(Untitled)

[frustrated_asst]

Natalie wanders down to the bar, settles in at a table, and orders dinner. She decides upon spaghetti and meatballs, with a small side salad, and a good red wine paired with the meal.

She would not be adverse to some company while she eats, though.

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[gorgonfondness]

There's a young woman nearby, not much older than Julie. In fact, she looks the same age as Julie.

She was only passing by, starting to ponder about her own supper and possibly bringing some home when she catches a whiff of Natalie's simple-yet-delicious meal. And she's a big advocate of simple-yet-delicious.

She stops, takes a step back.

Well, Uncle Rabastan always did seem to favor Italian, but she's never seen that exact dish.

"Excuse me, but that looks good. What's in that?"

[frustrated_asst]

Natalie looks up, and smiles. "This? This is spaghetti and meatballs. You can try a bite, if you'd like," she says, offering the fork to the girl.

[gorgonfondness]

The meatballs she's wary about. All ground up and in tomato sauce? They could be anything from ant to grog snake.

But she takes the fork and ventures a bite.

Thank goodness, it's cow! And pig! Yummy!

"Ooh, I like that. Much better than some of the meatballs I've had before at home. And it looks like it might be fun to make."

[frustrated_asst]

"If you want, when I go home, I can get you a recipe and bring it back to you." She smiles at the girl again. "By the way, my name is Natalie."

[gorgonfondness]

"Oh, that would be wonderful! I like having recipes to try."

Mostly so she can teach Draco how to cook. Stubborn man.

"I'm Mia. Pleased to meet you."

She offers her right hand to shake. If Natalie notices the other, she'll see the girl is wearing an opal ring shaped like a flower. On top of that is a rose gold wedding band.

[frustrated_asst]

"I can make you a little cookbook of my favorites. Perhaps we could trade?" Natalie has a secret love of cooking. Don't tell Mr. Monk.

She shakes the girl's hand firmly, smiling, and catches the sparkle of rings on Mia's left. "Your rings are very pretty," she notes.

[gorgonfondness]

"Oh, I don't really have many recipes. I get most of mine from other friends and almost all of the cooking I did before that was connected to camping out and hunting."

And Mia's going to blush like....well, a blushing bride. It wasn't exactly long ago that she was wearing a wedding dress.

"Thank you," she murmurs modestly. "I had....well, I had never been much for show-off-y jewelry, but Draco is and-"

She pauses to look at the ring and finishes clearly.

"-and I don't think anything else could make a ring so lovely as he can."

[frustrated_asst]

"I like camping. My little girl would love if I could have more recipes for over the open fire." She grins.

And then she pats the girl's shoulder. "I remember those times clearly. You're lucky to have a man who loves you so." She smiles, and it's tinged with a bit of sadness, but that's okay.

[gorgonfondness]

"I'm not sure how well roast ant would go over with anyone. I had some a couple of weeks ago from here and not even Milliways could make it very edible."

There's a brief moment of pressing her lips together in memory of that.

"I am lucky, I think. Draco would likely argue that he's the luckier of the two of us. I'm not sure he realizes it goes both ways."

He can talk about her being as beautiful as the stars and the ocean and what does she come up with?

Takes one to know one.

Thank goodness he takes even lame compliments.

[frustrated_asst]

"...No, probably not." She ponders. "I believe that even tops a military MRE on suck factor."

[gorgonfondness]

"I would say so. The Magic Militia at home always has quality food prepared in the Guild's own kitchens."

You know, when they don't have to go out and rough it like Mia and her friends did.

"But then, most of what they did was keep the city safe. They were busy enough at home during the last war that they didn't really go far enough to bring food with them."

[frustrated_asst]

She nods. "That sounds about like what our military does, now a days, anyway."

Beat.

"Where are you from, may I ask?"

[gorgonfondness]

"Vane, in the Katarina Zone. My home is the magic capital of Lunar."

She puts her hands together to form a circle.

"Most people on Earth call it the Moon, just as we call Earth the Blue Star."

[frustrated_asst]

"You're from the Moon? I didn't know people lived there..." She looks mystified. "That's... really neat."

[gorgonfondness]

"We didn't know people lived on the Blue Star," she replies. "There were legends that said they did a long time ago, but before I came here, I thought that was all they were."

A shrug.

"I've gotten used to all of the people from the Blue Star here. Draco, actually, used to live on the Blue Star. Wiltshire, in England."

[frustrated_asst]

"Do you both live here, now? Or on the--on Vane?"

She's struggling to wrap her head around this.

She's okay with Milliways, because a bar looks like a bar no matter where you go. But... people living on the moon? What?