tampered | Log; Complete

Peter could see where Caspian was going with this. While the City was more like England than Narnia, Peter couldn't even compare them.

"No, they aren't similar at all." Peter gave Caspian an annoyed look. "London is much more civilized, for one."

He raised his hands in a light surrendering gesture. "Pardon my mistake," your Majesty, "though you have grown comfortable here."

Caspian looked Peter up and down, his dress shirt and slacks to his tunic and breeches.

Peter didn't like the implication, but it was true. The adjustment when he had entered Narnia for the first time had been fast. The adjustment back to English life? Not as much. As for the City, the adjustment had been easier than Caspian's.

"It could be I'm more used to change."

At least there were some things he recognized. They were simply scattered along with the vampires and gunslingers and aliens.

"Perhaps. But only Aslan knows if it was for the better," he said to Peter without thinking of what else he could be implying.

At that point, Tosh returned with the promised beers, setting them in front of the boys and slipping back into her seat.

"All decided? Or have you concluded that pizza's not all it's cracked up to be?"

Her tone was light and teasing, as she was sure they were both too polite to consider such a thing. But she'd picked up on bit of awkwardness, and wasn't sure how to alleviate it.

"Mushrooms and sausage," he said, repeating Peter's recommendation.

Rest assured he wasn't going to feast on it with his dagger and drinking horn. Not that he had a horn on him in the first place.

Peter nodded in agreement with Caspian. It was a simple pizza, without any toppings that could be considered unusual.

"Is that all right with you, Toshiko?" Peter asked, accepting his drink with a small nod. It was only polite to ask again, just in case.

"Absolutely fine with me," Tosh agreed. She placed the order quickly, glad to have that out of the way, and then sat quietly for a moment before she realized that she probably should make an attempt at conversation, for politeness sake. She had been the one to issue the invitation, after all.

"Are you both liking things here, well enough anyway?"

He shifted a covert glance back to Peter, just to analyze the situation, in the event that somehow having a bite to eat with Toshiko Sato was turning into a challenge between the two. Fortunately she was the "adult" here and likely to vanquish any sense of competition... unless she enjoyed the attention!

"Thank you," Caspian nodded, taking his own drink for a sip. Hmm, whatever it was didn't taste so bad. "It is good," he raised his glass to Tosh in compliment. Count on Corona.

"It is very new to me, but I do not refuse the chance to explore," he answered her question honestly. "And you, Toshiko?"

Unlike Caspian, Peter saw the dinner invitation more as an opportunity to meet someone new. Of course, if Caspian wanted to turn it into a kind of competition, Peter wasn't one to back out.

Peter took a sip as he listened to Caspian speak. The beer wasn't Carling, but it wasn't bad. After Caspian finished, Peter spoke up.

"It's been a bit of an adjustment." Short and succinct. Peter couldn't think of what to exactly mention that was different in the City, and it was a good opener to conversation.

"Yes, I'll bet it has," Tosh agreed, responding to Peter's statement first, with a sympathetic smile. "Actually, I love it, but then it's much less strange to me than I imagine it is for either of you. Helps that most of my team from home are here, and that it's not unlike the cities I'm used to. In structure anyway. And the chances for meeting new people have been extraordinary."

Maybe Peter might've noticed the heftier gulp Caspian took from his beer then.

"Did all of you and your team come together originally," he asked Toshiko, remembering her recent return. Both Kings had arrived around the same time but not together, though they had also separated before arrival.

As an aside she certainly did not look like a 'zombie' to him.

Peter did notice Caspian's larger than necessary drink, but didn't respond to the challenge. It was still early, and the last thing Peter wanted was to embarrass himself by getting drunk.

He kept quiet as Caspian addressed Toshiko, curious to hear her answer.

ooc: sorry so late :o Went out to see Hancock earlier.

Tosh shook her head, taking a quick sip of her beer and then leaning her elbows on the table.

"I think Jack was maybe first, or Owen. They were both here before me, and then Ianto and Gwen came after. Ah...Owen's gone now, though."

There's a sadness in her eyes as she pauses, then adds, "We've got quite the crowd all living at the flats, though. The rest of the team, plus a few strays we've picked up. Are any of yours here, other than the two of you?"

It's a Telmarine thing. Caspian didn't think he'd find the taste of it rather enjoyable either.

"And previously that creature in the lake," he remembered from their previous conversations. The sadness in here eyes didn't go unnoticed, but Caspian also remembered that Toshiko had recently... well, he wasn't going to ask if the two incidents were related.

"Two horses," Caspian answered then glanced to Peter again. So far there'd been no word of his siblings, and he knew how important they were.

[ooc: But was it guds?]

"Their names are Bree and Destrier." Peter added on for further clarification. "Bree is a Talking Horse, while Destrier belongs to Caspian." He wished he could mention his siblings, but there had been no sign of them ever since his arrival in the city. Peter couldn't decide if it was better that way; The City was dangerous, but so was England at the time. In the end, Peter decided it would have been better if they were all together. At least that way he could keep watch over them.

Peter took another sip of his drink, not wanting to be outdone by Caspian, before noticing the look of sadness in Toshiko's eyes. He decided it was better not to ask, in the chance it was personal. "It's strange how the City works. It sounds like people from the same world often come around the same time."

ooc: I thought so! Better than the reviews made it sound.

Edited 2008-07-12 03:49 (UTC)

Tosh chuckled softly at Caspian's remark, and nodded. "Yes, Ellington. Have you happened to meet him yet, Peter? He's really a sweet thing, although probably a little scary if you don't realize that was raised with people."

A quiet moment, while she thought about the people she knew they must both be missing. Although Peter had a very good point. "You know, it seems that way, doesn't it? All of Luke's people came right together, and Harry's people. So maybe more from your world will come as well. And I don't believe I've met either Bree or Destrier, but I'm sure you must both be glad to have them."

[ooc: I totally agree, I didn't think it deserved to be panned as badly as it has been.]

"Good horses, both of them," Caspian insisted.

He took another sip simultaneously with Peter, able to juggle an unspoken challenge while carrying a conversation with the two. He wouldn't ask about the other Pevensies though, he knew better.

"I have read about 'rifts' in the library though I am sure the City would not allow one single explanation for any of it."

[ooc: Noooo I didn't see yet, Hancock and Hellboy are on my list.]

"Ellington?" Peter looked from Caspian to Toshiko curiously. The name sounded familiar, but he had learned by now it was impossible to assume things by name in the City.

"I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing." Peter mused, after taking another sip just to outdo Caspian. "It's dangerous here, but I'm sure siblings would enjoy being away from school." He added the last bit as an afterthought, knowing that deep inside he secretly did wish they were here with him. It was safer that way, after all.

ooc: aw, it's definitely a must see!

Tosh tilted her head at Caspian, curious. "I can probably tell you just as much about rifts as the library can, if it's Time rifts you're talking about. Part of my job back home, in fact."

Then she smiled, because what she was about to say to Peter sounded ludicrous, and she may have to just take him out there sometime and introduce him. "He's a...imagine a very large, blue cross between and octopus and a squid. That sings and plays the harmonica. But as for the City, it's not as dangerous as all that, really. The curses can be frightening, but they don't last long. And so long as you're careful to get to know people a bit before you trust too much to them, it can actually be a lot of fun here."

Caspian's dark eyes snuck another glance to Peter. Susan and Edmun could certainly take care of themselves, but Lucy? Well best not to think about it.

It was also becoming a natural reaction to take a sip in succession after the High King. Hopefully the food would arrive before he finished his beer, not that he would mind a second beer at all.

"You can?" He asked Toshiko, much more curious now about the rifts. But when she spoke of Ellington again, Caspian turned to Peter and nodded. "I thought it might be a Naiad of some sort. Destrier was not too pleased, but this Ellington seems harmless."

Peter knew that Lucy knew how to handle herself, but he also knew that Lucy could be a bit too trusting at times. Far too trusting in a place where liars and axe murderers were far too common. And of course, the curses. "It's unsettling how it's able to influence people act differently." The fight with Caspian was still fresh on his mind.

"Is Ellington a kraken?" Peter asked, not too surprised at the description. After ruling in Narnia for decades, he was used to accepting various 'imaginary' creatures as not so imaginary.

"It is, I agree. I think the thing to do is just try and remember that if someone suggests you're acting strangely, it's a good plan to really stop and think about the possibility of a curse. And usually on a curse day, there'll be chatter on the network about it, so you can find out pretty quickly if one's in progress."

Their pizza arrived, and Tosh paused a moment to make sure they all three were served, then picked a mushroom off her slice and popped it in her mouth before continuing. "Not a kraken, but...are you familiar with the writings of Lovecraft?"

Not that axe murderers were any more dangerous than some of the creatures they'd had to face in Narnia. At the mention of curses that could easily influence people, Caspian carefully hid half his face with the rim of his glass. He sipped, more than grateful to avoid discussing that in public, and within Toshiko's company.

"Kraken? Do we have those," he asked the Narnian, not that Caspian could go searching for krakens and sea serpents anytime soon.

Now that feast smelled good, but as a gentleman should, he waited until Toshiko was ready to eat first. "I am unfamiliar with Lovecraft," a given.

Peter shook his head in response to Caspian's question. "Not as far as I know. They could exist beyond the Lone Islands, but we haven't explored that far." Beyond that was Aslan's territory, something Peter and the others hadn't thought of exploring just yet.

As for Lovecraft, Peter shook his head again. Even with his adventures in Narnia, Peter hadn't found weird literature too fascinating.

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