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[Not that 1900 was paying any more attention than she was, he just didn't have the excuse of reading. He was watching people around, just not the people he was walking towards when he only just barely avoids a collision with a somewhat uncoordinated flail.]

Oh! Pardon me!

[She jumps, startled out of her book, and blinks at him.]

Oh! Oh dear, I think that was my fault entirely.

Oh, no I wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry!

[The younger man is a little small for his coat, but he's done is best to look proper otherwise. He takes off the hat that's a little big for him and holds it over his chest apologetically.]

Neither was I. Perhaps we are both equally at fault? [She suggests diplomatically, tucking her book under her arm and looking at him somewhat intently.]

[He looks up from his hat, and then recognition lights on his face, finally recognizing her.]

Oh, hello again. [He smiles shyly.]

Yes! We have met before haven't we? [She says, eyes lighting up in recognition.] Sorry, I'm terrible with names, what was it again? [She asks, extending her hand in greeting.]

I think we skipped that part last time. [His smile warms and he takes her hand politely.]

Everyone calls me 1900. And you, Ma'am?

Doctor Evangeline Nix. [A name that feels impossibly long following his, enough so for her to leave off her usual string of titles.]

How have you been?

[1900's name is actually much longer as well, but it causes too much confusion to recite it for every person he meets. His eyebrows raise in interest, impressed that she's a doctor, no less.]

Quite well. I've been given more playing time at dinners. How about yourself? Find any more ghosts?

A few. [She says, a bit sheepishly. It's odd to talk about her work with others. And she recalls how she mistook him for a ghost.]

Is that how you make your living? [She asks.] Playing music during the dinner hour?

Dinner, and any other hour of the day. [He's positively beaming by now. He's very intrigued by ghosts, and he's even picked up a book or two about them by this point.]

So long as it keeps me out of the Captain's hat, they let me do what I want.

Oh good! I should hate for you to find yourself driven from your floating home. [She says, recalling that he had told her he had never been off the ship in his life.]

They'd have to offload the pianos first, if they wanted me to leave.

Quint tries to make sure he doesn't drop his pack as he quickly sidesteps to avoid being walked into.

So far this timeline was really interesting, and he'd almost walked into the woman himself, just from looking around at things.

Edited ((icon fix, oops)) 2013-08-04 22:52 (UTC)

Eva, startles, registering that she's nearly walked into a child.

"Oh! Sorry!"

((ooc: well, if he has the capability, we could go all the way: Eva is technically from an alt. history heavy on the "~steampunk~" elements, for lack of a more efficient descriptor.))

"That's ok. I wasn't watching where I was going, either." He has a trace of a German accent, but it's only barely noticeable.

((ooc: Hence Quint being in total fascinated tourist mode. XD It's his first steampunk style universe, and he's just a little electronic ball of curiosity.))

Can't be far from your pianos, Mr. 1900? [She says, with a little laugh.] You are a bit like a ghost, that way.

[He smiles shyly, and snickers in a way that betrays his youth.]

I might have spooked a couple crew with a bed sheet since we last talked.

[She laughs, and it is not the stifled laugh of most society women but an outright laugh, high and clear like the chime of a bell.]

Oh did you now? That's very mischievous!

The touch of foreign accent makes her pause, momentarily concerned he might have wandered off from his chaperones and become lost.

"Are you looking for something in particular?" She asks, closing the book on a gloved finger (obviously intending to resume reading whilst walking at the earliest possible opportunity) and peering down at him with large eyes the color of mercury.

[He beams at that laugh, it's honest and he likes it immediately.]

I get into all sorts of trouble like that. So long as i doesn't make the Captain too angry, it's all good fun.

No wonder stories were going around that the ship was haunted by mischievous spirits. [She said, smiling, tucking her book under her arm.]

Guilty as charged. [He shoves his hands into his pockets, but remains smiling.]

"I'm not sure. I'm supposed to write a report later, but there are so many interesting subjects I don't know how to choose just one."

Letting people assume he's doing a school report has worked well for him some times in the past. As for the eyes, that's very curious, though not frightening to him. Many of his siblings have unusual eye colors, but they're robots.

"Oh well...there's lots of places in London you could write about." She said, looking a bit anxious. She wasn't really the best candidate to play tour guide for foreign schoolboys. "There's Ferris' Great Hydraulic Skywheel, if you want something modern. But there's lots of old palaces and landmarks too."

Quint blinks, suspecting that the mentioned structure might not be what he thought of as a 'Ferris Wheel', and then gives an embarrassed smile. "Ah, it's supposed to be on modern science, not locations." Looking around again, he adds, "My father was a scientist, but things here are different from what he worked on."

If Quint had ever seen the structure known as the London Eye, Ferris' magnificent hydraulic Skywheel would not be much different in size, except it was a massive towering gaudy thing of brass decoration and neoclassical trappings and stained glass all around the lower parts of the cars. It was thought of both a miracle of engineering and a ridiculous and indulgent eyesore. The fact that the admission was not so exclusive that people of all classes could enjoy its full aerial view of London wasn't helping its reputation.

"Oh well...I suppose one of the science of industry museums that hosts an engineer's hall might be a better bet." There he could see all the new inventions of the day, and sometimes the curators would have the engineers in to give lectures. "I could show the way to one." There was one running a retrospective on Lord Nix's contributions to the field of manufacturing, with which he had made enough fortune to buy Evangeline's university education.

[She returns his smile and shakes her head a little in completely unconvincing disapproval. She did find 1900 strange but charming. A living man who was just like a ghost, but bound to a ship instead of a drafty castle or a ruined grave.]

Unfortunately, he'd never seen a Ferris Wheel that large, though he'd already made a small note to have a look at that one before this trip was over.

"I'd appreciate that very much, thank you," Quint said. He still can't quite help occasionally gawking like a tourist, though he is trying to curb it. After all, it wouldn't do to look too out of place. Fortunately, a mostly true cover story is easy. "I'm sorry, my family was... reclusive. My father didn't like people poking around where he worked. Everything looks strange to me, out in a city like this." True enough, minus the other universe, lunacy, and world domination attempts.

[He stands there in a moment of silent awkwardness before placing his hat back on his head.]

I don't mean to distract you from your reading, but if you're ever interested, I should play something for you.

I wouldn't mind that. [She says, with a small smile.]

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Can meet both ways, with younger char in early 1900s?

works for me!

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(Quint is a universe/timeline-hopping android, so late 19th=no prob XD)

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Sorry for the delay

quite alright! was at a family reunion myself :P

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