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"To new friends, and new allies," Skorpahlich toasts when it is his turn to do so. He nods his long-snouted head to his teammates first, and to the Hammer at the second part.
Whereas most foods taste pretty much the same to him, he is excited to discover that wine - or at least high quality wine - like coffee does indeed arouse his tastebuds. It tastes "green," not in an unripe or unpleasant way, but it's as if he's seeing the greenest part of a visual spectrum. The experience makes him consider taking a wine-tasting class if he can find one.
He closes his eyes and savors the flavors and the moment.
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Blushing slightly at the Hammer's remarks, Venari shrugs and scratches the back of their head. "Ahh yes, apologies - I often zone out and makes it hard to keep a grasp on reality - hopefully I will master it in time." As they get into the lift, the Ex-pirate yawns loudly, it had been a very long night after all and their thoughts were drifting towards their bed in the Lorespire complex.
Back in the chamber, they accept a glass from the Hammer and sits down on the couch, leaning against Celly and resting their head on their shoulder should she not throw them off. "Indeed, to Friends! I had a wonderful time and hope to see you all again soon!"
Venari raises their glass and then takes a sip, savouring the flavour and letting out a sigh of relief.
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Shokil, finding a muffin hidden away in a previously unnoticed (or maybe, overlooked) folk, nods his agreement.
"And of course, any resemblance to any of you in a future novel is... pure co-incidence." he smiles.
Those with keen ears may still hear a quiet..
"Underwater exotic dancer... now That I can use!"
"Indeed, may Hylax bless us all with new friends throughout a long cooperative life." The trox agrees with the aasimar.
"And now if you'll excuse me. I must get a few hours rest before the ceremonies and my departure tomorrow. Please let yourselves out, or stay a while. The bedroom is well soundproofed."
When you do leave, the concierge approaches while you wait for the elevator. "In case you were wondering, your halfling companion has returned home. She suffered an acute bout of food poisoning, or some kind of allergenic reaction. A few uncomfortable hours with the medical staff and she seemed quite recovered. I imagine she'll feel right as rain when she wakes this morning."
...
"I haven't made it home yet! Darn the food they serve here!"
The concierge raises an eyebrow and makes a moue with his mouth.
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Celly looks rather concerned at Baila then kneels down to halfling height and gives Baila a gentle hug. Pop around sometime she says softly. Address is in your pocket
A bit louder. It went reasonably well - apart from thieves in the mall, gremlins in the tour shuttle and squoxes in the park. But, all things considering, we did achieve all that we set out to do.
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"It was certainly...eventful." Venari reports, hiding a yawn behind their hand. "Sorry to see you sick Baila! Would have been grand to have you."
They then get to their feet and drain the glass before dusting off their tatty coat which has got worse due to their 'adventure' around the station - who said not leaving Absalom was boring?! "Well my friends - I believe it is time we parted, I shall look out for you in the future - and try to make sure it isn't one of your reality doubles before I say hi!" they chuckle before patting Baila on the shoulder and waving goodbye, making their way from the Hotel room and strolling through the artificial night turning to day cycle to find their room and crash until the next time they are needed.
The next morning Chiskisk, who has thoughtfully given you a day to recover, sends each of you a message to report to the same conference room in the Lorespire Complex for a debriefing later that morning. This time the conference room's long side table is filled with an untouched feast, baked goods, simple proteins, dips, and coffee and various infusions.
You have a few minutes together before the tall, stooped shirren, their antennae bobbing rhythmically as they walk, enters the room. They select a piece of fruit from the cornucopia and sit.
"Friends, I hope you've recovered from your long labors on our behalf.
The news is very good. Before she left, the Hammer of Hylax signed a memorandum of understanding. We look forward to a new age of cooperation, trade, and glorious exploration in the AO-688 system.
"I believed that her willingness to sign the agreement so soon is largely due to the time she spent with you. You impressed her enough to seal the deal, as they say.
Leena Whix, in Accounts Payable will have your vouchers. Don't forget to give her your receipts.
Thank you again."
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”It appears you have survived another encounter with Ugliness,” Skorpahlich says, recalling his and Balia’s first conversation. ”I hope we will meet again, under better circumstances.”
In spite of polishing off yet another cup of coffee from the grand spread, Skorpahlich yawns also. Without a word, he nods to each of his new allies and heads to his quarters for some much needed sleep.
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Days later, and better rested…..
Coffee with Celly had been both pleasant and incredibly educational. She had patiently explained everything to Skorpahlich about the club, the VIP passes, the other dancers, and of course the rules of behavior. They’d even chatted about their lives here on Absalom Station a little. He had also found it interesting to watch the reactions of some of the other patrons to seeing the two of them together: the tall, freakishly pale and thin vesk and the singularly beautiful, graceful, and enchanting aasimar. He wondered what they were thinking, even as he realized that what they thought had no impact on them, so ultimately it didn’t really matter.
He found Celly enchanting and pleasant, but she wasn’t exactly his type. Plus it was hard to think of Celly as anything other than a very capable colleague, dependable ally, and perhaps even a friend. She’d told him that the Starlight Nightclub employed dancers of a wide variety of species nearly all of whom conformed to the basic bipedal body form. Though truth be told, he wasn’t really sure what his type was. Certainly not a vesk though; he didn’t find the large, brutish, dominant vesk females appealing. Probably something to do with the unusual relationship he had with his late Mother. (He takes a moment to make a note to engage Celly for counseling services related to his upbringing.) If nothing else, this was to be an opportunity to see a variety of body types engaged in performances meant to arouse. Certain to be exciting at some level, he was sure.
Venari had comm’ed not long ago to say that he was already there. The club apparently had a wonderful buffet that the damai was sampling much to his enjoyment. For his part, Skorpahlich planned to skip the buffet. The point of the night was to sample the exotic visuals after all.
He showed his VIP pass to the mormalaw bouncer who seemed nonplussed at his odd coloration and body shape. As he pushed open the door and was assailed by the music and lights, he thought, Just as I ventured out from the Black Lancet without knowing what I’d find, here I go again.….