Open [Hospitality House] Hungry for Hospitality

Iskessah is rouses from her hibernation with a rumbling belly.

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[Hospitality House] Hungry for Hospitality

Postby Orin Fenix on September 28th, 2015, 12:11 am

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The Dhani’s final form was a nightmarish mishmash of snake and woman. There wasn’t really a good place to rest his eyes. Her chest was obviously off limits seeing as her bare breasts were still brazenly being flaunted for the whole world to see. But seeing her torso morph into a tail wasn’t helping to settle his stomach especially with the rattle it terminated in. Her scales were brown and gray and alternated as diamonds along the whole length. The face was worst of all, with mostly human features covered by scales and centered around a slit nose and slit eyes. The eyes were alien, creating a queasy feeling in his stomach. And Orin had no doubt there were fangs lurking somewhere. But, still filled with righteous fury, none of it was enough to make him back down.

The standoff was interrupted when a familiar figure strode into the Hospitality House. Alexander Ross was a fellow traveler from Syliras, although Orin hadn’t interacted with him or his patron on the voyage. He and Orin had only run into one another a few times, and Orin didn’t know quite what to make of the squire. Still, another person poking their nose into the affairs of Orin’s kitchen definitely wasn’t doing much to soothe Orin’s ruffled feathers. ”No Alexander. I have everything under control. This lady and I were just having a friendly conversation.” And then Orin added something that he would probably regret later. Unfortunately at that particular moment in time, the chef really need to blow off some steam. ”Besides, we’re not in Syliras anymore. The Order holds no sway here. So this is definitely not your affair.” He felt a bit guilty at rejecting Alexander’s likely genuine offer of help but Orin was sick and tired of people interfering in his affairs. And a lifetime of living under the Order’s thumb had finally gotten to Orin. He’d had more than enough of judgemental Knights in his life, although he’d never be so foolish as to express his distaste in Syliras itself. Here, though, Orin had the perfect opportunity to stick it to the Order without consequences other than potentially offending Alexander.

Finally, Philomena reacted to the chaos in front of her. As Dr. Lefting stepped between him and the Dhani, Orin couldn’t help but feel a distinct sense of relief. While he’d been fully prepared to lay down his life, a diplomatic solution was always better and now he could back down without losing face. Over the years, however, Orin had learned that retreating from a bully of any kind would just cause them to think you were an easy target. So instead of letting his guard down, Orin bared his teeth in something that could, under favorable lights, be seen as a smile but more resembled a mad rictus. "Who you calling prey, scaley?" Only with that did he lower his arm and put his blade away. ”Thank you Dr. Lefting, for making everyone see reason.” Now Orin backed up slowly, not taking his eyes off of the Dhani for an instant. He still had severe misgivings about the snake.

Walking away, Orin untied his apron and tossed it at the Dhani. "Put that on. No one wants to see what you're showing them right now." It was better than nothing although Orin would have to make sure she didn't walk off with the House's apron. And then he'd either have to scrub it thoroughly and burn it when she was done. Partially that was because he didn’t know anything about her and where she’d been, so getting something that touched her near food was a recipe for disaster. But also Orin was angry in principle. This crazy woman came into his establishment and felt that she could make trouble, and walked around naked. Orin really didn’t want to own or use anything that had been contaminated by touching her. And wearing it next to his skin just seemed wrong.

Getting rid of his apron had one more intentional effect. It exposed to numerous blades he kept on his body at all times these days, both throwing knives and the two daggers he owned. Hopefully it made an impressive sight and would deter any further hostilities. Ducking into the back room for a few ticks, Orin made his way over to where they kept the meat. Their raw supplies were rather low for anything but fish, since preserving anything in this heat was difficult. Luckily, he had a recently butchered pig that had miraculously survived the journey here. He’d been planning on making a stew to stretch it out and make it last but desperate times called for desperate measures. While Orin didn’t know exactly what snakes ate in the wild, he had a vague recollection that they were carnivorous. So this meat would go to the last person who really deserved it. But Orin was definitely of the opinion that feeding someone always endeared them to you, and it was infinitely preferable to a fight.

Hoisting the carcass up with a grunt, Orin staggered a few steps before he settled under the weight. Moving back out into the main room proved a challenge, but although his arms burned with the exertion, he maneuvered it onto the counter. As he prepared to get food into the mouth of the Dhani, he threw one more jab at her. When I said no clothes no service, I wasn’t kidding. But it’s not really the clothes I mind as much as your complete lack of at least pretending to live up to politeness.” Getting out a cleaver from a nearby drawer, Orin began chopping into the pig, channeling his anger and hopefully presenting the image that he was not to be messed with. It was a scary looking knife and although Orin probably actually couldn’t use it all that well in a fight, it certainly looked impressive. "I'll suppose you'll want this raw." His voice practically oozed with scorn, although he didn't add, "like the savage you are," so he considered it a success. These days, Orin was counting his small victories. Grudgingly, Orin realized he should live up to his own ideals here. ”Tell me how much you want, and since continuing to call you scaley is rude-- albeit very satisfying might I add--you should probably tell me your name. Not that I really care but it’s the polite thing to do.” Looking over at the Dhani, Orin realized he was being unreasonably cruel to her. So he let his anger dissipate slightly as he took a deep breath. ”I’m Orin Fenix, the cook at the Hospitality House.” Then, before he forgot, Orin turned to the other people currently before him. ”Dr. Lefting and Alexander, let me know if you’d like me to whip you up something as well.” Then, duty done, Orin subsided into chopping the pig into pieces while watching the Dhani through narrowed eyes. He still didn’t trust her.
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[Hospitality House] Hungry for Hospitality

Postby Iskessah on October 1st, 2015, 4:01 am

Iskessah enjoyed the human's discomfort, and she subtly adjusted her posture to display anything he seemed to be avoiding looking at. It was not a fully conscious action, but a very large part of her liked to play with her food...The fact that she might not get to eat this one later was immaterial.

She gained a scrap of respect for the cook when he rejected the aid and authority of the sycophantic Syilrasian Order. Not that she was terribly bothered by human affairs, but if she were ever forced to choose sides, it would take extraordinary circumstances for her to favor the Knights.

When Orin tossed her the apron, she stared at it dubiously. It looked...unsanitary. But, it smelled all right, a mix of the kitchen it lived in and the scent of its wearer. With a mental shrug, she tied it around her waist. Of course, the neck loop was a big too small to fit over her head at the moment, so she ignored that part, leaving it to flop down with the bottom of the apron. The end result being that it covered her from the waist down a couple feet.

When he returned with a whole pig, Iskessah was hungry enough that she was prepared to forgive quite a bit. It was nothing like a fresh kill, but at this point she wasn't inclined to be choosy. (Just a but grumpy perhaps.) She rose a bit higher, balancing on her tail coils, hovering over the counter for a closer look.

When he mentioned politeness, she considered in silence for a bit. True she had been snappish, but could she really be blamed for being a bit cranky after she had genrously not eaten anyone sentient lately? If she were in a decent forest she could hunt for a decent meal, but where was she supposed to find something that could feed her on this desolate rock? But perhaps, there was something to what he said. She began slowly to remember the lessons she had learned in her time away from the Rattler nest. Lessons about subtlety, how to get her way without bring retribution down on her head. She'd been chafing to be free from that prison of a lifestyle lately, but that didn't meant here was nothing valueable to be learned from it.

She dipped back down until her torso was below the counter, so that her head was level with the pig. As much as she wanted to unhinge her jaw and swallow it whole, she would not be able to digest in peace if that man came at her with his unfortunate knives. Yes, it would have to be the subtle arts, for her. "Forgive me," she said quietly, her voice as contrite as she could make it, which perhaps had mixed results, since she certainly wasn't used to acting submissive in any way. And besides, hissing almost always sounded sinister. "I am afraid my...upbringing quite failed to prepare me for...sssocial etiquette."

Iskessah was confused by his question. How much did she want? She wanted as much as she could swallow, obviously, which, being used to Talderean fair, was a far sight more than what he had on the counter. But since she had already made the jibe about eating him, she could be reasonably sure he wasn't offering supplements to the meal.

Finally, he started cutting into the pig and, with a dawning sense of horror, she understood. "What are you doing?!" she cried in alarm, raising up to her previous height, quite heedless of the potential reactions fo the people around her. "It's not sssupposed to be in piecesss! Jussst leave it, I can eat it like it isss!" She was wiggleing back and forth in obvious agitation. It was bad enough she did not get to hunt her own food, but to see her meal being mutilated by cold metal...it was intolerable!
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[Hospitality House] Hungry for Hospitality

Postby Philomena on October 1st, 2015, 5:33 pm

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What a savage place these foreigners must inhabit! That this timid slip of a cook would stand bantering saucily with this... woman.

The description of the giant-snake-but-also-woman was not entirely clear to her - perhaps in a calmer moment she might have recollected some scrap of folktale or sailor lore that would have aided in normalizing the scene, but as it stood, she was just, to be frank, rather stupefied. And she had gone, too, with Charm! Or, she was lying, but if she WERE she knew enough that she COULD lie, and that alone said something. Besides - what reason could one have to lie?

The woman... well, she was already growing more polite, at least for the moment, and if she weren't, it wasn't as if Minnie had a great deal of weight to throw about in forcing her to do so. But the little cook, him she had at least met, and broken bread with, and for all the fact that he seemed fool enough to pull a knife in a situation composed largely of queer sights and big talk, he seemed a bit more manageable in an effort to defuse the situation.

Minnie, thus, kept her place between the two (though the adrenaline was wearing off and she shrunk into her shoulders a bit), and put her hands in front of her as non-confrontationally as possible, trying to look the angry cook in the eyes.

"Mister Fannicks, please. You're letting your bile get the better of y'now. I dunny suppose, do you, that tossing insults back and forth is going to solve any problems. The... Lady apologized, we're all from divers places, eh? Differences of manner and temperament. So the lady wants to..." though it was not clear to Minnie HOW this would work, "... to... eat a raw pig whole. It canny harm anyone to let her feel at home, non?"

It seemed a clumsy speech. She wished Raisa had been here. Raisa would have known what to do.

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[Hospitality House] Hungry for Hospitality

Postby Orin Fenix on October 6th, 2015, 2:56 am

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Of course this idiotic Dhani couldn’t do the one thing he’d asked her to do correctly. She’d put the apron on, but had only tied it around her waist, leaving her entire upper body bare to the world. Orin growled wordlessly, but forced himself to speak as civilly as he could make himself. ”Perhaps you could shift back into your...human skin, and the apron might fit around your neck.” His words were cold and sharp, but at least he wasn’t insulting her outright anymore. Besides, he’d feel a lot more comfortable not staring at the nauseating mix of human and snake he could see before him. If she’d turn back into a less threatening form the entire room would hopefully settle down. And it would give Orin an advantage if it did end up turning into an all out battle. Unlike Kelvic, apparently Dhani didn’t shift all at once, or at least this particular one hadn’t shown that ability, so Orin would have a few ticks to either attack or run.

However, it seemed his latest jab came a bit too soon, since against all expectations, the snake-lady apologized! Admittedly, it didn’t sound contrite to Orin’s ears, filled with an edge that couldn’t all be associated with the sibilance of her snake tongue. In fact, if Orin hadn’t been feeling a bit guilty already and if he hadn’t been striving for a peaceful resolution to this entire debacle, he’d have immediately called her out for it. But as it was, Orin wasn’t exactly on the moral high ground so it seemed prudent to let it slide for now. So, though she'd still failed to introduce herself, Orin figured that this was about as good as he was going to get.

Besides, while she’d brought physical violence to the table in the first place, Orin certainly hadn't helped. He'd escalated far beyond what might be reasonable. He'd been having trouble containing himself lately. And he'd been completely unable to restrain some of his more volatile emotions. It had been hills and valleys for him, bursts of extreme energy followed by slumps of deep depression and there had been no sign of it steadying out. In fact, as more time passed in this strange, forsaken land and as the distance, both physically and metaphorically, from Syliras grew, he found his heart and mind grow sicker, poisoned by the lack of meaningful contact and the darkness he kept bottled up, hidden away from sight. But more and more often it had been erupting uncontrollably, and Orin wasn't sure how to handle it. Especially when it ended up with him in a standoff with a half-snake half-human hybrid from the depths of the most depraved mind in the land.

He really didn't want to die. There were things left in this world that he wanted to do. His life was far from over, but in that one moment he'd been willing to lay it all down. In retrospect, it seemed ridiculous. Orin was about as far from a warrior as it was possible to be, and shouldn't be throwing himself into danger. As a cook, he firmly believed that he was meant to provide for people, to gather them together and forge bonds between them. If he could have the entire population of this isle sitting by his hearth and eating from his kitchen he'd consider it a good day's work. But he'd never been able to stand idly by in the face of common thugs, and had never shied away from bullies.

At least, not for a long time. With a shudder, Orin remembered the beatings he'd gotten, from family, friends, and foes. It had left him jaded and more than a bit broken. But still, something inside of him refused to buckle under the pressure. And so he stood up to those who condescended to him and blatantly disregarded the feelings of others. It would never fix his ruined innocence. But it might prolong it in another, and that was all he could ask.

Still, these thoughts were distracting him from the task at hand, and he wisely decided to stay silent for as long as possible. After all, he'd contributed more than enough to this particular discussion already. If it could even be called that. It was more an altercation but Orin prayed it was still salvageable. As he brought his blade down sharply, with as much force as he could muster onto the bottom legs of the pig, though, he noticed something unusual. The Dhani was practically writhing, almost as if she was in agony, even as she reared up to her full height. Her outburst was so startling that it nearly interrupted Orin mid-swing, although his cleaver sliced off another portion of the pig's flesh before he could stop his momentum. Before he could respond to her rather atypical request, though, Dr. Lefting stepped up.

Philomena was quickly turning into the voice of reason amongst their little group. Even though she had shrunk in on herself, though from fear, shyness or anxiety at being the center of attention or between two hostile people, she pleaded with Orin to settle down and stop the nonsense between himself and the Dhani. "Dr. Lefting, she threatened me in my own kitchen!" But then Orin realized how childish that sounded, and not wanting to lose the regard of one of the only people on this island willing to spend time with him over a fit of pique Orin sighed, but let go of his anger. "I'm sorry. I was out of line. I will try not to let it happen again Miss..." Orin let his voice trail off as he still didn't know young woman's name. And that, more than anything else right now, frustrated him. "I really don't know what came over me. Just one of those times, I suppose. Anyway, it's all yours, if you want it." Biting his lip, Orin glanced over to the general area where his larder lay as he mentally ran through his remaining stocks. As he did so, he couldn't resist a small complaint although he had the common sense to mutter it hopefully inaudible under his breath. "Greedy little snake. Guess she never learned to share." Immediately regretting his loss of self-control Orin looked cautiously over at the Dhani. With his luck she had enchanced hearing and had picked up every word. "I guess the rest of us regular folk will just have to settle for fish. Dr. Lefting, I didn't quite hear you fully, did you want something to eat?" Orin was getting thoroughly sick of everything that came from the ocean. But he'd do the best he could with the limited resources on hand. And, just as he was rising above the challenges of the ignorant savages he seemed surrounded by, he would surmount the issues inherent with cooking in Abura.
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[Hospitality House] Hungry for Hospitality

Postby Iskessah on October 7th, 2015, 4:22 am

Iskessah took Orin's apron comment as a suggestion, and promptly ignored it. She was still concerned over the decreasing size of the pig. Luckily, the only sensible one in the room (only natural it would be the female) convinced the stubborn cook to see reason. Upon receiving express permission, Iskessah wasted no time, and struck with snake speed, sinking her fangs into the main body of the pig.

She felt her venom drain through her fangs into the meat automatically, before she could think about it. Obviously, she did not need to weaken and kill this particular pig, but oh well, the venom would help start the digestion process. And besides, it felt...really really good to let venom flow, even if it wasn't strictly necessary. Some part of her wondered if she should be concerned about that, but the rest of her was shouting FOOD! She wrapped her arms around the pig and dragged it a foot or two down the counter to distinguish it as hers (incidentally leaving behind the chunks that Orin had cut off). Then, she unhinged her jaw and began the slow process of ingesting.

Luckily for everyone in the diner, the pig and the counter obscured their view of things they'd rather not witness, namely her lower jaw and upper torso. Iskessah subtly but deliberately kept her arms in such a position as to block the view. Onlookers could believe she did it out of courtesy if they liked, though it was just as likely a vestige instinct of a desire for privacy while eating, though not one she understood well enough to entirely abandon the rather entertaining conversation they'd been having.

Her hearing in her Dhani form was quite acute, and so she easily heard Orin's muttering. Her only response was to look up at him over the carcass of her meal, wait for him to meet her eyes, and then treat him to a slow wink.

OOCI'll be more entertaining once Iskessah finishes eating ^^; Sorry she'll be boring while she eats :P
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[Hospitality House] Hungry for Hospitality

Postby Philomena on October 7th, 2015, 6:09 pm

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Minnie relaxed a bit as the raging boil of the room calmed to, at least, a vigorous simmer. She dropped her hands with a soft sigh. The woman then took the pig to her and began... well, Minnie couldn't quite understand HOW, but she began to just swallow it. Whole. The spectacle of it fascinated her, and she stared a bit, not so much voyeuristically as technically - what bones were moving? What would happen if she 'unsnaked'? Wouldn't the pig make her throat explode? Without the inhibitions of social propriety and kindness, she realized, she'd be liable to touch the woman's face (such as it was), to feel the queer morphology of ligature and bone that must occur, feel the throat swell like a pig's-bladder-ball.

I shall, most certainly, write this down.

Her mind flew back to the present as she realized that Owering (Aurren? Olren? It was so hard to pick the letters out of these queer, foreign mouths!) had asked her what she wished to eat. Having eaten a bit of fish and vinegar-kelp before setting off that morning, she wasn't particularly hungry, but the man wanted so much, it seemed to her, to normalize the situation that she thought better of passing on the invitation, "A bit of kelp tea would be lovely, if y'ave it."

Hmm, that's a possibility: The cook and the serpent and me/Sat down for a piglet and tea...

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[Hospitality House] Hungry for Hospitality

Postby Alexander Ross on November 5th, 2015, 8:30 pm

Alexander Ross


Alexander blinked in confusion upon hearing Orin's response, and he bit his lip nervously. From what the young man could remember, he had not seen the cook this edgy since Sayana's New Year's party. And from what it looked like, things were about to get out of hand very quickly. However, he forced himself to relax and give a small shrug, rolling his eyes.
"I was asking more as a friend than as a member of the Order, but whatever. Do what you want." He said bluntly, pulling out a chair and sitting down at one of the tables, crossing his arm over his chest. He was sure that Orin had a good reason for being as jumpy as he was now, but the youn squire could not figure out why for the life of him. He could guess that it came from a life of living under the rule of the Order, which was something Alex could completely understand. The Order was, at times, very unreasonable in his opinion.
He watched the goings-on with vague curiosity, shaking his head as Orin threw his apron toward the familiar-looking Dhani that was looming over him, then letting out a sigh of annoyance as she only secured it to cover her from the waist down, leaving her torso still exposed. He figured from then on, he would just try to avert his eyes from her. However, he could not help but flinch a bit as he heard her jaws unhinge to swallow the piglet that Orin had given her.
He looked up when he heard Orin's offer for food, and shook his head in response. "Not at the moment, no. But thank you for offering." In all reality, he would not mind a drink or two, but he wanted to put as less strain on his friend as possible. He wanted more than anything to talk to Orin and see if there was anything the cook had to get off his chest, but at the current moment, it seemed a bit too busy for that kind of conversation. By now, he would have gone to his room to strip off his armor, but right now he wanted to stay and make sure that things did not get out of hand. "So... How is everyone's day going so far? You know... besides whatever just happened."
"I've never failed anyone, because there isn't anyone in my life who I can make proud."
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[Hospitality House] Hungry for Hospitality

Postby J'Ak on August 19th, 2017, 6:59 am

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G R A D E



I S K E S S A H

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If you return to Mizahar feel free to shoot me a PM or resubmit this thread to the queue for your grades!



P H I L O M E N A

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If you return to Mizahar, be sure to update your ledger with Fall 515AV expenses & feel free to shoot me a PM or resubmit this thread to the queue for your grades!



O R I N

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xp

Cleaning +1
Rhetoric +2
Socialization +1
Tactics +1
Weapon: Dagger +1
Intimidation +2
Bodybuilding +1
Butchering +1
Philosophy +1


lores

Abura location: Hospitality House
Dhani Trait: Belligerent
Dhani: Shape-shifting snake-people
Brawling Tactics: Look for objects that might make weapons
Orin: Despises bullies
A diplomatic solution is always better
Orin’s Purpose: To bring people together through good food
Orin: Recklessly courageous
Intimidation: Revealing your weapons



A L E X A N D E R

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