John was suddenly on his bed. "Wazzi?"
A knock on the door again. Oh. OH! "I'm up!"
Jessica's voice came through. "Morning John! Breakfast is apparently in a few minutes, don't go back to sleep. Alright?"
He yawned. "Kay." Collect all grime and junk from his body, the sheets, etc, for recycling. He might not have slept on the bed, but that was no reason to be untidy.
Right, time for a shower, if they have that here. Or a bath, otherwise.
Oh, and something radiating an odd form of energy was in the room with the fake mirror, so that should be the nanny. Her power felt… Orangish? No, more like the smell of the east winds. Huh, it was a bit soothing!
Oops, get cleaned/dressed/ready and go get breakfast, right!
~~~Pocket System~~~
The man of the house still seemed worn and weary, but was clearly attempting to fully wake up. "And will you be staying for the day?"
Jessica held back a snort, fully feeling the despair from the man at something so outside the norm attempting to interact with his daily routine. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Banks. My younger brother and I are more than grateful that your wife was so helpful at allowing us to stay the evening yesterday, but that was more due to the late hour when my brother brought your eldest daughter home."
At least, that was her story and she was sticking to it. "No, I am afraid that I must be about today to establish a local account and acquire a residence for this holiday… Though my brother may spend a portion of it playing with your children, if the constant whispering and such last evening was any indication."
The disguised relief that the unexpected invaders to his domain would not be staying long term was swept away by a gleam of interest. "Account?"
Ah. Right, he wasn't just a banker: Banking was his life. "We travel light, and so instead of bringing large amounts of currency or bothersome bonds and so forth I simply collected some of the excess spare jewelry I've been collecting over the years… It should be more than enough to cover this holiday while my brother gets to see more of the world. Although I will have to find an local appraisal service, as I am unsure if the paperwork I already possess is acceptable this far from home."
It had been her idea before they left, since any currency would be counterfeit in new worlds and carrying around massive mounds of gold or silver or ore or whatever was beyond suspicious.
This was 1910 England, so it should be items with garnets, black opals, and Montana sapphires that would be most popular, yes? Nothing with gems too large either, just lots of material and such to make up for the value.
After all, showing up with a gem that should be historically famous that no one had ever heard of would NOT be a valid way to go rent or purchase a home. Not without annoying paperwork and loud hullabaloo and all that.
His eyes drifted. "I see… I know a few gentlemen who could assist there. Our bank has many operations in other countries, and more than a few of our clientele have needed our services for rare item appraisal and some such…"
Mr. Banks focused with intensity. "It may take a bit of the morning, and I myself would unfortunately be occupied with ongoing services, but I believe you would do well by our firm. If you wish, I could guide the way when I return this morning… Heavens knows London can be confusing enough on the best of days for locals, much less visiting guests."
Mrs. Banks smiled widely, hands gently clasped! "That would be WONDERFUL George! Jessica, you must let us cover the small fees and such for your appraisals as well, I won't hear anything against it! And little John could spend the day with the children, so not to be left alone while I visit the Clendersons or be left unoccupied while you are getting your affairs in order!"
Well.. That DID solve a lot of problems. "Are you sure, Mrs. Banks?"
It was waved off. "Of course! Your younger brother saved my heart when he brought my little Jane home safe and sound! Besides, the little ones have been busy like foxes since the morning. I doubt they heard a thing we talked about before they ran off from the table."
Mr. Banks frowned at the stairs… And sighed. "Indeed." He turned a subdued but burning look of appreciation towards his wife, who flushed. "I'm afraid I must away, my dear… And I will be busy for another night or two even with my lightened workload. Wait for me?"
Her smile lit up the room. "Always dear. And even if unlikely, there shall be a pipe and slippers waiting for you at home. Just in case."
Jessica shuffled slightly awkwardly as the two smiled a bit too warmly at each other… Goodness, British romance was a bit of a different thing, wasn't it? "Well, shall we then?"
Mr. Banks stood, nodding to Ellen as she began to clear away the remains of the meal. "Quite. Let's be off."
Oh, better grab one of the time period accurate bags to 'carry' the jewelry in… She wasn't going to pull a John and just manifest random valuables from nowhere. Though some may wonder why she had an entire bag filled with gold and silver jewelry and HOW it had managed to survive travel long enough to reach London… But that was an issue for later.
At least this bag would give a paper thin excuse for where the things were being stored compared to the 'I pulled it out of nowhere' Inventory approach. That was a step up, right?
Yeah. Probably.
~~~Pocket System~~~
Jane fidgeted as Mary Poppins glanced over the group. "Hmm… The young ones seem a bit too excited and tired… Yes, a nap for the morning would be in order. Michael, please gather your coat, it will be a bit brisk today. Jane, I heard you had a bit of adventure yesterday?"
She blushed. "I… I got a bit lost."
The woman sighed. "It is easy enough for one to lose their way even when life isn't confusing and busy. I am assured that you will be more cautious in the future?"
She swiftly nodded!
Nanny Poppins tilted her head. "Then what's said is said enough. Now, would you please introduce me to your young gentleman friend?"
Huh? Oh! "Yes miss, this is John!" She didn't fidget as she whispered. "John, you got to say 'Good Morning Miss Poppins', it is the polite thing to do."
The boy blinked in surprise as he whispered back. "Really? Are you sure?"
What!? "Yes, of course I'm sure!"
John seemed skeptical. "But is this morning good?"
Jane felt like the world slipped a little bit. "I'm sorry?"
He whispered in seriousness. "As far as I can tell, this morning may be average or even slightly below! The smog in the air already detracts slightly, and we had to rush breakfast because we wished to go play faster and breakfast is an important part of a daily eating things."
Confusion was growing as she held back a yawn. "What are you talking about!?"
John began setting up some sort of wooden structure to the side as he whispered. "Hang on, I can graph this."
And a big pad of white paper on a board was placed onto the wooden supports as he began marking it with an odd sort of wax crayon. "Right, this circle is all the bad things that can happen, but this one is all the good things, and you can see how they interact in the middle, yes?"
It was FAR too early in the morning for this. For goodness gracious, Mary Poppins was watching this too! "John."
He began doodling more, his tongue sticking out. "Now some good things can happen along with the bad stuff, but not all of them are part of the 'morning', per se. In general, this morning was fairly average in my opinion, unless we include the bits before we wake up which honestly should be part of the 'night', which was AWESOME because I had the best night sleep ever…"
Oh just stop talking! "John!"
He was absently coloring in some odd shapes. "I mean, in comparison this is the BEST morning, especially compared to being exploded by alien kidnapper bugs or that time I almost got arrested by my Sister's snail boss, but if we are going by comparison ONLY then this might be a below average or even 'Meh' morning so far, unless (Again) we count my awesome sleep into the mix."
No! "JOHN! It's just a thing you say! It is something you say to tell someone that you acknowledge they exist, that the time is in the morning, and that you wish them well!"
John blinked, and whispered. "But… But what if it wasn't a good morning? Or even if it was too late and it was noon or even evening? You couldn't say 'good morning' THEN, right? You'd be lying!"
She tried to remain focused. "Just tell Mary Poppins good morning, please, with the intention that you WISH her to have a good morning."
He paused. "Oh. OH! Why didn't you say that to begin with?" Turning with a bright smile to the slightly amused woman, he waved! "Hi! I'm John Doe, and I'm supposed to say good morning!"
The woman's lips quirked into a wry grin. "And a good morning to you, Mr. Doe."
The boy waved that away! "Oh, please call me John! Mr. Doe probably would have been my father if I had one."
Jane gasped! "You lost your father!?"
John blinked. "Huh? No, I never got one. Turns out if you aren't born from a person, getting a mom and dad gets REALLY complicated and there is paperwork and stuff, and… Well, let's just say it was MUCH easier to get adopted after I accidentally yeeted my sister and myself outside of reality. Our last names even match now!"
Mary Poppins moved over that confusion with ease. "John then. Once MIchael returns properly warm and prepared, we will be taking a short walk to the park this morning… I believe your sister and your friends here have plans for you to join us?"
John smiled! "Probably! Though can we go to the park through the allies and stuff? The dirty ways I mean."
The woman blinked. "It is possible, of course… But why?"
Jane gasped as John waved a hand and the room visibly became cleaner. "I like to collect dust and trash and stuff and destroy it for materials and energy! When I was bringing Jane home last night I managed to find ALL SORTS of stuff back in those allies! And a dog! Well, a puppy really. He ran away though."
Mary Poppins hummed. "That is… Quite the handy ability, I suspect. Though if you are going to interact with such things, I must insist you wash your hands after using it. For health reasons, if no other."
He grasped nothing and an open barrel of water appeared. "I can use one of these! And after washing my hands, I can absorb all the bad stuff out of the water and use the barrel again next time!"
The woman blinked. "Oh my… Well, if nothing else that seems efficient. Oh good, Michael is ready. Gather your barrel John, come along Jane… We are off on an outing!"
Jane huffed at all that craziness! She had just wanted to introduce her friend to her nanny, why had it all gotten so complicated!?
Still, both Banks' children piped up. ""Yes, Mary Poppins.""
John blinked. "Wait, am I supposed to do the taking thing too!? I wasn't ready! Michael, you didn't warn me that we needed to say stuff at the same time!"
Her brother clearly wasn't awake yet. "Wha?"
John narrowed his eyes. "This is going to be like Jane's name hoarding isn't it? You two are trying to sneak away with all the telepathic twin speech moments just because you grew up together! Well, ONE can play at that game!"
He paused. "Wait, shouldn't I have said two can play at… But I mean, I am the only one who wants to play… But I want to say stuff at the same time as you guys, so should it be 'THREE can play at that game!' or what?"
Michael stumbled a bit, they both had honestly stayed up too late last night. "We are playing a game? Which one?"
John sighed. "I don't even know anymore."
Miss Poppins quietly chuckled. "Games after we arrive at the park, onwards march forward for now! Spit Spot!"
Jane held back a massive yawn. Maybe things would make more sense when they got to the park later.