PM to join [The Drunken Fish] Drinks On Me (Lenz)

[Madison]

The Drunken Fish
15th of Summer, 514AV

________One day, such as this day, was a day to relax, scout, and take away from it information and potential targets. Many days were exactly like this. There in the Fish, rowdy as ever, a snake did slither past its occupants. Dangerous, copper eyes, took in the sights, the scenes, and the atmosphere, strolling over to a far off table with the intent to drink in everything going on that passed her eyes. She was a near common fixture to the setting, so few turned their gazes to the snake, those that did observed for but a moment before returning to their merriment. It was late in the day, when work was still to be done, but ‘Berthians did as they wished. A perfectly acceptable pastime, one did, as they wanted, with no one to tell them otherwise.
________The Fish was the perfect embodiment of that ideal, sailormen, privateers, and other such foreigners were making good on the hospitality the establishment provided. Madison flagged a serving girl down as she passed. “Ale, cheese, bread.” Simple, commanding, there was no need to get flashy with a slave as they were known to be in the Fish.
________While she was waiting for her food and drink, Madison leaned back on her chair’s two back legs, crossing one leg over the other with arms crossed against her chest. Using her one leg as front support she began to tip herself backwards slightly, and then forwards, her manners reeking of impatience but the expression held so cooly on her face suggested otherwise. As a pastime, Madison watched some of the hearty sailors chugging down their mugs, ordering more with slurred voices.
________Others partaking at the establishment were laughing, their deep throated squeals of excitement rising above chit chat, and chuckling, from what Madison could see they were playing a game of cards. Coin on the table. Gamblers. Of course, always trying to increase their wealth through luck. Another sharp burst of laughs came from the other side of the room, copper eyes followed the laughter to a small group of men, showboating, and flailing their arms, gesturing during what could have been a story. Said story was lost in the throes of other distractions though, so Madison would pay no more attention to their pandering tales of adventure. Instead she was alerted by the barmaid who had come back with her food, and drink, setting said bread and cheese wrapped in a suspiciously dirty looking cloth, and mug, on Maddi's table before weaving away to attend to other patrons.
________With a pert thump, her chair's front legs touched the floor once more. Raising her mug up to her lips, Madison took down a swig of the harsh tasting ale, a Sunberthian speciality that required one to become acquired with it. From the rim of the mug her eyes flicked in between the vile brown liquid to the tavern setting, not wanting to miss a moment, or an opportunity to find what she was looking for.

[Lenz]

15th of Summer, 514 AV
The Drunken Fish Tavern

Today was not a very special day. It was one of vast boredom for the woman, but she wasn’t one to complain too easily.

She didn’t have a well thought out night the previous night. The bells of the darkness had swam around her, surrounding her until it felt like they were strangling the last and final breath from out of her lungs. She was choking, she could feel it, when she was wandering the streets late last night. When the day was over, she ended up falling asleep for two bells before waking with a start to begin the next day.

Now, after spending what felt like endless moments trekking through the city and wandering aimlessly yet again, she found herself cornered by the sights of an oddly familiar establishment.

It was a tavern, built from the finest of lumber found in the city, but upon closer inspection she noticed with her darkened hazel eyes that the wood was deteriorating and rather quickly if she were to get technical.

It was as if creatures in the middle of the night swept in from the darkest corners of the universe only to eat away at the timber before vanishing with the wind.

It was a dark envision that plastered itself to the walls of her mind, but it was one that felt comforting for her. Right now, however, she didn’t need the sort of comfort that came from thoughts sprung when you’re bathing yourself or when you’re trying to go to sleep in a crowd of wolves.

What she needed was something to numb the ends of her nerves and eviscerate her heart strings. She needed to not feel anything or sense anyone. She just wanted to drift off into the warmth of alcohol and that was just what she was going to do.

She walked through the gates of the building and prepared herself for the worst. She couldn’t recall ever coming to this particular tavern.

She had gone to the safer one several yards away, but that was because she was weark, frightened and too concerned for her wellbeing to get in the midst of a challenging bar fight.

Now, she could care less. In fact, she was on edge and craved a little violent action even if it crafted a few wounds or lacerations on the young woman’s body.

She trekked through the crowds of bustling people holding mugs of ale or glasses of cheap wine. Upon seeing a rather heavy woman backing up, Lenz had to pivot on her left foot to avoid collision. She ended up bending her back so that her chin was facing the ceiling before turning on her heel to escape any accident. She then tilted her body up right and brushed her slacks off from the invisible debris

Her acrobatic technique was much less interesting than what she saw next, however. Her eyes traced a familiar face before the hazel spheres adjusted to find a young man with a face covered in stubble. He had messy brown hair and stunning blue eyes and she couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy and a piercing sting of hate. He was the one she had met in the whore house last season and he was the one who didn’t care about anything besides money.

She despised people like that, but with the world full of such individuals, it was hard to walk by someone without meeting those that you detest. She averted her gaze until they met the bar’s counter.

She retraced her steps until her waist was touching the edge of the table. She grasped the back of a chair and pulled it out from under it before taking a seat. Instantly she felt somewhat better having a break from walking throughout the town. Now, she just needed something to drink, but alas, she had no money with her at the moment.

Sighing fairly loudly, she pressed her back against the back of the chair and caused the chair to startle. Instead of falling backwards, she laced her feet underneath the counter and balanced herself accordingly.

No money meant no alcohol and no alcohol meant no release. What was she to do now? She couldn’t simply ask the person sitting next to her for some money. No one did that and those who did were treated with torment, she could see it.

Just for the sake of trying, she looked to her left to see a woman with dark hair and oddly coloured eyes. They were a rusty colour with flecks of smouldering orange and rosette crimson. Some dark brown flourished her irises as well. They were unique, but concerning intimidating.

But then she realised that she hated conversing with others, so now she was just staring like a fool at a complete and total stranger.

[Madison]

________Chimes passed yet nothing interesting crossed her eyes, she finished her first drink with a disappointed gulp. People were merry, none caught her attention as being suitable targets, it would have been so much easier to go to the Pig at this bell but alas here she was in the Fish. Sailors abound. Madison collected her food, left the empty mug on the table, and moved to the bar up front. Tearing a chunk of bread from the small loaf she had been presented earlier and ripped a bite from it, chewing thoughtfully, before tapping the bar for the bartender to get her another drink. The bread was going stale, and the toughness was making it difficult to swallow, she would choke before she could finish her meal. From dirty hands, and a dirty rag, to a dirty cup, filled with the swill and brine of the Fish, the Sunberthian Ale was served to her in but a few moments of Madison ordering it.
________Grabbing the handle she chugged a third of the drink down with her first bite of bread, feeling relieved as it went down easier than it would have without the ale. Since there was no one of particular interest she supposed it would be fine to get drunk tonight (or not, Rufus was not with her to take her home and oh how that would be a problem.) Madison glanced into the murky liquid with a bored, discontent expression, as a brief flash of brilliant red entered her peripherals, a figure had sat next to her at the bar. The snake did not need to look directly to tell that much, but the red was enough to pique her curiosity into glancing at the- now- woman next to her. Meeting the gaze of an emerald eyed girl, Madison had to take a gander that she was maybe fifteen, at least, with such amazing red hair.
________Jackpot. This girl was exactly whom she had been looking for to enter the Fish since she got here. Skin and bones, from the looks of it, wild untamed hair suggested poorer living conditions, dirt, unkempt clothes, the girl looked like an easy target to Madison.
________”Not ordering anything.” The snake made an observation, rather than a question. “Why that won’t do- oy!” She turned to the barkeep and tapped the bar a second time. “Get this girl an ale! Drinks on me.”
Turning back to the magnificent red head, Madison took a sharp drink of her ale, feeling a bit fuzzy at the action she set it down with a relieved sigh. Slurring syllables were sounding out, but Madison was thinking clearly enough, she was not yet at her limit and hoped the woman would believe her to be a lightweight and follow in on the merriment. “This ale taste'sh like utter pig shyke, but boy does it get you messhed up.”
________Tap. Another mug of ale joined the two, this one for the red head whose name Madison did not know yet. Didn’t really care to learn either, but for the sake of luring the girl in, she looked at her target once again with a grin. “Go on, ‘ave a drink girly. You look like you need’sh it. What's your name?”
________If Lenz took the ale or not, Madison would watch the girl intently, taking in some more of the girls features and then felt compelled to tame that wild mane of hair. How would the girl look if that mess was neat and tidy? If her skin was scrubbed, and the clothes on her back thrown out for something more elegant and fitting for pandering gazes. Maddi could almost see it, how the girl would be worth a small fortune then, but it would take a whole season to fatten her up appropriately to a curvy stature. Something men or women could crave, throw their purses at, and make her own strings taut with strain of the weight of her own purse. Maybe it could have been mistaken as the snake being drunk, for how long she stared, before passing the other half of her bread to the girl.
________“You look like shyke too’sh girly.” It was not entirely meant to be an insult, she glanced back to the barkeep. “Oy, keep these mug’sh filled, the ale’sh gotta be flowin’ outa those barrelsh!”

________ Paragraph Indentation