1528/Lute's Unlucky Date With Ms. Fortune

Lute's Unlucky Date With Ms. Fortune
Date of Scene:	08 February 2015
Location:	Southern Urbania
Synopsis:	Lute takes Ms. Fortune on a date to a restaurant, and things get weird.
Cast of Characters:	188, 422

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Lute (188) has posed:
     Of Lute's date, Ms. Fortune is probably amongst those he knows least. Yes, a few of them he actually does know a /bit/ about. But, all he knows about Ms. Fortune is 'Cat' and 'bad cat jokes'. Which, of course, gives him an idea of where to take her. Of course, the location is likely a bit of a fail.

     He simply sent her the address, of where to meet up. Lute himself stands outside of it, wearing a rather nice and comfortable suit. Earlier, he sent Ms. Fortune something to wear for her date, as well. Lute, honestly, looks fairly fetching in his suit. If only it weren't, you know. /Lute/.

     But still, he waits rather casually, sitting on a bench in front of the resteraunt.

     It's a relatively fancy seafood place.

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    Ms. Fortune is currently strutting ehr stuff in an incredibly revealing kimono and looking -incredibly embarassed- by it. But screw it! She's going on a -date-! Sure, with someone who has a reputation for being... -Lute-, but. This is still her first date in four years.

    She's also got that collar Lute gave her around her neck, to which she's attached her usual bell. On her feet, she has... nothing. She has trouble with shoes.

    As soon as Nadia arrives at the seafood restaurant, however, she stops in her tracks, and stares. "...Trinity preserve me, did he -really- go there..?"

Lute (188) has posed:
     As Nadia arrives, Lute smiles, stands up, and walks over to greet her. He's actuall a bit surprised that she wore the kimono! After all, his last date /didn't/ wear what she was given. But, at least Ms. Fortune wore hers!

     In a rather fashionable move, he reaches for her hand, to lean and kiss it, unless stopped. And then, he'll smile, looking at her.

     "Hey, nice to meet you in person. Hope I picked out a good resteraunt, at least."

     Also, Lute vaguely smells of catnip.

     Yes, he is using a catnip cologne. At least it isn't /overpoweringly/ strong.

     Also, he does note the scars. He is trying fairly hard not to look at them or notice them. Yeah, this is something he hadn't heard about. But, still, lots of women in the Multiverse have scars!

     ...Though those are pretty big and around the whole limbs huh?

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    Ms. Fortune winces a little bit as Lute grabs her hand. After all, she has rather sharp claws! She tends to always be a little skittish about touching humans with her hands... but he manages to deftly avoid them and place a kiss on the back of her hand.

    She can't help but flush a bit.

    "Ah... actually, you picked, like. Probably the worst restaurant possible." No point lying about this, right? "I... don't eat seafood. So..."

    Her nose flares. "...Are you wearing -catnip-?"

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute, of course, does /not/ want it to be known that he is purposely wearing catnip scent. Especially in case it might be insensitive. As such, he offers a relatively quick lie.

     "...No. I was just playing with the neighbor's cat a bit earlier, though. Maybe its smell rubbed off without me realizing it?"

     A sigh, though. "...Sorry I picked wrong. Uh. Let's see, though. Urm. Where /could/ we go?"

     There are several reseteraunts around, since this is the section of town where a lot of them are. In the immediate area there are places for Italian, Chinese, and Mexican food. Lute is likely to wait a second to see if Nadia has a preference, though.

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    Nadia crosses her arms. "...Sure, okay. I'll choose to believe that one." A little grin spreads across her face. "..Sorry, dude. Just. Bad... life experiences. You know? Seafood brings back memories I'd prefer to leave buried."

    She turns, taking a look at everything else on offer. "...Chinese is like Dagonian food, if I remember right... Which I eat all the time, so... Mmh. 'Mexican' is meant to be spicy, right? I don't think I'd like that..." She shrugs her shoulders a bit.

    Seems she's not too bothered about the seafood restaurant faux pas. She seems pretty chill, honestly.

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute just nods, "...Alright, I'll take your word on the bad life experiences... Though I'm a bit curious on what happened, but I understand if you don't wanna tell."

     Lute shrugs a bit at the talk on resteraunt choices, "Well, then. I guess Chinese or Italian. You'd probably like both, but I suppose we'll lean to Chinese!"

     Lute moves to wrap his arm around Ms. Fortune's, to walk her over towards the Chinese place. Yes, he is trying to get as much body to body contact as he thinks he can get away with. Yes, he is in fact a bit forward. He also is neglecting the fact she is wearing a kimono and they're going to a Chinese resteraunt.

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    Nadia doesn't seem to mind the body contact that much, although her tail does frizz us up a moment before settling back down again. "...So, speaking of changing the subject... 'Lute'. Is that, like, actually your name?" she asks, curiously.

    She breathes in deeply as they enter the restaurant. Yup. This smells just like the food she'd find in Little Innsmouth. Her ears visibly perk up as they enter.

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute shakes his head a bit, "Nah, my name isn't actually /Lute/. It's Logan Trieste. Lute is like... My code name. When I unified, there was another me active and about, so I had to use an alias to keep us from getting confused. It is one of /many/ reasons the other-me was an asshole."

     At the resteraunt, they're seated almost immediately. And Lute, being a complete gentleman (ahahahahahahaha), pulls the seat out for Nadia, smiling. He takes his own seat, soon after. And almost immediately moves to play footsy with her.

     "So, what about you? I've heard about you on the radio before, but like. What do you do for a living, and in the Multiverse in general?"

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    "Huh. That must have been weird," Nadia notes, grinning a bit. "Man, now I'm imagining running into another -me-. That would be awkward~" She sits down in the offered seat - and specifically avoids Lute's feet. She has pretty quick reflexes! Although that shouldn't be too surprising.

    "Me? Heh. Nadia Fortune, notorious thief, at your service~" Grin~ "Although... In the Multiverse I guess I've been doing some mercenary work, too..."

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute sighs a bit, "You have no clue how awkward that really is. Especially when this other me got respect, and people thinking he was cool, and stuff like that, while I got nothing."

     Lute's footsy attempts end with failure. Alas. But, there is something in the conversation that catches his attention more, now.

     "Ah, I love thievery. Like. It has gotten me /so much stuff/. I /really/ need to run a huge heist again sometime, though. Maybe you could come along and help for it? Of course, you'd get a cut of the loot, too. What are some of the bigger jobs you've done, though?"

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    "Uh... recently? I guess when I robbed River King Casino - it's run by the Medici Mafia, you know~" She hmmms as she peruses the menu. She frowns, and flags down a waitress - before asking, in perfect Mandarin, for the -Chinese- menu.

    She then grins a bit. "Buuut. The biggest job ever must've been when me and the rest of the Fishbone Gang stole the -Life Gem-." Her tail twitches a bit. "It... all went to hell after, but. The Medicis didn't get it back, anyway."

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute nods, "Casino robberies are always fun. They've got pretty big stashes, though especially in the Multiverse, they can have some big guns guarding them. Though in general, robbing a casino takes a /lot/ of skill."

     "...Life gem? That sounds important. Is it just a really important gem, or is it magical, or something?"

     "Though, as for my own heists... I lead a big one on a museum, recently. I've robbed banks a few times too. --Oh, and I joined in on a raid on Santa's workshop in December. That was a pretty big heist."

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    "The Life Gem is magical, yes. It's what let me survive the thing that gave me all those scars you were trying not to stare at~" She grins at him broadly. "I mean, originally we were just going to sell it, but..."

    "...Mmmh. Well, see, the thing is? I only steal from people who, you know, deserve it. So... robbing Santa? Not really my style~"

Lute (188) has posed:
     "HEY! Santa /totally/ deserved it. Every single year he gives all of the Confederates coal. It's time we got /some/ payback. ...Though it turned out that Santa probably /let/ us steal from him. But, oh well. Still was fun."

     "...Also, I wasn't trying to stare at the scars. I was trying to stare at your nice figure. I mean I /did/ notice them, but only while admiring your body."

     Smooth.

     "Glad that it helped you live, though. Always good if you can cheat death a bit. Though at a guess, that probably was a one time cheating of death?"

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    Nadia stares at Lute for a while, speechless... broken only when the waitress returns with the Chinese-language menu (which, naturally, has almost entirely different dishes on it). Ah! That's more like it.

    "...Right." She peers at Lute, then shrugs! "Nothing wrong with coal. It gets cold in the winter, y'know." She then grins. "And, no. It's not a one-time thing at all~"

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute will order his own food in English. Because he doesn't speak chinese. He orders the orange chicken, hoping that she doesn't have anything against eating chicken. Or oranges.

     "Well, coal has some uses, but still, I've asked Santa for much cooler things before, and he usually doesn't get them for me. But, oh well. I'm assuming this means it'd be hard to take you along with me on a robbery, because well... I'm usually more on the 'deserves to have bad stuff happen to him' side of things."

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    Nadia, meanwhile, orders something that the Translation Effect renders as 'pork buns'. As well as chow mein. Two dishes?

    "...Naah, just make sure your targets deserve it more." She grins at him. "I mean, I'm not exactly a bastion of goodness or... whatever." Shrug.

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute chuckles a bit. Yeah, that's good. "Well, then. We'll have to plan out a big heist, sometime. I've got several ideas planned. ...Though, later, I need to look into getting more Legendary Pokemon, too. Because hey, I wanna increase my strength a bit."

     But, after that, Lute pauses a moment, and just stares at Nadia.

     "...You know, I don't say this often, but like. Do you realize how /hot/ you are? I mean. You are /really really/ fine looking, you know that?"

     Yes, this is Lute's idea ofa compliment.

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    "Oh, Pokemon? Right, I heard you were a Pokemon researcher..." She hmmms. "I've seen a few of those. They tend to be kinda cute..."

    She then pauses for a long time. "...Okay. Dude. I appreciate it. But you're coming on a -little- strong."

Lute (188) has posed:
     "Ehhh... I don't really use the 'cute' ones. I'm in them more for the power. Though, I do get why people like the cute ones."

     Lute shrugs a bit, "...Ehhh, look. I'm just saying what I think. Is there something wrong with that? Besides, it's not really even flattery or anything, it's just, you know. The truth?"

     And Lute, honestly, does think that. But at the same time, he is conveying his thoughts in the most terrible way.

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    "Oh, sure, power and strength is pretty cool, but, y'know. Cute things can be totally strong~ Like. Just look at Princess Umbrella. She's, what, ten? And yet she controls one of the most powerful Living Weapons in the -world-." Lute probably has no idea what Nadia is talking about here.

    "...Mmh. Most people -do- have a filter between their thoughts and their words, though~"

Lute (188) has posed:
     "...Oh, yeah, right. Princess Umbrella. Princess Umbrella is cool and tough."

     Brief pause.

     "...Okay, who is Princess Umbrella?"

     And then, Lute shrugs, "Okay, seriously, why bother filtering thoughts? You still have them /anyways/, right? Yeah, it hides it from other people, but they'll know on /some/ level, anyways. I mean. You've probably noticed me checking you out /anyways/, so like. You had to know what I was thinking anyways. I just felt like verbalizing it."

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    Nadia laughs. "...Princess Umbrella is the younger sister of the Crown Princess of the Canopy Kingdom, Princess Parasoul." Pause. "I'm from the Canopy Kingdom. Just so you know."

    She laughs a bit and shakes her head. "Oh man. Have we discovered the reason you apparently have such bad luck with women? Dude, there is this thing called 'politeness'. Even if everybody knows what you're thinking, it can still be more polite to not verbalise it -anyway-."

Lute (188) has posed:
     "...Oh. Sorry. I'm not overly familiar with your world! Sorry about that. And ah, curious what the canopy kingdom is like."

     And then Lute just kind of... leans back in his chair, shrugging. His arms motion a little bit as he talks.

     "Look, even if I hid this from people, women would find out eventually, right? Besides, it's fairly well known how I act, anyways. So... Even if I did try to hide it, it's not like it'd help /that/ much, anyways?"

     "And besides, I have a wife and an open marriage, and I got a bunch of dates lined up this month. Like the last girl I dated, it went /pretty/ well. So I have to be doing /something/ right?"

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    Nadia snickers a bit. "Eh. You're fine. I'm pretty chill, honestly~" She also leans back casually. "Thing is, though, I've... not actually hear that much about you or your reputation. You know? There's new people entering the Multiverse all the time, and not all of them are gonna instantly be warned about you. So..."

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute ponders, leaning forward. "...You know, you /do/ make a good point. With new people in the Multiverse, I could have more of a chance... People in the Union are /always/ warned against me, but like... Hrm. Unaffiliated women... Maybe I'll have a better chance with them if I /do/ hide who I am a bit."

     Yeah. Lute is getting ideas. As in, he's considering learning to blatantly lie to women about things sometimes. YAY IMPROVEMENT.

     "Thanks for the advice, though. I'll take it to heart, seriously. I'm just glad you're so relaxed with things. ...Maybe we should have /more/ dates in the future, too, if you'd be interested, and if I don't screw this up."

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    Nadia's ears lower a little bit. "I, uh, think you might not..." She looks down. Then laughs, and shrugs. "Oh, whatever. If you choose poorly you might get beaten up by a little girl again or something. That'd be funny."

    "Easy, tiger. We haven't even finished this date, yet." She grins at him. "Man where is that food I'm starving..."

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute shrugs, "Hey, does it hurt if a man is a bit confident? Besides, I'm liking your style a bit."

     Lute pauses. And then ponders.

     "...Though, yeah. Where /is/ the food?"

     There is a bit of silence, then a scream from the kitchen.

     "OH GOD THE KITCHEN IS ON FIRE. EVERYONE RUN!"

     There is a bit of a light coming from the kitchen area, which is obviously a conflagration in progress.

     Lute, somehow, just failed his listen check and didn't notice. He's more focused on Ms. Fortune at the moment.

     "...Well, I'm sure the food will come eventually, but ah well. It's fun even just talking."

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    Nadia looks down.

    "Come on, seriously?" Sigh. She stands up. "Maybe we should go somewhere else."

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute looks over.

     It is only as Nadia stands up that he notices the fire.

     "...Well. Uh. Hrm. I'm going to have to give this place a bad review on Yelp, later."

     He once again moves to take Ms. Fortune's arm, to lead her outside.

     And as they get outside, there is a fire truck.

     At each of the nearby resteraunts.

     Some of the people nearby are talking about how apparently there was a gasline issue, which is causing the fires, and it is an issue localized to this little area. Not a /huge/ deal, and the places are insured, or something like that.

     Lute just looks around.

     "...Huh. What are the odds."

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    Nadia doesn't resist having her arm taken! "Uh..." She looks around, ears plastered against ehr skull from the noise of the fire trucks. "You, uh. You don't have a -hit- out on you or anything, right?"

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute looks around, "...Not that I'm /aware/ of. I mean, a lot of people are out to get me, but most of them are the kind who wouldn't do something like this."

     Lute pauses.

     "...We could always go back to my place, though I'd assume you'd take offense at that idea? Or we could try to find someplace else. Or call the date a bust?"

Ms. Fortune (422) has posed:
    "Going back to your place is more of a 'third date' thing, honestly," Nadia says, with a playful grin. "...Mmhh... I'm not gonna call my first date in five years a bust from a silly little thing like spontaneous gas fires..."

    "...Wanna go bowling?"

Lute (188) has posed:
     Lute shrugs, "Sure, bowling works. Let's find a place for it."

     And, not having /any/ idea where a bowling alley is, he just decides to walk with Ms. Fortune in a random direction.

     He really needs to get a smart phone.