2025-04-09 - Pirate in Training and Hidden Talents

Christopher applied to become a pirate in training, and with a little good word put in by Angelo after his practice run, they allowed him to audition. He wasn't the seasoned performer that some of them were, or the gymnast that Angelo was, but he had a solid work ethic, a commitment to practicing, and did learn the rigging pretty quickly, so they decided to give him a chance. Nobody knows that he doesn't at all need a job, but that is neither here nor there.

Currently, he is practicing some of the choreography for one of the adventure scenes, a sword fight on the ship with one of the other cast members. Over, and over, they run through the steps of who leaps where, who follows, who strikes first and who counters. It's very much a dance as much as it is anything else, but Chris seems to be very much enjoying himself.

He'd told Elmo that he was welcome to drop by any time if he felt like watching them do some of the stunt work. It's some of the more interesting practice, at any rate.

Elmo finds himself with little to do today and a hankering for action, so he decides to take the ferry to the park and see what's up with the Voyage to Adventure. He was psyched to learn that Chris went for (and got) the job, but he hasn't yet been to see any of the practices; there's been a lot going on.

In his usual jean jacket, some camp pants, and a plain white tee, he strolls over to some of the audience chairs with a thing of popcorn and a rat on his shoulder. Flopping into the seat, he pops some corn in his mouth and then hands one over to The Freak. Chomp-chomp-chomp.

"This part's my favorite." Again, he's never seen the practice, but at least The Freak finds him amusing. Right?

Chris is still a little awkward with the sword. He is working so much on making sure his timing is right that he's not really getting the movements to flow as naturally as he'd like. It will come with time and practice, but at least his footwork has improved and his timing is much better. There are no longer any laggy delays between when one swing happens and the reaction takes place. This is a marked improvement from when he first tried with Angelo.

He goes through the entire routine again. His performance is pretty decent. He remembers his lines and while they are not delivered with the panache of a seasoned performer, they are accurate and on time! It's going to take some time and work for him to actually be in the live show, but that's why he's in training!

It's only after the round is over and they take a break that he goes to grab his water bottle from the deck and take a sip and he sees Elmo in the stands. Grinning, he lifts a hand and waves. "Hey!"

During the practice round, Elmo and The Freak chat about it and eat popcorn. "Don't be so judgey." He gives his familiar a smirking shake of the head. Later: "I think he looks good with a sword." And then, "You nasty!"

They keep at it until the end, when they're noticed and waved at. Elmo lifts his arm and waves it slowly above him. "Yo! Looking good!" He stands and shuffles out of the stands, ambling toward the stage to offer his fist in a bump, and then some popcorn in case Chris is hungry. "How's it feel up there?"

Fortunately, Christopher has no idea what The Freak is saying about him down there and so he is blissfully unaware of the rat's judgment! He makes his way down from the deck of the ship toward the front of the stage that is closest to the audience without falling into the water. Grinning, he leans over to return the fist-bump in greeting. "Not gonna lie, it's fun as hell. Like, when I came up here the first time and tried out the rigging I knew it was something I'd enjoy doing. But to actually be training to do it for real is kind of amazing."

His grin is broad and he looks like he's really genuinely enjoying himself up there. "I never would have seen myself as a performer before. Like.. definitely a computer nerd basement mushroom or something." He runs his fingers through his hair to push it back, "We'll see how I do when there's actually a whole crowd out here looking at me. Hopefully I don't forget all my lines and fall in the water."

The Freak was polite in his judgements, as he is with most things outside of teasing Elmo. And Esme, but that's another matter. He also holds out his little arm for a fist bump, and Elmo leans in to better position himself for one. With those over, he steps back and looks between Chris and the stage.

"You know, you're way braver than I am." His gaze shifts to all the seats in the stands. "I'd probably freeze in front of all those people." He definitely would; he would walk right off that stage and bury his head in something far away until people forgot his name (like they ever knew it). "Really glad you like it. And, you know, that you're sticking around."

"There's no guarantee that I won't," Chris says with a broad grin, rocking forward onto his toes and then back onto his heels. "But I guess we'll find out." He doesn't seem daunted by the prospect. Of course, if he fails terribly, the only thing that he loses is face and gains the embarrassment earned by doing so. He smiles crookedly and says, "Yeah, me too." He then is quick to add, "On both counts." Not that he hadn't been sticking around either way, but this way was pretty fun. "You going to hang around for a little while longer? I still have a couple more things to practice.." He glances back toward the stage where his other castmates are still taking a break for now.

Elmo shrugs and will have to wait and see, though judging by how much the guy seems to like all this, he doubts any worst-case scenario. A little grin marks his face when Chris smiles, and he glances over at the castmates who are hanging around. "It won't be weird if I watched the rest?" For him, he means, since Elmo doesn't care all that much. "And do you think you'll be hungry after?" There's an invitation there.

"Nah, people come and hang out and watch all the time. Sometimes folks just come and sit in here on their lunch breaks while we're practicing. Nobody minds. And I don't mind. I'm glad you came out," Christopher says. "Though hopefully by the time I am in a real show I'll be putting out a bit better performance. But! That's what training's for." Then he adds, "And I will definitely be hungry by the time that I'm done."

"Dope." It's settled then. Elmo and The Freak are here for a show. "Glad you're glad." There's so much of that going around, and it doesn't feel half bad. "And hey, you'll be awesome, I'm sure. Try and make others really work for their applause." He smirks and then glances over and down at The Freak. "We thought we could grab something when you're through? Whatever you want, doesn't matter."

"Sure," Chris grins. "Let me go wrap up this session then I'll change and will be good to go." He heads back up to the deck then as the others wrap up their break and they get back to practicing. Once more, they go through all the motions and once more Christopher does marginally well. It's very clear that he's still going to need some work but he lands all the steps on all the marks that he is supposed to. And his lines are delivered on time once more.

This time, there's a stunt where he gets blown off the deck and disappears off the far side of the ship into the air bag beyond. Then, there's another section where he gets put into the rigging and leaps off the side into the air, getting swung around all the way up to land on the prow, sword brandished. He sure seems like he's having a good time out there.

You know who else is having a good time? Elmo. Oh, The Freak, too, but especially Elmo. He heads back into the stands where he makes very clear whose side he's on. He whoops and hollers for Chris during the mock combat, and he boos when the guy gets thrown off the stage. It's all in good fun, though; if the other performers can't get that, too bad for them.

There's also popcorn during the show, which is excellent but goes a little too fast. The Freak eats too much and gets a little sick, which Elmo feels to the extent that he understands the rat's discomfort. That's not great, but everyone powers through to applaud at the end.

Are the others in the crowd as into it? Maybe, maybe not. There seem to be good vibes, though.

There's not much of a crowd at the practice, mostly just a handful of other employees hanging out. Some do applaud. Some heckle, mostly picking on friends of theirs on stage. It's all in good fun all the way to the end.

Once it's over, Chris disappears into the tunnels underneath. He's gone about ten minutes, to take a quick shower and throw on his street clothes. When he comes back up his hair is still damp, just toweled dry, but he is in a pair of comfortable jeans and sneakers with a long-sleeved black t-shirt on and a light jacket thrown on over it.

He catches up to Elmo and The Freak and says, "Okay! Lunch! How are we feeling about Bauchuan? Chinese? Or.. could take the ferry over to the resort and hit up Paradise Pizza?" He presents the two options of his choice and lets the other two decide.

The heckling is the fun part, as people holler out inside jokes to one another, which may or may not get picked up by other employees spending their time here. Elmo's worked here long enough to know a bit, but it's a big place and he's somewhat introverted.

During the ten minutes or so it takes Chris to freshen up, he does end up chatting with a couple people who were sitting nearby. It's a conversation he quickly dips out of, though, when he sees the newest addition to the crew. "Arrr!" That's pirate for hello, but surely Chris knows that. "Chinese sounds perfect. So good, actually."

"Excellent," Chris says as he catches up to Elmo and The Freak. He waves to his fellow castmates who are likewise heading out or meeting up with other people to head off to do their own things before the next actual show. Falling into step with Elmo he grins and says, "I still need a lot of practice, but I'm getting it. A bit at a time." He slips his hands into his pockets and asks, "How are things going with you? What's new?"

Christopher is mostly an introvert, himself, but he seems to be constantly trying to push himself out of his own comfort zone to try new things, at least a little bit, before he retreats somewhere quiet. It's a short walk over to Bauchuan which is in the same area as the Pirate's Cove, and he grabs the door for Elmo as they go to head inside.

Elmo smirks as they start to walk toward the restaurant. "You coulda fooled me. Seemed like a natural up there." He's not even exaggerating much, and the little smile he offers is warm and genuine. "I'm okay. I, uh, applied for a spot with that new unit they're opening up. Magical studies?" He glances aside to gauge Chris's reaction. It's not that he expects something terrible, but the last time they hung out he was talking about computer science and this might seem flip-floppy.

"Thanks." He walks through the opened door and into the restaurant, holding up two fingers to the server and eyeing the place up. If there's a seat or something away from other people, he'll ask for that.

Christopher grins at the compliment and lightly bumps his shoulder against Elmo's, appreciating it. "Thanks. Wait til they finish my costume and I'm up there in all my swashbuckling glory." But then his brows go up and he says, "Oh wow, really? That's awesome. Did you get it? What are you going to be doing?" He wants to hear all about it, piracy forgotten for the time being. If he cares at all about the shifting of gears, or even thinks that one negates the other, it's not evident in his expression or his interest.

The booths are made to be somewhat like ship's cabins so they are fairly private even when right next to other people, but they're lead over to one that is away from the other people in the restaurant when it's requested, tucked in toward the back. Chris lets Elmo and The Freak settle in first, then slides in with them.

Elmo saves the explanation for the booth, where it's quieter. Not that he's worried about people overhearing or anything; he seems a little shy about the whole thing. After placing The Freak (he's cleaner than Elmo) onto the table, he leans forward and shrugs. "I want to research the magical tech stuff. I met that Waverly woman and, well, I figured my magic could work there. If it even runs on electricity."

He shrugs and lets out a little sigh as he looks over the menu. "For a while now I've been wondering if there might be something better than an arcade for me, y'know?"

Christopher settles in and folds his arms on the surface of the table, leaning forward a little and studying Elmo with interest as he talks about what he wants to do. Grinning, he says, "That sounds really cool, actually. Even if it doesn't run on electricity, you have that ability to like, control things. Maybe that would work, too." He nods in agreement and says, "Not that there's anything wrong with the arcade, but yeah I think that's a great opportunity to do something interesting and cool. Sounds like we're both getting to start new chapters doing new things. Celebratory lunch is in order." He then reaches for a menu, himself, to look through it and decide what he wants to eat.

"Totally." The succinct response works for everything - lunch, controlling tech via magic, cool factors. "Gotta get some dumplings. And orange chicken, mm." He mutters something that sounds like fluent Mandarin. "What do you like?" He looks over at Chris and The Freak does the same. The Freak looooves to hear people talk about food he might get to try.

Christopher blinks slowly and then asks, "Was that Chinese?" For a moment he is distracted by the fact that Elmo just spoke a whole other language and forgets entirely what he was going to order, himself. It takes him a moment but he says, "Oh uh.. definitely need some dumplings. And some spare ribs. And some pork lo mein." He then admits, "I like a lot of different things but every time I order Chinese I order way more than I could ever eat. There's something about wanting to try a bit of everything. And then I end up with a ton of leftovers." Which isn't a terrible problem to have, really.

Elmo blinks and looks up from the menu. "Oh. Mandarin, yeah. I, uh, knew this lady who would give me shit for ordering orange chicken. Said it wasn't Chinese-Chinese." He shrugs and isn't going to change his mind about what he wants, though. "I was just giving her shit back." Uh-huh.

Dumplings. Pork lo mein. Spare ribs. "Yes, yes, yes. If there are leftovers, then guess what?" He leans across the table to wink at Chris. "We do it all again, but somewhere even more comfortable."

Christopher squints at Elmo just a little and says, "You learned Mandarin just so you could give someone shit back about your Chinese food order?" Not that HE has anything against orange chicken. He sure wasn't complaining about that being an option. Though he does chuckle at the lean in and the wink and says, "You know, I'm liking the sound of that. Maybe we should order a couple more things just to make sure.. wonton soup?" He laughs.

Elmo has to think about that for a moment, but he decides, "Yeah. Actually, that's about it." Apparently, some people don't need a lofty reason to learn another language. At least, that's how he's making it out to be.

"Oh yeah!" With Chris in on the plan, he points to a few of the less Chinese choices. "Something curry here, a little lamb there. Wonton soup for sure." He turns to The Freak. "You want a hot tub of soup to hang in? No? You sure? Damn, sorry!" He asks and shakes his head. "We're good I think."

Christopher laughs and shakes his head just a little bit. "That's kind of crazy, but kind of cool I guess." He's not going to question it further than that. But he does file that away as a new fact that he's learned about Elmo. When the list of food keeps getting longer, though, he laughs. "We're going for multiple meals of leftovers now!" He's not complaining. He seems to find it pretty funny, and even more so when The Freak does not seem entertained by the idea of a hot tub of soup to hang out in. "He might worry that he'd become the soup."

"Thanks. I guess it's not what most people learn outside of college." He shrugs, though and puts the menu away before he burns through all of Chris's winnings. "And hey, you saw how the park just shut down one day. It could happen again." He snaps his fingers. Just like that. "Gotta be prepared, amirite?" He raises his brows at The Freak, then at Chris, before settling back in his booth. "So, you speak any other languages?"

"I can only speak a few words of a couple of different languages -- enough to get me into trouble and maybe get directions," Christopher says as he settles back comfortably in his seat, satisfied with the food choices that they have made. "It could," he agrees, about the very dire situation of the park shutting down. Even if there were still restaurants open and people still at the park the whole time. "Definitely gotta be prepared," he grins. Then he circles back around and says, "I started learning a little sign language here at the park. And I sorta remember a little French and Spanish from high school. But not a whole lot."

Despite Christopher having only a basic understanding of the languages he mentioned, that's more than Elmo knows and he looks pretty impressed. "Damn, three languages. Alright." He smirks and glances away only when he's certain he can make eye contact with a server. As for being prepared, he merely nods. Gotta be, because you never know.

"Uh hey," he says when the server comes their way, and then out flows the order with all the tasty morsels they decided on. "Probably need some boxes after that." A shrug, and then his attention is back on Chris. "I still can't believe you're going to be on stage. So cool."

"None of them well," Christopher laughs. "Not like you." He certainly seems to feel that being able to speak one language well is a lot more impressive than maybe being able to cobble together a sentence or three in a couple of different ones.

He smiles when the server comes over and Elmo rattles off all the things that they decided that they wanted. She smiles amusedly at the request for boxes and gives a nod, promising to bring boxes for them as well.

Christopher smiles broadly and says, "I know, right? Not something I ever pictured myself doing, but now that I am -- totally psyched about it. The rigging is some of the most fun I've had in a long time. Just getting harnessed up and flung around through the air."

Elmo doesn't want to dwell on his own superb Mandarin abilities, so his lowers his gaze and lifts a shoulder as The Freak yawns at the end of the table. The server arriving helps break up the conversation a bit, and he's thankful that nothing is said about the cutely curled donut of a rat; there must be more than a few people who end up here with an animal companion.

"See, I'd like that if it wasn't for the crowd. The people that can fly around here?" He whistles low and smirks. "I'm a little jealous." Curiously, he tilts his head. "There any powers you wish you had?"

Fortunately, familiars are pretty common in the park and the staff of the various eateries are fairly adept at being able to tell which ones exhibit a little greater than animalistic intelligence. And so the little rodent donut remains undisturbed. Fortunately, the other guests seem to recognize the situation more often than not, as well.

Grinning, Christopher says, "Yeah, Angelo can actually fly. I think that'd be cool to be able to do." He then thinks about what other powers he might want. "I dunno, the ability to turn into animals sounds super cool. Maybe the ability to sense what other people are feeling." He smiles a little wryly. "I might pick up on things easier that way."

Elmo sits back against the plush booth seating and bobs his head at Chris's responses. Lucky Angelo, being able to fly. "It's so super cool." He extends his arms as far as they can go and leans over to one side as if soaring.

"I think I'd be too worried about not being able to shift back from a fish. I don't want to live a fishy life forever." No thanks, he'll pass on animal shifting. Emotions, though..."Why? Is there something you don't think you're getting, Chris?" His smirk starts to grow.

"Though he did actually get into the flying rig as well and tried it out when I did," Christopher chuckles. "Seemed a little silly to see someone who could fly actually getting dragged around in the harness, but he seemed to be having fun, so that's what matters."

"Is that a thing that could happen?" Christopher asks. He winces. "I don't think I've heard of anyone getting stuck. Of course, I've also worried about getting stuck between mirrors, and I still do it." He smiles just a little wryly. New fears unlocked! Then he laughs, "Not.. right now, no! I just meant.. sometimes I don't pick up on things well." There's the faintest of coloration to the tips of his ears before he reaches for his glass of water on the table and takes a sip.

"Yeah, doesn't hurt to have fun doing what you do, right?" Elmo wouldn't at all bat an eye to see Angelo in a harness like that. It would draw as much attention as his flying would at this point.

"I don't know about the shifting thing, but it's just the first thing that I thought of. To be stuck as a fish!?" His eyes go wide like one and he sucks in his cheeks to make a fishy mouth. After holding the position for a few seconds, he relaxes his face and sigh. "No fucking thank you. Now, to be stuck as a goose." There could be worse things than that.

His smirk grows a little as he slides his foot forward to rest right up against Chris's. "Me, neither. I was never socialized properly."

"I keep waiting to see if I'm going to get any changes like some people are," Christopher says, glancing down at his hands, but nope, he looks the same as he always has. "I wonder what determines how that happens and when. But then, I don't have a lot of magic either." He looks a little thoughtful, and then shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah, I definitely wouldn't want to be stuck as a fish either." He laughs at Elmo's fish-face. He squints though at the idea of being stuck as a goose. "Is that really better? I mean I guess at least you could fly and most people would avoid you, and you wouldn't drown on land.." These are all benefits.

Chris leans over until he bumps shoulders against Elmo's, settling a little closer in the booth. "I just spent a lot of time on my own." Which may have amounted to the same thing. "Or online." He chuckles. "Which might be worse."

"I have more magic, I guess, and still haven't changed. I don't want to change." Elmo, too, looks at his hands. He has no idea whatsoever what causes the changes he's seen. "But if I had to? Goose." He grins and shifts a bit to turn to Chris as he moves closer. "I'm a simple man. All I'd need are those three things you just said."

Well, maybe one more thing. "I spent a lot of time alone, too. Not online, just...well, I was never popular." It sounds like he's unsure, though.

"I guess goose would suit you, then," Christopher laughs. "I don't know if I'd mind changing or not," he considers. "There are some things that I think could be alright. I've seen people with interesting tattoos and fancy colored eyes and who leave glittery trails. There are worse things, I guess."

"I was never what I'd call popular, either. I had a few friends in high school, and it was kind of just part of the mash of people all in the same grade. I went to some things and hung out with people sometimes but I never really felt like I was an actual part of any group."

Elmo knows what he's going to be for halloween now. Not a swan, but a goose. Regarding Chris's possible choices of magic changes, he seems less sure of. "You have nice eyes already, and I dunno about leaving a bunch of glitter all over my apartment." He huffs a laugh, though, not totally serious, just partly.

"Popularity is overrated anyway. Who wants to keep track of that many birthdays?" Not him! "Anyway, now you've got a good crew of people. A whole boatload." Ha ha.

Chris grins when Elmo says that he has nice eyes and laughs when he says he's not so sure about leaving glitter all over his apartment. "It's just an illusion. Angelo's is, anyway. It disappears after a minute or two. No craft herpes forever."

"I will endeavor not to become glittery so that someday I might get an invitation to your apartment," he teases lightly. "Oh, I have a calendar for that," he says, regarding birthdays. "What's yours, by the way?" He gets out his phone because clearly he's going to store that information away for later. Snickering he says, "Yep. A whole boatload of glittery fairy pirate pals." He's not complaining. He digs it.

"Right, no craft herpes." Yikes. Elmo snorts, though, and shakes his head. "Come on over after this, if you want. Meet the roomies. One's really chill." Not that he's seen very much of either of them lately, but that's life.

When Chris pulls out his phone to take down his birthday, he does give some pause before sharing it. "June eighteenth. Yours?" The follow up question comes quickly as he lifts his gaze from the phone to Chris.

"Okay," Christopher says when invited over. "Is the other one not chill?" he asks, making that assumption from the fact that only one is. Then he raises both brows at the pause. He knows Elmo is a little reluctant to share personal details so he begins to put the phone away, as though realizing perhaps that was too much. But when he does decide to share it, Chris grins broadly and adds it to his entry in his phone. "June 27th," he says with a grin. "Only like.. a little over a week after yours."

When their server comes and food begins to arrive, his eyes widen a little at all the food that they ordered, laughing. "Man, it all smells so good." There will definitely be leftovers, but he doesn't seem to mind. He just begins taking one of each thing and loading up his plate.

"Nah. She hates The Freak. I guess it says something that she hasn't moved out, but still." Elmo glances over to the rat when he says this and watches the critter flick his tail in his sleep (unless he's faking it). "Sounds easy to remember then. More or less." He lifts a shoulder, no promises.

The food starts being hauled out then, set on the expansive table, and Elmo gets his plate and chopsticks ready. The aromas blend into something intoxicating and he can feel his mouth water. "Let's dig in."

"Aw. Rude. What's not to love?" Christopher asks. "And yeah, figure it can't be that bad if she hasn't left." He looks at the pile of food on his plate as though planning a method of attack. He starts with a dumpling. Then he grins and shrugs over at Elmo. "It's fine if you don't." He won't be offended, it seems.

Then he's quiet for a little bit as he digs into the sea of food set out before them. The dumpling goes first. Then there's a bit of lo mein. This and that, he samples, and then goes back for seconds on the things that he likes the most. "There was a Chinese place with a great buffet just around the corner from where I went to college. Used to go all the time with friends. Never got tired of it."

"I don't know, he farts in his sleep and I question his sense of humor." Elmo grabs a dumpling, too, mock fighting with his chopsticks over one if it comes to it, while The Freak lifts a lazy head to give hm the eyes.

Elmo makes a sound like he gets that, having a great Chinese restaurant and never getting tired of it. It seems familiar to him, that feeling, and he supposes it can't hurt to let more than his birthday slip to Chris. "I used to work at a Chinese restaurant."

Christopher laughs and says, "At least it's small farts. He could be a Saint Bernard." Thank goodness for literal small blessings? He might not have even been going for the dumpling that Elmo is reaching for, but he still tries to snag it with his chopsticks anyway, fighting to the dumpling! But eventually the fight is lost and Elmo makes off with it, leaving Chris to select another one in 'defeat'.

When Elmo mentions that he worked at a Chinese restaurant he grins and says, "Guess that helped with the whole learning Chinese thing, and arguing about your order." He picks up a bit of lo mein and says, "I worked at a Subway for a couple of weeks but sucked at it. Mostly I sucked at dealing with customers." He smiles a little wryly.

"Small, deadly farts." While it's true The Freak is no St. Bernard, there's something to it that's just...not the best topic for a meal. He brushes it aside to enjoy his dumpling; though he won it, the price paid is that the thin skin is in tatters. Oh well! Better to soak up the sauce.

"Well yeah, that's how it started." Elmo eats and talks without worrying about whether his mouth is full. He doesn't show off his chewed food or anything, but it was something about his etiquette. "Subway customers suck, though. I'm sure it was them and not you."

Christopher winces and shakes his head, probably glad to let the fart conversation slip to the side for now, as well. Instead, he focuses on his own food, taking a bite here and there, enjoying all of the different flavors of what they picked out. He grabs a tiny bit of super hot mustard to put on an eggroll bite and blinks his eyes a couple of times as it clears his sinuses.

"It was probably a bit of both," Chris chuckles. "I wasn't into it and I wasn't great at it and they were impatient and rude and liked to pay for things in pennies."

Elmo grabs a spare rib and puts it on his plate. It's big one, and when he pulls it off the top of the stack, it reveals The Freak's sniffing face on the other side. He got up and over there really quick! "I'll cut some off for you, buddy."

He does this, and with great care, leaving a bit of meat on the edge of his plate. "Pennies? Why do we even have those?" He snorts and shakes his head. "You never have to set foot in a Subway again, huh?"

"Apparently we have them to pay or subs," Christopher chuckles. "It just took so looong to count it all out and everyone behind them would then be pissed off when you got to them -- at you, not them -- because it took so long." He shrugs his shoulders and smiles though and says, "I ran back to doing stuff in an office as fast as I could. Because I am not good at dealing with people being mad at me." He then pauses, "And now I'm going to get up in front of a whole audience and hope they don't boo."

He grins over at The Freak as the rat's little face appears on the other side of the spare ribs. "Someone woke up," he laughs. Then he reaches over to grab one for himself as well. "No, I guess not," he says about Subways, "Not unless I really want a sandwich."

Elmo shakes his head, continues to shake his head, like the whole penny business is just some sad metaphor for the state of the world or something. "You think they would make a machine for that." Counting, he means. "People are gonna love you. Even if you fuck up, all you have to do is turn to them and smile." He looks right at Chris then. "You have a fucking nice smile."

Then it's back to eating his ribs. "You can afford better sandwiches with decent bread and shit." Right? Right!

Chris glances up from where he's scooping some of the orange chicken onto his plate and smiles crookedly, as though on cue, at the compliment. "Thanks," he says, with only the faintest hint of self-consciousness. "I will try to remember that the first time I get up there and really bungle something. Just smile and act like you did it on purpose." He chuckles.

"I mean.. yeah, I can. I kinda like subway subs though," he admits. "Not that there's any near here, so I'll just have to do with the superior food offerings around the park." Like the bounty that they have before him that he's slowly working his way through. But it's clear that he's slowing down. There's a lot of food.

"Exactly. It's aaaallll part of the act." As with the dumplings, he's urged to get some orange chicken after seeing Chris do the same, only now he waits his turn and doesn't go after it in a play fight. Orange chicken deserves more respect than that.

He pauses, though to stare at Chris a moment. "No, man. There are better subs." The New Yorker in him is coming out. Don't even get started about bagels.

Christopher settles back in his seat to digest some of his food, folding his hands over his stomach that is now well sated. Instead, he just watches Elmo and The Freak as they enjoy the remainder of their meal, occasionally sipping his drink. The very adamant stare though causes him to laugh. "Okay, okay. I will trust your judgment. No Subway subs." He doesn't bring up either pizza or bagels, sensing that he may be on shaky ground here.

"Good." Elmo seems sated, too, now that that's settled. Pizza, thank goodness, hasn't been brought up yet, because he has opinions.

For a while, he eats contentedly and enjoys pretty much everything. Maybe one dish is actually overly sweet for him, but otherwise it's an amazing meal. "I can't wait for round two at my place."

Christopher laughs and says, "I can't even think about round two yet." Meanwhile, he motions for the boxes for them when their server comes around and slowly starts to pack things up or them to take back. He makes note of which dish Elmo doesn't seem as keen on and which ones he seems to like the best for future reference. "I can't wait to see your place. Mine's.. almost unpacked and set up. I might do a little housewarming thing there maybe.. just an excuse to have people over."

Orange chicken. Dumplings. Some green beans with a black bean sauce. Beef and broccoli. Strangely, the ribs are one of the least interest to him, and the sweet chicken one the most. The sweetest of the dishes he doesn't touch, though. Go ahead, figure him out.

"You should. A party sound dope!" He closes a box up and grins. "Gotta invite us, though. Otherwise I'm crashing." WARNING.

"This is me inviting you," Christopher points out with a chuckle. "I wouldn't have a party and not invite you." He nods toward The Freak and says, "Both of you, of course." He wouldn't leave out the rat. With the last of the boxes tucked away, he grabs the bill when it arrives and takes care of that. Then, they are ready to grab their plastic bags of leftovers and head out. "You can invite your roommates too if you want. I could stand to meet more people."

Elmo claps his hands together and holds one out for The Freak, who presses his little palm against it in a high five. Invites!

“Yeah, I’ll invite them. They’d probably come.” Elmo figures Wesley will, at least, and Esme seems pretty social. “Looking forward to it.” He helps to carry as much of the food as he can as they stand and ready to leave. “Oh wow, this is heavy.”