Three Cheers for Spirits and Such [Open]

[Anonymous]

Kaylin made her way through the crowd. Carefully and swiftly she moved and stopped between people with a covered basket in hand. Despite the warm temperature, the slight breeze was enough to bring a short cloak. At least her hood didn't keep her from seeing right anymore. It was quite a problem when she was younger. She expertly made a dash in between two buildings, taking a short cut to the side of a building. Her fist thudded on the door which a blend of aromas came through.

The tavern was starting to get busy. She could tell from the few yells coming from inside, and a steady hum of livid conversation. 'No fighting just yet,' she thought. 'Maybe I can still have time.' Lin stood up straighter as footsteps got closer. Her gentle face scowled at the sight of the woman that answered the door. "You're positively the most hideous thing I've seen all day."

The older woman returned it with a scowl all her own. "You again? You're lucky I don't have a broom in hand to swat you out of here like I did last time. Least you have a hood to keep from scaring my customers," her tone was thick and heavy with impatience and agitation. She was a servant woman with a job after all! Regardless, Kaylin held her ground, her scowl not wavering in the slightest. The other was the first one to falter, eyes glancing to the sky. It was almost dusk, maybe an half an hour or so. "Matter of fact, they'll be coming soon. In you get before someone gets a look at you, lord forbid a waft of you."

The sturdy woman gave the door a slight shove before walking away. Kaylin was able to catch it before it shut all the way. To make room for her basket, she had to shove the door open much wider. It hit another employee who gave her a steady look, she returned it right back without fail. After a brief moment the smallest twin smiles came to both their lips. The sturdy woman from before helped Kaylin out of her cloak while the younger girl set her basket on the counter. It wasn't long before the banter started up again. Despite all their tones and insulting words, the two workers got Kaylin situated for their daring scheme. They took her hairband off, but her hair in a messy bun, and had her change into proper work uniform. She put on a pair of specs to complete the look. The pair stood back to watch as Kaylin examined herself in the mirror, exchanging loud whispers behind the back of their hands.

"Why are we doing this again?"
"Because we feel sorry for the brat."
"The Captain isn't going to find out about this?"
"Not if I can help it. You know we'd get it for letting anyone see her horrendous face."
"....Is she supposed to look that fat?"
"GU~UYS!"
"Sorry."
"Just the facts, Lin."

Kaylin faced the small mirror once more. True the smock was a bit poofy on her. Captain Vaul would never want her to wear such a thing. Or be in such a place either. It didn't matter though as he and his wretched son had gone on some business trip to Serendipity. This was a celebration of sort. She wasn't there for looks though, she was there to hear good stories. For the next hour so so, while her friends took care of restocking Mrs. Vaulca's personal liquor stash.

"Now don't get too comfy. The more this place see of you, the more rats we get around here."

"Aye, aye," Kaylin called back, too eager to get out there to return with some insult to match how appreciative she was. She wasted no time going through the second door and heading toward the bar tenders spot. She was just going to help out for a bit, before any fighting or heavy began. Behind the eyeglasses, Kaylin scanned the area to see where the best story would come from tonight.

[Anonymous]

As mentioned before, the tavern was starting to get packed with its assortment of commoners and nobles all of different sorts. People who despised magic, which of course was the majority, and those whom didn't which was even less than a minority had gathered as such like the many flies on the corpse of a rotting, dead animal. Among these people stood one person who didn't seem out of place but didn't seem in place either. It was a man, tall as he was with heavy armor as it looked and deep, red eyes. He had red/brown hair that was quite long and a red cloak on with a gold trim that was tattered near the bottom of the cape. He had no visible weapons on him aside from a sword sheathed on his side.

As for his face, nothing of too great an importance stood out about it. Sure, he had those red eyes but everything else was attractive or plain about it. The one mystery was the expression that was labeled on his face. He glanced around as he walked towards the bar, looking at people as if reading them down to the very core of who they were. Nothing on his face changed, not a smile nor a frown. The only expression was a blank state of deep thought with little or no real care for who saw him. Even when a man in a drunken stupor bumped into him, he merely raised his gloves hand and pushed the fellow off of him.

What was the mystery about this certainly mystery man? What did it matter, he was coming for a drink, right? He may look unusual but then again who ever looked usual to begin with. You would always have your assortment of creeps, freaks, and rejects. Maybe he was just a wanderer whom just happened to be passing through as is. With the way he looked, it seemed he was all too prepared for any sort of trouble but then again it didn't seem he was looking for trouble. Could he be a mage? Let's hope not, otherwise he would be doomed to a death sentence in a quick instant. Maybe the gallows or perhaps at the hands of a Dragoon's pistol, who really knew what his fate would be if he were a mage.

Finally after pushing his way through the random bunch of sober and drunk people, he took a seat directly in front of Kaylin. There was something different about her he could sense, a little less corrupt than everyone else. Maybe she wasn't corrupt at all, then again all of humanity and every living creature had some sort of corruption in them. Mortal's made Drakimesh sick to the stomach in all truth and well, he had the utter feeling of throwing up right now. The attraction to have a drink or many though did not hide from him and the demon had grown thirsty. Finally after a moment, a very strange moment of his red eyes staring into the beautiful hazel eyes of Kaylin, he spoke up.

"Give me the heaviest you have," Drakimesh said very bluntly and to the point, almost uncaring in the same tone. He seemed almost rude, like he really didn't care who heard him or if anyone came up to him to speak otherwise. Whatever the case, he could either be a basket case, lunatic, or depressed drunk but it was nearly impossible to read him. There was one thing in particular he would do, just to entertain the feeble minds of mortal's, and that was to tell tales if they so asked.

[Anonymous]

As it picked up, Kaylin got into a steady rhythm of taking orders, delivering drinks, and cleaning glasses. She liked this atmosphere as opposed to the stoic, feel of the noble house she served. Still, no new stories were being told. No one was leading a group in a new song. It was a nice change of pace, but Kaylin wanted something more. Cassy was chatting with a pair of tipsy fellows. Lin was listening with half a heart when she noticed a man making his way over to the bar.

Never before had she seen him before. From the way Cassy glanced at him, he wasn't a long forgotten regular. Mystery and danger practically rolled off of him. Despite his youthful appearance, she would bet twice her paycheck that he had a large amount of experience. If she got paid at least. He settled in the spot right in front of her. It wasn't until he spoke that she realized she was staring at his eyes.

"Straight away, Sir," Kaylin said before setting the glass she just cleaned on the counter and traveling around Cassy to get the good stuff. The bluntness in his voice didn't take away from the wonderment she was in. All the while her mind buzzed with excitement. The man possessed some of the reddest eyes she'd ever seen, and his armor... was he a part of the military? She pushed her glasses up before returning with a bottle of good stuff. It was a fairly quick return. With ease she poured him a glass and set the bottle to the side. She'd let Cassy deal with the money, as Kaylin only had one thing on her mind: Stories.

She waited until he got a good sip in before popping the question. "So, what brings you here tonight?"

[Anonymous]

Drakimesh watched with keen eyes as Kaylin seemed quick to the point of taking the order. She moved quickly and his eyes didn't follow as the woman named Cassy approached and without even asking what he would pay in or the price, the demon merely threw up a bag containing the exact amount, almost as if he had read her mind exactly. It could bring in a bit of shock, but the truth of the matter was that he had been around a few other taverns in the surrounding area and he had figured the range of price. Due to his immense age, he had become very quick to determine details about a place and determine whether it was fancy or low class and whether he would have to pay a certain amount or not. Living as long as he had, you pick up thing's like this you know? Sure, he had been in Hell but he still watched the upper world.

Before he knew it, a glass of some of the best stuff if not the best had been poured in front of him. It had this certain characteristic to it where all the colors seemed to shift and change as you looked at it. In reality it was just an illusion of the water as it had a texture that caught the light differently than other types of liquid. There were all sorts of details he could go into in his mind of how the water managed to change like a rainbow of colors but it didn't really matter to him. A drink was a drink.

Raising the glass to his lips, he took it down like it was nothing though he only took about a fourth down in that one gulp. A drink like this would make most drunk within the first few sips, however he was immune to the effects of alcohol. The only value to the man with the red eyes that the drink had was the flavor. No other mortal drinks or the drinks in the afterlife seemed to quinch his thirst like alcohol did. Due to this fact, he frequented bars without having to worry of ever getting drunk or overwhelming himself. It was just a refreshment and helped him to remind himself how corrupt humanity was. You had to admit, tavern's weren't always nice places. The drunk tended to get aggressive and sometimes fights did break out of the blue or women were hit on. It reminded him so much of why he despised mortals as much as he did.

It was in that moment that the girl at the counter began to speak again, of course trying to make small talk. He hated small talk, but there was something he was picking up about her. There was a certain curiosity that she seemed to pick up despite his attitude and the like. A small smirk did rise on the face of the demon, revealing teeth as white as snow. After another sip, he set the glass down which was held by his hand with the clawed gauntlet and began to speak. "What brings me here is what brings half the putrid filth that gather in this place, the want of a good drink. The difference between them and I is that I'm not here to waste away my life into oblivion because of some sappy life or some other excuse to waste away what I have. Some people are just such fools, wouldn't you agree?" Drakimesh said with an eerie smile. Not only were his intentions to creep this girl out but to test her too.

The demon had to admit, he was growing lonely being a lone traveller. Sure, he wasn't exactly in good company back in Hell but at least he wasn't always thinking to himself. He also didn't want to go back to be some mindless slave to Hades doing his dirty work of torturing the damned. After waiting to scan her reaction, Drakimesh asked, "You asked me why I'm here, so let me ask, why are you here?"

[Anonymous]

There were a few eyes on him as Drakimesh took part of the drink down without faltering. Though the tavern had seen their fair share of trouble, this person was someone never seen 'round here before. Who knew how he'd handle the best stuff they had to offer. Kaylin herself had only seen the drink once before at the Vaulca estate, and she had been warned to stay out of the Captain's sight for whatever reason. Liquor was something she'd never had, and doubt ever would. It affected people differently, but all of them were in ways she could live without.

Workers milled about and new people came and left as a few eyes looked at the black armored man, then found another place to settle their eyes. Kaylin briefly glanced at the glass Drakimesh set down before she looked back into his striking red eyes. It was then he answered her question. As son as he started talking, Lin knew she had said the wrong thing in obtaining her true goal right off the bat. Better than to have said nothing, she figured. Not that her mind dwell on that long. Something about his voice sent chills down her spine. The smile he gave practically sent a wave of needles.Not painful ones, but warning ones. It neither beckoned her close nor pushed her away, but gave a steady reminder that she was in charge of her tempting fate or not. The only thing she could do at the time was give a short nod of her head to his first question. Only she could accept to dance with the devil or not.

It wasn't until he asked his second question that she remembered to breathe. "I..." She began, letting her eyes drop and roam anywhere but him. The question should've been anticipated, but in her previous state she had failed to. She couldn't say the truth. There were other people here, and they might leek it back to the family she served. Besides, she didn't put on the disguise for nothing, mere as it may be. She thought of other alternatives of the truth, but none were something she could play off correctly.

Kaylin looked around and rediscovered the dirty glasses she was washing before he had shoved his way over to the the bar. With a hardened gaze she snatched it up and began cleaning it as she was before. "I'm here to work of course," she said with and edge to her matter-of-factness. "Everyone has to earn a living one way or another." She held the glass up to inspect it before turning around and placing it with the other ones. Right after she started on another one, giving a glance at him before sweeping a gaze across the room then back to her work. "It's not too bad 'round here. Every once in a while a stanger pops by with a tale that catches my interest. Though none i've come by seem as steange as you - in a good sense i mean. Surely there must be many stories you have to tell."