Closed [The Spinning Coin] The Maiden and the Squire (Orion)

[Azcadelia]

Azcadelia Rosan
54th Day of Spring
Year 513

Jade cloth whipped in the wind that coiled through the streets of the city that day. The weather that spring day had been rather mixed. In the morning it had been dreary and stormy, at noon the weather had been pleasant and windy and now, midday it the sun was beaming down as the wind caressed the citizens.

The wind whipped at Azcadelia's ankles again, lifting up the skirt of the green tunic slightly. Her hair, red as fire in the night, curled around her face and over her intense green eyes. On her neck hung a ruby emerald that glittered with showing of bewitchment and in her ears were ruby earrings that flaunted her imaginary status.

The woman pulled the tunic's light cotton hood over her head hiding the bulk of her hair underneath. She took her first steps, her shoes donned in green, gold bordered flat shoes, across the way. A sign above the building she approached read 'The Spinning Coin' - place she had never been before and she was sure to be in for a surprise.

Once inside, her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room, her pupils growing large in response. Her pale face swiveled from one side of the room to another. All was calm, the gruff patrons and skimpy women were entertained be it entertained by one another or by the cards that lay on the table and in their hands.

A songstress sang on the stage looming over the main floor of the establishment and below that were two brawlers brawling. Around them was a circle of men and women, ranged from skinny to fat to chunky.

Azcadelia, oddly, felt at home here. The chaos reminded her of her past with her father and the dive bar he had ran before she had the sense to know that it was wrong. Again she scanned the faces of the gamblers before her eyes stopped and stared at the man she had been looking for. Orion Michaels, the squire and doctor, that's what the rumours were anyway. There were also rumours that he was well known with women.

Azcadelia took steps towards where the man was sitting, weaving her way through the tables and chairs and heavy set men and prostitute abound. Nearly half way there she began to cool herself, preparing for a civil conversation to milk the stranger out of the information she seeked. Just as she had prepared her cool however a large crack and thud of a table flipping behind her made her freeze in fright. "You cheating scum!" a burly voice yelled out before it dived on another man. The racket caused all heads to turn in that direction making Azcadelia feel exposed as she stood with a brawl brewing behind her.

[Orion Michaels]

The scumpit of Syliras: The Spinning Coin. The one locale in the city where you can watch people fight, get drunk out of your mind, and piss away all your coin and no one will care as long as you don't break the furniture. Even then, as long as you paid, they might not call the knights on you. It was the closest to overt villainy one could have in a city which tolerated none. And for some reason Orion kept finding himself coming back.

With the addition of new staff to The Rearing Stallion, well, he'd sort of burned bridges there. What you didn't want was to go anywhere where a woman you'd spurned was working. What you really didn't want to do was get drinks from her. Fear that she would put something in the drink, poison or otherwise, or maybe even worse, short you on your booze made it too risky an endeavor. He hadn't quite opened up to the idea of the White Swan yet, so for now, he would stomp around here, toss back a few, and hope that he didn't run into too much trouble or lose too many coins.

Orion sat a table alone, minding his own business. His blade was strapped to his side, and his mug sat half empty before him. He was simply there to unwind after another grueling day of training. Squirehood was no joke. That was something the former doctor had learned quickly. Don’t get enough rest, or don’t take it seriously, and you’d find yourself regretting it the next day. If Dinah was feeling particularly like making a point, you’d find yourself regretting it for many days to come. Tonight, though, he was there to relax. His jaw tightened when a table was flipped over. These petching idiots can’t keep themselves under control.

The blue eyed man stood in his place, turning to face the unruly patrons. A handful of days ago he’d been in the Coin for much of the same reason he was this day. There were problems that time, too. A woman forced unwillingly into a cage match. He’d dealt with it then, and made his presence known in this locale. It seemed he would have to do so again.

“I do pray you stop this foolishness,” he began, loosening his sheath from his side to set it before him on the table. “Many people are here to relax and just have a good time, and you’re spoiling it. If you have issues with your friend there, I suggest you speak with Gene or take it out of here. I’ve not the patience to deal with this, and I’ve not the slightest qualm about escorting the both of you to The Tank if you don’t cool off.” His words were cold and annoyed, but he’d said he part, and that was it. The squire took his seat again and continued to nurse his drink, hoping the men had gathered the message.

[Azcadelia]

Azcadelia Rosan

A punch thundered on the face of the man being assaulted and he threw one back just as roughly. The pounding behind her made Azcadelia freeze, she was frightened, never had she been in a position so close to combat before -- she'd much rather cast spells from a distance than engage in direct combat.

A man's voice, rose in warning more than irritation, he said, "I do pray you stop this foolishness." Azcadelia cracked open her tightly closed eyes to look at the man who had spoken. It was Orion, the man she had been approaching. His sword was ready to be unsheathed and the men took note of this and returned to their table to scavenge their game. If Orion could order men around then he probably was of some importance here. That'd only make her be more cautious around him.

Azcadelia continued her pursuit of her target since the entirety of the Coin was calm again, excluding the occasional groan from the fighting pit and the sharp vocals of the songstress. Azcadelia wove her way through the tables and gently excusing herself every time she bumped into a rough man. Once at the table her hands took to the back of an empty chair and allowed her to slide into the seat without making too much of a commotion.

There she was, sitting at the same table as the man she had been searching for. She was sitting so that she could see his face but also switch her observation to the pit or stage should the constant eye contact unnerve her. She cleared her throat and faced Orion, her jade eyes met his then the mug that housed his drink. "I thought I was a gonner back there," she said, removing the hood of her tunic from her head, revealing, in the calm candle light, the paleness of her face. The candlelight flickered, outlining the chiseledness of her cheeks and chin. The candle flickered and danced on the irises of her eyes as she turned her attention back to the man, then to the stage, then back to the man. "Excuse my rudeness. My name's Jade," she half-lied, smiling a little, her middle name was Jade not her first name.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion watched, not amused in the least, as the two men pounded each others' faces in. Idiots, the lot of them. Thankfully, they listened to Orion when he voiced his displeasure. He was fully aware that it wasn't him whom they feared. The knights who claimed Orion as their squire, now they were something to be afraid of. Still, Orion was quickly learning how to leverage his position to complete what he needed to complete. It was easier than violence and really, it was easier than trying to talk a situation down. The wrath of the knight and the slash of its blade, well, it was an effective tool.

Orion sighed and took his seat, soon returning to nursing his drink. The cool ale was all the soothing he needed. It seemed a redhead was determined to not let that be. A table which once seated Orion alone would find itself with company. Her approach was far from difficult to miss. She was nervous, and all her externals screamed it. A worried posture, clumsily walking through the mess of people, bumping to patrons left and right. Once she was seated, it seemed to take everything she had to even look at the former doctor. Finally managing to speak, the woman revealed her pale face to Orion and very pointed features became apparent. Cute. But what does she want? In Orion's experience a woman rarely approached him unless they wanted something. His medical skill and his rumored prowess between the sheets gained the attention of a surprisingly large number of gold diggers from the castle city. Blue eyes fixated on her as she spoke, her unrequested introduction eliciting a suspicious feelign form him. She couldn't have seemed more out of place. A delicate flower amid a bed of thorns. There was no reason to meet her with hostility, though, so he smiled and nodded in greeting.

"Jade, Jade, Jade," he repeated, rolling the name around on his tongue. "Why don't you small all the way, instead of teasing me with that a cute look like that? It's kinda mean, don't you think?" He chuckled and shook his head, looking at his drink and then back to her. "I'm Orion. Order yourself something to drink. It's on me."

[Azcadelia]

Azcadelia Rosan

Azcadelia giggled girly-like. It wasn't her nature but it was Jade's, the person she had just made up on the spot. There was one goal and one goal only: to get the information her client required and that's what she'd do. She had researched her subject like a good hunter. Knowing that he was a doctor and a squire - but under what patron? She also knew of his many sexual companions, one of them being Shiress, Azcadelia's friend and ally.

"Are you Orion?" she said, speaking softly but audibly. "I heard that you're a doctor and a squire. Double trouble, huh?" she continued, smiling. If all was true she'd continue her plan: show him the burn mark that she had inflicted on herself before leaving her home. The burn pained her but it was for the sake of duty. If he was a doctor and willing to aid her and his needs, or desires, then her plan would go perfectly: get him to take her to his office, seduce him softly, like a damsel in distress and when her information was milked to completion she'd bolt with a believable excuse.

[Orion Michaels]

She went into a short giggling fit. Gods, what was going on. "Yeah, that's what I said," he replied to her inquiry of his name. She not listening? "Whoever told you I was a doctor was mistaken, however. If you'd caught me last season, that would have been a true statement, my dear. I'm but a humble squire trying to enjoy a drink, now." He raised his mug in acknowledgment of this fact. "So if you want to chat with me, why don't you take me up on that drink I offered?" He downed the rest of the beverage and motioned to a passing barmaid for another. One more tonight, and then he'd be off. What would become of the inquisitive redhead was yet to be seen.

He turned his head slightly as a yell echoed through out the locale, and looked even more fully as a loud crash followed. Another cage match was over. A debilitating kick to the head sent a scrawny human male crumbling into the side of the cage. He had no place in the ring, but, truth be told, Orion hadn't either, and it worked out for him. Sometimes all it took was a little luck.

Turning his attention back to Jade, he spoke. "Is there something you needed?" Inquiries into his job usually meant one was after his coin, as he feared earlier. He'd not give her that satisfaction, of course, but if he could get something out of the deal, he wasn't past taking advantage of a situation for his own accord. "Wandering all awkward up to me, introducing yourself before I've said a word, laughing uncontrollably, and now you want to know about me? I'd be careful Miss Jade. You'll give a guy the wrong impression."

[Azcadelia]

Azcadelia Rosan

Azcadelia's head turned quickly towards fighting pit, a yelling had been heard and she watched, mouth ajar, as an ill-fitted man nearly fell out the cage. "I most certainly shouldn't be here," she said in whisper but loud enough for Orion to hear.

Azcadelia frowned at the news that she had received. If he wasn't a doctor and was a full time squire she'd have to adapt her plan. "Surely you'd remember you medical knowledge. Knowledge doesn't just flee it's holder does it?" she said, pouting at the man. "I've only wandered here, where I most definitely do not belong, to ask for a doctor's aid, for healing. Healing of my hand." Azcadelia brought her hand from underneath the table to show Orion the charred tissue. Blackness surrounded her thumb and pinky finger, she made sure to wince dramatically as she showed him. "I beg you, please?" she said in the youngest and lightest voice she could manage.

Her eyes flickered the barmaid that Orion had motioned to. The woman was approaching the table with his drink. Azcadelia quickly hid her hand under the loose fabric in her sleeve, giving a small smile to the barmaid and asking for a glass of wine in the same motion. Once the maid was gone she dragged her eyes back to Orion, a look of begging on her face. "I'm being married off in a week and I need to be an example of perfection for my groom. It's an arranged marriage with a wealthier household, my father would scorn me if I were to show up tarnished. It's not a wedding that I want but it's for the greater good of my family," Azcadelia said, pausing as the barmaid returned with her drink. She took a swig from the chalice timidly before continuing, "I'll do anything to repay you, ser."

[Orion Michaels]

She had the right of that, she didn't belong here at all. In all truth, neither did he. The Stallion was off limits mostly, though, and The White Swan could get kind of stuffy and was really quite too expensive, even with his stash of coin. So the bottom of the scum bucket was his place for now. Not a place to pick up ladies, but a place for free flowing, and most importantly, cheap booze.

He perked up slightly at her mention of needing healing, and his mouth dropped open when she showed him her burned hand. What in the world? Why was she at the Spinning Coin instead of at the Soothing Waters? "Are you kidding me? What are you doing, Jade?" He stood up, walking over to the woman. "You're saying to me that instead of going to the place with healers, you wondered around, came into the filthiest place in Syliras, and happened to walk up to a doctor? What are you up to," he asked, pointedly. "I don't have anywhere I can treat you. I live in the dorms, that's where my medical stuff is. We can't have outsiders there, so that's off."

He looked to the exit and then back to Jade. "What I can do is make sure you get to the Soothing Waters, where I can leave you with a healer who can take care of you. A burn is better treated by magic than man, if can afford it." She was far too unconcerned by her actual burn. She'd switched between laughter, pleading, concern, and a lack of worry all in the short time she'd been there. It was all very uneven, and it unsettled the doctor. She'd gotten a glass of wine?! Someone wouldn't burn themselves to just get his company, would they? "If you're being married that soon, I shan't be able to do enough to make it do anything but stand out. A healer it is."

[Azcadelia]

Azcadelia Rosan

I was unaware of the Soothing Waters and it's healers. I had just arrived in the town not long ago for my wedding and I've been pent up in the flat for weeks. The burn was recently inflicted when I reached into the hearth to retrieve the meal I was cooking. As you can see I'm not the best of cooks," she said, the last pit causing her eyes to fall in self pity. "I came to you because I had heard that you were a doctor, you're quite a subject around these parts, especially with the women." Azcadelia shifted in her seat and grabbed hold of the chalice with her good hand, bringing it to her lips and taking a swig before continuing, "The alcohol dulls the pain. I haven't known anything other than the finest of wines and I apologize if I overstepped your offer. However, if you could escort me to the Waters I'd be forever in your debt, good ser."

Her plan was changing course, attempting to adapt with the change in destination. Her inexperience with alter-egos and girlish wits were playing against her. Whenever she had received information before it hadn't been through a chain of lies but much rather a simple swing of her his, brushing of her breasts and hot whispers in a man's ear. This was rather different, a new and uneasy take on espionage. Her actions didn't make her story but hopefully it could be mistaken as the naive ways of a young girl raised in wealth.

Azcadelia was trying to use words of in-debt to hopefully appeal to Orion. She knew his ways with women and if, perchance, she could turn on the right switch she'd receive her seeked knowledge more easily in a heated dance of tongues. This shell was most difficult to crack and proved impregnable in many places. A true test of ones skill.

[Orion Michaels]

Quite a curious burn for a cooking injury. He simply nodded. This girl had her reasons for acting however she was. None of them mattered to the squire. Regardless of what her intentions were or how she was injured, the fact remained that she was indeed injured. "Alcohol, now that's the worst thing you could drink when you're burned. It doesn't do anything for you but dehydrate you. Water would be a better call, but we need to get you out of here. It's your injury, and the worse you sit here and let it get, the more likely hood of it being a permanent injury it gains." He motioned for the door, half smirking. "I'm happy to help you out, Miss Jade. But your lack of urgency with this injury worries me."

With that, the squire turned and made his way for the exit, after tossing the appropriate number of coins in his empty mug. Whether she followed or not was up to her. For now, he mulled over her odd approach. The Spinning Coin wasn't exactly where someone would go to find a doctor, even if he'd been mentioned. Not for someone like her. It was down in the docks, far away from the much more beautiful, much better maintained, better patrolled, and general wealthier districts in Syliras. She'd passed through the district which held the Soothing Waters on upon her entrance to the city. If she joined him, Orion would take her through the city and lead her there so he could call it good. If not, well, he was heading that way anyways. His evening here was already thrown off by the absolutely odd approach of this woman. The White Swan, even with its expenses, would generally keep anyone like this from bothering him.

All I wanted was a relaxing drink..