Open [The Rearing Stallion]The Glass is Half...(Open) (Sohco)

[Wade]

24th of Summer, 513

The dart buried itself near the bottom of the board. Wade defiantly held his release with his forefinger and thumb pointed at the center of the board.

The man seated next to him erupted in laughter. “That’ll be the whiff of the night! A fine shot. I’d be willing to double-or-nothing with these odds.” The man winked at him and smiled broadly.

Wade growled, but he took out a silver miza and tossed it to the man. “The stench of your breath made it hard to focus.” Wade said, pausing to pick up his mug of ale. “I’m done for tonight afore you rob me of everything I’ve got.” He presented his back to the man, who had once again succumbed to laughter, and found himself a table a distance away.

He winced as he set down his glass. The cloth he had wrapped about his hand had loosened, exposing a nasty cut. He frowned as he rewrapped it. That, alongside other small scrapes, was the only fruit of his day spend hunting in the woods. He sighed, wondering if his idea of providing for himself the woodsman’s way was far-fetched.

Wade reached in his glass and absentmindedly began twirling the liquid within with his finger. He spotted a couple of Syliran Knights enjoying their off hours just a little ways away. They seemed happy enough; they had authority, money in their pockets, and a future to look forward too. Wade wondered for a moment why he had discounted joining them.

He picked up his drink and sipped it before setting it back down and staring into it. The drink was half…

On one hand, Wade was at a crossroads in his life. He had nothing holding him back and no one telling him what he should do. He could pursue any course he wanted or chase any fleeting dream. He had no enemies and could probably gather the resources he need to do pretty much anything. His fate was up to his own whimsy.

On the other hand, he did not feel pulled in any direction. His sister had been steadfast in her dream of becoming a Syliran Knight, but Wade had felt no such passion for anything. In fact, he felt oddly comfortable sitting here and doing nothing, as had been his fancy as a younger lad. A frown crossed his face; he knew that if he did that he would end up in the streets by the end of the season. He’d probably wind up dead by the end of the next.

Wade stared at his glass, wondering if it was half-full or half-empty. Then he settled the matter by throwing the contents down his throat.

The glass was empty.

[Sohco]

Sohco found the sign of The Rearing Stallion Tavern quite inviting, and, as he found himself quite lonely, went inside hoping to find someone to have a conversation with. As he entered, a smile flashed across his face when the loud chatter of a busy tavern came upon his ears. His eyes quickly glanced around the room looking for an inviting face. The man's gaze fell upon a single person, staring thoughtfully into his mug.

He wondered if this should be the person that he would dedicate a bit of time to, so instead of committing too easily he kept scanning. A couple knights sat in the corner of the tavern, Sohco did not know why, but he did not like them, ignoring them he continued to look about. A short, angry looking man; a tall, very drunk looking man; and a crazy looking, yet quite smart sounding old man seemed to be the only other viable options, so after a very small bit of thought he decided to go towards the lone man.

Before attempting to join the stranger, his thoughts drifted back towards his father. The smell of ale always reminded him of his late father, who was perhaps a bit too fond of the stuff. That trait seemed to have passed down from father to son, but Sohco always made it a conscious point not to drink too much. Happy memories filled him with warmth and coupled with the heat of the fireplace, Sohco found himself quite comfortable. Invigorated by this good feeling, he began to close distance with the stranger.

While walking over to him Sohco consciously rehearsed his greeting, hoping not to make a fool of himself. Meeting new people was never Sohco's forte, even though he loved talking to people, and about half-way across the short distance to the table, doubt crept in on Sohco attempting to dampen his newly found spirit, but after a brief argument with himself and the realization that turning around now would look odd, he kept going.

Once he was quite close to the table, Sohco caught the man's eyes and shot him a warm, inviting smile. He reached out his hand looking for a friendly handshake, but to his dismay he found an injured hand and quickly retracted his own.

"Sorry," he said, obviously flustered, " I had not noticed earlier. Could I join you by any chance?"

[Wade]

Wade watched the man approach and thought him to be acting a little bit curious. He seemed a little agitated or perhaps... nervous. Wade allowed a wry smile to touch his lips as the man introduced himself, putting himself in that man’s shoes and imagining the first time he had nervously went to buy something from a store as a young boy. It was an odd feeling to be on the receiving end of a nervous greeting and even odder considering that the man was nervous to meet a youth such as himself.

“Don’t mind my hand, my father always said it was manly to have open wounds,” he said jokingly, hoping to put the man at ease. He honestly couldn’t even remember getting the cut. It had revealed itself as he left the wood, painfully smearing blood onto his bow.

He nodded to a seat at the table. “Why don’t you have a seat? The ale here is really good, and I’m glad to have company,” he said as he gestured to his empty mug. The man appeared to be of the good, hardworking sort, judging by the scars and the well-worn hand that he had offered earlier. Wade wondered if he’d have hands like that in the near future, if he’d give in and find a job working for a craftsman.

Wade leaned back casually in his seat. “So, what is it that you do? You seem like you work hard enough at whatever it is.” The man’s nervousness, coupled with the ale he had already downed, had put him at ease. He couldn’t even remember what had upset him earlier.

“Oh!” he said with a start. “And my name is Wade.”

[Sohco]

Sohco pulled out the chair and seated himself at the chair which Wade had motioned towards,
saying," I am Sohco, nice to meet you Wade."

He peered around the room once again scanning the people in the room, looking for threats; Sohco tried to be cool about it, but it was quite obvious what he was doing. After he was satisfied that he was safe, he returned his attention to the man in front of him.

"So Wade, what is it that you do around here? I'm looking to become a bowyer myself, but I've yet to find a job," Sohco asked the man, interested in how his new acquaintance survived. Sohco acted quite excited, and forcibly controlled the rate at which he talked. "If you do not mind, I will not be drinking today," he said, as he was not feeling very thirsty at the moment.

He adjusted in his chair slightly, eying Wade up and down, unsure what he thought of the man. No doubt he was a relaxed man, judging by his posture, but then again... he shook his head at a bad memory, quickly dispelling it.

He crossed his arms across his chest, though his posture did relax quite a bit. Dropping his shoulders and relaxing his expression, he went through a list of things he could talk about while waiting for Wade's response, mulling each possible topic throughout his head. Failing to find anything that suited his fancy, he decided to wait for Wade to make his next move.

[Wade]

Wade nodded as Sohco gave his name, though he did not recognize it. "I am, at the moment, a hunter," Wade said in answer to the man's question. "I just recently ah... found myself alone and I didn't know any trade, so I've taken up my bow and gone to hunting for an income." Wade leaned back in his chair comfortably. "I'm still a young lad, to be honest, and haven't figured out life yet.

"A bowyer eh? You'll find no trouble getting work around here. With hunters like me losing arrows in the woods every other minute." Wade thought it was odd that the man did not want to drink here, in the tavern. He wondered what had brought the man out if he wasn't interested in drink. What brought Wade out here after a long day was the promise of a strong ale to drown his pain and weariness and ease him into the next day.

"So, what brings you out to the Rearing Stallion, if it isn't the drink?" he asked, deciding that there was no reason to tiptoe around and leave himself wondering.

[Sohco]

"Just looking for someone new to talk to, that's all. I had a drink earlier, so I'm just not thirsty at the moment," Sohco said, noting that it did seem a little odd that he wasn't drinking at a tavern, but he dismissed it.

A hunter, he thought about that choice of occupation, not the easiest job in the world, and quite reputable; he liked that. " So Wade, you said you just recently found yourself alone, did you lose someone? or?" he was curious to know how a young man could find himself alone in a big city like this.

Once again he found himself pondering what to say, he was never too quick with what to say; choosing rather to say less words with more impact, but noting that a pause much longer would seem odd, he spoke," A hunter, ehh? Maybe we could go out sometime, I'd like to learn how to shoot. Pretty odd for a bowyer not to commonly use a bow, isn't it? Anyway, once I get a bit of cash and a few companions, I'm hoping to find myself an adventure, what do you think?"

[Wade]

Wade cocked his head as the man chose to delve into Wade's personal life with that one question. He hadn't been asked that by anybody, really. He wasn't sure what drove this man to ask that when others had not. He shrugged, figuring that this man must just be a polite and kind individual. He paused before answering. "My uh, my sister died just at the end of Spring. She took ill for a long time and just faded away." He paused again as he struggled with a lump in his throat.

Wade shook away the bad memories even as he shook his head. He leaned forward, elbows resting on the table and his head resting on his knuckles. "That's part of the reason I took to hunting," he said, easing his way away from the dark subject. "I figured it was the easiest way to get food, you see." He chuckled as he thought of all the rabbits that had just snickered at him and bounded away. "I was a little wrong about that, though."

He did not elaborate and describe his failures in the field, but instead seized upon the man's mention of wanting to learn how to use the bow. "I'd be willing to teach you what I know about shooting, though I'm still admittedly a novice at it. You should know your way around a bow enough, figuring on you being a bowyer and all, we could get a quick lesson and go out hunting some time." Wade was always looking for a companion on his hunts. Partially because he enjoyed the company but also partially because he could blame an escaping animal on another's clumsy steps. It helped his pride.

Wade scratched his nose as he considered the man's last question. "An adventure? I used to go on a bunch of adventures as a child here and there about the city. I don't know what adventures you have in mind though." He leaned back. He was struggling to grow up, now that he was on his own, but just the word adventure had a fun ring to it. Wade still very much liked to have fun.

[Sohco]

"Oh my... I'm so sorry," Sohco said quite genuinely, " My apologies if I crossed a boundary."

He tapped Wade on the shoulder, consoling him, " Hey, if you need anything from me feel free to ask," And, not seeing anything more that he could say, he shut up to avoid even more awkwardness.

Sohco looked away from Wade, embarrassed that he had been so blunt in asking about such a touchy subject. Still averting his eyes, he called over a barmaid, " Ale, lots of it. Please." Afterwards, he sat for a long while in silence before he addressed the subject of adventure, " I do not really know what adventures I have in mind either to be perfectly honest. Maybe I don't want an adventure, but perhaps a fight instead. I've done a bit of brawling in my time, but it has probably been a couple years now," he openly thought about that for a moment, would it really be wise to risk his life or at least his limb in a fool hardy attempt of excitement?

He could not decide and decided to move on. " Is hunting really that difficult?" Sohco said doubtfully, " How hard could it be to kill a few animals?"
He waited a few seconds before he continued," Anyway, I would very much appreciate a lesson in archery even if it is basic," adding in," and I most definitely know how a bow works, but I have just never used one."

Finishing his sentence, he looked around for the barmaid once again, hoping she would return with the ale soon. After a while the maid returned with several mugs of ale and Sohco buried his face in a long draw from the first mug.

[Wade]

Wade chuckled as the man suddenly changed his mind. He had gone from not wanting a sip of drink to burying himself in a mug of ale. Perhaps it was to alleviate his guilt over asking about Wade's personal life, though it was an honest question and was a grief that Wade had buried some time ago. Wade was amused by this man before him.

"Well, if you're looking for a brawl, you can always head down to the Fighter's Pit," Wade said. "The Knights don't mind if people get into scuffles there as long as it doesn't leave the walls of the pit. I'd be careful who you challenge there though if you're rusty. Quite a few of 'em take it quite seriously." He looked the man up and down with a smile, wondering if he could take him. "I might be willing to go down there sometime with you."

When the man said that hunting didn't seem difficult Wade's back stiffened as straight as a board and a lump of pride obstructed his throat for a few seconds. "Not.. hard?" He stammered. "Those damn things don't want to die, you know. They bounce around at the edges of your range and then laugh at you when you miss just one shot!" Wade eyed the man, thinking that he had a lesson coming. "You'll see when we get you out there to practice."

[Sohco]

Quickly lowering the mug of ale, he went to reply to the obviously angered man trying to get the younger man to relax," Whoa, whoa I didn't mean to offend you, I've never been out hunting, you would know better than I do. Maybe the little rascals are faster than I remember."

Sohco looked towards the front door, thinking he heard it slam, maybe someone had to leave in a hurry, ahh well, taking another look around the room, he dispelled it from his mind as just another noise and returned to his mug.

Taking another sip of ale he contemplated the fighting pit, could be fun, but then again getting beaten is never too good. Noticing the look that Wade gave him, Sohco thought about a fight with the man; It'd be a good one. Regardless, he knew he had never really used a weapon before, perhaps he had swung a stick around as a child, but he hadn't ever had training. He decided to tell Wade, " So Wade, I have never really been a man of action, no real weapons training, do you know your way around a sword?"

Waiting for a reply, he wondered if he should have told Wade that he wasn't exactly a fighter, crime was nearly non-existent in Syliras but still...
Sohco reached around his pockets and remembered he didn't have a blade and made a mental note to purchase one soon after leaving.