Journey to the dry cleaners

[Kray]

Slowing the car down so he can get a better look at some of the places they are passing the ogre continues the drive towards and into midtown Sacramento reasoning if any where would have an abundance this would be it. "Uh. Yeah It wasn't really around back before." A pause. "Well not around where I was from it probabaly existed elsewhere." That would make sense. "But. Yes A very good thing to have stumbled across." I didn't prefer Raw food back then either so would I have even tried if I had known about it?

Food it seems is something of a universal language. "Hm. Yeah Nothing wrong with either." But apparently he thought something was better. "Now. Shrimp though the shrimp dishes those were real good." Particularly the big ones. The winter gets his attention and bulbous yellow eyes swing round to hold the scrawny Winter for a moment. Unexpected. "Well that's your call you get to pick. But I sure wouldn't say no." It would seem he is set to do alright out of this little agreement after all. Bonus.

[Svelte Sven]

"I don't mind shrimp, but it's not my favorite." He admitted. "I don't know, I guess I just prefer traditional... fish. Though, I guess crab is pretty good..." The Darkling was honestly surprised at himself. As evidenced by his meager frame, he wasn't exactly a foodie. It was rare for him to give this much thought on cuisine and yet the small talk had led to a deeper analysis of the subject than he'd expected. You can't always predict what ends up being forming a connection between people. He mused to himself before registering Kray's comments about not knowing about sushi 'before'.

That sounds like there's an interesting story to be told. The Ogre had only just alluded to details of his life before Arcadia, but it was enough to pique the Whisperwisp's curiosity. Sven wasn't so crass as to openly pry into another Lost's life story. But he would at least make an attempt to coax small details out of the Autumn Courtier. "Where did you come to the Freehold from, anyway? I think I mentioned I came from L.A. It was actually my home before... Wonderland." Sometimes the easiest way to get someone to talk about themselves was to offer up similar details of your own life. It helped if it was the truth, as was the case here, but Sven had learned that even white lies could get someone to start spilling their guts.

[Kray]

A mighty shrug, sort of, in the crammed car that what had probabaly been attempted. "Uh. To each their own. They have a good taste to texture combination is what I like about them." That and he can eat the entire thing in one go. "Oh. Now crab I don't have to often that tends to be rather expensive." And was one of those dishes that he felt if you were going to eat it needs to be done properly. "Ah. And I have never done it where you pick the crab from the tank and it gets cooked then and there." That is what fine dining was missing these days. In the Ogre's opinion anyway. "But. If you like Crab talk to Circe she was going on about them for a while." He hadn't heard much recently but there had definitely been a summer queen crab phase. "Now. Lobster is another one of those in the eat it fresh category, it's a bit less sweet but I prefer for that." Something about seafood should taste a little more well of the sea.

The conversation takes a more direct turn to personal history. Oh now this is going to get interesting. "Huh. You know no one has asked me about the where before here." It could be a sensitive topic after all. "Hm. Portland is where I came back to." And that had been quite the shock. "Ha. Now before I took my unscheduled trip well." The corners of his mouth twitch up. It is the slightest deviation to the terrible toothy smile. "I'm afraid if I told you that I would ruin something small but enjoyable for me." It was possible that simply no one had called him on it in the slightly over a year of being in the city. But he liked the idea that they simply did not know inspite of how obvious it was to him, and those from the same cultural background. "Uh. Never been to L.A. though. somewhere you would recommend?" So still willing to converse.

[Svelte Sven]

Sven couldn't decide if he was surprised by Kray's wealth of knowledge about seafood, but he was certainly impressed. Gristlegrinders had a reputation for gluttony, but that didn't imply a refined palate. In fact, most stories he'd heard involved Ogres shoveling great quantities of food into their gullet without any real care for the quality. Kray having strong opinions about certain kinds of seafood proved some of his assumptions patently false. Ogres have layers, I suppose. He nodded along at the mention of the Estival Queen. "Right. I'll have to ask Circe about that." A part of him wondered if the Summer Sovereign might simply announce a seafood festival unprompted given her spontaneous tendencies. "I think I heard once that European settlers thought of lobsters as 'peasant food' when they first came to North America. That's certainly changed..." He mused aloud before a realization hit him. "Huh. I don't think I've ever had boiled lobster."

The Darkling was pleasantly surprised that the Ogre decided to answer him at all. His response was cryptic, but among the Lost that was to be expected. It would be supremely rude to demand anything more than that, really. "Portland." He repeated to himself. "You mean Oregon, right?" That was the logical assumption, naturally, given its relative proximity to California. But then he couldn't assume Kray hadn't actually meant Oregon, Maine. The ability to travel through the Hedge kind of complicated assumptions about spatial proximity.

For a moment he was truly stumped by the Ogre's question. Did he recommend anyone visit his home town? He found himself smirking a little bit as he realized his answer. "Depends. L.A. is kind of like a fairy tale monster. Once upon a time, there were these smaller unincorporated cities. Eventually the City of Angels gobbled them all up. It's part of why there are so many distinct districts and neighborhoods that feel like they're just stitched together. Also, most of that glitz and glamor you see on TV is just bullshit." He sighed briefly before deciding on how to wrap up his impromptu travel lecture. "If you're a regular person? Wouldn't recommend. If you're like us," He pointed to Kray and himself for emphasis. "It's not so bad. There are so many homeless people that we don't get nearly as many odd looks for talking about Freehold business or for meeting with strangers from out of town. Actually, for someone fresh from the Hedge, it's probably a good place to end up."

[Kray]

He knew the fact about peasants and scavenging. In fact it might have been Circe to tell me about it? On that point he didn't remember if she had or he was crushing her crab months wit ha story about food origins someone else had told him. "Hm. Yeah The villagers would go to the sea for food, fish up what they got. Rock pools and the like." Heck people had still done that for fun not food before he went for his unexpected trip away. Fishing for crabs with limpets on the beach simpler times. "Huh. Never is not surprising only once or twice myself." And never on his own bill, before he learned better of such things. "It's an expensive experience that's for sure." Something the bosses did to make you uneasy, show how little they cared for the suffering around, flash their wealth and power. "Hm. It's something I would recommended at least once but don't know if there is somewhere round here that does it still." Something about it being considered cruel and barbaric.

A hand comes off the wheel to scratch his head. "Uh. Yeah I think so. Quite the shock for me not being from America and all." Realistically what were the odds that every lost came out exactly where they were taken from. "Hm. Here's the second hint for you. My life before was going to end in a gutter or Wandsworth." That should put him on the right track without necessarily giving the game away.

He listens curious enough. "Ha. Yeah fairy tail monsters have a have a habit of that don't they. Hungry lot." And any mortal who saw through his mask would place the ogre squarely in the category. "Ah. Glitz is always just the surface. Its graft, grit, cunning and a willingness to get your hands dirty that will see you through." That and of course. "Although glamour of course comes in very useful." A shrug. "Hm. Is that so? I tend to get odd looks wherever I go." Giant and all. "But. yes I see what you mean somewhere stitched together leaves a lot of room between the cracks for folks to slip between." Is there a rhyme or reason to where we come out? It's a question of curiosity, something to ponder.

[Svelte Sven]

The reference to Wandsworth threw Sven off for a moment since it had a distinctly British sound to his ear, but he decided to take a risk and make an educated guess nonetheless. "I was actually surprised that I ended up as close to home as I did... I'm sure that most Lost are not so fortunate. Are you from the Great White North, then?" Portland was remarkably close to the border and Kray had specified he wasn't from the United States.

The Darkling hadn't even realized that he had invoked Kray's own Kith in his telling, though it seemed appropriate in hindsight. "Hollywood is almost like the Other Place in miniature, I'd say. When you haven't been there it can sound magical and even inviting. But yeah, the glamour just covers up the hunting ground of a bunch of heartless monsters." Taking shots at rich Hollywood socialites wasn't exactly original, but he couldn't help it. Besides, I had to grow up with the bastards. I think I have a right to complain.

Sorry for the shorter response, I'm very out of it at the moment

[Kray]

Length of a reply is neither here nor there dude, your all good. Hope you enjoy the music festival!

So either the hint had not struck home or Sven was playing into not knowing it. Sure we can play twenty questions. "Hm. Canada? No I'm not from Canada Originally." But the point is still one that has the Ogre curious. "Huh. Say what's the furthest you've heard of for a lost to come back from in regards to their home before being taken?" What's the record for that I wonder.

That comparison was unexpected. Especially from someone who has seen Arcadia, any realm or part of it. "Uh. Now I can't make the comparison fairly." Never having been to LA and all. "But. Nothing is like that place, except in maybe the tamest and faintest of boring echoes." And that's just what shards and shattered memories can tell. The talk of hunting and heartless monsters gets a shrug. "Ah. Sorry to say the worlds full of them one breed or another. Some are rotten. Some are damaged. And some are just misunderstood." Not everything that came across as heartless was. "But. We know better don't we. We know what real monsters are." And what mortal could compare in any form shape or way to the lords and ladies of arcadia.

At long last he spots a dry cleaners. "Ah. There is one now." Funny he had definitely driven down this street before. Must have missed it. "Now I just need to find parking." In the middle of the city. So were they really any closer to the goal with how long that could take.

[Svelte Sven]

Sven caught himself chewing on his lip as he mulled over the Ogre's response. He had made his best guess first, now he was a little unsure of what else to say. "I've heard of Changelings from the West Coast coming out on the East, and vice-versa. I'd assume that, outside of the U.S., that would mean people could jump pretty far." It would be a 'logical' assumption for a Fresh From the Hedge escapee to wind up on the other side of the globe. 'Logical' in that it was consistent with the inconsistent rules and miracles of Arcadian magic, not in that it made intuitive sense. "Well, I would guess somewhere in the UK, then. 'Wandsworth' has a sound to it that makes me think of England, at least."

"Didn't mean to make light of... That Place." The Darkling admitted quietly, thinking that perhaps the comparison was a touch inappropriate. "Some of it is personal, you see. My family was old money, they thrived in that kind of environment. It was disgusting." His tone was a little more even, calmer. Cold. "Sometimes I wonder if the worst of mankind are actually imitating T-H-E-M instead of the other way around."

The discovery of their destination seems to break Sven out of a daze and he blinks rapidly before reaching back to grab a hangar. "Well, that wasn't so bad..." He sighed once he realized their newest dilemma. "Oh, right... It's not over yet, then."

[Kray]

The winter going quite for a bit was no great concern. That was how they were after all. It was in its own way nice to have something in the way of less bombastic company for a change of pace. And the silence breaks when it is good and ready. "Hm. Well that's a few thousand miles total so no small distance." But was it locked to country borders? By the ocean? There were rules, all things had rules convoluted and unknown more often then not but rules. "Oh. Ha. Got it in two." England was right.

A mighty exhale presides the giant keeping his eyes looking out the car but something slightly vacant comes over him. "Ah. It wasn't all terrible though was it." Those moments of magic and wonder those otherworldly spectacles that had kept him sane, kept him losing more of himself then he had. "Hm. I'm no saint Sven. People and lost both, find ways to try and thrive and usually that means others lose out." That was the way of it as anyone tried to carve a space for themselves in the world. Or hold to what they have. "Now." He turns grinning to the darkling. "You ever thought of teaching them better now you know otherwise and have the power to do so?" Because who was better at teaching mortals then those who had learnt their lessons from the real monsters. He shrugs slowly. "Uh. I don't know who imitates who. Who came first. What rules were established all the way back when." If they knew those, such rules would be invaluable things to make use of.

Attention returning to the road, A great grey hand points to a road sign. "Nah. It's not to bad just nee to follow the signs. Might need to try a few spots but we'll find something now we know where to go." But for this stretch they had directions to guide them, good thin because the first place was full.