A dinner party

[ordinarycitizen]

WHO. All off-worldlers
WHERE. Liselotte's flat in Light
WHEN. Sometime before the plot starts
WHAT. A dinner party, and sharing information
WARNINGS. N/A

Louise sends the invite out in a timely manner to Bramble, Stone and Phillip, though when everyone arrives, they will find that Louise picked up a new face or two on the way while running a last errand (or perhaps someone else has brought a guest along).

The table is set for six, though one chair is a kiddie chair. A few different dishes will be served, as Louise doesn't know if anyone has limitations as to what they can eat, and a few candles have been placed on the table to give a nice ambient light.

Comments

Surprise acquisitions

[ordinarycitizen]

Louise is running a last errand, Lottie on her back, and talking to a shopkeeper (she's made a habit of gossiping, always in hopes of glancing some actual information) when he points out that there seems to be a new off-worldler, and that he's seen them just recently. An inquiry yields the answer to where and what they look like, and thus Louise finds herself a bit delayed as she follows the instructions. And does indeed spot the person who fits the bill.

"Good afternoon," she greets with a polite smile.

[quitsmiling]

It's pretty easy to tell who isn't a local, in this scenario. Rocket is about two and a half feet high and covered in fur, underneath his one-piece jumpsuit. He's exchanging money for some raw metal and tiny crystals, though, so obviously he's intelligent enough for conversation. There's a boxy metal thing on his back which might be some sort of collapsed weapon, though it's hard to tell.

He eyes Louise a bit warily as she approaches. "I've had better. You need somethin'?"

[ordinarycitizen]

There is, at least at first glance, nothing about Louise that sets her apart from a local. She looks like a regular human and is dressed the way the locals are. So nothing indicates that she's not.

Until she responds. Still in the same friendly tone, despite his gruff answer. "You, as it turns out." She shifts the basket she's carrying into a more comfortable position. "I was told that there's another off-worlder walking around those parts, and since we're going to all gather tonight to talk about this place, I wanted to ask you if you want to come too."

Other may or may not be surprised by his appearance, but Louise has seen far stranger things in the short time that she's had dealings with the supernatural. At least his appearance is coherent.

[everybodypanic]

Jinx could do the responsible thing and make her available money last until she gets something going for herself. And for the most part, she's actually doing a pretty decent job in keeping herself from spending it all right now. But every now and again she'll see something really nice and momentarily forget about the budget she's supposed to keep herself so.

"Ugh, being responsible is hard! How do people do it all the time?"

It was a question for the ages, and she would've likely slipped and bought something really expensive were it not for being approached.

"Yeah? What's up."

[ordinarycitizen]

She meant to say something more substantial, but instead she raises an eyebrow and indicates the object that Jinx was looking into buying with one hand. "Are you certain that you would have a use for that?"

[forhyrule]

Zelda probably couldn't look much more out of place unless a sign hung above her head proclaiming her off-worlder status. Her royal gown and bejeweled regalia stuck out sorely amongst the other market goers, which drew as many curious glances as it did intentional avoidance. Zelda stood at a stall of winter wear, all of her money spread out before the stall owner as she struggled to understand an unfamiliar currency (The other proverbial sign over her head would have read 'please cheat me.)

Zelda turned to Louise at the greeting, hastily replacing her flustered expression with a smile. "Good afternoon," she replied with a quick nod. "I beg your patience. I shan't be much longer."

[ordinarycitizen]

"No worries." She glanced at the money the stall owner was sorting - or had been sorting, because he stopped abruptly when Louise's eyes fell on the money and then wandered up to give him a sharp look. "Say, what were you looking to buy? I should be able to assist you with paying."

Lottie, on her hip, peered over at Zelda curiously, her eyes going up to her ears and over to her face, clearly puzzling over something about this new person.

[lamentingly]

Gohan had no idea how the currency here worked, so he didn't even try to buy anything. Instead, he simply wandered around, quietly watching everyone, as he tried to sort his thoughts. He stuck out like a sore thumb, his tattered uniform making him look less like an offworlder, and more like a homeless person. But his sharp gaze and muscular physique dispelled that idea quickly enough, even if most everyone was trying to keep away from him, and do their best to not be obvious about it.

They weren't hiding it well.

When Louise approached and greeted him, Gohan blinked. He hadn't been expecting it, and his expression softened as a result. "Um... good afternoon, miss. Is there anything I can help you with?"

[ordinarycitizen]

"You are from off-world, are you not?" Louise had just about finished asking when Lottie chimed in: "You are!" Big eyes peered around her guardian's head curiously, studying the big man before them. "You are big!"

Socializing

[ordinarycitizen]

Dinner is good, but the primary motive behind this whole thing isn't eating. As with any dinner invitations, it's socializing, talking, getting to know each other better and exchanging gossip.

OTA

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone knows most of the people here, but there's been a few new arrivals he hasn't gotten a lot of details on yet, so he's happy to focus on those when he's not catching up with Louise and Lottie. He eats a little (or sometimes a lot) of everything, chatters easily (mostly about the food), and generally looks like a harmless old man, if a harmless old man with teeth that are a little too pointy, a tongue that's a little too long, and the easy movement of someone much younger than the gray hair and skin and weathered face seem to show.

Still, he's amiable and not as grumpy as he can be, and he's happy to remind people (Bramble, Lottie, Rocket, anyone else who happens to need it) about proper table manners around groundlings when necessary. If he has to eat neatly, so does everyone else.

[ordinarycitizen]

"But a forks are so big," Lottie complains when told to not use her hands, holding up her kiddie fork to demonstrate (the fork is not terribly big).

[quitsmiling]

It didn't take as much convincing as one might think to get Rocket to come along to this little get-together. He needs more info, he wants to know who all the other kidnapees are, and there's free food. What's not to like?

So one of those chairs has to have a couple books on it so he can see over the table without spending the whole meal standing or sitting on the table itself, and the talking raccoon (who swears he's not a raccoon; it's up for debate which species he really is, given how many alien species claimed the recognized what he is, where he comes from) gets to join in the fun. He's not particularly polite, but he's not going out of his way to be rude, either, and for him, he's almost being friendly. Almost.

"So where are all you people from?" he asks whoever feels like answering.

[ordinarycitizen]

"Me and Mum are from Canterbury!" Clearly that explains everything.

But really, it is nice to have someone sitting at the table who doesn't tower over her by default, and she wanted to talk to him anyway. She wants to talk to everyone here.

[whatsina_name]

"Earth," Phillip says with a shrug. He's actually not trying to be a shit, it's just that as far as he can tell 'planet of origin' is the first step in figuring out anything more specific. Rocket sure as hell isn't from Earth. ...Actually Phillip takes that back, he saw a talking cat in Japan, a talking reincarnated raccoon is not nearly as far fetched as it used to be. "You?"

[everybodypanic]

"All three of us are from Valoran City." Spoken in between bites, accounting for her two familiar. She too came there mostly for the free food.

"Ever heard of it?"

OTA

[whatsina_name]

The idea of actually going to a dinner party felt kind of weird- Phillip's been to friends' houses and stuff for dinner, but it's not quite the same. Spending an evening surrounded by adults and also a baby is not really his idea of a good time, but he also doesn't have it in him to refuse. Anyway, they're probably going to wind up talking about important stuff eventually too.

He's pleasantly surprised to find that there are more people than expected, and he'll treat anyone new with a "Hey! What's your name?" and a charming smile. But of course, he's also up for talking with the people he already knows (and my try to dodge any questions he doesn't want to answer by occupying Lottie).

OTA

[everybodypanic]

Nah, Jinx is just gonna help herself to the food.

With the limited amount of space and seating available, she just sits cross-legged while floating in midair. It means being in uniform but whatever. She's holding a plate of food with one hand and a fork in the other. Shiro and Kuro are also floating about nearby, occasionally looking at the food as well. But they know better than to mess with her food.

Or do they...

Either way, Jinx keeps on stuffing her face.

OTA

[forhyrule]

Though externally she is the picture of politeness, internally Zelda is at a loss for the situation she finds herself in. She eats a little bit of everything, responds kindly when addressed, but appears mostly preoccupied throughout the dinner. Serving her own food and preparing her own tea is still rather awkward for her, though she picked up the basics of self-sufficiency during her captivity. There doesn't seem to be quite enough silverware for such a varied meal, but the food is delicious and the wine gives that same warm, comforting feeling in her stomach as it does back home.

OTA

[lamentingly]

The main motive may not have been eating, but it sure wasn't stopping Gohan from doing just that. The one-armed man in tatters having taken a seat, filling his plate with a little bit of everything, and shamelessly going to town on his plate at the drop of a hat. It was probably horribly impolite, given he didn't know anyone here, nor had he introduced himself to anyone else.

But it'd been months since he'd had a good and plentiful meal. And by god he was going to enjoy it.

Information exchange

[ordinarycitizen]

Once Lottie has been put to bed, Louise will turn to the gathered group.

"We agreed a while ago to try to find out more about what is going on here - beyond the things that our gracious hosts will tell us. So anything and everything you have heard or read or otherwise found... Let's exchange it.

I found a few things on crystals and dragons, but first, did anyone find something about this person that we met in the cave?"

[scarsolderthanyou]

"He spends a lot of time out in the Badlands," Stone says right off the bat. "Which is weird for a local groundling, since they can't spend a lot of time out there without dragon help. And his scent jumps around a lot. I tracked him all over Blood quarter, but the trail would disappear for almost a mile at a time before I picked him up again."

For Phillip

[scarsolderthanyou]

After the bulk of the other dinner guests have gone, Stone lingers, in part to play a little with Lottie, and in part to corner Phillip with fewer prying eyes around. And corner him he does, looking irritable but not quite as offended as earlier. "Okay," he begins. "What exactly is your problem here, where you felt like you had to act like a bratty fledgeling to the rest of us?"

This conversation may or may not go well, unless Phillip can take a mild insult or two.

[whatsina_name]

Yeah, Phillip probably should have known this was coming. To his credit, he still does look mildly shamed. "Sorry," he says, sighing, "I don't mean to take it that far." He's not entirely sure which specific part pissed off Stone, but clearly part of it did. "I just... don't like being interrogated like that."

[ordinarycitizen]

Louise doesn't exactly stand nearby during Stone's conversation with Phillip, but it is her flat and she is around and aware of the conversation. Good.

If Stone wouldn't have had it, she would have tried.

Instead, she waits until they are done, probably sends Lottie in to occupy Phillip's hands, and asks Stone to help her clean up in the kitchen. Once they're there, she turns towards the Raksura.

"I saw that you talked to him. How did it go?"