Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived The Penance Tavern

She smirked at his sudden attempt to look as if working diligently, but made no mention of it. She listened for a minute on the listing of what was available. Her smirk dropped at the lack f mention of her favorite, Bacardi Silver Rum.

"No Bacardi Silver Rum available? I am not a fan of the captain's rum doesn't chase as fun with my normal tastes." She said softly, a tone of matter of fact in her voice. She wasn't meaning to come off rude, but she was a tad disappointed about the tavern possibly not having her brew of choice.

She had heard this tavern's name among the tongues of those about her little world she sauntered through. High praises for it mostly, a few claimed it was creepy, and others said it was wicked awesome because you couldn't see the bartender. At the last comment, she couldn't help but smirk because unless there was another bartender, men's tongue had as usual, the knack for telling fantastical tales of blah and blah to catch your attention. Probably just publicity she figured, possibly brought on by the owner. She had heard he was a real piece of work too. She had also heard about some group led by the owner. Many didn't even know the full details of the group apparently. So she was bored and curious, decided to venture here herself for a look see.
 
"Why don't I give it a look?" he offered. "New shipments are coming in all the time."

Randin turned and walked through the kitchen into the cupboard, removing the coffee pot from the hot plate as he walked. He walked into storage and began inspecting the shelves of liquor. Bicardi... Bicardi... aha. He swiped two bottles off the rack and walked back into the bar room.

"Don't have silver, but we do have gold and oakheart," he put them on the counter beside Alie. "Whad'ya think?"
 
She nodded, turning her attention back to the tavern a moment to see the two same patrons. She sighed softly, she had heard this place was a big deal, but it didn't seem like it. She heard him coming towards her and turned her attention at the bottles in his hand. It wasn't Silver, but there was one of the two she did recognize from the bottles. She smiled softly, he had tried to find something to suit her fancy, more than some barkeeps did if you insulted their first offer.

"I have had gold, but not the other one, so why not. I will give a drink of the other one." She said gently to him. "So, what kind of chasers do you have behind the bar?" She asked in a intrigued voice. "I typically don't care for orange juice and rum, so what would the barkeep suggest I try from his stash for a mix with my rum?"

She was genuinely curious how he would handle her question. She looked him over again, he was younger than her if his appearance was anything to say about it, but looks could always be deceiving. She didn't try to hide that she was checking the young man out, she didn't feel such acts needed to be hidden. If you wanted to flatter someone, the eyes often were better than words, it just took the right look across someone to make their flesh crawl in the creeps or in pleasure. She wondered if the boy was experienced with this kind of attention from a patron, especially one who didn't try to hide her intrigue in his physical features.
 
After her little meeting with the interesting bird creature came to an end, Girania had to move on. The Downs were good for testing ideas, but in order to make any progress, she'd need more than just the scum and lowlife that inhabited what was basically the slums of this place. So she went on a little walk. Her construct had shown her what she wanted, so when it had to fight the 'defenders' of the Downs, she had no interest in it anymore. If it could only do that much, then she'd rather just have people be wary of what's coming.

Soon, the cloaked woman found herself at a place called the Penance Tavern. It was a good place to start her search for better...'volunteers.' Noticeably strong individuals tended to hang out in such places for whatever reason. Perhaps, she'd find a mercenary? Or maybe a group of adventurers? Or perhaps some strange people that have found their way into this place as she had? At worst, she'd simply find normal people. Still in better condition than most of the ones in the Downs. Perfectly acceptable for the moment.

Girania entered the bar, and was only mildly disappointed. There wasn't many here, and most seemed to stand out, but they were still useful-looking. There was, of course, two noticeable figures. A woman and a barkeep, both of which being the most active and lively out of everyone else here. Maybe they'd provide something. Still...One thing at a time. She went over to a chair, and sat down. She said nothing, but allowed herself to be blatant in her observance of other people.
 
"Chasers..." Randin mused as he checked one of the fridges below the bar. He typically didn't use a chaser himself when he was drinking - not that he drank often to begin with. "Hm. We have a Fuara fruit juice in the back - it's from Lutetia. Has sort of a mellow sweetness that'd go well with rum. There's some gourmet cherry soda, too. Aged with vanilla." He grinned and rose back to his full height. "Or you could always try Gatorade or co-"

The words caught in his throat as he looked at her again, watching the course of her eyes as they traveled his chest, his arms, the broad width of his shoulders. When Alie finally looked back up to Randin's face, she would find him mute and thunderstruck, blinking at her like a dimwitted puppy asked the square root of pi. Holy hell. She was checking him out.

In a different universe, a universe where Randin was older, wiser and far more experienced with women, he might've known exactly what to do: uncork the rum, pour her a shot and begin a coy, tactful conversation perforated with flirtation. This Randin, unfortunately, was a 19 years old wanderer who'd only just left his small country town of 532 people. He didn't know the first thing about girls - much less what to do when one of them expressed interest. Should he compliment her? Should he check her out now? Hell, was he even allowed to flirt with someone on his shift?

"Uh." He swallowed. His hand instinctively found his dish rag. "I've also. Ah. I mean. I've got some milk, if you want it." His eyes widened. "Uh. Coconut milk, I mean. Imported." He began polishing the bar top with renewed vigor. "Might go well with the rum. Very sweet stuff. If you. Uh. If you'd like that instead. Or the other stuff. It's fine, really - whatever floats your boat." God, whatever floats your boat? He nearly punched himself in the face.

The barkeep was spared further embarrassment with the arrival of a new patron. "Howdy," he nodded to the cloaked girl as she took a stool. "Welcome to Penance. Name's Randin." He jerked his head at the wall of liquors stationed behind him - a collection of spirits and drinks assembled from every corner of Valore. "Can I get'cha anything, sai?"
 
She smirked at him, a soft but flirtatious look in her eyes as she met his face. She softened her interest in him when she realized it made him uncomfortable. She returned her expression to just being gentle and quit checking him out to stop making the young man so nervous. She almost busted out laughing at how tongue tied and embarrassed she had Randin. She was trying hard not to smile in such a way that showed she was trying not to laugh at the poor guy. She wasn't used to men getting so flabbergasted over just a look. She couldn't hold it anymore, she laughed gently to ease the pressure of the burst of laughter that would have come out and surely made Randin feel horrible. So she kept to a quick soft gentle laugh.

"Randin, you said right?" She paused giving him an apologetic look for embarrassing him. "I have never had juice from around here and if the barkeep says it's good with my rum, I'll take some of the Oakheart and that Fuara juice mixed. I am a bit picky on how heavy my drink is so about 1/4 glass rum the rest juice, please Randin." She answered gently.

She knew it would give him the chance to get a breath and gather himself by getting the juice which was more why she had chosen to get the juice instead of anything else. The poor guy probably felt bewildered by her laughing at him for being so tongue tied.
 
Gabrielle slowly slid her fingers through her brunette hair as she heard movement in the storage room where she was still resting after her revival. She barely left the room, though if she did, she didn't leave the Tavern. The notion of going out to find her sister disappeared when she died, though she thought about seeing if she could get Randin or even Jegun to go searching. But, they both appeared to be very busy, so she just kept her thoughts to herself and worked on getting stronger. Which in truth, she wasn't getting any stronger because she rarely did anything. "...thirsty..." Gabby mumbled, slowly sliding to her fee. Pressing her fingers against the wall to keep from toppling over, the sixteen-year old knew she would have to eventually look into a mirror to see just how gaunt she had become. Her red t-shirt was unnaturally baggy on her as was her pants and she wasn't even sure if she was wearing her own clothing or if it was something she had been given at some point. The days seemed to blur all together.

"Hnn..." Gabrielle finally convinced herself to move out of the storage room and slid out of the room, moving through the door into the bar room, glancing at the two patrons and Randin. Grumbling, she slid onto a bar stool at the end, resting her head against her arms, which were crossed on the counter top. "...Dew please?" Her brownish-lavender eyes shifted towards Randin, knowing he needed to tend to the customers first. "After you're finished..." Her voice was soft and slightly timid, much more than normal, it clear she was skittish around strangers.
 
She turned and noticed the other cloaked woman and the young girl. She ignored the cloaked woman's rude staring, she had no interest in people who lacked manners. If you had something with her she preferred someone to not stare and just use the damn mouth they were given, she frowned at the woman in annoyance before turning to the girl again. She studied the girl, her expression softening to one of concern for the girl.

"Randin, the girl can get her drink before me. I am in no hurry." She instructed softly, still staring at the girl.

"You okay child? You look, pardon the expression but half dead on your feet. You really should get something with protein in your stomach as well as a drink." She said in a motherly tone of voice to the 16 year old girl that looked ragged in her baggy clothes.

She wondered why the girl looked so rough and why she had come from the backroom of all places like that.
 
It seemed that the barkeep was some sort of magnet for activity. Why else would things suddenly start getting more lively the moment she sat down? A young girl arrived and asked for a drink. Though it didn't quite matter to her what the barkeep did, the fact that these were the liveliest people she'd seen around the area was something to note.

"Hm..."

Girania's voice was mature, and some sort of unnecessary confidence was within its tone.

"I can't seem to settle on anything yet. Please, go ahead and go about your business."

Wanting to observe a bit more, she chose an answer that would allow this group to continue their interaction. She might stumble across some information about these three that might lead to something interesting.
 
Randin flushed red as Alie laughed at his romantic shortcomings, monumentally embarrassed but also a bit amused. A sheepish grin cracked his face. Okay, that could have gone a lot better, but at least she thought it was funny. If nothing else, he'd made her laugh.

"Rum and Fuara. Got it." He nodded, eager to move on. "Never had juice from around here? Where you from? If you don't mind me askin'."

He nodded to the cloaked woman. "Alright, just lemme' know. Got some good seasonal drinks right now - and Mok makes a burger like you wouldn't believe."

The barkeep turned as Gabrielle came out into the bar. "Hey Gab, what's..." His brows furrowed as he took stock of her haggard appearance. He nodded thanks to Alie when she insisted he prep Gab's drink first. He opened the fridge and began rummaging through it.

"...did you eat your breakfast this morning, Gabrielle?" his voice was low. He'd made her something before crashing when he'd returned last night, as usual. Something told him she hadn't finished as much as she should have.
 
She smiled warmly to the girl and then to Randin for a moment as he went about tending to the girl. She could tell there were personal feelings about her welfare from Randin. Not sure if they were romantic in any way, she sat back and watched them quietly for a brief moment before realizing she heard there was someone else here. She hadn't seen anyone, but then again she didn't see the girl or go in the back either.

"Who's Mok?" She asked aloud unintentionally letting her curiosity get the better of her, remembering the stories of being haunted.
 
Gabrielle tried her best to become invisible at the counter, thinking maybe she should have waited to come out until the place was empty, but it was too late now. While she could flee back to the storeroom, she knew it was not a healthy place for her to be and it was only a matter of time before Jegun booted her out on her ass. She needed to find Renee before that happened, but that required going out and that wasn't happening at the moment. Her gaze shifted towards the first female at her question and the suggestion of eating protein. Did she look that terrible? "I'm okay, just sleepy." There, pawn it off on being exhausted. That could work with her at least, but not with Randin. Gaze shifting back towards him, she wrinkled her nose up, frowning deeply.

"Ate some. Wasn't really hungry. Still not really hungry." Gabby sighed, poking at the counter top before grinning a smidgen at the inquiry about Mok.
 
Randin sighed at Gabby's response, putting her drink on the bar next to her arm. "Hungry or no, you should eat. You'll never regain your strength if you don't take care of your body."

He turned back to the fridge and came up with a pitcher of cherry-red juice. It seemed that Alie didn't want a chaser so much as a cocktail. Worked for him. He liked making drinks more than he liked pouring out shots anyway. The barkeep swept up a crystalline glass and promptly distributed a healthy dosage of the juice into the container, followed by a dash of the rum. The yellow liquor mingled with the fruit extract into a sort of copper gold mixture.

"Mok's the cook," he explained as he mixed the drink, "well, he's a lot of other things too, but he's mostly the cook." He inspected the drink, a medley of sweet and spicy aromas emanating from the cocktail. "On the rocks or nah?"
 
The girl seemed to be good friends with the staff of the tavern, and apparently lives there. Truth be told that's the first time Girania's ever seen a girl under the care of a tavern. Maybe she could use that sometime.
The Barkeep himself seemed to be kind to the girl, and somewhat professional with the woman. Nothing outstanding stood out at the moment, but then again the same could be said of the woman. She had this strength about her that led the nightmare to feel as if she was a fighter, but she didn't show any sign confirming that.

Of course, there were ways of finding out.

When the woman's drink was finished, it golden color shone through the glass, and it made a window of opportunity.

"Hm...I must have thought wrong about you."

Girania's face was hidden beneath her cloak's hood, but anyone could feel her grin.

"I thought you'd be above drinking piss."
 
Alie smiled warmly at Gabby and nodded to her response. She wasn't convinced that was all that was to it, especially with Randin's concern for her 'health' which made her raise a brow. But she dismissed it, the girl's condition wasn't her business and if the girl didn't want to out with why she looked as she did, who was Alie to make her.

"I heard some rumors about this place. Some say the owner is a badass leader of some major group. Other rumors say the place gives them the creeps with a ghost serving drinks and food. Any truth to sailors, mercenary and common babbles Randin." She asked, a tone of curiosity in her voice as she waited for him to finish her drink.

The drink's color was nice and she could smell it and it made her mouth water in anticipation. Cocktail, drink eh she was no bartender, she knew how she liked her drink and that was that.

"Rocks is fine, but go light. I don't want it to water down my drink please." She answered gently.

She had been about to tell the woman to spit out whatever business she had staring at her like she did or piss off when the woman spoke. She wasn't sure exactly about who the woman was addressing at first, but then knw it was her the conversational snip was aimed for. This woman didn't know shit about her, she was now thoroughly annoyed. She wasn't annoyed at the useless jibe the woman had cast as bait to cause her to get tempered, but she was sick of the games with the woman. She was an up front kind of person, mouth and emotions for the most pat on her sleeve and she rarely edited her words or held things back unless she wanted to or it was in her best interest to be still. She had learned useless challenges as the woman spit out her mouth long ago were nothing but trouble, which meant so was this woman.

"I was wondering when you were going to get your tongue to come unglued woman." She started, not staring at her. "You know, I don't much care what you think about my choice of drink. I am particular about my choice of drink for a reason and that reason is of none of your concern. You don't lie my drink, you are not drinking it so saunter off." Now she looked to the woman a look of complete apathy in her expression. "Quite frankly, I was growing bored and irritated with your lack of nerve to speak whatever business you may think you have with me. I don't much care to just be gawked at or studied. I believe if you have something to say to someone, you shouldn't gally bat and pussy foot it and just get some metaphorical balls and speak. If you can't get the nerve up, you are not worth my time to even look at lady. So state your business with me, or count yourself not worth my time to even be bothered with." Her last statement was stern as was her expression.

At this moment she radiated with pride, confidence, inner strength, and even a fair bit of wisdom in her composure and choice of words. She looked away a moment then stood up, arms out to express she was unarmed and wasn't looking for a fight. She just wanted a drink and relax. Rum had been her choice drink for ages, even before her pirating days. Truth be told, she couldn't remember who started her on rum. Wine tasted like stale piss water to her. Vodka was too weak for her taste. Tequila wasn't as strong and the taste was too bitter. Liquors were too girly and far to weak for her taste. Whiskey had the kick, but damn was that a rough drink even when you knew how to drink it. Rum was her balance between what she wanted and hell she preferred it over anything. She didn't drink to be drunk like other pirates did, she did it to take an edge off old battle scars within her. Nothing to cause her to be impaired even in the slightest. She kept her skills honed, sharp, & alert.

She sat back down and waved Randin that she wanted her drink. She didn't like this woman, something in her gut told her this woman was not good news. She had come here for down time damn it. Why was is that every hard ass with a boner to make a name for themselves often picked her to try to make them seem bigger than people saw them. She was now thoroughly annoyed that this woman was interrupting her granted and fuck, earned shore leave from her captain. She wanted her down time and damn it she would have it.
 
A moment passed after that little monologue the woman gave, and Girania spent it smiling. She had hoped that her comment would spark something in her, but the end result was much better than was expected! She had liveliness! A fire in her breast! Impatience! Yes...She would be a wonderful person to 'assist' her!

So she laughed. Girania laughed for a full two minutes, before she calmed down, and then burst into laughter again. When she finally settled down, she removed her hood, revealing her silver hair, and dark skin. When she opened her eyes, they weren't like they were in the Downs. They weren't overcome by light, but were bright, brown eyes. The eyes that belonged to the little girl whose body Girania had taken so long ago.

"Apologies. I just wanted to see how you were like when insulted."

Girania shifted in her seat to properly face the woman.

"You see, I'm actually looking for help, but I can be...rude...a lot. People tend to turn away when I start talking to them."
 
"I know..." Gabrielle all but whispered her words, grasping her drink in her hand, starting to sip on it. Shifting her gaze towards the two females, Gabby was glad that she had sat far away from them both. There was something about the two that made the hair on her neck stand at end, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Sighing, she remained silent, opting to keep her nose out of other people's business and her mouth shut. The last thing she needed was a fight to break out because she said the wrong thing, though it might happen regardless.

"Hnn..." Gabby mused softly before finishing up the 'Dew. Pushing the glass away, she slid off the barstool and headed into the bathroom, deciding today was the day she looked at herself. Placing her hand on the door, the sixteen-year-old paused, biting on the inside of her cheek before shoving it open, stepping into the bathroom with a shaky breath.
 
Randin perked a brow as he put a few ice cubes into Alie's drink, listening closely to the back-and-forth. He nearly interjected, but decided against it. Alie seemed to have this handled.

"Enjoy, sai," he offered the drink and swiped up his rag before returning to the sacred duty of 'counter polishing'. "As for your questions... Mok's a wraith, not a ghost. Big difference." He winked. "Can't tell you much about the 'badass group' - that's Jegun's business, not mine. All I can say is that he's a good man, otherwise I wouldn't be working for him." He swiped up a glass from behind the counter and began cleaning it. "Stick around. You might meet him. He usually comes in around this time."

The barkeep eyed Girania with a curious grin. "Insulting people isn't the best way to garner help. Most people start off by giving out their name." At least she'd apologized - it was start, if nothing else. "What sort of help are you lookin' for, anyway?"

He watched Gabby enter the bathroom out of the corner of his eye, shaking. Hm. Hopefully she was going in there to clean up a bit. Randin had been waiting for Gabby to get strong enough to take out into Westeria, but she hadn't been improving much over the last couple of weeks.
 
She raised a brow at the woman as she laughed at her statement. She at that moment chose the woman was not worth her time. She turned away, back to Randin as he slid her drink to her. She smiled at Randin appreciatively. She needed the drink more than ever. She took a sniff then swigged down a gulp. She felt the heat hit her empty stomach and realized it had been a while since she had eaten anything and a burger actually sounded pretty fire at the moment.

"I see. So, Jegun you say huh? Hmmm, wait I think I have heard that name a bit." She said, pausing a moment to pick through dozens of stories she heard lately on her way this way. "Yea, got a she vamp on his arm from what I hear. Heard she is quite the dish herself. From what I heard too, pretty gifted lady with the arts." She said softly, more seeming to talk to herself aloud about what she knew than anyone else. "Hey Randin, you say Mok makes some killer burgers eh? Can I get one of them with cheese and ketchup with a pickle? I haven't had a real burger in a while. Hell, real food in a while." She chuckles as she said the last bit, amused that she really hadn't had decent food in a while.

Being on a ship had no room for gourmet meals, too much cargo lost to save room for that fancy smancy shit the cook always said. "Oh, shit, how much do I owe for the drink and the burger Randin?" She asked softly, just realizing in a bit of embarrassment she had forgotten to pay for her drink yet.

She really wished this chick would beat it. She had no interest in helping the woman. Something about her got under her skin, which meant she was not a good person to tango with. She had good instincts and she could rely on them over and over again. She kept and eye on the woman with her peripheral vision, but acted as if she wasn't watching the woman at all her eyes focused on Randin and her drink.

"You Know Randin, I think I might stick around for a bit meet these two that run this place. Uh, out of curiosity y'all have rooms to rent? I am gonna be here for at least a week in this area minimum. A shower or bath, clean clothes, food, and a roof over my head that don't leak salt water on my head sounds like a pretty tantalizing thing right about now. If so, how much for the week stay, meals and well drinks I will pay as I get them." She said in a matter of fact tone with a hint of exhaustion in her voice.
 
"Any kind that I can get. It involves going over to the Downs, so not many people are quite that willing to help me."

Girania had hoped that the woman would be a little more 'helpful', but it seemed that she wouldn't join her for anything anytime soon. It was a shame, but Girania would just have to deal with her some other time. For now, though. the bartender seemed to have taken on quite the amount of conversations and responsibilities. She'd answer his question, and observe for now. Such interactions tended to overwhelm someone, and she was too interested in what he had going for him in order to let that happen just yet.

"Truth be told, I was hoping to find some intimidating people to scare off the thugs on the way, but I guess asking her for help was a lost cause. In any case, I don't want to overwhelm your socializing, so I'll just take some cider for now"
 
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