Home is the place where, when you have to go there,/They have to take you in.

[shadearchivist]

Characters: Ienzo, Aeleus, Even, Namine, Xion, Bolin
Content: A family dinner
Location: The apartment above the tea shop, fourth district, Traverse Town
Time: Evening
Warnings: It's a family dinner with the basement crew, Namine, Xion, and Bolin. I think it stands as its own warning.



It wasn't as if it should be hard to remain civil with Even; they'd known each other for years and despite the unfortunate way in which Even had died (which of course would not be mentioned) and Ienzo's relative lack of feeling about it at the time, they were friends. Or coworkers, at least, which after ten years should have resembled friendship. It was just difficult to feel as if Even wasn't being ungrateful for one's efforts, though, even if the man hadn't said or done anything to indicate that he wasn't.

The rest of the company would be wholly welcome and pleasant, and Ienzo smiled impartially at everyone who had arrived. Namine and Aeleus were always good company and he didn't know anything bad of Xion or Bolin, though that might simply indicate that he needed to look harder.

At any rate, the table was set, there was a good deal of excellent food, and questionable-to-good company.

Comments

[colorbymemory]

Since Ienzo had done most of the cooking, Namine had set the table as part of her way of helping prepare. There was also chocolate cake waiting in the kitchen for dessert. She just hoped everyone saved room for it.

It was the first time they were having others over for dinner, but hopefully everything should go well. They'd made enough to eat, and most everyone could be counted on to get along. She'd have to remember to use her best manners, though, since this was a bit more formal than she was used to. For now, at least, she could help greet their guests.

[earthshatter]

The question of how well the whole affair would be received was something that Aeleus wasn't going to think to much on just now. It was true that Even wasn't the easiest to get along with, but there was nothing to say that he couldn't be trusted to a simple dinner. Besides most of the people present were at least somewhat familiar with Vexen's habit and presumably would be well aware of the possibility of grumpiness.

In the meantime, however, Aeleus simply did his best to help ensure that everything that needed to be done was taken care of. The rest would have to take care of itself.

[defrostedpride]

Even was not entirely sure what he was doing here. He was not a social person; Aeleus and Ienzo, at the very least, knew that perfectly well. What they thought anyone was going to gain through forcible non-laboratory proximity, he didn't know.

Nevertheless, he was there. He knocked, somewhat awkwardly.

[skysmirror]

While Xion had been a bit nervous about the prospect of a gathering, she knew everyone and it wasn't as if she hadn't been used to eating dinner with a group while in the Organization. She hadn't gotten to speak much with the others lately, either, and this would be a chance to do so.

Add to that the fact that she'd never been a houseguest, and the best summary of her feelings as she stood behind even was probably "keyed up"--slightly apprehensive an on alert for any trouble, but also looking forward to the event somewhat. While even knocked, she checked the container of ice cream she carried. Thankfully, it was still cold. She hoped everyone liked it.

[buymedumplings]

Bolin was probably the most comfortable with this, but only because he was always the social one between him and his brother anyway. Strangers didn't worry him and, as far as he was concerned, he knew the people he was eating with at least on an work level so really they weren't strangers at all.

He came up to the door just as Even finished knocking, "Hey looks like I'm not late after all."

[shadearchivist]

Ienzo crossed the room to open the door. "Welcome; good evening." He nodded politely to the three of them and stepped back to let them in. It was good to see that Xion had brought something - that was unnecessary, but rather touching as a gesture of hospitality.

[colorbymemory]

Namine stayed close to Ienzo, smiling at everyone as they entered. "Hello, everyone. It's good to see you." When she noticed Xion's container of ice cream, her smile widened slightly--it was a nice thing to do, and depending on the flavor, ice cream would go well with the cake.

[earthshatter]

The ice cream was honestly a surprise, but all things considered, it wasn't a bad addition to the night's offerings. Given that the others had covered most of the necessary pleasantries, he simply offered a polite nod as Even and Xion came inside. There would be time to speak further later, and he was hardly in much of a hurry.

[defrostedpride]

"Hello, Naminé," said Even. "I see you're doing quite well." He was not, still, entirely sure what to make of her, but she seemed to be healthier than he remembered her.

He returned Aeleus's nod and made a mental note to use him as a barricade in case of a surfeit of adolescents. Adolescents and... "Ienzo."

[skysmirror]

"Hello everyone." Xion managed to smile a greeting, then held up her ice cream container so it could be seen more easily. "I brought some sea-salt ice cream, if anybody wants to try it."

The amount of teenagers might have seemed to be too much to Even, but Xion thought it was nice to have a few people her own age there. Maybe she could hear more about Bolin's world, too--what she'd heard had sounded interesting.

[buymedumplings]

Bolin smiled and nodded in return. He was either oblivious to some of the tension or aversion or just didn't particularly worry about it at the moment. "Thanks for having me."

He looked down at the ice cream. Why hadn't he thought to bring something? Oh well, too late now. He'd just have to make sure to do that in the future. His brow furrowed as he read the flavor and as Xion explained what it was. "Seal-salt? That's a flavor of ice cream?" To be fair, he and Mako could barely afford meals most of the time, let alone desserts like cake or ice cream. That wasn't to say he'd NEVER had ice cream before, but usually it was only around special occasions or when they'd made a particular big check. He was pretty sure a flavor like "sea-salt" would have stood out though.

[shadearchivist]

Ienzo offered Even a polite smile, then turned his attention to Xion and Bolin. "Thank you for bringing something, Xion; that was quite kind of you." They hadn't specifically requested that people bring things, though it was always polite to do so when you were invited over, if you could afford it. Host gift traditions varied by culture, however, so he hadn't really expected it of Bolin.

"Sea salt ice cream is fairly popular among people here, but it's an unusual flavor even here. It's salty, but also sweet."

[colorbymemory]

Namine hadn't noticed any change in her appearance, though something could be said for the good effects of more regular meals and relief from the stress of being in hiding. Still, she smiled at the compliment Even offered. "Thank you."

After chiming in with Ienzo's thanks to Xion, she turned to Bolin to offer further explanation. "It's good, though it takes time to get used to it." Particularly if you were used to thinking of ice cream purely as something sweet. She liked it, though, and it was kind of Xion to bring some. Unaware of any sort of etiquette requiring host gifts, she simply thought of it as the other girl trying to be kind. "I think there's space in the freezer for it, so it doesn't melt before time for dessert."

[earthshatter]

"I believe there is," Aeleus answered with a nod. Though the freezer did see a decent amount of use, it was highly unlikely that it was so full as to not be able to hold a simple container of ice cream. He was very distinctly not going to ask Even's assistance either, in the case that it was. It would have been highly out of keeping with the tone of the event, and surely there were things that could stand being out of the freezer should it come to that.

That said, he turned his own attention to Bolin for a moment. "If nothing else, it will hopefully be an interesting experience."

[defrostedpride]

"The salt flavor is one of the more difficult ones to produce, due to the chemical effects of salts on freezing. Amateur efforts tend to result in the ice cream losing its characteristic texture and turning into a salty popsicle," Even commented. "But presumably the dream of ice cream doesn't suffer from such issues."

He attempted to extract himself from the swarm of youths and take up a position toward the edge of the room.

[skysmirror]

At the mention of a freezer, Xion glanced around for the kitchen. Melted ice cream wouldn't be any good at all. "Great, I can put it away for now."

Xion had never tried to make ice cream, and was only marginally aware of any science behind the making. For the moment, she filed Even's information away as an interesting fact. Maybe if she ever wanted to try to make the ice cream for herself, it would come in handy.

[buymedumplings]

Hmm. Well, Bolin was always willing to try new foods. In fact, it was something he loved to do and with all these new worlds now, well, it wouldn't be hard. Salty yet sweet didn't sound that bad at all. "Hey, I'm always ready to try new things. Bring it on!"

The night might get awkward, but at least Bolin had ice cream and a new flavor to look forward to.

[shadearchivist]

Well, since they were all assembled, clearly someone had to stop them before they started wasting time with friendly small talk. "Feel free to take a seat at the table, everyone." He hadn't eaten with more than three people in...quite a while, it seemed. This would probably take some getting used to.

Everything was set up family style, at least, so he could take his own seat at the table comfortably.

[colorbymemory]

Really, they'd run out of most of the small talk subjects that Namine knew of. The only other thing was the weather, but there wasn't much of that to talk about. Ienzo's suggestion was welcome. "Yes, any seat is okay."

She, Ienzo, and Aeleus had places at the table that they gravitated towards when it was just them. With so many others joining them, though, the usual pattern was a bit disrupted, so she'd wait to see where everyone else preferred to sit.

[earthshatter]

It would take getting used to, yes, but it wasn't so strange as to be unknown. It was simply something would take a moment of adjustment. All the same, they weren't going to get anywhere if no one took the initiative to simply take a seat. However for all that Aeleus might have been perfectly willing to do so, there was also the fact that no one had yet made any indication of where the kitchen was, leaving Xion standing there with a container of slowly thawing ice cream.

"It's through there," he commented, indicating a doorway through which the kitchen could presumably be found.