[u][b]January 1st, 8:33 P.M.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, West 34th Street, New York City[/b][/u]

Karen's jaw went slack when Starfire gulped down half a taco's worth of tortilla and beef, not bothering to chew it even once. Like a snake that had swallowed an overlarge rat, the orange skinned girl's neck swelled to the point where she wondered if the other girl could even breath like that. Could that have simply been how her species ate?

No, that seemed unlikely given that she [i]did[/i] have teeth that resembled theirs. They had to be there for [i]something,[/i] right?

Clio reached out to touch Starfire's arm, frowning slightly. [color=EF1956]"Are you alright, Star? Try chewing it!"[/color]

Virgil soon arrived at the table and, noticing the alien girl's predicament, echoed Clio's advice. Jones then slid in beside Karen and gave his own little quip at Starfire's expense.

[color=orchid]"Be nice, Jones,"[/color] said Karen. [color=orchid]"She's probably never tried our food before. I'll bet we wouldn't do much better on her world."[/color]

Karen had initially suspected that she was some sort of monster that she'd never seen before now, but their introductions on the way to the restaurant had cleared that misconception up. A decade ago, it might've been a terrible shock to learn that you were casually eating out with an alien, but these days it was...well, not [i]common[/i], but certainly not anything to get worked up over unless you were one of [i]those[/i] people.

Though, to be fair, there were plenty of those people, given the glares that Starfire was receiving right now. She had chosen Chipotle for a reason; they served all terrans without prejudice, hence why she had agreed to a promotional deal with them. Many other restaurants would have given them the "we don't serve their kind here" line if they had walked in, and so it just wasn't worth the risk.

[color=orchid]"So, what brought you all to New York? I know at least some of you don't live here,"[/color] asked Karen, her eyes darting between V and Starfire, the two that she definitely knew were out-of-towners like herself.

As her eyes settled on the alien girl, she happened to catch a man passing by them who seemed to be staring at Starfire in a decidedly different manner than every other diner in the restaurant. There was no revulsion or anger in his eyes, merely curiosity. Fair enough, she supposed. Star did rather stand out.