The Emperor was taking the Primarchs to a Xinese restaurant that was opening near the Imperial Palace. Malcador and Valdor were joining them as well. The Primarchs were looking forward to trying out chopsticks as they had never used them before. They were also hoping to watch Valdor try and use them, and that there weren't chopsticks sized for a Custodian.
They arrived at the restaurant, and were escorted to a room in the back meant for large parties. This came with a surprise for the Primarchs who learned then that it was a restaurant that cooked the food at the table. Vulkan was very excited by this. Several of the others were excited to not have to wait for the food.
"This will be awesome," Vulkan said. Leman nodded excitedly.
"How do these things work?" Angron asked, he was holding up the chopsticks at his place.
"You hold them in one hand," the Emperor explained, demonstrating how to hold them. "You then make a pinching motion with your hand to pick things up. If you get noodles you can start by putting them in the noodles and twist them until you get more familiar with them."
"I think I get it," Angron said.
"Just watch me," Jaghatai said. "They use these as utensils on Chogoris." Chogoris was the planet that Jaghatai recruited White Scars from. It was also known as Mundus Plainus, but Jaghatai hated that name. He said that it was boring, which the planet itself was not.
"Have you ever used chopsticks, Uncle Malcador?" Magnus asked.
"It's been a few years," Malcador said. "But yes, I have used them before."
"Is it hard?" Magnus asked. He was concerned that he wasn't going to get them.
"You shouldn't have any problems," Malcador assured him.
"That's good,"Magnus said.
Valdor was staring at the chopsticks, wondering how he was going to use them. He eventually asked a waiter for some tape. The waiter gave him a strange look, but provided the tape. Valdor then taped the sticks to his fingers in the right configuration. He made sure that they were still functional. A few of the Primarchs chuckled as Valdor set the tape aside.
"That looks a little silly," Horus said.
"If it looks silly, but works, it's not silly," Valdor said.
"I guess," Horus said with another chuckle.
They went through the menu and made their selection. Some of the Primarchs chose rice based dishes, and were a bit worried about how to eat the rice with the chopsticks. However, they were going to try it anyway.
The cook came over and prepared their meals in front of them. The Emperor had to keep Vulkan from trying to play with the fire and getting in the way. They then settled in and started eating.
The Primarchs were a bit varied in their abilities with chopsticks. The Lion got it after a few moments. Fulgrim took to them right away. Perturabo tried very hard to get them, but eventually had to ask for a fork.
Jaghatai had no problems, as was expected. Leman was still doggedly trying. Rogal looked disappointed as he also asked for a fork. Konrad also ended up getting a fork. Sanguinius got them. Ferrus got frustrated and ended up with a fork.
Angron got so frustrated with his that he threw his chopsticks up into the ceiling. One stuck and the other hit Leman on the head. He started eating with his hands, instead of getting a fork. Leman saw that, slammed his chopsticks down, picked Angron's out of his hair, and then face-planted into his food.
"Leman, Angron, get forks," the Emperor said. Angron refused, Leman obeyed after a moment.
"Alright," Angron said when he noticed that Leman had brought a fork for him.
Roboute got the hang of chopsticks after a few failed tries. Mortarion was still using the "stab and twist" method for his noodles, but he had figured out how to pick up other things. Magnus had watched Malcador for a few moments before actually trying himself, and didn't seem to have any problems. Horus watched the Emperor, much as Magnus had watched Malcador. Lorgar tried a bit, then got a fork. Vulkan found that a fork was better for him as well. Corvus was a surprise in that he was quite good with chopsticks. Alpharius also managed them well enough. Valdor's plan with the tape was working just fine, though it did still look a bit silly.
"Will you be having dessert here, my lord?" the waiter asked.
"Yes," the Emperor said. "Give us a few moments to look over the options."
"Of course, my lord. Shall I have the fortune cookies brought out before dessert?"
"I find that agreeable," the Emperor said.
"Fortune cookies?" Magnus asked before anyone else could say anything.
"They are cookies that have slips of paper in them," the Emperor said. "The paper slips have sayings written on them that are supposedly reflective of the reader's personality."
"The cookies aren't truly Xinese in origin," Malcador added. "However, they have been served in Xinese restaurants since M2."
"Interesting," Magnus said as a tray of cookies was set on the table. The Primarchs all grabbed one, followed by the three adults. The Emperor paused to order dessert for everyone.
"You have to read your fortunes aloud for everyone," the Emperor said. "All of us will."
"What order are we going in ?" Horus asked.
"Number order," the Emperor said. "Malcador, Valdor and I will go last."
"'Real kindness comes from within you'," the Lion said. "I guess, that works for me."
"'The wise does at once what the fool does at last'," Fulgrim read. "That almost sounds like a riddle."
"'The pleasure of what we enjoy is lost by wanting more'," Perturabo read. "Maybe there's a lesson in that somewhere. I agree with Fulgrim though, it just sounds like a riddle."
"'The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work'," Jaghatai said. He gave a mocking scowl to his cookie as it had broken while he was opening the wrapper. "Or not."
"'The speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack'," Leman said. "That is very much true."
"'The thing in us that we fear just wants our love'," Rogal said. "That doesn't really make any sense to me."
"'The difficulties of life are meant to make us better, not bitter'," Konrad read. "A lot of people don't get that lesson."
"'Stepping away from the power position for one day'," Sanguinius said. "I think I got your fortune, Father."
"'The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all undimmed'," Ferrus said. He pulled a face at that. "That was possibly meant for you, Magnus."
"'The love of your life will appear in front of you unexpectedly'," Angron read. The waiter had returned with desserts for everyone and was setting them around. He placed Angron's in front of him.
"Well, that turned out to be right," Angron said as he began eating his dessert. They paused in the reading of fortunes as they ate dessert.
"'The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances'," Roboute said. "This was a Macraggean cookie alright."
"'The mighty oak was once a little nut that stood its ground'," Mortarion read. "Standing your ground is important, but I think there's more to becoming an oak from an acorn than that."
"'The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do'," Magnus read. "Streamlining is more Fulgrim's thing."
"'The course of life is unpredictable... no one can write his autobiography in advance'," Horus said.
"That's not always true," Konrad said. "Sanguinius and I can both see the future to some degree. So can Father."
"'The universe does not have laws-- it has habits, and habits can be broken'," Lorgar said. "That's weird."
"'Success is an accumulation of successful days'," Vulkan said. "This one's not wrong." He set the remains of his cookie aside, it had broken into several pieces when Vulkan had picked it up.
"'The architect of your destiny is yourself'," Corvus read. "I like that, we have our own say in our lives."
"'The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference'," Alpharius read. "That's very true. To hate one still needs to feel some form of emotional connection to the hated thing."
"'There appear to be many clouds; but they pass'," the Emperor read. "An actually prophetic cookie."
"'The smart thing to do is to start trusting your intuition'," Malcador read with a snort. "This cookie's a few thousand years too late for that advice to be good." His cookie was sitting unbroken in front of him; he had pried the fortune out of the slit. He had explained that it was better for the fortune.
There was a silence where Valdor should have been reading his fortune. His cookie had broken apart as he was plucking it from the wrapper. The fortune was smoothed out on the tip of his finger. He was staring at it, almost like it had offended him.
"What's your fortune, Valdor?" Horus asked. Valdor didn't answer, the Primarchs all stared at him.
"'Sure, you have duties, but what about your duties to yourself?'," Valdor finally read after a moment.
There was a moment as the Primarchs didn't seem to know how to react to it. Then there was a rumbling of laughter from the Emperor. This shattered the moment, and the others began to laugh as well. Valdor chuckled a bit.
"It has a point," the Emperor said. "You cannot protect me if you cannot take care of yourself."
"True," Valdor said. "However, a cookie should not be the thing pointing that out."
This raised a fresh peal of laughter from the Primarchs. It also explained the look of slight offense that Valdor had had earlier. They finished what was left of their desserts and departed.
They arrived at the restaurant, and were escorted to a room in the back meant for large parties. This came with a surprise for the Primarchs who learned then that it was a restaurant that cooked the food at the table. Vulkan was very excited by this. Several of the others were excited to not have to wait for the food.
"This will be awesome," Vulkan said. Leman nodded excitedly.
"How do these things work?" Angron asked, he was holding up the chopsticks at his place.
"You hold them in one hand," the Emperor explained, demonstrating how to hold them. "You then make a pinching motion with your hand to pick things up. If you get noodles you can start by putting them in the noodles and twist them until you get more familiar with them."
"I think I get it," Angron said.
"Just watch me," Jaghatai said. "They use these as utensils on Chogoris." Chogoris was the planet that Jaghatai recruited White Scars from. It was also known as Mundus Plainus, but Jaghatai hated that name. He said that it was boring, which the planet itself was not.
"Have you ever used chopsticks, Uncle Malcador?" Magnus asked.
"It's been a few years," Malcador said. "But yes, I have used them before."
"Is it hard?" Magnus asked. He was concerned that he wasn't going to get them.
"You shouldn't have any problems," Malcador assured him.
"That's good,"Magnus said.
Valdor was staring at the chopsticks, wondering how he was going to use them. He eventually asked a waiter for some tape. The waiter gave him a strange look, but provided the tape. Valdor then taped the sticks to his fingers in the right configuration. He made sure that they were still functional. A few of the Primarchs chuckled as Valdor set the tape aside.
"That looks a little silly," Horus said.
"If it looks silly, but works, it's not silly," Valdor said.
"I guess," Horus said with another chuckle.
They went through the menu and made their selection. Some of the Primarchs chose rice based dishes, and were a bit worried about how to eat the rice with the chopsticks. However, they were going to try it anyway.
The cook came over and prepared their meals in front of them. The Emperor had to keep Vulkan from trying to play with the fire and getting in the way. They then settled in and started eating.
The Primarchs were a bit varied in their abilities with chopsticks. The Lion got it after a few moments. Fulgrim took to them right away. Perturabo tried very hard to get them, but eventually had to ask for a fork.
Jaghatai had no problems, as was expected. Leman was still doggedly trying. Rogal looked disappointed as he also asked for a fork. Konrad also ended up getting a fork. Sanguinius got them. Ferrus got frustrated and ended up with a fork.
Angron got so frustrated with his that he threw his chopsticks up into the ceiling. One stuck and the other hit Leman on the head. He started eating with his hands, instead of getting a fork. Leman saw that, slammed his chopsticks down, picked Angron's out of his hair, and then face-planted into his food.
"Leman, Angron, get forks," the Emperor said. Angron refused, Leman obeyed after a moment.
"Alright," Angron said when he noticed that Leman had brought a fork for him.
Roboute got the hang of chopsticks after a few failed tries. Mortarion was still using the "stab and twist" method for his noodles, but he had figured out how to pick up other things. Magnus had watched Malcador for a few moments before actually trying himself, and didn't seem to have any problems. Horus watched the Emperor, much as Magnus had watched Malcador. Lorgar tried a bit, then got a fork. Vulkan found that a fork was better for him as well. Corvus was a surprise in that he was quite good with chopsticks. Alpharius also managed them well enough. Valdor's plan with the tape was working just fine, though it did still look a bit silly.
"Will you be having dessert here, my lord?" the waiter asked.
"Yes," the Emperor said. "Give us a few moments to look over the options."
"Of course, my lord. Shall I have the fortune cookies brought out before dessert?"
"I find that agreeable," the Emperor said.
"Fortune cookies?" Magnus asked before anyone else could say anything.
"They are cookies that have slips of paper in them," the Emperor said. "The paper slips have sayings written on them that are supposedly reflective of the reader's personality."
"The cookies aren't truly Xinese in origin," Malcador added. "However, they have been served in Xinese restaurants since M2."
"Interesting," Magnus said as a tray of cookies was set on the table. The Primarchs all grabbed one, followed by the three adults. The Emperor paused to order dessert for everyone.
"You have to read your fortunes aloud for everyone," the Emperor said. "All of us will."
"What order are we going in ?" Horus asked.
"Number order," the Emperor said. "Malcador, Valdor and I will go last."
"'Real kindness comes from within you'," the Lion said. "I guess, that works for me."
"'The wise does at once what the fool does at last'," Fulgrim read. "That almost sounds like a riddle."
"'The pleasure of what we enjoy is lost by wanting more'," Perturabo read. "Maybe there's a lesson in that somewhere. I agree with Fulgrim though, it just sounds like a riddle."
"'The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work'," Jaghatai said. He gave a mocking scowl to his cookie as it had broken while he was opening the wrapper. "Or not."
"'The speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack'," Leman said. "That is very much true."
"'The thing in us that we fear just wants our love'," Rogal said. "That doesn't really make any sense to me."
"'The difficulties of life are meant to make us better, not bitter'," Konrad read. "A lot of people don't get that lesson."
"'Stepping away from the power position for one day'," Sanguinius said. "I think I got your fortune, Father."
"'The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all undimmed'," Ferrus said. He pulled a face at that. "That was possibly meant for you, Magnus."
"'The love of your life will appear in front of you unexpectedly'," Angron read. The waiter had returned with desserts for everyone and was setting them around. He placed Angron's in front of him.
"Well, that turned out to be right," Angron said as he began eating his dessert. They paused in the reading of fortunes as they ate dessert.
"'The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances'," Roboute said. "This was a Macraggean cookie alright."
"'The mighty oak was once a little nut that stood its ground'," Mortarion read. "Standing your ground is important, but I think there's more to becoming an oak from an acorn than that."
"'The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do'," Magnus read. "Streamlining is more Fulgrim's thing."
"'The course of life is unpredictable... no one can write his autobiography in advance'," Horus said.
"That's not always true," Konrad said. "Sanguinius and I can both see the future to some degree. So can Father."
"'The universe does not have laws-- it has habits, and habits can be broken'," Lorgar said. "That's weird."
"'Success is an accumulation of successful days'," Vulkan said. "This one's not wrong." He set the remains of his cookie aside, it had broken into several pieces when Vulkan had picked it up.
"'The architect of your destiny is yourself'," Corvus read. "I like that, we have our own say in our lives."
"'The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference'," Alpharius read. "That's very true. To hate one still needs to feel some form of emotional connection to the hated thing."
"'There appear to be many clouds; but they pass'," the Emperor read. "An actually prophetic cookie."
"'The smart thing to do is to start trusting your intuition'," Malcador read with a snort. "This cookie's a few thousand years too late for that advice to be good." His cookie was sitting unbroken in front of him; he had pried the fortune out of the slit. He had explained that it was better for the fortune.
There was a silence where Valdor should have been reading his fortune. His cookie had broken apart as he was plucking it from the wrapper. The fortune was smoothed out on the tip of his finger. He was staring at it, almost like it had offended him.
"What's your fortune, Valdor?" Horus asked. Valdor didn't answer, the Primarchs all stared at him.
"'Sure, you have duties, but what about your duties to yourself?'," Valdor finally read after a moment.
There was a moment as the Primarchs didn't seem to know how to react to it. Then there was a rumbling of laughter from the Emperor. This shattered the moment, and the others began to laugh as well. Valdor chuckled a bit.
"It has a point," the Emperor said. "You cannot protect me if you cannot take care of yourself."
"True," Valdor said. "However, a cookie should not be the thing pointing that out."
This raised a fresh peal of laughter from the Primarchs. It also explained the look of slight offense that Valdor had had earlier. They finished what was left of their desserts and departed.
**************************
Roboute didn't feel too well on the return flight. He was hoping that it was just gas, and that it would pass without much problem. If nothing he could pretend that it was Mortarion if it was bad.
Once they landed Roboute headed directly to one of the bathrooms. He made it there before vomiting all over the floor. He groaned his annoyance with that and staggered from the bathroom towards his room. The Emperor noticed, and asked Malcador to mind the other Primarchs as he set about cleaning the bathroom.
Roboute came back out of his room, holding his teddy bear. It was called Cuddles Maximus, and Malcador had given it to him as a birthday gift the same year that Horus got Luna. It was his favorite stuffed animal. The Primarchs gave Roboute space, they had all heard him in the bathroom, and the prescence of Cuddles Maximus was full confirmation. The bear didn't leave Roboute's room unless he felt sick.
Lorgar grabbed a bucket for Roboute, just in case. Roboute nodded his appreciation of that. He hoped he didn't need it, but it was always a good practical when feeling sick. The Emperor finished cleaning the bathroom and returned to the living room. Malcador departed with well wishes to Roboute.
"I hoped it was just gas," Roboute murmured.
"It's alright," the Emperor said. "Sometimes things just don't sit well."
"I'm starting to feel better," Roboute said.
"That's good," Sanguinius said.
"Sometimes it just needs to come out," Mortarion said. "Then it's all better."
"You would know about that," Fulgrim said. Mortarion chuckled.
"You should probably head to bed, Roboute," the Emperor said after a few moments.
"Alright, Father," Roboute said. He headed off to bed, taking Cuddles Maximus with him. The other Primarchs stayed up until their normal bedtime. Everyone was aware that Roboute would be just fine in the morning.
Cuddles Maximus!
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