[OPEN, DINER CATCH-ALL] war, children, it's just a shot away

[wordvomit]

Who: EVERYONE (Yes, even Mirrors.)
Where: Eighth Floor Diner
When: 12/18
Rating: PG to PG-13
Summary: With the help of a Japanese schoolgirl, one man overcomes his neurosis and invites literally everyone to the diner.
The Story:

[Ned wasn't optimistic at the beginning - matter of fact, Ned never starts out thinking optimistically about anything, simply as a force of habit. Healthy paranoia, often misconstrued as abject pessimism, is what weighs heavily on the Pie Maker on a daily basis.

Adding actual monsters - ones different from him, who are much larger and fictional and hungry - to the mix only serves to amplify his anxiety.

It comes as something of a relief when Tohru recommends barricading the windows and stockpiling supplies, blankets, an assortment of foodstuffs and some First Aid, all of which are suggestions Ned undertakes with enthusiasm and the assistance of his diner-mates.

Now, with all the tables upturned strategically and the blinds drawn, he's almost elated they had the foresight to work things out early as a new transmission hits the public sphere.

He sends out another message almost immediately, this one Mansion-wide.]

IF ANYONE NEEDS A SAFE PLACE AND YOU CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE CLINIC OR LIBRARY

COME TO THE DINER ON THE EIGHTH FLOOR

WE HAVE FOOD* AND SHELTER IN THE EVENT OF CATASTROPHE

*But please be patient with that, there's only a couple of us working the kitchen.

[The Pie Maker, who loathes close proximity and sometimes gets claustrophobic, almost regrets hitting SEND.

Almost.]






NOTE: This is OPEN MINGLE CATCH-ALL, anyone and everyone can meet up with their friends/family/associates in the diner if they need a safe place to stay and don't want to leap willy-nilly after Her Highness into the Rabbit Hole it's ironic because the diner is called The Rabbit Hole.

Comments

KITCHEN

[wordvomit]

[Frankly, Ned would prefer it if everyone stayed on the other side of the counter, but he can't exactly ban people from the cooking area unless they're posing a food safety hazard.]

[what_he_needs_less]

[His eyes are wide, flitting back and forth nervously, and he's slightly bent over, back pressed to the wall. He wants to see the kitchen, see what's in it, and maybe, if he's lucky, get to eat whatever is being baked.

And, he doesn't want to get caught. So, he's trying to be careful and quiet.

Michael thinks he's done it, crept into the kitchen unnoticed, but then he hears a sound and looks up, eyes meeting Ned's. Oh, oops.]

What are you doing? [Please, don't be angry with him.]

[wordvomit]

[The Pie Maker, hands full of lemon meringue and turning sharply in the kitchen he expects to be empty of trespassers, almost stumbles over what appears to be a small child with dark hair and overly inquisitive eyes.]

Wh-

[Executing a perfect pirouette, Ned saves his pie by practically slamming it down on the middle counter, where he braces his elbows in an attempt to regain his lost balance.]

....hello. I'm. Baking.

[onsilksheets]

[Luckily for Bela, her room was on the eighth floor so she didn't have far to go. She could do with some proper food and maybe even a little company to boot; being cooped up in her room all of the time was probably unhealthy.

When she enters the diner her first port of call was to find a kettle and then tea, followed by a mug to put it in. That's when she notices Ned by the counter; Bela stops a short distance away, looking at him expectantly.]

First time here. Can you tell me where I can make some tea?

[wordvomit]

[The influx of people makes Ned inherently uncomfortable - not an out-of-the-ordinary feeling by any stretch of the imagination - but he cools that nervous fire by occupying himself with odd tasks in and around the diner. The new customer's inquiry has him looking slightly lost, if only for a moment.]

That- that won't be necessary, I can make it for you.

[Ned often prefers tea to coffee, himself.]

Do you know what kind you want?

[dissemble]

[When Ned turns around from checking something in an oven, a small boy will be standing behind him, watching thoughtfully.]

What are you doing?

[wordvomit]

[Ned is starting to think that he should put a baby-gate across the door into the kitchen. Knives, hot ovens, and children do not mix well, in his humble opinion.]

Making pie.

[For a long moment he stands there, looking down at the diminutive boy and suffering from the niggling sensation of familiarity. An odd feeling, as the Pie Maker does not associate with many (read: any) children.]

I'm the Pie Maker.

MAIN DINING AREA

[wordvomit]

[Most of the tables are pushed up against the windows, the blinds are drawn, but the lights are still on. Tohru has been kind enough to set up a sleeping area on one side in case of real emergency, but let's hope it doesn't come to bunker-style living.

Feel free to catch up with friends/family/anyone else while staying away from the action!]

[whele]

[In a way, William doesn't even remember how he got to the diner. He could remember someone suggesting something, and then the rest was a chaotic blur that always seemed to happen when shit hit the fan. That and he was having a crisis not-crisis of faith going on, if you could swap the faith out for Wonderland that was. He didn't know much about his mirror except that the guy was angry at a lot of things, and from what Gabriel said, was crazy to boot. Seeing smears of blood and fingerprints on the mirror before had been one hell of a shocker- crazy, angry people were normally the stronger fighters in William's opinion.

Should he feel bad for the other, perhaps take it as some kind of an ominous warning that he too would be smeared across a wall somewhere? William hoped not; he's only just recently come back to life from his run in with Lucifer. It would be all too easy to say that Gabriel and Michael would make sure he was kept safe, but he wasn't one to ever presume what the angels would do and that went double for Gabriel. If Gabriel decided to not intervene, and William did go splat, then the acolyte knows he'd accept that finality.

Still, he really should snap out of those thoughts, the young man blinking and looking around the diner as he holds a still and somewhat content lion cub to his chest. He's never even been here before, but at least it looks decently protected with what they have to hand. William idly scratches behind the cub's ear, knowing full well if the jabberwocky wanted to kill them, a few tables wouldn't stop it. That's not for him to say though.]

Hello? Does anyone need help with anything?

[wordvomit]

[The fact of the matter is that Ned doesn't need help with anything, and if he did, then it's incredibly likely that he wouldn't say so. Being the sort of person who is reclusive and covered in flour on a good day, the Pie Maker, while averse to all the company his missive will undoubtedly bring, is aware that safety is paramount.

The bell over the door rings and drags him from his worktable in the kitchen, peering through the side door and assessing the newcomer.

The newcomer, it appears, is in somewhat stiff clothing with even stiffer posture, wielding what looks like a lion cub. Glancing down at Derby, his English springer spaniel, Ned hopes that the cat is willing to play nice. He really doesn't want another dog he can't touch after bringing it back.]

Uh. Hi.

[This is the part where he emerges from the kitchen, toweling his hands off and still clad in an apron.]

I don't...really need any help, but you're welcome to stay here for the duration of the, ah...disaster. As it were. I'm Ned.

[onlyhomemade]

[Gabriel had taken notice of Ned's invitation to take shelter at the Diner and, after a moment to consider how odd it was of Ned to do such a thing, decided to take him up on that very thing. What better place to barracade one's self than in a place with a kitchen and plenty of supplies to last them? Not that he had to eat, or his twin-turned-child for that matter, but it was a good idea none-the-less.

So he scooped up his brother, his kitten and got his sword in case the Jabberwocky did break through. He carried the young archangel, who carried his kitten and arrived with his cargo. He'd directed his Acolyte to the diner as well and had every intention of going back out one last time for a sweep of any of the other angels who may still be children. Or at least, to go and gather up their chosen one. All of which he was slowly working on getting on their good sides anyway, what better way than to seem as though he gave a damn about protecting them from the Jabberwock?

He and Ned hadn't spoken much since the last event, and though he wasn't banned from the Diner he had been keeping his distance for the time being. He was giving the pie-maker the space he needed, but now was as good a time as any to take a chance. So he deposits his brother to amble off on his own and considers helping himself to a cup of coffee, if not a slice of pie since he's been going through a bit of withdraw.]

[wordvomit]

[The response that strikes the Pie Maker like a kick in the gut when Gabriel slinks into The Rabbit Hole with a sword in one hand and a small child in the other is visceral. Ned thought he would do better. He thought he would be better about it, but denial is another thing that the Pie Maker is exceptionally good at outside of baking, and his anxiety-induced acid reflux rumbles up from below with a vengeance.

Ned throws back a lozenge to nurse before setting another pie on the center display to cool, watching Gabriel gravitate toward the coffee maker.]

Hello.

[His greeting isn't cold, but it hardly qualifies as warm.]

Didn't really expect to see angels hunkering down here.

[low_key_angel]

Okay kids.. down you go.. hey, no pulling on the wings! [And in comes another angel, this time his arms laden with small children. Thankfully Gabriel's brush with childhood was over, but others haven't been so lucky.

So he and his twin have been working together, wrangling up as many of the little ones as they can (funny how they both seem to have a soft spot for kids) and bringing them to safety.]

How goes the fortification?

[wordvomit]

[Ned peers around kitchen partition when he hears another rambunctious delivery of children being made, which is...well, frankly, it's starting to get a little difficult to keep them out of the baking area, he's this close to putting up a baby-gate on the door just to keep them from getting into the flour. The Pie Maker does not dislike children, nor does he like them, it would be more accurate to say that he is apathetic and understands the protective need to keep them safe during such a dangerous event.

Still. Children. Flour. A dangerous combination.]

Uh. Good, I- I guess?

[Toweling off his hands, Ned slinks around the counter like a giraffe trying its best to be inconspicuous in an open field. Which is to say, conspicuously, seeing as he's a whopping six feet, three inches tall.]

I'm not a professional bunker-prepper, I'm a baker.

[He did his best.]

Main dining area - open to all, feel free to jump in

[whele]

[For the time being things have somewhat settled down, if hunkering down in a "diner" waiting to see if they get eaten by a large monster (?) is anything to go by. But at least William is trying to make some sense of it, drinking some coffee as he peers at the lion cub sprawled out on it's back on his lap. Sometimes he had to envy cats and their ability to not give a fuck.

William gave a fuck. Several, in fact. He's only just come back from his first death recently, and that had been painful and embarrassing in a way, as if it mean he joined some kind of exclusive "I died in a stupid way" club. He doesn't talk about it and no-one asks. The principate has more important things to be doing anyway, and some may recognize him as the guy who was thinking of making a church on the network, or at least offering to help console others. So anyone who comes in will get a reassuring smile, and if anyone wants to talk to him, William will listen and not be at all put out.]

[onlyhomemade]

[Gabriel had been keeping a distance from the Principate, as if he were purposefully avoiding the other man in order to respect his comfort. The both of them knew it was to keep up appearances while among other people. Sure they'd discussed potentially telling the truth about the fact William has been working with him, but now was certainly not the best time.

Of course, after a moment Gabriel decides he's going to go ahead and at least have a talk with the human. Make it look as if he's trying to at least mend things, or show the other he's not so bad. Much as he's been doing for Ned and a few others around Wonderland. After all, William is from his world, it would be best to make friends if possible, right??

So he takes notice that the Principate is seeming a little... distant. Not just because of being trapped in a Diner with the man leading an army to destroy all humans in his world. He walks over with a fresh cup of coffee, approaching with a slight saunter and a slow, casual gait so as not to spook him or the cub in his lap. He smiles leaning over to give the cub a gentle belly rub while it lies on it's back.

Of course he's unaware of how this might look to someone who can't see the cub...]

I never told you how fitting I thought it was you came to possess a Lion Cub, I bet your father would be prou--TCH!

[His word is cut off in a wince as he's attacked for his efforts, large paws digging claw into his sleeve and arm, teeth gnawing his fingers playfully but still nearly drawing blood. The little creature doesn't know it's own strength yet. He hisses, arm trapped as back paws nearly rip his sleeve up before the cub finally lets him go, panting almost happily as it peers up at him, proud of itself. He shakes his hand off, giving the little thing A Stern Look before sitting opposite of William and sucking on a wound near the knuckle of his index finger.

He sighs softly, then smiles warmly at the Principate.]

I hope you don't mind me joining you for a moment. I couldn't help but notice you seem somewhat... troubled. The Jabberwocky isn't among us yet. But you have nothing to fear, I will keep you all safe.

[He says so with confidence as if his blade would do any sort of damage. He knows better of course, and others may know better. But he's honest about defending this diner. He would do it to the death if only to prove himself to them and further solidify his ruse. What's another death when he gets at least five? Though he'd prefer to keep it at two... tops.]

[whele]

[Making it look like he doesn't care for Gabriel is pretty easy back in Vega when it's supposedly impossible for them to cross paths. In Wonderland it isn't so easy, though William likes to think he's been managing it well so far. Apart from the whole anchor thing, which spiked Michael's interest, William knows he's probably got this in the bag. He won't be overconfident, but he won't be losing sleep over it. The both of them know what's at stake, it's been discussed.

So when Gabriel walks over, sauntering with all the ease in the world, William doesn't have to feign surprise. What is he even playing at?! Lips are parted as he gawks, eyebrows raising when Gabriel mentions the lion cub. What? Not that there's too much time to even get to responding, the principate flinching and wincing when Zadkiel decides Gabriel's arm is a perfect outlet for tooth and claw. The feline has had it out for the archangel from day one, and no matter what William does he just can't seem to train the cub out of it. There is something in Gabriel that just pings the lion cub's instinct to destroy and maul.

The horrified grimace isn't faked either when William looks at the destruction that's been wrought, grey eyes watching Gabriel's every move as if trying to figure out just what he's meant to be doing. On the inside he's thrilled the archangel is talking to him, the very idea that such a being would deign to even talk to him a gift in itself. Right now he can't help but look around, making sure Michael isn't in the vicinity as he licks dry lips before talking, tone somewhat dry.]

There's a large monster on it's way. I think that is grounds to be worried. [Except that's not quite it. William knows it, and Gabriel probably suspects it.]

[onsilksheets]

[After sorting herself out with some tea and a few biscuits (she decides that she'll eat later) Bela sets about finding a place to sit and enjoy her tea, perhaps even socialise a little at the same time. Part of her feels that finding somewhere more hidden and fortified with necessary supplies would be the the best plan against an imminent Jabberwocky attack.

She looks around briefly and spots William sitting at one of the tables. Bela makes her way over and sits down on the opposite side, placing her tea and biscuits onto the surface.]

All right if I sit here?

[She asks after a moment, offering him a smile, albeit a tired looking one.]

[whele]

[William watches as Bela wanders over, not saying a word as she sits down at his table. Hands rest on the lion cub's stomach, fingers running idly through the soft fur as he tries to remember where he last saw Bela. If William remembered right it was at Michael's impromptu rooftop party, though remembering what happened that night was like trying to catch water with his fingertips. Apparently some jerk had spiked the punch.

At least he can manage a smile back, looking a hundred times more confident than he's feeling. It isn't often William gives himself the heebie jeebies and right now he's doing a bang up job of it. Would the jabberwocky kill them quickly or slowly? Considering what was left of his mirror counterpart smeared across the reflective surface in his room that answer was still up in the air.

Right, he's meant to be reassuring, the principate giving himself a mental shake.] Oh of course, please do. The more the merrier.

[low_key_angel]

[Oh hey. He knows you. At least in a vaguely 'we were involved in a crisis' sort of way. Which, given the way things are going, is probably how Gabriel is going to meet most of the people in Wonderland. With most of the little ones safe in the diner, he's just taking five between sweeps of the hallways with a heroic slice of pie and enough whipped cream to damn near bury the piece.

.. he's gonna like this diner. A lot.]

Don't think I ever caught your name last time I ran into you kiddo.

[whele]

[William is too busy watching the lion cub sleeping that he doesn't even notice when the archangel is next to him. He's not a soldier, and so staying alert for potential threats is a bit above his head; unless it involves sneaking out of places and back in. Then William is just fine.

Either way he jumps when Gabriel talks, looking up with a slight frown before relaxing slightly. It's the short guy from when they were all sitting on Gabriel. William doesn't remember too much from it after that, he'd gone outside and gotten jumped by Lucifer for his troubles.

Wait, he's woolgathering. William just gives a smile, one he isn't quite feeling right now.]

William. I don't think I caught yours either.

Main dining area - OTA

[onlyhomemade]

[Once Gabriel has gathered the Chosen One and scoured Wonderland for any of Angels who may still be trapped as little-ones, he'll return to the Diner, sword at his hip. One may find him, hand on the hilt and eyes to the sky or the land before casually sauntering through the Diner like a sentinel.

Others may find him sitting in a booth, or at the bar, enjoying a slice of pie or a cup of coffee. Any who are familiar with the Archangels from another world, the ones that were here before he and Michael, may find it odd that he's eating at all. Gabriel is somewhat social, smiling warmly to any he passes by or occasionally stopping to speak with someone he knows. He's approachable, aside from that sword at his hilt he won't seem like a menacing presence at all. Especially when he picks up the tiny, dark haired child with a genuine fondness in his expression. He might be enjoying having his twin turned small and they're kind of adorable together, Gabriel isn't terrible with children, who knew?]

[low_key_angel]

[And anyone with a sharp eye will notice a few odd similarities between the two archangels. Gabriel doesn't walk around with his sword on display, but there is a certain watchfulness in his stride as he walks. Keeping watch over the small children and those holing up in the diner, trying to hide from whatever was turning the mirror side into fingerpaint.

Sure, the pie was a bonus, and he's finishing up another piece as he catches the eye of his other self with his young twin. They look good together.] Hang back with the shrimp, I'll run another sweep.

[white_eyed_angel]

[She is drawn to the arch angel's side, recognizing him from the occasional times she had peered out into from the mirror realm. Her other self seeming to enjoy Gabriel's presence, at least enough to have him continue coming around.

It was wise to ingratiate herself with him.]

Gabriel?

Main Dining Area - OTA

[white_eyed_angel]

[Since arriving on the real side, Lilith had found herself disoriented and confused, never fully knowing how vast or wide this world was. Several hours had been spent trying to acclimate herself, as well as moving towards the largest collection of power. It was there she would find angels and allies. It was there her mission could begin.

Following the pull of power, Lilith stepped into the diner, looking around slowly and in confusion, trying to discern who it was here and what they were. That she recognized several angels gave her some relief, even more that they were the real versions of her fellow Mirrors.

She stood awkwardly, trying to decide if she should sit or not. Or find someone to approach.]