Well, that wasn't something one could recover from or even get angry at.

"... Sorry."

HAIDILAO

A BROTH THAT BURNS FROM THE HEART

FERNANDO ENJOYS HIS MEAL IN PEACE. This whole setup was all an elaborate ploy to scam kim cole-essam out of his money. Sure, some circumstances go beyond his predictions. The who and why are impossible to rely on. But bringing this many League personnel from different warfronts, especially after one succeeds and the other fails?

A recipe for disaster.

Five hundred Poke is more than enough for the meal and then some. It’s not the biggest profit Silph will pilfer but still measures up to a pretty penny knowing that it comes at Kim’s expense.

At least, that’s what Fernando tells himself as encouragement to quiet his tongue. The taste of spicy Gogoat proves much more satisfying than any witty one liner or abrasive insult.

The mood at the dinner table was back-and-forth, but it all generally pointed to the same thing. Friction within the league. They'd been dealt a hefty blow, and now there was tangible loss in the form of another rogue city. Derek could empathize with all the frustration. But that didn't make it okay.

Having his own drink brought, the whiskey sour graced his lips generously. Eyes darted between the two of them from behind the glass, wondering if a fight may break out.

Things ultimately died down, but he felt like John Sullivan and Greyson Connors had made adversaries of one another.

Big sis Stormy Silph came to the dinner's rescue, or tried to anyway. Her outburst was just as unsettling, though. If Derek hadn't been holding his drink, she would've caused it to spill!

And even if there was some truth to her words, she readily demeaned them by referring to the two as children. It showcased a lack of mutual respect, especially the way she offered to help them home if they weren't able to do it themselves. He wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if it fanned the argument's dying flames.

A joke popped into his mind, about how they could learn to lick their wounds properly from kyle lopez. Sadly, it would go unspoken. They probably wouldn't find it funny.

Whether it was a joke or not, the prompt game by kim cole-essam was immediately accepted by Kaida, her mouth zipping shut with considerable ease.

And then an argument cropped up between John Sullivan and Greyson Connors , followed by Stormy Silph knocking around the table. In a moment of horror, Kaida watched her drink, nothing more than soda but still, crash down and spill. Even as a waiter rushed to replace it and clean the mess, Kaida strained to keep her words internal, and growled at Stormy, angrily stabbing her meat.

She made no attempt to help Doug in his argument, knowing it was his to fight and holding neither opinion, she stayed out of it. Defense of her ally was necessitated the moment @jess added a useless little curse to the situation. She didn't talk, however, raising her hands in a movement that those trained would understand as sign language. And what did she dust off this skill of hers to do, sign Useless person, straight at the insulting woman.

She had no idea if that counted as talking or not, or even if anybody would notice, but it kept irritation down.

Haidilao

I've seen livelier funerals

Hilarious Terrible as her reasons were, Katherine Fairburne was the last person he ever expected to back him up.

He didn't know how to feel about it. He was tempted to swear off alcohol, but then he would have to face his soldiers' deaths while sober.

Gods forbid.

'... Please don't support my bad habits.' He thought to himself wryly, rubbing at his temples with his digits.

The stress of either Sootopolis or the current conversation was apparently absolutely terrible for his skin; if one were the kind who paid too much attention, it almost seemed as if it was breaking off like dandruff where his fingers grind against his head.

Only, the tiny pink particles were floating upwards and dissipating instead.

"Duly noted." He said at @jess's jab, slumping against his seat, giving up on his temples. It was too late to regret his piss poor handling of emotions or speech now.

He didn't know sign language, but Kaida Adachi's support would surely be appreciated if pointed out to him later. For now, he just hoped FERNANDO SILPH would steer the conversation towards the actual subject matter soon.

Tragically unaware that the world's richest man was busy trying to save himself 500 bucks.

Eva’s grateful the bickering as ended. For a moment, she thought she might have to cut in and swing the superiority hammer to get John Sullivan to calm down. Luckily, it all settled itself with an explosive performance from Stormy Silph. Eva reached for her water as the woman’s heat radiates through the room.

With a deep breath, the doctor clears her throat to speak up, fidgeting with the chopsticks in hand, “Regardless of our sentiments what’s done is done,” There’s no changing it. Only cait alfric could travel back in time but what good would that do? Observations have already been made, actions set in place, dominoes falling where they may, “Rocket has Sootopolis, new gods have appeared in many forms, and Primal Energy is surging everywhere,” her gaze flashes over to zenji jabami who shares the burden of their work, “There are a lot of questions without many answers,” Her chopsticks rhythmically stir through the broth in her bowl. Something bigger is happening in Hoenn, “We must be diligent moving forward. The League, no, Hoenn needs our cooperation,” and in an overly-optimistic fashion Eva smiles, “Team work makes the dream work.”

cait alfric | Laurence Anderson | John Sullivan | Stormy Silph | Kaida Adachi | Katherine Fairburne | @jess | DEREK HOFFMAN | FERNANDO SILPH | kim cole-essam | Greyson Connors | kyle lopez | MATIAS SILPH