Grand Old Time, Mister Hatter

[Euraiah Glick]

Eury carried a plate of spaghetti and a glass of wine carefully down the hallway. Neither were for him. He'd already eaten his dinner, and didn't have any wine after tasting it proved to be disgusting. Maggie had laughed at the face he made, though, so it wasn't a total loss. He liked Maggie. She even remembered his name now.

But when she asked him to bring Mr. Hatter his dinner since he'd been too distracted or busy or whatever to leave his office, Eury made another face. Mr. Hatter was kind to him, but still a little intimidating and aloof. He spent a lot of time in his study with his work, or in the bedroom with Maggie. That always gave Eury mixed feelings.

He arrived at the door to Mr. Hatter's study and frowned. His hands were full, so he kicked it, gently, with his foot.

"Uh, Mr. Hatter. I have some dinner. For you. You hafta eat it. I mean, that's what Maggie said."

[James Hatter]

The furious movement from beyond the study paused, and then there was a frustrated sigh. "She's not the boss of me," James muttered, almost too softly to be heard.

Nevertheless, he opened the door, looking down at the kid and the food. He was a late bloomer, James figured. Still pretty short for his age.

He was twelve, wasn't he? Maybe he was eleven. Still.

"Thanks, Eury," he said, gruffly, taking the plate and the glass of wine from the kid. He set the spaghetti on the desk, and downed the entire glass of wine before turning to survey his work.

His study was a mess of boxes. Some had been marked -- "Shaa" -- and others were left blank and left in the far corner. The desk and the shelves were stripped bare. After this, he'd have to tackle his bedroom, which he wasn't really looking forward to.

Setting the empty wineglass down, he glanced at the kid and asked, "You eat already?"

[Euraiah Glick]

"Uh, yeah. We all did." He stayed outside the door, but he couldn't help seeing all the boxes. He frowned a little, wringing his hands. "You're...already packed? When are you leaving?"

[James Hatter]

He paused, trying to remember what day it was. Monday? "Thursday. And I haven't packed my room, yet."

[Euraiah Glick]

"Oh." He glanced at other spots of the room. He'd never really had a long look in there before. "Is Shaa...Uhm." He pulled at his fingers. "What's it like there? Is it really terraformed?"

[James Hatter]

James shrugged. "Supposedly. Terraforming is a long process. Might be a little bit before it's fully done."

[Euraiah Glick]

Eury stood silent for a few moments. "Is it...nice?"

[James Hatter]

James laughed, shrugging again. "Supposedly. I haven't seen it."

[Euraiah Glick]

Eury frowned. "Yer going all the way there just because you think it's been terraformed?"

[James Hatter]

This was tricky. "We're going there to help," he said, vaguely. "I'm taking one of the divisions in the Facility with me."

[Euraiah Glick]

"Oh." Eury cracked his knuckles, staring at the floor. Well, if anyone would know, wouldn't it be Mr. Hatter? "So...going there isn't bad?"

[James Hatter]

He blinked. "Why would it be bad?"

[Euraiah Glick]

Eury shrugged. "I dunno. Would staying here be bad?"

[James Hatter]

"No worse than anything else."

[Euraiah Glick]

"Oh. Okay." He stood awkwardly in the door for another few moments, then turned. "Uh, thanks. Bye." He left, letting out a sigh.