[ SEMI-OPEN ]

[ct_7567]

WHO: Those who have been invited & anyone who would have a reason to visit Maurtia Falls #010! Wondering if you fit into that category? Just contact anyone with an involved character (Andy; Rex; Martin; Cassandra Igarashi; Dio; Archie) and ask!
WHERE: Maurtia Falls #010
WHEN: TONIGHT? TONIGHT.
WHAT: The soldierfam has decided that regular group dinners are good for Martin, and this time they've got a few party crashers!
WARNINGS: None anticipated; will change if necessary!



At a glance, one could easily mistake Maurtia Falls #010 for being entirely uninhabited. Dio rarely returns home and Rex and Marty only have a handful of belongings between the two of them and Rex is meticulously tidy, returning everything to exactly where it ought to be - if anything, it's Andy who makes the biggest mess around the place, and she doesn't even live here.

Despite every sign to the contrary, however, they do live here, and it winds up being a hub of activity whenever one of Martin's guardians - if that's truly what they can call themselves - decides that it's about time to get everyone together for dinner. In Anderson's absence, Rex has taken on the opinion that cooking can't be that hard, which is how they wind up with one window open, a casserole dish burned black soaking in the sink and an assortment of take-out on the table.

(As it turns out, it is that hard - and he found a combination pizza & Chinese food take-out place, whiich means that it can only be better.)

In all, there's not much to do or see here; there's food, Rex the goldfish in his tank, a soccer ball neatly tucked close to the house in the backyard, and a mysterious shelf called "Martin's Things" in the cupboard. Otherwise, you're stuck with nothing more than some potential awkward conversation. Have fun, kids!

Comments

[darkov]

Martin's face colors, eyes darting down.

"I-I don't know," he utters, still searching his brain for a good counter. Why? It is not his place to ask why, only to be certain he can't be the source of a good thing. "I mean...pe-people get together all the time anyway. This could've happened without me being here, I, I think..."

[h2no]

"Nope. If you pay attention to and think 'bout it without immediately pushing yourself out of the equation it's pretty obvious," he chirps happily.

"I know it's not easy, but I think if you asked anyone here they'd say the same. They're here, having nice food, making friends, because of you."

[darkov]

But I didn't do anything, he thinks, looking back up and out toward the living room people are mulling about in. Besides getting in trouble a lot...hurting people...not knowing anything...

"I owe them at least this much," he says at length, turning his head and looking around the kitchen. His eyes linger on the 'MARTIN'S STUFF' cabinet. "After everything bad that happens..."

[h2no]

"You're not the cause of the bad stuff," he says, "That's just how it is here, the Porter does something, someone does something with their powers, the natives do something... there's never really any singular cause of the bad stuff here. Life isn't ever that simple."

Archie follows Martin's gaze to the cabinet. He has to wonder what's in there.

"This is good, though, and this was all you." He smiles lightly, not wanting to drag Martin into anything too deep during such a nice time. "Have you tried all the food?"

[darkov]

All for him, huh? And he can't even stop gnawing on that bone of his that reminds him how much of a bother he is? Martin scratches at the side of his head and lets out a breath in a little puff.

"Uh, no," he replies, looking back over. "Not yet. There's stuff over there I don't really know, so I was...uh, just waiting to see." See what it looks like when other people dig in. Especially the stuff that seemed spicier, just by smell.

[h2no]

Archie, at least, doesn't seem remotely bothered by it.

"What's new to you?" he asks, cautiously, happy to move off the subject before Martin got too worked up.

[darkov]

"Um..."

Martin pushes away from the kitchen counter, stuffing the other half of the poffin into his mouth on his way to the array of take-out boxes set on the table. He points toward the carton of pad thai that sits open and half-served already.

"That, things like that," he says, nodding.

[h2no]

"Have some water," he says, nodding towards the sink. "To clear out your mouth of the Poffin."

Archie wanders over to the table, assuming Martin is gonna do so and takes a bowl and gets a little of the pad thai, trying to get something of everything.

[darkov]

"Oh, uh, yessir," he mumbles. Then, catching himself, "I mean--sorry. Archie."

He sighs, deciding to just obediently get to slamming some water back as told and stop tripping over his tongue. He gulps half a glass before wandering back to Archie's side with the remains, watching him scooping out portions while his mouth still lingers on the rim of the glass, peeking at the obscured image the bottom of the glass makes of things on the table.

[h2no]

He holds the bowl out to Martin, when he's done drinking.

"No reason why you shouldn't try it, right? Or do you want to know what's in it, first?"

[darkov]

"Well," Martin puffs out a breath, setting the glass down and accepting the bowl, "I doubt I'd know half of what's in it. I mean, just...from past experience." His mouth quirks in a brief, sheepish grin.

He doesn't wait for utensils to be offered -- or he just doesn't notice, really, just going ahead and pinching a couple noodles between his fingers and holding them up to his face to peer at them for a beat before stuffing them in his mouth.

He makes a face while he chews; it's...not what he expected it to taste like. Definitely not pasta.

[h2no]

Archie, holding the fork, just kind of... watches this. Glancing back to the fork he's holding. Okay? Okay, Martin. He holds it out when the gremlin has completed his First Bite.

"Bad or good?" He asks.

[darkov]

"Odd," he replies, once he's gotten the first chew down. He takes a second to pick at a piece stuck to a back tooth with his tongue, frowning. "What's it--" Hang on. There. "What's it made of? I don't think I ever, ever tasted that before..."

[h2no]

"There's noodles, bean sprouts, green onions, garlic, peanuts," Good to know he's not allergic, honestly. "Chile..."

He looks back to the carton. He's not too sure about this, honestly. It's very different from anything he's familiar with himself.

"Ah! Shrimps! Those're the curly things."

[darkov]

Martin squints at him suspiciously as he lists off the foods, not convinced onions or beans are at all present in this. They don't taste anything like onions or beans. But then again, maybe this little bit here is one...He plucks a piece out and sniffs it before popping it in his mouth, assuming it could be bean-like.

"What?" He zones back in, staring back at the dish and honing in on 'curly things.' "They're what now?"

[h2no]

"The curly things," he repeats, pointing at a shrimp in the bowl "There. They come from the sea."

Maybe he's heard of them before? He did react, after all... it's hard to tell with this gremlin, sometimes.

[darkov]

Not at all. Fish are untouchable back home -- dangerous for many reasons, but not all of them known to him. He just trusts what he's told, and it's why Martin chews just a little more carefully upon learning he's eating fishy-food.

"The...the fish here are safe to eat," he says warily, talking with his food still chewed up, a little hesitant to swallow. "Right? I mean-- there's nothing that makes the water sick. Right?"

[h2no]

Archie makes the executive decision to not go off on a diatribe about to anthroprogenic effects on the ocean.

"Fish you get like this you can eat. They're fine. But-- you don't have to. If you tell people you don't like fish they won't give you any."

...

"Fish like Rex you can't eat."

[darkov]

Of course they're fine, he thinks. Why would they be here if they weren't fine? Stupid question.

"Ri-right," he utters, embarrassed. "Sorry, that-- I mean. Sorry."

As penance, he plucks the fork from Archie and shovels a bit more into his mouth, trying to outpace his doubts.

[h2no]

"Hey, you never know until you ask. I didn't know where half the food here came from until I looked it up."

Archie doesn't watch him do this, just strolls over to get himself a bowl to fill.

"Different from chicken and potatoes, ain't it?"

[darkov]

"Uh-humnh." His mouth's still full, but he nods anyway. Once he's swallowed another bite, though, he adds on, "But...it could be that, too. I bet I wouldn't know. People make things mixed up all the time...so that it doesn't even taste like what it is."

[h2no]

"And what would happen if you didn't know that?"

Would the world end, Martin?

[darkov]

"Huh-?"

Blinking, he looks back, trading that expression with Archie. He frowns. Is this...a trick question?

"I...don't know. What?"

[h2no]

"Nothing."

Said like it's some... revelation.

"You know, not knowing stuff isn't always bad. It just means you have an opportunity to learn."

[darkov]

Another blink, staring.

Learn...what. Learn food tastes weird sometimes?

"Al...Alright...?" He grimaces, not quite picking up what Archie's throwing down.