A chilly beginning

[princepallidus]

Who: A Demon Prince (Pallidus) and several Sundered (YOU!!)
Where: The Great Hall
When: Someday late October
What: He's a little lost, and little lonely, and a little homesick. But also hungry.

Warnings: Perhaps mild angst? Probably nothing terrible though.


Any academy students who keeps to a normal waking schedule probably didn't notice this late-night arrival. A young man with ash grey skin and thigh-length black hair, not to mention the impala horns piercing upwards from his head, sits at a table situated in a shadowed corner. He sits straight in his chair, seemingly poised and refined, save for the slightly crooked placing of the silver chains adorning his hair.

Dark lines of near black also hang under his eyes as if he hadn't slept, which, given the circumstances, he hasn't.

Before him sits a steaming cup of tea and a plate of various fruits and vegetables. Each time he takes a bite, he chews thoughtfully and his eyes, despite their lack of pupils, take on a thoughtful, faraway look. Until he reaches broccoli, which he almost immediate spits back up into his napkin with an incredulous "What in the underground? Humans eat this?"

Blushing a dark black in his cheeks, Pallidus tries to regain his composure by taking a sip of tea. Yep, nothing to see here.

[Note: This could be breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacktime, whenever!]

Comments

[temptationaccomplished]

Aziraphale has almost never kept normal hours, and he especially does not now. His experiment to Sunder Crowley into this world had failed--which remains immensely disappointing--but he is doing his best to not take the failure to heart and to make the most of what this opportunity has presented. His attempt succeeded as much as the young ducks' portals: even in failure, it has proven something close is possible. He is certain it could be possible, with more research.

Aside from breaks for classes, he has been here all day, yet despite that, he hasn't hardly noticed the curious-looking new arrival. Instead he has been too engrossed in the tall stacks of library books surrounding the Angel like a fort. It's not until he finally has to rummage in his supplies for another inkpot that he catches the long horns, the ashy skintone, and the childish response to broccoli.

Aziraphale stares at the young man and feels nervous...but not really afraid.

No boils. No warts. No rancid smell clouding around him. But the animal horns and otherworldly appearance put the angel on edge; this person is almost too beautiful to possibly be... but then so was Crowley--they had all been angels once.

Maybe it's that friendship that inspires the smile he offers, along with: "Broccoli is something of an acquired taste."

As far as ice breakers, Aziraphale thinks it isn't quite as clever as that bit about a lead balloon, but it'll have to do.

[princepallidus]

Mortification sets into Pallidus' jaw for a brief second, then it smooths over into a polite, restrained smile. He was caught, so there isn't much use trying to save face but he can at least endeavor to salvage the rest of this first encounter.

"Are there merits to acquire it?" Pallidus asks, forcing some good humor. "I'm afraid I don't have much experience with upperworld cuisine. Most of these items taste so foreign to me."

Fresh fruits and veggies were hard to come by that weren't naturally grown underground, and the ones they got from above Cavernae were never quite so fresh when they did arrive. To say this is somewhat of an awakening to Pallidus' taste buds is a bit of a understatement.

Pallidus attempts to subtly rove his eyes over the being sitting nearby. Other than his fiance and her family, he hadn't much paid attention to other humans before. This man looked human, so he had no reason to suspect otherwise. Younger than Tyria's father, certainly, but it was hard to determine human age for Pallidus. White hair, though, which was rare to find on younger humans. A kind smile, and a refined sense of style. He seemed harmless enough...

Continuing to smile in his restrained way, Pallidus sat up as straight as he could and inclined his head politely, chains tinkling gently where they hung from his horns. "I am Pallidus of Cavernae, firstborn son to Zinzo, King of Dark Creatures and All Below. Am I to guess you are Sundered or are you simply another student here?"

[temptationaccomplished]

He places the inkpot beside his notes and turns to face the young man across the gap between their respective tables.

"There are merits to most foods," he admits. "If they are prepared well. Eating is one of the great pleasures of life. And broccoli is quite healthy," not that the Angel has ever chosen food on its merits of health, but that seems like the right kind of reasoning. Eat your vegetables, they'll make you grow, sounds like a familiar refrain from their days as Warlock's mentors.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with raw vegetables, dear boy, but the trick is seasoning. Countries have waged whole wars over spice trade, so it would be a shame not to put them to use now. And barring that, there is very little that's not improved with garlic."

Aziraphale straightens the little black bowtie with its red stars and reaches across the thin aisle to offer a handshake along with a slight bow of his head. It's a presumptuous and improper way to address a prince, but they are technically equals here. And something in his gut tells him to take the chance.

"I'm a Sundered, yes, your Royal Highness. You may call me Mr. Fell."

[princepallidus]

"Health is definitely something to consider when eating. Options were quite limited back home, but we made do." After all, you couldn't grow things "properly" without sunlight, but magic could suffice, even if it left things less vibrant as they naturally should be.

Pallidus pokes at an olive, adoring its shiny black exterior. That seemed more like something from home, but he doubted it would be at all the same. Taking a risk, he pops it into his mouth and is pleasantly surprised by the oddly sweet, buttery flavor.

Mr. Fell's explanation on spices is intriguing, if mildly disturbing. "Wars over spice? That seems excessive. Would not trade be a better way to handle such things?"

Garlic. He would look into that one.

The handshake is a surprise, but as is the level of deference Aziraphale shows Pallidus with his appellation. Pallidus does his best to return the human greeting, grasping Aziraphale's hand and giving a squeeze, but not actually shaking it. "Certainly, Mister Fell. Feel free to call me Pallidus, or Lord Pallidus if you please."

His Royal Highness would grow so bothersome in private conversation. Such titles were best left for introduction and business matters.

[tiredcharmer]

Tyzias shambles into the cafeteria, not even bothering to repress her yawn as she shuffles to the breakfast line. Her eyebags seem to dominate her entire face, and she staggers forward with the familiar rhythm of the extremely fatigued; although Tyzias still somehow seems markedly better than how she looked when she was studying at 3 AM. Like Pallidus, she couldn't sleep last night—although, unlike the shadow demon, her sleeplessness was voluntary. Not that the demon prince doesn't know, considering their encounter the night before.

She sits down across from Pallidus with a distinctive thud, like Tyzias is a boulder being dropped on the chair rather than a bony, skinny young woman, scarfing down her food with an alarming lack of decorum before she realizes that Pallidus is there. In fact, she doesn't even acknowledge him until he spits out the offending greenery. Tyzias is sympathetic to his plight; it took her some time before she adjusted to human(oid) cuisine on Vaikuntha.

"Yeah. S'posed to be fucking nutritious or something. Here, this makes it taste marginally less like shit." She sympathetically offers a cup of ranch. "I mean, I get they don't have spare grubs here to get their 'dietary requirements' or whatever from, but... c'mon. They could at least try to conjure something that's delicious and nutritious. They're wizards for fuck's sake.

"...although I will admit, eating this kind of stuff is probably less of an ethical minefield than what we had for food back home," Tyzias muses to herself, staring a cut of steak before taking a huge, bloody bite out of it.

[princepallidus]

Pallidus almost, almost, bid Tyzias a good day when she first sat down but her immediate diving into her plate was so straightforward and visceral he couldn't help but stare for a hard moment. Such single-mindedness was a sight to behold, but he was starting to gather that she was the type to never do things by halves.

Attempting to regain some sense of propriety, Pallidus returned to eating his own food, only to be thwarted by that awful, dry and bitter vegetable.

"Thank you," Pallidus responds, though he eyes the cup of thick liquid warily. Should he... drink it? That doesn't seem appetizing. Maybe it's supposed to go down like a shot of liquor. The smell is also not boding well for his taste buds, but he'll give anything a try once. Just... not immediately.

Grubs? Surely she meant "grub" as in "food." That's the only thing that Pallidus could possibly imagine her meaning, anyway. Pallidus smiles. "I heard a rumor that all the food here is actually glamoured to taste and look different, and it's all really just the same two or three things. I doubt that could actually be the case; there's just too many different options available for someone to expend that much magic at once."

Her last statement sits oddly with him, however. "What is ethical or unethical about eating food? All creatures must sustain themselves somehow, and often that is why we raise other creatures precisely for eating."

That was simply how things worked.

[tiredcharmer]

In an attempt to demonstrate, Tyzias pops a chunk of broccoli into her mouth and takes a swig of ranch from her own cup. "You, my friend, are underestimating exactly how stupid dick-measuring contests can get between people with magic powers. I can nearly fucking guarantee that this is all glamoured because it's such a ridiculous waste of time and resources." Tyzias says all this through a mouthful of food, punctuating each point with a jab of her fork.

When Pallidus asks about what, exactly, is unethical about eating food on Alternia, Tyzias freezes for a moment. Telling the truth to her pitchdate on Vaikuntha made her blow chunks and break up with her. And Tyzias freely admits that it's a legitimately disgusting and horrific practice. She opens her mouth to say something, pauses, swallows, starts to talk again while making wild gestures with her hands, trails off nearly immediately, and contemplates for a moment.

"I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to flip out. K?"

[princepallidus]

Ah, so yes, that is how to do it. Well, down the hatch... And honestly? It doesn't taste awful, but the way the ranch coats his mouth isn't wonderfully pleasant. He clears it out with a swift sip of tea.

A startled laugh escapes him at her explanation. "I suppose I am, if that truly is the case. Magic is a bit more personal where I'm from. Using it to show off like that is, perhaps, what some do, but it would be immensely tiring to the user if such a thing were tried there."

The shift in the mood is palpable, so even though Pallidus can't quite understand what he said to get them to this point he doesn't want to force them down through something uncomfortable. Spending time with Tyria had taught him to at least respect silences as their own form of communication.

"... As curious as I am, you do not have to tell me if you would rather not, you know."

[daughterofclay]

"What makes you think the food here is human?"

The young woman is dressed in the gold-and-green of Gekronus Maius, sitting across the table and to the left of the new arrival. A steaming cup of light golden tea rests in front of her, and she is digging into her shepherd's pie with gusto. Never mind that it's 3 in the morning; she doesn't appear much affected by the time, save for the tell-tale dark circles under her eyes.

A normal waking schedule? What's that?

that is a gorgeous outfit

[princepallidus]

"I don't see what else it could be," Pallidus says with a thoughtful frown, one thin finger tapping at his bottom lip. "The majority of the staffing and students here seem human. Magical, yet human. So I would think most would be familiar with this diet."

However, that was just him making assumptions based on the small pool of data he had available. Maybe they weren't human. Maybe they were all glamoured elves, or dwarves, or even giants and the humans of this world were tiny! But Pallidus doubted that would be the case, as he was no giant despite being absurdly tall.

He smiles at the young woman. "Do you have cause to think otherwise? I'm fairly new here, so I do not have much in the way of knowledge of this place. I had actually never heard of Anastara before coming here."

I enjoy dressing her :')

[daughterofclay]

He's got a point, admittedly. And he seems... friendly. More importantly, he's being polite. It's possible she's just being unkind, past experience with beautiful non-human charmers notwithstanding.

She does not particularly hide the way she's sizing him up. "You've been Sundered here?"

[princepallidus]

Pallidus took her attention with stride. He was used to being scrutinized by other courtiers of Cavernae, and he was the first in line for the throne besides. Attention was par for the course.

"Indeed I was, just yesterday in fact," Pallidus said amiably. "It has been quite a culture shock. I've never been surrounded by humans before."

Of course, there were plenty of non-humans here too, but that wasn't quite as exciting for Pallidus.

[afterthemoon]

For what it's worth, a lot of humans eat it begrudgingly.

[Isa himself didn't have a problem with broccoli, but it was one of those foods that had to be cooked in a certain way to really be considered good.]

[princepallidus]

[Considering Pallidus is eating it raw, he probably gave himself the worst first introduction to it.]

So... it's meant to be abhorred? Why don't they simply get rid of it and replace it with something better, like these? [He motions towards a few grapes on his plate. Yes, those were a lot better.]

[afterthemoon]

No, it's simply something picky children dislike.

[And picky adults... but he doesn't feel like mentioning that part.]

If it was cooked properly, you'd find it more palatable.

[princepallidus]

Oh. [So he was being a child about it? Maybe it was something humans trained up eating as children so they could stomach it as adults. At least Pallidus had the excuse of not being around this type of thing to experience it before.]

How is it prepared differently? Do they add something to it, or does the flavor change simply by cooking it?

[Carrots did that, and so did potatoes, so he probably shouldn't be surprised.]

[holdyourhorns]

"I don't really like vegetables either unless they're cooked."

This student who spoke up and now joins the young man at the table is unmistakable to most he meets as a dragon, their scales a vivid and regal-looking purple and gold.

But Spyro is an extremely young individual among any species of dragonkind, so it usually just adds a mascot-level of charm on him. And he easily uses his foreclaws to properly use a fork as he tucks into his plate- at which Spyro is pleased to find that the steak is definitely mutton, alongside half a corn cob.

Though the real stroke of good fortune is a separate dish he found that reminds him of home: beef carpaccio, even if the greens and olives don't interest him much.

.... It's a given since most reptiles are typically carnivores anyway.

he's going to be geeking out a bit, forgive me

[princepallidus]

Pallidus looks up at the fairly young-sounding voice and immediately his jaw drops, red eyes widening in joyous shock.

That's a dragon, no doubt. A vibrant, breathing, living dragon! There were so few spoken of even back in Cavernae, so to see one, to be speaking with one, was utterly--Pallidus realized he was staring and shut his mouth with a sharp click of teeth. How horribly rude of him!

Shaking himself mentally, Pallidus cleared his throat and attempted to not sound as starstruck as he actually was. "Ah, how would... you generally cook them?"

Smooth, Pallidus. Smooth.

But Lord Below, what a charming creature! Pallidus didn't realize they could use utensils, but then again, he'd never met one before, or heard of any that were so small! All the ones in the histories he read back home were large and regal and likely would not practice magic with much lowlier creatures.

most people do lol

[holdyourhorns]

Excuse him as he first takes a bite into his corn.

"Depends. I know that grilling them over a flame with a bit of olive oil... salt and pepper... it brings out a different side out of them and a nice smoky char." Spyro answers, either not noticing Pallidus's awe of him or just very well used to that reaction.

"You can also stew them or stir fry them, especially alongside some beef, until they're soft and mellower. It's why onions and garlic are in almost everything." Munch munch. "But that's just a few of the basics, I don't spend a lot of time in kitchens."

[princepallidus]

"Hmm yes, that does sound a lot nicer." In its raw form broccoli only seemed bitter and dry. It didn't have the worst texture for such an odd thing, but that was hardly enough to consider it a saving grace.

While his table manners left something to be desired, Pallidus wasn't about to point them out to a dragon. He was still too in awe to be willing to attempt a lesson in decorum. "I have had onions before, but you mention garlic. That's something I'll have to try."

"I'm sure you have more important things to do than cook. Have you been a student here long? Or are you a teacher here?"

[bearshermark]

Eleven flops gracelessly in the opposite chair and rubs at his face.

"I can't believe there's a test tomorrow," he groans. "I haven't studied at all."

His hands fall from an expression drenched in abject misery, then starts back as soon as his eyes land on the demon in front of him. It speaks to his exhaustion that his arm only moves to vacate the seat though the rest of his body fails to follow through.

"How uh- have you been there?"

[princepallidus]

Oh no. Pallidus hadn't even realized there might be an exam so closely in his future. He just arrived. Was he expected to already know enough material to succeed in a test? Maybe he should spend the rest of the day reading up as much as he could...

Smiling gently in what Pallidus hoped was a sympathetic look, he gave a nod of greeting. "As well as could be expected. This world isn't anything like my own, or at least, not anywhere I've been allowed to visit."

He expected this place was somewhat like the uppperworld above Cavernae, but he had yet to step foot outside of his home country. Father said it wasn't safe, and beyond that, he forbade it. Pallidus did not go against his father's wishes. Ever.

"And yourself? Beyond fear of failing your course, anyway."

[stillnewatthis]

"Many humans do not like it," Orisa said helpfully, as she finished up a delivery to a student nearby. No one could blame him for mistaking her for a cleaning golem or some other magical construct, right up to the point where she revealed herself to be capable of listening and responding anyway.

[princepallidus]

Pallidus jerks back, a little unsure about this talking... golem? Is it that, or something more? He's not sure what Orisa is constructed of, but she she/he/they seem friendly enough at least.

"Is... that right?" He shoves the remained of his broccoli to the side of his plate. If humans didn't like it, he wasn't going to keep trying.

Glancing back Orisa, Pallidus contemplates carrying on, but now he's too curious to stop. "Do you eat human food as well?"

[stillnewatthis]

"I have my own internal generator, although I am capable of a small amount of input for analysis," Orisa said quite cheerfully.