Tweak

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Tweak says, "Listen, do you hear them..."

Gael Cardenas (shorething) wrote in heureuxlake,
@ 2024-11-06 16:06:00

Entry tags:

Δ complete, Δ threads, → bea liatris, → cianán, → heidi robinson, → lauren young, ∞ 2000: 11, ◦ community center

RP: Marriage Equality Celebration
Who: Open to all.
What: 'Wedding breakfast' to celebrate marriage equality!
When: Wednesday 6th November 2000, after work.
Where: Heureux Lake Community Center
Warnings: Please tag your headers.
Completion Status: Complete.

- Guests are encouraged to move to a new table each time they return to the buffet.
- Host of breakfast / brunch foods on offer. (All provided by community members.)
- Juice bar!
- Rainbow cupcakes tiered to resemble a wedding cake: each colour has been baked / decorated by a different person. (Please imagine the image reflects this.)
- Playlist is upbeat / celebratory / family friendly with a slant towards wedding, marriage and love themes.
- Representative of Tarrytown LGBT will raise a toast at the climax of the evening.

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	Early bifoliate 2024-11-07 07:38 pm UTC (link)
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	Middle bifoliate 2024-11-07 07:38 pm UTC (link)
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Bea + Open

stubbornfoodie
2024-11-08 05:32 pm UTC (link)

It was nice to have a whole week free in Tarrytown, especially when the end of the previous week had brought such good news. Over the weekend they had had to work to keep their mind on the job as they guarded the various members of the Winter Court at yet more parties. Mostly because they were trying to come up with ideas for this celebration. It wasn't that they didn't trust the rest of the Tarrytown LGBT committee to work it out without them, but they wanted to be involved.

Bea had ditched their jacket a little while ago, and having just picked out their latest plate they picked one of the colours on it and headed for a new table based on it. This time it was the spinach filled Spanish tortilla they chose to follow to a green table, since there weren't many other green foods outside of the cupcakes. "Oh, hi there," they said. "Nobody taking this one right now?" they asked. There wasn't a plate or glass, but maybe someone had just gone to the bathroom.

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Re: Bea + Open

madameposh
2024-11-09 06:25 pm UTC (link)

Lauren looked up, "Not at all, unless you are," she said with a peppy smile. She'd worn a rainbow sequined suit to fit the celebration, and had enjoyed being welcomed to join even if she wasn't usually an active participant in the events at the Center. "I meant to speak with you, anyway," she added, giving Bea a moment to settle into their seat. "I wanted to thank you - the committee has told me you were invaluable in planning this, despite having a busy time this time of year. So I wanted to thank you, it's a great event and I rarely get to partake," she added with a cute little shrug of both her shoulders.

She even had the same Spanish Tortilla on her green plate that the organizer had! Good timing all around. Lauren was accustomed to putting on different tones and personalities depending on the event and atmosphere, and today she was chipper and grateful - though these feelings weren't false for once. "I hope you don't mind if I take a few photos of the gathering? This would be a great one to highlight in our outreach." She asked between sips of her mimosa.

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Re: Bea + Lo

stubbornfoodie
2024-11-09 07:53 pm UTC (link)

"I will, thanks," Bea said, settling themself down. Bea knew of Lauren more than actually knowing her, but they were surprised to hear she wanted to speak to them. "Oh! Really, no thanks required. I know how much this means to people, me included. And honestly it's less a time of year and more a time of... century I suppose," they said. It was the first time they had had to juggle living out in the world and the handover of power at the Oasis. "It really wasn't all me, but I do love organising for a community event," they said. "Besides, letting as many people as possible take part is kind of my thing," they added with a shrug.

"I absolutely don't mind, but I'd check with anyone particularly identifiable before you publish it," they said. "I know it's a public event, and it's Tarrytown, but you can never be sure how out anyone is," they said. They were, and they suspected would always be, fiercely protective of those who wanted to keep themselves a little more private for whatever reason. "I don't want to put anyone in an awkward position in the name of marketing," they said without accusation. The suit alone suggested Lauren had a good idea of that sort of sensitivity.

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Re: Bea + Lo

madameposh
2024-11-09 08:12 pm UTC (link)

"Oh! Of course," Lauren said with a small smile, "I'd check with folks, we may have just won a major victory, but there's still along way to go as to safety and fairness for our people." She included herself so that Bea would know she wasn't just here as an ally and supporter, not that that would be a bad thing. But Lauren wore her sexuality - and voracious appetite for it - on her sleeve, after all.

"Sorry, I haven't introduced myself," she said, having gotten caught up in the conversation about the event, "Lauren Young, Director of the Center," she lifted her mimosa in a little toast.

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Re: Bea + Lo

stubbornfoodie
2024-11-09 10:20 pm UTC (link)

Bea sighed and nodded. "I'm trying to take a few days out of a campaigning and fighting mentality to appreciate the victory, but it won't be long until we're back to it," they admitted. They didn't miss that Lauren had said she was party of the family, which was nice to know. "I agree though, the legalities are fantastic, but all of the social progress needs to follow on," they said.

Having skipped the mimosa straight to champagne they raised their own glass and tipped it slightly. "Someone pointed you out to me earlier, although I'd heard the name," they said. "I think you know I'm Bea Leatris, owner of the Copper Kettle and fan of community and support societies in general," they said. "Thanks for letting us use the Centre," they said. "Especially at short notice. I do things at the cafe, but we'd never have managed all this without having to close for set-up." Bea absolutely would have done it, but with the community centre right there it seemed like a better place to be.

"How are you enjoying town?" they asked. "I know you're a newer transplant." Not that they knew where from, but newer folks in town tended to be relatively obvious now they had lived here almost two decades.

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Re: Bea + Lo

madameposh
2024-11-10 11:21 pm UTC (link)

Lauren nodded along with Bea's thoughts. "I've heard some people calling the next step 'More than Marriage' - and they're not wrong, sadly. Please know that anything I can do with here in town, with or without the Community center, you all can call on me. I'm as... Varied in tastes as they come, I'm pretty sure," she said with a little huff of a chuckle.

"Oh! I know the Copper Kettle. I've only been in a couple of times since I moved here but..." And then she laughed, "Is it the accent that gives it away?" Her posh London lilt hadn't changed since her moving to the States for grad school. It did tend to make her stick out in a crowd around town, though less so with her Finance cohort, who tended to be a more international crowd.

"Bea, well, it's lovely to properly meet you."

She thought for a moment before answering, "I've been very surprised since I moved here. I came because my brother told me it was fabulous, and I was looking for a change. Just so happened the Mayor was turning over direction of the Center, so the timing was great. But I've been surprised." Her smile was mysterious, her answer not really giving away what she'd been surprised by.

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Re: Bea + Lo

stubbornfoodie
2024-11-12 01:12 am UTC (link)

"I'd been thinking of doing another Rainbow Family Feast event at some point, just so folks could have time to come together and talk. I don't think you were there, it was sort of a cross between a potluck and time to make banners for Pride the last time, but just to have a thing to invite people to this time, but this probably means it's not needed just now," they said, indicating the room around them. But you're welcome to join the committee, or just be a helpful face at the community centre, whatever you like." They heard the signal about her tastes and took a second before deciding they would articulate their own interests and how to do so. "Incidentally I use they/them pronouns, if nobody had told you," they added. "My own tastes... well generally women, but I also tend to have some other caveats. It's trickier to find people, even in somewhere as mixed as Tarrytown." It was the age thing, especially since the coming out, that had felt uncomfortable.

"Partly the accent, partly being new to the position when I hadn't seen you around before," they said. "I've been here getting on for two decades and it's small enough I know most of the non-reclusive residents by sight at least." Although far from being as diverse as the city there were enough people from elsewhere in the country that a new accent or two made little difference.

"Okay, I'll bite," Bea said as they cut a couple of bites of food ready to eat. "What's surprised you? I moved here a little after the coming out, so it was a lot of new all at once between the concentration of supernatural population and the fact people could actually share with relatively safety for the first time." They shoved some tortilla in their mouth and raised their eyebrows.

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Re: Bea + Lo

madameposh
2024-11-22 09:28 pm UTC (link)

"They/Them. Noted. I do my best with pronouns, and I've actually had my share of partners who aren't either men nor women, so I'll do my best here, too." She said with a bright smile. It was so nice when it was just simply laid out like that. It was the year 200 -- Lo didn't know why more people weren't open about their androgyny, and she found she liked that about Bea. "I did miss Pride - I only moved here in August. But the party in the City this year was one for the books, if I say so myself." Nothing like a party in New York.

She did giggle lightly when Bea admitted it was partly the accent, she was used to that already in Tarrytown.

"Oh! Mostly what a bustling little scene there is here. I took part in the City, and worried there wouldn't be nearly as much fun to be had here, but I've found there are pockets here that are down for just about anything. And they don't hide it! Not just their Natures, but their proclivities, as well," she said the last bit a bit more quietly, as it wasn't exactly 'polite' conversation for an event with more decorum. Especially an event she was technically on the clock for.

"It's been a good surprise, to be sure." Just then someone called out that the coffee was out and Lauren looked in the direction of the refreshments table. "Well, duty calls," she said with a slight pout, "It's been really nice meeting you officially, though, Bea." She smiled and sighed, "I should be off to make more coffee, but like I said, if there's anything I can do to help the committee - I probably can't join officially, just with work and all, but I'd be happy to be a volunteer and such." She ended off with the offer and stood to head to actually do her job.

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Re: Bea + Lo

stubbornfoodie
2024-11-23 05:07 pm UTC (link)

"More people have heard of it now and it's becoming easier to get people to use them," they said, pleased. Bea smiled, glad they enjoyed the smaller scale of the Pride at the moment, but they had been to many of the bigger celebrations over the years. "New York is usually a good one," they said. "I haven't been as much since the local one picked up, but I do miss stopping by Christopher Street on the day itself." They hadn't been at the original riots, not having been in New York at the time, but they had visited many times since, and participated in several early protests and memorials in different cities.

"Ahh, yes this is...really I think it's because it has been a supernatural haven for so long that people are more open than most smaller towns," they said. "Between those of us with long lives having more time to try things and explore ourselves and some of the others just needing to break conventions by being themselves it all sort of bleeds out to everyone else."

They heard the call and knew Lauren would soon be leaving, having been in that position many times themself. "It's good to meet you too," they said. "I'll keep you in mind as an extra set of hands when we need them, and hopefully you can just come to some events not to work," they added. "Now don't let me keep you." They raised a hand to her as she strode off to help with refreshments, glad for once not to be on call. It was good to meet someone with a good connection to somewhere for events. It was always handy to have a friendly face on the inside.

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	Late bifoliate 2024-11-07 07:38 pm UTC (link)
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Cianán and Open

keenspirit
2024-11-07 10:05 pm UTC (link)

It had only taken two trips to the buffet before Cianán and his lack of need to eat had consumed his fill of breakfast food. He liked the idea, and still wanted to socialise with as many different people as possible, so he'd started switching tables between glasses of buck's fizz. Taking into account how infrequently he drank and the celebratory atmosphere, all the boozy bubbles were going to his head. What had started the evening as an immaculate suit had grown raggedy, bowtie open, top button undone and shirt half-untucked from his cummerbund.

He was on his second glass (not including the ones drunk with food) when he settled at one of the purple tables, having quickly realised that if everyone went in rainbow order, they'd all end up sitting next to the same people over and over again. "Celebrating alone?" he asked of the person next to him. There was an empty chair on their other side, so either they were here alone or had separated from their partner and friends temporarily. "Me too," he added in a tone he hoped was reassuring. Part of him couldn't help thinking of Shona and Davin. Would he have married them, if he'd been able to? He'd always known he would outlive them, and he wasn't sure a marriage under those circumstances felt right.

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Re: Cianán and Open

heid_and_seek
2024-11-13 12:42 am UTC (link)

The problem with working on the far side of the city for the day and needing to shower before being decent for a party meant that Heidi had arrived rather late. At least it wasn't a real wedding and she didn't feel as bad about it. It did mean that when a man she recognised, but didn't know the name of, from karaoke and a few other events sat down next to her she was still busy trying to shovel food into her mouth in a faintly dignified way. The slowly gnawing hunger of how long it had been since lunch burning a hole in her stomach and the look it gave her at least temporarily driving off companions from directly around her. Until now.

"Not as such," she said, after she had swallowed her latest mouthful and made sure she hadn't dripped some kind of sauce or smear of crumbs wasn't all around her mouth with a quick swipe of her napkin. "People tend to avoid shifters with stomachs that are already starting to protest a lack of food just so they don't get caught in the feeding frenzy," she said with a grin. Food was definitely a way to keep her quiet and still, at least for a while. "I know plenty of people around though." She didn't participate in the LGBT group directly, but she knew a few people who did.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-11-14 11:15 pm UTC (link)

Perhaps Cianán had drunk more than he realised, because it took a moment to process the answer. He parsed it through slowly a few times in his head before giving a soft chuckle. "We can be opposites. Banshees don't need to eat at all, so I've already had as much as is comfortable." It was slowly getting more normal to be open about what he was, though he still found that relatively few people knew anything beyond some convergence of 'Irish' and 'death'. Hopefully, this particular shifter wasn't one of the superstitious ones who found the idea of a banshee in the room uncomfortable.

"Tarrytown is like that," he agreed, looking around the room himself and picking out half a dozen people he knew, "and yet here we all still are, switching tables to meet more new people." At least, Cianán was. If hunger was his companion's main motivation, perhaps she hadn't yet. "Cianán, by the way." The pronunciation of his name didn't come out as slow and careful as it usually did with new people.

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-11-14 11:56 pm UTC (link)

"Huh," Heidi managed as she tried to chew and swallow her latest bite of food without looking offensive. She took a sip of her own mimosa after the food cleared her mouth. Partly she was stalling because she needed to eat, but partly she was working out what to say. Once again she seemed to have stumbled into someone Rashmi would have loved to talk to. Actually either of her sisters were far more attuned to research than she was. "At least you can do the social eating thing," she said. "Honestly I don't know much about banshees. Well, nothing beyond what you just said and the name seeming familiar." Then she paused and added conspiratorially. "I also arrived late, which isn't helping the hunger thing."

She nodded. "I mean, I grew up here. Mostly. But I still meet new people all the time," she said. "I like new people. Although I was waiting for more than one plate to empty before I start being sociable rather than just making up for the fact I spent too much time on the wing this week," she said. "Oh, right! Heidi. Nice to meet you." She honestly wasn't sure she'd get his name right if anyone asked her, but the gist would be there. "The name and the accent say Irish to me. But if we went by my name I'd be Swiss so it's not always something to go by."

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-11-16 01:22 am UTC (link)

Making a face of exaggerated dismay, with the corners of his lips turned down, Cianán answered candidly. "I'm happy to answer questions, if you want, but it's not really a party kind of nature." By which he mostly meant that describing what it was he was called to do would kill any atmosphere of fun. "You're not in any danger," he added quickly, though most people in Tarrytown seemed to know that even many of the 'darker' natures should be taken on a case-by-case basis. Still, when creatures existed that could make you drink blood for the rest of eternity against your will, it seemed wise to reassure her that he didn't have such powers.

"I've been in Sleepy Hollow for a year, but with as much time as I spend at The Copper Kettle and Sunny's, I may as well say I live in Tarrytown." The only reason he didn't was that his office was in Sleepy Hollow, and being there every weekday just about edged out being at Sunny's several times a week. "Where else did you grow up?" It took him a beat longer than it should have done to remember why the phrase 'on the wing' was familiar. "Ah, you're one of Vayu's flock?" he guessed. "Has the weather been particularly good for flying, or is something troubling you?" He realised what he'd said a moment after he said it and he rolled his eyes at himself. "Sorry, I'm a counsellor by trade. Still learning how to turn it off."

He held up his hands as if to express 'guilty as charged', then transformed the motion into another sip of his drink. "In my case, you're safe to go by the name," he promised. "Were your parents big fans of the book?"

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-11-16 05:18 pm UTC (link)

Heidi looked at Cianán, trying to see if she could work out anything about him just from looking, but that hardly ever happened in her experience. "Don't worry about it," she said. "I'm inquisitive," she admitted, "but I'm not exactly into harshing this kind of vibe," she said, whirling her finger to indicate the party. "Good job you didn't meet Rashmi though. I'm not sure she'd let the party stop her." Not that she thought Rashmi was at the party. Although she might have come in a supportive capacity Heidi hadn't actually seen her yet.

"Ah, sorry to burst your bubble there, but Sunny's is actually over the border in Sleepy Hollow," she said. It was definitely on the Tarrytown side of town, but it was over the border for sure. "Oh, not so far," she said. "I split my time with New York proper once my parents were divorced," she said lightly. It was just far enough away to feel different, especially given how the population densities were different. She grinned when he correctly identified her nature from the comment. "Yep, I am indeed," she said, head bobbing along with her hair. "Share a house with one of his daughters too," she added. She didn't mind his questions, since they weren't that different to the sort of thing the flock might ask. "Don't worry about it. And no, I just wanted to get out some energy," she said. "Well that, plus one really good day with amazing thermals that meant I flew for far longer than I intended," she said.

"Actually yes, my mom was, well is," she said. "It's even technically Adelheid," she admitted. "Although I don't use that for anything but official documents really. Confuses people with my mail sometimes." She didn't mind the confusion, easily used to the dual nature of her name. "Have you been in the US long?" she asked. His words suggested that he hadn't been living in the area too long, and he had enough of an accent he definitely came from Ireland itself.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-11-16 07:38 pm UTC (link)

"It's not a vibe to be harshed," Cianán agreed, the words sounding unnatural enough from his lips that it was obvious he wouldn't have used them sober. "Ah, I have met Rashmi," he admitted, assuming there was only one. "We had a lovely chat about the history of the O'Malley family in this area." It wasn't, strictly speaking, local enough for Rashmi to have professional knowledge, but she'd been interested in what bits Cianán could tell her. He'd left out his personal experience with the deaths; Sunny's had also not seemed like the right venue.

Not at all bothered by the correction, Cianán took another sip of his drink. "Ah, it's the long drive. And the parking. Makes it feel further away than it is." Not that anything was really a long drive, even accounting for the difference between America and Ireland in what counted as being 'far', but Cianán still found driving uncomfortable. Nodding, he made a sympathetic sound in the back of his throat, a sort of brief cluck, though Heidi didn't really sound as if she were still torn up about the divorce. Her enthusiasm about flying was infectious, the kind of energy that had Cianán almost looking around for the fiddle he had brought with him and stashed somewhere safe while he ate. "I admit to not being sure how many daughters Vayu has." He had learned a little about pack politics, but not all the intricacies. It wasn't helped by Rashmi's tendency to call people 'sister' when she didn't mean biologically.

"The burden of official forms," Cianán agreed. "I almost always end up filling them in twice because I don't technically have a surname." Since the coming out, most administrative systems were set up for that, but it often required a variant form which Cianán almost never remembered to request first time around. "Si- seven years now," he answered. "This time around. I was here during the Civil War for a time." Living in Tarrytown, he very much doubted he was the first immortal that Heidi had met.

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-11-18 12:02 am UTC (link)

The slang coming from his lips sounded rather ridiculous and she couldn't help but giggle in delight. He somehow seemed like the type who had probably heard and understood the slang, but didn't usually use it himself. "Ooh, she'd have been happy to meet you then," she said. History was definitely one of her sister's interests. Although she didn't think she remembered her mentioning Cianán, but only bird-gossip could go so far.

"You're talking to someone who drives into the city for work every day, so that really doesn't seem so far," Heidi said. She'd heard that people in Europe thought about distances differently, but the drive to Sunny's really wasn't far, even if he lived at the far edge of town. And for as many Irish Americans as there supposedly were, Ireland really was a small speck of land. As much as she appreciated the sympathetic sound about the divorce she didn't follow it up because her parents were better apart than they were together, later partners notwithstanding. "Actually there's only two girls," Heidi said. "But she's got a couple of older brothers and a whole flock of non bio siblings," she said, waving to indicate she was one of them.

"Oh, I guess it's like Mado-, Pri-. You know, I guess all the famous people we know with one name actually do have surnames they don't really use in public for their jobs," she mused. "I'm glad they do have a version of the form that works for you too now." Seven years wasn't so long, although it sounded like he was getting established with his career. "Ahh, so banshees are long lived," she said. "But that's been a while then, since you were here. I guess a lot has changed. Especially from a war situation." She might not be as history-seeking as Rashmi, but even she could find a bit of interest in that sort of situation.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-11-19 06:28 pm UTC (link)

Cianán wasn't usually one to praise himself too highly, but he found himself nodding along with Heidi's statement. "She certainly gave that impression. But I think she probably enjoys meeting most people?" Sipping his drink, he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to recall whether there was anyone at karaoke he'd seen Rashmi talk to once and then avoid. There was something tickling at the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite bring it forth. It certainly wasn't enough people to disqualify his 'most'. Blinking his eyes open took more effort than usual. "What about you, are you equally social?"

"I didn't get my license until after the coming out," Cianán explained. Partly because of the very administrative issues they were discussing. Without legal identification, it hadn't been possible, and living in Ireland it hadn't felt necessary. "I find it quite an unnatural feeling, being in control of something so heavy and so fast." Being a passenger didn't bother him anymore, but actually driving felt deeply dangerous and somehow wrong. "Maybe I'll get used to it." The details of Rashmi's family sort of washed over him, in a way that implied he was unlikely to remember any better the next time it came up than he had this time. A general sense of 'older siblings' without specific numbers or names attached. "Do you consider all her family to be your family, or is it just that she's your sister?" he asked, curious if not terribly articulate. He knew what he meant, hopefully Heidi could interpret.

He chuckled as she tried to come up with a celebrity who truly only had one name. "Homer?" he suggested. Ancient Greek wasn't his speciality, he had no idea whether Homer would've 'really' had another name, nor whether that had been the custom in the ancient world. "Not that Homer's still around to fill in forms." Presumably some immortals from that period might be, though Cianán had yet to meet any that he could call to mind. "As far as I know, we don't die," he confirmed. "The Center for Thaumatology says all being have weaknesses, but for obvious reasons I haven't let them try any out." Instead of letting his mind drift back to the war days, Cianán focused on the things he loved now. "A huge amount of change for the better," he confirmed before belatedly adding, "which is what we're celebrating!"

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-11-22 07:22 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, she absolutely does like meeting people," Heidi agreed, "But she's also a history fan, local history especially, so that probably went down well," she said. All three of them in the house were fairly outgoing, even if they also appreciated their alone time. "Oh, I absolutely am," she said. "Although my problem is usually having too much energy," she said. "Flying helps, but I need to be active as a human too."

This was yet another thing Heidi hadn't considered about people with longer lives. "For me if feels normal," she said. "But I've grown up with it. I can't really remember before the coming out if I'm honest. I can't imagine how it feels if you grew up with, what? walking on foot and horse and carriage I'm guessing." She wasn't sure exactly how old he was, but if he'd been here during the Civil War that was almost 150 years of age at the least. "I figure most things you can get used to if you've had enough time," she said. Maybe not all, but people were getting used to supes being openly in the world after only 20 years, so he had plenty of time to get used to things still. "Oh, it's actually different for her family than some of the other flock around my age because I actually spent time with them growing up, more than a lot of other families. So yeah, kind of. Her more than most of them though." She wasn't close to any of the other siblings, but they definitely felt closer than a lot of the flock did. Although Rashmi had spent more time with her than she had spent at the Alpha's home.

"Simpson?" Heidi said, her brain not immediately connecting to the ancient man until Cianán continued. "Ohh, no, you mean the ancient guy," she said a few seconds later. "Okay, so most modern humans have multiple names, even if they don't use them. But you're not human so you are totally exempt from that," she said, happy to have solved the mental puzzle. At least for some level of solving. Sometimes Heidi thought she might like to have a longer life, but she wasn't sure she wanted to be immortal. "I don't think I want people experimenting on me like that either," she said firmly. Especially if it was the sort of experiment that might result in death or serious injury. She could be a daredevil at times, but usually she stuck to activities which had some safety precautions built in. She'd maybe participate in a study comparing natural and shifter birds, but more invasive was just not her style. She looked around the room and grinned. "I really wasn't sure it was going to go in our favour," she said, the feeling of comfort swelling in her heart again as she felt the freedom and opportunity stretching out before her. "Not having to feel different depending on who I fall in love with," she said, her voice full of joy and wonder.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-11-23 11:47 am UTC (link)

The semi-local history had definitely gone down well, so Cianán nodded. "I think she almost started a new family tree project, but the O'Malleys are technically New York City based, at least most of them." He hadn't said as much at the time, but Cianán had also got the sense that it was the kind of passing enthusiasm that wouldn't actually sustain a long-term project. "What do you do to keep active?" he asked, leaning back a little in his chair so he could look at Heidi, as if that might help him guess. "Boxing? Some other kind of martial art?"

He nodded to confirm her guesses. "Walking, horse riding, carriages, boats. I've seen a lot of different modes of transport. They get faster and faster." So far, he'd only had to fly once: on his most recent journey from Ireland. While it hadn't been as bad as he'd thought, he was in no hurry to do it again. As for getting used to things with enough time, he instinctively disagreed with that. "A lot of things," he responded neutrally. There were darker things he felt you would never get used to, but he had no desire to bring the mood crashing down. "I've even got used to spice," he said instead, hoping it would make her laugh, especially if she had any stereotypes about English or Irish food. Again, he needed a moment to follow her sentence, but he thought he caught the gist of it. "Such a lot of people to look after," he mused, thoughts of Vayu and the flock he overlooked turning to thoughts of Fina.

With a chuckle at her description, Cianán nodded. "I don't know enough to know if multiple names were common then, but yes, I'm exempt now, and that makes paperwork possible." It hadn't been for a long time, and Cianán was enjoying the new opportunities that came with having a legally recognised identity. "Still boring, though," he teased with a roll of his eyes. The wonder in her voice felt very familiar, not just to how he felt about this for other people, but also to how he'd felt realising he could study and have a profession outside the world of itinerant musician. The warmth and the bubbles and the atmosphere all welled up together inside him, making him smile wide. "It reminds us we're living through history," he agreed.

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-11-24 08:13 pm UTC (link)

Not even bothering to stifle her laugh Heidi was delighted. "There's a pun there about birds and trees that I'm too tired to work out and it's going to annoy me, because I've probably made it before," she said, grinning. "Oooh, you guessed my style of things rather than something flouncy," she said, pleased. "I actually do Roller Derby, which is kind of a full-contact race on skates, and I rock climb too, but martial arts could be fun. I was a cheerleader in high school, but mostly because I'm good in the air."

As someone who loved speed the comment about things getting faster made her smile. "I guess most of those still exist a little bit, but I have to admit I'm on the side of enjoying speed so I'm glad I'm living now." There was something behind his specific wording but Heidi didn't care to examine it too closely. It was a good day so far and she didn't want to ruin the mood, so she just hummed. "Oh, spice is great. Even if it's not for everyone. You just have to find the things with flavour but not so much heat," she said. It was absolutely possible, even if people didn't usually take that route. "That's kind of the nature of a flock," she agreed. "We birds tend to spread a bit wider than the average pack of shifters or weres too, just because we can." She made a tiny flapping motion with her hands, having put down her knife and fork to take a drink.

"Oh, paperwork is my least favourite part of my job," she agreed. "I love that it's not impossible for some people now, or they don't have to get forged docs, but oof." She considered the concept of living through history. "There's a quote, right, I'm sure Rashmi has told me who said it. Or maybe it's a curse. Something about living in unusual times?" she knew she hadn't got it right and sighed. "No, let's live through some good bits of history instead of wherever that was just dragged from in my brain," she said. "Really though. Things are getting better for all sorts of reasons and it makes me want to jump for joy." Actually there had been some jumping for joy when the latest news came out. She was too young to properly remember a time before the supernatural Coming Out so this was one of the biggest legal shifts she was experiencing and it kept fizzing through her at the oddest moments. At least at this event everyone would understand her excitement.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-11-24 10:11 pm UTC (link)

Cianán was definitely too tipsy for good pun work, though snatches of song flitted (appropriately) through his mind just out of reach. "At the very least, some kind of metaphor," he agreed. "Let me know if you come up with it." He'd temporarily forgotten that Heidi didn't necessarily have a way to do that, but he'd live without ever pinning down that particular wordplay. "Flouncy?" he echoed, lips twitching with amusement, not quite certain what 'flouncy' kinds of exercise could even be. Dance? But he could see Heidi dancing, as long as it was modern. "You seem too solid for flouncy." Even a little drunk, that didn't quite make sense.

"I enjoy fast boats," Cianán admitted, "but not cars or planes." Given her point about being good in the air, he felt compelled to add a 'sorry' to the end of that sentence. He couldn't fly, and all he'd been able to think about during the journey was falling from the sky. He preferred speed on the water: a slightly safer element to end up in and much less traffic on the whole than roads. "Sometimes the heat can be enjoyable." As someone who didn't need to eat, he could appreciate small, intense mouthfuls over the kind of filling but unexciting stodge he'd first experienced. "Or the -" He drummed his fingers against his lips, not very effectively conveying a different sort of spice sensation that he'd only experienced once or twice. Her flapping motion was so endearing that Cianán found himself mimicking it as he nodded his understanding of her point.

Frowning in an effort of mental energy, Cianán tried to recall whether or not she'd already mentioned her job. He didn't think so? "What is it you do?" Given the success of his guess as to her active hobbies, he decided to have another go. Something with paperwork, but not exclusively paperwork. Not something academic like Rashmi. "Potter?" He didn't really expect to even be close twice, but she'd seemed so pleased that he didn't read her completely wrong. He wasn't really sure what quotation she was talking about, blinking at her until she seemed to wind herself out of it to a point he could recognise. "To living through joyful bits of history," he agreed, raising his glass.

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-11-27 02:36 pm UTC (link)

"Much to the despair of my friends and colleagues if I'm messing around with words it's probably going to be a pun. At least if I'm doing it on purpose," she said and shot him a mischievous smile. Apparently he was more observant than a lot of people she met. Maybe it came with the age or the profession, but maybe it was just him. "I think people get distracted by my love of feminine clothes and the fact I'm not that tall and they think I'm into yoga, or just plain running, which is pretty boring." Heidi wouldn't say no to the odd run, and she has to do some as Derby conditioning, but mostly she preferred something a bit more dynamic.

While she absolutely didn't understand people who disliked planes in particular on a personal level, she also knew most people didn't get to fly with their own bodies. She could happily respect his discomfort. "It isn't for everyone," she said. "I know flying feels unnatural to some people, but to me it's essential," she said. She watched him try to explain a sensation and it took her a couple of seconds to get it. "Oh, do you mean the numbing thing?" she asked. It wasn't a sort of heat she'd had the hugest amount of, but it was definitely a fun experience. She quite enjoyed an unusual experience like that, which was probably a predictable thing for anyone who knew her decently well.

About to answer his question she smiled at his guess. "Oh that's not a bad guess," she said. "But I'm not quite creative in that way," she said. "My thing is far more practical, and the reason I had to take a shower and change before I came out again," she said, before explaining. "I'm a plumber, mostly commercial stuff in the city." She didn't have the sort of job where someone offering to pick her up from work was cute or a good idea unless they already knew her, or she could put in a call to someone's apartment before going out anywhere. "I'll drink to that," she said, lifting her glass and bringing it to Cianán's for a tap. "To joyful history," she said and took another sip.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-11-29 04:06 pm UTC (link)

"If I'm messing around with words, it's going to end up being a lyric." He'd never publicly claimed any of the songs he'd written, and most of them were sufficiently niche that it was unlikely a young American woman of the present day would have heard of them in any case, but he didn't mind admitting to the attempts. "I'm not sure I've ever written a song with a pun in." Some existed, though he was struggling to call any of them to mind. Shaking his head, he chuckled. "I've known you for about ten minutes and I can already see that yoga would be no good." Running was certainly energetic enough, but Heidi was right, not very interesting.

It made perfect sense that flying felt essential to someone born able to do it. "Like music is for me." That seemed to be the closest equivalent. All the stories Cianán had ever heard about banshees said they needed to be singers even before they were turned: it was as intrinsic as flying was to someone who could turn into a bird. "And yet, yes, I have met people who don't get music. I try to respect that." Even though it baffled him. He lifted a hand to point at her triumphantly as she put his sensation into words. "Yes! That was new for me, which is always exciting. I'm amazed that there are still novel sensations to experience." One of these days, would he run out? Cianán didn't really think so, people were constantly combining existing elements in new ways.

He was about to take another guess when she explained. "Ohh. I might have got there eventually, but I think it would've taken a while." There was undoubtedly some bias in that: plumbing had been a profession for a comparatively high proportion of his life, and had been male-dominated for most of that time. Somehow, it was easier to remember that new jobs were equal-opportunity than it was to go back and correct his impression of building and plumbing. "Have you always been good at practical skills?" Lifting his drink after their toast, he very nearly finished it, settling back into his chair for a moment as he considered whether his light-headedness meant he ought to stop there and not go for another.

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-11-30 07:53 pm UTC (link)

"Oh that's far more fun than puns," Heidi said enthusiastically. "I'm far better with something practical than writing or words in general." It definitely wasn't that she was incapable of doing something with words, but she was far happier doing something with her hands. "Not that ever shut me up," she admitted. "But you should definitely try to write a pun into a song," she enthused. It honestly sounded like a fun challenge to try and get a pun into a song to her, but she wasn't the one trying to write it. "I'm sure it's great for flexibility and the like, but I'd prefer dancercise or something, even if it's a bit out of date."

With as little as she knew of banshees she wouldn't have guessed that music was as essential to them as flying was to her, but it was a fun thing to find out. She took the opportunity of Cianán talking to take a couple more bites of food as she smiled and nodded. "I like music even if I don't know anything very technical about it," she said. "But I don't get people who don't like it either," she agreed. Szechuan food, which was where she knew numbing heat from, wasn't something she'd had often, but it was fun. "There are still so many places opening up their food to the world I'm sure you'll keep finding new things," she said. "I mean, even if it's not new sensations then surely new combos will be a thing." Maybe someone very old and very well travelled would run out, but in her lifetime she had no chance.

"I don't know about always been good at them, but I pretty much idolised my dad. He's an electrician, and I didn't want to follow him directly," she said. "I don't know I'll ever get to do what he did and work on something super big, but I only finished my ten thousand hours this year, so I've got plenty of time to get there." She had noticed he didn't seem to be eating at the moment, but she wasn't sure if that was because he had done eating or if he didn't need much. Clearly he did eat because he knew about different spices, but he was definitely drinking right now.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-11-30 09:27 pm UTC (link)

"Nor should it," Cianán said with enthusiasm, enjoying their conversation and firmly of the belief that everyone ought to be able to express themselves. He hadn't meant her to take his words to mean he planned to write a song with a pun in it, his mind currently blank of any puns at all, let alone any he could think of song ideas for. "Only if you give me the pun," he decided. At that point, he really would make an attempt, though he was much less confident of his success than he might usually be. "I've not tried it, but I can see the appeal of combining calm and exercise."

Smiling as the conversation turned to one of his favourite topics, Cianán nodded. "It's one of those things you don't need to know anything technical about," he agreed. Which wasn't to say that academic study was wasted or unrewarded, just that it wasn't essential to either enjoyment or talent. "Unlike plumbing, I imagine." Cianán knew nothing at all about plumbing, and didn't imagine experimentation without training was encouraged. "Definitely new combinations, and new takes on old combinations," Cianán agreed. "Old as I am -" he paused to smile - "people have been eating and making music for longer than I've been alive. If we haven't run out of novel experiences yet, I'm not sure we ever will."

Cianán had long gotten over the ache of not remembering any family of his own. It could still be triggered, but not by something as endearing as Heidi idolising her father and taking her own similar path. "Is that what you'd like," he asked, "to work on something big? Are there - I don't know, bathrooms in the big skyscrapers that you particularly admire?" He wasn't sure he knew what a 'big' plumbing job actually was.

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-12-01 05:16 pm UTC (link)

Of course, the moment Heidi was asked for a pun her mind went entirely blank. "Err," she said, her face scrunching up in utter confusion. "You're gonna have to give me a minute there. My brain apparently disappeared," she said. She knew her occasionally smart mouth had the potential get her in trouble, but she hadn't thought that it not working would also be a problem! "Okay, I do occasionally need to calm down and it might come in handy then, but mostly I need help getting the energy out," she admitted. "I'm sure at some point the shifter metabolism is going to stop going in overdrive for me, but it hasn't yet." She shoved another illustrative mouthful of food in.

"Okay that's fair. I'm not going to be becoming a musician anytime soon, but I do enjoy music," she agreed. "You're right about the plumbing though. I suggest learning how to turn off your water supply in case of problems, and safe ways to clear your gunged up plug holes and the like, but make sure you know what you're doing before trying anything more complicated." There were a decent number of basic plumbing things people could manage themselves like changing faucet washers, but they also tried to do things with boilers and that could get nasty quickly. "I'm pretty sure people keep finding new things or breeding new plant crosses and so on, so you should be safe," she agreed. She didn't tend to advise non shifters tried many of the things she had eaten as an eagle, but there were plenty of other foods to try.

"Honestly I'm not sure," she said. "I had this wrong memory about what Dad did with the Stock Exchange refit because I was a pretty young kid," she said as she tried to explain. "Maybe I'd like to work on something that will stay for a long time, but honestly plumbing is like wiring, eventually wears out and has to be replaced," she said, unbothered. "I probably had a pretty rose-tinted view of things as a kid, and the real job can be pretty dangerous in his case and messy in mine," she said. Thankfully she was okay with the potential consequences and they'd come up with a system to keep the house clean too. She wasn't actually a sewer specialist so issues were usually a bit smaller scale.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-12-03 08:32 am UTC (link)

Cianán laughed, unconcerned. "As far as I know, I have quite literally all the time in the world." He hadn't quite gone as far as to find out whether he was susceptible to physical harm, but he'd certainly tried other means he could think of to cease being a banshee. "I suppose if you're looking for calm, you could try it after exercise. Kind of like a sauna or a plunge pool." Would that work or was yoga, despite seeming calm, still strenuous enough that after exercise would be overwhelming?

"I could argue that we're all musicians. Even people who don't sing can clap along to a beat." Almost all, anyway, so Cianán did believe that music was something innate to beinghood, kind of like storytelling, and not unrelated. "But I know what you mean," he added, not actually trying to disagree with her. He did smile slightly at her suggestions as to what he should learn. Having lived through a time when emergency communication was much slower, he did know how to do a fair amount of things himself, though the more modern the system, the less his familiarity with it. "Even just moving to New York opened up whole new possibilities," he agreed, "and that's a country that speaks the same language."

Her points made sense, and weren't ones Cianán had considered. Though he didn't say it out loud, Cianán presumed she hadn't gone into her line of work for public recognition: he didn't think he could name a single famous plumber, and he'd lived through a number of innovations in that area. "Something doesn't necessarily need to be big to stay a long time," he mused, thinking of various old cottages he'd lived in through the years. Even his current house had been built in the 1920s, which felt modern to him but wasn't, really.

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-12-05 04:14 pm UTC (link)

She'd have to tell Rashmi to add banshees to the list of immortal beings she was fairly sure she was keeping. "I'll have to let you know if I come up with anything good," she said. All the ones she was coming up with off the top of her head were pure filth and she had more sense than to drop those on someone she barely knew (unless she was actively flirting with them). "Okay I've done the plunge thing once and it was kind of fun, but kind of alarming," she said. "I'm still not convinced on yoga though. Maybe eventually."

Jigging her head from side to side she tried to indicate she was somewhat in agreement with his general point, but acknowledged that he'd seen her point too. "Yeah, okay, I'm not going to go professional, but I can have fun with it." There had been a point when her grandparents tried to encourage her to learn an instrument and she could still pick out a few of the early piano basics when presented with something that had a keyboard, but she, unsurprisingly, hadn't managed to stay still for long enough to make it effective. "I mean it's New York, there are hundreds of languages and cultures represented," she said. She didn't know much of what he was into, but you could find most things in New York in her experience, or someone who knew how to point you to the nearest place you could do it.

"True," she agreed, "But in the case of plumbing that tends to mean lead, so maybe it might be a good idea to replace as much as possible!" Sure it had been a popular metal for pipes for a long time, but now everyone knew how bad it was.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-12-06 08:25 am UTC (link)

"Please do," Cianán agreed. "It's rare a week goes by that I'm not at Sunny's; I'm not hard to find." Of course, there were times after he'd been called to witness a death that he didn't feel up to socialising, but those were times he wouldn't be terribly receptive to finding a pun amusing, either. His lips twitched with amusement as he asked, "Alarming? In the sense of being a shock to the system?" It was hard to imagine Heidi being frightened of anything, let alone some cold water.

Thinking about professional versus amateur, Cianán had to laugh. "They say making something a profession is that fastest way to make it not fun anymore. I don't personally find that true of music, exactly, but I must confess that I've gone from professional musician to mental health counsellor, so..." At no point had his career in music made it less fun, but he had jumped at the chance to do something else after 240 years. "Exactly," he agreed. "I've tried so many new things since moving here this time." Belfast had become more multicultural than when he'd first lived there, but it couldn't compare to the scale of New York City.

"An excellent point," he agreed, shaking his head and smiling. "Have you done much of that? Replacing an old system?" He could see how it might be very satisfying, preserving a historical structure while also updating it to modern standards.

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-12-07 11:23 am UTC (link)

"Ah. Excellent. I knew I'd seen you around somewhere," she said. "I usually make it over at least a couple of times a month. Depends what I'm up to," she said. Sometimes she did an outing with her sisters, sometimes there was some other reason to head along. Sometimes she just wanted to go and sing her feelings. "Yeah exactly that," she confirmed. "It can take your breath away if you're not careful," she said. "And birds aren't the biggest fans of getting too wet," she added with a little waggle of her eyebrows. "It's fine as a human, but being too cold and wet sometimes makes me want to fluff up feathers that I don't have!" It was a strange sensation in her body, even if she knew where it came from.

"I think that maybe depends on what you're doing and if you can find ways to make it fun at work. If you suddenly gain inflexible deadlines and have to work yourself too hard I can see that happening, but if you can work as much as you want and make enough money to live on...I think you'd probably be fine," she said. She did technically make enough money now to live on her own if she wanted, but she preferred to share somewhere. She also had a good boss who didn't overwork his crews regularly or without good reason. "I guess it also depends how long you've been doing something," she said. "If you're living longer than a human lifetime in particular I'd guess having several different careers, even long careers that you love, is entirely reasonable." She nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah that was one of the things I didn't mind about my mom moving around so much. I got to try a whole new round of bodegas and supermarkets when she was in a new area, you know, depending on what the local pocket of population was."

She considered the last seven years of work and scrunched up her nose, shaking her head a little. "No, not really. It can be a bit of a specialist thing," she explained. "I've done some, but the firm I work for doesn't specialise in that. We're more likely to do new builds or slightly more modern systems. It's the city so there are older buildings pretty regularly, but the amount of older piping is decreasing slowly. I guess it'll be a more and more specialist thing to deal with it over the years," she mused. "You still get some training on it, but all the new codes and stuff..." she trailed off and shrugged.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-12-07 01:15 pm UTC (link)

Smiling fondly as he thought of one of his favourite haunts, Cianán nodded. "It's become a home; I even get special secret menu items." He'd always been drawn to community hubs with music, whether that was the local church or the local pub. Her comment about getting wet made him remember something from one of his lectures. "Actually, I think I have heard that before, I just forgot." It wasn't particularly relevant for counselling, so it hadn't stayed at the forefront of his mind. Her description was vividly evocative, Cianán's eyes widening in appreciation. "You definitely have a way with words, even outside of puns," he assured.

"I think you have to be extremely fortunate to work only as much as you want and make enough money," he mused, voice quieting as he thought about the generations of the O'Malleys he'd watched struggle for their crust of bread. "Or long-lived." With interest rates and investments, that did help, so much so that he knew some disgruntled groups of mortals felt banks ought to change their policies to account for it. "Even if you could choose your own hours, there's still the issue of making things to other people's schedules and specifications. Creating art for yourself is one thing, creating art for someone else can be a minefield." The experience of trying all the new shops when you moved was one he could relate to. It came with pitfalls, too, of having to integrate into a new social scene, but music helped enormously with that. "Where was your favourite pocket of population?" he asked.

Given what Heidi had just reminded him of, it was hard to be as sad about the disappearing older piping as Cianán might have felt otherwise. "I suppose it's not really a field where retro can come back into fashion," he mused lightly. "Unless you get faux older systems made with new materials." Unlikely, as the piping probably wasn't on display.

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-12-07 08:10 pm UTC (link)

"Oooh, you've charmed Sunny!" Heidi said, impressed. Not that Sunny was a hard-ass, but in her experience it took something to truly work your way in to special treatment in any bar. "Or at least some of the staff." She nodded, it made sense that he had heard about the aversion birds had to water, even if he could simply transfer it over from most regular birds. "Aww, thanks," she said, her smile thoroughly pleased, slightly feeling the heat in her cheeks. It was one thing to be complimented by a friend or someone flirting with you, but something about a new person who clearly wasn't showing an interest like that complimenting her was particularly affecting.

She understood his point, and she agreed, well knowing the sorts of hours some people had to make ends meet. "I'm lucky that my job is union so I get a decent wage," she said. "I know it's not that easy for everyone. But if people could work just regular full time hours and make enough to live on that would be amazing," she said. She knew it was sort of an anti American ethos, but people deserved to be comfortable and happy. "Yeah, I can see that might take the joy out of it," she agreed. "I think I just like working my almost-regular hours and then being able to clock out and have time to do whatever," she said. "My favourite, hmm, let me think," she said, having to actually pause and think about it. She decided to eat another couple of bites while she ran through some of the options in her head. "Okay, as much as I love being in a pocket where I don't look out of place I need me somewhere with amazing food. And I love a sweet from Little Italy or Little Greece, but everyone knows those places," she said. "Give me, something a bit more unusual like Steinway Street that has some amazing Egyptian places. Or I'll tour all the dumplings from anywhere from Asia to Eastern Europe, to anywhere else," she said. She'd found that almost every culture had something like a dumpling and she was basically yet to find one she didn't enjoy at least trying. "I run into language troubles everywhere because I only know some High School Spanish and a few greetings, but I did my best."

"I mean you can still get repro stuff of old fittings," she said. "But it's not really worth it for the pipes so much," she added. "Unless there's some sort of preservation thing there's not much point mimicking some stuff, and a lot is hidden behind walls, but the fittings can totally look the part."

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-12-07 11:18 pm UTC (link)

"A few of the staff more so than Sunny directly," Cianán agreed. "I'm there so often, and I'm vegetarian, some of them take pity on me and let me order off the books." There was already some choice, but as he really could be there multiple times a week on occasion, it hadn't taken long to try everything they offered multiple times. Seeing her pleasure at his compliment, Cianán's own smile only widened until it dimpled his cheeks, enjoying bring this small moment of joy to complement the larger one they were here to celebrate. Speaking of celebrating, his glass was empty and he didn't quite feel ready to go home.

Heidi's vision would be amazing indeed, and Cianán nodded. "Something to aim for," he agreed, with a thought of Bea, certain they'd had similar conversation in the past about progress and the march of it. There was something in her phrasing which made him think of his own out-of-hours calls, the supernatural ones rather than professional. On the one hand, he would love for them to stop. On the other, didn't the O'Malleys deserve to have someone to witness them in that way? Cianán simply had to believe it was serving some greater cosmic purpose. "As you say, with a longer life, it hardly feels like I've been doing my current job for enough time to judge." Settling back, he enjoyed listening to her process her thoughts, a small glimpse into the inner workings of her mind. "Egyptian! I've had Lebanese; I have no idea if those are similar." He'd had other African cuisines, too, but he couldn't currently call a map of Africa to mind to determine how close or far they might be from Egypt.

"Something poetic about all that work hidden behind walls," Cianán decided, off on a mental tangent wondering if there were any songs he could think of about pipes. Plenty of songs about water, but fewer about directing it and - "Ah, I read a poem once about racing raindrops." He gave his head a little shake. "Sorry. That was really barely related. Association of ideas, but also proof that maybe I should go get a soft drink."

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-12-08 06:11 pm UTC (link)

Looking down at her plate, which had a whole mix of food, prominently including bacon because if brunch food was an excuse for anything it was bacon. She gave him a slightly apologetic smile. "Yeah, I can understand how that might make you some friends. The menu tends to be pretty meat-heavy," she said. She cut up a neatly meat-free bite of waffle and ate it. "Shifters and weres tend towards being omnivores, I'm sure you realised. I know there are some who manage without meat, but it tends to be tricky with the need for high calorie intake," she said. If he had been offended she was sure he would have mentioned it before, but in this town it was hard to get away from big eaters.

With a quick look around at the rainbow surroundings Heidi smiled, and then looked back to Cianán. "At least today feels one step closer to that sort of thing being possible," she said, the warm feeling suffusing her chest as she breathed in. "I'd say you'll need to let me know how it's turning out in a while, but a while is probably far longer for you than me," she said, amused. "You know I don't remember having Lebanese," she admitted thoughtfully. "I'm not sure how far away they are, my geography of that part of the world isn't great." She shrugged without much apology. "Honestly though I fell in love with Koshary. You've got to respect a dish that involves three different types of carbs!" she joked. "Although, maybe you'd like it, it is generally vegetarian," she said. "Actually quite a lot of Egyptian food was, loads of pulses for protein and yoghurt," she said.

She snorted slightly. "People think it's poetic until we have to pull their walls or floors up to get at the problem," she said. Sometimes the issues were with exposed pipework, but she had definitely had issues where clients had complained about the necessary mess needed to fix their issues. She laughed delightedly at his random topic jump. "I mean, no need on my account, but I guess it depends how you're getting home." She was sure Bea or someone else would stop him driving after drinking, but if he hadn't got something lined up she wouldn't mind running him home as long as he didn't mind the work van.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-12-08 09:17 pm UTC (link)

He caught her gaze down and shook his head, waving away any concern she might feel that it bothered him to see other people eat meat. He'd never have made it through the late 1800s had that been the case. "I don't actually need to eat," he admitted. "Given that, meat never really seemed necessary." What he didn't come right out and say was that it didn't feel right to take a life, even the life of an animal, when he could survive perfectly well without it. There was more than enough death in the world to provide for the people who benefitted from protein more than he did.

"It does," he agreed. The two things weren't strictly related, but he understood the general sense of moving towards the world they might envision. He chuckled as he answered, "Oh, I think I'll have decided within your lifetime. I'm enjoying it so far. In some ways, it doesn't feel so different; I think music can be a therapy all its own." Her enthusiasm was infectious, though Cianán hadn't heard of the dish she mentioned. He made an effort to puzzle out what, if anything at all, he knew of ingredients available in that kind of area. "Rice, yams and... something with wheat?" He was probably wrong. "I'll have to see if I can find some."

Raising a hand, he gestured to indicate a point well made. "I admit, I wouldn't love having my walls ripped out, even aside from how inconvenient that sounds." Logically, he knew the house couldn't feel any kind of disturbance, but he'd always formed an attachment to places and things, perhaps because they were more likely to last his own lifespan than most humans were. "Not on your account," he promised. "Simply because I'm starting to lose track of conversations as they happen. Soft drinks between glasses of Champagne will be a more manageable pace."

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-12-10 05:14 pm UTC (link)

Heidi deflated slightly in relief when Cianan seemed to assure her he didn't mind other people eating meat. When he explained further she understood. "Ohhhh," she said, the word drawing out along with her realisation. "Yes, that makes sense," she said. "There are plenty of tasty vegetarian things you can eat little bits of if you want. And it's not like I don't enjoy those too, or there's Rashmi who is obsessed with salads." Heidi understood it, she really did, but she was far less dedicated to the need to have salad all the time.

"Well enjoying it to start with is a good thing," she said. "I wasn't sure how you were judging the timescales, but that's good. I'm hoping to live a good while yet," she said. His trying to work out what was in Koshary was hilarious, because the mix hadn't even made sense to her when she first tried it. "Rice yes, but pasta, and vermicelli noodles, plus lentils, chickpeas and a tomato sauce, loads of onion and garlic, plus spices, and then add hot sauce if you want it. Honestly it might be a bit much for you to eat a lot of," she said, now armed with the knowledge that he didn't need to eat. "Definitely worth trying if you like the idea though," she said.

"Yeah, most people don't. Even when you're careful about it," she agreed. She hadn't realised quite how tipsy he might be, but a lack of food probably easily made sense of that. "Oh don't let me stop you then. Or feel obliged to come back to me. We're meant to be moving around after all," she said. She was hoping to speak to him again before the celebration wrapped up, but she could wait for it quite happily.

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Cianán and Heidi

keenspirit
2024-12-12 09:28 pm UTC (link)

Having forgotten that particular quirk of Rashmi's, Cianán laughed. "That might be another thing we bonded over," he agreed. "I understand the appeal of a good salad. One of my favourite ways to try new ingredients." Heidi was right about enjoying little bits of things. "It's quite a luxury, eating purely for taste and texture without needing to worry about sustenance."

Reaching out, Cianán gave Heidi's arm a small and nearly avuncular pat. "I hope that too." In general, Cianán hoped for long lives for everyone, even people he had no personal connection to. His eyebrows crept up at the list of carbs, giving his whole-hearted agreement that it sounded like a lot. "Small portions," he decided, going back to Heidi's earlier point. "And even if not that -" He paused as he tried to find his way out of that sentence, having to shake his head to focus back in on what he'd meant. "Other Egyptian dishes," he proffered. Even if Koshary wasn't for him, there were doubtless other options to explore.

Cianán probably could have asked Heidi questions about plumbing all night without getting bored, but he did want to move around some more, perhaps track down some of the people he'd met at Bea's various events. In a moment of inspiration, he glanced at Heidi's plate. "You could come with me? Alternate introductions?"

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Re: Cianán and Heidi

heid_and_seek
2024-12-13 06:16 pm UTC (link)

"I like a salad, but it's not what I always search out. Clearly," she said. She really couldn't imagine being able to eat something only for the flavour, as a shifter she had always had a large appetite and quite the need for food to keep herself healthy and able to shift.

"I mean there's a good stuffed tomato you might like some of, but it's full of rice, so maybe not all of it. And there's always falafel, but I assume you know that," she offered. "But yes, lots of things to try. And lots of things are vegetarian from what I remember."

Heidi looked down at her plate, which was actually getting fairly empty since she had been eating when Cianán talked. "Oh, yeah that works too," she said. "I may need a refill on food and drink anyway," she said. She quickly neatened the food on her plate so she could fit more in and pushed up out of her chair.

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