[When Temeraire's wing sweeps overhead, the coolness it brings is like a drink of water. The vampire stops freaking out and lets out a wheeze of relief. At least it sounds like the dragon is taking him to a friend. Of course the dragon has friends...]
[Now that he's done throwing a fit, he's able to squint out across the camp. Those aren't dragon tents. Okay. He's going to be talking to a human. Maurice sucks in a deep breath and lets it back out before standing up and squaring his shoulders. He is a brave adventurer and he is ready for whatever is about to happen. Please ignore the vomit on his shirt.]
Okay. Take me to your leader, Tim the Dragon. Let's do this.
[It's a very kind correction as he starts walking towards the camp, slowly enough that Maurice can stay underneath the shade of his wing as they make their way to the tents.]
[There isn't anyone out and about in the camp; everyone is inside the tents to escape the midday heat. Including Laurence, in his own tent. And that's the one Temeraire takes him to.]
Laurence is inside there, if you would go in.
[Not that there's really anywhere else TO go. The inside of the tent doesn't have much in it, but what is there is as neat and orderly as it's possible to make anything in the outback. There's a sleeping roll and a pair of chests and a rickety chair. And a man, who looks like he's been out working in a field all morning...which he has been. He's sitting and looking over plans for some sort of structure when Maurice comes in, but stands up immediately and gives him a stiffly polite nod. Yeah that vomit is noticed, but not commented on.]
You are the man Temeraire was speaking of, I assume?
[After the short walk in the shade, being inside a tent still made blobs of color dance in front of his eyes. He wasn't exactly sure what he expected to find inside the little tent, but he' d expected more. Just what were these guys doing out here? They didn't have...much. The dead man stood as tall as he could, arms at his sides. If he wants to get out of this alive, he needs to be clear and to the point.]
Yes...uh. Yes, sir. I promise I'm not a spy. I'm from America, I have no idea what happened to me.
[Laurence immediately looks a lot more concerned. This is still a British penal colony, the only Americans anywhere near here come on trading ships to the entire other side of Australia.]
Were you shipwrecked?
[Dear God has this poor man wandered in all the way from the coast?? Temeraire, who of course was still eavesdropping, puts his head down near the tent opening.]
Maurice, you didn't say anything about shipwrecks! How terrible!
[Laurence just looks Even More Concerned. Does this poor man have amnesia? Is he just really traumatized? Who knows, but he's also already writing off the strange grey skintone as part of it. He gestures to that chair.]
Perhaps you ought to sit down. You are welcome to recuperate here for now, and we will try to discover what happened.
[Temeraire whispers, which actually is about the volume of several people shouting at the top of their lungs.]
You ought to tell him about truly being a vampire.
[A chair...oh, goodness a chair! He never thought he'd be so happy to see a chair in his whole life! Without hesitating, Maurice stumbled for it but before his ass could touch the seat, the thunderclap that was Temeraire's helpful suggestion knocks him sideways. He hits the ground and throws his arms across the chair seat.]
[Good enough.]
Y...yeah. There's that. I'm gonna be honest with you, man, I aint normal by a long shot but I don't mean none a' yall no harm. I have the worst hangover, you don't even know. It was Thanksgiving before I woke up under that shrub...that's happened right? Thanksgiving?
Temeraire, if you would talk from a little farther away...
[Laurence doesn't even try to tell him not to talk, he knows that's not gonna happen. He hurries over to where Maurice fell to try and help the poor man onto the chair properly.]
[He absolutely does not believe the vampire thing. He's going to assume that Maurice is suffering from the probable shipwreck, drunkenness, or heat exhaustion. Or probably all three.]
I...am not sure what you mean by it, is it an American holiday? The date is February the sixteenth, if that helps you.
[He notes the man's accent and thinks better of bringing up the Revolutionary War. Just in case. Now properly seated he rubs his face.]
February...February.
[He's lost days at a time but never months.]
I'm more lost than I thought...soon as I get my head on straight again, I'll get outta ya'lls hair. Thank your dragon for gettin' me out from under that bush. If I had stayed much longer, I'd be ashes by now.
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theattic2014-11-09 07:55 pm
no subject
[Now that he's done throwing a fit, he's able to squint out across the camp. Those aren't dragon tents. Okay. He's going to be talking to a human. Maurice sucks in a deep breath and lets it back out before standing up and squaring his shoulders. He is a brave adventurer and he is ready for whatever is about to happen. Please ignore the vomit on his shirt.]
Okay. Take me to your leader, Tim the Dragon. Let's do this.
no subject
[It's a very kind correction as he starts walking towards the camp, slowly enough that Maurice can stay underneath the shade of his wing as they make their way to the tents.]
[There isn't anyone out and about in the camp; everyone is inside the tents to escape the midday heat. Including Laurence, in his own tent. And that's the one Temeraire takes him to.]
Laurence is inside there, if you would go in.
[Not that there's really anywhere else TO go. The inside of the tent doesn't have much in it, but what is there is as neat and orderly as it's possible to make anything in the outback. There's a sleeping roll and a pair of chests and a rickety chair. And a man, who looks like he's been out working in a field all morning...which he has been. He's sitting and looking over plans for some sort of structure when Maurice comes in, but stands up immediately and gives him a stiffly polite nod. Yeah that vomit is noticed, but not commented on.]
You are the man Temeraire was speaking of, I assume?
no subject
Yes...uh. Yes, sir. I promise I'm not a spy. I'm from America, I have no idea what happened to me.
no subject
Were you shipwrecked?
[Dear God has this poor man wandered in all the way from the coast?? Temeraire, who of course was still eavesdropping, puts his head down near the tent opening.]
Maurice, you didn't say anything about shipwrecks! How terrible!
no subject
[Maurice's eyes then move beyond Laurence and look lost. Was he on a ship? In a car? No he was...]
---I was dying I think.
no subject
Perhaps you ought to sit down. You are welcome to recuperate here for now, and we will try to discover what happened.
[Temeraire whispers, which actually is about the volume of several people shouting at the top of their lungs.]
You ought to tell him about truly being a vampire.
[HE'S BEING HELPFUL c:]
no subject
[Good enough.]
Y...yeah. There's that. I'm gonna be honest with you, man, I aint normal by a long shot but I don't mean none a' yall no harm. I have the worst hangover, you don't even know. It was Thanksgiving before I woke up under that shrub...that's happened right? Thanksgiving?
no subject
[Laurence doesn't even try to tell him not to talk, he knows that's not gonna happen. He hurries over to where Maurice fell to try and help the poor man onto the chair properly.]
[He absolutely does not believe the vampire thing. He's going to assume that Maurice is suffering from the probable shipwreck, drunkenness, or heat exhaustion. Or probably all three.]
I...am not sure what you mean by it, is it an American holiday? The date is February the sixteenth, if that helps you.
no subject
[He notes the man's accent and thinks better of bringing up the Revolutionary War. Just in case. Now properly seated he rubs his face.]
February...February.
[He's lost days at a time but never months.]
I'm more lost than I thought...soon as I get my head on straight again, I'll get outta ya'lls hair. Thank your dragon for gettin' me out from under that bush. If I had stayed much longer, I'd be ashes by now.