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 Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 4:52 pm
Well, she relentlessly teased Penrose about being fishnchipsexual, but she figured it was probably time to actually try some.
Lia grabbed the door to the pub they headed to for dinner, Chips-n-Things, located downtown, and already she was greeted by a cozy pub atmosphere and most importantly---the smell of good food. Plus, she figured it'd probably be a good idea to update Pen on the disastrous event Dimitri, Mason and herself went to. The head wound she had received was almost healed up---thanks, speedy healing!---but underneath her usual bandana was a tiny lump from where she had a gauze pad pressed against it still.
She held the door open for the man, gesturing for him to go in first.
"So not the same as home, but the best you found here in the city, yeah?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 6:35 pm
Penrose stood in the doorway of Chips-n-Things for a moment and just closed his eyes and breathed in the all-too-familiar scents that were now wafting towards him. Crispy, beer battered fish, sizzling fries, a hint of lemon and vinegar...
"Now this," he said, opening his eyes again and stepping in so that Lia could actually come inside too. "This is perfection."
Penrose slid an arm around Lia's waist and gestured dramatically at their surroundings. He would have put it around her shoulders, but she was like six inches taller than him or something and so he couldn't quite reach without making it awkward and they had more important things to do.
Like eat fish. And chips.
"Yes, I've eaten here twice now and it's been marvelous both times." Penrose dropped both of his arms and found them a seat at a small, wooden table, dragging out his chair and flopping in. "This is exactly what we both need after such an ordeal, wouldn't you agree?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 8:21 pm
Lia laughed at the proclamation. "Man, that's some high praise right there." A tanned arm came up to briefly rest around Penrose's shoulders as the man gestured in return, and when it dropped from her waist she let go of him as well to follow. "That's bomb. I'm stoked!" The woman pulled out the chair across from him, and took a seat herself. She reached to look at some of the condiment bottles at their little table, lips pulling up deeply at one side of her mouth. "If you're talking about the free training, I thought it was fun." She paused for a moment, and then couldn't help but laugh and grin. "My bad, it was fun for me. I wasn't the one who got a boot planted into my ribs." The woman looked up from perusing the bottles when a waiter approached, greeting them and dropping off menus. When asked what they'd like to drink, Lia responded with a Coke, and then took to looking the menu over. It was rather small...given the nature of the dish, and that was totally fine with Lia. Simple was pretty awesome a lot of the time. Fish & Chips was the way to go, considering that was the specialty. No chicken here!
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Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 7:14 am
"Look, it's hard to find a good place for some good food when you're not in London," said Penrose, as Lia sat down across from him. "There's not a load of options here, you've got to make do with what you have. Granted," he said, holding out his hands, "There's nothing that beats a good London meal, but I'll make do."
He'd only been in the states a few years. American food took a bit of getting used to, after all. Penrose' head tilted up as the waitress came by, getting himself a bottle of beer; might as well do the thing properly. Beer battered fish and chips went well with beer - that was the whole point.
He made a face at Lia. "Listen, I wasn't expecting that..." He waved a hand. "Whoever he was, to come waltzing in and kick me. Did you recognize him at all? I don't think I've ever seen him before."
Not that he knew really anyone, but that was beside the point.
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Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:54 am
"Nah, I get that. Good food just isn't the same when you're not at home." Their drink orders off to be completed, Lia answered the question. "I didn't." The woman leaned on the table, rested on both of her arms, crossing them front of her. "To be honest, I haven't seen a lot of generals, period, since our team formed." There'd been the one who helped Captain Annabergite bring her into the Negaverse, and a few here and there for quota turn ins and what not, but aside from that? Nadda. "Guess we're pretty efficient, yeah? No one feels the need to come micromanage us right, eh?" She grinned at the waitress as their drinks were brought, thanking, and when asked if they were ready to order, Lia went ahead for it. "Yeah, I'd like three orders of the fish and chips, please!" The waitress jotted it down, and was about to turn and leave, except Lia called back to her. "Oh, hey, wait! My friend hasn't ordered yet!" She turned back, looking surprised, and Lia just grinned, unapologetic. "Yeah, those are all for me."
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Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 11:29 am
Penrose tapped a finger against the table, resting his forearm across it like the gadabout he was that didn't care about proper restaurant etiquette. "I haven't either. Obviously we have our own little crew here, and I'm quite happy with that - but he seemed the sort to know what he was doing. I get the feeling he's been around a while. Perhaps he's a little..."
He made a circling gesture next to his head with one finger. "You never know."
There was a clink of glass on wood as their drinks were deposited. Penrose plucked up the beer and took a swig, nearly snorting it out at the waitress' expression. His own hadn't changed, if only because he knew perfectly well just how much Lia ate on her own, and he put down the bottle with a grin.
"One order for me, thanks," he said, and the waitress went off, looking slightly confused. Penrose looked over at Lia again, eyebrows raised, but then he said curiously,
"Do you think we're supposed to have a general? Do teams generally have them?"
The prospect of having one wasn't particularly pleasant; Penrose liked their little team just fine as it was.
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Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 12:12 pm
Lia laughed. "Hey---that might be us when we get to that stage." That General had the air about him of someone who had been in a while and seen some s**t. She grabbed the Coke when it was brought, taking a big swig of the beverage. She made eye contact with the man, brows raising on her own face when it was clear he was about to ask her something. Lia hummed with her lips on the glass, taking another drink and downing half the glass before putting it down again. "Probably." She answered, honestly. "And yeah, they do. Other teams I've heard about have a General they fall under. Their commanding officer. When members of that team reach General as well, they branch out and form their own teams too." Lia waggled her fingers at the man. "That umbrella hierarchy formation, yo." While Edenite was their de facto leader, when it boiled down to it, they as a team operated on a mutual respect and trust for one another. It was equal, and she honestly loved that. None of them had more power over one than the other. It, to her, was working together in the truest sense of the word. "But if we keep our heads down and do what we're supposed to as officers, maybe higher ups will keep leaving us be---at least until one of us gets promoted anyways. Just for the sake of appearances." She grinned a bit. If one of them hit Captain and their CO was ever called into question then...they had a good scapegoat.
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Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 10:51 am
"I'm pretty sure Dimitri's already at that stage," Penrose deadpanned, taking another swig of beer. "That bloke's definitely got some screws loose, if you ask me."
He didn't like the idea of having some nameless general being assigned to them. They were already a fully functioning unit (well, mostly); they didn't need someone stepping in and messing things up for them, not when they already had everything going well as it was. They weren't like other teams, and that was good; that was better, in fact.
Penrose leaned back again, tapping his fingers against the side of his bottle. "I certainly hope so. I think we're all doing just dandy on our own, wouldn't you say? We don't need anyone to come marching in all high and mighty just because they're a higher rank. We know how to do things."
And they did them well, for that matter, even if Dimitri sometimes needed a good kick in the pants. Penrose mulled over this for a few minutes, brows drawn together in thought as the waitress came over, arms laden with baskets. She deposited them down onto the table, gave them both a slightly strange look, and left.
Penrose reached for a chip and popped it into his mouth. "Who do you think will hit captain first, then, do you reckon?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 1:29 pm
"Buuut Di wouldn't throw any of us into something like that if it had the potential to harm one of us." Lia also, honestly, didn't agree with the idea that their clown had some screws loose. That implied a randomness---things and actions done with no reason or intention. The man was acutely aware of his actions and intentions, and went the opposite direction to oppose a lot of actions and intentions. Deliberate. Lia didn't comment further on it, and just smiled. "I do say, and as long as we keep doing what we do." When their food was brought, the woman's expression lit up, and she thanked the waitress as she pulled one of the baskets closer to her. "Yeah, okay, these look good and smell good." She grabbed one of the nearby condiment bottles and doused a hearty helping of the stuff onto her fries and fish. She then stuffed her mouth with a few fries, and looked at Penrose and, yes, talked with her mouthful. "Honestly?" She started, "I think Di might---I'm getting up there, too---not sure where you're at though?" The way her brows rose as she stuffed more french fries in said he should tell her.
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Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 2:25 pm
"True," Penrose conceded, "He's one of us. He might be a bit odd and frankly terrifying sometimes, but he wouldn't turn his back on us. Just like we wouldn't turn on him, either," he added, because this was perfectly true. They were a ridiculous and strange little bunch of people, but at the same time, they were each other's people.
He ate another few chips and then reached for his fork, jabbing it into the nearest piece of fish. Lia had a whole fishtank in front of of her of food practically, but since that was entirely normal, Penrose didn't even think twice on it, instead just adding liberal amounts of vinegar and lemon to his plate.
It did smell divine. Penrose was starving. "I'm nowhere close, I don't think," he said, flashing a grin across the table at Lia. He stabbed at a chunk of fish and put it in his mouth, savoring the buttery crunch, the soft texture of the fish, the familiar taste of it all. "You know me. I just go at my own pace."
He ate another bite. "Captain Lyonsite," he said, keeping his voice relatively low to avoid being overheard, but the music was loud enough around them to mostly prevent potential eavesdroppers. "Has a nice ring to it, I think. And Captain Penikisite too," Penrose added, just in fairness.
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Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 2:40 pm
Seeing the man add lemon reminded her to add lemon to her fish as well, and she did so. When another waiter walked by, Lia quickly waved him down to ask for a bowl of lemon slices. A big one. She thanked the guy with a grin, and also did not practice Penrose's civility as she just grabbed a piece of fish with her fingers and tore into it. " Mmmmmmmmm." She hummed happily with her mouthful. "So. Good." She was silent for a moment before she swallowed what she had. "You're alright, Pen." She informed the man with a cheeky grin, and took another bite. Lia nodded her head in reply to his promotion status, and then snorted. "That's too fancy, and it's just a title. I always just want to be Lyon." She shoveled a few more pieces of fish and fries into her mouth. "I'm excited for the teleporting." Like Penrose, she kept her tone down, and was thankful for the sound cluttered atmosphere. "Better weapon too." It was interesting to think what Di would be even more capable of once he had his promotion as well. A teleporting clown. Truly he'd be IT. The thought made her snort, amused, and after a moment, she decided she'd just broach the topic. "Anyone fill you in on that outrageous black tie event last week?" When the waiter came back with a bowl of lemon slices, Lia thanked him with another grin.
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Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 7:38 pm
Penrose would have said see? I was right but his mouth was currently full of delicious food, and so he merely gestured at her with a fork, his expression saying what his mouth couldn't. He cut off another piece of haddock and chewed, feeling pretty damn good about everything.
"Thanks," he said, swallowing. he grinned across the table at Lia. "You're all right too. I suppose," he added, just to be cheeky."
A part of Penrose wished it was always this easy to get along with people, but maybe he was just destined to be stuck with the circus for the rest of his life. There was nothing wrong with this, as a matter of fact; Penrose thought actually he'd be pretty satisfied if that was the outcome, as long as he got to see Nevada too, because there was no way he was leaving his best friend behind.
"Oh, bloody hell yes, give me a better weapon," Penrose said, shuddering. "The stupid wand, I have no idea what to do with it."
His brows lifted at the rest of the question, however. "The what? The black tie event? What black tie event?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 6:34 pm
Lia polished off one basket, set it to the side, and grabbed another one. She squeezed a bunch of lemon slices over the fish and finished preparing the basket by grabbing another condiment bottle and laying it on top. "Yeah---I'm curious to see where that goes." She replied with a grin in regards to his weapon. She popped some fish into her mouth, chewing, as her brows lifted before lowering. "Oh---" She said with her mouth full again before swallowing. Well, she couldn't say she was surprised that Mason or Dimitri hadn't brought it up yet. "I dunno if you got an invitation in the mail for an event celebrating the music and the arts? Well, I did, so I dragged Di along as my date for the evening because I wanted to see what the fancy stuff was all about, yeah? Baby Mason was there too, with his girlfriend, and things were going alright---right up until we moved to a different room and then---" Here, Lia's nose wrinkled a bit. "We--- all of us---got this entire lifetime of alternate memories stuffed into our heads. I'm not kidding you, Pen---" Lia fixed him with a look, just in case he wanted to get cheeky in that moment. "Memories of being apart of a legit circus, and I could feel everything from that lifetime. It was flip flopping between that life and the real one---and then a youma attacked us all. Di and Mace suited up and went and fought off another one---and once it was defeated the effect lessened, but all the memories are still there." After, she went on to explain to the man a bit about what Mason had told her. About how there was a General who had done this kind of illusion work once before, but he was presumed deceased now. "It was outrageous." Lia concluded, stuffing her mouth with more fries. "You might be lucky you weren't there."
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Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 9:12 pm
As Lia started on her second basket, Penrose was still meticulously working on his first. He still had two more pieces of fish left and a heap of fries, and he ate food the same way he did everything else - with a certain amount of sleepy laziness, as though moving too fast was an effort he didn't really want to expend right then and there.
Penrose was squinting at her. He seemed to be contemplating the whole sordid tale with a certain amount of concentration and interest that eventually led him to ask the most important of all questions:
"Wait. You brought Dimitri along as your date?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 9:29 pm
Lia actually paused in demolishing her second basket to stare back at Penrose. Both brows lifted towards her bandana as she stared. She had expected a number of other questions from the man---except that one. "Uh...yeah?" She replied, the answer turning into a question at the end because why would he ask that? "We're friends and he's who I patrol with the most---" The woman paused, and then orange eyes narrowed a bit at he man. " Why do you sound surprised?" What Penrose didn't need to know, and would not know, was the depth in which Mason's, Dimitri's and her dynamics got tangled that night. Lia was still working really hard on keeping what she felt in that life contained and not letting it run rampant in this one. Things needed to move forward naturally---well, as naturally as they could. That person was her, but that personal also was not her, and they were not the same lives.
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