[Black Cats Headquarters] Fast food for two

[Winston]

Food for fun!

Inside Chest ~ Before the meal

It was one of those nights when the shadows seemed to take on lives of their own, scurrying across the stone floors of

Chest's

interior like fleeting creatures, running from the light. Winston shivered and his whiskers twitched excitedly as he carefully laid out the chalked circles and glyphs upon the floor, following the alchemical formulae from the tome he had developed, containing his various inventions. A single misplaced rune and who knew what pandimonium could be unleashed upon the world?

"You missed a bit..." Interjected

Joe

mischievously.

The ferret paused and back over what he had done... "Oh! Thank... No I didn't." He protested as he gave it a final tripple-check.

In truth, the diri had no idea what Winston was doing and no skill in any of the things that would help him do it, however it was surprising how often saying that worked. Joe was quite convinced that he had personally averted many a disaster using this tactic, though in the ferret's defence, it had become far less common for him to miss things during the process of alchemy these trials. "...Just checking."

Shaking his head with a grin, he lit the ring of candles as he continued the intricate alchemy, combining essences of the mushrooms with that of the blood he had been granted by Balthazar to create the portal. "Soh far, so good! No unexpected explosions ar transdimensional incursions as af yet." He proclaimed with a smile.

"That a possibilities is it? A trans-di-whats-it?" Queried his companion with a nervous smile.

Winston jsut shrugged. "Prabably nat..." Winston had discussed this in detail with balthazar, going over the intricacies of his magic and the alchemy involved and how to apply it via the blood magic, it been a long time in planning, but that didn't mean things couldn't go wrong.

"So yes. Yes it is a POSSIBILITY."

The rather impish grin told the spirit all he heeded to know as the ferret continued to charge the alchemical process with the catalysts. He's show Balthazar his own flavour of alchemy, but it differed from his considerably, though there were many shared roots that they had discussed during the planning phases.

Carefully, painstakingly, he traced the final glyphs, closing the circle. Now for the riskiest part... Activating the portellar to link this place with the receiving circle on the other side of the room.

Having painstakingly worked the metal of the circles, he'd managed to create the large hoops and worked in the alchemy ready for use.

Gripping his tuning fork, Winston struck it sharply upon the plinth at the side of the first device, starting to sing. The pure note it emitted caused the very air to resonate, the sigils and circles flaring into blinding azure luminescence.

When Winston's vision cleared, there shimmering before him was the portellar, glimmering and glowing. He allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction before throwing a sandwich through the rippling surface of the portal...

*SPLAT*

Went the luncheon as it came out the other side of the portal and landed on the floor on the other side of the room.

At the meal

Winston had heard of the Black Cats, heard that they were Balthazar's and that they were some kind of combative force... Beyond that, he knew next to nothing about them and so he felt compelled to turn up a trial in advance of the meal to get to know some of the people he'd be cooking for and eating with... as was his whim. It was with mild disappointment that he found them not to in fact be comprised entirely of cat-people, but he did his best to hide this fact.

Talking to anyone he could get to listen, he worked his ferrety magic as he established what he would cook and how.

He had a talent for sating the appetite of those he met, even in those that don't know what they want.

One of the many things he learnt during his time hosting Saiore's Zeilmas celebrations, was that not everyone enjoyed the noise and chaos that fairies brought as much as he. He did in fact fail to consider his patron's in this matter on a few occasions, one of which being poor Balthazar.

Such that it was, Winston,

Angela

and

Shinwa

had prepared a meal for Balthazar and his Cats that would provide an entertaining experience alongside a filling one, with fewer fairies and a little less crazy... If you asked the ferret. Angela on the other hand was certain his alternate plan was no less crazy.

On the trial, the room was filled with the aroma's of good drink and succulent foods as the first course arrived. Winston was sitting beside Balthazar as it arrived, a broad grin across his face as the starter's were arranged.

"Et's grate tuh see yuh again! Yuh Cats are a great group af people..." He offered happily. "Me 'ave decided dat de lack af actual cats es a good ting. Me an cats don't always get alange... Tis de same wid dags actually... Come tuh tink af et, me nat ovarly fand af any carnivorous creatchas larger den meself... Which es tuh say MOST carnivorous creatchas." He admitted with a jolly chuckle. ""ow you been?"

There was an anticipation to the ferret that he was attempting to suppress, but failing a little if anyone was likely to notice. He eyeballed the covered trays as Shinwa presented the diners with the food. The conclusion that Winston came to was that active people, enjoyed active things and a little competition would go down well with the group... At least, so he hoped.

Lifting the dome cover off his starter to reveal the food within, he winked at Balth. "Gud luck, chief." He said as he took a bight and started to lift off the table and turn up-side down. "Anyone nat floatin' by de end af de strata es gonna 'ave trouble catching their mains!" He announced to the table.

OOC: Rules of the Game

Have fun! :-p

So, the starters here use the Weightlessness properties of

Winston's Alchemical Chews called "Floaty-light Chews Chews"

. They will make the diners weightless and able to leap around the room, up to the ceiling etc.

Catching your meal in the courses to come will depend on how creative you're solution to getting around in the air is!

OOC Notes: The stuff winston is after

Sup! So Winston has brought the

Portellar

and the remaining Holo-coms owed (some with a few 'upgrades'), totalling 10. I think he already gave you two? so he'd be delivering another 8 today.

What he's after now includes:

• Another casting of the long range Rupture portalling magic use for the portellar he made for Balth, so he can make his own one.
• Several casting's of the magic he gave Winston before to create a curtain of Water (and wind if possible) around him
  using the defiance Dancing technique.

These can all be cast into Blood Ingots as before. THANK YOU!

[Balthazar Black]

24 Ymiden 724

Before The Dinner Party

Balthazar was not the type to forget the promises he had made, especially not when those promises were made to allies like Winston. Balthazar had plenty of options when it came to performing the spells and collecting his blood into the ingots the clever inventor had made. In the trials leading up to the party they'd planned so long ago, Balthazar worked towards collecting the blood samples his friend wanted from him. By the time the celebration was drawing near, Balthazar had already exchanged the blood ingots with embrace that Winston required and he'd received new ingot with a few other requests. Balthazar was more than willing to help. The blood ingot made the process of drawing blood a lot less painful than it would have been otherwise.

The caudori creator (not Saoire) had requested fairly simple spells for the devices that he was making. The second batch would be two simple uses of Defiance and one slightly complicated use of Rupturing. Deference and dancing for Defiance. A long range portal for Rupturing. Balthazar would begin with Defiance because it was the more immediate magic. Rupturing would take time and meditation to connect somewhere a hundred miles away. It wasn't Balthazar's maximum reach but it would be harder to open a stable portal at further ranges.

While preparing for the first two spells, Balthazar pulled aside one of the Black Cats named Rodrick and gave him a bucket of water. When Rodrick heard the plan he stifled a laugh and Balthazar couldn't blame him. How often did the leader of the company ask you to throw a bucket of water at them. Hopefully Rodrick understood not to throw the bucket itself. He and Balthazar moved into the headquarter's gym and Balthazar moved a few paces away to give the water time to rise and fall.

The marked mage took a deep breath and gestured for Rodrick to throw the water. On command, the Black Cat slung the water into the air above Balthazar who began moving his arms in a circular motion to repel the water as it descended on him. Like before, the water began to encircle Balthazar rather than land on him, as if an invisible slide was guiding it down around him and keeping it from flowing through its original path. While casting this spell, Balthazar pricked his hand again on the assigned blood ingots that Winston had asked him to fill as part of their bargain.

After thanking and dismissing Rodrick, Balthazar retired to his office where he intended to draw his blood for the next ability Winston required. Balthazar had a candle on his desk and as he walked past, the wick lit flame suddenly. He sat down and held his hand out over the fire. Deference was different than dancing. Dancing was willful control and cooperation with the elemental forces. Deference was the liberty the elements afforded those they were familiar with. Fire would never burn Balthazar while he was manipulating it because it was his first kin element and that deference, in theory, could be transferred through his blood.

He took a deep breath and when he exhaled, the flames rose suddenly to engulf his hand. Fuego, Balthazar's fire forged diri, watched from the side in some awe. He felt the warmth washing over his fingers but there was no sting or burn that followed. The fire danced harmlessly on his skin. He'd have to remember he could do that. Directly applying fire to his hands was something that might be useful in combat. Balthazar drove the needle for the next blood ingot into his hand, just deep enough to draw the blood it needed. Once it was done, he moved the injured hand over the flame and used the support of the elements to heal the injury as he had done many times before.

Using support put out the small candle and Balthazar moved onto the next spell.

Meditation gave him time to center himself and assess where he wanted to open the portal. Faldrass was the furthest thing in range that came to mind immediately. He focused on Haven and the buildings. He thought about the beach where he had trained his people to fight each night. He thought about the bonfires that they hosted and the celebrations they had. Darker thoughts prodded at his mind but he ignored them as best he could. He focused on a specific spot on the beach that he could remember perfectly. It took time, but when he was fully prepared he opened the portal and drew his blood into the ingot again.

Had he needed more than a drop or two, he might have been getting light headed by the end of all this. Fortunately Winston's devices cut out a lot of the danger. With all of his blood ingots filled and his part of the trade complete, Balthazar returned to other preparations for the party.

The Dinner Party

It was finally happening. The trial had arrived that Balthazar was hosting a dinner party. Even better, Winston was going to cook for them! Balthazar hoped it would raise the morale of the Black Cats who were able to attend, as well as the morale of any of Winston's friends he decided to bring with him. In dark times, everyone needed a little light to help them. Balthazar had arranged for a long table to be brought into the gymnasium and he let a few of the interested members of the company focus on the designs. He had no real eye for that sort of thing and honestly, trying to figure it out would only make him think about how much easier it all would have been if Elisabeth was with him.

Winston, Angela, and Shinwa had prepared the meal but Balthazar did his best to make sure that was all the labor they needed to put into the party. He had invited them after all and while he may not have had the best etiquette, he felt it would have been unfair to make them set up the venue as well as cook. The Black Cats in attendance were excited. They'd heard many things about Winston and most of them defied typical imaginations. When the meal began, many of them could be caught stealing glances at the caudori but it was Balthazar who took the seat beside Winston. Robin and Croft sat at the opposite ends of the table. Lyanna sat on Balthazar's other side... if one intended to read into seat choice. Fairchild, Ironsite, and Dane were scattered in different seats around the table and the headquarters had been closed to ensure friendly privacy.

"In truth, I didn't come up with the name but I am surprised I haven't happened upon a caudori matching our company's description yet." Balthazar said with a little more cheerfulness in his tone than most trials. "I've been busy, there has been a lot to do lately. Apart from my duty to the dead, my duties for the merchant guild grows more complicated each trial and as a result, it seems to call for expansion. I'm looking to get more people working with The Black Cats, among other things. It's easier to protect the guild's interests if we have the people we need to get the jobs done. But, that's all business. Personally I've been... I've been okay."

Lyanna gave Balthazar an odd look. She knew he was lying. He hadn't been okay since Elisabeth went missing. Slags Deep, the explosives under the island, and Haven falling apart had done very little to make things better. His closest captains could see it every time something came up that reminded him of what he now called 'the good times.'

"He's been forging weapons a lot more." Lyanna offered, knowing Balthazar wouldn't. His eyes seemed to light up a little and Balthazar nodded his head.

"I've been experimenting with mixing metals. I think that it'll help me when I want to start mixing blood magic and forging." Balthazar said. "Right now I'm focusing on adding copper to things. I've made a few swords for my captains. We tend to run into ghosts more than most so... I thought it fitting that we be prepared."

For all his effort to maintain a normal conversation, a game was afoot. The starters were presented and as soon as Winston unveiled them, Balthazar could tell they were in for a show like the fairies had put on. Only this time he seemed prepared for it. Mischief would meet mischief. Could Winston's work outthink the mage who laughed at the concepts of time and space? Balthazar didn't need to float, he simply needed to cut the distance between what he wanted and himself...

No one else needed to know that though.

The Black Cats in attendance looked around in confusion for a moment but Balthazar gestured towards the starters. "Well, you heard him. Let's eat!" One by one the mercenaries took small bites of the food they'd been given and one by one they began to lift off the ground. Weightlessness wasn't quite the same as floating but they all seemed to discover that rising a little bit too quickly propelled them further into the air than they expected.

Balthazar was the last to eat but he did so knowing the mischief in store for himself.

[Winston]

An upper foot

Having received his Ingots, the ferret was fully invested in showing Black's Cats a party to remember... Honestly, he'd have put as much effort in with or without the agreement they had made, as the little ferret was fluffy and friendly from head to tail and as his chew took affect, the Cats would find they would have their work cut out for them if they wanted to keep up.

"Well, ef me bump into any cat Cadouri, me will suggest dey get en touch soh dem cun show yuh 'ow a cat really moves." He said with a smile. "Me tink dere es somet'ing about nat lookin' up... But dat might also be dags." He concluded with a cheeky grin. He tried not to have a disliking of other creatures, but it was hard not to take it personally when things tried to eat you.

When Balthazar referenced to there being a lot to do, the ferret's eyes suggested that he was not wrong there as he continued to listen. "Well, Oh-key es betta den nat oh-key." He admitted, knowing all to well that this was something best left to heal in time, whatever the truth. "Me need tuh join de merchant's guild... Far dat matta, me need to arrange some kinda security for de partal tuh Rharne, cus dem said et's a security cansern." He shared with a shrug as if it were a bit out of his league. He was, of course talking about business, but it was shared as one friend to another, rather then a business proposition. "Dere es always somet'ing. Me been meanin' tuh say doh, me included the details af de ships... Yuh shud please considar dem at yuh disposal if yuh need dem. Simply Hala-cam meh an' dem will be at yuh side." He inistsed with a smile. He'd given Balth a detailed report on what they could do discretely ahead of the party under instruction of

Felicity

.

When Lyanna spoke of weapons, it was without any disapproval at all, despite his own reluctance to make them, he replied with great interest, glade that this might be something Balth enjoyed. Winston nodded with a light behind his eyes that burned with a depth he'd yet to find the bottom of. "OOOoooooo. Dat sounds interestin'. Yuh know, de Blood Ingats taught me so moch about 'ow dat all works." He started furiously patting his pockets looking for something, which Chest then spat out from across the room. "Ah! Cheers buddy. Take dis, et's de cheat-sheet on 'ow tuh make dem." He nodded and pointed out a couple of points. "Me nat made many swards... Made lasts af shields doh, me pretty gud at shields... If yuh wanted one?" It was not a sales pitch, it was a gift offering, if a shield was something Balthazar would ever use. Who he made such things for was a short list, but whether Balthazar realized it or not, he had made 'the cut'.

Balth can take 5 extra knowledges in Alchemy

Winston has the following mark power for Telka (Saiore):

Mentor's Knowledge - The greatest effect of mentorship is that the student learns quicker than they would on their own. This ability enhances this effect. For any skill that the Blessed has a Capstone in, when they teach that skill to another PC, the other PC's can claim an additional 5 knowledges in that skill. When the thread is reviewed, include the skill being taught and this ability in the review request.

So given they have made a device together and Winston would not hide anything from Balth, I think this qualifies (should you wish to claim it).

Winston felt like he'd put more designs for death-bringing weapons of destruction on his fire then some had built. It was a process of catharsis for him. Once it was written down it was no longer in his head, but burning the designs for something like a soul drinker seemed like the only responsible thing to do. This thought might manifest as a slightly glazed look as he considered it, but it passed quickly as they continued their conversation. "Well, ef me cun 'elp, me don't make dem myself, bot talkin' about magic, alchemy and invenshun... Dat's always fun. Me use Ghost Metal in a lat af me stuff. Et's a gud apshun far Ghosts. Doh me use et tuh allow Ghosts tuh use me Hala-cam to communicate." He said with a wink. "Me cun get yuh some ef yuh would like? Doh, et does attract Ghosts... Soh ef yuh already 'avign issue, per'aps nat." He said with a shrug.

Then the fun really began...

There was no doubt that they, particularly Balthazar himself, were far more talented fighters and acrobats on land and perhaps even on the wing, but Winston had spent many seasons floating around now and had become quite adept at it.

With a gentle kick, he launched himself into the air with a "Weeeeeeeeeeee." and a gradual turn that made him corkscrew through the air.

As they enjoyed the starter, which aside from being magical in nature,

was also magical on the pallet

, Winston clocked that Balthazar seemed to want to trail behind his Cats in the fun. He decided that was probably to give them a chance to have a head start. The man was, after all, skilled beyond all of them present... Then he noticed the glint in the man expression. He giggled to himself as they all began to 'find their feet'. Angela was not accustomed to it AT ALL and turned head over toe until she was able to grab the closets thing, person or wall for support, giggling and fighting the unsteady feeling and the urge to be ill. She was glad to have worn trousers, know at least, that this was coming, though of course, sworn to secrecy. This only made the ferret giggle more.

As the second course came out, it appeared to be a selection of caged bowls of tiny little balls, which floated around inside the cage. Each bowl of balls was a different colour and Shinwa placed each dish on the table before stepping back and striking a tuning fork,

causing all the cages to float off their bowls

, releasing the colourful contents to begin to float around the room randomly.

"Steak Diane with fresh roasted vegetables of the season and a selection of additional apatiefs." He announced ot the room, deliberately leaving plenty to be discovered as instructed by the ferret.

"Eat op!" Announced the ferret. "Ef yuh tink yuh cun catch et." Life was hard and recreation took many forms for many different people, but in his experience, high pressure, physically demanding jobs often affected people that enjoy blowing off steam. Thus, he set a challenge he hoped would get people moving, get the adrenaline running a little, but powered by fun and laughter instead of combat and danger... just for one meal. If nothing else did, his charisma carried the fun as he winked at one of the Cats. "Better start eatin' befar Balth gets started! 'im es a terrible devil at soch tings." He joked as he deliberately did an fairly ineffective breast stroke to try and catch some food.

It had to be said, if you were able to control your orientation, the food just floated past and as/if one of the Black Cats reached out to grab one, on contact with their skin, it exploded in a little puff of flavour and rainbow colours.

Winston giggled. "Oh yeah. Dem explode." He said in an obviously fake 'I forgot to mention' voice. Tucking his legs up and letting himself turn, he sucked a ball into his mouth, letting it travel in before he closed his mouth as there was a little 'poof' as his cheeks blew out only slightly as the pleasant, warm and succulent flavour came out and he swallowed with a satified expression. With that, his ears blew a little rainbow glitter out and a 'pop'.

OOC: Rules of the Game

Have fun! :-p

So, this course floats around, there are lots of additional and unusual (all enjoyable) flavours to be discovered. The flavours are based on what Winston's Capstone informs him they would enjoy, so feel free to make some up that you/your NPC's would like.

Some surprises for you to discover:

• Some of the pellets expel air when touched. Just a short burst, but this sends them flying away from you and will quickly cause the pace and excitement to pick up as collisions and chaos ensues.
• There are three inconsequential side-effects of eating the different foods:
  • Rainbow glitter from your ears.
  • Random gusts of air from your orifices (potentially causing you challenges with moving or NOT moving ).
  • Turns you a random colour.

OOC Notes: The food affects

Food alchemy is something Winston has been doing for a long time

Winston has done glitter and joky little puffs of glitter etc before and his

Putting the Super in Superficial

allows him quite a lot of scope for these kind of tricks.

With his GM Cooking and Alchemy, these are all covered by his Wealth Teir as the floating and glitter all comes from the Peganot's which are a primary resource in Sweetsong.

[Balthazar Black]

24 Ymiden 724

Balthazar seemed to nod along to things more than he commented on them. He certainly had his own thoughts but despite his arcs of practice socializing, he felt a little lost in such a peaceful setting. He'd built his life around battle, combat, and problem solving. Now he sat at a feast with friends and harmony- the only thing missing being the one he loved. It was strange. He felt as if he was pretending to be content more than he was genuinely experiencing it.

When Winston mentioned joining the merchant's guild and arranging security for the portal he was creating, Balthazar seemed to tune into the conversation again. Security was his job and something he was more than a little familiar with organizing. If Winston needed his portals looked after, Balthazar could arrange it. There were some political concerns given that the portal would reach into Rharne but Balthazar knew how to navigate them. The Elements could provide a useful force to fill in where the Black Cats could not- lest they seem unconcerned with the security of their homeland.

"Rest assured, my friend, I would be happy to help organize an introduction to the guild for you. You have a mind they'd benefit from greatly. Apart from that, I'd also be happy to help you with your security needs. It's one of the few things I do well. I can help with the ships or the portal, whatever is needed." Balthazar said as if they were simply discussing hobbies and not business arrangements. It was strange how the two seemed no different when he spoke. Perhaps it was a wall he'd put up for himself. His tone seemed to shift to a more comical one when he added, "It means a lot that you are willing to lend your ships to the cause, thank you. Of course, I'd want access to the portal too. I like Rharne." Well the first part felt very genuine and the second part felt comical.

Lyanna steered the conversation to smithing in an attempt to make up for Balthazar's failure to find his own words and Winston was ecstatic about it- or at least he seemed so. Balthazar was too, admittedly. He took the cheat sheet in his hand and soothed his rupturing spark so that he could read it. The method of making blood ingots was invaluable to a mage with more magic in his blood than almost every other mortal he knew. Apart from one friend who'd revealed, Balthazar had exceeded most other mages he knew. His blood had power in it and now Winston had taught him the means to harness it easily.

"I'd be honored to have a shield built by you, but I must admit-"

"It would probably hang on the wall as a display." Lyanna cut in with a witty smirk. Balthazar shot her a look but she seemed unbothered by it and a moment later he turned to Winston again.

"She's not wrong, but I appreciate your willingness." He'd never used a shield. Swords, staffs, axes, hammers, hands, magic, marks, strange other powers- he'd used a lot but never a shield. The topic twisted slightly towards ghosts and a slightly amused look seemed to pass over Balthazar's face. Vri's mark made his touch harmful to the spirits of the dead but he remembered a time when he'd been close with one. After Syroa murdered him and Vri brought him back, that ghost had cut herself off from Balthazar. He possessed her anchor but she didn't talk to him anymore. He knew she was mad. He escaped death. She didn't.

"You surprise me. Ghost metal invites danger I'd have thought you would avoid." Balthazar admit to Winston after learning that he'd been using the metal. Balthazar had a few items with the material but most ghosts knew better than to challenge him. An unarmed master with lethal touch? Even the dead were smarter.

Then the food-caused chaos began...

Balthazar was more than willing to humor what transpired around them but he was playing his own game as well. Winston's treats may have nullified gravity but Balthazar thought about space differently than his friend. It was an unfortunate side effect of living with a rupturing spark on his soul. What was distance except a bridge to be built? Winston launched himself into the air with a small spin and Balthazar watched joyously while various of the Black Cats, including Lyanna and Robin, participated to the best of their ability.

Winston teased one of the Black Cats, stating that they better eat before Balthazar began because he was good at catching things and Balthazar laughed- as did the Black Cat between them. "Let's see who can get the first bite!" Balthazar challenged Winston with a quick scan of the room to determine where all the balls of the floating second course were. He hooked his foot under his chair to avoid floating beyond his control but any other adjustments were made by the wind. The element would always protect its kin and Balthazar was playing a more complicated game now.

As soon as food came into Winston's reach, a portal would open and pull the morsel away from its creator- often depositing it somewhere else in the room. The portals were always small and easy to create, nothing that would tax Balthazar's attention too heavily. Winston got one of them into his mouth and it made a notable popping sound that seemed to surprise Balthazar, but in the end it was another effect the clever inventor had imbued his food with.

"Winston, catch!" Balthazar shouted to the caudori before opening another set of portals that pulled another bit of food through it and shot it at Winston.

[Winston]

Orna-mental ornaments!

Winston noticed when Balthazar engaged most in the conversations they shared as it ebbed and flowed and there was no pressure, no need to share, no seeking of ways to 'make' him engage more. If the ferret was good for anything, it was talking and listening so any silences that occurred, were met with warm and peaceful acceptance that socialising didn't always need to include speech, unless Lyanna was involved, which brought him regular smiles.

That said, when his friend offered to help with the guild matters and security he beamed with delight. He didn't say it with words, but his body language would be clear that while he was not 'fishing' for the offer at all, it was gratefully received. "Wow! Really? Dat wud be 'reet grand'." He exclaimed, using words borrowed from Vega happily. "Den me cun get de bar open, an start arganisin' de faaaairy events an' de fightinnnnn' pit, an' de breeeeewin'... OH! De brewin'! Me GAT tuh make me own Tavern brew." He said with a nod, as if this was a matter of some considerable import, which if someone knew anything about Rharne, would know was. "Did yuh know, also, dat Taverns en Rharne always had a fightin' pit? Me tink me will 'ave sometin' a lital mar colourful and a lat less fighty in me pit." He had been giving this element of his Tavern quite a lot of thought and it might be clear that there was still an air of the undecided about the entire affair. "Per'aps a dance-aff... Afta all, ef yuh cun intimidate yuh aponent befar dem even throw a punch, den yuh win before et even begins, right?" He looked up as his afar more combat experience companion for his thoughts on the rather naive suggestion.

He patted the man's arm, something like one might usually slap someone on the back fondly, but what with size differences and all, his arm was about as close as he could get. "My partal es yuh partal! Dem gat some reeeeaaaaly nice Whisky in Rharne." He said, in such a way that suggested very clearly that this should be a shared expedition some trial. "Me Scalvaris bar es gonna serve Rharne stoff an' me Rharne bar es gonna serve Scalvaris stoff. Hehe." He went on to explain amiably as if the swap tickled him greatly... Which it did.

Then, OH THEN, something truly spectacularly beautiful happened... Lyanna interacted with the most wonderful compliment that the ferret considered that he might ever have received. That Bath might elevate one of his shields to the status of an 'ornament'! He'd been complimented on his shields before, they were the best of their kind by most standards, except his own, which he would always just settle for 'pretty gud'. The thought of someone using something he'd made to protect themselves or someone else brought him great satisfaction... But for a shield, he made to be used not for fighting, but for something that bring's joy and delight and ... he practically exploded, eyes near stalks protruding from his face, he burst out. "OH! Really? Really you would? Like et would only com out far speshul occashuns and tinks like Tea Parties an' de soch?! Oh! Well, me mean 'might' af cars, et's gatta be a gud one far dat! De BEST one en fact! Nat jos ANY shield far an arniment far Balthazar Black! Oh noh!" He stood at this point, making it some kind of gleeful proclamation. "Oh, bot, Mr Balthazar Sir, yuh simply most let me make yuh a shield. Let me measure yuh right op, right now, pleeeease." He was already eyeing the man's forearm for size and trying to judge the best fit as Chest spat out measuring tape and his pleading face gave no attempt to hide the fact he had and would use puppy-dog eye if he needed to.

Later, as the conversation had turned back to other things, he smiled when Balth mentioned the Ghost metal. "Oh, bot Balthazar, my friend, 'ow wud me test me pacifistic ways ef me avoided a littal danga and violence." He replied with a cheeky grin before taking on a slightly less light hearted tone. "Bot yuh right, dem are a lat af dangerous ghosts out dere. Bot, dere ar a lat af dangerous peepal out dare too, but me still go tuh de pub." He grinned. There was jest in his tone, but he was not being flippant... It was just 'necessary'. "

Felicity

and

Shinwa

'elp me wid dem and de

Halla-Ghost

me made let Faith's Wisps contact de saviours af Rharne wen de Dust Quata wus burnin'. Dat's gud enough reasan far a lital danga far meh." He was not attempting to school the man, far from it. If anything, he was, in his own playful way, trying to dodge any acclaim for doing dangerous things for selfless reasons... If not only because Balthazar seemed to spend a significant amount of his own time doing just that himself. "An' dem are a lat af very nice people wat are ghosts too." He concluded, in a friendly and casual tone, as if that fact pleased him.

As food vanished into little portals before him, he giggled. This was almost certainly cheating, but great fun... Something you had to become very accustomed to when you lived with fairies. If they were competing though, then the ferret would attempt to do better, feigning for one morsel of food but snapping at another to try and catch the saboteur off guard. It had to be said that the attempts were not difficult to spot, but he enjoyed the game and more over, the fun the others were having in their own attempts to compete with each other and the food itself.

Angela was making friends with on of the cats, exchanging nuggets of food, by sending one to the other in turn in some kind of relay as the girl floated around and thanked the heavens she had pre-warning of these events so she could tie her hair back.

As Balthazar launched a velocity-nugget at him, he cheered and opened his mouth wide, turning and twisting to get himself into position to catch the food. If the mischievous mage allowed it to do so, it would land happily in the ferret's mouth as it closed with another little 'pop' of flavour and a great grin, turning him pink from head to toe.

"Oh! How fetching!" He said with a smile as a small burst of glitter shot out of each of his ears. "Bot et seems like our great leeeda does nat 'ave enough fud tuh eat!" He shouted to the cats around him before landing and sending the contents of a bowl of small round snacks towards the man. His aim was far from precise and Lyanna would almost certainly find herself in the line of fire as the culinary munitions floated towards them.

OOC: Rules of the Game

Time to finish up this course. The next course will be coming shortly.

So, this course floats around, there are lots of additional and unusual (all enjoyable) flavours to be discovered. The flavours are based on what Winston's Capstone informs him they would enjoy, so feel free to make some up that you/your PC/NPC's would like.

Some surprises for you to discover:

• Some of the pellets expel air when touched. Just a short burst, but this sends them flying away from you and will quickly cause the pace and excitement to pick up as collisions and chaos ensues.
• There are three inconsequential side-effects of eating the different foods:
  • Rainbow glitter from your ears.
  • Random gusts of air from your orifices (potentially causing you challenges with moving or NOT moving ).
  • Turns you a random colour.

[Balthazar Black]

24 Ymiden 724

Balthazar was glad that Winston seemed receptive to his offers of help and even more grateful that he might actually be able to be of assistance. A lot of things had weighed on the marked mage lately so when he felt he was doing good, those weights began to feel lighter. When Winston mentioned that taverns in Rharne had fighting pits, Balthazar offered a small laugh. "I'm aware of them. I have fought in most of them. I think. They called me The Bloody Prince before I entered the All Taverns. I think I would have won but... cultists attacked." Balthazar shrugged off the memory of the attack because he remembered the woman fighting beside him more than anything else. He missed her. "I'm not sure a dance of is very intimidating- but I'm sure you could pull it off. Have you thought about your tavern token yet?" Balthazar asked to shift the topic of his thoughts.

Balthazar offered a slight nod when Winston said that he was willing to share the use of the portal but it was Lynn's expression that seemed to betray inner thoughts. She was excited. She didn't travel a lot and a portal she could pass through to get to Rharne would be very beneficial. Balthazar had other concerns. Mortal concerns. There were still villains out there who had orchestrated the crisis Winston saved them all from. A portal to Rharne gave them an escape route if they hadn't already fled Scalvoris. The longer the portal existed, the more time they had to flee while Balthazar hunted down rumors. He needed to coordinate with the Militant. More importantly, he needed to talk to Vega. Saoire had suggested it more than once and Balthazar had been caught in his own limbo, stopping him from organizing a meeting that would have been easy to set up. Soon. For now, he was meant to be enjoying his time with Winston.

Then Winston seemed to really light up at what Lyanna had said about Balthazar using the shield as a display. She hadn't quite meant it in an ornamental sense, she just figured Balthazar didn't use any shields that weren't his own limbs. However she seemed to revel in Winston's reaction. He amused her a lot more than the usual folks who came around to visit. Balthazar seemed equally amused. He might even have considered commissioning a shield simply for the purpose of putting it up in his office now that Winston seemed to excited by it. Winston asked to take measurements and Balthazar tilted his head slightly. It was like armor? That should have made more sense to Balthazar. He was a good enough smith himself and he never thought about measurements when he made his nails and daggers. Then again, that was because his Rupturing spark allowed him to perceive distance perfectly. He didn't think about it because he didn't have to.

Regardless of his momentary confusion, Balthazar extended his left arm so that Winston could take whatever measurements he needed. "I'll keep it up in my office, and bring it out when we host events like this again. That way it'll always be close to me and everyone who comes seeking our help will see your works." Balthazar was trying to flatter Winston a little now. He appreciated what Winston was doing more than he could express with plain words, so he aimed for flattery instead.

Time passed and the topic had turned to ghost metal. Balthazar had expressed his surprise and Winston had a rather cheeky answer that made the mage and a few Black Cats around the table laugh a little. "That's fair enough, I suppose." Balthazar admit with a smile. He seemed to grow more interested as Winston continued and spoke of his own ghostly companions. It made Balthazar miss Nimue a little more but he knew better than to seek her out. Unlike Winston's companions, Nimue was not a Wisp. She was and always would be at risk of degrading.

When the chaos with the food transpired and Balthazar played his little game of portals, Winston reacted ingeniously- which should have been expected. He maneuvered in the air just quick enough to catch the food in his mouth. Balthazar was surprised to see him turn pink immediately and laughed slightly at the change. Then Winston rallied the others against him and bits of food began floating through the air towards him.

Out of curiosity, he popped one of the snacks in his mouth. He didn't turn pink though, a surprise to be sure. Instead he turned a pale shade of purple. The made examined his hands for a moment with a smirk on his face. The smirk shifted as he suddenly coughed a strong plume of air. The force sent his weightless body backwards and little but he conjured a small breeze to keep himself relatively still. He'd been so distracted by the change in his color that he didn't notice the taste of the snack Winston had sent his way. It looked like a sweet treat but it tasted like... bacon? "Sometimes I think I've seen more magic in your cooking than I've seen anywhere else and I've been inside fractures."

Given that she was in the line of fire, Lyanna also tried one of the flying snacks. Her skin turned a strange shade of red, almost matching her hair. She sneezed a burst of glitter shot from her ears. Along with the sneeze came a familiar gust of air that sent her spinning backwards- but she seemed to be enjoying it.

[Winston]

Pull out all the STOPS!

Winston sucked air in through his teeth in a playful gesture at the mention of the All Taverns loss. "Tsk. Pesky cultists. Always bein' all culty an' stoff." He smiled, making light of what might well have been a dire situation, but was now just flavour to the mage's past. "Hehe. Ohhh Balthazar, me gud friend... Yuh 'ave nat seen me dance..." He exclaimed, as if to do so was a world shattering affair just as Angela caught ear of it. "Yes. It's something like a fish stuck on a trampoline." She interacted with an innocent smile.

"Nobady wants tuh dance wid me doh, do dem?" He chuckled.

The girl leaned in to the group a little. She was intimidated by the Cats, particularly by Balthazar Black and his very widely renowned history, but wherever Winston was, she felt at ease. "I think you'll find that's because of embarrassment Winston, not intimidation. Totally different." The ferret laughed, declining to defend the accusation, should proof be requested at the cost of everyone's sanity.

The tiny Cadouri giggled when the Mage compared his culinary magic that of a fracture. "Oh, me love a littal flavour magic! Angela es workin' an a wide range af 'er own creashuns right now far de new bar." He offered, in an attempt to deflect the compliment. "She es very talented. An' meh do love a bit af joy en meh fud."

The girl blushed. "Shhh... It's early trials yet." She scolded her very proud father playfully.

He poked out his tongue as the conversation moved on to the token. "Oh yes! Me 'ave. A LAT af thart... 'ere, see..." And with that he called Chest over again and a small spherical token was presented on the end of the locomotive luggage's tongue.

Taking the coin-size token, he offered it to his friend to inspect. "Dis es de prototype." It was well crafted, simple and beautifully rainbow coloured. "Et wus wen me wuz casiderin' a paintball campetition... Befar me found out et had tuh be a brawl..." He shrugged.

The conversation had evolved into a sitting for measurement now though as the ferret yipped with glee and ran up the man's arm and started taking measurements. Forearm, wrist, hand... "'ere... 'old dis and squeeze gently...." He said as a ball of something like firm, dry putty was placed into his hand to take a cast of his grip. If the ferret was making something, it would be beautiful and practical or his reputation would be damned. He knew Kisaik had the ability to detect distance and space using his Rupturing also... Something he was greatly envious of at times like these, but he seemed to be enjoying the process of information collection as it all got noted down and then swallowed by Chest once more.

Balthazar's flattery worked and

the ferret actually sparkled

slightly as it was with a satisfied nod he sat back down. "Et will be a masterpiece." He proclaimed plainly, his chest filled with butterflies at the prospect.

If anyone noticed, Angela looked discreetly surprised by the proclamation. She'd seen her father slave over the hot furnace, crafting wells into shields of previously untold power and he'd only ever have called them 'OK'. He'd certainly never boasted about their quality... She decided the idea of it being a gift to be cherished must have inspired the Exalted of Saiore. With a slight rise of her eyebrows, she smiled. "I'll tie down the chairs shall I?"

Her father nodded. "Mabey hide de best crockery away also." He replied with a wink.

As everyone got involved in the fun and the room filled with rainbow coloured people, glitter and laughter, the deserts were finally brought out.

The final course had a surprise the likes of which had not yet been revealed to those present... Nothing! As they were laid out, the hot fudge brownies, with a dome of ice-cold ice cream atop them, sat in wait. The ice cream didn't melt and when they tried it, it tasted of whatever their most favourite flavour was. The hot from the fudge and the cold from the unmelting ice cream defied physics and as a few of the Cats cautiously poked the food waiting for it to spring into life, the ferret giggled.

"De delight af dis one es jost en de eatin'" He said, finally taking some himself and letting out a great 'MMMmmm....' as the flavour washed over his pallet.

It was a comical image as Shinwa started catching stray morsels of food with a butterfly net between serving drinks and food.

"Dis es one af Angela's."

Whispered the ferret to Lynn, pride in his voice

. "Nothin' quite like et." Whether he was talking only about the desert or his daughter's talent as well, the Cadouri was obviously very proud. He could take no credit for it, none at all, but his delight in her success was nonetheless boundless.

Winston made short work of the desert, before taking the after dinner tea (coffee was also available for them that preferred it), that returned them all on its consumption to the ground, returning them to their usual weight.

As the meal came to its fading bits, the ferret turned to his friends, old and new. "Me do 'ope yuh enjoyed de grub. Tanks far being me gunny-pig... Doh me tink me need tuh work out 'ow tuh get around yuh ticksie Rupturin' shinanigans." He said with a smile.