Yiamas!

[City Guard]

Late March, 122PW

Vic was the kind of man who was unashamed of holiday fervor. Not only was it rumored that he kept a calendar that he labored over at the start of each year, but that he notated every possible holiday within it with an exactness that would do a school marm proud. As a result, his beloved tavern was constantly being festooned with various sorts of decorations (one year he'd even ordered yellow and red candles for the midsummer festival, which had smoked horribly and nearly caused the whole tavern to burn down). Of all the holidays, however, those celebrating the solstices and the arrival of spring, Novruz, were his favorite.

It happened to be Novruz in Marn, and business in Vic's was booming. The wood floor had been swept, mopped and polished (of all things), followed shortly by all the tables and chairs. The bar itself gleamed chestnut, and all the metal fixings were like as not to blind someone with reflected glare from the lights. Vic proudly had two electric lights in his establishment, though they apparently weren't enough for the festivities. The old candleabra (blown from glass by some probably crazy gnome craftsman into strange geometric patterns that were dazzling to behold once its many candles were lit) had been dusted off and polished, and it blazed from its position in the center of the ceiling. Lamps had been set around the walls until the light from within was almost brighter than the sun outside.

All the windows had been set open, and the door kept open by a heavy brick despite the fact that the temperature outside was still cool enough to be considered cold by Marnians used to much fairer weather. Not that it mattered, since celebration would soon have everyone swarming at the door to cool off. A band had been hired for the small stage (little more than a single large step up) set at the left of the room, complete with three bards and a smattering of amateur musicians, and to keep the mood high there were even a few entertainers. Skilled with juggling, acrobatics and various other tricks, they roamed through the crowd with an eye for the gloomy.

As ever, there was a table left alone by the majority of regulars, because it was the regular table for any number of guardsmen. The largest table in the whole place, it was long and set at prime realty near the stage and along two of the tavern's eight windows.

As tradition went, the weeklong celebration began at midnight, and already the crowd was starting to gather. Stock was full, and the mood was high.

All it needed was a few good patrons to set the festivities off.

[Sisara]

It was easy to see that once again Vic had outdone himself in polishing up the bar to look its best. Not that the bar ever was not on its best, but on this day it seemed to positively shine. No wonder, Vic was probably expecting quite an onrush of customers, and Sisara was sure that he wasn’t going to be disappointed.
Already, and Sisara was running late, the bar was starting to fill with some of the regulars and even some new faces, eager to start the Novruz celebrations. The First Watch had decided that they were going to meet around elevenish so they would all be present, latecomers included, before the festivities began.

The guardswoman had drawn a later watch, and had hurried to get back to headquarters in order to get rid of the armour she had been required to wear on this particular day and to clean it up for the next day before one of her superiors could complain about her not having properly finished her work and neglected to care for her armour the way she should. Of course, she hadn’t done it quite as decently as she should have, much preferring to bring the task behind her and rushing off to meet her colleagues.

She may not feel all too comfortable around most of them, or not much care for any of them but every excuse was good to get her out ot of having to work even a second longer than necessary, and after all, the Novruz festivities were quite a big deal.

Plus, there was the added pleasure of having Farius’ company again tonight. She couldn’t wait to see him, if only to feel his presence beside her. If nothing else kept her down to earth, knowing that he was beside her did the trick, and their watch schedule had done a decent job at keeping them apart for the last couple of days.

As late as she was however, when she finally made her way to the table the guardsmen always occupied, she had to realise that she was the first one after all, Farius not yet there either. Instantly, worry and doubt crept up, wondering about his well-being before she crushed the thought, telling herself that he was probably just distracted and running even later than her. With a smile and a thumbs-up for the decoration to Vic, who acknowledged her presence by beaming back at her, Sisara made herself comfortable, certain that someone was going to show up sooner or later. And if not, so be it. As long as Farius made an appearance.

[Odelina Meltzer]

It was Lina's personal tradition to get flooded with paperwork every holiday - bad luck, rather than any conscious malevolence from her superiors - but this time it hadn't been quite as bad as usual. To her own surprise, she was done well before midnight. Like every day, regardless of how hurried she was, she finished by visiting the stables. She checked on her horse, a massive dapple grey mare who had been suffering from a cracked hoof, and exchanged a few words with the rookies in stable duty. After she was satisfied, she returned to Fort Omenbryn to get rid of her leathers and to change to a white linen chemise and a dark green kirtle.

There were quite a lot of people on the streets, already in high festival spirits. By the time she arrived at Vic's, it was already getting crowded. She couldn't help smiling when she stepped in and saw Vic's dazzling decorations. While she wasn't a very festive person herself, it was impossible not to get in the mood in this place. Presumably it was one of the reasons why the guards favoured the bar. It was the best place to escape the harsh realities of life.

She navigated to the bar, stopping to greet some of her closest colleagues, and ordered a pint of Vic's famous festival house beer. Strongly hop-flavoured, it wasn't to everyone's taste, but Lina was a fan. Toasting to the barman, she continued her way to the guards' table, and took a chair next to Sisara.

"Evening, Kasabian," she said, smiling. "How was your day?"

[Farius Masello]

Farius had just come from a 'work'-related incident (or indecency, maybe) and was feeling ready for a night of Novruz festivity. He loved holidays. As Masello walked in the door of Vic's, the smells and sights once again reminded him of why. First order of business: alcohol. Walking up to the bar, Farius ordered a pint of the usual from the young barmaid that knew him very well. Second and final order of business: women.

He felt a little froth slosh over onto his knuckles, but he didn't care. The backs of Sisara's and Lina's heads were in sight; he supposed he should go greet them so they knew where he was. Bah, they might try to ruin his night though. Farius stopped in his tracks and thought for a minute, his reason eventually (and barely) overpowering his urge to continue with the night's plan of revelry. Beside that, they weren't doing anything more important than meeting him.

"Hello Sis, Lina," he said in his familiar, charming voice. He would win over Meltzer some day as he had nearly every other shapely woman he came across, and certainly every one he came into acquaintance with. He might have interrupted a conversation; poor them. They would have plenty of time to talk during their night of safety and boredom. That is, unless Lina decided to join him. He'd cast the dice again. "Looking fine this evening, Miss Meltzer."

[Sisara]

“Hello, Lina!” Sisara greeted the other woman warmly, one of the few people she did like within the guard, especially since Odelina Meltzer was her mentor and helped her out quite often when the need arose. Plus, being one of the few other women in the guard, it sort of bonded them together even more closely. “Late shift, and boring as all hell. How was yours?”

Before she could say anything else, she noticed Farius step into the tavern, heading straight for the bar. As was usual, the barmaid practically undressed him with her eyes and Sisara inwardly rolled her eyes at it. The advantage of him having slept with her was at least that they always got extra good service, which was not something to pass up lightly, and it definitely came in handy during busy nights, such as this one was promising to be.

When Farius finally strode over, she couldn’t help but smile at him before he was even at the table. It felt good to know he was there, though when he spoke, she really did roll her eyes and got up from her chair. Clapping him on the back in a good-humoured way, she murmured so only he could hear: “She’ll shred you in the air.” There was no denying that it would bring her great amusement.

“I’m getting a drink. I’ll be right back,” she said more loudly to the both of them before making her way to the bar, briefly conversing with Vic before taking her pint and walking back to the table. Leaving Lina and Farius on their own from time to time was a personal treat almost. So far, they weren’t getting along all too well, though at least they didn’t hate each other, but Sisara would very much like for them to become fairly decent friends because it would avoid her having to sit in between chairs since she liked both of them.

“And how was your day, Farius?” she asked when she took up her seat again. Many more questions she wanted to ask, but she didn’t, not wanting to sound overly motherly. He didn’t seem to be in the mood. At all.

[Odelina Meltzer]

Lina nodded in sympathy to her protégé's comment. "Ah, yes. Quiet evening shifts are the perfect sleeping draught." She sipped her beer and leaned back. "I just had piles of paperwork today, not terribly exciting either. Our beloved quartermaster still can't count without his fingers, and he hasn't got enough fingers for his job."

She realised Sisara's attention was somewhere else. She didn't need to turn to look, she could tell what the other woman was seeing from her expression. No, she was not overly fond of Masello, but knowing how much Sisara liked him, she was trying. She had decided to take the young man as a challenge, as it was obvious he did have potential. One day, somehow, she would make him put it into use.

Before that, however, there were other lessons to be learned. One of them - or possibly several - would be about how to behave around women. "That's Constable Meltzer to you, young man," she said with a dry smile. "Got your battle plans drawn for tonight? Please, tell me you're not on tomorrow."

She was going to be in the evening shift herself. Judging by the way she felt right now, that might not be late enough.

[Farius Masello]

"Oh, I'd say 'battle plans' would be a bit too planned, Lina." He added a wink for flavor. "I'm off duty tomorrow, but really, would I show up if I had a watch?" Farius tipped his mug back and took a long draught, exhaling a sigh of contentment when it dropped back on the table that turned into one of boredom as it left his mouth. "Sis, you have any plans?"

He half-listened, but didn't even attempt to meet her eyes. The swell had continued behind him; Vic's was now full, and Farius scanned the crowd for familiar (female) faces. He knew there would be a few women who would seek him out tonight. He'd have to talk his way out of them...they weren't exactly the fare he was looking for tonight. Of course, he was after Odelina for now, but after that (whether it worked out or not), he would need another to be next in line.

Masello cringed a bit inwardly when he saw the small pack of shrews walk in the door. Loyalists, he told himself, are disgusting little pricks. Always looking to suck up to the Cap, acting like his mother, and generally existing in opposition to his chosen lifestyle. He decided to ignore them in such a way that might physically manifest itself in combustion if it weren't controlled.

Sisara called his name with the voice he could pick out in a crowd twice this size. "Whowhat?" he said, startled.

[Ferric Vintas]

Ferric meandered through the doorway, leading two other Loyalists into the lavishly decorated bar. His thick boots made less noise than they needed to on the wooden surface as his slick movements brought him through tables and drunken revelers without incident. The elven Loyalist behind him was not so lucky and suffered a spill of beer on his uniform. Ferric ignored him as he voiced his complaints the rest of the way.

A glance told him the guard table was occupied, and Ferric wasn’t interested in socializing today. He slid over to the bar and his trio occupied the three remaining seats, which happened to be within spitting distance of the table they normally sat at.

His other companion, a short, ugly man by the nickname “Toad” turned his smiling face over to the table behind the group. Though his frog smile only diminished slightly, Ferric and Braken both knew that their froglike companion was annoyed that they wouldn’t be sitting at their favorite table today.

Ferric shrugged and rolled his eyes at his cohort. Nothing they could do about it. “Barkeep. Bring a cheap ale for each of us.” He shoved some bishani across the table. Toad loved the worst drinks and Braken was too submissive to complain. Ferric just didn’t care.

He reached down to his belt and rifled through his pouches. A moment later his hand emerged with a journal. Ferric flipped it open and set it on the table while he waited. He pulled some ink out of the same pouch and began chronicling the day’s events.

We made another raid today. We uncovered about the same stuff as usual, just a bunch of old gear and a few rusty weapons. I admit I’m not sure how the rebel intends to accomplish their power grab with such garbage, as the cell system can only take one so far. Eventually, they will have to mobilize something better, and we’ve seen no evidence that they have taken any steps to secure the tools needed to do so...

[Sisara]

When Farius finally seemed to return to earth – after she had spoken to him for several minutes without him reacting to anything of it – Sisara glared at him. “Could you at least sometimes try to be courteous? At least for my sake?” It was easy to tell that she was hurt, at least for him it would be easy to tell, but outwardly, it seemed as though she was joking as she shook her head with a smile.

“He’s never going to change,” she told Lina with a grin. Her smile wavered however when she noticed the Loyalists walking in, knowing how much Farius loved those guys. Almost instinctively, she put a hand on Farius’ knee underneath the table so that it would be discreet; the gesture she used regularly to urge him to take it easy. Nothing had happened yet, but she knew him well enough that simply by being him, this could turn into a bad situation, which she hoped wouldn’t be the case, but with Ferric Vintas, things were never quite certain.

However, instead of seating themselves at their table, the trio decided to take up residence at the bar. Just as well. Of course, they were within hearing distance. Sisara didn’t have anything against them as such but they weren’t the easiest fellows to get along with.

“So what is the plan for tonight anyways? That might be more interesting to know that who is going to take which watch tomorrow.” Sisara had been lucky in drawing a midday shift for the next day so she might not get a lot of sleep but at least she might have a little more action on it than she usually had on the late night. Hopefully the night would at least bring a little fun, though she was sure that Lina’s and her opinion of fun rather differed from Farius’. The latter wouldn’t stay with them much longer anyway if the looks he had been casting around the crowd before the loyalists had walked in were anything to go by.

[Odelina Meltzer]

She snorted at Masello's comment. Of course, everyone joked about skipping their duties, but she was quite certain he was not kidding. An unreliable guard was a useless guard, both to the city and to his comrades. Well, there was a time and place for that lecture, and it was not now.

'He's never going to change,' said Sisara, and Lina shook her head. Perhaps he wasn't. Perhaps, one day, the world would force him to. Meanwhile, Sisara was there to be reliable for both of them.

Again, Sisara reacted to something by the door. This time, Lina turned to look. "Ah," she said curtly. "Vintas and his friends." She had never really been able to like Ferric Vintas. The man was a good guard and officer - one of the reliable ones - and Lina was not even that familiar with him, but the whole Omenbryn thing was enough to spark a dislike. She did not like the factions. To her, they seemed to be an excuse to turn personal motivations into institutions, and Vintas had a reputation of being antagonistic. Besides, the strength of the guard was unity. All the little internal groups with their 'us versus them' thinking was damaging and dangerous.

"Ignore them," she said matter-of-factly. "They're not coming here."

[Farius Masello]

Farius let out a sound of pure contempt. "I plan on it. Not letting them ruin my night." He wondered for a moment if he could work this situation to his benefit, and was frustrated even further when an answer didn't appear to him. He wondered if he should start a fight. Vic might get mad at him; better wait until someone said something he might take offense at...Vic wouldn't be quite as mad if he were provoked.

For now, though, Farius Masello was going to continue playing his cards to see if he could add Odelina Meltzer to his list. First order of business: alcohol. He returned to the bar and returned with two more pints (this time of a special reserve the barmaid knew from experience was especially conducive to bedding women), setting one down beside Odelina and taking the other one for himself. He wasn't exactly ignoring Sisara, but the pair had been around each other long and often enough to be able to communicate almost exclusively nonverbally.

He was pleased to see Lina take it nonchalantly. He might forget about Ferric after all.

[Ferric Vintas]

....and though paragon seems to be currently incapable of much, there have been signs that they intend to make more active movements. Madness. It is perhaps more accurate to say hubris, for they seek to challenge something with far more resources and manpower than they can hope to bring...

Ferric’s quill rhythmically scratched across the paper. Every once in a while his hand would drop the quill in the ink and take a sip from his ale in one smooth motion. As Braken took long drinks of his own sweet nectar, he watched the movements in envy. Which made sense, since despite his medical training the kid was barely literate.

Ferric paused to reflect on that thought. The elf was over twice his age yet he still thought of him as younger. Perhaps there was something to people saying elves learned more slowly after all.

Interrupting his thoughts, he heard the guards at the table voice their dislike. The quill stilled itself as he heard the loud male guardsman speak his contempt. He turned to raise an eyebrow at the offender, and immediately found himself returning the guard’s mistrust. Ruin your day? But we haven’t even spoken yet.

Ferric stared, scanning for telltale signs of a lifestyle upon him. He noticed the stubble, the swagger to the man’s walk and the casual smirk upon his lips. He noticed the man’s eyes undressing the women of the festival, and his superior in the guard specifically. Hoping for a promotion through a fucking? And here he had expected to find mostly female prostitutes out to take advantage of holiday festivities.

As his eyes continued their vigilant watch over his shoulder, his mind continued to feed him information. No, he wasn’t after a promotion. The man was merely thinking with the special mind between his legs, which was rather impressive really. Most grew out of such overactive urges by his age.

Here was someone who thought he was king. Here was someone who had deluded himself into thinking he had some measure of control over his life, who had somehow found the gall to believe he mattered.

Ferric stopped himself. Though he let his scornful glance linger, with a final flip of his eyebrows he turned back to his drink and his journal. He didn’t need to spend his time educating a man-child on his lowly place in the world, as pleasant as such would be.

Toad gave a sigh of relief beside him. Apparently he had been observing Ferric, and was glad to see him drop it. Ferric glared at him, but Toad’s pearly smile remained as he sipped casually at his drink.

Ferric grumbled something unintelligible and resumed his writing. Was he so predictable himself?

[Drayel]

Drayel was not a social man. He liked being alone, covered in armor, patrolling streets with a sword on his hip and crossbow on his back. Then, without though he'd severely angered the higher ups once more. So now, here he was he was forced to go to this 'gathering' the other guards were going to. 'To help him connect with his comrades' they say, 'or else they'd dock his pay and stick him on gnome guarding duty' they said. Pah. He ground his teeth as he stared into his closet, eyebrow twitching when he realized not for the first time he didn't have many normal clothes.

So, without much care he grabbed a vest from the closet, its dark brown cloth cutting low on the neck and wide at the shoulders. He wore his normal trousers, thick travelers boots and out of habit slipped a dagger in his boot and slung the sword on his back. Heading for the door he paused for a moment then headed back, grabbing his belt and tying it firmly around his waist.

By the time he'd reached the tavern a couple guards were already there, chattering away like gossiping ninnies as if the world was nothing but giggles and rainbow farting unicorns. Drayel snorted as he avoided them completely, ordering a pint of ale that he quickly smuggled to the farthest corner from the door and there he sat, brooding.

He glanced over at his shoulder, looking absentmindfully at the tattoo on his shoulder. This was ridiculous. Another swig of ale and he sighed, stiffly rubbing the bridge of his nose with distaste.

"This is going to be a long evening."

[Sinuvarakoon Tasza]

Festivals were something Tasza had mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it allowed him to avoid the barracks and the inevitable behaviors he disapproved of therein. On the other hand, it usually meant he was forced to interact with his coworkers on some level of social nice-nice that was uncomfortable to him. His coworkers of the First Watch were often enthusiastic consumers of alcohol and other recreational substances when they were not on duty. Tasza did not disapprove of the consumption of recreational substances on their own merit, no, but he often found most individuals had no control over how much they consumed. People who were scarcely tolerable at the best of times were nearly impossible at that stage.

He fidgeted about his room, knowing the hour was growing late and that it was tradition for his watch to meet at Vic's before the celebrations begun at midnight. He'd heard as much during their earlier watch that day, but still he hesitated. Sometimes the celebrations went well, but most often he wound up being miserable for the majority of the night. It would be different if his neighbor and close friend Rudrey was on the same watch as him, but they'd pulled different slots when Tasza had been promoted this last time. He was only two years on the First, while Rudrey was four into the Third, and though they rented rooms separated only by a few doors, they still did not see much of each other.

On Festival days, it was only too apparent.

Someone rapped upon his door, drawing him out of his troubled thoughts. He took the few steps from his bedside to the door, not needing to bother look to see if the place was presentable. The last few days had seen him resorting to cleanliness as nervousness over the upcoming festival started trickling in. He was working on the fourth day of a rash that had spread out from the hives on his left shoulder, doubtless due to his constant scratching at them. It didn't help.

He answered the door, to find Qe hanging off the door frame. Being that she was part of the Fourth, she'd be going on beat soon. She was in uniform and weaponed up, and holding that droll expression that was always so reassuring for him to see.

Tasza opened his mouth to greet her, but she cut him off.

"Get your ass to Vic's, you lump."

Some good ol' fashioned guilt tripping about making Qe late for her duty saw him walking the older woman to the Guardhouse. They parted ways there, though Qe made it a point to shoo him off in the direction of Vic's before she went inside to report in and find out her beat for the night. It had been the usual lecture about how worried she was about his use of his time and the scarcity of his friends. It was n't normal for a young man to be sulking about in his room when there was celebrating to be done, as Qe had told him for the upteenth time, and therefore it was her duty to see him off to the tavern like a good lad and not making himself sick in his room. It was pointless to argue with Qe. It had taken Tasza years to figure that out.

He arrived late, as he knew he would. His clothing was simple, as it always was. Even though he didn't dress for warmth, the cold air barely kept his nervous sweat at bay, and by the time he reached the door he found himself itching all over so badly he couldn't help but twitch slightly at every new stab that prickled over his flesh. There was already a fair number of people present, though it hadn't reached the frenzy of flesh that happened after midnight. Fair enough; it allowed him to spot the various members of his watch who had made it. Being slightly over six feet in height didn't hurt either, and so he skirted around the clusters of individuals he didn't know. One nice thing about Vic's was that its reputation made relaxing at it slightly easier; there were not many altercations that happened there throughout the year. Criminals knew to stay away, and men who got angry when drinking tended to find other holes to cause trouble in.

He brightened, slightly, when he saw Ferric. It was true that the man knew his way around a caustic remark, but it was that very reliability that put Tasza at ease. He'd learned early on that his very methodical, very strict manner was not well liked among his brethren in the Guard – especially after he'd had a hand in getting a few fellow guardsmen kicked out – and he was in some way used to the harsh remarks and goading. With most men and the few women who treated him thus, it was personal. But with Ferric, it was simply another aspect of the man's personality and had no bearing upon Tasza himself. That, more than anything, was refreshing. That and it helped that Ferric was a consummate professional. Farius certainly was not, and while neither Odelina nor Sisara were as bad, they both had engaged in behavior that was slightly questionable. Tasza preferred not to be part of that.

As he approached Ferric, he noted that Drayel at his typical corner table. Another guard who did not deal in nonsense and did things properly. Or, properly as far as Tasza knew – one could never count on a man to be predictable all the time, especially when this one Tasza had only the briefest interactions. Still, it was a nice means of escape should Ferric prove to be even less tractable than he was typically given.

"Good evening," he said, looking back to Ferric, and then to Toad. He did not know Toad very well, though he felt it was likely that since he was keeping Ferric company he was more likely to be respectable. More likely, but that was not a certainty given Braken was also sitting at the bar with the other two. Tasza had some small reason to dislike Braken, though since the two rarely saw each other and the circumstance that had provoked their mutual distrust had been two years prior, the enmity had had time to cool. "It has been some weeks since I have had a chance to talk to you, Ferric. I trust all is well? Toad, Braken." He nodded to the two other men with some small measure of politeness, though he did not show any further interest in them.

[Sisara]

Oh the special reserve? Sisara knew what that meant and steeled herself for a rather boring and lonely evening. While she was most definitely going to enjoy Lina dancing circles around Farius, she wasn’t exactly pleased at the prospect of having her best friend more interested in chasing skirts than actually passing an evening together. In all honesty though, she should have known instead of getting her hopes up. Either way, she was fairly certain that Lina was not going to accept his advances.

Over Farius’ shoulder, she winked at Lina as the latter was offered the mug. Hopefully she would make him pine over her long enough so he would make a bit of a fool of himself. It would make for some entertainment at least before he would wander off in search of a different victim.

Despite his height, Sisara barely noticed Tasza pass their table, and it was only through noticing him that she saw the darker figure sitting by himself on a table not too far off; Drayel. There was something about those two that Sisara couldn’t quite pinpoint but neither of them were people she much cared for. They were fairly odd, each in their own way, and to top it off, the darkhaired guardsman now made his way to Ferric and his minions. Well, hopefully he was going to stay there and not come bother them with his constant air of disapproval.

Leaving Farius and Lina to their own devices, Sisara moved her chair a little so she could observe the ongoings in the bar. Soon enough it would be midnight as well and the festivities would start. As much as she hated being in overly crowded places, she felt a little giddy at the prospect. Novruz always made her feel good, the coming of spring, the end of winter; a time for new beginnings, so to speak.

Suddenly the smell of a roasted something filled her nose and Sisara could feel her stomach instantly tightening in hunger. She had almost forgotten! Mumbling something about being hungry, she walked back up to the bar. Upon seeing that there really was nowhere else to squeeze through to get a word in with Vic, she would have to suck it up and position herself in between Braken and Ferric.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” she muttered before turning her attention to Vic. Seeing that the bar was starting to burst, she didn’t want to hassle him too much and simply asked for whatever had been on the daily menu, for which he shot her a grateful smile.