Thomas Barrow (mrbarrow) wrote in angellogs, @ 2017-09-08 23:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | noah fon ronsenburg, thomas barrow |
Who: Noah, Thomas
When: Current
Where: Outside a Scottish cafe / bakery
What: Noah’s invited Thomas over to have some tea
Rating/Warnings: 1920’s world views hit more modern things, discussion of PTSD
Status: Complete
Noah is indeed wearing a floury apron. He’s got on a long sleeved shirt underneath, and some jeans in an odd green shade. They had a small bleach spot on them, but a marker hid it, and they at least fit. “Thomas?” He’s guessing it’s the right guy. The facial shape looks right, and he’s not wearing the typical t-shirt and food service shoes of an off duty chef heading over to pick up things.
Thomas was in his casual clothes when he’d come here, and he’s not bothered to pop out of the hat he was wearing at the time either. At least his coat’s lightweight for summer, or it’d probably look overwhelming. It IS definitely old fashioned. He looks sort of like an extra in Mary Poppins or something.
“Ah, you must be Noah, then.” Thomas is a bit, a lot, overwhelmed by how all of this is working, but he’s not passing up an opportunity when he sees it. There’s a part of him that points out he can use this that he TRIES to shut up. He doesn’t DO that any more. Not when there are chances for friendships instead. Whatever it was Anna had said about being kind again, he couldn’t quite remember.
“I am. I promised some tea, as strong as I could make it.” Noah smiles at him. “There’s four of us here, from my world, but originally, I definitely felt a bit lost.” He tilts his head. “Would you like to come in? The steps aren’t bad, if you’d sooner stay outside and chat, and the weather’s surprisingly good today.” Not as warm, so he got away with wearing long sleeves again. He looks at Thomas’ outfit. “I fear for where I’m from, that’d count for - semi-formal? Dropping off paperwork with an employer or going to a governmental office to turn something in attire.”
“My usual uniform involves a frock coat, among other things.” Thomas wrinkles his nose, because, as much as he does love the job, some of the fuss around the clothing they’re wearing to work strikes him as a little wild, considering the fact that they’re all being phased out of society as it is. “It’s all a bit formal. This is grubbing down to the pub wear only because of all the rest. I’m told it’d be more like that in America, when I was over a few years back. And I could do with the steps. I’m trying to take all of this in still.”
“You’re in luck. My work wear was plate mail. I fear none of us exactly owned that much ‘regular’ clothing, whatever that was, but even our formal gear for parties avoided high collars. You’d recognize all the younger politicians because they’d be adjusting them all night, and their handlers trying to subtly not wince if the collar crumpled.” Noah stretches his back. “Did you eat? Come on in, and tell me how you like your tea, and we’ll grab the steps.” He’s peeling off his apron to hang it up. The shop’s very - small tables and a pair of armchairs near an ultrathin fireplace in the wall. There’s some stools near the counter.
Thomas snorts at that. “One of our lot at Downton fell in love with an Earl’s daughter and became her husband. Branson’s first formal affair was awkward, and I would have felt for him if we weren’t generally a bit annoyed how he’d jumped the lines so MUCH. And he was Irish.”
Not that that means much AFTER the battle for the irish free state’s over, but at the time, AND being a catholic…Well, it’d added to how uncomfortable he’d looked, sort of ill at ease in the same way Noah’s describing.
“It does take getting used to, I suppose.”
When it comes to the question of tea, Thomas has two default states. Black if he’s among the upper classes for some reason, like a servant’s ball, or, among his own kind… “Milk and sugar, if you wouldn’t mind, actually.”
“Are you a milk first, or second sort? Balthier swears it goes in first, and the tea needs to be poured on from high up.” Noah’s snagging the mugs for them. “There’s all sorts of flavored creams, but I find the concept a bit odd, I fear. You’d boil tea with spices if you were doing that kind of thing at home, and it wasn’t - where I was from.”
He shakes his head. “I was from Landis, and some of the talk about Irish history reminds me of it. Though Landis was conquered in my lifetime. I suppose it’s much the same talk, no matter the circumstances.”
“Definitely have to agree with him there. It curdles if you go the other way around.” Thomas explains, and blinks. “Really? Oh that’s odd. Suppose I could see it in coffee sooner. And oh?” he’s not quite sure what to make of that.
“One of those - the army I signed on with was the one that conquered my home. So you’d get the occasional ‘you’ve seen a boot before right?’ sort of questions.” Noah shrugs slightly. “You get used to it.” He adds some milk to both cups and pours the tea in, before sliding one and the sugar over to Thomas. Two currant buns, and paying the till for the trouble, and he’s smiling at Thomas. “I got two calls while I was waiting. I can lock up when we’re done here. That reminds me. There was something I wanted to show you. I thought you’d prefer it with - it being in person.”
“Ahh.” Thomas nods slowly. “That’s...I’ve been there. Not in quite the same way, but you DO. Smile and put up with it and try not to be noticed unless there’s something in it for you seems the way I’d go about that, but…
It occurs to him he should protest Noah just paying for everything, but as he hasn’t finished setting up his account right this moment, even though he’s read over the details, he supposes there’s not much to be done there but wait for a moment to repay that.
He’s raising a curious brow at the rest of that though. “Oh?”
Noah slides a bun over to him and leans on the counter while he’s flipping through his phone. Then he slides it over. “I know it’s - probably obvious that it’s not so forbidden here. But - the man I’m courting. I am not going to shun you and flee about that sort of thing.” It’s a casual photo of Sebastian.
“It’s good to hear,” Thomas does look relieved to hear that. “I’ve...it’s gottten me into more htan one mess, being this way. It..they put you in JAIL for…Well. I’m glad to know. It’ll take me a while I think, before I’m going looking, but...bit nice to know you’re not stuck with things underground. “ And he’s studying the photo, and smiling. “Handsome.”
Noah blushes a bit and ducks his head a little. “He is. And no jail here, as long as your partner’s old enough.” He snags his mug. “I thought it’d be - easier to see in person? Hear the honesty in my voice or something like that. Take all the sugar you like.”
Thomas IS a little self conscious about how much he’s using here. It probably could use some explanation. “Bit of a long story short, we couldn’t afford much GOOD tea, as a whole, and you’d sometimes get the leavings from upstairs but usually you’d get used to making due and all. Hard habit to get out of, I suppose, even if I DID have much better chances once I got promoted.”
And that makes Thomas consider a few people from home. His first actual supposed love of his life, who’d been so horrified when he’d wanted to come with him. In a place like this, and now, that might have ended differently. The thought’s encourging, not that he would take the bastard back, specifically, but to know that here things don’t have to end in tragic or torrid circumstances.
“But if you like it sweet, there’s no reason why you can’t have it sweet. Sweet tea in Archades always had mint, and I’ve never lost the feeling that something is wrong if it’s not mint tea.” Noah steps on out and takes up a bit of the steps, angling himself a bit to keep an eye up the street. “So - I’ve plied you with tea, and I promise to answer questions as honestly as I can. Or would you prefer just patter while you let things settle?”
“At the moment, I DO wonder about how it is this happened.” Thomas shakes his head. “It’s like something out of a wild fever dream.” Dreamed by someone who’d gone absolutely around the bend, he mentally adds, but doesn’t feel the need to say out loud. He’s TRYING to keep some of that to himself these days. THINKING slightly negative things but not letting others know is at least sort of a strategy.
“It is strange, isn’t it? There’s options though. The house I’m at - one of them has gone into being a sort of a tutor. Another one is floundering. The man I’m courting was a priest in his homeland, among other things, and has sort of settled into politics. My brother’s - I think he’s taking his time to see what he can do and what he wants to do. I ended up here, because I can’t sleep well at night, and it’s work.” Noah leans back a bit on the railing. “Balthier’s looking to buy a house, and talking about trying for a nursing degree. I think he’s been painting sets for the college theater at times.”
“I’d thought about adapting, not so long ago myself, back home.” Thomas admits now. ‘There weren’t many hiring anyone into service and the alternatives didn’t quite work out. Not a lot of ways to learn different, there, I’ll admit. “ And he pauses. “They have degrees for nursing? I bet that’s put more women into university.”
Noah tilts his head. “Oh, this’ll be neat. Could women vote in your era? Where I was from, women disproportionately ended up in politics but it’s different from the history here, from what I heard.” He - had a feeling that Shaun was running down the progress of woman’s rights partially for Ellie’s sake, but - it was fascinating. And grim, considering the differences between Archades and here.
“Not until very recently, about five years back for women in America. And at home, they’re still pushing for it.” Thomas says. “After the war, I think it’s fairly reasonable and no one’s delivered that yet, which must be maddening. A….someone who was kind to me when I didn’t deserve it went to some of their marches and wasn’t meant to be there. And then became a nurse, although she could’ve gotten out of war work. Lady Sybil was….there’re few people who you know are GOOD. She made me think about it, I suppose, where I wouldn’t have cared before. Most of the women I knew well were servants so it wasn’t as if their lives were going to change or were all that different from ours, right?” He snorts. “Consider me enlightend now.”
“It’s a lot easier to care when it’s personal.” Noah splits his bun in half and nibbles on it. “I had a female co worker in my job, and she had a number of things to vent about. I think she felt safer talking to me, as an outsider to the area, and in time, she came to see how I saw things, and vice versa. I came out of it feeling much more in line with Judge Magister Drace’s opinions. And if she said that as a woman, she had this opinion, I was far more inclined to listen because I was aware there were things I did not understand.”
He pauses. “You’ve probably guessed, but they did succeed. Women can vote here now. I think universities are still struggling to get women into certain fields, and there’s - I think it’s called STEM? Sort of a thing where people in science and technology careers bemoan the problems with the old guard. I wish that people spoke up about the problems sooner, but the fact that there’s people pointing at things and saying it’s wrong? That is impressive. You had a lot of things where I was from where you - kept quiet.”
“Us too.” Thomas agrees. “There’s any number of things that’d ruin your chance, socially, no matter how much money you have got, so...you don’t say much unless you want to really take a risk. I know a few who’d gladly step out and do it. Fierce dragons of women who have things well in hand if you really get in close enough, the former servant who married the earl’s daughter for another, but...we don’t usually make waves ourselves. Anyone doing that here…” He nods.
“It’s good. Better than the way I thought to get ahead of the game by playing until I made it, but not falling into any of their lies about God wanting things the way they are...I worked with a staunch traditionalist, learned a lot from him, even, but the lot of people like that… they’re the sort who have to be dragged over to the new ways, kicking and screaming. Maybe there’re times it’s not so bad to give in and scream back if there’s benefits for someone in it.”
Noah nods slowly. “You’re anyone you want to be here. It’s a bit - I could’ve tried to get a job as a soldier here again, but -” He shakes his head. “There’s options here. Medicine is - different, but it’s probably better than it was in your time. Small benefits.” He sips his tea. “You’ve got - options beyond someone seeing where you were born and thinking you’re nothing. How’re you feeling? With the tea?”
“Anyone I want to be..” Thomas tries that on. “The last time I was faced with that…” He glances at his sleeve cuff, mostly the one on the hand that’s got a sort of fingerless glove on it. “I tried to take a different way. But then the world wasn’t near as open as...all this.”
He’s smart, Thomas knows that much, too clever for his own good most of the time, but in a place like this, with no one to answer to, and more importantly, no one presuming to ask questions, that’s an advantage as easily as it’s anything else. “I didn’t mind the medical work either. Got me out of a tight spot so…” He muses. “I could be trained for an orderly or whatever they’d want here. I don’t know if there’s much use for medics who’re not trained. But you said a friend was thinking of nursing...not a woman?” Because that’s always seemed so gendered.
“The tea’s good. I think I’m...getting my head round some of this. So’s the hearing about it firsthand.”
“Not a woman. Maybe you two could meet up and check out the programs on offer? See what sort of work you like and if you like the schools? He could probably take you shopping to fill out your wardrobe too. I fear I sort of - if it fits, and doesn’t chafe anywhere odd, I’d probably wear it.” Noah smiles at him. “He’s Balthier. On the class thing -” He waves a hand. “He was from a rich and politically powerful family, but not a noble one. His father isn’t missed, if you understand what I’m saying. Like me, if you tell him to back off, he will. His sister’s protective and - I suppose Balthier’s the sort that’d make bad references and joke and banter, and his sister would throw the first punch, if that makes sense? You might like them.”
He thinks for a bit. “He was an engineer, thinking of being a pilot, before things got bad, and then he ended up here. One of those guys that you tend to get warned to pull him out of projects if he’s been working too long. You can picture that?”
“His isn’t missed? We’ve already got something in common.” Thomas mutters, though he doesn’t think that anyone’s going to appreciate bonding over childhood trauma stories. But really, a chance to rub elbows with a former aristocrat in reduced circumstances?” He sounds oddly amused, but it’s in more of an ironic way than anything with heat behind it.
“I’ve been friends with a noble once. Sort of. We were driven together by fighting for the right thing, and she was kind to me when not many people were. “ He sounds wistful there. “I don’t suppose it’s anything I could discount as possible here and now. “And OH, that sort. I’ve known some like that.”
“Well, he’s not doing too badly.” Noah looks at him. “He’s not noble though, and definitely not here. Just - you might recognize the accent’s different from mine.” He takes a deep breath. “Right. Shall I show you some places to stay the night, and pass on some numbers? Or would you like to hunt on your own?”
It shouldn’t be the sort of thing Thomas considers for a moment there, if his pride is worth the extra wandering around and feeling stupid and lost or not. And he’s already in for a penny here, isn’t he? “Actually, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d appreciate being pointed in that direction.”
Noah leans over. “So, this thing is sort of neat.” He brings up the little path tracking program. “So this tracks where you went, so if you’re lost, you can retrace your path. Handy if you want to get back to somewhere you were, or just making sure you’re near a street.” He digs out the maps. “There’s a hostel here, where you can get single rooms or share them if you really want to deal with people. Mostly young backpackers. Shared bathrooms, but it’s very cheap at night. Cheap and cheerful. There’s a park there, and a cafe with some small shops, so it’d all be in the same area. If you want something closer to a hotel, there’s four here, near the train station.”
He’s digging out the information on them. “This one’s the most expensive, and this one’s the cheapest. So you can see what the rooms look like.”
Thomas starts tapping at the screen a little cautiously, picking up the motion, though his hand’s a little clumsy there, the fingers shaking with the new movement, although he mostly shrugs it off these days. It’s not TOO difficult, really.
“Sorry.” he says quickly. “I’m a bit...old injury.”
“It’s all right. Would you believe you’re the third person I’ve talked to today with old injuries on their hands?” Well - technically. Noah e-mailed Stephen earlier, and told Aedan he was going in to work. And he had breakfast with Basch. So -
“Really now?” Thomas blinks. “I suppose if you do know a lot of soldiers...or factory workers or the like..” He can see where that’s possible.
“My brother had broken bones in his hand. A kid in the house got a finger removed while he was kidnapped, and - some sort of car accident on the third guy. Interesting lives.” Noah smiles at him. “Most interesting thing I have is an old scar from a spear and a burn on my arm.”
“Odd.” Thomas blinks. ‘I got shot.” That’s enough description, really, he decides. “And the spear one sounds...I don’t think I’ve met anyone who’s used a spear outside of Greece.”
“Different world and all. Our guns were a lot closer to muskets, but we had magic. Well, Mist, which powered magic. There’s apparently teenagers here who ride giant metallic robots all over once in a while. That must be an interesting life to have.” Noah eyes him. “You know, you might find the history lessons fascinating. We were learning about child labor laws. There’s this guy called Lewis Hine who helped take photographs of mills and canneries to argue that the conditions were terrible.”
“That’s...what?” Thomas blinks, then blinks again. “I’m going to pretend that made more sense to me than it does. And those may help, considering. I think it’s near on a hundred years I’ll have to pick up on.”
“I’m not sure the magic even applies here. Different dimensions and all.” Noah shrugs. “I was never one to really do much of anything with it.” He smiles at Thomas. “I’m going to take my mug in. Are you done? I can wash up and lock up then. Or do you have more questions?”
“I am, thanks.” Thomas gives him a little nod. “This meant a lot, you know?”
Noah looks seriously at him. “It’s a pleasure. Don’t feel like there’s debt. People helped me out, and I want to pass that debt on to others.”
Thomas returns the serious look, and, he’s not sure he’s entirely comfortable with how that works, but he’s willing to suspend disbelief for now. When he’s settled, though, things might need to be switched up a little, sometimes.
“Well, all the same, it IS appreciated.”