The Gift of Thanks

The Gift of Thanks
Date of Scene:	23 November 2012
Location:	Manhattan - Twilight Detective Agency
Synopsis:	Riku and Cirra Constantin drop in on the TDA at the end of their Thanksgiving celebrations. Food is had, friendship is shared, and The TDA gets a new roomer.
Cast of Characters:	Deidra, Riku, Mercade Alexander, Cirra Constantine, Celina Duvalis

---

Mercade Alexander has posed:
The atmosphere of the TDA is a little different than it used to be. The same jazzy music is playing, but the air smells of warm turkey, pie, ham, and casserole instead of pizza. The lobby has a large table set up, where a good portion of the plates of food have been heavily consumed in the aftermath of a dinner. They're still warm, however.

Mercade himself leans back at his desk, snoozing away a food coma as he recovers from a very traumatic experience from the prior evening. As much as he grouses abour Celina's dietary practices, she /is/ right. Their diet was horribly unhealthy. Some nice solid dinner would do them all well, and not even Will has managed to devour the massive banquet provided. Many of the TDA members have much to be thankful for in these recent times. Some more than others, perhaps.

Celina Duvalis has posed:
Celina Duvalis is the /very best den mom ever/.

She made the turkey, three different types of pie - pumpkin, apple, and mixed berry - various types of green bean and corn casseroles, and generally, if it's often seen at a Thanksgiving dinner, the woman made it.

Eventually meandering out of the lounge area where she claimed the couch, she leans against the wall. Didn't she call not it on clean up? Ah well. She does stare at Mercade as he takes a nap.

Riku has posed:
Somewhere in this merry festivities, there is the sound of the universe mocking Riku. It's the sound of portal magic going wrong, the cosmic raspberry that begins with a somewhat distinct "WHAM" noise outside the TDA offices, followed by a vague groan that doesn't carry very well over the jazzy music.

Riku fishes himself out of a dumpster with all the grace of a fish pulled out of water, brushing down his winter coat as he looks around to try and orient himself to where he's landed. The headache keeps him locked in a few minutes of muzzy silence he recognizes Manhattan and this particular corner of it in particular. Everything was so bright, so vividly stark that giant coronas of light pulsed and swerved around everything. He eventually just closed his eyes just to prevent the worst of the headache. "Oh.. great." he gestures to take himself back to his own room with a great absolute nothing happening on that front.

He is completely and totally tapped out, and it is an unfathomable amount of blocks from here to there by something so pedestrian as walking. Riku shrugs his shoulders, deciding, perhaps foolishly that discretion is the better part of valor. Maybe he could stay around here until his eyes went back to normal and his head stopped hurting.

Besides-- something smelled good nearby, and amazingly enough it was something that was probably food in the traditional sense of the word. Go figure. Riku finds himself almost hanging on the door as his knees try to buckle but remains standing through willpower and vicious stubbornness. He almost turns around and goes back through the office doors. There were more than just one smear of light here. The offices were already occupied though he couldn't tell quite whom. People. Other people. RUN AWAY. Everyone looked the same.

Riku also somewhat looks like a blind guy, huddling in his somewhat torn up winter coat with his eyes a blank yellow whenever he opens them just enough to make out the terrain he was stepping through. "Hello?" he croaks, deciding-- for once. Just this once, to open himself to a moment of vulnerability. This was just completely inviting someone to stick a knife there, but he had to trust something to someone.. theorhetically, and it DID smell like pie. He did like pie.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
One man wanders into the TDA blinded by the light, and a woman approaches it through a sense of...obligation.

Wraped in a black winter coat - boy she has had to wear heavy clothes in a long time - a silver haired woman pauses outside the Twilight Detective Agency with something held in both hands. She stares at the doors for a few good minutes and grimeces, this was a bad idea she was sure it was, but even in the Empire and Rabanastre there were holidays. Thigns you just...did, because it's the thing everyone was doing.

Sighs, Cirra Constantine closes her eyes and opens the doors with one hand and finds... Riku. "Uhm, escuse me." She says.

Her soul is...not bright, but it's not the overwhelming inky blackness of a heartless or shadowlord. The normal human soul is in there, but it's been shrouded by something grafted on to it. "Are you with th-" no, something is wrong with that man.

"Are you alright?"

Riku has posed:
"Uh.. Hi." Riku finds himself stammering. "Um. I- Is Mercade here?" he finds himself wondering, since he doesn't even know if he got the right building anybody. He doesn't recognize the voice and opening his eyes to take a better look does not feel like the best option right now. "I-- I'm sorry. My name is Riku. I'm looking for.. Wait.This IS the Twilight Detective Agency, right?" the young man touches the doorframe, feeling it with both hands before leaning against it and hunching his shoulders in and huddling in on himself.

"Great. Right city. Wrong building." he nods to himself, continue to grumble out his frustration. "What's next? Oh yeah. Why don't I just trip over Will Sherman. That will perfect my night."he pushes himself away from the door, pulling himself together so it doesn't look quite like he's going to fall over now. "I'm sorry. I must have the wrong place."

Celina Duvalis has posed:
Celina shakes her head. "This is the Twilight Detective Agency." She says, glancing at Cirra, and then at Riku. "If you're looking for Will, he's dead of a food coma upstairs. I'm Celina ... I work for the TDA." She looks over at the desk and then beckons them both more firmly in before yelling down the hallway,

"MERCADE GET UP!"

She's brutally effective when she needs to be.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
ZZZZZZZZ.

You can basically see the status effect bubble over his head as he sleeps, deep in the throes of food coma.

And then Celina yells. The yell gets immediate results, Mercade promptly yelling with a "WAUGH!" As he crashes out of his chair, and groggily picks his bleary eyes up...

And instantly focuses on the two visitors. "Riku. Judge Constant-" He pauses, focusing his awakening senses on the boy. "Oh God, you look like hell. Come in here." He scrambles to his feet and helps usher the pair inside. "Both of you, sit down and rest, I insist." He takes them to the comfy visitor's chairs and has them both sit. He gestures towards Riku with his head as he looks at Celina. Look at him and see what's up.

"We're just in the aftermath of a holiday banquet, my apologies. We have plenty of food left here, would either of you like some?" He says, gesturing. "You don't have to worry about getting up, I can serve you."

Cirra Constantine has posed:
There is yelling.

"I'd say this is the right place." Cirra says to Riku. She moves her box to one hand and reaches out for the yuong man to help him. Then Mercade comes along and bustles them both inside. "Wait- I was just-!" she tries to balance the box in one hand over her head as she is ushered in and sat down.

"...leaving something..."

Riku has posed:
Riku winces, smirking slightly from the echoes of the yell. He sweeps the room, pressing his palms to his eyes and burying his face in his hands for a few moments. "No. I'm never looking for Will. That doesn't seem to help." he laughs softly into his hands at this admission.

"Ugh. God." he follows somewhat in a a jerking and stumbling fashion over to the comfy chairs (Not the Comfy Chairs! You fiends!) "Sure. I'm.. I could eat." he nods to himself. "Is it, some sort of thing? What holiday is going on right now?"

Celina Duvalis has posed:
"I think it's too late for that." Celina informs Cirra with a smile.

"We're celebrating Thanksgiving; it's a day of feasts and thanks, pretty much what it sounds like." Celina is already beating Mercade as she bustles around the tables, including getting a glass of milk to go with the well-balanced and somewhat towering plate onto the table in front of Riku.

"Okay, well, Will will sleep through my yells, so we're okay."

Deidra has posed:
The TDA was no longer just Mercade and his two plucky supernatural side kicks. Nope the whole crew was on it's way back now. The smell of food however had drawn out the Gargyole easily enough and as ever she's kept her wings wrapped about her inside to not catch anything evne fi it can be a little annoying. The idea of duinner appears to her really, she's suprised the Judge is here but anyone not wishing to cause trouble and really she cna't think of any real trouble she's had with Cirra. "The smell of the food will wake him soon enough, Celina."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"The boy is basically a sphere now." Mercade says. "He won't be hungry again for at least ten minutes."

He looks to Cirra, and nods. "Don't worry about it, Cirra. Stay a while and relax. It's a time of rest and celebration." He smiles. "A lot of us have things to be thankful for."

Riku's presence in this state seems to cause Mercade concern, from the expression on his face. He's rubbing his chin in thought, and takes a seat back in his chair (after righting it) and he looks at the pair. "So, what brings you here, Judge? And you, Riku..." He frowns. "Those symptoms look familiar."

Riku has posed:
Riku squints experimentally at the food, leaning away and looking nauseous for a few moments. He grips the edges of the comfy chair, somewhat listing to one side as he takes in a few deep breaths of the thanksgiving banquet.

He shrugs, shaking his head at Mercade. Not now. "So hey, I haven't been here for awhile and there are.. new people here?" he picks experimentally with the food, squinting at it and keeping his eyes shut most of the time as he tucks in. "Thanksgiving. Hm." There is one voice he recognizes and he turns his head towards Deidra . "Oh. Hello Deidra."

Celina Duvalis has posed:
"Hello, Deidra."

Celina sinks into a seat, crossing her legs. "I'm a old time member; I am primarily just only loosely affiliated rather than only work with Mercade and company."

Beat. "Please. Impose. I cooked a lot."

Cirra Constantine has posed:
Cirra looks up at Celina, having never met her before. "I only meant to drop something off and then go." she looks to Mercade as he explains the holiday, "Oh." she says quietly. "It's... something similar in Archadia today. Rabanaster picked it up as well."

She looks down at the food being set infront of her, "I really don't want to impose-"

Then the gargoyle enters the room, which seems to startle Cirra, "Tc-" she looks around at how everyone else is clam with it and she slowly sits back down. "..."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade nods faintly at the shrug. He gets it. "Yes, we've picked up a couple new members. Or rather, older members who found their way back." He gestures to Cirra. "Don't worry, Deidra is with us, Cirra." He pauses. "And you may as well impose. She's not going to let you leave unless you eat the food she's giving you." He chuckles. "She's very fussy about proper nutrition." With a sigh, Mercade's expression becomes slightly exaggeratedly morose. "She's banned us from pizza and ramen for a month. We're also going to be renovating."

He stands and turns off a few of the lights, reducing the harsh glare of the office lighting to something more pooled, depending more on the softer lamps Celina insisted be put in after she showed up.

Riku has posed:
Riku experimentally opens his eyes, shaking his head to clear it. He nods gratefully to Mercade as he tucks into the food with more gusto now that he can actually see what he is doing. He in fact does so with gusto after the initial warm up.

"Wow. This is pretty great. Thank you." he gives her a wan smile, nodding to her before going back to eating. "Um. Cirra, is it? Um-- may I ask what a Judge does, exactly? I haven't traveled to Rabanastre very often."

Cirra Constantine has posed:
"Whats pizza?" Cirra asks, but is distracted by Riku's question, "A Judge enforces an maintains the laws of Archadia. It's also my duty to protect members of the Hous Solidor - the Emporer's house - It has some military rank attached but thats more the province of Judge Magisters, of which there are only five."

She glances at Mercade and Celina again, picking up a fork and carefully picking up some turkey to sample it. It apparently agrees with her as she takes some more, "Thank you."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Pizza is a flatbread that is topped with spiced tomato sauce, cheese, vegetables, and meats and then cooked in an oven. It's quite good." Mercade smiles. "This area is known for the quality of its pizza." He doesn't interrupt their eating, mostly relaxing and keeping an eye on what's going on. And listening. Always listening.

Celina Duvalis has posed:
"Well maybe if you all treated yourselves better." Celina mumbles to Mercade, "Then it wouldn't be so bad when I do such things!" She frowns at him more firmly, glancing at Riku as he makes a food comment.

She looks pleased.

"Always glad to help." She then joins Mercade in the listening-observing stage.

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says "You sure on that?" She's not sure what to think about the eating however snaps her out of that thoughts. "It's good to see you Riku and I'm still terribly sorry about destroying some of your sktches. I should have been watching where I was landing more carefully." She really felt bad about that.

Riku has posed:
Riku nods, reaching into his pocket. "Huh." He stops, pulling out nothing and returning to his food. He starts to feel considerably better with excellent food in him, the headache starting to abate to a general dull throb. Riku rubs his back for a few moments while shifting in the chair, then resettles. He looks uncomfortable in this situation, as if he didn't really think he belonged here.

"Maybe you should work with Mercade more." he grins lopsidely. "If he and Will ate like this all the time, maybe they'd get in less trouble." this to him sounds like a losing position, but hey. Riku finishes off some turkey and a dinner roll. He peers at the food, then at the door as he calculates the number of long, darkened blocks he'd have to walk over in his head again. "They're only pictures Deidra." he shrugs nonchalantly, not looking at her but looking back at his food. "I got rid of them. I can always draw more."

Cirra Constantine has posed:
"I'm not sure I always can..." Cirra says, looking up at mecade again, "Though with the way things are going, it seems he's always there when trouble is." was that a joke, or serious? she continues to eat the offered food, turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes and gravy. "It's very good, thank you." she says polietly.

Deidra has posed:
Deidra looks back to Cirra and tilts her head a little bit. "I'm with them, look humans are not the only species on the planet. A pleasure to meet you." She pause as Cirr asks what is Pizza, well she's likely going to find out sooner or later. "Humm sounds almost like some of our law enfrocement groups." She won't force the issue with Riku any furtjher there's nothing she can see tht she is able to do. she seems to be hanging back and not eating just yet, for some reason however.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"I've been perfectly fine so far!" Mercade retorts to Celina. "And nothing can keep us out of trouble. We look for it, Riku." He chuckles. "I enjoy having an interesting life very much." Mercade fold his hands. "Let's just say that's one of the things I'm thankful for."

Celina Duvalis has posed:
"Oh no." Celina says, staring down the hallway. "Will woke up."

"Well, I'm trying to work with them more, now, and hey... all it's doing is keeping them healthier. Which is my job." She checks the time. "No, it's not Thanksgiving!" She calls down to the lounge where they stuck the rounded Will. "Go back to sleep!"

Riku has posed:
"Sure you have." Riku rejoins with a forced smile. "Even when we're all idiots, I suppose things work out one way or another." He looks up, turning blind yellow eyes towards the voice and Celina's egress to prevent a relapse of Hurricane Will. He stands up, almost falling again and having to steady himself against the chair.

"And I think that's my cue. Mercade." he nods to the detective, rubbing at his eyes, then looks towards the door again. For those of you in the audience with Dark-O-vision, or the equivalent, truely epic amounts of Darkness are coming off the teenager. Not all of it could be exactly be termed to be his.

"Cirra. Um-- Thank you for the food, it was delicious--" he snorts. "It reminded me of home. I guess I should be thankful for that. I didn't catch your name." he asks this of Celina, nodding to Deidra as he moves towards the door carefully, leaning against the wall only once.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
Cirra hastily puts down her knife and fork and reaches for the box, "Wait a moment-" she looks at the box in her hands then closes her eyes with a sigh. "In Archadia were supposed to celebrate good harvest and... chance encounters." she lifts up hte lif of the box. "I don't know many people so..."

The box contains... a cake! it looks homemade and at least decent, with frosting and everything.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Oooh, cake!

Mercade grins as he sees the delicious confectionary treat. "Wow, that's really nice of you, Cirra. I didn't think we warranted a gift like this." He chuckles, and then looks over to Riku, who is moving to acquire a place that a teenager can lean against the wall. "Are you feeling better, Riku? But don't worry about it. Please, feel free to stay, Will's been good lately." He pauses. "Mostly." Another pause. "Ish."

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says "It totally is WIll." She now herself moves inf or some food not wanting to crowd the tables and well? Makes herself comforable as she looks to the food she's going to get some before, well? Will goes for second helpings! "So how did you meet Mercade Cirra? I only heard some talk about the Judges before in my travels."

Celina Duvalis has posed:
... Celina sighs. "My dear, you're at no risk here, not with everyone around for the holiday, and you're in no condition to be running around." The Mom look is engaged as she stares at Riku.

"Please. See? Will is distracted by good food. You need to rest."

Riku has posed:
Riku leans against the wall staring at the door, rubbing one hand up and down his arm as he pauses there for too long after Will complains after him. He turns back to face inwards instead of outwards. "Not really." he murmurs after a long pause.

"Although it'd be probably rude not to stay for cake. ..Celebrating harvest and.. chance encounters. I guess." he looks really uncomfortable, looking towards Will and then away again. He fidgets while leaning against the wall for a moment before shuffling back towards the chair he recently occupied and sitting down heavily with a thump. Riku smirks faintly. "Well. Maybe a little, thanks to the food." He looks even more guilty, fidgeting even more where he sits. Apparently Riku is very suceptible to the Mom Look. "No. No.. it's okay Will. Just." he waives off whatever he was going to say. "Sorry."

Cirra Constantine has posed:
"Like I said, I don't know many people." Cirra turns her head away as if looking over her shoulder. "It's about the only thing I can make decently." she won't speak a word of where she learned to bake it tough. If one samples the cake it is fairly thick, aparently by design and with fruit baked into it.Probably some sort of Dalmascan fruit considering where she's from.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade Alexander lets Celina handle the dispensation of cake. It saves him trouble. "Relax Riku. Tonight... I'm just thankful all of my friends are here and safe." He smiles at Riku. "I'm really grateful to have friends like you."

Sappy commentary delivered, waits for a piece of cake so he can devourify it.

Celina Duvalis has posed:
Celina shares a look with Mercade, the one that says, 'Why are WE two the responsible ones'. No, she's not even including Tom in the responsibility sphere, are you insane?

That done, she smiles brightly at Cirra. "Thank you! Harvest Blessings and thanksgivings to you, dear Judge." She does help pass out cake, where needed. That done, she leans over to affectionately pat Will's head before she disappears into the lounge room, perhaps to fall over into a secondary food coma.

Riku has posed:
Riku looks at Will, then at Mercade who has become Mr. Sappy Narration man and looks down at the food. He tries to smile at the group but it looks strained and somewhat uncomfortable. He does take advice and try to relax, waiting for the cake to be dished out. "Good night, Um.. Celina." he nods to her as she leaves for secondary food coma, and returns to dinner rolls, mashed potatoes and generally enjoying food. He occasionally glances at Mercade or Will, but otherwise appreciates the holiday he finds himself embedded in.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
Cake is somehow handed out. Animation error before Celina leave.

Cirra takes her own and cuts it with a knife and fork, but she is an extremely proper young lady.

When she isn't hackin bits off monsters.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"There's still Christmas, Will." Oh god, he has to go shopping for Chrismtas gifts! Mercade ponders this, before he nods to Celina. "Good night, Celina!"

He looks back to Riku, tapping his chin spectualtively with his fork. "Hopefully, everything stays peaceful for now. I know it's been ugly lately, but there's so much left to do..." He sighs. "Anyway, no point in dwelling on it now."

He sets to on the cake. He's much better about it than Will, but he doesn't stand too much on ceremony with food. "This cake is very good, Cirra. Thank you." He mentions. When Riku looks up at Mercade, he sees the detective looking back, nodding for a moment. "Hey Riku, when you're done, want to come help bring some of these dishes into the kitchen?"

Riku has posed:
Riku leans back in the chair, pulling the cake plate into his lap as he manages to half curl up in the comfortable chair.

He pulls his legs up, taking a bite and then another. "Thank you Cirra." he lets his eyes drift closed for a few moments in the beginning stages of food torpor, sighing as he listens and remains mostly very still. "Sure Mercade. Just a second." he takes his time with another few long bites, then sets his cake aside and helps gather up the dishes.

He wobbles unsteadily as he tries to orient himself, squinting and following Mercade into the kitchen area.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade had his sleep time. He gets up, and collects some dishes so he can move into the kitchen with Riku. Once he's there, he begins rinsing off some of them and looks over to the teen. "Okay, we should be fine here. What's the deal, Riku?"

Cirra Constantine has posed:
"You're welcome." Cirra says polietly, even as Will proves to be uncouth. She ignores it mostly.

Crra's brows knit as Riku gets up, his stance and walk still unsteady. She watches the pair leave with a frown.

Riku has posed:
Riku snorts faintly, putting down the dishes somewhere nearby and handing them over as the detective starts washing. "Sorry Mercade. I'm kind of an idiot." he rubs his head gingerly, smiling with more than a little chagrin.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Nonsense." Mercade replies as he washes. Steadily, a stack of clean dishes appears over in the drain rack. "I'm sure you stabbed her at least six or seven times before she ate your brains. That puts you leagues above my dumb ass. At least you're considerably better able to handle it than I am."

Riku has posed:
Riku drops a dish, his hands shaking with anger and resentment. Seemingly at nothing at all. Probably not at dirty dishes, at least. He looks down at the pieces, fists clenched as he forces himself to relax. The anger comes a lot closer to the surface a hell of a lot quicker, and it's almost nauseating enough that he has to balance on the counter not the throw up delicious dinner. "Yeah. No. I let her do it, but I wasn't strong enough to turn it back on her. I almost did. Yeah-- I'm an idiot. I wasn't strong enough. Sorry."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
The dish drops, and Mercade blinks, reaching out with a hand to help steady Riku. "No, look... I'm not making fun of you or anything. I just assumed that would have been your first response since you saw what happened to me." Maybe he's assuming Riku is taking offense to his word choice again. "I guess... You tried to handle it another way. As long as you're alive, Riku, you're strong enough to try something different next time. That's the most important thing."

Riku has posed:
"She's lost. Just like I was." Riku says quietly, closing his eyes and forcing himself to hand Mercade another dish, almost forcing it into roughly into his hands for washing.

" It was." he shakes his head and sighs. "I think.. I think she made a deal, too. Only. It took much more than just a little." he swallows hard, and grins at Mercade. Combined with the eyes, the effect is spectacularly predatory. "And I know so little about this. Any of this. I could turn into something like her." he snorts faintly and slams a hand into the counter hard enough to bruise hand and possibly break something counter related.

A spoon crazily escapes washing, flying across the kitchen in a mad dash for freedom before clattering against the wall. He sighs. "Maybe I.." he sighs, silently handing Mercade another dish and then he swaps positions, starting to dry them once all the dishes have been washed to give himself something to do.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade steps back as Riku slams the counter. Not quickly, in fear, but just giving him some space. "Maybe, Riku. But we're all flailing around in the dark on this. That's why I'm trying to hard to learn, even if I end up getting hurt for it."

He turns to go fetch the errant spoon, picking it up to toss it into the sink. "I won't let you, Riku. If there's any way to stop it, I won't let it happen. You deserve better."

Riku has posed:
Riku holds in whatever he was going to say after that. He akes in a deep breath. He lets it out slowly, putting his face in his hands for a few moments before dropping his hands again. "Mercade could I.." he swallows, and suddenly seems to be the slightly fidgety and insecure kid again.

"C-could I stay here for a few hours? I.. I busted something in my head fighting her, and.." he swallows, and forces himself to say it. "And I don't want to hurt anyone if I'm suddenly surprised." he smirks dryly, but there's worry rather than humor in the expression.

"It would not be a good day to be a mugger. I mean.. If I flip out, at least you guys can take care of yourselves." RIku glances at Will, and starts to laugh, surprised by the sudden hilarity of pieface. "Seriously, Will?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade chuckles. "Don't worry about it Riku. You can stay here as long as you need. Hell, we have some apartments upstairs. You can set up shop in one if you want. God knows where you've been staying these days."

Mercade looks over at Will as he shows up, and he toitally guffaws. "Oh man, that's the best pieface ever, Will."

Riku has posed:
"Just surprising." Riku attempts a shaky, if genuine smile. "It's a holiday, right? My mom would kick me for being gloomy on a day like today. Um. I have a few things. A picture, and a statue that I managed to hang onto from the art auction. I'll bring them over but-- otherwise, I don't have much." he rolls his eyes. "Just a trouble making bird. I suppose that goes well with a trouble making group."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Yeah, that's no problem at all." Mercade replies. "We can go out shopping and get you some good furniture so your room doesn't look all bare." He chuckles. "Well, I would say the bird would go great with Will but we all know how well that worked out last time."