Completed Winter Nights

[Anibesa]

44th Winter, 517
"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

It was daylight and Anibesa had just left her tent to see that the sea wasn’t how it should have been, instead the waves had turned red in an ominous fashion, and that combined with the lights in the sky and the dead animals that they’d found earlier in the season set Anibesa on edge, but for the day she had things to do.

Frowning, she pulled her clothes on and laced her boots tightly before making her way to the Tidepool Bar, a permanent structure in the settlement that was located close to her tent, and where she intended to build herself a house and a brewery, once she’d learnt a bit more from Stuvantis.

Sighing she walked across the piers to the bar of the Tidepool, seeing it empty at first before she glanced at the red waves and felt a chill run down her spine at the sight of it. She couldn’t recall ever seeing the waves being such a colour and to her it felt like a bad omen of sorts, a sign that more bad things could be happening soon!

Peeling her gaze away from the waves she made her way back over the piers to the kitchen and brewery, poking her head into the wooden building to see Stuvantis working on his brews.

”Mornin’.” Anibesa said, nodding to the man while looking at him with her bright blue eyes. ”The sea is red!” she exclaimed as she stated the obvious, tilting her head slightly as she glanced back down the pier to see if anyone was approaching. ”Think it’s dangerous?”

“With everything that has happened so far, I doubt it’ll affect anything more than that. Don’t worry about the things we can’t control and instead enjoy the day, it’s beautiful weather, and any festivities that come our way.” the man said in his usual easy going and approachable tone, and Anibesa felt herself smiling more at his words, feeling more and more at ease despite everything that was going on.

”Aye, no point panicking is there? I’ll get back to the bar and see if anyone is coming for a drink today.” Anibesa said with a smile, seeing Stuvantis nod to her and smile back before she left the kitchen and walked back across the wooden planks to the bar area, moving to stand behind the bar.

Her hands traced over the bottles of alcohol that were stored there, wondering exactly how they had been made, and whether she could get Stuvantis to show her to make them in return for something, though she couldn’t think of what she could offer the man. She doubted that he needed fish from anyone, though if she could get into the jungle and out of the jungle safely, then it was possible that she could get him some fruits and over ingredients for his brews.
Word Count478

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

As she thought, the sound of footsteps on wood drew her attention back to her surroundings and Stuvantis came into the bar area, carrying his drum with him and smiling at her before her placed his drum next to one of the seats and sat down in the seat, looking over the gently lapping blue waves. Almost immediately after him came an older man that Anibesa had seen working on dying clothes before. She was certain that he was the head gardener of the settlement, though she hadn’t heard of any other gardeners so he must have been the only gardener so far.

She watched the man as he put a few things down in a seat next to where Stuvantis had sat, and then approached the bar calmly and quietly. Anibesa guessed that on his way in he must have bumped into Stuvantis and may have had some sort of business with him, or he was just craving socialisation. Anibesa herself often found herself craving contact with others, especially during the nights that she loved so much, but so many people in the settlement tucked themselves away into their tents or homes when it got later in the night. Once the man reached the bar, Anibesa made eye contact and stepped slightly closer to the bar.

”What can I get you to drink today?” Anibesa said with a smile, leaning on the bar slightly as she tried to make sure that he was comfortable in the bar. She had not seen him in the bar before, and though she was certain that everyone would have been there at least once, there was the chance that he hadn’t.

“A rum punch would be nice, I think Stu was telling me about an orange and lime juice that would go well in that. And just a mug please.” the man said and Anibesa nodded with a smile, her hands picking up a mug with a nod before she took a hold of one of the bottles from behind the bar. This one was made of brown glass and had been engraved with the word ‘Rum’.

Carefully she measured out two measures of the rum into the mug, then put the bottle back into its place. Then she glanced around until her eyes caught sight of two clear glass bottles, one filled with a yellowish orange liquid, and the other a clouded liquid with a slight green tint to it. Neither were labelled, though Anibesa picked them up and sniffed them slightly. The first had a citrus scent that was fairly sweet, while the second was another citrusy scent though this time much less sweet with a hint of bitterness to it. Definitely smelling like oranges and limes.

Looking up briefly she caught eyes with the gardener and smiled, before pouring some of the lie juice into the mug, then the orange juice, making sure that there was slightly more orange juice in the drink to balance out the bitterness of the lime.
Word Count501 words

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

Smiling slightly she carefully picked it up, being sure not to spill the drink, and placed it on the bar in front of the man and her smile grew widely.

”One rum punch, for the gentleman.” she grinned and looked as the man nodded. ”And that will be one silver miza.” she kept a warm smile on her face as the man duh into his pockets and retrieved a silver miza, pressing it into her palm. ”Thank you. I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced before. Anibesa, bartender.” she said sweetly, holding a hand out in a friendly manner towards the man as a greeting.

”Tony Swiftwater, gardener, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” the man responded and took Anibesa’s hand to shake it, and Anibesa nodded with a smile, glad that the man seemed friendly, although everyone she’d met in Syka had been friendly. She guessed it must have been the feeling of needing friends to survive in the settlement. There were so few people that being on less than good terms with anyone reduced the number of people there to relieve your loneliness and even less people to rely on in more perilous situations.

The man made his way to sit with Stuvantis for a bit, and for a moment Anibesa took the time to look over the bar itself. There was some residue on it from where drinks had been spilt, and sighing lightly she grabbed a damp cloth and wiped over the sticky parts, carefully trying to clear the residue off the bar and make the place look cleaner, although as she looked over the bar to the floor she couldn’t but notice the sand that she, Stuvantis, and Tony had walked into the bar. She’d learnt that sand somehow managed to find itself everywhere.

She was about to attempt to clean it away when the sound of heavy footsteps alerted her to another person coming towards the bar and she couldn’t help but grin slightly. Some days the bar was very quiet, while others seemed to be constantly busy with the bar being full.

As the steps got closer, Anibesa watched where they would come from and soon saw a young woman arrive and approach the bar.

”Good Morning, what can I get you today?” Anibesa asked with a smile and the woman smiled back. Anibesa had seen her on the beach a few times, most often dancing with fire in a way that astonished Anibesa. It had always looked dangerous but beautiful!

“Just a mug of the wine please, the one that’s sort of like the Riverfall stuff.” the woman said, and Anibesa nodded before grabbing a clean mug. “Seen the sea? Well, of course you have, I don’t think anyone could miss it!” she heard the woman chuckle and Anibesa grinned at her.

”Of course, do you prefer your wine sweet or more on the dry side? And ye, it’s definitely hard to miss! Being quite so weird an’ all! Is there any news on it at all?” Anibesa exclaimed, remembering to question the womans tastes rather than choosing the closest wine. All in all she was glad for the conversation.
Word Count528 Words

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

“Oh I'll take either but I'm interested in the sweet for now. One Silver right?” the woman asked and Anibesa nodded in response, taking the coin as it was handed to her. “Yes, apparently it’s some sort of algae. People are having to look elsewhere for food until it clears up. Shame really, I was fancying some fresh fish!” the woman said, chuckling again.

As the woman spoke, Anibesa listened carefully though at the same time she took the mug and filled it from a barrel that had ‘Wine - Not In Riverfall Anymore - Sweet” all whilst smiling slightly at the womans words.

”That’s odd. I was certain it’d have something less normal sounding behind it. And I guess it’s a pain but at least there’s plenty of fruit and plenty of animals out there.” Anibesa said, gesturing towards the forest. Even on the outskirts of it and the beach near it several animals could be found. Usually the smaller ones like wild birds and monkeys, and though the idea of eating them wasn’t the best, they were still edible and kept you going.

“Don’t forget the swine swells either. Plenty of friendly pigs there that are probably even easier to get than anything out there.” the woman responded and Anibesa nodded with a smile and watched as the woman took another sip of the wine with a warm expression on her face.

”Very true, nothing better than a friendly pig cooked over a fire.” she smiled as she spoke, before tilting her head. ”It’s a shame for all the people that find fishing easier though. Anyway, got any plans for today?” Anibesa asked, her voice upbeat as she did so.

“Not much, I’ve got some new cloth so I’m going to try and make a new outfit, maybe practice a bit? I’m hoping for a party soon, get everyone involved and dancing. It’d be a good time!” The woman said and Anibesa couldn’t help but nod at the idea.

”A party would definitely be good, take everyone’s minds off what’s been happening!” Anibesa grinned at the idea. The settlement was small, but if they could get everyone involved it’d be a much more fun time. ”And a new costume? That’d be good to see. Your clothes are gorgeous!” she said with a grin as she made the choice to one day try to sew herself some new clothes. A skirt maybe, even a simple loose dress.

“If you hear of any parties let me know. I doubt I’d not know, but there’s always a chance that news hasn’t reached me yet. And working in the bar I guess that you’d be told a lot of what’s going on!” the woman said before sipping at her drink again and Anibesa nodded in response.

”Aye we get a lot of information and news like that.” Anibesa said before noticing Tony approaching again, taking a seat by the bar and by the young woman, and in further inspection she noticed that Stuvantis seemed to have left for a bit, leaving his things there.
Word Count510 Words

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

“Good to see you Rainmere.” he said before turning his attention onto Anibesa with a smile. “Could I maybe get another of these?” he asked placing his mug on the bar and Anibesa nodded with a smile, briefly noticing Rainmere take a longer sip of her wine this time.

”Of course, another rum punch coming up!” she exclaimed, noting that Tony had addressed the young woman as Rainmere. She made sure to remember that name, as she grabbed the mug and the bottles she need, the rum, the orange juice, and the lime juice.
Carefully she tilted the mug and carefully poured around a shot of rum into it, and then filled it with a mix of orange juice and lime juice forgetting to use slightly less of the lime than the orange, though she made sure to leave a little bit of room at the top before she handed it to Tony. ”If you feel like it needs any more lime or orange, just let me know!”

The man smiled at her and handed her a silver miza before he tasted the drink.
“Maybe a little more orange juice?” he asked and Anibesa nodded, procuring the bottle of orange juice and pouring a dash of it into the mug. “That should be brilliant!” the man said and Anibesa nodded, stopping pouring and sealing the bottle up again.

“So what’s in the rum punch?” Rainmere asked and Anibesa grinned. A lot of the drinks here changed quite regularly depending on what fruits were available.

”It’s rum with whatever we have available really, so it changes a lot. Today it’s rum mixed with orange and lime juice.” Anibesa said with a smile.

“It’s really quite nice. Fancy a taste?” Tony chipped in, offering his mug to Rainmere, though she politely refused.

“Not today, though thank you for the offer!” she said pleasantly.

The way that people interacted with each other in Syka was something that reminded her of her pod. Everyone seemed so willing to help each other out, and so quick to offer things when they could afford to. The whole settlement seemed to function as a large family, although it wasn’t even that large!

Rainmere noticed Anibesa’s smile as she finished her mug of wine and placed it onto the bar carefully before leaning forwards, her own smile growing.

“What are you smiling about?” she asked playfully and Anibesa shrugged while her own smile grew wider and wider.

”Nothing really. It’s just nice. Reminds me of my old pod!” she exclaimed and both Rainmere and Tony smiled in response, before both shrugging it off and changing conversation.

“Anyway, so what brought you to Syka?” Rainmere asked and Anibesa looked at Tony for a few moments before opting to go first.

”After I left my pod I was really lonely. Nowhere felt right, but I knew I wanted to be a brewer. I heard about Syka and it sounded like a good place to start over, and maybe source some new fruits that I could try brewing with.” Anibesa explained, the two patrons of the bar listening to her and nodding.
Word Count521 words

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

“You were in a pod? The blue eyes, I should have known that you were a Svefra.” Tony spoke before drawing the attention onto himself. “I’m part of the antiquities society in Riverfall. Settlers here sent us plant samples and I recognised the Isuas bloom. I wanted to see where it had came from so I came here. When I saw the grove and all the trees, I stayed so I could restore it.” the man continued before briefly pausing to smile. “The blooms produce fluff which can be made into an amazing cloth. Light and strong, easy to dye bright colours.”

Anibesa and Rainmere exchanged a glance. The man was so clearly passionate about the Isuas grove and what could be made from it. It made her feel as though she wanted to be a part of the work with the Isuas, though she knew that she didn’t know much of it.

“You really love your plants don’t you?” Rainmere said, though her voice was warm and friendly as she spoke. “I like to travel the world. I was born in a pod, but I wasn’t there long and I found that I liked to see new places. Syka was a new place and it’s good for beach parties. It’s different to a lot of places really, feels a lot more free really!” the woman said and Anibesa nodded.

She liked the woman's willingness to travel and her fearlessness. Anibesa was so scared to even come to Syka by herself, and from the sounds of it Rainmere had been travelling alone for a long time.

“Could I maybe get another mug of the wine? The dry one this time?” Rainmere asked, interupting Anibesa’s thoughts, though Anibesa nodded with a smile, taking the womans mug and placing it to the side to clean later and grabbing a clean mug, kneeling by the barrel labelled as the riverfall dry wine. She tilted the mug so the wine would flow down the side of the mug, then she opened the tap attached to the barrel, watching the wine flow. It was a deep purplish red in colour and it smelt like fruit, but not sweet fruit.

Once the mug was filled, Anibesa shut the tap and stood up, placing the mug in front of Rainmere and seeing the silver miza already placed on the bar.

”One mug of wine for the lovely lady!” Anibesa said, her tone friendly as she took the silver miza and then listened as Tony started speaking.

“So, the sea. Did I hear you both talking about it earlier?” he asked, seemingly worried.

”Aye, apparently it’s not safe to eat anything from the sea until it’s cleared up.” Anibesa said calmly before Rainmere chipped in.

“The Founders are telling everyone that anyway. I’m sure one of them will be here soon to let you and Stu know.” the woman said, directing her attention to Anibesa briefly.

“I hope it won’t be that long. A lot of people rely on fishing for their food.” the man said and Anibesa smiled reassuringly.

”I’m sure it won’t be too long, plus everyone here is friendly. If anyone ends up struggling I don’t doubt that the rest of us will chip in and help them out until they are able to get back on their feet.” Anibesa said calmly and she saw Tony seem to relax at the idea.

The rest of the time with the two in the bar was mostly uneventful with the two leaving not long after. They both bade farewell to Anibesa, before leaving the bar and then Anibesa could hear them giving a farewell to Stuvantis as they walked past the kitchen.
Word Count615 words
3153 TOTAL

[Ixtli]

Your Grades Are Here

Anibesa

Skills

• Socialisation: 4
• Bartending: 4
• Cleaning: 1
• Observation: 4

Lores

• Syka Event: A red tide
• Red waves: A bad omen
• Red Tide: Caused by algae
• Syka Location: The Tidepool Bar
• Syka Settlement: Akin to Anibesa's old pod
• Tony Swiftwater: Gardener of Syka
• Tony Swiftwater: Member of the Antiquities Society of Riverfall
• Tony Swiftwater: In Syka to restore the Isuas grove
• Rainmere: Fire dancer
• Rainmere: Born into a pod
• Rainmere: Fearless traveller

Nice job thread! If you have any questions or concern don't hesitate to PM me, and remember to edit your grade request to show it has been graded!