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[becareful_boyo]

There have been more awkward family gatherings, of that Abigail is certain.

Not that she has ever experienced, however.

The food and drink distracted everyone for a time; but the food is gone and the drink is flowing more freely now, and Abigail starts looking hard at each member of their group wondering who will be the first to break the general silence with more than a request to pass the bread or a comment on the weather. The few attempts at conversation that were made by herself or one of the less, ah, concerned parties present hadn't gotten far.



This is the most enjoyable day she has had in months!

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[the_lioness]

One of the persistently silent, Alanna has been sitting with her back to the wall drinking several mugs full of water. She feels like she hasn't been hydrated in days. Every now and then her eyes land on Mike and she has to resist the urge to introduce his face to the stew he had tucked into with gusto.

He still thinks he's Sven. That's the only reason she hasn't moved. It won't be nearly as satisfying to yell at him about that cider until he remembers actually giving it to her, and why he should be afraid.

Sighing, Alanna moves her gaze to Raph. He hasn't been looking back. He must have felt her stare off and on for a while now, but his attention is elsewhere, purposefully or not. Alanna's front chair legs land heavily on the floor and she walks over behind his chair while Abigail is busy pouring more ale.

"Raph," she grunts. "Outside. Or I tell Abigail what I just remembered about last night."

She turns and walks away before he has a chance to see her sly smile.

[mnt_raph]

What little color had accumulated in Raph's face....drains at that.
oh fuck. what now. says his expression, before he can school it neutral.
There's a bite of food still in his mouth that he forces himself into chewing enough to swallow, then he wipes his mouth with a cloth napkin, and quietly excuses himself from the table.

ALL AS QUICKLY AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE.
Has Abigail ever seen Raph excuse himself from a table? Did she think he were capable of it at all? Heh, such is the power of the presence of Splinter.

He was hoping the feeling of tension would ease once he made it outside.
Yeah...not so much.

[becareful_boyo]

She has certainly seen such a thing now. Abigail goes quiet and watches the Lioness lead Raph outside, a shrewd look narrowing the barmaid's eyes. Did they think their escape would go unnoticed? She'll follow in a moment. There is plenty left to say and Abigail has never been one to bite her tongue.

[the_lioness]

Alanna is staring up at the sky, the toe of her boot digging in the sandy dirt of the courtyard and then sweeping it back and forth, her fingers finally worrying the newly chopped ends of her hair.

"Where's the joke?" she asks Raph, pitched low.

[mnt_raph]

There's really only one response to that sort of a question.

"huh?"

[the_lioness]

A short, unamused laugh.

"All of this must have been a joke," she replies. "If not, the implications will have me putting my fist through the wall."

Beat.

"If Mel hadn't already seen to that bit of destruction, too."

[mnt_raph]

Raph's eyes turn back towards the Tortoise, and all the damage that's still left on the poor defenseless building. He sighs.

"What you call a joke, I call a normal day in the life." Raph runs a hand over his head and sighs again.

"That was one of the boons o' this place, it weren't anywhere near as crazy as back home."
Long gone are those days, it seems.

[the_lioness]

Someday, Alanna will be able to see the humor in their circumstances -- in the way this day began, the way it progressed, and the way it is now ending.

She is a long, long way from spotting it, however.

After sucking in a deep breath and letting it out in slow, measured increments, Alanna rounds on Raph, voice so low as to almost be a whisper. She doesn't want anyone to overhear, for all the good that would do to contain the situation. She is close, too close for comfort, with eyes that have gone a bit wild with anger.

"Do you realize what we have exposed the realm to in a few short hours? No. Not we. This isn't some sort of exotic vacation spot for Bar residents! This isn't some place they can simply drop in, irrevocably change, and go home with warm hearts to relive their adventures in that quaint, backward land I happen to call home. I am charged with protecting this realm, a duty I will happily die carrying out, but not like this! I've had enough."

[mnt_raph]

Realization dawns.
This has nothing to do with last night.
Or...nothing to do with what happened in Milliways last night, at least.

The turn about is a jarring one. And...when jarred Raph always defaults to anger.
Always.

"You think I don't know that? You think I wouldn't do the same? You think...you think I keep comin' back here for some sort of extended vacation?"
His tone sharpens with each question.

this is my fault. this is all my fault.

"This is my home Alanna. My home now. You ...you think I'm happy about this?!"

[k_in_black]

K, meanwhile, isn't the slightest bit concerned about the tense silence reigning in Abigail's place. He's the last one to ever feel the need to break that.

Besides, he's got a fresh loaf of bread to munch on, more grape jam than he's seen this side of Arcturus, and a fine mug of that cider that everyone else is apparently taking a pass on and (as far as K is concerned) really missing out.

He's vaguely curious when Alanna marches Raph out for a confab, but not enough to pull his feet down off the chair they're resting on.

Meanwhile, Bob is standing next to him, quietly running through its daily maintenance logs, which to untrained eyes looks remarkably like chewing its cud.

[mnt_raph]

A short while later the familiar shape of Raph looms in the doorway once more. His visual sweep of the room would have been far less noticeable had he not stopped to stare at Bob.

Seriously.
What the fuck, Bob.

A good shake of his head later, and Raph is crossing the room once more. He doesn't stop as he passes K, but rather taps the MIB on the shoulder and mutters something about, Llama control and Bring the sheep...for translation. And With that he takes the side door and exits in the direction of the barn.

[k_in_black]

Now, that is good enough reason to put down the bread and get to his feet.

The last time K was on "llama control" was that assignment on Gargantua VI a few years back. The one where the llamas had four tusks, flame breath, and a really bad attitude. K has a feeling the Tortall variety won't be quite so cranky, though he does make sure to leave Bob behind. Don't need the SheepBot to get any more funny ideas.

K grabs a last hunk of bread to munch on the way out to the barn.

[mnt_raph]

When K makes it outside he'll find Raph hefting a sack of grain off of one shoulder and pouring its contents into a repurposed water trough.

The llamas are dubious.

It should be noted that the kind of manual labor one finds around a barn suits Raph.

[k_in_black]

...Oh. Maybe Raph had a point after all.

K pauses in the doorway and gives a whistle. "Hey, Bob. New file: Llama control. Secondary command access: Raphael. Report to Raph for further orders."

The SheepBot duly powers up with a shudder and flash of red eyes. K holds the door open while Bob barrels out of the tavern, heading for Raph.

Fortunately, Bob isn't cruising quite fast enough for it to look like an attack, but it must approve of the new assignment, because it's definitely hauling ass.

[mnt_raph]

Raph catches the movement in his periphery and turns with a start.

"Jesus Fuck!"

[k_in_black]

Bob dutifully slams to a halt right in front of him, lifts its head to give Raph a good look at those glowing red eyes, and lets out an alarmingly metallic, "BAAAAHHHHH!!"

K strolls up with the trace of a smirk. "That would be SheepBot for, "Ready for orders. SIR!"

[mnt_raph]

"That...that shit ain't right," he says stepping away from the gate of the paddock. Oh, and also as far away from Bob as he can while still remaining conversational.

"Got a job for you. Both o' you."
He takes a deep breath.

"We got an assignment."

[k_in_black]

"Straight from the Lioness herself, I'm guessing."

[the_lioness]

Alanna does return eventually, clothes dry, hair damp and combed back from her face. The children had begged to come back with her, but Alanna has enough on her mind without worrying that Jamie might somehow talk K out of his robotic sheep.

Slipping behind the bar, she helps herself to a chunk of bread and tea before seeking a spot by the fire.

[k_in_black]

K nearly has a small loaf polished off by then. For most people that would probably raise hell with their weight, but the life of a Man in Black burns off a lot of calories, unless you're Zed.

He's also fearless enough to try starting a conversation with Alanna.

"Jamie's a good kid. Smart too."

[the_lioness]

Alanna can relate. If she didn't keep eating whenever she got the chance, she'd waste away to nothing before the week was out. In her opinion, that is the only purpose of court banquets: ample energy replenishment.

"Too smart, some would say" Alanna answers; she respects fearlessness. "Don't even think about leaving him a souvenir. If he's still hankering after Bob in a fortnight, I'll send him to you for an apprenticeship."

[k_in_black]

K chuckles. "Bob's a prototype. If I even thought about leaving him here, the techs back at the bureau would have me strung up over the LavaPits of Targassa Prime."

"Be glad to have Jamie for an apprenticeship, though. Bright kid like that could go far. Might make him restless about the tech level in Tortall, but hell, he might be feeling that way already."

K sympathizes about that. He is, after all, a parent too. Just not of anybody on Earth.

[the_lioness]

"That sounds unpleasant."

For a moment, Alanna looks tempted. "I'll keep it in consideration. That boy needs something other than farming to occupy his mind." Then, "Restless." A snort. "I remember when all I had to worry about was a stray firearm or two making its way in from Milliways."

[k_in_black]

"One neuralyzer can cause a hell of a lot of trouble," K admits. "But just how serious a problem are you looking at here?"

K imagines a parade of Loompas carting in wagons of unauthorized tech....

[the_lioness]

Alanna gives K a look. It is a look she hopes he will remember when Raph finds the time to speak with him.




"You've been to Milliways," she answers at last. "I've been unforgivably lax in presuming I could control what goes in and out that door.

"Doors."

With a grimace, Alanna eyes the rest of their eclectic group.

"Tortall is in a delicate position with Carthak."