Gathering: Garden party, interrupted

[concierge]

From grand galas to informal gatherings, parties of one sort or another were not an unusual occurrence at the Nexus Hotel. Today was no different, a low-key affair erected in the rotunda of the Italian gardens with the aspiration that tea sandwiches and mimosas would facilitate mingling of the hotel's ever-shifting population.

What was unusual, however, was the inclusion of a wayward, bipedal lizard courtesy of a door standing open on the hotel's facade. Green, spry, perhaps five feet long and roughly as tall as a man, this new guest featured a curved, hard plate across his (or her) forehead that was perhaps indicative of the stubborn nature lurking beneath -- Perhaps because the foliage was so tasty, this little dinosaur resisted all attempts by the staff to corral it back to its home. It would run away from ropes and outstretched arms, knocking over bottles of champagne and destroying the decor before settling several feet away to chomp on some accommodating flowers.

Comments

[legendthatwas]

Martha had noticed the guy at the table across the way, of course, (he was, to borrow a turn of phrase, really really ridiculously good-looking--not that many men around here were otherwise) but her attention had mostly been on the dinosaur until he spoke. She couldn't quite tell if his expression was alarm or merely surprise.

"Not exactly common," she admitted, with a wry twinge to her smile. "But I'm used to strange events, so when they seem harmless, it's water under the bridge." Not that she didn't still remain vigilant, but..."I mean, if that dinosaur ate meat, it'd have its pick of all of us, but it's completely ignored that guy's steak in favour of foliage, so I think this is all fairly safe."

[debt_unpaid]

A nod conceded her point. "Lucky us."

He glanced at her again, looking closer. Dressed more similarly to the majority of those he'd seen here, rather than himself, she clearly wasn't from Westeros, despite her accent. Or perhaps she'd simply gone native. "You've been here long enough to get used to strange events, then," he said, half observation, half question.

[legendthatwas]

"It's the small ones that you need to worry about," said Martha, "in most situations, not just dinosaurs. They play off being underestimated."

She couldn't help but smile at his comment, and thought for a moment of the Journal of Impossible Things. It was a memory tinged bittersweet, but she wasn't about to dwell on that, and it was less bitter now than it had been. "Oh yeah. Here and other places," she said, with a wry cock of her head. "How about yourself? You sound like you might have seen a few things, just not dinosaurs at dinner."

[debt_unpaid]

That got a rough huff of a laugh out of him, thinking of Tyrion. "You won't hear me argue with that."

Rather than get lost in wondering what Tyrion would make of this place (or what in the seven hells he was doing now, back in Westeros), he applied himself to answering the lady's question. "I've seen things which might sound fantastical in the telling," he said, "but of magic, or whatever power brought us here, this has been my only experience. This, and what I've seen through some of the doors," he allowed, his mouth slanting to one side in slight humor. "The one that gave me a woman's form— that was especially startling." As had been the sight of Cersei dressed in his clothes with a golden fist at the end of her right arm. He'd figured out quick enough what had happened, and had put himself to rights immediately— but the memory had stuck with him nonetheless.

"What sort of world do you come from, if this is but one in a string of strange experiences?"

[legendthatwas]

The laugh made Martha lift both brows, lips quirking slightly. She wanted to know what was behind that sound--a story, she was pretty sure of it.

Making sure the dinosaur was safely across the room (which it was, noshing on decorative shrubs) with a glance over her shoulder, she leaned her chin on her hand, elbow on the table, and the quirk of the lips turned into more of a smile. "So it swapped sexes on you?" she asked, and shook her head, not really certain she'd want to see gender dysphoria on this man, especially unexpected. He didn't seem like he'd have initially reacted well, though she was willing to admit she might be wrong.

"I have to confess, my story's pretty much the same as yours--I've seen things that 'might seem fantastical', but all of them were explainable. Or so I was told by my travelling companion, who was more knowledgeable in advanced sciences and the local cultures--I'm just a doctor."

The last statement made her chuckle to herself. Just a doctor with a Doctor. "The thing about the universe is that magic's a lot less common than plain old strangeness, Mister..."