Who

evka, Bonifas

What

Reveka and Bonifas meet up to catch dinner and a fight.

When

It is evening of the twenty-eighth day of the fifth month of the eleventh turn of the 12th pass.

Where

Igen Weyr - Bazaar

OOC Date 12 Jul 2017 05:00

 

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Dustbowl Cantina

To enter the Dustbowl Cantina is to descend: the heart of the ancient tavern lies half underground, at the foot of ancient steps, insulated from summer heat and winter cold by the volcanic rock surrounding it. A windowless place well-lit by glows, it is homey, even cozy, with a certain bijou charm - but for the deep gouges worn in wooden table and solid stone, some clearly lingering evidence of boisterous brawling. The wall behind the well-polished bar, though, remains free from scars or graffiti, as does the door into the small kitchen, and the stairwell up into the owner's quarters: the barkeep and his staff reign, and they guard their territory well. After all, only a fool angers the source of the booze.


Evening is looming in on Igen Weyr and things begin to wind down. Chores done, Reveka joins the crowd of people filtering out of the caravan grounds and into the bazaar. Luckily for her, Reveka's stop is close by and she slips into the Cantina before the crowd can get too thick. She's changed out of her practice clothes and into a fawn brown pair of trousers and a loose, white cotton tunic that's tucked neatly into her pants. She wears fashionable boots. The only real hint to her Zingari heritage is the beaded bracelets at her wrists and the circlet she wears on her head that dangles a blue stone in the middle of her forehead. Her hair hangs loose and billows around her face as hazel eyes search for a place to sit. She finds it in a table set along the wall closest the bar. Sliding into a seat she orders a drink and waits for the person she is to meet here.

Likewise, Bonifas has donned some more subdued clothing for tonight's excursion after cleaning up from evening chores. Dark trousers, cream shirt and his old, reliable pair of boots. Perfect for blending in to a crowd as not too fancy and not too casual. His slightly tousled hair's still damp from his quick washup, but it's officially summer in Igen and the heat will take care of that shortly. Once in the Cantina, the first order of business is grabbing a drink. Once that's taken care of, he'll look about for Reveka. When he spots the girl, he smiles and then attempts to meander through the crowd to try and sneak up and tap her on the shoulder. Can he make it there without her spotting?

Reveka is immersed in her drink and watching the people in the Cantina go about their business, also, she's no spyling so Bonifas can probably achieve his goal. Currently, Reveka is focused on the back of the Cantina, watching a pair play poker, one of the pair rapidly losing his marks.

You never know what skills someone might pick up in the caravan. Bonifas will take advantage of his "target's" distraction, waiting until it looks like the current hand is finished and the losers let out a sound of despair as the moment when he'll reach out to tap for her shoulder. "Hey. I'd ask who's winning, but I think they just made it pretty clear." Head nod towards the sad, sore loser.

Reveka takes a drink as she watches, and luckily, has it swallowed and her glass set down before Bonifas taps her. She let's out a light squeak of surprise before she turns, hand on her chest and a wide grin on her lips despite the widening of her eyes. "Hi there." She let's out a laugh and waves a hand at the empty seat across from her. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that one just lost his shorts for the night." Reveka crosses her legs under the table and leans back in her chair to sip at her drink. "You tell anyone I squeaked and I'll tie you in one of my knots." She says, having to get that out there, after all, Zingari aren't supposed to be jumpy. "Did you have a nice bath?" She asks, noting the dampness of his hair and finding it endearing that he chose to clean up for their little outing.

Bonifas laughs a little at the jump and slides into the empty seat, taking a well earned sip from his glass. "Never wager something you aren't willing to lose." He'll give a shrug for the man's predicament. The threat from the girl get a mischievous glimmer in Bon's eyes. "Oh, really? Tying into one of your knots sounds just a tad… dirty." He'll hold up his fingers just an inch a part to demonstrate just how much a tad. "And yeah, it was alright." Not so much endearing as necessary. His chores were helping with the runners and if he smelled like the stables, he probably couldn't have snuck up on her.

Reveka chuckles at Bonifas' comment about what she said being dirty and drops a wink. "Nothing wrong with being a little dirty now and then." She drinks from her glass and looks around. "So, I've had drinks here before but I've never ate the food. Any suggestions?" Since he'd seemed pretty knowledgeable about curry earlier, Reveka assumes Bon has sampled the food here. She raises a brow after asking her question and leans forward, tucking hair behind her ears.

Honestly the boy's probably more knowledgeable about the food the street vendors offer than the Cantina's, but Bonifas isn't going to admit to that. Instead he's going to take a quick look around while taking a sip of his drink, spying but pretending he's thinking. "Well… that curry looks like some of the others I've had before." He's going to point out to a man that's eat a reddish dish with cubes of what's probably goat. And chunks of some sort of veggie mixed in. "Or lighter stuff, there's those little fried balls served in a flatbread." He's talking about falafels. And luckily since he can't really explain it that well, there's another customer with one he can point to.

Reveka can spot a cover when she sees one, letting out a light giggle. "You have no idea do you?" She asks light-heartedly. "That's ok, why don't we ask a server over and we'll ask their opinion?" Reveka is flexible, she can roll with things pretty well. Smiling, s he flags down a server, a young girl who seems hurried, but amiable enough. "Excuse me, what would you suggest as far as food goes here?" The young girl flashes a bright, but fake smile and suggests the cheese rolls and the falafels before scooting off to take care of her other orders. Well, they'll have to order from the next one then. Reveka raises a brow and looks to Bonifas. "Real friendly wasn't she?"

Bonifas has been called out and holds his hands up accordingly. When the server also recommends the falafel (by name, but also describes what Bon was recommending), he starts smiling again like he's just been vindicated. "Seems so," he agrees as the girl rushes off. Guess it's his turn to get the next server. The next one he spots and flags over is slightly older, but definitely not the friendliest of sort. Just a simple "Know what you want?" Which the boy responds with "Uh, a falafel and…" looks over to Reveka to see what she's going to have.

Reveka grins at the server. "I'll have the cheese rolls please." She turns back to Bonifas with a s mile. "So, how long have you been attending the fights at the Pit?" She ponders before taking a drink from her cup. "I've been going since I was tall enough to see over the dividers." Reveka becomes quite animated, excited. "It's sinfully exciting to watch."

And just like that, the server's off. Hopefully they'll get their food as quickly as the waitstaff seems to be disappearing. "Pretty much the same. I mean, what kid hasn't wanted to sneak in and watch?" And oh, there are so many different places to sneak in the bazaar. "Although, it's different watching now that I have some idea what's going on. A different sort of exciting."

Reveka nods an agreement. "AYe, you've got the right of it there." She smiles and crosses her arms. "So do you think Ziniel will ever get her silks high enough?" It's a little bit of a joke, but she means well, seriously. And it seems service is really quick, or they have certain things premade, because here comes the food, and a refill on drinks.

"Unless she does something really dumb, yeah," But Bonifas shrugs anyway. Even if it's a joke, it's a fifty-fifty shot whether the girl will actually grumble and be patient or try to take things into her own hands. As soon as the food is on the tables, the boy's going to be taking a large bit of the falafel. He maybe should have waited because he starts waving a little at his mouth. "Careful. Its hot." But not too hot for him to keep eating. He'll just take a smaller bite next time.

Reveka nods. "This is truth." Reveka is a bit more dainty about eating her food, but giggles at Bonifas. She's having a good time. It doesn't take her long to eat either, she's eager to get to the pit. She sits after, sipping on her refill and watching yet another man lose his shorts at dragon poker. "Plan on doing any betting tonight?" Because she certainly does!

Bonifas is a teenage boy who likes to make things disappear. Especially food, although he makes no secret about where the food is going. Straight into his mouth and then he's working on polishing off his refilled glass as well. "Of course. Although people watching at the Pit can also be entertaining." He'll probably be watching the bets going on a bit before placing his own. Gotta make smart choices after all.

Reveka grins. "Of course! People watching is always entertaining." When it seems as if BOnifas is done eating, she'll finish up her drink and stand. "Shall we then?" She asks, eager to get going. The earlier fights were usually the best and most lucrative.

Bonifas isn't one to dawdle once the time has come to move on. He'll quickly down the last of his drink as well and stand to be going. "Let's go!" He's eager as well so he'll take off towards the Pit. Luckily the streets aren't too crowded along the way. Still some people coming and going, but more folks have made it to whatever their destinations (usually dinner) are at least for the time being.
——

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The PitOne does not enter The Pit so much as descend into it. Why else the name? The Steen ancestors paid for their square footage with sweat, excavating the area and building curved walls up around it. Wide, smooth steps descend into a large entry area that overlooks the pit and galleries. Floors, ceilings and walls have been whitewashed with limestone paste, increasing the amount of light reflected back from the numerous glow baskets hung on the walls. A rounded doorway to the right leads one into the business' "office", which is furnished in spartan style: cushions for kneeling or sitting upon, a desk that's low to the ground constructed of the same whitewashed stone as the rest of the building, and niches carved out of the walls themselves for decorative pieces. Here is a small sculpture of men wrestling, there is a wooden carving of a champion with a foot upon his vanquished foe.
Continuing on through the lobby brings one to another set of six stairs that descend into the galleries surrounding the sand-filled pits. A low wall separates audience from combatants, but even at its highest point, those in the galleries are never more than twenty feet away from the action. The sand is raked daily, with fresh sand added whenever the blood to soil ratio becomes too great.// -

The Pit is loud as they enter, as is to be expected. Reveka moves through, looking back to Bonifas with a wide grin as they enter the frey. "There's a particular rider I like to bet on here, used to be one of us." She shouts over the crowd. Now, to find the betting area and find out who's on the roster for the night. It's not hard to find, being where most of the crowd is heading. There's a few pros to being Zingari, and being able to slip the crowd to get where you want to be is one of them. Grabbing Bon's hand so she doesn't lose him, Reveka slips through the crowd, putting them much nearer to the betting area than they would have been if they'd just meandered with the people.

"S'ayde, right?" Bonifas is at least familiar with that particular rider from the exercise regimen he's bestowed upon the spylings. There's a grin on his face as they entire the throng and he's more than happy to have his hand grabbed as Reveka leads the way through the crowd. There are a couple names being bandied about that he manages to pick out. "Sounds like Laivon is recovering from a wound although trying to say it's healed. And Koldal is a favorite for tonight from at least a few folks."

Reveka nods avidly. "Aye, he doesn't lose much, it's been quite lucrative, betting on him." And she hasn't been able to do so in a while, sadly, the greenrider isn't on the roster for this evening. "Koldal you say? Have you seen him fight before?" Reveka too, is trying to listen to the list of fighters, some familiar, some not. They have time to choose however, the night is early yet. Excited as she is, she forgets about having Bon's hand in hers, but it doesn't seem like he minds much.

Bonifas will definitely not be complaining about a pretty girl holding his hand. "Nah, I haven't seen him and the name doesn't sound familiar." He doesn't sound too keen on betting on an unfamiliar face with a known injury. "Nakara's usually a pretty safe bet. She's a quick one and going up against a new guy." What the word on the new guy is, either they're not around the right people to over hear or he really is that new.

Reveka nods, looking thoughtful. She ends up placing a small bet on Nakara, but she saves the rest of her marks for the second round bets. She doesn't want to lose her shirt. SHe'll wait for Bon to bet if he's going to before turning and looking at the viewing areas. "Where should we watch from?" Reveka feels the adrenaline rising, she absolutely loves watching the fights.

Since he recommended the fighter, Bonifas will also a small bet on Nakara and then gesture for Reveka to follow after him. "We should go this way. The entrance to the fighter's quarters is there…" and he'll point. "So if you sit opposite from it, you can get a bit of a view of folks before they actually come out onto the sands."

Reveka waves to the indicated location. "Lead the way." She smiles and will happily follow along. It's an exciting prospect, getting to get a close up view of the fighters. SHe slips easily through the crowd behind Bonifas, cheering when an an announcer begins the introduction of the first fight.

Bonifas leads away. All that practice weaving through the crowds in Zingari gathers comes in handy in situations like this. Since it's only the first fight of the night, it hasn't gotten to the point it's standing room only. There are even still some sits only a row back from the very front, although it'll be a tight squeeze for two. "There alright? Or…?" There's also some more spots further up, but that means they'd be farther from the action.

Reveka nods. "Looks fine to me, I'm tiny, I fit in most small spaces." Reveka chuckles, speaking of her willowy figure. She looks around, yeah, she'd love the closer view. Besides, she's not going to complain about being squished with Bon.

Bonifas chuckles a little as he leads the way. "Guess I forgot who I was talking to for a minute. Sometimes a challenge to see just what spots you can fit into?" And also, Bon isn't a large guy, so since neither of them mind squishing, it should work just fine. And great timing considering there's some movement starting near the tunnel to the quarters now that the announcer has finished with his announcements.

Reveka laughs lightly and nods. "Yes, pretty much." She happily squishes in with Bon, and the fit really isn't that bad. "I do try and challenge myself frequently." Eyes rivet to the tunnel as soon as she notices motion. "This is going to be fun!"

And he can't really say much against trying to put skills to the test considering Bonifas's earlier decision to test his skills by surprising Reveka in the bar and so he'll just smile and laugh. From the tunnel, the two fighters emerge. Nakara is easily spotted. Small, lithe woman that is light on her feet even as she strolls into the arena like she owns it. Her opponent, the new guy… is large. Really large. His walk is more of a lumber, but he's got quite a reach on him. "This is going to be… interesting." Pretty lopsided pairing. "The two of them might make an good team for doubles matches. One quick and the other packing a whallop."

Reveka lifts her eyebrows in surprise at the pairing. She couldn't agree more with Bon's assesment. "Interesting could be one word for it." Reveka leans forward eyes taking in the scene in minute detail. "Doubles would be amazing with a pairing like that, one on one against each other is another story…" Reveka wonders if she bet upon the wrong fighter, but then again, small and lithe doesn't necessarily mean a loss.

The pairing might not be as unfair as it would seem at first glance, but definitely something that gets all the crowd talking. And folks putting in those last minute bets which was probably what the Steens wanted. "Unless he's been doing a lot of training before he got here though, Nakara might have enough tricks up her sleeve to even this out." Bonifas still feels pretty confident about his bet on the woman. She does have experience and he's been learning some of those tricks that can help a smaller guy versus a bigger opponent.

Reveka shrugs, turning a smile on Bonifas, hands clasping before her. "We shall see." She settles in to listen to the intros and watch the fight. "It's always interesting to watch the dynamic between the fighters, some of them seem to have such chemistry sometimes. It's like watching a violent dance…" Somebody likes this just a little too much. However, she falls silent as the behemoth in the ring begins to circle.

If this were a movie, this would be the point where some dramatic music would start playing as the fight does begin. Bonifas, Reveka and the rest of the folks at the Pit will just have to deal with the sounds the crowd will make. Mostly clapping, hollering, some cheering and some jeering. Bon's eyes are also on the fighters below, the woman also circling. Both carefully sizing up their opponents, looking to see if they'll have an opportunity for the first attack, or possibly waiting for their opponent to get impatient and go first. "A dance is a good way to put it. There are definitely patterns, like dancing. Although I usually prefer my dance partners to have less blades out usually."

Reveka laughs. "Yeah, me too. You know we have dancers that do just that?" She says of dancing with knives. There are several feints in and out as the fighters test their opponents, and it's the giant that moves first, darting in with a low kick. "I didn't know you danced?" She comments/questions a moment later.

"Yeah. And fire dancers too." If there's a way to dance with it, there's probably a Zingari that's tried. Bonifas winces slightly as it appears the woman misjudged the big man just a hair. The kick manages to barely graze her leg, but not enough to stop her from moving on and pressing back with an attack towards his offside. The boy smiles and nods at her question. "Yeah, a little. Mostly for fun." Which might be why she didn't know if she expected to have seen him practicing with the dancing performers.

Reveka nods. "I've seen the fire dancers at work, it's quite the sight." Reveka winces right along with Bon and watches as the bohemoth takes a hit to the side. "Hmm. Remind me to find you a the next gather, not all the boys around like dancing." She turns back to the fight as the big guy gets up and turns around growling his rage.

That growl proves that the woman's strike did just what she expected and Nakara laughs at his growl and makes a taunting gesture. She'll wait to see what he does next, hoping his anger will be her friend. Even with the earlier graze to her leg, she's still light on her feet. Bonifas nods to Reveka. "Yeah… thought about trying the fire dancing a few times. The first time I tried fire breathing though, someone lost an eyebrow." It was Bon that lost it. It was not a good look for the boy. "Oh, you'll be sure I'll find you at the next gather." Because that's one of the reasons he likes dancing. The girls like to have partners.

Reveka raises her eyebrows at the admission about someone losing an eyebrow. His next earns him a wide grin. "Alright then, it's settled. I'll mark my dance card." Luck is on the woman's side today, as the giant rushes her, intending to use body mass to take her out. Reveka winces, that's a stupid, stupid move. "That's not going to end well for him." Reveka flags someone selling drinks and grabs a couple, offering one to Bonifas.

Hey, it grew back, so no big deal. But that was when it was clear that juggling and tumbling was probably more Bonifas's strengths than fire. He'll smile and nod at the mention of the dance card. And it was indeed a stupid, stupid move as the woman was expecting that and darts out of the way to try to use his own body mass against him as she tries to trip him. The bigger they are, the harder they fall after all. "No, it's not going to end well at all. See why she's a favorite?" The drink is gladly accepted and he'll raise his glass to Reveka. "Thanks!"

The big man falls, right onto his chin. He gets back up spitting red, rage evident in his features, though he's more cautious, circling again. "You're welcome." Reveka grins and sips from her own drink. The big man, though moving slower, moves in for another low kick. "We might just win something." The young dancer is on the edge of her seat now, eyes riveted.

Bonifas winces a little as the man is spitting blood. That might not have been the fighter he bet on, but he can still be sympathetic to the injuries. "Not over til it's over but…" He's not going to say it, a little hesitant to possibly jinx it, but it is looking good for them. Nakara will continue her strategy of trying to evade and those darting, stinging attacks. She's patient and getting him as mad as possible had been working so far.

Reveka is thrilled that the fight seems to be going well. The giant stumbles, but whips around and charges Nakara again. Reveka is riveted, cherring and jerring with the rest of them as the end of the fight seems near. She stands up when the giant hits the ground, watching with baited breath like everyone else to see if he stands up again. At this point it does not seem so.

Bonifas stands and cheers at Nakara's charge. And lets out a whoop as the man falls to the ground with that thud. He looks like he's going to try to make an effort after a while, but no. Instead, some of the trainers have to come and help him off the sands and it's back to resetting before the next bout and Nakara gets a victory lap. "Well, looks like we won!"

Reveka cheers loudly with the rest of the winners when it becomes apparent they've won. "YES!!!" She leaps up and claps, almost spilling her drink. "Aye, it does, shall we go collect our winnings?" Reveka lifts a brow, dancing in place. She hadn't bet large, but she'll get a good sum back for sure.

"Careful there," Bonifas will point out at the almost drink spillage. He's been taking very good care not to spill his own in a similar fashion. "And yes, we should head now before the line gets too bad, especially since folks will want to be placing bets on the second match." And now it's Bonifas's turn to lead of through the crowd, holding out a hand for Reveka to grab if they don't want to get separated. It's getting busier in the pit as the night is really getting started.

Reveka nods and slips her hand into Bon's, eager to stick with him through the crowd. Winnings are had, bets are made, and so the night at the pit continues. Needless to say, with minimal losses, the night is a success for the Zingari teens. After, while filing out into the late night bazaar streets, Reveka laughs and spins when the fresh air hits her face. "That was fun, we should do it again."

Bonifas laughs and nods his agreement. "It was, and we should. But for now, we need to hurry if we want to get back before someone notices… so, follow me." The boy may have a few shortcuts to get through the bazaar quickly. Not all of them official paths. It'll be an adventure. But will get them back to the caravan grounds safe and sound.

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