xp_logs | Kashmir Waltz: The International Dateline Blues (Nathan and Angelo)

Nathan and Angelo arrive in New Delhi for their connecting flight to Kashmir. Neither one of them is particularly sure what time it is. They have a somewhat disjointed conversation about languages, their hotel, and conversational strategies for information-gathering.

"Stop looking at your watch," Nathan said irritably to Angelo, adjusting his duffel bag on his shoulder as they moved slowly through the crowded terminal. Indira Gandhi International Airpot wasn't on anyone's top ten list of the world's busiest airports, but it saw a respectable amount of traffic, and this appeared to be a particularly busy day. "Trust me, you don't want to know what time it is in Westchester."

Angelo hoisted his own bag into a more comfortable position on his back. "Sorry. Habit."

"We need to get through this horde and up to the departures level," Nathan said, still sounding aggravated. Commercial flights did not agree with him, and airports crowds, less so. He hadn't so much as closed his eyes the whole way over, and the crowd was giving him a pounding headache. "Security's tighter on flights to Srinagar so we need to give ourselves some extra time." And they had to change their money, he reminded himself, since one wasn't permitted to carry rupees into the country.

Angelo, not having done much travelling, hadn't had the shine worn off it yet for him. He just nodded and set about fighting a way through the crowds in the right direction.

"There's a restaurant on the departures level, once we're through security," Nathan said, rubbing at the spot between his eyes where the headache seemed to be centered. At least, he hoped the little restaurant he'd eaten in the last time he went through this airport was still there. "Can get something a little better than the plane food, at least..."

"Maybe there's a pharmacy, too," Angelo offered with a sideways glance. "We can get some Tylenol or somethin'."

"I'm got something in my bag, once we sit down," Nathan said. It wasn't just the headache, either. His ribs were aching sharply again, not liking all this moving around and carrying bags after so many hours sitting still. "Actually, once we sit down I need to take all my pills." He managed not to roll his eyes. But between the pills for the virus and the damned antiepileptics, he was beginning to feel like a geriatric who needed one of those plastic pill-organizers. Very bad for the ego. "Wouldn't mind some coffee, either. At least the hotel we're going to in Srinagar has decent food. The Pack stayed there a couple of times."

"Coffee sounds good," Angelo agreed. "And food, yeah. What's the hotel like?"

"It used to be a palace," Nathan said, and then snorted at Angelo's surprised look. "Don't worry. It's not scarily opulent or anything. Summer home-type palace for the Maharajahs. I picked it because it's in central Srinagar, close to everything, and we can pass for wealthy trekker-types at a pinch."

Angelo nodded, still looking impressed. "Never been in a palace before. Even a little one."

"Hell, I figured that we might as well have someplace comfortable while we're in Srinagar, given that we'll be roughing it when we're out in the field. And," Nathan said, more thoughtfully, "there's always the possibility of running into government types and the like if we stay at the Intercontinental."

"The Intercontinental's ours? Sounds like a useful place."

"Never underestimate the value of what you might overhear in the halls of upper-crust hotels," Nathan said with a brief smile. "Or over a breakfast table. You might be particularly good at that, you know." The crowd seemed to be thinning out, just a little, as they approached the escalators up to the departures level. "Be the young man who's never really done much travelling, engage people in perfectly innocent conversations..."

Angelo grinned. "That, I can do. If I can convince them I'm a rich kid, like you said. Or maybe I won't have to?"

"You could even try out the little bit of Hindi you've managed to learn so far," Nathan suggested whimsically. "Attempting to speak their language is generally a fast way for a young foreigner to ingratiate themselves." He shook his head, his mood darkening again as he thought about the language issue. "The type of people who stay at the Intercontinental probably will speak Hindi and English, but I think we're going to have some trouble when we start traveling. I haven't got a good grasp of Kashmiri at all."

"Hm. Better than I've got."

"Different language tree from Hindi and Punjabi, which I speak fluently," Nathan said a bit crankily, "even if they're part of the same basic language ground. They're Indo-Aryan. Kashmiri is Dardic." And Angelo probably wasn't interested in hearing about that.

Angelo nodded. "Fair enough. We'll get round it somehow."

"GW speaks Kashmiri." Oh, he was sounding grouchy. Where was the coffee? They made it to the escalator finally, and Nathan leaned against the side, sighing. "Picked it up on a whim, once we got hired for the third time to do something in the area. Most of his languages are African, though. He speaks as many as I do, did I ever tell you that?"

"Don't think you did, no. I should learn more languages."

Nathan grinned suddenly, almost despite himself. "Of course you should. I just didn't want to overload you right at the start like this given that you're handling so much of the grunt work for the database. Hence why I stuck to Hindi and brushing up your Mandarin and Arabic." Nathan waggled a finger at him. "Russian next. Possibly starting when we get back."

Angelo grinned. "Russian it is, whenever you want."

The departures level was considerably less crowded, although the lineups at the security checkpoints were still longish. #Remember,# Nathan projected at Angelo, #don't try and be friendly, and don't try and engage them in conversation.#