Happily Ever After Every Now and then ((39))

[qualapec]

"I could get used to this whole 'with open arms' thing." He chuckled. "Must be nice at the top of the world. Or, you know, the underworld."

[victoriousscarf]

"Top of the underworld," Mac replied very softly so other's wouldn't overhear and grinned. "Though, I stand pretty damn high in the world of business as well at this point."

[qualapec]

"If I had champagne I'd toast the man of he hour. That New Years party seemed like quite the shindig. Fitting for your high-roller status, I'd say."

[victoriousscarf]

Mac grinned. "It was quite the party, I must say. And while we don't have champagne, we carry a wide selection of non-alcoholic sparkling cider."

[qualapec]

Brachen tried not to let the fact he'd forgotten show. It was an easy comment, easy to mistake it for a casual remark - hypothetical champagne. Still, the world came rushing back to him in an instant. He didn't think it showed on his face. "Right. Prefer cider myself. I have been known to indulge in the devil's drink on occasion for the sheer purpose of religious defiance. A friend of the devil is a friend of mine." He winked, tried to sound as cheeky as it could to hide the fact that he was fazed.

[victoriousscarf]

Mac frowned slightly, sensing something just slightly off, but unsure of what it actually was. "Well, not sure I'd claim all his friend's as mine, but I'll accept a goodly number," Mac said, signaling over the waiter, ordering what he had discussed earlier, as well as some sparkling cider, before glancing back at Brachen.

[qualapec]

"I'm proud to be among that number," Brachen said with a smirk when their drinks came out. He looked at the class of chilled cider in one hand. "To old times?"

[victoriousscarf]

Mac took his own class, considering the tom across from him and raised it. "Ta old times. And new ones as well."

[qualapec]

"I look forward to it." He took a ceremonial sip of his cider and hummed. "Mmm. This is delightful, Mac."

[victoriousscarf]

"I'm 'lad you like it," Mac murmured, taking his own sip. "It's good ta have you around again."

((I should NOT be listening to "All Coming Back to Me Now" while writing this thread. I shouldn't. *Wibbles*))

[qualapec]

"It's good to be back." Bracken looked around, glass cradled loosely in his hands as he crossed a leg over his knee. "I left a part of me in Felidae. I guess it just wouldn't let me die without coming back. I never realized how much this city was in my blood, no transfusion could satisfy it."

[victoriousscarf]

Feeling a good deal less thrilled at that, the only sign Mac gave of disliking the line about dying was a slow blink. But he managed to keep his face composed. "I'm glad you're back," he said, still composed.

[qualapec]

Brachen noticed something was off, but managed not to comment. He knew Mac was uncomfortable with it...and that made him a little less comfortable with the idea, too, made it more real. "I'm not just back, I'm home." He studied the cats in the dining room, felt the gentle thunder of people walking and moving on the ground at his feet, then he glanced back at Mac. "But, the fact I'm back has been established. A lot of stuff happened that I didn't tell you about. Good stuff. I went to India."

[victoriousscarf]

"Good stuff is good," Mac murmured. "Tell me about that then. India, really?"

[qualapec]

"It was beautiful," Brachen couldn't keep a certain fondness out of his voice. "The climate was a little muggy, but the atmosphere was just teeming with...energy. Spices. It wasn't so ordered there - cows wandered the streets, you had to watch out for little kits picking your pockets. There were temples dedicated to everything from sex to creation to destruction. It was organized chaos in perfect balance, the kind that keeps my brain stimulated all the time."