Princess Luna (mare_inthe_moon) wrote in spinningcompass, @ 2013-10-14 19:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, ~princess luna |
Who: Doug and Luna
When: 10/14/13
Where: Mitchell’s pub
What: Meeting
Warnings: TBD
Closed
In Progress via GDoc
Doug wasn’t sure what to think of this place. It was weird. He missed the city. He missed home. He left his apartment, and headed down the street. Doug had been trying to keep Tommy safe from Adabo. He didn’t know how he was going to do that from here. Not to mention, the guy had done it. He had killed that kid. Doug knew it as sure as he knew his own name, Doug Penhall. Doug didn’t know what he was going to do if Adabo killed Tom. Not that he would even know, being here. It was fucking difficult.
Then there was the fact that a fairytale brother and sister duo were walking around, living and breathing. What the hell was that? That was some sci fi shit right there. Like something right out of the movies. Doug wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with that. How he was supposed to compartmentalize that. He came upon a bar. Perfect. He needed a beer. Doug ran a hand through his shock of wavy brown hair, and went inside.
He sat down at the bar, and ordered a beer. He was at a loss for words, which didn’t happen often with him.
~~~
Luna had a wonderful weekend with Clint and his son Charlie. She was still starry eyed as the sun set and she woke around 6pm. Waking up with a stretch, she proceeded through her wakeup routine of proper hygiene and breakfast before setting off for rounds. Rounds were easy, the island seemed quiet as far as she could tell, so she returned to her palace for a while before heading out. She walked, now, taking down the streets. She wore a long navy blue dress that fluttered in the wind as she moved. Fit for a princess--which she was.
Looking around thoughtfully, she watched a handful of people trickle into a pub and decided to follow them in. Oh, a pub! She had never been into a pub before. Looking around, Luna smiled and took a seat two stools away from Doug, eyes reading the labels on the bottles on the wall. Something seemed strange on her back, but in the dark of the pub it was hard to tell she actually had a small pair of wings--which would expand magically when she went to fly--and on top of the darkness it was mostly hidden underneath her hair. Decorated with a large necklace of black metal with a white jeweled crescent on the center that matched her hidden cutie mark. At her wrists and ankles, shining silver cuffs and crowning her head, a black metal tiara speckled with blue stones.
~~~
Doug looked over, not sure what to say to her. He was taken back by how pretty she was. Doug couldn’t help himself, there was no way he couldn’t not hit on her. “Did it hurt?” He asked, sipping his beer. He was completely serious, too. He hoped she wouldn’t think he was cheesy. Doug had had a drink thrown in his face more times than he could count. Doug kept his face on her, giving her a smile and a wink.
~~~
Luna could not possibly think such a line were cheesy as, well, she had no idea what he was talking about. Turning on her stool to face Doug, one hand on her lap as the other rest on the counter, though while it was clean it also felt a tiny bit sticky. Maybe it was just the coating. She blinked her wide eyes at the man and then looked a little concerned.
“Did what hurt?” she asked, looking at her arm as if she maybe had a wound. “I did walk into a small child at the park, but I was not injured.”
~~~
Doug looked at her, not able to keep from laughing a little. “That’s not what I mean.” He said, shaking his head. “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” He asked, laughing again. “I think you’re an angel.” He offered his hand, glad that she hadn’t turned him down or slapped his him across the face. “I’m Doug. I just got here…. wherever here is.” He replied, shaking his head.
That was still weird to him.
~~~
Smiling, Luna shook her head once again as she took his hand. “You are very kind, Doug. I am Princess Luna, and I do not recall a time in which I have ever fallen from the sky. My wings have not yet failed me, though I am unsure if I fell upon arrival to this island.” The slender, slightly tanned skinned young woman spoke very softly, almost shyly, but yet loud enough to be heard over music playing in the background.
“I am also new here. We are unsure where in the world it is, but it is certainly not in my world.” Luna finally released his hand, sitting straight with perfect posture once more.
~~~
Doug looked at her, his eyes widening. “You have wings?” He asked, in awe. He looked on her back, the cop in him couldn’t not. He couldn’t really see them, but he believed they were there. Why would she lie about that? He looked at her, his eyes still wide. “Were you born with them? How did your parents react? Do you have to do something to them every day to keep them healthy? Do they go invisible?”
He was full of questions.
~~~
Looking back at Doug curiously, Luna turned so her back was about ¾ facing him, though her wings in the dark were not all that easy to see, especially with her long spiraling hair covering them.
“I was born with them, yes. Our parents have always been proud, though it has been a very long time since my sister and I have spoken with them. I do often have servants tend to them but I have none here, so I have learned to see to my wings, myself. They are not invisible.”
Luna then stood up and as she did so the pair of night blue wings stretched open, straight up behind her rather than out to the side. In the lights of the pub there was a warm amber glow over the shimmering black and blue feathers that only extended about one foot above her head, though they could grow much larger.
“I was treated quite strangely in New York City and Florida, yet received with warm welcomes. Wings are uncommon to humans, I think.”
~~~
Doug looked at them, in surprise. His mouth dropped open. They were beautiful. He looked at them, taking in the blue color. Doug couldn’t decide what to ask next. He had so many questions. “I like them… they are beautiful. But you are gorgeous, so it really stands to reason that they would be beautiful, too.” He said.
Sipping his beer, he shook his head. “That is so….. different. You aren’t human, originally?” He asked, when he caught that she had said humans. He had to admit, for someone who wasn’t, she looked pretty much like one.
~~~
The young lady merely stared at Doug in her normal observant, learning sort of way. Luna was very out of her element in this world, where she was not truly a princess, where she did not have to raise the moon, and where she certainly did not know many of the people. She knew three of the residence, who were from her home world, but they were not particularly close. Mostly, she felt alone, save for her new friends Howard Stark and Clint Barton. They were kind men, good men, gentle men.
“I am beautiful?” she asked, blinking long, dark lashes at him. Luna was not sure she had ever been told such a thing honestly from a male back home, not recently, and she had more or less avoided asking Clint about the comment he had made last week.
“I...no I am not,” Luna shook her head, seemingly hung up on being complimented. In the dark her tanned skin blushed a soft rose color upon her cheeks.
~~~
“Yes you are.” Doug replied, shaking his head firmly. He wasn’t sure why she didn’t know that about herself, but she was. Doug ran his hand through his curls. He sipped his beer again, and looked at her. “I can’t believe that someone told you that you weren’t beautiful.” Doug said in disbelief. He just wasn’t sure that he could accept that.
“I have never seen a more beautiful girl. Whoever told you that you weren’t was lying.” Doug told her firmly.
~~~
“I have not been told I am or am not beautiful,” explained Luna as she let her wings snap closed. She looked around, hands lacing together and feeling a little awkward on her tiny heeled shoes. The girl had very little skill on heels, or two flat feet for that matter, so they were very low.
“I meant, I am not human. I am from the land of Equestria, where I am a pony. My sister and I bring day and night.”
~~~
That boggled his mind. She was… she had to be kidding, right? People didn’t just turn from ponies into humans. Although, if he believed that Hansel and Gretel were real, maybe he could believe that Luna used to be a pony. Doug shook his head as if to clear it. “Well, that is just…. not right. People were nuts.”
Then he decided to handle her other comment. “You used to be a pony?” Doug said, looking at her with disbelief. “I mean…. wow. And you brought on night and day? Like…. where the sun sets and then rises?”
~~~
Luna finally sat back down, petite and pretty on the stool, knees together and hands smoothing over the soft silk of her dress. She seemed very out of place in her evening dress in the midst of a pub, but she did not so much like the casual dress and really did not like to wear pants. Truthfully, undergarments were very annoying and she had yet to wear them unless she wore something short.
“I am not quite so sure I would consider everypony insane. More, they were frightened of me, but I do not blame them knowing why.” Delicate fingers tucked at her hair, pushing it behind a pierced ear.
“Mmm, that is correct. My sister, Celestia, is guardian of the sun and watches over everypony during the day. At dusk, I rise and draw with me the moon, as she does the sun at dawn. Of course...I do not need to do that, here. This world changes on its own, and I do not understand without ponies taking care of the time, of the weather. We have always turned the seasons.”
~~~
Doug scratched his head. He didn’t know what to say. That sounded a lot more than his brain could handle. He looked at her, trying to wrap his brain around that. “You really are a princess?” He asked, shaking his head, still not sure how that had happened. What kind of world was he in now? He ordered another beer, the first one was gone. He was glad he had walked here, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting behind the wheel of a car.
“I… I don’t believe you’re lying, that’s just a lot to take in at once.” He told her.
~~~
“It seems to be very unusually to humans,” said Luna. She slipped off of her stool again and moved to stand near Doug, looking him over. “You look much different than those I have seen,” she said, mostly observing his hair. It was much bigger than Clint’s short cut and Howard’s slicked style. So...fluffy. At least, she thought as much.
“I also do not lie. It is highly unladylike not to speak the truth, and as a princess one should only be just.” She smiled warmly at Doug after that, a pleasant and pretty little smile. Her teeth were so very white, skin smooth as if like a newborn babe’s. In theory, it was. The body had never been used prior to Luna’s appearance as a human, so perhaps it was as fresh.
“Where is it you are from, Doug?”
~~~
Doug replied, “I am from a big city.” He shrugged. “I was a cop. I suppose I still am, but I’m not able to work with any of my old friends, so this is going to be really weird.” He was getting a little scruffy in the face, too. He didn’t want to shave just yet, not to mention, he didn’t have any of the accessories to do so. He looked at her.
“I am sure that you’re not lying. It’s just…. I have never heard of anything like that except out of a movie.” He told her, shaking his head. “It’s really different. Have you been here very long? I literally just got here today.”
~~~
“What is a movie?” asked Luna as she continued to look at his hair and clothes. Definitely different from the other gentleman she had met. Maybe it meant Doug was not a gentleman at all. She would have to ask Howard, he would know--he was very smart and kind, having found her wandering around naked on the street, half bent trying to walk in the first place. Two legs was not a good look on a pony.
“You are a guard, then? That is a very commendable profession, Doug! I am quite proud of you, thank you for your service.” Another smile, sparkling, her necklace and tiara glittering as she shift in the amber light of the bar.
“I have been in this place for about two weeks. I was abruptly woken from my rest by falling into a very dirty and uncared for pool. After I climbed out, Howard Stark brought me to meet with Applejack--she is from my home, as well. However, I do not wish to cause her burden and since have moved into the palace.” A hand motioned over her shoulder in the direction of her grand home.
“Welcome to the island. Everyone is very kind and helpful. You will like it here, but as I have come to understand it even my great magic cannot send us home.”
~~~
That was nice, that she thanked him for being a cop. No one had ever thanked him unbidden before. It was pretty cool. Doug gave her a genuine smile. “Thanks. I have never been thanked before, that is pretty decent of you.” Doug replied.
When she asked him what a movie was, he scratched his head again. She didn’t know what movie was? How was he supposed to explain? “Well…. movies have… they’re like moving pictures. They tell stories. Like, a book you can see.” Doug tried. He wasn’t stupid, but he wasn’t big on book reading, so he wasn’t exactly sure he explained that the best he could.
“Well, thanks…. I’m mostly trying to adjust.”
~~~
Luna continued to smile, though it faltered as he said no one had thanked him before. Few thanked her, either. Of course, she had spent the last one thousand years trapped in the moon, trapped within herself and surrounded by her own bitterness and hatred for the ponies that dwelled in the day and did little at night.
“I have not seen a moving picture that is not orchestrated by magic, and I understand there is little natural magic in this world,” said the girl. She perched on the stool next to Doug, legs crossing at the knee and her hands folded neatly over her lap.
“It is very difficult. In the least, you are from this place and of the time?” Luna could not use her laptop computer, only the radio portion of her phone, and so she had not seen his little “introduction.”
“I am not sure of human customs. Please forgive me if I should say something or not understand your meaning. It has been a long time since I have spent so many hours with my subjec---ah, the citizens.” she supposed these people were not really her subjects, but neighbors and fellows, but she had for so long looked down during the night on the ponies of Equestria to guard them and their dreams.
~~~
Doug nodded. “It’s okay… the year I’m from is 1988.” He told her. He didn’t know if he was going to was going to adjust to being in the year 2013 very well. That was 25 years away where he was from. He would be in his 40s. Doug couldn’t think that far ahead, he could barely think of the next weekend. He nodded again. “I am not sure how I’m going to adjust… I never think more than a couple of nights in the future, this is mind-blowing.”
It was going to be stupid of him to drink all of this, he hadn’t eaten yet. Oh well, food was for pussies. He looked at her. “I would love to take you to a movie sometime, if they have movie theaters here, that is.” Doug replied. He was a big fan of movies. He was a bigger fan of sports, but he loved to go to movies. They were a nice way to blow an afternoon, not to mention, it was fun to take a chick, and sit there in the dark together.
“If you wouldn’t mind, that is.”
~~~
“Why do you not think of now as then?” asked Luna in a wise way, though her voice was still soft and sweet. “This world...we do not leave it, so perhaps you should think of now as the days you were living. That is what I have done, for I cannot return home, so I have resumed my duties as the guardian of night. My lesser job is to guard that of dreams.” Swiveling on her chair slightly, Luna then turned to look at him fully.
“I would very much like to see a movie!” she agreed, then giggled in excitement with a nod. Adorable. Too bad she wouldn’t quite appreciate the games boys liked to play in the dark of a cinema. Likely, Doug would find more than a slap across the face waiting for him if he were to try anything. The princess was not the normal chick, and her friends here would likely take offense at any devious pass!
“There is a gate into another world. I am unsure if movies are shown upon the island, but I have seen a musical in New York City! And, I have seen live performances in Disney World!” Luna practically glowed with joy as she spoke of her adventures. “You have been to Disney World, Doug? This is something from your world, as well? You must go if you have not. It is simply wonderful!”
~~~
“I don’t really know.” He admitted, it was still too weird for him to wrap his mind around. Doug wasn’t one to think in the future. He looked at her, shrugging again. “I suppose that I should, though, because you’re right, it’s not as if I can go back home.” Doug said, a little dejectedly. He ran his hand through the curls at the nape of his neck, which touched his collar.
He wasn’t able to keep the smile off his face when she mentioned that she had seen a musical in New York. Doug had only been out of town a few times. He had never been to New York. He wasn’t really a musical kind of guy. He preferred sports. “That is pretty cool that you’re so excited about musicals.” Doug said, he liked seeing her get excited.
Disneyworld was also somewhere he’d never gotten to go, but Doug wanted to take his kids one day, if he ever had any. “No, I’ve never been there either, was it fun?” He asked, as he sipped his beer again, still smiling at her.
~~~
Reaching out comfortingly, Luna put a small hand on his shoulder as he ran his hand through his hair. “I am sorry, Doug,” she said softly. “It is not easy...I do miss my home, my sister...But, the people here are quite nice. Finding something to do will make you feel better, I am sure of it.” She gave another smile as she took her hand back and let the conversation move on. It was too sad to think that they could not leave, so she would rather look forward to new friends and new possibilities. No one ran away from her in terror, here!
“I have never seen such a spectacular performance! There are shows in Equestria, many come to the palace to perform and it is a great honor to see, but nothing of that, ah, magnitude!” Luna held up her hands to about shoulder height and waved them just a little bit. “This amusement park, it was fantastic! I met a giant Mouse, a giant Duck, and a princess who reminds me of a royal mare from Saddle Arabia! There were many rides and many more ponies than I have ever seen in one place. I did not go on many of these rides, as Charlie is still small and I did not want to go alone.” She blushed a bit at her confession, but the rides were much more different than back home.
“What is that you are drinking?” It looked like pee. Ew.
~~~
Doug gave her a smile when she talked about Saddle Arabia. He wasn’t sure that he believed that, because it sounded too much like Saudi Arabia, but he couldn’t find a reason for her to be lying. When you first meet someone, there is no reason to think that they are lying. They don’t know you, and have no reason to tell you something that isn’t true. Not in Doug’s experience, anyway. Unless it was someone he was trying to bust.
“I have only been to one amusement park in my life, and I am sure it is nothing like Disneyworld.” Doug replied, shaking his head. He had enjoyed it though. He wanted to go back to one now that he was an adult and able to ride lots more rides. He had been about 13, and he had only been able to ride some things. Mostly because he had been too scared, like Luna. Doug wasn’t scared of many things these days. It’s a byproduct of being in his twenties.
“It’s called beer.” Doug replied, wondering how she hadn’t heard of beer before. But if she was formerly a pony, and living in a land called Equestria, maybe it made sense. Doug looked at her. “It’s an acquired taste, and most women don’t enjoy it.”
~~~
Listening, Luna's soft eyes never left Doug's face. She heard every word he said, even if were not much. She took her hand back but remained near, eyes finally casting down at the drink in recognition.
"It must be like some of ciders," she said. "We do have plenty of ales and alcohols where I am from, though typically at the palace we had champagne or wine with our meals and social events. I prefer champagne." Luna motioned at the wall of bottles idly.
"What are you doing drinking by yourself? I always believed drinking to be a social affair." Her head tilt slightly, curious as to why he would seek drinking. Though, he was new so perhaps he merely hadn't met any companions.