[Silver Sliver Tavern] - (Open, Winter)

[Dervish]

Season of Winter, Day 27, 510 AV Dervish opened the door and slowly entered The Silver Sliver, and headed straight for the corner of the bar table at the back wall. The room seemed calm, the small stage was unoccupied and customers sat around the tables casually drinking, talking, or other more active pursuits. A barmaid or two gracefully moved between the tables, keeping the customers drinking and paying. Dervish looked down into the ground, and moved quickly between the tables, moving out of his way to avoid occupied ones, not wanting to draw attention, his own irritation might cause him to act irrationally, and he knew it. He made it over to a barstool in a corner, and slouched down in it, throwing a goldrimmed Miza on the counter and waving at the tavern keeper, ordering the obvious Silver Sliver, a drink he didn't always favour, but his current mood seemed to call for the strong, cold, silvery drink. Dervish spun around in his chair, and looked at the room from his corner, leaning on the stone wall next to him and leaning his one free hand on the counter. He wanted to take his mind off things - He'd asked Lorcan to meet him here yesterday, he wanted to discuss his future job, Ebonstryfe? He wouldn't like it. Lorcan never seemed to .. "Like" the god of chaos? As well as his servants. He wouldn't like this idea... Bah.. Dervish took a sip of the drink as it was handed to him, and looked darkly out across the tavern room. He had never been good at socializing, but he occasionally enjoyed observing, learning what others did when and why... A group of men sat in a corner, gambling, one of them had an ear piercing, another a rather crude looking knife, for skinning? Fishermen, probably, might even provide a good fight if the occasion ocurred. Dervish took a larger gulp of his drink, and observed a waitress swerve lightly through the tables, the swing of her hips seeming to draw the eyes of not only him. Not that his mind was traveling that way tonight.. It was so clever, though, the way subtle sexual promise would cause men to empty their purses and fill their bellies and drink out their brains, just to impress. Dervish smiled vaguely to himself and remembered how he was one of those fools, then took another sip of his Silver Sliver. Speaking of fools, he spotted a possible future, and his smile faded as he looked at the drunk at the other end of the bar desk. A middle aged man, a swordsheath at his side. However, the hilt was missing, his nose was broken, his eyes red, his posture sloppy and the ale in his hand seemed all too familiar. A drunk with a past. Dervish looked at his drink with a surdent amount of hatred and longing, then emptied it and waved for another, picking up another Miza and spinning it on the table, watching it spin untill it fell with a tingling sound. Dervish spotted a thin and wiry boy staring slightly at the coin. His look flew away when Dervish looked back with a dark stare. Not that it was likely he'd be a victim of theft - Dervish rarely carried riches and sure didn't look it either... Or was. His new drink arrived, and he set about preparing himself for Lorcan's arrival. He took a large drink and looked around the room curiously. Secret : This thread -is- open to anyone, feel free to sit down and have a drink.

[Cassandra Coven]

Cassandra sauntered over to the latest customer, an empty serving tray hugged close to her chest. He seemed unkempt and disheveled, probably a begger, but the drink her was nursing in his hand told the barmaid otherwise. The Silver Sliver wasn't something everyone could afford. The man probably had coin; as a server in the tavern, it was naturally her duty to relieve him of some of it. Wearing a sweet smile, she leaned over at the man and asked, "The drink good enough for you, sir? How about a meal? I roasted the lamb myself - still juicy off the bone." She added the last part to induce the man to buy. Such lines usually compelled customers to order a meal even if they weren't really hungry. Adding a personal touch established a sort of rapport between the customer and server after all. Tricks of the trade. "Just five silvers for bread and meat - that comes with drink, but just ale, I'm afraid - and two gold if you opt for a full meal. That one comes with a mug of what you're drinking though."

[Dervish]

Dervish looked up surprised, he hadn't expected anyone to approach him, and initially halfsmiled at the pretty girl, who clung to her tray like a shield, and smiled sweetly at him as she approached. She was beautiful. Dervish' smile disappeared the moment she spoke, a shade of pain and anger seeming to flutter across his eyes, and he took another large drink of his Sliver, looking down and to the side; No-one would talk to a dirty halfblood like him unless they wanted his money, she probably looked down on him, dirty and dark as he appeared, and her smile was most likely as fake as that of the whores of the House of Immortal Pleasures. He cursed to himself and suddenly hammered his cup into the desk counter, startling the tavern keeper who sent them a suspicious look. Dervish looked up at her face from his sitting position with a dark glare, inspecting her threateningly. They were all the same here, either looking down on him or trying to get something from him;"Just give me a refill, if you want my money you can try another trade..." He murmured darkly, averting his gaze and hinting at an insult, the fact that it may have been undeserved only serving to fuel his anger and annoyance at himself and anyone around him.

[Cassandra Coven]

Cassandra maintained her smile despite the man's less than friendly reaction, totally ignoring his implied insult. "As you will," she said, taking his mug and working her way around the counter to fill it up from the tap. As soon as her back was turned she rolled her eyes. They got all sorts of customers and it was just her luck she happened upon a surly one. No one appreciates good service in this city, she thought. Sometimes, I wish I was back in Syliras...despite the poor tips! She returned, the smile back on her lips and the man's mug cold once more and filled to the brim. "Enjoy your drink! That's one gold, but you can just pay him," she said, jerking her thumb at the man behind the counter. "Let me know if you'd like anything else, or just order from the barkeep, he'll wave me or any of the other servers over." And with that, the darkhaired barmaid moved off to get orders from the other tables.

[Dervish]

Dervish looked after her as she left, her polite smile and speech leaving him slightly embarassed - And even more annoyed, at his own behaviour and her apparent friendliness. He took the beer carefully from her hand, wondering whether he should apoligize or pay her, but then simply looked out over the bar, giving a short nodding motion as she spoke to him. Everything always ended up the same way, in a fight or in boredom. Hopefully Lorcan would arrive before either option came to a realisation. Dervish felt an urge to draw blood, to fight, to expel some of all this anger... But no, that wouldn't help, and surely wouldn't be appreciated by Lorcan when he eventually arrived anyway. Dervish resigned himself, and started drinking slower, looking around the bar under his ragged hair and occasionally at the pretty waitress he'd argued with.

[Lorcan]

Lorcan slowly walked up to the door of the Silver Sliver, he'd just gotten away from work and was pretty tired. He pushed open the door and looked out over the crowd of people looking for his friend Dervish. He really needed a drink, blow off some steam from work. If only he could just find the guy.. Then he suddenly spotted a cute waitress and couldn't help but follow her with his eyes. Which led him to noticing Dervish, so he started walking through the tavern, trying to ignore the people who were staring at his fiery red hair. As always he made himself small and tried to stay out of trouble. After stumbling into some guy and quickly apologizing he made it to Dervish and tapped on his back. "Hey Derv"

[Dervish]

The tap on his back felt familiar, and Dervish turned around on the stool with a nervous halfsmile which resigned itself into his usual calm, calculative setting;"Hey Lorcan, how're things? Seat yourself and have a sliver." Dervish murmured, looking at him with a pale glance and an alcoholic breath. He didn't feel comfortable knowing that Lorcan usually realised it when he was angry. Dervish looked around quickly but didn't call for a waitress, he took a sip of his Sliver and quickly continued, not answering anything Lorcan said in the meantime;"I've something I've gotta tell and ask you..." He said in a serious tone. The upcoming discussion of The Ebonstryfe and him joining a group that he knew Lorcan deep down more or less despised didn't exactly improve his mood, but at least it could get out of the way.

[Lorcan]

Lorcan immediately noticed Dervish was angry about something, but didn't put too much thought in it, Dervish was an angry person and needed to vent regularly. So instead he sat down and looked around for a waitress, hoping to get an ice cold Silver Sliver this place was so famous for. He'd never been much of a drinker, but over the years Dervish taught him how to knock back a few. "Things are good, tired though.. work has been awful." He really needed to mellow out. Then Dervish said something in a very serious tone. He hadn't quite heard it but it was probably important. So he turned his head and nodded. "Alright, tell me whats going on later, first I need me a Sliver!" So he got up from his seat, excited about finally getting a chance to mellow out with his friend. He spotted the cute waitress that had just left Dervish alone to serve someone else and tapped her on her back like he did with Dervish. "Hey there cutey, could I get a silver sliver?"

[Cassandra Coven]

Cassandra felt the tap on her back just as she served two hot plates of roasted lamb to an elder couple. The order that immediately followed clued her to the cause of the contact. She leaned in close to those she had just served, telling them to just wave her over should they need anything else, before she turned to the latest customer. He was young, perhaps just a couple of years older than herself, with short hair the color of burning embers. While he was only about as tall as she was, he was built thickly, with a left arm somewhat bulkier than his right. Cassandra gave him a sweet smile, once she had perfected over the years of serving in taverns. Warm and genuine, it lit her eyes and it was one that was sure to elicit some form of positive reaction from people. "Coming right up, sir!" she piped, sashaying towards the bar in a flourish, her hips swaying enticingly, drawing the appreciative eyes of more than a couple of drinkers. Of course, it was all a ploy for the customers to stay in the tavern longer if they wanted to ogle the waitresses who would, consequently, coax them to buy a drink or even a meal. No smart tavernkeeper would hire an ugly barmaid afterall. Another mug was filled to the brim with the silvery liquid and Cassandra served it to the flame-haired man, who had returned to take his seat by the bar. She noted that he sat beside the taciturn man she had served earlier. "Barkeep's just over there, you know," she chided, nodding over at her co-worker who was chatting with the other patrons by the bar. "Or do you just prefer a pretty face serving you your drink?" She winked at him playfully before giving the same spiel she did with the man's friend: two gold for a decent meal and another mug of the Silver Sliver and five silvers of meat and bread with a mug of ale. "I already offered your...companion... the same menu but it didn't look like he's hungry. Maybe he will be once he smells what you'll have. If you'll order that is. Anyway, if you want to order anything, just holler or wave me or any of the other barmaids over. My name is Cassandra." With parting smile at the man, and a wink to his surly companion to show that she was just teasing with her comment, the dark-haired barmaid moved off to clean up a recently vacated table from the other side of the small tavern.

[Lorcan]

When the barmaid gave Lorcan that sweet smile he could not help but grin a little. However he knew full well he was being played. Girls usually didn't talk to him that way unless they wanted something from him. So after she was done talking he sat back down with his friend Dervish. "Yes Dervish, I know what shes doing, no need to call me naive." When she came back, drink in hand and smile spread across her face, Lorcan couldn't help but grin stupidly again, he told himself to stop and tried to get a grip on the reality that she just wanted his money. However, that was still no reason not to be polite. "I'll let you know if I need anything." Obviously preferring to see her smile over the bartender's ugly mug. The moment he noticed her wink he had to keep himself from speaking up and quickly took another sip of his sliver. If only to avert his gaze from her for a moment. Then after she was done talking he could barely bring himself to shaking his head from side to side trying to say no, but instead just drinking more of his Silver Sliver. He cleared his throat a little and finally turned to Dervish. "Right well Dervish, you wanted to talk?"