13908/Exotic dining, for the conniseur that has tried everything

Exotic dining, for the conniseur that has tried everything
Date of Scene:	26 October 2021
Location:	The Institute - Savage Lands, Antarctica
Synopsis:	Sampling the local fare is a cultural phenomenon the world over. Some people eat rats on the streets of Korea. Crickets in Thailand. Ostrich in south Africa and Dinosaurs in the Savage Lands. Make a Suit and Tie event and you have Cordon Bleu Pre-histoire.
Cast of Characters:	Sinister, Lucifer, Dracula

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Sinister has posed:
With the guests of the institute having been free to investigate with their own discretion, it is a little like being on a vacation, only with SCIENCE! And Bizarro-world safari. Yesterday though, it was more like whack-a-mole as Lucifer had fun with geodes and a sledgehammer.

Anyway, somewhere during that time John Contantine had discovered that people on a big dinosaur institute, tend to eat dinosaur and had a sandwich made of parasaurolophus. And bread of course. But that distinctly unusual contribution brought about the fine dining (and probably drinking, because they bleed too) experience that will be tonight. Sinister actually looks extraordinarily dapper. His hair is gelled back, looking like a mostly monochromatic james bond in a suit jacket and pristine white shirt, with a crimson rose in his lapel; the whole nine yards. The dining room is right up against the viewing platform of the sub-aquatic, but in an artificial cove, so that the small things that get eaten have a rock-face and a reef to hide in. It makes for colourful fishes that don't exist anywhere else in the world and the occasional aquatic extinct lizard. White tablecloth and silver service, also; the wait and kitchen staff are actual human beings because robots don't do so well with the human element of fine dining.

Lucifer has posed:
In contrast to Nathaniel's monochromatic ensemble, the Devil has chosen color. Nothing too splashy though, but tonight he has decided upon a dark olive grey shirt, with his suit being maroon. From the vest to the jacket and pants - shoes are black of course, and in his left breast pocket is a handkerchief of the same dark olive grey as his shirt. He's led to where Nathaniel stands next to that table in the dining area, a smile on his lips as he approaches, thanking the staff who led him this far. "Leave it to you to be able to pop a fine dining moment into a place such as this. I'm not complaining of course, as this is absolutely lovely...but also wholly unexpected."

Sinister has posed:
"Well, I must admit that when I made it I was the king of wishful thinking. No matter what institute I end up making, I always seem to end up with a multi-function showing-the-heck-off room, where I could present things to people that frankly I'd never invite someplace of import, but my imaginary audience is always oooh and ahh, and Great Scott, you ARE a genius! Here, have all the accolades..." Sinister flares his eyes at the end and grins, clearing his throat and looking more solemn as he pulls out the chair for Lucifer, tucking him in just so and singnaling to the wait staff to bring over the drinks list, JUST in case we go out of type here. "ANd thus I end up mulling things over here alone, or it gets used by the staff, for a pleasant lunch room, I suppose. I really don't know what they do with the rooms when I'm not in them, there's probably a deadpan black humour sitcom to be had there. Minions..." that tangent considered for a moment he shakes his head "...ANYway. I thought the chef would entertain the palate tonight with experience had noplace else on earth. There's several vegetables, roots, leaves, flowers, herbs and spices unique to the Savage lands, which are all about the divergent evolutionary path. So. We'll see what they create and if you want some exonormative herbs and spices for the Lux penthouse, eh?"

He settles himself though, glancing at the entries and at random spots in the dining room, just in case Dracula arrives, using a door. Or arrives using the shadow. Or arrives just like that. You never know.

Lucifer has posed:
"That cannot necessarily be a bad thing all around, really." Lucifer offers after a chuckle at the sort of grandeaur performance Sinister puts on from what shows in his head. When the chair is pulled out and then tucked in for him, he offers a small word of thanks to Nathaniel and then takes the soon offered drink list with another thank you. "Lunch room. Dining hall. Maybe they just come and stare at the fish for a while. Don't you have cameras? Can't you just go back and look?" He asks with a tilt of his head and then shrugs his shoulders. Likely not something he readily does unless there's an absolute need for it - if he even can to begin with. "Oh now that is an idea... and a rather nice one that I like. We'll see how this goes, shall we?" Saying this much and then he ponders over the drink list for a moment. "Would it stun you if I'm feeling more like a gin and tonic to start with tonight?"

He doesn't miss the glancing around that Nathaniel does either, but pays it little mind. He's likely just looking to look as one is allowed to do of course.

Sinister has posed:
"I could, but generally speaking, I have almost no interet in watching people eat. Most of the cameras are in the lab paces, the bio-dome, corridors, elevators, loading dock, pens..." Sinister trails off with a pause and a suck of his cheeks, an amused little quirk of a rosebud for a smile that he releases afterwards. "Maybe it's echos of the maharajah that are sparking the gin and tonic. When in a hot climate surrounded with odd natives and dangerous fauna, one must fend off the heat and the mosquitos with a bit of quinine and tonic water. Or not, but I can have mad day dreams." Nodding to the server, he himself orders a tequila sunrise, for no particular reason. Orange, tequila and grenadine, yes please. With a straw and a fruity arrangement.

It doesn't even go to the span of a minute after the drinks order was placed, when amuse bouche are brought, involving local truffle oil, tiny bits of local fauna, spiced delicately and served on tiny scoops, with a garnish side-salad. Nothing huge to write home about, but that the spring garnish has a very peppery nuance and very intense green and brilliant red foliage, with something dill like that tickles the back of the nose to define it.

Dracula has posed:
There has been investigation, and there has been exploration. What all he may have found during his wandering amok has likely largely been kept to himself. Perhaps for reasons, or perhaps simply because he is as of yet mulling over the significance of the various and assorted findings. This evening is something which has earned a measure of thought from the elder vampire. His black hair is damp and still in that shorter style that he'd appeared with, neatly combed but not slicked or anything. He approaches the dining room on silent footsteps, and he pauses just beyond the door for but a brief moment. Such a mundane thing! And yet, he does it -- he reaches out his right hand to draw open the door and then he steps gracefully within the dining room.

And is that... colour? Indeed, it would seem to be! For tonight, Vlad wears something other than black and something other than the shades of red that range from fresh to dried blood. He wears a green suit -- dress slacks, vest, and blazer, the latter of which is unbuttoned. There is a white shirt that he wears, the threads of it shot through with very fine silvery whispers, and a black tie. A black rosebud is tucked in his lapel, and a black pocketsquare is neatly in the pocket. His left hand rests at the small of his back, perhaps a nod to his aristocratic roots, and he steps further within the room and thus towards the table. And once he has come close enough, he smoothly bows to the pair of men already present. "My apologies, for being less than on time," he says softly. If it had been intentional, he says it not.

Lucifer has posed:
"Perhaps. Gin and tonic also keeps ones palate quite clean and refreshed. It will help with indulging in all these wonderful new and enticing flavors." Lucifer offers with a smile and then gives a chuckle at what Nathaniel orders. "You'll share a bit of that fruit garnish with me won't you? Perhaps allow me to... have your cherry?" Oh and the sparkle in his eyes when he says this before letting out another, albeit a bit more maniacal, chuckle.

Then there is a Dracula at their table, and Lucifer seems to give a look of utter surprise. He stands, then, and offers a chaste kissing of each cheek to Dracula in greeting. "I did not expect your company, my dear Vlad, and I do not believe you're less than on time. You are the sort to arrive precisely when you mean to." He says this and then glances to Nathaniel, almost as if non-verbally asking if it's okay Dracula can join them. (He's kind of a nutjob sometimes, Luci is)

Sinister has posed:
"Haven't you already had it? Oh, right, the -fruit- of couuuuuuuuurse..." Sharing a slice of papaya and the cherry on its cocktail stick, the fruit is held out toward the devil as a temptation.

Sinister actually eyerolls at the look from Luci. "My, my, we managed to surprise him. I was -expecting- him, sweetheart. A nice dinner a'la carte, with fishes and mixed spiced blood; predominantly human, but with a bit of other things for the flavour. Served at thirty six degrees to forty degrees celcius. Dinosaurs are like birds, they burn hotter." Rising of course, to proffer the bow to the nobleman, he pulls the chair out to complete the trio with one hand. "I took the liberty..." as drinks arrived, there is indeed a large chalice of red, likely fresh as anything. "Have you been enjoying yourself, out and about in the complex, your Highness?"

Dracula has posed:
There is a smile that teases at the corners of his lips, and he lightly gifts a kiss of greeting to each of Lucifer's cheeks in turn. He notices the devil's surprise at his appearance, and there's a sparkle in his dark eyes. A chuckle rises softly past his lips, and he inclines his head slightly towards Lucifer before slipping an arm around the fellow to give him a bit of a fond squeeze. "Am I?" he wonders aloud, a flicker of amusement to his voice. "Perhaps I am, at that," he says, winking at Lucifer.

His gaze turns to Sinister, and then he laughs lightly before giving a nod to him. "It would seem that we did, indeed," he says, sounding pleased. One of his eyebrows quirks up slightly as the information of the blood is offered, and he seems intrigued by it. "I look forward to trying it, it sounds quite unique and interesting," he says softly. It's been a while since he's drunk the blood of animals, but he trusts in Nathaniel to have created something that will sate his hunger well. Or at least, as well as ever it can be sated. He steps over to the chair that was drawn out thus for him to join them, and he settles to it with ease and grace. "I have been, and very much so. It has been a long time since I have been offered such a plethora of uniqueness," he says in a warm tone. "There are wonders with nigh every step taken, and I find myself marvelling at them. Would you mind terribly if I were to perhaps take away a sample or two?"

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer did, of course, lean in to take that cherry from the pick with a little flick of tongue against it before sucking it deftly into his mouth. Chewing commenced, then swallowing and greeting a Dracula. "Oh. Well. It is a lovely surprise indeed!" He offers before taking his seat once more and reaches to take up his gin and tonic, rubbing the rim of the glass with the garnished lime wedge before taking a slow sip of the drink.

"You did miss out yesterday though..." Lucifer chimes in between other bits of conversation. "I took a sledge hammer to a few geodes that we found up in a lava cave the other day." He offers. "Well, I hammered a few, but they were all very strange. So then Nathaniel opened the rest because I got splooged on by one of the rocks. It was pretty sick. You should come by the lab and I can show you all the weird ones that we're keeping here." He offers all of this before reaching for one of the amouse bouche to pop into his mouth and chew on thoughtfully.

Sinister has posed:
"Samples can be arranged, but if they're plant, you have to be very careful not to cross pollinate anywhere where they could get out into the countryside. Geological samples don't matter at all. Most of the living varieties here have only distant relatives on the mainland, owing to unique evolutionary lines, so..." Sinister settles himself after Vlad is situated appropriately, amused at Lucifer's cherry picking and taking the subtleties of the side-garnish carefully. It's followed by one of the snack-sized amuse bouche, with a suck on the cheeks. "Earthy, but a nice rich flavour with some delicate sour notes -- juniper relative I think. Not sure though, it's all a bit novel." And so very Palleo, ne? They're almost indulging a fad. A gesture is made to the goblet. "Please, do let me know how that variety places on the scale of delicious to dishwater, would you? I'm still perfecting this sanguine mixology."

The waiter rolls out a trolley at this point, with several juicy meats very delicately carved and left to breathe, in a variety of rarities. The vegetables all look familiar, but not quite the same and a nutty compote is served with it all, to 'enhance the flavours'

Dracula has posed:
"It pleases me that you have enjoyed the surprise," says the vampire, a smile turning at the corners of his lips. His gaze follows the devil for a lingering moment. One of his eyebrows quirks out of curiosity as the day before his mentioned, and he tilts his head faintly to one side. He listens attentively as the day's happenings are spoken of, and he gives a small nod. "It sounds as though you had a very interesting day yesterday. What was within them that made them so strange?" he asks, a note of curiosity to his voice. "I would like that, to see them. Weird things are often interesting things," he adds.

"Thank you, dear Nathaniel, for inviting me," Vlad says softly, his dark gaze turning to the man as he inclines his head to him. A flicker of curiosity rises to his dark eyes as Nathaniel speaks of the samples, and then he gives a small nod. "Indeed, I was thinking something along such lines as well. That I would not take seeds nor fruit nor pollen that might cross with anything beyond this space. Petals, leaves, perhaps a length of stem. There are certain ones that I would wish to examine a touch further," he says, a smile turning his lips. The ones that emanate magic, of course. He shifts slightly to lean forward and deftly reach out his right hand to pluck up the goblet. "I will be sure to do so. I have never considered the notion of mixing it before, and I must admit that I am intrigued," he says in a warm tone. He eases the stem of the goblet between two of his fingers, and he lifts it to take a sniff of it first, his eyes half closing as he does. "It is a most pleasing aroma," he says in a softer tone. Then he takes a sip from it, letting the blood flow over his tongue as he savours the flavours. And his eyes slip the rest of the way closed, the flavours drawing forth memories from centuries ago.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer proceeds to explain the days events. How the first geode was a solid red, like fresh blood red. The next was the one that splattered him in a very blue-green sort of teal color, and the one after that was filled with a sort of yellow-green almost radioactive liquid. The fourth was a rainbow crystalline geode, normal aside from the oily residue that seemed to like the inner wall, and then the next one was - funnily enough - filled with oil! Or what looked like oil. The last, blue. Stark sapphire blue, mini crystals and some liquid. "We're going to be analyzing them all later, so... if you wish to join us for that as well...I'm sure it will be quite an interesting time."

He drinks from his gin and tonic once more, cleaning the palate some before looking to the trolly right when the waiter finishes rolling it closer. "Oh. How delightful..." A pause. "Are any of these this...paleosaur I've heard so much about?" No, that's not the right name. Lucifer totally got it wrong.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister inclines his head to Vlad. "Indeed, then I shall make the vacuum perservation tech available to you, as well as the freeze drying and such. And also the lab, when we poke at the geode contents -- I feel that some kind of peculiar was occuring there." He studies Vlad's reaction to the blood and smiles to himself, bowing his head in a manner that's actually self-depricating and humble, saying nothing. Instead, he looks to the carved meats, waiting on the server. ANd yes, Luci got that so very wrong.

"This is parasaurolophus," a gracious gesture is made at a thicker grain meat, pink in the roasting. "ANd we have Iguanodon," a lighter meat "...compsognathus... farm raised..." which looks a bit like chicken "...and small mosasaur." Which is a kind of brownish meat, more like duck or goose if one were to find ANY kind of parallel at all. That one is served well done, perhaps because of the fat content, it roasts well? Who knows.

Dracula has posed:
The elder vampire listens rather attentively as the day before is related to him, and the experience with the geodes. A smile curls at the corners of his lips, and he tilts his head a bit to one side before opening his eyes to look to Lucifer. "Is it normal for them to be filled with some kind of liquid or is that something which is occurring because of them being from here?" he asks, a flicker of curiosity coming to his voice. "If it would not be an intrusion, I would assuredly not mind to be included in the analytical experiments that are done on them," he says, giving a small nod. "I wonder if there are any trovants here," he muses, a thoughtful note to his voice.

"Thank you, Nathaniel. I would appreciate that very much. It will make them much easier to transport and much less likely to spoil," Vlad says softly, a smile turning his lips. "What sort of something peculiar?" he asks, a touch of curiosity to his voice. His gaze turns to the blood within the goblet, admiring it before he takes another sip of it, and then he lightly flicks his tongue out to brush over his lips. "This is quite delicious, Nathaniel," he says softly, truly appreciative of it. His gaze turns to the variety of meats, carved and waiting, looking over each of them in turn. "They look quite different than what we are used to seeing."

Lucifer has posed:
"I don't think it would be an issue, and we're fairly certain it's got something to do with the lava farts that birthed them." Lucifer offers with a grin and then takes another sip of the gin and tonic. "Otherwise, we're not sure. We do know we're taking the blue and rainbow ones back home." Cause, amending, the blue one was sapphire and pure crystals just some smaller than others. He also smiles as Vlad seems to be enjoying the blood that Nathaniel had blended for him, and that's a good thing - even if he doesn't mind being a meal or few himself.

"I think I'll start with a bit of the parasurolophus, and the mosasaur." That was the waiter talking right? However it goes, Lucifer will likely gain his meal, garnish it with a bit of nutty chutney and intends on enjoying every bite, and every bit of conversation - even though while eating that's normally slim to none for politeness sake.