In for Trouble

[Ardys]

They entered a significantly lower class place than Ardys had taken them to before. Not that she cared - as much as she loved to dine in luxury and elegance and be treated like the queen she knew herself to be, she was, when it came right down to it, a bit of a gutter rat at heart. There was something fabulous about the places where she didn't know exactly what the meat was and where everything was fried beyond recognition and the beer... well, the beer was the beer of workmen, think and hearty and coming at you like a punch to the face.

She let out a bark of laughter when he talked about fucking on an empty stomach. A presumptuous guard, this young man. The woman who brought over his food was clearly not impressed with the man's actions either and as Farius elaborated, Ardys couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Love an' rut, eh?" She questioned as he ordered another round. "What in th' name o' th' Lord an' Lady would ye know about love, youngling?" She was skeptical of his claim, at any rate - it didn't take much more than a few second conversation to distinguish between love and rut and whoever didn't do that before going to have some fun was a blind and stupid fool, in Ardys's opinion.

And this guardsman seemed too arrogant and full of himself to know anything about love.

She shrugged as she answered his next question. "We jus' met. Th' girls are fiery once ye get t'know 'em, an' they impressed me beyond what I was expectin', so o' course I had t'take 'em out fer drinks an' dinner. It got more fun from then." She grinned as the serving girl brought the drinks around and tossed her back in one go. "Ahh, tha's th' stuff."

[Talia Idris]

Talia barely had finished her first drink when the guard ordered another round. Staring into the amber liquid she contemplated the consequences of having one more sip. It certianly wasn't as fruity and sweet as the drinks that Ardys had bought them. Shaking her head she pushed the drink to the middle of the table and spoke slowly, trying not to slur her words.

" 'M sorry, ah don't mean to be rude and refuse yer generosity but I think ah may have had enough. I doubt ah would be able ta walk through the door if ah have anymore." She giggled at the thought of her trying to walk in a worse state. It had been bad enough getting here.

"As for the...the...the business you discussed'" She couldn't bring herself to say such vulgar words. "Perhaps you, or someone else, made her think that there was sum kinda commitment involved. Even smart girls can fall for smooth words and handsome faces. You know what, I am going to ha' that drink afterall."

Talia reached across the table and gulped down half the drink before setting it down and glared suspiciously at Farius. She spoke from experience, knowing firsthand what it felt to be led on by a man who just want a quick tryst before disappearing before the sun rose and she wasn't nessessarily eager to do that again. Hanging out or a bit of flirting was alright but if that fellow was planning anything tricky well....she had already stabbed one guy today.

[Ari]

This was not good. Not good at all. The calm, smooth guard had suddenly turned into a rough, lusty man boasting sexual prowess. Ari could feel her cheeks flaming at his words, "fucking" and "rutting." What the hell kind of women did he think they were? Well... at least herself. She could not speak for the other two, but she had a feeling Ardys enjoyed many forms of "fun" and Talia... she seemed too drunk to know what was happening at the moment. In any case, his words brought on silence from the young girl and she dropped her eyes to the table, fingers drumming on it anxiously.

"I am with Talia. Drink is good, but hardly so when in the company of strangers." she hinted, bringing her eyes up to meet his for a moment far too long to be accidental. Her eyes searched the tavern a moment, but there did not seem to be any other sort of guardsy people to help if this man tried to take things too far. Clearing her throat, Ari pushed her chair back, the legs making a loud scrapping noise on the wooden floor.

"Perhaps we should be heading out soon? It feels as if we have been in taverns all day, which is never very good for the spirit, eh?" she asked, looking toward Ardys for help. Surely the woman would catch her drift, right?

[Farius Masello]

Nothing made Farius snap back into true form more than the buds of rejection. "You know what? You're right, it's not the time for this place," Farius managed to say more casually than he feared he would. "Besides, this food is always bland when Katrina's around. What do you say we go for a dessert? There's a wonderful confectionary not far from here." Before hearing replies, Farius rose with his tankard and plate and put them on the bar, then smacked the wood twice with the heel of his hand, letting Katrina know he was done.

Turning, Farius put on his most charming smile and tried to clear his head. At this point, I'm fed up. If it doesn't work out, I couldn't bring myself to care. Still, it wasn't in his nature not to try.

[Ardys]

Aww, poor sulky guardsman. Ardys nodded with a grin at Ari, to show the girl she understood. "I find m'self agreein' wit' milady Ari here... Are ye tryin' t'get us drunk enough t'have yer wicked way wit' us, Guardsman? A much more foolproof way of gettin' me in bed is t'take me shoppin'..." she hinted wildly with a raised eyebrow. "An' between ye an' me," she added in a lower voice, "these ladies ain't quite up t'th' drinkin' yer puttin' 'em through. I took 'em out earlier an' we made a good start on th' night already."

Standing up carefully - despite what she was letting on, she was must less sober than she had been an hour or so before - and leaning subtly on the table, Ardys gestured towards the door. She wobbled only slightly as she let go of the table and fetched her cloak, smoothing the velvet lovingly. She could always use another... perhaps something silk and glorious and multi-color.

[Talia Idris]

Talia sighed. As much as she didn't want to stay in the bar and drink more, especially around what seemed to a womanizing pig, she wasn't a huge fan of having to get up and walk again. She wasn't too sure she would be able to stay standing for too much longer.

Although perhaps with a little something more in her stomach she would feel a bit better. "I do like sweet things." Talia commented to no one in particular as she stood up, holding on to the table until she had regained some semblance of balance before following the others out the door.

Talia stuck close to Ari, the girl had already helped her keep her balance a couple times and she wasn't sure she could trust the handsome man, even if he was a guard. "What do you think about him?" She whispered to Ari. "I have to admit, his looks are rather charming. although perhaps that is how he lures in his innocent victims." She giggled, her cheeks pink either from the fresh air or the alcohol.

She tilted her head to catch another look at Farius...there was something about that man. Perhaps it was just the cocky way he walked, or maybe she had seen him on guard duty a couple times and the drink was making her suspisious. Or maybe he just felt like more trouble then he was worth.

[Ari]

It seemed as if they were already off on another adventure, hardly a good idea when half of their party was stumbling on the wobbly legs of drunks. Ari was even starting to feel a bit woozy, though her drinks had not been half as strong or as voluminous as those of the other two girls. She took Talia's arm, letting the other woman lean on her a bit as they followed Ardys and Farius down the street. As night was approaching, the streets were quickly emptying of the normal crowds and begging to ebb and flow with characters of a darker nature, people who watched the children who were running home and the women who were still strolling the streets with hungry eyes.

Well, thought Ari, I suppose being with a guardsman at this time is not a bad thing. Even if he is a womanizing pig. Still holding Talia's arm, she sighed and patted it gently as she listened to the other girl speak. "He worries me. He is being far too nice to us to just want to talk," she answered in a whisper. What would happen when he grew tired of buying them things and wanted to get down to business? Ari shuddered at the thought. But, would it really be so bad? she found herself thinking as she watched him, studying his handsome features. She frowned at herself, trying to stop picturing him if a more erotic setting. You have had far too much to drink to trust yourself.

They reached the little bakery the guard had spoke of, judging by the sudden smell of warm, sugary sweetness in the air. Ari looked up, her stomach growling. "Talia, what do you think will happen after this?" she asked softly. What, a round a of fancy cakes and then bye bye and goodnight? No. That would hardly be the case. Ari knew they were in for some trouble with this handsome man.

[Farius Masello]

Farius felt bad. After his meal, he had started to feel woozy. Hopefully something sweet and cream-filled would help his condition...and maybe a confection as well. Bah, he thought in frustration, this day just keeps getting worse. Farius knew it wasn't the alcohol; he'd been drunk nine times out of ten for the past...forever and he never felt this way. What was wrong with him?

The bakery came in sight and Farius sighed, careful not to let his ill feeling show in his posture. He forced a smile like he had so many times before and motioned them inside. Once in the open doorway, he tipped his head to the portly mustached man behind the counter cleaning a dish. "Give us your finest, sir," Farius announced with confidence but without raising his voice the way some amateurs did when they wanted toe showcase their bravado.

"Lucky you got here, business has been slow this afternoon. I was going to close early," said the man from under his mustache. He put down the dish and the rag and stepped over to a glass case. "You ladies pick whatever you like." The man's eyes twinkled with pride in his trade. Huh, at least someone has some.

[Ardys]

Her perpetual smile on her face, Ardys strode down the street, heels clicking on the stones beneath her feet perhaps a little more loudly than was necessary as she strutted. This was fun! People, parties, the coming of night and the anticipation of more fun... she darted a sideways look at the guard. He didn't appear to be having half as much fun as she was, which was the strangest thing. Who wouldn't love this?

She practically skipped into the bakery and inhaled deeply as the smells surrounded her. Baked goods and cream and sugar - what could make a rat happier? A little dairy would be nice of course; some cheese, perhaps, a smoky brie from the Empire or something exotic with yak milk from the East. Ardys ran her eyes over the offering and then laughed in delight. This man had a scrap of civilization about him, at least! He had pastries done in a Corezon style, and Ardys immediately requested three of the delicate, cream-filled, lacy pastries.

"Talia, Ari, y'gotta try these," she demanded, pressing the pastries on the girls. "It's like th' lady herself baked 'em." They weren't the best she'd ever had, but in this little backwater town so far from anything civilized, she'd take what she could get.

[Talia Idris]

Talia shrugged at Ari's question, even though she knew full well where this was headed. The guard had told them that much, or at least implied what his desires were. And even if he hadn't it seemed fairly obvious to her. But perhaps that was because she had once been seduced by such a man, although he had been quite a bit more suave then this one but they did share the same cocky air. And if Ari couldn't see where this was all going, well then she was either naive or much more innocent then Talia originally thought her to be.

As they entered the sweet smelling shop Talia's eyes lit up. Being surrounded by such delicacies was a real treat for her. Her own experience baking was limited to the more practical side of the trade, yet that did not mean she didn't wish to learn more and expand her knowledge of the subject. Yet it was a bit hard for her to learn. Bepa and Vadim stuck to their breads and buns and had no desire to start adding the even more time consuming pastries. There was also no way any other bakery would teach her, she could end up stealing their business away from them after all.

Talia eyed the treat that Ardys pushed on her before taking up the offering and taking a bite. The creamy filling surprised her and a bit of it ended up landing on her chin. Doing her best she used her thumb to wipe hopefully all of it away and then finished her treat. It certainly was lovely but not quite what she would classify as her favorite treat ever. Talia turned to look at the glass case and carefully inspected it's contents.

"Might I try that one?" Talia asked, pointing a small tart loaded with various berries. She had heard about these kinds of tarts before but never had one before and was curious about the filling beneath the berries. The moustached man happily obliged, and even chortled a little at her unconcealed giddiness.

Popping a single berry in her mouth she giggled at the tangy sweetness of it before following it up with a dainty bite carefully savouring the flavour. Her eyes rolled up in delight as she took another bite and she was tempted to just sit down where she was standing and enjoy it. Resisting her obviously drunken urges she instead approached Farius and held the half eaten tart up to him.

"You really should try a bit of this!" She giggled again, failing to notice his deteriorating appearance.

[Ari]

The sickly sweet smell of the sugary sweets filled Ari's nose on entering the bakery. As the shop keeper grinned at them, enticing them to try what they liked, Ari glanced at the display in front of them. Treats of all colors, shapes, and sizes sat behind the glass display. Even though the shop was far from luxurious, the pastries seemed to sit with pride, enthroned on white paper doilies. It was evident that the baker cared much for his trade. Accepted the creamy pastry from Ardys, Ari took a careful bite smiling a bit. Although she was not one to swoon over sweets as the other girls were doing, she did not mind indulging herself once in a while.

When she finished her pastry, she looked up at the guard as Talia offered a bite of some treat adorned with berries. He did not look very interested. Perhaps he was growing bored with them? Or anxious to get to the real nightly business he had in mind? Either way, he did not look as composed as he had prior. "Farius, you are not growing tired of us, are you?" she asked, frowning a bit, though she felt a bit relieved that there was a chance she would stay out of trouble that night. Of course, she was curious as to what sort of man he was behind closed doors... She clenched her jaw at this thought, closing her eyes and trying to banish the wonderings from her mind.

Ari turned to the counter to hide her face from her party, ordering a strawberry pastry with cheesecake filling. When the baker gave it to her, his eyes twinkling with delight at having customers, she smiled at him and turned away, though kept herself turned partly away from Farius as she bit into the tiny cake, hoping to further extinguish any emotion left on her lips.

[Farius Masello]

Farius felt...how did he feel? Not drunk, definitely not drunk. More like a bad drink, if anything. He couldn't think straight. Someone was talking. Were they talking to him? He hoped not. He just wouldn't answer anyway. That was a good plan. Now to sit down... Farius' attempt to plop down on the floor ended up with his legs tangled and the rest of him sprawled on the floor. That position quickly gave way to a feeble fetal position. Farius felt as if he was swimming. That wasn't possible; he was in a shop. Logic was failing him. He tried hard to remember who he was looking up at. A woman, probably. It didn't matter. Sleep did. Lots of sleep. Sleep time...

[Talia Idris]

Talia watched wide-eyed as Farius sink unceremoniously to the ground and curled up. The tart in her out-stretched hands, forgotten as she stared at his now unconscious body before her. What had just happened? He could have been that drunk. He seemed totally fine a few minutes ago. She started to panic, the tart falling to the floor as she grabbed her head trying to master her fuzzy thoughts.

Sinking to her knees she shook Farius, calling his name and gently smacking his cheeks in an attempt to wake him up. Looking over at the two girls she gave a pleading look. "I don't know what's wrong with him. Could it have been something that he ate?" She asked worriedly as she started wringing her hands, the alcohol in her causing her to feel more panicked then she normally would in this situation.

The baker hadn't said anything yet but Talia could tell that if something didn't happen fast they would be in a bit of trouble. Rooting around his person, Talia found Farius' coin purse and paid the man what they owed him. Talia was only half aware that he had certainly over-charged them but right now that wasn't the issue.

"Come on girls, lets get him out of here." She said as she grabbed an arm and hoped that they would help her out instead of ditching her. Being caught with an unconscious guard certainly wouldn't look very good but if it was a couple of them then perhaps they would be able to explain things better if they did end up getting stopped or questioned.

[Sisara]

The day had been... well, for lack of a better word, it had been utterly shit. She had had an early shift, if a smaller one this time, and it had just sucked, special thanks to the idiotic guard she had had to patrol with. Sisara couldn’t even remember his name anymore. Just as well.

The rest of the day she had spent on her own, trying to calm down a little and feel less annoyed at everything and everyone, but nothing had seemed to help. She had even gone for a run but not even the exercice had done her much good. So now she was on her last resort. If all else failed, then something sweet would hopefully do the trick.

When she arrived at the confectionery she had chosen to visit for this particularly good vanilla pastry – there were a few scattered all over Marn and she had a favourite dessert in most of them – she was frowning upon hearing elevated voices. This didn’t bode well. Maybe it was a good thing she had automatically strapped back on all her leathers and the twin swords on her back, out of habit more than any particular need.

Sighing as she resigned herself to finishing off her evening in a horrible fashion, she glanced through the window to see a group of girls fussing over something. ‘Just a few silly girls, nothing more.’ Sisara relaxed a little.
But then she opened the door and stepped into the shop. And the sight that presented itself to her was definitely not what she had expected and definitely not something she wanted to deal with. She had already had a crap day, why this? Why now?

An instant mixture of anger, worry, and a few more emotions slipped onto her face. “What happened here?” Her voice cut through the girly – and very much drunken – exclamations like a knife but she didn’t care about them. The girls might as well not have existed, for Sisara’s full attention was on the body lying on the ground.

Without wasting another second, Sisara went down on her knees, slapping away the arm of one of the girls who had seemingly tried to get Farius back onto his feet. "Farius!" She slapped him once, hard, but no reaction. She immediately moved to check his vital signs, wondering what on earth had happened to him. When she glared up at the girls, one of them tried to explain that they’d had a drink and he had just keeled over even though he had seemed fine just moments before. Sisara couldn’t believe it and she wasn’t inclined to believe it. Then again, she wasn’t quite sure she had understood everything the girl had blabbered since at least one of the others – she hadn’t paid attention – had tried to interrupt and add more ‘details’. None of them made any sense and all of them were drunk.

“Just get the hell out of here and don’t let me catch you again!” One of them seemed defiant but then shrugged as though bored before turning around and leaving, another one following suit, clearly glad to be out of there. Which left one last girl and a slightly pissed owner whom Sisara merely waved off. He shouldn’t start bugging her, she was a good enough customer and they had always fared well with each other.

“The girl was right though. He was inviting the trio to pick out their treats when he started swaying and then attempted to sit down, only to end up lying on the floor like he is now. He didn’t strike me as all that drunk. I’ve seen him in far worse shape before.” The owner finally decided to take charge and explain his view of the matter before going back to whatever it was he had been doing behind that counter of his.
Of course Farius had done that. How many times had he dragged girls here in an attempt to woo them with his oh-so-generous-I’ll-even-offer-you-sweets move.

“What are you still doing here?” Sisara snapped at the remaining girl as she was vainly trying to wake up her best friend. She had to get him out of there.
“Might as well give me a hand then if you insist on staying here.” Now that Sisara looked at her again, she realised that this was also the girl who had been trying to get Farius onto his feet when she had first come in. “Come on, you grab one side, I’ll grab the other. And you better be able to hold his weight in your current state, or else!”

[Talia Idris]

Talia had been too freaked out and focused on Farius to have noticed the second guard enter. When her voice interrupted their chatter though a panic look crossed her face. This is exactly what she had hoped to avoid. This was probably punishment for skipping out on work without Bepa's permission, not that she ever denied her free time when she did ask, but still...

The slap the woman delivered to her arm didn't hurt but Talia still rubbed it as she took a few steps back, her mouth opening and shutting but no words coming out. Thankfully Ari and Ardys seemed a bit less tongue tied and did their best to explain what had happened, none of which seemed to be accepted by the guard. But they weren't going to be detained which was a blessing.

Talia watched as the other two girls left, unsure if she should do. The way the night was going she didn't think that it would be a good idea to follow them. Going back home and having to sneak by her bosses didn't seem like a good idea either. It wasn't until Sisara snapped at her that she jumped back into reality and realized she was still standing stupidly in the confectionery.

A mix of a pout and a grimace crossed Talia's face as she walked over to assist her. "I can carry large bags of flour and sugar, he shouldn't be too much harder. And threatening me isn't going to make him any lighter. Would it kill you to say please." She grumbled before her eyes widened and she looked nervously across Farius.

She couldn't believe she spoke to a guard like that! But...she did deserve it. Talia had be only trying to help and the crazy lady pushed her away and then asked her to help again. Who did she think she was anyways? Besides a guard that is. Why was she so worried about the man in their arms? Talia bite her tongue to keep herself from saying anything else she might regret. She would rather not use her saving to post bail or pay a fine.