strangetrip | [GP] Food for the soul

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[GP] Food for the soul

Carlos hated being back at the hotel. He had begun by trying to access the Nevernever but that had totally failed, then caught up with Buffy to go and visit both London and Edinburgh, for varying reasons, and the rest of the time he had headed to Spain - he may have been well travelled, but rarely got time to be a tourist - but his time relaxing and finding out about Spain had been unceremoniously cut short when he woke up and found himself back at the hotel. For a few moments he lay there, utterly fed up, and just feeling incredibly homesick.

That only lasted a few minutes; after that he was a man on a mission.

He hunted out Caroline, and had a long chat with her. Plans were set. Time to cook up a storm. They'd missed 4th July, this could serve as a belated celebration, as well as a 'things ain't all bad here' event. Posters went up throughout the hotel, giving notice of a cook out. Everyone was encouraged to attend. What could be bad about this?

Grills were set up outside to cook up as much meat as they could hold; non-meat options were there as well for variety; salads prepared... a vast array of food to try and cheer up anyone who needed it. Carlos took his place at the grills, brandishing tools, turning the meat over just at the right point.

All that was needed now was people to attend.

[ooc: Use as a general gathering post - if you want Carlos specifically, tag him in the subject line]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Molly was reminded of the many cookouts at the Carpenter home when she'd seen the posters. She wasn't surprised at all when she noticed Carlos at one of the grills and headed over to him.

"Hey you." She smiled in greeting. "So how many times did you try the Nevernever before giving up that it wasn't our Europe?" Molly asked wryly, then added, "I tried three times in different areas."

Carlos handed a plate to Molly, piling a burger and some chicken on it, before loading up a plate for himself and moving away from the grill for a while. "I probably tried four or five times in all. Even went up to Edinburgh to see if I could find my way into HQ there, nothing." Still, it had been nice to spend some time with Buffy being a tourist round areas he knew solely from being a wizard.

"Well, I went to a Cathedral to see if I could get answers about my dad." It wasn't a secret what her father used to do. Despite how Molly looked, she actually enjoyed going to Mass on Sundays. "There was nothing so I'm guessing in that Europe there weren't Fists of Gods either."

Carlos nodded slowly. "Well, I suppose it was too much to hope for that whatever Europe we were sent to was linked to our world," he said, a little sadly. "Would have been nice, though."

"Yeah, it would have been. I think it was a tease." Molly made a face and picked up a hot dog to bite into. "Like a cat with a yarn, toying with us and then yank the yarn up when or the rug out from under us."

"Did you really just compare us to pets being trapped in some kind of cage?" Carlos asked with a laugh. "I suppose that's one way of describing it."

"Yeah, pets maybe but definitely something to toy with and watch." Molly took another bite of her hot dog. "I thought maybe we were brought here during our crossroads or something, but now I'm leaning toward zoo."

"You know what I always enjoyed watching at the zoo?" he ruminated, leaning back, chewing on a burger thoughtfully. "When the inmates played up, did something really ridiculous. It made me laugh every single time. So we've been brought here either to play up, or to be there for someone else to watch..."

Molly laughed at that, "so you think we're here for some sick enjoyment and every now and then they toss us a swinging tire so the monkeys can play?" It actually would fit with the otherworlds now and then.

"I don't know entirely if I believe it or not," he admitted. "But it would fit in a lot with what sometimes happens here."

"Yeah, it would. Especially the otherworlds that make you wonder if maybe this time the door will lead home." Molly thought it through, "I thought at first that we were being brought together because of our powers. Almost everyone had it and the ones that didn't were like placebos. I don't think that anymore."

She looked at Carlos, "to be honest, the next theory I have and hell maybe it's connected, is that the Inn is truly a crossroads. Turn left instead of right and a whole new future pops up. Another version of me is living the path of turning left and because I was going to turn right I'm here." Molly made a face, "or it could just be I'm stuck in a zoo for some dick's enjoyment without any other meaning than that."

"Everyone for their powers or abilities would make sense, but for what reason?" he asked with a frown.

He listened to Molly's second theory carefully. "I like it." It was different enough to any he had heard before that it struck him as a good one. "Though that infers that we were always meant to be here on some path."

"Yeah or away from a path. For me, it would be to see how I would develop without becoming the Winter Lady." And Molly was kind of all for that. She still wasn't looking forward to that. "And maybe for you what you would be like away from the war and away from being a Warden." She made a face, "of course I hate the being away from family part, but if another version of me is with them, I can suck it up." Sort of.

Carlos frowned slightly as he thought about what his life would be like if the war hadn't been where it was when he had matured into a full wizard. If he had been allowed to become a wizard without the spectre of war. He would have ended up being a Warden, no doubt, given the skills he had as a fighter, but he would have grown into it naturally, rather than being the youngest ever Regional Commander.

He gave a small laugh. "Well, that's one way of looking at it, because I miss my family too and thinking that somewhere I am with them is kind of comforting."

"Yeah it is." Molly agreed, "and learning that Harry didn't die or did but came back - that was worth whatever the hell this place is." Except for the part that she would wind up the Winter Lady, but foreknowledge was also a good thing.

Carlos nodded. He knew that relief well, and he wasn't as close to Harry as Molly was. "Yeah, agreed there." It had been hard to cover the whole of the US, but he'd done it as best he could. Even if Harry didn't come back to the Wardens, at least Carlos knew that between him and Molly, Chicago was protected, and given the regular difficulties there, that was good enough for him.

"And it's nice to have this time with you away from all the drama at Chicago." Molly admitted. "I know you don't miss the war and fighting, but do you miss being active here?"

"Sometimes, I do miss the fighting," he admitted. "Less than I used to, but yeah, I do miss the attitude, the camaraderie. And yes, to answer your question, I do miss being active. I like my job. I can do a lot of good."

"Yeah, it's one of the things I miss here. Not the fighting but the doing something." Molly agreed. "I have Butters here and it's a nice reminder of home without the baggage, but I miss the cases that I worked with Harry."

"Yeah, though I don't know Butters so well." Something that he was rectifying but that took time. "I'll be honest, it is nice knowing you are here too." Even though they didn't spend that much time together, that knowledge was important to him.

"It's nice to get to know you like this." Molly agreed. "I mean it's not like you're a stranger, but you spent more time with Harry than me, so this is nice."

He nodded. "Agreed. Even in the last few years I haven't spent much time in Chicago at all. Too busy trying to cover everything at once. But... this is good. We needed this."

"Yeah, we did. It's nice to have a break from life in Chicago and for you Los Angeles." Molly knocked her shoulder against Carlos'. "We should do this more often. Hang, maybe even do a board game with Butters."

She wasn't as big of a nerd of it as Butters and Harry were, but she held her own.

Carlos was a lot less of a nerd than either Harry or Butters, but he could hold his own. "As long as there is beer in it, I'm there." Sticking together more would be wise. You never knew what was coming with this place.

"There's always beer to have." Molly grinned. "One of the perks of working in the bar. Next time the otherworld opens up, we should see if that world has board games." She shot him a grin, "of course we could always do a LARP."

[GP] Food for the soul

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