[Ten Forward:] Serving up drinks | OTA

[she_listens]

There are more new arrivals on the ship. They seem to come and go in waves, rather than one at a time. Q sweeps them in, Q sweeps them out again. No rhyme, no reason. She's been looking for patterns, keeping her eye on what she can.

But until they know more, she's more interested in who arrives.

Everyone has a story, and everyone needs a calm place through the storm. She places both palms flat on the bar, and smiles.

"Can I get you something?"

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[writes_with_digital_ink]

Whatever storms involve Gaila, they seem a little behind her. The Orion has a bounce to her step as she walks into the lounge, and she seems more content than she has been...well, since she got here.

The grey uniform of an acting ensign that she's wearing has a lot to do with that.

She slides onto a stool, and props her chin up with her hands.

"Mmmm, if I say 'surprise me', is that gonna get me into trouble?"

[she_listens]

Guinan flashes a set of white teeth, eyes crinkling with amusement.

"That depends on your definition of 'trouble'."

At least the El-Aurian seems trustworthy. There's a calming presence about her that betrays any suggestion of mischief.

"You look happy today."

[tanteiotaku]

Things had been looking up ever since he finally got things with Philip off his chest. He wasn't as distracted and he was finding things not so bad of late. But it still wasn't home.

"Black coffee with sugar," he said, slipping onto a stool as he swept his hat off his head. "With a ticket home for a coaster," he added with a smirk. "How are you doing?"

[she_listens]

She smiles, and inclines her head.

"Fine, thank you. And how are you doing?"

There's a soft lilt in her tone.

Does she know something? Probably not. But the change in Shotaro's demeanor is noticeable.

[makesbettermouth]

"One lemonade with extra ice and cookie, please. Do you have cookies?" Amy didn't mean to imply she would be the kind of person to have them, of course.

[she_listens]

"Of course we have cookies."

Guinan's brows pinch together incredulously.

"What kind of place do you think this is?"

Her voice is rich, soft, and teasing. She smiles warmly, and moves to fill Amy's order.

[element_wizard]

Alec has seen Guinans before and he's talked to one or two of them. They've always been polite to him, a little bit leery at times - after all his powers weren't exactly... well, he didn't belong here, even less so than everyone else here. He just didn't belong in reality which tended to make most Guinans itchy.

Curious as to how this one would react, he approached the bar and dropped into a seat.

When asked what he wanted, he said, "The first draft of Tolkien's Hobbit?" with a grin on his face.

[she_listens]

"Oh, you're going to be trouble."

It's said with patient amusement at first, as Guinan takes in the request and the grin that chases it.

But there's a slight furrow to her brow a moment later. A somewhat distant look in her eyes.

She has this ... feeling.

"Anything I can get you that comes in a glass?"

[unkindness]

Seven has, honestly, worked to avoid the bartender in Ten Forward. She can see easily enough the way the woman looks at her. It's not quite enough to make her too uncomfortable to come into the room entirely--it never has been. But it's been enough to give her a wide berth.

It's been months, many months, and Seven hasn't spoken to her once. She knows her name--Guinan. Knows, or at least suspects, that she's not human, and that she's from a species that had encountered the Borg. But that's all. She hasn't inquired about anything else.

Her usual table, she notes with some annoyance, is occupied again. The space is getting crowded with people, and eventually she may have to cede and not come here during the ship's day. But her quarters being where they are, she has no replicator access, and needs to come to communal spaces for meals.

She orders chilled soup and water from the replicator, and goes to a table that is far closer to the bar than she's ever taken before.

[she_listens]

She's noticed.

To be honest, Guinan notices every time Seven enters the lounge while she's on duty. It's hard not to. Her race may not be recognizable to the Borg, as just one of many they've massacred into near extinction. Resisting the urge to make sure Seven never forgets the El-Aurians has been difficult.

If there is any race she hates more than the Q, it is without a doubt the Borg.

They haven't exchanged words yet. Probably for the better. She knows that they can't continue that way forever, if Seven is going to be a permanent fixture on this ship (and she wouldn't put it past Q to toy with her that way), but she can't see any good coming from a conversation.

[theycallmetodd]

Guide - or Todd, as he remains officially known as on board the ship - has a headache. Which is absurd; Wraith doesn't get headaches. But, he's starting to come to terms with the fact that a lot has changed since the retrovirus that allows him to live on solid food. Come to think of it, his intake of food and fluids hasn't been what they should be, lately. Perhaps the headache isn't so strange after all.

He's seen Guinan before, but has never talked to her. Well, obviously that's about to change. "A way home," he starts, straightening up in his seat. No need to slouch just because his head hurts. "My own Hive, back under my command. Q's mangled corpse." Either of those would be nice.

"But, I will settle for a glass of water and something to eat."

[she_listens]

The Wraith has become a staple around here, as one of the first few to arrive, one of the most unique to volunteer in Sickbay, and one of the more noticeable species among the complement.

Guinan smiles warmly, taking the requests with a pinch of humor.

"You may have to rely on the captain for your first request, but I'd be glad to help with the last two."

Q has never been her favorite being in the universe.

"What variety of meal can I get for you?"

[impossibilities]

This was the room the being known only as Q had brought her to, she remembered. The bar with the view. It wasn't the first place Grainne had visited, well technically it was, but today. She was scoping out the territory, so to speak. Getting a feel of the place. She had done that before and it had always served her well when things inevitably went wrong.

She started at the question, her attention drawn to the view across the room. Stars and dust and who knows what else beyond. Thankful for the interruption, she turned toward the bartender, and her expression turned to one of surprise.

"No, my lady, thank you. I am just exploring the ship."

[she_listens]

Guinan inclines her head.

"Fair enough."

When she looks back at Grainne, there is a friendly, joyful sparkle in her deep eyes. She has an air of infinity and calm about her that tends to make others feel comfortable.

"Is this your first time in space?"

[so_vain]

"Milk," Cat said, smiling back and sitting down at the bar. No please - it didn't occur to him to ask. He was impressed, though - aside from himself she was probably the best dressed person on the ship. Not that it was hard. "Nice hat."

[she_listens]

"Nice tie."

Her smile broadens as she nods at his snappy ensemble, a silent thank-you for the compliment.

She fetches his milk in a chilled, wide-brimmed cup, something more like a mug than a tall glass.

"You must be new here."

She thinks she would have remembered him otherwise.

[caelus]

Jim hadn't actually talked to the bartender yet. He'd seen her from a distance. He'd definitely noticed her when he tried to hack the replicators and failed, but other than seen and given a nod to, they haven't spoken.

He's not sure really what brings him to the bar of the lounge, and has him taking a seat and propping his elbows up on the surface, crossed in close in front of his chest. She comes up, and he tilts his head as if considering.

"A starchart I recognize would be a nice start. Maybe an old-fashioned compass." Because his is spinning. It isn't just the being here that's doing it either. He's coming to terms with it, mostly because he doesn't have a choice. Jim would like to think that he took running into two people he was extremely close to who are dead where he comes from in stride. That there was a measure of grace in it.

Then his father showed up. His died the day he was born saving him and his mother and 800 people dad. A man he never knew outside of stories. Their meeting was emotionally turbulent to say the least. How often does a dead dad get to meet his grown up son when he'd only just heard him squalling over comms?

Still, he'd give an awful lot to have even a vague idea of true north right about now.

"Barring that, uh, coffee, I guess." A beat. "Thanks."

[she_listens]

She knows who Jim Kirk is.

Not just his reputation in this universe and his, but his reputation on the ship as well. He's been trouble, and there's a part of her that respects that. It's good for Picard, on occasion.

She's kept herself from any disciplinary affairs, but the way she looks at him is somewhat like a homeroom teacher contemplating an unruly student. It's tempered with something else, though — something deeper. History.

Gratitude.

"A compass? You must be a real sailor."

It's friendly enough, spoken before she moves to fetch his order. She sets a glass mug in front of him, and since he didn't specify what kind of coffee he wanted she took a guess on what he would enjoy the most.

"Are you finding it difficult adjusting to life more than one hundred years in the future?"

Let me know if I need to change anything?

[pythianwoman]

The last time Zoey had seen Guinan, well, A Guinan, anyway, it had been while she quite blatantly slipped behind the bar in the Ten Forward of whatever version of this Enterprise that the Carnival had visited, and stolen numerous bottles of booze to test a theory. And there was something about the woman, THIS version of her, that made Zoey... uneasy. Not in a ‘danger’ sort of way, but in a vaguely nebulous ‘secrets are hard to keep around her’ sort of way.

The replicator threw her for a moment, and she contemplated seeing whether or not she could confuse it, before requesting a mug of oolong tea, sweetened, and warm bougatsa. Then she was finding an out of the way table, so she could sit and people watch.

ooc: Nope, it's all good! :)

[she_listens]

Guinan — this Guinan — may not share those memories, but Zoey isn't wrong. She has a way of sensing what another person needs, or if they're holding something back.

It makes her a good bartender, but a terrible companion if what you really want is to Not Talk About It.

She watches the new arrival move around the lounge, not hemming her in or interrupting. Just observant, calm, ready to jump in if needed. Once Zoey's seated and without distraction though, she's fair game.

"You almost seem comfortable here. Like you've been here before."

She smiles.

[ethnobotany]

Beverly has been debating doing this for a while. Months have passed since her arrival in this universe and she doubts that, after her altercation with security as soon as she opened her eyes, her presence on this ship and especially in Ten Forward has gone unnoticed by one person in particular.

She has been eating in other places, but her typical fare here in this room, when she decides to grace the lounge with her decreasingly distressed presence, has been a cup of tea and a bowl of fruit. This has also likely not gone unnoticed. Really, it's only a matter of time. If Beverly doesn't approach first, then Guinan will turn up when she least expects her. That much cannot have changed about the woman, alternate universe or no.

Squaring her shoulders, she comes over at an angle, hiding herself almost, until it's too late for both of them to back out. Lifting her head, she offers a small, tight-lipped smile. "I don't suppose you have any suggestions?"

What's one more surprise in the grand scheme of things?

[she_listens]

One thing Beverly Crusher can be sure of is this is not a universe or a timeline where Guinan would fail to notice her.

The change in the doctor hadn't gone quietly among the crew. Even had it not unsettled Captain Picard as much as it had, there were a dozen other faces equally stark, eyes uncertainly shifting any time Beverly entered a room, voices lowered. Guinan considers the doctor to be a friend, and she herself wasn't unmoved by the switch.

But if anything, she knows that people sometimes need time and space.

She notices Beverly as soon as she enters the room, calmly continuing about her business. It would seem today is the day. Once she approaches the bar, Guinan turns to her with a slight smile and keen eyes, and slowly leans in, arms folded.

"I can think of a few."

Questions go unspoken between them. The words will come when the moment is right.

"Green tea with a hint of raspberry, and hot chicken noodle soup?"

[fatalist_physicist]

Rosalind was not adapting to the new times well. She was wearing modern undergarments but her fashion sense still hovered around the turn of the 20th century. Her hair, at least, matched the fashionable poofiness of the current time.

She stepped up to the bar and sat with a buff, her nose buried in a PADD. In response to Guinan's question she said, "A pot of black tea, unless you can get me an audience with a physics teacher."

[she_listens]

"I might. I have some tricks up my sleeve."

Her eyes glint with amusement. She gives Rosalind's appearance a quick glance, and inclines her head as she goes to fill her order. A tea service is brought back a moment later, pot steaming and the smell of the tea strong.

"Something tells me this kind of place is not what you're used to."

Guinan has done a lot of living throughout the years.

[itmeanstruth]

Minoru spent a good part of the day in the gym. It was one of the few places he could think of to ask that weird computer to locate, and gave him a much needed outlet for his energy. It was also better than being told at least seventeen times to get off of or stop swinging from whatever he happened to be on at the time.

But now, he'd worked up a good appetite, so he headed back to Ten Forward and hopped up on the stool.

"...do you know how to make dango?" He asked. He had tried the replicator in his room, but it seemed to lack the homemade taste and texture of hand-rolled dumplings. "If not, what kind of sweets do people eat here?"

[she_listens]

Lucky for Minoru, Guinan isn't usually the sort to tell someone to stop swinging from things.

Unless, of course, it's too dangerous.

"Dango?"

Her voice is rich and warm, and she takes a moment to try to place what that is.

"Not off the top of my head, but I may be able to experiment with something. What sort of flavors do you like?"