Even in the noise of the tavern, the anger in the older man's voice stopped her heart for a moment. With a hard swallow, Nadezhda made her way over with rag in hand to clean up the spill. Unlike the other barmaids, she had proven quite inept at handling the large trays laden with drinks. She needed two hands to hold most trays, making it impossible to navigate the tables as needed. Instead, she was set to cleaning duty, a less glorious task she actually preferred as it kept her further away from often drunk, handy customers.
She had to dodge one such customer on her way to the table, patting the table and papers with the rag to mop up the beer. "Pardon, sir," she noted as she gently pressed on a page, peeking under the cloth to see how much was left beneath the cloth. After a few pats, she noticed the writing on the pages, instantly becoming curious. "Should... should I get you a new table, sir?" Nadya asked as she looked up momentarily, trying to swallow the curiosity about what the man was writing. The feeling lingered in her pale golden eyes even as she looked down again, continuing to wipe up the mess as best she could. She still found herself pausing to trace the ink lines on the pages, only to quickly continue drying the table off.
