[The Fleeting Comet] Speed Dating (Open)

[Ennis]

79th of Winter, 210 AV. "Wow...." Ennis said as she entered the magical eatery. People weren't kidding when they said this place was wonderfull. It was nice to escape from the cold here as well. Ennis was still entranced by the sparkley plate of food she saw someone eating before she finaly left the eating stranger alone. Ennis finaly went to a table and glanced around the place. She had a plan too, she was going to find a guy. Jumping to table to table, or simply trying to flirt from a far, she was very determined. Although she would retreat to her table if things got to hairy, or they threatned to kick her out. She didn't want to make a bad impression. Espicialy since the place was very busy this night, and it was really lovely right now. Ennis realised this wasn't just another town, it was special some how. Going back to her plan now she looked around for anyone, although there wasn't to many people that sticked out. Ennis had a small urge to simply blurt out, who here is single? Though that wasn't the way you atract guys. I wonder how many people are here exactly.. She thought to herself, well she figured she should keep her eyes open, as there may be someone she had missed. Right now Ennis was like a hawk circling fresh prey, I wonder if anything catches her eye. Besides the food...

[Tao]

It never took long for him to get into the swing of an evening shift. By then, the stoves were well stoked and everyone in the kitchen was working in a set rhythm. The work was hard, but that was something that he had grown up with and learned to relish. It was hard to be distracted or to stress out over all the latest drama that had surfaced in his life when he had five different dishes to prepare that all had to be ready five minutes ago. Tao stood over a couple of pots, watching the fire licking up under the tarnished metal. The soups were bubbling softly, not requiring much more than a stirring every now and again. A momentary breather between cleaning up and whatever next small order he would be put on. The kitchen was quite warm, especially when compared to the cool weather outside. One of the other assistants came by to pick up the soup and finish up the final preparations, leaving him with empty hands for a moment. He moved out of the way of the other workers, stepping out of the kitchen for a couple of seconds to gauge the amount of people in the restaurant. There were a few tables filled up, the only one not served being a girl sitting alone. She caught his eye for her outfit; while most people who turned up at The Fleeting Comet were dressed in astonishing finery, she was in a simple black suit. How odd. I wouldn't think they'd let her in looking like that. He wondered, dusting off his apron. Doesn't look like she's being served, either. Her waiter's probably on break. With a sigh, he decided to go and deal with it; the last thing anyone needed was a strange complaining customer. Crossing over to her table, he fixed his face with a polite smile and asked her in Lhavitian: “Hello, welcome to the Fleeting Comet. Would you like to place an order?”

[Ennis]

Suddenly Ennis's attention was pulled away from the food to what seemed to be a cook? Or waiter? He could have been a dish washer for all she carred, she was just so happy to see a some what intresting guy. It wasn't the most intresting position, but she couldn't be picky. But wait, what did he just say? Crap he was foreign. Or aparently not from here Ennis thought, as she has no idea what Lhavitian is. So far most people Ennis had run into spoke common so she wasn't aware of the language. What if he was a member of some cult or weird religion? What if that religion/cult didn't allow you to date?! Her chance were going up flames. It's not like she could pretend to know whatever language he was speaking either. So Ennis stayed quite, she stared at the table before her sort of ignoring the man as she begin to panic. She tried to speak but what could she say? Sorry I have no clue what you're saying, go and learn common you freak? No, that just sounded weird. Ennis gulped, looked the man in the eyes and simply said. "Huh?" Wait, what if he repeated what he said in that weird language? Ennis had to continue, she just couldn't hope that he got she had no idea what he was saying. She had to speak. "I don't speak your language...." She said slowly, although she thought it over and that sentance sounded odd. Yet it was to the point, and frankly it was the best she could do.

[Tao]

There was an awkward pause as the girl tore her eyes off the food at the next table over and noticed him. He smiled back at her, a perfectly polite mask for the customer that he had perfected over the years. Inwardly, he cursed at her for not hurrying along; this really wasn't his job, and if someone noticed he had vanished out of the kitchen, it was not going to end well. The redheaded girl continued to stare at him blankly for a minute or so before turning to look at the tablecloth instead. How had she gotten past the guy at the door, acting this strangely? It was very unusual for the staff to be this neglectful. He began to tap his fingers on his leg, playing with the edge of his apron. Oh damnit, perhaps it's my Lhavitian. He thought suddenly, biting the inside of his lip. He had been studying up, certainly, but there was no gurantee that he had the correct pronounciations or right levels of politeness. If she thought he was being rude and got angry, he was pretty much dead. What was with him and making idiotic implusive actions lately? Finally, she spoke, but did not seem annoyed, like he had been working himself up to believe she was. In fact, she didn't even speak in Lhavitian. There was a hint of panic in her eyes as she confessed her lack of understanding in Common. He exhaled slowly in relief. Crisis averted. “You must be foreign, then.” He replied, swapping back to his native tongue in an instant. “Most people around here speak a little Lhavitian.” It was a little nostalgic, talking politely with a customer, an art he had perfected over his awkward teenage years, a habit he fell back on when he didn't know what else to say. His work in Lhavit would never have him on the floor with his limited grasp of Lhavitian, and he had to admit he missed it sometimes. That said, he wasn't really on break, and every moment that he stood there was another moment that Chef Yoren could realise he wasn't washing dishes like he should be. Helping a customer or not, that was going to land him in hot water. “So, welcome to the Fleeting Comet.” He said to the strange girl. “What would you like to order?”

[Ennis]

Yay, crises averted Ennis thought as the man spoke in common. This totally increased her getting a date chances. Although her cover was blown, it wasn't like Ennis really was trying to keep it. So now she was again a foreigner, and not just a regular person. Ennis cried inside herself... Ennis looked over the man carefully as he spoke some other stuff, but was very distracted by the possibility of finding her soul mate already. Wait though, he said something again... Ennis didn't really know what any of the food here was called. It looked neat, but Ennis was lacking majorly in the identification of food skill. Plus saying I'll have that sparkly thing sounded weird. This would be a good time for a pick-up line or something right? "Ummm, what do you recomend?" Ennis said looking at him curiously, pretty sure she could add on to this. Ennis pictured herself sitting and chating nicely with whoever this guy was after she got him talking with her yet to be said series of questions. "I bet you must know what's good here, since obviously ummm you work here. And I'm guessing you've lived here long?" Ennis was slightly impressed with herself, the thought never occured to her she was keeping this man from his work though. Even if she did know she could get this guy fired, she'd blow it off because isn't love more important?

[Tao]

The girl seemed to relax as he swapped languages, easing his tension in turn; perhaps he could argue that he was helping translate if he was caught mucking about out here. And why was he out of the kitchen in the first place? Well, he was a waiter before and instinct took over? No, Chef Yoren wouldn't buy that for a second. Damnit, this was stupid. He turned his attention back to Ennis as she began to speak once more, as vague and confused as ever. The situation was worrying him more and more as time wore on; she didn't appear to even have a menu, language difficulties aside. “Well...” He bit the inside of his lip for a second, wondering how best to approach the issue. It wasn't as though he could hand her over to another waiter; that would get him noticed. “To be honest, I'm not on the usual waiting staff, so I couldn't tell you off the top of my head. I can grab you a menu, if you'd like?” She pressed on with her questioning, and he saw no choice but to continue replying, as the last thing he wanted was a scene. “I'm just staff, I'm afraid; it's a little too pricey for me to eat here.” He continued, folding his hands behind his back. “I moved here just before winter. I... take it that you're new to the city?”

[Ennis]

Did that go well? Ennis thought to herself, it seemed like the man was starting to get nervous. Was this because of her questions? Or did he really belong to some strange religion that didn't allow you to date. Sweetly staring at the panicing man as a kid would stare at a puppy, Ennis decided she should act more smooth to help make the situation more relaxed. So Ennis layed back a bit, tried to seem more comfortable, and actualy listened. "That'd be great, the menu would be in common though right?" Oh how Ennis wished the menu was in whatever laguage the man was speaking earlier, she could have had him translate it for her. Then she could but on the charm, despite her lack of it. The man did work here, Ennis didn't think this place would hire people that are members of weird religions, so Ennis suddenly had a small relieved expression as her theory was now proven wrong. Ennis brightened up a bit now knowing the man was somewhat new here as well. "Y-yes, I came here a while ago, I think I finaly got a hang of navigating around this city." She gave a small chuckle at her joke before continuing. "I hope you don't mind my questioning, ummm.. My name's Ennis, and... Can I ask your name or...?" She was abit nervous, but knew sometimes guys stop being affected by your charm if they're panicing. If only Ennis had charm, she would have then pulled off her "smooth" routine.

[Tao]

The situation was slowly slipping from his fingers no matter how hard he grasped, and that was doing very little for his fraying nerves. It had made sense at first to help the unattended customer before she caused a fuss. That cunning plan was swiftly being shot full of holes to reveal the complete, impulsive stupid behind it. While he may have gotten lucky that his poor Lhavitian hadn't insulted her, not having any clue where the spare menus were actually kept was definitely going to do him in. Tao swallowed sharply as the girl continued to be oblivious to his plight (she was leaning back against her chair and looking very relaxed all of a sudden), mentally scrambling for a way to resolve his plight quickly. The thought occurred to him that he could just walk away to 'get a menu', head back into the kitchen, and hope that the girl didn't mention a native Common speaker when someone qualified noticed her sitting alone. That would probably be his best bet; it didn't seem like anyone had actually seen him, and her inability to speak Lhavitian would make communication difficult enough. It would also be the most dishonest thing he had ever done, and felt like such a slight to the customer, who was hardly to blame for his own idiocy. Still, I could get my salary cut or even lose my job. He made his mind up; it was time to find a way to politely excuse himself and get away before someone noticed him, or Ennis (which was apparently her name) became suspicious. She was already inquiring his name as she continued their conversation; now was as good a time to escape as any. “Well, er... I think we may be out of menus in Common.” He lied, fidgeting with the side of his apron. “I'll have to go and, er, find one.” He began to edge away from her table, still smiling, though it was beginning to feel a bit strained to keep up the polite act. About fifteen minutes later, he chanced another look out into the dining area, specifically where the girl had been sitting. She appeared to have vanished, either having left in a huff or being asked to leave; either way, no one was coming for his throat. Exhaling slowly through his nose, Tao scuttled back to work; that would be the last time he did something that foolish! OOCSo, Ennis unfortunately vanished, leaving this thread hanging. Thus, I edited the ending of my post to give it some form of a conclusion. It's a bit of a shame, but there's not much else I can do.

[Ataraxia]

Tao XP Cooking +1, Observation +1, Negotiation +2 Lore Lesson Learned: Stay in the Kitchen Ennis XP Seduction +1 Comments Welp, I did about as much as I could here. Ennis got a point of seduction because her haphazard attempt at getting a date might have worked... on someone... maybe. Hopefully this works for you. If you have any questions, send me a PM. Until then, Peace out!