Never Just Half-Baked

    It's a very special night. At least special for Asuna. She's had this idea stuck in her head lately and after tinkering in her own rented kitchen, it's finally time to unleash it upon the broader world. And so here she is, in the kitchen, slicing up gruntie steak in fine strips, shredding a variety of cheeses, and carefully cutting up some crusty bread.

    There's a glint in her eye as she works in the kitchen. She's usually only this animated when she's doing something exciting. Most often nearly getting killed fighting gnolls, undead, or whatever else her travels used to bring into reach. But now, it's just this moment that has her going. It's time to test her idea out for real.

Schneider is just here for some lunch, or dinner, or whatever meal this is. Or, rather, he enters the Dragon's Larder unsuspecting of what may befall him. "Hey!" he calls out, and looks to see who's aroud, finding a seat at the counter. "Beer," he calls for, because he can, and grins widely. "What's the news? Slowly taking it to the gnolls that took over the Noob zone," he relays from his personal news.

Asuna isn't used to tending bar, but she is getting accustomed to it. She bustles out of the kitchen after sliding her work into the oven. Onions, noodles, and a bunch of cheese and meat. She is thinking she has a winner for this place. Only time will tell, though.

Filling up a mug she then sets the drink down in front of Schneider.

    "Nothing for news, really. I haven't played with the gnolls for over a week. They're horrible hosts. Bad food, bad smell, worse manners. And the loot! Pitiful."

Vertina came in the back entrance that goes through the brewery, as she had some stuff from Syx's farm to unpack. Having a friend in the alliance that had the Farmer occupation certainly helped making sure she had plenty of herbs to work with in both her professions. Eventually she walks into the tavern proper from the secondary door, spotting a familiar in the gathered patronage almost immeadiately. "Hey Schneider! Can I ge--" Sees Asuna's already on it. "--Aha, nevermind, she's got you covered. You're getting the hang of the bar too."

Schneider shrugs about the gnolls. "And the 'gnollock' jokes are getting old, too," he observes. "I'm just wondering who or what has been editing the monsters in the first place. It's strange that they're edited, and badly. If they were edited by the game developers, you'd think it wouldn't look so half-assed. And why remake a common mob into a boss? Just reuse the boss if you have normal access to the game code."

He smiles to Vertina as she arrives as well, and asks, "How're you doing?" He raises his mug and sips, showing he's already been served, and says, "Yeah, this place is booming since all the refugees have come to the Tower. Seems a bit strange, but not bad."

    "Yes, and I can't really use it takes one to gnoll one anymore. Even for those of us who appreciate a good pun, there's just gnollthing left to work with."

It's not entirely clear if that was meant to be funny or ironic. She turns her attention to Vertina and actually seems a bit embarassed for a moment.

    "Ah, sorry. I thought you were going to be out back for a while. But, yes, I can handle some of the simple things a the bar. As long as its nothing too complicated."

She idly wonders to herself if mixed drinks are much of a thing here. Odd that she never even thought about how nice some of those tasted until this moment.

"Things have been pretty good Schneider." Then makes a face at all the puns. "It's a good thing those puns aren't as deadly as the monsters, or we'd all be doomed!" Followed by a bit of a chuckle. "It's all good, Asuna. If someone ever does order something too complex for you, just yell for me back there." Followed by a shrug. "I was. But Syx asked if I'd help him do some training so I'll probably be in and out at times."

Schneider sighs about the gnoll puns and one-liners, sharing Vertina's opinion, it seems. "Yeah, it won't be too soon when we're done with those," he says flatly. He hrms at the mention of training, and says, "I keep thinking I should do some of that. But I can never decide on just what."

Did someone say gnoll puns? Those are fashionable, don't you gnoll. Not that Soujiro would ever use them! The blue haired samurai makes his way in and over to Vert's place for a solid meal. Behind him is three Lander woman, two Adventurer women, five cluck clucks, and a mallard. The last one is an odd duck, but Soujiro doesn't judge. He might be part honey badger.

"Vert!" he cries out like this is a Cheers redux, "And Schneider-san!" Schneider doesn't get the nickname but has the formality. Have you /seen/ the man burn things? He slides into a chair with a warm grace and looks to Asuna. Its hard for them not to know each other given the similar guild in SEA, "Branching out?" he asks curiously to Asuna. Asuna is a good cook, this is truth. The gears in his head are turning if he remembers that Asuna started working at Vert's place or not. The odd assembly of totally-not-stalkers also find seats.

    "I will definitely do that. I am not a brewer by any stretch of the imagination. Though I do enjoy a good drink, if you have any recommendations. That a light weight could enjoy when working."

And that's when Soujiro enters. With entourage. She thinks for a moment and reflects that this is definitely the setup for a bar joke, but the punchline is far too complicated to work out just yet.

    "So, I have something started in the back. And yes, trying to expand my kitchen and use my hobby for the benefit of the masses! And wow, you definitely brought a crowd. I trust everyone is hungry?"

She's already sizing up the right portions for each of the girls. Sure, she's not going to throw herself at a man and follow him around, but she can totally empathize knowing what one wants and going after it with all their heart! Asuna will cheer the groupies on from the sidelines.

    "Also I imagine we won't be ordering any wings tonight.."

"You already burn things with the best of them. I guess find something to expand from there? Or defense. Defensive techniques are always good, especially with the big mean shit we keep coming up against. And that's just in the Tower!" Vertina laughs a bit at her own joke. "Hi Seta." She eyes the entourage. Chicks in both senses of the word. And a.. duck.

She jabs a thumb at the mallard with a smirk. "Is that one to handle the bill?"

Schneider sighs about the gnoll puns and one-liners, sharing Vertina's opinion, it seems. "Yeah, it won't be too soon when we're done with those," he says flatly. He hrms at the mention of training, and says, "I keep thinking I should do some of that. But I can never decide on just /what/."

When Soujiro Seta comes in, he nods, and will bow his head, meeting formality with formality. "Soujiro-san. How's it going?" And how does he get all the girls? Well, Schneider will have to make do. And pretend it's him being picky. He wouldn't mind just one. Then again, they're probably all played by guys. Yeah, he'll go with that thought. That way he won't mope. He does snicker at not ordering wings. Well, that'd be bad for the cluckier portion of the entourage.

And we're back to puns. He winces at Vertina's crack about bills, so he thinks about the other part of the conversation. "I've heard a rumor about a girl who used to play but hasn't been seen in forever. They say she had powers that were like Fire, but different. I'd love to see them and see what can be done. I feel like there's more that we don't know."

The notion of having wings in any sense puts the Cluck Clucks in a panick. Their heads crane in odd directions with their beady, brainless gazes outwards. And, of course, clucking concern. The ladies all take a cluck cluck and calm them down. It is the interesting effect with Soujiro. None of them are throwing themselves at him and seem to be more enjoying the company of their fellow sisters. Brought together by an encounter with the Samurai at first and now having a great night out.

"You can call me Souji, Vert. All my friends do and you are definately a friend to me," he smiles to Vertina in the familiar sort of way that draws sparkles. Friend of the world, that Souji. Well. Unless you are his enemy. Not friend to those people. He looks over his shoulder and explains to Asuna, "I ran across them on the way here and they simply had to check this place out. Makes me glad you are expanding out here, Asuna! All these people get to eat great quality food." Then there is a quack about the bill joke. "Hah hah. You might get stuck with the bill, but I'll pay for your meal." Sparkle. The duck swoons and falls over. What a lame duck.

"It is going great. I pushed not one but /two/ personal records in training today. Number of trash mobs run through in two minutes in the field, up by two since yesterday. I'll be back in pre-Apoc state before you know it and then," the man shake a fist, "tackling the stuff the expansion has out there somewhere." Train. Food. Ladies. Soujiro is as simple as it comes and lives in the present where all the fun is.

"Yeah. There's a lot of things we probably don't know yet. Or people wouldn't keep finding those weird moods." Vertina strolls over to the bar, sliding across the top to get behind it. "Some of the fruit juices are fermented -just- enough to have a little extra oomph without being strongly alcoholic," she answers Asuna's question. "Just don't get any of the drinks too close to the oven."

Then back to the gathering, whistling a bit at Souji. "That's pretty impressive. Not much XP from trash mobs, but it's still good technique practice. And yeah. Asuna was looking for a way to share her skill with more people, and it means a wider variety of offerings for the tavern. Win all around." Which, after a pause, she ahehs and rubs the back of her head with one hand. "I'm not nearly as good at baking as I am with cooking and grilling."

Asuna sticks to what she's best at, generally, and in this case she focuses her attention on the gaggle of girls that have flown in with Souji. She does her best to make them feel comfortable. Drinks, small talk, but really no talk of adventuring. For whatever reason, she's rather withdrawn from that side of the conversation.

    "Sorry, just a moment. It's not ready yet, but I want to make sure of something."

She slips off to the kitchen, ensures the oven is staying at the right temperature, and comes back. She's a bit nervous about this, judging by the way she's clutching her apron.

Schneider nods as Soujiro explains what he's been up to. "Well done," he says abour breaking the personal records. But he huhs at the mention of pre-Apocalypse, and asks, "You were here when we could log out? What's different now? Other than not being able to log out, I mean?" He nods in agreement with Vertina, and says, "I wish I'd read the player background bit much more closely, myself. i don't know so much of what everyone else seems to know."

Asuna's attention to detail draws a curious look, unless he's just watching her bottom as she heads off into the kitchen. Depends how faithfully he's reprising the Schneider role. "Smells delicious," he calls to her.

Soujiro Seta tilts his head to the right as Soujiro thinks about what things were like before the Apoc. "It wasn't as 'real' as it is now. The perspective on things was different like you were 'here' but not'. Because we weren't /in/ the game the same way we are now," the not scientific Soujiro says with not scientific terms. "It felt different. How interactive our lovely Landers are was different. Its far more breathtaking now. The Tower Climbs with the Tea Party were a blast though. Getting the chance to do it all over again anew? Its amazing." After all this time he has not lost his enthusiasm for Elder Tales. He is almost like a token 'I was sent to another world and got a harem' story. And there they are, ordering finger food and drinks for the table.

"With your talents, I bet its a delight," Soujiro says to Asuna. It would sound like total BS if it wasnt for his tone. His body language. He means it. A quirk towards Vert as he notes, "Not a lot of XP but a lot of /fun/. I was doing things like seeing how many fruits I can slash in the air before they hit the ground but this is such a better way to train and doesn't ruin produce! Delving into the Gnoll woods was a far better 'dungeon run' style challenge." He ponders, "What do you all do for your training routeens?" Doesn't everyone get up and do them? Grinding for mats and XP is a staple of the game!

Vertina starts ticking off with her fingers. "Well when I'm not working in the brewery or out Hunting meat drops for cooking with, I've been using the parts of Karluin we haven't cleared out yet for my evasion workouts. Got to find all the traps so they can be disabled as we fix the place up, after all. Adlet showed me a few places in the Westelande desert where desert themed undead spawn at night, making for good Light usage workouts. Or just, you know, general martial arts practice routines." Someone clearly likes to keep busy. "Still dabbling in alchemy too. We're reaching a point where standard mana potions and buff elixers aren't cutting it with what we go up against."

    "When it comes to training, I usually just go out and patrol, looking for inexperienced noobies to camp in dangerous areas. Then I almost die protecting them from patrols. At least, that is what happened last time. Some crazy girl from Olympus joined me and saved the day. She moves like a typhoon, too. Really friendly, though. Wants to duel sometime."

Asuna isn't so sure about dueling Yuuki really. She hasn't dueled in ages. Yuuki gave the impression of one who duels every day.

    "And thank you, Schneider. I hope it works out well. It's supposed to be a deconstruction of.. well, you will see in a little bit. I want to try to put a little creative spin on the flavors of our world. An American gave me the idea."

She slips away again, getting the smaller orders setup for Souji's little party. Well, not so little, really. If anyone but him and the duck were fighters (that beak looks wicked!) they would be a raiding party.

Schneider hrms as Soujiro answers about what it was like before. "Even the Landers?" he says, and hrms. "Seems like it was a big upgrade, then." As to how many fruits he could slash, he'd have to admit 'not very many', maybe he should train fighting to back up his Sorcery? No, he's an Exploder wizard. The fighting is just being capable. He was in better shape in RL, where he played basketball for his school team. As far as what he does for training, he says, "I blow up monsters." That was uncomplicated, particularly after hearing what Vertina does.

"Deconstr-- what?" He has no idea what Asuna meant. "But, yes," he agrees quickly, I just hope it works out also."

Soujiro Seta is excited to hear about a fast moving typhoon that wants to duel. "That sounds fun!" he says. Its not about winning or losing a duel for him. It is downright fun to duel. The unspoken words between two people locked in martial combat. More expressive than professional dancing. Violent and pure. He takes out a cup of his own green tea to sip it before looking at Vertina and realizing he /is/ in an establishment and drinking his own beverage. "Oh! You don't mind, do you? I don't mind sharing. Most of my Brewing skill goes to non alcoholic drinks like teas." He leaves the tea pot on the counter. "That must be exciting to duel someone like that. It is a sure fire way to make new friends and get stronger." On that note he looks to Vertina, "We should have a bout some time. With the moves you used back in the expedition for that old questline I bet you have some great moves, Vert. I'll check out those training spots too." The list of fun grows. Well, Souji's idea of fun at least.

Schneider yawns broadly and rises. He leaves a few coins for his meal and drink, and will walk home. "You all take it easy," he says.

Asuna listens to Souji's description of a duel and grins. She can't help but feel a bit fired-up after that depiction. If the duelist league ever looks for a salesperson, he would be a prime candidate.

    "I'm sure she'll be kind to me, and well, I don't imagine anyone will mind you bringing in tea, but it is Vertina's place."

    In the back of Asuna's head, the time is ticking away. She really wants to go look again, but she also knows there's no point. The watched pot and all that.

    "So you really push yourself hard to train, huh? What's your favorite weapon?"

Vertina laughs. "Oh, go ahead. I can do tea but you're probably better at it!" As she has focused mainly on the alchoholic drinks. "I would of stopped you at the start if it was a problem." When he mentions wanting to duel sometime she lights up even more. "Oh, definitely! It's always nice to pit yourself against another skilled Adventurer."

Then she cocks her head to smirk at Asuna. "I -am- my weapon... I mean, martial artist and all. With a few extra elemental tricks." She leans on the bar, using one arm to brace herself. "Though I made a pair of clawed fighting gloves for myself, because sometimes bare fists and feet aren't enough. That, and a sharp edge to finish a beast off with works better for Hunting."

"Every part of the body is a great weapon," Soujiro asides with Vert, "even though I use two katanas, it feels more like an extension of yourself when you use them. How your feet sweep across the area. When they go light to move or anchor to the earth for strength. How your hips change the direction and your center of gravity changes everything against an opponent's flow." It is almost as if Soujiro is daydreaming for a moment. He sips his tea as he sparkles about the joy of fighting. Big combat nerd that he is.

"Thanks to your help Kogarasumaru is closer to being reforged too, Vert. It is not the quest chain I remember exactly, but I am glad we are setting things right once more. I feel a bit guilty about not realizing sooner what Kuroe was going through, but we can make it right now," he says with a blaze of passion in his blue eyes. He fills Asuna in as his native instinct is to be as inclusive as possible, "That was one of my katanas before the Apoc happened. It is a rare Samurai/Ronin exclusive katana based on the two-sided katana blade weapon of antiquity. I got it last with the help of the Tea Party and now we reforge it anew." The quest chain persists!

For her part, Asuna is more of a fighter by necessity than a fighter by love of the art. She's a bit bewildered but also impressed at just how devoted both Vertina and Soujiro are to the martial arts. For her part, she says nothing about her fighting. Somehow 'I stab things with my rapier until they stop moving' just doesn't sound all that cool in comparison.

    "Well, that's really great! I'm glad you are able to get your weapon back to its full power. I know a lot of people were discouraged after the Apocalypse hit and turned their hard work into, well, almost glamour items."

    By this point, she's got the whole supporting cast handled. She even has the cluck clucks and the duck eating. Which makes her realize just how good a place this is to hone her kitchen skills.

"Hey, glad I can help. You and her, both... and don't feel too bad about it. I don't think anyone would of really expected the whole Apoc thing to affect her like that." Vertina shifts her position a little, interlacing her fingers to rest her chin atop. "And that dragon isn't suffering any longer, either."

"It was rough for a lot of people when the expansion was released," Souji offers, keeping a warm smile even though those days were raw chaos, "I was in Ezzo at the time, getting ready to hit that end game content the day it was released. But I never saw it that way," he says as he sips his tea. "Its a new challenge! Have you ever played a game and wished you could play it again like it was fresh and new again? Like you didn't already have a notion of what to expect? We get that chance." There are those sparkles again. "Its only a problem if you think it is a problem! Look at us. In a tavern. Having food and drink prepared by two lovely ladies here." He motions to Vert in one hand in Asuna in the other. "In a whole /world/ we played together."

He nods with his head held high to Vertina. Soujiro does not mope, he shines. "Mune would have wanted it. One last fight. I understand that. And Kuroe is so loyal. I'm lucky to be in a position to help her see it through and see the world again, together. And you know what? It just encourages me more to revisit things with fresh eyes." Such an innocent little bean. Well, when he isn't slashing things up.

Getting called 'lovely' doesn't happen too often to her, making Vertina blush a little. Though the scaley Salamander patterns on her cheeks kind of hide it, and she doesn't get too flustered over it. Not her style. "Wish more people could be that positive. But at the same time, I can understand how it can be hard to. After what I went through myself." She parts her hands and pushes herself up from the bar. "Anyways, I should get back to work in the brewery. You guys have a good night. Yell if you need help with anything Asuna!" She turns, hops over the bar, and heads for the doors leading back to the work area.

Asuna has been called pretty before. But it is not something she's really comfortable with. She doesn't blush. It's worse than that. But she hides it by running off to the kitchen. This time, though, things are actually ready!

.... several minutes later.

    "Sorry, I didn't want it to burn!"

What she brings out is very unusual. It's noodles, cheese, grunty steak, with toasted bread all baked together and with spices that make it.. familiar. At least to those who are from America. It is actually smelling like a philly cheese steak. But in casserole form.

    "There. This is.. my version of a high end cooking raid. American style."

Vertina pauses in her departure as Asuna bolts for the kitchen, and comes back with her creation. "Daaang girl, you're knocking them out with having that kitchen access." She makes sure to grab a helping to take with her into the back. Doesn't hurt to have a good meal before getting down to work.