6723/Summer Cookout ft. The Watch and Co.

Summer Cookout ft. The Watch and Co.
Date of Scene:	12 July 2019
Location:	Raha's House, The Mist
Synopsis:	Raha hosts a little get together with the Watch
Cast of Characters:	N'raha Tia, 6399, Tomoe, Athela Valemore

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N'raha Tia has posed:
    Welcome to The Mist. It's a coastal city out on the edge of Limsa Lominsa, one of the three largest cities in Eorzea. It's a place for Free Companies and Notable Heroes to find a place to live, to stake their claim on the world and take part in the fine tradition of Home Ownership. And it's here that the Party Is Taking Place.

     If you want the big, big, big parties, you're going to have to go other places this weekend. While it's a Friday Night and the parties are really just getting started among some of the bigger Free Companies at the bigger houses out in the Mist? The party that's down on the shoreline outside of Plot 21 is much smaller in comparison. There's a bonfire out on the beach, as is customary. There's tents and awnings posted up for people to sit under, and there's also a catering table laid out. Yes, an actual food line with actual food for people. Like it's a party. There's also a squad of fellow Eorzeans manning the party, as it were. If 'squad' means 'two'. There's a tall, very tall human looking lady, and a small stout person. The tall lady is wearing a comfy looking piece of army wear, the sort of thing a sniper might have. Like, a modern sniper. The little lady appears to be the one in charge of the food. She's got a chef's outfit on, and a little burner and stove behind the food line.

    The Host of the night is posted up at the stairs down to the beach, and is looking pretty comfy in a very open summer shirt and beach shorts. A far cry from any sort of business wear you might have seen him wearing in the past.

    Welcome to the Shifting Shore, Raha's home.

Penelope Vasquez (6399) has posed:
    Some ways out of town, the quiet puttering of electric motorcycle rises, then falls off, as one Penelope Vasquez enters the general area. She is... not dressed for the season, wearing a heavy black coat, but looks comfortable regardless. It's parked and stashed some way out of town, and the cargo on the back is fetched dutifully; namely, a big bag full of to-go plates of falafel, and a cooler of brewskis. It's time to P-A-R-T. Why? Because she gotta.

    The city is explored sparingly; only enough to ask for directions to the right party, one of many, evidently. But soon enough, she finds N'Raha, posted at the top of the stairs, and grins down at the spread below. "...wow. This is pretty damn nice looking for a not-too-much prep thing, omae. The last time I got to go to a big beach bonfire thing I was... fourteen, maybe? Gonna be a good night." A heft of her bag, fragrant cooked meat smells wafting from within. "I got the goods. The goat down there?"

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe would be mistaken by most for an Elezen, she was over siz feet tall, pointy ears and all she knew it was a party tonight and down by the shore too, so she didn't come in full plate or any sort of kit she was expecting. She's got a tank top and shorts on, and seme to be in good spirit as she comes up on the beach just looking over what N'Raha has set up.

"Geeze you really went all out on this didn't you Raha?"

She asks after a moment turns to Penelope as she arrives.

"Hey there the name's Tomoe good go meet you. I think it might be something close the wild life around here's pretty diffent oddly though Dodos are a thing..."

Athela Valemore has posed:
As usual Athela's arrival is heralded by the clomp clomp of hooves as she rides up to the shore. Just not on the majestic equestrian steed some would expect to see a knight upon. It's just a big goat, with a scruffy coat that looks as much as a bush's foliage as it does hair. And horns that have an odd curve in them that make them very much appear like handlebars, and indeed what the young woman is holding onto to steer the Gogoat in lieu of bridle and bindings.

... Okay, so a goat is less of a weird mount when one considers some of the other creatures ridden in Eorzea.

The beast of burden clomps right up to where Raha waits before finally stopping with a gruff snort. Athela swings a leg over and slips nimbly off the opposite side. "Good eve, my friends!" She grabs the saddlebags off the Gogoat's back and slings them over a shoulder. "And I doth not come without contribution of my own. Additions to the festivity from my home shores." Meaning she's probably brought stuff like that fish jerky she's fond of travelling with, again.

Yes, you can totally make jerky from fish. It's a tricky process, but its possible, and a family tradition.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Greetings are now underway, and Raha smiles at his guests show up. "Inga would be here but she's got a thing going on tonight. She might make an appearance later."

    Penny gets a wink and a flick of his hair, before he nods down to the beach. Set your stuff up down there, just don't knock over Memeshi's set up. She's particular." There's a small, clear voice from the tent, as the Lalafel in question calls out. "Goats down here, whoever is looking for it. We've got it in the pans already!" The little lady grins up at the outlanders.

    Tomoe gets a bow, and a smile. "Sure did. Look at it this way, it's a chance to show off and meet cute girls, what can I say?" A devilish grin. Raha, you cad. You've got one girlfriend already.

    The smell of fish jerky wakes the Miqo'te up, though, that's for sure, and his tail flicks upward as Athela arrives... "Oy... catfish or carp this time?" He fairly scampers over to check up with the Knight.

    Down below, the spread is looking fairly decent for short notice. Roast goat onna stick, and taters and veggies on sticks and some sort of rice pudding or risotto, and several large jugs of beverages. There's orange colored beverage and red colored beverage. Pick your poison.

Athela Valemore has posed:
"Carp, mainly," Athela replies to Raha as she starts down the indicated way. "As well as some seabiscuits and dried fruit. Other than using Ice pokemon sailing ships have little means of preserving foodstuff on long voyages, so most foods are dried or preserved with salt and spices."

    She pauses to set the saddlebags by the tables with the other food items, and starts unpacking to add to the rest. "Choose your drinks first," she advises, giving a nod to Penelope and Tomoe. "You'll want to dip the biscuits before biting them, or they are incredibly tough to chew."

Penelope Vasquez (6399) has posed:
    Penelope gives the catboy a grin right back, fluffing her coat to make it flap, cutting a sharper figure- the other attendees get easy smiles, the woman innately comfortable thanks to the presence of food, apparently. She heads downstairs to her first target; the food. Namely, the goat skewers. They stand no chance. Her bag of heated chickpea wrap-things is deposited in trade. She's too busy inhaling the meat like it's her first meal in weeks to compliment the tiny chef, but her raw eagerness is likely compliments enough. She eyes the jugs dubiously when she finally comes up for air, considering them heavily- before just reaching into her coolar and pulling out an opaque brown bottle full of some fragrantly hoppy liquid. Long sip- a beer is also tossed towards the military-looking woman, as well as to the chef.

    Her nose switches as the goat-rider enters the fray, and she finishes off the last strips from her stick to clear her plate, metaphorically speaking. Her expression is one of mixed curiosity and mild revulsion as she catches wind of Athela's own bags, and the fish jerky within them. A siiiiidle to the woman, beer-first, bottle offered enthusiastically, eyes cutting from face to bag. "Heya. I'm Penny. Do- did you bring fish?" Her advice is noted, evidently- she doesn't wait for a response before fishing out a biscuit, doing some mental math, before simply pouring some beer onto the dough to moisten it up before gnawing.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe says "Oh really thank you for the compliment." she'll take it and pauses "Oh that sounds interesting." She eyes the spread she's going to eat very well today and she's going to enjoy it. She'll accept biscuits and make note of that. "Sounds like a type of cookie from my world where it's so hard you need to dip it in your coffee or you might break a tooth but it's so good."
Note with a grin to Athela for a moment then back to Penelope and she makes like her going for some of the food as to go with the biscuits she just got as well and she seems to love seafood.

"Fishing can do a lot to pay the bills I find and damn the market around here is hungry for it. I could flip some of the fish back home and make some serious money."

She's already digging into the food now and clearly enjoying it.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Miss Memeshi takes the beer bottle and sniffs it a bit, before putting it aside next to the rest of the beverages. "Thank you, but I don't drink while I'm cooking! When I'm done, maybe." She helpfully shuffles the lids to the food trays open, the little flames under them keeping the food nice and warm.

    Raha, for his part, just grins as the girls all dig in in various amounts. Though no one's touchin' the drinks. He slides down and gets a glass of the Red Juice, which, when decanted, has a decidedly citrus scent to it. Lime and sweet and rum-y. Mmmmm. "So, right. Welcome to the first meeting of the 'There Was Too Much Politics and Philosophy on the Radio' Club. My Name is Raha." He points a falaffel over to the tall lady. "That's Sgt. Bitters. She's here to make sure people ain't sneaking up on us, and also to look stylish in a uniform."
    The tall lady snaps off a salute, before tromping herself up towards the top of the stairs to the beach and posting up where Raha was, a magitek looking gun at her hip. Hmmmm.

    The Warrior of Light settles in. "I guess first order of business is to introduce our newest member, Miss Penny here." He waves to Penelope, and smiles.

Penelope Vasquez (6399) has posed:
    Penny smiles right back! Waving with her biscuit-hand. "Hi, as he said, I'm Penny. Penelope." Speech between monches or sips- as Raha pours himself some Red Drank, the black-clad woman does the same, her beer already dead and gone. "I'm not /new/ new, I- was around for a while, then took a big unplanned vacation. But I forgot most of the politics and whatever so I'm basically new." An easy smile, the woman kicking back as she leans against the buffet table. "Either way, very nice to actually meet someone outside of the radio chatter. Multiple someones."

Athela Valemore has posed:
"Yes." Athela nods to Penny, and hands her some of the dried cod jerky to try. "Contrary to what many people seem to think, there are non-Pokemon fish to be caught in Bayern's oceans." What else would they eat? Really. Pokemon wouldn't be so mysterious and magical if they were the only animals, either.

"Agreed, Raha, agreed. I... am not one for politics. Prefer dealing with foes I can put sword to and sweep away in the callings of the tides." Athela takes one of the goat meat skewers. "I see goat is popular in your sailing communities as well. Much easier to care for on a voyage than cattle, amongst other things." Followed by taking a bite out of it, chewing thoughtfully, and then nodding to Memeshi approvingly. "Cooked to perfection I dare say."

N'raha Tia has posed:
    The Lalafel smiles up at Athela, and gives a thumbs up. "That's because it's hard to louse up goat as long as you cook it low and slow and keep it moist. No one wants tough goat."

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe hasn't got to the drinks just yet and she laughs at N'Raha's comment.

"Tell me about it."

She'll grab a drink of her own and just seems to be enjoying herself and she looks to Penny for a moment.

"Good to meet you, Penny. I agree I just keep running face-first into them as much as I try to avoid them."

She notes and now she thinks for a moment about the goat and laughs.

Penelope Vasquez (6399) has posed:
    Penelope nods her agreement with the teeny chef. "Mmhm. Over-tough meat is awful. Dunno about goat especially, but in general. Nice and blue is good." She's acquired another stick of goat, at some point. The food is just kinda evaporating in a radius around her as the night goes on. The fish jerky was also consumed dutifully, even if it's a bit... fishy. Literally, not metaphorically, it was entirely legit fish.

    Penny has also been evaporating alcohol at a... decent rate. At least a little lightheaded by now. A slightly lopsided grin Athela's way as she sizes her up, before loosing a soft 'hm,' question posed... extremely generally. Not even directed at any particular person. "So- what's all of your deals? Y'know, your thing, your, your, uh." A couple snaps, before she brightens, snatching the idea while it still exists. "Your- what you do!"

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Raha grins a bit, and futzes with his collar. "Right, so I really didn't have any sort of real agenda for tonight and I know the uh." A glance at Penny as she asks a good question.

    And an honest answer as he looks to Tomoe and Athela. "I kill gods. Like, the physical manefestations of them, anyways. It's a real problem here in Eorzea. People summoning their gods and then those gods stick around and suck the magic out of the world trying to maintain their presence, while ALSO being giant problems and... it's a problem, and I fix that problem. Along with friends and others." A smile. "Here in Eorzea, we call ourselves the Scions of the Seventh Dawn."

Athela Valemore has posed:
"A goat has a less picky diet than cattle, and unlike cows both males and females can produce milk. When the goat can either no longer produce, or there is no means of feeding it left..." Athela just shrugs and holds up her skewer, before taking another bite out of it. "They also take up less room." Then nods over her shoulder to where her mount has just set himself, unbothered that the others are eating non-pokemon versions of goat meat. He tends to be unbothered in general.

Athela takes a cluster of leaves and berries out of a saddlebag, and tosses it over for him to graze on. "Here Brushguard, you should at least feast a little as well."

Athela turns her attention back to the group at Penelope's question. "As fate or irony would have it my lot is much the same as our Warrior of Light here. Bayern is plagued by a cult of the fallen gods of an era past, and their abominations of false life used to pursue their masters' entropic vision." A hand raises to her chest in indication of herself. "I am the Champion of Keldeo, one of the quartet of divine Legendaries known as the Swords of Justice. But whereas the chosen of Terrakion, Verizion and Cobalion defend specific regions, I am a knight errant, free to roam as I am needed between worlds, the same as rivers and waterways unite many lands and oft form the bounderies that protect them."

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe says "My story huh? It all started with a game, that turned into death game where if you died your brain got fried." She sits down with her food and keeps going.

"Take a bunch of people most who'd never used a real weapon in their lives and put them into that sort of situation I was lucky to get out alive from it with help from the multiverse then the game followed us home so to speak. People one day woke up being able to transform into their primary avatar and then the games started fusing with our world in the aftermath of the great multiversal barf as I call it."

"Since then I just been wandering from world to world doing what I can where I can. While trying to keep things from going too nuts with a cardinal AI more or less goddess of our world."

"At this point and I still work with a band of survivors from the Death Game whom I help to run a guild with known as the Gate Crasher's Union. If you wondering this is more my face than anything I was before, I won't' function in the life I had before, I tried to go back and it didn't work for me anymore. So ya I used to be the sort that would be ignored by most elites or stepped on by them."

Penelope Vasquez (6399) has posed:
    Between long, assessing stares at her comrades and glances at the surroundings, Penelope seems to simply be taking it in- slightly sobered, perhaps, by her comrade's rather dire occupations and pronouncements. She chews on the inside of a lip as she considers her own response. And chews on another of Athela's biscuits, dunked heavily in Orange Drink.

     "...I suppose if I want to be flowery about it, I'm a ronin. Sword sans master. Raised as one, worked as one for ages working for one corp, then jumped to another, now I'm leashless." A little snicker as she tugs at her collar, letting the irony sit as the fluid in the nodules slishes. "I do dirty work where I can get it and stick it to the corpie overlords while I'm doing it when I can, which feels like it's doing good. Keep my neck of the woods out of ganger hands. It's a fluid living."

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Raha sighs at Penelope's explanation of herself. "Twelves, what I wouldn't do to go back to not being beholden to the Grand Companies, but well." He scritches his bare chest a bit, and gestures with his beverage. "The problem is if you try to fight Primals here in Eorzea, unless you're an Elite or have something called the Echo that shows up here, those Primals will brain wash you. Just." he snaps his fingers. "No recorse, no cure, you're theirs. Forever." He sighs and slumps in his chair, taking a bit of his falafel again, and talkin with a full mouth. "So that's why I like having all you folks around. Keeps me honest and alive, because Thal knows what sort of nonsense I'd be dealing with doing this on my own."

Athela Valemore has posed:
"Not unlike the Hollowed," Athela nods solemnly to N'Raha. "It still.. amazes me how our worlds are very different, yet we seem to be up against problems almost similar in ways." She tilts her head a little at Penelope's explaination. "So you are similar to I then. You follow your own cause rather than sworn to a house of nobility. Or this... corp as you called it."

Penelope Vasquez (6399) has posed:
    Penelope nods, rather emphatically, at Athela's comparison! "Ex-actly like that. In my neck of the woods, corps are a lot like old mideval houses. They control their land, they control their servants, they war against eachother, they bicker, they run shit open-face or by proxy... and the commoners get dumped on. I work interhouse and loosen the screws where I can to topple. Not that, well. That goes very well on a grand scheme level, but, y'know." Her energy has rather petered off, and her little speech is finished with a drink. And a scowl Raha's way. A rather intense scowl, really. "...let me assume here. This Grand Company is the only one with the resources to make these echo things so old gods can't brainwash you? And they only hand it out to people who work for them?"

N'raha Tia has posed:
    A grin from Raha. "Worse. You're gifted it by the Goddess Hydaelyn herself. So who knows who has the Echo or not until you either DON'T get brain washed, or you start seeing visions of things you're not supposed to know." He shrugs, and shuffles up to get some of Athela's biscuits and some Orange Beverage which upon further review is definitely a giant batch of mimosa.

    A shrug. "Only a precious few have that, and those who have it and CAN fight are often called the Warriors of Light. Which I am. a few others have passed through but I'm the only one here now." His ears wilt a bit.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe takes note of Penny's take between her bites of food, the big lady is clearly loving this food. She pauses "Hey your boss lady at least came to see you fight you know." She grins a bit having not forgotten the admiral did attend their match after all.

"Though I have to admit there's a reason I told the Paladin's recruiter to sod off and I'm glad I did. Sounds like you do what you can, there's a reason the story of the wandering Knight or Samurai seems to be out there across so many worlds."

She grins a little more.

"It seems in the end we all have a lot in common it's just how we got started differs."

Penelope Vasquez (6399) has posed:
Penelope lightens up a little bit as Raha elaborates- it's only a god randonly tossing out powers, not corporate collusion. She jostles a little, standing up- swaying, slightly. She has quaffed a heroic amount of alcohol by this point; not intentionally, probably, it seems she just never actually stopped having a drink in her hand. "Oh, that's not so bad. I mean, it's bad. But it could be worse." A reaffirmed nod as she straightens her clothes- and reaches into her coat, pulling a short blade from her back! Nonthreateningly. More using it to gesture pointedly. "A single person bein' shit can be fixed!" Jabs! At the sky. Perhaps vaguely at the stairs. "I owe you one for makin' all this spread put together. Let's go harass this Hydeylyn 'til she forks over the magic!"

    And with that, she's walking towards the stairs. She hasn't even looked behind to see if her compatriots are following. Some short while into the distance, she asks the empty air, "Where is she, anyway?"

Athela Valemore has posed:
"Erozea has no shortage of problems for your fellow Warriors to deal with. But take comfort in knowing you need not fight your battles alone." Athela pauses to finally grab some Red Juice and wash down what she's been eating before continuing. "You have the Scions, and you have us." The redhead nods to Tomoe. "Those differences are good though. Variety is much more suitable for a party of adventurers."

And then she has to really, REALLY resist facepalming at Penelope. Just going to assume that's from how much she's drank. "I... do not think it works that way."

Athela quietly decides to herself that mayhaps this is not a good time to mention the sort of blessings she gets from her own patron. Just to be safe.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    At the top of the stairs though, Sgt. Bitters spots Penny stalking up towards her position with a knife and casts a glance down at the party. They hadn't started with the broken bottles yet, what gives?
    The tall lady oys a bit, and turns to hold out her hand to Miss Vasquez. "Woah woah, don't want the Yellowjackets spotting you drunk and disorderly. Just... ah."

    Raha calls up the stairs. "Penny, it's okay! Mother Crystal really doesn't exist in our plane of existance, as it were. If she did, that would be... awkward. She's very large. She's as large as this star."

Penelope Vasquez (6399) has posed:
    The drunken woman at the top of the stairs looses a long, theatric "Booooooooo," as Raha calls up and further explains the issues associated with threatening to shank a god. The tiny sword/large knife is stashed away again, and she just flops herself down into the sand near the bonfire. "Well, that's lame. I was excited for that." She, for once, isn't reaching for food- maybe on some base level she knows she's sloshed, and is trying to let it sit a bit. A prop of her elbows into the grit to push herself up, pulling off her coat to reveal the leotard underneath as the fire starts to heat her. "There goes the evening's entertainment. What do you do for fun around here then, Raha? Aside from gather hot chicas 'round the fireside."

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe pauses for a moment "We should worry about the ones who are causing problems. From everything, N'raha has told us she's very much trusts in her creations from what I have seen. I'm okay with that honestly and heavens that's big."

She notes she doesn't get up to move however and she looks to Athelna then to N'Raha.

"I'd be dead without outsider help and a lot of others. So I like to pass the gil as you might put it, forward."

She thinks for a moment.

"The more time I travel the more I think I understand something about my own world."

She watches Raha go to deal with Penny.

"We could go swimming, I like going flying around here it's just so pretty from above."

She goes back to her original though.

"We dreamed so much of worlds like this it drove one man to try and do so by force, we have no magic, nothing like this world has and we're utterly alone as a species. Honestly It's just nice to know we're not alone even with all the trouble it brings."

Athela Valemore has posed:
Athela Valemore's expression goes from worried that Penny was going to do something brash and reckless, to just confused in general.

She looks to Raha and Tomoe, mouthing a near silent "Hot chicas?". Even with the time spent in the Multiverse it's not a phrase she's heard.

Though after she shrugs a little at the mention of swimming, smiling. "We could. Though I have a distinct advantage in that department, so no diving contests."

N'raha Tia has posed:
Penny asks her question, and her answer is met by someone who isn't Raha.

    There's a commontion down the beach near the large communal square near the docks, where one of the large free companies is out there likewise having a party. A group of people in robes and what are clearly wizard hats are out on the beach, poking and prodding a large crate, fuses and fire dripping from the sides.

    And then the fireworks start. Actual fireworks. Though, these are clearly magical fireworks, alchemy with thaumaturgy thrown in for good measure. Gandalf eat your heart out, cause there's fountains and displays and rockets and a whole bunch of symbols of the local guilds out over the ocean.

    Raha looks up and grins. "...We go take our stuff and crash other parties of more interesting people." A little flash of fangs and he nods, starting to head down the beach.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe whispers back "Slang for good looking ladies." She'll get up and grab some more of the food she'll pause to thank the other two who likely helped out with the party before she gets up to follow. "Might as well get to know the Neighbours right? Come on let us get this party on the move!" She also pause to see the fireworks and whips out a smart phone to take a few photos as she goes.

Athela Valemore has posed:
The answer actually makes Athela blush a little around the cheeks. Until she coughs softly into a fist. "I have been complimented on many things, but.. appearances is not one of them."

Fortunately the fireworks and what not are a blessed intervention. "That sounds like a fine notion." She gets to her feet, grabbing her saddlebags as she does so, and putting some of the food she'd brought back into them. "Let us share the pleasantries of the night."