This Moment [Closed//Complete]

[kapitanblut]

WHO: Kurt Wagner (kapitanblut) and Caiman (lacerta-ortus)
WHAT: While exploring the city, Kurt decides to stop in for a bite.
WHERE: The Hungry Bug
WHEN: Day 11 (08/24)

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[lacerta_ortus]

A loud voice came from the kitchen.

"-Saix, are you gonna take that guy's order or what? Fucking hell, you're already handling five - SIX people?! Christ! Guess I really should get a second waiter or something..."

A sigh, and then some stomping over to the counter.

If some people here stood out, then they were nothing compared to the man who ran the place.

Caiman. Six foot six, around 290 pounds, and most notably, his, uh. Head.

A big yellow lizard of a head, with black cross tattoos on both eyes, attached right onto his body. Wearing a cooking apron, a white t-shirt, and loose jeans. Tried to dress for comfort.

With zero hesitation, he spoke to the man.

"What can I get ya?"

[kapitanblut]

Kurt looked up, and went dead silent. The air was literally sucked from his lungs as he stared into the face of the lizard... thing... man that was standing over him on the other side of the counter.

"Mein gott..."

He blinked a few times, then leaned back, taking a breath and shaking his head. "Goodness, please, forgive me! I was not expecting... well..." He smiled sheepishly, both embarrassed and disappointed in himself. "I... my manners are inexcusable." He quickly returned his eyes to the menu, to make sure he got the name right. "Could I get a...Framboise Lambic Ale... and..." He looked back up, this time more confused than shocked or embarrassed. "...I've never had any food like this. Could I ask for a recommendation?"

[lacerta_ortus]

A snort. "Don't stare. It's fucking rude."

Caiman had a reputation for being blunt, and earned it with just about every word he said.

He lightened up, though, when he heard the order.

"Oh, wait - you're the German, yeah? New in town? Lucky for you, I've got a some of that stuff under the counter."

"Recommendation depends on a couple of things. Do you like seafood, vegetarian, or meat? And after that, do you like your food spicy, bitter, or sweet?"

Switched from irritated to helpful in a moment. The man just refused to take shit about his head, was all.

[kapitanblut]

"Ach, indeed. That would make you Herr Caiman, would it not?" Kurt was quick to get over his initial awkwardness, though he was still kicking himself mentally for gawking like that. It was quite rude, after all.

"Hmm... well, I'm quite fond of spicy dishes, and I suppose you could call me a bit of a meat eater." He smiled earnestly. "It's been some time since I've eaten anything more than bags of trail mix and water, honestly. One would think I was on a monastery diet."

[lacerta_ortus]

"That's me. Nikaido's back in the kitchen, too."

"Spicy means Thai's the only way to go. Probably... Gai Pad Khing, only add some curry powder to it, too. You're gonna want something to wash the heat down, and frankly, only milk works. Soda or water just spreads it around. So you should take that with the booze, too."

"Right. Enjoy this while you wait." Reached under the counter top, handed over a glass and the whole bottle of ale, letting Kurt serve himself how much he wanted. Then, back into the kitchen, slicing up chicken and peppers.

[kapitanblut]

"...Gai Pad Khing," Kurt repeated, his accent showing thickly as he made sure he pronounced the dish properly. "Very well, I will give it a try. And... perhaps I should take the milk with it, too."

When the bottle and glass were presented, Kurt canted his head a little. "Danke, Herr Caiman." Taking the bottle and unscrewing the lid, he poured himself about a half-glass of the alcohol before re-topping it and setting it down. Examining the glass, he smiled. "More wondrous than I expected..." he muttered to himself. "Genuinely interesting people, quite a few friendly ones..." Raising the glass to his lips, he knocked back a swig, holding the drink in his mouth for a moment before swallowing. His eyebrows went up in please surprise. "...and people just as strange and unique as I am. Not bad. I could get used to this..."

[lacerta_ortus]

Another thing the restaurant was known for, other than the cheap, good food, was how fast and loose they were about maintaining a 'good' image. Caiman ran much more by a policy of 'The customer is sometimes right'.

"HEY! ASSHOLE IN THE BACK ROW! LEMME REMIND YA, IF YOU KEEP GIVING MY WAITER SHIT, HE HAS FULL PERMISSION TO THROW YOUR DUMBASS SELF OUT THE DOOR!"

Stirfrying the chicken and vegetables in hot peanut oil, tossing in the curry powder to add that extra kick of spice. In short order, Kurt had a plate of steaming thai food with a potent scent of ginger, and a glass of cold milk sitting right next to it.

"Warning you, not kidding when I say the Thai are kings of spice."

[kapitanblut]

Kurt's eyebrows crept up as he heard Caiman yelling at the customer far behind him, surprised at the demeanor of the place. However, he couldn't say he didn't like it, and was already feeling a little loosened up from the ale. As the plate was set in front of him, he blinked rapidly as the spice practically punched him in the nose just from aroma. "Danke, Herr Caiman. I will be cautious."

Picking up the fork, he held the edge of the plate with his other hand, and scooped some rice and chicken into the fork's grasp. "Looks delicious..." With that, he took the first bite, chewing it slowly. It was quite tasty, very spicy as he'd warned, but still a new experience to his palette. A few more bites, and he was enjoying it quite a bit. Then...

"Unglaublich!" His hand wrapped around the glass of milk, and he took a healthy drink of it, surprised when the spice really kicked in. "Mein gott, you weren't kidding!"

[lacerta_ortus]

"Warned you! And shit, that's not even the spiciest meal we have. Dragon spicy Curry - that stuff will fuck you right up."

Caiman kept right on the ball with cooking and talking at the same time. Multi-tasker. With such a small workforce (which was kind of by choice, as Caiman didn't like the idea of having a huge, 5 star fancy restaurant sort of place), he had to be able to do plenty at once.

"So, you already got someplace to live, or are you kind of winging it?"

[kapitanblut]

A few deep breaths, and Kurt was already back at the meal. The kick it was was surprising, but really did add to its taste, which he was finding quite to his liking. The generous swallows of milk didn't hurt matters much, either.

"Ja, I found a small flat with a very low rent. No furnishings outside a refrigerator, but I hope once I get a job, I could change that." Subconsciously, his tail twitched underneath him, and part of him was almost prepared to shed the disguise right there. But for all his showmanship and bravado, the thought of Winzeldorf was still fresh in his mind, and it would take a little more personal cajoling. Still, with a day spent with a half-cheetah-looking woman, and now seeing Caiman, his confidence was growing. "If I can't find work soon, I may need to, as you said, wing it."

[lacerta_ortus]

"You came to Reggio Calabria without having a job already lined up? Jesus Christ!" Sighing, he finished off his next dish, passing it along to Saix, and told Nikaido he was gonna take a quick break. Talk with one of the customers. Stepping back up to the barside and leaning on it some.

"Listen, long story short, this place doesn't have a yellow pages or some shit for what jobs are clean and what aren't. You could end up tied to some bad stuff going down and not even know it."

"So, what's your skills, then? What're you good at, or something you've got a certificate in or whatever..."

[kapitanblut]

"Well, I have been traveling for quite a while, Herr Caiman." Kurt took a moment to down the rest of the milk before continuing. "I've been on foot, more or less, since leaving Munich. It was really divine intervention that I should come here, I believe." He leaned forward in attention

[lacerta_ortus]

"Uhh... tffhh, dunno. There's always street performing. And that guy running that play house, he needs actors, but I dunno how much that pays, or if at all."

"Might have to do grunt work. Moving stuff, or being a cashier, those kinds of things, there are jobs like that all over. Thing you gotta watch out for is jobs that pay a lot more than they should, y'get me?"

BEWARE: TL;DR AHEAD

[kapitanblut]

"I...." Kurt opened his mouth to continue, but stopped for a moment. "Please pardon me, but where is your restroom, Herr Caiman?" Getting directions, he gave a quiet thank you, and made his way through the tables to the restroom. Stepping up to the sink, he stared at his reflection in the mirror. The man staring back was familiar, a face he recognized, a face he knew... but not the face of Kurt Szardos, now Kurt Wagner, the Nachtgleiskette of the Zirkus der Sonne. It was a face he wore, and nothing more; a face to make those comfortable with him, rather than the one he was comfortable with. A face of latex skin and synthetic hair, topped with false ears and a pair of contacts covering his eyes, to make them look normal.

Normal.

"You do look normal, don't you, Herr Wagner?" He smiled, talking to the man in the mirror. "So normal, so unassuming..." He looked down at his hands, gloved and covered to make them look like regular human hands. "..so verdammt boring!" Hooking his thumb under the lip of one glove, he rolled it off, revealing

[lacerta_ortus]

"What the hell was that, a bunch of latex? Shit, that must have cost a hell of a lot just to make all of it, never mind customizing it to fit your body." Caiman replied, blunt, and not shocked at all. He was a lizard man, he had a kid whose body was made out of rubber doing deliveries, and Brittany had spots all over like an animal. Hungry Bug wasn't exactly packed with Joe WhiteGuy

[kapitanblut]

"Latex, synthetic hair, and custom contacts, yes." Kurt shrugged, already feeling a little more comfortable. "My mother had it made for me before I left Munich. I was afraid I would have to wear it my whole time here." He took another drink to the milk as he listened to Caiman's suggestions, the fur above his lip staying surprisingly mustache-free.

"I have never been opposed to a hard day's work. I don't think that would be too much of a problem for me to tackle." His tail twitched as he smiled. "As for a yoga class, I may be at an unfair advantage. As I understand it, I have a unique bone structure; I can do things normal people can't." There was that word again, normal. Something in it almost made him chuckle this time, though." He plucked up the fork again.

"I must say, I'm beginning to think my time here will be interesting, to say the least!"