A Model-T? Shit. That won't help me get home. Noah carefully lowered himself into the rocking chair. It was too short for him, making his knees stick out. If felt spindly and fragile, but it still held him up. He gave a shuddering sigh as Rose spoke. "I live..." he swallowed hard against the nausea that threatened him again. "My apartment... is in 2020. My parents are in 2020. My school... 2020." Wrapping his arms around his middle, Noah leaned forward, shoulders slumping. "My laptop... my headache meds... my books, my movies... all a hundred years away." His eyes were starting to glaze over again. That creeping heat started to pulse across the back of his neck and head. He felt it spreading to his temples, and knew that a legendary headache was on its way if he didn't calm down.

Rose rubbed her eyes furiously before looking hard at Noah, her words coming out in halting rhythm, "How? How did.. you?" she held up a hand as if to stop herself from talking, and took a deep breath. She shook her head a few times, her heart thumping loudly. She swallowed, cleared her throat and asked, "2020? That's... impossible."

"I know!" he said in a desperate whine. "But... I'm..." he spread shaking hands helplessly. "If this isn't all some sick prank... that's going on way too long, the likes of which I've never seen. Or a dream or hallucination. Or..." he shook his head and groaned, a nauseating gurgle burping up from his throat. He covered his mouth and muttered through his fingers, "Oh god. Oh god..." As tears still dripped.

He had never, ever been in this kind of distress. If this was someone's idea of a joke, he was going to sue the hell out of them.

For a moment, Rose scrambled. There was a boy in her room. His hair was red and blue, he had a ring in his eyebrow, his clothes were strange, and she didn't understand a lot of the words he used. Foremost, he was clearly distraught, and she wasn't sure how to comfort him. Also, she had never seen a grown man cry in her life, and felt oddly perplexed by the experience. The only semi-steady man in her life was her father and she only saw indifference and anger from him. She knew how to handle those emotions. But a frightened boy?

"Uh.." she got to her feet and stood for a moment, her hands closing and opening nervously, "Mr. Killian, I hope this doesn't seem too forward, but-" she stooped down and wrapped her arms around him in a firm but gentle embrace, "I'll help you." she assured, having no idea how.

For just a flash of a moment, Noah forgot himself and thought about what it must be like for this girl, still comfortably in her own time, but dealing with someone who clearly wasn't. A stranger who must look absolutely nuts to her. And her first instinct was to help him. Noah didn't want to think about how he didn't even know how he had gotten here, let alone the impossibility of making it happen again. So he hugged Rose back, just grateful that a good person was helping him.

"Thank you." He spoke from his heart, still crying. He couldn't seem to make himself stop.

With a squeeze, Rose released him and re-seated herself at the vanity. Taking a deep breath, she tried to organize her thoughts as she opened one of the little drawers. She took out a clean handkerchief and passed it to Noah, "Here. It'll be okay." she said, managing a smile.

"Now. I'm not going to pretend that I have any idea of how you appeared on the path today. I do remember a strong wind, and a loud noise. What do you remember?" she asked, folding her hands in her lap and settling in to listen.

"Cold," Noah muttered, drying his cheeks. He expected the handkerchief to smell old, like something his grandma had would. But it didn't. It smelled of clean cotton, with a hint of perfume. It calmed him, letting him think back more clearly. "There was wind and then... cold, so cold I couldn't move." He blew his nose. "There was a flash, then, next thing... I was... on the path."

Rose frowned thoughtfully and quirked her mouth to the side, "An accident then?" she murmured, brushing her hair back, "Were you in the park in.. your time? I mean, is it still a park in... 2020?" she asked, awkwardly in her opinion. She suddenly gasped and leaned forward to look at him intensely, "Tell me this.. Does the 19th Amendment pass? Do women get the right to vote?" she asked him in a rush, her mind suddenly lighting with questions. She held them in, not wanting to overwhelm either of them. But she had to ask that question.

"Um... yes, to both questions," he said, wanting to smile at her eagerness but feeling too down to actually do it. His temples had started to throb. He thought briefly about explaining feminism to her just to see how she reacted, but then thought better of it. Or wait; should he? Every time travel movie or show he had ever seen warned against messing with the past. But... those were all fiction. Who knew what would really happen? He thought of Steins' Gate. The world-line theory... that either he wouldn't change things enough to impact anything much, or he would make such a significant change that a whole new branch of time would split off and he would be in a different timeline that existed alongside the first. Or Looper, or Back to the Future? What if he made it so he was never born in the first place? Hell, if he really wanted, he could save up, buy a ticket to Germany and off Hitler before he left... leaves... his dopey artist stage.

As that particular train of thought trickled through Noah's mind, an ominous feeling caused him to shiver as goosebumps rioted over his skin. His color drained from pale to bone white. He derailed it frantically, but the full implications had touched at his awareness and he couldn't un-think it. He refused to even consider accepting a responsibility like that. But... 6 million people...

Whatever. He was making his headache worse. What mattered was that he was here, now, and he didn't know how to get back. So, whatever he did, he had to be prepared to live in the world that decision made. Not so much different from home in that respect, he tried to tell himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose and thrust the whole frightening idea to the back of his mind. Just... live in the moment for now, okay? Maybe you can figure out how to get home.

Rising to her feet Rose paced as a wave of euphoria and relief passed through her. Things were actually going to change, all the work would mean something, and the sacrifices would pay off. She let out a shaky laugh and promised herself she would celebrate later. Right now, she was being selfish.

Watching his complexion change so rapidly and not for the better was almost nauseating. She checked the time by glancing at the clock on the side table. It was almost seven. There was a good chance that her father had finished supper and left for his drinks. If so, Mrs Martin would have gone home, and Mr Murphy as well if she was lucky. Sitting at the vanity, she unbuckled her shoes and kicked them off, "My apologies, you need some headache powder, and perhaps some food too." she went to her wardrobe and pulled out her cotton pajama set, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Is there anything more I can get for you?" she asked, wondering what sort of things hosts did for guests in his time.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:05, Fri 01 May 2020.

"Powder? What?" He dragged a hand over his face. "I'm not hungry. No food, please." Swallowing hard against his nausea, he grinned weakly. "But I would like some water."

His thoughts were slowing down. He felt like he was thinking through thick fog. He wanted to sleep, but oddly, was afraid to. What if he woke up and he was still here? That would be the end of his 'all a dream' theory.

Rose gave him a smile in return and nodded, "I'll be back soon. Excuse me."she slipped out and closed the door softly. She stood in the hall for a few seconds, giving herself time to digest her situation. It didn't work. Her mind still refused to confront the 'how' and the 'what now'. Shaking her head, she went to the water closet down the hall and went in. It only took her a few minutes to change into her pajamas. Nice cotton, pale pink and white stripes. So comfy.

Ready now, in case she was seen, she went down the stairs to the main floor. She didn't hear any radios, which meant Mrs Martin was gone home. From the entrance hall, she peeked into the dining room. "Rose."

Hiding a grimace, she turned around to face her father. Robert wasn't particularly tall, but he was broad and looked strong. Grey hair crowned him at the temples of his combed back dark hair. His heavy eyebrows were almost always drawn together in an impatient expression, going along with his square jaw and persistent frown. That was how he looked in this moment, dressed for the evening in an English cut suit, a cigarette in his hand.

"Papa." she said, turning around and folding her arms across her chest, "I'm sorry I missed dinner."

Robert rolled the cigarette between his thumb and finger, "Not feeling well?" he presented it as a question, but Rose felt that his tone marked it as a obligatory statement. So she stayed silent and waited, like she normally did, for him to excuse himself. Perhaps it was the knowledge that she had a boy up in her room at that very moment that made it seem like her father's deliberation took far too long. She fought the urge to tap her toes impatiently. "I was going to tell you at dinner, that John Baxter has requested to be added to your list of suitors. I gave my permission."

"What?" Rose nearly shouted, the news taking her completely by surprise. Of all the things that had happened this afternoon. As her mind flew in all directions at once, she could only stutter,  "J-John Baxter is no gentleman. He's.. he's a fop!" she did tap her toes now, agitated and unwilling to deal with this news now.

"Mr Baxter comes from a family of good means, and will be a lawyer like his father and brother." he said, putting the cigarette in his mouth, "He will come to call on you tomorrow evening at six sharp."

Rose grew angry and set her shoulders back, "I don't want to waste my time with that conceited cheat. How could you do that without talking to me first? she asked, her voice rising, "Anyway, I'm busy tomorrow. I have errands to run all day."

"And at six, you have a date with John Baxter." Robert said through ground teeth, his own temper flaring. Still taller than Rose, he stepped close and griped her upper arm tightly. Too tightly. Rose gasped and crumpled slightly, "That appointment you will keep, Rose." He gave her arm a squeeze before releasing her and turning without another word. He left through the front door, closing it behind him.

Rose stood there for a minute, holding her arm and fuming. She muttered some choice words under her breath, nearly quivering with her unspent anger. Turning on her heel, she stomped back into the kitchen and threw open a cupboard. She slammed a few things down onto a tea tray. Glasses of water, a few biscuits, and a bottle of headache powder. Climbing the stairs, she set the tray down in the hallway. One more place to go before returning to her bedroom. She went down to the end of the hall to the master bedroom. She didn't pause on her way to the dresser. She knew that her father hadn't worn quite a bit of his old clothes from before we left to fight. He couldn't throw them away either. Rose doubted he'd even notice that few bits and pieces were missing.

Scooping up some pajamas, pants, suspenders and a shirt, she closed the dresser drawers and left the way she came, not lingering to look at her mother's old vanity by the window. Retrieving the tea tray, she headed back to her bedroom, trying to put her father's words out of her mind.

When Rose returned, Noah was nodding. He roused himself when he saw her though, rubbing at his eyes. "So, um... I-I don't..." He paused to gather the words from the aching morass his mind was in. "I don't know anything about this time, other than the basics. I... I only studied the aesthetics, the famous illustrators. I also wanted to ask you, uh... should I, like... tell anyone? Like... scientists, or...? Hey, is Einstein still alive?" He was rambling, wasn't he? He made himself stop with an apologetic grin.

Glad to see that he seemed to be doing better, if only slightly, Rose closed the door and crossed the room to set the tray on the vanity. With Noah now available to take the focus of her thoughts, she felt her anger slip away. He had a nice smile. Holding the faded blue pajamas out to him she scrunched her face in thought, "I've heard his name before. He sure stirred things up during the eclipse last year. But.." she looked at him warily, "I think he lives in Germany..." clearing her throat, she shrugged and gave a shake of her head, "I don't know about telling anybody yet. Not unless we can't figure this out."

She sat down and grabbed the bottle of headache powder, "My father just puts this on his tongue and swallows it. I like to put it in water. Which would you prefer?"

Noah eyed the bottle warily, blinking blearily. "Can I see the ingredients list?" He had a vague memory of learning that heroin and opium were in medicines during this time. Was it this time? Or earlier? He was going to check just in case.

Rose handed the bottle over to him with a shrug. The label read; Goody's Headache Powders. 25 cents. Each powder contains aspirin in combination with 5 grs. phenacetin and caffeine. Goody's are effective for the relief of pain due to simple headaches, simple neuralgia, muscular aches and pains and headaches accompanying head colds.

She picked up a biscuit and nibbled while she pondered taking some powder herself. A fear had started to grip her inside, and she wondered at its source. At the same time, she needed to work out where she was going to put Noah for the night. It was out of the question to have him in her room until morning. If she put him in the guest room, she would have to get him up and out before anybody found him. That was probably her best chance.

"Twenty-five cents," he muttered with a chuckle. He carefully read the label; he didn't understand a few of the words, but it seemed safe enough. He reflexively reached for his phone to look up the unfamiliar words, but stopped with his hand cupping the shape of it in his pocket. He bit his lip, considering. Then he took it out, checked the battery -- 78% -- then deliberately turned it completely off. He needed to give more thought to how he would use it, and couldn't do that right now. So he would save the battery.

He slipped it back in his pocket as he asked Rose how much of the powder he should put on his tongue.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:07, Fri 07 May 2021.

Subtlety not being one of her strong suits, Rose craned her neck to watch him handle the phone. It glowed! And changed a colored picture when he touched it! Immeasurably curious, and a bit frightened, she cleared her throat after he stowed it away, picking up a teaspoon from the tray, "A scoop should be sufficient." she held the spoon out to him, "It tastes horrible." she cautioned, smiling.

"As long as it works," he mumbled, opening the bottle slowly and carefully. He was mostly recovered from the two horrible shocks his body had received today, but his fingers still felt thick and clumsy. He tapped some white powder into the spoon, trying not to think about how much it resembled cocaine or heroine -- it was basically just what was inside pills from his time, right? He handed the bottle back to Rose and picked up a glass of water from the tray, took a bracing breath, then stuck the spoon in his mouth.

His face scrunched into a look of disgust, eyes squeezed shut and nose wrinkled. He drank half the glass, but the acidic taste lingered. He stuck his tongue out. "Bleh!" A sense of doom settled over him suddenly. He got a lot of headaches. He was going to have to look for some better way to treat them.

Rose chuckled softly and stirred her own spoonful into her glass. She emptied it quickly, shuddering herself at the taste that lingered in the back of her throat. Grabbing another biscuit, she took a bite with a sigh, "We can return to the park tomorrow. Maybe that path will take you back." she spoke softly, full of questions and wondering if going to the park would do anything at all. It was the only thing she could think of though, and her thoughts were starting to slide together into a tired mush.

"I'll put you in the guest room tonight, but I'll have to wake you early. My father would call the police if you were found here like that." she glanced away, embarrassed at the potentially problematic situation she was placing him in. Then she smiled and shrugged, "But I'm sure I could get you out of here long before an copper arrives."

Noah was sitting with his eyes squeezed shut; he had just realized that trying to find a better headache cure was the least of his problems. And he wasn't planning on staying here long anyway... she was right, they had to check out the path. Maybe it would take him back. He opened his eyes, confused at something she had said. "Like what? Why would your dad- oh. Right." He smiled as he realized just how weird he must look to someone from the 20s, putting his glass down only a little shakily. "God, you're right! I must look like a crazy person. In my... in the other 20s, this is actually pretty low-key for a college student. In my graphic design class, there's this girl with piercings all down her nose and across both eyebrows. She wears this killer green lipstick to match the emerald in her tongue piercing. She's super nice." He reached for his sketchbook and flipped through it. "And super talented. She drew this." He pointed to a beautiful drawing of a human eye with glittery makeup and rainbow colors in the iris in the corner of one of his thumbnail pages. "She wanted to test out her new markers..." He looked up at Rose and trailed off.

Rose couldn't help herself. Her mouth was open and her eyes were wide with disbelief, glazed over as she attempted to conjure up an image of the girl he had just described. A second passed, and she shut her mouth. Only to open it again with a whispered question, "What?" that was directed at the universe in general. She held up a hand to Noah, imploring him with the gesture to give her a moment, her eyes now locked on the colorful picture on the paper.

After a few breaths, she smiled nervously and looked to him, "Green lipstick? Really?" she managed a soft chuckle, and folded her trembling hands in her lap. It was another moment before she cleared her throat and asked, "What are markers?"

Maybe I should take it easy with the future talk... Noah thought with a wince. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Markers are..." He thought for a moment on how best to describe them, something that to him was so simple. "Markers are little tubes with colored ink in them. The tips are... um... felt or fabric soaked in the ink. Then you just draw with the tip and... viola." He gestured lamely at the drawing. He looked back at her with another apologetic wince. "Listen, I'm really sorry. I... well, depending on how much time we spend together, I'm probably going to accidentally talk about some crazy sounding sh... stuff. A... a hundred years is... a long time." He smiled shakily, trying not to think too hard about it himself. So far the powder had done nothing for the pain behind his eyes, but it had only been, like, a minute. He had to be patient.

"A long time..." Rose echoed, feeling a sudden and powerful longing for that future. It startled her and she shook herself, rubbing her arms. A weight had settled onto her shoulders over the course of the evening. The present time however, was starting to press in on her. She stood and paced across the room in the hope that movement would ease the pressure building in her stomach.

"I think my father has gone. We could settle you in the spare room. We'll have to rise very early, to get you out before anyone notices. Then we can get to the park and.." she trailed off with a shrug and began tapping her foot, a nervous habit.

Noah nodded and wobbled to his feet, clutching at the blanket to keep it around his shoulders with one hand, and holding on to the clothing Rose had handed him with the other. Still, air billowed up under the blanket to chill his damp clothes, and he shivered. "Wake up early, go to the park. Okay. I can... handle that." He stood looking at her and her tapping foot, and his eyes filled with tears again. "Thanks again for helping me..." he said in a thick voice, pausing as he tried to dredge her name up out of the fog of the day. "... Rose."