Home 27: Ward-bound

[Shadowcaller]

[Kitsune Recovery Service]

"...let me start with breakfast, Annie. I bought those sugar honey puffs you like yesterday." She gives Ana an apologetic smile before heading to the kitchen to start preparing. Then she would need to check on the other child, start to put on diapers on those that needed it and...

[Ironsmith]

Mishnehel's Home

"I'd probably have windows. And... not be reliant on tinned food, or less reliant at least." Mishnehel smiles and continues to eat. "I'd probably break or lose it, so don't worry about it." And given her abilities to mess around with space and time- or more accurately, Shape and Growth- she could probably do better than this anyway. She just needs to know how, and she still hasn't done the tutorial.

[Mishnehel's Home]

"Well, I haven't managed it yet." Vlad quips, not taking his eyes off the leak in the wall. That was... really bad. He'd worried about insulting her with his offer before, but now, it looked like he might have to say something anyway. Even if she went ballistic on him (which was looking less and less likely), he couldn't just let her live like this. It wasn't just dirty, it was unsafe.

"...You know... you could probably plug that right up with a little caulk." He says finally. "I'm sure I have a recipe in my 'box somewhere. I could take a look at it once the rain stops, if you want."

Well. Moment of truth.

[Gullara]

[Kitsune Recovery Service]

"...let me start with breakfast, Annie. I bought those sugar honey puffs you like yesterday." She gives Ana an apologetic smile before heading to the kitchen to start preparing. Then she would need to check on the other child, start to put on diapers on those that needed it and...

[Kitsune Recovery Service]

"I want a big bowl!" Annie declares. There's a spring in her step for the rest of the short trip to the kitchen. She clamours up onto her chair at the table. Right next to her little sister, in fact. Umeko is the only toddler up right now, it seems. The little girl is palming a slice of peach into her mouth where she sits at the table in her booster seat.

Kitsuki, meanwhile is at the oven. She's stirring scrambled eggs in preparation for all the hungry mouths. Likewise the oven is on and a rice cooker sputtered gently on the counter next to her. "Morning. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. Can you get the pickled carrots out of the fridge, Obriane?" The kitsune sounds exhausted, but the world doesn't slow down just because she never get much sleep.

[Arkhosia]

Kitsune Recovery Service

Anastasia waits a second to follow Obriane and Annie out, intentionally avoiding any chance of being in the front and thus somehow stirring up more confrontation with the uppity little bab. She's not really sure she has the mental energy just yet to deal with anything further on that front. Once she steps into the kitchen and gets a chance to digest everything going on within it, any further intentions of being a wallflower abruptly vanish.

"Do you want me to help?" She sidles up a bit closer to the stove while Kitty stirs up the eggs, doing her best to be available enough to pitch in or even take over without invading Kitty's personal space or getting in the way of her cooking. Which may be a hard balance to judge depending on the size of the kitchen. Part of it's certainly guilt knowing that the woman's only so tired thanks to her problems, but truthfully, Ana would probably have offered regardless of the cause.

[Shadowcaller]

Kitsune Recovery Service

Obriane let's out a small sigh as she sees Kitty's exhausted face. Scrambling eggs and making rice? Shouldn't breakfast be an easier meal?
"Of course." She opens the fridge to take out carrots for Kitty and milk for Annie. Then she picks out a big bowl and the sugar puffs for their oldest girl. Sugar puffs wasn't the healthiest of foods but surely there was something in-between that and the rice and eggs Kitty was preparing.
She glances at Anastasia and then looks to Kitty. "Erm, why don't I take care of breakfast for the rest of the week, Kitty?" She had some ideas for what to do!

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel's Home

"No, it's OK. I didn't bring you here to fix my walls. Besides, that's a window." Unless caulk is clear, Mishnehel likes having that hole there. Besides, most of the issue is the lack of anything actually blocking the windows and doors to keep the rain out. "I didn't even bring you here to take advantage of your food." But Vlad's not really comfortable in himself enough for Mishnehel to actually succeed at her chosen purpose, so that's kind of out.

[Ironsmith]

[Mishnehel's Home]

Vlad opens his mouth to tell her he meant he'd put in glass and seal the leaky bits with caulk, obviously, that it wasn't any trouble, that he'd been happy to provide the food, to insist that he help... but stops and decides against taking that risk a second time. She said "no". That was it. He was just going to have to let it be that she had gaping holes in the wall, even as bad as that probably was for her and as poorly as it sat with him.

Man. Socialization is hard.

In an attempt to make things less awkward, he decides to change the subject. "So... what do you normally do on a rainy night like this?" He asks.

[Murkus]

Fettina's Place

It's a little unfortunate just how preoccupied Tina is with getting ready at this point - if she'd been in a bit less of a hurry, perhaps she'd notice the way Cantata lingers in place behind her, raising a palm to the place she'd been kissed while her cheeks as a lovesick little blush rises in her cheeks. It's a look that only lasts a moment though - soon she's back to getting ready, throwing on a bit of makeup before getting back to Fettina.

Listening to her, Cantata's expression shifts from worry to a bit of relief, before slipping back to unsure nervousness. "What does he care about?" the woman signs - something about meeting him definitely seems to have her worried about making the best impression possible.

Fettina's Place

Fettina seems a bit put out by that question, but it's not really directed at Cantie. "I dunno-- stuff like, 'Fettina, when are you going to get a real job? Fettina, when are you going back to school? Fettina, you're not still dancing, are you? Fettina, you aren't still snorting that stuff, are you?'" She blows a stray bit of hair out of her face and grumbles, "Like he cares..."

The chrome gal sighs. "I'm sorry. No drama. It's really not that bad. He's not that bad." A beat. "But I do wish he wouldn't... jump me like this!" Once Tina is dressed - no makeup, since it doesn't help as much with how she looks now anyways - she tries to lead Cantie to the elevator.

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel's Home

"Mostly? Sleep until it's stopped raining. I don't dream any more, which took some getting used to." Mishnehel doesn't have a soul, so she can't dream. She's mostly used to the fact that she closes her eyes, 'sleeps' and wakes up later with everything having moved on from then. "I might have some books somewhere, or I add to the place if I'm really bored." Has Vlad ever read a real book? Maybe not, if he's so futurey.

[Gullara]

[Kitsune Recovery Service]

Kitsuki eyes the sugar puffs in Obriane's hand as she contemplates that offer. "Well, sure babe. If you want." A pause. "Maybe a smaller bowl?" She suggests. Annie will not be pleased.

To Ana's offer she smiles. "Yeah sure. Can you keep stirring the eggs for me?" She puts the spatula down and stoops over to pull a sheet out of the oven. On it is a fillet of salmon. She pulls it to the side and leaves the space in front of the oven clear for Ana.

[Ironsmith]

Mishnehel's Home

"Mostly? Sleep until it's stopped raining. I don't dream any more, which took some getting used to." Mishnehel doesn't have a soul, so she can't dream. She's mostly used to the fact that she closes her eyes, 'sleeps' and wakes up later with everything having moved on from then. "I might have some books somewhere, or I add to the place if I'm really bored." Has Vlad ever read a real book? Maybe not, if he's so futurey.

[Mishnehel's Home]

"...Not to be rude, but... none of those sound like any real fun, do they? Dreamless sleep, a book you found laying around somewhere, or... well, I guess the home improvement thing might be kind of neat if your options weren't so limited." He plops down and pushes a couple of icons on his Hotbox's display. "Me, I prefer a nice game of cards. It's rare for me to have another person to play it with, though. We don't exactly have a shortage of time; I could teach you, if you like."

[Arkhosia]

Kitsune Recovery Service

Spoiler

Show

Kitsune Recovery Service

Obriane let's out a small sigh as she sees Kitty's exhausted face. Scrambling eggs and making rice? Shouldn't breakfast be an easier meal?
"Of course." She opens the fridge to take out carrots for Kitty and milk for Annie. Then she picks out a big bowl and the sugar puffs for their oldest girl. Sugar puffs wasn't the healthiest of foods but surely there was something in-between that and the rice and eggs Kitty was preparing.
She glances at Anastasia and then looks to Kitty. "Erm, why don't I take care of breakfast for the rest of the week, Kitty?" She had some ideas for what to do!

[Kitsune Recovery Service]

Kitsuki eyes the sugar puffs in Obriane's hand as she contemplates that offer. "Well, sure babe. If you want." A pause. "Maybe a smaller bowl?" She suggests. Annie will not be pleased.

To Ana's offer she smiles. "Yeah sure. Can you keep stirring the eggs for me?" She puts the spatula down and stoops over to pull a sheet out of the oven. On it is a fillet of salmon. She pulls it to the side and leaves the space in front of the oven clear for Ana.

"Erm, yeah- sure." Anastasia steps back to give Kitsuki the space she needs and raises her eyebrows when she sees what the woman pulls out of the oven. Salmon, this early in the morning? Was she preparing for dinner and lunch at the same time today? Whatever the case, she's still got some eggs to step in and cook for the group. It's something Anastasia doesn't have much if any trouble with, stirring the eggs up for a minute before glancing over at Kitty again. Anything you want me to like, put in there too?"

Fettina's Place

Spoiler

Show

Fettina's Place

Fettina seems a bit put out by that question, but it's not really directed at Cantie. "I dunno-- stuff like, 'Fettina, when are you going to get a real job? Fettina, when are you going back to school? Fettina, you're not still dancing, are you? Fettina, you aren't still snorting that stuff, are you?'" She blows a stray bit of hair out of her face and grumbles, "Like he cares..."

The chrome gal sighs. "I'm sorry. No drama. It's really not that bad. He's not that bad." A beat. "But I do wish he wouldn't... jump me like this!" Once Tina is dressed - no makeup, since it doesn't help as much with how she looks now anyways - she tries to lead Cantie to the elevator.

Fettina's little burst of annoyance doesn't much answer Cantata's question - she was searching for guidance on how to make the best impression possible and what kinds of possible offenses she should avoid. All the same, it does seem to mollify her somewhat. "I'll try and keep him off your back for you then. I'm good at being the focus of conversation". The empath gives her partner a wink.

Now that her nerves are quieted, Cantata has no trouble pulling away and applying a couple more touchups to her makeup while she waits for Fettina to finish getting ready. She grabs her purse off the counter and slips it over her shoulder - just as her other hand slips down to clasp Tina's with an affectionate squeeze.

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel's Home

"It won't be fun for you, but... It's like there's no time between me going to sleep and waking up. Except, obviously, time has passed and by then it'd stopped raining." So like a 'wait' feature in a video game, rather than actual sleep. "I'm up for cards, though. You'll have to teach me, though. The games I know with cards are best with more than two players." Earl mostly plays card games with the whole family; Chase the Lady is the one played most often, and I can't see it working with just two people.

[Ironsmith]

[Mishnehel's Home]

"Lucky for you that there are so many back home, then." Vlad grins, producing a deck of cards and splitting it by suits. He then goes on to explain the rules of a two-player card game he knows, with the precise amount of detail involved depending on how much Earl wants to know.

Spoiler: A lot, actually

Show

The deck is split between two players, one getting both red suits (hearts and diamonds) the other black suits (spades and clubs). Between them sits a four by four grid, where most of the actual gameplay takes place.

Players take turns placing cards on this grid, attempting to arrange them to score points and prevent their opponent from doing so, while avoiding being caught with "doubles" (two copies of the same card).

Play begins with both players drawing the top four cards of their deck. From there, turns alternate, starting with whichever player has the black suits.

Each turn breaks down into four segments: Drawing, Setting, Capturing and Scoring

Drawing consists of that player taking a card from their deck and adding it to their hand.

Setting consists of the player taking two actions, from two possible choices. First, they can place a card from their hand onto the grid, face-down, in either the row of the grid closest to them or any space on the grid neighboring a card they've already placed (diagonals count). Second, they can turn face-up any card on the grid that neighbors one of theirs (diagonals, once again, count). Any combination of these two actions are permitted, so a turn can go: (set, set), (set, flip), (flip, set) or (flip, flip).

Capturing consists of taking any face-up cards their opponent controls that meet the following criteria:
--The card number is Odd (aces count) and the player has at least one card neighboring it.
--The card number is Even and the player has at least two cards neighboring it.
--The card is a Face card (Jack, Queen, or King) and the player has at least three cards neighboring it.
These cards are then set to the side, off the grid, face-up. They do not leave the game.

Scoring consists of tallying up every face-down card the player controls, one point for each. If they score ten points in a single turn, they win the game.

Finally, there's the issue of Doubles; a single player with two cards of the same type (sharing a number or face) face-up at the same time. This includes cards on the grid and cards that have been captured, but does NOT include cards the player's opponent controls. Being caught with Doubles results in the offending player losing immediately (and therefore a victory for their opponent, regardless of circumstances).

Vlad will point out that a good player is adept at managing their time and wasting their opponent's with careful bluffing, shortly before admitting he's not a very good player.

"I bet you used to clean house at these, huh?" He grins, offering Mishnehel the first move.

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel's Home

"Not especially, actually. In Skyside gambling dens, I tried to win but mostly I tried to get the other players drunk so my compatriots could mug them whilst they were inebriated." She pauses, and places two cards face-down. "How's your cola going? Want to upgrade to something harder?" She grins, to try and showing she's joking with this.

[Ironsmith]

[Mishnehel's Home]

Vlad throws some facetiously cautious glances over his shoulders, as though checking for muggers he was sure weren't there. "Well..." He says, placing down a couple of cards with a smirk, "I wouldn't mind, but it doesn't seem quite fair. I don't know about around here, but alcohol is pretty expensive where I come from." She may as well have offered him a gold wristwatch.

[Shadowcaller]

[Kitsune Recovery Service]

"Don't have to fill it all the way up." Obriane replies, taking something of a diplomatic approach as she fills up the bowl with milk and sugar puffs for Annie. It's not as full as it could be of course but more than their average bowl.
"There you go." She gently ruffles Annie's hair and kisses the back of her head before moving on to see if the other children needed her help. There was always something, though doesn't necessarily have to be played out of course.

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel's Home

"The good stuff's expensive. Wine and champagne and liquor. I've got quite a bit of beer, which... Well, the beer I've got isn't great. That's why it was cheap. If all alcohol is expensive where you're from, I'm pretty sure you've not had anything like this before. It's as cheap as possible to get someone drunk without spending massive amounts of money." It's pretty cheap beer, which is one reason why Mishnehel's willing to offer it. It will taste pretty bad; it's low-quality beer, and pretty strong. She gets up to grab one anyway, pouring part of it into a glass to offer to Vlad. This way, he gets to try it and maybe not feel like he's stealing. Mishnehel also can't really get drunk any more.

[Ironsmith]

[Mishnehel's Home]

"Well, yeah, alcohol's expensive back home." Vlad replies, swirling the beer around in its cup. "At least, you know, compared to everything else. It's worth its weight in gold because gold isn't very hard to get anymore." He gives a light chuckles and plops down a pair of cards, before taking a sip of the beer and making a face. "...Ulgh that's hard to swallow." He groans, smacking his lips disgustedly... before taking another drink anyway.

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel's Home

"Can't your thingy make any? I mean, might need to wait for it to cool first." Unless you're Eun, who can create cold things with a HotBox. Mishnehel... does a game-related thing. Turns a card over? Earl has read the rules, but maybe needs help understanding them.

[Ironsmith]

[Mishnehel's Home]

Without a definite game state, the rules don't matter so much.

Vlad shrugs. "Well, that's sort of the problem. They can't." He pats his Hotbox emphatically. "Everything that comes out of this thing does so at a temperature of two hundred degrees Fahrenheit... that'll be ninety-three degrees Centigrade, approximately. That's well above ethanol's boiling temperature; you wouldn't get an alcoholic drink, you'd get a bizarre mixture and some highly flammable vapors." He shrugs. "At least it's still well below the autoignition temperature, so my 'thingy' won't explode just for the attempt. Anyway, since there's a million and one goods this machine can produce, anything it can't is expensive by comparison."

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel's Home

"So you can make the materials to produce alcohol, but have to brew it all yourself and not just cheat it out with your magic box. Do you know how to brew? Can't make anything much worse than this." Well, he could. This beer won't make someone go blind. Moonshine might.

[Ironsmith]

[Mishnehel's Home]

"In the abstract, a little." Vlad shrugs. "Under laboratory conditions, I might be able to produce something drink-adjacent. But once you step back and require a process to make something like this, you introduce a lot of capacity for human error. In theory, I guess anyone who has a Hotbox could make something like, say, wine, but the number of people who can make good wine is comparatively small, and the ones who can do it in a way that's commercially viable even smaller."

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel's Home

"Makes sense, for sure. I've never tried making alcohol, brewing anything or whatever. Might be interested in finding out, actually, see if I can make anything better than this." She picks up the half-full glass she'd filled to share with Vlad.

[Ironsmith]

[Mishnehel's Home]

"Sounds like a good hobby to have." Vlad shrugs. "Some people tinker. Some sew, some experiment in the kitchen, some do painting or pottery or whatever. You could brew." He grins. "And if it ever comes out any good, I guarantee there's money in it. Not that that's necessarily a big selling point, but it can't hurt, right?"

[Gullara]

Kitsune Recovery Service

"Erm, yeah- sure." Anastasia steps back to give Kitsuki the space she needs and raises her eyebrows when she sees what the woman pulls out of the oven. Salmon, this early in the morning? Was she preparing for dinner and lunch at the same time today? Whatever the case, she's still got some eggs to step in and cook for the group. It's something Anastasia doesn't have much if any trouble with, stirring the eggs up for a minute before glancing over at Kitty again. Anything you want me to like, put in there too?"

[Kitsune Recovery Service]

"Don't have to fill it all the way up." Obriane replies, taking something of a diplomatic approach as she fills up the bowl with milk and sugar puffs for Annie. It's not as full as it could be of course but more than their average bowl.
"There you go." She gently ruffles Annie's hair and kisses the back of her head before moving on to see if the other children needed her help. There was always something, though doesn't necessarily have to be played out of course.

[Kitsune Recovery Service]

Annie carefully watches the bowl get filled, then she turns her face upward and beams at her mom. "Thank you, Obi!" She picked up her spoon and digs in immediately before her sugar fix can be revoked.

Kitsuki is busy, however. She starts prepping a bunch of dishes with salmon, pickled carrots, and a small bowl of rice next to each. It looks like she's prepping food for seven people??? "You can add a little salt and pepper when it's done. It's in the cupboard above the stove there." Kitsuki gestures briefly before she gets back to it. It doesn't look like everything she's cooked is going on the plates, though; there'll be leftovers.

Meanwhile Obriane can check on Umeko, who natters to her about her tasty snack, but she'll need to head into the triplets' room to get Su-Gin and Chaytan up for breakfast.

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel's Home

"Yeah, that... I'll have to go check out what's needed for brewing, see if I can build any of it myself. Probably not, it probably relies on rather specific shapes and stuff." And her player knows very little about brewing anything. Sourcing the stuff she brews might also get expensive, depending on whether she goes for cider, beer or wine. Or something a little more unusual, like kumis. That might require other, more obscure items. "How about you? What hobbies do you have?"

[Ironsmith]

[Mishnehel's Home]

"Well... it's not too distinct from my actual job, really." Vlad begins. "Mostly, I tinker. Just kind of see what I can make with any spare parts lying around, or try to machine my own. I've got a small warehouse full of anthroids I've been trying to fix, actually. No luck so far, but I keep finding them broken around here, and it seems like a crime to just leave them, you know?"

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel's Home

"An... anthroid? Is that like an android, or something else? Like, humanoid robot designed to blend in as human." Which are not something Mishnehel's met too many. "I can't say I've seen an android, unless it blended in so well I couldn't tell."

[Ironsmith]

[Mishnehel's Home]

"Close." Vlad shrugs. "It's a relatively recent term. As robotics technology got better, the term 'android' came to be used to describe robots that physically resemble men, specifically, as a counterpart to 'gynoid', which would be robots designed to look like women. Eventually, it got to the point where we were building robots that would look human, but sexless, or with the capacity to switch without issue, or human-like but clearly not human, so the term 'anthroid' was coined to describe human-shaped robots in general." He scratches at his beard and shrugs again. "It only caught on with the general public after Applesoft started rolling out robots with holographic elements, like the Galatalos units. Kind of defies classification when your butler can be your maid at the literal flip of a switch."