[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

[onsilksheets]

[It was probably one of the cutest things that Bela had ever seen in her life, and she has to take a moment before her hand reaches over to rub the cub's tummy gently, letting him get used to her first.]

A smart little thing then. He really is lovely; I don't know why I was so hesitant before.

[If anything, this experience has brightened her mood and its easy to tell by the smile on Bela's face. After a few more moments of tummy rubbing she scoops up Zadkiel carefully to give him proper attention- scratching behind his ears and beneath his chin.]

Do you have a pet back home, William?

[whele]

Might have something to do with the fact he's still a lion, instinct probably kicks in somewhere.

[William watches as the cub just laps up the attention, shrugging inwardly as he notes just how much more relaxed people are with a bundle of cute fluff in their arms. That will come in useful one day, doubly so if he needs to get info out of someone.]

No, not really. My father has a lion, but it's more a conservation thing and he stays in the enclosure. No-one really has time for pets in my household so it wouldn't be fair on the animal. Do you have pets back home?

[onsilksheets]

Your home must be quite grand to have an enclosure for a lion within it. Where I'm from, animals like that live in the wild or are protected in special parks; a lot of them are in danger of extinction.

[Something that he might be aware of, but Bela wanted to clarify just in case. Their worlds could potentially be very different from each other.]

Just one. A cat. She's a dear little thing and I do miss her from time to time. I'd love to have a cat here, but it's hard to get an animal. I think some people are just more lucky than others.

[whele]

[The smile Bela gets is equal parts polite and shameful. He can't deny he lives in a large home, but pointing out the fact it's one of the largest entire buildings in Vega? Awkward. It's something that William hasn't quite figured out. People in Vega have very little whilst he has it all, yet the Principate isn't going to just give it up. Life is difficult.]

My father says it's to keep the lions from going extinct, though I'm pretty sure he likes the idea of having one. Needless to say I wouldn't be sticking my arm in that enclosure any time soon.

Well, your cat will be fine when you get home at least. And I would say get one here, but then I'm not sure who would look after it when you go back home. I only came across this little guy by accident when someone found him. I think his owner went home too.

[onsilksheets]

[Bela was no stranger to luxury in her life back home, both growing up and now as an adult; she had a vast amount of wealth back home and a lot more stability than most people. But none of that could ever get what she truly wanted - her freedom. Her demise was inevitable and there was nothing that Bela could do about it.]

A lion is said to be the King of the Jungle; maybe your father wants that to reflect upon himself. Or maybe I am looking too much into the symbolism.

Yeah, I wouldn't want to leave a pet alone here, it wouldn't be fair. But I do have friends who may look after it for me if I were to leave. [The animal gets a gentle tummy rub.]

So, what do you do here when you're not looking after this little cutie?