Open Drink in My Hand

[Telor Riptide]

7th of Spring, 515 AV

His arm was thrown over the back of the chair, his feet up on the table despite the glare of the barmaid, a strong Kelp beer in his hand, and the sound of a young bard pealing out songs was heavy in everyone's ears; the bar was a Svefra's dream that night, and Telor was living it.

The young man swished the drink around in his cup and stared, his mind feeding him naught but static. He wished, not for the first time, that he had a hobby to keep him company and occupy his brain when it got like this. He had gone through a phase where he desperately wanted to swim, but he found the activity was less for enjoyment than practicality in the life of a sailor. He wanted to learn to repair his own ship, but he lacked any skill in the area, so he knew that was little more than a pipe-dream. The last thing he had tried as a hobby had been singing. Now, with a drink or two down and boredom settling in, singing was starting to seem like a great idea.

"Aye! Another Kelp, yeah?" The barmaid nodded absentmindedly in his direction as Telor rose from his chair and moved toward the bar. The man leaned against the wood there as she worked. When she handed him the drink, he gave her his coin, a coy wink, and a grin before taking his beer to the corner of the room where the lone bard played out a generic melody on a lute.

It may have been because no one was listening anyway, or it could have been because he had had a few Kelp beers himself, but the bard smiled at Telor and changed his tune to a light and happy one. Telor smiled back, took a swig of his drink, and began as loud as he dared. Lines were skipped and notes were missed, but the drunken sailor noticed not a bit of it. He cared not for an audience, all he wanted was to distract himself from the loneliness that was overcoming him.

"What will we do with the drunken sailor?
Early in the morning?

Put him in the scuppers with the hose pipe on him

Hoist him aboard with a running bowline

Put him in the brig until he's sober.

Make him turn to at shining bright work!"

Ledger-4 cm for a mug of beer

[Antlia]

7th of Spring, 515 AV

For the most part, Antlia was alone.

The greater part of the late afternoon had been a tiring test of skill as the Ethaefal tried her best to tear down her tent without poking holes in anything. By the time she found herself tying up the tarp and packing away the tent, she had shifted into the stunning grace of her more celestial form. Fiery red hair grew longer and silky as it shifted into a dying shade of gray. When the moon caught the hairs just right, it would sparkle a stunning bluish color, but thanks to the shadows of buildings, no such shimmering set her too apart from the crowd.

Well, there wasn't much of a crowd to begin with. She had passed one, maybe two, people while she weaved through the streets. No one talked to her, but the looks she got were awkward for her. Maybe she should feel blessed to be a symbol of good fortune, but she couldn't help but frown and duck her head away shyly when someone stared a bit too long. Was it uncommon for someone like to her to not be a people person? Maybe there was some sort of feeling within her that wanted others to flock to her so that she may guide them, but that part of her was washed away the moment she was tossed into the ocean like a discarded toy.

She had left her tent and horse safely tucked away near her friend's house. A fisherman who had let her live with him just long enough to get her bearings. Though she assured him that she would be leaving in the days to come, he wasn't exactly surprised when she came back a couple days later asking for a place to reign her horse. After all, exploring the streets of a city wasn't as easy when one was riding a horse. Especially if that someone just wanted to blend in.

Eventually, she found herself walking into a bar, though thoughts of getting drunk weren't exactly on the forefront of her mind. Rather, she wanted a place to sit and maybe think. Given the quietness of the town right now, she could only assume the bar was all but dead. Just like she imagined there was only a single person floating around. Well, a person and a merry man strumming on his lute. The barmaiden absentmindedly regarded the Ethaefal, but soon found herself more occupied by counting something below the counter.

Antlia made her way to the back of the bar, towards the bard and a man who swayed as he roared out lyrics to a song she didn't know. A bit slurred and not exactly the voice of a professional, but nice enough. The Ethaefal sat quietly behind the two men, a light smile hinting at her otherwise solemn face. Once the tune had faded away and the man left without lyrics to sing, the woman made herself known.

"You have quite the voice, Sailor," her voice came out melodic and smooth, but the quietness of it left much to be desired. "I take it you sing rather often?"

[Telor Riptide]

7th of Spring, 515 AV

Quite the voice? She must be drunk off her arse, Telor mused to himself. It had been ages since he had sung, and although he did have natural talent and history on his side, he would hardly call what he had just done his best work. It was hardly passable as music.

Despite his self-esteem, Telor nodded politely to the woman who had complimented him. But when Telor looked up into her eyes, she left the sailor feeling as though he had seen something celestial.

At the top of her tall, meandering form, beautiful white horns curled against her head, forming something like buns, should they have been hair. Her real hair, which supported the delicate horns, was a grey color, soft and pale in the low lighting of the bar. Where everything else about the woman was gentle and calm, her eyes were wide and bright- a stunning shade of violet. Telor's breath caught in his throat as he caught her gaze and held it silently for a moment.

Her voice was so soft- so much like the rest of her- that Telor wanted to lean in closer to catch the words on the wisp of air from her mouth, but it seemed improper to get too close to such a being. There was a slight smile behind her voice when she spoke, giving it a harmonious sound.

After a few ticks went by, the sailor realized that he had neglected to respond.
"Aye. Uh, I've been singing for long as I can recall. But I ain't got that great of voice tonight, Miss. I hadn't warmed up or nothing."

There was a pause, as the boy considered his options. He could ask, or he could leave it there and walk away. Perhaps it was her beauty and the slowly dawning calm of Lhex. Perhaps it was the ale in him, but the sailor bowed his head and proposed an idea.

"I ain't singing too great tonight, but perhaps if you came by the docks some other time, you could hear me proper, yeah? The name's Telor Riptide, if you're looking for me."

[Lucy Colburn]

Lucy was bored.

There were plenty of things she could do, but she didn't feel like doing any of them at the moment. The feeling just wasn't there. She had been lazing around for far too long. Getting up on her feet, she stepped out of the door, shutting it as she stepped out into the open air. Leaving the World's End Grotto behind, she wandered the streets, thinking of something interesting to do. Passing a scruffy looking man with a bottle of kelp beer in his hands, she thought to herself. Why not visit the bar? There could be something of note going on in there that help pass the time. Perhaps, even she could even fish out a story or two.

Fuelled with a purpose in mind, Lucy headed towards The Kelp Bar. The establishment was a weather-beaten structure made out of bleached-out boards that had salt stains running along all over. It was very close to the docks, and most of its patrons tend to be sailors or other assorted dock workers. Sailors were good at stories, maybe she could get one of them to tell her a story or two. Excited at the thought, she quickened her pace, making good time, weaving in through the streets, heading into the Sailor's Quarter.

She knew she was there, when she laid sight upon the distinguishable building, which had a metal sign that had the words hammered into it identifying it to be The Kelp Bar. The interior was lit by several oil lamps that hardly provided any form of adequate light. The chairs and tables seemed to be a complete mismatch, and the bar seemed to be on a really quiet day. The only people she could see was a bar-maid tending the counter and serving customers, a lone bard playing his tunes in a corner of the room, and a well-toned, buff young man with scraggly blonde hair. He looked like a sailor, and Lucy wondered if he was one.

Perhaps he was a labourer instead? Looks like she was not getting her story after all. He looked rather muscular for a sailor. She doubt he was one. She took a seat a few tables away from him, and kept her eye on him, resting her chin on her hands. The man then yelled for another beer, and then the oddest thing happened. He started singing away in some sailor song, and she found it to be rather comical. He had certainly piqued her interest, that's for sure.

Mid-way through the man's song, a new guest entered the bar. Now this, she was sure was no human. She was tall, and had mystical curved white horns accompanied with grey streaks of very light blue hair. The horns have been curved in a way that they looked like buns right beside her head. Her eyes were a bright violet colour. Lucy remembered her father mentioning these before in his stories.

Ethaefal..That’s what they are! She saw the horned woman looking towards the singing man as well, interested by his song. The man's song ended almost as abruptly as it started, and the woman made her way to talk to man. She, herself made her way too, strolling towards the man. When the horned lady had finished talking, she began asking him curiously "Hey, I enjoyed your singing! Are you a sailor? Who are you? Do you have interesting stories to share?"

[Telor Riptide]

OOCSince it doesn't look like Antila is active, it's back down to just you and me, Lucy. Sorry for the short post, I was expecting Antila to post and so I didn't really have anything ready.

Telor nearly laughed out loud. Another admirer? Two in one night? He ought to sing drunk more often!

Once again, despite his low self-esteem, Telor nodded politely to the acknowledge the second woman who had complimented him. Her red hair bobbed about as she spoke excitedly, and as she moved about, her sizable chest bounced too. Telor cleared his throat, attempting to keep a gentleman's view of the woman. Her short stature helped, for if he look down at her, the first thing he saw was her well-done hair, and then her soft, round face. Maintaining careful eye contact, Telor smiled at her.

"Aye, Miss. I'm as much of a sailor as one could be. Telor Riptide's the name. I work as a laborer out at the docks, where my ship stays. But, as far as stories go..."

The boy crinkled his brow in thought. Sure, he had stories, but should he tell them to such a complete stranger? And why did she even care? What interest did she have in him? Perhaps it was the alcohol, or the late night air, but something inside him said it was okay to talk to this woman.

"Hmm...Interesting stories..."He mused as he took a seat nearby and gestured for the women to sit down with him."I suppose I have a few. But first, I want to know who you are, and what your story is."

Telor waved over a waitress and got himself a tall glass of cold water. He sipped it nonchlantly, and then spoke once more.
"Deal?"

[Perplexity]

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Notice

It is with deepest regret that I must inform you the contents of this thread have been rendered null and void. All instances of roleplay within the domain of Zeltiva concerning the characters of Telor Riptide and Aedifex are to be ceased immediately. This is due to multiple infractions upon the rules governing the utilization of Mizahar as a website which are as follows:

• Players are allowed a maximum of 5 active accounts.
  
• Two PCs from the same player cannot be in the same Domain at the same time unless they have a really good reason and permission from the location's DS or a Founder.

This decision has been reached after extensive investigation. It is final.

Sincerely,
Perplexity- DS of Zeltiva

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