A Taste of Bison

<table><tbody><tr><td><div style="padding:15px;"><div><div><div style="border:8px solid #ffffff;width:125px;height:125px;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;float:left;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/1AxolxT.png" style="height:125px;"></div></div><div style="text-align:justify;">Getting Bison was not hard. Getting Bison shipped to the island in a timely manner, on the other hand, certainly was. Travel to and from the island could be an adventure at the best of times, and consistent shipping could not be counted on. In the majority of cases, whatever you ordered would arrive, but it wouldn't be unusual for it to arrive weeks or even months late.

A bison that had been sitting frozen for that long would not due, so he waited until the island was having a proper, time sensitive shipment, and then ensured the meat was brought aboard. The moment it was on the ship, he sent out a nicely worded letter to Lelei, and settled in to wait.

Ignatius did not do things by halves. The chef had prepared a proper meal to go with it, mixing seafood in with red meat. Almost all the dishes were primarily meat based, with only bits of other things. Ignatius was a carnivore no matter what form he happened to be in, and the idea of sitting down and having a salad didn't work for him.

He was dressed in a proper suit, similar to the one he'd worn at the policemen's ball, and yet still noticeably different. He had a whole selection, and this time he'd picked out a blue tie.

He settled into his lounge, waiting for the staff to come and inform him that Lelei had arrived.
</div><div style="text-align:center;font-family:arial;font-size:10px;padding-bottom:10px;opacity:0.5;"> @"Critical" </div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>​

<table><tbody><tr><td><div style="padding:15px;"><div><div><div style="border:8px solid #ffffff;width:125px;height:125px;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;float:left;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/btY65rq.png" style="height:125px;"></div></div><div style="text-align:justify;">Ignatius was always fond of letters. They were more personal. They were more formal as well. Ignatius liked being formal. He liked the way it all sounded, when you formally invited someone. He liked his formal greetings for an event like this.

So when one of the staff arrived to let him know that Lelei had arrived, he made his way to the front door, all formal politeness. He found Lelei in the hallway, a grand and ornate thing, but had no intentions of them lingering in the house for much longer. He was all smiles, too many teeth giving him a predatory edge as he gestured into the house.

"Welcome to the manor. I hope I didn't leave you waiting too long. I had trouble getting the meat here in a timely manner. You don't want it frozen too long, or it'll ruin the point of bringing it in at all." He started to walk, presuming Lelei would follow him as he trailed him down a long hallway, guiding him around a corner and then out onto a patio.

To say the backyard was rich was not giving it enough credit. The stone deck extended out far enough to give plenty of room, with a fine table set out, already prepared for them. After a step down, it split into two paths, one wandering out onto the well taken care of grounds, and the other making it's way over to a large pool, easily the side of an olympic swimming pool, although not so uniform in shape. Trees dotted the grounds, and Ignatius settled himself in on a deck chair looking out over the pool and grounds, not sitting at the table just yet.

"Take a seat. It's just the two of us for the night." His parents were out, off on some vacation or another. They did a better job of passing as human than he ever did, and the luxury of off-island vacations remained open to them.
</div>[/thoth] @"tag" </div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>​

<table><tbody><tr><td><div style="padding:15px;"><div><div><div style="border:8px solid #ffffff;width:125px;height:125px;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;float:left;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/btY65rq.png" style="height:125px;"></div></div><div style="text-align:justify;">For some reason, Ignatius found the bow almost funny. He'd always been one for handshakes, although he'd forgone on in this case. This wasn't business. This was simply him sharing the chance to taste a rare meat with someone else who would appreciate it.

He wasn't going to give him the full tour. He almost never wanted to give anyone the full tour. It took too long, and he'd done it too many times growing up. If someone cared enough and he had a reason to, he would have a servant do it, but he had absolutely no interest in touring someone through the overly large family house.

"Not all mine. It's the family estate. It was my fathers before me, and my grandfather's before him. My parents still live here when they're not off seeing the world, although for the most part I have the run of it." It was his house - his parents just happened to live there. Whoever was the head of the family was the head of the house, after all. He still had members of the family come to visit, but he was the only true resident.

"I thought you'd appreciate a pool view." The dining room was meant more for large gatherings, and it would look silly to have the two of them at such a large table. The table in the backyard was large, but still reasonable. "The pool doesn't get much use, unfortunately. I can't say I have much time for it." It was a high end salt water pool - still chlorinated, but less likely to burn your eyes if you opened them underwater.

"The chefs already started cooking. It takes some time to prepare, so I started before you arrived. It should be ready soon."
</div>[/thoth] @"critical" </div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>​

<table><tbody><tr><td><div style="padding:15px;"><div><div><div style="border:8px solid #ffffff;width:125px;height:125px;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;float:left;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/btY65rq.png" style="height:125px;"></div></div><div style="text-align:justify;">Ignatius was the kind of person who believed in looking after family. That included his parents, and he would certainly take care of them... presuming they weren't in his way. He had gained his position by essentially throwing his father out of the position he'd created for himself.

"A salt system makes for less harsh water. It's certainly not as natural as the ocean, but the ocean also isn't terribly healthy for things not meant to be in it." Things like him. He doubted Lelei was even capable of getting ill from the sort of bacteria that made people chlorinate their pools.

"That was the plan, more or less." And by less, he meant the swimming. "You're free to swim - I prefer to relax. I'm far from a strong swimmer." His size and general density made swimming a tad more challenging than the average human, and the whole thing felt awkward. T-rex's could swim, but not very well. They weren't intended to go swimming for long periods of time. Nothing more than a doggy paddle across the mouth of a river.

He let out a laugh at Lelei's sudden awkwardness, and made a quick beckoning gesture with one hand. An older man appeared in one of the doorways, heading over to Ignatius's side. "Some whiskey for me, and get Lelei whatever he'd like." The man turned to Lelei immediately, waiting for whatever he happened to order.

"We're well stocked." Ignatius reassured Lelei. There were very few things he wouldn't have.


</div>[/thoth] @"Critical" </div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>​

<table><tbody><tr><td><div style="padding:15px;"><div><div><div style="border:8px solid #ffffff;width:125px;height:125px;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;float:left;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/btY65rq.png" style="height:125px;"></div></div><div style="text-align:justify;">It was indeed a rich person kind of thing. Much like with so many other things, a salt water pool was cheaper to upkeep over time, but had a much higher upfront cost.

He found himself feeling some amusement watching Lelei stumble through ordering. There was really no question that Lelei hadn't grown up in the kind of life that Ignatius had. The servant gestured with his hand, indicating a small glass.

"Get him one the same size as me." Ignatius cut in, and the servant hurried off to make the drinks, leaving the two of them alone again. "They'll top up your drink until you say not to, so glass size doesn't matter much." He reassured him. There was no point in worrying over small details. The point was to relax. The staff could certainly adapt.
</div>[/thoth] @"Critical" </div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>​