Tacos after Arson

Arionna de la Babin
[perc + alert]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 9) ( success x 1 )

Arionna de la Babin
perception + awareness

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 8, 8, 10) ( success x 3 )

Lavinia
There's a taquería next to an old movie theatre that got converted into a wig shop. The restaurant is old, probably was built when the wig shop was actually a theatre and had patrons instead of awkward balding people came by shopping for toupees (which, rest assured, is still very much a business that is booming.) There is a taquería next to an old movie theatre, and that taquería has a smell. A very distinct smell of fresh roasting beef and  baked goods when the door opened.

The menu was easy enough, but mostly in Spanish. Lavinia came there because, well, she was having one of those days where she missed family and therefore felt the need to stuff her face full of tacos and just binge. She could stand to put on some weight- she'd stopped eating for awhile, still exercised like she was taking in an adequate number of calories. She looks like she might blow over in a stiff wind, except her legs are solid, her arms are defined. Her stomach is flat.

She's much stronger than she looks, it's almost uncanny. It's almost disconcerting.

But there she was, outside with a cigarette because she was nostalgic, because there was that aching feeling of missing something. The kind of thing that you could drown out if you worked long enough, worked hard enough, focused on what was in front of you. When things hurt like this, you turn to devotion. You turn to faith, and hers would not waver now. Purpose solidified like something eternal. She's smoking Oliver's brand, doesn't like the taste but she does like the smell. She used to smoke, kicked the habit after Ollie left because her supplier ran off to... what? Be a surrogate father? Nurse his wounds? Cut ties because looking at Lavinia hurt too much like Cameron? What?

She inhaled again, polished the cigarette off and dropped it so she could snuff it out with her boot. She has on shorts that only accentuate how long her legs are. Wears combat boots because she might need to run today. Tank top that's lower in the back than the front and a sports bra because... well, people expected her to wear a bra. This is where we open the scene, with an angel reflecting on her newfound situation that isn't so new.

Grace
[Awareness!]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (5, 8, 8, 9, 9) ( success x 4 )

Grace
Where does one go when facing the uncomfortable ache that is being an accessory to murder? If you're Grace, a taquería, apparently.

She'd been miles away from the event. She didn't have to smell the roasting bodies up close and personal. Maybe that's why the beefy scent of this place hasn't totally thrown her stomach for a few loops yet. Instead, it draws. So, a detour from Saigon Bowl it is.

Almost immediately upon reaching the threshhold of the establishment, Lavinia, oh! It feels like the fires of God laid waste somewhere. They did, yesterday, but aside from that... Grace sniffs the air as she walks in, looks around the place, finds the one she's looking for, and just tilts her head, like yeah. I see you over there. Not hard to miss you, Lavinia.

She puts in her order -- pork and green chili tacos all the way -- and ambles off toward Lavinia's table.

Lavinia
[Per+aware, people?]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (3, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9) ( success x 3 )

Lavinia
Lavinia is hard to miss. She's always been hard to miss, feels very much like the purpose she has. Like she's easily labeled and hard to miss. The woman stretches (who is not so young, as she knows. A little older than most of the people she meets even if she doesn't keep track of her age anymore. Knows only when her sister marks the date because someone has to keep up.) She put in an order a little while back, something with lengua and enough habenero peppers to kill a small horse with it.

Fingers wave, she half scoots the chair out with one foot, crosses her legs and knits her fingers together in front of her, as though she was perpetually interested in what was to be said and what was to be done.

"What did you get?" she asks, as though she was meeting Grace here and not just finding themselves in a situation where they both overlapped.

Grace
"Pork and green chili tacos. You?"

Grace slides into a chair opposite Lavinia, the black of her normal t-shirt replaced with a grey zip-up turtleneck. Somebody is just a little bothered by biting things lately. Though, what peeks out from under the jacket is very colorful -- some sort of rainbow triangle design.

"Haven't seen you around in a while."

Lavinia
"Lengua and habanero with mangoes. It's like a danger taco," she replies. She takes in the clothing choices, quirks a brow for a second because Grace is... incredibly covered. Incredibly enough that it makes Lavinia wonder-

But! The subject changes and she doesn't delve into sweater territory. Yet. Maybe Grace just gets really cold. Computer people did tend to live in frigid wastelands of server racks and despair, it gets cold there.

"Between teaching Arionna and trying to rebuild some burnt bridges, I've been pretty scarce," Lavinia admits, "still operating as a one woman army. Turns out said army isn't getting a lot done."

Aidan
[I promise I have finally decided. I will post asap]

Aidan
[nightmares]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9) ( success x 2 )

Grace
"That sucks," Grace says, peers off into a corner. "I always get fidgety when I don't get anything done."

Not that that's been a problem lately.

"How goes the teaching Arionna bit?"

Aidan
The air is cooling. The heat is leaving the city and Aidan wonders, at times, why it doesn't take any travel packages with it. Could it not build a fire if it felt like it were growing colder? Though really, they were separate entities at times... which begged the question of why exactly...

Sometimes his thoughts make sense, and sometimes they do not. He was an oddity. Today he wonders if there is a spirit for each type of food. Not the small guys he sees and speaks to, but the sort of overarching overlord of burgers and tacos. The Boss, if you will. Is there a burger spirit, that, if given proper penance, will bless every burger you eat thereafter? Would it be upset at someone like Aidan who shuns animal products? These are his questions.

Strange then that he seems to appear at a taco -place.-  It might have been his thoughts which brought him here, or perhaps the wind knew what he as thinking and pushed him along. He may have even come here by accident...but Aidan doesn't believe in accidents.

He wore a green top that he crocheted himself. It was a beautiful pattern, at least to him, and he felt a great swell of pride when he wore it. It was bigger than it ought to be, nearly hanging off his shoulders, but it was comfortable in the heat. Otherwise he wore normal, tighter jeans, and a pair of sneakers. Aidan was....somewhat... a simple creature. He felt.. well he felt bouncy. Like a soft spright that danced in the wind and played some lovely little tune that one couldn't help but follow. A wisp that bobbed to and fro, entrancing those around it with its light. That was what he was.

He slipped into the Taco place, poking his head in first as if to be certain nothing was there, and then he simply walked in, humming to himself. Lots of talking, lots of sounds that others didn't know, and sometimes that's what made it feel like home.



Aidan
[  for reference.. heh heh    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/dd/de/70/ddde70c6020cc559383087e5dfc431ab.jpg    ]

Lavinia
She peers off into the corner, and Lavinia's eyes narrow slightly. She turns her head a little to one side, enough that she can hear Grace a little better and her deaf side is to the crowds. She's looking at the other woman for information, for input. She's looking at her like the hypervigilant creature will notice something before Lavinia has to.

Her senses aren't as sharp as they need to be. She hates it, but knows it's a fact. Knows it to be a truth she can't quite avoid. She's physically fast but mentally just a step behind, average. Strange that something otherworldly would be average.

"It's going okay. There's some fundamental concepts that we're having difficulties with due to a difference in world view. I tried to frame certain concepts under the umbrella of self-defense and I either missed the mark or she's intentionally trying to make me say that I don't know what I'm talking about," a pause, "I get the impression at times that she isn't really listening to me. I get it, she's a teenager, they always know way more than anyone else, but some things? If I let her learn them on her own it will kill her."

A huff, almost dramatic, "I'm never procreating."

Grace
Grace lifts her head at Aidan's entrance. She's heard of Technocrats in the area, but somehow, after a glance at the door, she doubts that any of them would willingly show up at a taco joint wearing homespun crochet. Perhaps that's prejudice talking, but whatever. She doesn't let the glance linger.

"Me either," she says in response. "Fuck that..."

With Grace's luck, she'd create a mini Arionna. Oh, God, the thought has her staring into the wall.

"We've got company," she says, to the wall.

Aidan
[awareness  perc spec - intuition]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 4, 6, 6, 6, 8, 9) ( success x 5 ) [Doubling Tens]

Aidan
Aidan and Lavinia have met. It was over the lovely sound of music, and the way her name simply suited her, but they met. Lavinia was an oddity on her own, but Aidan didn't mind; to him she seemed the way everyone else seemed, just more obvious and closer to what she ought to be.

He already knows Lavinia is there. He already knows because he can feel, not just her resonance, but he almost smell it...taste it... even see it. Grace is someone he doesn't know, a new set of sensations and tastes and he finds them...fascinating. But what doesn't he?

He seems to ounce towards Lavinia, and without thought, wraps his arms around her in a rather exuberant and tight hug. "Hello!" He says, pleased to meet back up with her. "You brought a friend. I like friends. Elijah shows me friends too. Special friends I mean. I mean I'm everyone's friend but I really like special friends."

Aidan paused and pressed his nose in Lavinia's hair, inhaling deeply. "You taste even better today!" He sits next to her, beaming happily, and turns his attention to Grace, flashing her an even brighter smile as he leaned over the table. "You make me think of toast."

Lavinia
Aidan is on her deaf side when he comes in. She doesn't really notice him until he wraps his arms around her and she stays still, shoulders up, eyes wide and she holds her breath for a second like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water down her spine. She doesn't squeak, either, because she's a dignified creature and recognizes that this person is hugging her and not trying to choke her out and, therefore, does not need to be met with a very physical response in kind.

Nope, Aidan is just saying hello, which she eventually picks out over the multidirectional hum of people.

Aidan has his nose in her hair, which is down and a mess of bright golden waves that tapers almost to sunlight at the ends. She's hard to miss, an ever expanding cosmos. The wrath of a displeased God. A herald to what has yet to come.

"I showered," she told Aidan with a laugh, the tension not quite bled out just yet.

"And... what are special friends?" she said, brows knit together for a second like she isn't sure if she wants to know what this Elijah person thought special friends were.

Grace
Wow. Aidan. Grace blinks, and her lips seem to disappear when she looks at Lavinia as if to question whether this guy is real.

"Why toast?"

This guy seems to know Lavinia and Elijah. The latter is understandable. A guy like this, with Elijah? Yeah. It fits. Elijah's the puppy, and this guy is the fairy who follows the puppy around as they roll in a field of flowers together. At that thought, Grace blinks at the wall again.

"Special friends are ones who you'd know are special from across the room, right?"

Aidan
"No. No not showered. Same as before. But better. Not like flowers. Shampoo smells like flowers. Tastes metal. Or like glass windows." He puts his chin in his hands, elbows on the table and blinks at Grace, watching her like any fascinated person might. But ah, Lavinia asks him a question and he looks at her, laughing softly. "Friends that are special." As if that answered it.

"I don't know." He says to Grace. "You just taste make me think of toast. I like toast. With jam. Little fruit jam with pieces of fruit in it. Not the smooth kind, but I like the smooth kind too. But the smooth jam lacks personality. It's very dull." He leaned back, putting his hands in his lap and straightening his arms as he did. "Yes! Friends we know when we see them but everyone is my friend so... so yes. Friends that can hear each other from afar. Or taste. or smell. or feel. Some people don't taste like anything. "

Lavinia
Grace looks Lavinia's way, Lavinia nods as if to confirm that, yes, this person was really like this. This was really happening but her eyes are wide and the Chorister (who, we should note, has stared down Nephandi and eviscerated spirits of corruption and destruction without batting an eye) looks overwhelmed by the sheer volume of sensory input.

"Aidan," she says for Grace's sake, and Lavinia doesn't introduce the Mercurial Elite because it isn't her place to give someone else's name away, "I think, sometimes, you might not want everyone to be your friend."

Clears her throat, "are you going to order? You should eat something, you're too skinny."

Grace
"Toast tends to lack personality unless it has something on it," she says, absentmindedly. Then comes the unfortunate realization that maybe those were not the best of words to say...

"It's true you know," she says, with a little cough. "There's some... bad people out there. You might not want to hug them all."

Aidan
Aidan shakes his head slowly. "Toast has a temper." He says most assuredly. "The more you burn it, the meaner it gets. The lighter toast is friendlier and talkative. The burnt toast is grumpy. I like them both though. Burnt toast is funny but I feel sad for it. They didn't choose to be burnt, some people just really like mean toast. But I'd be grumpy too if someone burnt me."

"Mmm... why wouldn't I want to be friends with everyone?" There's an honest confusion there, one he doesn't try to hide in the least. After all, why -wouldn't- everyone want to be his friend? He still doesn't understand why some people don't like other people. Spirits, he understands. Some things are just opposite of the other because they must be.

"Oh? Me?" He looks up, leans a little as if to reorient himself to where he is. "I don't need anything." A bright smile and an acceptance of just having company.

Lavinia
[Manip+subterfuge: This is totally not the warrior's equivalent of being asked to explain sex to your kids]

Dice: 3 d10 TN6 (6, 7, 10) ( success x 3 )

Lavinia
"Some people want to do bad things to others, Aidan," her voice is calm, comforting, because sometimes one does not need to be harsh but she delivers a harsh reality. Did the angels not speak fear not before? Was there not some comfort to be found in the divine?

"And, in a perfect world, we would have the time and ability to convince and help all of those people who would do something horrible to others and make them not do that anymore. But, in some cases, that would take lifetimes nd we are not graced with the burden of eternity. Sometimes, it's best to find people who will be good to you than waste it with those whose hearts and minds and souls are invested only in harming others."

There's a sort of elegance in the words. An elegance, of course, that came with the expense of being direct. And she would not lose her meaning.

"So, in those cases that you meet people who want to hurt you, you do not want to become their friend because they will more-than-likely actively harm you and you'll get hurt."

Grace
Lavinia lays it out pretty... thoroughly. But if Aidan hadn't come to this realization before, who knows? Maybe he's just that dense.

"This is a shit world," Grace says, sighs heavily. Her mind is filled with images she'd rather not have to see.

It's then that the tacos arrive, and Grace gives a thumbs-up of thanks to the waitress who may just have overheard that 'shit world' comment. She has three tacos, so she offers one to Aidan, even though he said he didn't need it. Sometimes you still want things that you don't need exactly.

"Want one? I have plenty."

Aidan
He's been on the victim end of people who do bad things to others, and yet he still doesn't feel the sort of anger that others might. Instead, he wants to help them. "People do bad things and want to do bad things because they think they have to. We should try to help those people. Being their friend means they'll have someone to be better for.." He smiles warmly at her. "I don't mind getting hurt if it helps make someone better. Isn't that part of why we're here?" He says it cheerily, as if he doesn't see the problem with his particular viewpoint.

Grace's comment about the shit world makes Aidan blink and the smile fades only a little. "It's a beautiful world!" He even throws his hands up. "It has trees, flowers, squirrels, chipmunks, cats, dogs, leaves, the wind, fire, the rain, clouds, tornadoes, beads, books, people, microwaves, and toasters and... and lots of things! That makes it beautiful." He let his hands drop down and looked to each of them. "Everyone has good in them somewhere. Sometimes it's just hard to see it."

But Grace is kind enough to offer her tacos and Aidan leans forward a little as if to look at what she has, or perhaps to smell it. "Thank you but I'm alright. I don't eat animals. I prefer to talk to them. It's rude to eat your friends."

Lavinia
Which is about when Lavinia's food gets here- mangoes, tongue, and freaking death peppers. Lavinia can not be fucked to eat food that isn't fourteen different kinds of obscenely hot. She picks up her taco, takes a rather hearty bite, and chews. She's not put off by the heat mixed with the sweet. She chews, tries to put together what she thinks and how she's going to handle this one.

Chews. Swallows.

"Okay," exhales slowly, partially because of the heat and partially because of the thought. She looks at Grace, points to her tacos with her eyebrows raised. An offer if there ever was one.

"Aidan, if you are not careful with the people you choose to save versus the people you can't save, you will die. For some people that is not a problem, but you have to think of the people you are going to be left when you are gone and how sad and upset and distraught they're going to be. It isn't just getting hurt, it's dying. Not everyone is understanding and not everyone is kind at first and it's very hard to teach them to be kind and understanding when they put you in the hospital at best."

Exhales again, looks down at her food and puts it down. It's hard to coax her to eat, looks at the food like it might not exactly be her best friend. Like it has to earn its keep and her enjoyment of it.

"And yes," she continues, "the world is beautiful because of all of those things but-" she stops. Purses her lips together and drops her voice, "-there are things whose very spiritual nature are corrupt and  their entire purpose is to cause damage or choke things out of worm their way into your very being and change you. Those are not good beings. Not anymore."

Grace
Grace nods, accepting his refusal of meat, and bites into her taco. She has no such reservations herself. Then, she looks at Lavinia's offer, and switches out one of her tacos for one of Lavinia's. Tongue and Death. Awesome combo. Her own green chili, lard, and pork tacos are positively mild in comparison -- but not entirely. Her mouth feels like it's on fire, and Lavinia's resonance doesn't help with that.

Ahh, endorphins.

She leans in to Aidan. "The world is great, yes. Because people work to keep it so. And sometimes that work isn't making friends with others. Yesterday, I watched a man get skinned alive," she says, pausing, because that image -- it hurts. "The ones who did it loved their work. Should we make friends with them?"

Aidan
[subterfuge + manipulation - I'm not at all unsettled or changing the subject because I don't want to deal with it]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (4, 6, 7, 7, 9, 10) ( success x 5 )

Aidan
"Oh no one will mind. I'm just me."

"I know. Sometimes it's very hard. Granna tried to save things. She tried to clean up the bad places and make the spirits healthy. Some people didn't really like that very much." Aidan leaned into Lavinia, looking at her taco as she ate it. "What does it taste like?"

"I don't think I've had tacos." He feels like he knows the taste of them. It seems familiar, though Granna and him never got tacos, and he didn't get them at the ward. He got all sorts of foods, or at least alternative foods, but he didn't recall tacos.

"I  will have to make some!" He decided.

He looked at Grace suddenly, leaning in, chin in his hands. "Who is your family? I know Elijah's family and.... and Lavinia is something special. " And then he perked up. "Oh! OOOH. I got it. Oh.. no wait." He settled again, shifting his attention to the side.

Lavinia
She is content to nod along and then Grace said something that made Lavinia stop mid chewing of the green chili and pork taco. Swallows, doesn't seem like that really curdled her appetite too much, but she leans in, eyes locked on the woman for a moment, "holy shit, really?"

A beat.

"You know you can call me if you need assistance with things, right?"

Grace
"My family is mostly in Arizona. They're all Asleep, far as I know," Grace says, and it's all she offers.

She takes another bite of her taco. Mom would call this trash-people food. Maybe it's the reason she likes it so much...

"We handled it," Grace says, mouth full of hot chiles. "Thanks, though. I'll keep you in mind."

Aidan
"Hm?" He slips his attention back to the two of them. "Oh that's not what I meant." But he smiled regardless and let it go. Instead he leaned against Lavinia again and set his head on her shoulder.

Lavinia
"You holding up okay?" she says, but it feels hollow to her, doesn't quite compute and doesn't quite come off the way she wants. Offers her a smile that almost understands, or at least understands enough to know that each atrocity is its own wound, each situation is unique and needs to be dealt with as such. "I still need to bring my books by wherever it is you're doing things. They're no longer holed up in my car- I'm actually setting up basecamp for once."

She doesn't shrug Aidan off or tell him to get off her shoulder. Though, it would seem, eating is a little difficult for her.

"Sorry you had to deal with that, though. And that you had to see what you did, that's fucked up," that, though, doesn't sound stupid or anything other than sincere.

Grace
"Yeah, it was. They were pretty fond of doing fucked-up things. That was icing on a fucked-up cake, that," Grace says, upends her taco into her mouth.

"If I wasn't holding up okay, I wouldn't be here eating tacos," she says, through her taco, and gives Lavinia a shrug.

Chew chew chew. Swallow. Lips on fire. "You know where it is? I can take you. Can take both of you, if you'd like," she says, looks to Aidan with a question.

"We have a place with a big library, lots of couches, coffee and tea. Also laser tag, and a couple of cats. If you get into any trouble, you can go there, and it'll be a bit safer."

Aidan
"Granna says I shouldn't have coffee. She says the world might stop if I drank coffee. I don't know what she means but I do like tea! And cats! And you have books? Books have the best stories. Not the ones inside. But the ones they see. They see a lot."

He hasn't moved from his spot on Lavinia, even if he's making it difficult. She hasn't complained after all. He did lightly roll his head to look at Lavinia. "You have tents too? For your camp?"



Kiara
[Fly by Verbena mode, activate. Locate Peeps.]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 3, 3, 6, 7) ( success x 2 )

Lavinia
[Manip+sub: don't sound too excited there, Lavinia]

Dice: 3 d10 TN6 (2, 7, 9) ( success x 2 )

Lavinia
"It's always good to meet another person who eats when things are good," she says, doesn't seem to realize how much food she has left. Looks down, realizes that there is a fair bit of food left, and she makes a concerted effort to actually eat what is in front of her.

"I don't have  clue where this place is but I'd love to see it. Might be nice to be in a place where people are actually gathering and have a common goal," oh yeah, like she totally wasn't looking forward to this. Despite the fact that she knew where the chantry was, the place always seemed... odd. She felt disconnected, but to be fair, Lavinia was by nature disconnected from things. By nature a little off from the current puzzle.

"And basecamp is a catchall for places that you operate out of.No camping required."

Grace
Yeah, Aidan's 'Granna' had a point. The world might stop if Aidan ever drank coffee, because he's already at a Caffeine 10. Cranking him up to 11 might not be the best idea.

"After tacos, then," Grace says, because tacos are good. She picks up the one of Lavinia's she traded off and eyes it like it might actually be out to incinerate her tongue. Ohh well.

Down the hatch.

And her eyes bug out. "Oh... ow!"

Fuck habaneros. There are tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, and her face is turning as red as this feels.

Grace
[brb, afk]

Aidan
"Oh." A sort of sadness that is brief but present. "You don't get to sleep with the trees?" What better way to sleep? They could lull you to sleep with their words. Not that he doesn't feel like he couldn't just sleep here, it's just difficult. The city was noisier; it always felt like there was more in the city than nature...or maybe they all liked to talk more.

Grace's expression perks up Aidan and he straightens, his brows furrowing in concern. "Are you ok?!" Sliding his hands along the table top as if to grab a hold of Grace in some attempt to comfort. "Did it bite you?"

Kiara
[Don't wait for me to post, ya'll. I'm not sure if I'll hop in or not! But post around me regardless! :) ]

Lavinia
"Just feel the burn, just breathe through it- once the hot goes away you breathe out and it's sweet," she just breathes in long and deep, "my mom had a thing for habanero peppers so this is just how I thought tacos were supposed to taste for years."

She doesn't rush off to Grace's aid, just takes another hearty bite of taco because the prompt to keep eating (or finish eating, or start actually eating) isn't quite forgotten.

"She'll be fine, this is just standard pepper stuff."

Grace
"It bit me with capsaicin. Best kind of bite. Mmm," Grace says, though her tongue is now a raging inferno.

She breathes through it. It doesn't improve. Mmkay. She leans back in her chair.

"The reason why people eat these things is because they bite, Aidan. It makes your endorphins just sing. It's not real damage."

Aidan
Aidan watches Grace with uncertainty. But even Lavinia agrees she's ok and he eases up, relaxes a little. "If it bites, why do you eat it?" Concern has now moved into confusion. It was like approaching an angry bear. If you knew it was angry, why did you make it angrier? "Maybe it doesn't like to be eaten. Seems like if it bites when you eat it, it's trying to defend itself."

Lavinia
"Because that's what peppers do, they have a kick. They're delicious, the burn is part of the appeal. It's not a literal bite- I watched a youtube video about this. They evolved that way because they're supposed to attract birds and detract mammals- hence the burn. Except, humans are occasionally attracted to peppers because of the flavor and they enjoy the spice. Like Grace said, it releases all those this feels amazing chemicals in your brain. It's a rush. Peppers are pretty much the only thing I will eat, even when I don't feel like eating."

And she finally finished a taco after saying that.

Aidan
[it's getting close to bedtime as a warning]

Grace
"Okay. Okay. I think I can do another bite now," Grace says, not about to be out-badassed by Lavinia. She squints, and takes another bite.

But, see, there's a thing about habaneros... The heat builds.

Tears again. Oh, hell. Feels like it in her mouth right now. Breathe, breathe!

"Or not!"

Lavinia
(Charisma+Expression- YOU GOT THIS)

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 3, 4, 4) ( fail ) [Doubling Tens]

Aidan
"Seems they don't want us to eat them." Aidan has just decided he will not eat spicy things, just in case he's upsetting a pepper somewhere. The list of acceptable foods is becoming increasingly shorter.He moved a little in his seat then looked down at his chair contemplatively. He moved again, just a little. Aidan glanced back to Grace, brows furrowing just a little as he regarded her.

Lavinia
"Oh come on, you totally got this," except, of course, while she was saying this the look on her face clearly said oh sweet Jesus, the taco is trying to kill Grace and might succeed. It was clear across those luminous eyes, that angelic face.

Nope, Grace, you don't got this.

The taco is winning.

Grace
"If it didn't want to be eaten, it wouldn't be packaged in a bright red nutrient rich fruit. It spreads its seeds this way," Grace says, through tears. "It's just got a thing against mammals, like Lavinia said."

Oh, does it ever. Breathe, Grace!

"I think though, I'm going to take a break on the hot things. I've had enough hot lately." This must be karmic debt after helping burn a house down. Must be.

Aidan
[I'm going to need to bail because it's late]

Lavinia
(No worries! Thanks for the scene!)

Aidan
"Which means...it doesn't want you to eat it. I think that's good enough." Aidan stayed with them, though he grew quiet and listened to them. He stayed, wandering out with them to the office should they do so, or well... heading off his merry way, which would likely involve getting lost (again). But he didn't mind that very much.

Lavinia
She opens her mouth, looks sideward at GRace like there was confusion written on her face. Like there was some very obvious part of the puzzle that regarded understanding Aidan's adament behavior towards not eating peppers despite the fact that they'd both made arguments for it based only on the idea that he thought they didn't want it (and had no evidence to back that up) ... just...

"Huh."

A beat.

"I guess... I'm... talking to peppers? Later?.. this is not what I was meant to be doing with my existence."

Grace
"Well, next time I find some really bad dudes, I'll let you in on it. You need to check your messages more often," Grace says, leans back in her chair, wipes away heat-inspired tears.

"Want to pack up the tacos and head to the place?"

The place. Where there will be cats, and a library, and food that does not bite.

"Maybe I can down some ice cream and make my tongue not be on fire..."

Lavinia
"What? Use technology and messaging systems for their intended purpose? Blasphemy," she said with a grin. The woman was already getting on her feet and headed to the front to grab some to go boxes, "and I'd love to go. I feel like I owe you an apology for the death taco at the very least."

Grace
[And thus, the trepid adventurous trio goes to the Office for tea and cats and books -- the stuff Mages are into! Woo! And we wrap :)]