RtA Log - Appetizers And Conversation

[myrynvalona]

Characters: Kiernan, Maggie, Quinlan, Amethyst, Dirk
Location: Private Dining Room - The Crown and Rose - Amber City

--[ The Crown and Rose ]------------------------------------[ Amber City ]----
--[ Private Dining Room ]-----------------------------------[ Amber City ]----

The Crown and Rose occupies a prime location just off the main
marketplace of the city. An old, established pub and inn, its polished
wooden walls and furnishings, and warm-lit brass fixtures, give it an
air of comforting familiarity. The motifs of its namesake ornament the
carved backs of the chairs, and there are always fresh roses wreathing
the mantle above the fireplace. The tavern's patrons are extremely
diverse, spanning the full range of social classes, natives and
transients alike. The prices are moderate given the location, and the
food is good but the beer is better.

Windows are set along the front, southward-facing wall of the pub,
though they are curtained in the evenings. Booths line line the
western and southern walls; the hearth is set into the eastern wall,
and the bar is along the northern one. Tables, not overly close
together, fill the intervening space.

At the back of the spacious room is a staircase, only wide enough for
one to walk up at a time; it leads up to a hallway, off of which is
the inn's common room and a few private rooms. Other than that, the
only other visible exit is the door to the street.

----------------------------------------------------------[ Exits: U Out ]----

Amy brings Dirk along with her. There are a couple cute guards as well, but they take up lazy but watchful positions at the door as they move up to the private dining room that is reserved for them.

Quinlan follows the crowd into the private dining area, somewhat amused at the idea. But hey. The wait staff are already bringing along his appetizer selection.

Maggie trails the others upthe stairs and slips into the private room just after the waitstaff bring in the appetizer tray. She claims a chair after nodding in silent greeting to the others. After a moment's consideration, she adds, "Hey." So much for silence. She has her hands in her pockets, the overcoat left open as the wintery air holds no threat for her.

Kiernan follows along behind Maggie. His hands are also tucked into his pockets. His cloak is left somewhat open as he strides into the room after his sister. "Amy. Dirk. Quin. How are you all?" In a pocket on his tunic, a tiny crystaline nose and whiskers appear. Then the rest of the tiny face and a pair of tiny rounded ears. It looks like a mouse. Made of crystal. He claims a chair beside Maggie, and sits down on it.

Amy looks over at Kiernan. "Dirk said he named the mouse Minnie," she advises. "And anything else, you can ask him?" Since she brought him along. She moves to sit, and then smiles. "Good to see you all."

Dirk sits down and pulls out a flask. "Minnie D' Moocher."

Quinlan grins as he takes a seat. "Not really surprised. Though maybe that he didn't name it Dot. And I'm good, thanks." He eyes Kiernan. "You look better?"

Once she has been settled into her chair, Maggie's hands reappear. Three bright shells lie in the palms of her hands. One is curved with delicate extensions. It is an auburn and brown beauty that is offered to Quinlan. The other two are a little different. The first is from something closely related to a conch, colored purple that shades from deep, almost black toward lavendar with several shades of amethyst swirling in the center tones. Hints of gold speckle the outer edges. That one is slipped toward Amy. The final one is a spiral shell that looks like the horn of a unicorn. This one is colored in pearlescent whites with cream and gold along the edges. That is offered to Dirk. "Here."

Dirk takes his shell. "nice shell.

Kiernan lifts a hand to his shirt pocket, and the mouse hops out of the pocket and onto his hand, whiskers twitching. He glances over to Dirk. "Minnie D' Moocher? Strange name," he comments, but thinks nothing further of it. He smiles as the shells are passed out. Kiernan nods to Quinlan. "Feeling better, too. Thanks."

Dirk says, "Minnie mostly munches mushroom mash made mondays."

Quinlan takes his shell, sniffing at it curiously. "Where do they come from?" he asks, then to Kiernan, "An old song. I think he's been spending too much time around Chantrises."

Dirk licks his shell.

Amy takes the shell, looking it over. "This is beautiful, Maggie, thank you." She pauses to say, "I ordered drinks to go along with Quin's usual, just so you know." And in fact, the staff does bring in a few more dishes and drinks.

Maggie watches the others with their shells. There is no magic to them, no otherness. They are just shells. Looking up at the drinks as they arrive, she answers Quinlan's question, "Oh... I found them down by the stairs into Rebma. I've been shell hunting for a while now." Looking over to Amy, she smiles, "Thank you." She sits back as she is served, one hand settling around the glass put there for her, "They reminded me of you guys. Don't ask me why. Well. Maybe Amy's is obvious."

"I'm unfamiliar with the song," says Kiernan. This shouldn't be overly surprising to anybody. He lifts a finger and pets the mouse with it. With his hand still next to his shirt pocket, the little mouse hops back into the pocket and goes back to peering out from within it. He nods to Amy. "Thanks," he says, for the drinks.

Dirk starts to sing the Minnie the moocher song.

Quinlan smiles slightly. "Oh. Well. I can help you there," he says. Then Dirk starts to sing, and he opts to provide a relatively faint, but audible, illusory backup band.

Amy nabs some potato skins and settles down to eating. "So, what's new with everyone?" she asks, to start with.

Maggie leans back as the entertainment begins. Her smile is slow but warm as things progress. Glancing over to Amy, then to Kiernan, she lifts her glass to take a sip of the liquid within. "Wow. Didn't know Dirk could sing."

Kiernan tilts his head a bit as the song starts up, accompanied by that faint backup band. He blinks a couple of times. "Quin? You're amazing," he says. He glances to Dirk. "You're both amazing." Pause. "Hell. All four of you are amazing and some of the most awesome people I know." Of course, he doesn't seem to be including himself in that. He reaches for a glass of water and takes a drink of it, then something food-like. He glances to Maggie and nods. "One thing I've noticed about Dirk. He's full of wonders. Good singing, Dirk."

Dirk says "Kier Plop, you underestimate yourself. Dont do that."

Quinlan nods agreement. "Nobody knows what they can do until they try doing it."

Maggie chokes on hearing Kier's new nickname. Leaning forward, she grabs a napkin and holds it to her mouth to keep from spraying anyone with drink residue. Nice of her. Clearing her throat, she then wipes her eyes, "Kier Plop? Does he keep that name even after he's fixed?"

Amy listens to the singing, relaxing and watching the show. "Awesome!" A pause and then she chuckles. "Kier - wait, what?" That to Dirk's nickname, which has her blinking in surprise.

Kiernan flushes at both Dirk and Quinlan's comments. "I'm just me," he says. "I try my best." He glances over at Maggie and then to Dirk. "What does that mean, anyway? Kier Plop?" He glances around and shrugs a bit. "He's been calling me that for a few days now. Why is that, Dirk?"

Maggie winks at Kiernan then, "Listen to them, bro. Everyone has a bit more awesome than they know about. Just have to find it and let it out." Then she turns to Amy and passes a plate of mini sandwiches her way. Her attention shifts over to Dirk and Quinlan then and she waits for the reply.

Dirk says "umm cause I like the sound of it. "

Quinlan smiles, snagging a potato skin. "That may well be all the explanation you get, really," he says. "And people overestimate my awesome all the time, Kiernan. I just do things. You've no idea how weird it is to have people thinking I'm awesome for that."

Kiernan is still blushing, of course. His fair skin shows it clearly. Especially with that white chalice mark on the right side of his neck. He frowns a bit. "Though, oddly, that reminds me of a rather.. strange... encounter I had with Temperance last night." He reaches out and snags another of the potato skins, and nods to Dirk. "Well.. then carry on. Half the Rangers still call me Stilts." He glances to Quinlan and shakes his head. "I've seen the things you do, Quin. They're awesome."

Dirk shrugs "I have the kinda awesome that makes you think of me as a most cheerfully homicidal maniac."

Maggie says, "We are all awesome. And Dirk? You are the most cheerfully homicidal maniac I've ever met." She claims a bar-b-qued sausage thing and bited it. "mmm..."

Oh, mini sandwiches. That's just awesome. "Thanks, Maggie." She takes a couple and passes the plate along to the next person. "Let me toss in my agreement as well, Kiernan."

Dirk keeps licking his shell.

Maggie nods to Amy and turns back to Quinlan, "See..." She holds the bar-b-qued sausage on a toothpick, "You do stuff. You are someone I can trust. You are a marvelous cousin and I trust your opinion on top of it. That makes you awesome. Kier? Well, we've known each other only a while, but I trust him as well. Amy? She's head doc on my ship for a reason." Looking over at Amy, she adds, "I need to get you a pin." Then she turns to Dirk, "Dirk? You are just all around awesome. But, why are you licking that shell? I did not think it had a flavor."

Kiernan chuckles softly at Dirk. "Well, that's a good thing, then." The blush is finally starting to fade, and then Amy chimes in too, and the blush comes right back to full brightness. He glances to Dirk and that shell. He accepts the mini sandwiches as they're passed around. He takes a couple and passes it on.

Dirk shrugs "Today is "commit random acts of randomness." It occurs at uneven intervals through out shadow."

Quinlan just laughs. "Weirdly enough, I do stuff because I have trust issues. Better I learn on my own than trust someone else to tell me the truth."

Maggie shrugs, "Yes, well. I think your trust issues make you more trustworthy in a weird way." Looking over to Dirk, she nods, "Oh. Well. At least it isn't flavor-related. If it was, I'd recommend the sea salt and vinegar chips. Heck, I recommend them anyway." Reaching over, she takes a few of those to eat with her sausage. "So, Kiernan. Once you get seen to, just start doing stuff."

Dirk says "do you have salt?"

Kiernan glances to Quinlan and nods. "Makes sense. Speaking of weird. Temperance ... well, I won't say propositioned me. But she did. If you consider mating to be a proposition. Any adivce?" He glances to Maggie and nods. "I do try," he says. "Doing stuff, I mean. I'm in the process of taking an ice blossom to Alhambra." There's a hint of sadness to his eyes for a moment before it's shuttered away again. He takes another bite of sandwich. "And this didn't happen by not doing stuff," he adds, tapping that white chalice on his neck.

Dirk says, " no mating until you are at least two million minutes old."

Quinlan looks wry. "I prefer knowledge to tattoos," he says. "And Temperance is definitely one of those that advertises being into bedroom kink. Personally, I run for the hills."

Dirk nods "you'd be safer with me."

Maggie passes Dirk the salt as she listens, "I don't think it's a tattoo, Quin." So says she of the mark. She did touch it earlier after all. Her eyes widen and she looks alarmed at the commentary. Is that because of the sadness in her brother's eyes or the talk of bedroom kink? "Er. I don't want to know, Kiernan, k? I mean, I don't mind knowing if you get together with someone, naturally. Just no details, okay?"

Amy has a big glass of rum, and she starts drinking. Not overly fast, but not overly slow either. She does look at Dirk and laughs. "Hey, leave my dad out of things." then she goes quiet as the conversation continues.

Dirk says "amy its random with a small r not random with a big r"

Kiernan shakes his head a bit. "It's not a tattoo." Pause. "But I agree. Knowledge is much more entertaining. And will probably get me into less trouble." He pauses again, and nods. "I... am not entirely sure what to make of it..." He trails off and looks to Maggie. "I haven't been with her," he says. "We were chatting. And she smelled me. And offered to let me smell her..." Pause. "Oddly, she reminds me of you that way, Quinlan. The way she smells the air around her. Anyway, she stated after smelling me, that we're going to mate some time before spring." He takes a drink of water.

Quinlan shrugs. "I smell magic," he says. "It'd be a lot easier if I just saw octarine, or had thaumaturgical tinnitus. But no, I get scents. In her case...I honestly don't know. I'd be willing to say it's a good 50-50 she just enjoys watching people reacting to her invading their personal space. She's got definite dominance vibes going."

Dirk says "tell her you got someone a lot cuter than she is. when she asks who give her my name."

Maggie nods to Quin, "I've started in with that too. The smelling magic thing. It is a little disturbing, but useful. If you have time later, I'd like to talk to you about developing it." Then she winces at Kiernan, "Um. That's a little creepy, if you ask me. It sounds as though she wants you to think that you don't have a choice." Dirk and Amy are both given smiles for different reasons, "That might work, actually, Dirk. Amy? Random is random. Can't be helped."

Dirk nods "but Ransom is not everything that is random is he? Specially now that he's wearing the crown."

Kiernan nods to Quinlan. "No idea why she does it, she just.. reminds me of you that way." He considers that, and is quiet as he eats a few more bites of sandwich. He glances to Maggie and nods. "Aye, a little. She doesn't creep me out, but I'm not sure I'm really interested in her that way. Especially not if she wants to act like I have no choice. I'm not an animal to go into the rut just because a female waggles her finger at me." He glances at Dirk and shakes his head. "That's just mean, Dirk. I'm not going to tell her that." Pause. "I haven't met Random yet," he points out. His eyes go to Amy. "What's he like?" As though that sparked off a thought, he looks back to Maggie. "How are Mom and Dad?"

Dirk says nothing and licks his shell. He gets some salt and some chips. The chips are liberally salted before being consumed by the shell licker.

Quinlan smiles. "It's a sense, you develop it like any other sense," he says to Maggie. "Use it. A lot." To Dirk he adds, "There is no one and nothing in the universe as cute as you think you are, Dirk. Really. Also...honestly, there's people that think 'cute' means 'hit it with a rock'. So, not always effective.

Dirk looks at Quin, "I dont think I am cute. I know it."

Amy just laughs, amused at the random references. "Okay, fine," she says. "I admit Dad is not the be all and end all of random. And for what he's like, it depends on who you ask. I think he's wonderful, but there seem to be quite a few people who disagree."

Maggie nods, "A'right. I will. Thanks, Quin." Leaning back, she shrugs at Kiernan's question, "No idea. I took them back to the island to reclaim mom's ship. They hoisted his into the hold, so... Okay, I guess? Though I did not really see them interact much. At least they weren't in the 'it's your fault' stage of things anymore. That got old fast." She grumps a little, "Imagine having to tell your mother and ..." She flashes Kiernan a glance, then adds, "Her first... what. Husband? To grow up and act like adults." Looking back at Amy, she considers that a while, then shrugs, "He and I got off on the wrong foot, but we've come to terms. Decided to grow up and act like adults." So... Claiming some of the chips she swiped, she watches Dirk and Quin a moment, then chuckles, "Confidence wins the day."

Kiernan glances back at Dirk. "But Quinlan is right. You are cute. Adorable, even." He glances to Quinlan and Maggie, looking back and forth between the two. He looks to Amy and nods. "Makes sense." He looks to Maggie and nods. HTen laughs. "Aye, it did, didn't it?" The 'it's your fault' stage. He nods again, still amused. "I can imagine. Not sure I would have liked it much. I wonder how they're doing now..." He chuckles softly at her next comment. He finishes the sandwich and starts on the next.

Dirk asks Kier "can I have a hug?"

Quinlan just smiles, and snags a basket of onion rings to munch on. Mmmm.

Amy finishes her drink, has a couple potato skins and starts on another drink. She is relaxed mostly, though perhaps a little more quiet than usual. "That sounds like it must have been quite something," she says. "I'm not sure how I'd react if it were Mom and Second Dad in that situation."

Maggie finishes her drink and takes up another, "It was weird. I mean..." She sidles Kiernan another glance and a smile begins, "Eh. I suspect that they are fine. Off on a voyage of rediscovery or something." Turning to Amy, she reaches over to grab an onion ring, then dunks it in catsup. "I think someone else might have decided it was sweet." She, however, is withholding judgement but leaning on the oogy side. Taking a bite, she sighs softly, "Mmm."

Dirk is looking to Kier.

Kiernan glances to Dirk and nods. "Aye Dirk, you can if you like." He nods to Amy's comment, and glances to Maggie. "It was probably pretty awkward. Sorry about that." He nods, lips curling up a little. "Probably. That sounds like fun, actually. Well. I mean in general, not being with them during their voyage." He finishes the second of the two sandwiches he'd gotten earlier about this point. He ponders that onion ring and Maggie's reaction, and decides to try the same thing. Onion ring, plus ketchup, plus bite equals... "Mmmm. This is good," he says.

Dirk moves to Kier and waits for his hug. He licks his shell again.

Quinlan grins. "I like the Crown and Rose. Best appetizers in the city." He pauses, thinking of something. "Oh. I should mention. I have a Custos now."

"You do? That sounds like a good thing, right?" Amy asks. "Are you okay with it?" She ignores the onion rings, but reaches for a chicken wing, pulling that plate over along with some barbeque sauce. "The thing I love about appetizers is how messy they are. They're absolutely delicious though." And another bit more rum, which doesn't seem to be impacting her.

Maggie lifts a brow at Kiernan, "Awkward." Though maybe more for her than him." Ooh, chicken wings with barbeque sauce. Good choice. She snags one once the sausage is finished. She must be hungry, this one. Dirk is given a quick smile for his patience, then she nods to Quinlan, "Um. What is a custos? And is it contagious?" If Maggie notes Amy's fortitude, it hasn't hit her that it is a problem yet. Or... of note. Amy's Random's daughter. She can hold her liquor. Right?

"Well, I'm not getting up. If you want a hug, come on over here," says Kiernan to Dirk. He finishes the onion ring, and glances to Quinlan. "Custos.. is a warrior mage, wasn't it? That's probably not a bad thing." He glances over at Amy at her consumption of rum. And lack of impaction. He shrugs and puts it from his mind as being not overly important in the grand scheme of things. He eyes the available appetizers and goes for a cheese stick next, dipping it in some convenient ranch dressing. He also appears to be hungry.

Quinlan smiles. "Oh yes. This one was picked by my father." He slants a look at Kiernan. "Something about meeting up with people that want to drop me into volcanos." To Maggie, he says, "A custos is a Pathian warrior mage. They're defenders, bodyguards. My Custos knows where I am, and how I am, every minute of every day. And ...speaking of unpleasant people that want to drop me into volcanoes... they're especially trained to break enchantments and wards."

Dirk leans on Kier Plop and smiles "should I be jealous since no one wants to drop me in a volcano?"

"Sounds like a really good thing, then," Amy says with a smile. She nods her head once, finishing up her chicken wing, and then settling down to just drinking. She is Random's daughter and can reasonably hold her liquor, true. Glass the third goes down the hatch, rather like water.

Maggie says, "Hey, I didn't want to drop you into a volcano, Quin. I was too busy being someone's snack. And not in any kind of a fun way." Because... y'know. She slants a glance to Quin again, "Speaking of which.... We have a date for conversation and coffee." The chicken wing is used for emphasis, though a cheese stick might have been a better choice. The chicken wing is dunked into the barbeque sauce and a bite taken. After chewing and swallowing, she shrugs to Dirk, "No. It wasn't a fun time." That is when Amy's prodigious ability to swallow rum without even a burn hits. Looking at her delicate cousin, graceful and beautiful, she glances at the glass, "Everything as it should be, Amy?""

Oooh. Kiernan actually remembered what something was! He looks pleased with that. "It wasn't my fault," he states. Then pauses, and tilts his head, and sighs a bit. "No, wait. You're right. It was my fault." Pause. "Sorry about that." He hugs Dirk when he's leaned on. "I don't want to drop anybody into any volcanos," he says. He glances to Amy and watches her for a few moments. Watching the water-like rum go down. "Did someone swap out your rum with colored water?"

Quinlan laughs quietly, covering his mouth with his hand so it doesn't carry. "Don't worry about it. Rabe seems an unusually laid back sort for a Custos. He'll stay on the Ninetail, but as he's new to the wider universe, I'm expecting some interesting fireworks. There's theory and there's practice, after all."

Amy blinks and then shakes her head. "Nope," she says to Kier's question about the rum. "Want to taste it?" That said, she sets the glass down, and just looks around. Some candles are brought in and set around to allow for some lighting, since it's evening. Amy looks over at Quinlan, and then decides maybe to try a carrot stick. Maggie gets a longer look and then a, "I think maybe?"

Dirk says "thank you Kier Plop." He stays near kier.

Maggie nods slowly to Amy, but her gaze lingers for a concerned moment. Then with a flicker of her attention she adds, "Later..." A promise. Or a suggestion or a hope. Take your pick. Looking back to Quinlan, she nods once more, adding, "Yeah, I'd like to meet him, if you two are good with it. Let him know that I'm not a threat." She smiles at Kiernan and Dirk, but keeps her attention on Quinlan really. And Amy. And... oh, soft pretzels... With cheese sauce...

Kiernan nods slowly, a smile forming as Quinlan laughs. "Well, that could get enteresting," he says. He glances to Amy and considers this for a moment, and then shakes his head. "No, thank you though. I believe you." He grins at her. He tilts his head. "Only maybe, Amy? Everything okay?" He smiles at Dirk and nods. "You're welcome." He finishes the cheese stick and eyes those wings now. And the pretzels. Choices choices. He seems torn.

Dirk says "take a pretzel and stab it through a cheese stick then grab a wing and eat them all."

Quinlan nods. "Like I said, he seems laid back for a Custos. So I'm not really worried about him getting in people's faces for invading personal space or anything." He pulls a basket of cheesyfries to himself. "So...you were treated okay, Kier? I mean from this morning?"

Dirk isnt eating or drinking.

"What happened this morning?" Amy asks, now looking over at Kier. Her eyes gleam purple. Oh. Cheesy fries. Is there another - aha! She reaches across to get the basket and pulls it over, dumping a few into her plate. "Good idea, Quinlan." With her arm stretched out, it shows her wrist, where there appears to be a small purple scale.

Dirk stares at the purple scale. "I like purple Amy."

Maggie nods to Quinlan, "Good. My laid back, cool cousin needs a laid back, cool Custos. Rabe? I don't promise to remember that, but I'll try." Turning to Amy, she clears her throat, "Uh." Still, she answers Quinlan. "Not yet." It is Kiernan's story, so she flickers a glance to him to answer it. Following Dirk's gaze, Maggie spots the scale as well, "Oh. Well, now. Amy..." Excitement and trepidation touch her tone, though there is a measure of pride growing in her eyes. /My Cousin, the Dragon/ soon to be playing in a theatre near you. "When did that start?"

Kiernan glances to Dirk and looks at him curiously. Then shakes his head. "No.. thanks for the idea, though. That seems like a bit much. Maybe just a pretzel." He reaches for one a moment later, and tears off a chunk of it to dip in the cheese sauce. He glances over to Quinlan, and pauses in the chewing phase of his pretzel and looks at him confused. "Huh wha? Treated?" Yep, he even sounds confused. He glances to Amy and lifts a hand to pat his chest, over his heart. "Got freaked out and upset and had some pain. Took one of the pills Doc Croaker prescribed." He glances to Quinlan. "Is that what you meant?" He looks at Amy's arm, and that purple scale on it. He studies it for a moment, head tiltsed. "Amy? You remember that purple spot we discussed? The one I said you weren't imagining?" He glances to Maggie, and then back to Amy.

Amy catches the look at her arm, and pulls it back sharply. She looks at Kiernan first, and then nods. "Pills? Do they have a label on the bottle?" she asks, to start with. And then, "What? Oh!" Her cheeks go a bit pink. "That seems to keep happening. I - Chase says my dragon is showy. I'm not quite sure what he means."

Dirk nods "you are going to be a pretty purple princess dragon. "

Quinlan considers Amy thoughtfully, snagging himself a beer to go with his cheesyfries. "...You know, I've noticed that with a lot of shapechangers," he says. "Treating the other form like it's an entirely separate personality. And then other shapechangers are the same in both forms. Or as many forms as they take."

Maggie shifts in her seat, her smile still fixed to her lips, "I suspect it means that when you turn into a dragon, you will still be as wonderful as you are in this form." She sidles a grin over toward Quinlan. Must be for his insight, "Yeah? I do not know many who I have seen in alternate forms. Though I think Doc Chase perfers his dragon form to his human form." Then she turns back to Amy, "Oh. Next time you see him, would you please send him my way? Don't tell him, but he has an appointment with a buffer and some wax."

Kiernan nods to Amy. "Aye, they do," he says. He slips a hand into a pocket, not the one the mouse is in, and pulls a bottle out. He sets it on the able and slides it across to Amy. He tilts his head for a moment. "Well.. showy usually means something that stands out." He glances to Dirk and then back to Amy. "What Dirk said." He glances to Quinlan and nods. "You're the only shapechanger I really know." Pause. "Except for Chase and Celeste." Speaking of Chase... Kiernan chuckles at Maggie's comment. "I tried to tell him you wouldn't be happy about those scratches.."

Quinlan just...stops. It's a momentary, yet full-body freeze. Quite possibly the visual side effect of a mental bluescreen. *Something* did not process. Then he coughs, and focuses firmly on those cheesyfries. Yum, cheesyfries.

Dirk gets quiet now and reaches out for a cheese stick. "Ralph was teasing but she thought I was some latent cat shapshifter."

Maggie gets a laugh from Amy, though she does cover her arm again. "I'll tell him you were looking for him, Maggie. Can't promise more than that." She looks at Quinlan thoughtfully, as she listens to him. "I haven't really paid any attention to it. I just - know what my Mandrake cousins are telling me, but it doesn't quite feel right that there is a second sort of me? I don't feel comfortable with this idea."

Maggie notes Quin's freeze out of the corner of her eye, then shifts a glance over to Kiernan. "Nope. He is going to buff them out properly or I'll tan his hide." Literally? No. Probably not." Turning back to Amy, she nods, "Yeah, thanks. You don't actually have to tell him why. I will surprise him with the tools. Might even put a pretty bow on them and claim they are a present." Listening, she offers, "I don't think it is a second sort of you. It is the 'you of another color'. And shape. You are still you." Of course, she does not shift, so what would she know? Dirk wins a grin and a nod, "Wouldn't surprise me, Dirk. Not at all."

Kiernan looks curiously at Quinlan. "You alright there, Quin?" Yum cheesyfries my rear. Obviously, Kiernan isn't buying it. He glances to Amy and considers her. "I agree with Maggie. You're still going to be you no matter the shape you're wearing. And, as protective as you are of your family, it doesn't really surprise me much." He's probably thinking of her cutting that nagitsune in half. And ate its heart. He looks at the pretzel in his hand and finally gets around to finishing it.

Quinlan shrugs, and makes a brief face at Kiernan. "I am a shapechanger," he says. "But...I don't know how like other shapechangers we are. I've seen people treat it like the animal side is some...terrible thing that has to be chained. Which, you know, sometimes very valid, depending on the animal. But to me? It's all *you*. When you change for the first time, you get a different perspective. See things, smell things, react to things differently. Discover instincts that haven't kicked in before then. But it's not someone else, it's still you. It's like...puberty all over again, or losing your virginity. It's still *you*. Human shape or whatever shape, you're still you."

Dirk is looking at his shell and o poking himself in the leg with it.

Amy looks over at Dirk and then she chuckles. "I could see you as a cat, I think. YOu sure you aren't?" She looks to Maggie and then to Kiernan and Quinlan. "I don't - well, I guess I will see, right?" She makes a face. That heart eating - and don't forget the throwing up afterwards. Definitely don't. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to deal with all this. I got such a bad headache on that trip to that volcano, you know. It kept getting worse, until I could finally act."

Dirk asks "what is the point of coconut water?" he looks to Amy "I dont shape shift but I like curling up in front of fires and getting scritched?"

Maggie nods to Amy, though she moves to rise, "Might've been your protective nature kindling your dragon, Amy. You do have a protective side and, let's face it... I was dying. So... You took care of it. Thank you, by the way. Without each of you, I don't think I'd have made it back." Leaning over, she ruffles Kiernan's hair, "Go see Celeste, bro." Scooting around the table, she lean-hugs Amy, then moves over to Quinlan. Rather than ruffle his main of auburn glory, she places a hand on his shoulder. He is offered a smile, warm and easy. Dirk is given a wave, "Later all." Stepping to the door then, she slips out.

Kiernan nods to Quinlan, expression growing thoughtful. "That.. all makes perfect sense to me, actually," he says. He looks to Dirk and watches him for a moment with the shell. Then looks back to Amy. He nods to what she has to say. "So long as you remember that you don't have to deal with it alone. I trust that even if you go dragon on me, you're not going to eat me, because you're still you." Kiernan glances over at his sister and smiles at her. He leans into the ruffling and smiles at her. "Yes, ma'am," he says. "See you later, Maggie." He watches her walk out and looks back to the others. "She's a great sister." He pauses for a moment. "Amy? Mind coming with me to find Celeste?"

Amy looks over and nods to Kiernan. "I don't mind at all. C'mon, let's go." She gets to her feet, waiting for Kier. And then off she goes home.

Quinlan thinks that over. "Um. Not...quite what I meant. To a dragon's nose you probably *are* food. But if she knows that, then she can confuse that instinct. Or sate it before dealing with you. It's...management. You can't help what you feel, but you can help what you do about it. S'why I avoid Benedict and Jaymesin like *plague*."

Kiernan gets to his feet, pats Dirk on the shoulder and then around the table. He pauses and pats Quinlan on the shoulder too. "Thanks for being you, Quin. Dirk, don't change. I'll see you later too." He pauses by Quinlan and tilts his head. "I don't know Jaymesin, but I've met Benedict. Taciturn fellow, isn't he?" He shakes his head and heads on out.