post palace hot pot party (week 7)

[townmusician]

[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?)]

Comments

[townmusician]

[Haruka will be playing the role of Grandmother Energy tonight, making sure that the people who took a lot of hits or who seemed especially bothered by everything around gets plenty to eat.

As for his own feelings and how he's taking care of himself, it's fine. He's fine! Nothing to worry about.

And in the true Grandmaest Energy, he'll be making sure to hassle and drag along anyone who seems reticent, so if you also want to thread out petty fights with Haruka now is your chance.]

[emptyself]

[ soon after the events of the palace, soujuurou had left in a rush when no one was looking. maybe he was upset?

but everyone comes in together, who else is peeking from the door of the kitchen other than— ]

Oh, hey guys! What are you here for?

[ what is a group of people doing in a restaurant? ]

[destage]

[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.]

[metagame]

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.]

[destage]

[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!

[supherb]

[Arven's also in good spirits at the party. He's obviously not on cooking duty, but he happily gives out ingredient suggestions for hotpot newcomers to try.]

This cut of meat is like, the hot pot go-to. Go on, try it! All it takes is a dunk in the broth for a couple seconds and it'll be nice and cooked! Then you can try it with these sauces...

[When he's not helping out, he's chowing down and chatting. This is the liveliest he's ever been among the group. Maybe it's just how he naturally is when he's not bogged down by the stress of palaces and whatnot. It's so satisfying to have seen the God of Conflict be chased off for a change!

...and, of course, every so often he'll be sneaking some bites to Mabosstiff. How did he manage to fit that huge dog under the table? Is that even allowed here?]

[supherb]

Soujuurou?!

[He was wondering where Soujuurou went to, but...]

We're here to party, duh! Did you seriously have a shift here at the same time?

[metagame]

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...

[destage]

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!]

[metagame]

[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]

[emptyself]

Yeah, I figured I wouldn’t want to be late to a shift again after I called out a couple days ago.

[ he nods. ]

This is good, though, I think I can get you guys a discount too.

[bloodweapon]

[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!!]

[cirquedesang]

[Help he can't eat food so he's bringing his own snacks to another poor establishment--

But with how excited and in his element Arven is, he absolutely pulls up a spot next to him, reaching under the table for the requisite scritches tax to Mabosstiff.

...And fully assuming this is one of those hot pot places where you get individual pots and such--]

If you would like to use my place to order for our dear friend denied a chair, you are more than welcome.

[aka: go ahead and use his hotpot spot to make a doggy safe hotpot for Mabosstiff.]

[destage]

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?

[destage]

[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?

[bloodweapon]

[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.

[destage]

Oh! Shizuki-kun--I was wondering where you went!

[Honestly, she was surprised that he didn't come along, but...honestly? She can sort of get it, though she gives him a quick grin.]

We're celebrating! Haruka-kun brought up the idea and got us all here, so--here we are! It's not like we could've taken the one that we actually made with us...

Is your shift going okay so far?

[destage]

[(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--]

[metagame]

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!]

[emptyself]

Ah, that’s pretty smart of him.

[ he says this with a genuine tone, though quiet. the last thing he wants is to inflate haruka’s ego. ]

It really is a shame we couldn’t bring the one we made there, but this is definitely a lot easier, from what I’ve learned.

[ it’s not like he had ever paid much attention to hot pot as a dish until recently, but it is pretty convenient. ]

Mm, my shift is pretty quiet so far. It’s good to keep moving.

[bloodweapon]

[...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!!]

[gardenful]

[ For a little while, Aerith was content to sit in her own silence, watching everyone else as they chatted between each other. She still feels a little bit off-kilter, and sitting and listening to everyone talk amongst themselves and enjoy the food is enough to set her back upright. It may be unusual for her to keep to herself like this, but she certainly isn't in a bad mood.

In fact, Aerith is a little bit more animated later on, enthusiastically taking helpings of meat and vegetables whenever she likes. But if she spots someone sitting in silence for even a moment, she'll plop a little piece of potato onto their plate. ]

Make sure you eat. You gotta get plenty of nutrients after everything we just went through.

[ She's checking in. Subtly. Maybe. ]

[destage]

[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!!!]

[beathollow]

( she's just quietly handing him things as he cooks occasionally, not unlike an assistant to a surgeon... for the fun analogy. )

... You're having fun.

[destage]

[Sayaka can't help but giggle a bit at that--she doesn't know Haruka very well, but he can certainly be quite...bossy...it's a little intimidating...!]

It certainly is. It helps that we can all make it how we like, too--and that we don't have to worry about keeping an open flame going, heehee. I would've loved to have tried the one we made though...we'll have to find a way to do that again, maybe?

[Sayaka smiles, though.]

I'm glad to hear it! Hopefully nobody ends up giving you too much trouble. Oh--

[Sayaka's voice goes low, a slight whisper.]

This'll be a separate order from Haruka-kun's tab, so I can pay for it as soon as needed, but...do you know if they can make anything to-go? I wanted to bring back a couple things to the dorm, if they're okay with it!

[Something for Soujuurou, and something for Fray. If she can, maybe even something for Shalem.]