Second floor common room- Wednesday evening

[seriesofbaddecisions]

After last week's trip home (or at least to some version of it), Sabine was feeling way better about things, and had also spent most of her free time since in her warehouse. By today, she felt like she should at least get out a bit, even if it was just to the common room.

She'd long ago figured out that if you ordered food, they'd send too much. So today when she placed her order for Chinese food, she got way too much on purpose, just to see what would happen. It wasn't like she knew what everything was yet anyway.

The delivery guy showed up with half the order, and they forgot the egg rolls.

Anyway, have some food, there's still plenty.


[Open CR!]

Comments

[white_oleander]

Even with the ever present scent of paint fumes in their room, Astrid still managed to catch the aroma of some freshly delivered common room food. It was like it traveled through the vents with the soul purpose of drawing people toward it.

All the free and readily available, usually actually good food. You got another point there, Fandom.

"So," her head tilted as she came in, the packaging already confirming what her nose had suspected, "what've we got today?"

[seriesofbaddecisions]

"Chinese," Sabine said, peeking into a box. "I'm not sure what they actually sent of what I ordered so it might be a bit of a mystery."

[white_oleander]

"Mystery Chinese food is sometimes the best Chinese food," Astrid said with a knowing nod, moving in to investigate another one. "But also, sometimes, it's the worst."

She'd never had the latter experience here, though, not yet, so now it was probably bound to happen.

"That almost sounds like something you'd find in a fortune cookie."

[seriesofbaddecisions]

"Okay, those I don't understand at all," Sabine admitted. "I don't want nonsense paper in my cookie."

[white_oleander]

"They're not even really Chinese," Astrid said with a laugh, after looking a little unsure about whatever it was in the box she'd checked, so she went to inspect another one. "They're actually based on a Japanese tradition and they're from California. Exactly where is pretty hotly contested, though. I've been to at least five different restaurants claiming to be the home of the original, which is weird, if they're trying to pass it off as some big Chinese thing."

[seriesofbaddecisions]

"That does sound very American, but I'd still rather just have an actual cookie," Sabine said thoughtfully, frowning at a box. "I can tell this is chicken, that's progress."

[white_oleander]

"That is!" Astrid agreed. "Although I think that statement just convinced me to stick with whatever just has veggies." Which she seemed to have found in the latest box, mostly snowpeas and carrots and brocolli, but that worked for her, so she went to find a bowl to portion some out over some rice.

"But you're telling me," she said, "that you don't put a whole lot of stock in some random slip of paper found in a cookie? You know, the real fortune is when you manage to get one that's not stale."

Astrid was not nearly witty enough by half to come up with that one herself; it was stoled straight from her mother, said nearly any time they'd gotten Chinese food while her spirits were good.

[seriesofbaddecisions]

"...Are they not supposed to taste like that?"

Sabine frowned, and went to the bag of cookies, picking out one to break open. "'To affirm is to make firm,'" she read.

And shrugged.

[white_oleander]

"'To affirm is to make firm,'" Astrid repeated, thoughtfully, deeply, ruminating over it carefully before concluding, "Okay, that is bad. But now I have to try one."

So she did, cracking one open, having a look. "'A dream you have will come true,'" she read.

Which was just a little awkward, since, if anyone knew how prone Astrid was to nightmares, it would be Sabine.

"Well, that's conveniently vague," she stated.

[goldfishontherocks]

A pair of antlers poked through the doorway of the common room, followed by a red-haired, pointy-eared head. And then the rest of Keyleth.

“Oh, hi,” she said, looking mildly anxious about finding other people in here. “This isn’t my floor, sorry. Oh wow, is there a party? Or wait, is this the thing, with the common rooms and the food?”

[seriesofbaddecisions]

"This is the thing," Sabine said, waving her in. "Grab some food, there's somehow still too much."

[goldfishontherocks]

“How?” Keyleth asked, already heading over to look over the selection and intrigued by the fairly unfamiliar dishes. “Really, this is a thing that just always happens when someone orders food? It’s nice of them to make sure a lot of people get fed, I guess.”

[seriesofbaddecisions]

"I don't know how the businesses here make any money. And here's the twist: I ordered extra, and they gave me less."

How? Who knew!

[goldfishontherocks]

Would people ever stop questioning this unique Fandom phenomenon? Probably not, as long as the need for small talk existed.

Keyleth stopped in the middle of putting some chow mein on a plate to blink at Sabine. “This is less? I’m afraid to ask how much you really tried to order.”

[seriesofbaddecisions]

"Picture this, but double," Sabine said, and frowned. "I should double check how much they actually charged me for."

Honestly, it probably evened out with all the other times she got twice too much.

[goldfishontherocks]

“Either you were really that hungry, or you just wanted to see how much they’d send you,” Keyleth guessed. “Please tell me it wasn’t the first thing?”

[seriesofbaddecisions]

"Second thing. It was an experiment," she admitted. "Have you had Chinese food yet? They didn't label anything so things might be a surprise."

[goldfishontherocks]

“No, this is definitely new,” Keyleth said, on to the mixed vegetables now, “but it all smells really good. I guess this was part of the new experiences my father thought I’d get here. Or maybe not, but I don’t mind. It’ll be an adventure! Just a really safe one.”

She paused and looked at the orange chicken, which she wouldn’t even begin to recognize as chicken in that form.

“I think?”

[white_oleander]

"Definitely the thing with the common rooms and the food," Astrid nodded, offering at least a second agreement to solidify the matter, smiling at the girl she was pretty sure she hadn't really seen much. But the antlers had an instant grab on her attention.

"One of my favorite things about this place," she added.

[goldfishontherocks]

“Do they actually mention that as an attraction?” Keyleth wondered. “Because wow. I can definitely see how it’s a draw. Hi, by the way. I don’t think we’ve met?”

[white_oleander]

"I think it's just something you mostly discover," Astrid offered. "And, yeah, you're right, I don't think we have. So...hi. I'm Astrid."

[goldfishontherocks]

“Keyleth,” she said with an uncertain little wave of her hand. “Hi. I guess that would be kind of hard to explain to people, now that I think about it. But it seems like a lot of things around here really are.”

[white_oleander]

"Yeah," Astrid said slowly, looking away for a second. "It took me a long time," embarrassingly long, really, "to really get used to it. Kind of a head trip, realizing you've come from the past, and that everyone really does come from different worlds with aliens and magic and things like that..."

She still sort of had some problems with it, if she was honest, but she was a work in positive progress.

"You're one of the newer kids, then?" Astrid guessed. She didn't get out much, she knew that, so she could have just completely missed Keyleth, but the observations definitely sounded like new-kid ones. And she liked to think she'd remember antlers.

[goldfishontherocks]

“I just arrived this month,” Keyleth confirmed, absently chewing on a fingernail as she tried to figure out which of the dishes she wanted to try next. “And I . . . have no idea whether I’m in the past or the future, but I’m not sure it even matters when I’m not in my own world at all.”

Though of the three Exandrian representatives in Fandom, she was from the furthest back in the timeline.

“So you’re from one of the worlds without magic? That’s really weird for me to think about. Um, no offense.”

[white_oleander]

"None taken," Astrid shrugged a little. "It does make my world seem pretty boring, though, compared to some others. I don't mind, though. I probably wouldn't even know what to do with magic if I had it."

But she did eye Keyleth a little speculatively. "Do you know magic?"