Consume mass quantities!
Who: Nate and Jamie
Where: cafe
When: shortly after Pluto takes Nate to get new clothes
Warnings: none
Summary: the nerdboy meets the island's newest resident and discovers his unusual preferences in cuisine.
Jamie was taking advantage of a quiet moment in the cafe to do some tidying up around the place, not that there was much to be done. Currently he was cleaning one of the grills in the back, keeping an ear open for anyone who might wander in.
Nate poked his head through the door (not the doorway) of the cafe glancing around. He'd gotten free food here before so there was a chance he'd manage again. Glancing around he looked for the blue werewolf to see if he was in.
Ever-vigilant while on the job, Jamie peered out into the main area of the cafe; the first thing that grabbed his attention was what appeared to be a disembodied head attached to the door like some sick parody of a hunting trophy. Not having expected this in the slightest, Jamie - naturally - flailed, sputtering in surprise.
"Sorry," Nate said sheepishly rubbing his head as he phased fully through the door. "I didn't mean to startle you. Is Jon around?"
Gaping, Jamie blinked a few times before gathering his wits enough to reply; the sight of the guy's head sticking through had been a bit of a shock, and he was actually somewhat relieved to see that it was, in fact, attached to an intact body, even though that body had entered the building in a somewhat unconventional way. "Um...no, Jon's out right now," he managed, in response to the man's question. "Can I get you something...?"
"Oh," Nate's face fell. "I kind of wanted food, but I don't have any money. I can go if you want me to," Nate said turning back towards the door. Well, there went one option for scavenging lunch. He was hoping to actually get something better than he could put together out of odds and ends.
Jamie blinked at the man's reaction; apparently he was new here and didn't understand how things worked on the island. "You don't have to leave," he said, before the other could get out the door. "Food doesn't cost anything here. Nothing does."
"So people keep saying. Sorry, if I don't believe you, but experience says otherwise. Everything has a price even if people don't give it to you up front," Nate replied warily.
Jamie blinked again. This guy was paranoid even by Jamie's standards. "Well...the price is that you're stuck here, I guess," he said, a little sourly. "We're brought here against our will and we can't leave, so whoever's in charge gives us free room and board." He shrugged.
"Oh," Nate replied. "That's kind of sick." Sighing Nate leaned back against a wall. "Guess I traded one slave pen for another huh?"
"It's...not that bad here," Jamie said, peering at the man. "I mean, yeah, there's some bad stuff, but...it could be worse. Nobody really forces us to do anything...'cept you have to get a job somewhere." Wow. Jamie'd never envisioned the day he'd be trying to help someone else see the brighter side of being trapped on a weird extradimensional island.
"You don't sound all that convinced," Nate replied. "And yes, I heard about the conditions. Work or school. Like I said, slave pens. It would be one thing if I could leave, but I keep getting lost when I try," Nate shrugged.
"Mn...yeah, trying to leave here doesn't work all that well," Jamie muttered, recalling the results of his own unpleasant attempt to do so. "But seriously, the work there is to do isn't all that hard. 's not what I'd call slave labor."
"Yeah, well from what I've been told of the rules, I'm probably to young to work anyways," Nate replied. Sure he looked like he was in his early twenties, but appearances could be deceiving. "Still, hard or not it doesn't make it any better."
Jamie frowned a bit at the man's remark about his age, but didn't question it. "Well...I guess it doesn't, no," he said in response to the second half of his statement. "But you said you thought everything had a price, so I was just giving you my take on it. You get a job or go to school, and the island provides everything else."
Nate shrugged once again. "Well right now I have neither, nor do I have a place to live, so I'm kind of out of the economy right now."
The teen shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You can still have something to eat, even if you don't have a job or go to school. I know there's a couple people here who don't work and get food anyway."
"All right," Nate replied sitting down at one of the tables. "I'm Nate by the way."
"I'm Jamie," the teen said. "So what'd you want to eat?"
"Um, food?" Nate replied. "I'll eat pretty much anything."
Jamie nodded, looking unsurprised. "Okay...we've got fresh broccoli quiche. That sound okay?"
"What's quiche?" Nate asked. He'd probably eat it anyways, but he wanted to make sure it wasn't alive of something.
"Um...it's just like eggs and milk baked in a pie crust," Jamie explained. "With broccoli."
"That sounds good. Can I get it with ketchup and chocolate sauce?"
At this, Jamie blinked. "Um...sure. Just a sec." He disappeared into the back for a few minutes, preparing a plate with a large slice of broccoli quiche and, with a certain amount of disgust, a slathering of the condiments Nate had requested. Re-emerging, he set the plate down in front of Nate. "Anything to drink?" he asked.
"Sorry, I'm told I have a stoner's taste in food. It comes from living in some very strange places," Nate just grinned eating his food. "And sure, something to drink sounds nice."
Jamie wrinkled his nose as Nate began devouring the concoction and moved off to fetch a glass of ice water. "Anything else...?" he asked, watching Nate despite himself.
"No, I'm good. Thank you," Nate replied eating his food like he half expected someone to try to take it from him.
Jamie nodded, sort of fascinated by the feral manner in which the other bolted his meal. "You can probably slow down," he said. "'s plenty of food to go around...nobody's gonna fight you for it." Particularly not for quiche with ketchup and chocolate sauce, he added silently.
"It doesn't matter that it's quiche covered in chocolate sauce. It's a bad habit I picked up in another world, but it's helped me out a time or two."
The teen shrugged a bit. "Well, okay. Just don't choke."
"I won't," Nate replied polishing off the last of the food. "And even if I did I could give myself the Heimlich."
"Er - that's probably a good thing," Jamie commented. "Can I get you anything else?" he asked, once Nate had finished his quiche.
Nate considered the options for a long moment. He didn't like the idea of putting himself further in debt to this place than they he had to.
"We've got tons of stuff for dessert," Jamie offered while Nate debated. "Or there's more, y'know, actual food if you wanted a second course."
"Pick something?" Nate asked. "I won't cover it with condiments again."
Jamie thought a moment and then returned to the kitchen, coming back out again with a slice of apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream. "I can put something else on it if you really want me to," he said, setting the pie down in front of Nate and stepping back.
"It's fine. I don't want to bother you again," Nate replied eating it with the same intensity he had the quiche.
"'s not a bother," Jamie said with a shrug, watching Nate inhale his food.
"That's not what I meant," Nate replied. "I meant the bit where you thought it was gross."
"Oh," Jamie said, a little embarrassed. "Well, quiche just...doesn't really go with ketchup and chocolate syrup, I guess."
"Probably wouldn't be a fan of twinkies, spay cheese, and pickles either," Nate said, finishing his pie with a grin.
"Er - not all together, no," Jamie said, wrinkling his nose again.
Nate laughed. "Like I said, I'm younger than I look. It probably has some effect on my choice of food."
"Oh." Jamie frowned a bit. "How old are you?"
"Near as I can figure... about nine. Ish."
Jamie blinked. "Um...how's that work?" Late teens, Jamie could've bought. Nine? No way.
"Sinister artificially aged me when he made me."
"I - what?" Jamie had a feeling this was starting to veer into Crazy Territory.
"It's a long story," Nate said lamely. And far more confusing than it had any right to be.
"Um...if you say so," Jamie said, sensing his sanity was better off with him not knowing. If the guy said he was really nine, well...Jamie supposed it was probably possible here. "Uh - did you want anything else to eat?" he said, changing the subject to something more mundane.
"Sure," Nate replied. Truth was he could probably stand to eat more considering the amount of energy his powers consumed.
"Anything in particular, or should I just...pile some stuff on a plate?" Jamie asked.
"Second option sounds good. It's what I normally do anyway."
"Okay..." Once again Jamie went into the kitchen, taking a little longer this time as he picked out a variety of foods to heap onto a large plate. Bringing it out to Nate, he stood back to watch the man's reaction.
Nate considered the plate for about a moment combining foods seemingly at random and in combinations no one besides a pregnant woman would probably find appetizing, eating them quickly in the same feral manner as usual.
Jamie gave his head a shake. The guy easily ate as much as Leena, as quickly as Leena typically did, and in much more revolting combinations. "I'm gonna go straighten up a little," he said, stepping back over to the bar. "Just yell if you want anything else, okay?"
Nate nodded in affirmation as he made quick and steady progress though the plate of food. It had been a while since he hadn't been hungry half the time.
Jamie cast one last look of faint amazement at Nate over his shoulder before ducking back into the kitchen to resume his grill-cleaning.
Finishing his food he grinned, leaning back in his chair far more than should have been stable. He contemplated telling Jamie he was done, but he honestly didn't feel like it right now.
Where: cafe
When: shortly after Pluto takes Nate to get new clothes
Warnings: none
Summary: the nerdboy meets the island's newest resident and discovers his unusual preferences in cuisine.
Jamie was taking advantage of a quiet moment in the cafe to do some tidying up around the place, not that there was much to be done. Currently he was cleaning one of the grills in the back, keeping an ear open for anyone who might wander in.
Nate poked his head through the door (not the doorway) of the cafe glancing around. He'd gotten free food here before so there was a chance he'd manage again. Glancing around he looked for the blue werewolf to see if he was in.
Ever-vigilant while on the job, Jamie peered out into the main area of the cafe; the first thing that grabbed his attention was what appeared to be a disembodied head attached to the door like some sick parody of a hunting trophy. Not having expected this in the slightest, Jamie - naturally - flailed, sputtering in surprise.
"Sorry," Nate said sheepishly rubbing his head as he phased fully through the door. "I didn't mean to startle you. Is Jon around?"
Gaping, Jamie blinked a few times before gathering his wits enough to reply; the sight of the guy's head sticking through had been a bit of a shock, and he was actually somewhat relieved to see that it was, in fact, attached to an intact body, even though that body had entered the building in a somewhat unconventional way. "Um...no, Jon's out right now," he managed, in response to the man's question. "Can I get you something...?"
"Oh," Nate's face fell. "I kind of wanted food, but I don't have any money. I can go if you want me to," Nate said turning back towards the door. Well, there went one option for scavenging lunch. He was hoping to actually get something better than he could put together out of odds and ends.
Jamie blinked at the man's reaction; apparently he was new here and didn't understand how things worked on the island. "You don't have to leave," he said, before the other could get out the door. "Food doesn't cost anything here. Nothing does."
"So people keep saying. Sorry, if I don't believe you, but experience says otherwise. Everything has a price even if people don't give it to you up front," Nate replied warily.
Jamie blinked again. This guy was paranoid even by Jamie's standards. "Well...the price is that you're stuck here, I guess," he said, a little sourly. "We're brought here against our will and we can't leave, so whoever's in charge gives us free room and board." He shrugged.
"Oh," Nate replied. "That's kind of sick." Sighing Nate leaned back against a wall. "Guess I traded one slave pen for another huh?"
"It's...not that bad here," Jamie said, peering at the man. "I mean, yeah, there's some bad stuff, but...it could be worse. Nobody really forces us to do anything...'cept you have to get a job somewhere." Wow. Jamie'd never envisioned the day he'd be trying to help someone else see the brighter side of being trapped on a weird extradimensional island.
"You don't sound all that convinced," Nate replied. "And yes, I heard about the conditions. Work or school. Like I said, slave pens. It would be one thing if I could leave, but I keep getting lost when I try," Nate shrugged.
"Mn...yeah, trying to leave here doesn't work all that well," Jamie muttered, recalling the results of his own unpleasant attempt to do so. "But seriously, the work there is to do isn't all that hard. 's not what I'd call slave labor."
"Yeah, well from what I've been told of the rules, I'm probably to young to work anyways," Nate replied. Sure he looked like he was in his early twenties, but appearances could be deceiving. "Still, hard or not it doesn't make it any better."
Jamie frowned a bit at the man's remark about his age, but didn't question it. "Well...I guess it doesn't, no," he said in response to the second half of his statement. "But you said you thought everything had a price, so I was just giving you my take on it. You get a job or go to school, and the island provides everything else."
Nate shrugged once again. "Well right now I have neither, nor do I have a place to live, so I'm kind of out of the economy right now."
The teen shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You can still have something to eat, even if you don't have a job or go to school. I know there's a couple people here who don't work and get food anyway."
"All right," Nate replied sitting down at one of the tables. "I'm Nate by the way."
"I'm Jamie," the teen said. "So what'd you want to eat?"
"Um, food?" Nate replied. "I'll eat pretty much anything."
Jamie nodded, looking unsurprised. "Okay...we've got fresh broccoli quiche. That sound okay?"
"What's quiche?" Nate asked. He'd probably eat it anyways, but he wanted to make sure it wasn't alive of something.
"Um...it's just like eggs and milk baked in a pie crust," Jamie explained. "With broccoli."
"That sounds good. Can I get it with ketchup and chocolate sauce?"
At this, Jamie blinked. "Um...sure. Just a sec." He disappeared into the back for a few minutes, preparing a plate with a large slice of broccoli quiche and, with a certain amount of disgust, a slathering of the condiments Nate had requested. Re-emerging, he set the plate down in front of Nate. "Anything to drink?" he asked.
"Sorry, I'm told I have a stoner's taste in food. It comes from living in some very strange places," Nate just grinned eating his food. "And sure, something to drink sounds nice."
Jamie wrinkled his nose as Nate began devouring the concoction and moved off to fetch a glass of ice water. "Anything else...?" he asked, watching Nate despite himself.
"No, I'm good. Thank you," Nate replied eating his food like he half expected someone to try to take it from him.
Jamie nodded, sort of fascinated by the feral manner in which the other bolted his meal. "You can probably slow down," he said. "'s plenty of food to go around...nobody's gonna fight you for it." Particularly not for quiche with ketchup and chocolate sauce, he added silently.
"It doesn't matter that it's quiche covered in chocolate sauce. It's a bad habit I picked up in another world, but it's helped me out a time or two."
The teen shrugged a bit. "Well, okay. Just don't choke."
"I won't," Nate replied polishing off the last of the food. "And even if I did I could give myself the Heimlich."
"Er - that's probably a good thing," Jamie commented. "Can I get you anything else?" he asked, once Nate had finished his quiche.
Nate considered the options for a long moment. He didn't like the idea of putting himself further in debt to this place than they he had to.
"We've got tons of stuff for dessert," Jamie offered while Nate debated. "Or there's more, y'know, actual food if you wanted a second course."
"Pick something?" Nate asked. "I won't cover it with condiments again."
Jamie thought a moment and then returned to the kitchen, coming back out again with a slice of apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream. "I can put something else on it if you really want me to," he said, setting the pie down in front of Nate and stepping back.
"It's fine. I don't want to bother you again," Nate replied eating it with the same intensity he had the quiche.
"'s not a bother," Jamie said with a shrug, watching Nate inhale his food.
"That's not what I meant," Nate replied. "I meant the bit where you thought it was gross."
"Oh," Jamie said, a little embarrassed. "Well, quiche just...doesn't really go with ketchup and chocolate syrup, I guess."
"Probably wouldn't be a fan of twinkies, spay cheese, and pickles either," Nate said, finishing his pie with a grin.
"Er - not all together, no," Jamie said, wrinkling his nose again.
Nate laughed. "Like I said, I'm younger than I look. It probably has some effect on my choice of food."
"Oh." Jamie frowned a bit. "How old are you?"
"Near as I can figure... about nine. Ish."
Jamie blinked. "Um...how's that work?" Late teens, Jamie could've bought. Nine? No way.
"Sinister artificially aged me when he made me."
"I - what?" Jamie had a feeling this was starting to veer into Crazy Territory.
"It's a long story," Nate said lamely. And far more confusing than it had any right to be.
"Um...if you say so," Jamie said, sensing his sanity was better off with him not knowing. If the guy said he was really nine, well...Jamie supposed it was probably possible here. "Uh - did you want anything else to eat?" he said, changing the subject to something more mundane.
"Sure," Nate replied. Truth was he could probably stand to eat more considering the amount of energy his powers consumed.
"Anything in particular, or should I just...pile some stuff on a plate?" Jamie asked.
"Second option sounds good. It's what I normally do anyway."
"Okay..." Once again Jamie went into the kitchen, taking a little longer this time as he picked out a variety of foods to heap onto a large plate. Bringing it out to Nate, he stood back to watch the man's reaction.
Nate considered the plate for about a moment combining foods seemingly at random and in combinations no one besides a pregnant woman would probably find appetizing, eating them quickly in the same feral manner as usual.
Jamie gave his head a shake. The guy easily ate as much as Leena, as quickly as Leena typically did, and in much more revolting combinations. "I'm gonna go straighten up a little," he said, stepping back over to the bar. "Just yell if you want anything else, okay?"
Nate nodded in affirmation as he made quick and steady progress though the plate of food. It had been a while since he hadn't been hungry half the time.
Jamie cast one last look of faint amazement at Nate over his shoulder before ducking back into the kitchen to resume his grill-cleaning.
Finishing his food he grinned, leaning back in his chair far more than should have been stable. He contemplated telling Jamie he was done, but he honestly didn't feel like it right now.