An Offer they Can't Refuse

[Knight Errant]

Stephen frowns... not liking most of what she said. "I'll have to take your word for it... Anyway... I'll meet you in the hallway again." He says, heading in to his room to change!

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Will finds... the salad bar! There are all kinds of salad and vegetables, as well as toppings and dressings... near the end there are other things. Some puddings, fruit, fruit salad... and a smoothie machine! Melissa giggles a bit. "Sorry, Will... you wont find that kind of stuff here... The only place you would find them is in the restaurant in the Casino. And that place... well... um... you need to be invited to." She says, heading up and grabbing a plate.

[muffinstud]

Will frowned at the poor selection, but apparently this was another matter where his choice didn't matter much. "Fan-tastic." He let it be very obvious how sarcastically enthusiastic he was as he piled veggies on his plate. At least there were some hard boiled egg whites and some shredded chicken, but not much. He almost took all of it to get a satisfactory portion of protein on his plate.

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Steve's room was exactly as he left it. The same tight briefs, the same silky yellow shirt, the same soft green pants with that white stitching. Once dressed, Steve would find Hannah waiting for him in the hall, once again in her black and white maid's uniform.

[Knight Errant]

Steve gets dressed again in his slightly odd clothes... he never thought he would feel relieved to get in them, but after that mankini... yeah... Once dressed, he heads out to meet Hannah! "Alrighty! Lets go get some lunch." He says.

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Melissa is ahead of him... and has quite a lot more veggie to protein ratio. She drizzles a light vinaigrette on her salad, getting a small bowl and filling it with chunks of pear. She grabs a smoothie and turns to Will. "Once your done, come join me." She says with a smile... heading over to a corner booth and sitting down.

[muffinstud]

Will drowned his salad in creamy ranch before mixing himself up a smoothie. Mango, pineapple, banana... He was in the tropics, why not do it right? His calorie laden drink and his completely unhealthy salad in hand, Will was about to head to the corner booth with Melissa. Something didn't look quite right in the glass over the salad bar though. He took a closer look. That golden gleam... was coming from his hair!

"What the..." He turned this way and that. Sure enough, his hair was a little longer, and a whole lot blonder. How in the world could that have happened? Was it while he was asleep? Did.. Melissa do it to him? He trembled as he made his way over to the booth and sat down across from the smiling girl with the blue hair. He looked like he was shell-shocked.


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"Of course. I hope you're hungry." She waved him to follow her down the other end of the hall. It ended in a smaller door that opened into a small cafe looking place, with retro styled booths and tables. It was a vegetarian's paradise, with all sorts of healthy choices at the salad bar, and a well used smoothie maker at one end.

[Knight Errant]

Steve follows her into the retro cafe... blinking as he sees the field of veggies for eating. "Errr... is this all they have?" He asks, glancing around.

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Melissa is sipping her smoothie... looking like she is in heaven... until she sees the look on Will's face. She swallows. "W-Will? Are you alright?" She asks, worried...

[muffinstud]

"What happened to my hair?" He tugged on one of his bangs for emphasis. "It was black when I last looked at it. What's going on here? Did... did you do this to me?" He let go of the hair and sagged in his seat. The hurt in his voice was pretty clear. He had trusted her, and he was sure she was beginning to trust him as well. He almost didn't want to hear the answer, but he had to know.


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"Is that a problem?" Hannah already had a plate and was decorating it more than laying out a meal. She licked her lips as she sprinkled shredded carrots over everything, and looked at the peaches and cherries in her bowl like a normal person would a scoop of rocky road. "If the salad isn't your style, you can always mix up a smoothie."

[Knight Errant]

Steve stares at the salad bar a bit... then thinks a bit. "Um... you seem like you know whats good. Do you mind fixing me a plate? I don't really... do veggies often."

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Melissa winces as he tugs on his hair... Her face full of dread and a bit of worry. Her eyes widen as he implicates her in changing his hair... she shakes her head violently. "N-nononono! I didn't do it, I swear!" She insists... She fidgets for a moment... looking over her shoulder to see if anyone is watching them... her face is pale... as she leans towards him. "Did you... wash your hair alot when you took your bath?" She asks, nervous.

[muffinstud]

Will breathed a sigh of relief to see the same amount of shock on her face as he felt. Still, her question didn't seem to make any sense to him. "Not really. I mean, I did fall asleep in the tub though. I think I forgot to rinse out the conditioner too. What does that have to do with it? I mean, if it had dye in it, I'd have stains on my forehead. And that doesn't explain why it's longer too. I got a haircut the day before I got taken in by the casino."


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Hannah looked at her plate, then up to Steve. "You should try them more often. They grow on you. Goodness knows, they have for me." She blinked, then stared at the salad bar for a moment before shaking her head. "You know what? I'd be happy to fix you a plate." She set hers down and started lumping a little bit of everything onto a plate for Steve. "I'm not sure what you like, so I figure you can just leave what you don't want on your plate. By the time she finished, Steve had a plate that could feed a burrow of rabbits.

[Knight Errant]

Steve soon has... a plate of veggies! "Thanks..." He says, taking it and grabbing a fork before heading for the smoothie machine and mixing up a banana strawberry smoothie! Before looking to Hannah. "Alright... where should we sit?"

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Melissa bites her lip... "I... can't tell you... I... wish I could. Please believe me..." She nearly whimpers... battling her fear of the reaction of the mafia if she went against them...

[muffinstud]

So they put something in his bath to change his hair and make it longer. It was sneaky and underhanded, but it still didn't make any sense. Will frowned and grabbed her hand. "Hey, this isn't your fault. I trust you. But now... I don't think I trust anything in my room." He looked down at his plate. "Is the food safe, at least?"

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Hannah motioned to one of the side booths by the window with her head. She placed her plate and fruit bowl down gingerly on the table before sliding into the booth. She immediately tore into her salad with gusto, savoring every bite.

[Knight Errant]

Steve sits down and tries the salad! By the look of how Hannah was eating it had to be good...

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Melissa tries to calm herself as Will takes her hand... she dosent answer for awhile... caught in some silent inner struggle... finally, she speaks. "Things... are going to be rough for you for the next few days... But... you have to bear through it. There are some things I cant talk to you about... you just... have to trust me. Don't start acting suspicious... do everything in your schedule... and you will be safe." She winces... biting her lip. "We will both be safe..."

[muffinstud]

Will could see the struggle she had gone through to even say that much, and how it taxed her. "Are you sure? I mean, it was probably part of my "schedule" to have my hair changed like this. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me, but I won't take this kind of crap lying down." He looked from side to side, unsure if they were already saying too much. "Is this why your hair is blue?"

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As Steve chowed down, he was in for a pleasant surprise. They were still vegetables, but by the Green Giant, they were the best vegetables he'd ever tasted. They were still no contest for what he usually ate, but at least they tasted good enough for him not to get sick of them after the first few forkfuls. Hannah was destroying her salad, the look of satisfaction as she chewed was priceless.

[Knight Errant]

Steve is... pleasantly surprised! He munches down... grinning a bit as he watches Hannah wolf down the veggies. He pops a carrot in his mouth... chewing it down before taking a sip of his smoothie.

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Melissa stares down at the table... wincing slightly as he speaks. Its almost a couple minutes after he finishes his last sentence that she speaks. "You don't have a choice... I don't have a choice... if we don't play by their rules... they will kill us." She looks up, her eyes wide. "This place is a paradise... but its also... a prison. You just can't see the bars..." She looks down, shaking her head. "Just... eat. In a few days... you will know everything I can't tell you now... I promise..."

[muffinstud]

Will shook his head and frowned mightily at his salad. "I knew this was too good to be true." He stabbed his fork into the green stuff on his plate, making sure to drown it as much as possible in the dressing. "I'll do it. I'll behave. Not for them, but for you. I don't know how many rules you broke telling me this much, but I can tell you just stuck your neck out real far for me." He pointed his fork at Melissa. "But I promise you, when I do figure this whole mystery out, we're going to have a long talk."

Will punctuated his last sentence by taking a bite of his salad.

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If Steve liked carrots before, he has even more reason now. It's juicy, crunchy, sweet, and even has a little bite. The smoothie is perfect as well. Either he lucked out with the mix, or the machine knows how to make the perfect smoothie for you. The blend between the banana and strawberry is just how Steve likes it, and the fruit is in peak condition.

[Knight Errant]

Steve blinks... "This is really good..." He says after swallowing. He continues eating his plate of veggies!

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Melissa sighs as Will agrees to behave... obvious relief on her face... She nods silently as he says they will have a talk, then continues eating her salad... Meanwhile, Will takes a bite of his salad! Its... remarkably good! The salad beneath the heavy dressing is crisp and tasty... it almost makes him wish he used less dressing!