Whale Island, Friday

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka was ever, ever, ever so delighted to finally be free from Portalocity's clutches--the last week had been extremely trying-- that when she stepped out at their destination it took a moment for it to sink in that…

That this… wasn't… a city.

She'd never seen Yorknew City in person before, but none of the brochures had indicated anything that looked… quite like this small, fish-smelling little town.

"Ringo!" she complained. "We're not here!"

Again!

Were they in the right world at least? Alluka dropped her bags and dug out her phone to check.

[For the travel buddy!]

Comments

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo was usually pretty happy-go-lucky, but the past week had been the opposite of fun and relaxing.

She threw her hands up in frustration. "Arg! Seriously? Again?"

A scowl settled across her features. "How does Portalocity even stay in business with service like this?"

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka was heading into full-on sulk mode.

"I'm going to tell my Papas about them," she said mutinously, scrolling through her phone. "They'll have words for them."

She was pretty sure Papa Hannibal could make it so this never happened again.

Then she blinked, and brightened. "Ringo! Ringo! We're in the right world!"

It was a baby step in the right direction!

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Really?" Ringo's shoulders sagged in something like relief.

"Then we are not taking another portal. We'll find some other way to get to the city."

Anything but another portal!

[that_oldsaying]

"I never want to take another portal again," Alluka agreed fervently. "D-Do you want to see what there is around here to do and how far we are from Yorknew City?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo looked around curiously, then nodded. "I need to stretch my legs anyway. Besides," she shot Alluka a grin, "after that awful experience, I bet that almost anything will be fun in comparison."

She reached out for the other girl's hand.

[that_oldsaying]

And Alluka was never going to turn down hand-holding!

She giggled.

"It is kinda pretty here," she said, "if small."

Quaint, Alluka. Quaint.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo giggled right along with her.

"That just means it won't take us long to explore!" she declared, swinging their joined hands with a grin. "We'll probably have just enough time to see everything fun before we leave!"

As long as they didn't get stranded here or something.

[that_oldsaying]

If they were stranded here, Alluka was definitely calling to get her Papas to intercede on their behalf.

Seriously.

"Lodging's first?" she asked. "And then seeing how long until we can get off this island?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"And food," Ringo added. "But somewhere to crash is a good priority." She wrinkled her nose. "Especially somewhere where I can take a bath!"

[that_oldsaying]

"Baths, food, sleep, and figuring out where we go next," Alluka reeled off, laughing. "We're not asking for much, really!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Hey," Ringo rolled her eyes. "Considering what we've been putting up with, we've totally earned it!"

[that_oldsaying]

"I wasn't arguing that!" Alluka protested. "Just that it's still a lot!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Well," Ringo shrugged, looking and sounding completely unapologetic. "I'm greedy."

"So leeeeet's see what we can see, hmm? I guess we should head over this way?" she suggested pointing with her free hand toward a cluster of bigger looking buildings.

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka followed her gesture.

"That does look a bit more important and less like peoples' houses," she admitted, tugging Ringo forward towards that direction. "Let's see if anyone there can help us!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo giggled. "It would be kind of awkward just wandering into some random person's house, wouldn't it?"

Fortunately, the building they were headed to had some relatively large windows, so a quick peek inside suggested it really was a business!

"Do you think we're supposed to knock?" Ringo asked.

[that_oldsaying]

"We don't knock on any business on the island," she said, pausing thoughtfully. "And the lights are on. We can probably go right in."

Alluka was going to push the door open anyway.

"Hello?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Come in, come in." A man who looked to maybe be in his early forties stood behind a counter and offered the two girls a smile.

"Welcome." He paused, looking them over. "Not often we see new faces here on the island," he announced after a moment.

"That's us!" Ringo chuckled. "New faces! Also, a bit lost. Is this a hotel or whatever?"

[that_oldsaying]

The old man had a nice smile, which reassured Alluka a bit.

"We're travelling," she offered. "But we wound up here by accident."

The man's laugh was warm, not mocking. "The hotel is right next door," he said, smiling. "Where were you ladies trying to go?

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Where was it again?" Ringo murmured softly. "Um, Yorknew City?"

"Is that a question?" the man teased, causing Ringo to flush slightly.

"No, no. That's definitely where we're trying to go." She glanced over at Alluka. "Right?"