16143/A Four Freedom's Feast

A Four Freedom's Feast
Date of Scene:	24 March 2024
Location:	5A 51st Floor, Four Freedoms Plaza
Synopsis:	Nick expands on the list of potential people to invite over for pot roast night. Welcome to the mix, Thomas!
Cast of Characters:	Phantasm (Drago), Thomas Raith

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Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
It is not often that Nick invites people to his apartment. Well, not the one at Four Freedoms Plaza but it is often for good reason. But with time, the reason for security by obscurity has waned a bit and it is time to try new things. Such as expanding the circle of those who know. And possibly working to strengthen bridges that may have weakened with long periods of neglect.

And this is how one Thomas Raith got an invite to dinner. The invite is to the point. Purely casual. Nothing fancy. Just- Nick wants to make dinner but the meal will generate more leftovers than one man can eat.

The address given is different than the one the Scoobies have been known to visit. The one that visits to have ceased since certain events led to a particular resident from vanishing from there. But... on the bright side it's a known address due to some much more famous residents on the penthouse level. Four Freedoms Plaza. Home of the Fantastic Four.

Buuuuuut as the invited gets past the lobby security, they will find the level Nick's apartment is on is no where near that area of the building. Smack dab in the center of the 51st floor, equidistant from all emergency exits. There is nothing of note based from the spacing of the doors that what Thomas is going to see behind the door is anything special.

But as the door opens, there is at least a wafting of delicious smells escaping from the kitchen area. The host of the evening lives up to his promises. His entire outfit is casual, and if he wasn't in his own place, there'd likely be a knitcap upon his head. Instead the long hair is simply secured back to keep it out of the face. And likely the food.

Nick smiles, "Hey Thomas."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith is out of his Man-in-white getup and more in his casual hedonist persona. Even before he knocked the muffled sounds of I hate myself for loving you can be heard blasting out of his air pods. He pulls them out as Nick answers the door. "Hey there Nick, Something smells great. Gonna invite me in?" Of course the laws of a Threshold mean if Nick doesn't Thomas himself would be fairly inconvenianced... Not to mention it's rude.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick tilts his head to the general nudge for the invite. "...Huh. didn't realize that was a quirk of yours as well." He admits, stepping to the side, waving the club owner inside, "Yeah, you're still invited. I'm not planning on flinging the food at you in the hallway." Once Thomas is inside, Nick closes the door, only setting one of the latches before turning around.

The inside of the apartment is equally as unimpressive as the hallway. The furniture, sparse as it is likely came with the apartment. The TV appears relatively new but barely used. There's even still a bit of the cling film left on it that has not been pulled off yet.

And despite the presence of dressers, there are bags still packed. Save for the smells of the kitchen, the place seems barely lived in. More, frequently visited.

The kitchen area has been prepped though. The small table has three of the chairs unfolded and set around it. "I hope you like pot roast. There's beer, water, and milk in the fridge. Whiskey in the lower cabinet next to the fridge. If you'd like tea, let me know and I'll put a pot on."

A glance is given to the airpods. "...How do you still have your hearing intact with the volume up so much?"

So says the Rockstar.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith takes off his jacket, hanging it wherever seems appropriate and removes his shoes as well. "It's a limitation of most signatories of the Unseelie Accords. If Harry were to barge in here without an invitation, he'd be lucky to pull together enough magic to light a candle. Not as big a deal for me since I'm not planning on feeding on anyone or knocking a wall down, but at the same token I'd feel like...well like I had the flu. Weakened. diminished." He nods to the drink invitation and adds "Beer if it's Mac's, otherwise tea sounds great." He takes a seat in the kitchen shrugging, "Supernatural healing works allot of ways... Also i turn them out slightly so the music blasts more away from me then into my skull. All part of the act."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Well... I wouldn't want you feeling ill when I was the one inviting you over to begin with." The musician allows, considering the mention of the accords. "Who all is bound to that? I've never had anyone approach me telling me about such stuff." Or maybe he's always been in a weakened state without knowing it. "...Then again I generally don't go to places uninvited without good reason or by accident."

To the condition regarding the beer, Nick pauses before nodding, moving over to the stove to grab hold of the kettle. He moves over to the sink to get the contents up to level. "It was Guinness." He admits.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith nods as the other man starts the tea kettle, "So if you are a member of one of the Accorded groups, then you are automatically a signatory. So that's the White Counsel, the various Vampire Courts, the Shide obviously. Several others. And there are also individual signetories such as the Archive, Baron Marcone in Chicago, David Xanatos. At one point we had discussed trying to get Willow Accorded status but it fell through."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods, pulling the kettle back inside to glance to the levels inside before shutting off the faucet. Bringing the container over to the stove, he secures the lid back on before turning on the burner. "Yeah...I probably don't fall into that then." He looks to the stove. "In this world there's apparently at most two Phantasms about at any given time. And-" He pauses, giving a befuddled look. What would he call the other aspect? "The other connection's so distant I don't think it would count even if they were part of the list you just gave."

Shifting over to an upper cabinet, he opens it, pausing to reach a hand out to catch an orange bottle from tumbling out. Giving a shake of the head, he sets it back onto a shelf before reaching back in to pull out a tin. There's a clunk of metal as he opens it, bringing it over to Thomas to display. Inside is an assortment of tea packets, each labeled with their respective types. A sizable chunk are variations of sleep aides but there are some tried and true variants, including mint, green, and black. "Any preference?"

Thomas Raith has posed:
"Black is fine," he says selecting the tea and shrugging slightly, He considers and says "It's sort of like the supernatural version of the UN. Every part of it is free to operate on their own, but it lays down rules for interacting with each other. So for instance the Van-Tal, the shovelheads that Buffy and Faith mostly deal with, they aren't signatories so I am free to grab a pointy stick and join in the fun. But if it were a scourge of Black Courts, which are similar in allot of ways, considering my standing in the White Court then it could be grounds for war. though to be fair my father would just gleefully hand me over and be glad to be rid of me."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
With a nod, Nick moves with the tin back to the counter. There's a slight clunk before he shifts back over to another cabinet and pulls out two mugs. The requested tea is pulled out of the tin along with a differently colored packet. After a quick rip, each mug is granted a packet with the tab wrapped around the respective handles to label which tea is which. Although being only one of the mugs tugged out is white, that should be a big enough tip off to whose cup is whose.

"Ok so it's more to prevent a lot of fighting between larger groups." Nick surmises. "...yeah a couple of dream guardians aren't going to really register much probably."

Pale eyes glance over to the kettle that's currently heating up. "Sorry about the father part." He comments, "...He sounds like a piece of work. Considering things, I should probably be glad mine just opts NOT to be around."

There's a pause before Nick's brows lift.

Fuck.

"-opted I mean." Nick corrects, titling his head down to facepalm. "Uh. So how's Faith doing? She getting better?"

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith shrugs a bit, "He is." He says simply, "I am the oldest a male my father has ever sired to still be alive. All of my older brothers died under questionable circumstances. He feeds on my sisters. Oh, and it's his edict that prevents us from telling our Virgins... that's the word for a White Courtier that hasn't made the change yet though it's almost always literally true as well, that they are anything /but/ human. So they get to have their first time, their Hunger awakens, and they usually feed on their lover to death having no clue how or why it is happening." He says every point darkly and the pure vitriol from his hate for his father is almost palpable. Still as Nick changes the topic he sighs, "It varries. We seem to be on an upswing and I am enjoying that."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Thomas's description of what is done to those who come of age gets a bit of a shocked look.

"Ok. Despite the stuff turned up in the past few years I just have to say...That- is beyond fucked up." Nick finally decrees. "My father i- was a jackass. Yours is a grade A asshole."

Once the question regarding Faith is answered, he more than willingly shifts over. "Ok. But she's no longer sick, right?" Nick adds in, "Last time around she seemed to have a bit of a cold and the time prior to that you seemed to indicate that's a weird thing for a slayer to experience. Plus mention of of a frost demon...us fighting one..."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith's lips thin as he considers, "I haven't seen her in a few days to be fair, which makes sense. If she's sick she's as likely as not to avoid me because she knows I will make her stop and take care of herself. I'll have to make sure to touch base with her in the next few days. The woman is supernatural levels of stuborn.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
To a general assurance that Faith will be checked up on, Nick nods. The mention of Faith being stubborn gets yet another nod. "The kettle gives the faintest of hisses. "Stubborn seems to be a key Slayer trait." Nick observes. "Before Buffy forgot who I was-" He pauses, glancing to the wall that separates the kitchen from the living area, seemingly fixating on something on the other side. "...Well- when she had something on her mind she didn't let go."

The kettle gets a bit louder which prompts the musician to move over to it. "Fortunately you're stubborn enough to withstand that."

Thomas Raith has posed:
The mention of Buffy's memory loss doesn't hurt the way it used to, but it still hurts. After five years together, it felt like a lover dying more then anything else. Still he nods, "Probibly a hazard of the job. For my sake though I was raised by my sister Lara, and that will make anyone stuborn. The trick is not to go head to head with them. To use a metaphore I will deny ever using outside of this room, it's like bullfighting. You just keep deflecting and dodging untill they tire themselves out.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The kettle's scream dies away as it is lifted away from the source of the heat. Grabbing a towel, there's a quick motion to open the spout up more before he starts pouring hot water to the waiting mugs. The explanation to how he manages Faith's stubborness causes for Nick to tilt his head in thought, thinking to another set of persons. "That's a pretty good strategy." He admits, "I have a set of relatives who are like that. Siblings. They end up going head to head a lot."

The kettle is returned to a non hot burner before Nick moves over to the mugs, collecting the white one before carrying it over to Thomas. "...sugar?"

Thomas Raith has posed:
"Two please." he says in response to the offered sugar, taking the tea after. "Some people feed on conflict like a fire feeds on oxygen. Don't give it to them and they burn out pretty quickly. Faith has had to rely on herself her whole life. Most people just wanted to use her, and those who were genuine were often taken from her. Even me, I care about her likely more then anyone, and i am certain that any relationship counsoler with all the facts would call us toxic and dangeriously co-dependent.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick turns, moving over to another cabinet to pull out a small jar. A drawer slides out and there's the rattle of spoons as one is taken out. Quietly the musician sets the jar in front of Thomas along with the spoon. It appears the sugar here is not in the form of cubes.

"I can understand that." Nick allows, "...well, more as a result of looking back. Not during."

Hearing a beep, Nick moves back over to the cooker and lifts up the lid, allowing for a cloud of scent to escape into the general air of the room. "Those I was close with got taken early. And...apparently the ones that still managed to stick around, there had been attempts to prevent that."

Reaching over to a plate, Nick lifts up a meat thermometer and takes it over to the star of the dinner to confirm what is already known. "I think I've gotten better but for awhile I was a bit of a disagreeable little shit."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith chuckles a little bit, mouth already watering at the scent of the food. "I'll be honest Nick, I think I would pay to see that. You are one of the most agreeable people I know." He says with a smile. "I mean you want to see disagreeable, wake my brother up and try to talk to him before his morning coffee. I'm fairly sure the only thing keeping him from killing me some mornings were the Laws of Magic... It's no coinicednce he bought a .44 and I moved out.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Another cabinet door opens and a set of plates are pulled out. To the mention of wishing to see his disagreeable side, Nick shakes his head. "Well, if you want to see that I would say just go look into time traveling back to when I was between ten and eighteen."

Plates clunk, a drawer rolls out and two sets of spoons are tugged out.

"But there's the whole, potentially altering the past and making an even worse outcome factor to consider. Last time I did it I got mistaken for an archangel. Which... I guess helped out as we were saving the woman from being burned at the stake but- imagine the consequences if we had failed..."

He moves over, setting down a plate with a generous portion of pot roast. Vegetables and meat glistening from the juices they were cooked in. Nick sets his plate down opposite of Thomas before he moves back over to the counter to retrieve his own mug, this one more of a deep blue color.

"Hope you like it. There will be plenty of leftovers for you to take with you."