(Untitled)

[weathergate]

Characters; Nue Everglenn (nue_everglenn), Nathaniel Harrowgate (weathergate)
Setting/Location; Port Avarita, New Utopia.
Date & Time; Day Three, about 9AM.
Warnings; None.
Briefing; Nue insists Nate visit NU. Investigation of rumors concerning Louis Harrowgate. Probably a lot of mother henning, too.

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[nue_everglenn]

Glancing over the boy whom she thought so highly of, Nue couldn't even begin to resist the smile that spread across her face. "Look at you! You've grown so much since I last saw you. You're so big now!" she exclaimed excitedly, already walking towards him in order to wrap her arms tightly around him in a nice big hug. He still felt so small to her though, even now as she all but suffocated him with her chest. He had been so much tinier before, but now he was really starting to look like a man and so much like his father! It warmed her heart.

Oh, he must think of her as something like a troubling aunt, which would actually be pretty irritating if true. Although, she supposed it was a lot better than some other things he could have deemed her as.

"Nate, I have heard rumour of your father making business deals with some rather questionable characters here. On James' orders. I've prepared a list of all the possible suspects for us to go through," she explained to him after finally releasing him from her hugging. "It's not too long though. Are you hungry? We could grab something to eat as we decide where we'll go first."

[weathergate]

"I haven't really," he insisted, unable to stop himself from grinning shyly while she fussed and more or less crushed him in a hug. The embrace was returned, of course, but that didn't mean he still couldn't (halfheartedly) protest by complaining, "Nue! You'll stunt my growth if you hold me too tightly." Nearly grown and he was still spouting off wild stories. Who knew where he got that from.

Still, this was not a for-fun trip, as pleasant as it was to see the woman again. She was one of his favorites, after all. But this was mostly business, and important business, at that. With his father missing, Nate had been doing what he could to pick up the work slack. He didn't have a natural gift for it as his father did, but he knew enough of what was what to keep Valora's markets from collapsing. Either way, he refused to complain or ask for help. He had done enough begging already.

His smile falter and faded away at the mention of James, his father, and their supposed questionable deals, murmuring, "On his orders?" Ah. Just another detail to worry over. He was quiet as he thought, gaze momentarily downturned and hands retreating to the insides of his pockets. After a stretch of silence, he caught his mind before it wandered further and shrugged, glancing back up at Nue. "Okay."

[nue_everglenn]

Nue had to repeatedly remind herself several times that this trip was not just an excuse to see and spoil Nate rotten, but really. . . Who would blame her if she sent him home with an armful of expensive gifts? Well, most likely both James and Louis would. The question was: would it be in unison? She might listen to them if they did it together.

She reached out to take Nate's hand in hers so she could probably lead him around the city and towards the nearest cafe. She fully intended to buy him whatever he wished at the cafe, provided it was non-alcoholic. She wouldn't let him grow up to be anything like either Attilic or Mikhail (both were just as bad as the other). Nue cringed at the thought even. It would be a fate worse than death for her!

Stopping in front of the cafe, she smiled over at him. "Is there anything in particular you'd like?" she asked him before starting to make her way towards one of the sets of chairs and tables in front of the building meant for outside dining.

[weathergate]

One moment he was standing still, and the next he was being tugged along through the streets of New Utopia. It was a little surprising, to say the least, but at least Nue was excited to see him. That was a nice change of pace. He was almost able to forget his nagging troubles.

Almost.

"Um--" Nate managed to reach out with his free hand and pull out a seat, debating on whether to actually sit or accompany Nue inside. He knew nothing of the choices, and surely she wasn't planning on paying for him... "Whatever is easiest?" A shrug. He wasn't picky, really.

[nue_everglenn]

Excited was hardly the word for it. Nue would have had him spend the entire day with her stumbling around her country if not for the situation at hand. She allowed to him go sit down somewhere as she talked to the very startled waiter who was more than happy to provide her with whatever she wanted on the house. Who in their right mind would ask for the leader of their country to pay them for a simple meal?

She returned to the table where Nate sat with two milkshakes and what she assumed would be a fitting lunch for the both of them: chicken strips and fries. After placing them down on the table, she sat down herself and laid down a couple sheets of paper consisting of lists of rumoured activity and the places where the aforementioned activity was supposedly taking place, and of course a detailed map of the city so that Nate could easily decide on where he wanted to go first.

"Will this be enough to fill you up?"