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Things in Attilan, for the minute, have calmed down. This was also a good time for the Mountain to catch up with the bay and relay what little info there was and catch up. Triton, quite simply, wanted to see his sister, but likewise found it opportune to have Medusa join them, and hell just have a short impromptu meal in… Chinatown. Triton looked to Rogue and Karnak thinking they might understand, "I lived in China. I do not understand what is going on with all this sauce though. If it helps, Karnak, we did miss you at dinner the other night." This was an anomaly.
Karnak looks mildly amused at Triton, "Missed on a social occasion. That must be a first." She seems rather relaxed, well, for her anyway. She doesn't seem to mind having a meal in Chinatown, though, as she mmms, "This does seem like a good choice for dinner, brother."
Chloe has dressed for the city in a stylish dress with a sweater and a floppy hat. She's got a woven bamboo purse, in which one may be assured are her stabby knives. "I don't think I've ever been here," she tells Triton. There's no distaste in her voice, though. After the past couple years, Chinatown holds no fear for the hellstabber.
The door of the restaurant opens, and Medusa walks in. There's no way to disguise her obviously unusual hair, but she's rocking a trench and beret like a Chanel model on a runway. Looking over her shoulder, she makes a gesture for someone to join her and then turns her gaze toward the restaurant. Her eyes alight as she espies her cousins, and the corners of her mouth lift - only faintly, of course - when she spots Karnak in particular.
Kamala is following after Medusa, having run into her. "This place doesn't have the same type of fried chicken as the stuff I brought, but you get this awesome sauce to dip it into and get all over your fingers and it's oh so good!" she's offering cheerfully, that is until she finds herself in the presence of the royalty and she quiets and shies away - particularly from Triton. Karnak and Chloe get a little finger wave.
Rogue goes home.
Triton warmed a grin to Karnak. Eating on the surface had its challenges. At least the mask came off to eat which came at other expenses, but it was what it was which was not new for Triton. Chopsticks poked a the fish and rice in his bowl with a warm amusement, "Karnak, I always miss you on social occasions. So does Gorgon. Max? eeeeeh less so. Besides, there'a actually good news for a change." He grinned to Chloe and then curiously up at the door as Medusa and Kamala walked in with a faint, lopsided grin. Well that's what that looks like without all teh hardware. "We saved you a seat."
Karnak arches a brow, "Well, you do, but Gorgon? Hmph." She sounds a bit skeptical, and doesn't bother comment about Max… which is when she sees Medusa enter, along with Kamala. She immediately straightens, rising gracefully to her feet and bowing towards Medusa, "Good evening." She passes a glance and nod to Chloe as well, though her attention is mostly focused on the lady with the hair.
Chloe rises to her feet when Medusa and Kamala walk in. "It's good to see you again," she says with a warm smile. Karnak gets a nod in return, and she returns to her seat beside Triton. Taking up her chopsticks, she examines them, then uses them to poke at her chicken and rice. Surely there is some way to use these to eat. Triton's lopsided grin gets a shy duck of her head, and she admits, "I have no idea what I'm doing."
Those lips, the curve even higher. Medusa does not tend to be effusive with her emotions in public, so this is akin to her jumping up and down and screaming like a girl at a Beatles concert. "Karnak. You look quite healthy." Ah, the boundless enthusiasm of Inhuman girl talk. She inclines her head to Triton, remarks affably to Kamala, "I've had Chinese before. I'm quite fond of dumplings." She indicates that there needs to be a chair for Kamala as well, and takes a seat. "It's a pleasure to see so many of us."
Plopping into a seat, Kamala frowns. "Sorry. Didn't know you have. I'll have to introduce you to the food my parents eat sometime." she offers quietly before she quiets as Medusa addresses the group, but she makes sure to sit next to Karnak. Because well, Karnak makes a good buffer!
Triton shrugged and shook his head, "That sounds like a great idea, Kamala." He went to add something, but paused and took Chloe's hand and then the chopsticks to show her basic mechanics of them. Growing up in Asia gave one advantage here. He had faith she'd remember. "Don't overthink it." Looking back to Medusa and Karnak he offered, "I'm moving back home a bit. Going to help Max and Blackagar with the unrest. Put things back. Maybe… build."
Karnak nods towards Kamala, and sits down next to Medusa, glancing over towards her with what could almost be considered a smile if it were anyone else, "It… has been a while. How have you been?" Karnak is the master of many things. Social conversation? Not so much. Particularly with one of the few people she respects.
Chloe relaxes her hand so Triton can direct it just so, and she gives the chopsticks a tentative clamping, then she pokes at a piece of chicken, picking it up. When she drops it back to its plate, she laughs and picks it up again. Sweeping her hair out of the way with her other hand, she successfully lifts the piece of chicken to her mouth. When Triton mentions wanting to build, she swallows, then says, "You know if you need help, I'll be there."
Medusa picks up her chopsticks, holding them as if she's had practice. Regarding Karnak levelly, she chooses her words with care. "It has been an adjustment." Looking back to Triton, her brows furrow. "Has Blackagar come home, then? I don't think Maximus will care for that much. I need to speak with him about his intentions regarding home." To Kamala, she says, "I would love that. I am very interested in the cultures of other places." There's a mild smile for Chloe, an air that she is grateful for the young woman's presence.
While the others are using chopsticks, Kamala's the heathen with the fork and using her fingers to pick up pieces of succulent chicken to dip and snack on as Karnak speaks to her, she grins. "I've been training with Hope Summers and such. She's a really good teacher, and we've been hanging out a bit. Other than that.. well.. I've been kinda busy." She ducks her head a little. "Know I can't help much on this side of things, but if you ever need me."
Triton arched an eyebrow to Medusa confused, "I think it'd be folly for us to presume. Blackagar's been home. Max has been supurlitivly instrumental in setting the city upright again. And Chloe," He gestured with his chopsticks, this one, "is moving into the palace. Though if you wanted to ask our cousin what he had planned it seems like your chance is upon you." Speak of the devil and he sends his advocate.
Karnak uses chopsticks, naturally, and she's quite fluent with them from all appearances, "Ah, I see. Well, if you needed to talk about things, I am available of course." She looks over at Medusa, sensing something… but not elaborating as she then glances over towards Kamala, "I think you would be a tremendous help, actually. Your abilities could be quite useful, if you had the time to help."
Chloe's smile for Medusa is warm and welcoming. Now that she's got a handle on the chopsticks, she eats with quick efficiency. Food is to be consumed neatly and with no time to waste before the demons come to take it away. "Do you live in the palace?" she asks Karnak. "I haven't seen you around there much. It's a big palace, though."
|ROLL| Maximus +rolls 1d20 for: 20
"I'm very acquainted with his ambitions." Medusa murmurs, hailing the server so she can place an order. It seems the Amaquelin is very fond of dumplings indeed, as she orders three different kinds. The woman can pack it in. Again her mouth quirks. "Karnak lives where and how it suits her. She always has." And Medusa is both nostalgic and envious of that. To Triton, "I want to know Blackagar's plans. I told Maximus quite frankly I'm making no decisions without understand where we are all placed on the board, so to speak."
Is he having someone followed? Is it just coincidence? Did someone call and tell him that a group of Inhumans were eating Chinese food? No one may ever know, but, in walks Maximus in fine form. He is dressed to the nines in a modern suit, complete with tie, vest, jacket, coat, shiny pointy shoes and a wintery white wool scarf. His black hair is slicked back behind his ears, and his facial hair is neat and trim. Blue-steel eyes reflect the sharpness of sanity, brilliance and the matching set of arrogance and entitlement. When he comes into the restaurant, he stands there a moment, just watching, reviewing, noting who is speaking to who before he lifts his voice and nears, "Good evening, family…" Though he seems to include everyone in that, like all Inhumans may be considered the same family. His voice rolls with rich, gracious tones. If one were meeting Maximus for the first time, right at this moment, they might have a totally different impression of the man.
"Me?" A finger lifts as Kamala points at herself. of course, she imagines what Karnak means is that she's manual labor as she is interrupted from any other comments as she glances up at Maximus and his entrance and she stops talking altogether, not sure what to make of it all.
Triton looks back to the table and looked back into his rice letting any semblance of update pass. Glancing back to up Chloe there was some optimism to the idea, "That would actually be pretty great. I have one of my guys looking into getting us some of the things to look back into now that the city isn't bracing itself." COuld be any city. Given the state of NYC and several around the world from Bogota to Bhagdad to HoChi Minh it could be very literally any city. THough Max was… in fine form. He gestured to an opean seat near him and greeted, "Maximus, good of you to join us. Have a seat and a bean bun." The paired sticks reached over and grabbed one for a tiny plate and move it in front of his cousin withthe understanding: if you sit, you eat.
"Good evening, Maximus. Do join us." Medusa is in fine regal form tonight. Her baskets of dumplings arrive, and she quite efficiently plucks up a steamed one with her chopsticks and nibbles at it, studying the younger Boltagon with half-lidded eyes.
Karnak glances up towards Maximus, and nods slightly, "Maximus." Then she looks over at Chloe, belatedly answering her question, "I actually reside at the Tower of Wisdom, more often than not. After all, I am its curator." She tilts her head towards Triton, "Brother, what exactly did you want my help with? I'm certain that I can assist, of course."
Chloe rises to her feet when Maximus walks in, and she nods to him with great respect. "Maximus," she says, holding back on using his title. No, not King. She has since been educated. She gestures to the seat Triton has offered. "Yes, please come have a seat and join us." She waits til he sits to reclaim her seat. Nodding to Karnak, she says, "I've never been there. It sounds nice, though. If you ever need help curating, I'm at home most of the time these days."
Maximus sweeeeeps off the coat from his shoulders and hands it to a waiter, who does seem a LITTLE baffled to being handed it, but there's a coat hook and rich guys tip well, so the waiter goes to hang it up. Then he sits in the seat with authority and ran his fingers over the chopsticks at that seat. He judges them, thoughtfully, then sweips them against each other a few times before picking up the bean bun. "Meduuusa. Triton. Chloe…Kar-nak…" His eyes rest on the shy Kamala and he grins like he's amused for a moment, at her. "A pleasure to eat such fare in the presence of those towards whom I feel so affectionately." Grin.
There's a brief pause as Kamala pushes some hair back over her ear, a blush as Maximus stares, but she quickly shakes it off. "…I should get going. I have class in the morning, after training, and then more training and then homework, then more training.." Where's she get all the time to do all the training? Probably by sacrificing her homework, which has drawn some scowls from her parents - pray they never show up at the doorstep asking why their daughter is neglecting her school work to 'fetch coffee'.
"Be well, Kamala." Medusa says as the girl mentions the need to depart. Turning her attention to the others. "Your affection knows no bounds." she tells Maximus wryly, continuing to nibble on her spinach and shrimp dumpling. "We are quite becoming citizens of the world, aren't we?"
Triton arches an eyebrow at the abrupt departure but hey, harmony is being kept so the fish stayed quiet on that front. To his sister, Karnak, he replied, "I needed to restructure what I rooms have at home since I'll be back a bit, and thought you'd be able to have insights to make them less aquatic and more amphibous?" Yes he was being a bit cagey on that one, but who better to find flaws ahead of time and honestly the family time was nice. Maximus's words causght him up in amusement glancing from he to Medusa to Chloe and back, "Well his passions do run deep. You have to give our cousin that. I mean he's not wrong."
Karnak arches a brow, "Of course, I would be glad to do so, Triton." She then looks over at Medusa, "That's one way to put it. If you wish to take advantage of my presence while helping my brother's reorganizing, I would be glad to speak with you in more depth." She snatches some of the cashew chicken with her chopsticks, nimbly devouring it as she nods towards Kamala, "Do not work too hard. That is, an order." She almost sounds amused, regarding the departing Inhuman.
Chloe ducks her head and smiles when Triton talks about making his rooms more amphibious. She says nothing of it, though. She inclines her head to Kamala and says, "It was good to see you again. Perhaps we can speak again later, more at length." She offers the younger Inhuman a small, somewhat shy smile. Then, to Maximus, she says, "How fare you this evening?" Since she's gotten to the rice, and there's just no way she can do chopsticks and rice, she merely toys with them and tries to look like she knows what she's doing.
"Chloe…I can sense your fear." Maximus says suddenly, and ominously. "You fear that…if you use those, you will only be able to eat one grain at a time. However, how its really done…" He scoopps some rice from the larger bowl onto his plate, then grabs the plate and lifts it up, and more or less, just shoves it towards his mouth. Then he sets the plate down. "No one on the planet can eat rice with chopsticks without doing that." he asserts. Its then that he seems to loose his fixation on her and his eyes drift to the one leaving and he just stares. "I fare just fine. There is little to complain about, in truth. I like behing among our people, Medusa. Though we may be forced to be 'of the world', such as it is, I do not love it as you do. You have lived in it so much longer that I am certain you are familiar with its idioms and customs in a way that I am not. I /prefer/ Attilan. I /love/ Attilan. New York simply…/will do/ for now…and only because I like some of the things in it."
Medusa's brows lift. "Are you suggesting I don't love Attilan?" Medusa asks in the mildest of tones. "There's no harm in understanding the world in order to best navigate it." She sips her tea, chopsticks held in a carefully posed manner. Her gaze flicks to Triton and Karnak briefly, and then attends to her food once more. "Amphibious, Triton?" Her gaze slides to Chloe, and she suppresses her next words with another sip of tea.
Triton looked to Medusa and back to Max and looked to karnak witht hat look of 'should we flip a coin on how this is going to end or did you run the odds already?'. "I think he's suggesting you have a talent for being a diplomat and he'd really rather just go home. We all make of it what we will though." He paused considering Medusa's words and thought of how he could take the next 37 years picking out the summary of his thoughts and reduce them to simply five words. Today though, the rogue poet seemed to embrace stark brevity. "I've moved to Declare Chloe, and as such wish for her to be comfortable next time I am on mission for another two to three years at the bottom of the Pacific. I trust her as a companion and diplomat to handle my affairs at home when I cannot." That and it would alleviate him from needing to endure Namor ever trying to set him up with his cousin Nita ever again. He had the grace to not dredge up taht disaster.
Karnak actually smiles at Triton's words, "Indeed. That's good to hear. But, unfortunately, I must make my leave. I am certain that we shall have the opportunity to speak later." Her eyes focus mostly on Medusa for that, though she nods towards Triton and the others, "Good evening." And with that, she rises and makes her way out, not saying another word.
Chloe looks at Maximus. He's found her out! But she nods slowly, and then follows suit, lifting her plate and shoving the rice into her mouth. That she can do. Food-shoving is one of the basic debutante skills they teach in hellscapes. "Thank you," she says after she's wolfed down some of the rice. She sets the plate down, then looks to Triton, and she smiles broadly. Without a word, she takes his hand and gives it a squeeze. "I'm sure whatever we come up with will be more than comfortable enough."
Maximus grins faintly, and then…Karnak has to go as well. "I am beginning to believe that Karnak may be having an affair with that young Inhuman. What do the rest of you think? She clearly prefers her…and I suppose someone like Karnak with experience and wisdom has a lot to offer someone so shy and young. What do you think about that, Medusa? Do not be ridiculous as to think that I doubt your love for Attilan. I am only saying that you are better suited to living /here/ than I am, because you have lived /here/ for eleven years, and I have been in Attilan for all but one."
"What a blessing." Medusa says, her smile briefly turning warm toward Chloe. "I hope you will both be quite happy." Setting down her chopsticks, Medusa's gaze remains pleasant as she regards Maximus. "I have no intuition for such things, I'm afraid. But tell me what you've found to love here in New York? I've discovered quite a bit. Perhaps if you permit, I'll share some of what I've enjoyed the most." Another, gentler glance is given to Triton, a slight nod that indicates approval. Of what? May not be quite clear.
Triton,for Medusa's benefit, actually seemed at peace rather than just laying in wait for something he might be pointed at as utility or hidden weapon. "Cousin as ever your words are a comfort to me. Thank you." His webbed hand gave Hell-Stabber's a squeeze back. The arrangement wasn't idea but he was still ahppy with it. THen the question came and Triton was curious where that was all going. "You know I don't care to speculate to others on behalf of my Sister's personal interests but if she finds happiness…" The fish blinked, " in anything I think ti's a good start." Because the trouble with karnak being Karnak was always seeing the flaws in everything. "Besides you can't point the finger at her when you've gone on to crystal about actually having something that interests you. Let Karnak be." He caus say let her be. It won't happen but he can officially request it.
Chloe glances between Medusa and Maximus, dark eyes sharp and curious, but again she keeps her own counsel. Medusa causes her expression to brighten, and she says, "I know that we will be. Even when Triton has to go away, knowing he'll come back will be consolation enough." As for Karnak, she dare not speculate. Instead, she plucks up one of the rice bean buns and munches on it.
"Something similar to what /Triton/ has found." Maximus glances then to the happy couple. "I assume. Believe me…I tried to stop it, but it seems that no amount of driving you mad, Triton, will cause Chloe to see you in a bad light. No sense in causing you more trouble than you already have. As…" he glances to Medusa, then back to Triton, "a leader, I /disapprove/. An agent with something to care about besides the nation is…compromised." However, despite his 'surface disapproval', he does seem to be pretty happy. "As a man…she's probably the best you could get. A bit out of your normal range…with juuuust enough murder in her eyes."
Medusa has opted for silence now, attending to her food. She is perhaps peculiarly subdued, but no less pleased for the company she is surrounded with. "I believe that cherished ones remind us of why we are willing to do our duty." Oh, look. Shumai. Medusa plucks one up with her chopsticks, content for now, just to listen.
Triton chuckled and squiiiiiint sidelong to Max. "I'm going to overlook that you just called my integrity as an operative to get the job done and take that for the compliment you're offering." This…amused him. Especially since he just got done with a two and a half year long mission in islation Max sent him on to go find Peng Lai in the first place. "But good. I'm glad to hear you found something that makes you happy, Max. Hey." He lifted his tea and looked to teh three left standing, "To our family in the new age."