lady_moon | (no subject)

(no subject)

The portal from her home world closes behind them as they set foot onto a hard, green surface.

With raised bumps.

All around them, built out of interlocking, huge plastic blocks, are office buildings, skyscrapers, light poles, and restaurants. Cars built out of the same blocks rumble by, their plastic people waving stiffly to each other as they pass. Even the greenery is made out of plastic, everything carefully created.

As the two stand on the sidewalk, cars travelling in opposite directions collide, shattering into their individual blocks. The occupants of the vehicles, one redhaired plastic man with a mustache and a one cowboy, shake their heads, then shake hands, and begin to rebuild their cars together. It was a very peaceful meeting, really, and the two plastic people laugh as they remake the cars.

Moon turns to Indy and grabs his hand. "We should help them!" she declares.

She has brought Indiana Jones to Legoland.

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Indy has been on more uneven trails than this, and his boots provide decent support for his ankles, so he doesn't put quite as much effort into negotiating the bumps. It's still a little wearing though.

"I was a boiler man," he replies. "So I mostly just shoveled coal into the burner, raised or banked the fire, kept the boiler filled with water, and maintained the right pressure."

"Hot, sooty, hard work. But the engineers used to let me go up to the cab and watch the driver on my breaks though, so I picked up some other stuff. And kinda fell in love with locos as a way of traveling."

"I've never been on a train before," she remarks absently.

She doesn't like the sidewalk.

"It's so strange, hearing about childhoods. I've never had one." She has nothing to compare his words to, whether it be missing out on boyhood standbys or teenage jobs.

A female Lego-person stops with her constructed baby carriage just in front of them and stares.

Moon waves at her, smiling. "Hello. Could you tell us if we're any closer to the railway station?"

The woman looks from Indy to Moon then back again, then crosses the street to the other side.

"I guess not everyone is as nice as that cowboy." Moon continues navigating the sidewalk with intense concentration.

It's a cute expression for her.

"Well, we do look kinda... out of place," Indy points out.

He tips his hat cordially at a small boy with an ice cream. The boy's head rotates about his shoulders as his smiling gaze follows them, past the point that human anatomy would allow. It's not quite Exorcist creepy, but it still provokes a slight frown from Indy.

"Honestly, I'm surprised there hasn't been mass hysteria."

They walk on, and Indy finds he can't help but smirk at Moon's determined focus.

"Here, hop on," he says, striding ahead of her and crouching down slightly. "Save your feet, ride an Indy."

Moon laughs and does as instructed. She's a small girl, and he's a much large man, so this shouldn't be too bad. "You're such a gentleman," she purrs happily. "And could you imagine mass hysteria here? Really, little plastic people running around with little plastic pitchforks?"

She pauses as she giggles at the mental image.

"I wouldn't mind seeing that, actually!"

Indy chuckles and sets off again along the pavement once his piggybacking passenger is properly situated.

"Let's not tempt fate, eh? Plastic pitchforks might still hurt."

"I don't know," she muses. "You have to wonder what kind of strength they have. They're little plastic people; what damage can they do?"

She doesn't point out that she's immortal, and even run through with a plastic pitchfork, it'd merely ruin her outfit.

Which would make her frown.

Frowning Moon is bad.

"For the moment, they seem content to just watch us." She kisses his cheek from her perch. "Giddy-up, Indy!"

"Yeah. Let's try and keep it that way. I've had my share of angry native chases for a while."

Moon has definitely figured out the most effective way to control Indy's speed. Kicking or ass-slapping might have worked, but he's far more responsive to kissing, at least in this scenario.

"Okay. I'm giddyin', I'm giddyin'!"

Grinning, he ups his pace into an easy lope. She's not much of a burden.

"But have you had angry native Lego-people chase you? I mean, adding that to your resume may have some quality character building for you."

This is said in all seriousness.

"Can't you see sitting down with a potential employer and explaining that to them? 'Why, yes, I do have experience with angry native Lego-people. They smile a lot and wave not-so-pointy plastic pitchforks at you while typing obscene messages.' See? PERFECT to add to your repertoire!"

Indy laughs.

"I don't really have to interview for my adventuring jobs, but I'll bear it in... oops!"

As he rounds a street corner, he's forced to sidestep rather hurriedly in order to avoid a policeman ambling in the other direction, innocuous-looking truncheon held at his side.

"Sorry, officer," he calls back. "Don't mind us! We're tourists."

He glances back at Moon's beaming face.

"Thought you said they had no crime here?"

Moon looks back at the police officer.

"Maybe he directs traffic? I don't see what trouble or crime this world can get into. Even car accidents just wind up with a bunch of building blocks that you put back together."

She tugs at his ear and giggles.

Her eyes are drawn to what was coming down the street toward them. It was a plastic person, but this plastic person had a silver cap with white horns sticking out of it on his head and a shield in his hand. He waved at the police man and kept on walking.

"Or maybe they protect against... the Vikings?"

He gives her thighs a squeeze in reprisal for the ear tug, and slows up a bit to take a look back at the pair of plastic men.

"Dunno about that. They seem to be on pretty good terms. Y'know... for a beat cop and a barbarian who specializes in rape and pillage."

"Maybe he protects the city from dragons."

If there can be Vikings, there can be dragons.

Besides, the dragon was part of the Viking playset, and they would know it if either of them, you know, played with Legos.

"Do you think they use currency of some kind?" She giggles. "Because all I've got at the moment are my charming personality quirks."

"Heh ...which should be an adequate form of payment in any world."

He stresses that around more chuckles, and, craning his neck back, he returns her affectionate peck on the cheek to certify it.

"I dunno. I've got a few dollars, but I doubt there's a bank here that'll do trans-world exchanges. In fact, I get the impression that economics of any kind might be a foreign concept to these folk."

He also can't quite work out where they would keep money about their persons, as their clothing bears only painted-on pockets.

"Maybe they do barter?"

Indy likes to barter. Though he's not sure what he actually has with him that'll be of any value to these people, or how gratifying it will be to wrangle with them.

She's truly enjoying friendship, if that was what this was. Moon didn't have practical experience, but she did have an official dictionary definition for the word, and this seemed to fit into it well.

Yes.

She liked it.

"What would we barter?" she asks. Moon taps his hat. "What would you do if they asked for you hat and jacket, hmm?"

"I'd wonder about the rationale," Indy replies, "since they wouldn't fit any of the people here."

"And probably not give 'em up. I'm kinda attached to 'em, in case y'hadn't noticed."

When Indy had spotted Mare investigating his pile of clothes on the beach when they'd been swimming, he'd exited the water quite hurriedly in order to save his fedora from a potential chew toy fate.

"We'll work somethin' out," he assures.

And it may be time to do just that, since they seem to have arrived at the railway station. Beyond a small parking lot, a solitary raised platform can be seen, with a few benches and posterboards positioned along its length. A booth stands at the foot of some access steps at one end—purpose denoted by the 'Train Tickets' decal affixed to its side. Perhaps the biggest giveaway, however, is the sign above the platform that declares this place to be Legotown Central Station.

She hops off his back and looks around.

"I don't think they have currency, though, let alone barter. It just doesn't seem like a world that thrives on that. If they need it, they just build it. Though I have to wonder where they get the blocks."

Moon makes her way to the ticket window and bends over so she can peer in. "It seems the next train is due soon."

Another of those Lego-people appears at the window and one of the dialogue boxes pops up. 'Would you like tickets?'

"Yes, please."

There is a bit of fussing behind the window and Moon is handed two small plastic tickets. She looks at them, smiles, and goes to Indy's side. "Round trip around Legoland." Moon holds out Indy's. "You sure you have an idea about us fitting on the train?"

"Have a little faith," Indy says enigmatically.

He fires a wink at her, takes his ticket and climbs the stairs to the platform. Once there, it can be seen that tracks stretch off in either direction, two thin grey rails on either side of a central metallic strip. There are a few Lego people also waiting for the next train, mostly suited business men with briefcases, possibly trying to get a jump on the rush hour.

At the far end of the platform, a signal light changes from green to red.

Moon claps her hand excitedly.

"I must take a true train sometime soon. One that isn't built from plastic blocks."

She watches the rail, interested in seeing the train. Her eyes glance toward the Lego people, staring at her in turn, but then she goes right back to waiting for the train to appear.

At the moment, she's very much like a child on Christmas morning.

Indy is far less animated as he waits, but he takes a certain grinning delight from his companion's child-like anticipation.

"You should," he agrees.

"We could take one in my world sometime, if y'like. There's not much compares to a Mohawk chargin' along the New York Central under a full head of steam."

She looks at him with her wide eyes.

"Go with you to your world?"

Moon has never been invited to someone else's world. It didn't matter she could get there herself anytime she liked -- he was inviting her.

"That would be wonderful," she nods.

"Good. That's settled then."

He beams at her and drops a kiss onto her forehead.

"Ooh, and it sounds like..."

He glances off in the direction of a distant clickety-clack clickety-clack.

"Yup! Here comes the Plastic Express. Right on time."

Moon laughs and watches the train come into the station, and just as she had suspected, they were about two feet too tall.

She eyes the plastic train, and crosses her arms.

"I do hope you have a brilliant idea or else I think we're riding on the roof." Which she didn't really look forward to doing.

"Nope. We're not. Once is definitely enough when it comes to riding on miniature train roofs."

He doesn't even mention his other train roof experience, which led to his life-long fear of snakes. He just scans along the carriages as various passengers disembark and alight. Through the windows, the seats look just as knobbly as the ground, and far too narrow for their full-sized posteriors.

"Okay. Let's get to the business end of things."

He takes her hand and starts striding off purposefully down the platform.

Moon skips off after him, hand in hand, and laughs.

"Where are we going? The passenger car is back there," she giggles. "I think the nice plastic ticket taker was waiting for us!"

"Don't mind him—the ride's complimentary anyway. We're going... somewhere a little more spacious."

Indy pulls up by the main engine and opens the door of the cab.

"Hi there, Mister Engine Driver!"

Smiles are exchanged, not that the driver has any choice in the matter.

"That's a very fine hat you've got. Very... Casey Jones."