Author's Notes: Hi, everyone! Wow, we've actually made it to 2020! Let's try to keep this crazy world of ours going, alright? Anyway, this one-shot is a bit more threadbare than the first one in this collection. The reason for that is explained down below, so please read until the end. I haven't been able to write stories recently because Real Life came a' knocking, but I plan on releasing at least two chapters this year. So please enjoy this one!
Warning: PokerPair teasing; Fem!Allen Walker; Modern AU; Time travel; Probable OOC-ness; An American writing a Brit; Crack? (Is that the same as OOC or not?)
Disclaimer: I have as much claim on D. Gray Man as that guy who sold the Eiffel tower.
- xXx -
5th Millennium House Guests
Of all the strange situations Ellen Walker had found herself in, this one certainly took the entire Christmas tin of biscuits.
The young twenty-one year old woman surveyed the group currently sitting on the settee opposite of her armchair. The youngest, a girl of about twelve years, turned her head this way and that to take in the view of the living room from her perch on the left seat cushion. The second guest, a sleepy looking boy in his late teens, seemed more preoccupied with sinking into the padded back of the settee. She wouldn't be surprised if he nodded off right then and there. And the eldest, a man around her age, alternated from bemusedly watching the others' antics and observing her as he sat in between them. They all had enough features in common – golden eyes, dark skin – for her to assume that they were related to some degree by blood. So far, nothing too unusual…
Until you realize that they were wearing clothing inappropriate for British winters. And black diamond marks on their foreheads. Oh, and that they're from the fifth millennium, BCE.
No, she wasn't pissed. And neither had she made it all up. All three of her house guests came from a distant time period, and were staying with her for the foreseeable future.
How did this even happen, you may ask?
Well, the answer is rather quite simple.
It was Komui Lee's fault. Though several other members of the Black Order university science department were involved in creating that bloody time machine, thus earning themselves some blame, it would have never happened if not for one of the Chinese robotics/chemistry professor's mad whims. Strange chemical elixirs, the Komulin series of robots – so many inventions had run rampant over the years that the complaints from the inevitable fallout were now depressingly routine.
This time however, instead of simply blowing up in their faces and leaving the university with another bill to cover, the machine had worked as intended. The cacophonous sounds of the flabbergasted scientists carried over to where she, Komui's sister Lenalee and their two friends Lavi Bookman and Kanda Yu were studying for upcoming exams in the next room. When the four college students went in to see what the commotion was, they saw three unconscious strangers lying in front of the time machine.
Even after Komui's rapid explanation, they were understandably unconvinced that the strangers actually were from another time. But once the strangers had woken up, realized that they weren't in danger and allowed the scientists to inspect the goods they carried, there was no arguing that they hadn't come from the past.
Now came the next problem: what to do with them? The first obvious answer – send them back – was unfortunately out of the question due to the time machine overheating and needing replacement parts. So the trio would have to stay in the present until the machine was fixed. But where to put them? They couldn't keep them at the university 24/7 without telling the dean, Malcolm C. Lvellie, about the entire event. And no one was naive enough to let that ruthless man have access to either the time travelers or the machine, even if he did believe them.
Especially if he believed them.
The next best option would be to have someone take them in. But who? All of the scientists either lived in the dorms, tiny flats, or had too-nosy family members/neighbors. Lavi's grandfather could keep a secret, but again their lodgings weren't large enough. Kanda flat out refused as he enjoyed his privacy. And since Lenalee lived with her brother, it would be a cold day in Hell before Komui would let male strangers stay with them.
Ellen, though… she had inherited a house from her grandmother: a nice, spacious Victorian residence surrounded by wheat fields. And located out in the countryside with nary a neighbor in sight.
It took some convincing, but she eventually agreed to let the time travelers stay with her. They decided to transport the group using Cache's SUV as public transportation was just too risky. After some trial-and-error with getting the three into the vehicle, Cache safely deposited her four passengers at Ellen's house without getting lost (she had GPS installed into her car, which eliminated the hazard of asking the white-haired student for directions).
Which brought her back to the situation happening right now. Ellen switched her light purple gaze from her house guests to her fingers idly drumming on her left knee. Normally she had no problem engaging other people in conversation, but that was going to be exceedingly difficult this time. They had tried talking with the three time travelers earlier at the university, but were only answered back in an unknown language. Even Lavi, who spoke more languages than Ellen herself, could only make vague guesses at what they were saying.
With oral communication ruled out for now, it appeared that she'll have to fall back on gestures to see her through the first few days. She did have some experience to draw on, thankfully. Traveling with Cross meant that the duration of their stays in other countries ranged from less than a day to months on end. While Ellen tried to learn enough of the local language of their current country to complete daily errands, there where many situations that left her with no other choice but to mime out what she needed.
'But where do I begin for this? How can I get them to trust me, at least for now?' She hadn't missed how each of them, even the girl, were tense underneath their facade of calm. As if waiting for Ellen to attack them. It made her wonder what their daily lives were like back then.
Who had been right: Hobbes or Rousseau?
Then a loud gurgle broke through the woman's thoughts. Blinking in confusion, she lifted her gaze over to her guests. The young girl and man looked perplexed as well, while the teen-aged boy seemed to be sinking into the settee rather purposefully.
Ah. Well, now she knew whose stomach was growling.
The other two quickly caught on as well. The older male looked at the younger one with mirth filled eyes and a smirk. The girl was even more amused. She let out peals of laughter before running over to the teenager and pinching his cheeks. He halfheartedly tried to get her to stop, but she just laughed again and crooned out some unknown, but affectionate-heavy words.
Ellen smothered a smile behind her hand as she watched them unnoticed. The earlier unease had melted away, and now her guests were settling down. That was good. It would make their stay at her house easier for them all. 'Speaking of which,' she mused as she stood up and walked to the kitchen, 'I better fix some food for them. Can't have them starving now, can I?'
Ellen rummaged through the cabinets and refrigerator to confirm what she had on hand. Leftovers were a rarity in this household, so naturally there wasn't anything of that type around. Junk food was convenient, but she didn't want to risk them having an adverse reaction. Luckily the young woman had just went food shopping yesterday, so there was enough ingredients on hand for a light lunch. What should she make, though? Her guests were from a time before utensils, so that limited what she could serve...
After a few more seconds of thinking, Ellen finally decided on fried fish sandwiches. She grabbed some vegetables and fish fillets and placed them on the kitchen counter top before going to the drawers and cabinets for the other ingredients and cooking equipment she needed.
After washing up, cleaning the vegetables and putting them aside, she poured some olive oil into the frying pan and walked over to the gas cooker. But just as she placed the pan down, Ellen felt a gaze on her back. She looked back and saw the young girl looking back at her from the kitchen doorway. 'Someone's curious,' the young woman thought with amusement. It was hardly surprising though. Ancient and modern kitchens had as much in common as lions and crocodiles, in her own opinion.
Ellen gave the girl a smile and made a gesture with her arm to beckon her over. The girl blinked once before confidently walking right over to the older female. "Hello, there. I thought you all would like something to eat," she said as the girl let her inquisitive gaze roam around the kitchen. She waited for the girl to look over at the gas cooker before turning a dial on low. The girl tilted her head as she heard the clicking of the cooker trying to ignite the gas. And then a small blue flame flickered into existence and started to warm the frying pan.
"There. Now to prep the vegetables and fillets," Ellen nodded to herself as she moved back to the counter top. She quickly dried and sliced the tomato, lettuce and some onions before arranging them on four sets of bread slices; she then seasoned the fish fillets with salt and black pepper in a separate bowl. The gas cooker was carefully monitored all throughout: not only to see whether the oil was ready for frying, but also to make sure the girl didn't get too close to the flame.
Thankfully the girl, while mesmerized by the color of the flame, kept a good distance from it. While she would have been more familiar with campfires rather than gas cookers, at the end of the day both cooking systems had one thing in common: don't get too close or you'll get burned, you ninny.
'I guess I shouldn't go around making assumptions too soon,' Ellen thought a little sheepishly as she saw little bubbles appearing on the oiled surface of the pan. She turned up the heat, coated the fillets in flour, and placed them into the pan once the oil really got going.
The girl let out a soft gasp, then moved in closer to observe what was happening inside the pan. Ellen kept her own gaze on the fillets, moving them around so they weren't too close together, and flipped them onto their other side. Finally she removed the fillets, turned off the cooker and completed the sandwiches.
"Okay, that's done," Ellen sighed as she observed her work. She set the pan aside for proper oil disposal later, then started washing the other dirty pieces of cookware in the sink.
The girl, meanwhile, eyed the sandwiches with hunger, then reached out and scooped one up without the paper napkin underneath. She didn't immediately try to eat it. Instead she inspected it, trying to mentally match up the sandwich's ingredients with those she knew at home. Finally, seeing no obvious red flags, the girl brought the sandwich up to her lips and bit into it.
At first she just chewed her mouthful with no visible change to her expression. Then her eyes got wider as she fully experienced the taste of all the ingredients. A happy noise of contentment, the kind you always hear when someone eats good food, was expressed and a smile curved on her lips.
'Well, that's one down,' Ellen wryly thought as she observed the girl as she put the last clean utensil on the rack to dry. 'Now I just have to give the other two theirs.'
She had just grabbed a paper towel to dry her hand with when she heard a voice behind her. The young woman silently shuddered as she felt a small chill run up her spine due to that voice. The same chill she felt earlier at the university. Which meant…
Ellen turned around and saw that the teenager and the man were now both in the kitchen with her and the girl. Well, technically only the teenager was inside. He had chosen to walk over to the kitchen table and sit himself down. The man, on the other hand, was leaning against the doorway. This time he was giving her his undivided attention, letting his eyes roam her person.
First he kept them on her face, which undoubtedly looked peculiar to him. Not only was she very pale, her hair was white and she had a bright red facial scar that looked more like a tattoo. Then they migrated south, taking in her lithe figure clothed by a long sleeved shirt and a pair of trousers. After receiving their fill, those golden eyes moved back up to capture her purple eyes before his face broke into an alluring smirk.
Ellen kept her expression neutral the entire time, though she inwardly felt quite flustered. Hardly surprising; after all, any woman would be at least a little flattered by a positive gaze (sexual orientation of both the gazer and the eye candy could complicate matters, but she had a feeling that that wouldn't apply to this situation). Plus he was quite attractive by modern standards. Over six feet tall, long dark hair, a great figure; even his teeth were in good condition, considering he was from a time before modern dental practices. She couldn't deny that she had, well, 'ogled' the man when she first laid eyes on him earlier today. And the other women present – yes, even Lenalee herself – also took the time to appreciate his looks.
Still, this was neither the time nor the place to let her hormones get the better of her.
The girl flounced over to her family and began happily chattering, causing the man and the teenager to fully focus on her. Ellen wasn't certain about what the girl was saying, but judging by the looks she was getting from the other two, the topic was the sandwiches and who made them.
The young woman placed what she hoped was a friendly smile to them onto her face as she grabbed the rest of the sandwiches and walked over. She first offered one to the teenager, seeing as it was his stomach that first made its need of sustenance clearly known. He took it from her after the girl prodded him for a bit, but soon began to enjoy its taste as well.
Ellen turned away from the two adolescents and saw the man was now standing close by. So she walked over and offered him a sandwich, which he readily took and bit into. And he appeared to enjoy it, too.
'Well, that's one issue resolved,' she sighed to herself before tucking into her sandwich as well. Then she noticed that the girl had finished hers and was now curiously looking at the paper napkin wrapped around the teenager's lunch. She pointed at the napkin before asking him something in their native language. He stopped chewing, unwrapped the napkin and handed it over before continuing on eating.
The girl gazed down at the napkin in her hands, golden eyes taking in the sight of dark fingers against stark whiteness. Then she noticed something interesting; the sandwich crumbs and juices once stuck to her hands were now on the strange fabric. She ran over to the refrigerator and stopped right in front of it. Looking into the door's reflective surface, she took the napkin and rubbed it over her mouth. She then examined the napkin once finished, and sure enough there were now additional food stains on it.
Ellen watched in amusement as the girl ran back to her family members to tell them what she learned. It was a good thing they were showing to be adaptable. They'll need that in order to stay in this time for however long it takes to repair the time machine.
'What should I show them next? The tap, perhaps; it's right behind me, and they'll need to wash their hands once they've finished eating. Though,' Ellen mused, 'I can't help but wonder how they'll react to liquid soap. Best case scenario, one of them will fill the sink with bubbles.'
Ellen let out a small chuckle as she imagined the young girl gleefully throwing handfuls of bubbles at the others to annoy them. She seemed to be the type to enjoy such mischief.
'Really, Ellen,' she lightly chided herself as the others looked at her with bemusement, 'this is not the time for jokes. It's important for them to learn the proper way to maintain hygiene in the 21st century. Yes, the language barrier will make it difficult, but that is no excuse. And the first few times I'll probably have to show-'
Wait.
She would eventually have to show them how to use the bathroom.
Which included the loo.
And the shower.
And 'showing' meant actually demonstrating.
In front of all of them.
Which meant-
'Lavi, you better be both available and willing right now. Because if I end up on my own for this, I swear to God I will throttle you at university tomorrow.'
- xXx -
Cultural Notes:
Well, not as much 'cultural notes' as 'research trivia' since I haven't completely decided what culture to base the Noah clan on. I do have two broad categories though. But I do have some British slang to explain.
Biscuits – Refers to what we in the US call cookies.
Pissed – Means 'drunk' in the UK.
Gas cooker – Gas stove.
Loo – Toilet.
Now onto the culture!
Archaic period in North America (8500-1000 BCE) – This period started off with the land bridge connecting North America to Eurasia permanently closing off. Over time developments like basketry, crop cultivation, copper tool production and trade networks appear as certain cultural traditions replace hunting-gathering with sedentary farming. Of course, if and when that happened relied on several factors like environment and relations with other groups. Some of the cultures that pop up during this period include the Cochise tradition of the Archaic Southwest and the Old Copper Complex of the Great Lakes.
Mehrgarh Periods (7000-c. 2500 BCE) – The precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization. Exemplified by the city of Mehrgarh, a Neolithic site located in modern day Pakistan. Mehrgarh shows the earliest signs of farming and animal husbandry in South Asia, and was influenced by the Near Eastern Neolithic. Artifacts from this city include terracotta female figures, pit kilns and seals (not the animal). It was eventually abandoned for the larger, fortified town of Nausharo.
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Can't say which one is better. On one hand, the Mehrgarh periods II and III are more technologically advanced than most of their Archaic contemporaries. The Noah clan had the White Ark for several millennia, after all. But none of the artifacts recovered from the city show evidence that the people fought others. And if there is one thing the Noah aren't, it's pacifists. Plus, Archaic North America is pretty interesting in its own right.
Eh, I'll decide later. There are several more plot bunnies rattling around in my noggin that are begging to be released. It wouldn't be kind to ignore the poor dears, now would it?
Sorry if you didn't like how Tyki, Road and Wisely didn't talk a lot in this one-shot. I didn't want to make this chapter too long, given my tendency to over explain story elements. Plus there's a language barrier between them and Ellen. If I ever do turn this into a full story, though, those three are going to be talking a lot.
Please leave a review or PM me if you have something to say!
