Who

H'rik, Naneska, A'lira

What

Freedom tastes like beer! H'rik and Naneska come full circle, not even A'lira's appearance puts (too) much of a damper on things.

When

It is evening of the seventh day of the ninth month of the eleventh turn of the 12th pass.

Where

Dustbowl Cantina, Igen Weyr

OOC Date 12 Aug 2017 12:00

 

h-rik_default.jpg anae036.jpg a-lira_default.jpg

"But, drink and sex is all a-okay now. We're almost real people again."


igendustbowlcantina.jpg

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.

It is the seventh day of Autumn and 79 degrees. The night stirs with gusting winds.


With the ban on alcohol finally lifted, H'rik has been working on getting his tolerance back up to something respectable. It's an autumn evening, after chores, lessons, and endless drills have finished and the weyrlings are at leisure to enjoy what's left of the day. The weather is still warm, and it's warmer still in the busy cantina, with the press of bodies in there. A number of other weyrlings are here, making the most of their newfound freedoms, but H'rik has chosen to sit at the bar, alone at the moment, nursing a tankard of something dark and heavy. He's in his weyrling uniform, but his body language is relaxed, not at all tense and ready to salute everyone and everything.

Naneska has had no such restrictions on her activity, either before or after the double-clutch hatched. And so it is a much more mundane entrance for her as she ducks down out of the bustle of the bazaar. On light feet she makes her way to the bar to place an order for something fruity and alcoholic. Why else would a girl such as she frequent such a place after all? It is only after she takes her first blessed sip that the trader lass makes note of the others around the bar, the bright yellow foisted upon Igen's weyrlings capturing her attention. "Evenin' H'rik." She greets from her spot a couple of stools over. With that golden charm of hers she is pretty immediate in negotiating that distance down to the stool beside him. "Finally free?" She queries in that forward way of hers.

H'rik doesn't appear too inebriated as he turns to look at the person talking to him, and a smile appears when he realises it's Naneska. "Long time no see." He sits up a bit straighter as she comes to join him, laughing at her direct question. "Yup - well, compared to what it was like." He lifts his tankard as if in a toast. "But, drink and sex is all a-okay now. We're almost real people again." He grins as he says it, then illustrates his point by taking a long drink from his ale.

Naneska's brows rise. "Yer Wendryth has changed ye." She measures a small distance between thumb and finger. "Jist a tad…" In case he wasn't aware, but that is all that she says on the matter as she sips from her drink. "Aye, I have had t' find me own diversions." And lets face it, Naneska is pretty good at that. "I have a striped feline pelt fer me wagon now." And she is proud as punch about that, clearly.

Is H'rik offended by that? Nah. Maybe Wendryth has changed him, but he's not bothered at all if it means he has his dragon, for as long as they both live. "In a good way, hopefully," he'll simply comment, lightly. Anyway, he wants to catch up with Naneska - starting with this feline pelt. "Oh? Have you started hunting felines when I was looking the other way?" He's grinning, both glad to hear of her acquisition, and at her pride about it.

Naneska shakes her head, and folds a leg as she makes herself comfortable in her newly accquired seat. "Nah, might break a nail yeah?" She responds to the comment about hunting. "I seem t' have made a friend with a Southern blue dragon. He promised me t' pelt…" There is a moment where she frowns. "In exchange fer dressin' it and lettin' him eat t' beastie." Of course that's not the entirity of the deal, but it's clear she believes she got the best of the bargin. "'N as fer t' changes bein' good? I'll let ye know in a bit." She winks. "Once I've made up me mind."

H'rik and Naneska are sat at the bar, H'rik with a tankard of ale and Naneska with a fruity drink. It's a warm autumn evening and the Cantina is busy, including a group of weyrlings enjoying their relaxed rules. H'rik is in his weyrling uniform, rather than something more casual. "The dragon made that deal with you?" H'rik confirms with Naneska, just to make sure he's understanding it right. He looks amused by the whole thing, and that amusement carries through to his comment about his changes. "Well, hopefully I can prove they're good?" His eyes are sparkling as he watches her over the edge of his tankard, taking another drink. Best not let him drink too quickly, it's been a while since he's got properly drunk.

"Zynth appears t' be independently minded. I kin respect that." Naneska explains. "'N he's a bit fond o' mischief." Which is probably why the pair of them get along like a house on fire really. "His rider takes some gettin' used t'." Yes, Naneska is exactly the sort to conduct deals with someone elses dragon, it's just a person in a different sized body after all. But enough about her interesting adventures with sttange dragons! "I eagerly anticipate any and all demonstrations ye have for me."

Booze, glorious booze? Not hardly! A'lira's going to take it easy on that magical lubricant of confidence nd possible stupidity, and opt for a single tall cool glass of cider, and turn to find a group to insert himself into with all the casual grace of a giraffe among zebras. A familiar face is espied among them, and he makes his way over to H'rik and Naneska. "H'rik! How you doin', man?" His gaze falls on Naneska, then, and his brows quirk upwards. "Hey. Aren't you the two legged Search dragon responsible for half the weyrlin's gettin' dragons?"

The dragon's name doesn't ring a bell, but H'rik isn't worrying about that. "Sounds like a few of the dragons in Wendy's group," he grins. "Oh? I don't know what you might mean by that." Yep, that's deeefinitely sarcasm right there, as he oh-so-casually sips his drink, still watching her with those eyes of his flashing with amusement. And hey - here comes another weyrling, with one of the er, more interestingly-behaved dragons of the clutch. "Heya, A'lira. The better for having a drink in my hand." He watches Naneska to see what her response to the brown weyrling's comment might be, intrigued.

Naneska's face doesn't really fall into negative lines all that often, at that reminder of her noterity, her usually quirked lips flatten into a straight line briefly, before she flutters her lashes. "Ye greatly over-estimate me abilities…" So a handful of people got searched in her presence, it's not like those 12 or so actually consititute half of the seventy or more who impressed. "Iffn' ye've got a dragon, ye've naught t' be afraid of yeah?" Just in case A'lira was expecting Search-riders to start oozing out of the wood work. "Ye still owe me a drink. Unless o' course those changes wrought by ye Wendryth mean ye feel free to welsh on such debts." The glimmer of mischief returns to her hazel eyes even as her focus switches.

Perhaps it was a bit too soon to tease her? A'lira will take that hint of a rebuke in good grace. He wasn't one of the 12 who got their lives derailed via Naneska — nope, that was R'xim's fault entirely. "Heh. S'pose I ain't." He offers H'rik a low, gravelly laugh and posts up near the pair, relaxed despite his earlier gaffe. "I'm still onna fence about it; stuff gives me a headache like it ain't used to if I have more'n one ale, now." Not that he ever had much to begin with, being rather more of a nerd than he'd like to admit. There's a shriek of high pitched laughter, and A'lira flinches, then glances over to spot Vinia among a group of giggling weyrling girls, and quickly drapes himself into a seat so she won't see him. "Ugh. She's so loud."

H'rik's gaze slides back to A'lira. Despite Naneska's dislike of that topic, it seems like things aren't going to kick off. At least, he hopes not. Maybe he should leave things at just the one drink in case he needs to be the sober one…. When Naneska brings up the matter of owed drinks, H'rik pauses, thinking, and then the realisation hits. "I do! And trust me - if Wendryth found out I owed you a debt, he would be damned sure I follow through on it." His drink goes down on the bar, and he roots in his pocket for some marks. "What'll you be having?" Vinia's laughter cracks through the air, and H'rik winces, glancing in the girl's direction. "One thing I won't miss, having my own weyr," he notes quietly to A'lira. "Where is yours, anyway?"

That's one sore spot that probably isn't going to ease anytime soon. But bonus? It's about the only sore spot Naneska has… well aside from the whole farrier thing. "Another one of these iffn ye please." She wiggles that glass that is half juice and half spirits. But her tolerances have been well maintained over the course of candidacy and weyrlinghood, so she's good. "It's not like I bite…" Biting apparently is bad. As the weyrlings attention gets dragged away by that high-pitched giggle she's going to look in that direction as well, but with curiousity rather than dismay. "So I hear." There is a wink for A'lira to accompany her agreement. "I have a wagon." It's almost like a weyr! But it's portable!

"You don't? I think I'm disappointed… " A'lira's sense of humor is hard to repress for long, apparently; he grins at Naneska mischeviously before taking a careful sip of his drink. Nice and refreshing, that stuff. Nope, no animosity here; A'lira's too easygoing to participate in a fight. "Mine's in the North Bowl. It's effin' fancy, y'all." He blinks at the pair, still somewhat bemused by the luck he'd fallen into getting it. "Where's yourn, H'rik?" Naneska's offer of information hearns her a moment's puzzlement, then a laugh. "Bettin' it's nice. Ain't never been in one of y'all's, but the outsides are always pretty."

H'rik turns away from the others for a moment, to catch the bartender's attention and get that drink order in. Back to the conversation! His eyebrows raise when Naneska mentions biting. "You must be near ours - we're in the north bowl too. It was…kind of a wreck when we moved in, so I'm gonna have to spend some time fixing it up." He has a sort of wistful tone about it though, as if he's looking forward to the challenge presented. "Really make it ours, y'know?" Naneska's drink arrives, the bartender popping it on the bar for her and then moving on to another customer. "Wagon, huh? Would like to go see one of those. I've never been in someone's wagon." If he's implying something, H'rik's playing it cool.

"Life is disappointment." Naneska makes an not very sympathetic sad face at A'lira. "But a fancy weyr oughta make if fer it yeah?" Although clearly she has no idea how fancy a hole in a rock wall could be "'N me wagon is plain… but for the trim." Reika are the sedate trader clan after all. At H'rik's totally cool, and not that obvious at ALL implication one brow rises, even as she reaches for her new drink. "T' outside may be plain, but inside, it's very… cozy." But she's still working on her drink, so that'll have to wait. "D'ye need any help sortin' out ye place?" She asks with equal innocence.

Such is life; A'lira will shed a single, perfect (and completely invisible) tear for the crushing weight of it all. But hey, a fancy weyr DOES make up for it, quite handily. The ale's drunk with relish. "It does, rather." And he'll do his best to restrain his grin at H'rik's ploy to get in that particular wagon. "Best of luck with that, man." He's heard about those ruinous fixer-upper weyrs and is all too happy he doesn't have to work on his; he's got other things to do with his time — like get into some mischief of his own. He raises his eyebrows at H'rik in amusement. "Well, answer the lady, H'rik. Do ya?"

If A'lira wasn't here, H'rik would probably be gettin the grand wagon tour RIGHT NOW~ Just sayin' ;)

A'lira can totally disappear RIGHT NOW. :D

Or he can encourage H'rik to INVITE NANAESKA UP TO HIS WEYR.

No! Cock-blocking is ALWAYS funny <3

hAHAHA nope! A'lira blocks no cocks.

"Cozy can be nice," says H'rik, who has endured several months of sharing the barracks with some sixty-nine other people. "In the right situation." CASUAL SIP. But A'lira is still around, so. "I reckon hang some stuff on the walls to hide the worst bits. Some furniture, a rug or something…could be a nice home." Wendryth is happy enough with a plain ledge to sit on, but H'rik is pleased to have his own place to do with as he wishes! As to Naneska's offer - and he's noticed A'lira's comment, even if he doesn't react to it: "Well, if you have a designer's eye, it could probably use that. I haven't asked anyone to help, yet."

Now H'rik's mentioned it, there's a thing A'lira has to do: get a rug. Or perhaps two. Anything that would require his presence elsewhere so he isn't the unexpected chaperone. With one of those grins those who know him too well have had reason to bemoan on occassion, A'lira will finish off his drink and unfold his long body from the table and casually stroll away with his hands in his pockets, but not before he suggests, so innocently, "Perhaps Naneska could advise you. On where to put everything, since she has such a good eye." He might even agree with what her eye sees, but nope, he's not even gonna say that out loud. "You kids have fun discussing it. I'm off to get a thing or two… " With that, he's gone, skirting past the Giggle Crew with far more swiftness than one might expect from the man.

SORRY A'LIRA!

NOT EVEN. :D

#sorrynotsorry

Al will help the kids by not being there. DO NOT BE SORRY. :D

If Naneska knew A'lira a bit better, she'd probably be giving him a bit of a shove right now. But alas, all she has is rolling eyes for him, they roll like the hills of Bitra, their mutual home. "I kin bed a man wit'out ye help thank ye…" But then he is gone. OH NOES! "Er…" Cos she did come right out with her intentions. "We kin go look over me wagon, 'n ye kin make ye own mind up about me taste yeah?" She queries H'rik with a coy flutter of her lashes, and a rather speedy downing of that second drink of hers.

H'rik manages not to look too guilty as A'lira h-so-casually strolls off, albeit after that parting suggestion. BUT that does leave him alone with Naneska, and his ale is more or less finished, so- "Sounds like a good idea. Maybe I won't like it and change my mind?" But judging by his sly smile, that's not likely to be an issue. "Shall we?" He's all gentlemanly as he stands and offers Naneska his arm. Wendryth would be so proud!

Naneska takes that arm and abandons her drinks, and the cantina in short order. Fortunately with the Zingari back at the weyr the traders all know that if the wagon is rocking, not to come knocking. BECAUSE THAT LINE HAD TO BE USED!

Add a New Comment