bakerstreet | Denny's

[Paul has found himself a quiet spot near a corner. He has a menu, some eggs and hash browns to eat, and a warm coffee which he enjoys.]

[Duncan has no idea what a Grand Slam is or how it relates to food, but he's digging in with relish.

His eyes still flick around the place from time to time, ever on guard to protect Paul should he need to.] Interesting food here. Coffee's good.

[Paul nods, mouth full. He's in the middle of eating a spoonful of eggs, and he looks over when he finishes them.

Not that he's ever been that fussy an eater. Paul has a strong stomach.] These are good. You're right about the coffee - I've been through a cup already. [He starts unwrapping a burger.]

[There's always something exciting about exploring. Sure there are diplomatic protocols, political angles to be examined, but this was where you got to know a people. Where they ate. Where they talked. The food is plentiful and good. Duncan approves.] Try the one with the bubbles in it. I think it's called Coke?

[Paul nods and returns with a cup of Coke. He takes a drink and nods in cautious approval. Sweet, but it's a taste he can probably get used to. Then he takes a sizable bite of the burger, voice muffled by the food in his mouth.] Hmph. This isn't bad. [He swallows. Then the rest of the eggs disappear in short order, Paul licking his lips in satisfaction.] I think I can handle the last of it well enough.

Better than we've had in a while. [Duncan finishes his coffee and bacon with a pleased hum.] I like this place. It could do with some spice beer, but the people are worth watching.

[Tired servers, bored cooks and patrons drifting in and out. Duncan doesn't have to monitor for threats. He can simply enjoy a little down time with Paul.]

[Paul does enjoy having the opportunity to let his guard down a little. As much as he's enjoying the bacon that he's currently devouring.] We could suggest it to them. But it might be too much on the exotic side.

[He sips the Coke curiously. Sweet, but not bad. There's caffeine in there, he's sure, so it's not too far off from the coffee he already drank. A hard day's work has given Paul a voracious appetite.]

Then I guess it'll have to be our secret. [One he'll no doubt share with Gurney if he can coax him out. Not a true secret from the others, but something quiet and private for them.]

Nothing like the exotic offerings on Caladan. I prefer this. [But Duncan is a man of simple pleasures. A good meal with Paul close by.]

Well, obviously not. But nothing really can replace meals on Caladan, can it? Our food and drink are famous. But in a pinch, this will do.

[And then the bacon's gone the same way as the eggs and the hash browns. Paul leans back and cleans his mouth with a napkin, his other hand on his satisfied stomach.] Ah. That was - hic, excuse me - very good.

[He looks close enough to her age that she doesn't feel too weird sitting with him. It's just one of those things where you walk into Denny's after midnight and you really don't want to be sitting alone when the post bar hopping crowd trickles in.]

Do you mind if I sit with you?

[She's got her own menu and a book tucked under her arm, and offers him a sheepish smile before looking around the restaurant. There's other tables she could sit at, but it feels safe over here in the quiet corner.]

It's just, I don't feel like being alone right now. And I thought maybe you could use the company too.

[A little surprised but pleased for the company, Paul gestures to the opposite side of the table. He chose the corner so that he would have more chance of a quiet meal, but the newcomer seems like the quiet type. He sympathizes with not wanting to feel alone.]

No, I don't mind at all. Here, there's a seat opposite.

[Paul doesn't mind eating alone, but eating with company is nice, too. When Paul notices the book, he decides to strike up a conversation. He hasn't made that much progress on his meal yet and he's not so hungry that he can't socialize.]

What are you reading? I'm curious if it's something I might be interested in. [He gives a quiet nod.] I should give you my name first. I'm Paul.

I'm Chrissy.

[She smiles as she moves the book out from under her arm to sit on the table so he can see. It's The Hobbit, and from the looks of the bookmark sticking out, she hasn't gotten very far into it yet.]

It's called The Hobbit? I promised a friend I'd try reading it, but I haven't found the time to do that yet.

[She had planned on sitting and reading the book for a couple of hours, but a better opportunity has presented itself. So she settles into the seat across from him, seeming relaxed as they're hidden away in their quiet corner booth.]

What type of books do you usually like to read?

Good to meet you.

[Paul politely finishes a mouthful of his eggs before he talks again, then leans over to get a closer look at Chrissy's book. He's interested, not taking it but craning his neck so that he can see the cover. It is an attractive book.]

The Hobbit. I've...never read it. But I've got a lot of reading to catch up on. But when you're finished, and if it's all right, I could borrow it.

[How is he going to explain that he's not from her planet...or her time period? This could get very complicated, very quickly. Paul figures he'll things to Chrissy explain when the time comes. How they're becoming friends, he owes her an explanation.]

I read more nonfiction than fiction, actually. I enjoy reading about different places and people.

Really?

[She sounds completely fascinated as she asks that, leaning forward in her seat. Her elbows rest on the table, and her chin rests in the palm of her hand.]

Do you actually get to travel and see different places? Or is reading enough to make it feel like you're there?

[She's fascinated by the thought of actually being able to pack up and travel like that. Sometimes she wishes she could. It'd have to be better than living where she does now, stuck in a life where she feels she has no control.]

Really.

[Paul can't help but chuckle a little, more at the irony than anything. His first time off his home planet and he's on humanity's ancestral world.]

Well, this is actually the first time I've been away from home. It's a very long way from my home, though. I'm from far away.

[Paul's already thinking how best to explain his origins to somebody from late 20th-century Earth, where space travel is in its early stages. It'll be difficult, but probably not impossible. He's willing to bet Chrissy has never met a teenager from outer space before.]

[Chrissy has been through some strange things recently. She's pretty open minded because of it, but has no idea that he means anything other than just traveling across the world they're on now. In her timeline, it's not like anyone can even go to other planets and sightsee. It wasn't even twenty years ago yet that people landed on the moon.

Her curious smile remains though, and she sits up straight in the booth.]

It's your first time away from your parents and they let you come here all by yourself?

[If she sounds shocked, he'll have to forgive her. She can't imagine her parents letting her go a town or two over without someone with her. The fact she's out here this late is definitely because they have no idea where she is.]

[Paul tries, with some success, to balance conversation with his breakfast. Chrissy might notice that he's polite but very hungry, as if he hasn't eaten anythig in a while - and he hasn't. The food he got here at Denny's is the first meal he's had in two days. He swallows a mouthful of hash browns before he talks again. However disoriented he is, manners come first.]

No, I didn't come here intentionally. I don't really know how I got here, which is part of the problem.

[Time to be more specific. Paul takes a sip of coffee for courage - he may as well bite the bullet and explain things to Chrissy as best he can. He'll start with explaining where he's from, and then that he's lost space royalty pulled from his universe and needs to find away back home.]

I'm not from this country. Or this planet, for that matter.

Oh.

[Okay, so she sounds a little shocked to hear that. And her eyes do widen, but she doesn't seem to be about to grab her book and run. Her nose does wrinkle up as she laughs a little, trying to figure out if he's joking with her. It doesn't take long for her to realize that he's serious.

And wow, he also seems pretty hungry too. Chrissy's only ordered a piece of toast, and feels like maybe she should be picking at it a little more. He's starving, and she's wasting food. She pulls the crust off her toast before tearing off a small piece and popping it into her mouth.]

So are you from Mars?

[It's the first planet she can think of.]

Good guess, but no.

[A reasonable guess - Mars was the planet closest to Earth, after all. Paul decides to clarify things a bit. But his tone and his expression are completely serious. He knows it will be a difficult sell. If he brought something from his homeworld, he might have proof, but he only has the clothes on his back. Noticing that she's eating, he picks up the pace a little.

Even if he wasn't very hungry, it's not bad. Nothing to compare with Caladan food, of course, but Paul doesn't want to make comparisons, especially when he's a guest here. And his title wouldn't mean much of anything. With his very limited knowledge of this country, he's pretty sure they don't have ducal heirs, or dukes for that matter.]

In the time and place I come from, humans have spread throughout the universe.

[He smiles a little, to show that he's friendly.] My home planet is named Caladan. It's not a world in your solar system.

Caladan.

[Chrissy whispers the name of it, nose scrunching up a little as she manages to not say it exactly how he does. She's definitely never heard of it before. And it really doesn't seem like he's lying to her. As trusting as she is, she thinks that maybe she should believe him.]

Oh my gosh. You're from another solar system, and you wound up in a Denny's.

[That she has to laugh about, because it's probably not the place she would pick to take someone from another country. Much less another world entirely.]

How long have you been here?

That's right.

[Paul nods. It seems like his explanation is working and Chrissy believes him. And that's not a bad start at all. In some ways telling her that he was from another planet would be the hardest part, he thinks, or at least the one that might be the most unbelievable on face value.]

To be fair, there are also worse places I could have ended up. And I've been sleeping in the street for the past two nights I've been here so I'm not fussy.

[He shrugs a little. Without much choice, he couldn't be. Paul badly misses his homeworld and his family, but he'll survive.]

Not really fit for a duke, but what can you do.

Edited 2022-08-20 15:31 (UTC)

Denny's

Paul Atreides | Dune

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