capeandcowllogs | if the elephants have past lives

WHO: GIL and YOU
WHERE: anywhere! The park, a grocery store, the streets, around his workplace, etc.
WHEN: between 12/10 and 12/13
WARNINGS: references to Thunderhungerdome events
SUMMARY: In spite of everything that's happened, Gil has to try and carry on with City life.
FORMAT: starting with quick but tagger's choice!

[ If there's anything Gil is always quick to buy, no matter how stingy he can be with money, it's cigarettes and a brand new lighter. He's not too fond of those cheap ones from the corner stores, even if they do work in a pinch. But so do matches. (The odd stare every now and then doesn't both him when he's craving a long drag of nicotine. While he's well are of the laws against public smoking, when he really needs (re: wants) a cigarette, he can't help himself. When he's working, he avoids it as long as he can before he lights one outside the building.

Attempting to quit doesn't cross his mind. There's a lot on it.

He's even lost count of how long it's been since that night in the stadium. There are fleeting moments it feels like it was a decade ago, buried under the other painful events that seemed to consistently plague his life-- and then the vivid moments like it was just yesterday and his senses are overloaded with the smell of copper and screaming ringing in his ears.

It's the brief seconds of remembering Lenalee and Damian's bodies that jostles him out of his daze and he needs to stop and catch his breath. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ There's an impoliteness to declining a lady's invite, even if sometimes it needed to be done. However, this isn't an invite to a formal party, dance, or marriage proposal, so there's way less pressure than usual.

At the moment, his mind finally drifts from the events that transpired in the stadium. ]

Alright. Is there anywhere in particular you'd um, like to go?

[She can't hide how pleased (and relieved) she is that he's accepted her invitation. Though she's literally just met him, she still would have been a bit put out if he'd said no. Not for any particular reason other than being rejected in a way, of course.

But, as he's said yes, a smile lights her face and she simply gestures in front of her.]

Not really. I was just planning on walking around the park for a bit.

That's fine, then. [ He'll just allow her to lead the way. ]

[And she will!]

Might I ask how long you've been in the City?

Is it that obvious that I'm an imPort? [ Not realizing that Gemma herself is one. ]

[She laughs lowly, cheeks going pink.]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I suppose it's... you're mannerisms.

Really? [ He's still just as surprised. ] You don't need to apologize-- I'm mostly surprised.

[She still looks apologetic.] Mostly it's just that I've been here long enough to be able to tell the difference between a native and an import.

[ "Long enough"? He cants his head. ]

Wait, are you an imPort...?

[She smiles, pausing as Pippa stops to sniff around.]

I am. I've been here for about two years.

Ah, that explains... [ He gestures vaguely. ] You don't sound like the others here. You don't have an accent.

[ Of course to Gil, he and Gemma didn't have those. Everyone else had an accent. ]

[She totally agrees!! American accents are so strange. She'd only been in America for a few weeks before coming to the City, but it had almost been the same. Only the slang had changed, really. She's at least used to it now.]

Neither do you. That was part of what led me to deduce that you are also an import. [Because there aren't native people in the City from England, right?]

Oh, of course. [ He thinks for a second. ] They passed that law in that country -- England, isn't it? So I suppose they don't come here as often anymore.

[Her brows raise.] Yes, they did. Are you--not from England? [Wow, she was completely off the mark with that one.]

[ He doesn't blame her. This alternate universe stuff gets so confusing. ]

A place called Reveille. [ A city, anyway. What is the country's name in PH? We just don't know. ]

But it may be England... just by a different name in my world.

I can't say I've ever heard of Reveille... but you're right, it could be the same country anyway. [A beat.] Did you have a queen?

We do, but I don't hear much about her. [ Lol canon. ]

[Oh canon.]

Well, that's something at least. [A beat, then proudly:] I met our Queen, once.

You have? [ He's amazed. Not anybody can meet the queen anywhere, even he knows that. ]

Yes. She deemed me a lady. [This is actually a point of pride.]

She-- [ And he's left speechless. WHERE ARE HIS MANNERS?! He has no idea what to make of this. ] That's incredibly... congratulations on such an honor.

[Did I forget to mention that Gemma is... kind of... an aristocrat back home...] Thank you. It was years ago now, of course, and I suppose it doesn't mean much in this world...

[ Gil is adopted nobility... so they're kind of alike. Minus the titles. ]

No queen would bestow upon titles to just anyone.

[Sob titles mean nothing here. And oh no she's starting to reminisce.]

All the young ladies from the best families were sent to meet her. It was such a grand event.

... You're from noble lineage?

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