This is Not a Theme Park [Lucca]

[Kari Muffin]

Conall looked to Arkady. His sight was still fuzzy. He gave a small shrug at the silent look. He wasn't particularly sure about the food until he found out if they decided to do take out or not. Curry could have been something good and transportable. Then again he had never actually had curry before.

The penguin hopped onto one of the low seats. "Take out? Well the curry place and the Highlander-esque restaurant let you order out. You just have to be willing to sit there for a little while for them to prepare anything." He flipped the teacups to right side up with his beak. He then carefully slipped his beak into the handle of the teapot and poured three cups.

It took a great deal of skill for him not to spill the liquid. He set down the teapot and licked his beak. "Do you take your tea with sugar?" He he slid the cup towards the canine.

The woman returned offering Conall an ice pack and a few towels. When he accepted she picked up the teacup that she had decided was his, and sprinkled a bit of something in it. She offered it to the Jack. "Hopefully your poison immunity doesn't prevent you from absorbing painkillers."

Conall accepted the cup, taking a small sip of the tea. He had never thought about his immunity messing with painkillers. He mumbled a thank you before focusing on Horatio and Arkady. "Do you think the curry place would work for what we want?"

[Lucca]

Sadly, Arkady's silent attempt to communicate with Conall didn't result in anything helpful. It only left the Coyote worrying about the unfocused look in his friend's eyes. His ears pressed back and he wished they had some way of asking Cas what she would want. Of course, short of him running back the hotel and asking her, there wasn't much they could do about it. And she might even still be asleep. Hopefully she was still asleep.

This was certainly going to delay them a bit, if nothing else. He shot another worried look to the Boggie, and then turned to watch the odd bird pour tea. He was so used to most of the adults in his life having higher forms it was a bit amazing to see what some Cards had managed to adapt to. Of course, he himself had to deal with only having paws. "Just one lump," he replied, reaching out a paw to pull the tea closer and sticking out his tongue to lap it a bit. Ow, okay, it was still pretty hot.

"Thank you," he said anyway, and then tilted his head at Conall. He still would prefer something they could bring back. So in that case...he nodded. Yeah, the curry would probably work. And they could get a few different kinds in case Cas didn't like a certain type of it. At least they had a plan now, and Ark allowed himself to relax, just a bit. Still, he didn't want to leave before they knew that Conall was going to be all right.

[Kari Muffin]

Horatio carefully gave the boy his lump of sugar and put several into his own cup. He preferred his sugar with a spot of tea, as his mother seemed to scoff in the background. He ignored her and took a few laps of the liquid. Mmm. Sugar water.

"Curry it is then. I can show you were they are, and if you want I could probably help carry your order. You," he motioned with a stubby wing to the Bog boy, "Might not have your proper balance for a little while. Sometimes a broken nose leads to complications."

The tea tasted like grass and not much else. Conall was still in quite a bit of pain as far as his nose was concerned. Though he did seem to be able to breath better. Odd he hadn't thought he was having too much trouble with it before.

He blinked when the penguin pointed at him. "Ah... really?" He looked up to the woman who seemed to have been starring at him.

She waved a hand dismissively. "You should be fine, young man. Just give it twenty minutes or so before you go out to get your food." A small chirp escaped her as she turned to Arkady. "Would you like a few proper biscuts with your tea?" She waited for his response before darting off to take care of the customer in the back of the store.

Horatio had been eying his tea, debating on asking why the two strangers were in the tiny town. It would probably be a breech of proper etiquette, but not many people came to the tiny town without a reason. And he was curious why such high ranked people would be here. "What are you two doing all the way out here anyway?"

[Lucca]

Arkady pulled his tea closer, holding it in his paws and enjoying the warmth that rushed up his arms. He didn't try to sip it again just yet, having learned from his smarting tongue to wait until it cooled a bit. He blinked up at Horatio. He was going to help them carry the food? That was nice of him, especially since, unless the restaurant was going to put the curry into bags, it would be hard for the Coyote to carry his share. Of course...he was less happy to hear that Conall might have some ongoing balance issues. That...might actually be a bit dangerous considering the knives that were on his back.

Ark's ears went back in worry, and he shook his head at the question. He didn't really need biscuits if they were going to get curry in twenty minutes. He sniffed at his tea, and tentatively took a small sip. It did seem cooler now, so he started lapping it up as neatly as he could. He stopped and looked up, blinking and licking his muzzle, as Horatio asked that question. He hesitated, not sure how much he should tell, and tried to meet Conall's eyes. But he didn't want to seem rude or, worse, suspicious.

"We're just visiting. Our friend wanted to go on a little adventure." Ark didn't mention that the adventure had been to Tulgey Wood, not really sure how the residents of Torquehelm thought of the place. He knew Peaches hated the place.

[Kari Muffin]

Horatio blinked. An adventure in Torquehelm? What were they expecting to do here? He wasn't quite sure what to say to that. "I hope you found something interesting to do in this little town. Nothing has really happened since there was a scandal a few years back involving the undertaker and a Corvie."

He took another sip of his tea giving the boys a nice smile. He was sure they didn't want to hear about that.

Conall was carefully sipping his tea and wishing that his nose would stop hurting. He was eying the penguin curiously. He still felt like an idiot over tripping over the bird's ball and chain. It was even a short ball and chain, how had he managed to miss it. "I think... I'll be okay balance wise. Though, thank you for the offer of carrying things. We appreciate the help."

The penguin smiled. "Well, since you're here feel free to ask any sort of question about the realm and this sweet little town."

[Lucca]

Arkady just made a noncommittal noise. No way was he going to answer any questions he wasn't asked. It may have seemed a little bit paranoid, but Ark didn't want to get anyone in trouble, and he just wasn't sure what the reaction of the strange bird would be if he told the truth. It was better, simpler, smarter, to say nothing at all. He blinked, though, at the mention of the scandal. That sounded...interesting. And not really like something he cared to know about. Undertakers dealt with dead bodies, which was...ew. Dirty, morbid, and something his brother Yuri enjoyed thinking about.

He lapped a bit more at his tea, flicking his ears to acknowledge Conall. Was the boy telling the truth, or was he just trying to retain what little dignity he still had? And now he was expected to have questions? He shifted uncomfortably. When was Conall going to be able to leave, again? Not yet, obviously. So he should think of a question. He cleared his throat, took another sip of his tea, and made the attempt at normal conversation. "Have you always lived here, Horatio?" It didn't occur to him that the penguin might not live here.

[Kari Muffin]

Conall had to admit that he was morbidly curious about the undertaker business. But he wasn't about to ask about it. It seemed a bit... much to do, all things considered. They had just met the Penguin and who knew what he actually knew about the little town.

The bog child sipped his tea. He felt a little better. The pain was less blinding and slowly becoming just a discomfort. Guh. Sleeping was going to be more awkward than usual. He'd probably smack his face in the dead of night with his luck.

He raised an eyebrow at the penguin, though Arkady did ask a good question. Thankfully.

"No actually," Horatio said cheerfully. "My parents moved around Torquehelm when I was younger, and now I live in the Capital. I came for a long over do visit... though I feel a bit like a fish out of water."

He shrugged, which looked father odd with his stubby wings. "Do you actually hail from your regions or are you nobles? If it's not rude of me to ask. You seem to carry yourselves with a particular...air?"

Conall looked to Arkady giving him a look of mild concern. It was quite clear that he wasn't thrilled with the idea of telling the penguin anything.

[Lucca]

Arkady blinked in surprise. So Horatio didn't actually live here? That probably explained how he was so cheerful. The native Torques who lived there seemed mostly like a depressed lot, but the ones born elsewhere or who moved out were generally not as held down. Like Peaches and Her Majesty Xiven. He nodded to the bird. He almost wanted to ask him what kind of bird he was, but as he watched Horatio give his flippers a shrug and the last phrase the bird had said repeat in his head...a spark of memory flashed. Oh! Right! He'd read about birds, once, that would swim instead of fly and liked living in the cold and eating fish. If he had been the type of child prone to exclaimations, he probably would have said something incredibly stupid at that point. Luckily, he wasn't, so the entire revelation passed in silence.

Of course, then there was another question, and Ark frowned in confusion. He could tell they lived among nobles? "What do you mean?" he asked, with a suitably contrite expression in case the penguin was offended by something in his manners. After all, usually the Cards who said things like that to him or one of his siblings had a bitter spot for nobility. Regardless, he was about to answer the man's questions anyway when he caught Conall's look. He didn't trust the penguin, then. Ark wasn't sure why; Horatio seemed nice enough.

Maybe a half answer would do? "I've never been to the Glacier," he muttered sadly. That still left other options though. Perhaps his family had moved out, maybe he lived in the Capital...a high Rank could occasionally be born to those not as higher Ranked.

[Kari Muffin]

Horatio had hoped that he didn't offend the two boys, but clearly he had overstepped a boundary. Oh well, that's what he got for being nosy. "Ah well you just... wear your ranks well?" He said after a moment. Maybe they weren't nobles, but they seemed privileged at the very least.

Oh? So the Solandrian had never been to his own realm. Well. That left quite a few doors open. "Neither have I, but I imagine the snow would be fun for a while. Though I hear the residents aren't particularly fond of outsiders. Then again... a lot of realms aren't." He gave a small shrug. He glanced at Conall. He honestly couldn't place the realm or coloration and could only assume that he was some bizarre mix.

Conall sipped his tea quietly. Eying the pair. He set his cup down after a moment and shifted a bit in his seat. He wanted to go. "We should probably go soon. Our friend will probably be waking up from her nap."

[Lucca]

Arkady frowned, still not sure if he was being insulted or not. There was no scorn or anything similar in Horatio's voice, but...he still wasn't sure what to say to that. He just shrugged and hoped that would seem good enough. He didn't want to actually offend the Penguin who was being nice enough to let them stay until Conall was feeling better. He nodded, being able to see why the Penguin would want to go to Solandria since he was made for cold. He had insulating feathers if Ark was remembering his reading correctly.

"I wanna go there," he said softly, almost to himself except that it was aloud, and Ark was not in the habit of speaking his thoughts aloud. It was really just the only thing he could think of to say. He thought of how the Tulgey was very unkind to outsiders. At least he should fit in fine in Solandria, though...

Of course, when Conall spoke Arkady was distracted immediately and jumped up. "Sorry, Horatio. We need to go...thank you for helping us." He bowed a little to the Penguin and then walked towards the door. He couldn't believe they'd left Cas alone for so long! How long had it even been? His eyes were a bit too wide as he pushed open the door. And they still had to get food...