Jai - Fork In The Road

From Masq
Date: Setting:

IC:  09/12/2009
RL: 11/23/2011

Three Fools Tavern is a large rectangular building set below street level. As you descend the brick stairs, you can see the long U-shaped bar to your left. Beyond the stained and polished oaken bar is a pool table and dart board. To your right, there are two poker tables and another pool table. In the center of the pub, and running back to the far wall, is a stage with a modest dance floor. Various tables, polished and made of oak, "horse-shoe" the dance floor, and assorted pictures checker the far wall.

In the far left corner is a flight of stairs that leads up to the balcony. Various wooden signs hang around the room, including one above the bar with the 'menu'. The hardwood floors, stained a dark brown, complement the ruddy color of the brick walls. The bar is kept dimly lit and fairly cool to preserve the traditional Irish rainy-day atmosphere. This effect is helped by the pub's location underground, and the small amount of light allowed through the elaborate stained glass windows.

In the right corner is a room enclosed by floor length glass windows. Contained within are two copper tanks standing on end. Each are about 4 feet wide, and topped with stainless steel. Between the two copper tanks is a large 5 foot wide steel tank. On display in one of the glass windows is temperature and time data. Clearly this is in use as a new microbrewery.
Cast:
Log:
It's true, Liane and Damian have finished up dinner stuff at their table and are getting mushy as fuck about their respective menfolk.

Ew, mushy? Lovey AND dovey? Petra is WAY too busy holding hands with Jai and batting her lashes at him sweetly to deal with MUSHY stuff! "Aw come ON," she's saying with a laugh as the two enter. "Just because I picked the last 27.6 movies doesn't mean you get a shot. I mean, hey, my picks are AWESOME. What could POSSIBLY one-up ME, babylover?"

Damian sips his coke and tells Lian, "No no, I totally get it. Maybe the descriptions and stuff differ in the head, but I do!"

"A green mushroom with white spots, prolly," Jai replies immediately, "I've seen the moustache and overalls you're trying to hide in that drawer, y'know. You can't fool me. And anyway, don't you try to claim you didn't love that point four of a movie, either." He glances around as they step inside, and gives her a little shoulder nudge, "D and Raj sighting, 4 o'clock."

Liane smiles at Damian, "I s-s-suppose you might. He j-just makes everything so...so..." Liane looks at a loss for words, then tilts her head slightly and then quickly lowers it, covering her mouth. "Ah. Y-yes. That's the word. He m-makes things q-quite ench-chanting. S-sparkling." And oh, hey. Petra. Liane glances over, and then waves a little hello from 4 o'clock. She's still all blushy.

Damian and Liane are still at their table, getting all sorts of stupid over their respective SOs. But Petra and Jai have arrived just in time to RUIN IT ALL! Damian looks in the direction Liane's waving and realizes he knows them peeps too, and also waves.

It's at this point that Oswald wanders back in, this time with a pint of stout from the bar. "Hey, back," he tells the lot of them, sitting back down where he was. "Hi Jai, Hi Petra!" he tells the two.

"4 o'clock is... uh. Uh. This way, right?" Petra asks, and does manage to sight Liane and Damian, to whom she waves excitedly. "It was point four because I fell asleep," she whispers to Jai teasingly, and elbows him lightly. "Okay. Your pick is next. But if it's not good, I reserve the right to pelt you with popcorn, mister." That said, she grins over at Damian and Liane, making her way over to them. "Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaajjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj. That sounds like a disorder of some kind. Deeraj, a disorder of the most disorganized minds. Hi, gaiz! How you be?" When Oswald shows up as well, she just up and grabs a seat nearby, joining in without asking. "Hey Ozzy!"

Damian says, "I'm good! Have a seat guys, how're you doing?"

Hey, Jai has no problem with Liane and Damian swooning over their SOs, or even with, say, Petra joining in! Or, apparently, with joining the group along with her. "Hey, guys. I'm pretty good too. You guys mind us barging in on you like this? Which I guess I should've asked before getting settled, since now it'll be all awkward if you say yes."

Distraction! If Petra was any more distracting she'd be wearing blinking neon and nothing else. "W-w-we're well. Discussing r-relationships. Of c-c-course you're all welcome to sit." Liane says, all red and blushy still. "How are the b-both of you? It's so n-nice to see you again! I k-keep meaning to invite you both home, but I h-have a guest right now - a y-young boy I'm taking c-care of. I n-need to get very d-drunk one day soon before it's t-too late."

Oswald continues sipping on his stout, generally looking comfortable and calm. "Not bad, how're you Petra?" He then looks to Liane with some interest. "Oh really? That's awfully nice of you. I always knew I had good intuitions about people. You're all stand up guys and gals." He smiles and raises his wallet. "Drinks for everyone!"

"I can do that!" Damian says, cause he mu'fuckin' works here, and slides out so that he can go and get these Drinks For Everyone.

Nathan re-enters at length, apparently having decided to wait a few minutes before he heads home. He looks tired, but still removes his hat politely as he comes in. Still bald.

"Annie. Annie. 'We're talking about relationships, I want to invite you over but there's a young boy there, and I need to get drunk soon' is SO the best way to begin a conversation," Petra predictably leers, but then says more seriously, "Who's this kid you're watching out for, though? How's the hubsy feel about it?" She smiles to the other woman, and nods her head to Jai. "Totally awkward, I agree. They're forced to allow us here now." To Oswald, she says, "Hey, thanks for drinks! I'm not so sure on your intuition. I mean, look at Jai, Clearly a stone-cold killer. And what about me, man? For shame."

"What she asked," Jai agrees, pointing at Petra, "And what d'you mean, before it's too late? Are you planning to develop a booze allergy and/or temporary small abdominal lodger in the near future?" He snags himself a menu to look over, while protesting to Petra, "I am not a stone-cold killer. I'll have you know I'm totally hot." And speaking of, there's a Nathan! Who gets a wave.

Nathan's hot /and/ a stone-cold killer. It sounds paradoxical but is not.

Damian escapes barwards, but it's a fairly short trip, for the most part, and escorts Nathan the last few feet back to the table again with a tray of drinks. Mostly it's beer, unless you're picky and he knows it, in which case you get something else. Make it up, I dun care.

"Well maybe my intuitions are /terrible/," Oswald admits, "But we're all getting drinks anyway." He smiles for folks. Everyone gets beer! Hooray beer!

Liane grins at the pair and their acute, keen wits! "I've d-decided to go off m-my last remaining m-m-medication. T-terry and I are off-f-ficially leaving it to Fate and N-nature." She says, blushing. "So, p-perhaps. And I f-found a boy, young man r-really, and he seemed to be h-having a difficult time. He had a b-bit of something bad for him, so he's d-detoxing at my place. Cordelia, one of m-my tribeswomen, is watching over him. She's about h-his age, and very nice. T-terry is always delighted when I bring home g-guests."

Nathan takes a beer. Whether it was intended for him or not, he appears to disregard.

Petra smiles broadly at Liane's news, but she must've either known or not approve all that much, because she doesn't get wildly excited. She leans in to whisper something in Jai's ear, seeming pleased in general, and returns her attention to Liane. "Do you believe in fate and luck an' shit? If you do, then I hope they work with ya. What's this boy's name, anyway?" She gives a chin-up of greeting for Nathan, and delights in Damian having brought her cheap-o wine instead of beer. She squeezes his shoulder lightly, then picks up her glass and offers it in a toast. To what is unclear, since it's a silent toast.

Damian makes sure everyone gets a drink before taking the tray away to set back on the bar. But then he can return and claim one for himself! Hooray! "I thought you were goin' home." he mentions to Nathan, catching up with Liane's fixation on drunk boys.

Nathan says, "I am, I am. I got sidetracked."

Jai looks rather pleased by Liane's information, and then downright amused by whatever Petra whispers. "Awesome," he declares, to one or the other or both. "And I hope everything goes well with the visitor and all. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. And you're allowed to come visit us, too. Just sayin'." He takes his beer from Damian (and will like it, dammit!) with a thanks, then pokes at the menu a bit more while he drinks.

"To alcohol, a great mutual friend of ours," Oswald toasts, clinking his glass with Petra's and anyone else bothering to be all clinky before he gets back to drinkin'!

"Ar-r-rag-g-gatar." Liane says, and accepts a drink from Damian with a smile. She sips it, then sips a little more. "And of c-course I do. Fate and L-luck and Chance and D-destiny and all those other w-words. And other big w-words besides. And m-most especially alcohol, and both sides o' me family." The last words slip into an oddly natural brogue, as Liane toasts appropriately.

Nathan isn't clinky, or even sitting down, but he lifts his glass in response anyway before he drinks.

Damian smiles and follows the toasting custom, just copying stuff he's seen a lot. He moves past Nate to reclaim his seat again. "Oh well good. You wanna sit again?"

Petra clinks her glass against anyone who's up for it, and reaches out to ruffle Jai's hair before she takes her first drink. "L'chaim," she replies to Liane with a grin, and 'accidentally' bumps up against Jai, as though the liquor has gone to her system that quickly. "You doin' okay, Nathan?" she asks curiously.

"Come again?" Oswald asks regarding the bizarre word Liane just uttered.

Nathan leans against Damian with a faint smile. "Been a rough week or two. It's gonna be cool."

Damian puts an arm around Nate and gives his shoulders a squeeze. "What's that mean?" He would also like to know what strange girly language Petra and Liane speak!

Jai is all over the clinkies. Hurrah! "L'chaim," he agrees, "...and l'yayin." He counterbumps Petra, attempting to give her a fleeting kiss on the temple before he tries to fix his hair a bit. "The kid's name is Aragatar? I... am going to resist everything I just thought of saying about that except, that's unusual around here. Or anywhere I'm familiar with."

"AH ran Gah-t-tor." Liane repeats the name slowly, "Q-quite a name, I agree. I c-call him Araga. It's a b-bit of a joke, since he w-wasn't in good shape when I m-met him and couldn't t-tell me his actual name." Liane shakes her head, "H-honestly, boys his age sh-shouldn't be indulging in such things. White p-powders and b-babbling and-- well. He sh-shall soon be fine. Cord-delia is an apprentice healer and he d-does seem repentful, and his f-friends were the one who got him into those addicting it-t-tems." Liane nibbles on the fries Damian brought over - OF COURSE HE BROUGHT FRIES - dipping them in the small pool of ketchup.

Oswald just shakes his head. "Drugs," he says. "Hell of a thing. It's a really fine thing you're doing, helping this guy out."

Nathan's quiet (/there's/ a surprise), letting everybody else talk.

Of course he did! Cant have booze without fries. And Nathan is only being quiet and still so that none of you realize that Damian's copping cheap feels while no one's looking. Well no, but he should be. "He was nice, at least." Damian says of poor addled and oddly named junkies and whatnots.

"Yeah! I'm all about the l'yayin sisterhood," Petra says with a teasing smile, but it turns all soft and gooey looking at the kiss to her temple. She squeezes his side lightly and takes another drink as she listens to Liane speak. Tilting her head, she asks, "How old is this kid again, that he's doing drugs? Man. I'm glad he's got people lookin' out for him." Still, she seems mildly troubled. To Damian, she explains, "L'chaim just means, like, 'to life' or something."

Nathan says only "A good sentiment," and gives Damian a little smile as well.

"And l'yayin would be 'to wine', 'cause I figured I should stick with the theme," Jai explains. He looks interested in the answers to Petra's questions as well, and in stealing as many of Liane's fries as he can possibly get away with.

"H-he is very nice. A g-g-good boy, troubles aside. And he's...y-youngish, I suppose. Younger than I. H-high school or so, I'd say. No more than a f-freshman in college. And r-really he was d-drunk and his friends...well, one thing l-led to another and now Araga's in m-my care and I'm trying to h-help him."

Damian says, "Oooh. It's 'aan die lewe' and 'aan wyn' in African."

Nathan rests his hand on Damian's for a second, and listens quietly.

Petra smiles warmly at Damian, nodding her head. "Aan die lewe, then," she says gently, and leeeeeeans up against Jai as she takes another drink of her wine. "Well, I'd like to meet this what's-his-name at some point, then. See who it is needs some new friends."

Damian grins at Petra, "Not bad! Very Dutch." He turns his smile on Nathan and says, "I hope you're paying attention to the lessons, you gotta learn some of this before we go." He also tells Liane, "Tell him hi for me, yeah?" before listening to something from Nate, smiling, and whispering back.

Jai grins at Damian's contribution (between fries), and nods to Petra's remark. "Not SUPER young, then, but yeah." He tucks her braid behind her ear, and continues devouring Liane's fries. Tch. "So this was just a one-time thing, not a habit?"

Nathan pauses to listen to Damian, and gives him a small, warm little smile. "Oh, everybody speaks English anyway."

"It s-seems to have messed him up q-quite a bit." Liane says, shaking her head, "And it...well, he t-took something to calm down the s-symptoms of the first, so now he's d-dependent on the second." Liane sips more of her alcohol, enjoying her rapidly decreasing fries. Good thing she's a NICE PERSON. "I'm t-trying to take his mind off things by leaving C-cordelia with him, truth be told." Liane admits. "Sh-she's around his age, as I've said. And I will. He was v-very thankful to you, D-damian. I'm glad you s-sent him to the sh-shop."

"I hope not," Damian says with a laugh, "Otherwise I'm gonna slip up and call you some stupid pet name at the wrong moment and get us both arrested. Oh you're very welcome, Liane."

Petra smiles over at Jai, and then stays quiet as she listens to Liane's description of the boy, nodding her head with seeming understanding. She finishes off her wine in a few short drinks, setting it down in front of her. She purses her lips in thought, but doesn't voice whatever's on her mind just yet, instead choosing to listen carefully to the conversations around her. It's a MIRACLE.

Nathan squeezes Damian's hand and moves to get up again. "Okay, baby. I'm heading home."

"Okay, be safe, I'll be home soon." Damian tells Nathan as he gets going.

Nathan puts his hat back on as he stands, and gives a polite nod to the table. "Goodnight."

Liane waves a pleasant hello to Nathan, watching him walk out with a critical eye. STUDYING. MEASURING.

"Night, Nathan," Jai replies, and he settles back, sighing a little. "Okay, I should prolly stop eating all your fries and order something myself, I guess. Though really, I was saving you. That much deliciousness could be dangerous to a lady in your potential coming condition."

"I can take an order back for you guys, if you like!" Damian says, and whips his handy dandy order pad out of his apron. And he will do this thing! Which will take a few poses during which time you can skip him cause the player needs to AFK.

Liane grins at Jai, "I m-make better ones myself." She says, but seems to be enjoying her fries plenty. "C-could you order a s-soda for me as well? I feel like s-soda as well as beer." Probably because her player is craving soda hardcore right about now. "But yes. Araga is a nice boy. It's t-truly a shame about his friends, but he'll m-manage somehow, and I sh-shall of course help him out."

"So what's the secondary drug he took to come down off the powder?" Petra asks curiously, TOTALLY not taking notes for her own drug use. No, sir. That would be WRONG. "Seems a fucked-up world if you get drunk and end up like on heroin or whatever. That shit ain't right. What's Araga like, anyway? You say he's nice, but... what's he do that's so nice? What's he talk like, or look like? Gimme details, woman!" To Damian, she grins and says, "Could you get me lamb stew, please? All this talk about kids, man."

"Then you're in even greater danger than I feared," Jai tells Liane solemnly, and steals a few more of the fries while he works out just what he wants. Damian gets that information and some thanks, because I can't actually think about food options very well right now. A nod backing up Petra again, "Yes indeed. Details! While I continue to eat your fries. Because I'm evil-- no, I mean, for your own good."

Liane laughs, "I d-don't know. I'm hardly an expert in r-recreational drug use." Liane points out. "It c-certainly wan't herbal. He's..." Liane flounders, trying to think. "H-h-he's normal." Liane says finally. "A n-nice boy, nervous because of wh-what's happened, a little p-paranoid-- q-quite paranoid, really. But still m-managed to be polite: p-please and thank you and ap-p-pologies when he c-couldn't help himself after he did s-s-something like stabbing my f-floor. And he h-has t-terrible nightmares, still."

Aw, what the heck. If it's going to be a night of stealing fries for poor Liane's benefit, Petra's going to get in on that action. Or at least a little bit. She steals two fries and starts nibbling on them while she waits for her food. "Well, the paranoia could be a lotta stuff. I mean, he's on drugs. Or coming down off drugs, not sure which on that one. And his friends kinda betrayed him. And he could have issues without any of that going on. And if there's all three..." She shrugs, seeming to feel her point was made.

Into the tavern comes another! Sitala steps in through the door and pauses at the top of the stairs to look around. Her hand rests on the bag at her side, the other goes to the railing as she surveys the interior from her lofty perch.

Jai is sitting at a table with Petra and Liane, drinking beer and mostly stealing the latter's fries, at present. Damian's off playing waiter for them while the player's AFK. "Yeah, there's kind of a buffet of reasons for paranoia in that sitution. But manners do count for a lot. Though usually stabbing someone's floor requires at least flowers."

"H-he did the dishes." Liane says, as if this is some sort of amazing feat which absolves Aragator, or Aaron Gattor, depending how you take Liane's horrible stutter, of all sins. "I unders-s-stand the reasons. As I've s-said, detoxing." And oh! Liane waves hello when she sees Sitala, smiling.

"Well, dishes certainly don't hurt," Petra says with a grin, and then leans her head against Jai as she nibbles on that second fry. It generally takes her forever to eat anything, and tonight is no exception. She follows Liane's wave to look at Sitala, and waves as though she knows the woman. "Hey!" she greets.

Damian sweeps on out of the kitchen with whatever people may have ordered!

Sitala gets her attention grabbed by Liane's wave and Petra's stranger-greeting. She smiles and hops down the stairs, heading over. "Hiya! Hey Jai, Liane, hi person I don't know yet." A grin at Petra. Then there's a Damian too and he gets a warm smile.

"Oh, I'm not saying you should've held out for peonies, just remarking in general," Jai says, grinning. And hey, there's Sitala! He waves to her. "Hey, you. This is Petra. Petra, Sitala. Now you've met. And I need to catch up with you later, when you're free." The latter to Sita, of course, since presumably he catches up with Petra all the time. And then a Damian! "Ooh, hey! Thanks, man, that was fast!"

"I act-t-tually need to speak with you as w-well, Sitala." Liane says, sounding a bit amused. "Ever p-popular, aren't you? Th-though mine can w-wait, I h-have it under control for now. And P-petra is wonderful. You two will g-get along swimmin-- Oh!" Liane looks over at Petra, "You and I n-n-need to plan out a s-small excursion somewhere p-private. Dawn is a b-bit old-fashioned, but w-would you mind dusk t-terribly? I'm n-not sure how much time left, so it's imp-p-portant I do what I can while I've the ch-chance."

Not to be left out, Petra informs Sitala, "I need to speak with you, too, Sita-lita." She grins cheesily before extending a hand in greeting. "Petra, like the man said. Nicetameetcha. I'll hold you to that meeting later. Maybe I'll find out why you're so in demand." But now Zoidberg is the one in demand, thanks to Liane! "I'm all abouuuuut private excursions. Dusk sounds fine to me."

"Hey Sita!" Damian says, skipping on hugs while he's putting plates out, but delivering afterwards. "You want anything? I can put an order in while you and Jai talk, there's a fairly private corner in the parking lot where some of us go for smoke breaks if you need a quiet minute."

Sitala takes Petra's hand and shakes it with a smile. "Nice to meet you too," she says in her lightly Californian accent. Liane and Jai get nods and Damian gets an enthusiastic hug. "Can you do me something to take out? I promised to deliver food to the clubhouse and I decided to come in and see if I could get some here. Whatever you think is good, you know they're not fussy. And did Nathan give you the copy of my book that I handed him for you?" Jai gets a glance and a flick of her thumb towards the door with a questioning eyebrow-raise.

"Nope, but I'll have him read it to me or something, he probably just forgot. How many orders?" Damian answers Sita, and once he knows how many people he's putting in for, writes up a diverse but inexpensive slip to hand off to the kitchen before returning to the table. A fish'n'chips here, a burger and fries there, a french dip and a whatever else looked good.

Jai looks at his own fish and chips longingly, then toward the door; he nods then, getting up and taking his basket along with him. "Okay, I'll be right back," he tells the others, and heads toward that smoking corner, assuming Sitala comes along with him.

"Thanks, D," Petra says with a smile, and reaches out to try and lightly punch him in the arm. It passes for affection from her, from time to time. She watches Jai head off, if in fact he heads off, and return, if he returns. But she's quiet for a few moments, hence the long wait!

Liane turns to Petra as they are CRUELLY ABANDONED by everyone but Damian, who everyone loves to bits. "W-wonderful!" Liane says, sounding delighted. "If I c-can, I'll introduce you to him. B-but, you have to be c-c-careful. Just...t-treat him like you would anyone else." A lopsided smile for Petra. "I w-want him to feel normal."

<OOC> Damian says, "...Did you just schrodinger's cat that pose, Petra? :)"
<OOC> Petra says, "I believe I did. :D"

Sitala does go along with Jai. She even waves to the others briefly before she trots after him.

Damian sits down with the ladies again, his awesome sexeh fan club of wimmins, and smiles.

"He won't feel normal if I treat him like I would anyone else," Petra teases, and smiles back over at Damian. "How was your day, D? Better than the last few, I hope?" she asks, and then asks the table in general, "So who's this Sitala, anyways?"

"Sh-she exploded with C-cleo and I in the C-cafe." Liane says, because that was a bonding moment. "And sh-she's a freelance r-reporter, and d-d-dating the president of some m-motorcycle enth-thusiast group. Very n-nice person."

She's also talking PRIVATELY with Jai, likely having some sort of rampant sexual affair. Just FYI.

If Damian had his player's sense of humor, he'd claim Sitala was a man stealing vixen who doesn't even have the common courtesy to threesome up with the jilted girlfriend. But no! Instead, he just nods his head and agrees with what Liane's saying.

Well, clearly.

"Ahh," Petra says, and winces. "Poor Cleo, man." Because clearly it didn't affect the other two, right? RIGHT? "She took it pretty hard, I think." She purses her lips, then shrugs. "Did they ever find out why the dude did it?" She glances off to where Jai went off to, obviously to mourn the loss of her ONE TWUE WUV.

"I d-d-don't mind so very much if th-they catch them. Cleo is p-perfectly safe, except for r-recruitment. They're mainly a c-cult, after all." Liane says with a small shrug, and sips more beer. "I t-tend to stay out of such things, really. It's very d-dangerous." She says this with a straight face, even! Because taking home random little boys going a little wacky is NORMAL and SAFE. "I d-don't see Cleo very often anymore." Liane sounds...a touch sad, but not surprised. "I'm af-f-fraid I may have f-frightened her off. She and I view th-things so fundam-m-mentally differently."

"Yeah I know how you feel," Damian says with a sign and a nod, "I used to see her a lot, but not any more."

Petra frowns deeply, glancing between the two. "She's a lonely kid, man. I-- you know, I know where she's coming from. Kinda. She reminds me of, like, a younger me." She reaches out to try and ruffle Damian's hair, then takes a bite of her soup.

Sitala enters the pub from the parking lot.
Jai enters the pub from the parking lot.
<OOC> Sitala has to get going, okay if we assume Sita came back in, gave Damian monies and then left wif foods?
<OOC> Damian says, "sure :)"

"I n-know. And I, at l-least, and p-possibly Damian-- she doesn't understand us w-well enough to let us in. We're t-t-too strange. And y-you know she w-won't be unl-l-lonely unless she w-wants to let p-people in." Liane glances over at Petra, as even a glance as one can give without making direct eye contact. "Sh-she doesn't want to let in unc-c-comfortable things. It's understand-dable. But it does mean I don't have very m-much of a place in her life. I know I am not p-precisely a comfortable presence for some."

Damian doesn't mind the ruffling and ducks his head for it, stealing a fry or something from someone's plate. He nods at Liane's assessment of things. Also, they know about Jai's affair! THEY KNOW!

"...Who're we talkin' about here?" Jai asks as he returns, sliding into his chair and reclaiming the beer to go with his fish and chips. "Am I missing interesting stuff? No fair, I protest."

"Urmom," Petra spills the beans to Jai. "We've decided she's a very classy lady," she shares. More schroedinger's catting: if Damian brought her wine, she has some. If not, she flips him off. Except not that last part. She does finally reveal, "Just Cleo." She goes quiet then, considering Liane's words for a long moment, but chooses not to reply.

Liane just smiles, and waves hello to Jai. She steals a fishy bit from Jai's plate, to make everything fair, and a wedge of lemon to squeeze onto the tasty morsel before eating. "But n-now you're back, so w-we can talk about you. H-how have you been? Both of you, J-jai, Petra."

Damian nods in agreement, talkin' about Cleo! "Yeah, ya strangers. If it wasn't for texts, I wouldn't hear from you!" He says this jokingly of course, two way street and all that.

"My mom IS a classy lady!" Jai exclaims, beaming at Petra, and he scowls playfully at Liane for her theft -- he can't really complain, given his own larceny, though. "And ah, got it. And I've been good, I'd say. 'bout 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, if I do say so myself. Of course, I'm not resting on my laurels; I'm aiming to be a 9 at least."

"You're totally an 8.5," Petra insists to Jai, with a playful punch on his arm. She glances sideward at him, then tells Damian, "We're uh. We're gonna look for a house. Like a house house. Or an apartment, but. You know. An apartment apartment." Which totally makes sense to her, apparently. "I've been good, all things considered. I'm a ten, and then I've also been in a good mood!" she teases.

Liane grins at the two of them. "I'm c-c-considering buying a h-house, but I don't w-want to, really." Liane admits. "W-we have the house on the r-reservation, and the ap-p-partment. But I've l-likely lost the s-security deposit on it as is, after h-having been broken into and n-now with the s-scratches on the floor now...well. I don't n-know where I'd like to live otherw-w-wise." She grins at Petra and Jai. "H-hopefully you two have better luck. And D-damian's already building his house."

"You guys should come move out closer to me, and by complete coincidence, closer to Tom too!" Damian says, apparently all about this Pai House idea, "And then I can come over and borrow stuff and you can come and get it back, and visa versa. But, you know. Obviously an already established one, I doubt you two would want to live nearly as simply as Nate and I."

Jai laughs. "Oh, yeah, and I've been cheerful and having things go okay, too," he agrees, and bumps Petra's shoulder with his own. "Somewhere out nearer you guys wouldn't be bad," he muses, "But yeah, I'm thinking not far enough that we'd be living quite that simply. For one thing she'd go insaner if we didn't have enough electricity to watch movies."

"Insane-r, huh?" Petra says with a laugh, and lightly elbows Jai. "We'll see about that later, buster," she warns, and wraps an arm around him, which kind of undercuts the threat, but whateryagonnado? "Yeah, we haven't picked a location yet. I'd love some input, actually, on maybe what we should kinda keep in mind. I need my electricity, and I need to be able to get to school and work."

"If y-you find a nice place, you c-could always have some nice and ins-s-sane neighbors." Liane suggests, "If w-we like the location as well, and if I c-can find a gate big enough. or g-good enough curtains. Unless you w-want to see T-terry walk around n-nak---er, underd-d-dressed." Liane blushes. "He only s-s-sometimes believes in clothes at home." She says, and hastily sips her drink.

App5 neighbor walkin' around underdressed. Oh, yes. Complain.

Damian shrugs his shoulders and says, "I don't really know, this is my first one altogether. I know I did a good job putting it together, and what's suposed to be where, but it's hard to tell if anything's right or wrong anywhere else cause they all got their walls on." Again, if only Damian had his player's brain, Liane, but no. No. Sigh.

Jai gives Petra his best Totally Innocent look, and leans in against her a bit when the arm's there. "A gate big enough?" he asks Liane, "Curtains shouldn't be that difficult, but hey, we can probably cope with a little unexpected nudity. Nice neighbours are always a plus. But we'll start looking over in that area of town..." He pauses, looking thoughtful. "I wonder how much more it costs to build a house than just find one to buy. Hm."

"I can ALWAYS cope with unexpected nudity. Like ... RIGHT NOW." Petra waits, but probably ends up disappointed. SCHROEDINGER'S CAT. "I guess it would've been expected anyway," she sighs. "That's a good question," she says thoughtfully to Jai. "I'd really love a house with a big ol', like attic or something, with a nice open space, tall and with lots of room for me to run around in." Like she's a hamster.

Damian might schroedinger YOUR cat. "Mine was very nearly free, minor expenses for a few things." Damian says, "But still, it's really simple. I guess it depends on how much work you're willing or able to do yourself, and where you have to hire help or professionals."

GREAT. Now Liane's player...and possibly Liane, both have a mental image of pooka-petra doing the hamster dance in her attic. Liane just grins, "I w-would prefer to buy a h-house. I like things th-that have been...established. If it's a n-new house, it would have to..." Liane considers for a moment, "It'd h-have to feel steady. P-permanent. W-weighty. so I s-suppose an adobe h-house wouldn't be so bad, as long as it was p-planned properly, and c-carefully laid out. And n-not too...new."

Jai takes a moment to munch his remaining fish before someone else steals it, and appears to be considering. "I don't even know what I'd like in a house, except, y'know... electricity, running water, things like that. Which I'm pretty sure I'd have to hire help for. Well -- I might be able to work out the water thing. But electricity seems kinda unforgiving if I messed it up." He looks sidelong at Petra, "So you want an attic track, huh?"

"I dunno, man," Petra says with a shrug to Jai. "I mean, it sounds like a crazy idea, but sometimes I just feel all cooped up, and I'd love to stretch my legs, you know? You get a nice high-ceiling room-- doesn't have to be an attic, I guess, I just pictured those cool pointy ceilings-- and you feel like you have a lot more room than you do, yeah? And you get like, you get a bunch of exercise stuff, like hurdles or something. Is that too crazy? I have no idea, man, I ain't ever bought a house before." She shrugs again, taking a sip of her soup, and slides it in Jai's direction. "You can have some of this."

Damian asks, "Wouldn't it be easier, if you were building something, to just make a vaulted ceilinged one story? Lots of sky lights and stuff."

"I w-w-would just make sure to have very large skylights, and a l-large backyard. It's not as fun h-here in the desert, however. I m-miss the forests sometimes. Though the s-sands here can be beautiful, in the r-right light."

"Or build in a gym," Jai muses, "...or a really DEEP basement. Maybe with ground-level windows to let in lots of light. That'd be neat. Easy to cool and heat, too. We should sit around and just come up with funky house ideas for a while, sometime," he suggests to Petra, and reaches over to snag the proffered soup.

"I like those ideas!" Petra says excitedly, and squeezes Jai before reaching out to squeeze Damian's shoulder and shoot fingerguns at Liane, cuz hey, she wouldn't like the shoulder squeeze. She leans back in her seat again, drinking her wine/not wine, and wraps her arm back around Jai's side. "I hadn't even thought about skylights, man. These are great ideas. Thank you guys."

"If you guys look into that sort of thing and decide you wanna, I'd be glad to help!" Damian says with a smile.

"I'm alr-r-ready plot-- that is, p-planning a f-few things here and there for D-damian's house." Liane says with a smile. And then she drains the last of her beer. "And s-speaking of, I should likely get a move on. I've been here f-far too long." She stands, reaching out to steady herself on Damian's shoulder and give him the light shoulder squeeze of farewell. Petra gets a small pat on her arm as Liane passes, and Jai a small wave, and Serendipity, if she existed, would be promptly tied up and dragged away, but she does not exist ICly, so alas.

Jai leans into Petra, not returning the arm-around merely because he's still busy using both hands to eat with. Well, via silverware, he's civilized and stuff. Except for the fingerfoods... you know what I mean. "Thanks, D. And later, Raj. It was good to run into you, even if you're running away already. Good luck with the visitor and the Fate and Destiny and everything."

"That's awesome of you, D," Petra says with a smile, and then waggles her fingers at Liane. "We'll plan that secret rendezvous any day now, kitten," she totally metas, and snuggles up happily against Jai while she watches him eat her food. It's a hard life, yo.

Damian beams a smile at Liane, "Take care!" Back to Jai and Petra he says, "So that's cool, you guys looking into a new place and stuff."

Jai grins at Damian, and the tips of his ears turn slightly pink. "It's pretty cool," he agrees, "We just decided recently to start looking into it. But it's hard to figure out the details. Not hard enough not to do, though, obviously."

"It's *very* cool," Petra agrees, with a little blush of her own, and rests her head on her hand. "I've been packin' up stuff at my old apartment. That place feels all weird now, you know? It was like, you know, like a sanctuary, and now it's like, that place I pick up mail. It's all weird."

Damian grins at the pair, "Well definitely let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

Over at the bar, there is a Tom! Cause he works here, don'tcha know. "You guys want any more drinks before I hang up my apron for the day?" he calls over to Jai, hands already at his waist to untie it.

"Will do. And yeah, it's a little weird now. And it'll be good to have more room for people to crash and all." Then Tom's calling to them and Jai calls back, "Yes! Five hundred of them! Or maybe just a Coke, if you don't mind. I should prolly not drink more beer if I'm gonna be driving and all. How's it going?"

"Oh hey Tom!" Petra calls over, after nodding with a smile to Damian. "I could use another glass of wine, if you don't mind?" she asks, and lifts up in her seat a bit. "How you been, dudemo?"

Damian beams at Tom and says, "I'll get it, you're off, man." He gets up and gives the guy a shoulder pat while going to do stuff with drinks.

Tom grins at Damian. "Hey, if you insist," he says, giving no protest. He pours just himself a Coke instead, then heads over to join the table. "I'm good," he answers Jai and Petra's question, taking Liane's vacated seat. "How 'bout you guys? House movey stuff, from the sounds of?"

"Yup! Working on it, anyway." Finally having finished chowing down on all the actual food remaining, Jai slides an arm around Petra in return, leaving only one hand for dealing with a drink. "We've really only got as far as the deciding it's a thing we wanna do part, and starting to pack her old apartment. And you've got the wedding coming up really soon, right?"

"Thanks, D!" Petra calls out, and then returns her attention to her tablemate-- and mate. Awwww yeah. "We're sort of dithering about where exactly we want to live, and if we want to build a new house, et cetera et cetera. It's a fun sort of thing to plan, if nothing else. How are you and the not-yet-missus doing? Still all up ons?"

"Really soon," Tom nods. "Next month. Ali's counting down and making lists and.... all that girly stuff," he grins at Petra. "Which reminds me, she asked after you about girly stuff. I think she wants to show off the wedding dress or something," he waves a hand vaguely. "You should give her a call."

Damian takes way too long at the bar. Way too long...

<OOC> Serendipity is immediately suspicious of Damian! ;)
<OOC> Petra says, "He's peeing in our drinks. :("
<OOC> Serendipity says, "Tom is glad he poured his own, then!"
<OOC> Damian looks innocent O:)
<OOC> Jai says, ">_>"
<OOC> Petra says, "Jai, why does my drink taste like hippie piss? o.O"
<OOC> Jai says, "You ordered wine. You didn't specify the quality."
<OOC> Petra says, "Point taken. :("

Jai sighs exaggeratedly. "Man, no one ever asks after ME about girly stuff," he complains, then grins again. "So, are you excited, terrified, or both? Do you have thrilling honeymoon type plans? ...the outside the hotel room parts, I mean?" He glances toward the bar, then... 'cause hey, that's way too long.

"Yeah, do you have cold feet or are you da hotsteppah?" Petra just HAS to ask Tom, and then smiles. "I'll call her, yeah. Thank you. Though man, I'm not entirely sure she's asking the right girl. I don't read, like, bridal mags or anything, so I'm likely to just be like, is it a dress? LOOKS GOOD TO ME. Still, pretty awesome of her to ask." She follows Jai's gaze to the bar, tilting her head curiously.

Tom laughs. "I'm kinda nervous, but I'm TOTALLY da hotsteppah," he assures Petra. "And hey, you know more about this stuff than me, so.." he shrugs. "The honeymoon is planned," he nods to Jai. "And maybe you can get some info out of Jack for me. He's paying for it, and it's a trip to St Lucia. Awesome, but he won't tell me where he got the money, and I'm dying of curiosity," he grins. "Hey, did you get lost?" he calls over towards the bar.

Damian is over there doin' stuff and things behind the bar with his back to the tables. Mysterious things, like peeing on your drinks while leering evilly, adding some garnish to distract you.
Damian calls back, "NO!"

Jai softly whistles a few bars of the referenced song, settling back/into Petra comfortably now that it's been confirmed that Damian has not fallen into a keg or something. "That's an island, right? Islands are good for honeymoons, from what I hear. Or see. Mostly pictures, frankly. No one ever goes to the ones up by, like, Alaska. Maybe I'll ask him next time we talk."

"Do you haff vays of makink him talk?" Petra wonders, with bad faux accent and everything. Full service! She squeezes Jai's side companionably, and calls out to Damian, "Damiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! Jai misses you! Come baaaaaaaaaack!" To Tom, she asks curiously, "What're you nervous about? Like, sneezing on her during the vows, or that shit won't work out?"

Tom shrugs. "Just nervous, y'know? Cos it's a big thing. Back me up here, Jai," he kicks the chair lightly. "Pre-wedding jitters, completely expected, right? And yeah, also the sneezing thing," he grins.

"Yeah yeah yeah." Damian calls back, waving a hand, and does a few more Things over at the bar. But he does start his way back, hooray! Returning to the table with a tray, he delivers Jai's coke, but no wine, instead there's a small collection of weird cocktails that are pretty colored and come with fruity bits on or in the glass. "The kind you had was out, and getting more was too much trouble, so I made these instead! I think I did them right, I followed instructions."

"Man, I am not the better choice to back you up on that," Jai informs Tom, laughing, "But yeah, that's completely normal and expected, 'cause it IS a big thing. There's differences of degree, like I think jitters is normal whereas terror might imply there's a reason to reconsider, y'know?" And then a Damian! He eyes the pretty cocktails. "Aw, man. Now I want to drink those."

"Nah, I ain't sayin' it's not normal," Petra assures Tom. "Jeez. I had jitters about fucking *dating* Jai, let alone anything else. Jitters are, you know. Well, it's like they say about bravery. You can be scared out of your goddamned mind, but bravery's about pushing on in the face of all that motherfuckin' terror. Not that I'm sayin' TERROR is normal either, but hey, sometimes it's part and parcel of new endeavors." You heard me-- ENDEAVORS. "You love her, yeah? Maybe that's enough. Only one way to find out." She brightens considerably at Damian and his fruity drinks, and sits up in her seat. "Dude, I *so* shouldn't drink these, but they look so purty! Thank you! I'mma have one for sure."

"That one's good," Tom points at a purple cocktail with a strawberry on the rim. "You'll like it," he tells Petra with a grin. "It's kind of fruity and sparkly. And I'm kind of hoping they won't be TERRIFYING new endeavours," he adds.

Damian selects an electric yellow drink with a lemon on the rim for himself. "Cheers!" He gives Jai such a ha ha ha look and has a sip. A puckery sip! "Ooh, that's tart."

Jai sighs, and eyes the various cocktails with longing -- nay, yearning. "Maybe I'll just drink 'em and hang around an extra hour or two. I don't think your endeavours'll be that terrifying, though. You guys seem to go well together and all."

"I will take your suggestion," Petra says with a firm nod and a grin for Tom, and fingerguns Damian as a thank you for making them. She grabs up the purple cocktail and dips the strawberry in before taking a nice juicy bite of it. "New endeavors are frequently terrifying, man. Marriage is no exception, I'm sure. You just gotta pay attention to ALL the shit you're feeling, not just the terror." She smiles over at Jai, and takes a nice healthy drink of her cocktail. "What are these called anyway, D?"

"We do, don't we?" Tom smiles broadly. "I'll stick with my Coke," he raises his glass slightly. "No offence, D, but that one," he points to an eye searingly blue drink, "is a bit bright. And last I checked, we don't do a bright blue cocktail," he grins.

"I don't think there's so much to be nervous about, really." Damian says, "I mean I guess there's all the publicy stuff and stage fright and all, but you're just sort of loudly announcing something that's more or less aready in effect, right? I'm still a little iffy on how all this stuff works."

Jai nods to Damian, agreeing, "Also it means a bunch of stuff legally that's kind of handy. But isn't scary, generally. So yeah." He eyes the cocktails again, but it's his soda he drinks. Le sigh.

"It all depends who you are, I suppose," Petra admits, to Damian's questions. "I mean, to some people it's like, way way WAY different. Cuz maybe they aren't so committed, or maybe they're afraid of being trapped in a loveless marriage. But you're right, anyway. It ain't such a big deal, especially if you don't have kids." She smiles softly, a little sappily, and keeps on drinking that cocktail. She maaaay be a little tipsy. At the least.

"Oooooh." Damian says at the explanations, but it's fairly well over his head in some areas. So instead he asks, "Are you guys going to get married?"

Tom pauses mid-drink and looks between Jai and Petra with a grin. He wants to know the answer to this one too!

Jai glances sidelong to Petra; he looks like he'd love to answer that but GOSH DARNIT he just took a big gulp of his Coke, so there's a second or so pause while he swallows it and all. The kind of pause in which Petra might beat him to speaking. Alas.

Sneaky Jai and his sneaky Coke. Of course, now it's Petra's turn to take a nice big drink of her cocktail, which almost comes shooting out of her nose. TOTALLY sexy. She coughs, having obviously choked on her cocktail, and probably not even faking it. Probably. She wipes her mouth with a napkin, and then looks at Damian seriously. VERY seriously. "I could tell you," she murmurs quietly, so her voice won't carry and give the secret away. "But then I'd have to kill you."

Damian looks very seriously back at Petra, and perhaps because of her seriousness, he actually *takes* her seriously, because he leans foward a little and asks, "How come?"

Tom laughs at both the answer and Damian's response. "Yeah, Petra. How come?" And to Jai, "Never known you to be so quiet when a question's asked," he grins.

Jai looks highly concerned at Petra's cough, setting down his drink to pat at her back. Even though the hand he uses for that is attached to the arm that was already around her. "It's a state secret, don'tcha know. The fates of millions rest upon our secrecy."

Petra clears her throat several times, either because of nervousness at Damian's seriousity or trying to get drops of that danged cocktail out of her throat. You be the judge! "I told someone the answer to that once, the definitive, not-going-to-change answer, but I only agreed to tell them as a present. Information is a prize. Now, you deserve presents too, it's just that I can't give you THAT present cuz I'm not a regifter. Ask a different question, and you'll get an answer," she says cheerfully.

"I have a different question, then," Tom grins. "Are you two going to stay unmarried?"

Damian thinks a second and asks RIGHT on top of Tom's question, "Are you going to not get married?" Fistbump for Tom. Word.

Jai looks sideways at Petra again when she gives that explanation. There's the tiniest tilt of his head, and then he looks to the other two men... who promptly do not disappoint. A grin, which he half-hides with his now-reclaimed glass of Coke.

With a laugh, Petra tells Damian and Tom both, "Touche, touche. I knew you'd do that. I still feel like a regifter, though. So I'm afraid I can't actually answer EITHER of your questions. But I'm a kind and loving god, so maybe if you ask something el-- fuckity." While gesticulating, she's dropped her fork, and she gets down onto the ground to pick it up, kneeling beside Jai and searching for it. She comes up after a moment triumphantly holding the fork aloft and turns to Jai, holding it out for him to take. "So uh. Listen. I've been waiting for all of like, a week for you. And that seems weird and like... weird. So like. I don't have a ring. But take this fork and uh. Marry me. And uh. We could do this thing." She looks, for the first time in several minutes, truly flustered, and not just playfully dodgy.

Damian honestly does not appear to understand what's going on here!

Tom sits up straight in his chair. A marriage proposal! Exciting! If unconventional, so very Petra. So it's an expectant look to Jai, and a held breath.

Jai is, if only for a second or so, speechless, staring at Petra. It IS only a second or so at most, though it probably feels longer at the time. Then he grins again, taking the fork from her and saying, "Well, yes! Of course. Obviously," and leans in to give her a kiss. It's not until after that that he adds, looking a little sheepish, "...I was waiting 'til January. Fifth." A glance at the fork he's holding, and he looks to the guys and informs them, "This is my fork now. You can put it on my bill or whatever the process is for that."

Damian's brows are all crinkled as he watches, this is just such an unusual way of doing things that it throws him! But the gist he totally gets, and grins, taking it completely seriously even if it is not. "Yay!" he salutes with his glass, "The fork has always been yours, Jai!"

Tom beams. "Congratulations, guys!" A hug for Petra is followed by a slightly manlier one for Jai. "I think we can let you keep the fork," he grins, nodding in agreement with Damian.

Petra doesn't even breathe while Jai just stares at her, and even after he says yes, she doesn't breathe for a second or two more. "Oh. Oh. Well. Okay, then," she says, and coughs a bit nervously before letting him have the fork. She returns that kiss ardently, and looks a bit... dazed, either like she wasn't sure he'd say yes, or wasn't sure she was going to ask! Needless to say, she completely forgets to get out of her kneeling position. Awwww yeah. "It has, hasn't it," she says thoughtfully to Damian. If it's not serious, she's an AMAZING actress. She blinks, twice, and finally remembers to lift from her crouch, getting back into her seat. "Well, uh. Now that that's settled." She blushes furiously, returning Tom's hug, and smiles over at Damian. "Yeah," she says, starting to recover. "If they hadn't let you keep the fork, the deal would've been off," she teases.

Jai offers Petra a hand back up into her chair, post-kiss, to use or not as she pleases. And of course Tom's hug is returned! In a slightly manly fashion. "It is the best fork ever," he says, sounding entirely serious about this, even if it is followed almost immediately by another grin to Petra, and, "I know. My first order of business will be to obtain a magical box in which to protect it, possibly in a cave atop a very high mountain." And then he leans in to give her another kiss, and to whisper something in her ear.
Jai mutters to Petra, "I..."

Damian says, "Want me to make you an awesome fork shrine?"

Tom chokes on his drink with amusement. "What's a fork shrine look like?"

Damian says, "I have no idea, but I bet it's *magnificent*."

Petra's hand shakes just slightly as she wipes what is SURELY a tiny speck of dust from her eye, and she reaches out for Jai's hand, squeezing it tightly. "I can't believe I just did that," she breathes, amazed, and then repeats, "I can't believe I just did that!" but much more enthused this time. Clearly, this calls for grabbing Jai by the lapels and kissing the HECK out of him. She leans in to whisper something to him in return, and damnitall if she doesn't get another speck of dust in her eye. "Thanks, you guys," she murmurs, still blushing up a storm.
Petra of COURSE nips his ear before whispering, She mutters to Jai, "... right,... didn't... it sometimes. I love... We... this work."

Tom does a seriously poor job of cleaning this place.

"This is great, we should have a party or something, shouldn't we?" Damian asks, not real sure how this stuff works.

Tom knows it wasn't a speck of dust really! "DEFINITELY a party," he agrees. "My place, if you want. It's bigger."

Tom, Petra, Damian and Jai are all sitting together, some eaten meals and a ton of half-drunk cocktails in front of them. Petra is blushing up a storm as she wipes DUST from her eye (clearly Jai insulted her) while Damian and Tom look enthused. And Jai looks really happy, because he has this great fork which he holds reverentially.

"Hmm. I was thinking of getting it made, y'know, wearable, but I also feel perhaps I should preserve its inherent forkitude. So an awesome magnificent fork shrine might be just the thing. Whatcha think?" The last, of course, is to Petra, who gets most thoroughly kissed back while she has hold of his lapels. Whatever she whispers gets a fierce hug, and apparently that dust speck thing is contagious, because he wipes one away too when he beams at her afterward. "I can't believe you just did that either. Well. Okay, technically I can. But I'm really surprised! And highly in favour of a party. Thanks, guys."

Oswald has been hanging out quietly the whole time, never having really left last night. He isn't drunk like the others but he's had a few. Currently he's picking at shepherd's pie; he's one of those eaters that pecks at food, never really slicing through big chunks of it.
<OOC> Jai says, "I'm not certain you want to go with that; there's been important stuff. :)"
<OOC> Oswald says, "Oh nvm then."
<OOC> Damian says, "Most notably that a horse stole Jai's pants. Again, I mean."
<OOC> Jai says, "damn horses."
<OOC> Petra says, "They're STILL not gonna fit!"
<OOC> Jai diiiies.
<OOC> Serendipity says, "Well, if he would wear such fetching pants, he's gotta EXPECT them to be stolen."

Oswald returns!"Hey, I forgot my coat- oh, hello!" he tells Tom and the rest. "I'm Oswald, how's it going?" he tells the new guy.

<OOC> Petra says, "Chances are his pants are not as fancy as the pair of very fancy pants that Mr. FancyPants would wear."
<OOC> Jai says, "Well, of course not. It's all he has. And I'm not a dick."
<OOC> Petra says, "HAHAHA. <3"

"Hi, I'm Tom," is the friendly reply. You may have seen him working behind the bar here at the Tavern. "Jai's cousin," he thumbs at the taxi driver. "Nice to meetcha, Oswald."

Damian sips at his neon yellow cocktail of doom and moves his sunny smile from the schmoopy pair to Oswald. "Heeeeey! Oh, yeah here." He leans to pick up the discarded and probably sat on at one point lump that is Ozzy's jacket.

"Do whatever you want with it," Petra shares her largesse as regards the fork with Jai. She leans in to kiss his cheek, looking positively delighted about this goddamned fork, and offers a cheerful wave to Oswald. "Hey, Ozzy!" she greets him, and apparently someone else will have to explain this fork business, because she's busy telling Damian and Tom, "Thank you," in the most heartfelt manner possible.

Oswald frowns a little bit as he picks up his itchy tweed jacket, turning around for a moment to flap it back into a semblance of a non-creased coat shape. He then turns around to smile back at Tom and shake his hand. "Good to meet you," he tells Tom. "Jai's a real stand-up guy."

Jai looks equally delighted, and gives Petra a squeeze, then reaches up to tuck her little braid behind her ear, all while continuing to hold that fork nigh-reverently. And not in an about-to-eat or stabby position, either; more like a flower or something. "Thanks," he says to Oswald, ears pinkening at the compliment. And just after they'd settled down, too!

Tom shakes Oswald's hand. "He can be, but don't be saying it out loud too much, or he'll get a big head," he grins. "You wanna join us?" he offers.

Damian moves whatever other left over crap might be on seats so that there's Oswald room.

And Oswald sits down! "Have you guys been here the whole time?" he asks. "Since I left?"

"Ayep," Petra says to Oswald without shame. "We maaaaaay have been drinking a wee bit. Except Jai, the stand-up guy, who needed to be able to drive. But I totally think he should toast me." And with that, she holds up her purple cocktail and toasts, "To new beginnings? L'chaim? L'yayin? And uh... that thing Damian said, too. To all of that!" Also, I swear I posed this, but I can't find it!

"Yup, whole time. I did go out to the parking lot briefly, though," Jai answers, and then he grins at Petra again. "Oh, I'll toast you all right," he informs her, with a waggle of the eyebrows, and he lifts his (alas undoctored) Coke, agreeing, "L'chaim, and to new beginnings, and," the tiniest of pauses, "to my fork. And my fiancee." He grins dorkily. And there shall be clinking.

Damian grins at the love birds and finishes off his drink. He digs out his phone and dials a number, waiting aminute and getting an answer. "Hey. Yeah. Hey, can you come pick me up? I ended up havhng a couple drinks. Thank you!" Damian puts his phone away and says, I'm gonna get a ride home in a few minutes, gettin' tired."

Oswald stands up. "Okay then," he says quietly, with a small smile. "I'll see you guys later then."

"Please do!" Petra says with a laugh, and takes a drink of her cocktail before setting it back down. "Night, Ozzy! And Damian, goodnight, and thank you. This uh. You know. I dunno if that woulda happened if you weren't, like. Well, you know and stuff." She ruffles her hair with a blush on her cheeks again. "That day in the park. With Lucian. It like. You know. Changed stuff."

Oswald does pause for a moment. A thing? About a person? What?

"Aw. Night, Damian. And thanks. If I decide to go with a fork shrine I will definitely be taking you up on that, 'cause I'm certain yours'd be the most fittingly awesome and magnificent." Jai tilts his head curiously at Petra's remarks, and absently reaches over to smooth the ruffled hair again. Not with the fork, thankfully. She gets a questioning look, but no spoken question.

"You're welcome!" Damian says with a grin to Petra while collecting up his stuff, what little of it there is, "I do enjoy interfering when it's in a nice and productive sort of way. A happy proposal night to you both!" Everybody gets hugs, even Oswald!

Aw! Oswald hug!

He gets a giant bearhug from Petra, during which she takes the opportunity to whisper sweet, sweet nothings in his ear. Then she lets him go and waits for Jai to get his hug before wrapping an arm around him again. And then, what the heck, she disengages from Jai and offers Oswald and Tom hugs, too!
Petra mutters to Damian, "... you for... the... one of... most important...."

Damian smooches Petra right on the eye. That's what he thinks about all this.

Hugs! Hugs for all! Damian get a huge bearhug from Jai as well, and a big ol' kiss on the cheek to boot. Take THAT! Irrational exuberance! Then more hugs and another kiss for Petra, and sure, hugs for everyone else as well! They can take turns, hug the person currently unhugged and all. Hugs made of JOY.

Oswald takes the hug with grace and returns it with gusto. The World of Darkness is now the World of Hugs.
Tom partakes in the huggery too, whilst in RL Ren reviews complex legal contracts :(
But dark hugs. Navy blue shading to black.
Hippie: The Fluffening.
Petra cries tears OF BLOOD while she hugs WITH CLAWS.
Oswald shares dark visions of HUGS with the universe! Affection for the affection god! Hugs for the hug throne!
<OOC> Petra dies.
<OOC> Serendipity wants a hug throne.

Damian tells Oswald while hugging him hello and goodbye, "Petra and Jai are getting married! Or are not not getting married. Whatever it was that I'm supposed to know about, I forget. ISN'T THAT SWEET? They're going to exchange forks and everything, Petra already gave Jai one."

Petra laughs and closes her eyes as Damian kisses her, and lifts her head up to smooch his forehead before she pulls away. She positively beams at Damian and Oswald as Damian explains the significance of the fork-- of all things-- and once she and Jai have finished their hug rounds, he gets a solid bearhug from her as well.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Oswald tells Jai and Petra. "I can't think of cooler people to get hitched. Now you can get tax breaks and exchange names!"

"Well, I dunno about =that= -- I don't think I look much like a Petra," Jai replies to Oswald, grinning. "Thanks. I think it's pretty awesome, honestly. Not something I expected today."

"I hadn't planned it either, to be honest," Petra says with a laugh to Jai, and runs a hand through her hair. "And, man. Name stuff. I have no idea if I want to change my name. I hadn't even gotten that far," she admits with a grin.

"Petra Malekar sounds cool," Oswald admits, pronouncing it decently right and everything. "I mean, it's your deal, I'm just saying."

Damian squishes Tom also, and puts his jacket on. "Have a good night guys, see you all later!" And then he's off to have his buzzed self picked up on by some broody musician.

"It DOES sound pretty cool, I gotta admit," Jai muses, "but the one she's got's already pretty awesome, too. There's options, we'll have to mull them over." And then Damian escapes, alas! Jai's non-fork hand sneaks over to claim one of Petra's, and give it a squeeze.

Petra smiles and squeezes his hand back, and nods her head to his words. "Yeah, they're both pretty awesome," she says without shame. She tugs Jai closer and gives him a peck on his cheek, then turns to Oswald. "I'm glad you were here tonight. You're an awesome dude. I wish more of our friends coulda been here, but it was kinda... spur of the moment."

"It was very cool spur of the moment," Tom says with a grin. "Didn't know you had it in you, Petra."

"Hey, if the spirit moves you, you gotta groove you," Oswald says with a small smile. "How long are you guys waiting? Or are you too drunk right now to want to make decisions? Beyond the one you just made?"

"I'm not as think as you drunk I am," Petra deadpans, getting the saying RIGHT this time, damnit, and looks at Jai before looking back to Oswald. "I have no idea, dude," she admits. "I mean, I didn't even know I was proposing tonight, so. We haven't, you know. Like discussed wedding plans." She blushes heavily, both at that thought and Tom's words, and reaches out to try and squeeze his shoulder. "I'm glad you were here," she tells him. "And I got lots more where that came from," she adds with a wink.

Jai grins again, giving Petra's hand another squeeze and leaning over to kiss her fleetingly on the temple while he's at it. "For my part, I'm sotally tober. But yeah, that's something we'll have to talk about, I guess." He laughs suddenly, apparently at a realisation, "My grandmother's going to be industrial-strength thrilled."

Tom's shoulder is Petra-squeezed. "I'm glad I was here too! Does that make you my kind-of-cousin-in-law-to-be now?" he asks with amusement. "Ali's gonna be sad she missed it, but I guess you guys will have even more girly stuff to talk about now, right?" he teases.

"That works," Oswald says with a small smile. "I'm happy for you guys. I'm about to get married to the hospital Ethics Board soon, so that's something."

"I think it does," Petra tells Tom with a laugh, and her laugh only deepens at Jai's realization. "I bet your parents totally won't have seen it coming," she says with a giggle, clearly a wee bit soused. "I'm sorry Ali missed it, too. And I know some friends who will probably wring my neck at first, but they'll understand. I look forward to girly time with Ali," she says, heartfelt. Oswald's announcement has her lifting her brows in surprise. "You don't say," she grins broadly. "Do tell, do tell!"

"You are? The entire Ethics Board? Is that legal in this state?" Jai teases Oswald, and his arm slides around Petra again, pulling her in a little closer. No comment on whether his parents will have seen it coming, though. Nope.