Sibling Rivalries: Chili Edition

[brave_heart_verity]

Flyers have been going up around the Forum and Commercial District for the last week or so. This morning,the lights in the VSW Meadhall came on. By noon, anyone getting close enough to an open door would know: chili's on!

Inside, everything's set up and waiting for the hungry and the curious: Clint's cooking in one corner, and Verity's in the other. Between them, tables are laid out with the necessities: bowls, plates, spoons, and plenty of napkins. There's beer and iced tea, some lovely tres leches cakes provided by the Nexus' favorite Japanese detective, and various toppings for the chili: bottles of sriracha and sweet Thai chili sauce, red pepper flakes, green onions and red, lime wedges, diced bell peppers and jalapeños, crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. Cornbread and tortilla chips round things out.

Long tables with a mix of benches and chairs fill the hall on either side of the fire pits. One has board and card games stacked neatly at one end (they were neat when they were put out, at least). Another has two boxes, one wrapped in purple paper and one in pink, for depositing voting slips.

Poll #17301 1st Annual Chili Cook-Off

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

View Respondents

Who gets your vote?

View Answers

Clint--Avengers Assemble!
3 (42.9%)

Truthfully? Verity.
4 (57.1%)

The fire pits are lit, the food is waiting, and there are games in want of players. What are you waiting for?
((There will doubtless be further Cupid-based shenanigans, but this weekend, it's all about the platonic relationships. Bromances, BFFs, and family ties rule the day! Let's celebrate! Threadhopping, tangents, games, and mischief are all encouraged. Just don't start a food fight or Verity will have to yell.))

Comments

[magnetite_plz]

Since the whole LOL fiasco, Nekomata has found that she's always able to track down Kazuhira when she needs to know that she's familiar with his scent. It's almost like being contracted to him, but less of a hassle.

Being contracted to Schon is enough, thanks. But being a literate cat-demon-hobo she too is quick to turn up at the promise of free food. Also doesn't hurt that a familiar face is there.

Still, she's a little wary of approaching the table where a pink haired humie is chatting with Kazkaz. Traditionally humans don't view her kind very well...are non humies allowed to partake? Or does she have to wait for Pinkie Hawk to be distracted before she steals herself a bowl?

[hellburger]

"Hey! Neko-chan!" Kaz beckons as best he can with a beer in one hand and a bowl of chili in the other. "Don't be shy! Get your furry ass over here!"

At least there's one humie who has her back!

[brave_heart_verity]

Ver's from a world that was sometimes full of people with all kinds of fur and feathers and extra limbs. Nekomata gets as much of a welcoming smile as any stranger. "Hi. You want some chili?"

[magnetite_plz]

Her ears perk when Kaz calls her over. If Kaz trusts Pinky then it should be okay. Plus, she's offering food and that is always a way to win over any cat at least temporarily.

"Hi Kazkaz! Hi--" If Kazuhira is trying to pick up Pinky she probably shouldn't call her Bonesack, Fleshtube or any of her other default labels for humans. That she watches her tongue at all says something about her dedication to Kaz's continued friendship.

"...Uhm. Human lady. Mya'am." Nailed it. "I cyan have some too?"

[hellburger]

Kaz gives Nekomata a one-armed hug around the shoulders. "Nekomata, this is Verity. Verity, Nekomata."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Nice to meet you, Nekomata. Of course you can have some. Do you want it mild or spicy?" Trying to guess what a cat girl wants is not the sort of exercise in futility Ver wants to engage in today.

[magnetite_plz]

"Verity." She doesn't offer to shake hands, but she does bob her head in a very familiar style of greeting, tails swishing from side to side before they curl around Kaz in a grateful gesture that he's here to make this interaction somewhat less socially awkward for everyone involved.

"Mild. I tried eating a Pyro Jack once, that's the last time I eat anything hot, I tell you what nya." Good eating though if you like the taste of sentient roasted pumpkin seeds!

"Is it okay if I let it cool a bit fyirst?" Sensitive tongue and all that.

[hellburger]

"See? She doesn't bite." Miller gives Neko a nudge. "You shouldn't be so skittish around humans. You know all of our secrets now."

[brave_heart_verity]

She won't try to tease the girl. Leave that to the people she knows.

"Of course. And if it's too spicy, add some sour cream or cheese. The dairy will take the edge off the heat." She offers Neko a bowl of chili, with plenty of room for her to add toppings. "And the cornbread will help too if you want to try it."

Everything is calm and friendly here. Ver's pretty much the last person anyone should be afraid of anyway. Plenty of sound and fury, but usually signifying nothing.

[magnetite_plz]

"It's...not that, Kazkaz." She came over with the demon army that tore this place a new asshole. She's very much an enemy of long time residents here, and Nekomata is keenly aware of that fact. It's self preservation as much as it is wanting to avoid any scene that would be bad for her rumor mongering business.

"Sankyuu~" Her Engrishy quip to Verity is punctuated with another nod of her head, before she goes to add dairy to her bowl. Carefully. Her paw hands make some of this tricky.

"I'm never gonna complain about free food mya. I just wasn't sure if non humies were allowed at the table." She's nibbling on a bit of cheese while she looks up at Kazuhira.

[hellburger]

"Pfft. You tell me if anyone gives you any trouble. I've got your back, babe."

Miller frowns at her additions to the chili. "Hey now, aren't cats lactose intolerant? You gonna regret that?"

[magnetite_plz]

"Mm. It's a contract of friendship! Which...is a first for me, nyahaha~" She really is pleased about that. But then she's pouting again, sticking her tongue out slightly at Kaz.

"Jyust a little. I like the taste, okay?"

hope you don't mind me jumping in to interact with kitty :D

[beyond_my_limits]

[Hello, fellow cat-person! Mewtwo spots the feline and walks over Nekomata politely. He notices that she's eyeing the food and goodies, and without much warning, the Pokemon speaks to her with telepathy.]

Did you need something? I noticed you're standing here patiently. Sometimes the humans can be thoughtless and aren't very kind to us.

[magnetite_plz]

Truthfully, Nekomata has been so focused on the food that she fails to notice the floating pokemon's approach. The telepathy makes both tails floof out in surprise and she jumps a good foot in the air and spins around, claws out.

Oh. It's a demon. Demon? It feels different. But it's sentient, so....

"Dyon't sneak up on a lady like that!" She chastises Mewtwo lightly, but her claws are away and she's embarrassedly straightening her tails now. "I wasn't sure if non bone-cages were allowed at the table is all. Food smells really good nya..."

[beyond_my_limits]

[Oops. Mewtwo slinks back for a second upon hearing Nekomata's cries, realizing that he's accidentally spooked the demon / pokemon? He lets her calm down first, before actually trying to approach again. Hopefully she's used to the telepathy this time around.]

Hmmm...It seems like we're the only non-human creatures around here. I don't see why we can't partake in the food if it's a contest. Votes can come from anyone, after all.

[magnetite_plz]

"Yeah humies run everything around here." She wrinkles her kitty nose in disgust. Well, exasperation, really. She's learned not to distrust all humans.

"Stay away from the dessert table nya. The officer is allergic to cats and he doesn't like demons. Something about trying to kill his world. Racist mya."

[beyond_my_limits]

Are they as bad as the humans from my world? [Mewtwo doesn't expect an answer from Nekomata, instead he just offers a light nod of his head to her.]

Dessert. That should be no problem. [The pokemon spots Katsuya's table a few feet away. One paw is raised to the table, a purple aura lightly covers his body. When the detective isn't looking, two pieces of cake are levitated away and eventually presented before Nekomata.] Here. You won't have to deal with the human now.

[magnetite_plz]

"Nyo idea. Humies aren't too bad where I'm from. Taste pretty good too." Her tails flick from side to side. "Oh, but ya can't do that here nya." Yeah she's definitely not as innocent as she looks.

Her golden eyes go wide at the floating cake. He's getting a kitty thumbs up.

"Nice!" Cake goes in face now. He can keep talking with his brain-speak, but she's eating.

[beyond_my_limits]

"Taste? What do you mean?" [He's never heard of a pokemon who eats people, so this is a new fact for him. Mewtwo doesn't seem fazed at the fact that Nekomata has turned her attention to the cake and it won't stop him from talking to her.]

"Where are you from, if I may ask?"

[magnetite_plz]

"I'm a demon. Eating folks for their sweet sweet magnetite is how we roll." Anther flick of the tails as she sets aside her now-empty plate. "But I'm contracted now, so I get a steady supply of magnetite from my bossman, and in return I give him information. It's a sweet deal, but a girl likes a variety in her diet sometimes nyanno?"

Hence, attending the chili cookoff.

"The collective unconscious. Demon realm." He waves her hand dismissively. "Sumaru, Japan on a version of Earth nya. Born an' raised there."