helmet so that he can rub his eyes. Looks again, and then drops his gaze to the girl* Am I really seeing giants, Aldonza?

Aldonza: Either you are, or the crazy's come back and is visiting me too.

tShowtime: *gently* I don't think I can do anything about the crazy, but I can at least promise that you're safe, and mean it.

voice: *from the porch* Ibrahim's new wife built a place for travellers to sleep. But she doesn't provide meals.

other voice: He brought the widow home, then?

voice: *laughing* Nooo. The widow's little sister claimed him for herself and followed him home.

other voice: What? The sixteen year old with the temper? Poor guy...

man: *standing and listening to all this with tired interest*

tShowtime: Oh, dear. *so amused, is hiding her grin with her hand and looking to her husband*

Mirage: *brows lifted over the shoulder of the youngling sleeping in his arms*

man: *ruefully* Old men have no business marrying young wives.

Aldonza: *snerk!* *then clears her throat* This is my master, the knight of the sorry face, Don Quixote de la Mancha.

Don Q: *currently the knight of the red face and the reproving look for his squire*

Aldonza: *unrepentant, and now watering the riding beasts*

tShowtime: *so much more amused now* Well, if you have money, as long as it's not live animals, other people, or those giant stone rings, it's good here.

Don Q: We have money.

Mirage: *courteously* What is your squire's name, sir?

Don Q: Ah? That would be Aldonza Quixada.

somebodies: *up on the porch, they just caught the irony of what the lanky knight said about young wives, and are now laughing themselves creaky*

tShowtime: *winglets rattling softly with her amusement*

Don Q: Where might we find the house that takes guests?

Myriam: My house is just over there. I can show it to you after I've filled my jar. *tall, slender girl in a plain woollen robe goes to the trough and slips past the riding beasts to turn on the tap and fill her water jar*

Don Q: *blinks at her back, but then makes a bow* Thank you, madam... oh dear. Ouch.

Aldonza: *leaves the beasts to help him straighten up again*

Don Q: *that creak you heard? Wasn't from the armour*

tShowtime: *winglets up with worry*

Myriam: *dark scowl on her dark young face* You'd better come and stow that steel coat so you can move around in comfort.

Don Q: *a little faintly* Yes, that's exactly what I intend to do. Are the hufers ready, Aldonza?

Aldonza: *slapping the silky beasts as they blow bubbles in the water and try to see into Myriam's jar* They're ready, sir.

Don Q: *turns to the little blue lady on the porch and just bows his head this time* We will return shortly, perhaps we may have the pleasure of your company?

tShowtime: *nods* We'll still be here.

Don Q: *smiles beneath his moustache, and then follows Myriam into the darkness as Aldonza brings the beasts*

Mirage: *watches them go, then looks at his wife* Showtime...?

tShowtime: *will databurst Mirage the story of Don Quixote de La Mancha*

Mirage: o.o I thought so. That's Dulcinea, isn't it?

tShowtime: *nods* Yes. I think their story went differently though...

Mirage: *ruefully admits to crassness* I'm so curious.

tShowtime: Well, they'll be back once Sir Quixote has his armor off.

Mirage: Do you think we should get a table and order... *looks after them* ...Ah. Wine, right? Not beer for people of that period and place.

tShowtime: I think so...

Mirage: Well, even if we're wrong, I've not seen many humans turn down a nice wine. *stands carefully, murmuring to Knockout as she startles and sighs in her sleep*

tShowtime: *moves to get to her feet* This is true. *soft chuckle*

Mirage: *walks along the step he was sitting on till he reaches the stairs for smaller people, then starts upward* *affection in his voice* What would you like to drink?

tShowtime: *as she moves to walk alongside him* I think a mid-grade singer'd be nice...

Mirage: *smiles down at her with softness in his eyes* Sweet?

tShowtime: *grin* Yes, please.

Mirage: *visible thoughts of poetry go unvoiced as he smiles and looks up toward the head of the stairs*


half an hour later


Don Q: *comes wandering into the Black Dog in a very nice embroidered tunic, faded but serviceable pants and boots, and a dazed expression caused by his wife's chiropractic skills*

Aldonza: *keeps him from walking sideways by poking him in the ribs when he goes off centre*

tShowtime: *waving to try and get Aldonza's attention*

Showtime: *coming over to meet the couple*

Aldonza: *grabs the back of her master's belt and looks up at Showtime quizzically* We're here to meet the little blue lady and her white male companion with the red and grey child.

Don Q: *realizes the brakes have been applied and stops*

Showtime: *small nod* They've been waiting for you to return. *will carefully crouch* I can give you a lift up to where they're sitting, if you'd like?

Aldonza: *brows up as she thinks about it* *then* Where are they sitting?

Showtime: At one of the tables on the bar. *will point*

Aldonza: *looks uuuuup* Oh. He's not going to be able to climb up there.

Don Q: *soft and dazed* What?

Aldonza: *gives his belt a little shake* This giant lady will help you up to the table. It's up there. *points past him*

Don Q: *looks at her hand, and then follows the pointer* *still dazed* Oh dear. Very well.

Showtime: *will crouch carefully and offer her cupped hands, which are held almost to the point of touching the ground*

Don Q: *sits very carefully, and now his creaking can only faintly be heard by Cybertronian audios*

Showtime: *waits patiently for Aldonza to join Don Q.*

Aldonza: *doesn't get it at first, but then she notices the wiggly fingers* Am I to go up on this round, too?

Showtime: *nods* I can lift you both. And this way, my sister won't be fretting.

Aldonza: *settles down beside Don Q. and absently slips an arm around his waist* Why is she fretting?

Showtime: *as she carefully gets up from her crouch* She worries about people. It's in her nature. *and the nature of the lady holding you and Don Q, Aldonza. But she won't say anything about that*

Aldonza: Worrying just makes the bacon eat your guts.

Don Q: *blinks* Aldonza, hold your impertinent tongue.

Aldonza: Sorry, sir. *totally unperturbed. Somebody has to talk when he isn't up to it*

Showtime: *gentle chuckle* I've heard worse from the bartender's son. *will bring Don Q and Aldonza to the bar*

Mirage: *looks up from the courtesy cradle made from part of a tire in which his daughter is sleeping* Here they are, Showtime.

tShowtime: *winglets lowering* Thank goodness.

Showtime: *will very gently set Don Q and Aldonza on the bar*

Aldonza: *pulls the old man to his feet, and then steers him toward the table*

Don Q: *seems to be trying to wake up. Blinking and looking around as though things are almost soaking in*

tShowtime: *on her feet and moving to pull a chair out for Don Q*

Don Q: Thank you, milady. *sits carefully, and then meeps and grabs the edges of his seat as Aldonza pushes the chair into place*

tShowtime: You're welcome. *small smile*

Mirage: *quietly* We've ordered a stew, and some bread.

Don Q: *perks at mention of a familiar meal* That sounds lovely.

Aldonza: *leans over to whisper to tShowtime* Did you see the animal that went into the stew?

tShowtime: *quietly* It's not cat.

Aldonza: *grin of relief* Hare?

tShowtime: *headshake* It's a type of chicken. *not really sure how to explain dinochicken other than calling it chicken so as not to upset people*

Aldonza: *grin widens, and she pokes Don Q on the shoulder* Hey, they killed a fowl for us.

Don Q: *perks* I hope it's young and easy to chew.

Aldonza: *concerned scowl at the back of his head*

tShowtime: It should be... *saw that concern in your expression, Aldonza*

Mirage: I understand the cook is very skillful at her job. *checks on Knockout as the youngster sighs in her sleep*

tShowtime: *attention going to Mirage and Knockout, will move to gently fuss over the younger bot*

Knockout: *settles down to peaceful sleep*

Don Q: *asking about Knockout and listening to Mirage's replies*

Aldonza: *distracted by people lining up over there at the very end of the bar* What's that?

tShowtime: *looks* Oh, I think Nemesis set down a cake...

Aldonza: *interested* What's that?

tShowtime: It's a type of pastry that's sweet.

Aldonza: *glances at Don Q and decides quickly* He'll like that. *quizzical look wonders if the little blue lady will come with her*

tShowtime: *will move to lead the way to the cake*

Aldonza: *quietly* Aren't there any inns here? My master shouldn't be travelling. He's still injured from his last fight.

tShowtime: *winglets fluttering with her confusion* *softly* Aren't you two staying in the place Ibrahim's wife has for travellers?

Aldonza: *nods as she takes place in the lineup to get cake* Yes, but that's just for one night.

tShowtime: Oh... *small frown as she thinks*

Rhinox: *glances at her as he hands Aldonza a big piece of the cream cheese frosted spice cake* *gruffly* What's wrong?

tShowtime: *looks to Rhinox* Do you know of any long-term inns in the Nexus?

Rhinox: *raises his brow ridges at her* Yes, and so do you.

tShowtime: ... *confused winglet flutter* I do?

Rhinox: It's called a boarding house.

tShowtime: *winglets up!* Oh!

Aldonza: *questioning look back and forth between them as she steps out of line, her plate of cake held carefully*

tShowtime: *to Aldonza* There's a boarding house that you'd be able to stay at.

Rhinox: *to the girl* It's quiet, and the food used to be good. If it isn't anymore you can just buy your meals here.

tShowtime: The landlady's really nice, too.

Aldonza: Is there a stable?

Rhinox: No, but those beasts of yours will be alright at Ibrahim's.

Aldonza: Oh. Alright. *looks toward the table and perks* It's white bread. *yes, of all the things she's seen, including beautifully iced cake, white bread is the thing that she's excited about*

tShowtime: *surprised by the reaction to white bread* You don't have a lot of it where you're from?

Aldonza: *surprised look for the little blue lady* No, milady. In Spain peasants don't eat white bread, and in Kanata the bread's brownish, flat, and tastes nutty.

tShowtime: *more surprise* Oh...

Aldonza: *blinks and glances up as Nemesis walks over and hands tShowtime two plates*

tShowtime: *blinks and then she's smiling* Thank you, Nemesis.

Aldonza: There's a picture on the cake? *checks the piece she's holding, but sees only raisins*

tShowtime: *nods* It's cake for my husband and me.

Aldonza: *studies the picture again* Is he the king?

tShowtime: *headshake* He's a very dear friend of the person who came up with the recipe for this type of cake.

Aldonza: *expression says that this makes sense to her* *but then her nose wrinkles as she sniffs the blitzcake, and the expression goes to confusion*

tShowtime: It's made from the type of food that my husband and my people can eat.

Aldonza: Oh. *looks at the little blue lady, and then blinks as she realizes that she can see through the blue armour*

tShowtime: *even though she kind of knows, she's curious about this* What's your home like?

Aldonza: *thinks about this deeply for a couple minutes, then shrugs* We don't really have one.

tShowtime: ... Well, what about the area you were travelling through?

Aldonza: Oh. It's really... *thinks* There's a lot of grass, and a lot of trees, and a town with a lot of smashed buildings.

tShowtime: And before that? *thinks Aldonza's describing the ruins where the spooks like to rattle about*

Aldonza: Just the same, except we weren't in a town. Kanata doesn't have as many people as Spain, master says.

tShowtime: Ah... *small nod*

Aldonza: *more deep thought, and then offers something else* Master says that Kanata's sun is one of the stars that we used to see from La Mancha. And Senior Charlie said it too, so I guess it's not crazy talk.

tShowtime: *slight smile* Charlie's very honest.

Aldonza: *has thought of something else that's important* There aren't any inns in Kanata. But Senior Charlie told us to come here if we couldn't find someone to give us lodging for the night.

tShowtime: Well, the boarding house should have room. And if not, the landlady's good at helping people find a place.

Aldonza: The beds are good? No bugs?

tShowtime: *nod* No bugs.

Aldonza: What did the green man mean when he said the food used to be good?

tShowtime: The landlady's daughter used to live with her, but she's moved out to live in the house her intended built for her. The daughter's a very good cook.

Aldonza: Oh. Is it far from here?

tShowtime: Not terribly far. It's only a few minutes walk from here.

Aldonza: That's alright, then. *and then she frowns deeply as she hears an "Erk" sound from Don Q as he accidentally bumps himself in the jaw*

tShowtime: *looks that way, winglets flicking with concern* *quietly* What happened?

Aldonza: He bumped one of the bruises he got from fighting that last evil giant. *frown so deep and disapproving*

tShowtime: Oh, dear...

Aldonza: *disapproval changes to pride* But he got it. *rueful* And then he was too tired to even want a kiss.

tShowtime: Aww. *soft chuckle*

Aldonza: *ruefulness replaced with sass* But if he turns out to be a lousy husband I only have to wait a few years to get a new one.

tShowtime: *winglets nearly vertical as she lets out a shocked squeak*

Aldonza: *expression says she's wondering if she was too cheeky to the lady*

tShowtime: *gives herself a shake, trying to get her processor to reboot enough for her to say something*

Aldonza: Please forgive me, milady. I know I'm impertinent. I'm working on it.

tShowtime: *finally gets her processor rebooted enough* I... I think he'd be a good husband.

Aldonza: *thinks about this* He doesn't beat me, or make me eat after him. But he acts embarrassed every time I try to be a supportive wife.

tShowtime: ... *considers* Maybe he's not used to having someone who supports him in his endeavors?

Aldonza: *blinks at her*

tShowtime: I know someone who gets flustered whenever her husband encourages her in the things she wants to do, because she's more used to people being unsupportive and unkind to her for wanting to be herself and pursue her dreams.

Aldonza: *frowns deeply and looks toward Don Q* I think he thinks he's still crazy.

tShowtime: *small nod of understanding* When things have been so strange for so long, it's hard to see what others perceive as normal as being that...

Aldonza: *runs the blue lady's words over in her mind a few times, then decides it's educated talk and over her head* A lot of the stuff we see now is like things from his old crazy thoughts.

tShowtime: *small smile* A lot of things here make a lot of people wonder if they're crazy. That seems to be the most common reaction.

Aldonza: Senior Charlie says that different worlds are different. He says that for some people, La Mancha seems like a crazy dream.

Don Q: Aldonza, where are you? We're waiting to start eating!

tShowtime: *quietly* Where I live seems like a crazy dream to some people, too.

Aldonza: *startled slightly at her master's call, but is interested in what the little blue lady has said* *starts back toward the table* Do you live far from this place?

tShowtime: *as she heads back to the table as well* Yes. I live in a city that's never been touched by war.

Aldonza: *wide eyes* What about bandits?

tShowtime: It's not really been an issue.

Aldonza: *cautiously* What does that mean?

tShowtime: There's plenty for everyone there... *looks to Mirage* My husband would be able to tell you more. I've only been living there for a little while.

Aldonza: But what about the nearby kingdoms?

tShowtime: They're trade partners with the city Mirage and I live in.

Aldonza: *as they near the table* All the kings get along?

Mirage: *looks up* Our world has no king. But there's one government over all of it.

Aldonza: *thinking this over and trying to figure it out now*

Don Q: *scolds her for bothering the lady and standing around gossiping as the supper gets cold*

tShowtime: *will offer Mirage one of the plates*

Mirage: Thank you, love. *gives her a peck as he takes the plate and sets it by his cube of energon*

tShowtime: *moves to sit down beside her husband, leaning against him a bit*

Don Q: You're my wife, so you're a lady now. You shouldn't act like an ignorant peasant. You need to sit at table when we have a table to sit at!

Aldonza: *giving him a sad look from big brown eyes*

tShowtime: *winglets drooping slightly as she clicks softly with worry*

Don Q: *winds down and looks at Aldonza expectantly*

Aldonza: *of course now that she's supposed to talk, she hasn't got anything to say. Instead, she offers the cake*

Don Q: o.0 Err. What is this?

Aldonza: *proudly* Cake.

Don Q: Why is it here now? *accepts it and examines it with interest*

Mirage: It's the custom here to eat something sweet at the end of a meal.

Don Q: *face brightens with understanding* Ah! *frowns and looks at Aldonza* Where's your piece?

Aldonza: *blink blink. Looks around, whoops!*

tShowtime: *moving to get up again* I'll go get it.

Aldonza: No, lady. I'm still up. *turns, and nearly runs into a Mutt with cake* Eeep!

Mutt: Ack! *quick footwork, manages to set the plate on the table without dropping it!*

Mirage: *gravely, as he politely overlooks the near collision* Thank you, Mutt.

Mutt: Welcome. *will head off to get another table's orders*

Don Q: *slight dismay that the waiter moved faster than his mind did* Ah, he's gone before I can add my thanks. Sit down, Aldonza.

Aldonza: *sit!*

tShowtime: He'll be back eventually.

Mirage: *smoothly* Shall we eat?

Don Q: Yes, of course. *serves stew to Aldonza, and then to himself. And then puts one of the Parmesan cheese twists that he'd been nibbling as he waited on the edge of Aldonza's plate*

Aldonza: *looks at it. Sees that it's white bread, and looks as though she just got Christmas*

tShowtime: *will reach for her singer, intending to have a sip of it and listen to the sounds it makes*

Don Q: *gives her a cautious look* Do you hear something?

tShowtime: *will move her drink so Don Q can hear the music coming from it*

Don Q: *relief* Ah. That's lovely. What is it?

tShowtime: It's called a singer. It's a mix of minerals and the liquid fuel that Mirage and my people use to function.

Don Q: *puzzled expression* Liquid fuel? Pardon me, but I don't understand.

tShowtime: *tips her head back slightly as she tries to think of a way to explain that will make sense*

Mirage: *research research... ah hah!* A bit like melted tallow, only it's from a different source. Humans aren't able to eat it.

tShowtime: *nodnod of agreement*

Don Q: *surprised* You aren't human?

Aldonza: *silently watching as she eats her cheese twist. She'd noticed while talking to her that there was no human person inside the little blue lady's armour*

tShowtime: *headshake* We're how our home says "people".

Mirage: We're living machines.

Don Q: *brain broken expression*

tShowtime: *very soft, concerned clicks, winglets lowering slightly*

Don Q: *takes a few minutes to recover, but when he does, it is to quietly apologize for his boorish gaping*

Mirage: *slight smile* Please, showing surprise about something new is understandable.

tShowtime: *relaxing and nodding* It's almost expected, here.

((Written with random_xtras))

Continued here