"I don't think I've ever eaten either of those before, asides from chicken. Can I try the beef one?" Damien asked, gently trying to make up his mind. "There's drinks besides water? Like alcohol you mean?"
He never had alcohol himself, but he wasn't as interested to try either honestly.
“Sure.” Mari nodded, a little surprised but not discouraging him. “Do you want to tell the waiter when they get here or do you want me to?” she asked gently.
She laughed a little and shrugged. “Technically, yes but they won’t serve us alcohol because we’re still kids.” she reminded. “They do have sodas or juice that we can have. Those drinks are in the bottom corner.”
Damien seemed to shrink a bit in his seat when presented with the option of talking to the waiter. Yes he was shy, but honestly he did not think he knew what to say to them.
"Could you do it please?" He asked softly, looking at his lap.
As for the drinks, he looked again at the menu.
"I don't recognize any of them… Which one would you suggest?"
“Sure, Damian. It's not a problem.” Mari smiled assuringly with a nod. She had a hunch that he wouldn't want to talk to a complete stranger. And considering how she had found him, she didn't blame him. Though she also figured her friend might be a little uncomfortable around people because of his eye as well.
She hummed and glanced at the drinks. “I’ll probably get a Coke. Most of the sodas are fizzy, sugary, flavored drinks. But you don't have to get one if you want a juice or just water.” she explained.
The boy nodded back, with a small soft relieved expression, thankful for her help once more, before returning to the paper in front of him.
"Hmm, perhaps I'll skip the drink for now, i really don't know what to go for" he admitted, pushing the menu back at her
“So just water.” Mari nodded, assuringly. “It's ok, you know. Lots of people choose water. There's nothing wrong with it.” she smiled as the waitress came over.
Mari was polite as she told the older woman their order but kept the interaction short for Damian’s sake.
Damien could only approve slowly at her suggestion. After all, water had always been his go to option for everything.
He became a little nervous when the waitress came over, but still managed to observe her outfit closely for the brief moment she approached their table. The uniform she wore was interesting, plain but somewhat intriguing given the skirt that revealed her legs below the knee. Not that he considered it to be wrong or anything, just unusual considering he was used to the more conservative long skirts of old
Mari hadn't paid much attention to the waitress’s outfit. It was pretty ordinary, as far as she was concerned. Nothing too noteworthy for her. “Are you ok?” she asked softly, noticing his look. “Something wrong or just bring up some questions?”
The boy caught himself snapping awake from his thoughts.
"ah, I'm fine really. It's just… So weird to see people dressed like this now. It's a lot more … colorful than what I remember" he replied, turning his gaze back towards their table
“Oh. Yeah.” Mari nodded. “I guess I forgot how much fashion changes… And how quickly.” she commented. “I wish I could be more help to you on that. I never followed any magazine or trends.” she shrugged.
"Following magazines?" Damien tilted his head in curiosity.
In the meantime, the waitress was back with their ordered food, placing the bowls on the table, wishing them both to enjoy.
Mari thanked the waitress before turning back to her friend. “Uh, yeah. Ya see, fashion companies publish pictures of their clothes so people can see them anytime.” she explained. “But there’s a lot of competition so fashion companies are constantly trying to outdo each other and a lot of different magazines come out with all kinds of styles. Honestly, it gives me a headache sometimes just thinking about how fast fashion changes.” she admitted.
"But why bother with all of that? It's just clothes" Damien mumbled, turning his attention to the steaming dish in front of him. He gave it a light stir with the utensil he was provided, taking in the pleasant aroma lifting from the ceramic bowl.
"oh wow this smells amazing"
“Honestly, I don't know why other than it most likely started as a way to show class.” Mari shrugged. “Like if you were high class, like nobility or something, you could get all the latest fashions.” she guessed. “Then it became more available to everyone but there’s still some of that “I’m rich so I’m going to show it off with these clothes” kinda thing going on.”
She smiled at his reaction to the food and nodded. “Yeah. The food here always smells good but wait till you try it.” she encouraged before starting on her own plate of food.
Damien found himself intrigued and a little puzzled by such a thing, although perhaps he shouldn't have, since even in his time this was a thing. Much more extravagant than it appeared now, admittedly, especially since everyone seemed to wear the same stuff.
Heeding her word, Damien started his own food, tasting it suspiciously at first, but then he caught himself marveling at how weird but good it tasted.
Mari was a little worried that she might not have explained things right but couldn't think of another way to say it. Though she smiled as he tried some of the food. “Good, isn't it?” she chuckled a little before taking a bite herself.