Gathering: New Guest Reception

[concierge]

The black sign positioned in front of the Dining Hall's main entrance reads:

New Guest Reception
TODAY
6 PM - 8 PM

All guests welcome

In the Dining Hall itself, the chairs have been pushed up against the walls and the long dining table turned into a buffet stocked with finger foods. At the far end of the room is a small bar serving beer, standard cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks.

Comments

[rangerbecket]

Raleigh swallows and flashes a grin. "Sorry, I was a little into the food and not so much into the introductions. It's been a while since I had such a spread."

Food isn't so good along the coast and while he gets better rations in the shatterdome, it's still not like it was before the kaiju showed up.

[hearnospeakno]

Nick has a proper notebook, finally. It's nothing fancy, just spiral bound and blue-lined, but he's been assured it's not going to, say, scrawl his conversations out on every piece of hotel stationary.

Beats eating out of a can. Nick smiles after he writes that, looking up at Raleigh. It's thin, wan, and more than slightly sad, but it's a smile. Nick Andros, Boulder, CO.

[rangerbecket]

Raleigh hadn't realized he couldn't talk and it takes him a moment to parse that before addressing what he wrote. "Raleigh Becket. I'm from Anchorage, Alaska but I've been living in Hong Kong. It's good to meet you."

He knows the feeling about eating out of a can. After K-day, rations were slim and growing slimmer.

[hearnospeakno]

Long trip. Nick keeps his eyes on Raleigh's face; it's not just about understanding what he's saying. He has an honest, open look to him that Nick finds immediately likable. He tends to have a good feel for these things.

(Just not, apparently, good enough.)

From Caslin, Nebraska originally. Haven't been back there since I was a kid. Try the cupcakes. They're not as good as what Fran makes, but they're OK.

[rangerbecket]

Raleigh takes one and chews it thoughtfully, deciding that it is good. He has never had much of a sweet tooth which is good, considering he rarely gets access to sweets.

"Is Fran here? I would like to taste what's better than this. Just for comparison, you know."

[hearnospeakno]

No.

Nick actually underlines 'no' twice, with more force than must seem proportional at all. Reining himself in, he adds underneath: She's safe. At home.

Not everyone here got to this place the way he did, he knows that, but with the way things have been going he can only think that the way here for people from Boulder can only be--and not Frannie, not her.

Take my word for it. Can't fake baking. Cooking, maybe. Not bread and cake.

[rangerbecket]

"Maybe you can see her again someday," Raleigh says, thinking that if he couldn't go back and forth, this would be a much more frustrating place to be. Not seeing Mako again, not being able to fight the kaiju - while this hotel was a wonderful break, it's not what he's meant to be doing all the time.

"What'd you do before you came here? Back in Boulder?"

[hearnospeakno]

That's a good question. It's also one that raises faint color on the tips of Nick's ears, because how exactly does he explain the Boulder Free Zone Committee to somebody from Hong Kong?

(He doesn't want to tell people about Fran. About anyone left behind. Not yet, at least. He knows it'll get easier with time, that he'll find a way to be at peace. Just...not yet.)

Local government, is what he settles on writing, I was on council.

[rangerbecket]

"Better than me," Raleigh says, flashing him an easy smile. He's never really been a leader. He's always been more than content to follow (or defy, as the case may be) orders and the idea of leading anything boggles his mind.

"I was in the military. I've never been one for making decisions about other people unless it was just to defy my commanding officer."

[hearnospeakno]

Nick has slightly complex feelings about the military--on the one hand, there's guys like Ralph, who is (was) one of the most honest, friendly people Nick ever met. Then there's the things Stu talked about.

Raleigh seems to fall on the Ralph side of things, so Nick tables his concern for now: I thought you had to follow rules in the army?

[rangerbecket]

"Usually. I was in a special forces group," Raleigh explains, thinking that explaining Jaegers and kaiju is probably a bit much right at first since most of the people he's run into here don't know about either.

"I would defy orders if it meant saving someone's life."

[hearnospeakno]

Yes, Nick decides, he likes Raleigh. It's not even exactly what he says so much as how he says it, like it's a self-evident fact: orders don't matter as much as people. It's true, and that's how people should live, but not enough people do.

Good. Nick nods, with a slight smile. Could use more people like that.

[rangerbecket]

"I always thought so," Raleigh agrees, smiling. "So am I right in thinking you'd be kind of the same way?"

He's always surrounded himself with Big Damn Heroes, as much as Pentecost likes rules, and he thinks life is better for them.

[hearnospeakno]

Nick runs his hand through his hair and shrugs, ducking his head. Any other time he might have smiled a little at that, he knows. He's not immune to flattery.

That's been the idea.