sixthiterationlogs | [MINGLE] Crab Boil

[MINGLE] Crab Boil

WHO: Mark Watney
WHERE: 6I Inn front lawn
WHEN: 21 June 2018, afternoon/evening and onward
OPEN TO: ALL - MINGLE
NOTES: A few thinsgs: You may assume your character helped set up; There are tubers in pot with the red salt, negating the warmth effect; The list of of potluck dishes is here; The list of local provisions is here

The weather is great, the sun is starting to dip toward the horizon, and it's pleasantly mild. Time for an (extremely) old-fashioned low country boil.

We've got two small fire pits built out in front of the inn, each with a massive pot filled with loads of vegetables — corn, carrots, potatoes, onions — and of course the rainbow crabs Finnick and Annie discovered not long after we arrived here. We've even got salt, if you can believe it, although the red salt in this place is pretty spicy and usually makes me sweat, so I've only put it in the one pot, and then set a bowl of it out for garnishing.

Tables and chairs have been brought out from inside, a couple of them set aside specifically for piles of plates, bowls, cups and whatever potluck provisions the rest of the village brings.

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[ Barely two days after he arrived, the little village holding everyone captive has a crab boil. Or, rather, everyone being held captive in the village has one of those. Despite volunteering for KP duties, he's still feeling a little out of sorts despite the presence of his best friend and once best girl, so it's a little tempting to just wait until everything is over.

However, that would be cowardly, and he's never backed down from anything in his life. As the aforementioned people can witness. Or complain about.

So Steve shows up, fills half a plate with food, and meanders at a slow pace, not at all patrolling and keeping an eye out for trouble. (Except he is.) He's trying to keep to the outskirts of the crowd, just observing for now, although if any familiar faces catch his attention, there's a good chance the blond will make his way over. For the most part, though, he's still finding his feet here and is content not being anywhere near the center of attention.

And, after the gathering is over, Steve can be found washing dishes just like he signed up for. ]

Erik is not really in the mood for a gathering like this, but he had signed up to make some food, so he's here. After he drops the potato pancakes off at one of the food tables, he grabs a plate and piles it high with a variety of food. That's the other thing that got him here, after all. All the food that he didn't have to make himself.

Then he retreats too, off to the edge somewhere. He's here, but if he hangs around the edge, he doesn't have to be social. Call it a compromise. He just can't stop thinking about how it was at a gathering similar to this one that he first met Claire. And now he has to come to this one without her.

[ There's an empty spot next to Steve, although his attention is seemingly centered on the sky above them rather than his immediate area. Actually getting downtime without having to watch his back, in case HYDRA or Ross cottons onto his location, is a new experience for him, so Steve taking advantage of just being able to look up.

There's enough room for two grown men on his bench though, so the soldier scoots over after catching movement out of the corner of his eye. ]

Plenty of room, if you'd like to rest your feet.

[Sure. He's been standing a lot today, and finding a seat around the edge of the crowd is preferable to being in the middle of it right now. He doesn't trust this gathering, but it's not because of the people here. He has no problem with his fellow villagers. It's just that things tend to happen when there's a group of them gathered in one place.

He settles on the bench next to Steve and balances his plate on his lap. He greets the other man with a nod.] Appreciate it.

[ Good things or bad things? Inquiring minds would love to know. At least they would if he was aware of the potential for things occurring in large groups. Or small groups. Are those things attracted to one or the other? Interesting to find out. ]

Glad to help.

[ He balances his plate in one hand and offers the other. ]

I'm Steve.

[Even when things don't happen, Erik is well aware of the fact that most of the gatherings like this are facilitated by the people behind this place, probably as a way of encouraging something to happen. Or to see what they do when in a large group. Even to mollify them. It doesn't matter why. He dislikes the very idea of being in this place, part of someone's experiment.

As he settles the plate in his left hand so that he can shake Steve's hand with his right, the tattoo on his arm becomes visible. He's never bothered trying to cover it up, except when the weather made long sleeves necessary.]

Erik.

[ Ah, yes. Experimental, controlled mob. Steve has seen what happens when strong emotions, like anger or fear, spread through a crowd. It's like wildfire but far more deadly. And, thanks to the SSR and his own special forces unit, he knows exactly what those numbers are.

His lips thin briefly, a flash of his own anger surfacing, although he tries to stuff it back down just as quickly. But he won't deny the reaction if called on it.

Nice to meet you, Erik. How long have you been here, if you don't mind a question?

[Erik noticed the reaction (it's not that different from ones he's been getting for most of his life), but considering that Steve doesn't recoil from him after reacting that way, it doesn't seem like a reaction to him personally. So he'll let it slide.]

Over a year. [He doesn't know how long, exactly, because there are no calendars, but he's been here for two winters now.] The village has changed a lot in that time.

[ Still considered fairly new herself, Nat prefers to stick to the outer edges of the party with an animal she's pretty sure she'll accidentally end up hurting (or worse killing) because who gives a baby animal to an assassin? But then there's also the fact that she's not much of a party goer unless she's attending undercover for a mission or Stark throws a small(ish) get together. This was neither.

She knows Steve has joined the group of them already there, but she decides to give him some space to get situated first like she was still doing herself. But when she spots him not too far from the furthest table away from where everything is going on, Natasha calls out to him with a smirk. ]

You walk any slower and I might have to dig out the old age jokes.

Natasha!

[ His eyes light up. Clearly, Steve is glad to see her, even if he's also sad that she's obviously been roped into this mass abduction scheme. It takes barely a second or two to slow his stride further and change his direction to one intersecting with her. ]

Somehow I doubt there's actually a 'might' involved.

[ He remembers those Smithsonian quips, lady. ]

[ It's good that he knows her so well. That and it's good his memory is still solid. That would warrant further teasing.

From what she's told this is her third time there and not his first. Clint has informed her of a few things where it comes to the people they know. ]

How are you settling in?

[ All things aside, she cares enough to ask given this isn't the first time he's woken up in a different world from what he was used to. ]

[ Please, anything but shots involving his mental state and age. At least until he's been hanging around a little while. Natasha isn't going to take pity on him forever.

She better accept being swooped up into a hug when he's close enough, though. ]

Oh, I'm doing alright. How are you?

[ He's also a little better at deflecting questions back at other people. Especially ones that answering truthfully might worry his friends. ]

[For all that Steve might be trying to make it look like he's not patrolling, Picard absolutely picks up on what he's doing. And given that he's pretty certain that he hasn't seen Steve around before, he can't really blame him either. And after a moment or three he makes his way on over.]

Seen anything interesting, so far?

[ No doubt its the military connection. Or maybe Steve is just so accustomed to looking out for his men -- once the Howlies, most recently the Avengers -- that not placing himself between civilians and potential danger is a concept that doesn't even occur to him anymore. At least not on a conscious level. ]

Just the people around here. Does that count?

[Either's a possibility, to be honest. And both are something that Jean-Luc can absolutely understand, for all that he's not about to say as much and doesn't imagine that Steve will either]

I don't see why it couldn't. We are from rather all over, as I've been led to believe.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[MINGLE] Crab Boil

Steve Rogers | OTA

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