jumpthegun | WtL Mailbox

[John has the good grace to wince as he spears another piece of fruit.]

If people don't know it, I just skip that part. But, yeah. It should identify and extra issues that Norfinbury might have caused.

That'd be a help.

[He pauses, and then adds:]

Thank you for coming, and for the fruit. This is fucking delicious, mate.

[He spears another apple slice and holds it up in a little mini-toast. He doesn't regret saying the things he had earlier, but he still sounds perfectly sincere in this.]

[ Man, he made both of them wince. He considers that almost an achievement. ]

Mm. [ Royce grunts in agreement. He's been picking at his fruit, as well. ] Forgotten what it tasted like, almost.

Yeah. [John's still annoyed, agitated, but he's calmed somewhat.] There are fruit trees all around here. Free to pick from. Season change suddenly, though. So you'll want to keep an eye on where we are in it. There's no proper calendar, but Ienzo's working on something that goes by the seasons. We're in the middle of summer right now. When Sherlock and I turned up, there was three feet of snow all around. It his whatever counts for the first day of spring, though, and- [He snaps his fingers.] Just like that. Everything was in full bloom, the snow was gone, temperatures warmed up.

[God. Snow. Alfie can't help but frown at that. Yes, snow is a natural thing that happens in places other than Norfinbury, but still.]

You might not see much of me, when winter comes.

[He tries for a joking tone, but he actually kind of means it. He'll want to hole up.]

[ Royce maybe presses a little closer to Alfie at the mention of snow. ]

I don't want anything to do with snow. [ Scowl. ] Calendar might be nice to have, though.

The jungle stays clear of the snow year-round, so that's always a place to retreat to. Bucky's living out in the woods. Expect he'll move that direction when the time comes. We have about... [John glances up.] Sixty-two or sixty-three days left until autumn if this place keeps to an Earth calendar for the seasons. I can share the one Ienzo handed out at the last town meeting. One of the versions had everything done with the Earth calendar.

[He glances at Royce.]

If that means anything to you.

You haven't got the Earth month and days figured out, have you?

[ Royce shrugs. ]

It doesn't, but I don't think Elan's calendar is much different than yours.

Months, more or less, but without a year to go on, it's hard to assign exact days. It's July right now. [He offers Alfie an apologetic shrug.] Not sure when Sunday is, mate.

[Royce's comment makes John cock his head, though.]

Does Elan's calendar have a February? Twenty-eight or twenty-nine day month. A lot of people here seemed to think it was stupid.

It's Saturday that's the Sabbath.

[But he gets the sentiment, and appreciates it.]

[ Royce keeps that in mind, at the mention of it. ]

Mm. We have a February. That isn't a thing I thought would be similar between our worlds. [ A beat. He opens his mouth - and then closes it and looks away. He was going to bring up Emily and her world's calendar, but he doesn't want to, so much. ]

[John doesn't actually know why the months have the names they do, so he just hums thoughtfully as he sucks on a piece of pineapple on his fork.]

Well, I s'pose you could just ask. Not sure if Zephyr's keeping track, but they're using some sort of calendar right now. Seems mostly like Earth's.

Holidays and dates wouldn't work - those change from year to year. But Saturdays - yeah. I could ask about that. Worth a try, eh?

Worth a try. [ Royce shrugs a bit. ] Never much has mattered to me what day it is. I'll keep track of how long we're here, though.

Easter is always supposed to be on a Sunday. [Just pointing that one out.] But it's probably easier to just ask instead of waiting for that to come around.

[To Royce:]

I've been tracking the number of days since Sherlock and I woke up here. It's mad to think I've been stuck here longer than I was in Norfinbury.

You celebrated Easter here?

[That's a surprise.]

[ Oh, that - he doesn't know how that didn't register. ]

You've been here longer than you were in Norfinbury.

No, I haven't... [John holds up a hand for a moment.] I just mean it's the first holiday I can think of. And Ienzo said they had Easter once I think. It was mentioned on the Calendar he put together. But, yeah... I was only in Norfinbury a little more than a hundred days. It seems like time here goes so much faster.

[And yet, so much more slowly.]

I didn't mean you personally. The town.

[But okay, Royce's question is probably the more important one here, so he switches to that.]

How long has it been for you here, again?

[ Yeah, he can't remember. Royce is quiet, just listening. ]

One hundred forty-eight days.

[He's not particularly happy about it, either.]

Mm.

You even count like it's still Norfinbury.

[Something about that sits uneasily in Afie's stomach.]

[ Yeah, Royce caught that too, and he doesn't like it much. ]

It's still very much a prison for you. [ Royce says quietly. ] Easier to count the days than think of the time like you might if you were home.

[John balks a bit as he polishes off the last of his fruit salad.] I count the days because I don't know the bloody date.

[But he's not disputing the prison comment.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

SORRY FOR ALL THE TYPOS

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject