ArchivedLogs:Grand Opening

Grand Opening
Dramatis Personae Mallory, Aloke
In Absentia	2014-03-02 Aloke finally takes Mallory to meet his sister, step one in meeting his family. Also, the family restaurant has finally reopened!
Location <XS> Aloke and Mallory's Room :: then :: <NYC> Tamarind - TriBeCa
This is a couple's suite at Xavier's. A little more expansive than the basic teacher's rooms, this suite includes a living room, a larger bedroom, and a decent-sized private bathroom, as well as a small study. The living room has been made into a fairly cozy entertaining space. Just inside the door is a small side table set by itself in a relatively prominent position in the room, where one could easily visit either on the way in, or out. A skilled, hand-painted, 8x10 image of Lakshmi sits on the table, leaning against the wall. Just in front of the painting is a shallow, silver bowl of water with white and yellow flower petals floating on the surface. The bowl is flanked a pair of white candles. Aloke and Mallory are not exactly the couple who can just whisk off at a moment's notice. So their date night has come with much preparation and anticipation. For Aloke's part, he has logged his 'flight plan' with Hank and has promised to ping his colleague when they arrive safely. They've made arrangements to arrive in Central Park after dark where their arrival will be both furtive and freezing. Aloke has further prepared himself by covering his face and hands in the sunscreen he's come to like so much, which greatly diffuses his bright glow. He's no less obvious really, but much less painful to look at, even at his brightest. In addition, he's wearing a brown wool walker coat, brown slacks, and practical shoes. He has a scarf wrapped around his neck and tucked into the front of his coat, and is wearing a checkered brown and green cabby cap. He stands before the picture of Lakshmi and inspects his outfit in the mirror on the wall there, waiting for Mallory to be ready as well. For all appearances, Mallory was "ready" almost an thirty minutes ago. Her long black hair is pulled back into a braid that has then been wrapped and coiled into a neat little bun, held in place with a collection of the small star-topped hairpins. The style accommodates but does not hide her horns, instead mimicking their curve with the spiral of the bun. A minimal dusting of makeup does nothing to minimize the deep red of her skin, but instead just accentuates the delicate angles of her cheekbones, a soft gold shadow on her eyelids plays off the flickering fire of her eyes. She wears a conservative but flattering floor length black dress, which flares at the hips with numerous soft pleats to mask her odd legs and tail. A shining black belt with a gold buckle rests at her hips, while the fitted bodice with a v-neckline and long sleeves clings pleasantly to her torso. At her throat dangles a simple gold and red pressed glass tear-drop pendant, hanging from a simple gold chain around her neck. For the last half-hour, however, she has been sitting silently on a cushion in front of the sofa, eyes closed in concentration. Her hands are folded neatly in her lap, holding tight to a small freezer pack which is beginning to glisten with beads of condensation. Mallory's breaths are coming in a slow, measured rhythm - in slowly through the nose, out just as slowly past her lips. After a few minutes longer, Mallory opens her eyes with one last slow exhale. Carefully, she rises from her crouched position, neatening the pleats of her skirt as it settles into place. Content with her appearance, she stoops to gather the almost comically large purse, black with a silver buckle, containing a spare set of everything, just in case. Aloke is regarded with a bemused smile, Mallory' eyes half lidded in forced relaxation, "You about ready to go, handsome?" "Yeah," he says quietly, not wanting to disturb her mediation until she speaks. He crosses and takes Mallory's hand, watching her face for cues, and nods to himself more than anything. He pulls her into an embrace and whispers into her ear, "One more deep breath…" He waits for her to do so, and when she starts to let it out again, he dissolves the two of them into light. As a coherent beam of light, Aloke directs them through the window of their rooms, and out into the New York night. They experience no temperature, light or dark, or wind in their travel. They just move through the world which seems to have stopped all around them. After a moment which seems to stretch to infinity, they find themselves standing in the alley behind Tamarind Tribeca. The alleyway is deserted, with only a dumpster sitting across from the restaurant's back door. Having picked out the landing spot before they materialized, Aloke could tell there was no one in their immediate vicinity, so the glowing man takes a quick step back just in case Mallory needs some space. "Keep breathing Mallo, just like we practiced," he whispers. As they rematerialize, Mallory sucks in a pained breath through clenched teeth, her embrace tightening around Aloke for a moment before she weakly pushes him away. Eyes fluttering shut, Mallory forces herself to take a shuddering, deep breath, letting it out slowly in an equally shaky manner. She nods slowly in acknowledgement of Aloke's coaching, her hands balling into fists to clutch at the fabric of her skirt. Each breath grows more confident, less pained; after just a few minutes, Mallory is breathing regularly, opening her eyes hesitantly. "Ok. I... I think I have it under control," Mallory says with a nervous smile, stepping towards Aloke and extending her hand to him, still shaking from the exertion. Her skin is approaching normal heat, while the flickering glow of her eyes quite visible in the darkness of the alley. Briefly, there is a faint pained flinch, fairly well hidden behind her smile, but it is there. "I think we may just about have this down," she hazards, her fanged smile broadening excitedly as she glances around at their surroundings. Aloke steps to Mallory quickly when she invites him, and pulls her arm into the crook of his own, holding her close as they walk arm-in-arm to the back door of the restaurant. He pauses to fire off the text message Hank must be waiting for, and continues, "They only reopened last week, so I thought it might be fun to take you to my parent's place to celebrate our new travel options." Pulling the alley door open washes them in a waft of warm, spice-scented air. "Welcome to Tamarind Tribeca." The Tamarind Tribeca, the Suresh family restaurant, has been a staple in Tribeca for many years. It's been remodeled since the zombie riots, and it looks like the family put the insurance money to good use. The restaurant also has a growing reputation for being mutant friendly. The entrance has dark brown wooden benches, to sit and wait for a table, with the host's stand just off to the side from the door. The interior is all dark wood, with round tables of varying sizes seating two to eight. Two dozen paintings line the walls, showing various regions of India in stunning oil-paint landscapes. Each has a small brass placard attached to the wall just beneath, naming the area depicted there. Lining the far back wall are three alcoves with low tables and lush cushions lining the floor and walls, intended to seat small groups of six or so. Glass sconces on the walls provide a warm light for the little hideaways. Each individual alcove has a peaked arch for an entryway, framed with richly colored curtains in deep reds and shimmering golds, made of vintage sari materials and pulled aside with simple coordinating cords. Inside, the rich embroidery and texture of the fabric is echoed in subtle decorations and accents. On the back wall of each is a smaller oil painting of different Indian landscapes kitsched out to look like windows. The restaurant is known to have a higher end dinner service, but they do something a little different during lunch. Rather than regular table service, customers place their order with the host or hostess, and take a number to their table where the food is delivered fairly quickly. Evenings are full-service and carried out as classy as possible, catering to even the most obvious of mutants. Mallory leans in to Aloke, still shaking just a touch from her reaction to the travel. Glancing at the back of the restaurant a touch skeptically, her expression brightens at the further explanation. “Oh!” she breathes quietly, a confused smile on her lips, “But, I thought they had moved…?” A hand nervously brushes against the somewhat rumpled pleats of her dress, trying to smooth them back into some semblance of order to middling success. She squeezes Aloke's arm nervously, though she smiles brilliantly at the rush of warm, spiced air that greets them inside. "Oh my," she says quietly, just taking in the smells, her fresh sense of anxiety forgotten for the moment, at least. "Well, mom and dad are staying in Bangalore, I think. Probably for good," Aloke says as they step in through the back door. The pair finds themselves in the aromatic kitchen of the Tamarind where the staff eye them curiously until they recognize Aloke, nod, and get back to work. Mallory certainly gets more than a second look, because, who could suppress that? But overall, they skip the Running or the Screaming. Aloke leads the way through the kitchen and out into the main dining area. He pauses long enough to make eye contact with his sister who looks to be doing hostess duty tonight. She nods and smiles when she sees the pair, and tips her head toward the left-hand booth in the back. Again, several diners cast a second glance at the demon woman and her glowing boyfriend, but overall they don't cause too much of a scene. Approaching the alcove seating, Aloke stands to one side and holds open the sari curtain for Mallory. "These alcoves were my idea during the remodel. I thought they might be more comfortable for you." Mallory freezes in place, just a step behind Aloke as they enter the kitchen, bracing herself for the usual responses to her appearance. Her posture momentarily stiffens, shoulders back, jaw set stubbornly, gaze averted from stares. When all that greet them are a nod and a few curious glances and decidedly less screaming, however, she relaxes, following Aloke out into the dining room. The sharp -clack- of her hooves draws some attention as well, once people get past the initial shock of her demonic appearance; she places her opposite hand on Aloke’s elbow where there arms are linked, perhaps for a touch more stability on the hardwood flooring. “This place is amazing,” she says reverently, glancing around at the decor as they make their way to the back. Her smile broadens at the sight of the cozy little alcove seating, peeking curiously inside as Aloke holds open the curtain. When he explains the presence of the little alcoves, Mallory’s jaw drops slightly, and she looks at him with wide eyes, glancing between their table and Aloke. “You are an absolute darling,” she says quietly, leaning over to plant a quick, pleasantly warm kiss on his cheek before she gingerly steps through the archway and gets herself settled in; the movement of sitting on the cushions is far more graceful than the process of situating herself in a standard chair. The position does leave her lower legs, complete with hooves, and the end of her tail visible to those who might look into the little hideaway, but she looks decidedly comfortable none the less. Aloke beams when Mallory approves of the seating arrangements. He follows her into the alcove, waits for her to sit, and sits opposite with the low table between them, folding his legs comfortably into a lotus position. The dim lighting of the alcove is ruined just a little bit from the ambient light he gives off, but it's not too bad. He takes a deep breath and nods to himself. "I'm glad you like it. I've been nervous about bringing you here all week." His eyes flick to the front of house, and nods when it looks like his sister is handing over greeting duties. "Oh good. I was worried Raja wouldn't be able to get away. She's been looking forward to meeting you." “Nervous that I wouldn’t like it, or…?” Mallory asks curiously, tilting her head curiously to the side, light playing off the smooth curve of her horns as she does. “This place is /stunning/, Aloke. Thank you for bringing me here.” A pause, as she glances around again, peeking around the curtain to further examine the restaurant at large. “Are those,” she glances back at the painting on the wall, smiling brightly, “Your paintings?” Her breath catches for a moment, when he mentions meeting his sister, her gaze following his out towards the hostess stand. “Oh,” she swallows quietly, offering a nervous smile, “I had been wondering when I would get a chance to meet some of your more local family.” The anxiety absent in her voice comes through in her actions as she begins tugging anxiously at the ends of her sleeves and smoothing back the non-existent stray hair, running a hand along the curve of one horn reflexively. Aloke nods, acknowledging the cause of his nervousness. "I'm glad you like it," he starts to say and then the light in his eyes swirls and focuses as he looks down, embarrassed at the compliment. "I… thanks. I painted them a long time ago. In grad school. I didn't realize she was going to use /all/ of them. She had me get them out of storage and I suggested a couple, but…" Aloke takes a deep breath and just smiles, shaking his head. His eyebrows go up when he spies his sister coming close, and he reaches out to hold the curtain open. Rather than greet Mallory demurely from the opening to the Alcove, Rajanigandha Suresh first kneels at the entrance and scoots right in to sit next to Mallory, reaching out to give the woman a side hug as if they'd known each other for years. Up close, the woman's brown eyes light up with how pleased she is. Aloke looks a little at a loss for her familiar greeting and then just shrugs and shakes his head. "Mallory, this is Rajanigandha. Raja, this is Mallory." Rajani makes a face at Aloke's 'formal' introduction and says, "Oh god, just 'Raja' is fine, please. Not all /that/." She smiles and turns to face Mallory more fully. "It's nice to finally meet you." “Well, I think they suit the place perfectly. Your sister has good taste,” Mallory says and grins, her gaze trailing back out to the other paintings, at which point she sees Raja approaching their booth. She tenses slightly, shifting her position and sitting up straighter, desperately trying not to telegraph her anxiety in her posture - mostly failing, however. The hug is quite unexpected, and she stiffens for the briefest moment, ultimately relaxing with a soft chuckle and looking towards Aloke curiously. Carefully, she returns the hug, smiling in amusement and a touch of confusion. “Hello Raja,” Mallory says, releasing the hug before it becomes too uncomfortably warm, still smiling with a cautious happiness, “It is good to finally meet you, too. And in such a lovely setting.” There’s a quiet laugh at the protest to the formal introduction, and she shakes her head. She settles back into the somewhat relaxed posture she had initially adopted, looking across the table to Aloke with relief in her eyes. Rajani gives them both a bright smile, looking from one to the other. She doesn't seem in a big hurry to get back out to the restaurant. Her long dark hair is pulled back in a neatly arranged braid that reaches halfway down her back, with the sides pinned up as well. She's wearing a lavender wrap top with designs in gold sequins that mimics the design of a sari dress, though her fitted black pants modernize look and show off the older woman's curvy features in a dignified way. "So, you're a librarian at the school, right?" If the fact that Aloke's 40-year old sister looks younger than him by a decade or more makes either of them uncomfortable, the siblings don't show it. Perhaps it's something they've come to terms with. Aloke sits back, enjoying the introduction, and gives both women a broad smile. "I'm glad you two could finally meet," he says, reaching up to push graying hair back behind his ear. He's otherwise quiet though, content to let the two talk a bit. “Yes. I’m the head librarian, as well as teaching a handful of English classes,” Mallory confirms with a cheeky smile, “That’s actually how I first met Aloke; he was ransacking my library in the name of research.” She smiles warmly towards Aloke, kindly leaving out the part about the accidental teleport and her nearly setting him on fire. “I just started back in, oh, wow.” She pauses, mentally counting, a touch shocked at the answer, “Last June, actually. I can’t quite believe it’s been the better part of a year already.” Mallory runs a hand along a horn, shaking her head slightly with a nervous chuckle. For the first time, her smile flickers, but returns just as cheerily as quickly as it had faltered. She nods towards Raja, offering a grin, “And you? Have you always wanted to take up running the restaurant?” Mallory settles back against the cushions, her posture still proper as she rests her hands in her lap, attempting to look casual. Glancing towards Aloke, she smiles a bit more confidently, nodding in agreement. Rajani laughs, a happy, loud sound, uninhibited. "Oh gosh, you could say that, yes." Across the table Aloke groans and rolls his eyes with a good natured laugh, but doesn't interrupt. Rajani says, "Yeah, I used to make the boys /play/ restaurant after school. Taking orders, cooking plastic food, clearing tables. I was awful, I know." Aloke laughs, clearly enjoying the memory, but doesn't contradict her. "Oh yeah, it was bad," he jokes. "I always got stuck with /pretend/ dishes." He laughs again and sips from his water just as a waiter stops by with a bottle of white wine and two glasses. The waiter looks surprised to see Rajani there and says, "Oh, sorry Ms. Suresh. I'll get a third glass." She stops him before he goes though and says, "No no, I'm just visiting. That's the right bottle though." She winks at her 'younger' brother and nudges Mallory playfully with her elbow. Rajani dismisses the waiter in favor of opening and pouring the bottle herself. "So, what part of England are you from, Mal?" Mallory laughs in response to the anecdote, shaking her head and smiling brightly, “Oh that is just adorable. And I imagine a fair amount less painful than what I put my poor brother through.” She chuckles, smoothing her hair back with a guilty smile, “I made Thomas recite scenes from Shakespeare’s plays with me. He’s a bit of a saint for putting up with that for so long.” Picking up her water glass, Mallory takes a long pull and smirking in amusement at the banter between the siblings. She raises an eyebrow curiously at the unprompted bottle of wine, smiling in mild confusion and glancing between Aloke and Rajani. She giggles and scrunches her nose at the elbow nudge, flinching her arm into place to protect a ticklish spot on her rib cage. Accepting the glass of wine with an amused smile, raising it in a small salute but not drinking from it yet. “I grew up on my family’s estate in Oxford, actually,” she says with a somewhat sad smile, adding with a rueful smirk, “Did /not/ get to attend the university by the same name, however.” Rajani laughs again and nods. "Oh gosh, Shakespeare… you must have caught the bug early." When she pours Aloke's glass, Rajani peeks out the curtain to see if any of her employees are hanging about. When the coast is clear, she takes a big sip from his glass, and then refills it before handing it over to him, giving both him and Mallory the 'sealed lips' sign and a wink. Aloke holds his glass up in a silent salute and promise of secrecy before taking a sip, the diffuse light from his face shimmering in the glass. "Ok ok, Raja," Aloke says with a patient smile. "We'll make dinner plans with you! But not tonight. You have to let us have dinner." Aloke is grinning the whole time, even if he is asking his big sister to butt out of his date night. “My family had an /amazing/ library. I think I read A Midsummer Nights Dream for the first time when I was about eight. So, yes, I suppose you could say I caught it early,” Mallory says with a grin. She mimics the ‘lips sealed’ sign, and giggles quietly, raising her glass in a silent promise. Mallory does finally take a sip of the wine when Aloke does, watching the shimmering of the light through the wine with a thoughtful expression. A gentle smile on her wine-red lips as she looks at him. The protest, however, gets a soft chuckle, and Mallory nods. “It has been absolutely lovely to meet you, Raja, but I am actually quite looking forward to dinner,” she admits this with a bit of a blush rising to her already red cheeks, smiling brightly. Her stomach, kindly enough, refrains from backing up the claim with an audible growl. “Perhaps we can meet some time for lunch? I’d love to get to talk more, but…” her voice trails off and she glances at Aloke with a sheepish smile. Rajani reaches out and actually pinches Aloke's cheek playfully, a rueful grin on her lips. "Yeah yeah, I know, little brothers always want their privacy," she says, clearly not concerned about embarrassing him. To his credit however, Aloke endures the treatment with a grin of his own and a roll of the eyes. "Ok," Aloke says, laughing softly. "Go before this place burns down around your ears." Rajani snorts and props herself up to hug Mallory again, shuffles over to give Aloke a big hug too and says quietly, "It's /about time/." And then she disappears through the curtain, giving the alcove some semblance of privacy again. Aloke sighs when she's gone and gives Mallory a 'what can you do' look. He takes a long sip of wine and shakes his head. "{I'm sorry}, I know she comes on strong. She's the A-type in the family. Or 'she's an alien' was also the going theory for a while between me and Devadutt." He grins and reaches across the table to take Mallory's hand. "I /am/ glad you got to meet though. She's right. This took way too long." Mallory laughs heartily, covering the amused smile with her fingertips as she tries to mask the giggle fit at the little cheek pinch. Setting her wine glass down on the low table to keep from spilling it, she returns the hug, smiling brightly, laughter dancing in her voice, “It was a pleasure to meet you.” Once Raja has gone, Mallory is still smiling with amusement, squeezing Aloke’s hand when offered, quiet for a moment. “No need to apologize. She’s so nice,” Mallory says with a head shake, smirking. She laughs lightly at the ‘alien’ comment, taking a little sip of the wine, obviously pacing herself. Shaking her head again, she leans forward to kiss the back of his hand gently, “It’s alright. Things have been a bit hectic this year. But I’m glad we were able to finally meet, yes.” Aloke sits up straighter and arches his naturally straight-backed posture to stretch. He picks up the menus, hands one to Mallory, and begins to peruse. "You probably know lots about Indian food already, but I'll just say - my sister's korma recipe is ridiculous. Don't you dare tell her I said that, but if you like korma at all, you have to try it. They usually serve everything in big sharing dishes too, so we don't need to order much, or we'll be carting most of it home with us." Aloke stops and thinks for a moment before shrugging. "Which… I guess is not the worst fate in the world." He chuckles and sips his wine while looking over the menu. “My knowledge of Indian food extends to what you’ve cooked for us,” Mallory admits with a chuckle, “I’m pretty sure the takeaway I ate back in England actually counts.” She accepts the menu, opening it and reading over the offerings with a slight smile. “Though I’ll trust your judgement on that - if you say that’s the thing to get, then I’d love to try it,” she agrees, sipping at her wine and glancing over the menu again idly, “Could we get an order of naan, maybe?” she asks, giggling quietly at something she keeps to herself, apparently, her smile broadening as she glances up at Aloke over top of the menu. Aloke narrows his eyes at the mention of naan, his grin just barely suppressed. "You promised…" he reminds her. "Yes, we should get the garlic naan though. And a big dish of vegetable korma so you can see what I'm talking about." Aloke sets his menu down and leans over to lounge slightly on his side of the table. "At least we can take our time now. We don't have to worry about traffic or icy roads anymore." His eyes flicker in as he grins.