Where Darkness Treads Softly (Closed)

Rhapsody had simply been enjoying the meal, taking in the symphony of unfamiliar flavors with satisfaction as she filled hr previously empty stomach. In spite the small effort she and Jackie put in to attract the boy to joining them in a shared meal, he seemed adamant on leaving. He mentioned he didn't want to be greedy, and that was a fair enough reason, though she'd wished he'd at least have been willing to share his name before going. While she and Russ went to continuing to enjoy their meal however, a sudden disruption would occur causing Rhapsody to flinch as she heard the boy cry out in panic before attacking Zerori.

Reacting in a flash, Jackie was upon the two; taking the blow meant for Zerori and separating the boy from Zerori's grasp. So engrossed as she was in her meal, she wasn't sure exactly as to what had happened, but would place down her bowl regardless and quickly take to approaching the two.

"Ah! Are you two quite alright!?" She'd question worriedly, taking notice of the boy and and the weakness he seemed to display.

She would approach quickly, but cautiously, hoping not to be in Jackie's way as she handled the situation in her own manner. Considering his previous reactions, the boy was likely to panic if she approached too near or too quickly, as such, Rhapsody would stay only near enough to speak softly with the boy.

"Does it hurt?" She'd ask with a clear look of worry on her face; she though of attempting to heal him with magic, but much like when she'd tried the same with certain wild animals, the light of the magic may have made him panic and so refrained, "Ah! Your food-" She'd remark as she took to gathering the pieces of scattered meat the boy dropped and placing them down in an easier pile for him to collect once again should he have still decided to flee; doing her best to keep her wings drawn in tightly so as to not scare him further with their size.

Well, this turned into a shit show.

When she’d reached out to try and grab the boy’s tail, it was as if she’d forgotten that such a limb was sensitive and it was easy to forget that one had to actually TRAIN their tail to not be so affected by it. Perhaps it was because Zerori thought he was a little older than she initially assumed or because he gave off the impression that he was tougher than most, but when he nearly melted in her grasp that should have been the moment Zerori knew she might have gone too far. Still, he managed to retain enough control of himself to try and retaliate and she was just about to react defensively when the sudden intervention of Jackie had her in between them both and taking the hit to her side. Not that she seemed very affected by it; either Jackie was a lot stronger than she let on or the kid just wasn’t that strong.

When she felt a hand over her own, Zerori didn’t hesitate to let go - the frown on her face sharpening as she pulled it away and gave a grunt of acknowledgement, “Fine. Let him run off with his tail between his legs, then,” Zerori quietly stated with a gruff voice. On the inside, she couldn’t deny the small stab of guilt at potentially hurting the kid but she wasn’t going to show it in front of this group of people. Looking away, Zerori ignored Rhapsody’s approach as she tried to see if the boy was fine - an action that had her face twitch minutely as she tried to resist the urge to look at the boy.

Damn it, he’s not that hurt! She lamented, her expression souring more and more by the second with every bit of attention he received. When Russ joined in with what Zerori thought was a teasing comment, she’d give a soft scoff, “I’m sure he’ll eat it anyway,” before finally taking her bowl and walking a short distance to where her mother floated before promptly dropping to the ground onto her ass with her back to the group and proceeding to eat. Her own tail, evident for all to see, would twitch angrily back and forth. The scars, cuts and burns were clear for all to see she ate in silence, trying to ignore the burning guilt in her chest.

Her mother cast a pitying look down at her daughter, even as she smiled knowingly, “He’s fine, you know.”

“Shut up,” She growled between bites, trying to finish her food quickly just in case she was going to beat a hasty retreat after all.

Jackie was thankful enough that nothing too serious came from this. Zerori backed down with only minor complaints and grumbliness, Rhapsody came to the side of Durian who was seemingly okay if still a bit skittish around strangers. Jackie just let out a sigh and stepped back from the half-demon with a stretch of her arms.

"You guys are a handful sometimes. Heheh."
Russ made an on-brand joke about the three-second rule for the food that was dropped. She wonders if Saiyans are as hardy against food-borne illness due to their appetites for a moment before returning to her own bowl and cupping it in both hands. Stepping up to instead correct him.

"Russ, please. The germs hardly wait to jump on. Unless we've been making mafia-style deal wit' them that I'm unaware of."
With everyone relaxing a bit, Jackie had a moment to breath and relax too. But the boy of the hour, ever the quiet one, apparently started throwing another fit of some sort as he ate. Stepping back away from the group again all of the sudden. The kami would take one sip before realizing something is wrong, putting her bowl down once more and rushing over to the lad.

"Hey, wait kid. Are you good?"
She'd try kneeling over to him and offer a hand for him to grab. He looked like he was freaking out, and she didn't catch him stuffing the meat with the bone in. The jerky motions probably set her off more than anything. If needed, she'd figure out what was actually happening here and do an epic Heimlich.

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Everybody treats eating from the ground like it's no big deal, especially Rhapsody. He can't tell if the half-feline is serious from her retort but Russ is amused all the same. The carefree Saiyan helped himself to a second helping of magical curry. The pot was big enough to feed a whole apartment, another serving of food won't harm anyone. "Pfft, three seconds is all you get before creepy crawlies get their prize. Happened to me at a picnic once." bantering with Jackie and showing a spoonful of curry in his mouth.

He looks at Rhapsody. "Sure I do, after they're grown from a garden and cleaned up." he shrugged his shoulders. there was a difference between food grown from its origins and food covered in unsanitary bacteria from the floor. Zriracha's daughter was eating her food away from the rest of the group, the kid was alright, munching on the free meal he received. Zerori putting on an act didn't go unnoticed, curious green eyes looked at her tail and saw the scars, a visual to represent years of battle experience. How many hardships has she gone through to receive those injuries?

"What's eating her?" He tilts his head, she's probably hungry, nothing to worry about. The kid whom he thought was out of trouble was gagging and gasping for air. Jackie noticed his plight and went to help him out. Russ set down his food to go check on him as well, despite the boy's insistence on forgoing weakness, it was pretty obvious food is stuck in his windpipe by him grabbing his own throat. "He's choking! Jackie, hurry and get the food outta him!" he exclaimed, ordering her to do a Heimlich.

He quickly looks at the grumpy Saiyan demon. "Zerori, make a bottle of water and fast!" Russ instructed. Assuming all of those things are done and the kid is able to breathe again, Russ can relax and enjoy himself.

Sometime later...

Russ continues to eat curry and would have small talk conversations with everyone. For most of their bonding time, he'll be quiet and listen to tales of their exploits or adventures, anything they do is much more interesting than his college life.

Jackie gave the kid a few good squeezes below the chest as she picked him up. Once, twice, three times over as the kami would try to relieve the child of the bone. Eventually, she'd get a nice last tug at her hands and launch the bone clear of anyone. The remains of the conjured bone thudded to the ground unceremoniously. Alongside the rest of the crowd, the kami would give a little sigh and set him on down. No doubt he's not wanna be cradled by a stranger.

"Thanks, hun."
She'd offer to stand by and watch Zerori water down the bad experience. Jackie would turn to the rest of them and thank them all for swinging by. With any luck, whatever time they had remaining would be accompanied by the returning Karinga Tribe. Whoever wished to stay for some light festivities would be more than welcome, alongside another serving of whatever the tribe had and what Jackie could make. She didn't mind such peaceful times like this, where they could all just converse and talk about their daily lives. Jackie of course going on about her busybody training, protecting, and charity work. Some of which she figured wouldn't interest EVERYONE.

Jackie would stay a while before parting her own way. Saying goodbye to Zerori, Zriracha, Rhapsody, the kid, and Russ all as they found it fit to vacate themselves. Remaining the last to leave the Tribe for the rest of their evening. One day she'd get that blasted place remade...

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