Dancing Fox Inn X: Four Left Paws

[Deathkeeper]

Nick garbles out something along the lines of "glad I don't have to worry" as he tears into the roasted pheasant he ordered. Rather voraciously.
This actually has nothing to do with his griffin body (okay, maybe breaking the bones to get at the marrow is). He really just has terrible table manners. Wasteland society really doesn't teach that.
"I guess that's...sort of what our Vault 69 was? I only heard rumors; it might have been a joke." he says with a shrug of his non-existent shoulders before going back into munching.

[Rebonack]

Nick might have just shrugged his wings without thinking about it.

Wings are pretty decent for shrugging!

And that poor pheasant... It didn't know what hit it.

Geneva, by contrast, seems to have pretty decent table manners. Not that big of a surprise, given that she grew up in a Vault/Stable that was still sealed to the outside world. She has seen how other people eat out in the Wasteland, so it isn't any huge shock to her.

Hmmm...

That comment Nick made, though...

"Oh, there was another sapient species on your Earth that humans could hybridize with? I guess that isn't too much of a surprise given the different tribes of humans that I've seen around the Nexus. They're called Elves, right? A tribe of humans that are really long lived? Was that the other race in your Stable 69, or was it something else?"

[Deathkeeper]

Nick shakes his head.
"No, rumor has it that the vault was purposely filled with ninety-nine percent one gender and only a handful of the other. The idea wasn't so much a breeding program as an experiment to see if the people would successfully make their own to survive. The Vaults were screwed up."

[Rebonack]

"Oh..." Geneva mutters. "That kind of population couldn't possibly be viable..."

Even if one male DID mate with ninety nine females, the genetic diversity issue would still raise its head in just a few generations and doom the population. Surely the humans who made these Vaults would have known that, right?

"I think I liked my idea more," she grumbles as she polishes off her meal.

[Deathkeeper]

Nick shrugs his wings.
"I dunno. Just a rumor. But no, only humans back home. It's a lot more boring that way, but I guess it does make some things simpler."
He wipes his beak with a napkin and leans back into he seat, having finished his meal.

[Rebonack]

Geneva begins fishing out little silver coins to pay for her meal. They're so tiny! But each has a precise weight and it makes it pretty easy to figure out how many she needs to pay with since silver (typically) has a pretty consistent value in the Nexus.

Paying with fiat currency just gets confusing, though it seems like a lot of places still take it.

"I can imagine living in a world with only one sapient race. After all, I grew up in a Stable of nothing but hippogriffs. It was really strange getting out into the Wasteland and seeing a pony for the first time."

She doesn't go into detail about her first meeting with a pony.

It was somewhat traumatic...

"Well! I think we're good here. If you like we can head Outside and I can show you some magical basics? The really simple stuff usually comes pretty quickly. And since you're obviously an adult you won't have to worry about waiting for your feathers growing in like a young griffin."

Flight is pretty dodgy at a young age, after all.

[Deathkeeper]

Nick nods. "Ah, okay. Sounds good." he says simply.
Mist of course will take his pay with a smile and a friendly "come again" that is expected of waiters.

[Rebonack]

And thus on to the next leg of the adventure!

Geneva collects her rifle from the weapon drop area and heads Outside!

[ThirdEmperor]

The fact that the angel has a very piercing stare is unlikely too help. It's like she's staring into his very soul. Any who knows, maybe she is?

"No, water alone will suit me fine. I appreciate your offer." She nods to Mist, indicating that will be all.

That definitely doesn't help any. Normal people's staring is enough to make him want to run, and she's a divine guilt trip personified and dropped on him from on high. The Burglar fidgets, and seizes upon conversation to fill the space with something besides being looked at.

"So, uhm, you don't eat or drink or anything? Er, 'you' being angels, just in general." Seems a bit bleak and joyless, really. "How do you pass the time? Is it really all, I dunno, all charity, good deeds, and uh, healing the sick and doing miracles and whatever else?" And that seems really bleak to him, working without so much as a lunch break.

[5a Violista]

Harley Zorzo, Evil Shapeshifter, comes into the Dancing Fox Inn and walks up to the bar. "Hey, do you have any poisons that cause euphoria, muscle and decision-making impairment, possible memory loss, and confusion?" she asks. "If it also causes nausea, that's a plus."

[Deathkeeper]

Mist blinks.
"If you're talking about alcohol in an abstract way, yes. If you're talking about anything else, no." he says in response to the new lady.

[5a Violista]

"Oh," says Harley. She blinks. Looks like they don't have it. "Just alcohol, then. Enough to cause memory loss."

She sits and keeps her mind moving across everything around her, not focusing on any specific thing too much. Idling her mind on one thought would bring it to the dim and fading orb in her hand.

[Deathkeeper]

Mist flicks his ears. "Uh, anything...specific?" he asks.
((I have no idea what that second part is saying.))

[5a Violista]

((It is saying nothing worth understanding, just that Harley looks around the room.))

"No, just generic stuff, please." She doesn't actually know enough about alcoholic drinks to know a specific one. I don't think she's ever actually drank onscreen so far, in all the time she's been a character.

[Deathkeeper]

Mist shrugs and set down a bottle of whiskey and a glass.
"Don't kill yourself." he says simply, a little confused.

[Gullara]

That definitely doesn't help any. Normal people's staring is enough to make him want to run, and she's a divine guilt trip personified and dropped on him from on high. The Burglar fidgets, and seizes upon conversation to fill the space with something besides being looked at.

"So, uhm, you don't eat or drink or anything? Er, 'you' being angels, just in general." Seems a bit bleak and joyless, really. "How do you pass the time? Is it really all, I dunno, all charity, good deeds, and uh, healing the sick and doing miracles and whatever else?" And that seems really bleak to him, working without so much as a lunch break.

"When we eat it is a grand feast after a long hunt. It is the only sustenance I require." The angel says. "There are many ways my days are filled. Hunts as I mentioned. Battle with the evils of the world, whether with my spear or my word. I have protected the mortals of my home world from great beasts, or more often from a poor harvest. Do not think my life so bleak because I often choose to live it for others."

[5a Violista]

"Can't promise anything," Harley replies.

She stares at the drink. Oh, right. Money. People like being paid. She hands over her payment for the drink.

Harley pours the whiskey into the glass, and then leans against the bar, with her chin on her arms. She stares at the beverage, almost as if she was from a parallel universe where you have staring contests with alcohol to get drunk.


Edit: (to not double post)

After a couple hours, she sighs and gets up. She walks away from the bar, leaving the full glass untouched.

[Recaiden]

"And here we are!"

Comes a voice that might be recognizable as Leah from just outside the door.

"The Dancing Fox Inn! Contains no actual dancing foxes."

The door is then opened and held for the pair of vulpans following her. Leah herself carefully peeks into the in, scanning the room with clear trepidation.

[Fenric]

Frederick looks around

It looks nice. There's a pub called the Sleepy Elf back home that's kinda like this.

[Ionbound]

Helen nods and says, "Yeah, it's pretty nice here. I think it's probably the best one in the Nexus."

[Deathkeeper]

And so of course Mist comes to welcome the new people.
"Hello again Fred, hiya Leah! Can I show you guys to a seat?" he offers.
Mist is still quite clearly wearing the necklace Leah gave him.

[Recaiden]

"Heya Mist!"
Leah at least sounds happy, and a smile has crept onto her face.
Though there are a number of things running through her head. The necklace being one of them; nice that he still is wearing it. Or again; it's been a while, hasn't it? Also everyone one else in this conversation is a fox person. At least they all speak Nexusian.

"And this here is Helen. They were here about renting rooms, actually, but I think a table would be nice for now?"
She glances to Helen and Frederick, apparently to make sure that they don't object, although given how indecisive they are, she's sure that they won't.

[Fenric]

Frederick smiles and nods to Mist

Hi, Mist! How's it been?

And sure, Leah, a table would be fine.

[Ionbound]

Helen nods and says, "Just a table for now would be good, yes."

[Deathkeeper]

Mist's ears twitch a bit as Leah introduces Helen. No one ever seems to value their humanity, do they? Ah, well. Don't say anything.
"Well, okay. For now, here you are. Can I get you anything?" he says, showing them to a table.

[Recaiden]

Oh yes, they know each other. Wonder how he feels about the change. It might only have been from that one trip into the underground.

Leah follows Mist and takes a seat. Get them something? Stock waiterly phrase, not a mean joke.
"Same as I always get."
That is to say, nothing.

"Unless there's been a change of the menu? "

[Fenric]

Frederick smiles

Can I get a cup of green tea?

[Ionbound]

Helen nods and says, "Can I have a soda?" She seems to still think she has a sweet tooth, though she'll probably be in for a nasty surprise when she actually drinks it.

[Deathkeeper]

Mist nods sadly. "I'm sorry, Leah. Still nothing that you can get down. One green tea, then. Cola, seltzer, or something specific, Helen?" for just a moment he pauses at the name, as if his brain hasn't connected the two quite yet.

[Recaiden]

Leah looks mock-disappointed for a moment before smiling.
"I know. Don't fret over it. I've had plenty recently."