linkingup | post palace hot pot party (week 7)

post palace hot pot party (week 7)

[Yoon's Palace has faded away, but the fact the God of Conflict decided to show up and intervene again...

Well, that's! Not a good sign! To say the least! But there's nothing to be done about that right now, and Haruka isn't of the mind to really sit and wonder about divine conflicts and grandstanding and all of that, anyways. It's not his problem. The people who deal with that sort of thing on the regular can be in charge of all of that.

What he's in charge of (by virtue of being annoying) is... hot pot. Specifically rounding up everyone and dragging them out to a hot pot restaurant in the city.

He'll miss having money but... he'll just have to work hard to earn it back... Have fun, everyone. (Or maybe he can find a way to charge Mina for this?)]

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[Bold of Haruka to assume Sayaka's NOT going to be putting some money towards this herself, she works a part time job--

At any rate, Sayaka's very happy to have the chance to rest a bit after all of this, and it's...funnily enough, it's really the most at ease she's felt since she got here. There's no adherence to rigidity, no voice of her managers telling her that this is wrong and she needs to get back to work, no...any of that.

...

But even still, she kind of sucks at socializing unprompted, so she will be kind of quietly enjoying the hot pot. Honestly, she's very fond of some of the vegetables, and it's one of the few times she'll pipe up--]

Mmm--you've gotta try this one, it's absolutely wonderful!

[It can be to any number of them, but man. Sayaka's at ease.]

Oh? What is it?

[He's struggling a bit with the chopsticks. While remembers how to use them, his body certainly doesn't! Curse his lack of muscle memory.]

[Sayaka will point to lotus root! Very enthusiastically.]

This one! It's sort of like...if you've ever tried celery before, it's kind of got that texture, but if it cooks in the hotpot for a bit--it's nice and sort of sweet too, and really soaks in the broth! You gotta try it!

Haha. Alright, you convinced me... I'll give it a shot.

[It takes a few tries for him to fish out a piece from the broth to try.

His eyes light up as he chews then swallows.]

Lotus root, eh?

[He picks another piece to get a better look, the lotus tinged a different color from the broth.]

Where I'm from, we used to make this into flour for bread...

Edited 2024-09-15 23:47 (UTC)

You did?

[Sayaka seems a little surprised at first, but the more she thinks about it, it makes sense. Lotus root is quite starchy, after all, so drying it out further and grinding it...]

That sounds quite delicious, honestly. I imagine it must've been a little sweeter than most bread you find commonly around here?

[Tell her more!]

[He idly stirs the pot to fish some cabbage out.]

Yes. One of my mothers would often drizzle it in honey and nuts for the other children and me in my father's harem.

[he says plainly, as if everything he said is actually normal]

Edited 2024-09-16 00:08 (UTC)

One of your mothers...? Woah, you must've had a very large family, I take it?

[That is almost certainly putting it lightly, but--it'd feel rude to focus on it too much and treat it abnormally. Sayaka sounds impressed, if anything. Even so--]

That sounds absolutely delicious, though--I won't deny that for a moment. It sounds like an absolutely delicious treat for you and everyone there.

Would it...be too terribly forward of me if I asked you about them?

No, not at all.

[Though he's eying her pot to see if there's more cabbage, because he's going to steal some while she's listening. Will he pull it off with a 16..?

(Just some good-natured food theft!)]

Though I don't have much to tell. My birth mother passed away when I was still very young... So my father's other wives took care of me. It meant when I got in trouble I had four times the lecture than just the one. [He laughs.] But for the other children... I had two very dear friends, their names were Mahaad and Mana.

[He's a bit nostalgic!]

Edited 2024-09-16 00:47 (UTC)

[Atem does in fact succeed! (4) Sayaka's too distracted and she does indeed have quite a bit of cabbage in her pot. She's very much a vegetable fan, with very little meat in the pot, surprisingly. Still, Sayaka listens with rapt attention, her eyes bright and sparkly.]

It sounds like your family took very good care of you. If you got that many lectures from them, that just means they all loved you dearly, right? Or were you a mischievous kid in your own right?

Maybe got up into some trouble with Mahaad-san and Mana-san?

[Tell her more!!!]

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[Fray is only in here for a little bit, both because he doesn't remove his helmet around everyone and thus would just be sitting here awkwardly and because he's Fray, he doesn't really tend to hang out with everyone very often. He can't hold up the walls here without looking even more out of place than usual!!

But he's here for now, and he approaches Sayaka with one very pressing question in mind:]

How is your leg doing?

[Don't think he missed all of that!!]

[Sayaka is honestly surprised Fray's here, all considered, but she finds herself smiling all the same. Ever their silent, protective and reliable guardian--she's honestly considering asking the staff if she can take something home so Fray can enjoy some too, but...

Fray cuts to the heart of the matter quickly, and Sayaka nods her head.]

It's doing better than I thought it would--everyone's healing helped it from getting worse or bleeding too much, even if it still kind of aches a bit. I don't think anything's going to take that away but time, but...

I'll make sure that I get some rest. Um. If I forget, can you remind me to call Cafe au Lait tonight? I should probably let them know.

[Sayaka's going to take a sip of some tea, after that's said, though.]

And you? Not your leg, but...how are you doing, Fray?

[Fray nods at that. He did see that plenty of healing spells were used on her, but sometimes that isn't enough to fully heal injuries. It seems that she's at least able to move about somewhat well.]

Of course. Best to let them know just in case.

[That she "strained" her leg, anyway. He doubts she'd tell them she was stabbed in the leg.

The question gets his eyes to dart for a split-second before he corrects it, though his voice betrays nothing.]

I'm fine. Today was a long day; we all should get a good night's sleep after this.

[(roll perception: 20)

Sayaka definitely didn't miss the eye darting there, though her brows knit very minorly. Something must be on his mind, and she really can't help but worry. She wants to know. She wants to help, but...]

I definitely will. And...I can certainly agree with that! I imagine we're all tired out today. Does that mean you might turn in early tonight?

[It's absolutely gentle teasing, just very minor, but she's keeping an eye on him. She doesn't know if he wants to talk here or if private would be better, but she is keeping an eye on him. ...He might be even able to tell that she's giving him that sort of analytical stare, she promises it's not on purpose--]

[...she's totally perceiving him, isn't she. Ughhhh, don't do that...]

That's correct. I thought it best to let you know before I depart.

[In other words, yeah, he'd rather have this discussion in private.]

Take your time here with the others; enjoy yourselves. You all deserve it.

[But don't you dare rush back to the dorm on his account!!]

[Sayaka's gaze stops with it's almost piercing quality, seeming satisfied, and she nods rather resolutely at him there. Perception's not good without the need to exercise discretion, after all.]

It's okay. I imagine you need some rest too after everything we've dealt with today, right? So don't worry too much.

[Sayaka beams brightly at him.]

We will gladly, though. After everything that's happened today, we should celebrate our triumph over that jerk. Make sure you get some rest too, okay?

I will, certainly. I'll see you later, Sayaka.

[Hopefully it isn't too weird to hear that name with the others around...? Well, time for her to see if she's fine with it!! Anyway, Fray's off, catch ya later.]

You take care, Fray. See you!

[...

She's surprised by how little that actually sets off any hackles. Huh. She did make the right decision in telling Fray he could use her first name in public. It's nice.

Still, she will gladly enjoy herself until she gets home! You take care Fray.]

Oh yeah? What flavor is it?

[Sayaka gestures to some shimeji mushrooms, this time!]

These guys are sort of like--they're a little buttery and sweet, but they have this really nice nutty flavor that really pairs well with the broth! They're super good if you like something more savory!

Sure, I'll try some.

[Holding out her bowl, giv]

[Here you go, then! Thankfully Sayaka has chosen a rather mild broth that compliments it, but she grins a bit.]

I hope you enjoy it, Aubrey-san! There's a lot more I can recommend too, but ahhh...I haven't been to one of these places in so long! It's honestly so nice, and reminds me of home...

We never had a place like this where I'm from.

[Slurping up some - making a pleased noise, and chewing her way through to swallow before she continues that thought.]

I'm just from a small town, though.

[Sayaka smiles a bit at Aubrey's pleased expression, though she finds herself nodding her head.]

That makes sense; I grew up in a pretty big and bustling city, but I remember traveling out to some smaller places back when we did a lot of touring and the like. I bet it's quite the experience, huh?

[Sayaka grabs some cabbage and carrots from her own pot, smiling a bit.]

Honestly, even if these were somewhat common back home, I could only ever dream of going to one, so I get it. I'm surprised these haven't taken off much of anywhere else...

We pretty much had a single pizza joint.

[The options in Faraway Town were not what one would call "plentiful."]

...But you're having fun now?

...It sounds better than nothing, but I can see where it'd be a little boring to go to the same place all of the time...

[But despite it all, Sayaka smiles--she'll even use a clean pair of chopsticks to pass over some of the fatty beef she's got to Aubrey if she wants some, and Sayaka will start to dip in a piece herself.]

I'm having a blast, actually! ...It's weird how almost freeing this feels, funnily enough. It's so unrestrained here, and I love it.