To be fair, not the worst day he's ever had

[sauntereddown]

Who: Crowley and any unsuspecting bystanders
What: Arrival post, and subsequent settling in
Where: Somewhere on the Walk/later in the Great Hall
When: Sometime in early November
Warnings: Initially grumpy, frazzled occult being. Absolutely no knowledge of actual cars.


Temporarily out of gas
Crowley is going to struggle to find a metaphor for this later. The best he can come up with is if your talking unicorn suddenly changed into a blank-eyed goat. But the shabby version of a goat everyone knows, from some film you never got around to seeing. That's his general feeling about the car he's sitting in right now.

And also he's pretty sure he's got an idea of how the universe works, certainly of how the world works because he was there when they built the blessed thing. But now the feel's all off, so he's like a cat with mittens on.

And also, people are staring, when they're not leaning out of horse-drawn wagons and yelling for him to move. And not just sort of assuming they see something else and working their way around him. So there's that.

He snaps his fingers, and oh, that's what it feels like if they cut the miracle power. He always wondered. "Shit." Maybe he can still lean into it. He rolls the window down and snaps again, louder, at some unsuspecting bystander. "Hey, yeah. Yes, you - I'm going to need some directions."

Hey boy, where did you go?
After some more swearing and a crash course or two, Crowley's now a new arrival in the Great Hall. He's wearing sunglasses indoors, and he's nursing a mug of something strong-tasting and hopefully alcoholic. (No one knew what he was talking about when he asked if they had Isle of Skye, so he decided on a glass of whatever would "take the edge off a long day.")

He's notably not eating, though he is taking notes in between pulls from the mug. Anyone who sneaks a peek will see a mix of English words and a squiggly language they likely won't be able to read. Crowley is not an organized scholar, but in between his attempts to throw together a class schedule, there are some spur-of-the-moment questions and notes.

Notable bits include 'Different planet? Is space the same?', and a list titled 'Clever Enough to Exorcise Me Here' with every name crossed off.

Comments

[sauntereddown]

"Sword of-" Sure. Why not? Makes as much sense as anything else, though he makes a mental note not to get too close to it just in case. "Dorm security's not very good, then?"

"Anthony Crowley. Hi." He nods cordially, and then shrugs, moving over to allow Eleven a look at the budding schedule. The House Ka requirements are written down, and a slapdash list of others he might find interesting - Astronomy, Botany, Dialectical Logic. He's circled Fantastics, while Intimation has been crossed out more than once.

"I never really 'did' school before," Crowley adds conversationally. "But I got tricked into reading about a magic school, once." Someone had been going around claiming Harry Potter was Satanic. Crowley had taken a peek out of curiosity and somehow hooked himself into reading all seven. Part of him suspected it was some trick of Aziraphale's. "Lots of peril. Stairs that moved about, which seems impractical. That sort of thing."

[bearshermark]

Eleven hums an amused note. "It isn't very safe here, either."

Another reason for the sword perhaps, but he'd really rather just not to have to explain how he 'lost' his own signature weapon in another world.

"You're taking Botany," he says brightly. "I was thinking of dropping Osmarius for Botany. But I'm doing better with Discovery magic now.. Fantastics is a good choice, though it looks like you have the same feeling about Intimation as I do for Modification. Not a religious type, then?"

[sauntereddown]

Crowley snorts as his eyes drift down to where he put at least three lines through the offending subject. He might have been venting some frustration. "More that I've had enough of it for a while. Not thrilled at the idea of getting on my knees to beg for knowledge, either. Modification sounds dead boring, but at least there's plenty of other ways to get what you want."

He shrugs, fishing handily for a new topic. "So, 'unsafe', are we talking anything in particular? Or just some nonspecific peril? I've run into students guessing we were brought here for a reason, not that they knew what it was."

[bearshermark]

Eleven brightened. "There's wayward magic in classes and a ghost dragon underneath the school- at least last I knew."

But he shrugged, not quite as interested in that topic.

"I think we were brought here for a reason. Everyone's reason is different, I think. It could be personal, divine, or have something to do with the events of this world."

He frowned a bit, voice going distant. "But the flow of time hasn't changed.."

[sauntereddown]

Crowley frowns in consideration, and maybe he should leave it alone, but he's never been able to resist thinking about these things. "Seems like a lot to throw at one problem, but not random enough to just be magic gone chaotic." Ineffable, he thinks in spite of himself. "Suppose if there's a hint to come by, we'll land on it sooner or later."

That last bit gets him leaning forward in what he hopes will look like casual curiosity. "Flow of time?" He's always appreciated time. The speed of a car, the flow of progress. A dead halt when a crucial few seconds are needed.