[You're outside of the police station! Well, most of you. Fanfan, Mikoto, Millie, and Tairan weren't accused of murdering people, running away from home, or... whatever it is Jinx did, anyway.] ("Being Jinx".) [It's midday, and the sky's clear as ever. People are going about their business and not looking twice at you - there's a good blend of Teckian, Injun, and Shomuran. This must be Redrock City.] (Awning abuse.) [Minisession Start.] (Awnings abuse him) (Maybe he just needed to make a statement so the awnings could be properly prosecuted.) ... this sucks. * Millie steps out of the sheriff's looking rather miffed. Arms folded, she looks back at the office. "Well this is a fine howdy. What now?" * Mikoto balances his jar in his hands because Nurse Fanfan has his satchel. "I say we get some food and come back in the morning." The girl's obviously an idiot. Ya DON'T try ta cry helplessness if ya can push your would-be attacker down. But..gah she gets on my nerves. Hmmph... Come back for what? Jinx? John, maybe? * Mikoto eyes Millie. "What he said." Ya really think John's gettin' outta there? Jinxy I can understand, can't see him doin' anythin' beyond a fine...but John... ... I wasn't proposing to break John out. That's not gonna happen, and even if it could, I couldn't be involved in it. * Mikoto looks down the street. "Somehow I doubt John would even COME to Redrock if he were in serious danger of being hung out to dry by a sherrif." Raight...for that... Wait, what about Running Cloud? * Sakura runs up, finally having caught up to you weirdos. What I *do* wanna do is talk to John, then maybe track down his useless bastard of a brother and see if we can persuede him to admit his own guilt. * Fanfan gives Tairan an odd look. "Does that sound like such a likely outcome to you?" * Mikoto looks at Tairan. "Not that I'm *for* slavery, but how does tracking down Will get us any closer to the tablet?" It doesn't. But I ain't about to leave John in there to rot. (I knew I'd have to ask that eventually. I am dreading the answer.) Killing slavers is more important then any silly tablet. * Millie smacks her fist into the opposite palm. "We ain't gonna get him ta do that. We're gonna hafta find proof ourselves. I'm sure Running Cloud's got somethin' though. She should be pretty close ta Garson City too if my sense of direction isn't off." Not kill, Sakura. At least not until we can figure out a way to use him to get John out. And...as much as I hate ta admit it, trackin' down Will has nothin' ta do with it but...we're in the West now. We can't afford ta lose a gunner. ( Uhhh....where/what's Garson City again?) (S'where Ellie's from and where we'd have to go to not get the bounty because she's bound to escape.) ... point. We can't exactly threaten him into admitting his guilt... he'll hang if he does so. * Mikoto sighs and goes back to looking around. "I think we're putting the cart before the horse. They might simply let John go on his own recognizance." * Tairan rubs his neck. "At the same time, we gotta figure out *some* way ta prove John's innocent." *eyes Mikoto* "On a charge that serious?" * Mikoto looks back. "If it were that serious, we wouldn't be discussing this because they'd be HANGING John tomorrow." * Millie looks casually at Mikoto. "And HOW many jailbreaks has John ogone through exactly? Not only does he have the charge of murder, but he's also got attempt ta escape the law on his hands." ( Oh, right. Thanks. ) Point... but Millie has a point to. I dunno how the law works over here, but I can't exactly see them letting him wander. s'why we gotta talk to him... find out as much as we can about what happened, so at least we'd have an idea of how to go about all this. * Mikoto sighs. "I'm not saying we shouldn't CONSIDER needing to bring Will in... but it's putting the cart before the horse to assume we'll HAVE to." * Mikoto knits his brow. "Considering only Alexis really knows where he is, and I'd rather dance naked in the cactus forest than deal with that psychopath again..." Look, at the very least, Cloud'll try ta break him out, won't she? She's done it before. I wonder if there's a train that goes near there..." * Mikoto raises an eyebrow. "Do YOU want to be there when John hears we got her to break him out?" * Millie looks off into the distance and thinks. Better than the other alternative, which ya said is gettin' him hung. * Mikoto looks around. "I'm not totally comfortable chatting this up in the street. We should get some lunch." Fair enough. * Millie hmmphs. "Yer right." Food would be nice. * Fanfan twitches her nose a little. "Well, hopefully." (*catches up on ATC2 logs* *DIES LAUGHING*) What d'ya mean "hopefully"? ( Todd: Hmmmmmmm? ) (Sadly, the waitress will be one of John's stilted followers. But so are a quarter of the people on the street. So it's no biggie.) * Mikoto smiles distractedly at Fanfan. "Western food is actually quite good. Just a little heavy." Mm.... (Fan2: Deme and the arranging of the unconscious Roberts) .. Heavy? * Mikoto looks blank. "...you'll see what I mean. Hopefully you'll adjust to chairs first." Nah. Better than yer watered down sticky goo ya call food. ( ^-^_v! ) * Fanfan narrows her eyes at Millie, then sniffs and looks away. * Mikoto ignores the culture shock and looks for, you know. A tavern/restaurant/TGI Fridays/Hardee's/whatever. ("What do you call this?" "The 'Big Montana'." "...I hate the West.") (Looking for Eastern or Western cuisine, Mikoto dearest? Or don't you care?) * Tairan eyes Millie. "Weren't you the one complaining about Shomurans disrespectin' Teckian stuff?" * Millie blinks. "What?" When? ('Yes'. "Close" is more important than "Serves rice".) ( No it's not. What are you, a gremlin? >.> ) (With "Not likely to kill diners" and "serves cooked meat" being a close 2nd/3rd) I remember several occ- *shakes head* s'not important. Just ain't nice ta insult a man's favorite foods. Or a woman's, for that matter. (I'm appeasing the Teckian. Grin and bear it. When the turkey makes her sleepy, we club her and go back to Shomura.) [Mikoto spies Jimmy's Cactus Grill, a reasonably-sized restaurant. People are filing in and out, so it has some traffic.] Look. Food is different. I don't like all Teckian crud either. Some of the stuff they serve is like gruel. ( Makoto, I have underestimated you. ) ( Mikoto: Yay! ) * Mikoto starts weaving his way toward said grill. "Let's hope you can't grill gruel." * Mikoto suddenly looks perplexed. "You can't, I don't think. I certainly have never had gruel with char lines." * Millie eyes Mikoto and gives a half-teasing grin, but it's hard to tell if she's serious or not. "I know some people who've tried..." You're right. S'just the way you said it, sounded like you were insultin' all Shomuran food. And as a rather faithful fan of certain Shomuran foods, I take that as a very personal insult. *smirks* [As you get closer, you smell meat being grilled, and see smoke coming from just outside the back of the building. Mikoto succeeds in not tripping anyone on the way.] Look, ya show me some good Shomuran food, I'll show ya some of the best Teckian cuisine. Deal? ( Shomuran food is like Japanese food, essentially? ) Jus' as long as it's not squiggly. (Essentially, yes.) Squiggly? Nah. I hate the squiggly shit. Gimme some good teriyaki beef anyday. * Mikoto pushes the probably-saloon-doors open. "We had cooked beef in sauce with Lady Yae. John liked it quite a bit." * Tairan follows Mikoto in. "... hmm. Smells like meat. Tairan like." * Millie eyes Mikoto. "Ya mean ya actually let the girl treet ya ta lunch?" * Mikoto looks back. "I paid." ( Dammit, I keep parsing that as Lady Jay. x_x ) * Millie heads on in and takes a whiff. "Whoo..somethin' smells GOOOOD..." (...har har. HAR. Har. Ahem. HAR.) ( What sort of meat? ) [The inside is smokey. Shadowy cloaked figures sit in the shadowy corners, and the place is rather loud with the silverware and conversation from families and workers eating lunch. There are, yes, tables and chairs. No mats. A bar is on one side of the restaurant, and a door leads out back.] What an.. odd place. [A cheerful young man with red hair and freckles walks up to you guys. "Howdy, 'n' welcome to Jimmy's Cactus Grill! Finest grill in Redrock."] Not much for presentation, but nobody appears to be violently ill or dead, which is a serious plus. * Fanfan crinkles her nose at the smokey interior and rubs it (her nose, not the interior) absent-mindedly, blinking a little at the red kid. Odd. Smells good, though. [He's wearing a cotton shirt, jeans, and boots. Not very well-kept, either.] * Millie walks in like she owns the place and stretches her arms overhead, mming as she down. "Ooo, give us the best table ya got!" [He beams at Millie. "Sure. Raight this way." He waves for you to follow him, picks up a few menus from a nearby table, and starts weaving his way through the restaurant.] * Tairan follows. * Millie gives him a cheery smile back and drops her hand, weaving along. * Mikoto follows behind, praying Sakura and Fanfan make it without passing out and/or skewering someone. * Fanfan follows, trying to keep from bumping into anyone or anything as much as possible. [As you go, you realize only some of the smoke is from out back - most of it probably originates from the cigarettes and cigars being waved around. Seems Redrock's a smoking town.] * Sakura looks around, but doesn't kill anyone. Yet. ( Until Sheriff Bloomburg comes to town! ) * Fanfan coughs a little at the smoke, then resorts to holding a fold of one of her sleeves up to her face and trying to be discreet about it. * Mikoto peers around Millie's back. "Hopefully your best table is a little farther away from what appears to be the results of a 600 acre forest fire." [The guy leads you to a reasonably-sized, rather out of the way table. While still smokey, it's more due to the food being cooked nearby. He plunks the menus down at five places, then drags a chair over from another table to sit at the head for the fifth. "Take yer time and look over the menu. Mah name's Larry, an' I'll be back to take yer order. Anythin' to drink?"] (I immediately kill the bastard and eat his liver fresh.) (Eew?) (Larry = my stepfather's name. Reflex.) This please smells.. rather odd. I'll have a sarsparilla, if ya'd be a doll. * Fanfan nods, turning a half-shade paler and closer to green. Some cold water, if you have some. * Mikoto eyes Fanfan. "Make that four." Same. Water's good. * Fanfan nods again, giving Mikoto a grateful look. * Millie looks over the top of her menu for a second and shakes her head, looking it back over. * Tairan eyes Fanfan and Sakura. "s'not that odd, really. Just meat." *takes a deep breath* "And, as mentioned before, meat good." * Mikoto sets the jar of scalpels down, finally. "There's a small vial full of a dark red liquid in there, Fanfan. It tastes horrible, but drink a mouthful. It'll calm your stomach." [Larry smiles and nods, mentally cataloguing the orders. He can't be more than fourteen, fifteen years old. "Sure. Sarsaparilla 'n' four waters."] (I'm taking liberties, since I gave something similar to Millie in Shomura. Though that was green. Um. Different medicinal plants! In! Teck! HAHAH!) ( ....in the jar of scalpels or the satchel? @_@ ) (The satchel, you dork. c.c;) [He heads off! Probably to get your drinks. AND POISON THEM.] ( Jesse: We're icking at the cigs. Well, Fanfan is, dunno 'bout Sakura. ) ( Juuuuust makin' sure, Mikky. XD ) ( Ah. Oops. ) ... oh, wait, the smoking. *rubs neck* Yeah, that stinks. No worse than the pipe some guys back home used, though. * Fanfan glances at Mikoto. "If anything makes it to my stomach, I'll be sure to give it a try. Thank you." Smoking stinks anywhere. Ya try it too much, ya can never get it out...now gunpowder, that's different... I have never before been somewhere were it was so...thick. Yes.. it is .. everywhere. It's actually quite bad for your lungs. Some cadavers of smokers we've looked at have horrible, horrible lungs. * Fanfan is sitting on her chair. In a full lotus. Not as bad as being stabbed in the lungs, though. Depends on your point of view. *flips open the menu* Die slowly but enjoy it, or quickly but hate it? * Millie deadpans. "Gee, yer a cheery group." She pays full attention to her menu. Neither and live forever. *grins; opens menu* * Fanfan peers at her menu, squinting at the little blocky things all over it. * Mikoto nods once in agreement. "S'a good policy." (The tablet is the menu.) * Fanfan checks hers against the others' menu positions, and quickly turns hers right-way-up. And continues peering and squinting. (Hehe.) (And finally, the easterns have problems adjusting to western customs.) ( *shakes fist* ) (I feel so erudite and cosompolitan.) ( I thought there was only one written language? Or is that only one spoken language? ) (One spoken, three written.) (I'm surprised they didn't look confused at this strange "chair" apparatus.) ( One spoken, two written, one smoke. ) ( Ro: Fanfan's in a lotus position on it. ) [On the menu: various cuts of meat, potatoes, greens, stew, and such. The menu's written in Teckian.] * Tairan blinks at the menu. "I just remembered something rather important." Oh? * Tairan chuckles. "I can't read Teckian." * Sakura looks at the menu. ".. can I trust someone else to order something.. non-stomach churning for me?" Mmm...been so long since I've had a good rib roast... * Fanfan snerks a little, setting her menu down. "Neither can I...Mikoto, could you do the honors for us, please?" * Mikoto looks over the top of his menu. "I'll order for you three, I think." What? Ya don't trust me ta order for ya? * Mikoto looks back at his menu. "Have you ever eaten a fish with the eyes still in it?" * Sakura looks at Millie. ".. Mikoto, could you aid me as well." * Millie blinks a bit. "Wha...? Why would ya want somethin' with the eyes still in?" Exactly. * Millie just eyes Mikoto confused. Millie, Mikoto is kind of better suited to it. He knows Teckian food and SHomuran food, so he might be able to pick somethin' out that Sakura and Fanfan could deal with. *pauses* Me, I'll be fine as long as it's made from a dead animal. * Mikoto flips a menu page. "You are, as ever, easy to please." (....no slashy-thoughts comment. ) [Right about now, Larry returns with a tray. He expertly places each drink in its proper place: mugs, not glasses or cups. "Ya ready?"] * Tairan shrugs. "I'm a soldier. I got simple tastes." What? But this is all the GOOD stuff! Ooo! Ooo! They got the spicy stuff! ( "I've got some last minute cramming to do!" "You better get an A." ) ( *Fanfan stuffs wasabi up Millie's nose. ;P ) (...eww) (... Ewwwww.) ( Hey, you want spicy stuff, you get spicy stuff. ;P ) ( Ow? ) ( You know, I hope Crazy Feathers doesn't open a restaurant. "Remember, when eat, eat Crazy!" "....." ) ( You know that is going to happen now. ) * Mikoto slaps his menu shut. "The gentleman will have a sirloin, medium rare. The ladies will each have a light green salad, no dressing. And I will have a small boul of beef stew." He smiles and hands the menu back like a pro. "And some bread, if you don't mind." (...I really do need to learn to keep my typing to myself, don't I? ^^) ( Ooooh, how decisive. ) (I totally said bowl. The time police command it thus.) * Millie makes a mild pout at Mikoto, but then goes to her menu. "I'll have this. Blackened rack of rib. Biggest tater ya got on the side too!" ( And here I thought they had boules. That stuff is cool. 6: No dishes to wash! ) [He takes notes, then takes the menu. "Sure. Want it baked or mashed, ma'am. Any gravy?"] (A little too French for Teck, I think.) (Instead they have FREEDOM BROTH.) ( I know. ): ) ( ....oh, dear. ) Bleh. Mashed is for sissies. Give me a good baker. * Millie flicks up her menu and smirks at him. It sounds like this.. mashed.. would be perfect for you. * Mikoto smiles distractedly at Tairan. "I hope you don't mind it a little bloody." [He snickers, taking the menu from Millie. "Gotcha. Anythin' else?" * Mikoto takes a sip of his water, mumbling into the cup, "A good warmup for eating here for weeks, anyway." * Millie puts her chin on the back of her wrist and grins at Sakura. It's got daggers in it. "Says the person who's gettin' a wimpy salad. That's a kiddie meal." Dare ya ta try a porterhouse. Don't take her up on it. You'll be ill for a week off the grease alone. Me? Mind bloody? *smirks* ...why would anyone want to eat a house? I assumed it was something like that. ( Oh, gods. Fanfan in Teck = Deme. >_< ) What are ya talkin' 'bout, Mikky? Porterhouse is good stuff! Nice an' fillin' ( Only without the arranging of the unconscious persons. ) * Mikoto eyes Fanfan blankly a moment. "It's a cut of the animal. Steak is named by the cut, see... a porterhouse is a particularly large cut of steak." Ohhh.... * Mikoto sips. "Shomurans mostly eat filet, because the cows are raised a little differently and don't produce the same quality cuts." What meat do they serve here, anyway? (I'm a regular Iron Chef Shomura.) [Larry shrugs to himself and leaves.] (Beef is also much more expensive in Shomura! And everyone has cel phones and listens to punk bands led by drag queens!) * Millie leans back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other and adopting a thinking pose. "Mostly beef. Some chicken, pork, that sorta stuff. (It's HYSTERIA.) Bison too. That was good. * Mikoto nods. "Very rarely, heavy meat like buffalo, and sometimes lighter meat like rabbit or venison. It depends on what's local." Ohh. Millie could definitely tell you more about what's good than I could. * Fanfan looks a little thoughtful. But that would require trusting her sense of taste. Says the lady wearing a mask? * Mikoto smiles distractedly. "And she did just order a large, spiced cow torso, true. But I suspect she knows what's good and what's not. It's just best to ease into eating beef regularly." * Sakura glares at Millie. Do they have fish? (I dare Larry to come back WITH A COW. Giant bantha ribs.) * Millie shrugs and leans back in her chair, closing her arms behind her head. "I grew up on this stuff. I'm used to it." Fish? Well... * Mikoto sips his water again. "And we grew up on seafood, and rice, and sitting on our knees." * Millie sets down her chair and frowns a little. "Not quite as much water in Teck, unfortunately..." * Millie lets out a long sigh. (I continue to talk over Tairan as if he didn't exist!) Any seafood here is probably... I think the word I want is 'suspect'. ( Well, like we ever actually said who was sitting where. ) ...ah. Probably sandfish. Bleh. * Tairan shrugs. "Never much likes eatin' on my knees. Not that comfortable out in the forest." * Mikoto winces. "I've never had it, but I've heard it's pretty awful." * Mikoto sips. "Of course, I also hear some pioneers out in the desert eat sandgators when they're desperate." It's alright if properly cooked. Not what I'd call proper food. [Larry returns with a large loaf of bread on a wooden platter, which he places on the table. This is followed by a knife and scoop of butter in a bowl. Someone from across the restaurant starts yelling for a waiter, and he hurries off.] ( I've heard that hte cannibals out there eat sandwitches. <.< ) (...punmonkeys will be punished.) ( But everything starts with sand! ) * Tairan gestures to the women at the table. "Ladies get first dibs, I believe." (We are in an Outback. We are totally in an Outback, aren't we?) (I hope so, their bread is AWESOME.) ( *looks around for an onion that's bloomin'* ) * Sakura looks at the bread. [It looks like bread.] ( "open bread." ) ("go bread" "You cheer on the bread.") [Dark bread, actually. Rye. The bread stands its ground.] ( "I don't know what you mean. Can you be more specific?" ) ( That bread is tricky. ) * Mikoto smiles. "Have a slice. It's actually quite good. Just a little rich, for Eastern tastes." * Fanfan takes up the knife and carefully cuts the bread into precise, mostly- even slices. ( "What do you want to do with the bread?" ) * Millie takes up a slice of bread and sighs. "Geez, yer hopeless." ( ... dammit, I'm having flashbacks to John Belushi's Samurai Chef. ) * Fanfan then offers some to everyone around the table in turn, o.Oing a little at Millie's pre-emption. * Mikoto blinks distractedly. "...that was incredible." It was like bonsai. ( ...the trees? Or is this something I should know? >.> ) * Tairan takes a piece of bread, and munches. "... good bread." *munch* (Now to tie the bread so it doesn't grow too large...) We should see her cut the softer stuff. Rye's tough, it don't squish. ( He was referring to your bread-slicing technique, Shar. =P ) * Mikoto grins. "Throw it in midair, cut it in perfect slices. Would make quite an addition to your act." He butters a slice and eats it. ( When I said "cut" I didn't mean Japanese steakhouse-style. I mean, like...cutting. You know. ^^ ) ( But hey, if it makes me look good....:D ) (I know. It was the *precision*.) * Millie sticks the piece in her mouth and leans back a bit in her seat, chewing. ( Oh. ^^; ) You want me to? It would be a simple feat. It seems an illogical way to slice bread, however. Thank you, Mikoto. * Mikoto eyes Sakura, cutely holding a slice of bread in his mouth, which he proceeds to finish. "...please don't. We'll be shot at." * Fanfan , when finished serving, takes her bread plain, thanks. * Tairan eyes Sakura. "... that's pretty damn nifty. But now's prolly not the time." They shoot people who cut bread here? What a strange country. Knives are for bread, swords are for people. Shouldn't be the other way 'round. ...they shoot people who draw swords in restaurants here, Sakura. ...they do? Why? .. they do? Why? * Millie looks at Fanfan as if she just said an elephant walked through the bar. ( .. Don't DO that Fanfan. ) * Mikoto eyes Fanfan and Sakura and if they were insane. "...think about it a moment." ( I said it first though! :P) If one does not draw for harmful intent, I see no reason to react violently. * Millie shakes her head and leans back. "Only rogues draw weapons in restaurants. Or someone who thinks the other guy's cheatin'. We don't kill people willy-nilly here. Not sure whatcha do in the East." An' jus' HOW do people know ya ain't done it for harmful intent, hmm? Yer good word? Ha! ( In Mother Shomura, the weapons draw YOU. ) Well, I find it difficult to see how cutting bread could be construed as harmful intent. Just... no careless weapon drawing. It'll only get us in hot water, especially the farther we get from the border. There may be people very far to the west who don't know what a katana IS. Mmm... in a place where most people carry guns, I can see the problem. If someone pulls out a gun, you don't wanna wait to see what they're gonna do with it, because by that time ya could be shot. The range makes people jumpy. ... .. but we are carrying swords. Do they believe our swords can fire bullets? * Millie lets out a long sigh. ( Note to self: Invest in Gunblade for Sakura. ) * Mikoto eyes Sakura, and manages to say, deadpan, "The superstitious and strange ways of the west are incomprehensible to us civilized folk, I know, but for the sake of diplomacy, step outside before you cut something in half." Look, jus' trust us an' don't pull it. Drawin' weapons unprovoked ain't looked kindly on these parts. And even drawin' 'em provoked... ( You realize this entire "discussion" was inspired by bread. And Mikoto. ) * Millie stops to glare at Mikoto, even if he was being sarcastic. * Mikoto turns to Millie. "Any port in a storm. We both know it's not true." (...much.) [Larry hurries by and refills water, heading to the back of the restaurant.] * Millie hmmphs and takes a sip of her drink. * Tairan shrugs. "Let's just call it a strange Teckian custom. Certainly no more messed up than some customs back East." * Fanfan drinks the water carefully. _ You never know with water. Culture shock aside, we need to get back to the original topic of what to do about the current situation. *butters a slice of bread* The what isn't at issue, so much as the how. * Millie looks over the rim of her glass. "An' ya all got water too.." She shakes her head sadly, then recrosses her legs, nodding to Mikoto. And the when. [Fanfan's water tastes fine, if harder than what she's used to. Not that cold, but given it's desert area, what're you really gonna do?] We certainly don't want to walk off to 'get' Will and come back to find John holding Hazel's reins and wondering where we were. * Millie butters a slice herself. "I still say it's best if we can get him out without gettin' in trouble with the law. Maybe only some of us should go out? * Millie snaps her fingers then turns to Mikoto. "How far can...what's her name? Mirabel? Go away from ya?" * Mikoto frowns. "Sounds reasonable, but if that lunatic woman was right, he's got too many underlings for that to be safe. Our record for infiltrating large groups is pretty abyssmal." We only wish it was abyssmal. (Fortunately, we have a fairly good record of blowing stuff up. ^_^) (Yes. Yes, you do.) * Mikoto blinks. "It's not a matter of 'far', it's a matter of 'how long'. It's draining to... I have to expend my own strength just to call her, tie her to this realm. If she goes too far, out of my sight, then..." * Millie sighs. "Well, there goes that plan." I was thinkin' if ya stay, ya could send her after us, jus' far 'nuff so we could see her an' come back soon as we could if somethin' came up. Of course, if we could find a real falcon, I could certainly train it. Or any other similar bird. It'd take too long... Our problem is, if he IS in hot water, we don't have much time. Like I said before... best thing ta do might be to talk to John, see what he can tell us about what happened to his parents. Then maybe we might be able to figure somethin' out. Maybe a witness who saw John somewhere else... Who hasn't been killed by Will already? I wasn't suggestin' goin' after Will though. That'd be suicide alone, no matter how good we are. [Larry returns, tray on hand and shoulder! And wow, there's a lot of food on it. He places the tray on the table next to you and starts putting portions before each of you.] * Mikoto sighs, and seems about to say something, then hastily shuts up when food appears. * Millie takes a deep sniff. "Wow, ya really know how ta cook it." [The salad he gives Sakura and Fanfan are lettuce, celery, carrot, cucumber, and tomato, and very generous, especially compared to the amount normally given per person in Shomura. Mikoto's "small" bowl of stew is similar, with enough meat and vegetables in it to almost make one wonder where the soup part was.] * Fanfan blinks at the salad, but shrugs and starts looking around for chopsticks. * Mikoto blinks. "...I am truly impressed at the portions." * Millie doesn't even look up and simply points. "Fork. Knife. Use 'em." [Meat for Tairan, along with onions, mushrooms, and plenty of gravy, and Millie gets her blackened ribs (looked plenty burned, thanks) with an open potato, *another* bowl of butter, and gravy on the side.] * Millie starts a'cuttin' So much.. * Mikoto definitely will enjoy his nice, cheap bowl of stew. Have fun sucking down that sirloin, Tairan. Hahaa. [He grins. "That's why we're the best restaurant in Redrock. Oh yeah." He makes sure everyone has a fork and knife. "Enjoy. Holler if ya need anythin'."] * Mikoto picks up a spoon. "Did I somehow stumble into the Teckian version of high class dining?" * Mikoto spoons a carrot. "Nah, impossible. Mary Anne wouldn't eat here unless she were drugged or amnesiac." [Larry cracks up at Mikoto's remark and wanders off.] * Tairan eyes the fork and knife, eyes them, but quickly figures out how to use them. "It's like fighting with a sword and three-pronged spear. Only with food." * Fanfan looks around at everyone else and tries to maneuver this..."silverware". * Millie snickers slightly and makes sure Larry's out of earshot before she whispers. "Ain't even close" (Must not let on that I toured high society in the borderlands for two years, lalala) (Okay, Fanfan! Give me a sleight of hand roll. ;P) * Tairan looks up at Fanfan. "s'easy. Use the spear to hold the enemy in place, and the sword to cut it." ( .... ) (Fanfan, give me a Sleight of Hand (Silverware) roll) ( Tairan didn't have to roll! :P ) (Yes!) (...I didn't think that'd seriously come up.) (Tairan's not a xenophobic basketcase.) (Tairan spent some time in the west, too.) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Fanfan (2d6) and gets 5. [Fanfan manages. Clumsily at first, and she almost drops them a few times, but it really is impressive for someone's first time.] ( Ain't I cool? XD ) * Millie looks at Tairan oddly. "Does EVERYTHING in Shomura have ta do with war an' fightin'? Yeesh." * Mikoto eats his stew one spoonful at a time. No slurping from the bowl. His ancestors cry in shame. [Tairan's meat bleeds. Moo.] * Sakura stares at the items. ".. are you sure there are no sticks?" * Millie takes off her gloves. Don't want to get them greasy. No. Just with me. I'm a soldier, remember? *eats* * Mikoto looks up, chewing thoughtfully on a chunk of potato. "You might want to try beef stew sometime, Fanfan. If you're feeling brave. It's mostly just beef hot pot with a thicker brother." (Yes, thicker brother! Brother dances. He is leader of Gullwings! SHOOT ME.) (I said broth. My TARDIS demands it.) ( *snickers* ) * Tairan chews thoughtfully and swollows. "Mmm. Meat good." *eats more* * Fanfan tilts her head at Mikoto. "Perhaps if I can figure out how to wield the equipment to do so, I shall." ( Night everyone. I'm dead tired. ) ( Yeah, actually I was just about to ask how much longer we're running? ^^ ) Yeah. So ya need ta pick up some other hobbies, lanky. (In all this eating, we totally decided nothing.) [Millie: Spicy, yet satisfying. And very charred.] In any event... *chew* I think Tairan's right. Let's wait and talk to John in the morning before we do anything. ( We decided that Neo!Japan is better then Neo!America. ) (That's not exactly what's meant by "blackened" but hey ^^;) (Sometimes they go hand in hand, after all. ^_^) Hey, I have other hob- wait. No, no I don't. * Millie tears off a piece of meat with her teeth, swallowing before she speaks. "An' what if yer right an' he's gettin' hanged tomorrow?" * Fanfan focuses her attention on mastering the art of fork, knife and Saladzilla, spacing out from the conversation. (Rowyn: Whenever I see blackened food, I always think "charred", whether it actually is or not. I figure the ribs themselves are fine, there's just a layer of black on it.) (I know ^_^;) Then we save him from the gallows in a daring rescue and probably get ourselves shot. There's nothing we can do in 12 hours that doesn't end up with us dead, and from what I know of the Redrock sherrif, he's not about to hang John just yet. * Millie sighs and shakes her head. "Wonderful. Yer gonna make me one of Johnny's rescue harem." (Amazon woman who defeat man... err...) * Tairan shrugs. "I owe him several. He needs help now, and he's gonna get it." Look, this is all well an' good but...gettin' ourselves wanted in the process doesn't help our cause either. I agree. But rushing in to help him is only going to make us look suspicious too, for people who claimed we hardly knew him. THere's also the matter of Ellie. If she convinces her father we tried to harm her in any way, we're in for a completely new set of problems. * Millie smirks slightly. "That's why I suggested getting someone who already got him before." She frowns a little. "But we can't do it in a day." * Millie snorts. "Harm her. I'll show harmin' her.." She cracks her knuckles. * Tairan shrugs. "S'why I ain't talkin' about breakin' him out, unless things get desperate. Can't get involved in stuff like that now, what with my bro becoming Lord." The Lanigans can be a very dangerous foe. Money is power. Burn that bridge when we come to it. Not much we can do about that now. * Millie rubs her head slightly. "Why haven't I ever heard of these Lanigans anyhow?" Could just have travelled in different circles. Rrrgh. It's so irritating. I wish we knew more about John's past. * Mikoto frowns. "I agree that *finding* Running Cloud would be a big help, but... what's the chances of THAT happening before tomorrow?" (Jinx could tell you, but he's in jail too. :P) (Yeah, fat lot of help you are.) ( What can I say, can't turn down an offer of free lodging. * Millie rubs her chin. "Well, the village is up to the north. She said she'd wait for us there. But as for how far away it is..." How long would she wait, though? It's been... weeks upon weeks. It'd be so much better if a train ran there. (Well, Jinx also knows smoke signals, good for long distance communication among injunns, but.. I'll be quiet now. :P ) It IS her village, Mikky. I think it's fair ta say she lives there. I think it's 'bout two to three days on foot. If we push the horses.... And if John's hung in the meantime? * Millie frowns. "That's why I don't think we should all go." (Then you don't need to push the horses on the way back) ( Sucks for him? ) * Mikoto frowns, and eyes the Shomurans who are, thankfully, quiet and distracted. "It's not like we can leave Fanfan and Sakura here by themselves if we expect to see them, or anyone around them, alive again," he mutters. * Millie waves it off irritatedly. "I never said WHO should stay behind. Geez, what kinda person do ya take me for, Mikky?" * Mikoto sighs. "I'm just saying, it seems like we have a handful of not-so- great options, but nothing really GOOD. There HAS to be a better way." Besides, this is Redrock yer forgettin'. I'm sure they see more Shomuran's than most. Jus' make sure they've got money an' all these eccentricities will be forgiven. There's really no way to communicate long distance? Mail stages? Carrier pigeons? Runners? (Email? Does she have a cel phone? Pager?) (That's a good question. Teck have any of those?) (Yup.) (To, y'know, all of them. Well, runners aren't really promoted, but...) (Or trustworthy, or smart.) Well, probably could get one of those. Not sure how fast the pigeons are but... Thinkin' of sendin' her a note? Can't be sure she gets it but... It might be better than showing up unannounced. And if she'll come to us, so much the better. I'm sure she won't like gettin' a note that says "Come rescue your fiancee. He's in Redrock." * Mikoto grins faintly. "Then we don't say that." * Mikoto clears his throat. 'Found big bounty. John needs you badly. Please come. Millie.' I think that would work. * Tairan clears his throat. "John's drunk, willing to get hitched. Come quick." .. I like Tairan's idea. * Mikoto smiles faintly. "Either works." * Mikoto sighs and sets down his spoon. "If we're going to do this, we'd best do it quick." * Millie looks blank for a few moments before grinning at Tairan. [And so, it's proven that everyone has it in for John, even people on his side.] [Mini end!]