Open [The Rearing Stallion]The Glass is Half...(Open) (Sohco)

[Wade]

Wade breathed deeply, figuring the man's slight insult to his profession would be settled when they got out in the field. He'd be sure to fire off a scathing "I told you so" when the time came. He'd share a laugh with the beasts of the trees this time. Then, of course, he'd shoot them, bag them, and then take home a nice profit.

He forced himself out of his fantasy as Sohco told him about his lack of weapons training. Wade smiled and shook his head. "I don't know my way around a sword, but I do have some experience with my battleaxe. I used to spar a lot and I figured it was probably a little dangerous not to be able to fight, if the time came. Of course, I don't think you'll run into trouble as long as you stay in the city. The Knights are quite vigilant."

Wade shrugged. "Though I don't know if you're going to want to go hunting if you can't defend yourself if something attacks. There's always danger as soon as you step through the gate. Have you done much traveling, Sohco?"

[Sohco]

"A bit," he replied, " I've spent most of my years here within the walls of the city, but I've traveled with the odd caravan, as a merchant of course, and even those times we weren't attacked." Sohco wondered himself why he hadn't done much traveling in the past. Maybe he should've dreamed larger. Snapping out of his daydream, Sohco refocused and realized he was staring at another man and he looked away, hoping the guy didn't notice.

"I will make sure to get a bit of training before I head out of town with you, so it might be a while before we get to head out," he continued, " I'll try and find someone at the fight pit perhaps." Sohco was quite pleased with himself at this plan, it gave him something to look forward to.

Sohco took up his second mug and began to take a few sips off of it. A smile came across his face as the taste of this ale began to remind him of his father, an honest man with a great like of drink. He looked at the mug and then looked around the room, he felt quite at home in this tavern, and decided quite easily that he would make this a regular place to visit.

[Wade]

Wade nodded at Sohco's answer. "I haven't done much traveling myself," he admitted. "In fact, the farthest I've gone is on one of my hunting expeditions. My father would hardly let me get outside the walls when I was little. It's dangerous out there."

Wade nodded sagely at Sohco's statement that he'd prepare himself for hunt, as if he knew what he was talking about. "It's a harsher world out there beyond the knight's protection, you know. There's a reason only hard men venture out and even harder men are the ones that survive." He puffed his chest out as he sought to down another ale down his gullet but ended up coming for air just short of finishing it off.

The ale lulled him into forgetting that he was just a young lad speaking to someone older than himself. Now, in his mind, he was the experienced and rugged hunter talking to a youth who needed guidance in the outside world. "Shyke, you know, I myself might even be able to give you a few pointers in fighting before we head out." He looked at Sohco, eyebrows raised expectantly.

[Sohco]

"Maybe...," Sohco said truly grateful for the offer, but a bit annoyed at the young blood's pride, maybe he wasn't a fighter, but this young one shouldn't be telling him that he isn't so easily. " I may be a bit unprepared, but I am not wet behind the ears ya know; I'm not a fighter, but I like to think that I would be smart enough to defend myself adequately." he said this with a degree of anger in his voice but he maintained a controlled demeanor throughout.

" Now I know the world outside of the walls is a dangerous place, and I do not take that lightly, but I believe that with enough preparation I would be able to survive. Then again, I definitely could be wrong." Sohco calmed down quickly, controlling his breath.

"Look, I like you Wade, really, but mind your tongue. And yes, I would most appreciate a few lessons in combat." Sohco said changing his tone smoothly into a relaxed one; he even managed a smile. Soon after he grabbed the third and last ale that barmaid brought him, taking a very long draw, finishing the ale in one take, giving a little smirk to himself as he finished, adding, " Hey man, its all good, I'm not looking for any trouble, just..." he trailed off as the barmaid approached him. " I see you finished the ale I brought you, would you like some more, sir? " she asked, looking at him, inquisitively. Diverting his attention from Wade towards the barmaid as he heard the lady speak, " No thank you," he said with a smile, " I think I'm doing just fine."

[Taros]

Taros was tired. Even at night, the heat of summer had fully descended upon Syliras, making the smallest excursions a lesson in anguish. He walked around the city streets, hoping to find a nice place to relax and meet new people, as well as learn about Syliras itself. At this time of night the streets were much calmer, making them more navigable, as well as comfortable. It was hard trying to memorize important locations in a city when you were being shoved around by the crowds. Not even 3 years old yet, Taros had learned quite a lot about human nature in his time, some good, and some bad. It was a very foreign concept to him of being in a rush somewhere, much better to let things take their course, he thought. Noticing light and sound coming from a building, he was willing to wager he had found a tavern. He quickly filed away the location in his head, and walked over to the door, deciding a drink would go a long way in restoring his spirits. Entering the tavern, a doubt crawled into his mind. What if he had made a mistake deciding to come here? He wasn't known for his ability to handle a drink, and embarrassing himself in front of complete strangers wasn't a very appealing idea. Taros decided he was being overly nervous for no good reason, and looked around, surveying the situation. Most interesting in the crowd were two young men, seeming to walk on eggshells around each-other. They went from talking as friends to arguing in a heartbeat, and the nervousness between the two could be sensed rather than seen. But who was Taros to talk? He had been nervous simply to enter the tavern, let alone converse with the strangers. Realizing he had been standing at the doorway for the past 30 seconds, he blushed slightly, moving out of the way and pondering whether or not to join the two young men. He knew nearly nobody in Syliras, and if he wanted to thrive in his new home he'd need a few good friends. He also noticed a group of knights that were off duty, but Taros' relationship with the law was a struggling one at best. They tended to distrust other races as well as magic users, and he was exception to neither. He would be out of his element talking to them, and finally decided to approach the two young men. "Excuse me, but I'm new to Syliras. May I join you?" he asked, to neither of them in particular. Despite his best intentions, he felt awkward having interrupted their conversation, but considering the tone it was starting to take, he was somewhat happy. Taros may not know much about humans, but he does know how notorious some of their egos were, and would hate to see a friendly conversation take a turn for the worse.

[Maximilian Walsh]

"God damn it, where did Taros wander off again.", Max wondered. Walking through the slowly quieting down streets of Syliras, Max kept his eyes open for Taros. He saw the door to the Tavern was open, and slowly made his way there, continuing to look around for Taros who could be anywhere. Before entering, he already saw Taros was in there, who was watching two other people conversing. He entered the bar, feeling his heart drop at the sight of Syliran knights. He had done nothing wrong, but the sight of them worry him. They're not his kind of people, he was brought up to avoid them. his gaze back on Taros though, somewhat mad at him for forcing him to be in a same room with such people. Nervously entering the bar, Max snuck up behind Taros and whispered "Taros! You can't just run off like that". Max could already see why Taros chose such a location to wander into. For him, it is something new and a place he hasn't been. It's been a long day, and Max was tired. He took a seat next to Taros and decided to strike up a conversation. They talked a lot, but never really from Kelvic to Man, and those two fellas looked interesting too. Should he initiate a conversation, or should he leave Taros to it, who seemed eager enough to do so? Before hand, Taros mind was on something else. "I see what you're eyeing", Max told him. "Hey Barmaid, bring me and my buddy two mugs of ale please.", as he retrieves a gold miza from his pocket. He flipped the coin into her hand. "Keep the rest", Max said, "We might be here for a while". As the barmaid was filling the mugs, Maximilian thought to himself what repercussions drinking tonight could have, intoxicated he becomes a completely different person. He becomes a lot more open,and a lot more aggressive. That is the exact opposite of how Max should act, if he wants to remain anonymous to the justice. The barmaid brought them their ale. Smiling, Max accepted the beer as did Taros, who looked nervous and excited alike. "Cheers!" Max almost yelled, then taking another look around making sure he didn't draw any attention from the knights. They me be off duty but nonetheless they worry him, as if it were almost paranoia. Turning away from them, he took a big gulp from his ale, as he observed Taros nipping from his. It was hilarious to him as Taros did not have a high tolerance to alcohol, and didn't really like the taste either. The only reason he would drink would be to raise his spirits, which Max will attempt to do, and hopefully engaging into a conversation with the two people right beside us. "Hey, I'm Max, care to let us two join in the conversation?". He took another sip from his ale and set the mug down, as he awaited a response.

[Wade]

Wade rocked back in his seat as the kind bowyer in need of help before him erupted into a scolding man with hurt pride. He wasn't sure what he'd said to provoke anger, but he realized that he'd obviously overstepped his bounds somewhere. Then man told him in a dangerously even tone quite clearly that he had been very rude in his offer of teaching this man how to fight. Then he'd changed his mood immediately, suddenly, as if Wade's transgression was but minor. That, of course, made it worse and he stuttered as he failed to think of a graceful way to save face.

Wade broke out of his struggle as a man came up to their table and asked if he could join them. He was a tall man with red hair so light it looked orange. He appeared to be a little nervous but to Wade's eyes he was a shining man sent by fate to save him from his predicament. "Certainly, I'm always glad to have company!" he said. He had just pushed out a chair for him when another man walked up behind the red head, one much more at ease, and greeted him familiarly.

The second man also joined them at the table. He seemed charismatic and at ease in the tavern, the perfect person to take attention away from Wade's misstep. Wade hid behind his mug, sipping down the last little bit with care. When the man asked if they could join the conversation Wade perked up straight and, feeling at ease once again, smiled at the newcomers. "Why certainly! We were just talking about the... err... land outside the walls. Hunting and adventuring and all that."

[Sohco]

Sohco stood up after the two walked in and started introducing themselves, offering one of them his own seat saying, " Of course you can join us. " with a smile he motioned the second new face to sit, " but I'm sad to say the air in here is stifling me and I need a bit of air, so if you'll excuse me I will head out."

Then, with a smile and a bow, Sohco excused himself to exit the tavern for a moment. He tried not to make a scene of himself as much as possible, and walked towards the door, nodding at a few people he caught eyes with. Remembering the ale he drank earlier, he passed the barmaid he had spoken to earlier a few coins, covering his drinks and then some. Reaching the front door of the tavern, he turned to face the table and waved towards, what he considered his new friend, Wade.

Exiting the tavern, he located a nearby unoccupied wall and went over to lean on it, taking in the air outside of the tavern. He wasn't truly angry at Wade, and he wanted to meet the new faces, but his stomach ached a bit. After a bit of thought, he agreed that once he felt better, he would try and return to the table and pick up on the conversation.

[Taros]

Taros saw the relief in one of the man's faces, and was happy his ploy was successful. The Knights didn't tolerate fights of any kind, and he'd hate to see these two young men wind up having to pay a fine or serve hard labor. Noticing one of the men leave, he hoped it wasn't because of their argument, or himself intruding on the conversation. Animosity is bad for the soul, and grudges are harmful to hold on to, at least that's what Taros believed. When he heard one of them speak about hunting outside the walls, his interest peaked significantly. "You're kidding, right? Max and I are both hunters!", he said euphorically. Always on the lookout for possible hunting partners, Taros realized he hadn't even introduced himself properly. "I'm Taros, and this is Max. What's your name?" he asked curiously, hoping to make a new friend. He continued to sip on his ale, the taste slowly growing less and less disgusting. It may be a new experience, but Taros wasn't sure if it was a very enjoyable one at that. The ale was decent quality, that much he knew. Otherwise the place wouldn't get much traffic, not to mention the fact that Max would have made a comment on it by now. Pondering whether or not he should ask for water to go with it, he discarded the idea. It would only serve to embarrass him in front of his new acquaintance, as well as Max and everyone else in the tavern. Sighing, he finished it off, nearly losing his stomach in the process. Having recovered, he managed to fake a half-smile, hoping nobody had noticed.

[Erin Stella]

Erin had been walking for hours. What had started off as a simple stroll to get out of that dank apartment of her's and gain some familiarity with the city had turned into a major ordeal. The city had been much bigger than she anticipated, not to mention she became lost several times along her little trek. As a result, she was sweating through her clothes and her feet were beginning to feel like fire. She was actually using her staff as a walking stick, something she avoided doing as much as possible. Once again she found herself regretting turning down her parent's offers to take more high quality apparel, she stubbornly insisted that her journey be as authentic as possible.

After many hours of walking she came upon a tavern, "The Rearing Stallion", as the sign read. Stella smiled wide at the site. Her emerald eyes darted up and down the face of the building and glanced through the windows. This place looked perfect! Exactly the kind of place peasant, adventurer types would associate. Not wanting to look weak, she placed her staff back onto her back and through open the door to the tavern. Again, she scanned back and fourth around the inside of the tavern. In terms of the building itself, it was perfect. Between the dim lighting and the old furniture, it was the perfect level of poor and depressing that she had hoped for. However, the people were not as satisfying. The only denizens of the inn she saw (the staff being beneath her notice) were three men sitting around a table talking. They certainly didn't look like the warriors or adventures she had envisioned. As she made her way to a nearby table, just far away enough to not be able to hear the other patrons, to rest her feet even their conversation looked boring to her.

Disappointed, she plopped down in a chair, removed her staff and laid it across the table, and told the waitress to bring her something to drink. The waitress soon returned with ale. Erin took one sip and spit it out in disgust, partially on the waitress. Growing up with almost unlimited wealth it was difficult for Erin to adjust to many of the more common things, primarily the food. "What is this? Did you get this from the River? Bring me something drinkable!" She practically through the mug down on the table. Ordinarily even she wouldn't be so rude, but after the last few hours of her day she was on edge.