It's time for me to take some chances [Closed]

[saltwaterlungs]

CHARACTERS: Darcy and friends
DATE: Still January
LOCATION: Kitchen and Bobby B’s
SITUATION: Darcy makes some moves
WARNINGS: None yet

To burn it all to a billion ashes

[ To each of the following; Dimitri, Gwen, Erin, Okie, and Valdis, a text is sent.
Lunch?
I’m in the kitchen. ]

Stop playing dead

[ The core members of what can be loosely described as Team Captain also get texts. Skulduggery, Ava, Maximilien, and Peter.
Meeting at Bobby B’s
Bring anyone you trust.
When they arrive, Darcy’s already set up at a table, looking at her phone and smoking a weed cigarette, seemingly well enough to scrape herself back into some semblance of how she usually looks, in a suit jacket over a hoodie. ]

For one last time, I'm screaming out loud [exploration]

[ Darcy’s got one stop on their mind to prioritize for their own exploration; the crew cabins. Late one evening, upon making certain there’s nobody around and they aren’t being observed, they approach the bulkhead. ‘You could always go in’ is vague even for the Captain, but they have to wonder if they have some sort of… admin privileges equivalent for the ship. So they try to open the door as if they expect to be able to, casually as walking into their own room. ]

Comments

To Burn it All

[redlightgreenlight]

[The text is unexpected. Valdis didn't think she and Darcy were on 'lunch together' terms, so she assumes this isn't about lunch at all. Hopefully it will at least be civil.]

Sounds lovely. I will be there soon.

["Soon" takes about half an hour because she needs to clean up the Library where she is spending most of her time trying to stay sane.]

Hey, Darcy. Trying to give Max a run for his money?

[saltwaterlungs]

Nobody can give Max a run for his money on this ship. His knifework makes mine look like a toddler with a slap-chop.

[ Evidently the pretense of lunch is being upheld though, there's the strong smell of something rich and wine-y and meaty in a pot on the stove. ]

Coq au vin. No point being delicate about our supplies left, ehn. C'mere- try some, [ and Darcy steps to the side just a little, offering a spoon. There's a vague feeling of nerves about Darcy, but tempered by... a deep certainty. This is, almost certainly, not about lunch, and definitely a ploy to get Valdis to step closer. ]

[redlightgreenlight]

[Darcy is being suspiciously nice, and unless they hit their head really really hard and had a complete and total personality change, they are 100% up to something. Logic as well as their aura gives her decent information, but she's learning that assumptions and interpreting such things is more complex that she previously cared about.]

It smells wonderful, but I'm afraid I have no appetite at the moment. Max made too many macarons and I have to watch my figure.

[saltwaterlungs]

Diets are stupid and also we're all dying anyway, [ More Insistent with the spoon. ]

Just a bit of the sauce.

[ Come on they need Valdis closer so they can whisper without it looking super obvious. ]

[makesomedeals]

[At this point they should have matching team cufflinks.]

At this point, does anyone trust anyone? [A hell of a greeting as he wanders in and pulls a chair out for himself.]

[saltwaterlungs]

Counterpoint, have you ever trusted anyone in your life.

[ Which is to say, ] hi Max, glad you're here.

[makesomedeals]

Touché.

I take it this has something to do with Tayrey's latest escapades? I'm shocked she took credit for it.

To burn it all to a billion ashes

[thismaskismybadge]

[ Compared to some recipients, Gwen doesn't have as much reason to suspect something else is up with this invitation, but considering how Darcy was doing immediately after the chaos, well, she does kind of wonder what's changed. ]

kk, gimme a few and I'll swing on up

[ This is meant rather literally, she'd rather web herself up to the deck Stellar and the kitchen are on through the central opening than get the elevator. She is polite enough not to climb on the ceiling or shoot any webs into the kitchen, though; she comes into the room itself with her feet firmly on the ground. ]

What's cooking?

[saltwaterlungs]

Bouillabaisse. Well- as best I can get it, anyway. Weirdly we don't have an amazing seafood selection unless you count hotdogs, ehn.

[ The pot on the stove is fragrant with something like fennel and saffron, and Darcy waves Gwen a little closer. ]

Help me cut up some more potatoes? [ and sure enough, there's two cutting boards set up with some potatoes, right next to each other. ]

[thismaskismybadge]

Honestly the hotdogs have been out there long enough they should absolutely count as seafood.

[ Gwen rolls up her sleeves, quickly washes her hands, and joins Darcy at the cutting boards. That she's spent plenty of time cooking for herself is obvious in how she handles the knife.

Even if she is glancing at Darcy out of the corner of her eye almost immediately. ]

Stop playing dead

[freedomsuitsme]

Per Ava's invitation, he arrives at Bobby B's. Having shown up a little early, he sits in his usual spot, waiting, not doing anything out of the ordinary. He's smoking a cigar and gazing at an illusory chessboard, seemingly deep in thought.

[saltwaterlungs]

There is suddenly a teenager here over his shoulder.

"If you move that knight you've got a nice fork going, there with the bishop."

...

"You here for the meeting?"

[freedomsuitsme]

He looks up, surprised.

"You play?"

It's been oddly difficult to find opponents. Oh, he's had the odd match with Watson and Giles, of course, but those have grown more and more rare. And he certainly hadn't expected a comment out of someone so young.

Burn It All

[crushed_pearls]

The invitation is so shocking to Erin that she drops her phone, listens to it again, and then drops her phone a second time, which is why for PERFECTLY LOGICAL REASONS she enters the kitchen with her sword out and -

"Oh thank Christ it's actually lunch. I thought Phil got possessed or something and was holding you hostage."

Re: Burn It All

[saltwaterlungs]

"Okay, that's unnecessary. Is it really that weird that I'd invite you to lunch."

Yes, and Darcy knows it. The kitchen is rich and resplendent with one of the best smells on earth; French onion soup, simmering away on the stovetop.

"Help me cut up some onions? I'm making a second batch to freeze," and sure enough the cutting board is set up with a good handful of extra onions and a knife. Not one of Darcy's good knives, let's not get crazy.

[crushed_pearls]

"Blind girl on the onions, wild plan but it just might work." Erin sheathes her sword and washes up; she's thorough, not quick.

Her Mantle is still guttering, and wet.

Erin takes her position. She's not cutting fast, but she cuts well; she has to feel carefully, not daring to trust the blindfold with her fingers, Aura or not. "...I am honored. I know you take hospitality seriously."

[mistertwister]

im down
but if u pull something for not telling you about dimitri sooner im telling helena ur bullying me
need me to bring anything?

[saltwaterlungs]

i already yelled at you about it were good
and nothing
just yourself

[mistertwister]

yessir

About 5 minutes later, Okie shows up in the kitchen with cups. "I know you said I didn't need to bring anythin' but I got nervous so I brought boba."

Stop playing dead [2]

[freedomsuitsme]

It's a little while into the gathering when he notices Maximilien, speaking with Darcy. He's tempted to go over, to speak to the Omnic about their previously-discussed business, but then he notices Skulduggery, and hesitates. Maxwell's certainly had his cordial moments with the skeleton since the initial argument in the cabin, but he's still wary of starting another altercation.

That being said, his sideways glance wasn't as subtle as it could be.

[makesomedeals]

It probably would have been subtle if Max wasn't eyeing everyone there warily. That said it's a while before he acts on it and heads over to speak to the man.

"Greetings. It seems things are barrelling ahead, with or without us." And he doesn't exactly know where Maxwell stands on basically anything. "How do you rate our chances?"

[freedomsuitsme]

"Can't say. I'm not much of a betting man. I always find the odds are never what people tell me they are. But... I do have confidence in many of the people I see here. And that's high praise, coming from me."

to a billion ashes

[prince_of_beasts]

[ Dimitri turns up within minutes. ]

What are you cooking?

[saltwaterlungs]

Your favourite. Well- kind of, it's focaccia, not just regular bread.

[ There's a bowl of quite high hydration dough that Darcy taps on the edge of, ] I need it folded a couple of times, and if I touch it myself I am going to peel my own skin off. So.

[ It's a Bad Texture. ]

[prince_of_beasts]

[ Oh boy he gets to Help! Dimitri peels his gloves off and pulls the dough over to himself and starts folding. ]

What's ... [ his accent takes over as he echoes the word, ] focotcha?