(no subject)

[latrodectus]

WHO: Gil (invoking) & Natasha (latrodectus)
WHERE: A nice but somewhat bland business luncheon establishment.
WHEN: Some ordinary weekday afternoon.
WARNINGS: N/A
SUMMARY: Gil and Natasha have an Awkward Business Lunch.
FORMAT: Whatever.

Natasha was enigmatic by nature and by design; maybe that was why she'd decided to take Gil to lunch.

It was a very beige affair, this restaurant, with heavy cream curtains and a light touch of gilding to the chairs. The tables were spaced wide enough for talking and the waiter (who called himself Mark) wore a black vest with a suitably pastel tie. Without glancing at the menu, Natasha could tell the food would be competent, but lacking in imagination.

Business as usual.

Comments

[latrodectus]

"They did kill Socrates. Made him drink poison. Hemlock." She took another sip of her wine, like that was some kind of punchline.

[invoking]

He nearly knocked over his glass as he reached for it.

"They? And... why would they do that?" He couldn't tell if there was something deeper behind those words or Natasha was just spouting random facts.

[latrodectus]

"Socrates was a philosopher, who spent his life asking why, and came to realize that a great many men who thought themselves intelligent were not actually so. The people of Athens sentenced him to death, and Socrates took it willingly, because no philosopher fears death, it's just another great unknown." She paused. "The real thing about Socrates is that other writers like to think things about Socrates. He's a parable."

After a minute, she added. "I think he must have been insufferable, personally."

[invoking]

He turned his gaze back on her with renewed interest. It was true that back home, questioning everything could garner negative attention. Unless you were Pandora or from a noble family-- you could get away with it to some degree.

"Socrates sounds much like Duke Barma," he said, a little unimpressed. Insufferable was almost accurate in his friends' eyes and he didn't fault them for that.

[latrodectus]

"A philosopher-king?" That was Plato's thing, but really so was Socrates. She actually was curious to hear more about Gil's world, even if that information didn't hold much use.

[invoking]

"The head of the Barma dukedom. He's always in the pursuit of knowledge." It was helpful in their quest to find the seals, but Duke Barma wasn't always pleasant with them. "There are four noble families... so Barma is one of them."