[WORLD ONE] SPEED DATING EXTRAVAGANZA

[spellbindmods]

Who: Participating coven members
Where: The Palai marketplace
When: Day 49
Open/Closed: OTA

[ Any and all who are in the marketplace will find that there is suddenly a mysterious barrier around the marketplace (that may be eerily familiar to some) -- specifically one large portion of the marketplace with a large number of tables and chairs, perhaps purposefully set out for nefarious reasons.

A few Palai are ushering coven members to chairs, and everything seems about normal. As normal as the Palai can be when they're putting on a show anyway. It's not until a sizable portion of the coven members are seated (and also supplied with breadsticks and small shrimp), that things get a bit more bizarre.

Thanks to the power of the Eltos, a small band of energy keeps coven members stuck to the chair (magic can interfere, of course), but that's not the end of it. On each table, next to those delicious smelling breadsticks and shrimp, is a bowl of scraps of papers. Every five minutes, a strip of paper will pop out from the bowl.

If you ask the Palai, they'll be inclined to explain speed dating to you. Asking questions, getting to know a person, then being shimmied off to the next potential mate -- this is made possible by Elto magic yet again, through flying chairs that transport their holder to a new table at standard intervals.

The Palai are extremely invested in this exercise? Will you let them down? ]

[ OOC: In the spirit of speed dating, each character will have a top level. All who want to respond to this top level can with questions from this post, but the threads have to end at 10 comments from each character. After this last tag, the characters can be assumed to have been whisked to a different potential match. You're free to have characters make up their own questions, interact with Palai serving food, etc. ]

Comments

[probablynoteren]

Your face was turning purple.

[He feels he should point this out, though Lenka doesn't persist with any more attempts to give his acquaintance spur-of-the-moment first aid. Jay gets a brief, curious look, but he remembers the time they met and he complained at length about being crowded -- it looks like that doesn't apply just to the Palai.

Lenka returns to his side of the table, but leaves the cans of tomato juice (and the refrigerators) out. He'll feel better when he has something to do with his hands and himself other than stare across the table.]

I don't know what we can do about it. We might be here for a while...

[It might not sound reassuring, but in his view, it's also not practical to spend the entire time tripping over themselves getting mad at the Palai.]

[rebells]

No, it wasn't.

[An obvious lie, but he's still flustered. He slouches in his chair, folding his arms across his chest.]

Nothing, unless you have some kind of power over barriers. I can't believe they think forcing us to--to-- [He cuts off with a blush.] is acceptable.

[probablynoteren]

[They're now in real danger of getting into a round of yes-you-did-no-I-didn't, so all Lenka does is give Jay a Look. It's a very doubtful look, before he shakes his head and focuses on the matter at hand, which is... magical solutions, maybe. So far, he hasn't met anyone with power over barriers.]

No... I don't have any power over barriers. Sorry. I guess you don't either.

[He still has no idea what Jay can do, other than that it apparently requires a lot of concentration and space. Lenka allows himself a small sigh and a swig of tomato juice before looking around.]

Does anybody?

[rebells]

[He makes a face in return, but--yes, barriers.]

I don't. Haru does, although I don't know if she can dispel other people's barriers.

[probablynoteren]

[That's okay, they can still make faces at each other while having Highly Serious Discussions. Multitasking!]

Oh, Haru. [come to think of it, he didn't know what she could do either; he always forgets to ask, even when magic is all over the place -- though he's getting better about remembering the witchy part of the coven... a little better] Is she here? I haven't seen her.

[Come to think of it, he doesn't know how many coven members are trapped. Are new ones coming in somehow? Or was it a one-time ambush?]

[rebells]

[He looks around for a bit, more idly than because he believes it'll get them out of here, and finally points out Haru behind them.]

Perhaps she can't.

[probablynoteren]

[Crap. That means he's out of good ideas, which leaves the harebrained and last-ditch ones that keep occurring to him in between awkward meetings with his covenmates. Actually, covenmates is probably going to be the wrong term to use after this. Ever.]

... Bartering?

[In this case, maybe it's more like bribing, but surely there's something they can give the Palai in exchange for freedom. Other than their dignity and stuff.]

[rebells]

That might work if they weren't seemingly convinced they were doing it for our own good.

[His eyes narrow as if he might try to hunt down a Palai, but none seem within shouting distance for the moment.]

[probablynoteren]

[Lenka is scanning the area, too, but apart from when they first started their unwilling interview, the Palai haven't seemed interested in coming this way. In that case...]

Do we need to do something to get their attention? We can at least talk to them.

[Nothing ventured, nothing gained. He tilts his head at Jay.]

Maybe you can pretend to choke again.

[Serious suggestion, though.]

[rebells]

[He chokes again.]

I--I wasn't choking!

[probablynoteren]

[He assumes Jay is faking it.]

Yeah, like that. You're good at faking it.

[Maybe he was pretend-choking before, too? It's not actually a great way to get out of having to do this, but... anyway, Lenka nudges the tomato juice still set on Jay's side of the table towards him.]

Take it. They like gifts.

[What he means, rather, is that the Palai like to see coven members giving each other gifts. He's very likely been hawked more than one coven member-related merch item for that purpose. Let's not go into that. Maybe they can bribe them with magically summoned tomato juice, too.

On the bright side, there are Palai looking over here now, though whether it's due to Jay choking or the half-assed attempt at gift giving remains unclear.]

[rebells]

I didn't-- [Ugh, forget it.] I'm not engaging with this--ridiculous courtship ritual.

[He eyes the tomato juice as though it might get up and bite him.]

[probablynoteren]

It doesn't have to be one.

[He's steadfastly ignoring the courtship part of the ritual, in fact. It helps with not choking since he himself is still sipping at his own tomato juice.

Jay's tomato juice gets nudged a little more, even if he looks like he's trying to cast a curse on the can with his eyes.]

... You don't like tomatoes?

[He seems like a very complicated guy! Maybe he has to guess his taste in juice now.]

[rebells]

It's clearly supposed to be one.

[He doesn't respond to the nudge or the question other than that; he feels like that covers it. But no, he's not super fond of tomatoes, either.]

[probablynoteren]

[Well, he's at least sort of learned some new things, and his chair is starting to do the speed dating dance now -- Lenka gives it a rather put out look, but it's not like he can do anything about the whole affair no matter how grumpily he stares at inanimate objects.

He'll have to think of something else for escaping from this. For the moment...]

There's coffee.

[... is all he says to Jay before he floats off. The wayward refrigerator and its contents will stick around for now.]