shatteredservice | Morning After--Kitchen Explosion

Current Mood: amused
Current Location: The Kitchen/The Living Room

Entry tags:

Morning After--Kitchen Explosion

It's probably a good thing that the smells coming from what was once the kitchen were so good otherwise Dia would have to scold his lover for the mess he is making. As it is, he happily sits on a stool on the other side of the bar and watches the not so controlled chaos that is Set trying to make a big breakfast.

Dia had been patiently waiting for Set in the basement the night before and once his lover had gotten him settled into their bed and was working on finish his healing, they'd had a long talk about what had happened. The talk had, unfortunately, not really gotten them anywhere. Neither of them had any idea what had set The Beast off so badly and as usual, Dia hadn't wanted to talk about what was upsetting him.

He hadn't had the energy and it would have only made Set feel worse about everything. That was the last thing that Dia wanted to do. After everything, he'd just wanted to curl up in Set's arms and sleep.

A clatter pulls Dia's attention from his memories and back to Set just in time to see the other man almost manage to catch his ponytail on fire.

He can't help but roll his eyes and laugh, "Well at least you aren't good at everything. Just most things."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Ugh..."

Bazett does not so much walk as she shambles into the kitchen. The runes had helped her through the night, but come morning, her body was still a little sore and, beyond anything, exhausted.

She sniffs the air twice.

"...Food?"

Needless to say, her mind is also a bit clouded this morning.

Dia gently catches a hold of her shoulder and directs her to one of the stools away from the chaos in the kitchen, "Despite the mess, there will be food shortly, yes. However unless you want to risk life and limb, I would suggest waiting out here with me."

An odd movement form the kitchen catches Dia's eye and he turns back to it, "Set! Your hair! Do you want to be bald! Watch it!"

"Bah, I'm fine. You worry too much!" Set laughs purposely swishing his ponytail at Dia. "Have I ever set my hair on fire before?"

"I'm not answering that. If you don't remember..."

She gives him a small, drowsy nod and then more or less collapses onto the stool. She only becomes slightly more awaken when she hears talk of fire and hair.

"P-put it out!"

"Easy, Lass, easy. Nothing is actually on fire," Set laughs and then pours something into a mug and hands it to her. "Here, this should wake you up some. It's not coffee, but I'm told it works just as well and tastes a lot better."

Dia rolls his eyes, "It's tea Set not some kind of mutantagenic ooze. Really. And you said you liked that kind especially after I sweetened it with honey."

Set winks at Dia, "Maybe I just liked the taste of honey on your lips, Babe."

She nods and takes the cup. If not for the heat, she would drained it in one gulp. But even as she slowly sips the tea, it helps her wake up somewhat.

"Diarmuid. Is your leg better?"

Dia nods as he accepts his mug of tea from Set, "Yes, it and my shoulder are a little stiff this morning, but other than that I am well. He took good care of me. How are you doing this morning? Were you able to sleep? You don't seem to be in nearly as much pain as you were last night."

As he speaks, two plates of food find their way to the bar top. The food isn't the prettiest, but it smells really good and Dia can't help but smile a small, but happy smile as he leans over to whisper into Bazett's ear, "His cooking is pretty much like him. Rough on the outside, but really good on the inside. Just don't tell him that. I think we can all agree his ego is big enough as it is."

"His runes were of a great help. I slept very well."

Maybe too well, seeing how she had been in the morning.

She nods at Dia's advice and looks down at her food. She takes a small, careful bite. It is much, much better than anything she has had since the Shatter. She quickly chews and swallows.

"This is delicious!"

Oops, there went his advice out the metaphorical window.

"Of course it is!" Set seems to be preening a bit though it is ruined by the flour in his hair and what looks to be chocolate streaking his cheek. "Did you really doubt?"

"I doubted," Dia states mockingly. "I look at what is left of my kitchen and wonder how anything edible came out of that."

"And yet I see you eating it," Set smirks leaning in to snitch a bite of food from Dia's plate. "Eh, I've done better."

"You didn't actually set your hair on fire this time. That's the difference," Dia states, swatting Set's hand away as he reaches in to steal another bite. "The cooking gods didn't get their sacrifice."

Bazett ignores much of their conversation to dig in ravenously. Was she truly this hungry? She knows a body of flesh has to eat, but she is used to simply eating something cheap or, in extreme cases, picking bits out of the garbage. Compared to that, this meal was simply divine. Only when she finishes half her plate does she begin speaking again.

"Is it your customs to offer a sacrifice to the kitchen gods?"

She looks down at her meal. It would be a shame for her to waste any of it, even as a libation.

"Eh?" Set looks up at her from where he is mock fighting with Dia to get another piece of food off his place. "Oh no, Lass. He's just joking. Best enjoy it as it doesn't happen very often."

"It is no joke that you did once set your hair on fire, though," Dia points out finally giving up on his food and letting Set have it. As good at is it, he isn't very hungry this morning. He's still thinking too hard about all that happened last night.

"Only once and only for a second," Set claims his prize and settles against the bar to enjoy it. "You don't wake up very well in the morning do you, Lass? And here I thought you would be a morning person."

Bazett's constitution was such that she could easily go for a night without sleep and continue to function in the morning, though she would still be mildly sluggish. However, when she actually did get a chance to sleep deeply after an exhausting day, her brain would still be in a state of semi-shutdown in the morning.

"It depends on the activities of the previous night and how early I wake up."

She takes a bigger gulp of the tea now that it has cooled down.

"As well as how much caffeine I have."

"Ah, my apologies for not actually have coffee for you, then" Dia states. "I would guess that is probably your preferred morning drink. It's good to hear you were able to sleep even in this unfamiliar place. Some people really have issues with that and after what happened last night, well, we all needed a good nights sleep."

It was just a shame that Dia didn't feel like he'd slept a wink, but that was the stress talking and not really all that unusual for him. Especially not after such a rough night with The Beast.

"Sleep is sleep. As long as my body requires it and the location is safe, then I should be able to sleep just fine."

She supposes it probably has something to do with her lifestyle.

"And you? How have the two of you slept?"

"Like a rock," Set answers around a mouthful of food. Dia, on the other hand, just nods and doesn't say anything. It's that silence that seems to catch Set's attention and he narrows his eyes at Dia, "You're not eating."

Dia sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose, "Sorry, just not hungry I guess."

"Did you sleep?" Set's raises his eyebrow in annoyance. He has a feeling he knows the answer and he already doesn't like it.

"I did, just not a lot. I've been thinking about last night," there is a guilty look in his eyes. "Sorry, you know I just can't let things go as easily as you do. But lets not talk about all that now. Let Bazett eat and finish waking up first."

She quickly eats up the rest of her food.

"Diarmuid, I agree with your partner. You sustained the heaviest injuries the previous night. Out of all of us, you are the one who requires the most rest."

Talking about official business had a more rousing effect on her than coffee.

"Please don't rush," Dia waves off her concern. "Would you like more? We have plenty of time. And I can always rest more later. It's not a big deal."

"If you rest more, which you won't," Set cuts in. "You will find something else to keep you busy. You can't keep hiding all of this inside, Babe. Bazett told me what he called you last night."

Dia's eyes shutter so fast there is almost an audible sound, "I don't want to talk about it."

"You have to."

Bazett pushes her plate away and glares at him as if she is an Enforcer interrogating him.

"I understand your relationship with the Beast is complex. But at the same time, neither I nor Cu Chulainn are particularly happy with the fact that he constantly injures you physically and emotionally. Another reason is that, as both you and Cu Chulainn say, the Beast behaves differently when I am in the room. Given how great his sway is over Cu Chulainn, I would suggest that you at least discuss this with your partner."

She looks toward Cu, and then back to Dia.

"If you so wish, I will go outside and leave the two of you to talk."

"No," Dia fixes them both with a steely look. "There are more important things to talk about right now. We need to figure out why The Beast was acting up last night. We need to find out why my journal is acting like it is. We need to know what you found in my head. We need to focus on finding other servants so the Association can't keep exploiting them. All of these things are more important than me being moody."

"And we cannot talk about the Beast without talking about you. Or are you going to relinquish the duty of being his handler?"

"I-I. No! Not that he is likely to let me anyway," Dia quickly shoots a look at Set. "And not that I want to, but as long as he is directing those impulses at me then he isn't going after anyone else. I will take all of that pain and more if it means keeping you away from the Association, Set! Nothing he can do to me would hurt more than losing you!"

"But I'm losing you! What is the point of saving me from them if there is nothing left of you when this is all done? And don't say it's not that bad because I fucking know better!" Set adds quickly when Dia opens his mouth to object. "I'm the one who wakes up with you sobbing in my arms and I'm well aware of how much pain it takes to cause people like us to break down like that!"

"Diarmuid Ua Duibhne."

Compared to the other two, Bazett is coldly calm.

"You are responsible for gathering and protecting other Heroes after the Shatter, correct? If so, then I would suggest you act responsibly. As long as there is the unresolved issue of the Beast, you can not properly protect anyone."

Dia starts to reply, but stops himself and takes a long deep breath, "I know that. I-I know, but who knows how many servants may die if I stop long enough to try and resolve all of this? Is there really any way for us to control him? Or can we just hope to mitigate the damage some?

"If I could find someone besides me to spearhead this, then I would turn things over to them so I could focus on The Beast and Set, but I haven't found the right person yet." He pauses and looks down at his plate, "The selfish part of me would love to just focus on me, The Beast, and Set, but the knight in me screams at that idea. How dare I put the needs of so few in front of the needs of so many? And then there is that feeling. If I stop working to focus on something else will it come back?

"Wait! You never did get to tell us what you found when you looked into my mind. Obviously, you found some of our more...intimate...memories, but did you find anything else? Anything out of place?"

"Even mitigated damage is better than what he did last night."

Diarmuid's question makes her blush again.

"Um...sadly, no. I was unable to discover anything...besides that."

"Lass, that was mitigated damage," Set says sadly. "There wasn't much damage to the basement and it only took a night to heal up our wounds. Most importantly, there were no Association flunkies knocking on our door this morning."

"By 'that' I'm going to assume you mean the memories, right? It is unfortunate," Dia rubs the bridge of his nose again--it seems to be becoming a habit--and sighs, "I had hoped you would find something, anything, that might help shine a little light on what is going on. As it is, we are back at square one."

"I do not think I am capable of scanning your mind again for the time being. You have seen what I am capable of."

At this rate, she was honestly going to have to move in with them so Diarmuid would not be bedridden all the time from the Beast's antics.

Dia shakes his head, "I wouldn't have asked you to. Not after how uncomfortable it made you. I had just hoped maybe something might have been there to give us a clue."

"At least we don't have to worry about you doing something weird out of the blue," Set grabs a new plate and puts some food on it. "Eat this you. I know you aren't very hungry, but you need to eat something."

Dia takes the plate without a word and while he doesn't really set to eating anything, he does pick at it some, "I just wish we could figure out why he was acting so oddly last night. Surely, it couldn't have just been because you were here, Bazett. Maybe it was a mistake to have the meeting in his lair after all. He does seem to come out more easily and strongly when we are down there, but it is also the easiest place to contain him and any fight he starts."

She closes her eyes, thinking.

"Would the Association notice if I put up some sort of ward in one of the rooms? Then you could use that instead of the basement."

"I don't think so since I've warded a few of the rooms myself and no one has ever said anything," Set states, watching Dia pick at his food. Every time his lover starts to push the plate away, he pushes it back at him with a motion that says 'Eat more.' "What do you have in mind? I've not done anything very complex since I can't completely trust my skills with The Beast running around like he does." Set pauses as a thought crosses his mind and then he swears.

"Damn that little bastard. He's fucking with my runes! Consciously fucking with them! The only thing I can use at full is my healing ones. Everything else is unreliable at best and damned dangerous to use at worst. He's letting me use the healing ones to clean up his mess, but anything else that might be used to control him I can't touch safely!"

"Does he really have influence over that as well? Then, what of my runes? Perhaps I can restrain him, just a little."

It might be harder than she had first imagined, given how intelligent the Beast seems to be.

"If not, I can at least make you a better ward."

"I would appreciate you trying, Lass, because this is getting ridiculous. I'm tired of losing so much of my life to him!" Set turns and paces as well as he can in the small kitchen. "I wish I knew how he got so smart. A beast is suppose to be just that, a beast. Not an intelligent, clever, manipulative little bastard like he is!"

"Easy Set, getting upset is only giving him what he wants considering how much easier it is for him to take over when you are upset." When Dia sees Set stop pacing and take a few deep breaths to calm himself, he turns to Bazett, "If we can find a way to hold him back, even just a little, maybe it would be possible to have that conversation with him. Especially if some of his madness is only an act meant to throw us off from how much he is controlling Set."

She has already stood up. If the Beast did emerge, she wanted to be ready to fight him.

"Theoretically, if we could place him in a room, and then have Diarmuid and I right outside of that warded room, we could possibly converse. But does he have access to your runic magic. If he does, then he could undo my runes."

"He might be limiting my access, but I don't think he can use them himself. He's never used them that I know of, has he Babe?" He turns to Dia who shakes his head no. "A Berserker's madness should make it impossible to use any kind of magic that requires focus. And he does depend on me to do the healing. That's another point in the favor of him not being able to."

"Though it could all be an act as it seems like at least part of his madness is," Dia points out. "Whatever we do, we should make plans in case he can actually use them even in a limited form."

"How about this? I will stay in the room beside him. Diarmuid, you remain just outside. I believe I can fight and restrain him for at least a short duration of time. During that time, we can...discuss to the best of our abilities."

"I don't like the idea of you being in there alone with him but it's probably the only way, isn't it? Runes work best when directly drawn on to whatever they are suppose to be working on. I just hope that you can get everything set up before The Beast begins to suspect something and tries to take over."

"Well, there is one way to handle that," Set shrugs and grins that goofy grin of his. "Knock me out. Set things up. Bazett brings me back up once everything's ready to go."

"...That would either take an extremely hard and unexpected punch, or a very large dose of alcohol. And are you sure you can be knocked unconscious without having the Beast emerge?"

Dia covers his mouth with his hand and holds back a laugh. When he removes his hand, he's still smiling. Set's smile has deflated a little though.

"Tranqs. We've used them before and still have them in the house," Dia explains. "It would put him out like a light with no problem. The only problem would come if you thought that might mess with things. I wouldn't think it would be too hard to clear something that basic from his system though."

"It seems that while our bodies are resistant to a lot of things, drugs of the modern world aren't one of those things," Set adds sounding a little bitter.

She nods.

"Then we should try that. Should we begin today or do you wish to wait a little longer."

She raises an eyebrow at Set's words.

"Interesting. The best explanation I have is that these bodies are made of flesh and thus somewhat susceptible. After all, we eat for sustenance and sleep for rest, like humans would. I personally drink coffee for energy and alcohol for relaxation. I believe that even Servant bodies would be able to experience intoxicating effects if the spirit so wished."

"I don't really care about the whys of it, Lass. I just found out the hard way that it works," Set grumbles, distracting himself from the memory by starting to gather things to put into the sink.

"We actually got them for The Beast," Dia explains since Set is obviously not going to. "Set didn't think they would work and decided to prove it. They worked, very well. He was lucky I was nice enough to take him to the bedroom instead of leaving him sprawled in the bathroom for the next few hours. Unfortunately and oddly enough, they didn't work so well on The Beast. I don't know what changed, but he never even slowed down."

"Do you feel up to trying it now, Lass? If you are tired, it can wait. We're not going anywhere and this is something we shouldn't approach worn out. It might spiral out of control very quickly."

She considers it for a moment...and then slowly shakes her head.

"Forgive me, but I do not believe myself to be in peak condition. Perhaps if I rested for a day or two more."

Dia waves his hand dismissively, "There is nothing to forgive. Honestly, we are all tired and when you're tired it's easy to make a mistake. The Beast is something we don't want to make a mistake with. Please, feel free to have some more to eat or just to relax a little before you leave. We can set this up in a few days when we are all feeling better."

"I should take my leave of both of you right now. I would not wish to impose anymore upon your charity."

She starts walking toward the door.

"I will return in two days time. Would that be alright?"

"You are no imposition, but I completely understand the want to be at home to rest. Two days is just fine," Dia looks around the kitchen sadly. "I think it will probably take me that long to get this place fixed up and able to be used again. Let us know if you need anything in the meantime. And I mean anything!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Morning After--Kitchen Explosion

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject