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While waiting for his drink, Triston noticed a newcomer who was wearing an almost revealing outfit as his was—at least, the guy was wearing a vest over his bare torso—coming over to sit down at the counter as well.

"Chilly outside, huh?" He threw a fairly standard observation to strike up a banter. There wasn't much to do here alone except people-watching or eavesdropping on the hard-not-to-hear conversation happening around. "They have pretty exotic things on their menu here. I ordered a drink myself. I can't really bring myself to pronouncing it though."

While lost in thought over what to get while spending time at the pub, Nais was jostled out of his thoughts as he looked to a guy that had spoken to him. Raising his brow somewhat to process what had just been asked, the elven man allowed for it to click in his mind before giving a response; "ah, yeah, kind of, I guess. It's definitely gettin' colder with the seasons, but it ain't nothin' I ain't used to at the moment."

Glancing back over the menu, there were definitely things that were difficult to pronounce, and there were other things that were a little weird -- perhaps stuff brewed in house and were served as specialities.

"Ah, yeah? Some drinks have some pretty weird names in bars and taverns that I've visited. Some with names I don't even want to try saying in public. But something like a Screwdriver or Hurricane, those seem pretty tame," Nais went ahead to say, making some form of banter.

His ears perked up as he heard he was complemented. Would he tell her he was that dog that entered before? He gave asoft shrug as his tailwaved behind him.

"Sorry. I kinda feel off bein' humanoid. No worries right?" He asked. His ears perked up a bit, He seemed happy... and a bit hungry.

((Sorry for the long delay, things got busy until now. Let's continue! @Eva Lyn: You can always click the Edit button and change the character to whoever you meant to play with in the Post As section above the writing box!))

Lexi chuckled to herself as she waved a teasing hand once in front of the large man. "Yello, anyone home? Is that a yes?" Hearing him stammer out his order, she barely understood, but couldn't help but hold back another fit of satisfied laughter. Yep, I still got it! "One Phoenix Piledriver, comin' up! Sit right on down wherever you like, 'cause this might take a minute!" Snatching a large jug bottle from behind her without looking, she took one glance at the label and grinned as she started shaking up her seldom tasted concoction, watching her latest customer sit down in front of another man who seemed to have just come in. It was rare for a humanoid to want such a drink, but the guy must be looking to have a real good time, in the phoenix's opinion.

Creatia waved both of her hands and shook her hands as a response to the Lungari as she tended to Jacob. "D-don't worry about it, one of our, our staff will take good care of the dishes! Have a nice night!~ And, uh, Happy Halloween!" And that's when the little robot caught Creatia's attention. "Hmm?" It jumping up and down like a small toddler made the mech-inclined witch squeal in pure motherly joy. "So cute~!!" She happily accepted the gestures as she picked up the smaller one in her arms. "I'd be happy to take, to take good care of them for you~ I need, need to go on break anyway...." She nodded to Nire as a motion to take over for her.

Nire nodded back as she excused herself from Raiden for the moment, approaching Jacob's table as she walked away with the tiny robot in her arms, beckoning the larger one to follow. "Y'all have ta forgive Miss Creatia, she's an excitable thing when it comes to this time o' the year. Lots of free candy, ya see. Anyway~" Nire held up her pad and pen, her loose ears twitching once as she spoke to the fox. "Are you ready to order? Or do y'all still need some time to think?" She smiled as she reassured him, "It's no big deal if y'all need a minute: we have anything that y'all'd want, and if we don't gots it, well, you can bet your sweet patootie we'll find it fer ya!"

After a moment, Lexi showed up at the gentlemen's table with a tall glass mug of frothy ale on a silver platter. The liquid was a dark auburn color, with a very faint, spicy aroma wafting from the fizzing foam. "One Phoenix Piledriver Ale! Getcha real knocked up real quick like, hmm?" She smirked as she put a little more oomph into placing the cold beverage in front of Triston, soon turning to Nais... And her grin only widened.

"Well, hi there n' welcome t' th' Hollow's Tale! Y'alls a new face, but then again..." An amber eye turned to the rest of the bar, "We got them all new folks jus' pourin' in tonight, don't we?! So," she stood up tall and placed the hand holding the empty platter on her hip, her free hand reaching for a pad and flipping it open with a thumb. "What's yer flava? Lookin' ta get buzzed, get full, or get t' th' deep end o' th' hospital?" A playful click of her teeth and a wink punctuated the end of her statement as she waited for his order.

Creatia passed by Stratos on her way to the backroom with the machines, and caught her attention yet again with those ears. Where had she seen him before? Does she know a green-haired boy? Then he spoke, and it was starting to come back slowly to her. The voice was familiar... But she couldn't place a face. She snuggled the tiny, round animatron as she spoke, "Yes, uhm, it's, it's no trouble at all, m-mister..." Her brow scrunched a bit as she leaned a bit closer. "H-have we... met? I think we have... Maybe?"

While the girls were busy, Maxwell caught the sounds of a small one-sided tiff going on between a small fairy and what seemed to be a squirrel... Right? Again, we get all kinds here... Maxwell comforted himself with that thought as he approached the scene. "Is there something wrong, miss?" He asked.

While Triston had decided to get a little drunk to give him a boost in confidence parading around in this outfit, he was suddenly starting to rethink if he would want to be really drunk that badly. The size of the glass notwithstanding, the drink inside the said mug itself was looking mighty strong. If he didn't know any better, he could've sworn it was alive or some sort.

"Thank you, miss," the trifle shocked man managed to reply. "Uh, yeah. This is quite something to buzz me really quick, looks like. May I know what's in it? Wait, nevermind. I'll just, umm, figure it out myself."

Taking a flash of courage from the fact that there was something about the lady that he wanted to give a good impression of, Triston lifted the glass in a silent toast and downed half of the content in a single gulp. He was not one to savor strange concoctions, so he figured he should get it over wth. It was his own decision to order the drink and he'd better see it through.

The minute the stuff hit his throat and went down to heat his chest, Triston felt a sensation akin to that of taking a dozen cans of energy drinks mixed with a case of fiery whisky. The fluid both ignited his blood and mellowed his inhibitions, to the effect that he felt he could really do anything he wanted tonight.

It wasn't bad. Not bad at all.

The intoxicated hulk proceeded to down the entire contents to the last drop.

"What's in my good @#$@? Ancient Chinese secret~" the flirty bartender teased as she placed both occupied hands behind her back, giving a slight stretch to her relaxed physique. She nodded in response to his quiet toast, a piqued eyebrow adding to an already curious smile as he downed half of the contents, then proceeded to down the whole thing. Now that caught the woman's interest fast. Was this man a human? "Well, damn, you one of the few peeps in here who downed that brewski in less than two pauses!" She cackled, her laugh fitting the image of a decadent and devious sorceress more than a sensual vampire, "Takes at least three pauses to get the whole thin' down fer most o' me customers! I's impressed!"

"Now, uh, ya think y'all can take one more mug, tiger? Or are ya's wantin' sometin' diff'nt?" Lexi dropped her hands from her back and placed them to her sides again, flipping her hair back to get a stray strand out of her face. "Maybe summa my harder liquor~?" A silly waggle of her eyebrow emphasized the word "harder." If nothing else, she seemed to enjoy the fact that he may have liked her homemade booze... His initial wary pause notwithstanding.

Luciela smiled and calmly left the pub, promising herself to come back some other time.

(And here I take my leave~)

It only took a moment, a frozen second that exploded into an eternity, but when Triston laid down the mug, he found himself locked in place yet his body felt like it was reeling. Realizing that he couldn't bear it any much longer, he focused on the only part that was remotely tolerable. He could see a the lady's mouth was moving but there was no sound, all he could hear was himself holding in a scream. He directed his focus on breathing in and out, his nostrils flaring and his lips grimly set into a line.

"No! Naw naw naw *hic* naw," the words came out slurred yet sharp. There was still a tiny part of his brain that barely survived the onslaught of sensory overload, and it managed to hold in his reigns. He didn't think he could survive another round of drinks from this place. "Waddaya mean harder? I already AM hard!"

Slamming the counter hard enough that a sudden wooden crack sliced through the air, Triston stood up to prove his point. His face was crunched in concentration, trying to place the nagging sense of deja vu and the feeling that something about all this seemed familiar. He looked down and smiled. A coin has tumbled out of his pocket when he had stood up, so he picked it up and held it in front of the barkeep.

"Thanks for the pick-me-up. Have a good night. Here's a flyer you can put up. Happy Halloween, ma'am." Triston tipped an imaginary hat, wobbled off of his seat, hitched his tiny pants—it was uncomfortably and painfully tighter now—and grabbed more candy from the cute girl's bowl before crashing out of the door outside.

((Okay, I had to respond to this before I flopped into bed. This'll be my last post for the night, for real. @Tamamo: It was good to have you~))

It was hard trying not to hold in her laughing fit as the giant man tried to hold himself together. She was a touch worried for the man: not only did he look like he had three full bottles of her cheaper human-made booze, he looked pissed. Or was he? His slurred speech perked up the sneaky bartender as he declined the offer of more drinks. At least one part of his brain seemed to be thinking...

And it was the dirtier part that Lexi sometimes thought with herself as she heard his blunt innuendo and proved his... Point. A snicker fell from her lips. Then more laughter. "Now that's ma man!" Lexi cheered, "If I t'weren't on th' job, y'all n' I could have some real fun, and I do mean some real fun...!" A sly blink of her eye hoped to carry that statement through. But the man clearly looked like he had more than enough to drink for one night. Watching him bid her farewell and drop his pay into her hand, Lexi waved the poor man out with a carefree and shook her head. "Poor sucker, didn't know what he got himself into..."

While Maxwell started to close the space in between the fairy and her pet, a huge bulk of a man passed by him and snatched a few treats from his bowl. "What the-" The white haired mage on duty could only appear flabbergasted and more than a bit miffed as the larger of the two tumbled out of the bar and moved on his merry way. That's when he heard Lexi call out to him. "Another satisfied customer, Maxie! Pay it no mind!"

Shaking his head and letting the matter slide for the most part, he spoke up. "It was still rather rude, but..." He shrugged the rest of the situation off of his mind. Did it matter? The man was drunk off his behind. If that was Maxwell, he'd forget what his name was, let alone crash into things in such an abrupt manner. "Anyway... Have you seen Creatia? She was tending to a customer a moment ago."

"Cre?" Swiveling back and forth in search of her hidden fiancee, the dark-skinned brawler in black gave a confused scratch of her head. "Hmm, that's strange..."

"Aunt, I mean... Miss Cre's right there in the back with Asroc's machines," Nire called out to resolve that situation, "Says she's on break."

"Got-dammit," Lexi tapped her foot before turning her attention to the remainder man at her table. "Sorry 'bout all the ruckus, things happen, ya know?" Kicking her heel back to cross her leg while standing, she tucked the platter under her arm. "So, what'll it be? Need some recommendations?" Another shake of her head to move a bit of her bang to the side. This was already one doozy of a night, and it wasn't even closing time yet!

Bootsteps from outside the building echoed on the pavement, as the male made his way over to the entrance doors of Hollow's Tale. Everywhere the male had gone, people thought he was dressed up early for Halloween.

"Where did you get that cool vampire hunter costume, dude?"

If only the people knew the truth. But that's what happens when dealing with humans, who lived in their own little world by not accepting the truth of the whole thing.

The door to the building opened as the youth walked inside.

Zanus stood at a height of 176cm (5'9 ft), with a lean muscle build to him. Zanus had short and spiky very dark grayish blue hair, with blue eyes behind a pair of glasses. Zanus's wore military-like clothing, with weapons and other stationary gear. An emblem pin was on his left lapel of his coat, signifying his place as an elite hunter in the organization he was part of. Tucked under his clothes was his enchanted necklace that he never took off.

Zanus's senses kept alert. Not that he expected anything bad to happen while here, but it was a habit of his. From behind his glasses, those blue eyes of his didn't even blink at the decorations.

"...Hmm..."

Zanus mused to himself as he continued to make his way, slowly, around the place.

He finished eating his dessert then went off to meet with the other people around the pub. "Hello all."

It was the scent of the brew that caught Nais' attention before the bartender herself. Looking to the fizzy concoction, he took a moment before he looked to Lexi. Once she looked to him and smiled, the elven man found himself a little at a loss. After all, he still had yet to really look over what was available at this current time.

"Uh, well..." Nais started, thinking over some of the drinks he has had in the past. Since this was a different pub than the ones he had been to in the past, it was hard to know if they had the drinks he normally decided to drink.

"Not sure I want to pay a visit to the hospital. Already get sent there enough as it is with all the broken fingers I seem to rack up in a year, or hairline fractures I get in my arms. Let's just say I want to end my night on a high note rather than a low one," Nais went ahead to say. "As for flavours, a beer that's kind of smokey with a sweet aftertaste if you got something like that."

Asroc's small robot cuddled onto the girl. Waving his tiny hands. He liked Creatia. Gelette Krone placed his large hands together and gave a rather happy expression. Asroc cleared his throat and pulled his bang of spices.

"Would you mind if I went ahead and started to bake some stuff?"

"Well. 'Member a big ol' dog?" He asked. His ears perked up. He folded his paws and gave a rather cute, toothy grin. His tail waved behind him as if he was excited.

"Well... Can y'all keep a li'l ol' secret?" However, his stomach decided to let itself be known as it let out a growl. Placinghis paws on his belly, he looked the other way.

"Y'got Sump'n I can eat? Juicy steak? Mutton? Or Sump'n?"

As Zanus perused the storefront, aside from the spooky decorations mixed with a subdued elegance, it was just as live and rowdy as any old pub... If you bypassed the fact that some of the customers weren't human in the slightest or had mana seeping out of their pores. Speaking of those with mana (or dressed up like someone who had it), the white haired waiter in wizard's robes had caught his hazel eye on the gunman. Standing tall and approaching him, he bowed in front of the man with a coy smile.

"Welcome to the Hollow's Tale Pub and Club, good sir," Maxwell greeted him, a hint of vague curiosity placed in his voice. Or was it boredom? Like he'll tell that little secret without being asked first. "Is there something you're looking for? A nice meal? A cold drink? Or..." He gives the candy bowl in his hand a shake as he raised an eyebrow. "Are you here for the candy we're giving away?"

While the mage in a wizard's guise tried to talk up the silent gunner, Lexi shot another of her trademark grins as he heard out his order. "Smoky yet sweet aftertaste? Honey, we got just what yer' lookin' for!" She pointed a thumb towards the bar as she continued to speak, "Our Maple Oak Smoke Shot Beer just got shipped in today! Goes down real smooth like, gives a nice warm n' suga-sweet caramel buzz as yer aft'r-flava, but not without a tiny bit of kick to liven up th' night! Wha'dya say? Care'ta give it a test run?" If that wouldn't do, she had two more types of beers that fit the bill, both with varying types of intensity.

Creatia couldn't help but giggle at the small robot in her hands. She loved technology in general, but robotics was something special to her, especially purely mechanical ones not powered by mana. Those were some of the kinds of machines that she loved the most. Catching Asroc's statement before replying to Stratos, Creatia nodded towards him. "M-Mm-hmm! It's totally safe for you t-to head into the kitchen and start baking, Mr.... Mr. Asroc!" With the go-ahead given out, she turned her attention back to the mystery dog boy.

"N-now... A big dog? Hmm...." We get a lot of big dogs in here, but... Wait a minute. "Uhm, d-does it talk in anyway?" Maybe that was why it was familiar. If he said yes, then two and two would click together in a matter of moments, as the voice she thinks (or knows, she's not sure) she may have heard somewhere before. If not, then the guessing game would continue with Creatia getting a little more agitated, but not letting it show just yet.

But whether or not she'd get her answer, she gained renewed interest when the green-haired boy when he said he had a secret. "O-ooh... I-I like secrets." The witch smiled as she continued to listen in on what this secret could be, then blushed as she heard his stomach growl instead. Then she remembered she had one of two jobs she had to get done.

"Well, uh... Do you want something to eat?" She asked before Stratos asked for meat of any kind. "Mutton or steak? Uh, w-why yes, we have both and, and even more! I can g-go and uh, and uh.... place the order in for you if you, if you want me to!"

Some of the pub goers waved at Raiden in response to his greetings, but others seemed a bit more interested in their own company. One young miss with dark brown and short pigtails in particular had an eye on him, but giggled as she hid her blue eyed and spectacled face behind a book. She seemed rather shy about talking him up, but didn't seem to stand out that much anyway.

Those blue eyes shifted over to the waiter and listened to what was said. Zanus picked up on the possibility that the waiter was more than likely bored, however, the gunner wouldn't call the waiter out from it.

"...Honestly I'm...uncertain..."

Zanus admitted to the waiter.

"This is my first time here, and my first time I have time off from work for holidays. I'm usually busy with my work."

Zanus was well aware that there were humans and non-humans present. Zanus himself was a bit of both. Lucky for him, by being a Dhampir, he required little to no blood intake to survive. Still, he couldn't pass on getting at least something to eat. He knew if his cousin Rune was there, he'd be insisting upon it.

"What may I ask is the specialty(s) of Hollow's Tale? Food wise, that is. And..."

Zanus lowered his voice down for only the waiter to hear, but Zanus could still be heard.

"...Have anything, drink wise, for a dhampir?"

"Uncertain?" the waiter repeated, before listening to Zanus' story and giving a solemn nod as he emphasized with the gunner. "I understand, and know exactly how you feel. Work here and in other places is always stressful. At least one of us has earned a break from our professions, so I have to say that I envy you a little..." Maxwell actually envied the man more than he should. If not for the fact that Lexi called him last minute (again), he'd be at home lounging without a care this Halloween, downing a jar of peanut butter while watching a movie with his beloved ones. Alas, it wasn't meant to be... Lexi owed him big time for wasting a perfectly good Halloween night yet again.

"We have many specialties, sir. It all depends on your taste: are you in the mood for fish, a full vegetarian meal, a more elegant food setting, or something... 'down-home,' as our owner would put it..." Hazel eyes averted on that last statement. It was clear he was more used to talking with more intellectual diction than using the bartender's coarse slang.

Hearing his request for a drink that damphyrs can enjoy, he gave a short nod in understanding. "Then perhaps you would like to have a glimpse at our 'special menu,'" he offered, lowering his own husky baritone to accommodate Zanus' secrecy. "Catered to all types of supernaturals, I'm sure you'll find something to quench your thirst..." His glance was somewhat inquisitive yet wary. He knew of damphyrs--what self-respecting mage didn't know of them?--but what he didn't know was what they drank. The blood of humans? Mammals? Or something else? Not that he minded, but after all... The blood of a magus was on that menu. He was a magus. He didn't want to volunteer without being asked to do so specifically. But the real question here was...

"Would you like me to show you to a seat?" Then he could get a better idea of what the bespectacled man wanted.

Zanus didn't seem bothered by the magus being envious of him. There were times when he himself was envious of his cousin, for various reasons. Keeping his sense open, though not finding anything wrong at this time, Zanus would relax some more. But he was still ready to spring into action.

"A seat sounds good, thank you. Something by the window, if at all possible. If not then I'll take what opening you have, please."

Zanus usually had a preference for things, such as seating, but he was one of the rare people who made a worker's life a bit easier for them. Once seated where the waiter would be able to seat him, Zanus glanced around his immediate area. He spotted the robot, spotted the different people within the building. They seemed to be having so much fun.

Zanus slightly envied them. But he didn't let it ruin anyone's mood, not even his own. What happened to his family was what happened. He had to move on from it, but not forget.

"Got any good steaks here?"

Zanus asked casually after taking his seat.

He went over to the girl reading a book and sat down with her. He smiled and said, "I see that you noticed me. Hi there, my name's Raiden. And you are?"

"Sounds good to me, ma'am," Nais confirmed, placing an arm on the bar top as he placed that order. "It sure does sound like it's up my alley. I hope that it's as good as the sell sounds."

Nais gave a small chuckle, taking his other hand and running it through his hair in order to remove all stray locks from his vision.