Well, Brett still hasn't decided he's okay with whatever is going on here, but he has decided that he needs to keep running to keep his mind as clear as possible. It's while doing just that that he comes across someone he doesn't know doing something he, too, hasn't done in years.
Pausing to watch, he doesn't say anything at first, but he's pretty obvious.
Tony sits up, laughing softly and brushing leaves from his hair after his latest jump. Crawling out from the pile, he waves his hand and the breeze picks up again, pushing the foliage back into position. He sees the stranger, but he's not going to force anybody to act like a kid with him. That would be rude.
And kind of weird.
Another running leap and the leaves explode around him as he jumps with a loud "Woop!"
The general shenanigans caught his attention at first, but Brett notices the response of the wind to the stranger's hand motions with a startled jerk. Curious - and maybe a little wary, but that's just him - he moves in closer.
"How're you doing that?" he'll call, when Tony next separates from the leaves. We wouldn't go quite so far as to describe his expression as wide-eyed, but it's probably pretty funny nonetheless.
Brett looks tempted for a moment, eying the leaves; then the Too Cool Teenager kicks in, and he shakes his head. "You go ahead," he says, then hesitates. A moment later he gives away why, adding uncertainly (but trying to hide it, because, teenager), "Could I just hang out though?"
"Cool," replies Brett, and immediately moves to lean against a tree within easy conversational distance. He tilts his head to watch, a mildly canine-like gesture, but snorts at the question.
"People here are weird," he says, then adds clumsily, "No offense. I mean, I don't know you. It's just... weird."
Tony chuckles. "Oh, no. I'm weird too. A lot of people here have little things that make them look weird or creepy to someone else, but for the most part, people here are pretty nice." He sits up and brushes leaves from his hair before standing and turning to look down at the 'leaf-angel'.
"Like anywhere, there's people you can trust and people you probably shouldn't trust and people in between." Tony crouches down while he speaks ans starts to push the leaves back into a pile, lifting a hand to wave the farther flung ones over.
"Well..." Tony pauses and stands up, brushing off his hands on his pants as he thinks. "I know it's not my world. And I've talked to enough people here to know that they're just as lost as I am.
"I also know that the basics of everything I know, like gravity and the way the sun goes up and comes down, are all the same as I remember it being. So, it's kind of like ..." Something occurs to him.
"Have you ever seen 'The Wizard of Oz' or 'The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe'?"
Brett is trying so hard to follow what Tony is saying, it's almost comical; the bluegrey eyes are narrowed and intent, and his head is still tilted as if it might help him hear or think better. When the man switches gears, Brett blinks and straightens back up.
"Well... no. I mean, I've heard of 'em, but that's not really my thing," he replies, apologetically.
Tony nods. "That works then. It's kind of like being in Oz or Narnia. Or even like Wonderland. All the basic thing like night and day, and gravity are all here. It's just not home."
He picks up a red-gold leaf. "Even the seasons are familiar."
Brett watches, then transfers his attention to the rest of the world around him, as if considering it with this new evidence. He takes in a few deep breaths, scenting the air silently; what Tony says is true. It's all normal, but just under the crisp, mulch smell of autumn and the cold edge of early winter warning, there's something else he can't place. Something he's never smelled before.
"So it's going to snow soon," he ventures, tentatively; he doesn't sound like he knows whether to be excited about that or apprehensive.
Tony nods. "It's snowed every winter I've been here," he offers, straightening up and looking out over his pile again. "Sometimes it's a bad winter, but usually it's been okay. Be careful around the snow though, at least at first. Sometimes it's got a bit of magic to it. Usually it's totally harmless, but better safe than sorry."
Pausing to watch, he doesn't say anything at first, but he's pretty obvious.
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And kind of weird.
Another running leap and the leaves explode around him as he jumps with a loud "Woop!"
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"How're you doing that?" he'll call, when Tony next separates from the leaves. We wouldn't go quite so far as to describe his expression as wide-eyed, but it's probably pretty funny nonetheless.
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"Don't think we've met before... I'm Tony."
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"I'm Brett - we haven't. I'm pretty new," he admits. "And I haven't played in leaves in years."
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"Well, why not? It's a nice day, there's plenty of leaves to go around, and I promise I didn't hide anything in them. Except maybe more leaves."
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"Sure." He smiles a bit and flops back on the leaves, making a leaf angel. "So Brett. What do you think so far?"
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"People here are weird," he says, then adds clumsily, "No offense. I mean, I don't know you. It's just... weird."
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"Like anywhere, there's people you can trust and people you probably shouldn't trust and people in between." Tony crouches down while he speaks ans starts to push the leaves back into a pile, lifting a hand to wave the farther flung ones over.
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He frowns. "So, it's a different world, which is just like the rest of the world?" he posits, sounding as doubtful as he looks. "I don't get it."
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"I also know that the basics of everything I know, like gravity and the way the sun goes up and comes down, are all the same as I remember it being. So, it's kind of like ..." Something occurs to him.
"Have you ever seen 'The Wizard of Oz' or 'The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe'?"
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"Well... no. I mean, I've heard of 'em, but that's not really my thing," he replies, apologetically.
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He picks up a red-gold leaf. "Even the seasons are familiar."
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"So it's going to snow soon," he ventures, tentatively; he doesn't sound like he knows whether to be excited about that or apprehensive.
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