The Mask: Burdens and Reputations

A Feast to Remember

As promised 2/2

The surprise over the bruise on Faustina's face passed quicker than she'd expected.

Harry glared at Deez until Faustina assured him T deserved it.

Beam and James asked if she was the one who felt it, and then subsequently dropped it upon her response.

Which was pretty much Gil's reaction as well.

'If Treasure was actually offended enough ta slap him, then yeah, he deserved it.'

Deez briefly tried to slide out of Gil's lap and onto the floor, but he'd quickly put a stop to that.

Her eye was still twitching from Faustina's attempt at soothing her.

'StarGazer he laughed in your face, there's no need to tear yourself apart, he was out of line.'

But then Freddie, Celia, Sam, and his brothers brought in the food, and the energy had done a one-eighty.

"Ta Uma, the kick ass huntress of this huge ass feast!" Beam cheers as he lifts his glass.

She grins as everyone raises their glasses and knocks them together in the middle of the table.

"Thank you, thank you," she grins as she raises her glass as well, "but, Faustina is the instigator of this feast. Without her, this," she gestures to the pile of roasted shark meat and the huge pot of shark and seaweed stew, "would not be possible. So, thank you for our future full and quiet bellies."

"Yeah," Gil nods as he gazes longingly at the spread, "An' Deez, I haven't eaten anything sweet in forever."

"Tch," Beam's eyes the apple stew, "I've never had sweets- or shark, this is gonna be sick." He pumps his fist victoriously.

"We gonna just stare? Or we gonna eat it?" Harry asks as he taps the blunted ends of his fork and spoon against the table.

"Food!" Gil and Beam cry as they nearly stab each other in their exuberance for the seared shark before Harry finishes.

She snorts, those two made it seem like she'd been starving them, instead of just rationing it.

She turns to Faustina curiously, wanting to know how difficult Rush was to brew, but the question dies on her lips as she rolls her eyes.

Of course her nose was stuck in a book.

She frowns as she reads the title on the spine of the book.

'Firearms; Safety and Precautions'

Weird.

Either way, "Beauty Girl," she snaps her fingers in Faustina's ear, "time to eat."

Faustina's glare quickly shifts into a blush, "my apologies, Captain." She mumbles as she places the book down on her knee.

Beam snorts, "wouldn't o' pegged any relation of Shadow's ta be such a nerd- But you're almost as bad as Killer-"

She frowns, she hadn't heard that nickname yet-

Nerdy but had earned the moniker Killer?

Harry shakes his head, clearly giving up trying to puzzle it out, "who be Killer?"

Faustina turns to him, once more speaking too quietly to be heard before Harry startles everyone with an abrupt guffaw before he turns to Beam, "ya be kiddin' me. The Pup?"

Gil snorts, "what?"

Beam beams, "What? Kid's a killer with them puppy eyes. I'm proud o' it."

She can't stop the snort.