milliways_bar | (no subject)

A few minutes later, Barry arrives. He doesn't look that up either, though he always finds a smile for Sara.

"Hey."

[ooc: slowtime and possible early wrap likely at points today.]

[ooc: Not a problem.]

"Hey." Her voice is quiet.

He grabs her for a hug. His body feels tense. He holds on for a few moments.

"I...things are not going well. More curses. Naraht's worse. And the clues are clearly pointing in the wrong direction." There is a certain amount of pain in his eyes.

She nods. "I was down earlier and saw Naraht. Murphy went hysterical last night--I had to sedate him. I may have Guppy move Connor to the infirmary."

Her back tenses. "The Other."

He just nods back. "Faith thinks she talked to him. She's not doing well, either. But she left a note. The whole staff knows." He pauses.

"I'm worried. About everyone.

"About you. He's going after the people who took him down, and..." He can't make himself say anything more.

"He must have cursed Murphy, then. And that's how it's affecting me--through my brothers." Her hand clenches.

Barry accepts this idea, and that brings him a tiny bit of calm. Enough to work with. "Sounds like his method. He's cruel. And creative.

"And what he did to Naraht..." Barry fights back one tear.

"Funny that only now am I seeing that he - or she, or whatever - has become part of my wacky Milliways family. The stony sibling I never had. The sibling who is stick in his own mind.

"Unless I can find a telepath. Have you seen any Jedi lately?" His voice instantly shifts from anguish to determination.

"Naraht is unique in more than just his species," she says contemplatively. "And has, pardon the phrase, been a rock for me on more than one occasion. I agree--he is family now. As much as anyone else."

"Jedi? I haven't seen any in a while, come to think of it."

"Great. No mages, no Jedi. But then no reports of curses on them, either. Maybe the Other just timed things very well and the Jedi are all home fighting in a sequel or something." Barry forces a smile.

"Have you eaten anything yet today?"

"Well, Episode III did come out on DVD yesterday. They may be trying to forget that ever happened." A brief smile and chuckle.

"I haven't eaten yet--wasn't feeling very hungry--but I probably should."

"Yes, you should. We don't need you running out of steam from low blood sugar.

"But might I suggest you treat yourself to something a little decadent? There is something to be said for comfort food." He guides her to the counter of the Bar.

"Hard to be decadent on a vegetarian diet. But comfort food sounds nice." A quick smirk.

"Bar, I would like a grilled cheese sandwich, tomato soup, and a tall glass of milk."

"As long as there is chocolate, there will be decadence," he replies with a grin.

"Macaroni and cheese, and milk."

As usual, the food appears fast. And Barry guides Sara to a table not far from the fireplace.

"Chocolate as a main staple in my diet?" A quirked brow. "I'd rather not--I don't think even my metabolism would tolerate that."

"No, I suppose not as a main staple. But as a way to indulge, even this meat-eater might be convinced with ease to give up his steak for a truly fine chocolate." A thought which doesn't work as smoothly as you'd think, since Barry then eats a forkful of mac-and-cheese and half-exepcts chocolate.

She chuckles. "Point taken." The soup is good and the sandwich nice and warm.

He eats his lunch slowly, trying to actually savor the thick white cheese sauce and gooey pasta.

"Amazing. Just like mother used to make. Which means that no self-respecting restaurant on Earth would serve it. But I grew up with this, and no one else's tastes as good."

"Of course not. I can remember my mom making zucchini bread--don't laugh," she says, fighting a chuckle. "I haven't found a recipe that even comes close."

Barry grins. "Why would I laugh? Zucchini bread sounds nice. And everyone's mother - or at least everyone in Iowa - had that one thing they did that no one else would.

"My mom made a rhubarb and quince pie for Thanksgiving. As far as I know, it as her own recipe. Iris once tried to duplicate it, and...well, we went out for dessert that year."

"Trying to replicate a recipe can be a risky business."

"It;s always hard to do the same trick twice. Especially when it's someone else's trick." And for some reason, this echoes in Barry's head and he stops eating.

He is given a concerned look. "Something wrong?"

"No. Just a random thought...

"Tim died. And came back. and now the Other -who was pretty much declared dead - has come back.

"I really don't know what the connection between the two is - I think that the number of being who understand it is tiny - but maybe there's a weakness in there. Maybe the Other is doing Tim's trick and not his own, since both died together?"

"Hmmm. That's certainly a point to consider. If the Other were truly out for vengeance, wouldn't he have just killed us at the first opportunity? The current pattern doesn't fit his MO."

Barry ponders this. The Other as an academic question, he can cope with. "Well, given how powerful the Bar can be - the Bar that turns men into chickens and tutus into leather, after all - the Other might be taking a gauge of what he can do in here. Remember that the War was as much about keeping him out as it saving my world.

"But we know that for the most part, things happen and the Bar watches. So that implies some kind of limit. Even assuming that he is also just looking to make people suffer, no one has died yet."

"True. Which implies more weakness."

"He's beatable then." Barry says this with resolve and even confidence.

"And I'm sure that in making some good people here very angry, he's only ensuring a repeat of the last time." And like last time around with the Other, when Barry's confidence flickered sometimes but never wavered, Barry means it.

"Damned right. He's at the top of my shitlist," she says in a low voice, "not to mention the lists of many of the people here. He's screwed."

"Yes. I just hope that this time around, I won't need as many bandages. Though since the last time, we have an infirmary and a much more organized staff." Oddly, ther is not much grimness in Barry's voice about this.

"We'll find a way. I know we will." She squeezes his hand before finishing her soup.

He smiles at her.

"I know you will busy keeping an eye on the twins till this is over, but we might need some help in the infirmary."

"If I see Dr. McCoy, I'll recruit him again. And I'll help out as I can."

"Thanks." He gives he a kiss, just because.

[ooc: shall we wrap early?]

[ooc: A wrap it is. Take it easy!]

[ooc: The next time she orders a drink or food, a note will come up with these (http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005O3VC/qid=1130956692/sr=8-3/ref=pd_ka_2/702-2185418-9280860) two (http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767827724/702-2185418-9280860) attached to it, reading:

I promised you no more schmoopy romance movies, didn't I? Just in case you need a good laugh.

Catherine]

Sara sends back a note with a grin.

You are the best.
-Sara

There is a small purple fox about somewhere, looking at her.

She had been told Asar-Suti was affected. But she hadn't been told what the effects were.

Cue a blinking CSI. She'd recognize that shade of purple anywhere. "Sooty?"

"Yes," the fox admitted. "Guppy said it is the Other; do you know how he got at us?"

He sighed. "I can't shape-shift any more; I've been a fox now for almost a week."

She raises a hand helplessly. "With Tim gone, he'd be able to theoretically come to the bar. I guess he's been here incognito."

The fox shook his head. "I guess I got one of the easiest lots here; it's inconvenient but bearable. I'm just worried about Gil."

"Has he been cursed as well?"

"No, he - he just has to bear up wi smelly fox instead of his lover. A smelly predator that offends his faun instincts and sesitive nose, and who can just be cuddled and groomed instead of - you know," Asar-Suti said. "It's hard on him."

She sighs. "He loves for more than just sex," she says bluntly.

"Of course," Asar-Suti said. "But I know he finds it frustrating. And I stink to him; that's even worse."

"Gods willing we will find a way to defeat the Other before long," is all she can say.

"I hope so," Asar-Suti said, quietly. "It is a rather painful situation in a small way, like a ripped toenail hurting? Immaterial compared to some things, but still ouch all the time."

An extremely exhausted looking Hank wanders by, a rather huge coffee mug emitting steam that is filled with the fumes of incredibly strong coffee in his hands.

He almost falls over a chair before he blinks, looks up, and waves at Sara.

"Greetings my friend."

His voice is less than it's usual bounciness. He has been up for most of the last three days, working with the infirmary and on his computers, looking for a cure or some way that sceince could solvce the problem facing the Bar.