Escape [PSL]

[wicked_west]

Elphie had been asleep without Ford or the Chistery. Once she'd disappeared from him that one day, she stayed away. But today of all days, he was banging on her door. Him and the monkey. And he was hollering something about a ship and if she wasn't the witch anymore to follow him.

Elphie threw on the nearest dress... her flowered one... and grabbed all her scarves. She left the broom behind.

"What do you mean a ship?" the former witch asked as she opened the door.

Comments

[wicked_west]

Chistery moved over to Elphie's chair and started picking through her hair. "It's clean Little One... you won't find anything in there," she murmured, reaching up to scratch the monkey's head.

"I'm glad you thought to bring me with you Ford," she added. She hadn't been sure he would considering she'd left him and the monkey for a while so she could hopefully dewitchify.

[got_his_towel]

"You said you didn't want to go back to your home," Ford pointed out reasonably. "You said it was dangerous; that people were mean to you."

[wicked_west]

Elphie nodded. "I just thought you would leave me since I was... not myself." She stared out the window, ever uncomfortable with being open.

Though she was still scared and still curious, the last hour's events began to catch up with her. It wasn't long before she fell asleep as they flew looking for something.

[got_his_towel]

He landed the shuttle with more of a bump than he'd intended, but he was rusty. The spaceport didn't exactly have a beach. Or... a sky. It was dingy metal hallways and bad coffee. But they could get a ride somewhere in a ship made for interstellar travel.

[wicked_west]

Chistery screeched and Elphie woke with a start, grabbing at the arm rests as the pod shuddered to a standstill.

"Awake. I'm awake and alive and in a ship," she reminded herself out loud as she examined her person to make sure she was in one piece. Nodding when she saw she was, she looked out the window at... a lot of metal. "It's... dingy," she finally breathed.

[got_his_towel]

"It's a space port," Ford said, as though that explained everything, and led them happily into the crowded base.

[wicked_west]

"Right," she agreed, because what else was she supposed to do. Elphie followed him through the door and along the hallway, pushing herself through the crowd. It took a moment and then she was back in Emerald City, moving just how she needed to to stay relatively unnoticed.

Chistery was not so unnoticeable. He kept flying up to the ceiling and screeching with delight at every new face.

[got_his_towel]

Ford glanced up at the monkey, who wasn't all that out of place in the spaceport, as nobody seemed to take too much notice of it screeching in their faces. It was one more thing they hadn't seen wandering around harassing them. No big deal. He looked at Elphie next. In fact, when he turned around, it took him a moment to spot her.

He frowned.

"Why are you slouching around like that?"

[wicked_west]

She immediately straightened up. "Slouching? Who's slouching? Is there food nearby?"

Deny and distract... she wasn't going to explain her psychoses at the moment.

[got_his_towel]

"Food?" Ford said, glancing up at the monkey. "Of course there's food, it's a waystation. For travelers. Food, toilets, hypervodka, those little u-shaped travel pillows you can put around your neck: they have everything you need."

[wicked_west]

"Right. Good. Food."

She straightened further and caught up to him. "And now we find a ship? Right?"

Elphie thought about it. "What sort of ship are we looking for?"

[got_his_towel]

"Something interstellar that's flown by someone who doesn't kill hitchhikers," Ford said reasonably. "Preferably going somewhere warm."

[wicked_west]

"Right." Because she'd be a big help with that. "And the fish thing? Is there one of those here?" At the moment, all she heard was a lot of gibberish. And someone was just at this moment asking her a question that she couldn't answer.

[got_his_towel]

"Well, yes. They're pretty widely available. I used to carry a spare in my satchel, but it disappeared at the hotel." He looked around. "We'll find one after lunch." He waved off the man trying to ask Elphie a question with a annoyed "No, she does NOT want to pose for you."

[wicked_west]

"Pose for him? Is he an artist? But I'm just a witch. A human. A... thing. I'm green. Where's the damn fish?"

She's slightly overwhelmed and hungry. And there are too many languages she doesn't know.

[got_his_towel]

"The shops are at the other end of the Promenade," Ford said calmly, pointing far across the crowded spaceport. "Right over there."

[wicked_west]

It was a long walk. Through more of the crowds. She whistled for Chistery to fly back down to her. "Then that seems the logical first step. I need to understand. Otherwise I'm useless."

[got_his_towel]

"Okay. If you insist." He glanced over at her. "But I don't think you're useless," he pointed out before heading towards the shops with more purpose.

[wicked_west]

Elphie paused, a little stunned at his words, before smiling to herself and following. Chistery settled on her shoulder for a moment before flying up again. There were too many things to look at.

"I don't mean useless useless. I just mean I'm not helpful if I don't understand what people are saying."

Another thought crossed her mind almost as quickly.
"Do we have money to pay for a fish?"

[got_his_towel]

"Define 'pay for'," Ford said, starting to hum a jaunty space tune as they moved through the crowd. He certainly had missed this life. Crowded places, distractions, adventures.

[wicked_west]

"Compensation. Money or service or something... Or do they just give the fish away?"

[got_his_towel]

Ford shrugged, adjusting his satchel over his shoulder. "Depends on how you ask," he said airily.

[wicked_west]

"... Right. OK."

Elphie had mixed feelings about taking things without paying. Of course it was fine when you were taking from those who were rich and made other people suffer. Not so much from those already poor.

"And you're good at asking then?"

[got_his_towel]

"Oh, yes." He grinned. "I'm one of the people who writes the book on it."

[wicked_west]

It was hard not to grin when he grinned like that. Elphie smiled back and tried to trust him. Only that was so hard when he was... Ford. Yes things did work out. Just, chaotically and loudly. She wouldn't have minded a quieter profile. Still.

"Then a fish it is. With your powerful asking skills."