Septemberfest (Harvest Festival)

It is a brisk September evening in Alne, slightly cloudy, with a cool wind blowing in from the west. The surrounding area seems to be calming down for the night as most people are heading home. Still, there is at least one building that seems to be livening up. The Dragon?s Larder seems to be building up steam as cheers echo out from within the bar.

Inside, there is quite the commotion as mugs of ale and various foods made in the style of bavarian cuisine are on every table and in most hands. Much of the meat was procured from a recent Grunty Stampede, and the rest of the produce was a kind donation from grateful farmers; as such, the food is on the house, now, the ale needed be purchased with one?s own coin, mind, but there did not seem to be any complaining from the crowd. There is a whole roasted Cluck cluck on every table, though the lot are in various states of wholeness given the appetites of those in the tavern. Stuffed Cabbage, roast, and various types of ground meat encased in intestines can also be found around the tavern.

Nyanta, Dandy Cat Extraordinaire, is not in multiple places at once, but he does seem to be moving from one point in the room to the other at the blink of an eye. With the speed he has become known for, he ensures the tables remain stocked with food; blink, and he is delivering drinks to thirsty patrons. With the party finally in full swing, and with nigh everyone in the bar already quenched of thirst, Nyanta finds an empty seat and relaxes, taking the opportunity to partake of some roast game bird which he had the honor of collecting.

Goldenblade is not one to turn down an Oktoberfest-like extravaganza. At her age, another October is reason enough to celebrate. She doesn't have /that many/ Octobers left, at her age, and going out and drinking with friends is a pasttime she's quite well-acquainted with. Since no one here has a job to speak of, it's drinking with adventuring friends, and of course Nyanta is her mentor. She shows up, grabs a mug, and quaffs away, laughing cheerfully as she grabs some food as well, because real cooked food -is- something to celebrate.

With Nyanta taking up carrying drinks like a good host, Vertina is able to keep mostly to the bar and make sure those drinks are ready in timely manner. There is plenty of alcohol, but there's also teas and fermented juices. She knows not everyone likes to hit the hard stuff all night. As usual the kitchen is being left to Asuna to handle off-camera, though the Salamander did help earlier with some of cooking so they didn't have to do everything on the spot. "The extra game was a nice touch to give things bit more variety."

Nyanta waves to his friend and former student, Goldenblade. He gives a smile, complete with a glint of light reflecting off his fang, as he remembers an earlier time when she was in need of guidance. She has long since graduated from that position in life, and has even gone so far as to surpass the Dandy Cat in blade skills, but much as members of the Tea Party still call him Chief, Goldenblade often refers to Nyanta as her teacher. The ironic thing is that Goldenblade has been the one doing the teaching lately... Regardless, of student/teacher relationships, there is no question that they are good friends.

"Welcome to the purrty, my friend. I would like to say that we have just started, but it seems we have finally come to full swing, nya. Still, we have a whole night ahead of us, nya."

Nyanta, who is currently half-way done with his gamebird skewer, gives Vert a thumbs up. "Indeed, nya! I cannot think of a single event where more poultry on a stick would not improve the endeavor, nya. Purrhaps a funeral, but that is more of a sense of timing, nya. There are usually meals held after the funeral where such is warranted, nya."

Goldenblade gets an odd sense of nostalgia with Nyanta. She was sbsolutely clueless when she first logged on, and then she called him Chief because all the others around him did. She was never clear on what he was chief of. Eating and drinking heartily is something she can certainly get behind, and if she hasn't contributed food to the endeavor, she probably made some of the forks and spoons and knives. As far as places where food is welcome, she agrees, "After the event is time for food, whether weddings or funerals."

"Yeah. Food as it's place in most events." Vertina picks up one of the skewers, twirling it back and forth between her fingers. "But meat skewers are really convenient. Season the meat well and they're quite portable." She stops with the fancy finger motions to actually bite a piece of meat off.

The front door slams open suddenly, and Syx is standing there in full on lederhosen, presumably aquired from Gwen at some point, "Hey party people, lets get this place rocking!"

Syx is in fact one of the farmers who provided some of the food for this party, as such is more than happy to partake in some of his own product, as he saunters on over and grabs some a skewer of sausages, "Hey Vertina, can I hop in the back and grab some of my favorite ale?" He calls out, already walking around behind the bar without actually waiting for an answer.

    Asuna has just finished her strange mood, and Germanic foods are far from her mind. After all, German cuisine is not precisely famous for its quality. She can only rely on others to suggest things. Sausage? Sure! She can make that. But she has to guess at spices and really she would prefer to stick to her normal menu rather than blindly guess. Regardless, she does her level best and the food will at least be palatable, even if it's not terribly authentic.

    Beyond sausage, Asuna focuses on the use of potatoes and smoked fish. She hasn't a clue how to make sauerkraut, but again, approximations are possible. Pickled cabbage is basically like kimchi. So hopefully a thing similar to kimchi will suffice.

    The Flash ensures food is kept at each table as best she can. At this point, though, she would rather just lean on the bar and relax. She directs a question to Vertina then, and probably not for the first time today asks, "Do you have any idea if I've done any of this right?"

Goldenblade will collect another skewer of food from Vertina, or possibly Asuna, and take a bit in between quaffing ale. Perhaps the pizza-on-a-skewer is Asuna's? She was not expecting that, but it's not a problem. "Syx!" she calls when he arrives, and it seems he knows what he wants also. She has no clue if the food is authentic or not, but it's good, as evidenced by her continuing consumption. People wouldn't chow down if it wasn't good!

Vertina laughs. "You know I keep a couple of bottles ready just for you Syx." Then she reachs over to pat Asuna on the shoulder. "Everyone is eating and no one is complaining, I'd say that's good enough."

Having wandered behind the bar and to the back as he's prone to do, Syx emerges with a couple bottles of his favorite ale Vertina makes, as well as a drink for Goldenblade as well, "How you been, Gee Bee?" He asks, as he sits down at a table after grabbing a chair and turning it around so he straddles it, "Gearing up for the tourney?"

Nyanta's eyes grow wide as a house cat who has just spotted a bird when he notices the smoked fish. He finishes the skewer, and then immediately moves the platter of smoked fish closer to himself so that serving will be easier. A less cultured cat would have just eaten from the platter, but Nyanta is a gentleman; even if he intends to eat the whole platter himself, he will portion off pieces to his own plate before consuming them. "I must admit, I was not purrpared for the Smoked Fish, Asuna, nya. You have outdone yourself, and the expectations I hold for you are always high to begin with, nya."

Goldenblade will take the drink from Syx and take a deep pull, sighing with satisfaction. "Doing all right," she replies. She shakes her head about gearing up for the tournament. "Too much to do," she explains, "I'm planning out an electrical generator for the waterfall at Eas. Just think of it: actual electricity. It's going to be a game changer." It probably won't, but it's progress, of a sort. She smirks as Nyanta purloins the fish, but she knows better than to get inbetween the cat and fish.

"Oh are you in one of those weird mood thingies? I've never had one so I dunno what it's like but I see folks dealing with it all the time." Still the idea of a generator does sound pretty amazing, "Hey you think we could invent the internet?" He asks, without a hint of being insincere, "Like if we can make electricity, couldn't we make stuff powered by it, and the internet is. Oh and then we could invent full-dive VR and make Elder Tale Online 2 except this time it doesn't trap you in it." Syx hasn't even started drinking yet that's just him.

    The compliments of Nyanta and the gesture and words offered by Vertina are a comfort. "Well, that is fair. It seems to be meeting everyone's expectations." A pause as a little voice calls out from the kitchen. "Mama! Can I have my tuna rolls now?"

    One of the many perks of working for close friends is that Asuna gets to take her child with her. The little girl emerges from the kitchen a moment later. She pauses to look at Syx. To a six year old girl, he somehow seems larger than life. "You are really big," she observes honestly.

    Asuna covers her grin. She will just pop back to work on the requested tuna rolls. It will not take her long. While she does that, Yui focuses on the huge Salamander. Really Salamanders. She looks over to Vertina, too, of course. "I wish I could be tall."

Nyanta gives a dashing smile to the little girl, "Tuna Rolls: I see you are a lady of culture as well, young lady (Ojou-sama). Asuna, if you are willing, myaight you also myayke a portion for myaiself as well, nya? I am ever so fond of Tuna Rolls, nya."

Nyanta takes in what Syx says and blinks a few times, "Like Ouroboros, we are bound to eternity, nya." He raises a mug of ale in toast to the idea, and takes a healthy drink."

Goldenblade chuckles to Syx and shakes her head about a weird mood. She had just gotten done with one on an unrelated topic, and she's planning the electrical one, but she's not in it yet. "Just planning for it, so far," she explains. As for Asuna's little girl, she says, "You'll be tall soon enough." Because kids grow up so fast. "You just help Asuna out and grow up stong, and you'll be fine," she says with a chuckle, smirking at Nyanta. "You can't make your own tuna rolls, chief?" she teases him. "Or you've eaten all the tuna you had?"

Vertina wrinkles her nose a little at Goldenblade. "Electricity would be nice, but I don't think we need to doom the Landers to a life of pop-up ads and microtransations." But then she shrugs, so it may of been partially a joke on the latter part. "It would be nice not having to contract cold wizards to chill things." That's one of the reasons she went about rounding out her elemental proficiently.

She's back to cheerful soon enough, reaching down to give Yui's hair a ruffle. "You've got plenty of time yet kid, you may surprise everyone."

Syx grins down at the little kid, and then steps back up from the table, finishing off his ale, and then bending down in front of her, "You wanna see something fun?"

He quickly glances over to Asuna for approval, and if he gets it, will flex his arm and motion for Yui to grab hold of his arm, and then will rise up to give her a view from his eye level, "You can see what it's like!"

    Asuna pops out with tuna rolls. Two plates. One with notably more. She either heard or anticipated Nyanta's request. "Oh, and that sounds good! We like fun!" She nods at Syx, which means Yui gets to grab on and see. But first, she smiles up at Vertina, "I hope I do! I want to be a warrior!"

    Then up she goes and Yui has a new view.

    "This is like riding on papa's shoulders! You get to see from up here all the time?! Nobody can hide cookies from you on the top shelf!" Yui has real problems and needs tall solutions.

    A pause and Yui asks curiously, "So is it true. I mean. If you eat all the sweets will you really get a tummy ache? If so, how do you stop yourself without a mom and a higher shelf?"

Nyanta chuckles at GB as he eats more of the Smoked Fish, platter already a quarter gone merely due to his own efforts. Given the nature of the celebration, Nyanta is not exercising as much restraint on consumption as he usually imposes upon himself. It would be rude not to practice the spirit of the event, after all. "Well, I am capable of making them myaiself, of course, but that is currently Asuna's kitchen, and it would be rude of me to intrude, nya. Also," And his grin broadens, "I very well may have this finished before she returns, nya."

To Vertina, "I would very much like to purrocure a reliable source of ice, nya. Being able to have a purroper iced tea without tribulations would certainly be a quality of life impurroovement, nya..."

Upon receiving the tuna rolls, his eyes light up like a child at a candy store, though the rest of his face remains composed. "Why, thank you, Asuna dear, nya. You are a lady and a scholar, nya." Noting the very deep and contemplative questions Yui has posited, Nyanta responds with all seriousness, "It is important, as you grow up, to learn your limits, nya. Many kittens like you have to learn the hard way by getting tummy aches, but you have very good parents to keep an eye on you and show you, so you need not have that happen to you, nya."

Goldenblade chuckles to Vertina, and says, "Don't worry, it took a hundred and fifty years for four billion people to go from electric lights to pop-up ads, I don't think /we're/ going there very soon. But refrigeration is nice. I've worked outdoors all my life, so I don't much care for air conditioning for me, but for food preservation, it's amazing." She laughs as Syx picks up the child, and she suggests, "Let her ride on your shoulders for a while, and see what it's like?" But they've already thought of that, it seems, and she says to the girl, "If you eat all the cookies, then you won't have cookies for tomorrow, tummy ache or not. Learning that and stopping yourself is part of growing up," she says wistfully.

Syx slips his other arm around below Yui and then hefts her up onto his shoulders, holding onto her legs with his hands as he keeps her steady, "There see, now you're taller than me!"

He laughs a bit, "As far as not eating cookies, sometimes you have to know when it's good for you to listen to good advice, and your mom would never give you anything but good advice."

    Yui is in shock at this most recent gain in elevation. "Everyone is shorter than me now!" she calls out, triumphant. She's very happy, of course, and quite taken with the chance to see everyone from waaaaaay up here. But she heard a lot of good advice, and she has to take all that in.

    Her little face scrunches up in thought. "So if I eat too much, I will feel bad. And if I eat everything now, there will be nothing tomorrow. So perhaps... the treat jar can come down and I will not take too much. I do not like feeling sick."

    The Flash sets out Yui's food at the bar, where she most likes to sit. "It's time to come down, big girl! You need to eat and let Uncle Syx get back to his revelry."

    There is a little pouting, but not for long. "Thank you, Uncle Syx! It's fun being tall, even if it's just for a little bit."

Vertina laughs. Who knew Syx would be good with kids? Then again dealing with young fans is part of the professional wrestling gig.

"Yeah. Part of being a responsible person is learning to think about such things. Plus if you eat all the treats now, you have none to share with your friends later. And that would be sad right?"

Vertina picks up a glass for herself and drinks. It is only one of the juices though, she never actually drinks her handiwork while on the job.

Almost ironically, Nyanta finishes up the entire platter of smoked fish by himself without sharing any before he moves on to the Tuna Rolls Asuna provided for him. "Agreed, nya. That would be very sad, nya."

Goldenblade smirks as Syx gives the little girl all the height she's dreamed of, and a few life lessons. That's a good thing, for kids. She's drinking plenty of Vertina's brew tonight, have no fear, it is definitely getting evaluated. She smirks at Nyanta being sad about eating all the treats as he eats all the treats. "Oh, the irony, Chief."

    Asuna comes around to collect her child, then pauses, considering. She will change tacks and get Yui's plate and head over to sit near Nyanta. Sure, Nyanta's ability to resist the call of fish is questionable at the moment, but The Flash is quite confident that even that will not be allowed to exceed his politeness.

    Asuna settles down there with Yui and lets out a sigh. "Finally off my feet," she says. "And we are all getting fed." A pause. "I really should eat something, myself, shouldn't I?"

    Yui gives Vertina a serious look as she is taken to the table. "You are so right. It's more fun to share things, isn't it?"

One of the things Syx would never actually gloat about, despite being super proud of it, is the fact that he has done a lot of those Grant a Wish things for sick kids over the years. That's part of how he got good with kids. For the moment h takes Yui around until she goes back to get food with Asuna, and Syx finally comes back over and sits at the table, grabbing another ale.

    Merek walks along and to the place where the festival is being held. He notices there are people about, and if there is fish, he will be walking that way. The man wears his usual dark attire, and he nods a bit to people that he knows, while he waves a little.

Vertina waves to the newest arrival. "Hey Merek. Have a seat, get something to eat and drink. Still plenty to go around." Even if a certain cat has eaten most of the fish by now.

Nyanta has only eaten most of the fish AT THIS TABLE; there is plenty of fish at other tables, and also in the back. "I recommend the Game Bird Skewers, nya. I purrohcured them myself, nya." He puts a tuna roll in his mouth, savouring the flavor.

    Asuna does try a skewer. "I rather like eating things I don't cook from time to time. New ideas and a chance to appreciate what others have made."

    Yui being busy eating gives the Flash time to just relax. "I imagine you will need more fish soon," she says playfully to Nyanta. "You seem to be living up very much to your feline nature."

    Asuna tilts her head, considering the skewers. "This is quite good. Where did you get it?"

Goldenblade grins as Syx rides Yui around on his shoulders. She scoots over a bit so Asuna and Yui can sit with her and Nyanta and she smiles at Asuna finally getting off her feet. "Been busy, I guess?" she asks, a reasonable guess considering the amount of cooking that's gone into this festival. She looks up as Merek approaches, eying Nyanta's now-empty plate, and waves to the fellow. "Hello, there," she calls, getting some more of the game bird, and agreeing with Asuna about them being good.

    "I just got done with one of those weird moods," Asuna admits. "A few weeks and it was a blur. But I apparently have nailed down proper Italian cooking. Pasta, soup, garlic bread, the whole thing. And of course, even better pizza."

    Yui has to put in with a giggle, "Mama made everyone taste her pasta. It was funny!"

    Merek looks around a little bit, then he takes the fish from other tables, so that he can bring it with him. "Ya, the fish." He nods, "Good to see you all," he notes. That to Vertina and to others that he knows, while he takes the time to eat his fish. "Well, I like pasta."

Nyanta flashes GB a knowing grin, acknowledging said irony on the topic of sharing. In one blink, Nyanta seems to have disappeared from the chair, empty smoked salmon platter as well. Two blinks later, he is back in the chair, and the place where the empty salmon platter once was is now occupied with a full one freshly acquired from the kitchen. "I have heard, through the culinary grapevine, that you have been working on some purroject, Asuna, nya. Would you care to elaborate on the rumors, nya?"

"No surprise. I did the same when I was experimenting with brewing methods." Vertina jabs a thumb in Syx's direction. "There's a few nights he was the only one still standing."

Goldenblade's eyes widen as Asuna mentions learning Italian-style cooking. "That's quite a rare thing, I imagine, if only because tomatoes are a more tropical crop than you typically see around here." but Syx may have more comments on tomatoes. She laughs at the mentions of experimental brewing, and says, "More interesting than my life, I'm afraid."

Syx laughs a bit, "I wonder. Everybody's strange moods seems to be related to their profession, so I suppose I need to try to figure out something on the farm." He hmms and rubs his chin, before he digs into some of his food again, before taking a long drink from his ale.

    "Where there's a will, there's a way, Goldenblade. And I do have tomatoes in my garden," replies Asuna. "And yes, Nyanta. I rediscovered the wonders of Italian cooking. Which was a lot of work, and rather hard on my family, admittedly. I don't know that it was entirely voluntary, what happened! Though I don't clearly remember several phases of my... condition."

    Yui very carefully avoids commenting on Asuna going bonkers. It's not very kind to stress it too much. "Now we have very good pasta and soup and pizza whenever we like!"

    "Oh, and Syx, if you are going to work on something special in the farm, I would love to hear about it. I'm always seeking new and superior ingredients."

"It's.. a state of mind. One that you end up not remembering all the details of, but you see the results of your work and know it happened... And part of the reason I took up cooking myself was to help people forgetting to take care of themselves when it happens."

"Actually, speaking of farming and ingredients." Vertina folds her hands together thoughtfully. "I was going to ask, Syx, after you're not occupied with the tournament, if you could teach me some of that know-how with plants? All three of my professions could benefit from a more thorough knowledge of herbs, spices and botanicals."

"Oh yeah, for sure." Syx replies, though it's not clear which question he's responding to, but in his head it's both because the answer is the same for both questions.

Goldenblade considers Vertina, but says, "I see it as more a state of intense focus and concentration. Your friends might say you don't eat enough," or that you stink, she doesn't add aloud, "but you're prioritizing. Some things are that important. Every time I hear about it, it's behind some great work or monumental effort, and so you can't say that it's not an extraordinary effort being made. I think it's just the cost of putting in that effort. But I've had a long day, so I'm going to take my concentration and make an extrordinary effort in bed by sleeping and raising my sleeping stat." Amd so saying, she yawns, rises, and heads out.

Nyanta nods, "Several of my friends have been having such moods lately, nya. I have made it a point to drop off care purrkages for them every few days for them, nya." Nyanta seems to be eating the Tuna Rolls much slower than the smoked salmon. Regardless of what party he is in, sushi must be savoured. Eating them fast would be heresy.

    The time does eventually make its demands. But not really on Yui. More on Asuna. She has to cover a yawn. "I am not fully recovered from it. And whatever the focus was, I would rather avoid it for quite some time. I know who I want to focus on."

    She reaches out to stroke her daughter's hair. "And we are all better off when mommy isn't crazy, right?"

    Yui cannot help but giggle at this. "But crazy mommy is funny, too!"

    That declaration earns a faux grouchy look from Asuna. And she notices the tuna roll is gone. So tickling can be carried out safely! And so it is. Much giggling ensues, until Asuna just scoops Yui up.

    "I had best get this little one back home and both of us in our beds. I hope you all have had a wonderful time!" She looks to Vertina, "And if you can just leave the dishes in the kitchen, I will see to them all in the morning. I don't want to leave all this work for others."

    With a few more goodbyes to others on her way out, the Flash is off into the night.

Nyanta stands up slowly and gives a bow, "It was a most entertaining spending time with all of you, but the night is young, and I must attend to the purrty goers, nya. Please enjoy your time, nya. As I understand, closing time is after 3am tonight, so there is plenty of purrty left to be had, nya. Take care, my friends." The Coolest Cat in ETO plays hard, but he works hard as well, and this is an event that HE arranged, so he must ensure that everything goes PURR-fectly. The Dandy Cat can be seen darting around the room, restocking the tables, and serving the beer. He is even manning the kitchen now that Asuna has gone to put Yui to bed. There ain't no party like a Nyanta party, 'cuz a nyanta party don't stop, apparently...