Day 56: Tasty Burger (Noon)

[human-sponge.livejournal.com]

Peter didn't know if he and Firo had left on the best terms, if only because the younger man was still so confused about what was going on in this place. The change in time period had a lot to do with it, but it had also sounded like he'd had a lot going on in his life before ending up here. Then again, who hadn't? Peter had just exploded before his arrival.

It was hard to think back to that night, to the way he'd stood in Kirby Plaza while burning up with nuclear overload, when he was in this quaint snow-covered town. This was the sort of image you'd see on the Christmas card; it wasn't supposed to exist.

Still, his walk with Firo had been rather long all things considered, and so Peter finally decided to leave the teen to his devices and go warm up somewhere. The best way to do that would be by putting some hot food in his stomach, and so he ended up backtracking to the Tasty Burger. He could have gone ahead to the Twin Pines, since the food was obviously better quality there, but the walk was longer and his face was starting to get numb.

Letting out a small sigh of relief as he stepped into the lively fast food place, Peter fished the proper coupon out of his pocket and went to stand in line, eyeing the two young girls at the counter as he waited for it to be his turn. Once he'd eaten, he could really start searching the shops for what to buy.

[Claire Bennet.]

Comments

[autophoenix.livejournal.com]

By the time Claire saw Peter from across the street as he headed into the tasty burger, she was pretty confident that her conversation with Damon had gotten her to a place where she'd actually be able to talk to him and not let anything about last night seem weird if she decided she didn't want to. Of course, maybe chasing him inside was a bad idea considering she hadn't exactly decided what she did and didn't want him to know about her adventure last night, especially when she fully realized he'd probably want to know.

Bad idea or not, she went for it. Glancing both ways, she moved across the busy street and into the fast food joint after Peter. The place was pretty busy, but she caught sight of him waiting in line. She snuck up behind him, maneuvering her way under the railing that was intended to keep the line in order. Reaching around, she tapped a finger on his shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey," she greeted casually, leaning up against the rail and huddling a little in her jacket with hunched shoulders as she began to sort through her coupons to find the right one. "Is this the same place you went last week? The same town." When she'd first gotten to the institute, Peter had been gone on the trip that Landel announced over the intercom. Now, she could only guess that he was wandering these same streets. Perhaps with a little bit less of an armed guard.

"Was it this cold then, too?"

[human-sponge.livejournal.com]

When a tap came at his shoulder, Peter had figured it was one of the people behind him in line who had a question or something along those lines, but as he turned he saw none other than his niece. It hadn't been that long since they'd last seen each other, but considering the way he'd let her go off alone, he was more relieved than usual to see her safe and sound. In fact, his instinct was to give her a hug right then and there, but they were both bundled up and in a line for fast food, so it probably wasn't the best time.

Instead he put a hand to her upper arm and smiled warmly. "Good to see you're still in one piece." It was meant as a joke, since it was sort of impossible for Claire not to be, but... hopefully she'd realize that he was asking her how she was in a roundabout way. Not that Claire was ever that likely to tell him the truth about what she was going through, but he could at least try.

He realized that with her standing next to him like this, she had more or less cut the people behind him in line, though he was hoping they would all understand that the two of them were close. He did catch a glare from one guy, but he was quick to send him an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, this is the place," he replied to Claire with a nod. "This is the first time it's snowed. It's always a bit cold out, and it rained last week, but... yeah." Even the weather here was unpleasant.

[autophoenix.livejournal.com]

Normally, the laugh she gave at his joke might have been a little more convincing. Okay, a lot more convincing. It was funny, after all, but she'd made a similar one in bitter taste to Edward earlier that morning, so it had a sour taste left in her mouth -- just thinking about it. As a result, the laugh that Peter garnered from her was a little awkward and hollow, her lips curving upwards in a smile that didn't reach her eyes, which flickered away and downward in a way that indicated she wasn't all there in her response.

Luckily, the conversation kept moving, and she managed to ignore any apparent uneasiness on Peter's part over how she'd acquired her position in line beside him. Some things were just more important than the locals getting their burgers. They could just reassure themselves knowing that no one would be there to cut tomorrow other than the tiny number of people who actually lived there.

"Great. We're in some wacky, alternate universe version of Pleasantville where instead of sunny all the time, it's miserable. Unpleasantville." She hesitated, then offered him an almost begrudging but genuinely warm smile, like she had been trying to avoid being genuinely grateful that he actually looked pleased to see her. "You look a lot better."

It was clear from the way that she said it that there was something cheering about that fact. It wasn't particularly clear why she needed that positivity, because she was still working on how she was going to broach that topic -- if she was going to broach it. After all, it wouldn't hurt Peter not to hear about it. No one really needed to. It could be like it never happened. At least until she saw someone like Stefan or Natalia or Soma that had been dead in her drug-dream.

Or worse. Pete.

[thatdemonbitch.livejournal.com]

There weren't a whole lot of pleasant words in Ruby's vocabulary for the way she was feeling right now. The pain was getting to her. The whole dealing with people thing was getting to her. Except today, the grating on her nerves was a little worse than normal, and it had a tension tugging in her chest that she hated. It wasn't quite anxiety, but more like stress from the overwhelmingness of it all.

After all, getting jumped by goons while she was trying to relax wasn't her idea of a good night, and the results weren't feeling too good. Bright side, the collar on her leather jacket went up high enough that she could hide the nasty wound that was still working its way toward healing from her open heart surgery. Down side? She knew hiding it was only gonna matter for the idiots. Sam had gotten a good enough look when she came stumbling outta the room.

Maybe that was why she wasn't hurting too bad to figure out what he'd decided on terms of psychic behavior. Sure, she was planning to use her less-than-stellar hospital visit to get with the convincing, but she wasn't in a convincing place right now, and she'd gotten pretty good about not hanging around him right around the time she got chucked in. For now, she was in a place where she didn't want to be around anyone, because the pain and the social stimulus just overwhelmed her to the point of making her feel almost like crying. Which demons didn't do -- under threat of torture, maybe. Not over a little chest pain and a day trip.

Being alone, lonely as it was -- not that she cared -- was better than any alternative. So, she ducked into the crowded burger stand, placing her order and dragging some fries and ketchup back to one of those uncomfortable plastic booths at the cost of her coupon. Not her idea of cozy, and the fries were hardly up to par with what she was aiming for, but beggars couldn't be choosers and it beat the hell outta sitting around being miserable. The weather was doing a good enough job of that one.

[ Antichrist Superstar ]

[boyking]

Venom had taken his mind off a bit of all the crap that was happening, but Sam was aware that he couldn't afford to bury his head in the sand. After he left the man, he knew he had to find Ruby now or he'd never be able to catch up with her. The day was almost half gone.

Well, it felt almost half gone. He didn't exactly have a watch and like the institute, clocks weren't very prominent here. No calenders, either. He wasn't surprised. The newspaper he'd picked up a couple of weeks ago, with its lack of any specification other than the day of the week, said it all.

It was easier with Dean because Sam knew what he was going for when he'd cornered his brother on the bus earlier this morning, but with Ruby, he realized he wasn't...too sure, even as he wandered from street to street in search of her. She would either be somewhere practical or somewhere distracting—or as close to it as you could get here, anyways—so he'd checked the hardware store and the auto repair shop first, then the bar, and then finally the diner.

He wasn't used to having to look for her, he had to admit. She was usually the one who came to him.

The lunch hour meant the burger shack was getting a little on the crowded side, but fortunately, Sam had the advantage of being able to look over most people's heads. He frowned, trying to pick her out as he put in an order (because it would look weird if he came in without eating and also because he was kinda hungry). Eventually, his eyes landed on her profile tucked into a booth nearby. The leather jacket helped.

He placed his tray on the table and slid into the seat across from her, deciding to gauge the situation with a neutral, "Hey."

She looked okay, at least. Yeah, he'd seen the way she'd practically been slit open last night—but to be honest, it wasn't even about that. Physically, she would generally always be fine. Like with Dean, he was a hell of a lot more concerned about what else they'd done when they'd taken her. He'd been here long enough to know that they didn't just cut into to you for the sole purpose of doing that.

[thatdemonbitch.livejournal.com]

Of course, finding Sam was a little easier for Ruby than the reverse had been. It helped that the guy vaguely resembled the Empire State Building. Her eyes flickered up from her tray as he got inside, confirming that he was looking around once she saw him trying to be the Sam Winchester version of subtle from the line.

The heads up helped her to emotionally buckle in for the potential interrogation she could be ready to face. Had better be ready to face. Any other day, she woulda been eager to just get the info out there and be done with it, but it had her feeling open and vulnerable in a lot of ways that she didn't like right about now.

Sure, there was a bonus to the familiarity of cheap fries and sitting across the tiny booth from Sam, but as he sat across from her and she bit off half of a fry in a way that more resembled tearing it with her teeth than anything else -- she always had a strange way of eating -- she couldn't help but be consciously aware of how the familiarity was just sick and wrong at this point. The truth was that nothing was familiar, and the fact that they were being allowed to lie to themselves about it was just making things worse.

God, she was brooding. Marginally disgusted with herself, she tossed the fry back into the basket and folded her arms over the table and fixed her gaze on Sam with a finality.

"Sam," she returned the greeting in that knowing voice that she did so well. There was no question there of what he was hanging around for -- although, she was a little surprised he'd come looking for her. She'd figured he'd just wait until she came creeping around that night to get the update on whether or not she was alive. After all, he was willing to knock her off himself, he couldn't care all that much.

"You can cool it with the x-ray vision, Superman, nothing's broken." There was a shift in her shoulders that drew that into question. It was visibly uncomfortable. Having Sam around and brooding and the crowd and all of it was just choking her up in a weird way that she wasn't used to -- whatever it was, though, it was making the burning way worse. Like when it was fresh. She felt her chest shudder a little as she tried to suppress a lurching in her throat, almost like a gag. It was subtle and she just continued on despite it, though.

"Wouldn't be much of a demon if I couldn't take a little torture." Of course, no one thought she was much of a demon anyway. It infuriated and upset her all at once. They had no idea how hard she was working to be one. To be the best one. All that indignation, because they were idiots for not seeing. They didn't realize how easy they had it to just call themselves loyal to Lilith and be done with it. To -- That one offhand comment, her own offhand comment, and how riled it was getting her inside was making the burning worse until it caused a slight cringe and she glanced down at her basket full of fries to try and disguise it.

[vstheworld]

So, recap:

- Scott had more money to work with in Doyleton than he tended to have at any given time back in Toronto. ($10)
- Soldiers didn't take kindly to rude snowmen, even when they were dressed as nurses. Also, Scott knew how to kick down snowmen in a hurry when he had to.
- Kairi of Kingdom Hearts fame was in the Institute. 
- LUKE ING SKYWALKER was in the Institute.
- Luke had been gal-palling it up with INDIANA ING JONES. (And then Scott jizzed. In his pants. Except not really, ew.)
- Luke's fourth wall was in imminent danger. 
- Scott was about to meet a mystery person for burgers and ice cream in order to defend the honor of said fourth wall. 

Scott felt like there ought to be some kind of pithy statement to sum up the morning he'd had, but honestly, the only thing that came to mind was, "Bluuuh???"

And so, Scott now sat in the corner at Tasty Burger with his back to the front entrance and a freshly ordered grease meal in front of him. And he pondered the State of the Pilgrim while waiting for his date. 

"Here's hoping you're not really a walking carpet, guy," he said to himself, taking a bite of his burger.

[For Chewy Wichita]

[cons]

Well, this was all very magical. And by magical, of course, Wichita meant ridiculous and insane and it couldn't have been real because what kind of Institution kidnapped a girl, told her her life was a lie, and then sent her on her way into a quaint little town, on a bus, with a few coupons and HIDEOUS dress. There should have been rules against outfits like this, essentially in the dead of winter. Which, after being in sunny California for a few days before this, felt even worse. Gah. The coat they gave her to wear over it didn't really help things either. Who approved this crap?

And now she was on her way to talk to Obi-Wan Kenobi about why she needed to be more sensitive to anonymous Star Wars nerds over a bulletin board. Or something like that. Yeah, this wasn't real.

Short brown hair, tall-ish. Black shirt. Because that wasn't vague. When she first stepped into the burger joint, she immediately stopped and just smelled because damn it had been a really long time since she smelled fast food. It was weird, the things you missed after a few months of running around eating just the things you found over the counter that didn't require cooking. Greasy goodness filled her nostrils, and-

Right. She needed to just order her food and find this person before they thought she ditched them. Which normally she wouldn't care much about, but well. Being literally alone in a place you knew nothing about shifted ones priorities a bit. She gave the guy her coupon, not saying anything, though the look in her eyes made it clear that if he took another look at her terrible outfit she'd probably sock him in the face. It didn't take him long to come back with her burger.

Wichita turned away from the counter, tray in hand, not bothering to push her bangs out of her eyes as they scanned the room. For the most part, most people seemed to be chatting away with somebody already, so it wasn't too difficult to spot Obi-Wan. ..She needed to stop calling him that.

"Are you... Obi-Wan?" Cue Wichita's perfected look made up of half-charming excitement, half-nervousness. Because yes, there was a way to find the perfect balance between the two. It was how she approached most new guys when she didn't have another plan, because it almost always worked in her favor. And the only times it didn't was when said guy was already infected with the virus and decided trying to eat her was better than falling for her crap. Nevermind that her dress and stupid coat probably took away from that completely.

"I'm Chewy."

[vstheworld]

It took a few seconds for the Lucasversian names to register over all the white noise and conversations, and for those names to in turn flip the "you're being talked at" switch in Scott's brain. Mainly, this was because Scott had expected a guy to be the one speaking those names. He wasn't sure why, but he had; that was just the default voice he attributed to anyone who didn't identify themselves in text. Never mind that the mystery person had picked "Chewy" as their handle - not exactly the character most little girls wanted to be when they grew up.

He did eventually realize, however, and once he did, Scott turned around in his seat and holy god what was with all the really, really hot girls running into him today? At least this one was over the age of fifteen (probably?), so that was one less thing to worry about. Still! Scott had to wonder if this meant that his sausage-fest days at Landel's were finally at an end. The Institute was one of the few places Scott had ever had more guy friends than girls. Junior high, high school, parts of university - even living independently leeching places to live in Toronto, it had been about half and half, gender-wise. Girls had always been a strong presence in Scott's social life. He had noticed the preponderance of guys in Landel's before, sure, but today was the first day to really bring it into stark relief.

Anyway, right. Boobs were talking to him.

...Boobs in a HIDEOUS dress, too, now that he got a better look (ugh, he did not feel sorry for "Chewy" at all for that). That was besides the point, though. The point was that he had to start talking back before the boobs realized he was looking at them and not at the person they were attached to.

"Uhhh, yep! Itsa me! Obio!" Scott held up his hand in a "ta-da!" kind of way. He let the moment hang briefly before dropping the hand back down. "That was the lamest thing to lame its way into Lametown today, wasn't it?" he said with a sigh and a sheepish grin.

"So yeah, uh, sit down. Make yourself semi-comfortable," Scott offered, gesturing toward the side of the booth opposite him. "And we can... discuss the dangers of pop culture in Landel's, I guess?"

[mateswithnobody.livejournal.com]

And for once, all seemed to be right with the world. She'd gone shopping. Nothing heavy since she wasn't loaded, but there was so much satisfaction in having something more than her nails done for once. Something she'd paid for. Though she had to admit, never in her wildest dreams would she have believed that a cheap haircut would have felt just like she'd bought out an entire shoe store.

As intent as she was to find someone she knew to show off her fresh clipped locks, having skipped over more than half of her breakfast thanks to the card left her thinking more about what she'd be eating for Lunch. She knew it would have to be coupon related since she had to save the rest of her money for more important. Like the Spa. She'd get there before the day was out.

Fishing out the booklet, she looked from it to the stores and found the closest food place to be one called the "Tasty Burger". Sounded... well, American, if she had to be honest. "When in Rome..." Donna sighed as she ripped out the coupon and headed in.

[brb-burgers.livejournal.com]

It was only natural for him to gravitate to icons of this nature. One didn't exist without the other and he wasn't opposed to a tasty meal being associated with him. Be it his very nature or a memory or whatever someone decided to apply to it. All that philosophical crap aside he was starving and this little coupon he had was the most cherished thing he had in his possession.

That is until he had the meal he could exchange it for. Tasty Burger had to be a mom and pop joint because it just didn't sound mainstream. Not that he was objecting to that at all, usually mom and pop places had really good food even if the selection was limited. So far the excursion had been eventless and he was broke as could be. It wasn't a position he liked to be in and that disappointment had been worn on his face as boldly as he wore all expressions. Plain as day.

There was a short line which wasn't so bad. Gave him time to look over the menu and pick out just what he wanted. That and he could mingle with others from the institute. Izaya was all fine and good but he did want to catch the mysterious figure that was his roommate. Happening to look over his shoulder he saw a striking lady standing behind him. Her hair was vibrant and not to mention she was particularly tall for a lady. He smiled his brightest at her, hoping to make eye contact.

"What are you gettin'?"

[mateswithnobody.livejournal.com]

Rome hadn't been the best thing to cross her mind as it had left Donna rubbing at her hands. Her hair may have grown back really quickly, thank God, but the marks on her hands had lingered and didn't look like they'd be fading any time soon. She was considering asking the Doctor if there was some way of removing them when a blonde in front of her turned and asked what she was getting.

Donna released her hands and held up the coupon to read, "Valid for 1 free Tasty Meal and Ice Cream at Tasty Burger. That'd be it, I suppose." Definitely not the most appetizing of things for her given the bad memories, but better than going hungry for the rest of the day. "You?" she returned, dropping the coupon to look back at him. A good conversation might do the trick to get her mind off that horrid night.

[savagesolitude.livejournal.com]

Her appetite had returned by the time she parted ways with Andrew, and so the moment she was back to slogging through the snow, her coupon book was out. The makeshift credit card, on the other hand, remained in her pocket. As much as Claire liked the idea of choosing for herself where and what she would eat, five dollars wouldn't get you much back in Sydney. There couldn't be that big of a difference with American money.

From the looks of things, she could turn right back around and go to the same restaurant she had just come from. Claire sent it a frown from over her shoulder. Hmm. Perhaps later on? They already got enough funny looks from the staff on the first time in, and Claire wasn't about to make it worse by looking scatterbrained on top of crazy.

The second likely coupon was for a place called the Tasty Burger. The sound of it made her belly rumble - or maybe that was the smell of it. Claire only had to glance up from her coupon booklet to spot the place not one block away, garish primary colours beaming out amongst the humble homegrown stores. The black sheep of the town. She inhaled again, and remembered the wasted hamburger of a few days ago. Back when she was convinced the food was poisoned, she had spilled the whole of her tray into the trash bin and tormented herself for the rest of the lunch break.

Claire ripped out the coupon without a second thought. Time to make up for meals lost.

She knew this might be a bad idea, with how unbearably sweet chocolate seemed to her now. The grease and sauces might send her running for a toilet. But it smelled so divine, and it was meat and fries and ketchup and...

Dainty footsprints slurred in the seamless planes of snow where she'd broken into a run. The clumsy door swung open, and Claire disappeared inside.

[GOKU COME EAT LIKE A SAVAGE WITH YOUR MOMMY.]

[doneinthree]

"Come on," said Kirk, speeding across the snow-caked sidewalk towards the building down the street. While he hardly minded standing out in the cold with Spock (better than last week's rain, anyway), being outside still left him feeling unnervingly exposed. The quiet little town of a few hours ago had taken a noticeable uptick in traffic, and between all the wary-eyed townies and glowering "nurses", Kirk was in the mood for some discretion, if not greasy fast food. He wasn't that hungry and doubted Tasty Burger was much to Spock's taste, but at this hour, they weren't going to find a busier place. Busy meant noise, noise meant less chance of being overheard, and he knew from his last time here that trying to find an empty place without staff was a near-impossibility. Might as well shoot for the complete opposite.

And privately, he also knew that the chances of Bones ordering up a burger and fries for lunch were close to nil. Tracking down the doctor was still a priority, but it would be easier to discuss what he needed to without him around. Crowded, noisy and Bones-free: on all those counts, Tasty Burger delivered. Kirk dove into the last of the empty booths over in the corner, and somehow managed to wait until Spock had actually sat down on the other side before demanding: "What happened?"

[Spock]

[dual-worlds.livejournal.com]

Although the "Tasty Burger" establishment didn't provide the sort of food Spock typically ate, he immediately recognized the benefits of speaking there as opposed to anywhere else. There were several others there, drawing less attention to themselves. Furthermore, even if he didn't give any outward indication of it, the cold weather wasn't comfortable even by human standards.

Walking in long strides, he followed after Kirk toward a table. As he took a seat, he subtly glanced around to make certain none of the staff were in close enough proximity that they could become overly aware of their conversation. He couldn't afford to underestimate the "nurses and orderlies", and what they would do with any information they happened to hear.

When he determined they were clear, he focused his entire attention on the captain, and the question he'd asked. "I was placed under observation in the medical wing, as promised," Spock promptly answered. "However, my memories of last night are completely gone, not unlike the way captives are unable to recall how they got to their quarters each morning."

He'd given himself a quick scan while dressing this morning, only to discover nothing was outwardly amiss -- no injuries, bruises, or any other indication that he'd been used for experiments. Still, with no way to account for what happened, Spock understood he was unable to know for a fact what transpired.

[doneinthree]

"Amnesia. Of course." Kirk leaned back in the booth with a huff of annoyance. "One of these days I'm going to stop being surprised by the complete lack of answers we get." Would it kill them, really, to let their guinea pigs know they intended with all of their random trials? That Aguilar's administration seemed less inclined to make cryptic taunts over the intercom meant nothing when their comments so far basically amounted to some of you were barely sufficient, some of you failed, and we're not going to bother clarifying who gets gold stars and what we even expect, because that's clearly a more efficient way of running things. Not that Kirk would've went along with their games anyway, which probably meant that he was unwittingly playing by their rules right now.

Seriously, it was enough to drive a guy crazy, assuming he hadn't already lost it. That was facetious — honestly, Kirk felt more sanely annoyed than mentally unstable, which probably was weird, considering all they'd done to toy with his head. Spock getting pulled for observation (or whatever) seemed like the same kind of temporary, harmless-after-the-fact incident. Almost everything the Institute did to them fell into this category, from that night Spock had "died," to his 24-hour brainwashing. Crazy things happened, but tended to reset after one day and with little lasting effect.

Which was why Bones' breakdown was so unsettling. The more Kirk thought about it, the more certain he was that this hadn't come out of nowhere. "Anyway... I'm glad you're alright, Mister Spock," said Kirk, smiling slightly. Frustrating, yes, but as long as Spock was alive and intact, he wasn't going chance a different outcome by harping on it. "But if anything does change, let me know. Oh, and we should probably let Uhura know too. I saw her this morning — she's fine — but she was... since you... you know." Kirk coughed. They should admire the self-control he was showing in refraining from commenting on the relationship between two of his officers.

In an ideal world, he would've been rewarded a medal for professionalism and gotten to rib Spock anyway about the comely xenolinguist, but this wasn't an ideal world, and he had at least one more member of his crew to worry about. Kirk glanced at the rest of the crowd again, and had lost his smile by the time he returned his attention to Spock. "You've spent the most time with Doctor McCoy during night missions. What have you noticed about his behaviour?"

[thestormishere]

[ From here. ]

Aside from the fact that, as she expected, this place seemed to be a particularly popular destination in comparison to the tiny level of activity she'd seen in the town so far, the first thing Lightning noticed upon yanking open the unnecessarily heavy glass front-door of this Tasty Burger place... was the smell: thick, distinctly greasy... she could almost taste the strange seasonings they seemed to use in such abundance here in the air.

This was not a location where they sold stuff that was healthy for you.

Had she not been a soldier, not been used to the rush of changing environments and the unexpected, she might have frozen there, staring at this strange restaurant(?) interior and the people inside of it. However, as it stood, her expression barely showed her thoughts at all. Lifting a hand to her hair, she idly brushed it out of her eyes, excusing the gesture privately as one aimed at pulling the dampness out. At this rate, even the hair around her face was going to start getting waves in it.

[heroesdontshave]

Snow followed Lightning inside, not really questioning why they were going in or what the place was exactly. He only managed to glance at the papers Lightning had taken out of her pocket (oh hey, he'd gotten those, too, now that he thought about it) and looked up at the sign briefly before heading in. Tasty Burger? Huh. Judging by the name, it didn't take a genius to figure out it was a probably a place that sold food. And once they stepped inside, that was even more obvious.

The place was already pretty packed with people, all crammed inside and eating away. Like Lightning, it was the smell that got to him most though. It was strong, oily... and definitely familiar. Not from home, but from that building they were all being held in. Where had he smelled this before? In the cafeteria, right? But what was the...?

"Oh!" It hit him all at once what it was. He remembered! "They have those things here!" Lightning had gotten here too late to try it, so she probably had no idea what he was even talking about. "Um. They served it once back at the main building, but they haven't had it since then. I think it's supposed to be a delicacy. It's like this round sandwich thing with multicolored sauces all over the insides! 'S pretty gross, actually. But they come with these skinny, yellow things that are really good!"

He probably sounded a bit excited explaining this whole thing. Probably because he was. It also kind of made him feel all important, like he knew a little more information about local Pulse culture than one would think since he'd been there longer. ...Which actually wasn't something get a big head about, but the guy was kind of proud about it anyway.

[thestormishere]

"'Things?'" Lightning repeated, her expression doubtful as she briefly glanced at the taller man, "...Right." She blinked, but the look didn't fade as she went back to analyzing the scene, either- honestly, with her lack of knowledge about the fashion here, she wasn't able to tell "patient" from townsfolk, so she couldn't be sure what to think. It made her uneasy not being able to read the crowd.

However, with the line of people in front of the... counter, she guessed it was, she was reminded of the cafe NORA ran- no wonder Snow seemed to have a reason for excitement. Despite what he said, she was quickly getting the impression that this wasn't exactly the finest establishment the town had to offer. At least she hoped it wasn't. Cocoon restaurants weren't like this at all, in general.

In any case, she rubbed her hands together briefly, trying to get rid of the tingling, then pulled out the papers again, deftly separating out the appropriate one before practically shoving it into the other l'Cie's chest.

"Knock yourself out then," she said flatly. She had little interest in this... supposed delicacy or whatever came with it, regardless of how many people seemed perfectly happy as they sat and devoured the food in question. She wasn't used to heavy things at all, so she was certain that it would likely make her sick even without what was sure to be way too much flavor.

[dreadofthegrave]

Sometime during the day, Battler had ended up separating from Nigredo and wandering the streets aimlessly on his own. It hadn't been time spent, really—it was probably least distressing conversation he'd had since he'd gotten here. It was true it had only been a day, but even so, the thought was still a little distressing. .... It seemed that a little normalcy went a long way here. Even back on the gameboard, they'd sometimes pause for tea and cookies and easy conversations. Not that he really missed that screwed up world, but ... Even so, he still had to go back. There was nothing he could for anyone while he was still trapped here.

A heavy feeling began to set in on the thought, but luckily, he was met with the smell of food before he could really dwell on it. Burgers, huh? .... It was kind of funny. Even though he'd been living a commoner's life with his grandparents for six years, for some reason, it felt like he hadn't had something like this in a long time. This kind of thing wasn't bad every now and then, was it? It was a pretty far cry from the extravagant dinners of the family conference, but it wasn't like he was that picky about what he ate, and there was also some kind of simple pleasure in something crappy like this instead of fancy. ... Sometimes the mood was just right.

Shrugging, he made his way in and ordered a meal with one of the coupons they'd been provided, settling into booth and carefully unwrapping the burger and dumping the fries out on his tray. Hungry as he was, this really did look on the same level as something you'd find at a classy restaurant. Food always was better when you were hungry, but after a day or two, that seemed to be even more true.

[for Edgey!]

[the-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

After Edgeworth had parted ways with Ema, there had been little for him to do but to wander around in a dazed sort of thoughtfulness. The cold air bit at his cheeks, leaving the pale skin a light red as he blankly watched the townspeople make their way up Main Street, groups of them flocking to the various stores that ran up and down the block. The establishments were largely uninteresting to him - even without a wealth of information on his mind - and after a time he was realizing that it was a mistake to throw away that sorry excuse for a sack breakfast that he had been given. Now wasn't the time to pout or to turn away handouts when he received them - no, his pride could come after he had some sense of stability and the bare necessities that he required to survive.

...which, unfortunately, lead him to Tasty Burger.

It was by no means a place that he would choose on his own - the crowds of people making their way in for lunch were what called his attention to the place - but without any sort of sense of direction Edgeworth had no desire to get lost. He knew Main Street well by now, and legwork could come after he had had something to keep his body warm.

The heat of the establishment was welcome, but the menu was not. If Edgeworth was feeling out of place before, it was nothing compared to how he felt in line to receive his meal - teenagers crowding the line, freely exercising their elbow room into any bit of personal space that they could, along with older couples that held up the lines for an unnecessarily long amount of time so that they could chit-chat - and beyond the horrid clothing Edgeworth was sporting he just couldn't seem to relax enough to blend in to the mess of people.

After some deliberation and more than enough struggle with the noisy patrons and careless workers, Edgeworth emerged from the line with a caesar side salad and a grilled chicken sandwich (both of which looked...questionable, but they at least appeared to be edible), and it wasn't long before he was hit with another problem altogether - seating. At a cursory glance most if not all of the seats were taken, and Edgeworth lowered his tray slightly as he let out a sigh. It would mean that having a quiet meal alone was out of the question - though given the ruckus that the other patrons were making he doubted that it was a realistic idea in the first place - and after a few moments he simply decided to just pick a table and stick with it.

...and after a few minutes, he did find a somewhat promising booth, a pointy beacon of red hair catching and holding his attention amongst the crowd. The man sitting in it seemed more occupied with his burger and fries to really be much of a threat as far as bothering Edgeworth went, and the heavily thoughtful look on his features was...largely reminiscent of just how Edgeworth felt right then. After taking in a few cursory details Edgeworth decided the matter promptly, and he moved to the booth carefully, wading through the sea of seats and overly friendly elbows to his destination.

By the time Edgeworth had arrived to the booth he had somehow ended up behind the man in question - the path over there hadn't been particularly forgiving - and as he made his way to his side he cleared his throat with the intention of catching his attention before startling him by speaking. "Pardon me," he said, summoning a certain amount of self-assured politeness that he wasn't exactly feeling. "I don't wish to interrupt your meal, however...would you be so kind as to allow me to sit here? My options are lacking, unfortunately."

[dreadofthegrave]

[sob sorry for the slow]

Battler glanced up at the sound, turning to find a man who seemed on the younger side, though definitely older than he was. He must have been along for the trip—the locals didn’t seem like they were willing to be this friendly with them unless they were addressed first, and he did seem to be wearing the same sort of used clothes that everyone else had been given.

"Go ahead, it's not a problem," he offered with a polite smile. He could definitely sympathize with the lack of space. He'd gotten kind of lucky, himself, but even though he was friendly enough, it was always a little weird trying to sit with total strangers in these situations. Though if he were to be honest, some company would definitely be appreciated. At least for the time being, idle conversation sounded more appealing than letting his thoughts wander too far. He'd have to, eventually, but right now it just felt like he was going to wear himself thin. ... Better to just let himself enjoy his food for now.

"I'm Battler. Nice to meet you," he introduced himself.

[diamondstorm]

[from here]

It wasn't long to one of the food places, and she moved inside, glancing back to see if he had followed. Therein, she walked to the line of people ordering, glancing up at the menu above the counter.

...Meat, grease, fats. Hm. Perhaps she would continue to maintain to eat nothing here. She sighed mildly, then saw two salad options in small text at the corner. Lettuce it was, once again. She ordered, then waited for Byrne to take his turn.

[corvus-veritas.livejournal.com]

Ahh, the smell of greasy fast food. There was nothing else like it in the world. Ridiculously high calorie, sodium and fat content in a single slab of meat, cooked to perfection... Forget the lack of nutritional value, he was hungry, damnit! He could care less about getting fat, especially when he had so much more to worry about around here. Not to mention this was the first time he'd seen and smelled real food in the past day and a half. It was going to take a little effort to stop himself from ordering the whole menu.

After Renamon finished ordering, Byrne walked up to the counter and promptly ordered a giant cheeseburger with everything on it and fries. Could he really get all of this with just a coupon? If only he got these back home! Oh man, he couldn't wait, so hungry. It was all he could do to stand there patiently as the restaurant employees got their orders ready.

"So uh, did anything unusual happen last night?" he asked Renamon. Might as well start up some conversation to help pass the time. "I was with a friend in his room the whole time, so nothing happened to us. The guy over the intercom said a few cryptic things though." It had probably been to try and scare the patients, but then again, what did Byrne know?

[diamondstorm]

Despite how the Digimon was, it seemed the man took extremely well to the main portion of the menu given. She glanced at a couple already seated biting deeply into the meat byproducts and packets of grease and part of her expression died. The need for consumption brought about a large amount of unwanted variables--the average human eatery being one of them.

Still when the order was up, she took her tray as Byrne was offered his, and withheld answering until they had moved to a table off to the side. She glanced down at the salad, noting it seemed a bit poorly done next to those at the institute. No matter. She likely wouldn't eat most of it anyway.

She thought back over the events of the night and considered. "There were more creatures than I had seen in a while," she offered, then frowned. "And the man--Aquilar, I believe?--seemed to confirm that we're to be used for something, though of that, I couldn't tell you what. More theories, less facts."

She was silent for a beat, then glanced to him. He seemed relatively calm. It was hard to tell if he had been able to confirm anything. "You are doing fine, though?"