Operation distract Iskander

[swordofzero]

Who: Saber, Iskander, Suzaku, Edge and Waver
Where: Saber's temple and then somewhere on the Near Shore
What: Dinner at Saber's temple followed by Saber taking Iskander out drinking. (We do apologise)
When: May 20th
Warnings: Mentions of alcohol. I will add as we go on if applicable.

Dinner for Five

Suzaku had been in the kitchen for the last hour or so. He had been quite confident when Saber had mentioned friends coming over that he would be able to cook something. His cooking had been steadily improving and ever he could admit that his food tasted alright most of the time.

A couple of notable exceptions but there hadn't been any major disasters in at least a month. He hadn't seen how adding two more people would make a difference.

To be fair it wasn't a disaster. Yet. But there had been more things than Suzaku had thought to keep track of and he had no idea how he could look at a machine and understand how everything fit and connected together and yet a meal was so complicated it might as well be magic.

It does mean that when guests arrived it will be someone other than Suzaku who opens the door.

Drinking time

[After the meal Iskander and Saber go drinking. Try not to cause any diplomatic incidents.]

Waiting up...

[Leaving the shinki to do their best not to fret about their gods and the trouble they might get into.]

Comments

[hypomeneo]

[To be fair, their guests aren't known for their prowess on the culinary battlefield either, and if Waver was the one preparing the meal... things likely wouldn't be going so well.

Waver comes bearing wine, dressed casually for him in a nice dark red dress shirt and black slacks and with his hair tied back with gold cord.

... are there geese on this property? Waver can hear them - will the bird battles never cease? Because he really doesn't want to get into it if they decide to have a problem with Iskandar and himself. They hit Servant sensing range, and Saber should know they're there before they even knock at the door.

Which Waver strides up to do.]

[towards_okeanos]

[Iskandar isn't in the best mood for socializing. His solution to surviving the current not exactly the best of times comes in a bottle and doesn't require company.

Yet it would be rude and inconsiderate not come when invited. Especially, when the invitation comes from another king. Doubly so when the king in question is no other than Richard the Lionheart himself. A good man and a friend.

So on that premise, Iskandar is able to muster enough willpower to drag himself out of the Temple and even make an effort to look presentable. If there's one thing he regrets is that he probably won't be the best company right now.]

[fauxcalibur]

[The main door to the castle flings open to reveal Saber looking as cheerful as ever. It seems like he's decided to dress up for company, though this means he's wearing one of the awful Hawaiian shirts Caster gave him for some gift-giving holiday or another instead of an anime T-shirt.]

Welcome! I hope the geese didn't give you too much trouble? Usually they're a bit less ornery in the evening.

[hypomeneo]

They've kept their distance, hissing non withstanding. [... NO WAVER... this is a dinner party and a 'surprise, you're going drinking' for Iskandar, not an episode of 'What Not To Wear.' Fashion intervention later. Waver smiles wryly.] Though I believe you've arrived just in the nick of time. I thought my birds were the only ones so ready for battle.

[You have geese, Waver has roosters. May there never be a competition for the title of most badly behaved birds.]

Thank you for having us over. [He holds up the wine slightly.] It's good to get out.

[towards_okeanos]

[Iskandar grins at the sight of the fabulous shirt Saber is wearing. Enough of the gloom now! He was invited to a feast so it's only appropriate to approach it in festive mood.
And that shirt is awesome...]

To be honest, I barely noticed them. I did notice though that you have a very nice castle. I have to say, I'm a bit jealous. My temple is not that spacious.

[It's nice to have a big place... when you have people to fill it. Otherwise, it gets very lonely very soon.]

[fauxcalibur]

Irony, perhaps!

[Saber waves the two of them in, leading the way to the dining room. The hallways are decorated more like a dorm room than a medieval castle. It seems that Saber has yet to meet a poster or piece of merchandise he doesn't like and he has quite a wide range of interests.]

You no doubt fill up the space you have, while I generally confine myself to the couch or the kitchen if I'm home at all.

[He nods at Waver, making sure to include him in the conversation as well.]

I promise that doesn't mean I'm in the slightest bit manageable. You probably have more luck than my shinki.

[hypomeneo]

[Nerd paradise in other words.]

Only when someone feels like being manageable. [Waver bumps his hip against Iskandar as he tease-complains, because he's Iskandar and Iskandar does as he does when he wants to.] Otherwise, I'm sure you're well matched.

[He lets the comment of filling up the Temple go for now to assess Iskandar's reaction. Perhaps the tease is distraction enough from the worst of the grief.]

[swordofzero]

[One of said shinki was in the dining room by now, laying the table carefully. Dinner was at the stage where it probably wouldn't all go wrong if he left it for five minutes.

He had made some effort to dress up as well, though he had drawn a blank when he had thought about doing so. He might only remember part of three days from his past but it was enough that he didn't feel comfortable in formal or traditional Japanese clothing, which seemed to be what passed for formal heaven wear. Formal Britannian clothing... He had never seen anything like it either in the heavens or on the Near Shore.

Saber's example was probably not to be followed so he's just wearing dark jeans and a semi formal shirt that he only feels partially awkward in. Still the guests and Saber get a smile as they enter.]

[towards_okeanos]

[The comment goes unnoticed. Which may be for the better. Iskandar in awe by the sheer amount of stuff Saber has in his castle. More importantly, there are some things he can recognize!]

Is this a Girls und Panzer poster?

[Don't judge him on anime he watches... or games he plays... because yes, there were games. How else do you think he got to know this series even exists? There would probably be a lot of common ground should they sit down with Saber and discuss their tastes in contemporary culture. Which, for Iskandar at least, are pretty ... eclectic.

But it's probably for the better that they arrive at the dining room before any such discussion starts. They could all go hungry for a long while otherwise.]

Waiting up...

[hypomeneo]

Clearly we're going to need bloody alcohol of our own to survive this.

[Or well, for Waver to survive this. While he holds to this decision to allow a drunk Saber and Iskandar on the world in an attempt to pull the latter from his grief and get him to a better mental place overall, it's difficult to keep settled enough that nothing transmits over the bloody bedamned link.

At least Saber's tough enough to deal with Iskandar in a mood if they decide to have a brawl to let off steam, though given the two are Heroic Spirits there's always the worry that things can be taken too far... because Heroic Spirits.]

I should have brought more wine.

[Everyone left... kinda looks like they need it.]

[swordofzero]

[Dinner had been nice and Saber had seemed to have fun. Saber definitely deserved some fun. Letting them go and get drunk though... They were both adults who were hopefully sensible enough to not do anything too stupid.

Hopefully.

Suzaku worries, especially since last time Saber got drunk Suzaku had had to carry him home, a night he mostly tries to forget about.]

Lord Saber has wine in the cellar, he usually says we can drink it as long as we don't drink all of it.

[Suzaku has never taken him up on that offer but he is doubly sure Saber won't mind if a guest drinks some.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[Edge, for his own part, has settled in to poke at his phone -- preoccupied with his own concerns, for the moment at least.]

Honestly, I'm not really afraid of what drunken Saber will do any more than sober Saber.

[Which isn't to say he doesn't expect disaster. Quite the opposite! He expects disaster no matter what. Drunkenness doesn't factor into it.]

[hypomeneo]

... well, there's a thought. I'll keep that in mind.

[To both the wine and the disaster potential of Saber in relation to the drunk as fuck and idiotic shenanigans potential axes.]

Iskandar is going to be the wildcard. Let's hope they only make public embarrassments of themselves and don't get into a spar or something similar.

[H E R O I C S P I R I T S. Patron saints of property damage and murderdeathkill.

... now, now Waver, you are NO BETTER.]

[swordofzero]

That's probably true. [And actually it had been almost easier to convince drunken Saber to do the sensible thing, he was more stubborn sober.

Not that Suzaku often tried to force his god to do things, that was Edge's skillset.]

Let's hope so... I am sure they will let us know if they get into any real trouble.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Oh no they won't. Saber will do his best to keep us a mile away, because you'll make him feel bad and I'll stop him from doing whatever it is.

[Edge is so remarkably sanguine about what a mess his god and his temple are that he can't even muster up a scrap of irritation for what he's sure to be the truth.]

Especially if they spar, because I've already given him the property damage lecture five times. [Or something. He hasn't actually counted. But it's a lot.]

[hypomeneo]

They really are alike. [A shadow of grief flickers through Waver's expression, before he continues on casually like nothing ever happened.] Can't count how many times we've played through that one.

He has... no regard for his own health. Drives me spare.

[You're bitching about your god without heat, Waver's bitching about his lover (Waver is a shinki in form only and his own god) fondly, it is good times.]

Only five times? You fortunate man.

[He's teasing because this one isn't true. Is it? Satya handled those lectures, and well... he'll never know now.]

[swordofzero]

I don't mean to make him feel bad.

[Quite the opposite really. Suzaku doesn't despair of his god most of the time because he's mostly concentrating on not messing up badly enough to be kicked out.

He leaves the despairing to Edge. But he smiles as he listens to the two of them, it seems Edge has found someone who understands his pain.]

Drinking

[fauxcalibur]

[The intention is to go out drinking, to get Iskandar out of the temple and get his mind off everything that's been going on.

Why anyone thought that would be a good idea is a total mystery.]

So! I have to admit that I'm not in the habit of going out to drink, so I'll defer to you if you have a preference of where to go. If I had to choose, though...

[It would have to be a place Edge and Suzaku would never let him go to unsupervised.]

I would say...perhaps an establishment less known only for its drink and more for some other form of entertainment as well? Like karaoke or some sort of competition...I've heard ax throwing is becoming a trend...

[R I C H A R D N O.]

woefully delayed but no less beautiful mayhem...

[towards_okeanos]

[Fear not, Saber! You've got an expert here. Iskandar knows all the places where to get booze and good company in this city. He could make you a ranked list. Divided into categories. Sorted by location and type of establishment but the thing you're proposing... hmmm

While he may not be very fond of karaoke ... you've got him interested in the last part...]

Axe throwing? I wouldn't mind trying.

[Places your vassals/advisers/retainers shinki would never let you go the saga...]

[R I C H A R D Y E S]

[just maybe don't burn anything...]

[fauxcalibur]

I'm quite interested in it as well!

[Because of course he is.]

I haven't the slightest idea how it's done, but I do quite like ranged weapons. I think I'd be quite put out if I was summoned as an Archer, of course, but I do believe I'm qualified.

[He chuckles.]

Though I can think of someone who'd be quite unhappy with that. Well, no doubt many people would be unhappy with it, but there's one in particular that comes to mind.

[towards_okeanos]

Ha! Then you've got me at a disadvantage.

I do shoot a bow but I am no Archer. Though I guess I could make a decent Saber or even Lancer. Though, if I must state my preference, I'm most comfortable in a saddle. Or in a chariot for that matter.

[Richard, Richard, will you ever learn? You just made him curious. You're not getting away without a proper answer.]

Is that so? Who is that if I may ask?

[fauxcalibur]

A friend of mine whose legend has actually become quite a bit better known than mine! In fact, I would say that most people these days know about me because of him rather than the other way around, despite my having been king of England.

[It's not particularly a surprise. Of the two of them, it's clear who has the better story.]

It wouldn't surprise me if you've managed to hear of him already in the brief time you've spent in this modern era. They call him "Robin Hood" now.

[towards_okeanos]

Hm.

[Iskandar furrows his brows. Now, that's a riddle. The name sounds familiar but not in a good way. As little as he does recall is not exactly flattering. There was a story he heard, or read, about a thief and a rebel that went by a similar moniker but that couldn't have been the same person. Obviously, some lousy thief is no company for a king. Impossible.
Must have been some other man.

He shrugs with a smile.]

I don't think I did. He must have been a great hero then if he managed to get more famous than you.

[fauxcalibur]

[He smiles, but it's the sort that he seems to think distracts from the profound sadness in his eyes.]

He accomplished more admirable things than I did, certainly. It makes for a great story, you know, the outlaw hero protecting the common people from the tyranny of a scheming, wicked ruler. It's a legacy anyone could be proud of!

[towards_okeanos]

[Oh. So he heard about the correct one...

And yet, there must be more to the man and his story than the simplistic version he heard. More than a tale about a thief and a rebel causing nothing but trouble. Otherwise, the pain wouldn't be so evident. For all the Saber's efforts at camouflaging it with a smile, it's not easy to hide from Iskandar.

So he must have heard the wrong stories. People can spin whatever serves their current needs at the moment. Sometimes it's just the case of the wrong side doing the telling... Iskandar has some personal experience with that matter.]

Then I would be glad to hear about them if you're ever in a mood of sharing. One can always learn a lot from listening about the deeds of heroes.