[center][h3]The Avenger - Tuesday Evening Supper[/h3]
Lvl 15 Ms Fortune (108/150) Lvl 8 Sandalphon (34/80) Lvl 5 [color=ef6069]Grimm[/color] (8/50)
Junior, Rika, & Edward’s [@DracoLunaris] Blazermate, Sectonia, & Roland’s [@Archmage MC] Geralt, Zenkichi & Edelgard’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] Ace Cadet, Pit, Primrose & Therion’s [@Yankee] Juri’s [@Zoey Boey] Roxas, Ganondorf, & Captain Falcon’s [@Double], Celica’s [@Sadu]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1442[/center]

With the meeting concluded, Sandalphon could finally cross the main event off her calendar to the evening. There was much more to attend to, as always, but now the team had the benefit of a plan for what to do next, and a couple central figures to rally around going forward. Of course, Sandalphon was well aware that some members of the team disagreed with the final result, seeing another leadership role as a feather in their caps that they rightfully deserved, and/or had no plans of obeying her. Perhaps they didn’t see the need to heed another’s advice, or didn’t think she was qualified, or simply didn’t respect her. The results when she tried to reorganize the teams during the final battle in the Qliphoth were proof of that.

Still, she did not intend to be an exacting taskmaster, or to flex her authority for the sake of it, and knew that she could trust her subordinates in the majority of moment-to-moment situations. It would be up to her to demonstrate her abilities in the days and weeks to come in order to earn everyone’s trust. At the very least, she had plenty of experience with managing strong personalities, and not just with her old team in Grams. DespoRHado had been full of such personalities, from idealists to nihilists to sadists, all of them lethal and fearless, but her skills had earned a modicum of respect from even the likes of them. To Sandalphon, it would have honestly been such a relief if another Seeker had truly been better suited for this role. That would have allowed her to focus on her miracles or marksmanship for instance, or maybe even find a hobby. Ultimately, though, the archangel was a born leader, and if she was needed, she would rise to the occasion, even if she might have wished otherwise.

She’d been a little worried that the end of the meeting would cause a stampede to the cafeteria, but her worries quickly proved to be unfounded. A handful of Seekers went in different directions, such as downstairs toward the Spirit Chamber. Nobody had been planning to fuse or respec as far as she knew, but plenty had obtained spirits with which to barter for information from the local rumormonger. Sandalphon did not like Vulgrim one bit -angels and demons seldom mixed- but she couldn’t deny the usefulness of the service he provided. They had two very different methods of amassing information, after all.

It didn’t take an analyst to tell how tired everyone was, though. After the incredibly tense and nerve-wracking trudge through the timefall that morning, all the Seekers exerted themselves non-stop within the Qliphoth, and the Gravemind fight had been the heroes’ most demanding battle so far. Sandalphon couldn’t imagine what might have happened had the planners not fielded literally every Seeker they had. And after all that, most of them had gone off and gotten themselves into even more fights in the Paved Wilderness, with only a short break in between for lunch. How were those people still standing? It truly boggled the mind, but at least Sandalphon had a better grasp of their maximum output. Hopefully there would be more to their lives in this world than fighting all the time, though.

Naturally all of Sandalphon’s overthinking meant that she left the Bridge toward the end of the procession, and naturally Nadia could be found at the front. Even she was much slower than usual, though. After returning to the Avenger she’d plopped down in her room for a nice catnap -she hadn’t changed afterward either, so she was still in an oversized white t-shirt and black spats- but she was still pretty pooped. Nevertheless, the aroma emanating from the mess hall had Nadia psyched up, and for good reason. It had been a challenge, but Bracket Brace had conquered the gigantic truck hermit crab legs delivered by the Koopa Kids last night. Bracket had stir-fried a bunch of it with chopped iron and calcium-rich seaweed, slightly bitter kajime algae, and black vinegar to make a [url=https://i.imgur.com/3ToJqj6.png]chewy and savory seafood dish[/url], enough to make twenty plates. She had way more crab meat than vegetables, though, so the rest of it got sliced up into wedges and served like flower petals around cups of sweet and tangy cocktail sauce, placed in the center of each table and routinely replenished so that half a dozen people could enjoy each at once. The richness of the meal was further enhanced by about three dozen [url=https://i.imgur.com/4sOkBDl.png]dinner rolls[/url], and the smell of freshly-baked bread was wafting down the halls. In no time at all, the cafeteria was packed with both Seekers and Lost Numbers for a buttery feast.

Nadia had one contribution of her own, though. She crushed the two Bunger spirits and added the two cheesy barbeque bacon burgers to the buffet. Too tired to bother trying to think of a way to get one to Juri in particular, she settled for them being a general-purpose prank instead and just hoping Juri snatched one up on account of its rarity. Unfortunately for the treacherous feral, the itemized burgers had none of their original forms’ transformative power, so anyone who took one would receive nothing more than a delicious and decadent burger.

After obtaining a plate full of rolls, crab, and vegetables, as well as a tall glass of cola with ice, Nadia seated herself at the same table as Sandalphon, who had not joined the buffet line, but grabbed a coffee and sat down to pick at the central crab platter. Nadia plopped down right next to the archangel with a smile. “Hey boss! You don’t mind if I call you boss now, right? Seein’ as you’re officially the boss and all!”

Sandalphon shook her head. ‘Boss’ would be quicker and more efficient to say than ‘Sandalphon’ or even ‘Halo’ during battlefield communication, after all. “By all means.”

“You got it, [i]bwoss[/i]!” Nadia teased, using the exaggerated inflection of a typical Medici mafioso. She grabbed a roll and chowed down, its insides warm, moist with butter, and pillowy soft. Tears practically welled up in her eyes. [i]Where have you been all my life!?[/i] She sniffed, wiped at her eyes as she chewed, then raised an eyebrow at Sandalphon. “So. Gotta question. Very important for the upcoming operation, I think.”

The archangel nodded, her brows lowered as her expression turned serious. “Of course, what is it?”

“If you were a dessert, what would you be?”

Sandalphon’s pupils blinked off, her face as blank as a mask. Then her pupils returned as question marks. “...I’m not sure. I do like honey, but honey is a meal, not a dessert.”

Nadia’s eyebrows went up as she munched on a mouthful of crab. [i]Huh???[/i]

Still thinking, Sandalphon ran a hand through her hair. She seemed to be giving the matter an awful lot of thought. “Abstract questions like these are not exactly my forte, but it is important to challenge myself.” She crossed her arms and looked at Nadia. “What do you think?”

“Hmm…” Nadia rested her head in her hand as she chewed. After a moment, she swallowed and pointed a finger at Sandalphon. “I think…vanilla ice cream, yeah!”

Sandalphon tilted her head, her pupils inverted triangles. “Why?”

Having not thought that far ahead, Nadia froze. “Because…uh…you’re really…white?”

Tora, who was just now passing by with his own plateful of feed and Poppi on tow, overheard and shot Nadia a questioning look. “Meh meh! Friend cannot just call person white!”

“Aw, go stuff your face, furball!” Nadia called back good-naturedly. Poppi rolled her eyes and kept Tora moving, so the feral turned her attention back to Sandalphon. “I mean, vanilla isn’t bad. It’s the classic, right? Goes with anything. Everyone loves vanilla!”

Although confused for a moment, Sandalphon seemed genuinely touched by that last statement. “They do?” If that was a dessert that everyone could be expected to appreciate, maybe she could try some with Zenkichi. Her pupils became loading rings. “...Vanilla ice cream, you said?”

“Yeah!” Nadia was gaining momentum now. “Vanilla with, like…bacon bits!”

That took the archangel aback. “Bacon? Do humans actually put that on ice cream?”

“They do!” Nadia insisted, grabbing another roll before turning a knowing smile on Sandalphon. “[i]You[/i] do.”

She said it with such conviction that Sandalphon found herself unable to argue, so after cycling through a few symbols she quietly reached for a crab wedge to nibble as she pondered the implications.