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

[pariunt]

Not without a weapon stronger than the one Omega and Ferdinand gave their lives to use, we can't.

And we're running out of people who can even wield a weapon like that to begin with.

[sweetsynergy]

[Why you gotta be bringing facts and logic into it, man]

So the options are what, roll over and give up or wait for Athena to ride in and save our baconbits?

[pariunt]

Sometimes giving up is the only option.

[He sounds exhausted as he says it.

Like he'd done just that so very long ago.]

[sweetsynergy]

So you're willing to let Omega and Ferdinand sacrifice just so you can give up. Nice.

[It's a cheap shot, probably. But after this week and today in particular she's feeling nasty.]

[pariunt]

[He rises back like she struck him, though he hadn't reacted when Cerejeira had slapped him.]

Are you willing to sacrifice yourself next? Are you going to find someone else to scheme with you, to throw yourselves at Typhon and hope this time it's enough?

I've done enough damage around here. I won't do more.

[sweetsynergy]

No. I made a promise- ...fuck that sounds stupid saying it out loud-

[But it still means something, for some godawful reason.]

[thanks, she hates this]

But that just means when I take my shot, I'm going to make sure it means something.

[pariunt]

Do whatever you want.

[Despite how dismissive he sounds, he doesn't seem like he actually wants her to do anything risky. Though he does nothing to talk her out of it. He'd done nothing to talk Omega and Ferdinand out of it, either.]

I'll be staying out of it.

[sweetsynergy]

And you think that won't be doing damage, huh. Whatever helps you sleep, I guess.

[...do vampires need to sleep, she's suddenly not sure]

[pariunt]

You people disgust me.

If the plan had succeeded, you would be singing my praising, writing ballads about Ferdinand and Omega's noble sacrifice.

[He points at her.]

I knew this plan was more likely to fail than it was to succeed, but I did what I did because it was the only option.

At least we did something. All of you have been vainly waiting for a goddess who never returned.

[sweetsynergy]

[Now it's her turn to feel like she's been slapped.]

Are you giving up or not? Make up your goddamn mind, Astarion. You don't get to act superior AND shove your tail between your legs for the same failure.

[pariunt]

What I have done here, I have done so that I survive another day. It is the same thing I've done for two hundred years.

A weapon Omega and I spent night after night working on wasn't enough. It barely did any damage at all. No miracle will come for us.

[sweetsynergy]

[Surviving another day. Maybe she should have- no, Quark's face flashes across her mind. Aoi's tears. Omega, raining chaos energy down onto Typhon.]

I never believed in miracles anyway. Figured you were the same.

[Magic gem aside, what they'd come close to today didn't have anything to do with mysterious favors handed down by fickle higher powers, it had been them, trying to rip a predator apart with their own hands.]

You pray for some kind of intervention or justice or Athena if you want. I'll be watching for another shot at that giant magmatic asshole. Silver bullet or not.

[pariunt]

[He laughs.]

I'll tell you what I told Omega: don't miss.

[But Astarion? He's done helping.]

[sweetsynergy]

He didn't. And neither will I.

[She turns and walks away, giving a curt wave over her shoulder.]