Work lunch

The restaurant bustled and steamed; inscrutable waiting staff shuffled full plates to the tables and empty, smeary plates the other way to the kitchen.

It was a farewell: Owen from Systems was going on to better things. The entire suzerainty of the EL2, Matt Silverback, was assembled to do him honour, even though most of them barely knew him at all. Owen was one of the quiet ones.

Indagari ended up sitting next to Owen, near one end of a table. As the guest of honour Owen might have demanded a place at the centre of the group but that wasn't his way. It was the way of the banditos, the posse of techies who shared interests such as beer, cars and Xbox games, and inevitably shared work social occasions like this one with only each other. Some found it tough to be be excluded from their group but that wasn't really their intent: they weren't a clique, more of a default setting.

SIlverback had brought wine for everybody. Largesse. Conspicuous consumption. An open bottle of merlot had ended up in front of Owen. He turned to Indagari and asked, "Would you like some wine?"

"I never drink... wine," Indagari quoted.

Owen looked startled. "I should have known."

Indagari was also startled. "So odd, to meet a Kindred spirit so late in the piece."

"Damn Obfuscate."