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

Princess Dunes - Table/buffet area

"It is a simple enough thing, spending some of my money to make the people that I have fought and died with happy. Something I learned from you." he said in response to Hanako. He then followed behind her, admiring the view. He chose a salad with blue cheese, and several different vegetables. Then moving along the buffet he took some brown rice, tempura and added a spare rib. He walked over to the cook and asked for a filet mignon done medium.

Sune took his seat opposite Hanako and took a moment to reflect on both the food and those in the room. He picked up his glass of water and took a sip.

Table/Buffet Area

Sienna shrugged noncommittally at Natsumi's question, eyeing the ridiculously ornate serving dishes the staff scurried about uncovering, revealing the tantalizing sights of even more delicious-looking food than she'd been spoiled with aboard the Eucharis. The aromas of a dozen dishes filled the room, bringing her at least a temporary relief from her concerns.

She felt her face get hot again when Sune mentioned keeping people in line, unable to help feeling like his comment was directed at her. She was actually more than a little surprised that her reaction to Misato received as little attention as it did. All the same, she kept her head down -- as much as she could, anyway, standing taller than nearly everyone present -- and stayed quiet. Picking a seat two away from Hanako and facing the entrance, she placed both of her drinks in front of the chair and watched the admiral and her first mate approach the buffet. She looked around at the others for an instant, and upon seeing no one else get up immediately, took it upon herself to follow them and Natsumi to the buffet.

Glancing at Abigail at the bar, she nodding towards where she'd left the pistol and magazines, wordlessly asking her to stash the weapon and ammunition for the time being. Taking a plate, she selected a number of dishes that looked familiar to her from her time so far aboard the ship -- a small helping of both kinds of rice, some of the tempura vegetables and a bit of the stir fry. Of course, she could hardly pass up the chance to eat a steak either; her mouth was already watering when she watched the chef slice off a piece. She gave him a cool stare when he responded to her request to have it well done with a critical eye, and he acquiesced.

Outside

Kale stumbled under the sudden embrace but recovered before they were both sent to the deck. Thinking back it had been rather humourous really. Though maybe that was just his vindictive side coming out. Kale grinned slightly, tension evaporating.

"I wasn't paying attention for the full thing but I certainly saw the aftermath." the minkan tilted his head. "Wait... the hotel allows guests to go around armed? Something about that seems off... Either way though It's good to know someones enjoying themselves. Either way, we might want to get back inside before they eat the hotel out of both house and home, ne?"

One arm still around her shoulders Kale tried to guide the still giggling scientist inside.

"Time for another drink, I think."

Outside

It took until the giggling finally subsided and her breath had been regained before Chieko realized Kale was still in physical contact. She grinned inside as she had originally figured it would take more time to get him that comfortable and the scientist found the technician's suggestion of another drink quite agreeable.

"Aright, let's go!" the woman called out in a less than lady-like manner, "Onee-san is thirsty!"

Bar

Draining the last bit of water and setting the glass down, Junko thanked the bartender and made for the table. The crew was still trickling over, but she joined the rough queue filtering through the buffet. She reflected as she waited, hoping that with the crew assembling to eat, and around the Shosho, nothing else untoward would happen. It was more than just sheer politeness toward the Chusa; she genuinely wanted everyone to enjoy tonight. She wanted to enjoy tonight. If anything happened to break up their gathering, she wasn't sure if she would cry or snap. Well, that wasn't entirely true: she was pretty sure she'd end up ripping someone's head off.

When it came to her turn to assemble her plate, she selected a sampling of already cooked proteins - leaving the made to order items for the moment, but largely settled for fresh greens and produce. She chose an open spot, across the table and one seat down from Sienna. She set her plate down but did not yet sit herself. Instead, she turned toward the Shosho.

"Ma'am." She bowed deeply toward Hanako and turned.

"Sir." She bowed toward Sune. "Thank you very much."

Bowing deeply once more, she sat, scooted her chair in, and settled her napkin primly across her lap.

Bar

Mitsuko waited for the others to move away from the bar, enjoying her frozen margarita in silence. Eventually she felt like things had settled down enough for her to move. She carefully selected a spot at the table, making sure she didn't sit too close to the civilian. Or too far away, not wanting to get in trouble again. Murakami placed her drink on the table, following the others as a line naturally formed. She tried to focus on the food, selecting a little bit of everything, sampling while such a spread was available. Soon enough she'd settled down in her seat, pondering where to begin. The Neko didn't seem to notice how she'd unconsciously selected a seat that left another right next to her open for her roommate.

Table

Setting her plate down ungracefully in front of her pair of drinks, Sienna pulled her own chair out and went to sit down, although she found doing so to be an unexpected mild challenge in her form-fitting dress. The fabric tugged and pulled along her thighs and backside each time she went to lower herself into the seat, forcing her to stand back up and readjust each time for fear of ripping it, every attempt making her face twist in subtle irritation. She smoothed it beneath her, pulled at the waist, and twisted her hips a little differently on each attempt in an awkward up-and-down kind of dance until she finally managed to arrange it in such a way that allowed her to sit, and stayed her posture in a stiff position while she carefully slid herself forward to the table, afraid to undo her efforts. While she still certainly loved the way she looked all gussied up, keeping up the appearance was certainly proving to be a lot trickier than she'd anticipated.

Knowing it would be a little while before her steak arrived, she surveyed the arrangement of other foods she'd brought back with her. Unsure of where to start, she picked a couple at random, mixing the tempura vegetables with the darker-looking rice and started to eat.

Table

Sune returned Junko's bow with a slight nod of his head. "Thank you for coming." He replied. Sune then watched as others made the circuit and returned to the table. The most amusing by far though was Sienna. He watched as she made several attempts to sit in her new dress. He had considered helping her, but knowing her fierce independent streak thought better of it. He wondered if any of the crew was going to help. But in true Sienna fashion after many attempts she finally managed to get herself seated without mishap. He picked up his glass of wine and took a sip. He then started on his salad.

Bar

Deziarra finally selected the wines she wanted. Since she had never tasted wine before, she raised the glass of wine to her lips slowly and savored the flavor for awhile. Satisfied with the flavor, she took a normal sized sip the way she would do with any other drink. For the moment, her shyness was stronger than her curiosity so she staying where she was. Her eyes drifting from place to place. She felt a bit dizzy but she knew her dizziness did not come from the wine. It was probably just nerves though she could see nothing for her to actually be nervous about. She guess it was just one of those strange emotions she would learn about with age.

Table

Natsumi arrived a minute after Sienna won her battle to sit down. She had loaded up her plate with a tasty assortment of foods to eat. She had ordered steak too, rare, her mouth watered at the thought of it! She set her plate down and settled into her own seat, surprisingly with a little difficulty herself. She smiled at Sienna. She was not overly used to wearing fancy dresses herself really.

"Got steak too?" she asked and grinned.

Looking out a window

Akane remained transfixed on the view outside. Even as the hour grew later, even as others took to drinks and eating, she continued to watch in silence. The view held her attention, not as much for its great beauty as she needed it to give her a way to converse with the others.

She glanced over her shoulder, wondering just which way she should go. As the contemplated the move, she continued to look out and wonder.

Table

Sienna nodded at Natsumi's question, not bothering to look up from her plate as she chewed a rather unladylike-sized mouthful of rice and vegetables. "I ain't gonna pass up a chance to eat a steak," she replied, her voice mumbled by the food before she swallowed it and loaded up another fork full. With her free hand she reached for her beer glass, and in her peripheral vision she caught a glimpse of Sune eating, as well as a few others who had already seated themselves. It had never occurred to her before, given that mealtime up until now was less formal of an affair and she typically secluded herself from the rest of the crew, but now she noticed that the others seemed to be eating much less voraciously than her. It was only because she feared tearing or dissheveling her new dress than she wasn't hunched over the plate. Glancing around the table, hoping nobody noticed, she took a sip of her beer and softly cleared her throat, subtly shaking a little bit of the food off of her fork until it was more modestly sized.

Lobby

Kale steered the seemingly tipsy scientist back into the main restaurant.

"Looks like the dining hath begun." he stated spying some of the crew beginning to tuck in to the feast. "How's about you go get us some seats and Ill go do the bar run. Speaking of which, what do you want to drink?"

If the alcohol wasn't intoxicating enough the smell of the food certainly was. Warm spicy aromas floated across Kale's senses. However it was the Hoisin duck that the waiter was in the process of carrying to the table that had his mouth watering. Slowly his eyes tracked the platter across the room. He wanted to know exactly how to get at it later.

Having done that he turned back to his companion an expectant look on his features.

Lobby

Chieko happily let the young technician steer her around, though she could manage her feet on her own having not drank that much yet. She just enjoyed the treatment and attention while being sure not to be too much of a burden.

Restaurant

Upon getting back into the dining area, the scientist smelled the food before she saw it. The buffet and spread just made her smile inside and out as she counted the various items available. She almost didn't hear what Kale had said until he looked back at her, the words finally popping into her head.

"See if the Shosho still has enough of that red wine to share," Chieko replied with a nod towards Hanako, "Otherwise see about grabbing another - the one with her picture on it."

The academic then regarded the table and noticed a few seats on Junko's side of the table that were open. Chieko nodded to herself then made her way over to the NCO.

"Excuse me, Itto Heisho," she began with a bow, then indicated two seats next to the Neko, "but has anyone taken these seats?"

Table

Junko had been distracted by Sienna's... amusing performance. Judging by looks alone the Nepleslian could have passed as a high-born lady, fitting right in amidst the glitz and glamour; at least, until her table manners were revealed. Still, she noted with satisfaction that the woman appeared to be making an attempt to learn. As a guest Sienna was to be afforded every understanding, but it was also the guest's responsibility not to dishonor the host by being impolite. Junko had no cause for complaint.

Disturbed from her reverie and still faintly amused, she smiled pleasantly as she turned to see who had addressed her.

"Ah, no they are unoccupied, Koizumi-Hei," she said, returning a seated bow of her own. "Please, feel free."

Natsumi smiled. "Steak is good" she grinned and took a bite of her food. She eat carefully out of not wanting to get anything on her dress. She took a sip of her margarita and sighed contently. Everything was so good and she let herself zone out a bit from paying attention to the rest of the room as she enjoyed her meal.

The operations neko settled into her chair a little more. She closed her eyes as she took another sip of her drink, longer this time, enjoying the fruity flavor and the warmth that came with the alcohol. Good food, good drink, everything was, at least for this moment, right with the universe.

Table

Sienna looked at Natsumi sideways, grinning at her self-evident statement, and took a smaller bite of her food, stealing glances at how the others were eating from time to time and making at least a cursory effort to emulate them. It was unfamiliar and awkward to her to be eating in such a manner, and the more miniscule bites felt so inefficient to her. Part of her mind even wanted to believe that she couldn't even taste the food in such scant quantities, but the food she was growing accustomed to with the Yamataians was bursting with flavor compared to the bland synthesized protein pastes and watery stews she had subsisted on for so long. She hoped she wouldn't get too attached to this kind of meal, however; it would be incredibly difficult to go back to the way things were, when that day came.

It took a considerable amount of willpower to keep herself from breaking and tearing into her plate, but she managed to copy the others' eating behaviors well enough, at least in her eyes. At last her steak arrived at the table, sizzling loudly on a hot plate. Her politeness farce lapsed for a second as she downed the rest of her beer and eyed the charred slab of meat hungrily.

Table

Chieko bowed and thanked Junko with polite earnest, then paused for a moment before taking the seat next to the NCO. She then pulled a thin wallet out of her cleavage and placed it on the seat on her empty side for Kale. The scientist looked at all available then searched out her target's head before focusing on it.

"Kale, I found a spot," she sent to him, paused for a moment then sent another message, "Once you get back, I may need to visit the salad bar."

At the table

Hanako topped off her glass and then passed the red wine down toward Chieko and for whoever else wished to pour some. notcing there wasn't much conversation going on, she took it upon herself to start some."With the Mishhuvurthyar threat receded," she began, "we spent most of the year exploring. We had no space combat and three ground combat incidents. We traveled to Yamatai, HX-23, HX-24, HX-21, HX-12, HX-22, UX-3, and finally this jewel of a planet. Essentially, we spent a lot of time on peaceful frontier missions, never staying in one place for long. On the way we found new species, salvage, and new friends. We got a fresh batch of new crew members, most of whom we liked enough to keep!" Hanako grinned. "The universe has been at peace this year more than any I can remember. What do you think will probably happen in YE 36?" she asked those around her. "And do we want to set some goals? I could think of some loose ends we left."

Table

Sienna narrowly prevented herself from practically picking the steak up off of the plate with her bare hands and tearing into it in animal earnest by taking another sip of the frozen margarita sitting next to her empty beer glass. She had to hand it to them; whatever this drink that Mistuko had provided for her was made of, it was indeed good, and took just enough of her attention off of the steak to allow her to demurely push her other plate to the side and bring the sizzling steak in front of her. Slicing off a bite, she put it into her mouth and chewed, closing her eyes and sighing contentedly. She even realized that a quiet moan of satisfaction had slipped out before she could stop it, but she didn't care. She hadn't been treated to a steak in years.

Hanako's attempt to begin a debriefing broke her from her bliss, and she opened her eyes to look around semi-expectantly at the rest of those seated as she chewed. She didn't expect that she was among those addressed, nor did she feel it concerned her. Her eyes paused on Chieko, lording over the empty seat next to her with a focused gaze locked firmly on Kale at the buffet. She smirked mischievously at the scientist's obvious and barely-restrained affinity for the techie; if it were any more apparent to her, she'd expect Chieko to dart across the room and drag Kale off to a bedroom by the back of his shirt.

Off by one of the windows, she noticed one of the newer crew members staring idly out into the cityscape. Akane, she vaguely remembered, was her name, or at least she was pretty sure. She raised an eyebrow as she took another bite of her steak, her idle curiosity at just what the silent recruit was so transfixed upon brushed away by the tingling sensation that washed throughout her entire body at the delectable next taste of her meal.

Glancing to the seat at her side, between her and Hanako, she saw that Natsumi seemed to be equally lost in paradise as she enjoyed the meal before her. It didn't seem that anybody was the least bit concerned with her and Misato's botched scuffle earlier, and her self-consciousness about it was starting to fade away. Taking another drink of her margarita, she waited to see if anyone had anything to say in response to the Shosho, more out of the fact that she was surrounded by them rather than out of any real interest.