Open RP in the Hallway

[dinos_eat_man]

It was a simple and maybe a silly thing, but when it was cold and rainy out, Ellie like hot chocolate with marshmallows in it. Being Scotland, it was cold and rainy a lot

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[kandosii_kal]

Skirata, freshly Sorted, limped down the halls of Hogwarts. This place didn't seem to be as bad as Kamino had been, but the climate was not helping his shattered ankle one bit. He was once again wearing his helmet, as it was more convenient to wear than carry, and idly wondered if this place took Republic credits as currency for a replacement outfit or two.

He paused as he passed a woman sitting in a window. There'd been a human girl at his Sorting, and two or three (if something that claimed to be a hat counted) possible aliens of indeterminate age, but this was the first other adult human he'd encountered so far. He couldn't smell what she was drinking through the helmet's filtration system but suddenly a drink was sounding very good. "I think you've got a good idea there, miss. Know where a fellow could get something hot to drink around here?"

[dinos_eat_man]

This person (or, at least, the armor) wasn't somebody that she recognized, but since Ellie spent most of her time in Ravenclaw or the library, that wasn't saying much. "Down the hall," she said, pointing the way he had been heading. "Down the stairs, around the corner to the left, up the stairs, past the statues, and through the door on the left." The limp hadn't escaped her. "Or you can have some of mine. It's hot." If not, maybe he'd take directions to the Hospital Wing.

[kandosii_kal]

Well, that was damned nice of her. "If you've got some to spare I wouldn't say no," he said, taking off his buy'ce. Oh, that did smell good--if this place didn't have chocolate, that drink was doing a good impression of smelling like it. "Think I'd like to find this 'Hufflepuff' place before I wander off to do some recce." Remembering that odds were most people at this school wouldn't know military terminology, he added "Reconnaissance, that is. Kal Skirata."

[dinos_eat_man]

The top of the thermos doubled as a cup. Ellie unscrewed it and poured in some hot chocolate. She made some space on the window ledge so that he could sit down. "Here you go," she said, handing him the cup. "I've got marshmallows, too." She waggled the bag. "My name's Ellie."

[kandosii_kal]

Kal sat sat down and took the thermos top, smiling lop-sidedly. "Appreciate it." He took a few marshmallows and dropped them in, then took a gulp. "So how long have you been here?"

[dinos_eat_man]

"Since last September," she said, "and still getting used to this place. You?"

[kandosii_kal]

He hadn't a clue when this September was--a day name? A month? But she seemed to mean that it had been a while. He'd do the appropriate research after he was settled in. "Just got here. Do you happen to know if the weather's always like this? There's ground outside, so it can't rain every day, can it?"

[dinos_eat_man]

"No, not every day, but it feels like it, sometimes. If you're wondering if it's going to dry up anytime soon, then no." She hadn't missed the giant clues that he was Not From Around Here. While Hogwarts had broadened her horizons about other parts of the universe, she still wasn't prepared to ask someone 'So how's the weather on your planet?'

"Does it rain a lot where you're from?" she settled for instead.

[kandosii_kal]

Skirata groaned and shook his head. "Wonderful." He took another sip of the chocolate before answering. "Not on Mandalore, no. But I was on Kamino for about ten years and it was miserable. Nothing but rain. Whole damned planet was an ocean, with maybe five days of clear weather in the summer." In Kal's opinion, the planet--inhabitants included--could be shot straight into a black hole and he would rejoice. "And Coruscant's humid, but it only rains for short bursts of time. So are you from around here? This planet, anyway?"

[dinos_eat_man]

"This planet, yeah." Ellie took another sip of her hot chocolate. "Not this country, though. I was living in Washington, D.C. before I came here. It gets hot and humid in the summer, but it's not bad the rest of the year." Her husband was working for the State Department, and Ellie could work on her writing no matter where she was. "What's Mandalore like?"

[kandosii_kal]

"Deserts, forests, the usual. I have a homestead in the desert, sort of a retirement plan. Not exactly a hospitable place, but it's home."

He gulped down the rest of his drink and scowled as he stood. Stupid ankle. "I don't suppose you can point me in the direction of Hufflepuff?"

[dinos_eat_man]

"Down the hall and to the right. I'm afraid I don't know the password, though." She gave him kind of an embarrassed grimace. "Can I also give you directions to the hospital wing?" Please? That looked painful.

[kandosii_kal]

"I'll work something out," he said, more confident than he felt. Not that it mattered, though--he'd slept in far worse places than a dry hallway before. He looked at her, confused for a second or two--he wasn't bleeding, why would she--oh, the limp. "I'd appreciate it," he said, even if he wanted to scout this place out before even considering getting it fixed here.

[dinos_eat_man]

"Okay. That's down this way, past the Great Hall, and then the second hallway on your right. I'd draw you a map, but they don't work very well here. The Great Hall is where the meals are served, and it has four long tables inside. You'll know it when you see it."

An idea popped into her head, and Ellie looked around for a piece of paper. "Hey, I know a girl who lives in Hufflepuff. Would you like me to get the password from her? It would only take a minute."

[kandosii_kal]

He comitted her directions to memory, for all the good they sounded like they were going to do. "What do you mean by 'don't work very well?' And yes, I'd like that. Be a lot easier than camping out in front, I reckon."

[dinos_eat_man]

All she had on her was the back of an old receipt, so she used that to pen a quick note. Ellie folded it into a paper airplane then charmed it to find Laura Palmer. If she wasn't actually in Hufflepuff, she'd at least know the password.

"Well, the problem isn't the maps themselves. It's that, after a while, things start to move around here. The staircases do it all the time. Then, you'll think you're on your way back to your dorm, but suddenly there's a hallway that you've never seen before. Or a wall in the way." She shrugged. "After a while, your map looks nothing like what's in front of you."