sixthiterationlogs | [MINGLE] Harvest Feast 🍂

[MINGLE] Harvest Feast 🍂

WHERE: 6I Inn
WHEN: 10 November, all day
OPEN TO: ALL - MINGLE POST
NOTE: Details can be found here.

In the wee hours of November 10th, before even the earliest risers have roused themselves for another day, items begin to appear in the front room of the Inn. Decorations first — Boughs of autumn leaves in their reds and golds, wreaths of dried flowers and silken ribbon, flickering candles among the goards and berries and acorns. The food arrives next, the decadent aroma slipping up the Inn stairs to tempt those lingering in bed — Every imaginable harvest time delicacy, from roast turkey and ham to smoked salmon and oysters; fresh, soft bread warm from the oven to plum pudding and ice cream. And did we mention pie?

Once again, it's time for a feast. The bar is stocked, the coffee is brewed and the tables are groaning with food. Indulge, there's more than enough for everyone — That is, if you don't lose your appetite worrying about what it will all cost.

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"Well, I think when it comes to this place, it's always best to be at least a little skeptical, but in my prior experience, the food has been okay."

Not great things have happened after the feast, but none of those had to do with the food, as far as I can tell.

"I'll jump in first and have a taste if you're worried," I offer with a nod toward the closest table.

Bright green eyes peeked over the rim of her coffee cup. "That would have been an excellent offer... five minutes ago." She laughed softly as she brought her mug down to a reasonable level to converse and occasionally sip.

"I tried a bite of the bread. I never thought I'd miss bread but I do." She missed a lot of different types of food. Pizza was still at the top of the list but that wasn't exactly 'Thanksgiving' food so she didn't expect it.

"I won't stop you from eating. There's so much that I'm not sure what to eat but I think it'll disappear if I don't." Food was clearly a serious business.

"It hasn't disappeared before," I offer with a considering tilt of my head. Naturally, this doesn't mean it won't disappear this time, given that it's pretty much impossible to entirely rule out anything in this place, but the precedent is there.

"We've actually been able to save the leftovers and eat on them for awhile. Kate even makes stock from the turkey and chicken bones, I think," I add with a nod toward the closest table, groaning under the weight of a particularly large roast turkey. "Nerys saved the mason jars from the one we had last spring and she's actually been using them for canning this year's harvest. So, if you see something that might be useful, don't be afraid to save it for later."

Clary snickered softly. "I meant that people would eat it so fast that it disappears." She stretched out her fingers while mouthing a silent poof. It sounded like they had a system for the extra food; that was a plus. Clary might steal a pie and sneak it off to her room anyway. Then she could have pie tomorrow too...

"I wish there was a way to have coffee forever." She sighed against the lip of her mug as the heat of her drink licked against her lip and the underside of her nose. Clary should really eat but it's been so long since she's sat and enjoyed a cup of hot coffee.

"What's your favorite part of the feast?"

"Ah, I see," I say with a nod. "Obviously I've been here too long that you say disappear, and I think about how people and things vanish." Which is probably not the best topic for a day when we're ostensibly supposed to be enjoying ourselves.

"Honestly, and I'm sure this will sound like a cop out, but my favorite part is just knowing everybody is getting fed for a few days, so our stores stretch further," I reply. "I've been in a position before where starvation was breathing down my neck, and I'd prefer everybody avoid that here."

Clary looked over at Mark with a slight raise of her eyebrow. "That's incredibly depressing." She pointed out in an even tone. She continued to miss Isabelle and everyone else from home but she was determined to keep going. Clary was too stubborn to give up though she was awful at waiting. Those two states constantly warred inside of her, one fighting with hope and the other with despair. She didn't need Mark giving one side the edge over the other.

"Definitely a cop out." She smiled at him before shaking her head. "Okay. I'll be more specific. What is your favorite food or drink that's sitting on that table?" Now he had to answer her and hopefully not be depressing about it.

Clary would make it her new mission for Mark to be stubbornly optimistic too. There was more to life than surviving though she supposed that surviving was important.

"Well, the coffee is pretty high on the list," I admit. Even when I'd been stuck on Mars, I'd had a decently stout supply of coffee for most of it. It had been instant, but it was definitely better than nothing.

"At this rate, I get it about two, three times a year." And I know what some of you are thinking, that I could grow my own, and that's true enough. But coffee plants take literal years to reach maturity and fruit. Maybe if I hit year two and am no closer to getting out of here, I'll consider praying to the gods for a sapling.

"It's pretty high on my list too." She grinned at him over the rim of her cup. Seriously, it's the best thing about this morning and nothing was going to tarnish this day because it'll always be the day that she had coffee.

"That's all we get here?" Clary sighed softly. "Oh well. I'm going to enjoy today even more or save some for tomorrow and have cold coffee. If it gets cold enough outside I can make ice coffee." She wasn't very good at growing things or anything useful. Clary knew how to draw and she knew how to fight. Growing up in the city meant that she never learned how to garden, her world was concrete and take out containers.

Both of which were things she didn't think she'd miss.

"It probably wouldn't be that bad warmed over," I allow. I'd had a cup earlier, and I can say this much for our captors, they usually don't skimp when they deign to give us gifts. "You should squirrel away some of the sugar now, if you take it in your coffee. It'll probably help with the second-day taste, and trust me, things like that will not last once everybody gets in here."

"I will." She hadn't thought to steal a bit of sugar but she will if it'll help her fuel the reminisce of her caffeine addiction. "Is there a container that I can use. I take it that tupperware isn't a thing here." Clary hadn't spent that much time poking around the kitchen since she couldn't cook to save her life.

"It's so nice to have friendly thieving advice." She smiled at Mark, her bright green eyes shining playfully. There situation sucked but Clary fought it with sarcasm and jokes.

"Not generally, no," I reply with a chuckle of the Tupperware. "But sit tight, I'll see if I can find you something in the kitchen that'll work."

As far as I've seen, all of the kitchens in this place have been fully stocked with utensils and tools, including all sorts of containers; it's finding something that isn't already being used and isn't too big that's the trick.

I emerge a couple of minutes later carrying a tea cup and saucer. "This should work," I say, handing the cup over with the saucer on top like an impromptu lid. "Just make sure you bring it back when you're done with it."

"Oh. Thanks." Clary was pleasantly surprised; she hadn't actually thought that Mark would offer to help her find something. Most of her complaints and comments went ignored unless the situation was dire enough.

She sipped her coffee as she waited, feeling a potent buzz from the caffeinated drink. It really was a perfect, albeit strange, morning.

When Mark returned, Clary was eating bits and pieces of chocolate in between sips of her coffee. It was her own way of making the drink taste a little bit like mocha without the need to know hot to melt the chocolate into her coffee. "Oh that'll work." She placed her current cup down and took the tea cup with a smile. "I'll return it tomorrow." Since her plan was to steal coffee for tomorrow more, at which it would then be consumed.

"You're very resourceful. Where are you from anyway?" She didn't remember getting the 411 about Mark.

"Most recently, Houston, Texas," I answer, and then watch Clary closely as I add, "On Earth." You never can tell who and who isn't familiar with the old home planet.

"I was an astronaut— Or, well, I guess I technically still am," I add with a hapless smile. "We sort of pride ourselves on our resourcefulness."

"Is there a Texas not on Earth because I'd like to hear about it." She was only teasing because she could. "I'm from New York, Brooklyn specifically." It was no where near Texas but it was at least the same planet.

"Astronaut?" Clary looked over at him with renewed interest. "Have you been to space? Magic fountains not counting." Just in case he was about to classify this valley as another world. Not that Clary would blame him but it wasn't the question that she was asking.

"I have," I reply with a chuckle. I don't know if I would have counted this place as outer space or not. "I spent a couple of years in space, actually. I was part of a mission to Mars and I ended up stuck there for awhile until they could come back and get me. It wasn't what I would call a good time, but being in space generally was very exciting." I give her a pointed look, my smile quirking. "I got to fly around like Iron Man."

"It might be." Clary didn't know. She had been to other worlds that she wouldn't technically count as space because it was like stepping through other timelines. This village was nothing like that. Right now, all Clary had were guesses and each one was more fantastical than the last.

Her lips curled into a smile as she looked up at Mark. "Seriously? Iron Man. Not like Superman or anything?" That sounded awesome.

"I was actually one of those kids that didn't want to be an astronaut." As long as Clary could remember she's wanted to be an artist.

"Definitely Iron Man." Not that anybody else thought it was particularly cool at the time, but you have to do what you have to do.

"And hey, not every kid does. It wasn't really something I set out to do at first— Honestly, I was just lucky that at the time, NASA was looking to test the viability of Martian soil for growing things." Lucky probably being a somewhat subjective assessment, though, considering what followed.

"What did you want to be instead? Cartographer?" I tease with a smile.

Clary laughed and shook her head. "An artist. I've always wanted to be an artist. I had just gotten in this prestigious art program at the college I'm at but-" She rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "That's kind of on hold for the moment."

It wasn't because of this village but because of all the shit that was going back on in New York when she left. It was hard to think about art when everyone you love was being threatened by a mad man.

Instead of thinking of that. "So what's it like on Mars? Besides red."

"It is very red," I allow with a faint chuckle. "It's also very dry and desolate, and it gets extremely cold at night. Essentially a desert. It could be beautiful in its own way, but I wouldn't recommend it as a vacation destination, let's just put it that way."

I reach out, give Clary's shoulder a brief squeeze. "Hey, we've all got things that have been put on hold. If you ever need paper for drawing, let me know, I inherited a bunch of old wrapping paper, I use the back mostly for doing calculations, but I have some I could spare."

Clary blinked and looked up at Mark. She hadn't been expecting that sort of kindness and she was… touched? It was a very hard feeling to explain. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. I still got some from Jude." She was making the paper last and while she couldn't erase, she did draw on top of other drawings before finally retiring a piece of paper.

"I'm going to go swipe some things. I'll let you know about the paper."

She flashed him a smile, one that was more genuine than her smiles towards the beginning of their conversation and headed off to the nearest table to start snagging some of her favorite treats. Plus more coffee, of course.

[ooc: end!]

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[MINGLE] Harvest Feast 🍂

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