Easter Feast at Ecclesia - Featuring little Trevor from Lords of Shadow (Alternate Universe + pre-game)
The dining hall was quite crowded by the time Albus and Trevor arrived, eyes falling upon many nondescript Ecclesian men and women in their fancy gentile Easter wear, but the brunt of the crowd consisted of local guests and contacts from sister-clans and organizations.
The two 'boys' bustled their way in, or rather Albus bustled ahead to make way for his shorter companion to find a good spot near the center of one of the long tables.
And though he quietly 'admitted' that the best food was always at the center of the table, it was more than obvious that he had hustled his way over to where his combat partner had already seated herself. Not that he would ever admit it on his own.
He grinned cheekily at the formally-dressed Shanoa (wearing a rather lacy dress of soft pastel tones to match the occasion) when sliding on to the bench next to her. A silent exchange of looks passed between them, and he then scooted to the right and patted the open space, indicating for Trevor to take a seat between them.
At the far end of the room, the head table sat on a raised dais, where Master Barlowe and the leaders of visiting clans presided, though the seat to his immediate right was unoccupied…
Albus caught the elder's gaze for a moment and was discreetly beckoned forward by his master. In return he gave the faintest shake of his head 'no' and made a vague gesture at Trevor while offering a sly grin. Barlowe looked at the researcher blankly for half a moment before kindly smiling and nodding in accordance; accepting that his pupil had a guest that they wished to entertain.
The look his companion made was expected, and he quietly offered a vague response. "The master was wondering why I am still sitting with my colleagues. Old habits die hard ~"
When prompted by his guest, he sighed quietly and elaborated a bit further, begrudgingly. "My promotion is still quite new to me, and some of the elevated 'perks' ruffle my feathers a bit… though through no fault of my own it cost me a lot of 'friends' afterwards… which is for the best, I suppose. I have little time now to be social, as it were."
Turning to sit properly along the benches, the 'boys' finally got a good look at the 'spread' laid out before them The two long tables had been set with the most expansive variety of food either of them had likely seen in some time. There were at least eight kinds of meat dishes and roast animals, umpteen styles of vegetable servings, four kinds of bread and dinner rolls, and more appetizers than either of them could count consisting of all manner of snack-sized portioned food.
Up and coming were to be at least three kinds of pie and several delectable cakes to choose from. Or sample indefinitely.
During the meal, Albus was discreet and quiet whenever he decided to be a bit of a pest. In between passing plates of food down the line, he grabbed a flower that garnished one of the appetizer plates and had flatly passed it to Trevor, stating 'here, eat this'. At another point, he had poured a half-glass of fruity red wine, shoulder-checking before he pushed the glass over to his young friend and reached for another glass to fill for himself.
"Gave this stuff up for Lent." He murmured, toasting Trevor's glass regardless of whether or not he had taken it up. "And being mean to my partner."
Shanoa had heard that last bit, only giving the faintest huff of laughter and a shake of her head, keeping her gaze fixed on her plate, before someone to her left engaged her in conversation again.
"Might have broken it a few times." Albus smirked, taking a sip from his glass, then proceeding to ask if Trevor's order enforced or encouraged the 40-day 'sacrifice'.