[Pig's Foot Tavern] Troublemaker (Caela Dorin)

[Mirian Jade]

37th of fall, 514 a.v roundabout noon Another day had come over the city of Sunberth, and once again Syna had found herself climbing into the peak of her throne as a fall wind managed to keep away the worst of the city’s stench. Once again Mirian had found herself on her way to the Pig’s Foot, shawl wrapped around her shoulders and knife strapped to her thigh. It was unusual for her to find herself at the tavern so early; generally the halfbreed spent these hours in the markets or the castle commons, making a living with honeyed words and five-fingered discounts. Today, however, had seen her fail more than she would have liked to admit; first she’d tripped, honest and truly, and had toppled over a cart of vegetables. She hadn’t actually been intending to steal, but the owner had assumed that to be her intention anyways and driven her off with a big hulking guard that had managed to just nick her shoulder with his sword. Not enough to really wound her, but enough to sting. Next had been the coinpurse she’d cut only to find it filled with copper and sand, and after that she’d tried to pick the pocket of someone far more observant than she’d assumed and had spent the next half-hour running around trying to lose him. She was exhausted, her shoulder hurt and all she wanted was a good, strong drink when she didn’t have to worry about shady nightlifers gutting her for her coin. It wasn’t the busiest time of the day for the Pig’s Foot, but there was still a modest body of patrons losing themselves in an early tankard or two. There were only one or two that were thoroughly intoxicated, while many others seemed to be in the blurry state of loosened tongues just before the real drunkenness set in. Mirian didn’t waste any time when she reached the bar, too tired and irritated to spend time with all the games and formalities of good etiquette. Gods, she just wanted to drink and slick the pain of the day, and thankfully the man behind the bar could sense it. “What’ll it be?” he asked, polishing absently at a glass. Her usual drink was beer or mead, since those were generally the easiest for her to drink and still retain control of herself. But she wasn’t working anyone tonight; there was no need for cleverness and deception. She wanted something stronger. She wanted something she liked. “Rum,” she said curtly, sliding onto a stool. She tossed a few mizas onto the counter, and good old Marv nodded and bustled off. Not thirty seconds passed before someone was sliding onto the stool next to her, and she didn’t even need to look to feel the oily grin on his face. “Oi, there,” he said creatively. “You got a reason to be here?” “Aye, I think you’re reason enough.” Mirian closed her eyes. She didn’t want to deal with this right now. “I don’t.” “Why not?” “Why do you think? Not interested, love. Shove off.” “You look angry.” “Nothing escapes your keen eye, does it?” “Come on. Just give me two minutes. See if I can’t make you happy.” “You could make me very happy right now by walking away.” “What’s your name?” “Not one you’ll ever find useful.” “You seem quite confident of that.” Gods, did this man ever give up? “Piss off,” Mirian growled. “I’m not interested, and I’m not going to be.” “Just you wait,” he said, thinking that this was an appropriate time to run a finger down her arm. “I’ll change your mind.” Mirian bit back an audible snarl. Gods, she was this close to slipping out her knife and shanking the man’s hand, and probably would have if not for the fact that she didn’t want to get on Marv’s bad side by starting a tussle in his tavern. Desperate and on the verge of snapping, Mirian cast her gaze around to anyone in the rest of the building willing to meet it, silently begging for aid; if someone didn’t help her, she was going to sink her fist into his face and get into a situation she was fairly certain she wouldn’t be able to handle.

[Caela Dorin]

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It had been a fairly routine morning for the dancer. She'd risen early for her usual early morning exercise over by the Hot Springs, gotten immensely sweaty and disgusting and had gone back to her room to splash herself with water from the wash basin. It didn't make her completely clean but it sufficed. She didn't need to be splashing out coin everyday to bathe in the bathhouse even if it was only for coppers.

Once the dancer had deemed herself reasonably clean, she'd readied herself for her trip out into the city and headed out to her place of work. It'd be bells until she needed to work but that didn't mean that she couldn't do a little bit of spying on the patrons of the Pig's Foot Tavern. She'd prepared specially for the occasion, hiding her figure as best as she could in a pair of plain pants, a simple white blouse with her cloak arranged over as much of it as possible. Her head was wrapped up and hidden away with the aid of a scarf and the hood of her cloak. Beneath it her dagger was sheathed at her hip, something that could easily be revealed if the material was swept aside. Her coin purse had been wrapped up tightly so the coins within wouldn't clink and shoved into the top of one of her boots, hidden beneath the pant's leg. It was far from comfortable and left her limping a little, far from her normal gait and therefore perfect for a disguise.

Her employer had only raised an eyebrow at her looks when she approached the bar but Merv was beginning to get used to his dancer's strange ways if she put in an appearance during the bells before work. He made no comment, just passed the tankard of water towards her when she asked. The drink was taken and the woman retreated into a shady corner where she could go unnoticed by any of the daytime patrons. It was fairly uneventful really, the dancer only able to watch the other customers for the most part although she did try to move closer to a pair at one stage. The young woman had been making her way to a table nearer to the pair while keeping her steps as soft as possible and it had been going all right in her opinion. She'd been carrying her water tankard with her as well so that she wouldn't seem strange by having nothing in front of her. It had not ended so well when her foot had somehow caught on a chair and sending her tankard flying into the head of one of the men when she lost her balance. After that she'd gotten more water and retreated back to the safety of her shady corner.

She'd had to amuse herself with imagining the lives of the different people in the tavern but her imagination hadn't produced anything of much interest, everyone there the same sort of person in her eyes. Until the woman came in.

It was about noon when it happened. The blonde had been sipping water when she'd chanced to look up and seen the exotic looking woman making her way to the bar. It was the first time that Caela understood how it must seem to people who watched her. It wasn't that there was any physical similarities between them. They didn't have the same hair colour, the same skin, the same way of dressing, anything. The blonde doubted that they'd even share eye colour but the way that she moved. It was enough to have a man sniffing around her before she'd even gotten a drink. The woman stuck out and that wasn't a good thing. The dancer could sympathise.

She leaned a bit to the side, moving so that she could get a better look as the scene unfolded. The woman's face came into view, her expression betraying her irritation at the man's attentions. Caela could definitely understand how the girl was feeling. He ran a finger down the beauty's arm and the blonde grimaced as if it had been her arm instead of another's. She definitely couldn't say that she envied her at that moment but it was her own problem, not Caela's. That was before her desperate gaze met the dancer's. The message was a clear one: help me.

Her gaze dropped to the table top, refusing to meet those eyes and want to help. The last time she'd intervened in such an incident it had had lasting consequences and ones that she had no intention of putting herself through again. Somehow she found herself looking up again though and when she did she couldn't stand for it. The woman might as well be her and what sort of a mess would the dancer be in if all those people who'd ever had a chance to help her had turned a blind eye? She couldn't turn the other cheek. She was on her feet and crossing the room before she'd even had a chance to form a plan. He hadn't seen her and a quiet approach from behind kept it that way.

Her dagger was unsheathed quietly and prodded into his back, her mouth brought close to his ear so she could whisper loud enough to carry to the exotic woman. "I don't think she wants your attention, love. You should leave, real quite like before something you'll regret happens to you," she purred threateningly. She winked at the woman over the man's shoulder as the knife was prodded firmly enough to elicit a gasp. If he agreed to leave then she'd remove the knife of course but not before.
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[Mirian Jade]

For a moment, Mirian thought she’d found someone. A cloaked figure in the corner seemed to be the only one willing to meet her eye, and for a single, piercing moment, Mirian thought that she had found help. But no. Whoever it was cast their gaze downwards almost instantly, focusing on the table in front of them and leaving the halfbreed to her fate. “Come on,” the man continued, oblivious to what had happened. “Just an hour or so. I know how to… please women.” “Then please piss off before I take that hand from you.” “With what?” the man chuckled. “A knife? There’s no need for that, I assure you. Just ask and you can have my hand wherever you like.” Mirian actually physically bared her teeth, turning to face the tavern so she wouldn’t have to look at his infuriating face. It was this glance, however, that made her aware of the cloaked figure approaching, headed unmistakably for where the two of them were sitting. Mirian blinked, momentarily unable to absorb what was happening, but within seconds the figure had reached its destination and pressed a dagger to his back. Mirian continued to just stare as the figure leaned in closer. “I don't think she wants your attention, love. You should leave, real quiet like before something you'll regret happens to you.” The eyes beneath the hood winked, and the woman––for it was surely a woman, with a voice like that––pushed the dagger closer, drawing out a pained hiss. He wasn’t in the position to face Mirian’s savior, so Mirian took it upon herself to make the point sink in. “Well?” Mirian said. “You heard her. Piss. The petch. Off.” “I’m leaving,” the man said, raising his hands peacefully and slipping off the stool. “See? Nice and easy.” He might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was certainly Sunberthian enough to know that if someone had a knife to your back, it was generally a good idea to do as they said. When he had both feet on the ground, he had no qualms about hurrying away. Mirian watched him go with furrowed brows, and only when he had slipped out of the tavern and out of sight completely did she heave a sigh of relief. “Well,” she breathed. “Thank the gods for small mercies, eh?” She turned to her rescuer. “And for good people with good daggers. I owe you thanks. Was halfway to leaving my rum behind if it meant leaving him, too.” Speaking of which, it looked like old Marv had finally gotten her drink and was heading back towards them. Mirian nodded in greeting, then looked at the woman who’d managed to drive off her suitor. “Buy you a drink, friend? Least I can do. You slipped me out of an ugly scene in the making, there.”

[Caela Dorin]

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The dagger had the desired effect. It quite literally made a point that he wasn't wanted and the woman that she'd just helped was quick to drive it home now that she was no longer under threat. It was nice to see him submit to their wills and watch him hurry from the tavern with his tail between his legs. Seeing him run scared because of her actions made her feel empowered. She smiled at his retreating back until it disappeared out the tavern door and was about to creep back to her corner when the woman spoke. Caela paused, considering whether she should sit with her or go back to her spying.

The dancer had already drawn too much attention to herself with her little dagger act and she hadn't been getting that much information out of her former occupation. The blonde could admit that prior to the stranger's entrance she'd been bored stupid and it had only been a matter of time before she left the place. There was no harm in staying if she had the other's permission. Her mouth was opened and shut again as the woman invited her to sit before she had a chance to ask. The young woman slipped smoothly onto the stool that the man had just vacated. Her hood was slipped back, scarf pulled away and her blonde locks allowed to fall free. She shook her hair out and offered a slight smile.

"It wasn't a problem. The least we women can do is stick together, right?" Her eyes flickered to her employer as she considered the woman's offer. Well there was no harm in splashing out if she wasn't the one paying for it. Wine was a tipple of hers but she had no real love for it. "Did you say rum? That what you're having? Guess I'll have the same then, Merv." Her attention was turned back to her new companion as soon as her order was given. Her eyes scanned over her face, taking in her more exotic features. Beautiful although not by conventional standards and she wore nothing to enhance it. Caela hadn't worn cosmetics in awhile, not that she really needed them but they were sometimes a favourable enhancer when she worked. She doubted that this woman ever bothered with them at all.

"I understand the type and what nuisances they are. If he hadn't followed you when you left, you would have been lucky. Sometimes they don't know when to take no for an answer. Believe me, I know," she laughed humourlessly, reaching for the rum as Merv returned with it. She sniffed it tentatively before taking a sip. Her eyes widened in surprise. "I like this actually. I'll have to get it more often. Well that's another good thing that's come out of today, I've discovered a new drink that I like. I'm Caela by the way. I work here. And yourself?"
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[Mirian Jade]

For a moment, Mirian wasn’t sure whether or not the woman would take up her offer. The halfbreed would have been disappointed if not, sure, but she could hardly demand it if the woman wanted otherwise.

The indecision didn’t last, though, and Mirian smiled as the woman took a seat, settled and pulled off her hood.

The first thing Mirian felt was vague recognition. She’d seen the woman before, she was sure, but… ah. That’s right. The dancer. Mirian didn’t spend a great deal of time here during the hours that dancers were on display––she generally tried to mark, rob and be home as quickly as possible––but she’d seen the woman around here and there, on the stage or in the crowd, although she’d never had the chance to actually speak to her.

"It wasn't a problem,” the woman said. “The least we women can do is stick together, right?"

Marve set Mirian’s drink in front of her.

"Did you say rum?” her savior asked. “That what you're having? Guess I'll have the same then, Merv."

Mirian raised a hand. “It’s on me.”

Marv bustled off with a wordless nod, and the woman continued.

"I understand the type and nuisances they are. If he hadn't followed you when you left, you would have been lucky. Sometimes they don't know when to take no for an answer. Believe me, I know."

“Hey, don’t say no then we got an excuse to punch ‘em.”

When Marv returned with the woman’s rum, Mirian held her tankard up. “Here’s to excuses.”

The rum burned as it slid down her throat, but it was a good burn. It warmed her up, made her less angry.

"I like this actually.”

Mirian looked up with a “Hmm?”

“I'll have to get it more often. Well that's another good thing that's come out of today, I've discovered a new drink that I like. I'm Caela by the way. I work here. And yourself?"

“Caela,” Mirian said, nodding in recognition. “I’ve seen you before. Seen you dance. You’re good. Wish I could do that. Name’s Mirian. My friends call me Jade, though.”

[Caela Dorin]

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The woman might well turn out to be good company. There was the added bonus that while some men could get over the daunting task of approaching a beautiful woman there weren't many who'd dare to approach two at once. It meant that they were likely to be left alone; there would be no male company coming to join them.

The dancer wasn't sure how well the stranger could handle herself but she assumed that her ready willingness to resort to violence if the opportunity presented itself suggested that she probably could look after herself. The only reason why she'd looked around the tavern for help was because Merv didn't take too kindly to a fight on his premises, at least not for long. She obviously hadn't wanted to be thrown out on her ear and that was something that her employer would have been more than willing to do to keep his tavern somewhat civilised. If she'd caused trouble then she would have been justified to do so but that didn't mean that it would have been allowed in the Pig's Foot. Caela could get away with more than the average person but even Merv had his limits. If she could deal with a matter briefly and quietly then he was just fine with it. She was glad that she'd stepped in on the woman's behalf.

She hadn't missed the flash of recognition in the woman's eyes when she'd removed her good so she'd certainly seen her before. That was quite clearly proven after the blonde introduced herself. There seemed to be so many people who had seen her while she hadn't seen them. She really needed to start paying more attention to faces, even if she had to scan the floor before and after dances. While she danced, she was more than happy for them to remain faceless if it could be done. Such a striking young woman should have caught her attention before but perhaps it was her movement alone that had drawn the dancer to her rather than her looks.

Jade's compliment was met with a touch of a grimace. "Doesn't everybody?" she asked dryly when the woman said that she wanted to dance like her. She seemed to always be meeting women who wanted to move the way she did and men who wanted to see her do it. It was no surprise that she was getting a little fed up with people paying such tributes to her dancing. It really wasn't all that fantastic.

"Pleasure to meet you, Jade. Can't say that I've seen you around before but then I tend to off in a different world when I dance." She took another drink of rum, a mouthful this time rather than a sip. The sip hadn't done it justice before, the pleasant burning sensation sliding down her throat from where it went on to warm her belly. It definitely tasted better than wine and was no way comparable to ale. Ale was not something that she got any pleasure from drinking. This rum stuff could become a future tipple of hers, regardless of expense. She could actually enjoy it so why not fork out a bit extra coin for something that was pleasant.

"So what brings you to this shyke hole in the middle of the day? Bad morning?" the dancer asked, trying to make conversation. "I was just doing a bit of people watching in here myself but I can't say that anyone in here is all that exciting." It wasn't a lie exactly. She'd come with the intention of eavesdropping on others but had instead ended up watching them and failing miserably at reading their lips.

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[Mirian Jade]

A flash of discomfort ghosted over the woman’s face at Mirian’s compliment, which the halfbreed found a bit odd but not so odd that she felt the need to press it. Maybe she just wasn’t the complimenting type?

“Doesn’t everybody?” the woman asked, somewhat coldly.

Mirian raised a hand, palm facing Caela in a simple, wordless gesture of peace. “Meant no offense, friend,” she said.

“Pleasure to meet you, Jade,” the dancer said. “Can’t say that I’ve seen you around before but then I tend to off in a different world when I dance.” She paused to take a pull from her rum. “So what brings you to this shyke hold in the middle of the day? Bad morning? I was just doing a bit of people watching myself but I can’t say that anyone in here is all that exciting.”

Mirian laughed out loud. “I suppose a bad morning’s one thing to call my day. Came here for a drink to help shake it off.” She took a sip of rum. “Not too surprised that you haven’t seen me; I don’t usually spend a lot of time in here when I’m working.”

Mirian realized vaguely that “working” was perhaps not the best word to describe her usual activities in the Pig’s Foot, but there wasn’t much else she was willing to call it unless Caela asked. What was she supposed to say? You probably don’t see me because I’m busy robbing blokes blind? Not that there was really a reason to be outright fearful; it wasn’t like Marv cared where someone’s money went after they’d paid for their drink, but Mirian knew the value of subtlety. And she knew that if she told Caela what she did outright, there was a possibility of that information spreading to the regular patrons and making the Pig’s Foot a much more difficult place for her to work in.

[Caela Dorin]

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Had her displeasure at Jade's desire to dance like her been so obvious? Had she come across as irritated? Apparently or else the woman wouldn't be trying to make amends for her words. She hadn't meant to exactly, it hadn't been intentional but she'd clearly been too open. The dancer was going to have to grow better at hiding her true feelings. She decided to take her cues from how the other woman reacted. Laughter would be met with a smile and neutrality met with neutrality where appropriate.

The other's laughed reply to her question was met with a smile that quickly changed to an expression of sympathy. The woman might laugh it off because she'd experienced it but it'd look bad for the blonde to show mirth at any misfortunes that the woman might have met with over the course of the previous bells. Her ears pricked up at the mention of working however, a sip taken of her rum in an attempt to distract Jade from her interest in the matter. What sort of work could she do that would prevent her from visiting the tavern while she was doing it? No she made it sound like her work brought her here or was some way connected with the tavern but it was only for brief periods of time. Caela had no idea what that could be. It could be anything really. Maybe she was reading into the woman's words too much and wrongly too.

There were assumptions that she could make about what manner of work Jade might be in but she knew it wasn't fair to judge on appearance alone. Just because the young woman was attractive didn't automatically mark her out as being a whore. People often came to that conclusion about herself based on the same evidence and while sometimes it was merely irritating, at others it was quite difficult to stomach. It was unpleasant either way, just to different degrees of severity. If good looks were put to one side then the exotic beauty could do anything and Caela would never be able to guess it from her appearance or at least was unlikely to do so. The other had given no future information so either it was a closed topic or the woman wasn't naturally chatty. Curiosity got the better of her and so she chose to risk broaching the subject to see if the details might be willingly shared.

"Oh when you're working? Are you saying that your work stops you from coming in here?" she asked innocently. A section of hair was deliberately pushed backwards and placed behind her ear with casual slowness, the young woman allowing herself to focus intently on that simple act so as to seem indifferent to any answers that she might receive. "I'm curious then. What sort of work is it that you do then, Jade? Something a bit more interesting than what I do, I hope." She laughed softly, taking another sip of rum as she awaited an answer. If the woman wouldn't tell then the dancer's mind was likely to lead her to particularly shady occupations or ones like her own that might cause shame.
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[Mirian Jade]

"Oh, when you're working? Are you saying that your work stops you from coming in here?"

Mirian wasn’t really surprised that her somewhat indistinct statement had raised the woman’s curiosity, but it still made her a bit uneasy.

“I'm curious then,” Caela continued. “What sort of work is it that you do then, Jade? Something a bit more interesting than what I do, I hope."

Mirian turned and regarded Caela with a clear, appraising stare. She looked innocent enough, but Mirian herself took pains to look innocent enough to not be suspect until it was too late. She knew not to take things at face value.

Still, she didn’t want to be rude to Caela. She was likeable enough--a trait that Mirian found to be exceedingly rare--and it’d be nice to have someone she knew since she came to the Pig’s Foot so often.

But not so nice that she was willing to risk her ability to work at the place.

“You like questions, don’t you?” Mirian said, mostly to let Caela know that she was prying just a bit too deep. “How about we say that my work requires people not knowing that I’m doing it, hmm?”

She may have liked Caela, but a few minutes of conversation was certainly not enough for Mirian to trust her.

[Caela Dorin]

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Such a searching look from the other woman made Caela realise that she was walking a fine line. Jade was trying to work out... what? Whether or not she was trustworthy? Now there were one of two reasons why she could be looking at her that way. It could be because she thought that the dancer was trying to gather intelligence on her or that she was involved in something that she was worried Caela would look into too closely, whatever that might be.

The beauty's words elicited a light laugh from the blonde. She'd been prying too much into the other's business it seemed but that was no real surprise to her; she'd had her suspicions. "You can't blame me for asking you a couple of little questions, can you? You did mention working so surely you knew that I'd ask. And you know what I do after all, Jade," the young woman countered softly. She smiled, shaking her head a little from side to side. "If I sounded too nosy than I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to pry."

Liar, an inner voice chimed in, making her smile more genuine in the process.

Her chin was rested upon her hand, her elbow placed lightly on the bar for support as she regarded Jade. There could be no more questions about what sort of work she was in, that had been made perfectly clear, but she was more curious than she had been before. There were only so many jobs in which secrecy was important. There were those who gathered information on others, spies in other words. There were those who stole from others like Eleazar and notoriety wasn't a good thing for a thief to acquire if they wanted to steal in different places. Outside of that she could only think of con artists and perhaps slavers if they wanted to acquire fresh stock. Maybe there were others that didn't spring to mind right now but the ones she'd come up with all involved some manner of stealth. She wondered which, if any of them, provided the other with her bread.

"Well, I can't say that I don't mind if the subject of work isn't up for discussion. I certainly don't want to talk about mine but then that shouldn't come as a surprise. If you've been in here when I dance then I'm sure you've seen the sort of... reactions I cause." The blonde pulled a face momentarily before her smile returned. "So we'll just have to talk about something else, won't we? Like what you do when you aren't working. I hope that you don't often have reason to come in here in the middle of the day to drink."

Another sip of rum, the drink coming to its end far faster than the dancer would have liked. Once she reached the end of the vessel there would be no more drinking for her. Not a good idea to pave the way to drunkenness, especially not this early in the morning. "You can ask me what you like, you know. I've nothing to hide after all and I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable by hogging all the questions."
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