|
|
Post by Bertie Moreland on Feb 11, 2011 4:13:50 GMT -5
Roberta had not been one to simply wander the streets with no purpose, as she had learned long ago to never be off her guard, but in this case she was willing to make an exception. After all...this was a new place for her to learn about, and it could not be nearly as bad as fighting off pirates.
So, dressed for a brisk walk in a shorter skirt, nice shirt and walking shoes, Bertie set off to explore this new city. It was so different from London, which would be covered in a thick fog now. She had to say...it was rather nice to not have to worry about the polluted fog getting her shirt dirty. Though she had seen plenty of fog here in this city, Bertie had yet to be willing to complain about the weather here.
With her eyes wide and staring, Bertie was hardly paying attention to where she was going, which in hindsight was not a very smart idea. After all, letting down her guard was a very dangerous thing. Her grandfather and the Robinson family had taught her that much. Still, her mind simply would wander, and soon Bertie found herself nearly running into someone.
"Oh! I beg your pardon," she apologized hastily.
|
|
|
|
Post by ~Elisa Maza~ on Feb 11, 2011 9:35:40 GMT -5
Elisa walked through the streets of the city. It was her day off, and she was enjoying the fact that she didn't have any huge cases to deal with. Things had been really quiet for her and the gargoyles for a while now, actually. Elisa had to admit it was a nice change.
She was on her way to the coffee shop to get a drink, when someone bumped into her from behind. Elisa recovered her balance and turned to face the young woman who quickly apologized.
"No harm done." Elisa said with a smile. "You're not from around here, are you?"
Being a New Yorker all her life, it was always easy for Elisa to tell when she met an out of towner. The wide eyed looks, and the fact that they weren't always looking where they were going was always a dead give away.
That, and the British accent was a pretty good clue too.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bertie Moreland on Feb 11, 2011 14:23:55 GMT -5
Perhaps the British accent had given her away, Bertie thought with a sheepish smile as she shrugged a little. "Is it really so obvious?" she asked with a chuckle. "But...yes, I am not from here."
This woman who Bertie had nearly knocked over was really very pretty, Bertie decided as she twisted her fingers through her boyishly short hair. She had never been very self-conscious about her short hair, but now that she saw this woman's long black hair, it was inevitable that Bertie would be a little jealous.
"Uh...My name is Bertie," she said with another sheepish smile, holding her hand out for the other woman to take. "And again, I apologize for running into you."
|
|
|
|
Post by ~Elisa Maza~ on Feb 11, 2011 18:54:40 GMT -5
Elisa gave a friendly smile.
"Kinda, yeah. But then I've lived here all my life... it's pretty easy to tell when someone's new."
Elisa studied the young woman. She appeared to be in her mid twenties, though her pixie haircut gave the impression that she was a bit younger than that.
"Nice to meet you, Bertie." She said, shaking her hand. "My name is Elisa... and really, it's fine."
Bertie seemed like a nice young girl. As much as she loved her clan, Elisa had to admit that it would be nice to make a few more human friends.
"I was just on my way to the coffee shop." Elisa said. "Why don't you join me? I can give you the grand tour of the city."
|
|
|
|
Post by Bertie Moreland on Feb 11, 2011 19:04:55 GMT -5
Bertie shook Elisa's hand with a smile, nodding politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Elisa," she said sincerely.
The other woman seemed friendly enough...and it would be nice to have a friend who could show her around. Though, Bertie could honestly say that she would have preferred a nice cup of tea to a bit of coffee, at least it would be a way to get some caffeine into her system.
"Oh...I suppose so," she said with a slight smile. "It would be nice to not get hopelessly lost every time I need to go make some purchases," she admitted with a sheepish laugh. "So...by all means, please lead the way."
Motioning for Elisa to take the lead, Bertie adjusted her skirt and smiled a little more. It was rather a pleasant surprise to find someone so friendly in this city. From what she had seen of it, not everyone was as kind as Elisa.
|
|
|
|
Post by ~Elisa Maza~ on Feb 12, 2011 5:54:20 GMT -5
Elisa walked through the streets at a brisk pace, but not so fast that Bertie couldn't keep up. The city was normal as it could be, crowds, taxis... Elisa was used to it, but was sure that Bertie hadn't seen anything at this level in England.
Elisa walked into the coffee shop, holding the door open for Bertie. She ordered two cups and led Bertie to a small table in the corner.
"You're a long ways from home, Bertie." Elisa said as she poured creamer and sugar into her cup. "What brings you to New York?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Bertie Moreland on Feb 12, 2011 17:42:54 GMT -5
Bertie followed closely after Elisa, not wanting to be left behind in the crowded streets. That would just be a big problem for her. Once they were inside of the coffee shop, Bertie thanked Elisa for the cup of coffee and then sat down to sip at the hot liquid.
"You're a long ways from home, Bertie. What brings you to New York?"
Pausing a little as she considered this, Bertie shrugged noncommittally before she answered. "London was getting far too...constricting for me," she said after a moment or two. "And my grandfather's shipping business does some business here in New York. I came for a change of scene...and a chance to learn a little more," she added with a wry smile. After all, compared to her grandfather, Bertie was a scholar. The one thing she loved above all else was to learn new things. "And you, Elisa? Have you always lived here?"
|
|
|
|
Post by ~Elisa Maza~ on Feb 13, 2011 16:34:49 GMT -5
"It's always nice to broaden your horizons and learn new things." Elisa said, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Born and raised." Elisa said with a smile. "I can't really picture myself living anywhere else."
Indeed, Elisa as a New Yorker through and through. As amazing as it was seeing different lands, new clans of gargoyles, even a group of Olympians, for the better part of the Avalon journey, more than anything, Elisa was homesick and just wanted to get back.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bertie Moreland on Feb 13, 2011 16:39:19 GMT -5
A part of Bertie envied Elisa that she had such a stable home. While she spent most of her life in London, Bertie and her grandfather had always traveled around so much that nowhere was truly her home. Sipping more at her coffee as she mulled over this, Bertie managed to smile a little at Elisa.
"How fortunate for you," she said with a soft chuckle that was only slightly tainted by sarcasm. "My grandfather and I were always traveling, so I don't really have a city that is my home."
Not that Bertie regretted any of those journeys she had taken with her grandfather. Not even the journey that had resulted in their separation as she lived with the Robinson family. That had been a very wonderful adventure in the end after all. She wondered how Mother and Father Robinson were doing now...and little Francis.
|
|
|
|
Post by ~Elisa Maza~ on Feb 14, 2011 18:21:32 GMT -5
Elisa listened as Bertie spoke a bit on her travels. Elisa would have thought that she had her beat on that end, but it was a little sad to know that Bertie didn't feel like she had an actual home because of how often she'd been away. Elisa knew she had a home in New York waiting for her whenever they would manage to get back, but for Bertie, it seemed London lost that status.
"That's the interesting thing about traveling..." Elisa said. "It's nice to see what else is out there, but more often than not, you're just thinking about what you left behind, and when you're gonna get back to it."
The cop sipped more of her coffee as she thought more about the journey that she'd unexpectedly been sent on. She doubted much in life would be able to surprise her anymore. She'd befriended a clan of gargoyles, learned of the existence of aliens, loch ness monsters, immortals... She couldn't really think of any other curve balls that would head her way.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bertie Moreland on Feb 14, 2011 19:35:21 GMT -5
Bertie nodded at that with a slight smile. "Very true," she agreed. "Though, I must say, of all the places I have yet visited, I find that New York is the most interesting."
Perhaps even more interesting than the Robinsons' island had been, even with all of the exotic animals and birds that lived there. That had ended up being a far more dangerous place to live than Bertie had anticipated, and for now she was satisfied with the marginally normal life that she led, visiting this American city and learning more of the world than she ever had before.
Certainly she had discovered things here that London and even the Robinsons' island had never revealed to her before. Magic, for one thing. And then there were these rumors of stone gargoyles that came to life. Bertie had yet to see this for herself, but she was more willing to believe such stories than she would have been several months ago while still in London.
"Tell me, Elisa," Bertie said musingly as she sipped at her coffee, trying to not make a face at the taste--so unlike her favorite tea. "Do you believe these rumors of magical creatures that I have heard? The stories appear to be quite popular."
|
|
|
|
Post by ~Elisa Maza~ on Feb 16, 2011 13:33:20 GMT -5
Elisa took a quick drink of her coffee to hide the look of surprise on her face at Bertie's question. It wasn't really an odd question, in fact it was one that many tourists asked, as if they were hoping to see a real live gargoyle, or find out if there really were alligators roaming the sewers.
What had surprised her was that it was a question based on what she'd just been thinking. Finishing her coffee, she set the cup down as she considered her answer. There wasn't really much point in hiding the identity of the gargoyles for long, as all of New York knew of their existence thanks to Jason Canmore and his siblings, but since many people still begrudged her clan their very lives, she was still hesitant to discuss them with a stranger.
"Well..." Elisa said finally. "To be honest, a few years ago, I would have told you not a chance. But in that time, I realized that this world is too big to be home to just humans and the animals we already know of. There's still mystery here, in this very city, and on the planet as a whole.
"Now that I know better, I think I like it better that way. It's nice to know that there's more to life than what we know."
|
|
|
|
Post by Bertie Moreland on Feb 16, 2011 17:26:49 GMT -5
A very diplomatic answer, Bertie thought to herself with a smile. Considering this carefully as she looked down at the coffee that she still held in her hands, she nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose you are right," she agreed. "Some time ago, I would not have believed that...there could be more to this world than what was right before my eyes. Certainly, I would never have believed in living Gargoyles," she added with a little bit of laughter in her tone.
Still...it was a very strong possibility at this point that Gargoyles were more than just frightening stories that parents told to children to make them behave. Not that Bertie's parents or grandfather had ever told her such stories. They never had, really. She was raised to simply understand that she was expected to behave and work from there.
"But you did not really answer my question," she added with a slight quirk of her eyebrows.
|
|
|
|
Post by ~Elisa Maza~ on Mar 2, 2011 11:21:18 GMT -5
(Sorry, sorry, sorry!)
Elisa shrugged, a small smile on her face.
"I suppose I didn't." She admitted. "Yes, I do believe. I've seen them flying over the city enough times to get rid of any doubts I might have had before."
Elisa hoped Bertie wouldn't pry any further. Her answer was vague enough to where she could have just been one of the many people who happened to glance up above the buildings and seen them on one of their nightly patrols... though not many of those people were aware they were patrolling the city to protect it... nor did they know them on a first name basis.
"So why do you ask?" Elisa asked, partly to shift the subject from her friends, and partly out of genuine curiosity. "Have you had encounters with magical creatures yourself?"
|
|
