this is the world that we live in

[somebadnews]

WHO: Five, Allison, Diego, Wrath, and Emilia
WHEN: Mid-June-ish / before the plot rolls
WHERE: the Pariah
WHAT: hero dinner party
WARNINGS: language, whatever else I'll edit in

The bar was set low. Five, for one, was initially just happy to be away from that cursed village and sailing literally anywhere else. In the days after, they had to deal with a militia, possible compulsions from the undead, truly disturbing nightmares, and at some point he was hexed by a talking fish. All that's to say, that they decided they needed to take advantage of the first calm night to at least pretend that they're pointed in a better direction.

They almost certainly aren't, but here's hoping shit can stay calm for an hour or two.

The empty room they found isn't in perfect condition, and they don't have a table as much as plank spread on top of two barrels, but by Five's standards it's perfectly serviceable. On one end, a few bottles of rum, and next to it a bowl of oranges and some salted meats. It's not exactly the hero's dinner that Diego probably deserved after managing to kill one of the undead warlords, but even Five agreed that they should do something to mark the occasion with the few people who really understood what happened. Allison still hasn't seemed like herself since the volcano, and so he did his part to handle the arrangements, such as they were.

Extending the invitation to Wrath and Emilia seemed to make it more than just a family gathering, and he figured they'd all played some part in helping them get this far. He even had the idea to invite Hermione along, but it turned out that she decided to make a second home in the brig. Which is a shame, she could have probably waved her stick and made this all look more impressive, but Five doesn't have the patience to keep breaking everyone out of jail, especially once he decides they're probably safer staying there.

It's not exactly his forte, but an unusual amount of effort was made. Getting this far wasn't easy, and he's trying to... be the older brother here. He wants to show that he's fine. They're all doing okay, and he still has this under control. As long as Wrath doesn't out him in front of everyone, or they decide to ambush him over his memories. They've earned a break. He doesn't even bitch about the wolves occupying the limited space. They've just become part of the family now, and he's going to have to accept that.

As informal as this is, he stands at the head of the table with his head down, gripping the back of a stool and looking like he's taking the whole thing more seriously than he should. It's ridiculous to give a speech, but he feels the urge to say something here.

"I would have liked to wait to do this until we could have better scenery, but I don't have a lot of confidence in where we're headed. I gotta say that I didn't know that we were going to make it out of there." He only looks up to see that they're listening to him, and he glances at each of them around the room as he takes a breath.

"And my brother... Diego, somehow, you did something right. Something I couldn't do, and that's worth celebrating." He clears his throat and grabs the nearest bottle to pour himself a cup to raise in salute. Then he gestures to the table. "So take a seat. Enjoy the oranges."

Compliments don't come naturally to him, and he feels awkward after he's done. It doesn't make up for everything, but at least he was sincere. He'll just avoid any further socializing until he finishes his drink.

Comments

[valeas]

This is no Sea&Vine.

Much less is it the bustling kitchen at House Wrath, in which Emilia had a fully equipped greenhouse adjacent to it and everyone on staff ready to secure anything she wished. But there is food, and so it means wonders can be worked.

Her hands are all but ovens at this point, anyhow. And Wrath finds knife work very soothing, so he helps.

She sets her contributions down on the plank-turned-table: a fine wine that she and Allison secured back in Taravast, chilled by Wrath's hands and sweetened with the sugared peels of the oranges she used to make their dessert, a citrus meringue pie. Some fresh rustic bread and berry marmalades, too, to pair with the cheese and meats. There.

"So long as the man of the hour doesn't let it go to his head," Emilia says, the small lilt to her voice teasing.

[rumorate]

"Oh, he most certainly will."

Her tone is clearly teasing, because she is here to celebrate him and not trying to downplay his achievements. But everything goes to Diego's head, for better or worse. Even if she doesn't understand what some of them are.

(What is the Infinite Switchboard? She still doesn't want to know.)

Five isn't wrong that she still isn't quite herself. She's evening out, but the constant whisper of ghosts off the boat doesn't seem to be helping matters. But she's an actress, so she's gotten good at faking it till she makes it. This time, she's mostly playing up her energy levels, but her affection is genuine.

"But this was a pretty big win." She nudges Diego's shoulder. "Not bad."

[inferus]

Wrath has not attended a dinner party since Taravast, and they were playing particular roles there, which was familiar enough to him. Before that, all the dinner parties he attended were in Hell, which have an altogether very different atmosphere to them. Here he assisted Emilia in dinner preparations beforehand, enjoying his time in the kitchen with her more than he ever anticipated enjoying time in a kitchen. Now they are all enjoying said-dinner without ulterior motives against one another nor brazen sexual acts or carnage or other displays of sin set out as decoration.

What a strange and different environment to find himself in. He reaches for the wine from Emilia, hand brushing against her own in the process, and then pours the rest of the goblets, starting with his wife's Emilia's, then Allison's, then Diego's, and finally, his own (since Five already poured himself a cup - politeness is a thing among demon princes).

"To a sufficient kill," This is a compliment from Wrath, yes (he did say that Emilia and him were 'well suited enough' after all), "And to the destruction of the remaining undead warlords, which will follow."

Wrath raises his own glass in toast.

[gladiokinesis]

Diego honestly feels like he should be worried about Five if he's doing something this nice. Either he's up to something or something is seriously wrong -- and Diego's not sure which of those situations he would prefer. But it's also just....nice. Diego's not used to anyone really recognizing when he does something right, but especially not Five.

Five didn't even think he was good enough for the Commission. He had underestimated him then, and a part of him feels like he has here too. Which is why when he says "Thanks", even though he means everyone, he looks at his brother.

Until he then turns to look over at Wrath, smirking a little.

"See? This guy gets it."

[somebadnews]

Five is already halfway through his drink when Wrath toasts, and he finishes it off at the tail end of all the glass raising. It isn't a race, but this whole thing will come off more naturally if he parts ways with sobriety as quickly as possible.

It's all he can do to celebrate Diego's victory and not berate him for wanting to immediately go after the other warlords. Generally he likes Wrath, but he could have warned him about putting ideas in his brother's head. Not to mention the awkward complication that is Anurr and the finger Five keeps on his person in case their sea adventure goes awry.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We won this time, but I wouldn't call what we have a track record of success." His smile is tight when he looks back at Diego, and he just manages to restrain himself from calling him lucky. Mostly because he's still baffled that he managed to pull it off while Five barely made it out of that volcano with Allison. There's some details he's still missing of the story that bother him.

When he goes to refill his glass he finally takes notice of how the table filled out. Is that a pie? "...I didn't know they had an actual kitchen on board."

[valeas]

It is indeed no race, but Emilia is assembling a rather impressive plate for herself. Her family used to tease her, claiming their magic burned a constant stream of energy that needed replenishing, and it was good they worked a trattoria.

There must have been some truth to it, however. She's never used so much of her magic, not until now. Largely because she's never had full access to it, but still. She is ravenous, and looks up to find Five already refilling his glass.

"There's a canteen of sorts. The conditions are far from suitable, but I've found it an interesting place to be. Some people are a little more talkative," she says. Not her fault if she ends up overhearing something or other.

Motioning to her contributions, she adds, "Please help yourselves. They were prepared by me, with Wrath's assistance."

[rumorate]

"It smells delicious," Allison nods, reaching for her plate and starting to gather a little bit of everything. It seems like forever since they've had a good meal and she intends to savor it.

"And I think our track record is improving regardless. Seems like we're starting to figure this world out."

Instead of, you know, smashing everything in front of them. Not that Taravast didn't deserve to be burned to the ground in some respects, but sometimes it's better to figure out another way when they can.

[inferus]

Wrath does not yet reach for a plate of his own, allowing the others to gather their food first. He does take another long sip from the glass in his hand. It does all smell delicious, and he does not like mortal food in general but Emilia's food has always been the exception, however. He watches as she fills her plate with some hidden warmth within the dark of his eyes before he looks over at Allison.

As much as he'd like to agree that their track record is improving, he knows it could easily be knocked off course again.

"It seems it all becomes entirely dependent on who is in the group. No one made especially reckless choices in the village - not like when two of our own stole the blackmail weapons in Taravast for themselves."

There was little more they could have done about the political situation in Taravast, but at least the ritual sacrifice of servants came to an end and the arrogant, prideful man could no longer cheat death.

[gladiokinesis]

Allison might plan on savoring it but Diego? Well as soon as food is on his plate he starts shoveling it into his face. He's not quite as bad as Luther would be....the key words being as bad. It's still....kinda slovenly.

Whatever, it's his party, he can eat like a big if he wants to.

"This is delicious," He tells Emilia between bites. Hopefully she can understand him.

[somebadnews]

Five doesn't move to grab a plate, favoring the drink in his hand while he watches the others. He takes an especially large sip when Wrath brings up reckless choices in Taravast, which is thankfully interrupted by Diego complimenting the food.

It's nice to see his family in good spirits, and he doesn't mind the company. He tries to focus on that, though it's an effort not to wreck it with his need to get ahead of the next horrible thing they'll face. He can try to contain himself for at least an hour, and not make it obvious that he's counting the minutes in his head.

"We've come a long way," he concedes, not really meeting anyone's gaze. "I remember when everyone was adamant about staying neutral, and look at us now."

No one in this room has been here long enough to remember the great debate over which undead lord to throw their support behind, and how they did all they could not to change this world for good or bad. That's effectively gone out the window in the year since.

[valeas]

Her eyebrows lift in mild amusement as she turns to Diego. A quiet but genuine delight warms her chest, reminded that this was all she wanted, once: to cook and create, to fill the bellies of those close to her. A garden crafted of magic and moonlight.

"You are most welcome," she tells Diego, some of that amusement laced in her voice before Five snags her attention once more. It is difficult to fathom what he says, seeing as her first and proper foray into this world was Taravast.

Bonaccorso and his ilk inspired many a sentiment, few she would describe as lukewarm.

"... We do not seem to excel at neutrality, no."

Much as she values pragmatism, being smart and not just brave: when push comes to shove, she can never sit back.

[rumorate]

"Neutrality is a coward's way out."

At least in Allison's opinion. After the time she spent in Texas in the sixties, it's hard to see the word by any other way than it's harsh lines. You are either on the right side of it, or the wrong side. And while most would probably say this world isn't their problem, she would argue that as long as they're living in it, it's their problem.

"Personally I'd rather get messy if it means doing the right thing." She glances to Five. "Though I know you're not exactly fond of that idea."

[inferus]

Wrath finally digs into the delicious food - delicious because Emilia is the one who prepared it. He does raise an eyebrow, however, at this line of conversation. Mortals are sometimes quite obsessed with right and wrong, good and evil. He is, of course, considered a neutral force within the world he has come from.

It is all about balance between the living and the dead, but it is clear that their role within this world has been... different. They have become involved. Wrath cannot say he has remained neutral here when he was investigating and uncovering the secret sacrifices in Taravast. He uncovered it openly without any promise of reward or influence, and there was none.

"The issue becomes when mortals act based on what they feel is right in the moment while failing to see the entire picture and potential consequences. Members of our group felt it necessary to take it upon themselves to steal weapons meant to appease the undead and keep the city safe. In doing so, the actions resulted in more death and destruction."

There was no thought behind the action. "The group has to be more strategic."

[gladiokinesis]

"There's not always time for strategy, sometimes you just have to take action."

To say that strategy can be a weakness of Diego's is an understatement. Not that he isn't capable of it -- but his baser nature and impulsiveness often override the desire to make a plan.

If there's time, sure, strategy is great and smart, but sometimes there's not, sometimes you have to act and get your hands dirty and hope for the best. Look, it doesn't always turn out badly -- it's not like he had much of a plan going against the Beastmaster and that turned out good.

[somebadnews]

Five would really like to argue that point, but even his best laid plans ended in a reckless improvisation by the end. Especially any plan that involved time travel, as they're well aware. Messy is a mild word for it, but he appreciates that Allison acknowledges that he's not a fan of the chaos he tends to surround himself with.

At least they're of a similar mind on one point. Attempting to stay neutral was a fool's game. He'd said as much, back when that opinion was the minority.

"I'm sure no one was more surprised that worked than the Beastmaster," he remarks lightly to his brother, less cutting than he might have been if this weren't Diego's dinner. Generally, he agrees with Wrath. Not many people are able to see the big picture, but that's just one of the many drawbacks to staying with a group who are less experienced in making those kinds of choices.

Of course, Five has let emotion get the best of him once or twice. That didn't have anything to do with right or wrong and more to do with temporary bouts of insanity. Hardly worth mentioning, but he does avoid eye contact in case anyone else is thinking the same as he shuffles around the table.

Now that everyone is eating, he drifts over to the pie, drink still firmly in hand, and picks at the filling.

[valeas]

The sugared peels she added to each of their cups gives the wine just the right amount of sweetness, not too much and not too little. Emilia takes a small sip of her drink, the gesture allowing her a moment of rumination.

She thinks of what they know now: that the Beastmaster was created by a mirror. They know, too, that he was once wed to the Huntress. The Huntress, who can bend Wrath's will to hers and is once again missing in action.

The Huntress, who must be dealt with, as well.

Five's remark turns her attention back to the table and away from such murderous thoughts.

"Your skill with knives is truly exceptional," she adds. She hadn't seen them in action, not properly.

[rumorate]

"It's his thing. Many a door frame was dented in the house while he was perfecting those moves."

She's teasing, but there is a tinge of pride to it. She won't deny that Diego did a huge thing. Sure, they don't know what the reprecussions will be yet, but they took a major piece off the chessboard. That has to be worth something.