Comfort Food (Pregame 2 LA, Cafeteria)

[John Slaktare]

John drifts into the cafeteria, looking to get something to eat after his short run. Picking out some zero-g options for consumption from a bag and a sippy cup of water, he makes his way to a table and ties in.

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

Not too long after came the petite form of Hrafnhildur. She floated closer to the ceiling, or what was usually the ceiling when there was gravity, lest she go unnoticed and cause a collision. Her eyes scanned the room and landed on John so she angled herself in his direction after nabbing something to eat.

"Big J! It's okay if I join you, yes? You'll hardly know I'm here." She continued floating in his direction. "Whatcha think, this new year should be a good one. That's what I think."

[John Slaktare]

"Feel free," he says in his normal neutral tone, patting the seat next to him. He sips his water then looks to her. "It's going to be another year, like every other year. Good or bad, just gotta do the work and win the fight. You doing okay after the party? Didn't drink to much did'ya?"

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

She closes one eye and aims herself towards the empty seat John pointed out. It took some mid air twisting but she hit her mark and strapped right on in. With the stress of zero g gone for now, a smile settles across Hrafna's face. Many would know this as Resting Hrafna Face.

"Aha! Win the fight. There we go, some opti...some optim...some good outlook. We'll do good, more gooder than before. Gooder? No, that's not right. More better than before. There it is." Happy with that, she took a sip from her drink.

"Drinking too much means very different things for me and you, Big J. The amount that is." She could help but laugh at that. "No, I hardly had anything. Well, a drink here and there to celebrate of course, have to do that. But I will tell you what now, sometimes I just gotta smell that stuff and I'm done. How about you, didya let that hair down?"

[John Slaktare]

"Nope. Not even for parties. Why do all the work I do to keep fit then poison myself?" he asks with a shrug. "You're getting better," he says, in a slow speaking pattern, both because it was true and because it was the word and phrase she seemed to be struggling with. Small example never hurts. "You're getting much better. You are doing better than before."

He squeezes some sort of potatoes out of a pouch and swallows it.

"Saw your costume. Wasn't expecting it. It suited you," he nods. "Cheerleaders are always... optimistic."

He was being particularly responsive with the words she was having difficulty with today.

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

With John's reassurance she practically beamed with you. "Thank you J Man, still used to not using English so much even though these days I have to. Too many rules, don't care for 'em. I can't say mouses. Why not? I say bears, not bice." She stuffed some liquid vegetable into her mouth before she lost it on the foibles of language. "Anyway, that means a lot."

The smile was back on her face as she continued. "Optimistic! There it is, that was the word! Hoo boy I just couldn't get it. I've been thinking of ways to reuse that costume, wouldn't want it to go to waste. Things like bein' an ack-choo-wall cheerleader or usin' it for time in the gym. Seems easy to move in. We'll see." Some more vegetable paste went down the hatch followed by some of her sippy cup water.

"One party ain't gonna ruin that work you put in, Big J. Heck look at me, still the mountain of muscle I am even with a few drinks." She laughed at her own joke, dangerously close to a snort.

[John Slaktare]

"It's a strange language," he agrees with a nod. "I prefer Swedish, but that's just familiarity."

"And one party means three times as many hours to work it off. I also never liked the way it made me feel. Ya know I get angry easy, and it's much worse when I get drunk."

He looks at her skeptically when talking about the cheerleader costume. "Prolly not a great thing to just wear out and about. Prolly get some odd looks. But find yourself a boyfriend or girlfriend and they'll definitely ask you to wear it for them. Can promise you that."

There was no bashfulness there, just a seemingly honest assessment.

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"Ah, Swedish. I figure I should learn that some day soon. I heard it might even be easier for me since I know a similar language. I should, I really should. Soon too." She took a slow sip of water as she thought about it.

"We can't say you don't get angry easy, no sir. But I'd be there to roll that anger in a ball and kick it away from you. Or a frisbee, yeah a frisbee. Then I could fling it right on into the ho-rise-sun and it would be gone." She went to take another sip but stopped. "Wear it for them? Why? You just said it's not great to wear out and about. Wait, if you're with someone you can wear it and no one says anything?"

[John Slaktare]

"If my temper worked that way I'd not have any problems with it," he says with a shrug. "And I ain't much of a teacher, but I am here to practice with you if you like."

He thinks for a moment to try and figure out where she might have gotten caught up. "No. When I said boyfriend or girlfriend I didn't mean friend. Those mean lover, an intimate relationship."

Literally no bashfulness at all.

"I was saying that the costume was sexy, attractive, or arousing. And that if you had a lover they would enjoy seeing you wear the costume in private."

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"Oh. Oh? Oh! Ooooh." So many emotions came through in just one word. Hrafna leaned in a bit to whisper. "Do you think anyone thought those thoughts?" She leaned back and tucked some loose stands of hair behind her ear though they wouldn't stay there for long.

"So you're saying that if I got close to someone I could wear this for the back flip competitions we would have in our bedroom. Smart, Big J. A cheerleader's uniform was definitely made for back flips and stuff. Just like the back flip competitions my parents used to have a few times a week. It sounded like my dad won the most, but my mom held her own." She nodded at that and finished off her water.

[John Slaktare]

"I can promise at least one person did," he says with a nod when she leaned in.

"Other than that one person, I can only guess a bunch of others did too. Seein' as you're a beautiful young woman with a lot of talent and a lot going for you, I suspect it won't be too hard to find reasons to wear that costume if you want to."

He eats a bit from a second package, some sort of refried beans mix. Need that protein.

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"Oh...thank you..." The color on her cheeks went to a light red as she accepted the compliments. "Well, if you find out, tell me who that at least one person is. I wouldn't mind knowing. Oh! Maybe it will be this big thing and people will say 'that Hrafnhildur and that at least one person should just go out for a soda one day. Hoo boy I can picture it now."

She squeezed the rest of the vegetable paste into her mouth and nodded. "Right. Right. Not too hard to find some reasons. We'll make a foosball team, call them The Llamas, and boom! I'm a cheerleader for this foosball team. Done."

[John Slaktare]

"Language and expression can certainly mess with context, eh?" he asks himself more than her. "I'll let you know."

"You might be able to modify it too. Switch the llama out for an angel?"

He sips some water.

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"Aha! Good idea! I can make it about what already is there insteeeeeeead of making up something new. Good good. I've made many things before, even my clothes. I think I can make the changes. Do you draw? Maybe I can ask around for some possible designs."

[John Slaktare]

"Nah, I don't draw. But I do look forward to seeing it when you finish. I'm sure whatever you come up with will look great, and already know the costume looks great on you," he replies.

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"Aha! So maybe you are this at least one person." And finally it happened. Hranfna laughed at her own joke and it turned into a full on snort. She suddenly stopped and covered her mouth. "Sorry."

[John Slaktare]

"Aha! So maybe you are this at least one person." And finally it happened. Hranfna laughed at her own joke and it turned into a full on snort. She suddenly stopped and covered her mouth. "Sorry."

"No need for sorry," he says in his normal tone, not admitting or denying anything.

"Last checks for mechs go well?"

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

Thank goodness for John being even keeled. It allowed Hrafna to recover post-snort. And recover she did, though in her doing so she tried to take a sip from her now empty sippy cup.

"Everything is lookin' fine. More than fine. I have those things oiled up and ready to go. In fact, in fact you may or may not find a surprise in yours. I don't knooooow, you might."

[John Slaktare]

He passes her his half drunk water. He's well over what he needs for the day anyway.

"I look forward to it. I... appreciate your work and care. Everything ya do is always great so I look forward to it."

"Also, i went to check on it earlier and some junior tech messed up the hard copy manuals. Got them replaced already."

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

He passes her his half drunk water. He's well over what he needs for the day anyway.

"I look forward to it. I... appreciate your work and care. Everything ya do is always great so I look forward to it."

"Also, i went to check on it earlier and some junior tech messed up the hard copy manuals. Got them replaced already."

The small engineer take th water with no hesitation and holds it up to John as if to say cheers. After the first sip she smiles again. "No way I'm lettin' you go out there is some wobbly mech. Nope. You gotta come back and tell me whatcha did out there. They won't let me go, even if I could lace all of them enemy mechs with ecks-plose-shuns. Oh well, that's why you gotta tell me all about it."

She took another sip. "Seems I gotta be everywhere at once, those juniors gotta learn the right way."