[ 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

[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.

[h2no]

"I'm just sayin', you don't gotta get down on yourself for not knowin' something. This is an entirely new world, after all. Makes sense there'd be stuff you don't know."

[darkov]

He colors a little, looking down bashfully.

"Sorry. I just...think like that. Like normal. Sorry." Being negative on himself is about as natural as breathing -- a reflex developed over lots and lots of repetition.

[h2no]

"It's understandable, given" Martin's trauma "the fact you're in an entirely new world."

He pats Martin's shoulder lightly.

"You'll be able to get to a point where you can see something new and think, actually, I do know what's up with that. Besides, I'm sure you're an expert on how stuff goes back in your world, right? You know all that."

[darkov]

While he does jolt a little at being touched, as usual, he looks over, his mouth tugged in a crooked half-smile.

“You’re an expert in your world?” he counters, clearly unconvinced.

[h2no]

There's a short pause while he processes what just happens, then snorts and laughs.

"Martin," he says, scandalized. "Yes, I have some expert level knowledge. I know I don't seem like the type..."

[darkov]

“Re-really?” His voice squeaks a little, somewhat doubting himself and somewhat doubting Archie. Humor isn’t foreign to him, but he’s not the sharpest when it comes to it... “Well, I’m sorry...I’m not an expert in my own. I’m probably the worst when it comes to knowing the right of complicated things in Olvoski.”

[h2no]

He puts his hand over his mouth, shoulders bobbing as he laughs a little more.

"You're the most knowledgeable here..."

[darkov]

"Uh, well, true," Martin concedes, shrugging. "I guess that's...just. An, an expert just because. Not like...actually earning it."

[h2no]

"It still means you know a lot about something that no-one else here knows about," he says with an affirming nod. It's the baseline that everyone here comes into, but what's the harm in affirming Martin he actually does have useful information inside his head?

"Speaking of, do Darkovs have gatherings like this?"

[darkov]

"You mean...dinner together?" Martin shoots him a quizzical look. "We...we all live together. If no one's on the hunt, then most everyone would eat at the same time."

He scratches at his cheek with the end of the fork before sending it poking at the plate again.

"Umh...except Grandfather, usually. He's busy a lot. Some of the gen-sevens, too."

[h2no]

He shovels some of the food into his mouth while he listens to Martin, still slowly trying to piece together Darkov culture.

"Gen-sevens?"

[darkov]

"Ormh--"

Martin swallows his bite, swiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Generation sevens, sorry. They're the ones older than me and my cousins. I'm an eight. And Grandfather's a six. Like that."

[h2no]

Over one hundred years... that just raises more questions, but he figures now isn't the time to ask Martin about the origin of his species.

"Got it," He says, taking another bite, thinking. "Do you know what it is your grandfather gets busy doing?"

[darkov]

He makes the universal I dunno sound through his nose. Universal, even in Darkov land.

"Things with the Lumas. I don't really know what goes into it. Probably talking about things like...like our progress, or matching or...hunting parties, I guess."