Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Tavern II (Open)

A cold draft swept through the tavern as the front door opened once more. The young woman who closed it behind her looked entirely out of place. Most obviously, the visual cacophony of brightly colored silks she wore seemed totally inappropriate for the weather. That was confirmed by how she hugged herself and shivered while making her way to the bar.

Finally! Blessed warmth!

"Something hot, please? Anything," she said as soon as she could catch the barkeep's attention. The words quavered a bit, and those nearest her could make out little tinkling sounds as her bangles and dangling trim shook in response to her shivers.

Her order in, she hurried to the fire and stood before it, staring at the flames for a good while, before finally turning to allow her back a share of the radiant warmth. It was only then that the occupants of the tavern -- in fact the whole character of the place -- finally sank in.

"Oh my," she said quietly, her eyes widening and her silks stirring before the fire as if buffeted by a breeze.

Arashi snapped out of his short trance and turned his attention back to Luna. He tried not to gawk at her, as she revealed her face to him. "O-oh, yeah, it's uh, nice to meet you too..." He could not help but stare, she was quite gorgeous, especially her long, dark hair. She was very exotic, in appearance, to him, though many folk in the tavern were. "Oh, um, I never told you my name...It's Arashi, Arashi Akamine...but uh, Arashi will do." He soon realised that he was staring and looked away for a second before looking back and smiling again.
Arashi then turned his attention to the door, again, as a young woman entered the tavern and made her way to the bar. Off to the side, he noticed a boy carrying an unconscious foxtaur somewhere. Must've had to much to drink... He thought to himself, looking back at his new acquaintance.

A small smile playing at her lips at the appearance of another patron, Luna's eyes studying the vast colors and silks of the woman's clothes. A gypsy, maybe?
"Arashi," It rolled off her tongue and left a smile on her face once again. A new friend was instantly made and the thought of it filled Luna with joy.
"If you don't mind me asking, How did you come to this establishment? Trapped in by the weather, maybe? Visiting a friend?" Luna attempted to strike up conversation some, hoping to dig up some more information on her company. He definitely was interesting,and as she stared at him more, Luna still couldn't help but feel the darkened energy that demons brought in their wake...yet now it seemed to be coming not only from him

Markal came back in the room and immediately noticed the brightly colored woman. He shrugged. The cold brought in all sorts of people that didn't normally come. "Here, give this to Lady Rainbow." The barkeep handed him the drink she'd ordered.

Markal hesitated by the line of hooks for cloak's and such. He grabbed his and made his way over to the fire. He offered both the hot drink and his cloak to the woman. "Here. It's dangerous to draw too much attention in a place like this."

"Oh," Arashi started, pausing when he remembered the reason was to be kept from others. "I..." Arashi's eyes fell to his feet. He didn't want to lie to her, or possibly cause a commotion by telling her the truth. Then again, it could help him if he did. "I'm looking for...demons." He leaned over the table, whispering this to her, hands covering both sides of his mouth, so that his words wouldn't reach ears they weren't meant for. He sat back again, hoping that he hadn't just made the biggest mistake in his life. He could be quite bad, sometimes, when it came to judgment.

A man walked in, looking to the bar, and sitting down. Hoping to whatever gods were up or down there he wouldn't be noticed. He was in a bad mood; he didn't want to hurt anyone.

Emily awoke, clutching her head. "Why, oh why, don't I ever listen to that brother of mine about drinking? Taurs can't handle the stuff as well as two-leggers." She leans over the bed and immediately loses the contents of her lunch onto the floor.
Slowly, she staggered to her four feet and looked around. "Where am I? Still at the tavern?" She listened and could hear people talking down in the main dining area. "Yeah, still there." She quickly felt her hidden coin purse, and nodded that it hadn't been touched by whoever had brought her up here. She put a few gold coins on the dresser as compensation for whoever had to clean up the 'present' she had left beside the bed, and made her way to the door, slowly opening it.

Arashi glanced over at the entrance as yet another person entered the tavern, looking slightly sulky, and taking a seat at the bar. He then crossed his arms and looked back at Luna, neverminding the man. Plenty more people were probably going to enter the tavern...it was a tavern after all.

Idiot. Idiot, idiot, idiot. he thought, running a hand through his hair. So far, so good. Nobody paying him any mind. Peace. Thank the gods.

He half-wished he could just pull off his hood and sit like a normal person in the tavern, though he was sure demons were not looked upon kindly there, as they weren't really in any societies he knew of. Of course, there were some different looking folk in the tavern, but none, so far, appeared to be demons. Horns had to be a definite sign he was a demon, the ears, well, not so much, considering elves have pointy ears, but together, with the fangs and his tail, as well, were a huge giveaway. Luckily, it was not as hard to hide the last two things, the horns were his main problem. Since he didn't know the spell or have a potion to mask his horns, he was not going to be taking off his hood anytime soon. Not my fault my mother was a demon. I guess, at least, it helps that my father wasn't, but I actually came from one, so that makes more of one... If only my mother was a human and my father was a demon...It does work like that right? Guess it's just my bloodline... He pondered, becoming lost in thought.

"Oh? Then you walk down a similar path with me, my friend" Luna's eyes alighted with warm happiness at the idea of someone whom also shared her duty with her. Though granted, she had-and still thought-Arashi was something more than just human. He still had refused to remove his hood, but Luna knew it would be a little rude for her to just demand that his hood be removed. Actually seeing his face had eased her worries about him, enough...for now
"I am, what you would call a Priestess of sorts," She told him proudly. "Though I can do more than just simple rituals and prayers, I defend and protect people from the ugly truth of the world...if you could call it that." To Luna, explaining her goal always seemed so...poetic. It was fun to tell others her story and watch as little embellishments could change their whole view on the world.
One can think of no better reason to fight than the cause of beauty, peace and freedom, She thought to herself, sipping leisurely from the now, lukewarm tea she had purchased. Her eyes briefly left his single one as she stared at the rather grumpy man who entered and sat at the bar.
"The Patrons of this Tavern aren't too friendly, are they?" She commented with a slight smile. Just another interesting quirk in her journey, she supposed.

The woman turned in Markal's direction as he approached her, revealing a pretty face marked with a paw print, tattooed in blue on her left cheek. She smiled, grateful for the cloak, but especially for the hot drink.

"You're very kind; thank you," she said as the lad thoughtfully draped the cloak over her shoulders. "Though I think attention has already been drawn," she added as she glanced around the room. "Oh how I wish I'd had this earlier, outside!"

She cupped both hands around the vessel, appreciating its warmth as she took a cautious sip, apparently not yet willing to stray from the heat of the roaring fire.

(OOC: Markal, believe it or not the paw tattoo is legit -- check her avatar -- and goes way back. How weird is it these two would end up in the same RP!)

Markal started when he saw the paw print on her face. He was a little disappointed to see that it was a tattoo. For a moment, he thought she might have been like him. "Ah, don't worry about it. But holler if anyone gives you trouble." Even though Markal was the youngest worker there, he was also the strongest so he was often called on to break up dangerous fights. "I should get back to work though." He smiled at the girl before heading back to the bar.

((Yeah that's so weird! Markal's is a birthmark though at the small of his back. It signifies that he has tiger shape-shifter blood in his veins.))

Arashi tilted his head, listening with interest to Luna's story, and how important it seemed to her. He was in awe, "Oh, so we share an interest then." He spoke, a smile crossing his face, once again. So I've met someone who wants to rid the world of demons, too? The thought passed through his head. That makes me feel a lot less alone here, but wait...I'm a demon too, so does that mean? He paused, mid-thought, smile fading from his mouth, his single blue eye meeting hers. I don't think she knows. He watched as she glanced at the man who had entered, too. "Well it is a tavern. Isn't this usually the sort of place for people like that to hang out?" He added, shaking his head as he spoke, the smile soon returning. "That's why I came here. I thought there might be demons hanging around a place like this, as things can get quite bad around bars...Demons like being around that kind of stuff."

((ooc: Sometimes I forget Arashi wears an eyepatch :'D))

"Wait!" she called out as Markal turned away. Then she glanced at the barkeep. "If you're helping a customer, that's working... right?" she asked dubiously.

"I, ahh... Can you tell me..." Her eyes flicked around the room briefly. "Can you tell me where I am? I mean... what's the name of this place?"

Markal stopped and turned back around to the girl when she called out. He grinned. "Well, I think at this point the barkeep would consider this more of flirting with a pretty girl than helping a customer. If you do need help though...he can just think whatever he wants."

Markal looked at her. So she needed help with the name of the place? "It's called the Shattered Blessing." He looked up when the barkeep called out for him and went back to the bar, noticing one particularly grumpy looking man just sitting there. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I meant..."

She trailed off as Markal hurried back to the bar under the critical gaze of his superior.

"... the name of the town and... stuff," she lamely finished in a quiet voice to herself. She stared pensively into her tankard. "Shattered Blessing." Isn't that appropriate!

She took another sip. Whatever it might be, it was quite good. And warm. Warm was good, too.

Then she blinked and looked towards the bar. Did he say... "pretty girl?"

Her cheeks pinkened a bit. It might have been the adult beverage.

(Ooc: Shattered Blessing? Hmm...guess I can go with that)

(OOC: Hee hee... I did sort of put him on the spot! Hey Markal, I loved that you turned away before she got the answer she actually wanted. I was intentionally ambiguous hoping something like that might happen. Golden!)

Luna replied with a mere: 'Mhmm' before pondering on what Arashi was telling her.
"You have a lot of knowledge about these things," She smiled, a hint of curiosity in her voice. Luna had actually never faced a demon, her only knowledge and defense against them were the training she received during her apprenticeship in the order.
"Tell me, have you actually fought with one? Could you provide me with some tips?" Luna asked, attempting to conceal the fact that she hadn't any real experience. Fighting the evil of this world was suppose to hone her skills and even though she had left the temple only a fortnight ago, Luna had yet to find her fated battle. Maybe she would never have it, but it was good to have hope. One must always have hope for success in the future, Luna remembered her teacher telling her one day during their meditation hour. Hope was something that she couldn't let die...