Cottonmouth

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo walked over and sat on the other side of the couch. After sinking down into the seat he crossed one leg over the other and thought. "Believe me Raiya, I don't think there's another person on this planet that enjoys the material luxuries in life more than me. Indulgence, excess, extravagance, and opulence are words I know all too well." Nemo said. "But no matter how many fancy meals I eat, how much jewelry I own, artifacts I collect, or battles I win, I'm never feeling truly happy from it. While I may certainly enjoy these things, the satisfaction I get from them is shallow and temporary. In the end they are only distractions, things to simply numb the pain and loneliness."

Nemo opened his eyes and glanced over to her. "While I hate to be one to presume, I imagine you feel similar. Or maybe you're just in denial? I know I was once until I thought it all over, and I've had far too much time to ponder in my life." Nemo let out a chuckle. "Or maybe it's all just gone to my head instead? Maybe I've just gone kooky for good."

Nemo let out a sigh. "As for nature however, I don't think there's really anything I can say to truly convey what I mean to you, you'll just have to experience it yourself."

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo stacked his dishes and began to bring them into the kitchen. "So then what you're telling me is you don't have much experience with the outdoors I know." He said as he began to wash the plates and bowls in sequence. "For me it isn't about survival, or by mastering the elements through magic, it's about relaxation, and... forgetting." Nemo began to explain as he finished up cleaning. He looked over to the table and leaned up on the side of the kitchen counter. "Forgetting we are assassins, gangsters, fighters, convicts, and even magi. We don't have to be any of those things out there, out there we can just be... normal. We're all the same when we're under a tent, listening to the rain fall, watching the trees blow in the wind, or feeling the heat radiating off of a campfire. At least that's the way i see it. I think you'd like it if you tried it, Raiya."

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo leaned back in his chair, sipping on the miso soup from the small oriental bowl it was in. "You're right Felix, I am taking every precaution I can to make sure I'm not tracked. And I can assure you, if someone is going to wind up getting tailed the last person that's going to happen to is me."

By this point Nemo was mostly done with his food. He began to systematically devour whatever remained on the plates until they were practically clean. "Oh, Raiya, I was thinking... if we shouldn't stray too far from the cabin, we could go camping or fishing sometime? We have this whole park at our fingertips, and there's not a fresher fish out there than one that's been freshly caught. I already have all the supplies too. Do you have any outdoors experience?" He asked.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo raised a pointer finger up until he finished chewing his food. "Ah yes, that." He said after swallowing. "It seems that when I swayed Raiya to our cause it had caused a couple of problems for her back in New York. Naturally, I had to fix them." He said, pointing to the mana generated newspaper. "Free of change too, usually a stunt like that would cost an arm and a leg. But having you around, Raiya, is more than enough payment for me." He said, turning to her with a goofy looking grin.

"I hope you don't mind all that Felix, I have to keep myself busy somehow in these long dreary nights in between missions. You can't just keep such an expressive person like myself caged up in this cabin with nothing to do, can you?" He said.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo sectioned off a piece of the fish with his chopsticks and then brought it to his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. "I see... for me cooking is often an relaxing experience. It's a medium that I get to use my talents for creation in a less destructive manner." He took a sip of the green tea. It was Gyokuro. "Judging by some of the knives I've seen you carry, yanagiba, deba, usuba, that would make your area of expertise sushi, wouldn't it?" Nemo asked. "I certainly have no aversion to raw foods, if you ever want to display your own talents I'd always be willing to tango. Plus I have many connections to get the freshest ingredients and fish you can find."

"And what if we were able to get our hands on the Grail? It might be a low blow, but couldn't we potentially use it against all the arcanocracy magi that are still tied to it as you were?" Nemo asked as he ate, pondering the thought.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"Of course you can Zuri, bon appétit." He said as he sat down Next to Raiya, using a pair of chopsticks to eat the food.

"Self taught, like most of the things I do." He replied. "My memory helps me with matching the tastes through trial and error, literature and watching the dishes being made help me with the recipes and technique. I traveled quite a bit in my time, so I've had some exposure to Japanese cuisine before. I didn't earn the title "Devourer" for just my mana consumption." He replied.

Nemo turned to Felix next. "The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long, Felix. You've exerted yourself too much in your time. I used to feel like that sometimes, but... well, I can absorb people's life essence so that usually takes care of that."

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo was busy in the kitchen when Felix and Raiya had both come into his radius. "There you all are, I do hope Zuri and Travis awake soon as well, I tried to time this all the best I could based on when you had all gone asleep. So far so good." He said as he began plating freshly cooked food. Once he was done, he placed three matching plates of food. Fried eggs and toast, sausage links, grilled tomato, and hash browns. Nemo tried to make something that would be universally well liked, but he clearly made the breakfast items English style. On the side there was orange juice, coffee, and English tea to drink.

"Not exactly the usual time for breakfast, but it still is our first meal of the day. Thankfully the late start did give me more time to prepare." He noted as he moved on to a different set of items. "I wanted to try some dishes I don't often have a reason to make, so Raiya, you and I will be having something different for the rest." Nemo started to put small bowls and plates on the table by their seats. "I tried my hand on a more traditional Japanese breakfast. You'll have to tell me how I did." He placed down grilled mackerel, miso soup, fresh steamed rice with ume plum on top, tamagoyaki, and green tea.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo let out a slight chuckle at Raiya's plans. "Ah, you go on ahead, I just finished getting the sweat and bloodstains out of my own outfit. I'll probably just be a nuisance in there anyways, fighting illusory people isn't exactly my forte." He said, stretching his arms above his head. "I'll relax inside for a bit, and then get to work on something for us all to eat. The rest should be awake soon."

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo seemed pleased with Raiya's reaction. "I'm glad you like it. But I can't say that I'm surprised, I've never left someone disappointed with my work." Nemo said, a hint of pride in his words.

"Best acquaintance, huh? Well that's certainly an upgrade." Nemo responded with a slight chuckle. The title seemed rather made up on the spot, but Nemo didn't seem to mind. A regular acquaintance was a label Nemo had never really surpassed. For him, most people he had known only kept good rapport with him for his abilities, a fact that bothered him in the past, but he had come to expect it by now.

"Hmmm, well I did just get done with the late Giarciano gang earlier, but I suppose I didn't really use any spells." Nemo said, rubbing his chin as he thought. "Someone is going to have to make a fabulous breakfast, but I might be swayed to join you if you really want. 'Best acquaintance' might be high enough on that hierarchy to attempt some combination magic. Did you have anything in mind?"

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo let out a small giggle after Raiya's question, but kept silent in order to not ruin the surprise.

Opening the lid revealed a customized black leather motorcycle jacket folded up inside. At first glance, one would think it was the same jacket from before, but with closer inspection it would prove to be a rough replica of the previous one. The slightly oversized sizing was the same, the pre-distressed worn look was the same, and it was adorned with various studs, pins, and patches with a upside down cross painted on the back in white. Nemo clearly had taken the time to copy them from memory, adding a few of his own as well. However one key difference was the lining, which was made of silk with a forest green and crimson red Japanese hexagonal kikko tortoise shell pattern with golden yellow accents. Besides an interior pocket, Nemo had added four adjustable leather sheathes for knives that could be detached. It seemed that Nemo's photographic memory and sewing expertise had come in handy here.

"I haven't had a whole lot to do for the past couple months, and I know your jacket got messed up during our last mission, so I decided to make a new one for you." Nemo stated. "Sure, I probably could use my magic to fix the other other one, or you might have a couple replacements already, but I bet you don't have one as unique as this. The lining is made from Japanese chirimen kimono silk, but it's the leather that's really special, it's from a Kirin. The chimerical creature had turned aggressive, and was terrorizing a small village outside of Kyoto, so I was hired to stalk and kill it. I've had it's hide in my archive for a long time, just waiting to get used for the perfect project." He explained. "What that means is that it's very fireproof, stab proof, slash proof, magic resistant, even bulletproof, but most importantly, waterproof. Piercings spells or quality magical weapons are the only things that can truly damage it. It's basically a modern piece of armor, but the type of leather will make it even softer and more comfortable than that of your previous piece."