Afterparty

[latinumsbetter]

[The earth once more closes up and all of that disappears, Quark remains on the ground for a long moment, holding Cerejeira. Finally, he raises his voice, still keeping her tucked against him. His tone is all business, brooking no argument.]

Bar'll open in ten minutes. Go get washed up, and then be there.

[He turns his head to look at Astarion, eyes narrowing.]

You. After those ten minutes, you're going to explain to everyone what you did. And then you're going to get out of my bar. Got it?

[and, not waiting for a reply, he's turning his attention to Cerejeira and Leb. He frowns, for a moment, because he knows he can't carry either of them, and normally he might have asked Fe Lu Om Ranma or Vanity but, well.]

...someone who can carry people help me with Leb and Jeira.

[So......the bar downstairs is once again open. Quark is not behind the bar. Instead, he's pushed some tables together and put some bottles of wine on the table. He's replicated some bar snacks and they're there too. There's something replicated for Riful also, in a separate bowl, which he'll give to her personally.

Fritz sitting near the entrance to the back counter where he's working and Critwo is in a nest of blankets in a corner just behind the counter. There’s been several of the extra togas gathered and folded to be used as blankets.

Leb is still asleep on one of the couches with one of the spare togas tucked around her as a blanket. Cerejeira is seated next to her, also with a spare toga tucked around her.

Once everyone is down there, Quark pushes to his feet and clears his throat.

Once the situation has been made clear, then the rest of the evening can proceed as usual for their afterparties.

Those four drinks that Quark usually makes (Athena, Alex, Misane, Aglaea) are once again sitting at the far edge of the counter. There are no new additions.]

Comments

Mini Meeting

[latinumsbetter]

[Quark's eyes narrow as he turns his attention to Astarion]

Alright. Spill.

[sweetsynergy]

[okay he replicated a bunch of snacks, what is there for everyone else]

[...yeah she's here, she stopped at the kitchen for another small armful of fresh produce. She might share if you ask, but she's just kind of inhaling as Astarion speaks.]

[raisethemoon]

[ Luna stands silently, still without taking any food, and watches Astarion. ]

[murchada]

[error 409. please stand by.]

1/?

[pariunt]

[It doesn't take much for Astarion to talk. With both Ferdinand and Omega dead, he's no longer under any obligation to keep his silence.]

A day or so after Snow White's death, Omega approached me telling me he had a plan, one that required my assistance. I listened to a meeting between him and Ferdinand where Omega spoke of his intention to take a shot at Typhon, in an attempt to kill him. The only way for him to get close would be if he committed a murder and was made to be judged. Ferdinand agreed.

And then he told me he needed my help in constructing the weapon you saw him use today.

Those prints Aoi found... I'm not sure if they were mine or Ferdinand's. They may have been both.

[catsgothistongue]

[He's here of course, with a scooby-doo food stack on his plate he is absolutely wolfing down with all the grace and poise of a shonen protagonist.]

[yourheroine]

...

[Aoi wants to know the answers too, but she can't help thinking they'll make everybody sad.]

[literarybehemoth]

[...he shouldn't be here. but he'll try and hold it together a little longer for the Explanation.]

[fillets]

[ she's just like

compacted into a corner if I'm being honest ]

Bartending with Aoi

[yourheroine]

[Because what else is she gonna do?

Though whether you ask for it or not, Aoi might hand you a warm glass of milk.]

It's supposed to be good for your bones, right? Aoi put a little honey in there too.

[The look Aoi gives is...well, not cheery because who would be after all of that, but she seems different. Like she's seeing the world through different eyes.

She'll be polishing a glass absentmindedly when she's alone, thinking about Ferdinand and Omega. In particular the last moments of the latter.]

He's with the others now, right? Omega. He's just as real as everybody else.

[murchada]

[it's been... a while. a good while. she's

not functional, but.]

...Real as you and I, right?

[sweetsynergy]

[She has coffee as usual, but sure. She knocks back the milk- probably more quickly than is advisable.]

Oh- that's. Actually pretty good.

[Simple but sweet.]

[That second question gives her pause.]

...yeah, I'm sure.

[She manages to keep the uncertainty and questioning she feels out of her voice.]

He was as real as any of us. Stupid self-sacrificing idiot hero-

[That part at least she doesn't have to fake.]

[stringup]

[ ...Well, she was about to ask for alcohol, but she'll take the milk instead. ]

You know, it didn't seem like he believed he had a soul that could linger after he died.

But, uh, putting aside all the difficult questions of metaphysics...I think he's real enough to have a soul.

Much later

[latinumsbetter]

[It's getting near the end of the night, and almost everyone is gone. Quark walks back towards the counter in the bar and steps behind it, moving to lean on it next to Aoi, where she's cleaning a glass]

Probably. Even the people that died here that weren't in a trial went there.

[fillets]

He had an aura like anyone else here, [ she says, matter of fact. ] Unless Typhon had other plans, I'm certain he is.

[sweetsynergy]

[It takes a while for Vanity to show up at the afterparty. Still sporting the bruises Quark spotted during the trial, plus a few fresh ones from getting slapped by Typhon's tentacle. The combat suit traded for a pair of loose, comfortable pajamas from the cornucopia.]

[She slumps in, makes some coffee, and- finds a table to collapse tiredly at, sipping numbly. She's not playing barista today, sorry. But the supply she made is open and available for anyone that wants it.]

...we almost fucking had it.

[Later on, once her coffee has kicked in a little, she seeks out Quark in a moment when they can both have something approaching privacy.]

Hey.

[Her arms fold, she looks down.]

...I got into it with Saotome last night. That's- why. Everything.

[haha what do you mean it sounds like she's holding something back]

[latinumsbetter]

[Quark eyes her at that, affecting something that's fairly neutral as he folds his arms as well, leaning back against the wall]

Why'd you get into it with him, exactly?

[fillets]

If that power source hadn't failed Omega at the last moment, we might have ended him. No one's going to focus on that, of course, because it did fail and two people are dead... but I'm not forgetting.

Are you still hungry?

[raisethemoon]

[ Luna, after Astarion's explanation, leaves Quark's bar and returns to her room. The moon, which she raised while attacking Typhon, remains in the sky; if it's too early for sunset, well, you're just getting an extra-long night. It means she doesn't have to set hoof outside again until near-dawn.

If you notice her in your dreams, it will be nothing more than a passing touch to gentle a nightmare. She doesn't make a personal appearance. ]

[pariunt]

[After telling the truth, Astarion makes himself scarce. He spends most of the rest of the night in his room, though he does come out much later as he usual does to gaze at the stars.

Even later it's possible to overhear him murmuring what might be a prayer while he looks at the moon, but it's not for himself. It's for the dead.]

later

[sweetsynergy]

[She's heading back to her room, after the party. Sleeping for about a full day sounds good, right now.]

[But she pauses, as she passes Astarion, watching him pray for a minute.]

So you don't need to hear that you fucked up, right.

Pray

[catsgothistongue]

Are you praying for us, or for them?

[Sitting close by the vampire, eyes on the skies. Ranma isn't here to upbraid him for his role in the case, plenty of people've beaten him to it, plus it isn't like he doesn't understand his intentions.]

[latinumsbetter]

[At first, Quark will be returning to behind the bar for anyone that might like something specific. He's not in much of a chattering mood, but there's certain people he's willing to talk to.

Eventually, he'll leave Aoi to tend to the bar (she's skilled enough at it now,) when he's approached by Vanity. After he's had a talk with her, he'll go to find Ranma.
Finally, he'll go to look for Velvet.

Once he's spoken to everyone, he makes his way to the bonfire. He stands there, staring down at the letter with his name on it. He's there for several long minutes. Occasionally, he makes a move as if to open it, but then stops. Then his hand starts to move towards the fire, but also stops before it gets close enough to catch, and retreats.

One way or another, he returns to the bar. At the end of the evening, he can be found sitting next to Cerejeira and Leb, quietly and silently putting together the DS9 model kit.]

[murchada]

[she's quiet, for a long time. but. eventually, she can feel her voice start to cooperate with her again.]

...So, what's that?

[the model, she means.]

[brokenhabit]

[ Lebkuchen wakes up a little while later - she'd drifted in and out of consciousness a few times, caught a few snippets of Astarion's explanation before falling back to sleep, but now she's actually up for real and alert.

She's still laying down but mostly because she feels needed right where she currently is. ]

[letsplayamod]

[When Leb wakes up properly, there's a blanket from one of the rooms draped over her, a cool rag on her forehead, and a truly staggering pile of Mutsumi's plushies piled on top of her.

Don't mind that most of the plushies have strands of shed grey fur stuck to them.]

[literarybehemoth]

[After Astarion's confession that he kind of... half-listens to, he goes back to his room to sleep things off. He made a heroic effort to Stay With It and not get sick, even if he didn't actually contribute...

...he does feel a little better physically after a nap. It's probably late, but whatever. He's Cat. He'll head to the bar kind of late, but he's not going to eat or drink anything. Unless there's like. Crackers. And he's going to grumble to himself.]

...you'd think food poisoning would be covered under illnesses. Hmph. Perhaps I should have specified...

[grumble grumble. Anyway, he's going to head to the bonfire afterward to just. vibe. maybe stare into the fire a bit...]

I wonder if it is easier to agree to something like that if you have already died before. Or is it harder?

...I guess our circumstances are pretty unique regardless.

bar

[sweetsynergy]

You'd think, huh.

[She is slumped nearby, subsisting on caffeine as she exists near other people.]

...who was it that got you out of there, I didn't see.