✿ THE HOUSE ✿
Adra's house is a cozy stone cottage on the outskirts of Caissa, close enough to the sea that one can hear the breaking waves throughout the day.
This afternoon, there's light, cool rain falling intermittently, tapping in a rhythm at the windows and roof. Fortunately, the kitchen is warm, bright, and welcoming. Its counters and tables are covered with freshly prepared foods of all kinds, and there are plenty of chairs for visitors who might like to sit and relax.
A door from the kitchen leads out into the garden, which is not quite yet fully landscaped, but which boasts a promising array of flowers (orchids, roses, lilies, tulips, etc) and herbs. Adra's also cultivating strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, and so on; the strawberries and cherries in particular are ripe for picking. Adra has strung enchanted, floating fairy lights all over the garden; they cast a soft, ethereal glow over the paths and carefully tended patches of greenery. At the garden's center, there's a clear pond filled with red and pink lotus blossoms.
Back inside, a visitor might like to rest in the den. There's a roaring fire in the hearth, and sitting near it for a short while offers a boost to the weary spirit. Soft, plush chairs and couches fill this room, making it ideal for lounging. The tables are covered with books borrowed somewhat indiscreetly from the library; they deal largely with the magic and history of Enprise.
Adjacent to the den is Adra's study. In here are half-empty bookshelves and antique rolling desk covered with neat stacks of papers, boxes of quills, and numerous pots of ink, each one in different, brilliant colors. His journal is somewhere here, too ...
Finally, down the hall one will find a half bathroom and, across from that, the door to the second bedroom--belonging to one Gilgamesh. The master bedroom, belonging to Adrasteius, is at the end of the hall. There's a full bath in there, but this room is definitively locked.
✿ THE SPREAD ✿
As usual, Adra's gone over the top in his preparations. For drinks, there's a sweet, refreshing punch; delicately pink and decorated with sprigs of flowers. There are pitchers of sparkling ice water, jugs of wine and spiced mead, and plenty of glasses to share.
Though Adra does not eat meat himself, he prepares it ably; there's a honey-glazed, roasted turkey in the center of the table, right beside a carving board heavy with seasoned, hand-carved slices of fresh beef. Red potatoes, bright with paprika and salt and glistening with pats of melting butter, are arranged in wedges around the turkey. There are woven baskets of steaming rolls, flaky and soft; platters of carrots and broccoli and asparagus; enormous bowls of belly-warming soup filled with thick wheat noodles, sliced egg, and shredded cabbage. At one end of the table, there's a plate of burgers, along with small dishes to fix them--bacon, crispy onions, sauteed mushrooms, and all the necessary condiments. He has plates of savory pies, filled with beef or pork or chicken; steamed and fried dumplings stuffed with meat and spring vegetables, plump and perfectly shaped.
The desserts are similarly extravagant: he has a plate of meticulously crafted flower and fruit cakes; some look like ripe, blushing peaches, others, he shaped into red orchids, lotus blossoms, or golden roses. He's made a chocolate tart so dark that its smooth, sugar-dusted surface shimmers reflectively in the overhead light. Cupcakes of all kinds are scattered here and there, as well as an extravagant, multi-tiered confection dripping with fudge sauce, encrusted with sliced strawberries and vibrantly colorful, fondant flower petals. There are loaves of warm banana bread; fruit tarts glittery with rainbow sugar crystals; and, under glass, an assortment of flavorful macarons baked to look like something plucked right from the starry sky.
But the most important thing about Adra's lavish banquet is this: all of the food is enchanted, laced with magic meant to inspire feelings of comfort and security. Eating it may conjure up familiar, welcome sensations or memories--nothing sorrowful or painful, and only as specific as you'd like. It could be something as simple as the feeling of a fuzzy blanket on a cold day, or as complex as a particular soothing memory. In all cases, the intended effect is meant to inspire calm and ease.
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You're no fun.
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What gives you pleasure?
[Sounding curious, maybe dangerously so. But she's done some terrible things historically; it should come as no surprise there's something darker past the goofy exterior.]
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[She laughs quietly, and steps up close to...wipe away a crumb on Oda's face.]
That's a dangerous question, demon king.
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Giving an answer like that...are you trying to scare me off? Or perhaps you're teasing me further, girl?
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But they're an Archer class. In that, she can be certain that her and Gilgamesh share certain traits. Both are capable of violence; both, likely, are ruthless. That doesn't turn Caren away, though.
It only interests her more.]
Can't it be both? I don't know what goes through that head of yours.
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[Typical Fate King Promiscuity™ is go.]
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[She's gently amused at all of this. If nothing else, someone is attempting to snatch what Gilgamesh may very well think is his, under his own roof.]
But would this only be one discussion of this nature, or would there be more? There is only so much one can learn in a single evening.
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A single evening? No, no, that won't do at all.
In order to become intimately acquainted, perhaps we might even meet regularly. I'm sure you're a very complex woman.
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I am that, and I am certain you are the same.
[Her head tilts slightly, and her lips part.]
You might find this world has unexpected benefits, if you haven't already. Some of which may be related to our own, when it comes to long conversations.
But I do wonder the reasons I should join you. More then just the pleasure if your company.
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Is that so?
[She tries to slip a hand to the side of Caren's face, resting it there as she goes on.]
But you know, I came to be known as the devil king of the sixth heaven...the demon Mara, associated with temptation and certain desires. [Carnal ones.] If you find my company agreeable, I'll show you why that is if you'd care to learn.
[It's because she tried to destroy religion and burned some temples but that ain't the angle she's going for here.
Unless Caren's into that, then she's game.]
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...she'll allow Oda to touch her face, though there's a queer look in her eyes, for a few moments. Careful, General.]
That may be an interesting thing to discover. Very well.
[Caren is pretty into that but this isn't the place to talk about it. They're in the home of a priest, after all.]
I'd welcome further conversation in a quiet place.