capeandcowllogs | TURKEY DAY AT THE PIE HOLE II

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TURKEY DAY AT THE PIE HOLE II

WHO: Ned and Digby and you and you and you and all your closest friends
WHERE: The Pie Hole pie restaurant and bakeshop
WHEN: Thanksgiving Day, November 22 8am - November 23 1am (he'lll stick around for any stragglers tho)
WARNINGS: Shouldn't be any...
SUMMARY: Ned invites the whole City to the Pie Hole. He and Zatanna are cooking and baking everything (there are meat and meatless options), but feel free to bring a favorite from home!
FORMAT: quick/spam; make your own threads for your own people or table. on open threads estimate the time of arrival.
NO ONE IS EVER LATE!!!!!

[From the outside, the Pie Hole hasn't changed much, though the window is draped in elaborate snowflake-shaped lights, but inside is a whole other story. Zatanna has made quite a spectacle of the place, a huge banquet hall filled with long and short tables for enjoying your meal with any number of friends. And the decorations are outrageous. Ned's Christmas decorations, which were already over-the-top have all been magically enhanced and Thanksgivingsized like little crystalline pumpkin baubles and overspilling cornucopia on each buffet table, lined up in front of the kitchen. Ned is firmly putting his foot down this year: no one is to enter his kitchen but Zee or himself.

He'll be serving regular pie menu as well as breakfast (frittatas) until twelve noon at which point there will be an hour or two for people to arrive and mingle. The food will be out by 1:30-2 pm and dessert to be served at 3 pm. Ned just wants everyone to have a great day so come in and make yourself at home!! There are a few kegs as well if you all didn't listen and byob...]

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Yes, of course. [ It's a lie, but it doesn't show easily enough. The only one capable of seeing when she does tell an untruth is the knight in red nearby, who's been witness to her poor demeanor since her return. ] You didn't expect me to hold a grudge or be disappointed in losing, did you?

The whole spectacle was unfair, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. No point in crying over spilled beverages.

[ It's milk, Rin. ] Are you going to properly introduce yourself to me now or should we continue to not address each other by name? Either works for me, but the latter means I'll have to get creative with what I call you.

[ She has a feeling that calling him by anything to do with his hair might not go over well, but it's not as though she can refer to just anyone as Idiot. ]

If I call you idiot, this guy next to me might think I'm talking to him. So let's bypass the misunderstandings.

[ Archer's gaze flicks over Bradbury, quite clearly sizing him up. In the process, he allows Rin to get away with that lie with only a brief, unreadable glance in her direction.

After a moment, he inclines his head slightly to the other man: a kind of grudging, tacit permission given to so much as speak to the girl he guards.

Bradbury seems sincere. And Archer remembers: he showed that sincerity on the grounds of the stadium as well. So he doesn't challenge him. Instead he speaks more to Rin. ]

You've many varied tones, from "petulant" to "sullen." I'm sure I could tell when an Idiot is meant for me. Feel free to call this man what you wish.

[ His gaze flickers between them, like he isn't sure smiling is appropriate, but the way they speak to one another implies a level of familiarity he's all too accustomed to. Yeah, he can tell these two must have known each other for a while, or at least know each other pretty well. The banter has the feeling of a well-worn, comfortable argument. He lifts a hand to his mouth, ostensibly to be polite as he clears his throat. ]

Honestly, I wouldn't know what to expect. Seems just as many people are glad to see me alive as pissed at me for being gone in the first place.

Name's Rick Bradbury. Head of security for City Hall. [ He doesn't reach out a hand to shake, but he does incline his head respectfully. ] I usually just go by Bradbury.

[ He trails off at that, hand waving as if to say, 'your turn.' ]

Rin Tohsaka.

[ Having spent enough time in England, she's grown accustomed to introducing herself in the Western style in comparison to the Eastern manner she's grown up with. ]

Not in education, employment, or training. [ She adds after before considering the irony of her words. ] You said you're in charge of security for City Hall though?

How did a guy in your position get stuck in the circumstances surrounding... er, the other week that is.

[ She's honestly not sure what to call the whole incident. ]

I don't think anybody involved had a choice, Rin.

[ Archer speaks up there, and from the look in his eyes he's more lost in his own bitterness than defending Bradbury. ]

Possession doesn't really take such things as jobs and training into account.

[ Bradbury tips his head at Archer in acknowledgement. Circumstances being what they are, he can understand the frustration in being unable to protect your charge better than anyone. At least he only had to watch Mitch go through a fake death - Archer wasn't nearly as lucky. ]

Yeah, I think your friend's got a point. [ Since Archer didn't introduce himself, they'll just have to live with his assumptions until they correct him otherwise. ]

As far as I can tell, everyone who ended up in there was someone who replied to its... invitation, if you can call it that. [ He doesn't know why HABIT chose some people and not others, though. ]

Geez, you're just saying that because you helped me replied.

[ It's a shot to the man in the red more than Bradbury, but Rin always gets this way when her pride is placed on the line. Their implications that she had no choice means that she lost control briefly of her life and that's a fate crueler than death in her mind. ]

"It"? [ That bothers her more than it should. ] So no one knows who was responsible for all of that? Geez, how frustrating...

I'm never going to use that stupid cell phone ever again though. The one time I try to and look what happens. Someone ought to do the responsible thing and take them away from all the other young ladies who were there too.

[ He wasn't going to introduce himself--he was just going to be a red shadow. But apparently, being called Rin's friend is a bit much. He frowns slightly, and after a few moments, he clarifies: ]

Consider me her guardian. I'm called Archer.

[ His frown deepens as he looks back at Rin. ]

Yes, let's leave them without a way of communicating with other imPorts. That's certainly a good idea.

[ Well, that's an interesting reaction from Archer, but he's occupied by answering Rin's question. ]

Actually -- [ If she doesn't use the network, he realizes, she probably hasn't seen, and there's a bit of a questioning look for Archer there, as if he's surprised the other man hasn't mentioned it. Welp, sorry Archer, he's going to enlighten her. ]

The guy who was responsible for it posted on the network. He's been arrested - asked for it, really - or at least the schmuck he was hitching a ride on at the time was. [ He figures he doesn't need to point out that arresting one body isn't going to do much to stop a guy who can possess others. ]

[ Yeah, Archer's getting a different kind of look from Rin, almost as though she's sour he's failed to mention it to her. It's not hard to pick up on since unlike him, she has no interest in masking her emotions in this place. Forget the snarky remark from before, she's actually hurt he kept this information from her. ]

Someone asks to be arrested and people do it? [ Muttering: ] What gullible law enforcement...

So what's going to happen now as a result of that?

[ Archer keeps an impressive poker face at that revelation, meeting Bradbury's questioning look with blank eyes.

He wasn't going to let her know until he'd finished dealing with HABIT himself, thank you very much. But there's no point in getting mad about it now. ]

It seems they'll find a way to try him. I'll be interested to know how that goes.

[ Bradbury shrugs, looking a little apologetic for the lapse. It doesn't take much to read Rin's evident displeasure. ]

Honestly? I've got no idea.

[ All he knows is how it's a PR nightmare for his boss, and he frowns just thinking about it. He shifts, uncomfortably, on his feet. ]

Either way, I don't think killing that guy's gonna fix anything.

It'd make a few of us feel better at least.

[ Rin abruptly speaks before thinking, before quickly stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket. ] Not that I need his blood or anything to feel better. Because it'd have to bother me in the first place and there's no way I feel bothered by him in the first place so that's that.

[ Clearly bothered, she tries to steer the conversation somewhere not far from the original topic, but straying from more personal matters. ]

I hope they're not expecting me to show up as a witness. I have no interest in that sort of thing and I doubt many of the others want to speak about it. So how will a trial go?

[ The blink-and-you'll-miss-it expression of vicious eagerness on Archer's face at that comment from Bradbury rather suggests that he doesn't care whether killing HABIT fixes anything. But he makes it vanish, because Rin quite obviously does not want to talk about this. ]

Poorly, I imagine. But so long as he's under supervision and can't harm anyone else, it's not our business.

Because he's below you, Rin.

[ "So let me handle it," he'd say, but that's difficult with Bradbury here, and besides, it's not something he needs to tell her, is it? ]

[ They're a bit of a bloodthirsty pair, aren't they? But though he gives them an askance look, his only response is to shake his head. ]

So far it's been quiet, so... [ He nods at Archer. ] Like he said, all we can do right now is keep an eye on him.

[ He looks at Rin a bit critically, as if he's assessing her somehow, but he decides not to comment, eventually. It just doesn't seem like a good idea, since they've just met. Instead, he tips his head to the side. ]

Anyway, I just came over to see how you were doing, I guess. Sorry if I'm interrupting -- I'll let you get back to eating.

So long as you do that, he shouldn't be any concern to anyone else here... right?

[ Rin just has to confirm that much since she's not sure she can rely on Archer to handle things. Shifting awkwardly in front of him, Rin looks off to the side once more as sign that she's done talking. ]

It's, um, good to see you alive and well. If you do need to get in touch with me, you should call Archer or stop by my apartment for a visit.

[ She doesn't use the communication devices they're given for Good Reason. ]

Oh? I see you're inviting guests, Rin. You know that means you'll have to keep the apartment clean.

[ Or, more likely, make him keep it clean. But he's willing to make that sacrifice if it means guiding her attention away from the topic of HABIT. ]

Yeah. [ It's all he really has to offer in response to the invitation, a bit lamely. He doesn't really see why he would go to see her, but "thanks, but no thanks" sounds incredibly ungrateful, even to his own ears.

Something about the way she phrases that, and Archer's response, makes his gaze swing between them for a moment, brow quirking, like he's starting to question the simple title of "guardian," but he should probably leave it be...

...Nah, he can't really resist asking. ]

Wouldn't calling your phone make more sense, though, instead of his?

[ ... Oh, he had to go and ask that question, didn't he? ]

The only time I ever used that stupid cell phone... [ Her voice trails off for a moment as her eyes wander elsewhere. She's used it once and that ended up signing her up for the Thungerdome. ] Well, it doesn't matter. It only causes me trouble, so until I get a real phone, calling for me through Archer is less trouble for all of us.

Except me.

[ But he half-smiles even as he sighs; he doesn't seem seriously put off by the extra work, whatever it may be. ]

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TURKEY DAY AT THE PIE HOLE II

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late, me??? NEVER

pfft you're fine <3 unlimited backtagging works!

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