saveourearth | London Calling [Closed Log]

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London Calling [Closed Log]

Date: 3rd November
Characters: Sadie Moore and Benjiro Thorne

Over the last few weeks reservations had been booked, tube maps examined, money set aside, itinerary created, and a video planned all for one very important purpose. A date. Specifically a date outside of the Mossgate area.

Sadie sighs deeply as Ben stops his phone recording, fiddling nervously with her handbag strap as the train pulls up to the platform. There was a lot riding on this.

“This'll work.” Sadie says to Ben, like saying the words out loud will make them more likely to be true. “It'll work and we'll have a wonderful date.”

Sadie and Ben had spent a lot of time looking at peak times of travel from Mossgate to London and had selected the least busy service, it was important that they get a mostly or completely empty carriage. As such, it didn't take long for the two of them to find a four-seat and table in an empty carriage and start getting set up, it wouldn't take the train long to pass that invisible boundary afterall. Train rolling out of the station, Ben sets up the phone and video with headphones ready and waiting to play. Sadie pulls the itinerary out of her handbag alongside a handwritten letter covering the details of the video incase that didn't work.

Switching out her sunglasses for her old glasses Sadie's heart races as she shares a nervous smile with Ben. Linking hands just before-

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Sadie looks down at Ben's hand as he removes it from her's and is struck by how wrong it feels, suddenly very aware of all those memories of holding hands. Ben's apology and his words makes her wilt, because she can so clearly see it in that moment, exactly why the other her had fallen for her best friend.

"...Mossgate is better with you there too... I hated that we'd moved but you became my friend and then it wasn't as bad anymore."

"We should do what they say and enjoy the day... Do you mind if I just take some time to check my phone?" She wanted to fill the gaps, wanted to understand. Maybe the texts and messages and photos on her phone would help?

To have the sentiment returned emboldens his smile, and he withdraws his hand in a relaxed manner from her shoulder to sit back in the seat next to her. Collecting the headphones, he tucks them away into a pocket in his backpack as she shares her judgment regarding how they should proceed. Benjiro nods his head and answers readily, “I can’t think of any reason to rush back, so we may as well follow the plot we’ve apparently set. And no, I don’t mind at all. I was going to do the same actually, but I think changing might be slightly higher priority.” He tugs at the loose shirt as indication of the reason, and stows his phone as he takes up his backpack from the floor. “Be right back.”

Shifting to stand, he has to snatch a hold to catch his pants as they start to slide with gravity, face flushing red once more. His shoes are awkwardly oversized, so ends up stepping higher to move out from their four seat to seek a distant one to change within the thankfully empty carriage.

It takes several minutes to manage the switch and repack his bag, but Benjiro comes back to the table dressed in the same outfit he had worn to the Pride Ball. He feels overdressed, and the persisting redness across his cheekbones speaks to it as he has trouble looking directly to Sadie when he moves to take his seat next to her. These clothes and shoes fit exceedingly well.

Phone pulled out once seated, he immediately opens the Notes app to look at the list of names of other Numbered that might contact them.

"We should definitely still go," Sadie agrees, "It seems like a fun day out and you've never been to the Natural History and Science Museums before have you?" She asks, excited at the prospect of a nerd day out despite the bizarre circumstances. "If we change out minds we can always bail out the window."

Sadie scooches her legs out of the way to let Ben past, examining just how baggy his current set of clothes are as he walks towards the toilet cubical. Just another bit of irrefutable evidence. Something absolutely compounded by the photos in her mobile. Plenty of selfies of the two of them and even a candid one of Ben, asleep in bed that was clearly taken from in the same bed. It looked nice. Cosy. It was easy to imagine herself tucked up in bed there too.

Sadie shoots a quick glare at the itinerary as Ben comes back. That suit... The restaurant choice makes an ridiculous amount of sense... She'd played herself.

Sadie leans over once Ben sits down, "Who's on the list?"

“No, but when I first moved here I meant to go,” he relays in confirmation on his way to go change. Still walking, he adds, “Open windows would be my preference.”

Upon his return, Benjiro entirely misses her glare at the sheet of paper, too embarrassed as he mentally chides his Mossgate self for trying too hard to impress Sadie with this outing. It is only when Sadie leans over to peek at his phone with him that he finally manages to glance at her face. He lifts the device up where she can see more easily as he speaks to the names on the list, “Walter Weekes, we both know him. Mary Ann Tilly and Ornella Tilly, that’s my neighbor and her young daughter… Sam Stone, don’t know him. Jacob Petty, our professor...? Kitty Singh, she’s a little girl that comes over to see my great aunts and me. James Pike, not a clue. Luke Walker, again no idea. Chad, no last name... And Russell Scordato. My cousin is involved too?” All the more puzzled as he finds so many personal connections among the list, he feels his stomach knot with worry as he puts his other hand up over his mouth and his brow furrows.

Two primary age girls are involved in the chaos, alongside his family member, friend, neighbor, and professor. Mossgate is not such a large place that he did not expect to recognize at least one name, but six is striking.

Edited 2018-11-21 18:13 (UTC)

Sadie reads the list, eyebrows raising when Ben reveals just how many of the names on the list that her recognises.

"I only know Walter and Professor Petty. That's quite a few people who're involved. It's weird..." And a little bit concerning but Sadie was determined to leave that as a problem for when she returns to Mossgate.

The journey to London doesn't take long, and ever so often during the trip Sadie leans back over to Ben to share a photo or two from her gallery of the two to see if Ben has any memories of events that she doesn't. As the train pulls into London Bridge and the two stand by the doors waiting for them to open Sadie ever so carefully reaches across and gently takes Ben's hand.

"I want to give this a shot." She tells him, cheeks flushed but it is easy to tell from the set of her eyebrows her determination is clear. "Let's have a bloody lovely day."

Closing the list of names, he switches to the other note prepared ahead of time that has the collection of news stories and blog posts regarding events in Mossgate. He hesitates to open any hyperlinks, recalling that the video warned that most of them were not pleasant, and with a faint sigh, he instead closes the app. Later. He will have a chance to look at those on the way back, but if he reads them now, his brain will be trying to digest more than he can stomach when he should be spending a day with Sadie. This is an opportunity to enjoy a day with his friend and not worry about anything else - a chance he may not get again soon.

Instead, Benjiro spends the remainder of the train ride looking at photos with Sadie and perusing his own phone's gallery. His cheeks redden frequently as he looks through the pictures, and when asked about events, he can recall things from the summer enough that now and again, he does have something to describe for Sadie.

Eventually, the train pulls into the station in London, and he collects his backpack to slip on. It looks odd, he imagines, contrasting with his semi-formal suit, but it is undeniably functional. He follows Sadie out from the seats to wait at the door to disembark. The museums should be quite fun. He has to wonder what sort of transitional exhibits might be in place today and if-

Quite unexpectedly, Benjiro feels the touch at his hand as Sadie moves to take it, and his fingers open only to close around her hand to hold. His heart thrums as his whole face heats, worrying illogically she might notice how hard his heart is beating suddenly. In spite of the nervousness seizing him, he feels a very different rush that pulls a shy smile out and gives him the coordination to speak, if with a slight warble in his pitch, "O-okay! That's exactly what we'll do."

Doors open, and out they go together. Unfamiliar with London, he'll rely on Sadie to navigate to their first destination on the itinerary. Along the way, he's quietly surprised by how quickly he's become comfortable holding her hand again...

Ben's appearance honestly isn't that unusual amongst the day-trippers, commuters, and tourists that they pass within the massive station as Sadie guides him towards the Tube Station with the ease of someone who could navigate the area in her sleep.

The Tube journey itself isn't too long once they've tapped their phones on the access gate, just one stop on the Jubilee Line and a change to the Circle & District is all it takes for them to get to South Kensington accompanied by Sadie's excited chatter about the different static exhibits in the Natural History Museum.

The Victorian building towers over them as they emerge and Sadie points at the stonework as they queue up past the ice rink. "James and I would always play a game with our parents whenever we came here to see who could spot the most animals carved into the building whilst waiting in the queue. Bonus points if you can actually name what animal it's suppose to. I'll give you a head-start."

Luckily the queue isn't overly long and Sadie is positively buzzing with excitement as they enter the Main Hall, Dippy the Diplodocus greeting them as they enter. "Right! So we've got the Hall of Mammals, the Dinosaur Exhibit, the Earth Section, and the Insect Collection to choose from first. Where would you like to go?"

Edited 2018-11-25 09:18 (UTC)

Emerging into the crowd at the station, Benjiro tightens his grip faintly on Sadie's hand, and for all the threat of so many people to become overwhelming, his focus on her acts as a barrier to keep the anxiety at bay. Scanning occasionally around them, he does notice his attire is not quite so out of place as it would be walking about in Mossgate. Efficiently navigating with her guidance, they leave the worst of the crowd behind to ride the Tube. Her chatter keeps him thoroughly distracted, adding to the conversation by occasionally hazarding a guess to possible items or attractions within the different exhibits.

For as wonderful as all the exhibits sound by her descriptions, he's thankful he had not managed to come sooner without her.

Benjiro admires the architecture of the building with little prompt needed, and lets out a laugh at the spontaneous game. A head-start indeed! Rather than argue the likelihood she already has most of them memorized, he'll make the effort to scan in a grid search pattern and name them as he comes to them. Or at least name what he thinks it might be. Busy with the task, the queue is over before he has decided if that flying dinosaur could possibly be Nemicolopterus crypticus or not with that scale of head to body despite the unnatural teeth carved inside the beak and that the species was first discovered in 2008.

As they step into the main hall, Benjiro breathes a slow, impressed exhale as he looks at the space and the Diplodocus. Tearing his eyes from the skeleton as Sadie speaks about selecting an exhibit to begin, he immediately answers, "The Dinosaur Exhibit." Bright eyed and with an eager smile, Benjiro looks more like a kid being asked if he wants to go into the candy store than to look at artifacts of the natural world. So long as Sadie seems satisfied with the choice, that's where they head.

Upon entering the exhibit, Benjiro cannot help himself as he rattles off the scientific names of all the specimens he can see in immediate view. Dinosaurs had been his first flirtation with science, and he has never stopped being fascinated with them. Now, he has the chance to share that with his best friend, and he's already rattled off a number of facts about the one nearest them before he seems to realize socially he might need to restrict his enthusiasm. Free hand moving behind his neck with an embarrassed realization, he chuckles softly, "Sorry, I was getting carried away."

Sadie beams even more at Ben's choice of first exhibit, guiding him through the throng of people to the left and into the atmospherically lit dinosaur exhibit. Sadie opens her mouth to start talking about the dinosaurs but Ben beats her to the punch as they make their way through the exhibit. And honestly? Sadie is no longer really paying any attention to the exhibit.

Sadie's focus is entirely on Ben, the way he lights up as he recounts facts to her. The way his excitement warms his eyes and causes them to brighten. His enthusiastic smile causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle... Sadie had seen Ben passionate about science before but she had never really seen it. He has never looked more handsome.

Blushing as Ben apologises, Sadie gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Keep going, it's nice. Dinosaurs are the coolest after all, and I'll be the same in the Earth Gallery." She'll hardly complain, the happiness suits him well, and she is a budding Geologist afterall.

Continuing round the exhibit, Sadie pulls him onto a seperate path, "If you thought that was cool, you'll love this!" Rounding the corner reveals the intricate animatronic set up of a pack of velociraptors feasting on their prey. "How cool is that!"

Edited 2018-12-05 22:12 (UTC)

His eyes turn back to her as he feels that squeeze to his hand, and given the encouragement to continue, returns the gesture as he smiles with a soft flush of color moving across his cheekbones. Hand sliding from his neck, he answers, "I hope you will be. I need to brush up on it."

Not needing to be told twice, Benjiro resumes his recitation of facts, studies, and hypotheses all related to each skeleton they come to, and that same enthusiasm returns by the time his blush has faded. He isn't so busy with talking that he ignores the opportunity to admire how well the bones have been cared for and the meticulous construction of the skeleton supported by metal components. Nor does he miss out on the chance to enjoy being so close to Sadie.

That running commentary does trail off when Sadie tugs him away from a specimen, and he turns his attention down the new path. Coming around that corner with her, he lets out an appreciative sound as the animatronics catch his eye, "Oh wow..! Simple mechanically, but effective!" He wholeheartedly approves of the attraction to help those with less imagination picture the dinosaurs as they may have once ruled.

"By the time we leave, I'll make sure that you're a geology expert!" She promises, and it wasn't like it would be hard with Ben's natural aptitude and memory. Sadie tosses in some interesting facts of her own as they go around, hypothesising the most likely preservation conditions for the more delicate specimens.

"See that Archaeopteryx? That's one of the Solnhofen specimens. The feathers were preserved because the lagoon was nearly devoid of oxygen, and fine sediment would drift in from the Tethys Sea, preserving the smallest details. I'd love to go, they have a fantastic fossil museum with some amazing specimens!"

Sadie grins, glad that Ben seems to like the exhibit so far. "This was my favourite thing in the museum when I was younger, Mum and Dad always had to drag me away." She shakes her head, before pulling out the map. "So which section should we do next, the Mammals or the rocks?"

The consideration given to the preservation conditions for the most fragile of the fossils is greatly appreciated and has his full attention, “I don’t think I’ve seen one this pristine in person before... Solnhofen is in Germany, isn’t it? Maybe we could arrange a trip on a break someday.” It’ll definitely be a suggestion he leaves to his Mossgate self in his phone.

Were the itinerary not kept in mind, Benjiro would be happy to stay the whole day in this one exhibit, and knowing Sadie has a similar attachment bodes well to the possibility of a return visit. When the map is pulled out for consultation, he looks at the routes. The Mammals is closer, however, “We already saw my favorite exhibit, so I think it’s only fair we go to yours next.” Even if they spend the remainder of the allotted time in the geological sections, he’ll be more than content with not seeing every exhibit today.

Sadie's cheeks blush at Ben's use of 'we'. The two of them going on a weekend break to look at wonderful fossils and just enjoying each other's company... That seemed very nice and is accompanied by the hope that it is something that their other selves one day manage to organise. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot. I'll have to save up though because I'll definitely want to buy some fossils if we do."

She glances down at the map, a wide grin splitting her face as she directs Ben towards the exit of the dinosaur exhibit, back across the main foyer, through a tall, arched-ceiling hallway with plesiosaur and ichthyosaur fossils hanging on the wall, and into a massive room, the entire far wall covered in screens depicting volcanic eruptions. To their left is a long escalator from the ground floor up to the second, ascending through a large model of the Earth.

"Isn't it cool?!" Sadie buzzes, still holding Ben's hand, "And once we're done here we can move onto the Science Museum!"

Her blush makes him shy a moment, in the way that his smile quirks and he glances off, but he doesn't look away from her more than a second or two. "With school, I'm sure you'll have time to save," he replies before a less expensive option comes to mind, "Until then, maybe there are spots around Mossgate worth looking if you haven't hunted for fossils there yet." It would be a nice way to spend an afternoon with her even if the yield would only include common finds.

Benjiro sticks close to her as they exit the exhibit, although his attention wanders enough to slow as he looks at the hanging fossils along the way to the room with screens showing erupting volcanoes. The massive model is a grand depiction of the planet, and while he does appreciate those, he finds her excitement more compelling. He gives her hand a light squeeze as he agrees, "Very cool! While I'm looking forward to the Science Museum, I don't want to skim here."

It is left to Sadie to guide him, and as she provides a verbal lesson with the trip through the exhibit, Benjiro will ask questions as they come to mind. It's all fascinating!

Sadie practically vibrating as she leads Ben onto the escalator, "Oh it gets so much cooler! Look!"

Reaching the top of the escalator leaves then standing in a corridor that runs all the way around the edges of the atrium that is lined floor to ceiling with well-lit glass cabinets completely chock-full of rocks and gems and fossils, "Thisis the best place in the whole museum aside from the dinosaur exhibit. Just look at the amount of specimens they have!"

Sadie waves him over to a display showing a massive chunk of Welsh Anthracitic coal, "And you'll be hard pressed to find such excellent quality too!" What follows is almost a switch of the dinosaur exhibit, with Sadie now driving the trivia with the occasional Geology rant thrown in, "...And that's why horneblend and amphibole are bullshit! Their identicalness exists purely to make fieldwork as difficult as possible!"

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London Calling [Closed Log]

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Welp, I let this one sit a while. Oops 8T

Surprise? >.<'