sixthiterationlogs | [ MINGLE ] FORGE AFTER HOURS

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[ MINGLE ] FORGE AFTER HOURS

WHO: Tony Stark
WHERE: South Village Forge
WHEN: January 8th
OPEN TO: Smitherns (Thor, Brigitte, Annie Cresta, Siefer), Plus Ones, Passers by, and Friends! Anyone, really, come on down.
WARNINGS: Language, discussion of canon typical violence probably, drinking?

THE HEARTH

With the bulk of the work and chores done for the day, the heart's banked down to a tolerable level rather than steel meltingly hot, positively cozy. Tables are cleared of metal filings and shavings, the floor is swept, extra chairs and seating or overturned crates serve as places to kick back and enjoy the warmth. A large kettle of tea is kept brewing all night, another of coffee, and a jug of cool water for those thirsty with no real requirement RE flavor. There's a rack for coats and scarves when people don't need to be quite so bundled up, and space cleared enough for milling about, tossing ideas back and forth, or simply relaxing. Arguments happen at The Debate Wall, not by the fire.

THE FOOD

It's an eclectic spread- a pot of stew, some crusty bread, frittatas, a few large, simple cheese pizzas, bottles of wine, and whatever other food the Smitherns or their Plus Ones chose to bring. It's a bit of a potluck, food spread out on one table for perusal, plates waiting and a bin for dirty dishes. Tony will scrub up at the end of the night. By the fire there's a waffle iron and as many toppings as they could find for waffles- jams, zalpaca butter, dried fruit, preserved peaches. Serve yourself or sit and sample!

THE CHILL OUT CORNER

For the more introspective or anyone taking a break from The Debate Wall, there's a comfortable chair tucked in the far corner where the light isn't as bright, the sound not quite so loud- and in this chair sits a young Peacat, a smaller pot for tea, and a few books. Elton's a friendly sort and will chirrup to lean for pets or simply sit on a lap and purr, offering calming, quiet company.

THE DEBATE WALL

Scrubbed clean for the night, the wall opposite Tony's Scrawled projects, equations, rules and definitions- currently marked only with a few notes RE proper charcoal use 'It's for the wall, not your hands, not anyone's clothes', the large space cleared for marking out or drawing out- well. Games, hangman, tic-tac-toe, sketches, or debate points. The only other rule listed is 'If you're going to pick a hill to die on, cite your references'.

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"Vitamins will be useful if someone can figure out how to make them," Brigitte muses aloud, poking at her stew as she ponders the question too. "Low-grade painkillers would especially be great. Sometimes I get headaches, if I've been working in the forge too long."

It's been a strange adjustment, not having the little daily conveniences of her own world at hand. Body sore from a hard workout? Take a hot bath and pop some acetaminophen. So it's those modern amenities that she's thinking about, but the question that slips out has the potential to be a bit more serious, before she can think to rein herself in:

"What do you miss most from back home?"

"Sounded like she did. Wasn't givin' me great instructions on what she was looking for though. So I guess I'm just going to wing it and hope we don't overdose ourselves." Not a horse pill, whatever that means. He'll design it as a smaller tablet, if they have to take two then so be it. "And muscle aches," He agrees. "It'd be nice. Not puttin' too much hope there yet."

No convenient ointments either. Honestly if anyone really got hurt he's not sure how prepared they are for that. A few lightly trained in first aid, were there any real doctors? Rinoa had mentioned an illness that struck the village just before he arrived. That could be devastating.

He pauses, blinking as he's shaken from his train of thought. Wow, huh, where did that come from? "I dunno, that's a big one. Monsters, maybe, also not monsters. Y'know much as I didn't like to rely on it so much sure was nice to have Paramagic in case of emergencies. And Potions." Which were also magically infused and why they worked so nicely to shore up most surface ailments.

"And restaurants. Fast food. You?"

Brigitte blinks at him and arches an eyebrow, surprised by that answer. "Why do you miss monsters? I thought the whole point of monsters was to not have them." Unless Seifer's actually more like her old knight than she realised: a bombastic Reinhardt starved for adventure, eternally seeking honour and glory, likely to overturn a hundred different stones in his search for trouble to solve and wrongs to right.

She knew the question was going to be turned around on her in return, but Brig still didn't need that much time to think about it. "My family and friends," she says, simply. "I can pick up skills, I can get used to a new place, I don't mind danger, but the people... You can't easily replace that." She trails off. The implication's there, though she's not crass enough to shove it in his face: You're lucky, to have people from back home.

"They're a lot more fun to fight than humans," He offers with a half-shrug. Nothing made you feel better than taking down a creature that could bite you in half with minimal effort alone. Seifer was absolutely always looking for that next big adventure. Honor, glory, the whole bag. That's always been his dream, even if it was later twisted into a nightmare.

"Yeah..." He echoes almost regretfully. "There's a couple people I wish were here. If it were all of us? This place would be perfect." Away from the troubles of home. He'd even accept the lack of monsters and fast food if he could have his posse back. "You're right. You can't replace the people. That's the hardest part." Lucky. To a degree. She might not think that as much if she knew one was his ex and he'd been on the wrong side of a war against both. It was awkward sometimes.

"Okay, true, I guess I understand that," Brigitte muses, thinking back on her own adventures. Taking down criminal gangs was a seemingly cut-and-dried affair, but it was harder to swing her flail at a human who bled red, compared to a faceless robot who just went down in a shower of sparks. "The man I travelled with, he was obsessed with finding a dragon to fight someday. The closest we ever got was a gang called the Dragons, though."

"I like Rinoa," she adds after a pause, as if to try and puncture that wistfulness that's sunk in between them. "I met her a week ago, at the new year's party? She's really nice."

Edited 2019-02-09 02:55 (UTC)

Difficult had never been the problem, Garden had trained that out of him early on. He just didn't find fighting humans interesting. Sure, they could plan and were cunning, but they weren't much of a match. Very rarely was anyone a match. "Dragons, huh?" His grin broadened at that. "What if I told you my world has dragons?"

Alright the T-Rexaur he'd fought so far were more dinosaurs, that didn't mean he wasn't absolutely going to take on a Ruby someday.

Ah, the New Year's party. There's a slight wince there, he'd not acted his best toward her then. They've calmed down, it was still a sore point. "Yeah, she's good people. We've known each other a while."

"Wait, really? Literally, really, dragons?" Brigitte's s already grinning, her curiosity piqued. "Oh my god, Reinhardt would have gone insane with jealousy."

It's the first time she's actually said his name aloud, and she doesn't realise it.

"I don't know anyone here. I mean, of course I know people here," she waves her spoon at the smithy around them, the place that's rapidly become her second home, "But not from my world. I like all of you at the forge, though. I'm glad we're here." The gathering feels properly cozy, after all: the buzz of conversation, the smell of home-cooked food. It's good.

"Literally, really, dragons," He confirms with a brightening grin. Oh yes, let him tell you about his world's monsters Brig. "Several species in fact. One's technically more a dinosaur but come on, close enough." Reinhardt, that's right she'd been very careful to not say his name thus far. And now he had it for later. Nice.

"No one from your own world, I get it. I'd be pretty lost without them, I think. Never been this alone before." So, very disgustingly alone if it weren't for them. Despite the occasional tension Rinoa and Nida did a lot to keep him from disappearing completely into his brain and shutting off. It was good, because everyone had enough difficulty prying him back out of his shell as it was. "There's a couple people from home I miss." Two, really, the rest he could live without seeing again. That life was dead.

There's a pause, where she seems to consider if it's okay for her to ask this at all, or if it's too private -- but Brigitte loves picking people's brains about their worlds, finding out where they came from, the sorts of places that forged them. Even back home, she'd always liked hearing people's stories. And so with this infinite variety of so many different worlds, her curiosity doesn't stand a chance. (Plus, some of these worlds have dragons! And dinosaurs!!)

So, in the end, she settles for asking it: "Who are they?"

Seifer really doesn't mind questions, personal questions he might start to withdraw from. But questions about his world? Perfectly fine. Especially if she wants to know about monsters, they're one of his favorite parts now that he doesn't have them available to play with anymore. Made his entire purpose growing up rather moot, which was depressing. If he thought too long on it he'd realize just how lost he was, and frankly he didn't enjoy doing that.

"Rinoa and Nida, I'm sure you've seen them around they're pretty active around here." Good people.

"Oh-- I thought you meant two other people in addition." Brigitte had to keep pressing down that instinctive little twitch of envy -- he was lucky, so lucky, that the few people he cared about were actually here -- but she could manage it if she just reminded herself to be happy for Seifer. He deserved to have an old support network there to back him up.

And she was making herself a little mental note, that she'd have to meet this Nida soon too.

While they'd been talking, she'd still been shoveling the occasional bite of stew in her mouth, and now realised that her bowl of stew was done. Staring down at it, Brig announced, "Okay! So. I need something to drink. Want me to bring you back some tea or coffee or water?"

"Shit, sorry, you meant who I missed not who was already here." Sorry he's a little spaced out, thinking about several things at once. "Raijin and Fujin, my two best friends and closest thing to family I have." Had? Might be had, now, since they're gone and it would seem that Rinoa and Nida were determined to take up the mantle. Not that he was upset, mind you. "I knew Rinoa before we came here, wasn't really close to Nida." He was almost a stranger, really.

And now they were brothers. Funny how things like that work out.

Seifer was eating more slowly after he'd already stuffed himself with pancakes and waffles. He's really going to have to work all this off later. Don't worry, he will, guy is nothing if not a powerhouse for labor. "I'd love some coffee if you wouldn't mind?" That's a nice offer he'll definitely accept. He misses coffee.

"I mean, I have bothered you in the middle of your design session," she points out with a grin, nodding to his sketches and doodles. "No shame in being distracted." But then she's off to fetch coffee for the both of them -- it's a standard Scandinavian thing, too, to unwind with some coffee after dinner. Ideally with some cake, but waffles are acceptable too.

When Brigitte returns and hands over a still-steaming cup for him, she leans against the back of her chair rather than sit don again. She really should be mingling more, but she likes Seifer, likes keeping him company. She'll move on in a few, but not quite yet.

"This is one of the things I miss most, I think," she says, looking down at the coffee. "I pretty much lived on coffee back home. But it's so much more rare here."

Waffles and pancakes. He's trying to challenge Rhodey, so far the waffles have blown him out of the water. At least he tried, and for once failing in one of his own self-set challenges hasn't actually bothered him that much. Obviously Rhodey knew what he was doing with the waffle thing, Seifer just had no iron.

He thanks her quietly as he takes the cup, cradling it in two hands and curling up in a way that maximizes the amount of warm he's gathering from the forge. It's warm and cozy right now, nothing like unwinding with a nice cup of coffee by the fire.

"Garden coffee wasn't exactly good," He comments as he takes a sip. "Still miss it. Familiar comforts, you know? 'Course, now that you've been grillin' me for a bit I figure it's about my turn. What do you miss the most? Or who, guess I should say."

Brigitte knew the tables were going to turn around on her like this eventually; the lucky thing is that, by now, she actually feels better about paring back those details to Seifer in particular. So for once, she doesn't just answer with the standard 'My family and friends', and instead gives more specifics.

"There's all my brothers and sisters and parents, obviously, but that just... goes without saying." She glances up at the rafters of the forge, as if for inspiration, before continuing. "That knight I mentioned back when we first met? His name is Reinhardt. He's also my godfather, and who I was adventuring with when I... came here. I didn't know how much I would miss him until I did. Plus he's probably getting in so much trouble without me."

"Sounds like you have a big family," He's rather envious of that. Never had a family himself. Just the small found one he'd made back home of Raijin and Fujin, now Nida and Rinoa.

He nods at her question, she'd mentioned the name once, now he was getting more detail. Her fear of his getting into trouble does earn a mild chuckle, shaking his head. "I dunno how any of this stuff works, but I wouldn't doubt he'd be just as worried about you not bein' around. Be on his best behavior, 'least that's what I'd do if I knew someone was gonna worry." Of course best might still not mean completely out of trouble. "So he's who you were a squire for, yeah?"

It's evident by her laugh, too, that she doesn't think 'best behaviour' goes very far. "Even his best behaviour is utterly stupid when he doesn't have someone to watch his back," Brigitte explains, but there's a fondness to her voice that shows she's not actually bitter about this particular failing.

"And yeah. Squire, medic, mechanic and smith, I was basically whatever he needed me to be." Even down to policing the man's meals sometimes. Perennial work, in a way, but she always enjoyed her time with the man. Part of why she missed him so much now. "Can Fujin and Raijin at least take care of themselves?"

Edited 2019-02-18 01:07 (UTC)

Her laugh is infectious, earning a light chuckle from him as well. "Ah well, can't blame a guy for tryin'." They sound like they have a good relationship. That's sweet, he's a little envious of that as well but not so much as to be bitter about it. It's too bad she's been pulled here away from the people she loves. That's the true tragedy.

"Damn, quite the resume. You're the whole package." Please don't work circles around him and make him useless Brig, he needs the work to feel useful. If he's useless he becomes awful. "Oh yeah, better than I can. Dunno what I'd do without 'em." Well, be lost, and miss them terribly. Those two were tough, they'd figure it out. Although he'd like to think they might miss him too. Maybe. There's a frown, expression dropping some as he lets his attention drift into the forge. Are they better without him?

"...I miss 'em." Out of everyone from home they're the ones he regrets not being around the most. Sure he's made surprising friends with Nida, and he doesn't want to trade that, but no one else had stuck with him like they had.

It's a wistfulness that Brigitte doesn't see on his face often, and she can't decide if it's a bad thing that she's brought this on, or if it's a good thing that they're opening up. Maybe a bit of both.

"I know the feeling," she says, tipping her chin against her palm, elbow propped against the back of that chair. "Sorry. I probably-- shouldn't have gotten us onto this subject. It's this stupid double-edged sword, I guess? We talk about the things that made us happy back home, but thinking about it too much can make us sad."

Indeed, Seifer was often very carefully reserved about his emotions. Didn't like to let anything that could be construed as a weakness or a weapon against him out to be seen. She'd caught him off guard, in an unusual mood with an unusual subject. The little tiny family he did miss. He hoped they were okay without him. So, probably both.

A huff. "Heh, yeah... yeah it is. Ain't much we can do about it 'course. If they were here I think it'd be just perfect here." Then he definitely wouldn't want to go. Didn't really want to as it was, mind, but that'd seal the deal.

"Perfect is maybe a little bit of a stretch, at least for now," Brigitte admits, "but-- I do know what you mean." Life in the village was... okay. Or at least, getting better. She's settling in.

Then she finally unfolds her hands from the chair, straightens up and stretches until something in her back pops. She's been hunkered down here for too long; she should probably get moving, do more of the rounds, meet more people.

"I should probably go try those waffles. Thanks for the talk, though, Seifer, and I'll catch you round here tomorrow. And good luck with those designs?" She gives him a flash of a smile, an attempt at reassurance. She's leaving him a little bittersweet, but her mood isn't tanked or anything; because there's still the warmth of the forge, and that buzz of conversation, and getting closer to these new friends.

It's not home, but at least it's something like it.

"Almost perfect," He amends. For him, it's close enough. He has more here than he could have ever had back home. People who want him, for some reason or another, a kind of family. A second chance. And most of all an escape from Galbadia's firing squad. Granted he could see how it wouldn't be the same for her, she had things to go back to. A lot that she'd lost here.

A nod to acknowledge, better she get moving. Sorry Brig, he'd not intended to be depressing. "Later." If she wants to talk to him again she'll know where to find him. He's going to stay there and mind his business, just watching the socialization from a safe, uncertain distance. One day, maybe, he'll learn how to be involved like the rest of them.

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[ MINGLE ] FORGE AFTER HOURS

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i meant to try wrapping this at first but whoops I JUST LOVE THEM.. SO MUCH...

THEY'RE TOO CUTE

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I am a durp

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closed there, or yours to close?

Closed is good!