strangetrip | [GP/EP] You're not clear of story out here

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[GP/EP] You're not clear of story out here

Even before she knew for certain that it was the first of a month, Snow’s body had started bracing for it. She was wary and tense, preparing to cope with yet more people in the space of the hotel. It seemed that no sooner had she adjusted to whoever had showed up the last time, there was someone new again.

She didn’t want anything to do with the lot of it. That was what those busy women on the welcome committee were for. She didn’t think the committee was a stupid thing, not at all. Focusing on settling new people in kept the lot of them busy and away from her, and that was where she wanted them. They terrified her.

Snow White had only come into the main building to forage for food. The original plan was of course to turn right back around and escape before the expected rush (small or large) of new people to flood in.

But that was of course not what happened. When a universe was a pocket, it had less to focus on and fewer people to fuck with, and so Snow was entirely certain it was fucking with her when she was the one in the lobby when a new face came through the door.

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At the unexpected denouement, Phryne raised her hand to cover her chest and her eyes shone softly with the brightness of the deeply touched. It took her several moments to reply genuinely, "How very lovely."

Jack had no intention of actually stopping in the new-arrival situation. Perhaps he should have had, as he had every intention of acting in a police role should such a thing ever be called for in the Inn, but... there was something to be said for authority being maintained by distance.

Seeing Phryne seated in the Cafe almost changed his mind. Almost, because she seemed to be engaged, obviously quite happily so, in conversation with an extraordinarily beautiful young man. Almost, because she would certainly not welcome the interruption, he'd been clear that she remained her dear free self, and they'd already had one conversation about jealousy.

It hurt, of course it did, but strength of will and some amount of practice kept him moving without a generally-noticeable pause. Phryne would pick up on it, if she saw him at all, but hopefully she'd take the action for what it was; letting her have her freedom and privacy, rather than any sort of cold shoulder.

Alcuin of course had no idea that the newcomer had anything to do with them, and so took no notice of him. Instead he responded with a smile to Phryne's reaction to Elua's teachings.

"In Terre d'Ange, rape is the very highest form of heresy," Alcuin said. "But we celebrate all forms of consensual sex, and love. And there are those who follow in Naamah's footsteps. It is a religious calling."

"A religion I could follow wholeheartedly," Phryne murmured, her pleasure in them clear, even though her gaze had been distracted toward the object of her own affections. Her darling inspector had caught sight of her, and her companion she had no doubt, from the hesitation in his step and the all but invisible flinch of pain.

She also had no doubt that Jack meant to give her space to enjoy her freedom, dear sweet man, but even if she had been inclined to try to bed Alcuin (and admittedly she was curious, although he seemed young to her, a protectee, rather than a partner), she would never do so in lieu of him.

"Will you hold that thought, Alcuin?" The reason was evident, since she immediately tipped her head, beckoning, and called quietly, "Jack, darling," speaking the endearment in public, and with a very different intonation than how she used it casually, for the first time.

Jack very carefully didn't make any kind of face at Phryne's call. Not one that said he was pleased to be called, nor one of frustration; hadn't they agreed - silently, mostly, but nonetheless - that he would not be asked to witness these things?

But of course he walked over at the beckon. It wasn't impossible to ignore, no, but a minor injury wasn't worth the fight it could start. "Miss Fisher." It would take a while to shift to using her first name in public, when her life wasn't in danger, but Jack had worked out long ago how to make the more formal address sound more like endearment. "Having a good evening, I hope."

Naturally, Phryne noted both the lack of change in Jack's affect and the genteel affection in his greeting. It took but a few heartbeats to recognize the likely source of his muted pleasure in her presence. He'd misperceived her intentions as acknowledgment rather than affirmation, which called for a somewhat different strategy than she'd previously conceived.

"Very pleasant, though more so if you'll join us," she replied with a gesture that included her companion. "I'd hoped I might see you later, but now and later will do nicely, if you're not otherwise engaged?"

Later, or now and later? So she wasn't angling for anything with the young man... and now that Jack was closer in, he wasn't surprised. The emphasis in young man would have to go on young, and Phryne's paramours were generally closer to her own age.

He smiled slightly. Polite civility to the eyes of others, but Phryne would read it as well as she generally did. "No one's killed anyone yet, and no one's decided that being trapped in a small group is a good time to start thieving. As a result, I'm quite free." There were any number of things he probably should be doing, but they were all, to a greater or lesser extent, just busywork.

There, now, that was better, and Phryne's smile radiated approval for Jack's availability -- as well as his choice of words. Another man might use the word 'free' unthinkingly, but given the importance they both placed on her freedom, Jack would not. Instead, she felt he meant to assure her that he'd been prepared to respect her freedom and that he joined them now as a product of his own free choice.

She gestured to the seat beside her, clearly indicating a preference for having him physically close. "In that case, may I present Alcuin no Delaunay?" And, smiling at Alcuin then, "Alcuin, meet my very dear friend, Detective Inspector Jack Robinson."

More than friends, that much was clear. But that only made Alcuin smile, and he politely offered his hand. "A pleasure to meet you. Is a detective a kind of soldier?" He was unsure if the problem was a language one, or another concept that he was not quite familiar with.

"Likewise, a pleasure." Jack shook the offered hand without hesitation, mentally placing Alcuin's accent as French - or similar to French, given that he didn't know what a detective was when, historically speaking, a Frenchman had all but invented the job. "It's not dissimilar in some ways, but no. I investigate crimes and apprehend those responsible for committing them." Or he had, before the Inn, and there had been nothing yet that required his efforts.

"The Detective Inspector is too modest," Phryne demurred. Inwardly, it delighted her to have an opportunity to boast of Jack's investigative prowess. She adored him for it, and shared conversation with another gave her a genteel way to show it. "He's quite the best detective on the entire police force." She turned a sly, but infinitely fond smile on her most darling Jack and added, "With my help, of course."

The affection between them made Alcuin happy. He might miss having that feeling himself, but absent that, seeing it in others still made him feel a bit closer to Elua, to home.

"It also sounds a bit like being a spy," he offered. "Seeing things that others don't."

It looked as though this would end up a conversation rather than a simple introduction, so Jack took a seat with a mock-stern look to Phryne. "I did well enough before you started to interfere." Not as well as he did after, and certainly not as happily, but they both knew that.

Alcuin's observation made him thoughtful, though. "That's not dissimilar either. Observation and deduction would be the cornerstones of either one."

Although she might have, Phryne declined to say of course you did; she very nearly did not, however, solely because it would have given her another chance to add the appellation 'dear.' Endearments would have to wait until the conversational opportunity presented itself, or she and Jack were alone with less space (and hopefully clothing) between them.

Instead, she asked Alcuin, "Is that what you did in Terre d'Ange, then? Spying? I'd thought you were headed an entirely different direction from Elua's precepts and Namaah's service."

She turned her head slightly to catch Jack's eye and explain, "The religion of Alcuin's world derives from the precept, 'love as thou wilt,' and some emulate one of the Lord's followers by serving as holy prostitutes." The delicate brush of her hand against his thigh served both as promise she'd fill him in later, if Alcuin didn't, and a probably unnecessary request for gentleness if her suspicions were correct.

Alcuin looked a bit taken aback by her explanation (and the implied question), not because it was inaccurate, but simply because it was a lot. Phryne was the first person here he had said anything to about Naamah's service. Vax was the only one who knew about his religion, and even then he had been hesitant to go any further. He had inferred by now that there would be a stigma to prostitution among those here similar to the more close-minded foreigners in his world. It was nice to know that that did not apply to Phyrne, but he had no idea about Jack. Except that Alcuin thought it unlikely she would bring it up if she thought he would react badly.

He did look slightly uncomfortable for a beat, but then he said, "You were not mistaken. I was both." He hesitated, and then added politely, "Which I'm sure you understand I would prefer not to become common knowledge." It wasn't that he was ashamed, but it was the kind of thing he would like to explain himself, as opposed to people simply learning it about him through gossip.

Honestly, Jack's traditional upbringing was a little scandalized. But he'd grown since then, between the War, policework, and Phryne. There was none of the hollow desperation or hard-edged cynicism in Alcuin that Jack associated with people who'd turned to selling their bodies for lack of any other option. And if it was religious... well, it was no more abnormal, really, than Catholic priests' vows of celibacy. Less abnormal, and more adhered to, really.

And Phryne's phrasing and body language would have been much, much different if she had a rescue operation in mind.

So, beyond a blink and slightly-too-long pause to process and adjust, Jack just observed, "I imagine the one complemented the other, assuming you weren't also bound by some kind of confessional rule." And how much information or advantage had Phryne gained from her various liaisons, even if information and advantage hadn't been her point? But that wasn't a comparison Jack particularly wanted to think about.

One didn't become a renowned lady detective by lacking observational skills. She immediately noted both Alcuin's discomfort and Jack's, but regretted it only slightly. When weighed against the possibility of him discovering Alcuin's occupation later, after Alcuin and Phryne had grown closer (because she had no doubt they would, if it were up to her), a moment of being scandalized was highly preferable--both for her own sake and Alcuin's.

Still, she moved to set Alcuin's mind at ease immediately, overriding Jack's observation with an impatient look. "Of course your history is safe with us. And as we've just been through a bloody war in which intelligence-gathering played an essential role in victory," and Phryne had take her clothes off in similar operations. "I've nothing but respect for your profession." Because she had no doubts about his ethics.

Alcuin relaxed a bit, at both of their reactions, and then offered a small smile. "It isn't that I'm ashamed," he assured them, "on either point. But I am sensitive to... cultural differences. Ah, I'm already beginning to learn that there are attitudes here towards sex and love that are outside of the norm in Terre d'Ange."

Jack just nodded. What else was he supposed to do? This was not within his conversational depth. It seemed like a far better idea to stay mostly quiet and let Phryne steer. Colorful as she was (contrasted with 'that dour police detective' in Mrs. Stanley's words) she certainly had the words and experience necessary to explain and reassure as needed.

"More so in our time than here and now," Phryne replied while placing her hand over Jack's on the booth in an expression of gratitude for his gentility. "Or among the very religious, who believe sex outside of marriage is a cardinal sin." Fortunately Jack's conservatism only extended to sex outside of marriage while he was married, else she'd eventually die of overstimulation.

"Most of our fellow captives will, I imagine, be more concerned for the possibility of you being coerced into your profession and mistreated by your pander or your clients than by any implication of promiscuity. Any discomfort is likely a combination of guilty curiosity and desire."

"Desire I know how to deal with. The rest is more difficult." And to be frank, Alcuin had not exactly seen much evidence of desire here so far. Not that he'd been in a position to think about it that much so far. "But no, I was not coerced." He had committed blasphemy. But he did not want to describe the specifics of his tale right now.

"If anyone tries, find me. Or Miss Fisher, of course." The likelihood of anyone trying coercion was vanishingly low, but... men and women cooped up together in a comparatively small area. Tempers would flare, eventually. The Madonna Inn wasn't the trenches, not even close, but Jack could see the possibility of similar issues the longer waiting for more nothing to happen went on.

Out of Jack's field of vision and largely unnoticed by others in the Café, Ignis slipped through the connecting doors to the kitchen and behind the bar. With the ease of some practice on both sides, both he and the bartender on duty avoided each other while he ran fingertips along the shelves in back, apparently looking for a particular bottle.

Alcuin of course tended to notice things like new people entering a room. He saw Ignis out of the corner of his eye and turned to look at him, and it made him smile. He had been kind to him, and it reminded Alcuin that he likely did not have much to be wary about from the people here.

He looked back at Jack and Phryne. "I appreciate that very much."

Phryne, too, had noticed Ignis's entrance, and noticed Alcuin noticing. She didn't doubt that Jack had noticed it, also. Three observant people, observing each other, observing a man who couldn't see them, but almost certainly had marked them nevertheless. The entire sequence summoned a small, conspiratorial smile from Phryne as she glanced aside at Jack.

"Have you met Ignis, Alcuin?" Of course he had. "I think you'd rather like him." Of course he did. Both of them were entirely likable, attractive, and quite probably more interested in men than women. She didn't assume that because they both preferred men, they'd want to be together, but the part of her that appreciated other people falling in love did hope they would.

So before Alcuin could answer, she shot a brighter smile over in Ignis's direction to make sure he'd hear it in her voice. "Ignis, darling. Are you busy? If not, perhaps you'd like to join me and my companions for a drink?"

Jack sighed infinitesimally, returning Phryne's glance with... mostly amusement. Some exasperation, though her track record was quite good, at least considering Collins and Miss Williams.

Ignis paused at the call - Miss Fisher, and some nebulous companions - and it only took a few seconds to decide that no, in fact, he was not especially busy. She was pleasant company, and no doubt her companions would be likewise... and really, he couldn't spend all his time in the kitchens.

He oriented on her voice and walked toward it. He could tell which side of the... booth, yes, Miss Fisher was on, but the disposition of her 'companions' was a mystery. "Provided my drink is coffee, certainly."

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