The Magpie Emporium, Thursday (2/22)

[drumsticksandd20s]

The bouncy dice were feeling particularly animated today; that was obvious from the moment Steph opened the door and nearly got a d12 to the eye.

So... don't mind her occasionally fending them off with a Root core rulebook while she tried to see about booking a portal to Los Angeles for a Sleater-Kinney in-store appearance and signing next Tuesday, shh. They had an indie-exclusive blue vinyl edition of their new album, come on.

[OOC: Open!]

Comments

[pocketpretzels]

“Aftern-“ Watts’s greeting was cut off as one of the bouncy dice careened towards him. Thankfully it didn’t hit him (or the mochas he was carrying), but it did manage to knock his hat to the floor.

“Well, that’s a new level of efficiency, I suppose.”

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Oh no," Steph blurted out, looking genuinely chagrined as the guilty die bounced away without remorse, and hurried over to pick the hat up. Dusting it off, she peered at it and said, "It doesn't look like it took any damage, I think?"

She gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that. How are you?"

[pocketpretzels]

“I’m doing well,” Watts replied. “Yourself?”

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Pretty good," Steph said as she put the hat in its rightful place on the beholder eyestalk. "Can't really complain, now that we got the heater in here fixed and it doesn't resemble an oven any more."

She made a face.

"Weirdly, that tends to make people not want to cluster around a table and hang out for four hours."

[pocketpretzels]

“No, I imagine even on the chilliest of days, it would only be comfortable for a few minutes at best,” Watts said, holding out one of the mochas he’d brought.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"And this mocha would not have been a totally welcome sight," Steph told him as she gratefully took the cup and toasted him with it. "There was a lot of ice cream and as little movement as possible. Good thing you missed it."

She snapped her fingers, then reached behind the counter to pull out a board game box with bears frolicking in a waterfall on the front.

"Buuuuuut I did get this game back in stock, and it seemed like something that you'd totally vibe with."

[pocketpretzels]

It was likely testament to how much time he spent around Steph that he actually had picked up the concept of vibes.

“You are correct, this does look intriguing.”

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph would cheerfully agree that she was a terrible influence like that.

"For those days when you want to escape just a little bit," she said with a warm grin, "and maybe ideas for future trips."

[pocketpretzels]

“I haven’t seen a lot of the United States,” Watts admitted. “Only what I could travel to by train in under a day, and then Miami last year. So you may be right when it comes to possible inspiration. What do I owe you, then, for the game?”

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Pfft." Steph waved a hand expressively. "What the hell even is the point of me being in charge of this place if I can't spot a friend a gift every now and then?"

After a beat she added more seriously, "I set aside a budget for my own gaming supplies every month. I haven't needed much of it lately, so... yeah. I get to use it to buy cool shit for my friends instead."

[pocketpretzels]

“Oh!” Watts exclaimed, momentarily taken aback- in a good way.

“That’s incredibly kind of you,” he managed.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Like I said, I'm shamelessly taking advantage of my own position here," Steph said casually, though she did look honestly touched by his reaction. "There are a couple of expansion packs, too, for if you work your way through all of those... plus it might be a nice addition to your game room. But seriously, you're welcome."

[pocketpretzels]

"Expansion packs?" Watts asked, not quite sure what that meant.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph laughed. "Continuations to the game, basically. In this case, they add more national parks to visit and memories to collect than just the ones that come in the box."