Happy Hour!

[student_of_impossibility]

[In which Gaius Octavian explains to Max that a lot happened while he was asleep.]

Today Tavi walks in looking quite cheerful, in fact, and rather satisfied. Or at least, he does beneath the dust and occasional smudge of dirt on him. (Anyone looking closely might notice some of that dust might not be dust at all, but the faintest sprinkling of ash.) After a considering glance at his favorite table, he instead makes his way to the Bar.

“Hello,” he tells her cheerfully. “Can I have—”

Instead a napkin pops up. After reading it, he shrugs. “Sure, why not?”

Shortly thereafter he is behind the Bar and flipping through the book of drinks, having splashed some water on his face and hands before handling food. Once he’s done, he takes the board and chalk, soon covered in his liquid, precise handwriting.

Specials
Copper Island Red Griffin tea
Ale – preferences available
German Wake-up Call
Peace Treaty

Bread and other provided snacks on the bartender.

There are, in fact, a couple baskets of bread set out. With them are some plates of oil (with a few herbs in) or cheese, as well as several plates of grapes, which he can also be found munching on between serving drinks. Today was definitely a good day, if his easy generosity is anything to go by.

(Octavian may be taking pleasure in sharing the benefits of a budget larger than a soldier’s salary with his friends. Hypothetically.)

Comments

[street_sparrow]

Gavroche strolls up and raises his eyebrows.

"Don't usually see food on the menu, unless it's Sunshine working. Hi, Scipio."

[student_of_impossibility]

Tavi blinks slightly. He hadn't actually considered this part...

"I can afford to treat my friends. How are you?"

[street_sparrow]

"Not bad, not bad. You've come into a windfall?"

[student_of_impossibility]

Tavi smiles, slightly lopsided. "Unless I end up in a much more serious family fight than I'm expecting, I can at least afford this much. Can I get you anything to drink?"

[street_sparrow]

"One of those ales?" he suggests, eyeing Tavi curiously. "I'm not allowed to have too much coffee."

[vorpatril]

Ivan was able to get home after his bartending shift and clean off and change but once more found Milliways after dinner.

He's in comfortable civilian clothes as he and Tej are waiting to find out what happens next. Tavi is familiar and he grabs a piece of bread as he looks over the specials, "What's in a Peace Treaty?"

[student_of_impossibility]

Tavi consults the note he wrote to himself. "Vodka, and... something called 'Sabra chocolate-orange liquor," he reports back. "Not actually anything we have back home, like most things here."

Tavi does like experimenting.

[vorpatril]

"That sounds good. I'll try one. You look happy,"

Its nice to see as Ivan's feeling hopeful as he has Tej but concerned about the consequences of the last few days.

[student_of_impossibility]

"I am," Tavi admits as he reaches for the ingredients in question. "A friend of mine was badly injured in the Legion's last engagement, but he's awake and should be on light duty in a few days."

Because Isana is a terrifyingly good healer, so severe burns weren't likely to keep Max out of action for long.

[vorpatril]

"Wonderful, I hope he doesn't have to stay still for too long. Some people don't do the whole rest part of getting better easily,"

Miles always wanted to go sooner than he should have.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Oh, hey," says Ellen, who's finally mended her Brotherhood greens after that blasted surprise scorpion attack. "Hi, Scipio. Can I get one of the ales? How've you been?"

[student_of_impossibility]

"Pale ale, dark, or something in between?" Tavi pauses before reaching for a glass.

Right.

Old friends usually deserve the truth. Only, how to approach this? "Better today than yesterday, if busy. And yourself?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Pale is fine," says Ellen. "I'm doing all right- I've been working in Lacuna... I don't remember if I've told you about that, it's where they've been sending the people who we've been thawing out on the alien ship. They sent me and Jerald there after we came back from the Library of Congress."

[student_of_impossibility]

As Tavi pours her ale, he stares at her. "...No. No you haven't mentioned Lacuna before." Well isn't that just fascinating. "And the people are alive and well after being... frozen?"

Just because he's been derailed by SCIENCE! now doesn't mean he won't remember where he was eventually. Maybe.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Oh. Well-" Ellen hesitates. "I guess I should start by saying that some of the people are alive and well after being frozen. The machines involved are really complicated, and really old, and even with help from the technicians of the species that built them in the first place some people don't make it when we thaw them out. Some of them've been frozen hundreds of years, so that's not really a surprise."

[electro_kinetic]

"You're cheerful, given your mood the last time you were in here," says a Noriko who's eyeing the basket of grapes nearest her. She doesn't particularly look like she's slept in the last day or three--which is unusual here if nowhere else.

But perhaps the more telling indicator is how she's dressed; very femininely, for her, which amounts to skinny jeans and a flower-print kimono tunic (and no heels, which means she's short) with dark purple ribbon flowers holding her hair up. The end of each fall is tied off with a little bell that chimes when she moves her head.

[student_of_impossibility]

Tavi looks up from where he's looking for oil to replenish the plate near him--mostly because he's been eating that bread. "I had a good day," he explains. "Actually, you'll care about this one. Max was badly injured in the last engagement the First Aleran had. Burns."

His voice has sobered, with anger and sadness. Max is his best friend as no one else can be, Milliways closeness or no.

Then he eyes her rather curiously. This is a new look. "I don't think I've seen that kind of clothes before. It's quite different. What is it?" If he were even capable of noting people besides Kitai he'd have said it looks quite nice.

[electro_kinetic]

"Civilian," she says, with the half-amused tone of voice that says 'if you weren't you I'd be refusing whatever you're offering to buy me'. "It's a style designed to replicate the look of traditional clothes from my home country."

She barely resists saying 'they're called breasts, I'm sure you've seen them before', just because that is the kind of mood Noriko is in tonight. She rarely lets her tongue go quite that far afield without intending to piss someone off, though. "And why would Max being badly injured be cause for you to be smiling?"

[student_of_impossibility]

He shoots her a mildly skeptical look. "I'd gathered that much," he remarks dryly. "It isn't really particularly practical for combat." His head is tilted curiously, however. "I've never actually known of countries with traditional clothing, unless you count the variants between all the universes.

"Because he woke up." He beams. "My mother's an incredibly talented healer. She worked on him a couple days, and at least he's conscious. He can't be even on light duty for a while, and is confined to bed another day, but it shouldn't take much longer." It's a huge victory.

[electro_kinetic]

"That might be because I'm not planning to get into any fights," she replies, just as dry. As it turns out, the blue hair does not help Noriko look any more serious. (Those people who underestimate the strength of a punch from her on these grounds find it hurts a whole lot.) "The traditional clothing for my country is a kimono. It's like the shirt, but longer--dress length. I'll find you a picture sometime." One that does not look like a vaguely Asian woman in ridiculous petticoats dressed to attract johns.

"How is she after all that?"

[a1enzo]

"Dude! You look like things worked out!" A weight lifts slightly in Enzo's chest. One fewer friend to worry about.

Minus investigates a plate of grapes.

[student_of_impossibility]

"They did." Tavi sighs, very briefly--there was so much that was just a waste in the whole thing. "With more complications than I'd hoped, but things are getting better. I forget if you know my friend Max."

Because Tavi believes firmly that any friends of Max deserve to hear what happened, and that he's okay.

[a1enzo]

Enzo considers. "I remember a guy? Haven't seen him in ages."

Which is a shame, they got along well.

[student_of_impossibility]

"Yes. He--and Kitai--don't seem to have found doors lately, and Araris almost never does." It makes Tavi rather sad, actually. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about the Bar more consistently.

After a moment lost in thought, he shakes himself out of it. "He was badly injured in the last major engagement," he explains. "But my mother is one of the best watercrafters in the Realm. He's awake again, and can probably be on light duty before the week is out."

[a1enzo]

Enzo is with him there. Most of his own family never comes here anymore, either.

"Oh! Well... good! I mean, bad and good. You know."