RP: YSS Eucharis [Post Mission 20.1] Dinner at the Princess Dunes Restaurant

Sienna's face was still twisted in confusion. It didn't seem like a single other person present had interpreted Misato's rather reckless presentation of a firearm the same way she had, which made little sense to her and only served to worsen her embarrassment at her rather violent reaction. Perhaps it was best that she had stumbled before things escalated further, but it didn't make her feel any better. Misato's wild change of demeanor further perplexed her, and now Mitsuko had been asked to provide her with another drink. Had she been right in thinking that this was all just a dream after all, and now it was starting to take a wacky turn for the worse? Or had everyone just lost their minds?

She looked at Mitsuko as the Neko bowed, but the only thing she offered in return was a continuation of her blank, bewildered expression. When she turned on her heel to head to the bar, Sienna watched her for a second, then looked at Chieko and Natsumi with her brow furrowed in a partial frown, as if to wordlessly ask them just what in the dickens had just happened.

Not certain what other options were available to her, and really just desiring to use any opportunity to dodge the attention her stupid stunt had attracted, she drew herself up and followed Mitsuko to the bar. A dull ache throbbed in her hip where she had landed, and she wobbled occasionally as she walked in her heels, but she otherwise tried to keep her shoulders back and her chin up as she strode across the room. She wasn't sure she really wanted to be here anymore.

Arriving at the bar and walking up to the spot next to Mitsuko, she noisily dropped the pistol, magazines, and empty wine glass on the bar's surface with a clatter, never once taking her eyes off of the back or side of Mitsuko's turned-away head. She leaned forward on the bar, propped up by her hands, and chewed on her tongue as she mulled over the night's events thus far, still staring at Mitsuko as if expecting some kind of exchange.

Chieko grinned in response to Natsumi's comment about food and nodded in agreement to Sienna's hope that it arrive soon. Seeing Misato arrive in a kimono, on the other hand, actually managed to surprise her with what little she knew about the infantry Neko. She then got down to the NCO's boots and the scientist could only shake her head; the thought of grabbing her geta from her room soon coming to mind.

Any plan the academic had bubbling in her mind, however, was soon broken as Misato began extracting Sienna's gift from her kimono. Chieko's blood chilled as she began recognizing the black shape; her hand dropping her drink in order grab at some air next to her hip - twice - before registering the ballet that began to unfold. The shock nearly paralyzed her until the pair fell together; her hand moving to her slowly opening mouth that soon acquired a twist of amusement.

The young woman stayed quiet through the ordeal on the floor, nearly having to hold her breath in order to avoid laughing. She then brought her other hand up to aid in keeping the threatening uproarious noise from reaching her throat. Soon Chieko shook from the effort, small giggles leaking before she deemed it necessary to take a break in the 'bathroom' - or at least that was how she excused herself - then made her way out of the restaurant.

The scientist moved with great speed, out into the lobby, through the doors, then down a walkway and around a corner to ensure she was not being watched. Anyone outside the hotel would have heard a great noise of unleashed cackling and laughter - enough to scare a dog into barking. There Chieko continued to let loose, until calm or caught.

Bar

Mitsuko jumped slightly as the items clattered to the counter. She glanced at them, blinked, then looked back up at Sienna. The Neko didn't seem to have much to say, although she clearly wasn't pleased by the display. After a moment, she pushed the frozen margarita further towards the civilian, until it bumped up against the pistol, clearing marking it as Sienna's drink. By now her replacement beverage had arrived, and she was happy for the distraction. Murakami focused on the cold drink for now. She'd been ordered to escort Sienna to the bar and get her a frozen margarita, and she'd done so. She was being very careful not to be openly rude, but being nice was still asking a bit much.

It all happened so fast. Misato had arrived and then drew a gun. That had sent chills down Natsumi's spine. She had instantly reached in to try and make a go for it. What the hell was going on? Why was Misato pulling a gun on Sienna. First earlier in the day Mitsuko had gone off on the Nepleslian woman, now Misato? This was all too much. Before she was able to do anything though, Sianna and Misato had gone down. There was no shooting, no additional violence and soon things were explained. It was an attempt at giving a gift gone wrong.

Natsumi rubbed her temples and sighed at the irony of it all. She noted Chieko rushing off and Mitsuko hesitantly following orders to get Sienna a drink. Natsumi sighed again, finished all of the rest of her wine in a big gulp and followed after Sienna to the bar. She took the spot to her right and set the empty wine glass down softly, choosing to not make much noise, she figured Sienna's nerves might be a little on edge now.

"Well...that was unexpected" she mused. "Are you alright, Sienna?" she asked and let her red eyes drift over to Mitsuko, who looked like she was two seconds from having issues again. She did not understand what the logistics neko had going on in her little mind and why she was so negative to their guest.

Junko entered the restaurant feeling a little awkward in her new dress, decidedly more-so than when she had been picking it out earlier. Was it too short? Was it too formal? Was it too informal? The possibilities for her to have failed to meet the social expectations seemed boundless and as such she had spent far too long fussing over her appearance in her room’s mirror. Thus when the wide variety of styles and cuts of clothing came into view she felt relieved; at least she was within the acceptable set of options.

These social concerns fled in short order. Her eyes narrowing and hands falling to the waist of her red halter-neck, knee-length dress, she found she could not fathom what might possibly have happened to have already turned Suzume’s gorgeous kimono into a wine-stained, shredded mess. The presence of the Taii as an escort relieved her, at least enough to let her refrain from making any direct inquiries. Whatever she had expected this party to be certainly hadn't included this, and so she made for the bar.

In a complete reversal from the moment before, her eyes widened as she spotted Mitsuko and Sienna apparently drinking together. She blinked at the scene a few times. Concluding that she was either misinterpreting something or that everyone was already significantly more intoxicated than she had expected, she shook her head resignedly and ordered a water. She hadn't a clue about what might come next, so being prepared - and fully hydrated - seemed like the indicated next step.

Bar

Pointedly keeping her back to the room as if hiding her face from the majority of those gathered would somehow hide her more effectively, Sienna glanced down at the margarita that Mitsuko had silently nudged her way, then back up at the logistics officer. Ignoring the frozen concoction for the moment, she continued to gnaw on her tongue and the inside of her cheek until Natsumi spoke.

"Well," she replied lowly in an overtly sarcastic upbeat tone, turning her head to face Natsumi on her other side, her eyes hanging on Mitsuko until the last second as if they were glued to her by some invisible thread that tore when her line of sight was finally broken. She turned her eyes to Natsumi, eyebrows raised. "Confused, embarrassed as hell, and a little pissed off, frankly," she continued in the same terse, quiet voice. She barely managed to catch herself on the bar as a shift in her balance nearly made her heels roll out from beneath her again, and she swore under her breath.

Natsumi looked at Sienna, nodding. "Well I can't blame you for feeling that way" she said. "Though I'm sure Misato feels just as embarrassed. I'm sure she did not mean to cause any trouble" she smiled reassuringly.

She glanced down at the pistol Misato had gifted to Sienna. "Looks like a nice pistol she gave you" the neko indicated, then was quiet for a few long moments. "You'll be okay you know" she said, glancing back at Sienna, speaking quietly. "Things happen, no one got hurt and no ones intentionally did anything to upset anyone." She smiled reassuringly

Bar

Bors couldn't help but chuckle at the display, he personally wished it evolved into a cat fight but sadly it was cut short.

"Think I found Misato." Bors said after the two ladies were escorted apart from each other. Sipping in his drink he couldn't help but overhear the ShoSho talking about banning guns on the planet.

"Seems like that would do more harm than good to me ShoSho, a nice place like this with no weapons seems like an invasion waiting to happen."

Restaurant

The sharp sound of two people crashing to the floor had Kale turning around in his seat with a raised eyebrow. Well you didn't see that sort of thing every day. He studied the reactions of his crew-mates who seemed to have it well in hand, though he was a little surprised at seeing Chieko dash from the room. Puzzled by this he followed, albeit in less of a hurry.

Outside

He was just in time to see the tail end of her dress as she disappeared around a street corner. The laughter caught him somewhat off guard, loud though it was.

"You alright there Chi?" he asked as he approached.

Bar

While Natsumi was speaking, Sienna gruffly asked a beer of the bartender. She was aware of the frozen drink Mitsuko had pushed next to her, but at that moment, all she wanted was a sliver of something familiar to anchor herself to in this mess, and was in no mood to make an effort to expand her horizons into further fruity territory. Natsumi continued to attempt to reassure her as the bartender brought over a pint glass of a rich-looking amber with a slender layer of thick foam floating on top, a brew much less pale and watery-looking than she was used to. Still, it was much closer to her comfort zone, and she picked it up, tossing the whole thing back in four consecutive gulps. Somewhere between a heavy slam and a gentle hand, she placed the now-empty glass back down on the bar and snatched the greenish frozen drink from beside her.

Taking a long, slow breath, she calmed her nerves and let the warm, soothing sensation of the beer do its thing. "Uh huh," she said in reply, her tone of voice nondescript and murky. Looking up, she turned to her side and leaned an elbow on the bar, her bruised hip facing out into the room. She peered at Natsumi with an exaggerated shrug of her eyebrows and a tight-lipped smile, she lifted the margarita ever so slightly in her direction in pseudo-enthusiastic cheers. "Long as nobody else has any gifts for me," she added wryly, and held the frozen drink to her nose, taking a whiff.

It actually smelled quite good, to her surprise. A citrusy scent mixed with something she couldn't quite put her finger on wafted into her nostrils. Gingerly she tasted it, and couldn't help forget about her embarrassment for an instant. She took another drink of the cold, refreshing slush and nodded approvingly. She could handle this one.

Bar

Mitsuko delicately, quietly slurped at her own drink through a straw. She remained turned towards the bar, shoulders hunching slightly as she resisted the urge to spin around and greet Natsumi. She was busy talking to someone else, after all. Riko's comment drew a small smile from her, although she didn't otherwise respond.

"Thank you sir... Wasn't sure what to do back there." Misato smiled ans she held the jacket tight around her. "Was afrad I would have had to make this walk in a tattered dress."

She quietly walked a few steps. "Sir were those your little sisters? I'm sorry to have caused a scene in front of them. I really didn't mean to. Just sort of went wild there... Maybe the Shosho was right, I should have wrapped the damned thing." With out thinking she wrapped an arm around his and hugged up against it. "I'm really sorry, you think Sienna will forgive me?" She herself didn't understand what she was doing.

Outside

Chieko gasped and nearly jumped when Kale caught her, the woman's hands shot back up to her mouth to hold the noise in as she tried to catch her breath. Soon her face went red and the giggles started to leak again until she couldn't stand it no more and let the laughter back out again.

"Did - did you see that!" the scientist gasped between bouts, "That was priceless!"

She continued to laugh as she reached out and pulled the poor technician into an embrace, shaking with her cackling and tears in her eyes. The academic patted him on the back a few times in a way that she normally would have known was rather rude; but the hilarity of the receding moment still clung fresh to her digital mind. Like an avid meme follower with the replay button, Chieko watched the incident over and over in her head.

Bar

Natsumi glanced at the menu and saw the drinks Sienna had. "Hmm" she remembered how good the margarita had been last time they visited this planet. She pondered for a moment if she should try something new or order one of those. She shrugged to herself after a moment and ordered a margarita. No reason not to go with what she knew was good. Within a few moments her drink was delivered and she took a long sip of the fruity beverage.

"Mm yummy!" she grinned and let out a long and content sigh. She then let her eyes drift back over to where Mitsuko was hunched over just on the other side of Sienna, looking all uncomfortable. She was not sure what to think of the mousy logistics neko anymore since what had happened earlier in the day. She had not expected such a level of negativity and rudeness out of someone she had always known to be kind and polite. She wanted to try and do something to patch things up between her and Sienna, they had obviously got off on the wrong foot somewhere, but she had no idea where or how to start and this was not the place to start something that might cause more awkwardness and frustration. Natsumi chewed on her lip for a moment, then took another long sip from her drink as she thought over what she could do to try and remedy the situation.

Sune looked at Hanako, "Well, now that the entertainment is over. I will signal for the food. As for the games, there are a variety. Most of them involve folks working together to win." He walked up to Abigail, please signal the kitchen to bring the food out. She picked up the handset in the bar and punched a few buttons. She relayed Sune's request. A minute later the wait staff began bringing in food.

Sune walked over to the table. He placed his glass of wine at the chair at the head of the table.

"My friends, if you would kindly choose a seat at the table. The food is bring brought out. There is a salad bar that you can start with. There is also a variety of fruit you can add to your salad or eat alone. We have a variety of Sushi and Sashimi. We have two kinds of rice and tempura vegetables and Teriyaki beef, chicken and pork. We have stir fried beef, shrimp and chicken. For those who want something a little different, there is a potato bar and spare ribs.

Over in the corner we have a cook to prepare steak or salmon. If you want something from him, just tell him what you want and how. He'll bring it to the table when its ready."

Bar

Sienna, after listening to Sune's announcement, waved Abigail down once more for another pint of whatever beer it was she had brought to her before. She wondered for a moment whether or not Sune would object to her sitting at the bar, away from the main gathering, but it didn't take her long to decide that such a move would probably just make things worse. There was no point in just leaving either; she had no idea where she would go, and she was hungry.

Picking up the cold pint that the bartender placed before her in her left hand and the margarita in her right, she turned to face the table. She looked at Natsumi and flicked her head gruffly to the side to signal that she would follow her.

Hanako had planned to sit next to Sune, or rather for him to sit next to her since she was the admiral, but then she watched Sune put his glass at the end of the table; she perceived it as a clear power play and, feeling she had to respond in turn, she instead took her seat at the opposite end, placing her wine bottle and glass in front of her and smoothing her short, fluffy dress over her alabaster thighs. "Salmon sounds delicious. Are we to be served or is this buffet-style?" she asked Sune, glancing around for waitstaff.

Natsumi followed Sienna, her margarita in hand. The menu Sune had announced sounded awesome and now she was feeling pretty hungry. "This all looks yummy" she said as she fell into step next to Sienna. "What do you think you're going to start with?" she asked and eyed her friend, trying to gauge her mood. She eyed the selection of food and started making a mental list of what she wanted to start with. She was tempted to just load up a couple plates and go nuts, her metabolism would support it, but she might look a little piggish going for so much all at once!

Dining Room - Table

Sune watched Hanako as she moved to the other end of the table. "First, as you said earlier. For most of us present, this gathering consists of our family. So in the tradition of the people who found me. I have chosen to have us sit family style. With the family heads at either end of the table. Although in this case I hope that we will not need to keep anyone in line." He said with a smile.

"As for the food, it is actually a bit of both. First pass on the buffet is self serve so that you know what is on it. The items from the grill, after you place your order will be brought to you. After that you can either go back to the buffet or you can ask the staff to bring you what you want from it." He walked around to stand next to Hanako. "So as the heads of the group, we have the privilege of going first. After you Hanako-Chan." he said pointing to the buffet.

The wait staff were starting by with pitchers of water, which they would fill the glasses on the table with as people chose their place.

Princess Dunes - Table/buffet area

"Thank you." Hanako rose from her seat and led the way to the food, starting with a small salad with berries and blue cheese, a bowl of sticky white rice, and some of the tempura vegetables. After dropping those off at her place at the table, she nearly glided to the salmon station, although at least her toes stayed on the carpet. "Sune, It is very kind of you to treat us to dinner," she thanked their host as she passed by him on the way. She asked for a salmon cut done medium and returned to her seat. As the others went to get food, she watched and contemplated on her relationships with them.