Out on the Town, Take Two [Hollow Bastion - Open, Incomplete]

[seventhcrown]

"I'd like some tea, if you have it."

"Tea?! You want tea with the House Special?" Galina frowned in a way that made Kairi wish she could hide behind something. "Not under this roof, not while my padre is cooking his best dish! A red wine is best, Cabernet Sauvignon or Chianti

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[fake_prince]

It was a bit overwhelming to have the waitress be so animated, though it seemed that poor Kairi was saved from the woman's wrath by a young man. His eyes skated over the violin and he examined it for a moment. Aladdin had never been given the chance to learn how to play an instrument, but he admired people that were skilled at it. Sure, he had other talents, but people were always jealous of what they couldn't do.

The man, Daniel, seemed nice, too. As he left, he turned to Kairi and smiled. "Well, that was nice of him." He had noticed that she had been taken aback by the other and he vaguely realized that there might be some undertone to that. She still looked rather flustered, even with the waitress gone and the musician on the other side of the room.

"Hmm," he said, eyes narrowing perceptively. "He catch your fancy?"

[seventhcrown]

"What?" she squeaked. Coughing, she shook her head, "Oh, no. I'm just a bit surprised by the waitress, thats all." She coughed and put the wine menu back on the rack where Daniel had taken it from.

Even if he was cute.

[fake_prince]

Aladdin wasn't convinced, but he didn't know Kairi well enough to push the matter. Still, he filed that away for later. He was by no means a gossip, but if he noticed something, he wasn't about to forget it.

Watching as he returned the menu, he frowned. "Just make sure you don't drink too much, okay?" If she hadn't tried wine before, it was a bit dangerous. He had no idea how well she could hold her liquor. He would be on the sharp end of Sora's Keyblade if the boy found out he had gotten her drunk.

[seventhcrown]

"I'm just going to have a sip, so I don't get hit with something." She eyed the swinging door that lead into the kitchens. From inside, someone was shouting in a language she couldn't comprehend. Probably Galina.

[fake_prince]

"All right, good idea." He shrugged, eyes also catching on the kitchen door. A small bit of the thief in him perked up at the opening that would have provided, but a small grab at his pocket reminded him that he had the money to pay for food now. "Alcohol really isn't all it's cracked up to be. In my opinion, anyway." Not worth the hangover, he figured.

He turned back to her. "So, why the magic practice?" He figured it was a valid question. Most of the Princesses of Heart didn't concern themselves with combat.

[seventhcrown]

Raising her eyebrows, Kairi shrugged a bit.

"I'm doing it to keep track of Kefka for the Council." She spoke slowly, careful to disassociate herself from the ruling body of the Bastion, a group she wasn't a part of yet. She kept her voice down, too. She didn't want anyone picking up that they were from the castle and trying to listen in.

"And, well... I have nothing better to do with myself, and I," she looked down at her lap, a bit embarressed. "I didn't want to feel helpless."

[fake_prince]

While he had never met the man, he'd definitely heard quite a bit about Kefka. From what he could tell, he had done all the right things in the eye of the public; helping Belle when she had almost died, on top of everything else. He had heard from Jasmine, however, that the Council was suspicious of him because he held such an interest in the Keyhole. And if Jasmine didn't trust him, neither did Aladdin.

"Be careful, okay? From what I've heard, he's a very powerful person. Still," he added, "I admire that you're actually taking the time to make sure you don't have to be the damsel in distress. Everyone should know at least some basic combat skills, just in case someone isn't there to save them." He nodded, obviously quite serious about the point he was making. It was war. People had to be able to defend themselves, soldier or civilian.

[seventhcrown]

Kairi gave him a grateful smile.

"Thank you, I'm glad someone doesn't think that it's a silly idea." Her mind jumped back a bit, to Destiny Islands. What would the Elders do if they knew she was learning magic and combat? Or hell, even that this place was ruled by a bunch of women?

"But I worry sometimes. Kefka was..." Remembering the incident in the room a while ago, Kairi frowned. There was a manerism in her tutor that day that unnerved Kairi to the core. "I'm starting to wonder if he's stable. Which makes me wonder about what he might be teaching me."

[fake_prince]

It was true. So many people frowned down upon women actually being able to defend themselves. What did it matter if they knew how to throw some punches or cast some spells? People also complained about the stereotypes people formed about women, but if they weren't going to let them break through that generalization, who could blame them?

Her concern confused him. He frowned at her, tilting his head. "Not stable, huh?" Being power-hungry was one thing; being unstable was another. It was something completely unpredictable and uncontrollable. Jafar hadn't been stable.

"If that's the case, be even more wary. If he seems to be teaching you something shady, don't do it." He wasn't sure how easy it would be to refuse Kefka's instructions, but it wasn't like Kairi could just learn forbidden magic.

[seventhcrown]

"I will. Just that... I want to learn magic, I actually like it, I find some of the ideas fascinating." She grinned a bit. "So much better than the school I went to. At least what I'm learning is going to some practical use, right?"

She remembered the scorched brick wall in the Bastion gardens and smiled a bit wider. "At least I can flambe something, if it stands still."

[fake_prince]

"Oh, I understand. Magic is pretty neat, even if I never could get the hang of it." He scratched at his head. Thieving and sword use were his specialties. That, and quick thinking. "Just make sure you double-check a spell's properties and effects before you try it out," he said with a nod.

He grinned at her last comment. "More than I can do, yeah!" As he responded, the food was brought to them. He immediately grabbed a fork and dug in, eyeing the glass of wine that was placed near Kairi. Well, she'd be careful.

[seventhcrown]

The "house special" happened to be baltic-glazed chunks of medium rare steak and tomatoes layered with creamy mozzarella and basil leaves, veal medallions with rosemary potatoes and grilled asparagus atop fettucine and crusty golden rolls that steamed when broken open. Her jaw dropped.

"What? My father is one of the best chiefs in this little snip of a planet." Galina sniffed, but she smiled either way. "Eat and try not to pass out from pleasure on the table, I dare you."

Taking a fork, Kairi speared a piece of steak and pasta and closed her mouth around it.

"Ooh..." Kairi sighed. "That's amazing..." She reached for the glass of wine and took a placating sip. Swirling it around in her mouth a bit, she swallowed it and the pasta down. Immediately, she began to twirl more around her fork.

"Told you," Galina murmured, turning to walk back into the kitchens with a smile on her face.

[fake_prince]

Aladdin was also overwhelmed by the dish that was brought out to Kairi. He stared for a few moments (being a street rat, fine cuisine was nothing he'd ever been exposed to), but he figured it was probably too refined for his simple taste. He was pleased enough with his angel hair, which he was still busy slurping up.

A tentative silence reigned while they both got through their food, but Aladdin had long ago learned to eat quick and was soon done, even though Kairi had quite a bit left on her intimidating platter of food.

He leaned back in his seat and let out a sigh. "Mmmn, that hit the spot..." The leftovers were granted to his monkey-pal, who had been busy sleeping during their conversation. The smell of food had woken him up and he was chewing thoroughly at the pasta Aladdin had placed on a napkin for him.

[seventhcrown]

After a while, Kairi was left poking at over half her plate, her stomach more than sated and unable to force herself to eat another bite.

"Whew," she sighed as she leaned back in the seat. "That was wonderful." She covered her mouth and hiccuped, then eyed the half-full glass of wine. She knew she was a lightweight and all, but...

[fake_prince]

Having a much simpler dish on his hands, Aladdin had finished before Kairi and waited as patiently as he could for her. When she piped up, he looked back over and gave a nod. "It looked good. You can probably take the leftovers back with you. I'm sure Sora would like to try it." He grinned. He definitely knew how much of a weakness the Keyblade Master had for food.

"I think we can leave the wine, though," he muttered, tone somewhat warning. Enough was enough.

[seventhcrown]

Sora would bite her arm off for it, if all he had to eat on his trips through the worlds were those nasty ration bars. Hell, any man would.

"I might have to throw it at him. I like my fingers," she muttered. Pushing the wineglass away, no arguement on that one, Kairi leaned further into the seat, turning her head to catch the strains of violin that floated over from the corner.

So, what to do now?