Lions and tigers and I need a beer, oh my.

[salaryofsin]

Characters: John Marcone and those who might run into him.
Time: Mid-morning, Sunday
Location: Heading from the bean toward the site of Harry's old office
Content: John is sure that the last time he saw Chicago it was in much better shape.
Format: Prose
Warnings:...mobster?

Comments

[burnoutthenight]

The streets of Chicago had generally been kind to Axel. So really, it wasn't much of a surprise that he'd once again turn to prowling around the various places of the city. The people here were more than interesting enough to serve as a night's amusement and if he looked a little out of place in his long black coat (with the hood left down, since there was no need for it) and brilliantly red hair then that was hardly his problem.

If they complained to him, well, it might be then. But that was something for a later time. As it was, he merely offered a slight nod to the stranger in the streets as he drew closer. It cost nothing to be polite.

Beside, he didn't feel much like finding any sort of fight today.

[salaryofsin]

John nodded and tipped the brim of his cap to the young man-- not a local, he would guess, with punk rock hair but cyberpunk sensibilities. Or was he dating himself by thinking of Gibson, now? Heh. Age.

[burnoutthenight]

Well. Whoever this stranger was, he was at least passingly polite, not that that really meant anything. It was a rare individual who wouldn't give even that slight bit of politeness.

Not that Axel didn't know people who wouldn't have, but that spoke more to the people he associated himself with than anything else.

"Nice day out, isn't it?"

[salaryofsin]

"It's a little more post-apocalyptic than yesterday," John observed conversationally. "You haven't heard a weather report saying that we might have scattered showers of normality, have you?"

[TYPOFLAAAIL]

[burnoutthenight]

"Wouldn't that depend on the definition of normality?" Axel asked with a bit of a grin.

After all, by his own definitions on the subject, this was normal for the place. Or normal enough when there weren't invasions of things from out of the dark, but he'd yet to witness one of those himself, so he wasn't much about to consider those.

[salaryofsin]

"You're new to our streets, then? I'm sorry you've missed Chicago at her most typical. Automobiles and actual access to the rest of the world," John joked lightly. "A larger population, too, which isn't an entirely unmixed blessing. Especially when one's in line at a Starbucks."

[burnoutthenight]

'The rest of the world'. An interesting fact to note, when the city was already nearly as large as some of the worlds that Axel was familiar with. It did make for a handy explanation as to why he hadn't seen any Heartless yet, though. They'd simply been elsewhere when this portion of the world had been... cut off?

"Relatively new," Axel answered with a vague shrug. "I take it you aren't?"

[salaryofsin]

Not new. Well, in a way he nearly was-- to a Chicago that wasn't his to wrestle with and appease, a Chicago where he didn't have eyes on every street and the home phone numbers of half the politicians because there weren't politicians left... he was new here.

But she was still his city (or, really, he was still her man) even if the set dressing had changed and half of the citizenry had gone AWOL.

"Oh, I'm an old city boy. Years and years. But I don't think I can quite place where you're from. If it's not rude to ask."

[burnoutthenight]

"You won't have heard of it. It's pretty out of the way."

Worlds away, in fact, but that was probably not the best thing to mention. Not when there was still theoretically the world order to think about. Assuming that was still an issue here, but without any real evidence to the contrary he'd just keep right on sticking by the worlds of his own world.

Just in case.

[salaryofsin]

"Mmm. No further than Nifflheim or Valhalla, one hopes? Or other small suburbs in the area." He tipped a brow. "How long have you been visiting?"

[burnoutthenight]

"Oh, it wasn't that long of a trip," Axel answered with a quirk of a smile. It was the truth, by a technicality. Portals made any distance almost negligible. Even when - as now - they didn't end up where one had expected.

"A couple of weeks, by now."

[salaryofsin]

"Strange-- since I remember things being largely normal just yesterday. I've lost time." John's eyes narrowed. "In the time you've been here, you haven't heard the name Dresden, have you? Harry Dresden? A bit of a local celebrity. At least he was."

[burnoutthenight]

"Can't say that I have, no."

Which didn't necessarily mean that he hadn't met the man. It was simply that if he had, he hadn't bothered to get a name. They weren't nearly as important anyway right now.

[salaryofsin]

"Which tells me that the Larry Fowler show's insidious reach doesn't reach this far. That's something." John nodded his head. "Thank you very much."

[burnoutthenight]

"No problem," Axel answered.

Another unfamiliar name, but every unfamiliarity was useful. A point of cross-reference, for whenever he got around to the more mind-numbing part of exploration. Or managed to rope someone else into it, but he could wait.