and straight on til morning

[princehonorable]

The deep level of mistrust that David holds for his current predicament knows no bounds.

For one, finding himself aboard the Jolly Roger with a pirate, the evil queen intent on making his wife's life an unhappy hell, and his distressed daughter? Not good. Watching Rumplestiltskin evaporate into thin air and doing god knows what where he can't see him? Even more not good. Walking through the Captain's cabin door and stumbling when his sea legs give out from under him because there's no more ocean to compensate for? Yeah, that part is what David's really trying to get used to.

He doesn't have his sword because he'd been looking for a map and didn't think he'd need it to defend himself, but Hook had apparently rigged himself up a portal that led from the seas outside Neverland to this strange building. He'd arrived just as a party was breaking up and he'd watched odd people in mad costumes filter out through the hotel -- though some people went through doors and never came back -- and try as he might, the best answer that he could get out of anyone was this and only this: Nexus Hotel.

He thought he'd seen a familiar face or two, but they were only passing by and wouldn't stop to answer his questions, which is how he's found himself sitting at the bar, chocolate milk in hand and staring forward as he tries to think up a plan.

He will always, always find his family, but sometimes it seems like the universe truly enjoys testing him.

Comments

[thelostprince]

Loki was feeling more or less decent, after being allowed to stretch his legs within that one door that had taken him through terrifying terrain and amongst creatures he had never seen before. Most would find themselves more or less disturbed at coming across buxom women with warped faces or giant spiders made out of doll parts, but for Loki it had been refreshing. He had no taste for the wholesome.

He'd gone to the bar initially to see if Fiona was around, because she amused him, and when he did entertain the thought of company he found her far less stressful than Thor or his new girl. Fiona was nowhere in sight, which didn't mean he was about to leave (it was a bar, and that meant whisky was the real temptress here) but meant he probably wouldn't be sociable. That is until he noticed the gentleman standing by the bar, drinking something that definitely didn't appear alcoholic, with an expression on his face that suggested deep thought, or no thoughts at all.

"Lost?" Loki asked, not with a whole lot of concern, as he signaled to a bartender to pour him something.

[princehonorable]

"Constantly," is Charming's wry retort, taking in the man in front of him with something akin to mild disbelief. It's not that he reminds him exactly of Hook, but there's something to be said for type and he's been inundated with that, lately. "This isn't exactly the stormy oceans I was on, but it's not home, either."

And for a man who has as many homes as David does, that's saying something.

[thelostprince]

"Could be worse, then," Loki replied. He picked up the glass that had been set before him, a splash of whiskey atop a single ice cube, and drank it down. What was served here was weak in regards to what he was used to, but that didn't mean it wasnt enjoyable. Taste, like so many other things, could be trained.

How the other man looked at him was of little concern to him; he was used to garnering stares, after all. "You'll get used to it, unless you manage to wander out again," he said. "Is the ocean more interesting than a hotel bar?"

[princehonorable]

"It wasn't a vacation," he clarifies, since sailing the stormy seas of Neverland is hardly the avenue he'd choose for himself, if ever given the option. "My family was taken from me. We were getting him back, but I may have forgotten to weigh in the trickiness of pirates with access to portals," he says wryly.

[thelostprince]

He tapped the rim of his glass, silently asking the bartender for a refill, but he kept his attention on the man he was speaking with.

"Getting who back?" he asked. "Sounds like quite a bit of trouble." Not that Loki disagreed with trying to fetch a family member from certain harm; rather, before his fall, such a thing would never have been a question for him. But the fact his own family apparently hadn't given much thought to their youngest son tumbling into an abyss tended to sour his perspective.

[princehonorable]

"My grandson," he replies, knowing how it's going to make him sound, but not actually caring right now. Somewhere, Henry is out there in the clutches of Pan or whatever nefarious plan he has in place and David isn't going to abandon his family to that fate, especially not after losing Emma. "He was kidnapped. Stolen."

[thelostprince]

Loki considered the man for a moment. Not out of confusion, since, while the man did not look grandfatherly to him, that was really an individual's perspective. Loki was a young man on Asgard, but ancient on Earth; and while even they grew old and aged, it did take quite a while. Still, he didn't think he was looking at something similar. That didn't strike him as quite right. "Who took him?" He asked. "The doors that lead to this place are rather tricky. You might even find him here eventually. Or you'll never see him again, though from what I understand this place eventually lets you out."

[princehonorable]

"Tamara and Greg," Charming says, though the names mean little to him and he's sure they mean very little to this man, too. "We didn't think they were anyone, but they had come to our town with the ulterior motive of stealing Henry for...we don't know, some sick purpose, probably," he says heatedly. "I can't let him be taken from us, not like ... I just can't," he says firmly.

[thelostprince]

The story didn't make him pause, since he wasn't terribly interested in the details. Instead he tipped his head slightly to the side, in vague confusion that, knowing him, could be completely fabricated. "If you so desperately want him back, what are you doing standing here and drinking whatever that is?" He asked. "Am I missing your grand plan or is that just how it's done where you're from? Perhaps you're waiting for someone," he continued, in the tone of voice people employed when they had a tendency to carry on a conversation with themselves. "I wonder who."

[princehonorable]

"I keep trying," Charming says, the pain heavy in the words. "Every time I go back to the door I walked through, it brings me somewhere else. And I try and I try and it either stays closed or it opens up to another room in the hotel and Henry is out there with Pan while Snow has to cope with Regina and Rumplestiltskin..." He presses his lips together tightly. "If you know the way out, tell me," he insists.

[thelostprince]

Loki shook his head. He probably would have done the same thing if he had known a way out, but as it was, the truth suited him in that moment. He dragged the tip of his finger over the rim of his glass, looking almost careless about each word her carefully dropped. "The way out is more complicated than you might think," he said. "If you find yourself lacking the aptitude to control a door to do your will - well, then you may have to make do. Some go as they please. I can reach my world just fine - but it lacks a certain charisma. I prefer it here."

[princehonorable]

"I don't," Charming says curtly, staring at him curiously as he lifts up his chin as if in challenge. "What about you? If you can open a door to your world, then you might be able to get to mine..." he falters, now, struggling to remember the name. "Who are you, anyhow?"

[thelostprince]

"I am Loki," he said, frankly; his name was usually explanation enough, though these days it tended to inspire a great number of reactions, including - for the first time in his life - a complete lack of recognition. But as he lifted his glass to his lips, he suddenly froze, and narrowed his eyes at the other man, and put the glass back down on the bar with a bit more force than normal.

"The lack of facial hair and tittering woman really threw me off," he said. "Unless it's not you. But if it is I have to say, I'm impressed."

[ogunquit_girl]

Fran was just off her shift at the gift shop and thinking of nothing more than walking around for a while after several hours sitting down. Unfortunately, she also new from experience that if she didn't get something to drink before she took her walk around the grounds, she'd be hating herself for it later.

She noticed the man sitting at the bar with a passing glance, but didn't take much more notice than that. Until she realized what he was holding.

"Takes a strong man to drink chocolate milk at a bar," she said, smiling with it.

[princehonorable]

"Well, I'd like to think I have a bit of strength left in me," Charming replies, smiling warmly at the woman -- the smile only increasing in width when he sees her stomach. "It's a family favorite," he explains. "My grandson loves the stuff and I'm eager to hold onto these days."

[ogunquit_girl]

Frannie's mouth opened, then closed. "I'm sorry, did you say grandson?"

She'd seen people age well but considering the man in front of her didn't look much older than her, she was starting to wonder if she was hearing things.

[princehonorable]

"I did," he confesses, feeling odd that this is a place mad and outside of time the way Storybrooke had been, but it didn't seem to have people so used to the insane. "It's a very long story, but suffice to say, I have a grandson at the end of it."

[ogunquit_girl]

Fran smiled and nodded. "I won't pry into the particulars. I've found that long stories tend to be the norm around here. I think I have yet to meet anyone who came here out of anything one would call a typical suburban life. Well, Grandpa, it's nice to meet you. I'm Fran," she laughed a little, extending her hand.

[princehonorable]

"You can call me David," he says, setting his chocolate milk aside to properly shake her hand. "While my family situation has indeed made me a grandfather, I try not to think too hard about it. It's the kind of thing that gives a man a complex that ends in red sports cars."

[ogunquit_girl]

Fran laughed and it felt...it felt good. Almost freeing in a way. "I promise to keep the discussions of it to a minimum, unless you start thinking the red sports car isn't such a bad idea and need a handy justification."

[princehonorable]

Charming grins lopsidedly, thinking of what Snow might say if ever he brought a red car home. Although, she might look at him with a great deal of confusion given their current circumstances. His glance turns lower and his smile softens, somewhat. "May I ask how long along you are?"

[ogunquit_girl]

Fran ran a hand over the bulge that had passed i'm-pregnant a long time ago and shifted straight into a whole lot of pain in her lower back. Her mouth twisted and she laughed a little. "If you're going on a linear time line, I was due in January, twenty two years ago. Thankfully, at least for my sanity, I came here in the same month, though, so the due date hasn't changed. I should launch the little stranger here in about two months."

[princehonorable]

"That sounds like my kind of time-keeping," he jokes, because being in a coma for twenty-eight years can give you that kind of humor. "Is the father here with you?" he asks, though he does make it as gentle as he can. After all, he'd learned with Emma and Henry that sometimes the father doesn't stay in the picture.

[ogunquit_girl]

"No, I'm pretty sure he died not long after I told him about the pregnancy; but even if he had lived, he wasn't going to be a part of our lives." She ran a hand over the bump. "The little stranger and were on the road to doing this by ourselves until Stu came into our lives."

Her voice got softer, more melancholy. "But the chances are pretty good that he's dead, too."

[princehonorable]

"I'm very sorry," Charming offers, wishing that he hadn't asked while wishing he could do something for her. "You sound like you could use your very own cup of chocolate milk," he says, giving her a half-smile as he pats the stool beside him. "If you don't mind my company."