alana bloom - first ep

[patterns_bloom]

Autor blinks at the cupcake Bar gives him, and inquires as to the reason. "Oh. Already?" he says to the answering napkin, and takes the treat with him back to his world.

Not a minute later, the door opens, slams, and opens again. Alana Bloom cautiously steps through, marveling at the bar which appeared in Hannibal's waiting room. She shivers in her ivy-print dress, and then straightens her shoulders.

"I still don't know how this happened, Hannibal," she says, looking to her friend with a small smile. "But what kinds of people go to a bar in your waiting room?"

[OOC: Double EP, tag one or both! Millitimed to yesterday. Slow-times called! Thank you everyone for tagging in!]

Comments

[fluffiest_archadian]

"Volcanoes erupt onto people when they're not expecting it," Sherral says, with solemn wisdom, "and nobody requires that much salt, no matter how much meat they might hope to preserve."

[cook_the_rude]

"Volcanoes provide very fertile ash," Dr. Lecter says, "which means some of the best wines grows on volcanic soils. It justifies the occasional eruption."

[patterns_bloom]

Alana sets her empty wine glass down. "What is it like where you grew up, Sherral?" she asks, pulling the trigger on a hunch.

[fluffiest_archadian]

Sherral pauses, peering at Hannibal. Dubiously: "I'm not certain it does."

To Alana: "Very cold. Mountainous, too."

[cook_the_rude]

"No, you are right," Dr. Lecter says. "Volcanic eruptions need no justification. They simply happen, whether we want them to or not. But with their fertile ash, they're at least useful for human civilisation, if it knows to keep enough of a distance otherwise. Naples is still a great catastrophe waiting to happen."

[patterns_bloom]

"The Westersand is a desert, right?" Alana asks Sherral, after nodding at Dr. Lecter's comments. "That must be quite an adjustment. Do you ever get to visit home?"

[fluffiest_archadian]

"Part of one, along with the Estersand to the East and the Septesand to the North, with the Giza Plains that are somewhat more hospitable if only barely lying to the South," Sherral says. "I visit home when I have enough leave, sometimes. The airship journey there takes several weeks, it is not a trip I undertake often."

[cook_the_rude]

"That is very far," Dr. Lecter nods. "WHo do you have left to visit at your home?"

[patterns_bloom]

Alana raises her brows at the phrasing of Dr. Lecter's question, but lets it pass. "Do they put you to work there, too, or are you actually able to catch up on sleep?"

[fluffiest_archadian]

"I have younger siblings, and my parents. If I'm there, I try to help out with any chores that need doing around the place," shrug, "just because it's leave is no reason to be completely idle."

[cook_the_rude]

"I'm sure it would not feel like home, without chores," Dr. Lecter says.

[patterns_bloom]

"I always enjoyed doing the dishes with my parents at home," Alana says, smiling. "They called it a 'ritualized family bonding activity'."

She toys with her empty wine glass' stem. "How many siblings do you have, Sherral?"

[fluffiest_archadian]

"Five," Sherral says, in the tone of one whose mun did write this down somewhere but has now lost the document and is just estimating from memory. "Although the youngest I've not met yet."

With some pride, however muted it may be: "The oldest is looking to join the local Hunter's Clan. It's not bad work."

[cook_the_rude]

"Are you the very oldest of them all?" Dr. Lecter asks.

[patterns_bloom]

Alana waits for an answer, scooting closer to the bar at the sight of a giant rat.

[fluffiest_archadian]

Sherral personally thinks the giant rats are adorable. Also, helpful!

"I am."

[cook_the_rude]

"The rats are your friends," Hannibal says, sounding cheerful and putting a hand warmly on Alana's shoulder. "You're not phobic about rodents, are you?"

[patterns_bloom]

"That can be a lot of reponsiblity," Alana comments before blinking at Dr. Lecter's question.

"I, uh," she says, laughing a little as her gaze darts towards one of the vermin again. "I wouldn't call it a phobia per se. They're just... huge."

[fluffiest_archadian]

Thoughtfully: "I've seen larger from time to time."

Beat.

"They're very friendly and helpful."

[cook_the_rude]

"Think of them as something like capybaras?" Dr. Lecter suggests.

[patterns_bloom]

Alana manages a shaky grin for Sherral, to keep from shuddering. "True, but you have monsters in your world, right?" she says, and then tries to adopt a lighter, joking tone. "It's just disconcerting to see rodents in a restaurant, especially of unusual sizes. I think my wariness is rationally founded."

[fluffiest_archadian]

"Well, so long as you don't make any messes in the kitchen, they'll be fine."

[cook_the_rude]

"Just don't mess with their professionalism," Dr. Lecter adds. "They're just doing their job."

[patterns_bloom]

"Oh, of course not," Alana says. "That would be terribly rude."

She hesitates. "Just out of curiosity, what do they do to people who get in their way? I wouldn't want to cross a line accidentally."