Ice part 6

"Any objections?" She asked pointedly.
"Not me…" Condon's voice didn't quite trail off, but it was close.
"None here." Added Keluri.
"Then let's eat." She said firmly, and sat down at one of the four-sided tables. Condon moved over to the table and carefully placed the chair to one side, coiling up his lower half and sitting that way. Ice felt nervous for some reason, restless. She drummed her fingers on the tabletop and craned her neck around surrounding streets, searching for something…
"Expecting someone, Ice?" Keluri asked, pulling out his own chair and sitting down. "Or is something wrong?"
"I don't THINK anything's wrong." She said, fixing her gaze on the table and stopping her finger tapping with some force of will. Keluri looked over at her with concern. "Then what do you THINK is happening, Ice?" He asked. She was just about to answer when the air abruptly left her lungs. Tora came up behind them and slapped both her and Keluri on the back. "Hello again!" He said brightly. "Have we ordered yet? This place has a delicious cheeseboard." She didn't know what on earth he meant by that, but then he stretched out a heavy paw for Condon to shake. "Hello, pleased to meet you. Tora!"
"Hello," The snake said, extending a scaly hand. "I'm Condon." Ice exhaled her first good breath and muttered under her breath, "I still don't know if anything's wrong." Keluri apparently heard her, because he leaned over and whispered in her ear.
"We can talk later if you'd like. Just remember, I'm here for you." She wanted to shake her head and tell him it was just a joke, but he was looking at her with such concern. She just nodded and looked at Tora, not quite smiling. "We haven't had anything to eat yet, also." She put in.
"Pull up a chair!" Keluri said with more enthusiasm that she had been able to muster. "The drinks haven't even been ordered yet."
"That's what I just said." Ice told him patiently. Keluri just grinned broadly.
"Not in those words, Ice." He said with satisfaction. She just rolled her eyes. Tora shook Condon's clawed hand and flashed a grin.
"Pleased to meet you." He said brightly, ignoring her and Keluri's exchange. That was fine. She didn't really know if she wanted him to notice. Tora sat with a single, smooth motion, though his large bulk overflowed the chair he sat in. The cat Pasu nodded to Keluri and signaled to a horse Pasu waiting tables nearby. "Pitcher of light beer, dear," He said, "And three menus!" Ice didn't really care about the alcohol, and everything else seemed in agreement, so she nodded.
"Four menus." Condon interrupted, and made Ice shrink inside, though she was careful not to show it. She hadn't counted their party at all, just agreed to what Tora was saying. Show some independent thought, she said to herself, and meanwhile Condon continued speaking. "Unless one of you three aren't eating." He added, not making it a question. Keluri answered anyway.
"I know I am." He said, with what Ice thought was a typical male attitude. Eat all the time, as much of the time as you can. She shrugged.
"If I get something, It won't be very large." She said. It might be strange, as she hadn't eaten all day, but she wasn't very hungry. Tora smiled broadly.
"I just happen to be on first name terms with most of the menu already." He said brightly. Ice looked sideways at him and couldn't completely stifle her laugh at his grin. Keluri chuckled and stood, drawing her eyes back to him. "I'm sorry everyone," He announced. "I should check at the guild for Jason. Ice, if you need me, I'll either be at the guild or back at the room, if I don't come back here. Tora, Condon, take care of her, or there'll be hell to pay." And with that outrageous comment, he walked away. Ice didn't have a chance to reply to that before the waitress came back with a large pitcher of light brown beer and several menus tucked under her horsey arm. She didn't quite have hooves, but there were less fingers than Ice was used to, each with a heavy ridged nail.
"Good afternoon, gentleman, ladies… Tora," The waitress began, disturbing menus with the ease of long practice. "Welcome, and good appetite! The specials today are zucchini lasagna and chicken and mushroom pie."
"I'll have the chicken and mushroom pie." Condon said, raising his hand slightly to get the mare's attention. She glared after Keluri's retreating back, drumming her fingers on the table again and very annoyed at him for being so proprietary. After all, she'd gotten as far as Acre on her own, hadn't she? Ice didn't notice the table beginning to collect frozen water droplets where her fingers touched, or the tiny icicles that were forming on her edge.
"I'll be right back." Tora said, leaning in for a moment before standing up and heading off in the direction of the main inn. "Carry on." He added over his shoulder. Ice was left alone at the table with Condon, and small talk was not her forte.
"So…how are you?" The snake asked, also looking uncomfortable.
"Oh, well, as it's been a day since we last talked, I'm pretty much the same." She said, not meaning to be rude, just pointing something out. Then she remembered something he'd been talking about before going off on that spiel about 'potential magic'. "Did you find a likely house?" She asked, trying to sound interested.
"I have," Condon began, "But I have to sell my other house in Gilead first." She nodded like she knew what he was talking about, and sat back in the chair, unable to stop herself from looking around restlessly, and tapping a finger on the slick of ice that'd formed around her corner of the table.
"Is everyone ready to order?" The waitress asked, coming back from another table and looking very startled at the icicles dripping off the side of the table. "…I can ask the cook to make the soup extra-hot, if you like!" She sounded almost frightened, but Ice had little patience for the joke. Tora came back from the building and wandered up behind the mare.
"One of us had to leave, miss…" He said thoughtfully. "Two for the pie, please! Ice, won't you try some?" She was still eyeing the waitress distrustfully as she answered him.
"As long as it's not steaming." She said shortly. Condon held his scaly hand over the part of the ice that had encroached on his area and began melting it with a shimmering wave of heat from his own magic.
"Sorry." She said, just now noticing the spread and dropping her hand into her lap. The ice didn't melt instantly, but it did begin to shrink. The waitress nodded nervously.
"I'll have him make it just so for you." She said, a definite hint of fear in her tone, before taking off for the kitchen at just under a run.
"It's quite alright." Condon said easily. Tora just watched as the snake Pasu continued to melt the ice carefully, both ears twitched forward.
After Condon had successfully melted the ice slick, and Ice kept her hands firmly in her lap, their food still did not arrive. She sighed heavily. "Is the food going to come today at all?"
Condon shook his head. "I need to go." He said. "I'll be back in a few minutes I think, though." He said, thinking. He rose easily and slithered off, and Ice stared after him.
A moment later there was a flustered whinny from around a corner, and a hurried clopping of hooves. Tora came out from behind the wall and sat down again, looking smug. "There, lunch should be with us purrsently…" She managed to smile at his soft, feline voice, and nodded. The waitress came out of the inn holding a large platter, on which two pieces of pie sat as well as a bowl of soup. When she set it down in front of Ice, the human girl looked at it suspiciously. It was hot, but not steaming, and she smiled at the waitresses literal translation of her request.
"There, lady, gentlemen–enjoy!" She said, looking slightly tousled.
"Thank you." Ice responded politely. Then two hands reached down and covered her eyes. The sudden darkness and feeling of THREAT made her stand suddenly and spin around. A blade of ice formed in her grip as she went, and she recognized Keluri just in time to stop herself from driving the dagger into his throat. "Gods, do NOT do that." She said, dropping the dagger and taking an instinctual step back. She was shivering with how close she'd come to hurting him, maybe even killing him. Keluri just smiled with an infuriating grin.
"I was expecting that Ice." He said. "Look down." Tora snickered slightly, but was quickly distracted by the pie in front of him, which he rapidly demolished.
"Sneak attack." He said, between mouthfuls. Ice looked down, to see a razor sharp dagger inches from her stomach. She just sighed and took her seat, looking at the soup bowl.
"So, you planned to do what, exactly? Have us both stabbed?" This was the most serious flaw in his plan, though not the only one. Keluri's smile didn't fade in the least.
"An eye for an eye, if that's what it came to." He said cheerfully. "And no, I wasn't expecting you to react that way, and I was lucky to be able to 'see' what you did. I only reacted the way I was trained to." He shrugged and moved to the left, watching the crowds go by outside the circle of tables. Sighing, she took a sip of the soup. It was fairly good, despite the way it burned slightly on the way down. "I'll see you later." Keluri said at last, stepped out into the square, and was swept away by the crowd.
Ice stared down at the reddish broth for a moment, and then finished her soup. Tora was the only remaining diner left with her now, and he had already finished his pie. Now he took the remaining slice Condon hadn't had a chance to eat and began to eat. "You should try some of this," He said, still eating. "Waste not, want not!"
She poked at a piece for a moment, then grunted. "I don't think I will, thanks. I'm not all that fond of mushrooms…"
"Or chicken?" Tora asked, pointed at a small slice of meat. She tilted her head and shrugged.
"Fish is better. Chicken always seems very dry." She didn't know where her knowledge of food was coming from, but it seemed right to her.
"A nice sauce will help with that. But I can't disagree about fish… rarely met any I didn't like…" Ice nodded in agreement.
She looked around at the sound of scales on cobblestone, to see Condon coming back up through the area of the square next to them. Ice nodded to him and waves the snake over.
"Welcome back Condon. We saved you some pie!" Ice looked around the table, but didn't see much of anything left. Her soup was dregs in the bowl, both plates were empty, and crumbs were scattered around the clean cloth. Tora licked his lips, looking not at all sorry.
"Thanks," Condon said, coiling himself around one side of the table. "Sorry I had to leave so suddenly, something came up." Ice raised an eyebrow at this. Something that had made him drop everything without any warning and go off?
"You're fine." She said dismissively. "I would've had to wait for Keluri to get back from wherever he went off to anyway."
"Dessert is an intriguing possibility…" Tora said, falling back in his seat and not even affected by the two pieces of pie he'd already eaten.
"I suppose it is, I'm not that hungry though." Condon said, tilting his head to one side.
Ice leaned back as well, surveying the empty soup bowl. "I've had enough to eat," She said meditatively. "But I could nibble on something sweet." It actually sounded pretty good right now.
"Not even going to eat your pie?" Tora asked Condon, pointing to the half-a-slice left still.
"Now that I will eat." The snake said, pulling the plate towards him and beginning to eat. His quick, efficient manner extended even to his food, the bites vanishing with startling rapidity.
Tora looked back to Ice and thought out loud. "Something… warm? Or cold?" He asked speculatively.
"What do you think?" She asked him pointedly.
"I think something hot, if it's too hot you can just cool it off." Condon spoke, and she had to stop herself from slamming her head into the table. Were they being deliberately obtuse?
"Something like ice cream would be nice." Ice said with a sigh.
"I dunno," Tora said with a grin. "I get a distinctively 'cool' vibe off you… but I dunno if that means you want to warm up, or get colder!"
"I believe that either or would be true." Condon said with a devilish grin. Now she slapped a hand against her forehead.
"What?" Condon asked innocently, still smirking. She sighed and raised her head to speak to them. "I don't know what's worse, the fact that you're both male, or both Pasu." She said to no one in particular. "Anyway, are we getting dessert?"
"Both are terrible… for you." Condon said, smiling. "You can have dessert, I don't want anything. Maybe you could get fried ice cream!"
"Will you leave it alone?" Ice demanded, looking around for the waitress to order her ice cream.
"Sorry…" Condon said meekly.
"I'm not just any old pasu…" Tora huffed indignantly. "I'm a cat!" He said it with supreme confidence that this settled the matter.
"But I'm a snake!" Condon protested. "How many snake pasu have you actually seen?"
"It's alright." She said to Condon, referring to his small apology. To Tora, she just raised an eyebrow. "Counting you? One." She added. "But I was just saying you're not in deep trouble for constant teasing. That doesn't mean you get to keep doing it." She added hurriedly.
"I'm sorry." Condon said again. "I don't socialize much."
"Neither do I, trust me." Ice said with a snort.
"Sooo…" Condon added after a moment. "I wonder where the waitress is…" Ice chuckled, still amused by the effect her magic had had on the mare.
"She might have run off." The human girl suggested.
"Afraid of your magic? Well she should be." As much as this comment made her smile, she didn't think she deserved full credit.
"Thanks for that. But it wasn't just me that convinced her." She said, looking over to Tora.
"You think it was me?" Condon asked, sounding slightly surprised. "I didn't freeze the table…"
"You did melt the ice." She said generously. "And were admirably careful not to burn the table."
"I did set a napkin on fire…" He said, a little sheepishly. "Accidentally, of course. But your show was much more impressive." Ice found she liked compliments as much as anything. She nodded in thanks and looked around the tables again.
"This doesn't change the fact that she's not here…" She let her voice trail off.
"You're right, of course." Condon said. "Where did she go?"
"Maybe I chased her for the mains a little too much…" Tora added thoughtfully.
"I don't think that would have chased her off." Condon said. "Maybe she hates pasu?"
"That would be difficult," Ice said sharply. "As she is one."
"Again, I'm just throwing stuff out there…Maybe she hates humans?"
Tora stood with surprising ease for his bulk and went off, presumably in search of the waitress.
"Well then…I guess that he wants one too." Condon said, staring after the cat.
"I suppose so. And as to the other comment, she seemed alright serving me, until I started freezing the table…" Ice shrugged, not really caring. Whinnying noises came from off in the distance.
"We should probably go see what that is, shouldn't we…" The snake asked, looking around. Tora came back, grinning broadly, from the direction of the whinnying. Ice looked over at him, humming quietly to herself.
"Two ice creams, duly orderified." He said smugly.
"So you found her?" Condon asked.
"I certainly did." Tora replied, settling himself into the chair.
"What flavors did you get?" She asked with interest.
"Strawberry and chocolate." The large cat said easily.
"I call the chocolate!" She said, raising one hand slightly. Tora snickered.
"Fair enough." He said. He leaned back against the back of the chair, which groaned slightly. The mare came over with two bowls of ice cream, glancing warily at Tora and staying on the far side of the table.
"Two ice creams, enjoy!" She said quickly, before not-quite-running away. Ice snorted and pulled over her bowl of dark chocolate, taking a bite.
"Just ignore her." Condon said. "We'll be gone as soon as you two are done anyway."
"Right now I'm debating whether or not to wait for Keluri. I really have no clue when he's coming back." Ice said thoughtfully, tapping her lip with a spoon.
"If he does come back, he should be able to find us… but we can wait if you want. Do you know when he's getting back?" Before she could answer, Tora looked up from his ice cream and spoke.
"Antsy are the ways of mustelids. Who knows when he'll be back…"
"I don't know where he went in the first place, let alone when he'll be here." Ice said, looking at Tora oddly. She wasn't even going to ask what he'd just called Keluri.
"Hmm…" Was all Condon had to say.
Tora nodded wisely. "Mustelids." He said.
"If he's not back by the time the ice cream's gone, I could go look for him at the Ace's Guild." She said at last, still staring at Tora.
"Okay, should I go with you, or stay with Ice?" Condon asked. Ice turned to him and raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry." Condon said. "We should all go." Tora sat back and began to purr, finished with his ice cream and impervious to her looks.