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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2013 12:58:09 GMT
Night fell over the well-worn path, and Etienne had decided to rest for the time being. He had checked into the inn for the night, giving him time and freedom to venture about the outskirts as he pleased. There wasn't much of note around; the place wasn't exactly urbanized, and other than the fact that most of whatever the place had was centralized around the inn, nothing was around.
This was more of a traveller's outpost than it was anything else, thought Etienne, as he ducked into the pub next to the inn. Despite being two separate buildings, the owner was the same woman who sported a mustache. It was hard to miss her face; Etienne wondered if she had left the inn to her husband while she kept the pub in order.
He found an empty seat at the bar, ordering himself a drink from the bartender. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2013 14:06:23 GMT
@etienne #all-liquor affair There was a deep, rich history found within the shores of Talys that Thalia could not care less for. She'd always dreamed of being a horrible person and yawning in front of a proud local, retelling the ancient story of when King Marth grew up in Talys after his exile, or the same gush of worshiping over Queen Shiida who had the perfect triad, goddess personality of "strong, kind and beautiful." To be honest, she had had done it - once - but they were all too starry-eyed to care, and she believed they had forgiven her because of the tranquil atmosphere in the island ("Ahh, so peaceful, isn't, child? One can sleep their life away here happily." "I'm fucking thirty, you boob."). All this reverence to their history while their nation burned from the beginnings of a civil war made Thalia want to vomit.
So she hated Talys with quite a passion and did not make the effort to hide it. No one knew of Lieutenant Thalia (well, some did but it was enough hate so that she didn't care) who flipped her boss's desk after being denied from resigning so she could join the ragtag crew of the Knights of Cydonia. When she stopped showing up from work, no one went out of their way to look for her, which made Thalia feel like flipping her boss's desk the second time around. That was not how you repay a soldier who had been in service for twelve years.
Maybe part of the stress from her military, social (what), and overall life was being redirected to the paradise of Talys. There was little space in her to feel remorseful; Talys needed to suffer to some extent, not just hide away in their orgy-worship fantasy of past heroes.
And being able to drop all masks and open all seals from her hate was the freest way to be. After lying with a straight face to Dorian Heartwood that she intended to go away in an indefinite time to find herself and prepare for the big battles ahead, she swooped down directly at the pub in Talys on her pegasus - far away from the eyes of people who respected her - and got drunk. She cared about her appearance still to some extent with vanity to hold responsible, so she dropped by the rest room every now and then so she didn't look like a hideous bed monster. Returning to the bar, she easily spotted a newcomer and, able to hold her liquor and drink more, she jumped in at the chance.
"Make that two!" Thalia inserted herself right beside the young man, flashing him a full, wide, girly smile, then at the bartender with an insisting nod. "It's on him. Newcomers can't just waltz in and not share, no?"
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2013 16:05:55 GMT
He didn't really care that someone with a fancy hair color had burst in and taken a seat right next to him, but he did care that she had just invited herself to a drink. Mentally, he weighed his options -- it was always his usual one that won out against the rest. He said nothing, sipping his tankard of rum, ale and beer. It was a peculiar mixture that he had never had during his life in his part of the regna -- it was lighter, if he had to put a finger on it.
Etienne wondered if the pink-haired woman was a chatty one. Excited, perhaps; the smile on her face and the tone she asserted to the bartender likely was a testament to something of her personality. Sensing that the man behind the counter would then look at him, he averted his gaze by occupying himself with nursing his drink. The bartender hovered before Etienne for a while longer. The man's hands swiped the inside of a glass with a rag, waiting for a response from the younger man.
But none came. Etienne continued to nurse his drink until the moment passed and the bartender slid Thalia the same drink that he had ordered. Keep his nose out of it, say nothing, leave if it gets bad. He noted that he was thankfully spared from the bartender attempting to say something about the situation by a man on his other side ordering an amount of drinks enough for three -- all for himself.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2013 5:12:57 GMT
@etienne #all-liquor affair Thalia had no doubts that she was going to get her drink. The bartender knew the drill. It didn't bother her at all how the young man kept to his silence but that was a certain implication that he did not belong here. What kind of drinker didn't know how to share? She noted that he must be quite a stubborn one. That's how quiet people were.
Thalia sipped on the rum with more reservedness than she should have in her current state. The rush and excitement of the day was yawning down to a slow sleep. But she'd stay wide awake staring at the ceiling - or rather at the stars through the hole in the roof. Had it been repaired yet? She got tired waking up to the glaring light of the sun after a night full of thoughts keeping her awake. Thalia already had those thoughts floating at her half-lidded eyes that the rum wasn't making an effort to push away.
Not having drank an inch from her tankard, Thalia set it down.
"What a boring drink," she said, putting her elbow on the counter and her cheek on her knuckles. "Just like this boring island and its boring people. I don't know if I hate it, to be honest." She turned her head so that it rested on her knuckles from above the ear and watched the young man. "Thanks for the drink though. It's always the thought that counts."
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2013 11:04:47 GMT
The man beside him was a rowdy one. It didn't take more than one-and-a-half tankards for him to start making comments about things that didn't really make sense. Etienne tuned him out like he had phased the woman and the bartender out of his hearing, and found himself feeling somewhat glad when the man left to join his company at one of the tables. Behind him, he heard the clash of tankards and the loud sounds of a drinking game.
His attention returned to the sound of a female voice to his side, and promptly remembered that he was paying for two when he left. Gold was a commodity he didn't wish to waste, given how rarely it came by. Still, he said nothing of it, and listened to what she had to say.
"You're welcome," he said, having found the most appropriate response to her statement. A word of thanks warranted some sort of reply at the very least.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2014 10:44:39 GMT
@etienne #all-liquor affair Thalia leaned back and drew a long yawn. She knew she must have been coped up in the tavern all day. The smell of alcohol and smoke on her clothes was going to be hard to explain when she gets back, but Thalia had done this more than once. She knew the right threads to use for her string of deception, and the highly-regarded Ylissean knight took pride in such a small, devious accomplishment.
She inspected the young man beside her, checking him out with a silent sweep of her eyes. He looked well-dressed and could pass off as a noble. Did he come here out of boredom? Like Thalia? Well, she wasn't invested in finding out but the young man was acting mysterious enough to warrant her interest.
"You ever tried something else besides a rum?" Hers had left forgotten before her. Thalia passed a glance at the barkeeper and nodded. The man vanished to his work and returned to serve the young man with a sophisticated glass half-filled with a clear, white liquid as transparent as water.
"Don't let its color deceive you. It's pretty strong."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2014 11:43:33 GMT
Yes, he had. He had drank something other than rum -- not at this bar, though. She hadn't been wrong when she decided that he was new to the place. All he'd sampled was various rums and beers if he wanted to, and the occasional mysterious drink if he felt like it. The transparent concoction was something he had yet to try -- or even see. Perhaps it was a part of a secret menu of sorts.
The bartender disappeared briefly to attend to the female's request. She was a familiar customer then. Did she come around to these parts often? It was a thought he considered entertaining, but passed on in favor of the man returning with a curious glass of drink.
"What is it," he asked, swirling the glass curiously. Etienne had been tempted to take a sip, but without knowing what it was, he couldn't drink. He wondered if it actually was just normal water -- fresh from the wells, and nothing else.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2014 7:16:23 GMT
@etienne #all-liquor affair A smile tugged her lips. He was really asking her? Well, she supposed it was natural but it didn't hurt to act more daring especially when one was a man in the presence of a lady.
"Scared you might not be able to handle it?" Thalia chuckled and shrugged. "I don't know what it is either. It's the bartender's drink, not mine. But I can tell how strong it is." Thalia leaned to his side and, looking to meet him directly, tapped her nose. "I've got a dog's nose."
Or hunter's, or just intuition. She didn't have to crudely compare herself to a dog but Thalia took pride in it. To have the senses of a beast was an advantage that had kept her alive with all limbs attached in the battlefield. But she couldn't openly promote herself as such for the sake of her image - of the image people wanted to see and idolize.
Here and now, she didn't have to be held back. Thalia picked up her tankard and gulped down some rum.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2014 7:01:37 GMT
"i know my limits."
etienne hadn't gotten a substantial response from thalia other than it being really strong -- from it, he wagered a guess. it was probably stronger than the average drink, that much he'd inferred, but the rest he wouldn't know until he actually sipped the clear liquid. the bartender gave him a brief look before attending to the other customers. etienne didn't know what he meant by that gaze, but shrugged it off as a bartender quirk.
he sipped the liquid, and immediately felt the first tang of it against his tongue. it seared like tequila would as it ran down his throat; it wasn't a bad sort of pain. he could get used to this -- but as he swallowed a second gulp, etienne understood.
"this is good."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2014 16:13:22 GMT
@etienne #all-liquor affair She merely hummed at his comment. She didn't really know if it tasted any good. What was strong could be purely be of bad taste, but the bartender hadn't failed her so far. He was probably the one man in this island kingdom that Thalia approved of.
"If you've taken a liking to that, I suppose you're no lightweight. Or is today a special day? Did you get dumped by a woman? Belittled by your older brothers? Shunned by your father?"
Thalia left her tankard down again. She'd gone completely numb from the drink - and a little sick.
"Nah, I doubt any of that's the case," she said before letting Etienne answer. "You don't seem like a pampered noble. Probably someone from a well-to-do middle class family. Have two or three siblings. You're either the youngest or the one in the middle. It doesn't seem like you have any burdens. You're drinking just for the heck of it."
Thalia smirked at the young man.
"Am I right?"
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