Dinner for two (Pax, Chyril 27, ET)

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

"Ha! Well, that's the good thing about shares. It's just a piece - you can have a small piece or a big piece, all depends on what you want back," she said. Her father had been very insistant she pay attention to these bits. Ophelia had thought it was very boring. She wanted to get to the exciting adventuring bits, not the money-making set up scheme. However, if she was going to be able to afford a life of merry music making without being tied down to some husband and kids, then she needed to strike rich now while she was young and useful.

Luca made jokes about trading being easy, O shook her head. "Maybe for you, with all your brains, but I think all that planning is about as fun as reading or doing math." When she applied herself, the young woman was quite proficient in literacy, but it was a matter of keeping her attention - not an easy task.

"Yes, Trothgard," she retorted with a grin, rolling her eyes at his veiled compliments. "I'm counting on melting the ice-wall - so maybe I should work on that passion, mm?" The Muchislian native replied. "Hone it until it's some kind of hot weapon to slice through the barrier?" She giggled at the thought. What she really counted on what getting the Ice Queen's favor and her allowance into the Northern realm.

[Luca di Fabro]

Oh,I know exactly what I want back, bella He thought as she explained the working of shares to him. "It can never hurt to invest, so I'll definitely be up for some shares. I'm sure you won't be leaving tomorrow, so I'll have time to get some trading going on to give you a larger share."

"All my brains?" Luca shook his head as he thought about the fact that he couldn't read, while she could. "Don't sell yourself short here, Ophy, not many people can read you now, and yet you do it easily." It was the first time he called her Ophy. He didn't even really think about it, back in the Mouth it was quite common among friends to use nicknames like that.

He continued as if he hadn't done anything unusual and laughed at her jokes. At least she seemed to be picking up on the jokes now instead of merely rolling her eyes. It's all going according to plan.. "I think you should be more worried about containing the effects of that passion. You'll stand in front of that wall and it will just shatter and melt by the mere sight of you, bella!" He didn't give her time to retort to that one and immediately continued with some more serious questions. "So, once you get passed the ice wall, what then? What do you expect to find there?"

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

"I only read because my parents forced me into it - me and all my brothers. They wanted to make sure no one got us to sign something we didn't understand." She took a sip of her drink.

"Speaking of, one of my uncles had signed himself into a contract to learn magick from some travelling mage. He ended up becoming - well, basically a slalve-servant to a trickster who went from town to town swindling money off of the people at festivals and on holidays. He ran a small bit thing - rabbits from hats and black powder from wherever it's from - cards and others. He also had light fingers and when he was caught on charges of thievery, and my uncle had to go infront of the city guards, it was the contract that saved him, because it said that he had no choice in the tricks and he had to do it. It saved him from the gallows!" She finished fervently. "So, I guess sometimes it can help you out to not know the details," Ophy winked.

Ophelia continued to giggle lightly at Luca's playful jests, and had to stifle full on laughter at his last bit before he gave her another question to continue with. "Oh.. well, there is a palace there," she said simply enough. "A palace filled with treasure and I plan on going there and taking it." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave a rather matter-of-fact nod. "And then bringing it back and selling it so I can live off the money for the rest of my days and sing songs and travel and do whatever else I'd like to do, without worry." It was the formula for a perfect plan, atleast in her mind.

[Luca di Fabro]

There was definitely a lesson to be learned there about contracts. It was one of the reasons Luca never worked with them. There wasn't much of the written contracts used in his business anyway. Usually they were oral agreements and the law of the strongest served there. There was no negotiation possible when you were on the owing part of the agreement. The giver or lender made up the rules, if you didn't follow m, you'd probably end up in the river real soon. He remembered a couple of tight situations he had been in, they were exciting now, but not when he had been in the middle of them.

Ophelia seemed to pick up on his jokes perfectly which increased his confidence. If he could keep this up during the dinner, the rest would be easy. The best thing about it was that she was actually a really interesting person, not just a pretty face. He liked that, gave them something to do right after the sex. He found it was always a bummer when there was nothing to talk about after or in between sessions.
"So there is a palace filled with treasure and no one is there? How do you know about this place and why isn't there somebody there already? How do you actually know that no one else has found it?" He fired away with his questions as the thought of an lost treasure shot through his mind.

He kept on thinking about the idea and a lot more questions shot through his mind. Most of them were of a practical nature, since the Mouthie always thought about the practical aspects of any plan that he had in mind. "Wouldn't the journey be dangerous by itself? How would you be able to bring everything back?"

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

"Woah, woah.. slow down with the questions," she said with a smile, though it was obvious from her grin that she was eating up his enthusiasm. "It's not that there's no one there, really..." Ophy smirked, trying to supress her energy and not gush about her big plans. "And, the Ice Wall, you joke about it, but it's a pretty big deal, and only a small group ever got by it, and they were going to kill this big bad demon guy... so they weren't even bothering with the treasure, especially since they were all Fursts and then Caesars and things - heroes, they didn't need the money, I guess." She shrugged.

"But this place, this palace, it was the old capitol of the Seven Isles, and when the people left there, Charlesmange's people, they left everything behind. Since then, there's been some sort of damage to, well.. I guess to the world, though my uncle called it something else - the Aether - where the magick comes from - and I guess to the Nether, itself where the demons come from, and it's all sorts of mashed up and filled with ghost and other demons and things. So, I'm going to go there, and I'm going to fight them, and I'm going to take back the treasure.. but there's a secret part of the plan I can't tell you about," she said solemnly.

"Has to do with how I'll get it all back here." Ophy paused to take another sip of her drink, wetting her palate again, and wondering how soon their food would arrive. All their fun around the Cube had made her quite hungry.

[Luca di Fabro]

The plan sounded quite naive and insane in all honesty, but Luca wasn't going to let that show. Really, to follow some old myth or legend, going there to fight off ghosts and demons, finding the treasure and then making it back alive with the treasure. It really sounded like something only real heroes would do. He gave he a good look. he had just met her and usually he had a good first impression of people. Ophelia didn't seem to be one of those heroes, even though she did have something about her that made her stand out from the rest. Maybe it was the way how she just did things without thinking too much about it. Maybe that was what made him not be a hero. He thought too much about things.

He suddenly realized that he hadn't said anything for one or two flickers and he had just been looking at her. She must have noticed that. With true surprise visible on his face he just nodded. "Man, that..sounds really...badass."

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

Ophelia stared expectantly at Luca and he stared right back at her. No... not at you, he's totally not paying attention at all! His vague comment about her exciting adventuring being badass wasn't the intended response. So, she just sort of sat there, her arms still crossed, with a doubtful expression. "Were you even listening to me? Or do you think it sounds stupid?" Her bright blue eyes flicked between his judgingly. She'd run into plenty of people back home who thought it was insanity to just leave Muchislie, nevermind to go on a grand adventure to the Western Kingdom just to hone her skill before heading North to her homeland.

"I should've figured as much, stupid of me to tell you, anyway." Much of her exuberant energy had faded replaced with a sigh and attention turned to her cup. "The only person who got it was my papa," she shrugged, but her shoulders remained slouched and her whole body language suggested that she'd been deflated by his reply. "It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, though. I'm doing it anyway."

[Luca di Fabro]

Within only a couple of flickers Luca saw his chance of getting lucky that night completely ruined. He was just totally baffled. What..the FUCK just happened here? He replayed the last parts of their conversation in his mind, but he honestly had no clue what he had done and it was clearly visible in his face. "Wow, wow, wait a flicker here. I was completely serious. Sure, it might sound a little crazy. It certainly isn't what any regular people would do. But that makes it cool in my book. And all the danger and stuff, seriously, it makes it really sound badass. That's the only way I can really describe it."

He still had no idea where her sudden coldness came from. Did she instantly have her period or whatever? Should he come back in a week or so? He sighed. "Really, Ophelia, I had no intention of offending you, or mocking you in any way." He really didn't know what else to tell her that moment. He felt like just emptying his glass of wine in one go, but that would definitely give off the wrong vibe right now. Instead he looked straight at her, hoping she could see the honesty in his face.

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

"What do you expect? You got that far-away I'm not listening look in your eyes. I'm a performer, I recognize that face." She had another sip of the cider, sighed again and reconciled with his apology. "Alright, I believe you," she said. "Though I don't know why. You already admitted to being a well-versed liar, so I shouldn't - should I - but I will. Because that's just how crazy I am," Ophy smirked, trying to lighten the mood. It had been her fault for misreading him, but she was surprised by his seriousness. She imagined he'd just make fun of her some more, not that he would be so quick to suggest that it was quite the opposite.

"It's sort of like having a stump leg - this whole big plan of mine," she started, having hard time describing her vision. "And everyone can see it, and they're always picking at you about it, you know? Making fun and making you feel real small. I fought a lot with my parents before I left - about me coming here and about going to Trothgard, but most about going to the palace, so I guess I'm just sore about it all. Didn't mean to bite your head off," she swirled the contents of the glass and watched the small particles of cinamon and nutmeg gather in the bottom. "It's just hard to be excited about something when everyone thinks it's a stupid kid's idea." There was a strong seriousness in Ophelia, a strength and determination to see her plan through, but it was tempered with her own self-doubts and clouded by the opinion of the people who she thought would be most supportive of her decision to go.

"Were your parents mad when you left the Mouth?" She hoped for common ground, and to maybe forget about the awkward blunder on her part, as well as her accusations toward her new friend.

[Luca di Fabro]

Luca listened to every word she said and gave her a smirk back to let her know that he understood. It was time to lighten the mood indeed and he really understood her story about how it felt for her to have a plan that no one believed in. "You know, you basically have every right not to believe me, since I just admitted to be a professional liar. However, what I strongly believe in is that if you have a plan and you yourself have an absolute strong belief in it, then you should just go for it. Don't let anyone stop you. It's better to have tried and failed, then to spend your lifetime wondering why you didn't try."

A smile appeared on his face. "Ahh, my parents." He really wanted to keep the conversation light, but as he hadn't seen his parents in a couple of yahren and he hadn't had time to see them when he escaped the city, that wouldn't be a light subject either. So he decided to talk about them in a different way, hoping Ophelia would catch the subtle hint. He chuckled. "You know, my dad is a blacksmith. So was his father and the father before him. Now, they had always taught my brother the trade too, so when I was old enough, naturally I had to learn it as well." He laughed, remembering his first sword vividly. "So I had been working on my first sword for weeks and weeks, day in, day out and finally it was ready! It didn't look that great of course, but still, I was really proud of it. So I wanted to test it out, and my dad was like, no, no, that would ruin the metal, Luca, why don't you keep that one safe, as a reminder of your first work." His hands were in full gear again, a sign that he was enthousiastic about the story. "Of course, I didn't want that. I wanted to see it in action! So after whining about it the whole day, my dad finally agreed. He held up a sword and I was going to hit it, right? So I step up to him and swing my sword, closing my eyes to hit with all my strength. I head a big CLANG, but when I opened my eyes, all I saw in my hands was pretty much not even half of the sword. The rest lay on the floor broken in pieces. Of course my dad had already realized this when he first saw the sword and he had tried to keep me from breaking it. He looked at me with a really sad face, wondering when I was going to burst out in tears. Surprisingly though, I really saw the fun in it and I busted out in laughter. I was like...sorry dad...I uhm...I don't think I am cut out for this job."

The Mouthie was now laughing out loud, vividly remembering his fathers face. "My father busted out in laughter as well and shook his head. He couldn't agree with me more."

[Guido Cercatoro]

"We'll try the Howling Ice Special. It will be interesting to see what a little place like this has to offer in contrast to the restaurants in Worlds Mouth, the Citadel and Kings Court."

The waiter appeared distinctly unimpressed by his customer’s comments. “The Howling Ice Special it is then. We will see what we can do to entertain the stomachs of two so well travelled as yourselves.” He turned from the table and smiled quietly to himself. I hope they can pay. If not, well Castro won’t be pleased and he is not a man to cross. And I hope they can take their spices…

It was some five burns later when the waiter returned with the first pair of taster dishes. “The Howling Ice Special consists of set of dishes that represent a conceptual journey from here in Pax up into the Mountains. We start with two dishes – one representing the grasslands of the valley and the other the bounty of the River Clearwater.”

He placed the two dishes on the table. One consisted of a plate containing four extremely small fish covered in a peppery smelling sauce. “River’s Bounty: Clearwater sprats, spiced with the chef’s special sauce,” he explained. And the hottest thing you have ever tasted.

The second looked like a plate of soggy, tangled grass. “A selection of edible meadow grasses, lightly flavoured with natural springwater. It does wonders for the complexion, I am told.” Well its certainly natural.

An empty plate was put in front of each of the two diners. They were clearly expected to share the dishes and serve themselves.

“Enjoy,” said the waiter as he departed.

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

Luca deftly switched the subject, but Ophy didn't particularly get the hint. She could, at times, be rather dense on social subjects such as 'beating around the bush'. Instead, she was easily manipulated into believing she'd asked something which could be answered by the Mouthie's description of his father's business and his inadequacy in it. She giggled where appropriate, and would've pushed a bit concerning his leaving of his home city, but she didn't as the waiter arrived and washed away the previous topic with his flourish of description.

Utentsil in hand Ophy went between the small fish and the wet grass, unsure of where to start. She scooped up some of the vegetable to start, and served herself two of the fish ontop of it. Cutting off a piece of the tail end (she wasn't sure how she felt about eating something with a face still attached) and she placed it delicately on her tongue. At first, she got a warm earthy taste - like black pepper, a flavor she was used to. Then, her eyes began to water as soon as she took her first breath.

"Ohh..." She said rudely around the minute mouthful, and managed to swallow. "That's really hot!" Ophelia compensated with the grasses, hoping the cool vegetation would keep her taste-buds intact for the next portions. She chewed violently.

[Luca di Fabro]

It would have been wise to have waited for Ophelia to try some of the food, but with everything that had been going on that day Luca was insanely hungry. If he had been in any other tavern he would have emptied his plate in mere flickers. Not in this establishment though. The food came at a perfect time however and would serve quite well as a distraction.

Luca had always been a real meat person, he didn't really care about the vegetables. So when the waiter came back explaining that it would be fish and vegetables, he felt a slight disappointment. But..a big fat fish can be very nice too, so nothing was lost. Until he actually saw what was on the plates. The Mouthie couldn't resist to lean in to have a closer look at the little tiny fish. This is why I never go to these fancy places. So little food for a big amount of money

Without giving it much further thought he stuck one of the tiny fish in his mouth, gave it a couple of really quick chews and then swallowed the thing. As he ate the first one pretty quickly he didn't really feel anything of the spices. The second little fish was already in his mouth and was ready to be swallowed when Ophelia suddenly warned him about the spiciness of the food. Unfortunately it was way too late. The fish went down his throat and the peppers that were still in his mouth were fully working. The burning sensation spread fast and he too got watery eyes. "Porca puttana!" He almost shouted, "that is insanely hot!!" Without waiting any longer, he emptied his glass of wine hoping that would put out the fire that burned in his mouth all the way into his throat. The wine poured into his throat quite fast and his breathing was much too quick. He almost choked on the wine and now he had watery eyes, his mouth was on fire and he was choking.

His whole head was turning read and he tried to regain his breathing by inhaling and exhaling deeply. wiping the tears from his eyes he looked at Ophy with an almost shocked look. "What the hell did they put on that stuff??"

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

Ophelia watched wide-eyed horror as he gulped at the wine after finishing off not just one, but both of the miniscule fire fish. Oh! You've done it now! She shook her head, even as he swallowed, sputtered, and coughed realizing that his shock was only beginning as wine had a tendency to fuel the flames of good spices. Being Muchislean she'd endured her mother's cooking and had learned young to smother the flavor with whatever else was on her plate.

Biting her lip she had to prevent herself from laughing, but she pointed to the grassy greens. "Eat those," she whispered as they'd managed to draw a deal of undo attention to themselves. There goes any chance of a job here, she thought to herself while shovelling the moist greenery onto his plate. "It'll make the hot go away," she said, still maintaining a quiet tone of mild embarassment both at her inability to recognize the spicy dish and for her comrade's quick fingers. "No need to cry, Lucky..." she said with a disarming smirk.

[Guido Cercatoro]

The waiter stood by the kitchen door, casting a quick glance towards the table he had just served. This will be fun…

Ophelia’s first taste of the peppery fish was quite pleasant; the fish was delicate and tasty. However, after little more than a few flickers, the searing heat of the pepper flamed over her tongue. Fortunately, she was astute enough to quickly take a portion of the grasses into her mouth. The wet grass perfectly balanced the peppery taste, reducing the fieriness of the fish. The end result was delicious.

Luca swallowed a whole fish before the strength of the fish became apparent and the second one was well on its way before Ophelia’s warning gave him pause for thought. Something else that gave him pause was the burning sensation on his tongue, in his throat and down into his stomach. His immediate reaction was to down his glass of wine; however, this gave only temporary relief and the burning sensation returned with increased ferocity. The pain was now so intense that the Mouthie only dimly heard Ophelia’s entreaty to eat the grass.

Daggers of fire rolled across his tongue…burning coals tumbled down his throat….a bonfire blazed in his stomach…

Strangely, through the pain, the thief could vaguely appreciate that the fish was remarkably good. However, his appreciation was only temporary for his stomach had had enough of the fish and unceremoniously shot it up his gullet and deposited it back onto his plate, together with various other undigested items of an indeterminate nature.

The waiter hurried across. “Sorry, sir, I did not realise that you were unaware that the two dishes had to be combined. I thought that someone with your vast culinary experience would know.” The waiter picked up the plate. “I would be happy to provide a replacement, unless you would prefer to move on to your next course.”

[Luca di Fabro]

The grass was in focus and his hands were about to reach for it when his stomach gave the signal that it was beyond saving. There would be no glory here and as the fish went out exactly the way it had come in, Luca saw any chance of him getting lucky that night fly out of the window. Or...straight on his plate.

When the waiter made his quick remark, Luca heard what he said. Oh..he knew exactly what he meant. Now most of his old "friends", if you could call them that, would have felt their Mouthie blood starting to boil right now due the Epic Fail. This was where Luca was different from the regular Mouthie. He knew when he overplayed his cards as a con man. You don't become one of the best over night. There had been many epic failures before. However, he had to admit, this was one of the worst ones. As he wiped off his mouth with a napkin he laughed and coughed at the same time. He gave the waiter a slight nod. "Touche." he coughed. "Please, if you would provide a replacement, that would be highly appreciated." Another cough and an attempt at a grin. "Now that I know that they have to be combined, it would be a shame to have only this memory of this excellent cuisine."

Once the waiter had left, fortunately taking the plate with him, Luca turned to Ophelia. "I'm so sorry. I had absolutely no idea they were that spicy and that the dishes had to be combined. I..hope you can forgive me. This is...rather embarrassing." He tried to read her reaction, hoping she could see the humor in it.

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

It was, indeed, an epic fail. Ophelia turned away squeamishly from the Mouthie's released stomach contents. She was immediately reminded of her own intestinal evacuation directly following the portal and her stomach lurched. She clamped a hand over her abdomen and gave a very uncomfortable facial expression that said more than any words could have. Ophy didn't turn until the waiter had come to claim the plate and offered another round of the hot fish. Luca, surprisingly, insisted to give it another go.

While the server made sure to explain that he thought Luca to be rather unknowledgable in the realm of food, O piped in sharply with: "Then you've obviously never been to World's Mouth, have you, signore?" She borrowed directly from her comrade's dialect, her intonation stolen from her mother. Ophy's nose turned up, but she didn't elaborate on what the servant was missing out on as far as the city-state was concerned.

"Are you apologizing?" She asked with dismay. "It's ok - it's not your fault," those big blue eyes turned all soft and pitying for his display. Ophelia felt bad for the poor guy. In certain circumstances she would've been quite prepared to make some fun at him, but she didn't at first. What she did do was humor him with a smile, that spread as she considered her next words. "Though, you have to admit.. it's quite the story.. I'll have to write a song about how we became such good friends," she giggled. "Over a dinner - twice," she let the idea of it settle in for a flicker before dissolving into squeaky giggles.

[Guido Cercatoro]

"Then you've obviously never been to World's Mouth, have you, signore?" She borrowed directly from her comrade's dialect, her intonation stolen from her mother. Ophy's nose turned up, but she didn't elaborate on what the servant was missing out on as far as the city-state was concerned.

“On the contrary, signorina,” replied the waiter curtly. “I trained for some time in the Mouth; I am somewhat familiar with the cuisine in that part of the world.” He picked up the plate and flounced away, returning a few burns later with two replacement plates of food.

“Here you are, signore. Please remember to combine the dishes.” He gave Luca a condescending smile before departing.

It was only a burn or two later when a second waiter arrived with the second round of dishes. “These represent the providence generated by the forest,” he explained in rather bored monotone.

He deposited three dishes on the table. The first was a plate of thin slices of wild boar; the second, a small dish of a jellied substance that appeared to be made from berries and the third, a plate of assorted mushrooms and fungi. All three dishes looked of fine quality and there were no obvious peppery smells emanating from these dishes. If the two diners ate the dishes they would find them excellent with the berries providing a tangy taste that complemented the flavours of the other dishes. It was becoming clear that this was a very fine establishment indeed.

[Luca di Fabro]

Friends...such good friends... He knew it. There was no going back now. He should be lucky he was in the friends zone at all after this fiasco. But he wasn't. This chica seemed to be not only attractive, but fun as well. But he knew this night was a done deal. He wouldn't be getting lucky tonight. Luca sighed as he took a couple of flickers to regain himself. Finally he managed to give her half a smile. "Yeah...that'll be a great song."

Still not quite himself again, he ate the meal again, this time making sure to combine the two dishes. It actually did taste quite good. The next course had an amazing taste as well. It was that taste that brought some life back into Luca and after he had taken another bite he looked up to Ophelia with honest amazement visible in his eyes. "Porco dio! This stuff really tastes good!" He grinned and leaned in to be able to talk in a softer voice. "I'm starting to wonder about the cost of all this food. How good are you at doing the dishes?" Since he was way into the friends zone tonight, there was no need to keep up appearances and try to be the macho guy anymore. The Mouthie figured he might as well try to control the losses of the evening, financially speaking.

[Guido Cercatoro]

Luca’s dinner companion was uncharacteristically quiet, perhaps concentrating upon her excellent meal. The waiter hovered in the background and quickly replenished any finished dish with a new one until all fourteen courses had been served. The food was of admirable quality.

(OOC: do you want to continue here or wrap this up now most threads have moved on past the recess?)

[Luca di Fabro]

Yeah, sorry for the delays. We can wrap this up!

[Guido Cercatoro]

Locked for skilling and all that malarky...

[Guido Cercatoro]

Archived and skilled