{CHEESY} outing at Cheesybeards (Codex)

[Clara]

Clara walked into Cheesyberards and immediately sat at the Guild's normal . Who cares if she was supposed to wait to be seated. She knew where they sat and she sat there now. Her eyes scanned the room for her bestest bestie ever, Codex. She wasn't there yet, so Clara ordered a Cosmo. Cosmos were just the best! So fruity, and alcoholic.

She was lucky today that her husband could take care of the kids. Otherwise she would have had to leave them in the car again. Or worse yet, bring them into the restaurant! That would have been a disaster. Clara shuddered. She loved her kids, she was sure. She just didn't want to be a mother all the time. It was exhausting to pretend like she wanted to spend time with them. Even her going out now was a surprise since she spent most of her time playing the Game. She was only out now because she was meeting one of her Guildies. And a real life Guild meeting always promised an interesting time.

But she really hoped Codex got here soon. She was getting impatient, even though she had only been there a couple minutes. She sipped her Cosmo while she watched the door.

[Codex]

"Shoot, shoot, shoot..." Cyd said, unhappily as she glanced at her watch. Okay. She was running late. And not just a little late - majorly late.

And why was that? Because she had left late. Cyd had been playing The Game, of course, and gotten carried away. Vork had been shouting at her to... do something, but she hadn't been sure what leading to confusion and panic on her part. She hated letting people down. And now what had happened? She was letting Clara down! Late! Cyd groaned, pulling into a free parking space.

As she slowed into a stop, she forced herself to take a deep breath. "Everything is fine. No need to panic. I need to be un-Cyd-like for a second, and not panic. Mhm" And with another deep breath, she tried to calm herself down and not feel so very, very guilty over her late-ness.

She rushed into Cheesybeards, and up the stairs. She gave a worried grin to the bored looking girl at the top of ther steps and rushed past her as she started a "Argh, welcome to Cheesybeards" speech. Cyd rushed over to the Guild's normal table, looking a little flushed.

"I am so, so sorry Clara! I totally got side-tracked, and Vork shouted at me and..." She took a deep breath sliding into a seat. "Hey."

[Clara]

"I am so, so sorry Clara! I totally got side-tracked, and Vork shouted at me and... Hey."

Clara grinned and waved as Codex walked in and then sat down next to her. She was already on her second drink. "Oh Codex, Vork is just a stupid poopie head." Okay, so Clara might be getting a little tipsy. It was then that she remembered that she was pregnant. But oh well. Her fetus made her do it. Besides she needed it to deal with the pregnancy. The kid was driving her insane already and it wasn't even out yet. Seriously, she had no idea why anyone would want kids.

"What's important is that you are here now, and that we can get pancakes." Clara loved pancakes. And she loved not making the pancakes herself. But then again, she never cooked anything herself. When she did eat at home, it was her husband that cooked. Clara sipped her drink and smiled, very excited to be out of the house.

[Codex]

Taking of her light coat, and placing it on the seat next to her, she listened to Clara. A stupid poopie head? Ookay then... That was a little strange even for Clara - but it was then that that she noticed the drink. Or what was left of it at least. That explained it. Clara certainly knew how to drink.

Cyd was torn between amusement at her friends drunkeness, and annoyance and concern over the fact that Clara was pregnant. Again. Hopefully this time she wouldnt go into labour in the middle of a raid. That had been palin awkward. And gross. And there Cyd was, having another mental babble. She tuned back in to hear "pancakes" and so she simply nodded and smiled.

"Pancakes sounds good, yeah," Aw, this was nice. Actually getting outside, meeting with a good friend, having pancakes! If she hadn't been blocked from calling her therapist she'd have called her as soon as she got home. And thrown those facts in her face! She was living outside of the game! And that could only be a good thing.

She smiled slightly at the waitress that appeared and ordered the pancakes. "So... It must be nice to get away and relax for a while, y'know?" To be honest, Cyd reckoned all Clara did was relax (outside of playing The Game that is, because that sure ain't relaxing). But oh well. It was the kind of question people asked at social occasions such as this.

[Clara]

"So... It must be nice to get away and relax for a while, y'know?"

Nice? Oh it was more than just nice in Clara's world. It was divine. Heavenly. And....what was another word for heavenly? Oh yeah. Divine! It had been ages since she had been out, without her kids climbing all over her, anyway. They really needed to stop being so needy. Either that or George really needed to step it up as provider. The nerve he had to tell Clara that she needed to do something. Clara was always busy with the Game. The Game took a lot of time. There was raiding. There was looting. There was raiding and looting. And of course there was the killing. It took up a lot of time, time she didn't have to spare. She couldn't be expected to take care of three kids. Besides they knew where the food was.

Cheesybeards really was a great place to relax and get away from things. Okay, it totally wasn't. But it was better than nothing. And there was some really great shopping nearby where she could spend some money that her husband earned for her. Maybe Codex would like to come. Oooh, that might be fun. She'd have to remember to mention it later. If she remembered...alcohol made her head feel funny. She almost giggled before she answered Codex's question. "More than nice, Codex. You have no idea how wonderful it is to get away from those noisy little kids. It's like the can't take care of themselves, they always want something like food or for me to change them or something."

[Codex]

Cyd had to stop herself from putting on her 'I can't believe you just said that' face. It wouldn't do any good. So instead she just nodded, very slowly. "Right... Mhm" Cyd blinked, then reminded herself that, yes, this wasn't a joke and Clara was the mother of three-soon-to-be-four kids.

"Imagine that! Kids... Wanting and needing? That's weird," She couldn't help the sarcastic comment. Her hand almost flew to her mouth. Wow, was little Cyd growing up? No, it couldn't be that. But she was surprised at herself. Usually she was good at hiding her opinions - and technically, by being sarcastic she was still hiding a little bit but that didn't count! Perhaps she did feel very close to Clara, and the other Guildies. How strange.

It made her happy to think that though, and a huge grin spread on her face. Bright and cheerful. Just like she wanted to be. And at that point... "Oh! The pancakes are here - they do make good pancakes here." She smiled as the waitress placed down the plates.

"We need to have another Guild meeting here soon!" Now, perhaps that was going too far. So, what if she felt like she could share and be herself with the Guildies? Every time they were altogether things went horribly wrong! It seemed like drama was everywhere they turned. But perhaps the next time would be different? Who knew! So Cyd stopped panicking and took her pancakes. Cutting a bit of and eating it she grinned, "S'good pancakes."

[Clara]

"Imagine that! Kids... Wanting and needing? That's weird."

Clara did not even notice Codex's sarcastic tone. Maybe it was the alcohol. Or maybe it was that Clara believed what she chose to believe. And right now she chose to believe that Codex agreed with her. "I know, right? How annoying is that?"

Clara grinned and very nearly clapped when the pancakes arrived. She was pretty sure that pancakes were her favorite type of food. They were so fluffy and cakey. And don't forget the syrup! And Cheesybeards had the absolute best ones in town. They were so much better than even the ones at IHOP that she had. Clara started eating immediately. It was then that she heard Codex say:

"We need to have another Guild meeting here soon!"

Clara gasped and her eyes got wide. "OMG yes! That would be amazing. Let's tell the others as soon as we get back in Game." Clara loved meetings with her Guildies. They were the best group of people and they completely understood her. They understood her even more than George. Or course that wasn't saying much, because George didn't know her at all. It was sweet that he tried to learn the game, but he completely overreacted to his Game name, and then he sucked and accidentally because a spy for the Axis of Anarchy. Why couldn't she have married someone good at the game? Oh right. Because then she wouldn't be taken care of.

[Codex]

Cyd couldn't help the grin spread on her face. Her sarcasm had gone unnoticed. And as for Clara... Cyd didn't think she would ever understand what went on in Clara's head. She didn't think she'd want to know. It seemed to be quiet a scary place from what she could tell. Shaking her head softly, she took another bite of pancake to refrain from saying something else.
Clara would never win mother of the year. Or month - why was it always 'of the year'? It could be day. Mother of the Day award. Oops. Mind babble again.

"OMG yes! That would be amazing. Let's tell the others as soon as we get back in Game."

Cyd couldn't help the small groan that escaped at her idea being thought of with such enthusiasm. She knew she shouldn't have said it! But oh well, she really couldn't take it back now. Not when Clara wouldn't forget it. And she seemed so happy. A weak smile appeared on Cyd's face. "Yeah, we'll have to make sure to do that!"

She gave a brighter grin then. Things wouldn't go badly. Like she had been thinking before, this time could be different. After all, apart from Vork being a little bit shouty earlier, there hadn't been any major drama lately. Things were going well!

"It's nice to see everyone and talk. I mean, like talk outside of the Game and not through mircophones." She was smiling pleastanly now. Wondering what kind of meeting it would be. A nice one? At some cafe, or her house? With cups of tea and cookie weapons and life bars? Maybe.

[Clara]

Clara forgot to pay attention to what her bestie was saying. She was too absorbed in her pancakes. It wasn't like she didn't hear Codex. She did. But she was sure Codex was just agreeing with her about how they should have a Guild get together.

"It's nice to see everyone and talk. I mean, like talk outside of the Game and not through mircophones.

See? Yep. Codex totally got it. She understood how good it was for Clara to get away from the people in her house. Oh, maybe sometimes she could just go somewhere else and play the Game. Of course she didn't have a lap top. She wondered if her husband could buy her one. He had to be good for something. Either way, she loved her Guildies and did love hanging with them. Especially partying with them. "Oh, yeah it is. Especially when Vork constantly brings up strategy. That gets annoying."

[Codex]

She just had to shake her head as noticed her friends attention drift. Really drift. But she didn't take it personally. These things happened - a lot - to her, and she knew that her friend did care about her. It's just that pancakes were big distractions. And Cyd had to admit that the pancakes here were truly awesome. Maybe she should try making them... Hm... Mind you, cooking wasn't exactly her strong point.

She smiled softly, finishing off her pancakes. And then,

"Especially when Vork constantly brings up strategy. That gets annoying."

Cyd giggled softly, and nodded. "That is true I suppose... But he does just want the best for this guild, y'know? He wants us to be all successful and the like!" It was true that Vork could get annoying over that kind of stuff, but he did it to help, right? I mean... He did, yeah?

"How about this... We'll put a sort of ban on Vork strategies for the meeting?" She grinned softly. It would be good to have a relaxing meeting for once.

[Clara]

A ban on Vork's strategies? Did Codex really just say that she'd put a ban on Vork's strategies?! Because that would be amazing if she did. The strategies kind of made her head hurt. Codex was right though. Vork was just looking out for what was best for the guild. But sometimes what was best for the Guild, wasn't best for Clara. Like giving Tinkerballa her orb. That really wasn't fair. It wasn't her fault that her idiot husband let lose her brood and they unplugged her computer from the internet! Now she was always on the lookout for another orb.

Clara finished up her pancakes with ease. She could even go for another round of them. But that was probably just her fetus talking. But seriously, all this talk about a party (Clara transformed the word 'meeting' to 'party' in her head) made her really want to go shopping and buy party supplies and a new outfit. "Ban on Vork strategies is such a good idea. So, are we going shopping or what?" Maybe she could even convince Codex to buy a new outfit. She needed something that showed a little more skin if she ever wanted to find and keep a man. She was sure that was part of what lead to the failure to keep the stunt man. Between herself and Tink, Clara was sure they could turn Codex into a man magnet.

[Codex]

Pancakes done. Gone. They had ceased to be. Delicousness, yum, yum. She was grinning happily as she sipped at her water. She glanced up at Clara and almost choked, was Clara looking serious for a moment? Maybe a touch angry? Whoa... New side to Clara - kinda. Cyd had seen her angrish before, but angry after pancakes? New level of anger. But it passed very quickly. So quickly. Weird. Wait, what had she said there? Oh, Vork. Vork and his strategies. Cyd wanted to groan, loudly, very loudly.

The orb, it was about the orb again. Wasn't it?

Cyd could see why it was super important, but if it didn't die down soon things would be completely crazy. And Cyd did not handle crazy well. She didn't handle it at all actually.

But the anger had passed. And Cyd grinned at the next Clara's enthusiasm. Until the words passed into her head. "Wait, shopping? Shopping..." With Clara?! That sounded dangerous! But she could not back down now. What would her therapist say to that? ...Oh, right.... She wasn't talking to her therapist anymore. Well, hypothetically speaking what would she say?

Taking a deep breath, Cyd sighed and grinne, "Sure. Let's shop."

[Clara]

"Sure. Let's shop."

Sweet! Clara and Codex shopping trip is a go! She grabbed up her purse and slid from the booth. She looked back at Codex. "What are you waiting for Codex? Let's get our shop on!" Clara laughed at her (not-so-funny) joke. She really was the funniest member of the guild, in her opinion. And how could anyone think otherwise?

She pulled out her husband's credit card and the waitress swiped it through the machine, then handed it back. She slid the card back in it's easy to reach spot in her wallet. This shopping trip was much needed. Clara would come back with all sorts of bags. Her husband would probably complain, but Clara would just ignore it. George was like that. She would put the clothes and bags far out of her children's reach. They liked to get into things, and it got on her nerves. Stupid children. Why did her stupid husband have to get her pregnant. Oh well. What was important now was her shopping trip with Codex. Clara grinned and walked out of the store, grabbing Codex by the arm before she left.