Rise of the Forgotten v.2 (Closed to New Members!)

"Shouldn't they?" It was a joke, well and obviously. If Del could help it, then the coven would appear to be as little of a threat as possible. But a wry smile crossed her face for a split second as they watched the transfers come in.

After the kids -- they were children, she noticed, ignoring the fact that they weren't very old, themselves -- disembarked, she hung back for a moment. Watching, observing, but with an open, friendly smile on her face. While the boy -- Mino, apparently -- spoke first, she couldn't help but notice that Billy was in charge. She'd led them off the boat, her group had disembarked first. She was the leader, there. 

Once they'd introduced themselves -- she honestly struggled to place them all -- she did it in return. "I'm Del, and this is Mori," She gestured towards her own best friend for a moment, even it she felt it didn't require as much explanation. Unlike their group of four, there were just two Buchannan kids here, and the black haired witch suddenly regretted not bringing the boys along. Safety in numbers. "It's nice to meet you all." Truly, was it? Del could have spent her entire life not laying eyes on these trust fund brats, much less babysitting them, and been totally fine.

"Its nice to meet you too~." Elvira's voice was sing-song, as if the stressful situation wasn't affecting her in any way. She didn't offer more, though, hopefully realizing the situation for once and letting Billy do the bulk of the speaking.

Farris nodded his head in confirmation to every word Mair spoke. It'd make a nice reminder in the future that for more social based situation to just let Mair do the talking from the start. At very least, Mair was actually good at it.

Sure, he wasn't entirely clear on his answers to their questions, but that was a solid stretch better than what Farris could do. It kept them engaged and curious... even if a tad bit suspicious or nervous regarding what they had to say and offer. Farris was willing to give the two of them the benefit of the doubt- who knew, these kids could have been walking into this suspicious.

... No, Farris was pretty sure it was the two of them that made things seem suspicious.

At least not all of them were holding that factor against them yet.

"We could at least check it out," the de facto leader of the group said. It was certainly... a lot easier to convince her of that than Farris was expecting. A much quicker decision as well. He didn't really know what was going through her mind.

By all accounts, Hibi figured that this did mark down one of the main things Billy told them to be on the lookout for. Any leaders and any available homes. While it didn't seem like they'd necessarily get the leader-part down this minute, they could at least through out a solid housing idea later. Assuming that this vacant space they just so happened to have wasn't a sham or unable to fit 12 people.

By all accounts, she probably should have checked with the others in this group about that. On the other hand, what else would they really decide though? Say 'no thank you, we actually like setting up camp in the wilderness and exploring strange places without guides, whether or not they're a little bit suspicious.' So yeah. Easier to just go along with this for now.

If something bad happens from this, Hibi has faith that they could survive for a couple of minutes at the least.

... "Oh! Right, my name is Hibiki."

Southwark mafia. Mafia. Alicio didn't realize that Southwark was run by the mafia until Montana actually dropped the word. He hadn't studied up on terms relating to the mafia- at least, he assumed capo was a word attributed to mafias in general- before coming to the Isle.

He doubted anyone put significant time into studying that for this purpose though. Most of Alicio's knowledge of mafias came from dramatized tv shows and really not much else. He didn't even personally watch those shows either, just general knowledge of their existence. He assumed others in this group at least might know vaguely more.

Kassi in specific knew there was a mafia on the Isle. That was... well, Alicio couldn't really say good, but he could neglect to say anything to Billy. No point in stressing her out over missed information that probably wouldn't matter in a couple of days. It wasn't like Kassi could even recall these cowfolk's titles in the gang. They could just come back to the docks later and tell the others about what they learned and gleam over the fact that someone may have known about some of that beforehand.

It momentarily led him on the train of thought that it meant someone from the Isle managed to reach Auradon before this trip. Someone from San Fransokyo too, though he supposed the location didn't surprise him all that much. He wondered for half a second whether Adrian may have met the person and just neglected to mention that. Though he couldn't blame him if he did as Alicio never spent focus on the city outside of visiting for brother and brother's girlfriend purposes.

A very light thought crossed his mind on what exactly the public would have to say to his father in the case that it was revealed an Isle kid did manage to make it to Auradon. Promptly disregarded it as it would probably suck for this Masashi character.

Much to say, the mafia wasn't a topic Alicio had a lot of experience with, not even in the form of horrible made tv shows.

It was due to this that he resorted to being silent, listening to the natural back and forth of those he just met and those he vaguely better. Something funny seemed to happen, albeit Alicio wasn't quite sure what, because despite him saying he'd pay attention, he was a little absorbed in his mind. Whatever it was at least led to Maggie feeling comfortable enough with the triplets to enact physical contact. He was somewhat bewildered.

From that point, he was able to follow the conversation more.

The mafia was cooler than pirates. The Masashi dude ran a business in San Fran... and wasn't allowed on the trip. Alicio was betting that Billy didn't know about that either. She would scream if she discovered they could have had someone who was actually familiar with this place and they just weren't allowed.

The thought crossed his mind that maybe that was the point.

He tried not to think too hard on that yet.

They arrived at Southwark itself, according to one of the girls. She mentioned they were leaving Buchannan and Alicio mentally slapped himself for not looking for Billy just a bit to see if her group had been near while they were on their way over. No Saints Church was the marking point though from one to the other. That was something he thought he could remember.

The guy who ran it also sold crepes. Did all villains just go to making pastries when evil wasn't an option? Weird.

Alicio tried not to stiffen at the mention of magic. How in the hell did Beast actually throw out Frollo when it seemed like they shared some pretty similar beliefs. Don't support magic, promote child abuse, seem to think they are high and mighty. But, Alicio supposed that would overall be something to mention to the Witch School transfers in case they decided they wanted some very thin pancakes. They'll be crushed.

Then Homie switched to ask her siblings a question regarding Frollo and his choice of location. Her sister answered first. "I mean, damn sis, you gotta consider, Southwark wasn't always the stunning place it is today. We put in a lot of work to keep up theme with our good leader. He should be glad we went with this theme, his church at least fits in here, even if it ain't gonna be taken seriously."

She paused for a moment, considering, "Plus, it's not like he's going to actively sit in the magic-run city next door or the pirates. Nobody likes the pirates, not even the deranged old man," she joked. Alicio assumed it was a joke at least. "Really, he had no other choice here."

Farris was content to let Mair answer the questions. Farris liked to think that his constant cheerful tone, while odd, was certainly a bit more entertaining to listen to.

At very least, Farris thought it was entertaining.

The air Mair had about him as he brushed through the questions, answering them full enough to hopefully sate the transfers. He attempted to stifle a laugh as Mair explained Ian's absence as being boring ol' business. It certainly was, but it also felt like a large oversimplification of the idea that the Isle's leaders had met together and were discussing the transfers. Hopefully the transfers weren't that interested in a pirate leader's business yet.

On the matter of pirates... Farris gave a quick nod and grin to support the idea that they in Tortuga were better than the witches in the Buchannan. They were fine, Farris supposed, but disregarding the coven's issues with a cult, they were a mix of different magic styles. At very least, pirates remained pirates in any form, highly interesting and adventurous.

He snorted out laughter as they passed by Sparrow's Pub. Truly, why Sparrow even bothered to keep it running was a surprise. Only bitter, old pirates still went to the place in an effort to try and spite the crew's main place, but it was really just worse for them. Mair might say the man served piss, but it really came across more like dirt to Farris.

As for Mair's response towards why Sparrow was so upset, Farris let out a burst of laughter, difficult to be held in. "Oh yeah. He doesn't even like to risk giving people a look at his smile in the case Mair's around. Sad sight to see."

They approached the blacksmith's forge, and Mair was going full-on introductory as he chose to call out Roman. He gave a small smile to the giant, before getting the fun question of who the transfers were. Incredible!

"These are the Serpent Prep transfers from Auradon. Roman, meet Kore, Akram, Hibiki, and-" he paused. Squinted his eyes at the fourth kid whom he distinctly recalled not introducing herself. Well, really, all of them only partially introduced themselves. First names and just first names were hardly an introduction and certainly didn't give as much information as Farris would like. Perhaps a vague idea on cultural background, but that was highly limited.

It would have been more useful had they taken a moment to introduce their names fully. Mair Baron. Farris Jaohari. Roman Amara. Whatever last names the transfers had- whatever first names they had. Certainly, Farris could go a step further and request any titles and their parents names, but that may be a step too personal this early on.

"Dande," Hibiki tossed out for Farris.

Farris shot her a large smile before he continued, "and Dande. Transfers, meet Roman Amara, son of Wreck-it Ralph and Liv Amara, also the blacksmith apprentice to Blackbeard, hence the location's name."

Farris couldn't help but notice the way Hibiki went through a range of emotions. In her defense, hearing the last name Amara was an immediate little shock. Nothing like meeting someone whose parents her parents knew, even if Di wasn't on the favorable end of the scale. Then there was the mix of emotions in discovering that he was the kid of Ralph (she supposed his size should have been an easier indicator there) and that Ralph had a kid with Di of all people- only to realize Farris hadn't called Roman's mom Di.

"Liv Amara is on Auradon though," Hibi dumbly pointed out.

She shot a look at Farris who's immediate response was to life until he seemed to realize- "Wait, you're serious?" Hibi nodded her head, rather confused and a tad bit offended that the implication Liv Amara was on the Isle when it was very much Di that should be there. Farris seemed to consider for a moment. "Well then. That'll make an interesting conversation for later. I'm sure Roman would be willing to explain that mix up when he's not so busy."

And wasn't that concerning food for thought. Hibi was pretty sure that Farris had simply avoided saying that he wasn't wrong directly, but Hibi had some concerns for what that meant for the Liv- or Di- on Auradon.

She attempted to take a glance at any other Auradonian in their party in hopes for an equally as concerned ally.

Sometimes, Mori questioned why she wanted a best friend who pulled the type of things Del did. Between her bird and the strange pat on her back, Del would have to pay later. Mori could play the long game, however. For now, she would keep up appearances. There was no need for any of these Auradon kids to know that she had a problem with anything Del said or did. It was easier to relax now anyways, now that she had met them all. None of the teenagers in front of her were intimidating. Maybe they had power on Auradon, but this was her home. In Buchannan, they were weak.

And in general, if Mori was reading the vibe correctly.

All of them were off balance, almost fighting to get a word in edge wise. Elvira did so seamlessly, interjecting wherever she saw fit. Mino was also relaxed with his words, but there was worry in his expressions. Azura hadn’t spoken at all yet, but maybe she was just shy. Billy was the one who fit her description best, but even her response was weak. She wasn’t a commander, but none of her friends were either. Trying to pick out the leader was proving more difficult than Mori had imagined. Maybe the Coven got stuck with all the extras? Mori fought to keep her laughter in at the thought. It wouldn’t help the situation if she just laughed at her joke, and she definitely couldn’t say it in front of them. Not when she was trying to make a good impression.

“We’ll time it just right for you guys,” Mori sent the group a forced smile, then looked to Del. Hopefully she understood what Mori had meant. It wouldn’t do well to walk in with these four when Willa was reuniting with Wyn. Sure, they would eventually meet the center of Willa’s world, but until they were known to be trustworthy, Mori was going to push that off for as long as possible. Wyn was Willa’s biggest joy, and therefore her biggest weakness. The baby couldn’t even defend herself. It seemed almost useless to care so much about a creature that could live so carelessly.

Meanwhile, Mino had made his way to the font of the pack. Everyone seemed to be more at ease now, and it would help everyone if they actually made friends. Plus, if he could win Mori over before she found out his father stabbed her mother through the stomach with a boat, it would be for the best. “So what’s on this tour? Do we get to see your favorite places in the town? Do you guys have any inns? Food recommendations?” Asking people about themselves, their hometown and favorite places, that was always key to building relationships. It would make everyone less nervous, small conversation that would help everyone. His group needed these businesses for shelter and substance. They could do with a boost to their economy. Even if they didn’t like any of their parents or adults, this way they could pick who they wanted to support. It was a win-win.

Mair's grin grew even more huge at Farris's support for his joke. "It just means the crew has to be even merrier in response." Because what better way to piss off a grumpy, bitter old man with no teeth than to be constantly smiling around him, really. He'd heard before that Sparrow used to be a lot less of a general pain in the ass to be around, before all pirates were relegated to the Isle. But that was Sparrow's problem, not his.

Roman gave a faint smile at Mair's joke, still focused on the situation at hand. Hibi's reaction didn't shock him at all, he had already assumed that his...aunt...fake mother...? Would be pretending to be Liv in Auradon, and keep that information a closely guarded secret. That being said, it was idiotic for Auradon to try to not fact check that information somehow. But, no one ever said the mainlanders were smart he guessed.

He squinted somewhat suspiciously at Hibi, catching onto the fact that a) she knew who Liv Amara was, and b ) her fellow transfers actually seemed concerned for her wellbeing in this situation. That was interesting, and he was shocked Farris hadn't named their parents. But she had to have been from San Fransokyo, if that information was actually relevant enough to her to concern her classmates. 

But that was a question for another time, as he was thrown off a little by Kore's...yeah, Kore's question. "I'm seven and a half feet," He admitted, somewhat proudly. He was the largest young adult on the Isle, and capable of smashing metal with his bare hands and throwing his crew mates like they were small children. Even now, he absolutely dwarfed Mair and Farris. "Dad's nine feet, even."

Mair, naturally, took a chance to interject, ribbing Roman easily. "I think he started outgrowing us, gods, what was it Farris? By the time we were five?" Granted, he and Farris weren't the tallest people in the crew, not by a long shot. But they were around Roman's age, so it made sense.

Akram was lost, and while Roman's height was incredibly impressive, he thought the easy subject change was kind of disconcerting. "Not to go off topic again, but are you saying there's an actual villain hiding in Auradon?" Akram, admittedly, didn't know a lot about Di Amara, not as a villain. He knew Liv Amara, the champion for biological and technical advances in the medical field that made everyday life so much healthier and easier for society as a whole. It was hard not to know her, being interested in the fields he was interested in. But the fact that an entire villain had been masquerading her life was...disturbing. 

"Are we sure it's hiding -- it isn't like your king hasn't pardoned psychopaths before." Roman grunted, raising an eyebrow. He didn't want to play Debbie Downer in the conversation, but this was literally his issue. Beast had let Yama and Masashi go back to the mainland years ago, while Roman and his own father -- and his mother for that matter -- neither of which had truly done a horrible thing in their lives, were still here. The giant of a man cleared his throat, realizing that political discourse mostly aimed towards talking trash about their visitor's home wasn't the best thing to have right now. "I've gotta get back to work. Blackbeard's expecting me to have these swords done by dark." Which, it was already dusky and gloomy outside, despite being morning, but that was just life with smog. "Nice meeting you lot, welcome to the Isle." With an attempt at a lighter demeanor, and a small wave, the blonde vanished back into the forge.

"He's a lot of fun when he's not working," Mair supplied as gestured for the transfers to follow him again, throwing a curious glance towards Hibi. Roman was also a lot of fun when not confronted with how unfair life was, and how much their lovely king needed to be thrown off the highest tower of his stupid castle. But that part was left unsaid, because Mair was supposed to be giving tours, not political facts. "Remember that time I told him I needed a lift to get started climbing to the crow's nest, and he slung me up there? Ahaha, I wonder if I can get him to do it again?" He questioned Farris, before his attention was immediately grabbed again by the next spot in their tour.

"And this, ladies and gentleman, is the Highwater Pub. Best drinks in Tortuga, and Cella only threatens to kill you when you don't pay your tabs." He was mildly joking, and to put an ease to the slightly concerned look on Akram's face, he added, "Even if she knows you don't get paid til the end of the week." 

Del returned Mori's look, understanding. Willa would freak if this merry band of misfits were brought around her little girl. She wasn't about to do something that reckless, because it'd be hers and Mori's head if she did. The dark haired witch thought for a moment, before an idea occurred to her, and she looked at the bird on her shoulder. "Fen, go to Willa's house, and tell her to meet us at the school, okay? School?" Her familiar, damn him, was smart enough to follow those instructions, but she needed to make sure he focused on repeating that word, not something stupid. If he showed up and told Willa "tell" then that wouldn't be helpful at all. The black and white bird ruffled his feathers, and repeated the word, "School~" With a croak, before taking off from her shoulder and flapping off, presumably, to find Willa's house. He wouldn't screw around right now, she knew he wanted to show off in front of the transfers.


With that handled, her attention turned back to the literal children -- and whatever Elvira was -- in question. "We'll show you guys everything there is to see," She promised the boy, with a smile that at least looked natural, gesturing for them to follow them off the docks. She didn't mention that this meant excluding the Bloodfire cult, if they could help it. "We've got two restaurants in Buchannan itself...and I guess an inn? Do we count Rossignol as an inn?" There were technically rooms in it, even though no one really stayed in it. They all lived here, it would be stupid, and Fausto mostly just used them as storage. She wouldn't doubt he would rent them out for sleeping, though, if he saw some profit in it. "Then we've got a library, a couple stores -- Willa runs one herself actually, she sells herbs -- we've got the hospital..." She trailed off, then, looking at the transfers. "Does any of that sound like a place to start?" It was better to ask now, before they actually got to Buchannan, so they could find the best route there. 

Elvira was actually keeping her mouth shut for a minute, mostly watching the interaction carefully, keeping that stupid smile on her face. She watched the bird fly off, mildly fascinated. Either the bird was well exceptionally well trained, or familiars were possible here after all. Her hand absentmindedly went to the top of her staff, rubbing her hand over the monkey carved at the top. Monkford was quiet right now, even with the activity of suspected familiars. She wondered, briefly, about how much magic the barrier let through after all, and how much it would specifically take to wake her friend back up.

"What I would give to see him preach to the animals out there," California mused aloud. Oh, she couldn't imagine the pack of feral people out there would appreciate a religious man who would try to persuade them onto the side of God. Either he manages to convert some and the mafia deals with less of those monsters or they lose the fanatic.

Maybe it'd be worth it to try and slip something about mongrels needing God to Frollo next time she saw him. Or tell one of her underlings to, else she risk the gospel he liked to spew at her.

California shot a grin at Eddie as he questioned how well the church did, rather than the crepe business. "You may go into the shop looking for some crepes, but you really think he won't sit at a table and start spewing a sermon?" Obnoxious for sure, but if you risk going to the shop, you risk dealing with it nonetheless.

She snorted as her sister continued to play up Frollo being an absolute nuisance in the city. He was, but she hadn't realized how fun it was to actually explain that to people who hadn't lived around the guy since childhood.

Homie wasn't wrong, but California had to admire how oblivious Frollo must be to preach to sinners that they'd never make it to heaven. Surely he had to know that by essence, by being put on this forsaken island, he was going to hell too.

California would dare to make the stretch and say this was hell. Had the god of the underworld and everything, even if he was an arse that did nothing for half the year.

She brightened at the second question Maggie posed, more serious than the first, eyes immediately darting for Montana. "Well now, that's a question that should be aimed at my good brother here, seeing as he owns not only most of the food business on this side of the isle, but the best restaurant on the entire isle as well!" Yeah, she was going to brag for him. He was free to do his own extra bragging if he wanted, but damn, if California didn't want the transfer's first thoughts bout this place to be how great Montana's food was.

To be honest, it rather surprised her when the prince boy spoke up rather suddenly, for the first time since meeting him. Any longer and California may have started a bet he was mute. He perked up rather suddenly with wide eyes in what California was willing to be was awe, "You own a restaurant here?" He seemed to open his mouth to continue before closing it- more questions to follow up or dumb comments that would come across as insensitive?

Either way, she wouldn't have pegged a prince to be interested in that of all things. Auradonians, sheesh.

This wasn't a thought process Hibi was enjoying. Still, she gave Dande a reassuring nod despite the fact that she felt like she needed to reevaluate everything she's ever done in life. The implications of this new fact were actually kinda frightening, but in one of those senses that you're looking in on your life in a third person kind of view realizing just how messed up some things were.

She mentally noted the idea that after maybe attempting to give some heads up to her hometown about the villain-they-actually-consider-a-villain living there, she should probably make some attempt to confront her ex about the situation too.

Who knows, maybe he's an innocent contender in the whole thing too.

"I think you're overestimating there, Mair. He came out of his poor mother's womb half the size he is now. Truly, he hardly grew in comparison to that," Hibi heard Farris mention with a laugh.

On second though, Hibi didn't know Lysander that well to judge. When they actually dated, she was more focused on other things and judging whether or not he was the kid of an evil clone of Liv Amara wasn't on the table.

Which, really, the whole Liv Amara being Di Amara was freaky. Oh! Oh oh oh! Wonderful idea. Hibi could come back and bother Roman enough so that he let her meet his parents. It wasn't like that wasn't already on here goals, but she was originally more focused on the whole Ralph parentage than whoever the mom was or was not. But now!

Hibi could not wait to tell Hono that she met Liv Amara before Hono did. And that Hono had been admiring a villain this entire time. Sucker.

Then she perked up and squinted her eyes at Roman, with an elevated mood suddenly upon her, lightly forgetting about that technically it was a bad thing Di was on Auradon. Cause it was... for everyone but Hibi at the moment. And she guessed Di. Probably Lysander too. Okay, so Hibi probably shouldn't be as cheery about that.

Luckily she didn't have to as a sound of offense escaped her mouth at the accusation. "Hey! Okay, well, you're right about Beast pardoning people that probably shouldn't be pardoned," little bit of offense to Yama and Masashi, but in her defense, they hung out with Hono so, "But to be fair, San Fransokyo was reluctant to send their parents over here with Obake and Di- er, Liv, I guess, in the first place. And nobody knew it was Liv."

San Fran actually tried its best to keep its criminals in the city. They were one giant, slightly corrupted family. Obake and Di excluded because they went a tad bit extreme and it really wasn't as cool of them. And Beast was demanding they send someone at least, because he knew the city wasn't crime free. Hence the heroes and all.

And Hibi would go as far to say that it absolutely was not the city's fault that they confused Di and Liv again. Hibi was pretty sure, last time she checked, that Di made her whole life's work based around the fact she was able to act like Liv well enough to make everyone believe her. Of course she could do that again.

The matter of Ralph was... well, it was a more depressing story. But the video game realm didn't get Ralph like Candy Hollow and the Fix-its did and they couldn't really fight as much when it came to that. And they couldn't quite gather the same kind of support San Fran had for its bad guys to stop Beast when he came for the gentle giant. Oh, her mom absolutely raged about that here and there still. Hibi would... attempt to bring that up to Roman and family at some point in time when he was less busy.

And then he left and they were off again, Hibi left back into her own mind.

Farris was pretty sure that he should be offended more on behalf of the Isle kids, and inside he was over the fact that there was a city that essentially got away scot free with sending so few villains over. Lucky to their kids, if they had any. Not like it would actually help him or many others, since even San Fransokyo seemed to send over what they had to consider their worst villains. Unfortunately, Jafar and Narissa met that standard in their respective home places, so Farris seemed resigned to a fate on the Isle anyway.

But. The thread of curiosity was caught instead and it was easier to be curious than upset at the moment. He could save that for later. "So. You're from San Fransokyo?" He attempted to ask casually.

"Yep." God Farris wanted to scream at the lack of answer. Was it so difficult to add a little extra information to that. A 'Yep, my parents are so and so. That's why I recognized his parent's name!'

So he mentally sighed before shooting a grin back at Mair. "Oh I'm sure, you just have to catch him outside of the shop first is all. And probably sweeten him up before hand so he's more willing to agree."

"Cella!" Farris's eyes lit up upon mention of her name and arrival at her place. He shot the transfers a sharp grin, rather ignoring how much Mair was frightening the kids. "Cella Hook's her full name, sister to one Chrysanthe 'Chrys' Hook and one Jamie Hook. The three of them? Triplets born to one Lady Caine and one Captain Hook! In my absolutely unbiased opinion, they're much cooler than their parents."

His eyes flicked to Mair again, "Don't suppose we have time to greet her too, or did Roman set us back too much?"

"I wouldn't let Ronnie hear you say she can't cook," Homie laughed, elbowing her brother lightly. She knew what he meant, and knew that he was just excited to be talking about his food. But if the dog girl caught any wind that the food was good because Montana cooked it, there would probably be hell to pay as a result. As a bit of context for the transfers, she threw in, "Ronnie owns Old Scratch, and can be a little..." What was a nice word for it? Ronnie was her friend and she didn't want to insult her, just describe the hound's typical "Ronnie way" of going after problems. "...enthusiastic." Other words would fit here, such as being a diva, or being melodramatic. But enthusiastic probably worked as well. 

"Meaning?" Maggie wasn't quite sure if she wanted to know the answer to this question, but still figured she should probably ask just in case. It was better to get a read on these guys before too long. Despite this smooth transition so far, it was still better to just...figure out everyone they could. For all Maggie knew, these three were the most agreeable in this gang, and that's why they were sent.

"One time she broke up with a scummy guy, and she specifically learned to wear heels just so she could be taller than him." She pointed out, smirking a little bit. "She's also a big fan of breathing fire as a party trick -- which can be pretty dangerous." Montana was safe from having a complex about his height, sure, but he wasn't safe from getting literally roasted. Ronnie was a good person, but could veer towards petty if she felt slighted. "Then I own the Dancefloor." She felt like that needed to be explained too, for context.

Maggie, at least, looked excited at the concept of breathing fire, but before she could speak up again, Kassi interrupted.

"You guys can grow crops out here?" She didn't sound skeptical or dubious, more fascinated than anything. She assumed these guys were the farmers -- they'd introduced themselves as Slim, right? -- so the questions just rushed out. "How do you account for the weather and pollution? The soil conditions?" It wasn't meant to be an insult, but Maggie cringed lightly. Reminding these kids that their environment was subpar may not have been the best move to make, but Kassi pressed on. "What kind of crops thrive out here?"