Side Dishes In The Feast Part 3 - Sensitive And Daring!

Side Dishes In The Feast Part 3 - Sensitive and Daring!

NOTE: This is yet another collection of scenes from around the Feast. Please don't kill Visionary, and please don't lynch me today either.

Humor, Food For The Soul

    Keiko ate light as she watched the conversation around her in Sir Mumphrey's dining room, trying to keep a low profile in her bright red kimono, her dark hair cascading down around the solid collar to her shoulders, as she decided in her room earlier not to tie up her hair.

    Part of her reasoning for eating light was because the soup wasn't quite her taste, and she knew from attending these higher-class dinners that all she had to do was wait long enough and it would be taken away whether or not she had even tasted it - and that there would always be more food to come. Another reason was that she couldn't bear to look down for a moment, lest she miss some of the amusement.

    She was a relatively anonymous figure at the table. It seemed that everyone else knew each other, and were so engrossed in conversation that they wouldn't have even thought to speak to her. That suited her just fine, it seemed to be much more entertaining just to watch and listen.

    Especially when CrazySugarFreakBoy! brought his own spork rather than use the array of genuine silver utensils. Keiko guessed that he normally found carry-out pizza to be gourmet cuisine. She laughed to herself at the thought of him rejecting the exotic English meal and ordering out for a pizza delivery. She then visibly smiled when CSFB! complained loudly about the concept of eating something called 'spotted dick'.

    She quietly wondered what an anti-sugar ray might be after CSFB! mentioned it. That, and the tone Elizabeth von Zemo used toward him and Shazana Pel, convinced her that Elizabeth was a controlling type, someone who would not be toyed with.

    Finally, one of the servers came and took her soup, quickly replacing it with a light fish course. She sighed as she looked at it. English cuisine seemed to favor sauces added after the fact to give flavor rather than seasoning during cooking. It would be decent to eat, but rather plain. She took a bite and looked around to catch up on conversation.

    Two people named Nats and Thuddy seemed to be missing, along with someone else named...Cressida? Unusual, Keiko supposed, but not alarming, as there was no all-out search for any of them in progress.

    But the one conversation that really made her laugh was the one started by a green-skinned Caphan woman named Kaara, who asked Visionary if he would be having sex with Hallie, another green-skinned woman who didn't seem related to the Caphans. She continued eating her fish as she was being entertained by poor Visionary's panic attack and Hallie's replies. Keiko slipped Hallie's steak knife off of the table just to see if anyone would notice, but no one did.

    He seemed like he wished he could leap out of his chair and run by the time Kaara and her green-skinned sisters began asking him who he planned to have sex with that night. Keiko finally snickered when Elizabeth von Zemo, at the other end of the table, finally made Visionary wince. The green-skin Miiri tried to subtly suggest that she had sex with Visionary, but the subtlety failed. Elizabeth then made it obvious to everyone at the table. By that point, Keiko was beginning to feel a little sorry for him. She made a mental note to attempt to speak to him after dinner.

    The meat course was served, it looked to be a rather plain piece of beef. Keiko managed to convince one of the servers to bring her some steak sauce from the kitchen, and then began eating some of the steak. She noted, at one point, Visionary standing and leaving the table, mumbling something about finding a bathroom.

    Keiko excused herself with a silent bow and then quickly raced after Visionary. Being faster than he, frantic as he was to escape the dining room, she caught up to him silently and suddenly popped up in front of him.

    "Augh!" Visionary cried out. He lowered his voice and babbled, "Please don't kill me."

    "I promise I won't," Keiko vowed. "I wish to speak with you."

    "You're--" Visionary turned pale with a thought, and he began trembling as he asked. "--the girls didn't ask you to hurt me, did they? Out of revenge?"

    "No." Keiko shook her head. "I wanted--"

    Visionary seemed even more in a panic as he interrupted her to ask, "You don't want sex too, do you?"

    Keiko stood in front of him and blinked twice, seeming shocked at his question.

    "Please don't kill me," Visionary whimpered as he saw her reaction.

    "I promised I wouldn't," she repeated. She took his arm gently and pulled him out of hearing range of the dining room - especially important, because she could hear the Caphans still talking about him. "Listen to me. You had sex with Miiri--"

    "I knew it! You're going to kill me!"

    "Quiet!" Keiko scolded, finally losing patience with Visionary's fearful interruptions. "Listen to me. You are afraid of those women because you don't think you deserve them. You believe you only deserve someone of average beauty, of average intelligence, if even that."

    Visionary was silent at last, but he looked confused.

    "Is that what you believe?" Keiko asked insistently.

    "Well...I dunno." Visionary mumbled a non-committal response.

    "Tell me," Keiko asked, "If you give a gift that is from your heart and soul, would you feel upset if the recipient doesn't fully appreciate it?"

    "Of course," Vizh replied.

    "Miiri owns no property," Keiko told him. "She has no money, no trade skills. No worldly possessions." She leaned closer to Visionary, making him nearly worry about being killed again. "She gave you what little she could, because she wanted to give you something. And she believes that you deserved it."

    Vizh was struck silent again.

    "Do you understand?" Keiko asked.

    He nodded slowly. "I...think so." He looked toward the bathroom. "At least...I don't feel nauseous anymore."

    "The next course is about to be served." Keiko took his arm gently. "I urge you to return to the table, and keep your head high. Appreciate the gifts you've been given. And accept sex if necessary."

    She gently took his arm and led him quietly back to the dining room, releasing him just before she entered. She turned and nodded to him before she walked away and took her seat just in time for the wine and cheese course.

---

Room With A View

    Al B. Harper heard a soft knock at the door of his room. He climbed out of bed, bleary eyed and weighted down by jet lag, and opened the door. "Yuki," he whispered, "what are you doing here?"

    Yuki looked behind her at Asil holding a clipboard, and the butler, who was carrying her bag. "Good news," she told him, "We're going to be room mates."

    "I...I thought you were sharing a room with Amy?" Al asked.

    "She snores," Yuki told him. "And when I tried to ask her politely to wear one of those nose clips, she threw me out. Do you know how irritating snoring is with my range of hearing?"

    "I can imagine," Al sighed. "So...I guess you'll take the other bed?" he asked. He nearly took off his own slipper and clubbed himself for making such an offer.

    "Whatever makes you most comfortable," Yuki told him. "I am invading your space, after all."

    Al once again seriously considered clubbing himself with that shoe. He watched as Asil pulled a privacy curtain across the middle of the large room. "Go ahead and get settled in," he said, "I'll be right back."

    Yuki seemed confused as she watched Al B head into the bathroom down the hall and close the door. She was confused because she heard him cursing out loud, and she wondered if he stubbed his toe or something.

    When he returned, Yuki was wearing a sweat shirt and sweat pants to stay warm in the ancient Manor, and she was quietly reading a book in her bed. Asil and the butler were gone.

    "Catch," Yuki told him. She peeled the curtain aside and tossed him a bottle of Super Bubble. He fumbled it at first, but still managed to catch it before it hit the floor.

    Al B looked at the pink bottle of bubble soap and then at the bubble pipe sitting on his night stand. He filled the pipe and blew bubbles, making sure Yuki could see them. He knew well that his friend gave him the bubble soap to give him something familiar, to make him feel better about the unusual room situation. "Thanks, Yuki," he said.

    "I thought you could use something familiar," she told him, as she shoved aside the curtain and smiled warmly. "Al, don't be so nervous. We're just sharing space. I'll give you as much privacy as you need. And I won't object if you decide to sneak out."

    "Huh?" he asked.

    "I saw how you were looking at Amy," Yuki teased. "I don't know how close you two are, but tonight is your chance if you want to take it. A chilly night is perfect for that sort of thing."

    "You're cold?" Al B asked. "I thought your body was designed to maintain a thirty seven degree constant?"

    "So is yours," Yuki pointed out. "But I still can feel the sensation of cold. Even in this body it's much less pleasant than warmth. And stop changing the subject."

    Al sighed. He was trying to change the subject - discussing specs was something he felt infinitely more comfortable with. "We're not that close, really. I've been...watching her from afar." He smiled. "I like that she works in just overalls."

    "That's because she's fairly top heavy," Yuki pointed out. "Makes her more...visible in overalls. Sometimes I wish I'd chosen a larger chest size."

    "Hey, you're fairly curvy yourself," Al B pointed out as he blew more bubbles from the pipe. He meant to say more, but then he suddenly fell silent, afraid to speak another word.

    "Every once in a while," Yuki whispered softly as she smiled, "You get this rush of confidence and really speak your mind. It's refreshing. I wish you would do that more often."

    "I wish I could," Al B whispered as he glanced at her across the room again. He put the pipe down on his night stand and turned out the light. "Good night, Yuki."

    "Hey, Al," Yuki whispered through the darkness, "If you could have anything as a Christmas present, what would you choose?"

    He sighed, and paused for nearly an eternity. "Well, Visionary has all those Caphan girls to himself. He's so lucky."

    "You'd like something like that too?" she asked.

    "Who wouldn't?" Al replied.

    "Good point," Yuki replied.

    The next Al B. Harper heard in the darkness was a whisper, very close by, saying, "Merry Christmas."

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2004 by Jason Froikin, and may not be
-- reprinted without permission.
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
-- Lui Xi Xian is an original character by Jason Froikin
-- Keiko Takashi is part of World Class (C) 2004 by Jason Froikin

Post By Anime Jason Thu Dec 30, 2004 at 12:34:13 am EST	Subject Side Dishes In The Feast Part 3 - Sensitive And Daring!

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