trans_9 | Yesterday's holiday [Semi-open]

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Yesterday's holiday [Semi-open]

An appetizing aroma drifted out of the kitchen of the Susono Inn this afternoon, making its way up to the second floor. Not one that was particularly familiar, for Zouichi, but one Howard might recognize from the time he'd spent before the FAYZ had cut Perdido Beach off from the rest of the world. Though it might not be Thanksgiving anywhere else in the multiverse, Howard had decided it might as well be Thanksgiving now... and he'd coached Zouichi on the basics of the holiday as he remembered them.

[First thread is for residents of the inn only, characters passing by that notice something's up can show up in the second thread]

Zouichi had spent most of the morning setting up for the surprise meal while most of the others were out and Howard, in a gesture of unusual magnanimity, had offered to share some of the food he'd been stockpiling. They'd even found a nice tablecloth to drape over the table in the main hall, upon which each of foods was set: turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin bread -- even some homemade Swedish meatballs for Allenby (they weren't really a Thanksgiving food, apparently, but she'd requested them some time ago).

Of course, many of these had been canned or created from mixes -- easier to store, and much easier to make. But food was food. Now it was just time to wait for everyone else to show up.

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[Time to eat! Or finish stuffing yourself and revel in the age-old tradition of rolling yourself off the table and complaining about how full you are. And so on.]

[On a ship this size, it's hard to keep secrets. But if you make too much noise, someone may throw you off the premises B<.]

Parting with the food was not easy, and Howard still has the feeling that he will flip out on someone if they don't clear their plates. But by the nature of the way they live now, the Inn is now his home - he supposes he has to foster good relationships with the other residents, even if only so they'll cut him some slack when he monopolizes the laundry machines or makes noise at bizarre hours at night.

Besides, pessimistic as he is, he has to admit that right now there are plenty of things to be thankful for. Food, water and relative safety, for one. And with those basic needs satisfied, he can appreciate the more ephemeral blessings in life. He has his cat. He lives somewhere with a level of expected cleanliness. He has a job he enjoys, skill with his hands, and access to an endless supply of media. And he can firmly say he has friends. Friends, plural, as in more than just one who doesn't seem to much like you.

That's worth parting with a meal's worth of food, right?

He hasn't set a table in over a year - much less a table that uses bowls as much as plates - but he starts doing so anyway, without prompting, as he waits for the rest of the residents to meet him at the table.

Also he totally ate all the cranberry sauce already. Sorry, guys.

"Did you eat all the cranberry sauce?" Zouichi asked. That was an entire can, Howard! "Shouldn't you save some room for... things that are not cranberry sauce?"

Not that Zouichi will really miss it, since he's not too keen on all this eating stuff, but the other people here might have liked some.

"You're underestimating how much I can put away." He does look a bit sheepish, though. "Look, no one really likes cranberry sauce anyway. It's just something people pretend to like because it's traditional. And I left potatoes for people, so it's not like I'm being selfish or anything."

He looks around the table. "This is nice, though. Are you going to eat anything?"

It was ~~almost~~ cartoonish the way Allenby reacted when she walked into the Inn. One: stop dead. Two: tilt nose forty-five degrees upward. Three: follow the delicious, delicious smells.

Howard really didn't need to worry about leftovers happening.

Her face broke into a huge smile when she walked in. "Oh, wow! This is just amazing! You even got Swedish meatballs!" She flung herself at both of them. "Did you guys both cook all this?"

Zouichi had been carrying the last of the food to the table, so Allenby caught him by surprise. "I helped," he said a little mischievously, "But it's really Howard you have to thank."

And the answer to Howard's question was probably that he'd eat a little, but not much; this was mostly for the people who could appreciate the change of pace.

"Zou did all the cooking. I'd burn pasta." Or probably give up and eat it raw. "I just donated."

It just warm his cold little heart just a little to see Allenby excited.

Capping off Cedric's bad week, he happened to catch a whiff of a strange odor on his way back through the City. Was it...garbage? No. Residue? No.

It had been so long since he'd smelled anything like it that it took some moments to identify what it really was: food, honest home-cooked food. Not the slop they were expected to eat (that he sometimes tried to improve with magic), but real food.

It was extremely tempting.

With a scavenged hat pulled tightly over his ears in an attempt to hide his bald head, he peeked inside the window. Just a peek couldn't hurt, right?

Since Zouichi wasn't distracted by the food, he was the first to notice what looked like a high-school age boy at the window, peering inside. He raised his hand in a brief wave, then came over, opening the window to talk to Cedric.

...Wait, what was up with that hat? Cedric looked like he'd been victimized by an overeager hairdresser.

"Hi. Looking for something?"

Howard, on the other hand, only distracted from licking a plate that formerly held potatoes because Zouichi actually walked over to the window to open it, just comes right out and points out what Cedric is clearly trying to hide. "What happened to your hair?"

And God, Cedric, you need a better hat. Howard wipes stray potato from his face and looks over at Zou as if just expecting Zouichi would ask his input on whether or not Cedric should be allowed to partake in their meal. "He can come in."

Thanks, Howard.

"My first mission happened. I was ordered to lose it to stay in the competition. Just about everyone who was there had to have their hair damaged in some way."

He smiles at Zouichi rather awkwardly. "I heard noises. I wanted to see if everyone was all right." Liar. He smells food, which is why he looks hopeful when Howard vouches for him.

"Congratulations on your first mission," Zouichi said dryly. "You're in good company. The door's around to your right; just come around and walk in."

Sheesh, Howard, he'll buy you some potatoes next shore leave, okay?

High in the sky, Cassie flew, trying to lose herself in the sheer joy that came with flight. As she flew over the Inn though, she noticed that there seemed to be something going on inside. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she tucked her wings and dove down, landing on a nearby post that looked large enough to support the weight of her osprey morph and took a few minutes to just watch.

There was definitely something happening inside, although she couldn't really make out what was going on in the Inn without getting closer even with an osprey's eyes. Finally caving, she took flight again and headed for a dark corner where she could demorph.

Human again, Cassie wandered back, although she hesitated outside the door, not wanting to go where she might not be welcome.

From inside the sliding doors at the entrance of the inn came a brightly-colored parroty face, peering out through a nearby window. Alan made a clicking noise. "Hi. Hi. Hi. Hey."

Yes please, Zou.

Howard barely resists pointing out that on their first mission, Zouichi had to wear a maid outfit. "Oh, what an awful sacrifice. Your poor hair. Your poor weird-shaped head."

Not that Cedric has a weird-shaped head, but teasing people is totally in Howard's wheelhouse, and Cedric's just going to have to put up with it if he wants food.

"Zou, your birdlar alarm's going off!" Howard calls from the table.

Edited 2011-11-23 22:53 (UTC)

"I'm going to fix it as soon as I remember the spell," Cedric grumbles, "but thank you."

Luckily, the door's easy to find! It's just about the only thing that's come easily to him this week. He slips into their...whatever this place is, looking high and low.

"What is this place?"

"The Susono Inn," Zouichi said, closing the door behind Cedric. "It's an old Japanese ryokan. A couple of us decided to take up residence here -- watch your step."

Zouichi made his way down the hardwood floors of the inner hallway, entering the main hall proper and pulling out a chair at the large rectangular table there, which was still covered with an impressive Thanksgiving spread. "Sit down and help yourself. And tell us about your mission, if you like."

"Zou lets me stay here because he likes my cat," Howard chimes in, before rushing back to his seat at the table. He doesn't quite hide the grimace when Zouichi invites Cedric to help himself, but he is interested to figure out what competition required people to be shaved bald. "And it's not 'if you like'. Humiliating mission stories is an entry fee."

Allenby plunked herself down in one of the chairs and looked at the spread, wondering what to go for first. She settled on grabbing a little bit of everything, particularly the meatballs. "Well you're both fantastic. Man, there's nothing like real actual food."

She tilted her head back to look up at them. "So is there any occasion for this or didja just feel like having a real nice dinner?"

"The what?" said Allenby, looking up from turning her mashed potatoes into Crater Lake. But that was Alan chattering away to someone. "Heya, who's there?"

Zouichi was more or less content to just sip some tea while the others ate. "Howard mentioned a holiday called Thanksgiving. Apparently the current purpose of the holiday is to eat as much as possible without injuring yourself."

Yep. That's what he came away with. "I'm not too familiar with it, but it's probably best that it only happens once a year."

Zouichi got up and went to investigate what it was that had set Alan to chattering again. He found the parrot perched up on a window near the sliding doors of the entrance, before which there was... a teenaged girl? He didn't recall ever seeing her before.

He slid open the doors, regarding her with some curiosity. "Yes?"

Howard actually blushes just a little when Allenby calls them 'fantastic'. It's not an adjective usually attached to him.

"Yeah, that's the basic point." Howard's not really going to bother correcting Zou on that one. "And giving thanks or something. Seems kind of self-explanatory."

He glances back at the table. "So should we wait for Jr. or...?"

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Yesterday's holiday [Semi-open]

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