Closed The Petal of Suggestion (Velindor)

[Azuridae]

60th of Summer
19th Bell
The Withering Rose

The evening was a welcome change as it meant that Azuridae would shift from her mortal form to her more celestial one. It meant less distraction as she slipped into a familliar black velvet dress and draping her white apron on her arm, key in hand, the Ethaefal exited her home. With a quick lock she gazed upon where Alvadas had set her. It seemed to be on the outskirts of the sanity center, and respective sanity contained buildings. This was a good sign that things would run smoothly tonight and the city was relatively cooperative with that thought. It took her almost no time at all to find the Withering Rose establishment.

Upon the back entry Azuridae tied her apron around her waist, smiled, and greeted her fellow waitresses. The Ethaefal was assigned a section of tables by Raenah Duval for the night, much like her coworkers were. Azuridae glanced out from the back of house at the few people sitting at the tables. One of the other girls peeked over her shoulder and mentioned the small crowd. "Seems slow tonight."

"Wait for the night to go by a bit."

The Ethaefal responded without looking at the girl, with a slight tilt of her head she eyed some newly entered patrons. They were a skittish lot, dressed in what appeared to be their best, and the red rose in Azuridae's section they chose indicated they were courting each other. "There's my cue." Azuridae said as she glanced back at the small girl, and with a quick practiced stride the Ethaefal greeted the nervous couple in a firm but polite voice.

"Welcome to the Withering Rose, my name is Azuridae, and I'll be serving you tonight. What can I get started for you?"

The man, a short, stocky build, but young and full of life individual with a bob of brown hair and light brown eyes to match looked up at the Ethaefal, stunned. While Azuridae knew she was beautiful, and certainly a sight to behold, she only offered him a stoically inclined smile. He cleared his throat, glancing between waitress and date, who had given him a nice whap on the arm. "Bottle o' your finest red, and some roast chicken for me and the most beautiful lady sitting here with me." He requested.

Azuridae's expression didn't flicker as she caught the save he performed, the girl the man was courting had this judgemental and jealous look about her. It quickly turned pleased, but wary, as the Ethaefal gave a courteous nod. "It'll be but a moment."

Glancing quickly at her section and seeing it mostly empty the Ethaefal retreated from the table gracefully for the bottle of wine and to let the chef know the table's order. It would be a few chimes for the chicken, but Azuridae was quick to fish out one of the red wine bottles, a corkscrew, a spare cloth napkin, and two wine glasses for the couple. Returning to the couple's table the Ethaefal set the respective wine glasses down and showed them the bottle, gesturing to its contents. "Is this the type of wine you wanted?" Azuridae questioned.

"Yes. That'll do." The man responded without care.

He was careful not to look directly at his waitress again, his lady had a good hard stare at him whilst Azuridae was in their presence. Upon his confirmation, whether it was the bottle he wanted or not as it was one of their finer reds, the Ethaefal took the bottle in hand with the cloth napkin, and stuck the cork screw into the cork. With a few practiced movements Azuridae had loosened up the cork and finished pulling it out quietly with her hand. Wiping the top of any wine that had seeped out and offering the pleasent smelling cork to the man who took it and sniffed, and then offered it to his date. She quick pocketed the corkscrew in her apron and took a glass at a time, slowly pouring the decadent red. With that out of the way Azuridae left the remaining bottle with the couple to check on their meal.

It was then that she noticed a familliar face sitting at the bar on the left hand side of the room, the recognition was slow, and she paused as she processed who it was. Vel? Velin. Veldar? No, none of those sounded right, close, but not right. The Ethaefal looked away with as straight a face as she could and hoisted the plates of savory chicken and made her way back to the couple, setting their plates down, and retreating once more. This time to the back of the house.

"Things can't just be left alone, can they?" Azuridae whispered into the air, staring at the ceiling in utter disbelief. It dawned on her that the city had been kind today because it just knew things would unfold the events of a joke. It seemed to be a favorite past time of the city to see her struggle, Azuridae would have called it vindictive.

'Petch!' She wordlessly mouthed at nothing in particular.

Azuridae snapped her attention back to the dining room, staring at the bar, he wasn't alone as there were one or two regulars also partaking in the drink. The other waitresses were well preoccupied with other patrons, and her section had another group dressed in business attire at one of her white rose tables. It would be bad form to avoid going out into the dining room just to remain undetected, if of course that was the case.

[Velindor Calendula]

Velindor finished lacing his sandals with delicate, ebony claws before standing to peer out the single dirty window of his cottage. The red-gold glow of Syna’s departure was beginning to dim and fade into a cool silver radiance as Leth resumed his dominance of the firmament above. Unlike his fellow Alvads, dressed as they were in their eye-searing wraps and shawls, Velindor preferred a more subdued approach to fashion. His pants and shirt, while both of Symenestran silk, were simple affairs of midnight blue, passable enough as black in the twilight of Leth’s reign. The spider frowned as he noticed the elbows and knees of his clothes were starting to show noticeable wear and tear. Understandable enough, they were the very same shirt and pants he’d been sent off from Kalinor...by the chains of Viratas, had it really been a year since he’d departed his beloved caverns?

Velindor’s frown deepened as familiar faces flashed in his mind’s eye, and for just a moment he could swear he smelled the sweet, heady fragrance of honeysuckle wafting directly beneath his nose. Closing his golden eyes, Velindor worked to recall every detail of his mother’s face: her soft lilac eyes and the gentle pursing of her lips when her eldest son was being particularly vexatious. Unbidden, a feeling of intense loneliness came welling up from Velindor’s breast. While Alvadas was a city of constant change, always with new faces to meet, the Symenestra had yet to meet another of his kind here, and it was difficult to stave off the isolation that came with being, for all he knew anyway, the only one of his kind in a city of thousands. On the heels of the acute pang of loneliness came a deep and intense sense of longing, of pining, washing over Velindor in waves..

In truth, this was the first time the spider had been away from home for so long on his own. Of course, he’d been on two successful gleanings in the past, but both of those had been in the company of his older, much more experienced cousin. Idly, he wondered if Vurdil had sired children yet or not. Would that make Velindor an uncle? He didn’t think so, and decided it hardly mattered here in Alvadas. ”The sooner I complete my Harvest, the sooner I can return to find out,” the Symenestra thought to himself. But even Gleanings were hardly simple affairs, how much more so the Harvest? This was Velindor’s first true test, his first opportunity to genuinely contribute to Symenestra society and the continuation of his species.

A long, exasperated exhalation escaped from Velindor’s lungs as he opened his eyes. Sitting here and worrying, ruminating would get him nowhere. Best to put thoughts of home behind him until he was on his way back, captive surrogate at his side. Even so, his short bout of homesickness had left him with a powerful thirst and a particular craving. Only the finest would do, which meant that once Velindor had exited his small cottage, locking the front door behind him, lest any of Ionu’s tricks slip in, he began meandering the wandering, shifting streets in search of the Withered Rose.

In a city like Alvadas, though of course no such thing existed, getting anywhere could be an arduous endeavor. So Velindor was pleasantly surprised when he only had to wander the streets for a handful of chimes before he reached his desired establishment. As always, a strange air of foreboding hung over the restaurant that many Alvads found so disconcerting they had never set foot inside the Rose. For his part, Velindor quite enjoyed the somber ambience, though he’d only had occasion to wine and dine here once before, just after he had arrived in the city.

Stepping over the threshold, the spider took a few quick moments to glance about the restaurant. There were a handful of patrons seated at various tables, most adorned by white roses. In the back corner, near the kitchen entrance, a pair of humans glared at each other with clenched jaws over the black bloom in the center of their table.

Velindor himself took a position at the bar on the opposite side of the restaurant. The only other customers included a rather surly looking Isur, along with an Eypharan who was somehow managing to drink from three different glasses of wine in a hypnotic cycle of his arms. The Symenestra chose a spot halfway between the other two, giving the brunette human woman behind the bar a casual smile and nod to attract her attention. The woman nodded in acknowledgement, though she remained focused on pouring a second glass of wine for the Isur. Perhaps a tick or two later, the front door to the Rose opened and closed once more, admitting a human couple who promptly took seats at a table adorned by a red rose.

”Ah, human courtship,” Velindor thought as he did his best to observe from the periphery of his vision, never looking directly at any of the other patrons. ”It’s so quaint, really.” His reverie was broken by a clearing of the throat on the other side of the bar. The dark-haired bartender, a rather sultry woman, now that Velindor had a proper look at her, regarded him with the practiced warm smile that every barkeep seemed to acquire after enough time on the job. ”Don’t get many spiders in the Rose,” she remarked with a hint of mirth in her voice. ”What can I get you tonight, good sir?”

Velindor returned her smile, stopping just short of allowing his lips to part, keeping his pearly white fangs concealed. ”A single glass of your finest honeysuckle wine will suffice,” he said before adding with a wry smirk, ”for now.” The woman seemed nonplussed, as she should. Bartenders surely ranked among the top professions for being hit on by clientele, perhaps just behind waitresses. As the dark-haired woman turned to retrieve his beverage, Velindor thought he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure near the human couple’s table. And had he seen green horns? The spider could feel his heart increase pace ever so slightly. If his hunch was correct, then tonight Alvadas may prove to have a literal sense of humor after all.

[Azuridae]

Azuridae watched from the door, glancing between her target table of three humanoid individuals in red velvet attire, and the spider. To hide herself in plain sight would be a difficult task, but could be manageable if she just timed things right. The spiders back would be facing her if she darted around the dining room from behind, and she did that, but she tried her hardest to not even glance at the spider. The bartender had his attention, which was good, and the Eth could only hope that the dark eyed barista would unknowingly maintain that advantage. She walked through the dining room with elegance and grace, between tables, and towards her intended destination. It was good that Azuridae had moved when she had because the patrons were looking around, trying to catch other waitresses eyes, and were as skillfully avoided as a fish slipping out of someone's hand.

At the seated table there was a Konti, her scales glimmered in the gentle candlelight, and her hair was tied up into a neatly braided bun. The other two were human men, or so Azuridae believed, and both of them oozed charisma perfectly suited for a business venture. One looked older, wrinkles had begun to show on his face, with a greying beard. The other, hair slicked back, with such pearly white teeth. His smile made Azuridae's heart flutter.

"Welcome to the Rose." Azuridae started, trying to hush her voice as quietly as she could but still loud enough for them to hear. "I'll be your server tonight, what would you like me to get started for you?" She was careful to omit her name just in case the spider heard it.

"Three glasses of wine." The Konti interjected before the men could speak. "I myself will have a white."

The older of the two men chimed in. "Make it a bottle then, because we'll be here for awhile." The Konti sighed.

"I would prefer that you had your wits about you."

"Between the three of us, the bottle shouldn't be that much."

"You've said that before."

"That was with ale deary."

"Why don't we just do the glasses? It'll be easier to decide who pays what once we're finished."

The two went on like that for a few more chimes before their other aquantaince was the tie breaker and the table opted for just three glasses of wine. Two white, one red. They were more agreeable to food, and decided on simple salads. Azuridae took mental note of how a reasonable suggestion could turn the mood of the table, and while it was more expensive to buy wine by the glass, it would be easier to split the bill at the end of the night. The Ethaefal had been waiting patiently for them to come to a decision all the while checking the area every chime or so. Usually it was to keep tabs on her section but tonight it was the spider, her eyes flitted on him briefly. "I'll be just a moment." With a nod, Azuridae retreated from the white rose table and made her way towards the kitchen to let the chef know what the table wanted. Three salads.

From the back Azuridae poured three glasses of wine, two white, one red, and before she would set them on a tray she positioned her palm in the middle to test the balance first. When the Ethaefal was satisfied with how it felt in her hand, she began placing the wine glasses on the tray, spacing them out evenly so they wouldn't mess with the balance. Dread hit the Ethaefal as she exited the kitchen. The only thing that could generally hide her face was the tray of wine glasses she was carrying, but if she altered the balance even slightly she was bound to drop the tray and in the commotion everyone's eyes would be drawn to her, including the spiders. There would also be a stern scolding in store for her from Raenah, she had been there for two years now, she should know how to properly carry a tray by now. So with her best stoic expression she brought the wine to the table and placed the respective wine glasses down in the patrons general vicinity. "Here you are. Your salads will be ready in a few moments."

[Velindor Calendula]

Yadda yadda yadda In the short time it took for the barista to return with Velindor’s wine, his hunch had morphed itself into a gnawing curiosity. To date, he’d only seen one woman in the city with green horns, and he had only met her just ten days ago. Then again, he had no guarantee he’d actually seen horns; the steady stream of patrons interspersed with waiters and waitresses carrying trays laden with food and drink precluded precise identification. None of that did anything to assuage Velindor’s intense desire to know for certain. “Here you are, sir spider,” the bartender joked as she deposited the glass in front of him, “one glass of honeysuckle white. If you need anything else, just give me a nod.” Velindor smiled and nodded in gratitude, taking a slow sip of his wine. The sweet aroma of honeysuckle once more graced his nostrils as Velindor imbibed the sweet white. As the liquid washed over his tongue, the spider closed his eyes and was struck by memory. The long white honeysuckle flowers had grown in abundance on the mountains above Kalinor, and as a young boy, his mother had frequently brought him to the surface to pick them while his father traveled. Some she would weave into small bracelets or circlets, while others were carefully nipped at the bud, the stalk removed in a single pull to draw out the nectar that gave the flower its name. Savoring both the wine and the memory for just a moment, Velindor opened his eyes and turned to regard the other patrons, and perhaps catch another glimpse that would sate his curiosity. “There!” Amidst the stream of waitstaff exiting the kitchen, he saw her, a tray with three glasses of wine balanced atop one slender, starlit hand. He would have missed her had those lustrous emerald horns not been in evidence. Not wishing to be caught staring, Velindor quickly turned back to the bar, taking a second, longer pull from his own glass for cover. “Well, that certainly looked like Azuridae,” the spider thought to himself, thinking back to their last encounter at the Stallion’s Rear. That had been a very strange night indeed! Still, a little confirmation couldn’t hurt. Giving a nod of his head toward the bartender, attracting her attention, Velindor made a point of locking his golden eyes to her own dark brown. A smile that was not reflected in his eyes spread across his lips as she approached, the spider silently altering his breathing into deep, measured breaths to coax his magical talent forth. “Something else you need, sir?” came the barwoman’s voice, laced as ever with the right mix of flirtation and professionalism. Velindor’s eyes peered deep into the human woman’s as he coaxed his djed forth into a vague, emotional suggestion of lust, that most basic passion of all races. “That Eth waitress,” Velindor began, ignoring the colors that began swirling at the edges of his vision as he spun his djed further into a verbal suggestion, disguised as a question, “won’t you tell me her name?” The barista shot a look of barely concealed jealousy over Velindor’s shoulder, presumably at the object of his questioning, before meeting his gaze once more. “Hmph, this early, huh?” the barwoman answered, “Seems every night one of you fellas starts asking ‘bout Azu-....” The woman caught herself, but not before giving away enough to confirm Velindor’s suspicion. She narrowed her eyes with a suspicion of her own before continuing with an exasperated sigh, “Don’t know why they bother, or you. Never seen her with a fella, coming or going. Now, if you don’t need another drink, I have other patrons to tend to.” With that, the woman turned and made for the other end of the bar, where the wine-juggling Eypharian was once more calling for refills. Velindor himself turned back to the dining room, casting a knowing gaze over the rim of his wineglass towards the Ethaefal waitress as she tended to her tables.