[EP] all over the place!

[st_ormchaser]

Lara hadn't yet made a concerted effort to explore the Inn and meet the other residents, mostly because she'd been taken up with Kitty and with getting used to the general peacefulness of the Inn again. It was easier this time around, because she wasn't coming off Yamatai; for all that her time in Mexico and Peru had ended with her willingly lying on a stone table to have her heart cut out, it was still less horror than Yamatai.

But Kitty had things to do today and Lara hadn't decided yet whether she wanted to take up her former role as bartender or (understanding that there wasn't much need) find something else. So, today, Lara assigned herself the task of exploring everywhere the Inn had to offer and at least saying hello to everyone she came across.

[OTA] Cravings

[st_ubby]

Vex'ahlia de Rolo did not like vending machines.

Even Percy's enthusiasm explaining how they worked only went so far. They were the only thing at the inn that required actual exchange of coin to receive goods, and they were so very damned particular. They only took currency from the land the inn was from, which was ridiculous, when gold was gold, and worth whatever the market would allow, regardless of what land one traveled through. And there was absolutely no haggling with a machine. It would have its two quarters, five dimes, ten nickels, or some combination of the above that equaled fifty American cents, or it would not give up the packaged treat nestled tauntingly in the rack known as B12.

No, Vex did not like vending machines at all.

But.

Not liking them didn't mean she'd avoided them completely, if only so she could learn more about this world and all the things it had to offer. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd tried to get something from one of them, though. Months, at least.

Until today, when she needed the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts. Yes, needed. So she'd decided to sacrifice two quarters – just because they weren't worth nearly as much as a gold piece didn't mean she wouldn't hoard lesser coins that could come in useful eventually – to the only "merchant" in the "village" that could meet that need. She put her coins into the slot, then pushed the buttons to make her choice...

... and the fucking machine wouldn't give her her Pop-Tarts!

The little spiral of metal spun a quarter turn and then stopped, not nearly enough for the snack to drop down where she was meant to retrieve it. She smacked the glass front with the heel of her hand. Nothing. She pushed the button to give her her money back. Nothing.

The fucking machine was stealing from her now.

"I'm warning you. I have a bear, and I'm not afraid to use him," she warned, knowing it wouldn't be nearly as effective as it was against recalcitrant shopkeepers, and not caring who might be walking by at the time to hear her talking to a machine. She could care once she had her damn Pop-Tarts.