[OPEN]

[myscarsmiles]

WHO: Kristoph Gavin [myscarsmiles] and hopefully lots of others.
WHAT: Nothing in particular. It's an open thread. Get something to eat, chat with your friends. Go wild. No explosions, please.
WHERE: Un Morso Di Mangiare: A 24-hour diner: Vie Marsala and Via Aspromonte
WHEN: A couple of days after the fashion show: anytime, really! Just say when in the title

Comments

[ombrosa]

"Good," Kai said with childish firmness in her voice, "otherwise, we'd have to clean you too."

She sat back in her seat, squaring herself slightly and placing both hands flat on the table. "Sky High," she whispered quietly to herself and then, in the air around her a suddenly rush of wind and noise, noise that only she could hear. The beating of a thousand wings exploded across her senses as a dozen small creatures seemed to dissolve out of the air, humming on wings that moved too quickly to be seen. Kai's eyes slid across the table, finally resting on a short glass of ice water. In immediate response, Sky High reared up with a chattering din, and quickly the swarm quickly descended upon the glass, their grub-like bodies crawling over its surface.

At first the water merely froze, crystalline vines of frost coating the surface of the glass. And then, the sound of cracking, of atoms contracting too far and too fast, before finally the glass splintered in half, a single long crack dividing it. Kai laughed quietly and whispered a small, "Thank you," as Sky High winked out of existence. Her gaze flickered up at Gavin, her look was sly and triumphant. "Very clever."

[myscarsmiles]

"Ha!" Kristoph smiled, nodding his head delightfully at Kai. "I would most certainly not like it if you cleaned me up."

His eyes followed hers to the glass of water, watching as it quickly frosted over and as the sudden crack appeared in it. "That's...very impressive." His voice had a certain reverent quality to it, admiring the invisible display of strength.

[ombrosa]

Kai smiled, clearly satisfied with the man's reaction; it felt good to bask in. Perhaps not nearly as warm as the feeling she got whenever Prosciutto praised her, but still the feeling was wonderful and comforting in his absence. "There are terrible terrible things in the world, yes? Things that even smart men like you cannot see. Prosciutto says that why we clean. We have a gift, yes, and must use it to survive."

She paused and waggled her head around vaguely for a moment, looking up at the ceiling as if she'd lost something. "Pay bills. Buy food. A nice dress of Kai when she's good. That is why Kai cleans. For Prosciutto. For money." Another grin, more distracted this time. "For fun."

[myscarsmiles]

"I would even say that the most terrible things in the world are invisible." Kristoph nodded, waving a dismissive hand at the waiter who was coming over with a garbage can to toss the glass away. It could stay, for now.

Kai was connected to Prosciutto? That was a curious little note indeed, though there was something about both of them that had a note familiarity to it. He couldn't figure out what it was, but it didn't really matter right now, anyway; the connection was enough.

"That is what gifts are for, mm? To get ahead. To keep yourself up and running and a little ahead of everyone else." He paused, thoughtfully, then asked. "Do you like Prosciutto?"

[ombrosa]

At Gavin's question of Prosciutto, Kai blushed very suddenly and furiously -- her cheeks, the bridge of her nose, the tips of her ears, all flashing red and hot. She tried her best to conceal this behind both hands, and then eventually, rather sheepishly, she answered. "Kai does, yes." She paused, considering whether to continue. It wasn't everyday she had somebody listening to her so intently. Most of the time, people dismissed her inane prattle as pure madness, and how often did she hold somebody's attention so fully.

"Prosciutto found us when were all on our on. When Kai had nothing but her loneliness to keep her company." As she spoke, Kai pushed around the bits of broken glass with one finger, as if they were pieces of a puzzle she was trying to solve. "He cares about Kai and her happiness. He would miss her if she were ever to fall. He would call upon the Dead in order to protect her. We know this, we feel it. Even if sometimes he does not say." Kai then looked up at Gavin with a curious expression -- part sadness, part relief, and something else, something not entirely unlike malice. "Prosciutto is kind and cruel, just like Kai. The same animal, you see? That is why they care for each other."

[myscarsmiles]

How cute she was! Kristoph found an enormous awwww inside of him and kept it there.

"Yes, I understand," he said, after she had finished talking. He wondered what these two had in common - that power she had invisibly displayed? Something still hidden? There were many kind and cruel people here, and Kristoph found himself incredibly curious as to why it has been these two to come together.

"Would you like something to eat?"

[ombrosa]

Kai's face, her whole manner, perked at Gavin's question. Her eyebrows raised and her mouth pursed into a tiny little bow-like shape. "Ooo." she said, rolling the vowel around in her mouth. "Kai would like that yes." She caught herself again with a small hrmph. "But. She musn't spend too much money. Not enough cleaning, stretches all of us too thin." The then quirked an eyebrow. "Unless. Would you like us to clean for you, yes? We promise, we are the best. Very best."

[myscarsmiles]

"The food would be on me." he glanced sharply up to one of the men hurrying around the resturant and plucked a menu from his hands, offering it to Kai. "Call it a treat for sharing such lovely company, mm? As for cleaning... I promise to ask for you the absolute next time I need such a service."

[ombrosa]

Happily, with reluctance that was more affected than genuine, Kai took the menu from Gavin, greedily turning it over between her small hands. For a moment she hesitated, looking at him with a shift-eyed expression, her tone gruff, but unserious, as if she was play-acting at suspicion. "Gavin is too nice, Kai thinks. Should be careful, or else someone could get suspicious." The mock darkness of her expression then broke as she flipped the menu open with sudden cheer. "Prosciutto says never be too suspicious. Or else the job might run away. Fly away like birds scattering." A moments deliberation, chewing on her bottom lip, and then: "Waffle!"

There was a pause, and then realizing, she added, "...Please."

[myscarsmiles]

"Proscuitto is quite right, I'd say. Standing out can be very dangerous and can most certainly destroy a good job. I apologize if I act in such a way... habit, I suppose. I'm somewhat of a connoisseur of food, and I most certainly enjoy lavishing on those who are enjoyable to be around."

A small nod, and he glanced over to a waiter. With a gesture at Kai, he had the nervous sman back in the kitchen for Kai's food. Everyone else could wait. "Are you suspicious of me, Kai?"

[ombrosa]

The young girl considered this question for a long moment, her legs swaying back and forth playfully beneath the table. "Kai thinks you are a curious one, yes. So polite, so careful." Her eyes wandered to his lips. "That smile hides fangs. Kai can smell it, can see it Gavin's eyes. Another animal, different, but the same." She paused again, and then looked out the window, distracted. "But Kai isn't suspicious of Gavin, no, not like that. Gavin likes when he finds other animals. Collects them, like dolls. Like strays."

She looked back at him. "Would you collect Kai, Mr. Gavin?"

[myscarsmiles]

Huh. A curious question. All he needed was to populate his house with women. A peculiar mental image sprung into his head of being overwhelmed by Mazikeen, Kai, and Rhode, and he nearly chuckled out loud before he got a grip on himself.

"You're a smart girl, Kai. In a lot of different ways. I like that," he said, smiling faintly. "You can see things other people can't see, you can tell what's happening. That's a good trait to keep. So rare, these days. I suppose I enjoy making friends, but really, can you blame me, when there are so few interesting people in the world? When there are so few, one must keep them close to be amused."

A pause. Would he have collected Kai? He approved of her murderous streak, but her simplicity was a bit unfortunate.

"Perhaps." He intertwined his fingers, arching an eyebrow. "It seems as if you've already been collected, though, mm?"

[ombrosa]

Kai narrowed her eyes, learning across the table, and once again, gave Gavin a careful sniff. It was, perhaps, the longest conversation she'd had for years and his teasing and toying with her both annoyed and delighted her.

"Perhaps Kai does not want to be collected. Perhaps she is collected already. By others. She is not a stupid little girl, like so many think. She can be your animal. But only for a price. That is what Nariko taught her, and Prosciutto, after her fall. How much would you pay for such a beast?"

[myscarsmiles]

Kristoph sat back and was silent for what might have been a long time before he answered. His answer was level, with an edge to his voice and his smile, and when he again made eye contact with Kai, he looked a little different - colder.

"I do not pay for beasts, my darling. They come to me, and I offer them what I have, but never more. And if they do not want to stay, it is not me who misses out, is it, mm?"

A thin smile.

[ombrosa]

"Such a vicious little thing, Mister Gavin. Such a wolf," Kai smiled, a dark mirth seeping into her eyes and her voice. She held Gavin's gaze with her own hard stare, like two animals circling around one another. Watching. Waiting. Studying.

"What do you have to offer then, tell Kai. Beyond waffles and soft hands and wonder at Sky High."

[myscarsmiles]

Kristoph gave an amused chuckle as he watched her expression shift, small but significant. He pushed his glasses up his nose and brushed a stray blond hair behind his eye.

"Are you interested in being collected, my dear? Prosciutto might get mad and try to clean me up."