Summer's shade, Winter's tint.

[Nixie]

75th of Summer, 512 AV. Late night.


Having arrived in Zeltiva less than two days prior, Nixie was exhausted. The trip had drained her of what energy she normally had, but before she could let herself rest there was the issue of lodging to be sorted. She left that up to Victor and Seven though, simply following the two wherever they decided to stay; just as she had followed them all the way from Alvadas. Ignoring whatever complaints the two might have had about her tagging along; she had come too far to have them up and leave her in the middle of the night. Especially in a place that was so unfamiliar. While she didn't doubt that they could if they really wanted to, she didn't want to think about it... Not until after she had a chance to rest a bit.

Nixie had spent nearly an entire day sleeping up in her room; tossing and turning when she woke only to find a comfortable spot to sleep again. The rest she wasn't allowed while traveling found between blankets and sheets. This had begun the previous night, and continued on through until the night had come full circle. Stirring under the pile of blankets, Nixie finally rubbed sleep from her eyes to glance at the window. Outside all trace of day had left and moon's light poured through the room's window onto the wooden floor where she let her feet fall after pushing herself to the bed's edge. There she sat with elbows resting on her knees for a few moments before she eventually stood to dress herself. Her stomach had been complaining for the past few hours, and it was getting hard to disregard. She didn't prepare much past throwing on a pair of pants and wrinkled shirt though; not even bothering to glance at the small mirror on the wall to right her messy pillow hair before leaving the room. With just her pipe, tobacco, tinder, and coin pouch on her person, she shoved warm hands into still cool pockets to saunter down to the common room. Her ungraceful steps echoing through the stairs and down the hall to be heard by anybody nearby.

Coming to a stop on the last step, Nixie took her time looking over the room with shifting eyes. There was no fire in the hearth, but that wasn't very surprising given the season. Even though Zeltiva was a port city, it was plenty warm enough to go without added heat. The next observation she made wasn't so easy to dismiss though. Only a few drunks sat in the entire room, and each one quietly by themselves at lonesome tables. There were so few patrons that the bartender was just standing about, polishing his bottles and glasses. This was the kind of crowd she didn't mind; one that was quiet and would leave her to her own business. But what time was it?

Pleased with the quiet atmosphere, Nixie walked with hunched shoulders over to the bar, her steps heavy with the sleep that still clung. Normally she would have picked a table off in some corner, but there didn't seem to be any barmaids to take her order, and she doubted the barkeep cared much to yell across the room to get it. Pulling the stool out, its legs sounded against the floor and made her presence known to the attendant who seemed lost in his own tired thoughts. Slumping into the seat, she didn't care to greet the man behind the bar with even a glance. Instead pulling out the pipe she always had with her to fill its bowl and lighting it before perching it between closed lips. Than she said a single world, it was short and simple.
"Venison." The mans eyes had been on Nixie when she first stood at the bottom of the stairs, but when she did little more than stand his attention returned to the glass he worked between cloth. And again he had glanced at her when she approached the bar, but only for a fleeting moment before letting out a breath of impatience for the unresponsive girl. When she did finally speak, he forced the mug down with a thump and dropped the rag next to it.
"Sorry, you're too late. The chefs are all sleeping. Why not order a drink?" While his body spoke of agitation, his voice was sweet enough to mask it. And since Nixie hadn't been looking at him, all she heard was his voice.
"Don't you have something that doesn't require cooking?" With her questions she slouched in her chair and leaned on the bar, her elbows sliding forward. She wasn't here for a drink, she wanted food. Giving up quickly, the barkeep let out another subtle breathe before stepping away from the bar. Saying, "I'll see what we have," before stepping back into what Nixie guessed was the kitchen. Left to think she was sitting alone.

[Wart]

Petching vagik. An entire night. Days of planning. Wasted.

Wart was pissed. It had taken her forever to plan this job. It was the wall of some rich woman's home, one that would be seen by plenty of people before her painting could ever be removed. She had it all planned out, the picture, the message, the necessary paints. She had come here at different times day after day trying to find out when there would be no one around. Finally she determined the opportune time to be that night.

She wore her usual outfit, confident enough in her planning that she decided she didn't need any sort of disguise or cover. Her shorts, boots, and plain shirt, all tied together by her belt of paints and brushes. When she showed up, everything seemed to be going perfectly. There was no light coming from within the house, and no one walked the streets around it. But of course, just as she got ready to move to side of the house with the specific wall, some creep showed up. He was obviously very, very drunk. Even so, he quickly caught on to what Wart was doing and the fact that being caught doing it would be bad. Taking advantage of the situation, the man offered to keep quiet and leave... If she would do him a service. Petching perverts all over the damn place all the petching time!!

Needless to say Wart didn't take him up on this offer. Instead, she did him the service of breaking his nose and knocking him unconscious against the house. Unfortunately this made a loud noise, and she was forced to leave in a hurry.

So now, here she was, heading toward the nearest tavern, her eyes a stormy red, knowing that if she didn't get some drink in her she'd end up the cause of several more casualties during the night.

When she opened the doors to the place, she saw that it was fairly empty. Thank goodness, the last thing she needed was more drunken sailors. There was someone already sitting at the bar, but just sitting there they didn't seem to be anyone that would cause any issues. Wart chose to take one a seat away. As soon as she sat down she yelled back to where she assumed the bar tender must be. "Kelp Beer! And don't you tell me you ain't got any, we went o'er this last week and I ain't in the mood to play your stupid games." With an exasperated and frustrated sigh she then let her head fall onto her arms, leaning on the bar. She had never had the desire to try the foul drink before, but ever since she was forced to drink it when trying to get employed at the tattoo shop, she'd gotten hooked on its specifically concentrated alcohol content. It was the only real cure for stupid disappointing nights like this.

[Nixie]

The peace and quite of drunken mumbles didn't last very long before somebody came barging through the door to intrude on the room of complacency. A few of the drunks that sat nearest to the exit might have glanced at the sudden appearance out of a fleeting interest, but Nixie never moved aside from the subtle flinch when the door was forced open, nothing the stranger would notice. But with back facing them she closed her eyes and let a breathe out through her pipe, sending tendrils of smoke to the ceiling. Having only woken a little bit ago, Nixie wasn't ready to deal with loud people. All she could do for now was hope they would find a seat somewhere far away from her. It seemed that wasn't going to happen though when the very person she wished would keep away came to take a seat almost directly beside her.

When Nixie heard the person pull a stool out to sit, her eyes shifted in their direction but she wouldn't turn to face them. Instead bringing strong fingers up from the bar to tangle themselves in a mop of dark hair, blocking the slight annoyance from her vision. Her other hand balling into a fist on the bar. She wouldn't greet the girl or comment on the loud entrance but the barkeep, out of habit or obligation, called out from the back with a few disgruntled words Nixie didn't care to listen to. As long as he brought her something to eat. And then he returned with something in hand. Approaching Nixie, he set a plate before her but turned to his new guest.
"I'll see what I can find." That must have been his favorite line at this late hour, she thought, having heard him use it a second time so soon after the first. And then he turned back to Nixie. "This is all I found, hope it'll do." Without waiting for her he turned to ready the girls drink, leaving Nixie to try and figure out just what was on her plate. Picking up the strip of... something between her fingers, she tapped it on the plate and watched a few flakes fall from the food. Lifting it to her nose she took a whiff, it smelt... fishy and it looked fishy. It was easy to assume it was some sort of dried fish, but outwardly she looked utterly perplexed. Or was that a look of disgust? Whichever it was, the barkeep seemed too distracted with the new order to notice or explain.

[Wart]

Wart waved off the barkeepers comment, not bothering to look up at him. She could hear the false note of hospitality in his voice, but it didn't phase her. The man could openly insult her if he wanted, as long as she got her drink.

Her hand subconsciously slipped from the bar and started to fiddle with a brush from her belt. She'd have to go to work the next morning. It would probably be a bad idea to show up completely hungover. Petch it, Lewd shows up drunk on a near daily basis. 'll tell 'im its his fault for introducing me to the stuff. Perverts probably related to 'im anyway. When the bartender came back she lifted her head quickly, a slight dark smile on her face. It hadn't taken him long. Most places in Zeltiva that served Kelp Beer seemed to have plenty on hand, as so few people bothered with it. The drink he set down in front of her was as rancid as usual, looking green, flat, and hardly like something that should ever even touch a person's body.

It really didn't matter how many times she drank the stuff, the smell and the taste would always be repulsive. All the same, she picked up the glass, lifted it to her lips, and drank as much as she could before choking of sheer disgust and having to put the glass back down. Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to mentally get past the urge to spit it back out. Then the alcohol kicked in, and she could feel its warmth spreading through to her fingers. Finally.

When Wart looked up she saw that the bartender was still standing there. She stared at him blankly for a moment. With a sigh she pulled 10 silver mizas from her pocket it and tossed them in front of her. "There." He gave her a curt "Thank you" and left her alone.

Now that she had what she'd come for, Wart took a glance at the person sitting near her. It was hard to discern whether or it was a man or a woman. Whichever it was, they looked slightly dead. She'd never seen them before, but then, she didn't socialize much so she didn't know many of the people in Zeltiva. The way they seemed to be looking at their fish, however, gave the hint that they likely weren't from around here. She smirked, and shaking her head, went to pick up her glass for another drink. Half to herself she muttered.

"I wouldn' eat that."

[Nixie]

Oh what a night this was turning into... Nixie already regretted leaving the comfort of her bed for food, wishing she had ignored her stomachs complaints a while longer. Or maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if she had risen a little earlier? At least then she could have potentially avoided the current situation. But then her thoughts of regret were intruded upon by the sound of coughing, stopping Nixie from fiddling with the dried fish. In response she shifted a notable distance away from her. Though not out of fear of some sickness, since the stranger seemed to be in good heath at first glance, instead moved out of a growing urge to scoot several chairs away from the boisterous girl. But when the stranger commented on her food, Nixie froze where she was. Somehow the persons voice alone put her in a foul mood.

Plucking the pipe from its perch, Nixie twisted in her seat and rested an elbow on the bar, looking upon the stranger who was thought to be little more than an unwelcome intruder. Clenched jaw was set firmly in silence and disinterest until she noticed a few colorful marks. Were those tattoos? Nixie wasn't positive. At first staring awkwardly from beneath furrowed brows for a few drawn out moments, lips stilled in speechlessness. Her expression, one that could have easily been interpreted as a scowl before she finally cut through heavy quiet that had fallen.
"Does it look like I have much of a choice?" Her question, although unintended, had sounded rather venomous. But in truth, the markings she wore were unexpected, colorful, and bold in Nixie's opinion. Why would somebody have their face tattooed? Is she in a circus? Those were just a few of the questions running through her mind while trying to invent a reason to justify the strangers colorful marks. Which also incidentally kept her from realizing the tone of her voice. She wouldn't apologize though, there seemed no reason to. "Unless you know of something the barkeep doesn't, this is what I'll be eating." Not expecting any reply she twisted in her seat again, taking the dried fish between fingers and resting the warm pipe just above her plate.

[Wart]

Wart could feel the other person looking at her, and she watched from the corner of her eyes with a scowl that matched the one that faced her. She meant for the comment to be directed toward the bartender, if anything, and initially had nothing against them. But if this was how it was going to be, fine. She gripped the brush in her hand tightly.

On hearing what sounded to her to be remarks just as snide as the look had been, she finally determined that this must be a woman. She scoffed, shaking her head and took another, larger drink of the kelp beer. Gods why do I open my mouth. Sure the fish here would taste better than the junk she herself was drinking, but if they still had that kind of food this late, it meant it had probably been laying out somewhere. Wart knew enough from experience that no food was better than suffering the consequences if that was the case. But if this girl wanted to eat it, good for her.

When she turned back to her food, Wart took the chance to get a better look at her. She wasn't unlike Wart in build, lacking mainly the placement of colors that usually made it easier to tell she was female. Besides that, she couldn't see anything else of note from here. She had a pipe. Wart had never really cared for smoking, although she always kept it as an option in the back of her mind as an alternative for alcohol. The woman looked exhausted. It almost reminded her of herself when she had first arrived at Zeltiva. Bit colorless but whatever.

Wart turned and looked into her cup, trying to decide whether she would drink the rest and head home or get a refill and see if the night had anything useful in store for her.

[Nixie]

Attention turned to the fillet of dry and stiff fish she had been presented with, Nixie lifted it for a taste. It's smell was a bit on the strong side, but after nibbling, the taste made up for it. Whoever took the time to season and dry it had done a pretty good job; having probably practiced the recipe many times over. Or it could have just been Nixie's general liking of jerky that made it taste good. Especially given this was the first one she had ever tried and didn't really have any other samples to compare it to.

The experience of trying something different and new kept Nixie from paying much mind to the stranger when she scoffed; at least she wasn't talking, it was an improvement. The return of quiet turning a corner of her lips up in a smirk; she was able to think and enjoy her food now. But her thoughts and curiosity only returned to the colorful mark the girl wore and the tool she held. Is she an artist? Nixie wanted to ask, but she valued the semblance of silence that had returned and wanted to keep it. Her curiosity was growing though and nearly outweighing her want for quiet. But there was no way she would jump to fill her curiosity at a whim!

Closing her eyes and taking another bite, her thoughts remained with the person beside her, despite her effort. Setting the half eaten dried fish down to bring the pipe to her lips and take a deep breathe through it, she let the smoke escape through her nostrils a moment later. Then glanced at the girl again, elbow perched on the bar and pipe cradled in hand.
"Are you in a circus or something?" The question could have easily been mistaken as an insult, but it was a real curiosity Nixie had. Finding no harm in the question or the way she had asked it.

[Wart]

The glass sounded its near emptiness as it was set down on the counter. Wart continued to stare at it, eyebrows furrowed, the brush now once again being fiddled with in her hand. She had heard the girl's question but delayed answering. This was mostly her immature way of getting back for the comment on the fish, but she was also considering the nature of the question.

Sure, she'd gotten questions like this before, most of the time thrown at her as a sort of insult or inquiry from some obnoxious kid. Automatically her mind was generating a series of different sarcastic and snide replies, each accompanied by their own bitter and venomous expression. Instead, and whether it was just the kelp beer, she couldn't tell, she actually considered the possibility of the question being stemmed from actual curiosity.

For one the timing of the remark was far too delayed for it to be an effective insult. At this point an attempt like that would only backfire and make the woman look stupid. Second, the woman didn't seem to have a drink of any kind and wasn't likely drunk. Finally, the question didn't sound malicious enough to intend for much offense. It actually almost sounded like the girl simply wanted to know if she was in a circus.

After her moment of thought, Wart finally turned to face the woman looking at her. Her expression was that of cautious amusement, and her answer was simple.

"No. I'm not."

She scanned her face, trying to figure out if this woman was actually serious or not.

[Nixie]

Nixie was rather disappointed when the girl admitted she wasn't from any circus, even with her interesting colors and patterns displayed so boldly. She had heard of them once, a long time ago, and thought she would have enjoyed something like what had been described to her. But given that they seemed very rare, she wasn't surprised when her assumption turned out to be wrong.

Resigned to her disappointment, Nixie turned away from the girl without another word. Letting out a long breathe and leaning forward onto her elbows. Returning to the silent adventure of jerky, she couldn't place what type of fish it was; probably because she hadn't tried many types of fish in the first place.
"Barkeep," she started, "What type of fish is this?" Certainly somebody who worked at a place that sold the food would know, right? That's what she thought, but was again disappointed when he disregarded her question with a quick reply.
"I don't know; whatever the fishermen catch off shore I guess." Then went about his business and left Nixie with more questions. Maybe the girl knew? Glancing at her again, Nixie assumed that the girl had heard her so she wouldn't have to repeat the question. But while she waited for an answer of some kind, her gaze wandered down to the belt she wore and what tools hung from it.

[Wart]

The woman seemed disappointed at her answer. Wart rose her eyebrows. She'd half expected some sort of punchline to a joke. The circus? Sure it sounded interesting but she'd never given somethin like that thought before.

Just after the girl asked about the fish Wart rose her glass to the barkeeper. "Hey, fill 'er up 'gain." The woman didn't seem one to be talking shyke so she figured she'd stay a while more, if only to enjoy the lack of frustrating people and simply spite lewd by getting drunk.

While she waited for her drink she turned and noticed the woman looking at her, apparently looking for an answer to her previous question. She laughed. "Petch, I dunno, they tol' me tuna once but witha' lack a food 's best ta jus be happy i's edible an not ask." She leaned back a little bit, her eyes a slight yellow with curiosity. "Where ya from?"