Flashback (The Blue Bull) A Day Away from Work (Anibesa)

[Aladon]

Time Stamp: 15th of Summer, 502AV Location: The Blue Bull Who: Aladon, Anibesa Holding the heavy sledge hammer, Aladon watched the Akalak as he removed the metal rod from the forge with pair of metal tongs. The rod was glowing white hot from sitting in the coals when he placed the glowing end of the rod on the anvil. The Akalak pointed and said in Tukant, “Here.” Aladon looked at the spot where he pointed too, lifted the hammer up, and swung the heavy hammer down on the glowing rod. The Isur hit the end of the rod and bent it down in a shower of sparks. Immediately, the akalak blacksmith turned the rod to exact opposite side and said again in Tukant, “Here.” Aladon did what he was told and brought the hammer up once again brought it down on the end of metal rod with the same amount of force that he was directed to when he first picked up the sledge hammer. The end wasn't bent down anymore, it was somewhat straight. He repeated the procedure six more times until the end of the rod was a cone shape. When Aladon was directed to stop hitting the metal rod, the Akalak quenched the steel rod into a bath of oil. While the Akalak quenched the rod, he brought the hammer back to hanger on the wall. Walking back to the akalak, the Isur said respectfully in common, “Master, why do you quench the metal rod in a oil bath and not water?” The blue blacksmith walked it over to a cooling rack and said in common before turning around, “Oil tends to quench the metal slower than water. Water tends to quench it faster.” Taking off his thick gloves, the akalak sat down on his stool and continued, “The faster the metal cools. The higher the risk of it cracking in the quench. Since these rods will be used in the mines. I don't need them shattering as soon as they pound them into bed rock. Understand, Aladon?” Stroking his chin, Aladon nods, “Sort of, but isn't the alloy strong enough to withstand the pressure?” “If it made right, but if you have a crack in your tool even if it small and polished out. It will still reduce the life of the tool overtime.” “I guess you have point.” “That is why you are the apprentice, and I am the master, Aladon.” The akalak got off the stool, walked over to him, and pat him on the red shoulder, “You did much better today keeping the force of your blows equal on all eight strikes. Unlike last week...” Pushing himself from the workbench, Aladon shook his head and said, “Sorry, I was distracted last week...my molds been looking like shyte lately...” The Akalak crossed his arms and said simple, “Are you doing a crappy job designing them?” Aladon shook his head and said, “No...I just feeling stressed. I can't focus.” The blacksmith nodded and said simply, “Alright, here is my advice. Get a drink, dance with a girl, and forget about work.” “What, but we have projects! We need to make more rods for the mines, and the blast furnace needs to be maintained..” The blue blacksmith gave him a stern look and said simply, “If you don't take two weeks off to center yourself, I will fire you. Understand, Aladon.” Aladon took a deep breath and said, “That is unfair, Master.” “Life is unfair.” Hanging up his apron, Aladon nodded to his Master. The last thing he wanted to do was to get fired from his job over not taking time off from work. The Isur didn't understand why the other races of Mizahar took, so much time off their duties, it was unheard of in Sultros. The work needed to get done by someone and laziness was never tolerated in his home city. As he walked home, he wondered if taking time off of work laziness? He really hoped it wasn't. Regardless, he was on vacation, and he needed to figure out what to do to pass the time. His master suggested heading to a tavern and getting a drink. Simple enough. He enjoyed a good brew or wine after work, but the other thing that he suggested was dance with a girl. He never danced in his life. Drinking is easy. Dancing and making a complete fool of yourself in front of a girl was something completely entirely different. Eventually, he made it to his apartment opened the door. The apartment was a studio with the bedroom, living room, and bathroom all in one cozy space. He quickly stripped and went to the wash basin and filled it with water and started to towel off the daily grim of forge. When he was finished bathing, he got changed into his all black attire and strapped on his bastard sword to his waist for protection. Even if Riverfall was a lawful city, he was still a foriegner in a foreign land. His stepmother would have a fit if she stepson would get killed without anyways of defending himself. When Aladon was finished, he put on his black coat and left his apartment. He decided to walk around the city for a little bit to catch to get a better look at the city in the daytime. Normally, he left work when it was well into the evening, but his master must have wanted him out of his hair because it was noon. Syna was blazing high in the sky in the first couple days of summer, so he was kind of regretting the choice of wearing all black. Deciding to escape the heat of the day, the Isur decided to escape the heat and found the first dive bar that he could find. It was called the Blue Bull Tavern. When Aladon opened the door to walk, he immediately noticed the bar was awfully busy to be packed in the middle of the day. Not the mention the amount of already drunken patrons in the place. There was a mix of people, but the majority was akalak, so he already was feeling inadequate surrounded by giant blue men. Trying his best to look over the crowd of people, he noticed a few open tables away from the main area. He wanted to stay away from the main crowd and just enjoy a drink in relative peace. As he was walking to a table, he accidentally bumped into a tall muscular akalak. Aladon looked at him and said in Tukant, “Sorry.” The akalak clearly intoxicated glared down at him and said in common, “Whazt? I caht hear youz from downz there? Speaks up!” Aladon knew that he should have repeated himself, but he wasn't in the mood to trade insults with the drunken idiot. He decided to just ignore him and walk to a open table. Sitting down, he could hear the pair of males laughing in his direction, but he decided to ignore them and wait for a waitress to come.

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

The Casinor had just pulled into shore, and Anibesa’s pod members were all talking about what they were going to do.
Jiacek claimed that he was going to tell his stories to whoever would listen, which likely meant that he would waste any money he had on drink at the bar whilst lecherously trying to persuade some poor woman to go to bed with him. Tiamon was going to find some more sail cloth for the pod to mend a few broken sails with, then he said he’d enjoy sampling what they’d brewed, and Lia Jarci had decided to go see if she could sell a few things that had been made, or find anyone that wanted any form of passage over the seas that she could charge an extortionate amount of money.

So that left Anibesa free to do what she liked. She could have joined any of her pod members, but none of their plans sounded fun, and so she decided she’d find somewhere to get a few drinks and converse with the locals, from the giant blue men, to the regular humans! She wanted to hear their stories so she could pass them onto the rest of her pod, possibly even find ideas of places to visit at some point or other!

As she clambered off the Casinor and set foot onto the solid land, she felt herself wobbly slightly, not entirely used to the feeling of standing or walking on a surface that wasn’t swaying and bucking with the waves.
Her first few steps were unsteady and left her stumbling like a drunken fool, before she was caught by Tiamon and set straight, the older man grinning at her with his bright blue eyes that stood out against his fully greyed hair.

“Careful lass. You’ll get your land legs back soon!” the man chuckled as he spoke in Fratava and Anibesa gladly nodded at him, thankful for how he’d helped her out.

”Thank you. See back here later?” she asked, watching the man as he nodded before heading off into Riverfall.
Anibesa had watched had until he’d vanished, then opted to ask someone where the best place to drink was, and so she headed into the city, deeper and deeper until she found a man that was smiling.

The man was an Akalak, obvious by his dark blue skin and his imposing height, and though most intimidated her with their height and renowned prowess, this one was smiling, and that made Anibesa feel less intimidated and comfortable enough to ask him a few quick questions.

”Excuse me, but do you know where is a good place to get a drink?” she asked him, only to find him staring vacantly at her, obviously not understanding what she’d asked. Seeing this, she opted to try the other languages she understood a bit of. ”Sir, you know where drink get?” she asked, her Fratava understandable but very rough.

The Akalak man continued staring at her though this time he spoke a single word.
“Tukant”

Hearing this, Anibesa’s face dropped. She had heard the language before, but only knew the very basics of it. A few words at best, and she tried her hardest to recall the right words.

”Erm. Hello? Know drink?” was the best she could manage, her hands making gestures, such as bringing an imaginary glass to her lips and pretending to drink it, to try and help the Akalak man understand her.

The man looked at her for a while before he laughed and nodded, clapping his hands before he pointed down a nearby street, and Anibesa guess he’d managed to understand her, and realised that she wasn’t good at Tukant.

“Blue Bull!” she heard him say and she grinned widely, nodding at him and bowing in thanks.

”Thank sir!” she exclaimed before heading on her way. She briefly heard the man say something in Tukant, but none of the words were ones she understood and she opted to just turn to smile at the man.

After a few moments of walking up and down the street she finally noticed the right place, a pretty building named the Blue Bull Tavern, and happily she snuck into the building, noticing just how busy it was!


She squeezed herself through a crowd of drunk patrons, mostly men who were too drunk to even notice her until she’d passed them already.
For her, it was too busy near the bar, and carefully she snuck through people, only occasionally being shoved into someone and having to try to apologise to them with her limited Tukant.

Once she’d finally spotted a table, she headed towards it only to find that somebody else had already sat there, though instead of finding somewhere else, she leant down slightly, preparing to speak in her very broken Tukant.

”Me sit you?” she asked, motioning to another seat at the table with her hands in the hope that he’d understand. If he could understand this and agreed to her taking the seat, she figured that she could then try to see what languages he spoke, just to see if they could find a better way to talk.
~

[Aladon]

Aladon eyes spotted a pretty red head human woman walking through the crowd towards him. At first, he figured the woman was the waitress, but he leaned down to asked in broken tukant if she could sit down than motioned to the empty chair. Normally, a waitress or waiter wouldn't ask the to sit if they were taking a order, so she wasn't a waitress. The Blue Bull Tavern was pretty full, and out of the corner of his eye a fight between two large akalaks just started up on the dance floor. He could imagine that it was either to much drink or a woman. Feeling kind of protective of the human woman in the rough environment, he said in broken tukant, “Fine. You sit. Tukant garbage. Better common.” As the human woman sat down, the blacksmith studied the young woman face for a few ticks, and he could see that it was doted with freckles, but the most stunning part of her was ice blue eyes. Aladon had to admit to himself that he had talked to many women outside of his race, so he was kind of out of his element speaking to her. First, would she be interested in talking to guy who spends most of his waking hours in a smithy? Also, she almost a foot taller than him. Does she like taller or shorter men? The Isur thought to himself, 'Do you have rocks for brains? She just sat down. Just ask her name? Oh and introduce yourself too.' Aladon decided to take a chance and speak in the common tongue and ask without a added smile, “My name is Aladon Blackforge Sultros. I am a blacksmith apprentice in town. What is you name?” The Isur groaned inwardly at how cold that he sounded to her. When he asked her name, he sounded like he was talking to a customer in the smithy. He noticed the human's and akalak in the city tended to use a welcoming smile to lighten the mood. Why didn't he smile? He hoped that she didn't think that he didn’t want her stay. The blacksmith decided to take a chance and try to salvage the situation, “Before you arrived. I was about to buy a pint Would you be interested in sharing a pitcher of ale with me? I will buy?” The Isur's master said to him to get a drink, dance with a girl, and forget about work, and one just happened to walk up to his table and asked to sit down. He didn't even have to make the effort to get up and ask her if he could buy her a drink. He wasn't the kind of man who would let opportunities slip by the wayside. Even if he totally clueless how to talk to a woman who isn't a Isur. He glanced around the crowded room his eyes met the akalak who he bumped into earlier. He was glaring at him! The Isur averted his gaze back to the human women and said, deciding to add a small awkward smile this time, “I am sure the waitress will be here shortly. I can order us something to eat too if your hungry. I not sure the quality of it here, but we can take our chances...”

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

As she heard the man agree to her sitting with him, Anibesa grinned widely, quickly taking a seat with the man and brushing her hair out of her eyes before briefly turning to see the fight between the two Akalaks and exhaling with a whistle at how rough people got here, at least where alcohol was involved.
Then as the man spoke she turned her attention to him, grinning even wider when he said that his Common was better. She was glad that he had brought that up, as she had been hoping to ask if he spoke something other than Tukant, as Tukant was a language she barely understood any more than the very basics!

As she sat, she glanced around the inside of the building. Her eyes scanned over the bar area and the mass of people, noting the sheer amount of Akalaks compared to all the other races, though that wasn’t something she should have been surprised at considering how the city was the home of the Akalaks.

Then she heard the man speak and a smile spread across her face as she turn to look him over, taking in his appearance, from his athletic frame, to his dark hair, to his blue eyes, and finally to his left arm, at which she raised an eyebrow believing she’d seen such a thing before.

”Anibesa, though most just call me Ani.” she said, holding a hand out to him as a friendly greeting. ”Nothing as fancy as a blacksmith apprentice though, I spend my time on the seas with my pod, doing whatever needs doing really!” she grinned slightly as she spoke before her eyes looked back down to his arm, curious about whether it had any special abilities or whether it was just different cosmetically.

Before she had the chance to ask him, the man brought up the idea of sharing a pitcher of ale and her grin turned slightly wicked as she raised an eyebrow again.
”Aye that’d be nice, Aladon, if you’re sure you can handle it and keep up!” she quietly laughed, trying to lighten the mood and ignore the raucous mood that took over the rest of the bar. Now she just focused on the shorter man to keep the conversation between them. To her he was far less intimidating than the Akalak men, and she saw no better person to engage herself with.

She saw the man glance around, and turned her head to where he was looking, only to see an Akalak glaring at him and an idea popped into her head before the man spoke again, this time offering to order something to eat, and she promptly turned back to him and leant her elbow on the shoulder, her chin held by her hand as she rested her head.

”Unfortunately we ate before we docked here, but if you’re hungry then by all means get something. Though I have two questions if that’s alright mate?” she started before glancing around. ”The first is, well, I’ve seen someone with an arm like you and never got the chance to ask. Does it let you do stuff? Like is it really strong, or unbreakable or something like that, if you don’t mind me asking? And secondly, was one of them over there giving you trouble?” she asked calmly, her face still showing glints of mischief but nothing malicious as she stared intently at the shorter man.
~

[Aladon]

Aladon thought the woman seemed friendly enough, and he gladly took the woman's hand with his left hand and gave it her hand a squeeze and a shake. The red haired human introduced herself as Anibesa, but she was called by other names like Ani. He found her name pretty it fit the young human women well, and the nickname Ani was very welcoming sounding. He was quite amused when she called his job fancy. A blacksmith apprentice wasn't fancy at all. It was mostly him being ordered to strike something by a surly akalak. Now traveling on ship and seeing the world that is something that you would be excited to tell your grandchildren. When she mentioned the term Pod that was a term that he was unfamiliar with, and he would love a explanation if she was willing to give it. Compared to doing odd jobs on a ship. A blacksmith apprentice seemed almost dull in comparison. She must have a exciting life. Something, he would probably never experience. Aladon smirked to himself as she issued a challenge, and he thought to himself that Ani seemed like the complete opposite of him. He wasn't the kind of person to walk up to complete stranger and strike up on a conversation with him. She seemed quite comfortable with herself to engage a conversation with a complete stranger. He was already impressed with her, so he said with a faint smile on his face, “You might regret that challenge tomorrow morning, Ani.” Also Anibesa was observant because she looked at his eyes and turned her head to see who Aladon was looking at behind her. The Isur wasn't worried about the drunk akalak. He figured the drunk blue giant would get mad and go after one of his brethren soon. She declined his invitation for something to eat. The Isur thought to himself, 'Smart girl.' He wasn't going to eat here. He just was going to drink and find a respectful place to eat afterwords. Suddenly the girl asked him two questions and surprised him. The first question was why the blue idiot was staring at him. The second question was about his left arm. He didn't mind sharing about the blue idiot, but how could he explain his arm to someone who wasn't a Isur. Was she worthy enough to learn about the secrets of his people? He figured he explain it the way his father explained it to him when it was starting to change during puberty. It was a spiritual time for the young Isur, but the human women did ask respectfully. He figured if he told her no. She would just leave, and he didn't want that to happen. He just learned her name! Aladon saw that she was leaning on the table with her chin in her hands. For a moment, he got lost in her blue eyes and said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “Ani, I wouldn't worry about my blue friend over there. He just mad that I bumped into him and said sorry. He insulted my height, so I just walked away.” The Isur shook his head and continue, “I been here since the first of winter, and I still don't understand the akalak. I am pretty sure. He didn't hear my apology or wanted to hear it, so I probably hurt his ego...” The Isur shook his head and bluntly, “There more important things in my life than help mend a fragile man's hurt ego; for example, I rather share a pitcher of beer with a beautiful woman like yourself.” The blacksmith apprentice said with smirk, “I am a simple man with priorities, and he isn't one of them.” Aladon was proud of his red arm, but he wasn't the kind of man to brag about it either. All his people male and female are gifted with it by Izurdin. Anibesa seemed to already have contact with his people, so she already had prepared questions for it. The Isur put his left arm on the table, lifted his sleeve, and said simply, “I'd show you what the Izentor does, but without a demonstration, it loses the wonder. It is hard to explain with just words, but I have can tell you that it is a true gift from my beloved Izurdin.” Aladon looked into her blue eyes again and said, “When my arm started to change, my father told me that my arm isn't really my arm. It was tool given to use by Mt. King to use our desire to shape the world through our strength and patience.” The Isur rolls up his sleeve and continued, “You heard correct, Ani. The arm is as strong as any steel man made by mortals.” Aladon apologized, “I am sorry that I couldn't fully answer your question...” Suddenly a blond waitress appears at their table, and she apologized to both of them, “I am so so sorry. The Tavern isn't normally this busy in the middle of the day. I add to dodge a fight, duck a mug being thrown, and weave through the crowd dancing couples to get to your table! But I am here finally..what can I get you two?” Aladon noticed the waitress was winded, so he let her catch her breath. He hoped that he wasn't being rude to Anibesa, but he decided to order, “My drinking companion challenged me to drinking contest, so I am going to call her bluff and order the strongest beer possible.” The blond waitress looked Anibesa over and giggled,“Alright, Isur barley! It is one my favorite brews, but you're in for a rough night, Isur. She looks like a mean drunk under behind those pretty blue eyes.” Aladon looked at Anibesa and said with no smile, but a amused twinkle in his eyes, “I am not scared.” The waitress smirks at Anibesa and asked, “How many mugs, two?” The Isur shook his head and said still giving Anibesa a challenging stare down, “Three mugs please. One is for Izurdin.” The waitress smirks and winks at Anibesa, “I will be right back with your pitcher and mugs."

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

As Aladon said that she might regret her challenge, Anibesa simply stared at him through her blue eyes and grinned mischievously.
The man intrigued her, in that he’d seemed friendlier than most that she’d encountered before in Riverfall, obvious from how he’d happily let her sit with him, and she found herself staring at him quite a lot.

His words telling her about the Akalak being angry at him for bumping into him were believable, and though she herself had never found herself in such circumstances, a few people she’d met and a few of her pod members had annoyed Akalak’s before, though most had happened in similarly crowded areas where the alcohol had been flowing freely.
To her it seemed that Akalaks tended to lose composure when they were drunk, much like many other races though these with some of the more severe consequences. After all, if someone as skilled and strong as an Akalak was found in a bad mood and lashed out, the results would be worse than if a Svefra or plain human lashed out while inebriated.

She was about to respond when she saw the man shake his head and spoke again, speaking of having more important things and calling her a beautiful woman, and Anibesa felt her face flush red at the compliment, before opening her mouth to speak.
”Well I’m glad you feel that way. It’s nice to spend time with new and interesting people. And you are definitely interesting so far! Far more interesting than anyone else here!” she grinned as she looked at him, tilting her head as she did so.

She saw him move his arm so it was on the table, then saw him lift his sleeve up and she looked in curiosity at the mans arm, before looking back to his has as he spoke, telling her that a demonstration would explain better, then telling her about how it was a gift, and what his father had told him about his arm. She watched him roll the sleeve further as he confirmed that his arm was incredibly strong before he apologised and she smiled at him.

”No, no! Don’t apologise, you gave a great explanation!” she grinned widely as she spoke, tilting her head again. ”So the arm is a gift from your god? That’s awesome! I wish I had something like that.” she said calmly, a brief twinge of sadness inside her as she realised she was trapped in her mortal seeming, and that no matter how hard she tried, she could barely remember anything from before she fell.

Quickly, she forced a smile back onto her face and she glanced around in time to flash a warm smile to the waitress that came to their table, excusing herself for how busy it was and detailing her journey over and Anibesa’s smile became more sympathetic to the woman.

She couldn’t imagine how she would cope with such a job, especially in Riverfall with the abundance of Akalak men everywhere, and the drunken squabbles and brawls that the woman would likely have to deal with on a regular basis. Anibesa imagined she’d have gotten herself into a lot of trouble if she were in the woman’s shoes.

She smirked as she heard Aladon tell the barmaid about the challenge she had given him and she briefly turned to him to flash a mischievous smile. She heard the woman say that the drink they were getting was her favourite of the drinks, then the woman mentioned how Anibesa looked like a mean drunk and she turned back to the woman and flashed her a smile before sitting back again.

”Aye, you got me there lass!” she chuckled slightly, hearing Aladon mention that he wasn’t scared and she turned back to him to see the twinkle in his eyes and she grinned in response, briefly sticking her tongue out at him.

She only briefly looked back to the waitress in time to see the pretty blonde wink at her and a slight smirk slipped onto her face.

Once the waitress left, Anibesa turned back to the man and grinned at him, before winking at him.
”You ready for this then lad?” she said, her tone of voice challenging and full of determination.

The waitress was back soon, and Anibesa had watched her dart between burly Akalak men and past the occasional human before she got to the table, placing the pitcher and mugs on the table before wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, audibly exhaling.

“One pitcher of Isur barley and three mugs, one for each of you and one for Izurdin!” the woman exclaimed, flashing a smile to Anibesa and then to Aladon.

The woman was friendly, and Anibesa was certain that that must be how she had managed to find work at such a place. Anibesa knew for definite that she wouldn’t have lasted more than a few days at such an establishment and she found herself leaning over to the woman.

”How do you work here without getting into trouble? Or without getting involved in the chaos?” she asked, both concerned and curious as to how the woman coped.

“A lot of patience and hard work, I can say that much!” the woman said with a light giggle to her words and Anibesa smiled and nodded in response to her, before leaning back in her seat and glancing towards Aladon, ready to see quite how much the man could drink.
~

[Aladon]

Aladon definitely seemed to get her attention at the beautiful comment. He wasn't lying. The contrast of her light blue eyes and he red hair definitely was a attractive feature for the young Isur. Five years living Wind Reach definitely help stoke a fire for his love of red haired passionate women. However, she wasn't Inarta, and the woman use of the words lass and lad was definitely not Inarta. If she started to chirp like at bird at him then yes, she would be a Inarta. However, she did say that she spent time at sea, so she had to be a sailor, or even more exciting a pirate! Anibesa seemed satisfied with his answer about his arm. He was happy that she didn't dig deeper into it because he liked to stay private about his connection to his god, Izurdain. However, it was hard not to brag with those blue eyes staring at him. Luckily, the outgoing waitress was a nice distraction, so he could concentrate on something else. When the waitress left, the young human woman doubled down on his challenged. The Isur leaned over and said with a half grin, “I like your spirit, human. I am starting to wonder if you were Isur in a past life because you seem to have a healthy thirst for a good brew!” When the blond waitress came back with the pitcher of beer, Aladon just listened to Anibesa ask her about the tricks of her trade. While she was talking to the blond, he already filling the three mugs. Of course, he filled Anibesa glass first and slide it over to her and said with a wink, “One for pretty girl with the blue eyes.” Aladon filled another mug for Izurdin and lastly for himself. He waited patiently for them to stop talking, and he pulled out his coin for the beer, placed it on the table, and said with smile, “Depending how this human can hold her drink. I might want to order another pitch later.” The waitress smiled and took the coin, “Careful, Isur. You might regret it later.” When the waitress left, the Isur raised his mug to red haired women and toasted, “I like to make a toast to my new drinking buddy, Ani. May her drink go down well tonight and not come up poorly in the morning. Also, may Izurdin bless both the brewer and his drink. May they go down smooth.” Aladon waited a chime to allow the red haired woman to add to the toast than he gently bumped her and bumped the assigned to Izurdin in the empty chair between them. At the end of his toast, he drank about half his drink and wiped his chin of any foam with the back of his hand. It was a old Blackforge custom that their family didn't sense the Valterran. It was probably where the family saying 'We are Black forges, and we stay steadfast against the storm' came from too. Regardless, he was young Isur raised on traditions, but he was sure a human woman raised on the sea. Had her traditions of her own. The term of pod was unknown to him, and he doubt the woman meant a pea pod. The Isur was good at witty banter, but when it comes to a on going conversation. He always was lost for words. The Isur took a sip of his beer, and he asked with awkward smile, “This custom must seem strange to you, it is a old family tradition dating back since the Valterran. It was a way for the Black forges to give thanks to Izurdin for protecting us. It isn't as old as the family motto, but it just military jargon, so I doubt that you would be interested in it.” Slightly embarrassed that he was being so open with her. He changed the subject and asked, “You said that you spent a lot of time at sea with your pod? I am unfamiliar with the term. Is it a term used by your people?” Subtracted-4sm for gallon of beer

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

Anibesa heard the man speak, mentioning about her being an Isur in a past life, and a wide smile spread across the redheads face as she tilted her head, wondering if she maybe had been an Isur once, either before or after she was a Svefra.
”Aye that could be a possibility. Nothing can beat a good brew after all.” she grinned even wider as she spoke, her eyes looking into the Isur’s blue eyes as she did so, before moving to glance over him again, her eyes lingering over the arm and then back up to his face before she grinned at him widely and welcomingly.

Once the waitress left, Anibesa kept her attention on the Isur as he wink at her and slid the glass over, another light blush spreading across her cheeks, though this one not as noticeable as it had been earlier.
”Why thank you!” she said with a smile, her voice warm before she heard him speak to the waitress, her waitress turning more mischievous, nodding in agreement at the waitresses words.
Soon the waitress was gone, leaving the table empty aside from Anibesa and Aladon.

She watched the watched raise his glass and followed suite, listening to his toast with her usual mischievous smile, before opening her mouth to add a few words.
”Some ships may sail the seas, but the best ships are new friendships. Here’s to ours.” she said, her addition being much shorter, though her pod didn’t have many toasts, at least none that she could remember. When she’d drank with them, most had never bothered with a toast and instead knocked back drinks until they could barely stand.

Once the toast was finished and all the glasses had been clinked together, Anibesa took a swig of the drink, looking to Aladon to see him drinking half the glass and she raised an eyebrow, somewhat impressed by the speed at which he drank, before she placed her elbows on the table and leant on them, watching Aladon intently as he started to speak, explaining how old the tradition was and what it meant to him, and Anibesa sat quietly, nodding as she listened to him. It was definitely something she was interested in learning about.
”Every custom is strange to someone. It’s interesting though, and I don’t think I’ve encountered this custom.” she said with a smile.

When the question came relating to her use of the word ‘pod’ Anibesa nodded slowly, a light smile on her face.
”I’ve been with some Svefra for some time, and we spend most of our time on the sea. The group that we travel with is what we call a pod. It’s like our family, though not all of us are directly related.” Anibesa explained calmly as she thought through it. ”My pod sticks to the Suvan Sea, but I’ve heard of other pods travelling into the outer oceans, to places on the other side of the regions, but we’ve never really left the Suvan.” she said again, glancing around the tavern then looking back to the man.

For a few moments, Anibesa took another swig of the brew collected her thoughts, trying to work out what to talk about or ask next so the conversation continued to flow without too many moments of awkwardness.
Once she’d taken the swig and swallowed she rested the glass on the table and briefly glanced around the room to see everyone going about their business, drinking and making merry, and with a smile she turned back to the Isur.
”So, do you live in Riverfall? Or are you just visiting like I am?” she asked, tilting her head as she looked at the man. ”I haven’t seen many Isur here, though I haven’t been in Riverfall for that much.”
~

[Aladon]

Aladon couldn't explain it, but he seemed relaxed talking to Anibesa. It could be company at his table, he had already drank a quarter of his mug. Regardless, he enjoyed her toast. It was kind of corny, but he clever at the same time. When she brought up his family custom, he was kind embarrassed to share with a outsider, but she seemed accepting of his customs without judgment. Anibesa told him that her clan of human's were called, Svefra. Her people spend most of their time at sea, and the family unit among her people was a pod. She said that her pod never left the Suvan Sea. Aladon never enjoyed being on water because he lived underground most of his life. In the cities of Sultros and Wind Reach, he lived underground, and he was perfectly content with never seeing the open sky. Only a part of the Inarta city had access to the open air. However, Aladon couldn't image living on the water where the surface constantly moves, and he could sink and drown in the watery depths terrified the Isur to no end.

Aladon finished off his mug, poured himself another glass, and said plainly, “When I left Wind Reach in Thunder Bay and my ship sailed the outer sea to Riverfall, and it was terrifying. The waters were rough and the ship leaked, so I spent half to time wondering if I should say a prayer to Laviku to spare us...Mostly me and the crew because the captain and his son were racist arseholes.” Taking a sip of beer, the Isur continued, “Regardless, we made it the Suvan Sea were the sea seemed saner, clearer, and bluer.”

Looking at Anibesa freckled face, the Isur was starting to feel the alcohol said candidly, “Honest, I terrified of water. I lived underground all my life, so hiking through caves or traversing mines are my backyard. The ocean is a completely different beast that I respect and fear at the same time.” Taking another drink from his mug, he stated, “However, I am jealous of the people who know how to swim. It looks like a good workout...”

When Anibesa asked if he lived or just visiting Riverfall than she mentioned that she hadn't seen or met many of his people. He said bluntly, “You wouldn't see much of my people because we tend to stay among our kind. We prefer our kind to the people of the outside world.” Aladon took another drink and continued, “Among my people, I would be considered eccentric because I enjoy to talk to other people other than my own race. Anyways, I am rambling...”

The blacksmith apprentice wasn't normally this open, so he was going to blame the alcohol and those brilliant blue eyes of hers. He might as well blame the freckles for good measure too. Damn red heads will be the death of him. The Isur decided to answer her question about Riverfall, “Honestly, I was going to continue north to Syliras, but when I saw the city of Riverfall. I fell in the love the sheer beauty of the city. I decided to stay, so I can learn from the akalak blacksmiths and weapon smith's in the city, so I got a apprenticeship in a smithy with a blast furnace and work in the mines to pay the bills.”

Aladon knew that he was just talking about himself, so he joked with a chuckle, “Since your a Svefra and were basically born in the sea...You must know how to swim. I basically just sink right to the bottom like a rock. Is it hard?”

The Isur was about to wait for her answer, but he noticed from behind Anibesa. The akalak that he bumped into was walking towards there table. He immediately thought to himself that maybe he was just heading to the bathroom, but the dark blue man eyes were staring right at the blacksmith. As he got closer, the blue giant must be six foot and six inches of pure muscle. The Isur wasn't sure if the human women noticed the blue man standing on the side of the table with the mug meant for Izurdin. The big man pulled out the chair and sat in the chair. The Akalak leaned forward and said with a smirk, “What are you two talking about? My brother and I was curious because she seemed entranced with what your words short man? Besides, my brother wants an apology for you bumping into him earlier, Isur.”

Aladon gave the man a confused a look because the akalak that he was talking to earlier was dancing with a konti female. The Isur tried to respect the Akalak in their city, but he wasn't going to stand aside and let this oaf bully him. He was pretty sure if they got into a fight. The akalak would win, but he at least had his pride. The Isur said in a neutral tone, “Isn't your brother dancing with the konti over there?”

The akalak slammed his fist on the table and said glaring at the Isur, “That Roderon, and he isn't my brother!” Pointing a finger in the face of the blacksmith, the belligerent akalak spat, “We want a apology.”

Taking a sip of his beer, Aladon stated meet his gaze and said simply, “I apologized to you earlier, but you seemed to not hear me...”

The akalak glared at him and clenched his jaw, “I don't care about your apology. Honestly, I want to dislocate your jaw, but my brother is more sensible and wants you just to apologize to him...”

Downing his mug of beer, he set it down on the table and said slowly, “Listen...you are a smart fellow, so why don't you tell your brother that I already said sorry when I walked into him or you or whoever...”

Aladon tended to stay away from violence unless he was trying to defend himself, his friends, or family, but for a moment, he thought the akalak was going to hit him for his comment. His stepmother told always told him to pick his battles and not leave battles to fate because it never ends well. Isur knew that he wouldn't win this battle, but this akalak was a arse, and he wasn't going let this blue drunken idiot disrespect him. Arriving in the spring, he noticed the akalak were quirky folk. He couldn't quite place it, but Aladon wasn't sure if the blue man was crazy, or he really believed that he had a brother, but regardless, he was being rude. Suddenly, the akalak picked up the mug assigned for Izurdin and completely downed the mug in one drink. He wiped his month with his arm, reached over, and poured himself another mug of beer. The Isur was holding his drink with his right hand, but he clenched his left in anger as the akalak seemed to completely disregard their privacy or his property. Isur didn't want to admit that the akalak was handsome, but the bastard gave him a smirk, turned his attention to Anibesa, and gave her a gentle smile, “I am curious if you would like to dance. I saw you as you walked into the bar, and I would be delighted to have you join me on the dance floor.”

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

Anibesa listened to the Isur as he spoke of leaving Wind Reach and how his travels and been, and Anibesa nodded in agreement. Her pod had rarely left the Suvan Sea, but on occasions she had encountered pods that had ventured away from the relatively safe sea and they’d told her stories. it seemed that Outer Oceans had been rather unforgiving and had almost seemed angry. Anibesa had decided from those stories alone that she preferred the Suvan Sea by a large amount!

”Aye, the outer oceans aren’t the nicest are they! Haven’t even really wanted to travel into them after some of the stories. Even the Suvan isn’t the safest place, but it’s always been kind to my pod at least. Few storms here and there but nothing too bad.” she said calmly as she looked at the Isur, hearing him mention that he was scared of water, and a slight smile spread across her face and the thought of him being scared of the sea. She respected the sea and it’s power, but couldn’t remember a time that she was genuinely scared of the sea, though she realized that this was likely due to her mortal seeming being a Svefra and the reassuring nature of her pod.

The mention of Aladon being jealous of people who knew how to swim struck a chord with Anibesa. Having never learnt to swim herself she’d spent a lot of time watching everyone else swimming alongside the boats and feeling somewhat jealous herself, though she’d never had the willpower to teach herself or to get one of her pod-mates to teach her how to swim. She knew that one day she’d have to teach herself.
”Looks exhausting though. Guess that’s what makes a good workout though.” she exclaimed with a low chuckle. ”Caves and mines and whatnot are more unnerving to me. Too dark for my liking and there’s no way to see Leth’s moon when it rises in the sky.” she smiled slightly as she mentioned the moon, almost having forgotten that it was still daylight outside. She wondered how long it would be until the sun set fully and the moon took it’s place in the sky.

”So your people usually isolate themselves from other races? That’s fair. Ensure’s your peoples safety after all! Though I’m glad that you’re one of the more eccentric ones though! Otherwise this wouldn’t be anywhere near as interesting, or fun!” she said cheerily, grinning as she did so. She listened to him as he mentioned that he had originally planned to go to Syliras and she smiled slightly at that. ”Syliras is okay, but Riverfall is better. Too many knights in Syliras, and it’s nowhere near as pretty as here is!” she said calmly, the mention of him both apprenticing in a smithy and working in the mines intrigued her, but before she could answer, she heard him say that she must be able to swim, and a slight blush of embarrassment flushed across her face and she shrugged her shoulders looking down towards the ground slightly.

”You could say I’m not really a proper Svefra. I never learnt to swim really. Never really bothered. So I stick out from the pod quite a bit. They’ll all be swimming and playing in the sea, and I’ll be practicing how to tie knots, or how to sail and whatnot.” she chuckled again as she spoke. ”I mean, I could probably float if someone through me into the water, so not quite as dangerous as you. But from what I’ve gathered it isn’t too hard once you get the hang of it. Takes some time to learn, but once you know the basics it’s just a case of keeping confident.” she said, glancing back down to the table and then looking back up at him. ”That’s just what I’ve heard though. It’s how Tiamon described it to me!” she said with a smile as she looked at him.

She was about to continue when she heard someone pull out the chair and she turned her head to see an Akalak sat with them, asking what they were talking about, and almost immediately she rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the Isur, looking to see how the Isur would react.
She spent a few minutes just listening, her eyes focused on Aladon as though she was ignoring the Akalak, but her ears listening to the conversation.

Though once she heard the man threaten to dislocate Aladon’s jaw, Anibesa turned to look at the Akalak, glaring at him as she looked him up and down. As he took the drink that Aladon had poured for Aladon she felt herself growing angry for the Isur.
She wanted to say something to the Akalak, reprimand him for his actions but it seemed he was already irrational enough, and Anibesa didn’t want to risk angering the muscled man. If a fight broke out she knew she stood little chance of of not being injured, and having only just met Aladon she didn’t want to risk him. So she kept quiet, instead just glaring angrily at the man.

This Akalak seemed to have no respect, and as the next words came, Anibesa simply leaned over to Aladon and rested her head on his shoulder, then reached for Aladon’s hand, taking it in her own and rubbing the back of it with her finger, before she stood up and gently pulled Aladon to his feet with her, her eyes still glaring at the Akalak.
”Hey sweetie, let’s go to the bar and get more drinks, my treat? Maybe later we can go back to my apartment too?” she said, her voice soft and sweet now, slightly different as she pulled Aladon towards the bar and away from the Akalak, now avoiding even looking at the Akalak.

Now she was stood up she realised quite how much shorter than her the Isur was, and she couldn’t help but smile slightly. Now they were at the bar, surrounded by a few Akalak that seemed to completely ignore them, and now she leant down to the Akalak to whisper into his ear.

”I thought it best to leave him. How about I buy you a drink and then we go dance and ignore any big blue men that are annoyed at you, or I buy you a drink and we go elsewhere? Find somewhere with less drunkards and explore?” she asked with a smile before catching the bartenders eyes.

”Hi! What’s the strongest drink you have that isn’t quite wine?” she asked with a sweet smile to the other woman.
“Well, we have the mixed drinks. I can get you a strong one of those. Five silver each.” the woman said in response and Anibesa nodded.
”Really? That would be great! Could I get two of them? Small if possible?” she said calmly, watching as the woman nodded and grabbing her money as she turned to Aladon. ”You okay with that? I have no idea what is going to be in this, but it should be fun, right?” she said, grinning down at the Isur.
Soon the bartender had finished making the drinks and had placed to glasses in front of Anibesa. In response, Anibesa handed the woman a gold miza before grabbing both drinks and handing one to Aladon with a mischevious grin.

Ledger- 1 GM for the drinks
~