Patchwork Universe

Meirian · Good Joined: 29 Feb 2004 Posts: 22 Location: The Academy

Meirian laughed delightedly, seeming a little bemused by Yarrow's response.
"Why certainly Yarrow-Sama; here you go. I'll give you the bike lock thingmy as a present, if you like - or perhaps I could pay for John here? " She handed over the yo-yo, and proffered the key enticingly.

Yarrow · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 7:23 pm Post subject:

"No, no, this will do nicely," Yarrow said, shaking her head. "Radix malorum and all that." She bundled the yoyo into a pocket of her ragged dress and turned to take the two coins from John. "And thank you for your honesty, but it's close enough to silver within the meaning of the act."

Rummaging in her trolley, she muttered to herself. "Now let's see what I have for you..." Pulling out a black plastic sack she swung round with a look of triumph and presented it to Meirian. "Here you go, ducks," she said, putting the sack down in front of her. "This is your kind of thing, I think, I've been wondering what to do with it ever since Rose Briar gave it to me. It's a cutting from one of her roses."

"And perhaps you'd might find a use for this," she added, pulling an item out of her pocket and dropping it into Meirian's hand. "It's not much good without the rest of the set but it could come in handy if you find yourself at a loose end."

Yarrow · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 7:35 pm Post subject:

Turnign back to her trolly while Meirian was still considering her new possessions the old woman rummaged around in the black sacks before producing a couple of grubby peices of cardboard.

"Doesn't look much, I know," she told John. "But you'll see what they do when you trade 'em. Keep the coloured one for yourself and sell the blanks to people with patches. That way we might be able to get some kind of municiple transit system going and maybe then my feet wouldn't give me so much gip."

She passed over the cardboard rectangles and frowned at John's bewildered stare.

"Perhaps you better have the rules written down, just in case," she muttered and pressed a folded piece of paper into his hand.

John Angelis · Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 11:02 am Post subject:

John looked at the pieces of card with bewilderment, an expression that an onlooker might begin to suspect was permenantly affixed to his face.

He looked between Merian and Yarrow, evaluating what the pair of them had said.

"Patches? So, what, the different worlds, they're called patches..."

John stopped, evaluating his words. The different worlds... he'd always known about different worlds he could reach from the station. But he'd never been able to think about there being different worlds before. It was like peeling away the surface of the world, and talking about what you found there. Very disturbing.

"And so we've all got one then? And this one is yours?" he said, addressing Meriam
"...and there's another patch just there then?" he said, pointing at the mist Meriam just stepped through.

"Have you got one?" he asked Yarrow.

A thought appeared to strike him.

"And if I sell someone one of these cards, there'll be a station there? And I could go there from my patch?"

John sat down on the floor, muttering disbelievingly.

"You want to run a transit system through there...?"

Yarrow · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 3:26 pm Post subject:

"Mmm... yes. That's about the size of it." Yarrow said, nodding. "So, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on me way." She pulled out a pocket watch and in direct contradiction of its stopped state muttered. "I'm expecting visitors before nightfall." Glancing up into the brilliantly blue clear sky she added: "Best be getting on then or I won't make it."

She was rummaging in her trolley again as she began to move away, appearing to have lost interest in the two young people.

Meirian · Good Joined: 29 Feb 2004 Posts: 22 Location: The Academy

"Yarrow-sama.... oh, she's gone" Meirian tilted her head back, her blue spikes bouncing gently. "What an interesting old woman."
"John"
She turned to speak to the still-dazed newcomer in a sudden flurry of movement, smile back again. "Would you like me to show you around? Oh; and while we're a it, should I take one of those blank cards? What should I do with it? Incidentally, do you know anything about what's happened? I'd really, really like to know"

John Angelis · Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 8:24 am Post subject:

"Well, I would, only our 'patches' seem to be next door to each other already. Look, I'll show you."

"See, the station's just through here..." he said, passing through the fog bank.

He returned some moments later.

"Hmmm. Countryside and a manor house. Yeah, I think you're right, you'd better have one of these cards. The old woman said I had to sell them. Could we set the price at a place for me to stay whenever I'm here?"

Harlequin · Average Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 33 Location: Chimera

[OOC: From "Wow! New Gardens!"]

A strange, colourful figure could be seen jogging towards the Meirian and John. They could see he was tall and wearing a red and gold shirt and deep red trousers. His face was shadowed by his black tricorn hat. A shorter man dressed in grey could be seen behind him.

Meirian · Good Joined: 29 Feb 2004 Posts: 22 Location: The Academy

Meirian replied at her customary fast pace:
"Well... I'm not sure if I could arrange a place especially for you, it would cost money I don't have; alernatively, if I could think up some reason to give to the student council, I might persuade them to give you a room at the Academy. You're always welcome to stay at my place though; - I could set aside a room for you especially? "

She paused, catching sight of a flash of colour in the distance.
"Who's that...? I certainly like his outfit! Particularly the hat. I wonder whether they're from Alcos, or yet another of these 'patches' Yarrow-sama mentioned. Hmm... I believe their eyes are too small to be normal people; they must be from somewhere else. Do you think they know anything about how these things were made?" she indicated the patch boundary; "I'm a scientist, you see, and I'm particularly curious about this subject at the moment. I wonder if I could duplicate the effect? Do you have any theories, John?"

Without waiting for an answer, she turned and waved expectantly at the new people

"Come on - let's go meet them!"

She began similarly jogging towards them.

John Angelis · Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 6:23 pm Post subject:

John kept quick pace alongside Merian.

"It's a bit early to have theories... The place I came from, it's a railway station. It leads places. It always has. But... it led to other places before. And those places, they didn't lead anywhere else. They just sort of... finished."

"Something's changed. The way the world works. But I can't really remember how it used to work. Doesn't seem to make any sense now I talk about it. Like the whole place to stay thing. I haven't got one, that I know of. I can't think of anywhere to sleep in the Station. I must sleep somewhere, but I don't know where that is. Never occurred to me before."

Harlequin · Average Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 33 Location: Chimera

Harlequin waved back at the blue haired woman and slowed down in order to get his breath back. The four people congregated in the middle of a field - a strange montage of pieces from different jigsaws.
Meirian was greeted by an extravagant sweeping bow from Harlequin; as he doffed his hat and looked up at her, she could see that he had dark hair tied back in a black ribbon, and sparkling deep violetty-blue eyes, which seemed to have room only for Meirian.
"Madame, my life must surely have been without colour before I set eyes on your wondrous hair! How could I have been so blind to have missed you at Court? Ah! I know!" he said, as he straightened, "You must be from some far-off exotic shore! Perhaps even so distant that you haven't heard of Harlequin?"

Trubshawe · Good Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 91 Location: The Zoo

Moon peeped out from behind Harlequin's shoulder and offered the two interesting new people a toothy grin.

"Top of morning to you!" he exclaimed.

Meirian · Good Joined: 29 Feb 2004 Posts: 22 Location: The Academy

Meirian laughed delightedly and seized Harlequin's hand, her hair bouncing slightly as if from pride as she shook it with much vigour.

"Why, thank you - I take it you are Harly-kun? Thank you for the compliment, although my hair is really nothing special; I wasthinkin of dying it brown - it's about the only unnatural colour there is for hair."
"At least..." she oaused slightly, looking suddenly startled as a new thought occured "At least, it's the only unnatural colour here. Perhaps it's different where you're from? You have normal looking eyes, at least."

Moon was the next to be greeted in a similarly enthusiastic fashion.

"And top of the morning to you my friend! How goes things with you - and what is your name? Oh, which reminds me; mine is Meirian; this is my new friend John."

At this point, She looked at John once more, and her florid face became speculative and suddenly intense, her head laid on one side.

"This is an interesting thing indeed, John-kun. Yoiu say these things never occured to you before? Did the other inhabitants of your universe similarly never think of them? In which case, I wonder if this collection of, what was it, patches, has begun to change the rules of the universes inside it? Or perhaps it is merely your own reaction to seeing new places - I wonder what would happen to another member of your world, if they were brought here? What is your world like, anyway - I would really like to know. The same goes for all of you."

After a slight pause, Meirian seems to come out of a slight trance; her face relaxes, and she breaks into a cheerful, happy-go-olucky grin once more.
She turned to Harlequin again.
"Incidentally, Harly-kun, I love your outfit. Particularly the hat. Can I try it on? Pleease?" Her eyes became even larger; a definite puppy-dog pleeding look, and somehow quite cute.

[OOC: I shall be unable to post until at least sunday night, possibly until monday morning. Assume I am being enthusiastic and inquisitive about things in general, possibly trying on the hat if Harly-kun will let her, and if anyone wants a tour of the Academy, just ask]

Trubshawe · Good Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 91 Location: The Zoo

Moon seemed delighted at the unprecedented level of attention he was getting. He reached over and pumped Meirian's arm in a vigorous handshake.

"I Moon! But not the one in sky - the one in zoo..."

He giggled at his own joke, but then became serious again as he realised that more clarification might be necessary. Stepping back a few paces he bent at both knees, before beginning to pump imaginary pom-poms in the air while yelling:

"Mucking out and mucking in,
Don't you pout - that's a sin!
Feed the lions, feed the bears
Comb the monkey's golden hairs.
Trubshawe's coming - stop your mocking!
If he hears you, get a flogging.
But who are we in gleeful tune?
Daltrey, Entwistle and Moon!
We who see the sloth-bears creeping
We who stop the dugongs weeping
We who catch the mongeese sleeping
We who are the best at Keeping
RAH! RAH! RAH!"

John Angelis · Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 8:58 am Post subject:

John relaxed into his familiar bemused expression at the small man's outburst. He then turned to Meriam.

"My world... Hard to say... Let me put it to you this way. I know and understand that people live in the world, they have houses, jobs, they go to work, they come home, they sleep... but I can't remember ever having done any of those things myself. I simply find myself in the station. So I use the station to go somewhere else, through the tunnels. I go to these places, I do things, I know, though the memory of what seems a little vague to me now. And then I'll be back in the station. Though I don't know how, and it never seems strange to me at the time."

"The other people in the station - the crowd don't talk to you, they just keep on going to wherever it is they're going. And there's the guards, they don't talk much either, they just stop you doing things you're not supposed to. Then there's the buskers - they'll talk to you, but I don't remember them ever talking about anything like this..."

"Maybe the station is my Patch. Maybe that's what it's like in the station, but out here in your patch it's different, so I think about different things. In the station, all you really can think about is getting to where you want to go."