[003. Action/Voice] // Now with more caffeine.

[raisedroyal]

[Natalia stifles a yawn, standing in the hotel lobby in nothing but her nightgown. It is modest enough, but she probably should have known better. It's maybe 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning. She keeps her voice restrained, quiet.]

Could anyone explain to me what the purpose of the lighted boxes are? One of them appears to have food of a sort inside and the other...

[She trails off as she leans forward to get a better look at the contents.]

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with these. Are they beverages? They certainly have unusual names. Cielo Mist, Mad Bull, SoBay... Is there... is there a difference?

Comments

[Voice]

[ridertothemoon]

They are an automated mechanism by which you may acquire food and drink at any hour.

[Voice]

[raisedroyal]

Ah, now I see. So these are feeding and watering machines, in a manner of speaking.

[But which one should she choose?]

Have you...ever tried any of the drinks before?

[Voice]

[ridertothemoon]

At this late hour, I recommend those that say 'caffeine free'. Caffeine is a short way of saying 'it will keep you awake longer', as I did my research on all the ingredients of the drink I purchased.

[Including the really weird chemical ones.]

[Voice]

[raisedroyal]

Then you're a scientist?

Hmm... [A moment as she studies what she can see of the sides of bottles and cans.] Most of these say they're caffeinated. Oh, here's one that isn't.

[voice]

[doudemoe]

Those are vending machines.

[voice]

[raisedroyal]

"Vending machines"?

[forgivethemtheirpain]

Those are vending machines...

[raisedroyal]

So I have heard. Which means that these machines are selling food and drink, correct?

[But how does she pay a machine for its services...]

[forgivethemtheirpain]

Right! You put the right amount of coins in and push what you want.

[raisedroyal]

[A pause as she studies the vending machine again.]

"Push"? Do you mean the numbered buttons here on the side?

action;

[cullscuttlefish]

Oh, those are vending machines! That one has food in it, you're right, and the other one has drinks. You put money inside, pick out what you want -- ah, it's probably easier to show you.

[Feferi scans the selections in the food machine, then puts in a dollar. She presses a couple of buttons, and a package of Goldfish crackers comes out. She does the same with the drink machine, picking out a Cielo Mist.]

I haven't tried the Mad Bull, but the SoBay is kind of like flavored tea. This one's my favorite, though. It's fizzy and tastes like lemon-lime.

action;

[raisedroyal]

[Natalia watches this all with apparent fascination. How is it that the machine knows the amount of money put in, and what is it that allows the items to fall through? She never knew machines could be this interesting.]

My! I never imagined a machine could do such a thing. And moreover it's aware of how many coins to return to you? [She's sure she heard the sound of change falling somewhere.]

Perhaps tea would be the best choice. Though, what is it that you mean by a "fizzy drink"?

[ voice ]

[blindknight]

Lighted--? You mean the vending machines?

[ voice ]

[raisedroyal]

Yes, I believe so. Are you familiar with them?

[ voice ]

[blindknight]

Uh, yeah. You'd have to live in a fucking cave not to be.

[ voice ]

[raisedroyal]

I assure you that I live in no cave.

[It's too close to sounding as if her homeland has just been insulted.]

voice

[pucelle]

If the names are different, they certainly must be different in some other way as well...? Perhaps it is the flavor that differs?

voice

[raisedroyal]

Yes, you may be right. However, the names do not reveal much about the flavor, do they?

I certainly haven't any desire to find out how an angry cow tastes.

voice

[pucelle]

[She laughs.] Indeed. I would rather not imagine what that sort of taste would be. In that case however, maybe the ingredients could reveal something. Of course, I've no idea of what is put in beverages these days.

[caliberill]

[Nate himself is coming back in from a late-night job. He catches sight of Natalia and walks over, a bag strung over his shoulder.]

You looking for something specific?

[raisedroyal]

[She looks up at him.] No, nothing in particular. I was feeling a bit dehydrated, and so I...

[caliberill]

Well, water's always good if you can't make up your mind. [He raises a brow, looking to the machine.]

[Video]

[not_the_dreck]

[Sleepy Asch is sleepy, so he's a bit braindead when he grabs his communicator to see who would be making videos at this time of night. Oh, it's just Natali--]

[--and he wakes up really fast when he sees what she's wearing.]

N-N-N-N-N-NATALIA! Don't you think you should have put a robe on!?

[He doesn't want the lechers around here seeing her in her pajamas!]

[Video]

[raisedroyal]

[...Oh. Oh!! In a moment she is fully awake, standing there in the middle of the lobby wearing some lacy nightgown and a face that burns red with shame, and the next her hand is flying towards the cellphone to block the camera's view of her person.]

[What has she done. What kind of a princess is she to show that to everyone? Even in front of Asch... Especially in front of Asch. Nevermind that it really isn't particularly revealing, considering some of her other choices in clothing.]

W-well I--!! I didn't think it would be a problem with everyone asleep...!

[...She didn't think. And the whole hotel is certainly awake by now, given all the sudden yelling.]

[Video => Action]

[not_the_dreck]

Ju-just give me a moment!

[Well, if the yelling didn't wake them up, Asch racing over to Natalia's room to get her a robe did. Unfortunately, he was too tired to realize that most people lock their rooms when they leave them, so they were all woken up again when he raced back to his room, and then ran down stairs.]

[By that time he was rather frumpy looking, just wearing a tank top and pants, holding his jacket in his hand. He offered it to her once he was close enough, respectfully turning his head to the side (mostly so he wouldn't be caught staring).]