LostEggs /
BreathOfEarthcontinued from TeawiththeSenator
Ten minutes later, the entire group had been herded to one of the larger rooms on the first floor of the palace, across the courtyard from the events of Tamas' second Breath and thus undamaged. A couple of the servants had remained behind to watch the fallen servant. Mukyu had started the IV line and Mari had finished looking over Bei's injuries before the group departed.
In the room, paper screens with artfully depicted calligraphy had been artfully placed to make the large space intimately and perfectly arranged for the number of places for dinner so that the space was made inviting rather than cavernous. The characters on these screens, did not, Azara and Clement especially noted, resolve into legible words. These screens were also decorated with the Rose Petal Room's namesake rose petals, looking like they were falling over the calligraphic characters. The seats, cushions and tables were all relatively low, arranged in an oval pattern. Tamas was given a cushion and table entirely to himself near one of the ends of the egg shaped arrangement, with a small cushion presumably for Aranwen right next to him. The other tables and cushion combinations looked to be able to hold two or three people each, as people desired. Tamas had taken the time to put some clothing on; if nothing else his uniform on under the black robe Bei had had for him, with his weapons belt worn over that. He sat down at the table set aside for him. Aranwen watched everyone as they organized and departed. Waited silently while Tamas changed, taking the time to carefully study the servants tending to the injured tailor. She gave them a last close look before she grudging left the room to follow Tamas out. When Tamas took his seat, she joined him, ignoring the extra cushion for the moment to sit on Tamas, leaning against him and making herself impossible to ignore. Tamas adjusted his position as Aranwen climbed into his lap, ruffling her fur and then scratching between the ears. His arm draped down to rest on her body. "Please make yourselves comfortable and arrange yourselves as you like. Given your equal social rank, the rules of propriety in regards to seating are most definitely relaxed." Kido said. "I believe that a couple more of your sponsors still in the palace will also be joining you shortly." From a side door, the smell of savory food was starting to waft into the Rose Petal Room. Renny's stomach rumbled. She looked to Mukyu, Zero, and Davonae. "Shall we see if we can push two tables together?" Davonae chuckled. "That might be frowned upon in this establishment but I was thinking the same thing. And as the great rotundness used to always say, it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission. " The girl pointed to two tables on the outskirts of the room. "What about those?" "And there would be space here at this table as well;" Tamas added. Azara, having used the walk to both wander away from the lascivious old man and quietly observe the others, moved to the table in the center of the long side of the oval, opposite the door they had entered through. Seating herself gracefully, she looked around, plainly seeking someone who was not there yet. Mukyu had taken the time to return the medkit, framepack, and her boots to the suite she was sharing with Renny. Apparently servants had finally delivered the sandals, as she wore one pair and carried another in her left hand for the airship captain. She still wore the long curved blade at her hip balanced by the pistol and holster on the other. The pilot offered them to Renny with a smile. "Anything to tweak Lord Kido," she agreed. Clement sat at a table farther down from Azara, on the opposite side of the oval arrangement. Sitting there, he looked accessible to anyone who wanted to talk to him - either Lost Eggs or the sponsors that would be attending them. He spent some time admiring the art, applying the golden ratio in his head to the various compositions. Araqiel entered the room, gazing from face to face, table to table. He waited for Mari to join him, allowing her to choose where they'd sit. Mari stepped in and looked over, "You know the pretty Fox and her companion, they sit alone, perhaps we should join them?" she asked Araqiel softly. Araqiel extended his arm, "Indeed. They were the first of our kind I encountered on the Great Stair. It would be my honor to introduce you." He led her over to Tamas and Aranwen, "Iyi günler, Tamas. Iyi günler, Aranwen. Might I introduce you to Marissa hanim, Chosen of Sextes Jylis... if I am not mistaken." He smiled at the young woman, bowing his head. Mari nodded "Indeed, I created quite the scene, completely by accident." She inclined her head to the two. "I am pleased to meet both of you." Aranwen straightened at their approach, chirping at Araqiel and examining the woman beside him quizzically. Tamas, silver fox still in his lap, bowed from the waist as well as he could. "Araqiel, good to see you again." He looked at Marissa. "I'd get up, but as you can see;" he smiled and ruffled the fox's fur. "I am Tamas, apparently a chosen of Pasiap, and this is Aranwen. And I think I made a bigger scene as a result of Pasiap making his choice known." He waved at the cushions. "Please, sit down and join us." Zero watched Davonae and others arrange tables while she tracked the many other Lost from the corner of her eyes. Vors was certainly concerned about her and why not? She'd made a fool of herself. She'd never unraveled like that in the field before, only a few times once safe back in quarters. Zero cleared her throat and finally looked at Mukyu again, "I thought I was keeping up with the Strange in all this, but...," she gestured to the cushions, "please sit near and we can be more social." Zero eased herself into a sit, thankful it looked graceful. Mukyu nodded and tucked a stray purple lock behind an ear as she sat beside The Other. "Zero, right?" she asked. "I'm Mukyu." The bow was from the waist, even seated. She wondered if the exegesis translated her name as Infinity and if Zero's was something more graceful in her own tongue She reached into her robe and produced a metal canister with script that read LUBRICANT on one side and set it on the table. Turning it about she exposed the word SOCIAL to Davonae. "The something stronger that," she hesitated, "I'm sorry, I don't know your name, but I think you suggested previously." "Davonae," the girl responded as she eyed the container. "That seems like it might help us all relax a bit. Shame we don't have any coconuts." The two tables now together, Renny threw in "I'm Renny" with a grin. She looked around to see if there were any handy glasses. Kido seemed rather surprised by the sudden rearrangement of the furniture, He said quietly something about the aesthetics of the room. The chamberlain did not interfere, however, instead turning to welcome a couple of new arrivals who entered the room and made their way to the various groups. At the same time, there was food brought out, large bowls of noodles, and dumplings, and rice, and sliced meats, and pots of tea... ...[And we freeze and break this apart here] |