ABS FIESTA REDUX

[Mr. Hurricane]

"Or, did you want to go get something to eat? I could buy it. I still have all my money from the exchange," Jaakko cuts in, sounding less asleep and a bit more eager.

He looks to Tippy.

"We didn't have all that much at the airport,"

[Ad Bot]

[Tayasaurus]

"Well if you're hungry then sure. I could use a bite to eat."

Tippy looks at Jaakko

"I'll let you pick the place to eat though. Can be anywhere. I won't complain, just choose what looks interesting yeah?"

[Mr. Hurricane]

"I don't really know what's good and what's not, I can't read Kintharian. I'd probably confuse some fast food place for something actually authentic. You pick somewhere, and I'll pay. I insist. Please?" Jaakko pleads.

[Tayasaurus]

"Why do you think I was asking you? Even if it was something wierd It would still have maybe instilled my sense of adventure... fine I'll "pick"."

Tippy shrugs and they go deeper into town.

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko wants to kick himself for absolutely fumbling everything.

"I mean- I can pick then, I just didn't know- uh-" he trips up his words and shakes his head.

"Sorry," he says weakly.

[Tayasaurus]

"I don't want sorry, I want my flight lead. If the place looks like it serves food, then make it a pick. I like surprises."

[Mr. Hurricane]

After some searching and recovering from his embarrassment, Jaakko announces his interest in a comfortable, upbeat looking hole-in-the-wall establishment.

[Tayasaurus]

Tippy and Jaakko approach the establishment to get a closer look

[Qwepir]

Cualli thanks him and gets out of the car and, with Elu in tow, asks the receptionist where she can find Arkhip.

You're told he's currently having his wounds treated and cannot receive visitors at this time. It's not until the next morning, after sleeping in the waiting room, that you're able to see him. He looks about like you'd expect someone recovering from multiple stab wounds to look.

[xxxxkill]

Tippy and Jaakko approach the establishment to get a closer look

The exterior of the restaurant is rather unassuming, a sign reading "Pearl River Hot Pot House" in Kintharian resting over the door. Entering, Tippy and Jaakko are immediately greeted with warm, slightly humid air, and the smell of near-boiling broth. The room itself is significantly more decorated, oriental patterning adorning the walls where they meet the ceiling, and mahogany-colored bamboo wood covering the lower thirds of said walls. Slightly fewer than a dozen round tables are dotted around the room at regular intervals, each capable of seating up to six, with what appears to be a propane stove built into the center of each of them. At one of the occupied tables, a pot of broth sits steaming and bubbling in the center, raw ingredients such as thinly-cut meat, various leafy greens, what appears to be mushrooms, and leeks surround the pot, occasionally getting dropped in by the patrons and fished out using a ladle and into their bowls.
A diminutive (To them, anyways) Kintharian waitress greets Tippy and Jaakko shortly after they arrive, curtly asking for party size and directing them to a table.

[Agent Legit 22]

:(

[carolcat]

Cualli found it difficult to sleep that night, and not just because trying to sleep on the hard seats in the waiting room was beyond uncomfortable. The sound of Arkhip screaming was still vivid in her mind, along with the sight of the blood spreading across the fabric of his jacket. She thought of the sickening feeling of the carjacker's arm dislocating as she twisted it with the intent to break it.

I nearly lost him.

As she stared at the wall of the waiting room, Cualli reflected on the times he'd visited her home on base: the drinking, the cuddling, the sleeping together. "Friends with benefits." Shivering, Cualli closed her eyes at the thought. That was a lie, she knew. The panic and worry she felt was all the proof she needed that she considered Arkhip more than just a friend.

Mentally, Cualli kicked herself as her memories of her exchange with Gus resurfaced. She deeply regretted telling him he wouldn't get in the way of anything, telling him that Arkhip might not find out, kissing him on the cheek. At least Gus had had the sense to not let that relationship even get started.

I nearly lost him.

Trembling, Cualli had eventually drifted into a restless, dreamless sleep.

You're told he's currently having his wounds treated and cannot receive visitors at this time. It's not until the next morning, after sleeping in the waiting room, that you're able to see him. He looks about like you'd expect someone recovering from multiple stab wounds to look.

"Arkhip?"

Cualli's eyes are slightly bloodshot and framed by dark circles attesting to her lack of sleep the previous night. Her unbraided hair, still slightly wavy, is messy. Elu follows closely behind her as she enters Arkhip's hospital room and pulls up a chair beside his bed.

"I'd ask how you feel, but I think I know the answer just based on how you look." She glances at the table beside his bed, looking to see if the nurses have given him his prayer beads.

[Mr. Hurricane]

"I have never in my life seen anything like this," Jaakko says.

He looks curiously at the dozen or more ingredient choices, many unfamiliar, with curiousity.

"What kind of place is this?" he asks Tippy with curiousity in his tone.

[Qwepir]

Cualli found it difficult to sleep that night, and not just because trying to sleep on the hard seats in the waiting room was beyond uncomfortable. The sound of Arkhip screaming was still vivid in her mind, along with the sight of the blood spreading across the fabric of his jacket. She thought of the sickening feeling of the carjacker's arm dislocating as she twisted it with the intent to break it.

I nearly lost him.

As she stared at the wall of the waiting room, Cualli reflected on the times he'd visited her home on base: the drinking, the cuddling, the sleeping together. "Friends with benefits." Shivering, Cualli closed her eyes at the thought. That was a lie, she knew. The panic and worry she felt was all the proof she needed that she considered Arkhip more than just a friend.

Mentally, Cualli kicked herself as her memories of her exchange with Gus resurfaced. She deeply regretted telling him he wouldn't get in the way of anything, telling him that Arkhip might not find out, kissing him on the cheek. At least Gus had had the sense to not let that relationship even get started.

I nearly lost him.

Trembling, Cualli had eventually drifted into a restless, dreamless sleep.
"Arkhip?"

Cualli's eyes are slightly bloodshot and framed by dark circles attesting to her lack of sleep the previous night. Her unbraided hair, still slightly wavy, is messy. Elu follows closely behind her as she enters Arkhip's hospital room and pulls up a chair beside his bed.

"I'd ask how you feel, but I think I know the answer just based on how you look." She glances at the table beside his bed, looking to see if the nurses have given him his prayer beads.

Arkhip's face brightens somewhat to see you walk in, and he stops fiddling with the prayer beads.
: I mean... I'm still here, right? That's gotta count for something.

He looks you over briefly.
: Did you get hurt too?

[carolcat]

"Me? No. Just spent the night worrying over you," she says, taking a seat beside his bed. Cualli reaches over and takes his hand without the IV in it, squeezing gently. "Gods, I was terrified. I thought I was going to lose you."

"One of the guys got arrested. Elu went and broke his ribs, I think. And knocked his teeth out. I think I dislocated the arm of the first guy, but he got away. I was more focused on--" The mental image of Arkhip bleeding out in the parking lot flashes into her mind and she trials off briefly. "...more focused on you."