Be My Guest

[losthunter]

Hunter is hosting a few guests at his Nexus apartment tonight. Hunter had been planning this night for awhile, ever since meeting some of the crew members of Jim's ship, getting to know them better, and then telling them about the Nexus. He has been busy planning for the evening, including grocery shopping for some home-made recipes, and finishing some art pieces that will be given as gifts.

Hunter has arranged so that the PINpoint portal is basically connected to his front door. His open concept kitchen and living room will be the first thing that his guests will see, once they arrive through the PINpoint portal. There is a small closet located to the left of the door where they can place any jackets.

The dining room in the living room has been set with all the dining places for his guests. He decided against placecards, since it is more freedom to allow his guests to choose their own seats. On the island in the kitchen is a large plate of vegetarian-friendly appetizers, which features Lavash bread topped with Guacamole and red bell peppers, alongside crescent rolls filled with Jalapeño, mushrooms and asparagus.

The open concept living room immediately flows into Hunter's art studio, where he has a few pieces still being created. There is a large set of French doors that leads out from the living room to an outdoor patio, where there is a rose garden outside. The every-spanning Nexus can be viewed from the patio balcony. Right now, the Nexus is showing the lakeside, where Hunter had first appeared when he had needed support the most.

There are a few closed doors along one wall, one of which that leads to the bathroom, and the other of which leads to Hunter's bedroom.

As Hunter chills some wine, and checks on his main course, he is pretty ready for his guests to arrive. He is feeling excited and happy to be a host.

Comments

[boldygoing]

"Oh, it's adorable," Uhura says, cupping the little wire tree in her hand. And though the tsavorite is small, any amount is precious and valuable, and she gives Hunter an appreciative look.

Jim had somewhat expected that he might find the model Enterprise inside his gift, and the sight of the flame gems acting as the nacelles' frontal field nodes make him smile, their blue glow adding to the accuracy of the model. Reassured by the incorporation of the duranium, he turns the little ship over in his hands, noting where Hunter has given her a more artistic flair.

He glances over at McCoy's gift, and the surprised look on the doctor's face. "Wow, those look old."

"They are," McCoy says, removing one of the implements from the case with a steady and careful hand. He's only seen tools this primitive in museums and textbooks on the history of medicine. And while they're barbaric and nowhere near what he considers to be civilized medicine, he has to appreciate their part in history, relics of a time where doctors knew much, much less yet still strove to do their best for their patients.

Spock gently turns one of the globes on its axis, examining the hand-painted markings on its surface. "I have never seen Vulcan represented in such a way."

[losthunter]

It warms Hunter's heart to see the reaction of his friends when they see their gifts. There is a little piece of them in the art that they have received. That little piece of their inspiration that Hunter carried with them.

It is also nice to see how McCoy and Spock each gently appraise their gifts.

"I actually know some Civil War recreationists. They collect historic pieces and sometimes find some interesting stuff at auction sales." He noted to McCoy. "If you ever wanted to join them for a battle recreation, they are a pretty welcoming group."

He tilts his head at Spock's comment. "Never?"

[boldygoing]

McCoy shakes his head. "I'm a doctor. The history's interestin', but combat's not my thing, even simulated combat." He's also fairly certain that as a Southerner, he'd be expected to playact as a Confederate, and he has no interest in representing a nation built on enslaving other people, even just as part of a recreation.

Spock looks up from the globe towards Hunter. "Representations of Vulcan's surface are either holographic or photographic in nature. There are - were - ancient maps that depicted the continents as they were understood by cartographers of old, but physical globes were unnecessary once holoprojectors were invented."

He certainly doesn't mean to imply that the gift is bad because it's nontraditional, in fact, quite the opposite. It's a unique take on his homeworld, a planet that no longer exists, translated into a tangible form. It is beautiful, instructional, and as the globes are attached to what he believes are weights meant for keeping books upright on their shelves, practical as well.

[losthunter]

"It was a photograph that I had found for the inspiration." Hunter smiled slightly. He can tell that it does mean a lot to Spock to have that representation of his homeworld, and the fact that it is a practical gift.

"The base is marble. For durability and strength."

[boldygoing]

"Appropriate," Spock says, appreciating the symbolism behind it as well. "My thanks."

"How long have you been working on these?" Jim asks. He knows the model of the Enterprise has been in the works for a while, but most everything else comes as a surprise.

[losthunter]

"About ten days." Hunter shrugs. Once he gets into the groove of a project, it actually doesn't take him long to complete something.

[boldygoing]

"You're very talented," Uhura says appreciatively. Though it'll be a while before any of them get to return to their quarters onboard the Enterprise, she's already deciding where she's going to put the little metal tree among her belongings.

[losthunter]

"Thank you." Hunter smiles. It is always nice to hear compliments about his work.

"I am so glad that I met all of you." Jim especially, so his hand gets squeezed in affection.

[boldygoing]

"It keeps life interesting, doesn't it?" Jim asks, lightly teasing as he squeezes back. "Thanks for dinner. It was really good."

[losthunter]

"It was a pleasure cooking for all of you. I enjoyed it."

[boldygoing]

"Maybe we should do it again sometime," Uhura suggests. "We could all bring something."

McCoy looks thoughtful about the idea. "I certainly wouldn't mind more home cooking."

"Be honest, Bones, you want to show off Georgian barbecue," Jim says with a grin.

[losthunter]

"A potluck type of dinner? That sounds awesome." And Hunter would enjoy tasting anything that his guests wanted to bring to the party.

"I recently had the opportunity to try some Bajoran cuisine. It was great."

[boldygoing]

"Maybe that's what we should do for our next crew get-together," Jim says. "We might be splitting up for a bit while the Enterprise is in dry dock, but that doesn't mean we can't all still see each other."

[losthunter]

"Potlucks are always better with more people. It gives a lot of variety, to feed a lot of people."

[boldygoing]

The others don't seem averse to the idea, so Jim nods. "I'll let you know when, then. It might be a bit before our schedules sync up, once we're back on duty."

[losthunter]

"My schedule is pretty flexible." Hunter smiles. That is one advantage of being an artist.

[boldygoing]

Jim comes damn close to saying 'that's not the only thing about you that's flexible.' Instead he just smirks a little. "Speaking of your schedule, any big projects going on right now?"

[losthunter]

"I have been working on a memorial piece... for Kendra."

[boldygoing]

Oh. Well that's a bit of a mood change. "Memorial?" Uhura repeats, frowning in concern. There's been too much of that, lately. Especially after Hunter gave up some of his own time to help them memorialize Admiral Pike, and the crewmen of the Enterprise who were lost in the battle against the Vengeance. "Are you okay?"

[losthunter]

It was an honest answer to Jim's question. Hunter doesn't want to bring down the mood. But it is important to him that he reflected on what happened between him and Kendra. And their goodbye.

"It is strange. To miss her so much, when at one time in my life I was so angry with her."

[boldygoing]

"Loss of any kind is a complex emotion," Spock says, understanding in his eyes, behind the usual Vulcan stoicism. "To struggle with one's reaction to loss is shared by many."

[losthunter]

"I previously had painted a painting of Kendra before," The dramatic large portrait of Kendra's vibrant green eyes is hanging in his art studio.

"But I got to see another side of her. Many different sides. And I want to capture more of who she was..."

[boldygoing]

"Anything I can do to help?" Jim asks, uncertain.

[losthunter]

"You are already being an help." Just having Jim around as emotional support is important to Hunter.

"In addition to the memorial project, I am also using my pottery wheel a lot more recently. There is something relaxing about working with clay."

[boldygoing]

"Well I'd say it's good to have hobbies, but you seem to have that pretty much covered," McCoy says. He may not know the details about this Kendra woman or how she met her end, but he's been watching Hunter's body language, and is satisfied that he's handling any grief in a productive manner.