Wanderer (Arthur)

Ludwig stared down at the map in his hands, tracing his path with his fingers. This was ridiculous! He must've passed the library three times already, and he probably went around it twice. How was he missing it? Generally Ludwig thought himself self-reliant and very good at finding his way around, but the Private Academy campus was large and complex. Not only that, but the maps were outdated and vague.

He turned down another hallway, and some students were walking toward him. They were scattered--probably a class had just released--and he moved off to the side to avoid running into them. As he passed someone leaving the classroom a bit late caught his eye.

It was Kirkland.

the last time they had talked was... in the staircase... Ludwig didn't want to expand on that topic further, and every time he saw the man in the apartment since then made him think of strange things. Quickly he turned down yet another hallway, not having any idea where it would lead him.

Arthur prided himself on being an observant person. He noticed people a lot, though names didn't really stick very much. He'd just finished his Ancient Literature class, and reading in Latin always got him in a bit of a tizzy, but he still saw him. Mind you, he stook out like a sore thumb, he was tall, broad shouldered and muscly, and he remembered him all too well from that dreadful incident in the stairwell.

Beilschmidt, he was pretty sure the name was, so when he saw him make a turn towards the maths corridor, he quickly turned himself towards there as well. "Oi! Beilschmidt!" He yelled out, dashing after him. He really wanted to put the record straight, to explain to his neighbor that he wasn't a very strange gay man who had sex on the stairs. He'd wanted to do it before, but he could never quite bring himself to knock on the door. He had a free period next, so he could follow the man now. "Hold on a minute! I want to talk to you!"

Ludwig sighed. Kirkland had noticed him. Of course, he could pretend that he had some sort of headphones in, and keep walking... No. That wasn't really fair, and Kirkland had been very informative on the powers.

Ludwig slowed, looking over his shoulder as the other came barreling down the hallway. He should honestly be treating Kirkland a bit better, but, the stairwell just... that was gross.

Arthur grabbed his arm to stop him running away and panted slight for breath. He wasn't out of shape, but he did smoke, so sometimes it took longer for him to catch his breath than other times. "Listen, I just wanted to explain, I'm not gay!" He said, under his breath, lest one of his classmates misunderstand and gossip spreads. "It was all a joke that got out of hand." He explained, "In England, we have this slang term for cigarettes which is 'fag', right, but the Americans call gay guys fags, it's sort of derogatory. But he thought I meant I was picking up gays when really I meant I was having a cigarette, do I said something sarcastic and he believed it. I swear, none of it's true." He said quickly, lest Beilschmidt run away or try to cut him off. "I only ever smoke on the stairs." He assured him. He'd practiced this explanation a lot in his head...it wasn't quite how he'd intended, but it did the job, he supposed. "I'm sorry that you got caught in the middle of it." A good apology never hurt in this sort of situation, especially since he did want his neighbor to like him. He seemed like a nice enough bloke, after all. He'd like to be friends with his neighbor.

Finally done with his explanation, he relinqushed his grip on Ludwig's arm. "Where are you headed?" He asked. He was new, so if he was lost, it was only common coutesy for Arthur to at least try to help him. Considering he was holding a map (and the maps of the schools around here were absolutely useless) he probably way. "I have a free, so I can show you there, if you want." He offered.

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(( Sorry if the dialog is too presumptuous! I can try and change it)

Ludwig was held captive as Kirkland went on a fast paced rant, trying to explain the entirety of the situation on the stairs.

Fag was a cigarette term, was it? Ludwig would have to catch onto that from now on. But Ludwig listened, and he nodded his head. As strange as it all sounded, it was more believable than seeing this guy... having sex on the stairs. Ludwig felt bad for before and held out his hand.

"I'm trying to find the library, actually," he said, "If it's not taking up any of your time I would like to take you up on that offer. You can call me Ludwig."

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((I don't see how it would be presumptuous but it's easy to respond to. Sorry it's a bit on the short side.))

Arthur was really relieved that he seemed to believe him. He'd meant it as a joke when he'd talked to the Jones boy, and the fact that his neighbor had accidentally gotten involved was mortifying. He would never have sex in a stairwell! He hadn't ever had sex anywhere that wasn't a bed, even. At least, Arthur hoped Ludwig believed him, he seemed to, because he didn't look disgusted, but he hadn't really said anything either.

"Yeah, I can show you the library." He nodded and smiled. He'd frequented it many times in his year here, so if he didn't know where it was, he would be very dissapointed in himself, "Are you looking for anything particular?"

He started to walk, beckoning Ludwig to follow him, "So, you've not been in London long... or at least, this part, how are you finding it? And where are you from before? Germany, at a guess."

"You're guess is correct. I haven't really been outside my home country. This is my first trip that is lasting the semester. So far I enjoy it. Everything that you need on a general basis is very close by. Very similar to my home town." Ludwig was very close to letting that thought move on, but he remembered the man had another question.

"I'm looking for a few things actually. Some history books about England. Records of the economic trends and some normal history books also," the list ran through his head. "A history book on Germany, and a historical fiction written by Gilbert Beilschmidt. He's a local author, so I figured that this library might carry him. This will work, right?" Ludwig flashed up a library card with one of the foreign language department professor's ID on it. "He said that I could borrow this for today."

"And," Ludwig stopped walking, "We've seen each other on several occasions, yet I have not learned your name Kirkland." He was curious about this winged little Englishmen.

He nodded as Ludwig talked about the differences between London and his home town. "So where did you live in Germany?" He asked. He only really knew about Berlin... where else? Bonn, maybe? Other than that, he couldn't really think. "If you need any help finding anything, I'm just next door, so you can always ask me." He offered. It was only polite, he wanted to be a gracious neighbor and help give a positive impression of Brits. He'd like to know more about Germany, maybe they should have tea together some time? He would suggest it later. "I must say, your English is really good. But then you Europeans learn languages from a younger age than us."

"Well, I think that library card will work. But you should get your own one, the library is really useful, all you need is proof of identity and proof of address. A student ID will do for proof of identity. Do you want to pick up a library card form while we're there? What are you studying, by the way, something to do with finances?" It sounded like he was, the books, well, apart from that book. Then realised something glaringly obviously, "Wait, isn't your last name Beilchmidt too?" Though he was fairly certian the guy's first name wasn't Gilbert, plus, why would he buy a book that he'd witten?

"Oh right. It's Arthur." He said, holding out his hand to shake, as an almost automatic reflex, "It's a pleasure. I didn't learn your name either."

Ludwig let Arthur talk before nodding and giving his hand one hard pump. "Ludwig. Glad to meet your acquaintance." He began to walk again and answer everything. He wouldn't have felt comfortable without a name.

"I grew up and lived in Nuremberg for most of my life," Ludwig began. His home town was famous for a few unsightly things that equated its popularity only slightly behind Berlin. "I went to college in Berlin, but I only spent four years there.

"I did learn English as a child, and though you are correct about Continental Europeans learning their second language early, German to English is one of the easier transitions than anything else." Ludwig had always been curious as to why the languages were so similar, but never followed through; it hadn't been explained until his College English Teacher had explained the mixed history in a lecture.

"Perhaps my own card would be best, thank you." He didn't have a student ID, but he had something quite similar, and figured it would work. "I am a double major in finance and political science. I don't really have a minor except for English language, but that's because I already am fluent so it's easier."

Ludwig had smiled slightly the first time Arthur had caught on to the name, and the smile returned a bit. "Ludwig Beilschmidt is my name, yes. Gilbert Beilschmidt is my brother, and I wanted to see what he has been up to the past few years. I was only able to attain one book of his in Germany... is this it?" Ludwig pointed to a structure up ahead. It had a library look to it, but he could never be sure.

There was only one time Arthur had heard of Nuremberg before. Tactfully, he chose not to mention it. "Is it nice there?" He asked. " Is it a very big city?" He doubted it was as big as London though. A lot of cities were small when compared to London. He ran a hand through his hair idly, messing it up more than it already was, nodding. "Did you like Berlin?" He asked. He'd been to Germany a couple of times with his family but only to go skiing, so they'd stayed at a skii resort and everyone even spoke English. It was hardly like being in a foreign country.

"Mm, I agree. I learned a little German in school." Well, he'd done it all throughout his secondary education. "I won't try to speak it, I'll just embarass myself if I do." He chuckled. It was somewhat interesting, learning about the shared roots and shared history between English and other European languages.

"Yeah, should be easy enough to get you a card." Libraries weren't exactly fussy with who they allowed in, exactly. As long as he had proof of address and ID, he would be fine. At least Arthur hoped. He hadn't applied for a library card in a while. "Oh, wow. That sounds pretty heavy." Finance? Arthur hated maths, it made his head spin. "I do English Literature. Just English Literature." Though he thought at some point he should probably try and do something more useful than just literature.

"Oh, huh, that's pretty impressive. So he writes in English then?" One would assume naturally that a German might write in his natural language, but actually, considering he was a local author, chances were that he did write in English. "They might have it, they often have slightly more obscure stuff, and books by local authors." He looked up ahead to see the familiar library building. "That's the one, yes."

"It's not as large as Munich or London, but it is not quite a small town either. It has many older structures which make the town resemble a somewhat medieval look." At least, that's how he had seen it in a few travel magazines. Ludwig vaguely remembered the area. "I wouldn't know what to tell you of Berlin, really, I only left the college to go to town hall."

Ludwig was surprised at Arthur's comment and raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm surprised that they're teaching German. I would think Spanish is more popular." Arthur might have gone to a baccalaureate or an international baccalaureate school. In that case, it was in Ludwig's best interest to learn about it.

"He does write in English," he answered quickly, and then changed the subject, "What was your schooling before this and why did it make you think of English literature? For a major, I mean." As they approached the library door Ludwig held his hand out to open it.

Sounded like a lot of the smaller towns in the Uk (particularily England). Coventry, he supposed, sprung to mind, apart from the fact that it had been bombed in the war so a lot of the old structures had been distroyed. But then, it made sense that the UK and Germany would be strikingly similar, at least in some respects. They had shared a monarchy for a while, and the Uk was colonised by the Angles, who came from Germany. Not to mention the similar climates, religious history and geography. Ah, he was thinking about this far too much...

"You didn't get out much then." He sounded pretty antisocial, like Arthur was himself. Though he did go out more, to a museum or the British Library or another kind of library. He was somewhat fond of the Welcome Trust, and the British Museum was really interesting. But when he did go, he went alone, he didn't have many friends, not close ones at least. Usually just people he would nod too or say good day, maybe have a chat on the stairs... he really had to find more friends. "What about London? If you haven't been around it yet, I guess I could always show you. There's a lot of really interesting stuff here, if you just take a bus in to the city proper." He explained. He felt like a tour guide or like he was pedalling a holiday. He also worried that he sounded rather clingy, not at all the impresson he wanted to give. He just wanted to be nice to his neighbor and a little company couldn't hurt. That and he wanted to rectify what had happened on the stairs. He knew that Ludwig believed him when he said he wasn't gay, but still he worried that Ludwig was uneasy around him.

"German is actually one of the most commonly taught languages in schools, you know." He said, a little confused to why Ludwig thought they wouldn't learn it. "After French. I think French is the most common, then German and Spanish. I don't know why you'd think we would learn Spanish primarily." He said offhandedly, "If it was something to do with the language which is the highest second language here, we would probably actually be learning Portugese or Polish." He laughed lightly. Although he did wonder, it would probably be more useful to learn Polish than French. "It has something to do with them being our neighbors, I'm sure." He said. He'd learned French and German up to GCSE, as his school had required, but he'd never been brilliant at it. He'd been good but languages had never really incited a passion in him, apart from English of course, but that was different.

"Thanks." He stepped through the door to the library, his voice automatically lowering slightly. "My schooling? Normal English system. You know, A levels. I did English Literature, history and philosphy. Oh and Latin, I did that as an extra." He explained, then paused. He forgot that people in other countries didn't have the same school system, "Do you know what I mean by A levels?" He asked.

"And what's the system in Germany?"

"I suppose so," Ludwig affirmed, albeit a bit quietly. He had never really thought it a problem, but when it came to social interaction, he realized it was a large drawback. He had left his apartment, of course, but he mainly stayed on campus--it was a self-sufficient environment, and he had managed to replace his intern time with extra studies and this trip to England.

"I haven't seen much of London yet; only what is in close vicinity to the apartment house." Ludwig enjoyed the gym, especially, and the little grocery store had good quality food (and apparently there was an antique shop nearby that looked interesting), but beyond that he was still trying to maintain a routine in the new environs. "I would like to see it, but I don't know what to look for." he could very easily find the museums, the banks, and the most famous sights (all which he planned to see eventually), but as any good political scientist should know: to know an area is to know all its forms of interaction, and to meet the real people who make it up. "If you are really willing to give up some time for that offer, I would appreciate it greatly." Near the end he had begun to quiet as the entered into the library.

"I hate to say that I am not yet familiar with the English system of education yet in the slightest. The professor here is still going over Parliament." Ludwig smiled a bit. One of the professors that helped out with the exchange program was his individual mentor, and he was old enough to be Ludwig's grandfather, but refused to act like it. Yet his stories and tangents were so interesting Ludwig was unable to interrupt them. "A callous assumption on my part, I apologize, and I don't quite know what you mean by A-levels. In Germany we start off with basic schooling and run through merit transitional schools until university or the end of realschule."

Ludwig snorted quietly. "I'm surprised you said my schooling was heavy. Your coursework has a broad range."

"Well you know where I live." He said, in something of a joking manner, but it was true. "Most days I'm studying or just inside being a total layabout, so a little company would be welcome. If I'm not there, I'm usually at school, a bookshop or the bar, so it won't be long until I'm back." He chuckled. "I'm not a terribly social creature, I'm a bit of an introvert, most of the time." He admitted, smiling slightly. He was fairly sure Ludwig was the same way, from the way he talked. He began thinking of the places he could take him, but he didn't know what Ludwig liked. Arthur rather liked Camden Town, but it was a haven for rock and punk, so it would be boring if he wasn't interested in that.

"Well the English system is pretty simple, I guess. Up until about thirteen or so, we all do the same curriculum, then, until sixteen you cut down to core subjects, you know, English, Maths and Sciences and whatever else your school considers core, then you choose a few extra subjects to take, like a languge or history or art. Then from 16 to 18 you only do three or four subjects completely of your choosing. Those three or four subjects are your A levels." He explained. "It's not really very complicated." He didn't really need the apology, "Well... I suppose I got a little bit worked up." he tended to over react a little bit sometimes. "Since we do so few subjects, I think it's probably easier than your system but... I could be wrong." He laughed quietly.

He looked around him, his eyes dragging over a shelf, to see if there were any books he needed. Then, "Oh yeah, we were going to get you a library card, weren't we?"

"Ah, yes, we were," Ludwig said, surprised he had forgotten about it. But learning about the English education system would probably be more important in the long run, anyway. It wasn't as if he didn't have a library card, it just wasn't his own.

Ludwig wasn't sure what the other found funny, but he ignored it. He started to head over to a large desk which he presumed was the main service counter. He continued talking, assuming the other was with him. "I am also a-social, as I believe you would say. At least when I was in--when I'm in school," he corrected himself. "I have met many people at the bars at home, and i have met most of my friends there, but the people in the bars here aren't as friendly, at least some of them." He paused. "No offense," he added as an afterthought.

He made it to the counter, and he was already back to wondering about his studies. He'd have to ask Arthur if any of his English literature studies included political philosophers. They would be in the library somewhere.

He nodded in agreement. "None taken, I suppose." He said, "This is London so not everyone is very friendly. But you have to meet people some where, and the pub is good enough." Although he found he had quite a good rapport with the others in his class; they had to talk a lot for discussion purposes and though he didn't find he liked talking to them too much outside classes and outside campus, they were alright and he didn't think he was lonely in class. Perhaps it was different in Ludwig's class. "Oh but we don't say a-social. We say more... antisocial, I think." He added. asocial sounded a little odd.

He turned to the front desk and went towards it, smiling at the woman behind it. "Hello, ma'am. Could we have a library form, please?" He asked, and she nodded and reached under the desk to hand him one. He smiled, "Thank you." and handed it to Ludwig, "You need to bring this back with proof of adress. Like a bill or something." He explained.

Ludwig wondered how the fact that this was London made it an excuse for people to misbehave, but decided against questioning it. Certainly there were some unkind people where Ludwig lived, but statistically that was going to happen in a big city--unless that's what Arthur had meant. Big cities meant meeting a jerk every so often (sometimes more often than not, though he didn't find that to be the case in Munich), and Ludwig had just been unlucky the one night he went to the bar. That made more sense. Actually, Arthur wasn't a bad guy, and most of the other people he had met in the last few weeks hadn't been mean either. Most of them didn't really seem English, but they were all very nice.

Actually, Arthur had been more than helpful. Though the inital meet up had been a bit awkward, Arthur had been sensible in helping Ludwig and the American in figuring out how to deal with their powers, and he was helping now, with getting the library card. He was even offering to give Ludwig a tour in the future. Arthur hadn't made fun of his English, or thought he was intimidating enough to avoid. There was nothing to give back in return either.

Ludwig was silent as he took the form from Arthur, grabbing a pen and beginning to fill it out. He contemplated that last thought a bit more. Was there anything he could do to help Arthur out in return? He really didn't want to be in debt to him, physically or morally, though the other was applying neither. Ludwig wasn't terribly creative, but maybe if he asked the professor, he would do something for Arthur.

He clicked the pen and put it back in its basket. Ludwig put the form in the file folder he had brought with him. "Thank you," he said, staring down at Arthur's face, wishing he was a bit shorter for the occassion, "Thank you very much. I don't want to impede on your next class, so I should leave you. Hopefully we will see each other soon though, and I might be able to take you up on your touring offer." He smiled a bit, trying to be a little less stuffy.

Well, Ludwig seemed to have warmed up a bit, which was good. Hopefully it meant that he had forgotten about the whole damn stairwell incident, and believed that he wasn't gay. He would kill that idiot kid if he ever saw him again; he had nearly ruined totally his relationship with his neighbor, which would have made the time they both spent in the building quite awkward.

He nodded and smiled, "Certianly." He said with a cheerful and hopefully welcoming demeanor. He seemed like a good guy, and he did hope they could at least be on good terms, if not actually friends. Arthur honestly didn't like too many people, but the man had been relatively inoffensive and (unlike with some people) he hadn't taken an instant dislike to him. "But don't worry, you're not really bothering me. My class doesn't start for ten or so more minutes." He glanced down at his watch to make sure. "I'll go soon, but I'll go if you don't want me to bother you." He probably just wanted to work now.

"If you would mind spending the last bit of your time showing me to the section I need, that would be nice," he agreed, relenting a bit. "Though perhaps I should be more blunt: I don't think my work would interest you very much, so I don't think you would want to stay for very long." He started to walk toward an area that had some encyclopedias, "If that's not the case then you are welcome to stay, and maybe explain some history I am researching for the little time you have left.

"But, changing to another subject, I realize that though we live next to each other, it might be in my best interest to exchange numbers with you, if that's alright." He pulled out his cellphone--an older model--and opened it up.

"No, it probably wouldn't... I'm a literature student, I can read for a lot but I'm not good at the serious stuff. You know us, we just drift around the campus and occasionally talk about the themes in Hamlet in a washy voice." He snorted. They didn't have a good reputation - they were considered soft. He helped him over to where he needed to be, "However I do love books and I enjoy being around them, even if I don't understand them - weird, I know." He snorted.

"Ah, yes," he nodded, "Sounds good. Just call me or text me if you ever need anything." He assured him, bringing up his number and telling it to him. "Now just text me and I'll save your number too." He said, twiddling his phone.

(( If you want to reply go ahead, but if you don't, maybe you should start a new thread with Ludwig inviting Arthur out somewhere or asking him something? If you do reply I'll make the new thread though owo ))