ways_back_room | (no subject)

After the chaos of Arithon's arrival, masterfully summarized elsewhere, the main participants (or, at least, though who were not currently occupied with being tied up in a cell) did the sensible thing and retreated to the bar for drinks.

And continuity was smashed and burned and its ashes danced upon, so I'm not even going to try to impose any. This is summarized by conversation.

Joe buys whiskey. Lots of whiskey. He'll end up drinking most of it, too.

Will and Tonks: After some mutual back-patting, they make small talk, mostly about Voldemort's recent antics. Will is enthralled by the thought of dragons in general and 'Skandra in specific.

Joe and Tonks: Joe, wary of girls with strange-colored hair, asks if she's a magician. The answer is yes. It turns out that they've seen each other around. They talk shop about the similarities between bounty hunters and aurors.

Joe and Svava: Joe is impressed and unnerved by Svava's healing skills. They introduce themselves, and Svava has to explain what a Valkyrie is. Joe is bitter about war, and the War. Svava doesn't enjoy war either. Joe changes the subject masterfully: "You like cats? I like cats." They talk about Edielwiess and Yrael, the kitten's origin, and eventually Svava fetches the kitten herself for extra cuteness. Joe really likes cats. He talks about his old cat, Lucky Shot. They discuss America and, again, war. Joe, who uses whiskey to cope with weirdness and sundies, is fairly drunk by this time. Svava offers to take care of his hangover tomorrow.

Tom and Joe: The usual introductions and drinks. Tom explains Openers and wizards. Joe may be a Muggle, but he can still be smug about his liquor tolerance. Horizons are broadened.

Tom and Will: They haven't talked since Moiraine's disastrous confrontation with Tom months ago. Reintroductions happen, and they both hope this too is just a misunderstanding. Tom delicately asks what Will is, and Will obligingly gives the short explanation. They talk about Aphelise. Will warns Tom about him, and Tom mostly listens. Will is not optimistic about the thought of Aphelise seeking redemption. At all. They discuss protective measures, and Tom does listen to that.

Will and Joe: Joe asks if the kid has more guts than brains, or if he's magical too. Magical, says Will. Joe asks for more details; Will attempts to keep from confusing him with the whole Old One spiel, and ends up being really vague. They talk about Joe's speed, and the fact that Milliways confuses everyone. Joe tells Will about the Emergency Potato. Will is baffled. Joe shows him the potato; Will is still baffled. Joe mentions the vampire roses, Will guesses correctly that Anthy was involved, and they start theorizing about the potato. Potato liquor is mentioned, Joe sticks a keg tap in the potato, and lo! We have an answer! The potato produces excellent vodka! Will's stoic fu is defeated by this bizarreness. Joe is impressed by the quality of the vodka, but disappointed by the lack of deep meaning. (The fact that a vodka-producing emergency potato is prosaic says something about Milliways.) Joe is bitter about being Bound, mostly because he wasn't given a choice. He's also naturally suspicious of the whole thing. Will is sympathetic, but does trust the bar, and generally trusts nonhuman priorities more. They tacitly agree to disagree.

Moiraine comes over, looking upset in her Aes Sedai way.

Moiraine and Joe: Joe buys her tea, and she inquires about his gun. It's in the Lost & Found. They discuss magic folks on her world -- the fact that they are rare but make a decent stab at running the show anyway.

Moiraine and Will: Moiraine is frustrated. Will is still confused, then reassuring. He, Tom, and Moiraine all hope things will work out. Tom is concerned, and Moiraine actually admits (sort of) to being upset.

Nick apologetically approaches Moiraine.

Nick and Joe: They talk about vampires, rose-shaped and human-shaped. Joe buys Nick a drink. Joe succinctly sums up the Arithon mess, and they talk about Ophelia and Joe's ongoing study of The Waste Land. Joe wants to talk to Ophelia about it too.

Nick and Moiraine: Moiraine is still prickly and knows Nick is a vampire. Nick is upset. Moiraine unbends a bit. She starts to ask him why Arithon attacked, and LaCroix storms over. He is angry and worried, Nick is tiredly reassuring, and Moiraine is prickly again. Very prickly. Will is calming. Nick is exhausted, and LaCroix backs off. A bit. Moiraine does the same. Nick and LaCroix talk about what happened; LaCroix is snarky and oversensitive, and Nick is apologetic. Neither likes feeling helpless, and they head home.

And then everyone went to bed because all the muns' brains had stopped working hours before.