Closed Party-Crasher

[Aladari Coolwater]

1st of Summer, 516 AV

"Aww, come on! Just one mug. I'm good for it!"

The man behind the counter chuckled, even his eyes smiling as he held his hand out to the Vantha. "Now, lassie, you know I cain't just be givin' away ale like that. Elsewise, everybody would be wantin' some. And everyone here ain't good for their word. You know that."

Aladari usually wasn't a beggar. However, her sober, smarter-self had left most of her coin at home this morning, and at this point in the night she was far too drunk to walk home and get more. All she had left at this point were 2 copper, and that wasn't enough to buy herself much of anything. Especially not on the first of the season, when the Drunken Fish was filled to the brim with all kinds of celebration and revelers, all of whom had coin in their pockets. The bartenders were never open for negotiation when there was someone behind you willing to pay full price. However, Aladari refused to give up just yet.

"Well, what abouts we play for it? A game a pig, huh?" She nudged the man sitting beside her at the bar, and, nodding drunkenly, he gladly produced a set of dice, presented with a big, toothless smile. But behind the counter, the bartender just shook his head. "I said no, lassie. I'm sorry. Is prolly time fer you to go home anyways."

Aladari shrugged her shoulders in defeat, her eyes shifting to a deep blue color in disappointment. Going home sounded boring, and she didn't necessarily want to end the party any earlier than she had to. "I'll just find someone else ta buy somethin' for me, then," she said defiantly.

"Uh huh. You go on and do that, then."

Standing up, Aladari wavered on her feet, but kept her balance by sheer force of will. She stumbled about for a chime, rocking back and forth, before she reached the first table. Seated there were two men, both very skinny and rather young. They were clothed in normal Sunberthian attire- the kind that made her think they had very little to gamble with. Across from them, though, was an older woman who looked comfortable and possibly even wealthy. She wore clean clothes, and her stomach was visibly rounded through her tight shirt.

Aladari smiled upon spying her chance, her eyes flashing a distinct purple. She pulled over an abandoned chair from the next table, seating herself clumsily next to the woman. Aladari knew, even from her short time in Sunberth that you had to be careful with the wealthy ones. One only got wealthy in Sunberth in a very limited number of ways- chiefly murder or theft.

But no risk, no reward.

You think I could int'rest you in a game a Pig, ma'am?

[Chase Hunter]

Chase stood next to the tavern, taking a minute to think carefully. Well, not that carefully, but long enough to try and figure out what he wanted. The noise from inside was not the most conducive to his thinking. Neither was the smell for that matter. Chase had woken up just a few days ago, and didn't know much. He knew the name of the town was Sunberth, and he had wondered long enough to figure out where most things in town were. The problem now, was figuring out how he got here. Which brought him to the seaside tavern, the Drunken Fish. The plan was to locate as many of the ship captains as he could, and figure out if any of them had brought him here. The entire city was considered a den of smuggling, thievery, and violence. Chase's kind of place, except for the fact that there were no Zith he could find. Which made it not his kind of place. Not that he remembered much of the past ... however long. He couldn't find a clear definitive point that he last remembered, and it made him angry. And he could feel it growing, his anger. It just... Chase took a short breath. He needed information, not to focus on it again. The last time he'd done that, things didn't go well. He walked around the corner of the tavern, to the door, and went in. The sights and sounds that assailed him were overwhelming. The beer poured freely, the people showered less so, and confined like this, it created an almost physical barrier to Chase, just in smell alone. Combined with the noise of actually being inside, he felt like back pedaling quickly. But, he had a plan in mind. He shoved his way to the bar, knocking more than one standing drunken person to the floor, before impatiently waiting for the bartender to come around.

[Aladari Coolwater]

"So here's how it work," Aladari drawled, smiling lopsidedly at the woman. "Pig is a simple game. We both roll a die. You get anything but a 6, the ante doubles. You get a 6, you lose. We roll at the same time, and if we both get a 6, we split the ante." Aladari shuffled the die about in her hand, making a comforting, soft sound in the tavern. The woman before her nodded thoughtfully.

"Seems fair...but-"

She was interrupted by the body of a flimsy drunk crashing into their table. "Aye, watch it," The drunk slurred, but moved on to the other side of the room without much thought. The rich woman on the other hand, was quite disturbed.

"Well I never! Can you believe it!"

Aladari squinted at the woman. She understood the words, but she could not determine whether or not it was a genuine question. Common was so confusing. She opted for the safe answer, the one the woman had to be looking for, should she be expecting an answer. "No?"

"Huh," She continued, "Someone ought to do something about the rowdy ones. We don't want fights interrupting our game, do we?"

Aladari nodded, coming quickly to an understanding. She stood, sliding her chair back, and moved toward the bar once again. As soon as she turned her back, the rich woman smiled, sliding both the dice, as well as the copper ante off the table and into her pocket. With her job done, she promptly left.

The bar was close, but crowded, so it seemed to take Aladari ages to get to the front. When she did, she looked about, trying to decide what to do next. However, after a tick, it became obvious. There was only one man at the bar who wasn't engaging in conversation or drink. He was tall, his body shape intimidating. His dark hair was long, falling all the way to the bottom of his shoulders, where it ended in a startling white. His demeanor was tense, and his anger almost tangible. Setting eyes on her target, Aladari squirmed forward.

"Aye, you!" She shouted, putting a single hand on his shoulder, "What you think yer doin' in here, messin' the place all up like that? You ain't got a right to treat nobody that way. Comin' in here an' shakin' things up."

"I'd 'preciate a sorry, if ya can give it...Or an ale."

[Chase Hunter]

Chase felt a sudden bustle of people to his right, only to physically jerk when a hand set down on his shoulder. A sharp inhale, followed by snapping his head to look at her, his eyes bulged a little at someone talking to him suddenly, even touching him. He almost wanted to bare his teeth and snap at her. He let his face settle as he took in just what had happened. Small female figure had touched him, and wanted him to apologize for rowdiness. He assumed she meant knocking over people who couldn't stand very well to begin with. Chase went from his calmed face to one raised eyebrow. "I don't apologize. And I don't buy drinks." Chase saw that she most definitely did buy drinks however, considering the smell coming off of her breath. He took a moment to actually look at this small person. She was barely tall enough to come past his elbow, her eyes seemed reddish, her hair dark, though lighter than his own. Her arms seemed skinny, her frame petite. All in all, he considered it quite an oddity that something as tiny as she was wanting something out of him. Not to mention bothersome. He had a job. "You will get nothing from me." Chase turned abruptly, shrugging her hand off his shoulder and facing the bartender who'd managed to get down to his part of the bar. He thought bout how to frame his request from the busy man.

[Aladari Coolwater]

Aladari could hardly believe what she was hearing. How snobish he was, to think himself above the rest of them, when he too lived in the filth of Sunberth. How rude, to think she was something he could shrug off. And how wrong he was in that assumption.

She would get nothing from him? By Morwen, that sounded like a challenge.

She squared her shoulders, head held up straight so she could look in his eyes when he turned to her. She balled her fists. Her rugged and broken nails cut into her skin, but she hardly felt it. Instead, she felt rage.

"Now," She began again, "I dunno where you are from or what kinda mama raised you to treat folks like that, but I'm here to tell ya it ain't how we do things here. You make nice, or you make some enemies, and I got friends here to back me up."

Aladari didn't bother looking around at her friends. If she had, she would've noticed the ones who could hear her all shift away anxiously. Or at least she might've noticed they were all as drunk as her. But she didn't check, so as far as she could tell, they had her back, and so she was ready to fight for her pride. She came to get an apology, and she wouldn't leave without one.

"I'll ask one more time..."

[Chase Hunter]

Chase turned around and stared down at her. Her eyes turned black. Black as night. It was beautiful. “Where I am from, we hunt. I hunt for information. You have, I give apology, or what you hunt.” Chase turned back to the bartender, who was still giving him a worried look, glancing back and forth from him to the girl, and back. ”Same to you. Tell me who catch me, bring me here. I give you what you hunt. I come back.” Chase turned back to the girl. He needed to go to his next place. He needed to hunt his next location for information. He felt something strange here though. He decided to stay. Wait for prey. But first, this girl. Chase didn’t bother to notice that the bartender hadn’t even acknowledged agreement, but he had caught his prey. He had done what he needed.

[Aladari Coolwater]

Aladari didn't even bother to hold back her derisive snort. He hunted for information about who brought him? So did every other slave in the city. And if he thought he would be getting any more information than anyone else, he would be sorely mistaken.

Aladari didn't like this man; not only was he rude, pretentious, and horribly offensive, but he also looked at Aladari in a way she didn't like. He looked at her the same way she had seen her dog look at birds, and the way she has seen men look at whores and muggers look at drunks. It was a predatory look, and it couldn't mean anything good. So, Aladari did the only thing she could think of. She looked the man in the eyes, told him where to stick his hunt, and then made her way to the door.

It wasn't her optimal ending, of course, but sometimes in Sunberth, you had to cut your losses. Plus, I don't want a price in my head in this town. Once outside, Aladari could not bring herself to go home. Sure, it was a bad idea to stay, but walking home alone almost felt worse. So instead, she leaned against the outer wall of the Drunken Fish, spit on the ground once, and then waited for the man to leave. She waited patiently, without speaking, and without moving, and with only one thought on her mind.

This is way too much work for one drink.

[Chase Hunter]

Chase absorbed what had just happened. Apparently she was upset. Chase did not understand this. He told what he was giving, and what he wanted. This did not give a reaction he expected. There was something about this girl. He did not understand, and he had to learn what she was doing. If nothing else, he needed to get someone to tell him where to go. She seemed as good a target as any other. Chase glanced over the bar, checking for any other things that seemed important to hunt. He saw nothing. Or he just couldn’t focus over the noise and smell overload. Either way, he needed to leave. This hunt was done. He wandered out the door of the club, and took a deep breath in, sniffing the outside world. The air, the wind, the trash, the gutter, the people, the alcohol drops left on the glass of the broken bottles on the side. All these things, the smells. The sounds of the bar, the sounds of the people on the street, the girl around the wall, breathing. He smirked slightly. He walked around the wall and peered down at her. “What do you want then? I have to know who I am.”

[Aladari Coolwater]

Aladari breathed deeply,closing her eyes and trying to calm and organize her drunken brain. Taking inventory was a good first step. She had no money. She hadn't brought a weapon- mostly because she couldn't wield one. Dear Morwen I need to learn to fight. What she did have were the clothes on her back and a strange, likely angry man "hunting" for her...or with her...or whatever he had said.

Not good.

She was so focused upon taking her inventory, she hardly heard the gliding footsteps of the man as he came up beside her. Her entire body tensed when she heard his voice right next to her, but she tried to relax quickly so that he wouldn't know she was nervous. She stared up at him, pondering his question while his vibrant yellow eyes stared down at her expectantly. She moved her eyes away when his gaze became too intimidating, instead watching the tiny layer of fur on his arms that she had just noticed.

What did she want, though?

She moved one hand to her belt, where she fondled her bag of Mizas. She wanted money, sure, but so did everyone in Sunberth. She didn't think he had too much more than she did. Especially if he didn't even know where he lived. So, what else? What did she want to do with the money? She wanted to travel. She wanted to buy lessons to learn combat. She wanted to open her own shop. But she could do none of it without money. Well, and weapons. Protection.

"Protection." She said definitively. "How good do you fight, bat?" She grinned, all crooked teeth, nodding to his arm where she had been admiring the fuzz. "Will you watch for me if I can get your information?"

Not only would it be beneficial, but she was almost desperate to be on the man's side now, as she realized just how wild he might be.

[Chase Hunter]

Chase looked down at her. Small. Human. Weak. She made a point. If she could get information, she would not last long enough to pass it on. She needed a way to live. Protection seemed adequate. Especially as both price and surety of his hunt being rewarded. ”I fight. I watch. You get info. When should I watch? Not always. Must hunt other things. Takes time.” Chase looked up at the sky, and felt the air through his hair. “I could fight for you when you need. When will you need protection?” Chase thought carefully on the things that he needed. While he could protect enough, he needed more skill. But he was already considering that hunt. He would be able to protect her. The problem was dealing with protecting her, and hunting. Hunting for information, for skill, for food. He could not conceive of a way to do both.