driftfleet | Happy St George's Day!

Who: Arthur and you
Broadcast: Video
Action: Huntress
When: April 23rd!

Action
[Arthur didn't actually remember his actual birthday, and he'd certainly never mentioned his unofficial one to anyone in the fleet, yet somehow, on the one day he'd stopped back on the Huntress to water his plants, there was a large package for him in the cargo bay. A crate with his own flag splashed over the top and 'Happy Birthday' scrawled over it in bad handwriting.]

How did they- I'm not opening this here.

Video
[Shortly after dragging the crate back to his room, his device has switched on while he pries the box open, the lid all but jumping up as the contents absolutely jammed inside... puffed up. Arthur narrowed his eyes and peered in, staring at the contents.

Stuffed animals. Almost half a dozen varieties of stuffed animals. And all of them looking very, very British.]

Just what am I supposed to do with these?

[Picking one up, he finally notices the comm is on and gives it an exasperated look.]

Alright, who told them?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If that your polite way of calling me old?

[Not senile yet. Does like his naps though.]

[Oops?]

Uh... no? I mean. Well, I know people who are older... in a way. Kind of.

Have you ever been cryogenically frozen?

No, can't say I have. I don't think we have that technology yet, though there's always people looking into it.

[Though now he's curious.]

They do that where you're from?

Yeah, actually. Well, sort of. I mean, we don't have it on Earth, yet, but the Alteans have it, and have used it for several things beyond just prolonging life. Their version helps a body heal faster.

Well, that's interesting. But no, it's just a natural thing for me.

Oh. Wow, okay. [Keith looked impressed.] I've never met anyone like that before.

I'm not surprised. Even in my world, there aren't many of us, just about two hundred.

Roughly one per country, with a few exceptions.

Is that on purpose?

[One per country? That sounded oddly specific.]

There's no one really to ask. But there hardly needs to be more than that.

Why do you say that?

[Keith was curious.]

I'm Keith, by the way. I was just recently assigned as the pilot here.

Well, one country is one country.

[Nudging his door open with a hip, Arthur put down the crate before offering his hand to shake.]

Arthur Kirkland. I'm an engineer on board.

I'm the new pilot.

[He gave Arthur a weird look. He didn't understand the statement.]

What do you mean, one country is one country?

I mean, there hardly needs to be two of me. And god knows there doesn't need to be two Frances. He's insufferable enough all on his own.

[Clearly. But Arthur wanted to see if he'd figure it out on his own with enough hits.]

Two of you? [Oh man... was he implying...? Keith stared for a second.] You mean... you're the country? [........]

England. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.

[Sure explains the flag on the crate, doesn't it?]

.....

[Keith was momentarily rendered speechless... though, that wasn't hard. He wasn't a big talker to begin with. Still, though...]

You're... actually England...?

Yes, lad, that's exactly what I'm saying.

[Really has started to enjoy these kinds of conversations.]

I didn't think that was even possible.

[Then again, invisible people shouldn't be possible, either. Neither should people who can talk to each other through rock vibrations or people who can make mecha out of trees just by touching them or all those other weird things he's seen since finding the Blue Lion.]

So... how does that even work?

We're not quite sure. There's not really much to explain where we're from. We just... appear when there's a population coming together as a people.

[Really, if anyone understood how they came about, it'd be China. And he wasn't saying anything.]

That's so weird.

[Sorry, Arthur. He didn't mean any offense, but it really kind of topped a lot of things he'd seen so far.]

Just... appear? Like... as adults?

Hm? Ah, no. Most of us as very small children, often around two years old in appearance. America certainly did. Of course, they don't stay that adorable. We grow up as our people do.

[Was the cutest little boy too. No matter what France says.]

Oh.

[He had a lot more questions, but they were kind of dark, so he shelved them for now.]

So, why do you think you got a drop?

[Coughs.]

Well, that might have something to do with today's holiday.

Holiday? What holiday is that?

[Keith was definitely making connections. He was the embodiment of a country, and receiving a sponsor drop on a holiday... a holiday based on his world?]

St. George's Day. It's... a bit complicated, but these days mostly a holiday celebrating all things English.

[Nope, not going to say it. Not like it's his real one anyway.]

Re: Action

tempredmental - 2017-07-15 23:58 (UTC) - Expand

english_dignity - 2017-07-16 03:51 (UTC) - Expand

tempredmental - 2017-07-18 15:30 (UTC) - Expand

english_dignity - 2017-08-21 06:47 (UTC) - Expand

tempredmental - 2017-08-23 03:17 (UTC) - Expand