Yiamas!

[Odelina Meltzer]

So Masello was really looking for a challenge? Fine, Lina would give him one. She had barely finished her first pint, but she accepted the offer and raised her glass slightly at the man. His taste in drinks was not bad, that much had to be said, if perhaps not out loud. She nodded at Sisara as the other woman left the table. She would have to squeeze past the Loyalists, but she was level-headed enough to handle them.

Her eyebrows rose when she noticed that both Drayel and Tasza had walked in. Those two had taken professionalism a step too far and arrived at the point of having the stock-sized polearm up your backside. "Would you look at that," she said. "It truly is Novruz, isn't it." If those two could loosen their collars, it would truly be a festive occasion.

"It seems we're going to have an interesting night," she noted to Farius. "We'll see if we end up paying Vic for renovations." It was not common for the guards to take out their differences at the bar, but it would not be the first time either. As for most of the time the guard presence kept the brawlers at bay, Vic had so far been fairly tolerant of the fortunately infrequent incidents. The brass was not known to be as tolerant, though.

Right now, Lina was starting to feel pleasantly relaxed and could not bring herself to worry too much about any of the guardsmen present, their superiors, or Vic. It was turning into a pleasant night, and she had no intentions of being any more professional than she absolutely had to. So far, all she needed to do was to keep the overexcited Masello at bay.

[Ferric Vintas]

Ferric was greeted? Someone had actually voluntarily approached him? It must surely be a Nuvruz miracle at work. He spun on his stool, unable to help a glance at the regular guard table. The lout was still trying to woo the lady as the other girl sat helpless. He would have found the situation hysterical if it weren’t so pathetic. Ferric rolled his eyes as he continued his spin.

He came to face Tasza, and a rare soft smile immediately graced his face. Ferric had to admit, he liked Tasza. Nearly everyone was an open book before him, and it seemed at times that only Tasza’s didn’t force Ferric to voyeurism. One only needed to look at a nearby table to understand why Ferric felt so.

In terms of his immediate approval of the younger guard, Tasza provided a welcome distraction from the lout who provided most of his distaste for the nearby disturbance. “Tasza! What a pleasant surprise.” He looked him up and down. What was Tasza doing here? It was hardly like him to enjoy such festivities. He tossed a hand aside easily, “I take it you are here under duress? One of your few acquaintances put you up to it?” He grinned, confident he was right, and waved a dismissive hand. “I won’t make you admit it.”

Ferric spun back around and shooed Toad off his seat. “Make room already, you lout. I’ve some company that doesn’t resemble his name now.” He paused and ushered Tasza to the seat next to him. It was another test, to see if the young man could handle dropping a grudge with Braken. The seat would place them nearly shoulder to shoulder. A friendship with Ferric was games within games. “Pick your poison, Tasza, and I’ll pay. I’m feeling generous tonight.”

Braken mumbled something rude under his breath, likely a private complaint about that generosity leading to him drinking terrible ale. Ferric ignored him.

[Drayel]

Drayel threw his head back and drank deeply of the ale in his mug, snorting in breath as he chugged then knocking it back on the table empty. He sat still for a moment, looking across the table at nothing in particular as he let his thoughts wander. How was Allen? And that gnome.... Egg? He snorted a little with a wince. The only gnome he knew that he'd drink with but only if he was tipsy already.

He looked around at the bar, watching with dull curiosity as a rather uncomfortable guard made his way towards Ferric. Tasza was it? Drayel frowned a little as he watched the two of them for a while then turned his eyes to the others. Sisara was near the bar, ordering something. A couple others was playing what appeared to be a card game of some sort, and somebody he didn't doubt was eyeing up the females. He rolled his eyes and turned back to his mug with a grunt, thoughtlessly spinning it around.

"Hmm." Drayel paused to glance over at the others slowly, debating if he should pull out the dagger from his boot and play with it. It would be practice and pass time. He reached into his boot and pulled out the throwing dagger. Then with a shifty glance over at the others he curled his back to them, tossing it lowly in the air and catching it before he began to twirl and flip it. Soon, he was so absorbed in it he'd forgotten he was suppose to be paying attention to the others. Oh well.

[Farius Masello]

Farius, to no surprise, caught Ferric shooting him a displeased look. He returned it with a vengeance, then turned back to his mug and said to Lina without looking at her, "I'll be damned if I'm the one paying for it. Those three might though, if they keep that up." He paused to take another draught and Drayel caught his eye. There was another he grouped in with those potentially dangerous to his well-being (and, of course, his well-being revolved around his ability to carouse). He decided not to let that bother him; old Dray seemed distracted by...whatever went on in that head of his.

"Shit, if they haven't let the swine out of the pen tonight." He took a sip and saw Ferric writing in his little book. How cute. Farius hoped he knew he was wasting his time. Changers, could you quit focusing on him? He had a lady to entertain, and many other, more beneficial pursuits beside. "Oh, Lina," Masello sighed, trying to wrest his mind off Vintas and his lapdogs and move the conversation on to more pleasant topics. "The music is nice tonight. Vic has always had a knack for finding talent to play for his holidays."

Ugh, small talk was tedious. Farius supposed he was a bit spoiled in that respect; he was used to minimal difficulty. Still, he mused casually, I'm always game to maintain my skills. I have a feeling it's going to be a good night, Farius. He smiled inwardly and felt himself relax.

[Sinuvarakoon Tasza]

Was the tavern getting warmer? A vine of discomfort had wrapped its way around Tasza’s shoulders and was in the process of creeping down his arms as Ferric accepted the interruption. There was some small surprise on Tasza’s face as he gauged the other man for sincerity. It was matched by the request for Toad to bugger off, and then there was more discomfort added to the pile. Anyone who had been around for Tasza for some time would note the way he shifted his shoulders and fidgeted in place; while it was not well known about his little problem, there were some few who had made guesses before. Not that it mattered, really.

That was Tasza’s world: varying levels of discomfort that, in the end, were never really made into something pleasant. He dealt with criminals on a regular basis, people with whom he felt much more enmity than Braken. Even so, an echo of the dislike made it into his expression and body language as he carefully took the seat between the two men. He caught sight of Drayel.

“I think Drayel might have better use for your offer; though I’m grateful for it I was hoping to escape. . .you know.” Tasza shrugged, thinking of Farius and the looming disapproval he couldn't help but feel around the other man. Without meaning to, Tasza slid his gaze sideways towards the long table against the windows, which is why he found himself at eye level with Sisara’s bosom. He snapped his head back around immediately, of course, with a muttered, “Evening, Sisara.”

[Ferric Vintas]

“Drayel’s here?” Ferric raised his eyebrow anew. That was almost as surprising as Tasza’s appearance, though he could admit he barely knew the other guard. He closed his journal and glanced over his shoulder. There the big man was, tossing a knife in the corner. He made a damn depressing sight, really. Ferric almost felt obligated to take Tasza’s suggestion and buy the man a drink.

He turned back, and was about to put his journal back into his pocket to enjoy his talk with the younger guardsman, particularly the parts which promised to belittle a buffoon at the table behind him, when Tasza’s head snapped around. Ferric glanced at what had caused the disturbance. Ah, it seemed a rather lovely chest was the source.

Ferric smiled a whimsical smile and clapped Tasza on the back. He decided conversation could wait; it would ruin the moment. Instead he contented himself to sip at his beer, chuckling to himself.

When letting the situation hang in the air ceased being amusing, he decided to greet this... Sisara, Tasza had just called her. Not because he was actually interested in talking to her, but because he suspected it would drive the drunk mad. “Hello there, my dear.” He waved a friendly hand in the air and placed his journal back into his pocket, the very picture of camaraderie. Meanwhile, gears turned in Ferric’s mind as the basics of a plan formed. “I fear your looks have silenced my drinking companion. I believe that means you owe us a brief conversation to replace the one you’ve stolen.”

[Sisara]

Tasza’s discomfort came off him in waves, and in turn Sisara felt like fidgeting herself. Rolling back her shoulders briefly, she ignored the feeling though and at the same time drowning out Ferric’s chuckle. Something about that sound made her skin wanting to crawl away and hide in a corner. Good thing that Vic had just taken her order and she could move away from them again.

But of course that would have been too easy. Much to her disgust – and she had really hoped to escape this – Ferric suddenly tried to engage her in a conversation. Plastering a fake smile on her face, Sisara turned back to the man in question. She desperately wanted to tell him where he could shove his ‘brief conversation’ but she couldn’t, not without paying for the consequences later on. And those would certainly appear in the way she drew her watches and so forth. Ferric wasn’t the kind of man to let something like that slide.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said, trying to be as nice as possible, though it almost came out between gritted teeth. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she decided that if she wanted to be rid of him soon, she might have to try a different tactic, though there was absolutely no guarantee she would be able to pull it off the way other girls could. “What kind of conversation did you have in mind?” she asked, sweetening her voice a little as she positioned herself close to Tasza.

[Odelina Meltzer]

Masello was resorting to small talk? Oh, this might turn boring. He would probably not be quite bad enough at it to be amusing.

"Well, Vic lives for his holidays," she said after a long pause. "You can bet he has been planning on this since the previous one." She glanced at the bar, where Sisara now seemed to be besieged by Tasza, Ferric and the friends of the latter. She might end up needing to be rescued after all. By her, definitely not by Masello. That would lead not only to renovations but to hospital visits.

She was not going to make Masello's job any easier, so she sat in silence, sipping his beer and trying to keep an eye on Sisara without him noticing. Why did the other woman had to leave her alone with her annoying friend anyway?

[Sinuvarakoon Tasza]

Generally, choking on your drink was something to be avoided, but right then Tasza found himself staring down at his empty hands wishing he’d had one to choke on. At least then he would have a different sort of discomfort to focus on rather than Ferric’s hand on the spreading hives and the words he’d said. As it was, he sort of flinched away, his back crawling with sensation as his skin reacted to the contact with a spasm of itching. Were he not so used to being itchy, he might have started writhing at the sensation. Instead, he focused on the heat creeping up his neck and through his ears, along his jaw and upward.

He knew his ears were red. The embarrassment of reacting so predictably to Ferric’s jibe was suitable to making his brain relocate attention from the itching. He wriggled his shoulders a little, trying to get his shirt to unstick from the sweat springing up from embarrassment. He almost asked for that drink, but instead as his eyes searched for some sort of out, they landed on Dray. Well, first they landed on Braken who was ever so predictably smirking in his foul manner, but that was expected.

This – this was part of the reason why women should never have been allowed into the guard in the first place. Or, at least, why they should be kept segregated as was proper. No matter that Qe had (and would, if she ever got wind of his opinions on the matter) dropped him on numerous occasions when they’d discussed his thoughts before. It simply didn’t make sense.

“Dray,” he blurted, his voice a little strangled. He winced. “We were talking about how lonely Dray looks.”

[Drayel]

As Drayel flickered the knife a little higher he caught sight of something interesting behind him. He blinked, catching the knife easily and without much coverup he simply used it to look behind him. His eyes narrowed in slight disgust, lip twitching when he saw the back of Ferric's head. Beside him was both Sisara and... Tasza? He watched as the two of them fidgeted and shifted eyes. He turned in his seat only to meet the eyes of an anxious Tasza. He blinked, realizing the poor guard was looking for a way to flee and by the looks was looking to use him. He sighed.

His lip twitched as he leaned back and watched for a moment, wondering if he should place himself in the way and actually save the duo. Question was, how? He glanced as his throwing dagger then slowly around the room. No, nothing to throw it at so no throwing contests. Then, he'd have to do it the old fashioned way. Sighing he got up from his seat and walked stiffly towards them.

"Greetings." He growled out as he came to a stop directly beside Ferric and stared down at him with unhindered intensity. He glared at him for a long minute, narrowing his eyes as he made no attempt to speak with him. He made sure to strain it directly at him. Then, when he felt it went on long enough he turned and looked at the two to his right. "I'm having a couple drinks and a meal if you wish to join me. I'd like speak with the two of you in... privater terms."

With that Drayel glanced at the two and jerked his head at the table he had sat at. Then without a word to Ferric he waved at the man behind the counter and grunted an order for a couple rounds of grog and food for the two of them.

[Darrik]

Darrik didn't normally drink at Vic's. Wouldn't be now, either, except Henrik had blindsided him. Damn brat was getting as stubborn as his old man and had this ridiculous notion that Darrik should be a bit more sociable.

The dwarf guard had easily guessed how Henrik had found out about the festivities. Smart lad had been offering discounts on meat for any guard - made it easier for the sod to keep up with how his old man was doing by getting gossip from firsthand sources. We brought him up well, didn't we, Hylde? Aye, Henrik was growing into a fine young dwarf, no question about it.

Gritting his teeth, knowing he'd probably regret it, the dwarf guard entered. Place was already busy, worst luck, but Darrik wouldn't stay too long. The dwarf had the midnight shift for the coming week, and an array of reasons to leave early if needed.

Darrik tromped over to the bar and got a pint of dark stout before scanning the room for as quiet a spot as possible. Seems most of the best antisocial seats had already gone. Darrik made a mental note to box Henrik's ears for making him promise to do this. The dwarf much preferred the quieter and cosier Friendly Firkin.

[Ferric Vintas]

Ferric chortled at Sisara’s attempts to hide her distaste. Though he wasn’t yet sure of the reason for her intense dislike, he was confident it would be little more than a matter of turning the pages on her open book. Attempting to hide from him was all but futile, especially when you were a young and proud twenty-something. They were all a bit more predictable than they seemed to realize, and with Vic’s bar was swimming with them on this fine Novruz night. It made Ferric’s pastime a walk in the park.

He measured out Tasza’s reaction to the situation and all but read his mind. He was currently thinking thoughts which Ferric suspected Sisara would have more than a few problems with. Ferric decided to be merciful and not bring them to anyone’s attention.

As Tasza frantically attempted to change the subject, Ferric felt a shadow fall over him. As was rapidly becoming custom for his journey he spun on his stool. Unfortunately he only met the chest of a tall man. He looked up to see Drayel glowering down at him.

For once in his life, Ferric found himself with nothing to say. Drayel was giving him a glare which told Ferric on no uncertain terms what he thought of him. To his credit he managed to keep his distress from his face, merely staring with hollow eyes back up at the other guard. What had he even done to this lumbering social reject? It seemed there were many out to stop his duty for no adequate reason tonight.

When Drayel released him from the staring contest, Ferric turned back to his drink. As the big guard offered Ferric’s subjects an escape route, Ferric debated exploiting whatever incident had caused Drayel to withdraw. He didn’t know the specifics, of course, but in his own way a stoic man like Drayel was just as readable as a social animal like the lout at the table. All he would have to do is drop a few hints and people would assume he knew the rest. Such was human nature.

He waited for them to begin to walk off. “Good to see you overcoming your trust issues, Drayel. I can see you’ve made some steps tonight.” Ferric momentarily worried that it wasn’t enough. He hadn’t let Drayel know that for all his strength, he was as weak internally as everyone else. “Soon, you’ll forget all about your loss.”

It was a risky move, but Ferric was prepared to take it. The veiled accusation that his reaching out would destroy the memory of whatever had caused him to withdraw socially was likely to wreak havoc on the man’s psyche. The others might feel like they missed something, but they wouldn’t be able to point out anything specific, just strange.

Of course, there was also a chance this would detonate right in his face. One could never be sure with Ferric’s games.

Toad slipped back into his seat and glared at Ferric. Ferric employed the usual routine by ignoring him and pulling out his journal.

[Drayel]

Drayel stopped dead. He stared infront of him, lips tight and eyes staring ahead. What the hell.... did that idiot just say to him? He let out a low growl that shook his chest, his fists tightening until they cracked and his blunt nails dug deep into sweated palms. Slowly he twisted his neck to peer behind him with coal burning eyes, a wild look taking hold.

Seeing him looking at his journal, ignoring the other once more causing Drayel's blood to burn. His words circled his head over and over, like a repeated record that poured fury into his veins. How dare he. Getting over his trust issues? Finally coming out of his shell? Drayel gripped onto the throwing dagger he'd placed on his belt and pulled it free. Then, taking aim he let it loose. It hit his target. It hit the mug between Ferric and Toad, embedding in it nearly an inch as it knocked its fluid onto Ferric's pants.

"Don't you dare assume you know about me nor of my past, you sly ugly bastard!" Drayel snarled as he stamped back to where he'd once stood and yanked his knife free of the mug. "You're disgusting attitudes and thoughts are clear on that fat head of yours! If your ego got any larger, we'd have killed it in thoughts it was a monster! Idiot!"

Drayel felt his body tighten up as he backed up and kept himself at a kicks worth of distance out of habit, wanting to break the other's neck but barely holding it together. He turned his eyes to Toad and spat at him before returning his fury on the investigator.

"Get up. Get up and I'll break in your damn face."

[Sisara]

(Please note that this is a joint post for Farius and Sisara.)


When Tasza got up to follow Drayel, Sisara felt compelled to join him the first few steps, if only to make him a little more uncomfortable because it turned out doing that was rather fun. However, she had no intention of actually following up on Drayel’s.. offer. She had nothing to say to the man, nor could she imagine what he wanted to talk to her about.

It was Ferric of all people who gave her the perfect opportunity to slip away from the whole scene as he inexplicably had Drayel throwing a knife at him, or rather his mug. She couldn’t care less about their wordplays and wasn’t interested in the personal issues they seemed to have with each other. As soon as they were all engaged in their various exclamations of outrage and fury and whatnot, Sisara quickly made her way back to the table where Farius and Lina were finally engaged in a sort of pleasant conversation – or so it seemed. At least neither of them was scowling as she reached them, gently putting her hand on Farius’ shoulder to alert him to her presence.

Farius turned at her touch and his face lit up by a margin likely only Sisara could distinguish. "Oh, thank the Changers, Sis. She was making small talk and it was horri-"

Sisara waved him off, grinning mischievously at his predicament – as if he could ever not relish in talking to a woman. “Look over at the bar. You’ll get your entertainment for the night.” Now that she was away from all those men and back with the people she felt comfortable with, Sisara could look at the whole situation from a different angle; she might even consider it amusing.

As a waitress passed by with a tray full of shots, Sisara was quick to snatch away a few glasses, setting them down before Farius and Lina, before she raised her own with a small smile: “To a good show.”

Farius was glad for the interruption, though he'd never admit it. It was overwhelmingly likely Sisara knew what she'd done in any case. He accepted the shot from Sisara gratefully; alcohol was the first order of business, after all. He looked over at the second order and saw Lina, from a glance at least, was in a more advantageous position than before. Man, that shot was powerful. However, he remembered there was a fight brewing, and was forced to clear his vision to watch.

[Darrik]

Darrik had barely had the chance to take a sip of his stout when some folks had to go and lose their temper. A punch up was nothing, really, and Darrik figured guards by their very profession knew how to deal out and take their medicine.

The dwarf had been about to say good luck and goodbye to the entire event when Drayel's dagger lodged itself in the bar. Darrik's brow furrowed. Drawing a weapon on your fellow guards in anger was frowned upon, typically, and given their training could easily end in bloodshed.

Darrik sighed inwardly and put his stout back on the bar. The dagger-struck tankard span and careened wildly, knocking over an empty, and skidded towards the bartender's edge of the bench near Darrik. Jumping slightly to gain reach, the dwarf guard grabbed the dagger-handled tankard before it could fall.

A moment later Darrik had interposed his short and stocky form between Ferric and Drayel. The dwarf eyed both of them, bushy brows bristling, then said "In case you two gentlemen ain't forgotten, we're guards. Not ruffians. We aren't the arseholes what break the peace, we're the arseholes what keep the peace. Right?" Darrik wasn't a shouter. He just had that dwarvish knack for making casual speech boom like a sergeant's. He kept a firm grip on both dagger handle and tankard.