A Mage, An Earthbender, And A Dragon Walk Into A Bar...

A Mage, An Earthbender, And A Dragon Walk Into A Bar...
Date of Scene:	30 June 2014
Location:	Bar and Grill at the Edge of the Multiverse
Synopsis:	Pretty much exactly what the title says. Hijinks ensue.
Cast of Characters:	143, 150, 235

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Haru (143) has posed:
There's always a large variety of people in the Bar and Grill at the Edge of the Multiverse. It's not altogether unusual to see a knight armored in medieval plate sitting at the bar next to a man or woman in a skintight cybersuit with lines of power running all through it like it was a wearable circuitboard. It's a great place to people watch if you want to see the variety that the Multiverse has to offer.

One of the people here is a young man with bronzed skin, brown hair, and light green eyes. His hair's pulled up in a topknot and bound with a metal ring that, besides being green, is otherwise unadorned. As if to help the Chinese imagery, he's wearing a men's cheongsam, loose pants, and slipper-shoes as well. And he has the beginnings of a moustache.

It's just an idle moment for him, it seems, and two small rocks levitating over his hand seem to chase each other around. Though he's not touching the rocks, his fingers move as if he were manipulating baoding balls-- those Chinese hand-exercise balls-- and in response the rocks move accordingly.

Karima (235) has posed:
Karima is still feeling her way around the many, many, many lands that make up the Multiverse, so her knowledge of what happens to be decent places to sit down and rest are limited. However, via word of mouth, she finally makes her way into the establishment and upon entering it, she looks back outside towards it's...unusual location and appears similarly vexed.

She gets over it soon enough however, and takes a seat at the bar, the dragon curling her tail around her stool. She picks up a menu and takes out a rolled up magazine of sort, setting the latter on the counter and the former above her snout, beginning to read what tasty treats were served here.

Hayate Yagami (150) has posed:
Hayate Yagami manages to make it three steps past the threshold of the door before remembering to setting her conference call the private and dimming the floating display. She hadn't remembered, herself. The waitstaff was astute enough to remember for her with a polite tug on one empty sleeve of the long coat thrown over her shoulders. Then they had tugged on the coat a little harder and ushered it away into the coat room and started quietly chasing after the distracted lady with her coat ticket.
Hayate is distracted not because of the conference call - the same old boring weekly status reports from department neither hers nor remotely related to hers - but rather the very urgent and pressing crisis threatening the integrity of Section Six's highest command. One that requires the personal involvement and immediate mobilization of such heavyweight assets as herself.
The coffee machine broke.
So it is that with some quiet desperation and urgency Hayate flings herself into the nearest open seat at the bar and scarcely waits for the seat the swing back into line before looking around for the bartender. Hoping to catch his or her eye and resolve this crisis in a t-
Or she can just watch the distracted employee stare at some guy over there juggling rocks. That's fine too. It's not like her headache needs soothing coffee. Must be a new hire or something. Who even stares at -juggling- any more, in this place?
It does strike Hayate, after a few impatient seconds, that it is some mighty -slow- juggling...

Haru (143) has posed:
Now see...dragons are a Big Thing in Haru's world. So when one with a body shaped like a human walks into the bar, of /course/ he's going to look. In fact, the levitating rocks stop abruptly, and fall back into his hands when his eyes go wide. He doesn't speak up, and after a few moments he gets the idea that staring isn't a good idea. He looks back to the rocks that had fallen into his hand and closes his hand around them, turning them into dust and directing the dust into a trashbin. He may not have noticed Hayate yet.

Karima (235) has posed:
Karima hadn't done a particularly good job of noticing either of them, as they were just rather normal looking patrons despite Hayate's floating..display of immediate confusion. She waves down a bartender and speaks in a low whisper towards him, obviously placing an order of some kind. She nods in agreement a moment later and the bartender takes off to fufill his job description.

In the meantime, she goes back to the magazine she had brought with her, but closer inspection revealed it to be a catalogue with plenty of orderable things in it. She taps her foot-claws idely against the ground while she gingerly goes through the thin paper pages, every now and again pointing towards something that caught her interest.

Hayate Yagami (150) has posed:
Of course, once the big distraction is gone, Hayate could get back to the business of patronizing the bar. If she wasn't prevented from doing so by the very sensible practice of serving those who came first. The bartender turns to the fellow seated to her r-DRAGON.
Dragon dragon dragon.
All of a sudden, Hayate's headache doesn't seem particularly threatening any more. And the conference call is forgotten completely. There's a staff member gently pushing a bit of paper into her hand, which also goes ignored. Dragon dragon dragon.
"Ahem," Hayate clears her throat, in preparation for fulfilling her current life's goals. "Coffee, please. House. Black. And the sugar on the side. Thank you."

Karima (235) has posed:
Karima food finally arrives with as much fanfare as it deserves...which ain't much. It's a giant plate of barbecued ribs, with a massive side of white rice. The dragon leans over the food and takes a deep sniff of it. Seeming pleased, she takes a deep breath an exhales slowly, shooting a small, well controlled carpet of flame over the ribs, toasting the barbecue sauce to perfection.

When she's given the utensils (a Fork, Spoon and Knife respectively) she speaks with the bartender again, and after a brief visit to the back, a pair of wooden chopsticks are presented. Now officially happy, she bids the server on his way and expertly starts to pick up clumps of the rice, eating it fairly quickly.

Hayate Yagami (150) has posed:
The flames are briefly reflected in Hayate's coffee. Briefly, not because of the regrettable end of the display, but because of the entirely commendable end of Hayate not having any coffee in her. The sip is followed by a gulp followed by a smiling, satisfied sigh. And then a quiet, almost inaudible rumble.
Hayate blinks and sets the almost-empty cup back down onto its saucer with a hesitant clink. She knows what the rumbling was. She knows what needs to be done about it. The dragon eating ribs is still -fascinating- to watch. And that means that the dragon right there cannot possibly help her with this next thing. Now, if someone looked properly susceptible and vulnerable to... a-ha~!
"Heya, the top-knot little brother there. Can you help me out with a problem?"

Haru (143) has posed:
The sudden gout of flames is, of course, enough to startle Haru, and he scoots a little farther to the side. Fire Nation and all. Kind of leaves a little mark on the psyche. He's not exactly /afraid/ of fire, per se. He's just very cautious around those who use it that easily. Then again... dragon. Kind of expected.

It's Hayate's speaking up that get his attention and bring it away from the fiery dragon-woman over there. "Huh?" He turns his head in her direction and blinks. "A problem? Uh... well, I can try. I'm not sure," he offers.

Karima (235) has posed:
Karima continues to eat some of the rice, as soon the a sliding cup of tea arrives. She catches it and sets it on the other side of her plate, digging now into the main course. She quite expertly pulls out each and every bone from the rib, either by sliding them out thanks to the well cooked nature, or pulling them upwards for the tougher ones. Thankfully, it's quite well done, so the bones slide out with ease. She makes a rather disturbing pile of them next to her plate, which leaves her with a long strip of mostly undisturbed meat.

To that, sticks it in her mouth, and much like how one might slurp up a peice of spaghetti, slurps up the entire rack of ribs, until her cheeks puff out obscenely. She chews it for a few moments and swallows it, a fat yet sharp tongue going around her lips to remove any excess barbecue sauce.

The Dragon looks pleased.

Hayate Yagami (150) has posed:
Hayate answers a bit slowly, on account of watching noodle-ribs-cuisine being practiced a meter or so away from her, and also watching to make sure that she doesn't end up with bits of sauce on her uniform. None dared. "Yeah, the topknot-little-brother. See~" She holds up a charge card, fished from the shallows of a uniform pocket, "I want to order lunch to the expense account, but I'm only allowed to do that here if it's either meeting for official activities, or for an internal group meal. Now, I came here all alone, and if you don't have lunch with me, I'm going to go hungry. You won't let big-sis down, will you?"

Karima (235) has posed:
Karima , only as she picks up the bones and starts to messily crunch them, realizes that she's being...watched. She slows her eating down so that she could talk, sucking in one of the bones in her mouth and crunching it clearly in half as she turns to look towards Haru and Hayate, her earfins wide with confusion.

"What?"

Haru (143) has posed:
...Okay. watching dragons eat is creepy. With that decided, he turns his attention to Hayate. Official activities? "Oh, er... well, I could. What would you be saying we were meeting about, though?" he inquires. Karima's looking at him suddenly has him hunkering down a little. If she can bite bones in half, he definitely doesn't want to have her upset at him. He doesn't want to be next on the menu. "Um... n-nothing."

Hayate Yagami (150) has posed:
"Thanks!" Hayate fetches two copies of the menu off of a nearby stand and neatly drops one into Haru's lap. Clever person, really. Likeable, too. "Ah, well, let me just hand you one of these badges from the contractors I work with. What did you say your name was, again?" Hayate fishes around in a pocket and then pulls out a rather large, prominent badge on a rather short lanyard, proclaiming the wearer to be with Sunflower, a courier service.
A craunching noise breaks Hayate's thought and she turns towards Karima while still holding the badge out in the air, dangling for all to see. "What?"

Karima (235) has posed:
Karima 's tail lashes against the ground with a gentle *Thap!* noise as she turns her full attention on the two. While the female doesn't appear to have been looking towards her, the guy on the other hand, was. She rests her hands in her lap and crosses them one over the other, leaning on them to keep hunched body up. A brow very slowly raises.

"Don't play dumb with me human. What is it? Do I frighten you?"

Haru (143) has posed:
Haru picks up the dropped menu before it hits his lap, and turns it right side up. He blinks at the badge, though. Well, it's temporary, he figures, and accepts the badge. That is, if Hayate has the presence of mind to release it. If not, he can wait until she does to accept it. Once he's sure she'll hear him, he answers the question of his name. "Well I actually didn't but, I'm Haru. Nice to meet you," he offers kindly.

Suddenly Karima's... well, basically calling him out. With all the unknown around him, it's easy to slip back into the cowed ways of the mining village while under occupation. But... not this time. Why? Because Toph would kick his behind, that's why. So instead, he takes a breath, squares his shoulders. Looks to Karima. "There are dragons in my world, and they're thought of as divine. Between that and seeing how strong you are? Honestly, yes. I am."

Hayate Yagami (150) has posed:
Hayate does, indeed, release the badge so that Haru can put it around his neck. Or not, as it might. His answer jolts her out of her mild confusion at the dragon's comments and questions. "Yagami. Nice to meet you. And... you, too." She directs towards Karima, ever so slightly leaning forwards and edging into the space between the two. She was not about to have her lunch dat- erm... 'meeting partner' be unduly interrupted. At least not before lunchtime. The dragon can come too. "Would you like to join us, or are you full~? Perhaps dessert?"

Karima (235) has posed:
Karima smiles towards Haru when he speaks plainly towards her, snickering after a moment of thought. She speaks thoughtfully.

"Isn't that sweet? Most times when I hear of my kind in different universes, they're either jackasses or killed repeatedly. But as long as you are with the Union, we're on the same side, so there's little need to worry about me." She perks her brows when Hayate invites her over and looks back towards her plate of half eaten food. She shrugs and stands, grabbing the large plate with her hands and her tail wrapping around the cup. She brings them over towards the shared table and puts them down in roughly the same order she had it before and sits down, her tail bringing up her tea with a sip.

"Haru and Yagami is it? My name is Karima. And if you are still ordering, I was thinking of getting some crab. You...do have that here, yes? Steamed crab?"

Haru (143) has posed:
Haru scoots a little, so that he can give Hayate room to give Karima room. Though her mention of dragons in his world gets a kind of embarassed look. "Well... a while back the Fire Nation decided to hunt them for sport. Whoever managed to kill one would be called a 'Dragon' himself. That's the Fire Nation, though." He says it as if it should be clear. He's not dressed like Fire Nation, after all. It's even possible that his allegiance could be guessed, just from the fact that he's wearing green and brown instead of red.

Hayate Yagami (150) has posed:
"Ah, Karima. Hi! Oh! Crab! If that's right..." She makes a complicated sort of frown at the air, along with a quick flick of a finger, and brings up what appears to be about six or seven different watches and dials and calendars of strange shapes and persuasions for inspection. The array hovers there for a few seconds while she finds what she needs, and then blinks out just as abruptly as it arrived. "It's a good season for it, actually. Still first molt season for- ah, Karima, Haru, have you ever tried soft-shelled baby crabs from the Yargsentse? They're best deep-fried with salt and pepper, I think. Bite-sized... erm... well, for all three of us, and crispy throughout. Let's get two orders to start..." Hayate, immensely relieved that lunch was going to happen after all, starts pestering the waitstaff and being rather graphic about just how she wants certain things. Other than a, "No allergies, right?" slung Haru's way, she seems to have temporarily escaped the conversation."

Karima (235) has posed:
Karima finishes off her plate of rice while they were waiting, chopsticks scooping up just about every single last grain on the plate. When the question is posed about her eating a specialized crab, she shakes her head.

"Crabs are much smaller here, so it takes awhile to actually make an impact. Where I come from, they're often times bigger than I am with the biggest being the size of a house. You get one of those guys down into a massive boiling pot and you've got dinner for a week or more. Like imagine a peice of crab meat the size of my arm." She gestures towards her arm for reference, sticking it out lengthwise.

Going back to Haru, she frowns a little bit at that, rolling her eyes.

"Just goes to show not everyone with fire powers is a nice person. They don't deserve the power of fire. I had to work to control mine."

Haru (143) has posed:
"Allergies? Not that I know of," Haru replies. Blinking at the strange shapes Hayate summons into the air around herself. He also seems quite surprised at the accounts of crabs that large. "That seems like it'd be hard to catch, though. Well, without it eating you first..." He shakes his head regarding the subject of 'nice' people. "No. The Fire Nation definitely isn't 'nice'..." He sighs, eager to change the subject. He looks to Hayate, and nods. "That sounds good to me, though." Referring to the tiny crab bite thingies.