I saw Cinderella in a party dress

[heal_or_execute]

WHO: Mordin and Molly
WHERE: A Chinese restaurant
WHEN: Evening of Sunday the 15th
WARNINGS: None
SUMMARY: Mordin takes Molly out to dinner
FORMAT: Quicklog

[Recent... misunderstandings with Peter have prompted Mordin to re-evaluate some of his interactions with humans, with an eye toward reducing future awkwardness. Mordin has asked Molly to join him for dinner with that in mind. Perhaps an evening of noodles and pleasant conversation will balance out the crickets he ate in front of her...

Mordin pulls Molly's seat out for her as they are led to their table.]

Pleased you could make it tonight, Molly.

Comments

[ecphrasis]

[Really, she's over the crickets. Mostly. Alright, so she avoids him in the lunchroom when she sees he has a box of food. But she doesn't like him any less! He's still a fantastic doctor and someone she considers a friend. The invitation to dinner had, honestly, been unexpected but not unwelcome. And she smiles at how much of a gentleman he is, pulling out her seat and such.]

I wouldn't have missed it for the world! Thank you for inviting me.

[heal_or_execute]

[Mordin takes his own seat and smiles back.]

Thanks unnecessary. Needed a night out- clear head, get fresh perspectives on problems. Conversation stimulates thought processes. Better than eating alone.

[He doesn't mean to say you're there to enhance his efficiency, Molly.]

[ecphrasis]

[Luckily, she doesn't take it that way. Instead, she just laughs a bit. She completely understands his need to be... efficient. Sort of.]

Two heads are better than one, definitely! [She grabs the menu, casually perusing.] What are you thinking of having? I've never been here before.

[heal_or_execute]

Me neither. New experience. Considering noodles with shrimp. Unsure about sauce, though. Many options.

[Mordin isn't touching his menu. He casually memorized every word of it while looking this place up online. It's basically how he rolls.]

[ecphrasis]

[It would impress Molly anyway, even if it wasn't meant to. She looks for a bit longer before nodding absently.] Maybe I'll get shrimp too. Oh, or lasagna... I'm so bad at choosing at restaurants! [She laughs at herself.]

[heal_or_execute]

Don't recommend lasagna.

[Mordin shakes his head.]

Italian food at Chinese restaurant. Support cultural cross-pollination, but in this case, quality may be questionable.

[ecphrasis]

[Her eyebrows raise in surprise, but she does nod a bit.] That makes sense. Hm... what would you suggest then?

[heal_or_execute]

Many options... might enjoy the Kung Pao. Sauce has distinctive flavour, I've found. Pleasantly spicy.

[ecphrasis]

[She immediately sets down the menu. She trusts Mordin's judgement, strange as it may seem.] Kung Pao it is!

[heal_or_execute]

[One order-placing later, Mordin turns the talk to non-food matters.]

How is your work going, Molly?

[ecphrasis]

[And she is definitely excited to talk about this.]

Excellent! Rossum is doing better than ever, and there hasn't been any major catastrophes during my night shift at the clinic lately.

[heal_or_execute]

Good. Daily tasks running smoothly frees up more time for other projects. Wonder if you might be available to assist with some research. Have many projects currently, could use fresh input.

[Because managing a company and helping at the clinic isn't busy enough, at least by Mordin's standards.]

[ecphrasis]

[Molly doesn't need sleep. She has infinite coffee.]

Of course I'll help! What sort of research is it?

[heal_or_execute]

Testing anti-Vulcanus tech. Modified power dampener, intended to affect non-ImPorts.

[Mordin frowns slightly.]

Understand City Hall recently assaulted by Red Death. More important to find a defense now. Clearly more hostile metas than previously known.

[ecphrasis]

[Her brow furrows.]

Affect them how? You mean, people that Vulcanus has given powers to?

[heal_or_execute]

Correct. Vulcanus developed tech to take away our powers. Intend to turn it against them, neutralize their strongest combatants.

[Mordin smiles at the thought. It's an efficient and scientific way of quickly defeating an enemy, just the way he likes it.]

[ecphrasis]

[She considers, and then nods.]

I'm not much of a fighter or anything, but I do want to keep people safe.

[heal_or_execute]

Excellent. No combat skill required. Experiment will just test effect on your powers. If successful, use of machine won't interfere with your coffee.

[On that note, here comes their food! Mordin's shrimp look delicious.]

[ecphrasis]

[So does her Kung Pao! Molly is super excited and immediately takes a bite before answering, first with a hum of approval for the food, and then:]

As long as it's safe.

[heal_or_execute]

[Mordin's already tucking in to his meal. He has to pause to suck in some noodles before answering. With lips like his, the motion is a little... odd.]

Completely safe. With your powers, chance of malfunction minimal. Mild burns from coffee spills worst that could happen.

Barring device exploding, of course. Always something to keep in mind, but extremely unlikely in this case.