A wayward note -OPEN-

The young woman sipped at her Mai Tai at the bar, the pineapple juice sweetening the coconut rum so much, she couldn't taste any trace of alcohol. She's had a few already and would probably be wise she didn't stand too quickly at the moment. Yes, maybe staying sitting is probably the best option. Her toxicity tolerance was slowly negating the alcohol, but it wasn't instantaneous. Though, she wouldn't mind staying here a while longer. Maybe enjoy another Mai Tai or perhaps something with a little more kick and sweetness, like bourbon or maybe a nice rum runner. An ice cube shifted in her glass as she took another sip through the narrow straw.

Her stomach filling on juices and alcohol, Ashlynne was feeling nibbly and needed something to snack on. Something fried sounded good. "Hey, barkeep! You got anything fried? ...Oh! I'll try the pickles!", she had to speak up over the rest of commotion of the tavern. The man behind the counter walked off to the pickup window where a small kitchen was hiding. They only made bar-food and nothing too fancy. In the meantime, Ash played with the narrow straw in her drink, trying to make the last few sips last. The door to the tavern was nearly muffled by the ambiance, but Ash's ears picked up on the door opening and closing, her ears twitching. One would think she was on edge, but she was simply curious of those who entered. Turning to the side casually, she took her nearly empty drink with her. Whoever entered sounded like they were carrying something heavy, like full-body armor, but it didn't clink and squeak. Looking out of her peripherals, what she saw was a bit of a shock. Not only did he look like a kid, but he definitely didn't belong.

'Hmmm...', she mused to herself, crossing her legs, one knee over the other. Reaching into her denim capri pants, she fished out some more money to eventually pay for the fried pickles she ordered. Darn it was only a couple bucks. She coulda swore she had more. Checking the other pocket, then her worn sweatshirt jacket pockets, she found a larger bill. Good, she can stay for a little while longer. Turning in her stool to face the bar again, Ashlynne looked to her side to observe the boy some more until he eventually sat at the bar a few seats away from him. Hunched over her own drink, stirring the watered down liquid. Just as she took the last sip, the barkeep came to her with a basket of fried pickles. Shooting up, Ashlynne clapped her hands together, all of a sudden perky, thanking the man behind the bar. Picking up a chip of pickle, she blew it off before popping the still fresh snack into her mouth. It was salty and seasoned nicely, savory with the breading and sour from the pickle. It balanced out the sweet drinks she's been having. Hazel eyes looked over as the barkeep waited on the armored boy as he politely asked for a simple pint. Popping another pickle into her mouth, she decided to spark up a conversation. Though her words came out a little unfiltered. Blame the alcohol. "You shure yer old enough to drink, boy? ...Mmight be a stretch, but I'd say yer not from 'round here.", she picked on him with a fun tone.

The boy responded in a candid tone, accepting her observation rather than taking it as an insult. In fact, he even stated it was a compliment. Was he older than what he appeared? Most men she's met wouldn't like being called someone who couldn't enjoy adult things, like drinking beer. This gave her a little bit of a shock, but if he claimed he was of age, what else could she do about it. Hell, this is the Rusty Tavern. If a 5 year old could waltz in here and take a seat at the bar and demand a frothy pint, then he would deserve it. Ashlynne hummed to herself as she sat up straight more and turned in her seat to face him a little more directly. He took another swig whilst she crossed her legs as she did before. Propping herself up on the bar with her arm, she popped a couple more fried pickles into her mouth. She looked for the barkeep but he was helping someone else and she turned to face the boy as he continued to explain that he was a traveler. "Both, I'd hafta say." An eyebrow raised, "You here for some costume party? 'M diggin' the ears and tail though, they look purty realistic." She commented, unaware.

The bartender was walking by and Ashlynne maybe got a little too excited. Of course it was only because she had to get him before he walked off again "Eyeyeyey, barkeep! Can you make me a Long Island Ice-Tea?... Thanks." To punctuate her request, she slapped some more dough out of her jacket pocket on the counter to show him she still had stuff to pay. She pushed her empty Mai Tai glass further into the counter and pulled her basket of fried pickles closer. Munching on another pickle chip, she looked back at the boy. "Now, where were we?... Oh right, you came in from the west. What's it like there? Does everyone dress like a Medieval knight where you come from?" Ash snickered, continuing to pick on the armored boy. Meanwhile, she speculated that if he's at a tavern by the water, then he must've traveled in from ship, which could also mean he's not from this area and really is from the far off west across the water.

"Heh, yeah, very realistic..."He shrugged it off and seemed to dodge the point other than that, taking a long gulp from his ale and swiping his mouth with a gloved hand. Perhaps if people would just assume his additional animal parts were fake, as she did, he might get through this alright... no, that wasn't going to work. She was drunk, that was probably the only reason she didn't press it further. A passing interest, perhaps... that was probably all it was. Though he didn't think he'd be drilled quite so soon as to having reached this place. Her questions rung in his ears as the ale sparked in his throat and his stomach churned with a certain ferocity.

"No, only those of us who master the art of runecrafting. I take it such knowledge isn't known here." he remarked with a slight snicker. "It's a simple place, mostly. Harmless farming villages and such, nothing particularly worth talking about..." whilst it wasn't a complete lie, talking about his homeland whilst he was in such a strange place was definitely off the menu for him. Besides, who wanted to talk about home in a place like this? This didn't exactly seem like the place for it, just glancing around at the clientele of this place made him slightly nervous. His hand casually checked his belt to make sure his belongings were still with him, clinking his boney pauldrons slightly. He really DID stick out...

The barkeep was busy making drinks non-stop as all the customers sitting were filling their bellies with alcohol. Ashlynne would look over from time to time to see if her drink was being made yet or not. Still looks like she's far back in the line. Meanwhile, she continued to munch at her big basket of fried pickles and talk with the boy. They would take turns talking and he would sip at his drink between sentences. Pointing out his obvious differences from the local norm seemed to make him slightly uncomfortable. If Ash wasn't quite as inebriated, she might have noticed and backed off. But her tongue was becoming more unfiltered and her curiosity prodded at her with more questions to ask. "So, how dijya make 'em?" The ears and tails that is. The ears looked almost the same color as his hair. The ears and tail reminded her of some sort of fox, but the fur color looked too dark. Maybe they were differently colored where he came from.

Curious of that too, she asked where he was from. The way he dressed entertained her, thinking it amusing to ask if others still dressed in medieval attire where he hailed from. Perhaps over analyzing and inferring too much upon what he said, she took it the wrong way. "Ohhh, yer a farmer boy! Comin' to the big city n' stuff... Never knew farmers did 'runecrafing', whatever that is... Do you guys speak a diff'rent language? Is that what... those are?" A jittery finger pointed to the characters that marked his clunky armor. Ash's curiosity was beginning to cross the line of being nosy in someone's business, especially when they were new here. But hey, if he'll keep providing answers, then she'll keep asking. Popping another pickle into her mouth, she noticed she still had a bunch left. Eh, what the hell, why not. Sliding the basket towards the boy. "Wan' some? Ther' fried pickles." Just as she offered, a tall, thin glass was set down beside. Finally, her long island iced tea! "Thanks, man!" Picking up the cold glass and swinging it around, she guided the straw to her mouth and took a sip. It tasted just like iced tea, but without any tea in it. It was a nice change from the sweet mai tais.

Blowing some hair from her face where it was sticking Veita huffed, in this heat everything was getting the better of her. She was used to the cold of night and the solitude of homelessness. She did enjoy her work so far but working in the kitchen really was not her thing. The space was to small, the cookers to hot and the room very poorly ventilated, she had pushed all the food orders to the front and paused to wipe her hands before moving to the side door which led to the open air. Taking a breath she pulled her shirt away from her flesh where it was sticking and clinging to her body and she closed her eyes moving her hands up to retie her hair.
Unaware that she was not alone the voice of her manager startled her, he had a soft spot for Veita, one that his lingering eyes gave away, she smiled at him as he asked her if she was alright.
"Yes just a bit warm back here" she brushed her hands once again before moving to get back to work, relieved when he told her to work front of house for her second stint.

Moving out into the bar she grabbed her paper pad ready for orders and pocketed it. The night was busy as lots of boats had come in, but it seemed to make the time go quicker not that she minded either way.
Crossing to the bar front she scanned all who were there her eyes pausing to see the two talking by the bar front, they were obviously different from the others and seemed to be deep in conversation but the woman was fast running out of food and Veita was all for being preemptive, she walked over.
"Can I get you guys anything else?"

(Has this thread died now?)

I'm sorry guys, but I ran out of steam on this one. You guys are more than welcome to keep going. If need be, I can have Ash leave.

( I do want to continue with this, but it sure as hell seems no-one else wants to. )

I'm sure Veita will continue it with you. If not, I'm sorry man. Feel free to hop into another open thread though if you're itching to RP. Also let others know you have this thread open and ask if they would like to join. Doesn't hurt to ask.

(Start a new one and tag me )