A Snowflake in the Desert

[desertpowered]

There’s a young man hanging around the Plaza with two owl-griffins perched on his shoulders. Paul Atreides isn’t particularly used to snow, but he doesn’t seem that bothered by it either, wearing a coat to keep out the cold and holding a small bag of meaty chunks. Occasionally he tosses one to the griffins, who eagerly snatch it.

He’s careful only to bring out animals who have tolerance for the winter - Paul himself can adjust to it, but it took him a little time and he is still learning things about the season. Not so much serious things, since this winter doesn’t seem to be so serious. He’s more interested in the ways people entertain themselves. Oh, he knows about snowball fights and Yule goats, but his hunger for knowledge is never easily satisfied.

Paul rubs one of his griffin friends under the chin and rewards it with a piece of meat, then turns to anyone who approaches him. “Tell me, what is your favorite thing to do during this time of the year?”

Comments

[jarheadclan]

"In this kinda weather? Stay the hell home."

The answer comes from several feet above Paul's head. Jake is bundled up in winter clothing made to fit a Na'vi, a purchase he'd made several years ago in parts of the Nexus tailored for his size, which seems to be serving him well. Despite this, however, going back to wearing boots is weirdly uncomfortable just in principle, and he looks decidedly grouchy over having his ears pinned under a knit hat. His tail is left free, and lashes a little both out of irritation at the cold and trying to keep it warm.

[desertpowered]

"You and I have that in common. Not being used to cold weather." A polite nod in greeting, and an offered hand. "My name is Paul-Muad'Dib Atreides."

Paul has never encountered a person like this - he's more familiar with nonhuman aliens than he would be in his home universe, thanks to his repeated visits to the Nexus, but he can't help but be intrigued. "I live on a desert world, so this is a far cry from where I'm used to. Before that, my birth world was temperate, with vast seas and deep jungles." He guesses this person came from somewhere similar, hence their mutual discomfort in the winter climate.

[jarheadclan]

"Jake Sully." He shakes the offered hand carefully, his gloved hands completely engulfing Paul's. "I live in a forest that's a hell of a lot warmer than here. Place called Pandora. I wasn't born there either."

He looks around at the snowy landscape, frowning a little. "Somethin' special about this time of year for you?"

[desertpowered]

“There are forests on the planet where I was born,” Paul says. “I’ve been in them. They could be dangerous, but when I was there most of the danger actually came from other people. Not to say there weren’t dangerous wildlife.”

He shakes his head. “Not to my culture, actually, either my birth culture or my adopted one. But I know it’s important to many others.”

[jarheadclan]

"Plenty dangerous in my forest, plants and animals alike. 'specially if you don't know what you're doing," Jake adds, and laughs a little at his own private joke.

"So, what, you looking to pick up something new? Only thing I cared about in winter back on Earth was whether the sidewalks were clear enough I wasn't gonna get my wheels stuck going to the bar."

[desertpowered]

"That's true for my forests, too. On one visit I almost got poisoned, and on another I was almost killed by territorial snake-creatures. Both times I would have died without outside help."

Paul tilts his head. "Where I come from, humans left Earth long ago, and it's a wild planet now. It's still on our charts and its location is known, but very few go there. I've never been, even to visit. My homeworld is called Caladan."

[jarheadclan]

"I got chased by a palulukan my first day in the jungle," Jake shares with a fanged grin. "I got away from that on my own, but I got stupidly lost. If it wasn't for Neytiri pulling my ass out of the fire, I would've lost my avatar that same night."

The thought of Earth being wild and abandoned is unfathomable to Jake, and he blinks those big golden eyes, peering down at Paul. "Wha -really? You all must've gotten offworld earlier than we did. Even if there was somewhere else to go, evacuating the planet would take more resources than they've got."