PM to join [The Drunken Fish] A Meeting (Sadie)

[Taris Orlanith]

Winter 43, 518 AV

Taris stood, silently observing the crowd, from his place along one wall of the Drunken Fish’s common room. The crowd was the normal rowdy bunch of sailors, privateers, and pirates all on shore leave and a few local dockworkers stopping in to get a drink or meal. It was chaos and there were many opportunities for him to pick a pocket or two. Yet, it was less chaotic than the city markets, so he had to be careful.

He ignored the dockworkers. He could steal from them, but he preferred not to. Living at the Drunken Fish as he did, he ran into them far too often for that to be safe. The pirates and other sailors, however, they came and they went.

The bar was his best bet. Lots of people milling about there, picking up drinks, laughing, shouting, waving to get Aerin the bartender’s attention. In other words, they weren’t paying attention to their purses. At least, not as much as they should.

Taris pushed himself away from the wall. Sidling behind the crowd at the bar, he joined them in waving and shouting for Aerin, and tried to push between sailors to get to the actual bar. Each time the sailors would shift to block his path. Taris pushed harder and received an elbow to the ribs for his trouble.

He tried this four times. It was never his intention to actually reach the bar or to speak to the bartender. He only wanted to draw his mark’s attentions to someplace else while he fished his hand in their pockets.

Finally, when he had taken enough elbows and heard enough snarls to get lost, he stopped his pretending to get to the bar. Turning to go back to his place on the wall, he raised the last two stolen coins and held them between his fingers.

That went well, Taris thought. It wasn’t much, it was never much. But it was enough.

One of the sailors at the bar abruptly turned and bumped into Taris as he moved past. The coins Taris held went flying. “No!” he said.

He spread his arms wide to hold back anyone else and give himself room to look for the coins. They had fallen to the floor. He had seen that. Where had they gone though? The common room was far too loud to hear them clatter.

There! In a gap between the men walking around him, he saw one of the coins had rolled under a table near the wall.

He pushed through the men and dove to the floor. He snatched the coin off the tavern floor and sat up.

Pain flared in the back of his skull as he banged his head on the table. “Ow!” he moaned. He crawled out from under the table and stood up. He rubbed the back of his aching head and winced. How had he forgotten about the table?

“Ow,” he moaned again.

[Sadie Sundown]

As usual, The Drunken Fish was bustling with hungry dockworkers, sailors, privateers and the like, along with those looking to hire them. Sometimes Sadie wondered what it would be like to work on a ship, in a galley, and imagined the places she could... no, it was not good to entertain such thoughts too often, least she begin to actually consider them. Besides, there were some less savoury characters that also mingled within the crowd, after all, slavers and those of less than upright characters still needed sustenance too. Absently tossing her long hair back, she went to drink from her mug of ale and frowned- it was empty. With a sigh, she waited until she made eye contact with a barmaid before motioning the brunette over towards her table by the wall. "Another mug of ale, please," she said, passing the other woman the required four coppers. "Will you be having any food with that?" the barmaid asked as she tucked away the coins and picked up Sadie's mug. Maybe when the crowd thins out a bit," she replied evasively with a half smile. "Suit yourself," the barmaid said as she walked off, weaving through the crowd. Sadie glanced towards the bar, where a rambunctious gaggle of workers and sailors did their best to garner the bartender, Ciranya's attention, where her own was drawn to something else, or rather, someone else. A young man approached the crowd around the bar. He was about average height with ragged but straight hair that reached his shoulders. He stood out a bit from the rest of the crowd, since those around him were generally much bulkier than him with his thinner build. As she watched, he threw himself in among the other men vying for the bartender's attention, and she winced a bit as some well placed elbows connected with the lad's ribs. The barmaid came into her line of sight. "Here ya are," the other woman said, placing Sadie's freshly refilled mug of ale on the table, before trotting off towards the next table called for her. Sadie, mug in hand, returned her attention towards the bar to see if any progress had been made and caught a flash of movement that made her pause. While for all appearances, the young man was trying to catch Cira's attention or reach the bar, his hands slid towards the other men's pockets and purses. 'Sly lad,' she thought. 'He's lifting their coin while those silly lover boys are busy trying to flirt.' Sadie leaned back against the wall as she sipped. 'If he gets caught though, they won't let him off easy.' After one last attempt, she watched as the lad began to move away, perhaps done roughhousing, and saw him look at something in his hand. 'Perhaps not the best place to examine your loot, boy-' she began say mentally, just as one of the sailors knocked the stolen coins from the lad's hand, and flew in her direction. Sadie stepped on one coin that rolled near her foot and leaned down to pick it up. She sat back up just in time to see the young man dive under her table for the other coin, and couldn't help jumping slightly when she heard the loud thud of his head connecting with the table. "Ow!" A faint chuckle escaped her lips, which she intended to cover up with a sip from her mug of ale, but noticed that some of her ale had been spilt. The corner's of Sadie's mouth turned downwards into a slight frown. 'Hmm...' She hated when food and drink were wasted. Her gaze travelled back towards the young man who had just straightened up and seemed preoccupied with the new lump on his head. Relaxing back in her seat and crossing her legs, she raised her right hand to examine the coin that she had filched from the floor, holding it between her thumb and index finger. It was a worn silver miza. Not bad. "Looking for this, boy?" Sadie said, her voice low, before turning her blue eyes on the lad, her expression neutral as she considered him. He had spilt her drink; perhaps she would get him to replace it. She tucked the coin back into the palm her hand as she made a fist and crossed her arms. 'Shall I play with him a bit?' she wondered, allowing one of her brows to raise slightly. "Why don't you take a seat?" she said, gesturing to the seat beside her. She leaned in and continued in a hushed, but stern voice. "Your clumsiness cost me some of my ale. Now tell me why I shouldn't go over to those fellas over there and tell them a little tale about how I just saw a certain someone lifting their coin?" Thoughts, Common, Fratava,Vani

[Taris Orlanith]

Taris blushed when he heard the laughter. Blinking, he turned to see a woman sitting at the table. She had pale skin and long, wavy hair such a dark brown it was almost black.

She wasn’t laughing anymore though. Rather, she was staring at the small pool of ale that had splashed on the table with her dark blue eyes. Anger burned in those eyes.

Is she seriously angry about a few drops of spilled ale? he thought.

He blinked hard at the ache in his head. That really hurt. He rubbed at his skull. He was going to have bruise.

He looked around, his eyes fixed on the floor. Where could his other coin have gone to?

He looked up at the woman’s question. She was holding a silver miza in her long, slender fingers.

“Yeah!” he said. He reached for the coin, but she snatched it back before he could take it. She motioned to the chair beside her. “Why don’t you take a seat?” she said.

Taris swallowed. A seat?

Then his blood went cold went cold as she said, "Your clumsiness cost me some of my ale. Now tell me why I shouldn't go over to those fellas over there and tell them a little tale about how I just saw a certain someone lifting their coin?"

He dropped into the chair. “Um, no, no need for that.” The men he had robbed were all big, muscular men. The kind who spent their days moving heavy crates, climbing ratlines, tugging on long ropes to change sails and, of course, lifting heavy iron anchors out of the water. He did not need any trouble with them. Her arms crossed, he pointed to where his other coin was hidden in her fist. “You, you keep that.”

He stuffed his one coin into his pocket and glanced around. The rest of the tavern was just at it had been and no one was watching him or paying him any undue attention.

A barmaid with a tray of ales wandered toward the table. Taris leapt to his feet again right in front of the barmaid, knocking his chair over in the process. The barmaid froze, staring at him in surprise. He pointed to her ales. “Is one of those for me? Thanks.”

He swiped an ale off the tray. He righted his chair and sat down again. He took a long swig of his ale. Lowering it, he wiped the froth from his mouth with the back of his hand.

“So this is nice,” he said to the woman who had taken his other coin. “Do you come here often?”

From behind, he heard a throat being cleared. He looked around and saw the barmaid standing there, tray lifted high in one hand while the other rested on her hip. She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.

“Oh, right!” Taris said. He dug in his pocket and drew out a small handful of coins. There were two silvers and six copper mizas. He frowned. Was that all his effort at the bar had won him? He had hoped there would have been more silvers. Gold would have been nice too, but he knew that was just a dream.

He paid the barmaid and took another drink of his ale while putting his coins back in his pocket. He nodded and smiled at the woman he was sitting with.

“I’m Taris, by the way,” he said. “What’s your name?”

[Sadie Sundown]

The moment he caved in from her prodding, Sadie knew that she had taken it a bit too far. While it was true that wasted food or drink was high on her scale of pet-peeves, a person who was unreasonable was up there alongside it, and she had no desire to become one herself. In the end, it wasn't as if he had spilled her entire drink.

'Way t' go and scare him, Dee. Thought we were aiming for some teasing intimidation', she chided herself. 'What to do..' She hadn't exactly thought ahead further than getting a little bit of revenge for her ale.

Generally, she would have thought that it would take some guts to get into pick pocketing... or desperation; after all, folk didn't usually take well to having their hard earned money or belongings filched, and things could get nasty pretty quickly if it were the wrong person. Yet, he hadn't even tried to escape.

'Well, you did threaten him,' she shot back at herself.
He had even told her to keep the coin. She had to admit... it was tempting; a whole silver. It wasn't that she was bad off, but one didn't easily turn away money that didn't have any strings attached...

She felt the rim of the coin press into her palm as she watched the young man; his gaze lay elsewhere.
'At least he has some sense to be cautious,' she thought, as the young man surveyed their surroundings.

Sadie flinched as the lad suddenly stood up, her eyes widening in surprise at the sound of his chair clattering to the tavern floor. Her expression mirrored that of the barmaid's momentarily, before she realized that there was no threat and relaxed her expression into one that simply displayed her amusement and curiosity. A faint smile tugged at her lips.
'A bit clumsy, hmmm?' she thought, considering him as he returned to his seat.

She noticed the barmaid waiting behind him before the woman cleared her throat to regain the lad's attention, and hid a smirk behind her hand as he turned at the sound. As he did so, Sadie's eyes fixed on the barmaid's waist, spotting a rag hanging from it, partially hidden by the woman's hand, and after waiting for the clumsy lad to pay, she caught the woman's attention.

“Would it be alright to borrow that rag? Unfortunately my ale got a bit jostled and found its way onto the table.”
“You don't say,” the barmaid drawled, glancing over at the young man before she gave short nod and tossed her the cloth.
“Just leave it there when you leave,” she said, before walking off.

She slipped into her pocket before lifting her mug and set about mopping up the spilt liquid. Once she finished giving the table and her mug a brief once over, she folded the cloth, set it aside and returned to sipping from her mug.

“I'm Taris, by the way,” the lad said, catching her attention and oddly enough, while smiling at her. “What's your name?”

“Sadie,” she replied. Sip. 'Now... what to say next,' she wondered.
“I suppose it's nice enough, if you don't mind the crowd,” she said conversationally, replying to his earlier query. “I come here once in a while for a change of pace; sometimes it's nice to be served food and ale, rather than doing the cooking and serving yourself.” She glanced around the room. The sailors were still occupied at the bar, while the usual mixed crowd milled about the other seats.
Sadie's eyes settled back on Taris.
“What about yourself?” she asked lightly. “Tell me, why is a lad like you fiddling around in the pockets of others?” Her right brow rose in a questioning manner.

Thoughts, Common, Fratava, Vani
~Thank you for letting me base this on one of your templates, Regime!

[Taris Orlanith]

Taris couldn’t help the little smile curling the edge of his mouth. The way Sadie cleaned the table and carefully folded the cloth made him think she liked cooking. If that was the case, then she would be sure to get along with his sister Tairi. His sister loved to cook and she kept inviting him to dinners and, whenever he went, Tairi set him to work cleaning the table, setting out their plates and cups and chopping fruits and vegetables.

Taris took a swig of his drink while Sadie looked around. Her eyes had come back to settle on him when he lowered the mug. “What about yourself?” she asked. “Tell me, why is a lad like you fiddling around in the pockets of others?”

He considered her. She hadn’t liked that he made her spill her drink, but she didn’t seem to be holding that against him. At least, not yet. Did that mean she wouldn’t be telling the people he had pickpocketed about his stealing from them?

He took another pull of his drink, then lowered it and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He grinned at her. “For the fun! It’s exciting. You never know what you’re going to get. Will it be a measly little copper, or will you find gold?”

Taris sat back and crossed his arms smugly. He watched as Sadie considered his words.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “Yeah, there’s fear too. But that’s part of the excitement. Will they catch me, or will I get away without them noticing a thing?”

He shrugged and lifted his ale to his lips again. “Besides, I’m not doing anything anyone else in the city isn’t doing. And it’s not like I have a trade to fall back on. I have to make earn my coin too.”

That or I could go live with Tairi and let her get me a job, he thought.

“Oh, and you want to know something else?” he asked. Taris leaned forward and, speaking softly like he was sharing a secret, said, “This is the sailors’ tavern. All these guys will soon be leaving the city. That makes them great marks. Because even if they do find out I’ve stolen from them, well, they’ll be gone before they can do anything about it.”

There was loud laughter at the table behind him. Looking around, he saw several tall, strong men laughing and slapping the table, all in that slightly too loud, too hard way that told him they were deep into their cups.

He turned back to Sadie. Hiking a thumb at the men behind him, he said, “Plus, a lot of them are drunk! Such easy pickings!”

[Sadie Sundown]

The cockiness rang in her ears, but his eyes told a different story. What he said was true; sailors were convenient marks, and for a young man looking for a thrill, the potential reward from pick-pocketing pitted against the potential dangers for getting caught would perhaps be a great incentive to make it sport.

His mention of lacking skills for another trade, gave her pause and made her wonder if that wasn't the only reason he had delved into pick-pocketing. He seemed younger than herself by at least a few years, though one couldn't always be completely sure by simply guessing. She wondered if there was anyone looking out for him, or if a lack thereof was one of the things that had pushed him into his current lifestyle. As Taris had said, he wasn't an abnormality within the city, at least that she could see.

Taris drew her attention to a table of patrons behind him. They were large burly fellows who clearly had active occupations. They looked to be either part of someone's crew, or perhaps some of the dock workers, not that there was always much of a difference. Those type had large stomachs, and could down more spirits than what they ate; to varying results.

“I suppose...”
Her eyes flickered to a table behind them, where a motley group of patrons sat, a few deep in discussion while the rest watched their surroundings.
“... But they aren't the only ones that frequent places like this. You best remember that slavers, pirates, and other folk who have treaded much heavier paths than yours also enjoy their drink in this relative anonymity,” she said. One of the watchers that she assumed to be a guard began to turn in the duo's direction.

“After all, one's luck can only last for so long, especially for those who go looking for trouble” she murmured, half formed thoughts slipping from her lips as she moved her gaze away, as if it hadn't paused at all.

Luck was a fickle thing afterall, and something that was gratefully accepted when it was in your favour, but not something to ever trust; it could work against you just as easily. It was just like a person, and sometimes Sadie had to wonder if luck wasn't just another name for Ovek himself.

A loud guffaw from the table closer to them broke her momentary lapse in thought. Sadie forced a shrug.

“Then again, it's your life, and your luck is no one's to play for you,” she took a swig from her mug.
“You got anyone looking out for you?” she asked as she met Taris' eyes.

While she waited for the lad's reply, the men at the table behind him began to become increasingly rowdy, perhaps spurred on by a bit too much drink, if their flushed cheeks and almost dazed gazes were any indication.

Thoughts, Common, Fratava, Vani
~Thank you for letting me base this on one of your templates, Regime!

[Taris Orlanith]

"Heavier roads?" Taris said. He raised an eyebrow at her. "How can a road be heavy? Unless, do you mean, like, a stone road? Because pirates sail shipsss..."

He fell silent as realization dawned. "Oh. I understand now. I think."

He took another swig of his drink. He felt so stupid. Of course Sadie didn't mean heavy roads literally.

"Well, I-I know a lot of roads too," he said. "Like, narrow alleys and back doors into taverns and, uh, other places."

Taris wanted to smack himself. Stop it! You sound so stupid! he told himself. New topic already.

There was a loud guffaw from a table nearby. Taris glanced toward the table, then looked back at his drink. Sadie was right. Luck only lasted for so long. His came and went, bringing silver and gold and broken noses. The man who had broken it, only a few days ago, had then set it for him in what Taris could only believe had been an act of charity. It was still sore, and he all but had to slap his hand away every time he tried to touch it.

He glanced up and found Sadie looking at him. Their eyes meeting, she asked “You got anyone looking out for you?”

Taris held her gaze.

Long ago, he had cried at questions like that. First, because those type of questions had reminded him of his dead parents. But he had been a little boy back then, and the hard reality of living on the streets had toughened him soon enough and his tears had dried up. It had taken him a while to get them going again, but he had found them useful on a few occasions. Sometimes, people would give food or coins to a small, crying boy with no one to love him.

He was too old for tears now, for either reason. Now, there was only one answer to a question like that. And, unlike some people he had known, he didn't have to lie. After all, there was only his big sister Tairi with her house and job with its steady income.

"No," he said.

Sadie broke eye contact first, and looked past him to the rowdy table behind him. She had been glancing around quite a lot, Taris realized. Was she getting nervous? This was just another night at the Drunken Fish. Nothing special. Perhaps this wasn't her normal cup of tea?

It's time I ask the questions, he thought.

"What about you?" he asked. "You said you like to cook. That means you have work, something other than, well, you know." He motioned toward the bar, indicating what he had been doing earlier. "What do you do?"

He smiled then. He may as well ask that question, too.

"And, do you have anyone looking out for you? Or, maybe, someone you are looking out for?"

Now he would see if she knew how to answer that question.

[Sadie Sundown]

“No.”

His answer caught her attention, but she could not bring herself to meet his eyes.

She hadn't been sure what to expect. Some people his age ran in small groups, sometimes more out of necessity than true friendship, others joined gangs... and some even had family members.
'Until they don't.' Sadie had been around the same age as the young man seated before her when she had last seen her mother, the only family she had ever known.
It wasn't too uncommon in Sunberth for people to go missing, with the slavers, gangs, and other dangers that lurked within the city. Her mother though, had kept them both alive on their journey from Ravok to her current home, Sunberth. Although her early memories from their journey were blurry at best, they had travelled for five years, and her mother, Sameha, had proven to be adept at combat and survival. If anything, Sadie did not believe the cause of her mother's disappearance lay within the city... but that meant that her mother had intentionally abandoned her.

Then again, Sadie had already been the one fending for the two of them a while before her mother's disappearance. In many ways, she had almost been prepared for living on her own, all except for the absence of another presence in their home. That absence had eaten at her, and at times it still did. For a season, she had searched for any trace of her mother, even attempting to hunt down her aura. It had taken a while for Sadie to pull herself back together, out of necessity more than anything else. After all back then, she had still retained the home that she and her mother had shared.
'Until that too disappeared in a plume of smoke,' she reminded herself, before she banished that train of thought.

---

'Oho, guess someone has warmed up,' she mused as Taris began to question her.
“I do enjoy cooking and a person's gotta eat anyhow, so there is always work there, one way or another. At the moment, I work in the kitchen at the Pig's Foot.” She thought for a moment and a smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “If you decide to visit, please do try to keep your hands to yourself, or if they do wander, don't tell me.”

When he turned Sadie's earlier question back on her, an expression of nostalgia overtook her features, but she answered lightly.
“I suppose I deserved that... I guess you could say that Merv, the owner of the Pig's Foot, looks out for me at the tavern as much as any employer would, but otherwise, no, not really. Not for a long time...”
She considered his smile, and decided to have some fun. Sadie widened her eyes and raised her brows in mock innocence. “Why do you ask?” she sipped from her mug and hid the curl of a small amused smile behind its rim.


oocTaris and the heavier paths was cute. XD There goes Dee being super dramatic.

Thoughts, Common, Fratava, Vani
~Thank you for letting me base this on one of your templates, Regime!

[Taris Orlanith]

Taris sat up straighter at the mention of the Pig’s Foot. “I, I’m just curious,” he stammered. “And, uh, no. No I won’t… I won’t do anything like that. I-I never do anything like that. What do you take me for? I beg sometimes but, that’s all.”

Then he remembered how they had met. Just a few minutes ago.

He laughed, nervously. “Uh, except, you know I do. That’s right. You caught me. Hehehe.”

He knew he was starting to sound a little crazy. But it was just because he was so excited. He tried to fight it down, but it was no use.

The Pig’s Foot! he screamed in the privacy of his own head.

The Pig’s Foot Tavern was always his hideout after stealing something in the Commons. Well, not the tavern itself, per se. More the area behind the tavern where Merv threw out old boxes and crates and barrels, all of which provided plenty of hiding places. Not to mention, there was the tavern right there. If it ever came to it, Taris knew he could run inside through the backdoor, then through the crowd and out the front door. He could even start a brawl on his way. If he had to.

“You work at the Pig’s Foot?” he said. He shook his head. “No. You cook at the Pig’s Foot!”

This was better he could have hoped! He was smart enough to know that he couldn’t do it every day, or even half that often. But when he was really hungry, he could now go to the Pig’s Foot and get free food from his friend the cook!

He could feel his lips stretching in a huge grin. He didn’t care. He couldn’t remember when he had last felt so happy. He was shaking he was so happy. He now had somewhere to go when he was really, really, really, really hungry.

Then a thought struck him. One that made his grin fall right off his face. He wasn’t sure what it could mean in the tavern business, but in other businesses he knew that visiting another shop that sold the same goods or provided the same services as your own was the same as spying.

He opened his mouth, but only managed to cough out a breath of air. He tried again, and the same thing happened. He raised a finger to ask Sadie to hold on. Taking a swig of his drink, he set it down and lowered his head halfway to the table top. Now, with his nerves properly steeled—or, rather, slightly reinforced—he looked to his left and right. Then he lowered his voice and asked, “If you work there, then what are you doing here? Aren’t you afraid they’ll notice?”

[Sadie Sundown]

'Well that certainly got a reaction out of him...'
She gave him a slight smirk, with a raised eyebrow, and a hint of a side-eye that all but said the word “really?” out-loud. The lad certainly seemed interested in her connection to the Foot, and an internal dash of concern lingered. She hoped this would not come to bite her in the rear later on.
“As I said, just don't tell me if you do,” she said lightly.

At the mention of begging, her expression softened a bit; it was common enough, and she had come close to doing so herself more times that she would perhaps like to admit. The only thing that had kept her away from doing so was the idea of making herself even more vulnerable than she already had been, especially since she had not really had anyone to lean on if something went awry.

By no means was Taris subtle; Sadie could practically see his mind whirling as the grin grew on his face, and the pieces clicked together in her own mind.
'Little money... become friends with the cook... Ah, it's a “let's be friends with the cook for food”,' she thought and mentally rolled her eyes. Not that she really minded if that was really the case- as long as it didn't get her into trouble and reduced any amount of food that would have otherwise been wasted.

Just as she was about to speak, she watched in interest as his grin dropped instantly. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong as Taris began to struggle with his breathing, but stopped as he gestured with his finger, indicating for her to wait. Once he had some semblance of control, he took a swig from his drink and she waited with some concern.
'What has shaken the lad for him to become this nervous?' she wondered as she watched him glance about their surroundings.

“If you work there, then what are you doing here? Aren’t you afraid they’ll notice?”

Her brows furrowed in confusion.
“What does working at the Foot have to do with me being here? Can't a woman just enjoy a drink somewhere that is not her place of employment? Where she won't potentially be roped into working if the tavern suddenly becomes busier than anticipated?” she said in quick succession, while her voice grew playfully dramatic with each question. Suddenly, she shed some of the playfulness and ask him deadpan, her eyes slightly squinted, “... and afraid who will notice?”


Thoughts, Common, Fratava, Vani
~Thank you for letting me base this on one of your templates, Regime!