[SE] The Art of Peer Pressure

Just smile and be happy.

Erica is more than happy to see him. The round, overbearing woman resembles a mother hen in every aspect, including her clucking tone as she walks around the bar to envelop him in a suffocating hug. "You haven't come by in ages! I thought you were going to starve! Who has been feeding you? You look so thin!" Despite her five-foot height, she somehow manages to smother him with her arms, pinching his cheek with chubby fingers. Zavien smiles kindly and returns the embrace affectionately. "It's good to see you too, Erica. I've missed your cooking." She steps away and smacks him lightly on the chest. "Of course you did. No one has better food in Stormbreak."

Glancing at Hawthorn, she elbows Zavien harshly in the ribs. "Where are the manners your mom worked so hard to beat into your head? Introduce me to your friend." Blushing at the chastisement, he chuckles. "Yes, ma'am. This is Hawthorn. Hawthorn, this is Erica, the best noodle chef in Stormbreak." Erica looks at him, a hand placed over her heart in offense. "Don't you mean 'the best chef,' period?" Her eyebrow is crooked in amusement and she reaches out to hug Hawthorn. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hawthorn." She gives him a disapproving stare and assesses his physique. "Oh no no no. This will not do. You are much too thin!" Tsking to herself, she returns behind the counter, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Now, I'm going to give you the biggest helpings of my blink hare stew, making sure there are extra noodles!" Erica proceeds to spoon large ladles of steaming soup into ginormous bowls as large as Zavien' head. He just grins happily at Hawthorn, finally answering his question, laughing. "I get whatever she gives me." There is no arguing with Erica, especially when it comes to soup and trying to put him into a food coma.

Within seconds, they have piping hot bowls before them, overloaded with meat, vegetables, and noodles. In a commanding tone, Erica points her finger at each of them. "You boys better eat every bite of this. There will not be a single drop left!" Zavien salutes her in stiff form and shoots Hawthorn an apologetic look. He should have warned the man before bringing him, but just hopes that he'll be able to consume at least most of the meal. Erica would not be happy if they didn't finish the bowls. In fact, she probably had dessert sitting in the back. So Zavien begins devouring his food with extreme enthusiasm, mumbling a thanks around bites of hot broth.

Zavien

// and it's alright, that's the way i like it —

Surprise is etched into the lines around Thorn’s eyes, a smile automatically painted on his face as Erica makes her grand entrance. And what an entrance it is as Thorn tries his best to take it all in, amusement glimmering in the seafoam of his gaze. At least, until he’s introduced, and the courtesan dips his chin in a quiet little hello. “Pleased to meet you too.” He says before she’s inspecting his physique and Thorn’s cheeks flush a little with surprise.

It’s not that he doesn’t eat. He’s just… Busy, and has a high metabolism. Right? Right.

“Makes sense to me.” Thorn says in a soft whisper for Zavien’s ears only, laughing lightly as the bowls are made and he stares at it as it’s placed in front of them, wondering how in Frey’s name he was going to finish this giant bowl. At the very least, it smelled amazing and he’d already be drooling if he weren’t already grabbing one of the spoons to try the broth. “I’ll try my best!” He says with an amused glance meeting Zavien’s apologetic one, leaning in to nudge the other man with his elbow. “I’ll have to come an’ visit more often.” He says before he too starts to dive in.

It's delicious, and truthfully Thorn has to suppress the satisfied groan from his throat as he devours more and more of it. He tries to manage balancing it out so that he might stand a chance of trying to devour all of it, but about halfway through he starts to grow a bit more sluggish. “It’s really fillin’, huh?”

thorn

— getting crucified,
every time you cross my mind //

Just smile and be happy.

Zavien laughs lightly back at Hawthorn's comments and Erica shakes the wet ladle at him. "Absolutely. It will take at least monthly visits to put meat on those bones. I expect to see you back here before Flowerbirth." There is no room for discussion in her stern tone or facial expression. As she turns back to stirring the pot, Zavien attempts to whisper to Hawthorn, "It might be best to run before she has a chance to catch you." He recalls the tight grasp of her hug and imagines what it may be if she finally caught an escaping work-in-progress. It gives him shivers and he almost laughs before he notices her eyes piercing into his, practically commanding him to "EAT". Smiling nervously, he continues to dig into his own soup, slurping the noodles gratefully into his mouth.

While enjoying the deliciously savory blink hare stew, he notices Hawthorn slowing down. Having had plenty of practice devouring the ungodly amount of food, Zavien quickly pours most of the rest into his own bowl when Erica isn't looking. When she checks on their progress, seeing that Zavien still has a long way to go, she bops him upside the head. "You're slacking, Z! Even this twig of a boy has eaten more than you!" Shaking her head in disgust, the chef starts attending to her ingredients, chopping them while muttering under her breath about "wasting away" and "expecting better." Zavien winks at Hawthorn, glad that at least he won't be subjected to Erica's wrath. "Filling is an understatement."

He works at the bowl with practiced efficiency, talking around a few bites at Hawthorn, "Do you plan to stay awhile? Or do you have to get back?" A part of him hopes the man stays, but he doesn't want to keep him from his work.

Zavien

// and it's alright, that's the way i like it —

As the wet ladle is shook at him, Thorn’s attention flits back toward her like a child being caught doing something they shouldn’t be – doe eyed and apologetic as he ducks his chin a little with referencing Zavien most recently to say “yes ma’am” before the courtesan snorts lightly into the bowl as he tries to cool it down a fraction. He hears the whisper and it sparks that smile to return, nodding a little to ensure he’d heard it, before Erica is getting on their case again.

She reminds him of his mother, in a good way, and it’s surprisingly charming to experience this – even as he struggles so hard to finish the meal. Eternally grateful for the way Zavien smoothly pours half of the bowl into his own, Thorn snorts and finishes off his bowl as he listens, before he finds it in him to try and help Zavien’s portion with a few of the noodles when Erica isn’t looking, flashing him a wink back, despite feeling like he might combust. “I planned on stayin' a couple’ve days, ‘n then headin’ back.” He glances up at Zavien with an easier gleam in his seafoam gaze. “Was wantin’ to check out Mother Molly’s to see how different it was from the House of Midnight, but other than that? Nothin’ else.” He watches the Accepted curiously, wondering what he might have to say or offer.

Though it’s no surprise that the courtesan would be wanting to take a look at the brothel, it could always wait until tomorrow.

thorn

— getting crucified,
every time you cross my mind //