first entrance

[almosthonorable]

[ oom: they're gonna hang me in the mornin'
before the night is done
they're gonna hang me in the mornin'
i'll never see the sun ]

The man in the doorway eyes the room as he brushes the dirt from his black duster.

This isn't the not-so-respectable establishment he expected, but it's a bar.

Which means there's whiskey. And he's thirsty.

[

Comments

[mycursedface]

Tall man, quiet...? Tall man with watchful eyes, at least, and Medusa glances up from her bronze cipher disc. Black braids, black snakes and large golden wings that catch the light.

Also, she's sitting on a table in a short dress and jeans, but the snakes and wings are attention-grabbing.

[almosthonorable]

Quiet, calculating.

Observant.

He sees the wings before the snakes, and her odd attire is all but forgotten in their respective wakes.

There might be a faint flicker of surprise on his face as he tries to work out where the hell he is.

[mycursedface]

Pretty woman, though. Beautiful. More moving features in a sweeter face, yadda, yadda, yadda.

She smiles, quick and darting.

"New?" She asks, voice a little too musical to be human. But then again, the snakes and wings have already excluding her being anything close to 'human'.

[almosthonorable]

Esquisite. Especially when she smiles.

Especially when she speaks.

His wariness ratchets and relaxes in equal measure, and his palm twitches as he stifles the urge to check the holster at his hip.

"I think so."

[mycursedface]

"Ah. Well. Welcome to Milliways, sir."

[almosthonorable]

His eyes narrow, almost imperceptibly.

"Don't think I rightly meant to step in here - no offense to your kindness, ma'am."

[mycursedface]

She doesn't look at him often, and when she does it's through wire-framed glasses, but mostly? She doesn't.

"No, it...that is the way of it. It is...magic, I guess. And it appears."

[almosthonorable]

"Magic," he repeats flatly.

Well, he is talking to a woman with wings and snakes in her plaits.

[mycursedface]

Medusa raises her eyebrows.

"Or something that passes. Different places, diffrent times, different worlds all open into here."

[almosthonorable]

"Here," he echoes, glancing around. "Milli - "

That's when he spots the Observation Window.

And stares.

[mycursedface]

"Isn't it beautiful?" Her tone is dreamy, adoring.

[almosthonorable]

"It's ... somethin'."

Observing universe-ending phenomena is not everyday stuff for this cowboy. Clearly.

[mycursedface]

She's a storm daemon. Everyone agrees that they are strange.

"Milliways, the Bar at the End of the Universe. It repeats itself."

[almosthonorable]

He finally looks back to her.

"So that - out there," he says slowly, inclining his head toward the Window, "is some kinda normal?"

[mycursedface]

Cheerfully,

"Eyeh. I mean, yes."

[almosthonorable]

"Huh."

A beat and a slight shake of his head.

"Left my manners at the hitchin' post, it seems."

He touches two fingertips to the brim of his hat.

"Ben Wade."