A Cab Driving Between Schiphol Airport and Amstelveen and Beyond, Wednesday Morning Fandom Time

[swordsandsoccer]

It had taken a while and a lot of work, but between him and Cally, Dolf had finally managed to put together enough money to get a portal home. Arriving in the Schiphol Portalocity lounge had already been a great relief, because while America was interesting and closer to home than the 13th century had been, it still hadn't been home

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[onlymistaken]

"No talking ducks so far," Cally said in very careful Dutch, poking him a bit on the arm. It didn't take a telepath to pick up the mixed feelings and tension there; teasing him might or might not help, but it was something.

[swordsandsoccer]

"Nee," Dolf sighed, reaching out with one finger to draw something on the window. "Geen pratende eenden." He stared at a cow out in the field as it shot by. "If my parents aren't there, we will have to find a hotel." Or a hostel; he wasn't sure how far their money would stretch.

[onlymistaken]

"Surely they will be; we're in the right time and place, finally."

As hopeful as she sounded, Cally knew it wasn't as simple as that, after almost a year in Fandom; Amstelveen, yes, but the same one that Dolf knew? There might be a thousand of them in the multiverse.

[swordsandsoccer]

Dolf knew that as well as she did, so he didn't answer her, either. "We're almost there," he said instead, as the cab switched lanes towards the right. He pointed at the blue sign that read Amstelveen 1500m, his finger jabbing against the window.

[onlymistaken]

"I shall be glad of a chance to get out an walk about after this ride," Cally said as she watched the sign speed by. "Imagine if we'd brought Nana along; there wouldn't have even been room to breathe!"

[swordsandsoccer]

"We haven't been in the car that long," Dolf said, his mouth twitching just a little bit. It wasn't quite a smile yet, but it was sort of heading in that direction. "But yes, Nana would have been too much. And she'd poop somewhere and we'd probably get a fine."

Welcome to the Netherlands.

[onlymistaken]

Cally snickered. "Are there no dogs here, then? What do the people who live here do with them?"

[swordsandsoccer]

"They walk after them with a bag to scoop up the poop," Dolf said, sagely.

[onlymistaken]

There was a face you should take a picture of, Dolf. To remember it by. "I strongly prefer taking walks in the woods."

[swordsandsoccer]

"I would too," Dolf agreed. The cab took the turn, and drove on to a roundabout, and then into the city limits proper. "But there's not a lot of them around here. Amstelveen is by the Green Heart. Mostly fields."

[onlymistaken]

Cally had to grin. "We'd walk her near the cows, then. How would anyone tell the difference?"

She meant in terms of what was left behind, not the actual animals, but arguably, from a distance...

[swordsandsoccer]

"She does look more like a cow than a wolf," Dolf had to concede, and sighed. "Maybe she would like to walk in the Amsterdamse bos, though I think she would only have to take five steps to get to the other side."

The cab slowed as they got into the populated areas. Dolf stared up at the buildings, all modern architecture and glass occasionally broken up by 16th century shops, and felt a swell of emotion bubbling up in his insides.

[onlymistaken]

After weighing distraction and reality for a fraction of a second, Cally wrapped her arm through his. "Does it feel like home?"

[swordsandsoccer]

Dolf leaned into her gratefully. "It does," he said, "But until I see my parents, it won't... it'll be distant still, you know?"

[onlymistaken]

"Yes, I can understand that." She'd lived it, when she was younger; it had taken years for anyplace to seem like home again with her own parents gone. "Whatever happens," she added, squeezing his hand, "I'll be here for you."

[swordsandsoccer]

"Thanks," Dolf said, with a little smile and a little squeeze of his own. "We're almost there, anyway. What do you think?"