[Kiel]

Kiel and pubs went together like, well, like, stuff that didn't go together very well. You know, 'cause of that whole him getting drunk real easy thing that had plagued him his whole life. Well, he assumed it had been his whole life, 'cause up to being a teen he hadn't been allowed to try booze, so who knew if his susceptibility actually came before then? Maybe it was a by-product of puberty or something.

“Wah, booze. No fair.”

He'd barely had a ship of his shandy and he was already feeling a little bit tipsy. Peering at the bartender suspiciously, Kiel asked, “You sure you put, like, ninety percent lemonade in this, like, right, 'cause I gotta walk home, man, and have you ever tried walking in a straight line when your head's falling off, 'cause I haven't but I'm pretty sure it'd be totally - hey, hey, nuts! Like, can I get some salted peanuts, man? Cheers.”

He wasn't actually sure what had brought him to the pub. Like, he was kinda hungry like always, and thirsty 'cause he'd been running around madder than usual for Mikey's. Normally, he'd dash straight home or to Zeph's so he could spend time with the big fat meanie head, but, like, you know. Work, or whatever. And he didn't want to go be home alone, and his folks were busy with farm stuff this week so they weren't responding to many of his texts either, and he was just in a mood to be surrounded by people, you know?

So. Kiel and a bartender, sitting in a pub. If only he was a chick, or, like, you know. Actually said something.

[Lucas]

Lucas strode into the pub, rolling his shoulders a little. He'd still not sorted out any employment, and that left him with a ton of free time, which he was determined not to waste. So he'd devoted the earlier part of the day to a serious workout. A jog along the beach, some weights back home, and then a half hour session with his punch bag. It wasn't the hardest he'd ever worked, but he knew it was what he needed to stay in shape, and the exercise had made an impact on his shoulder muscles especially. He'd showered and put on fresh clothing, and had dinner, before hitting his fridge for a beer - and then realising he had none. Since he couldn't be bothered to do a serious shop today, he'd figured the pub was the next best option. He had a tatty paperback in his back pocket, and was planning on finding a secluded corner in which he could read and enjoy his drink undisturbed. It seemed his luck was in. Other than one patron who Lucas paid no attention to, the pub's only other occupant was the barman. Lucas propped an elbow up on the bar and called out to the man.

“Pint of lager please, when you're ready.” He requested, confident he wouldn't have to wait long for his order. The relatively lonely pub had improved his mood, and Lucas considered ordering a whisky, neat, to accompany his beer. No, he'd wait till later, there was no need to go getting completely wasted so early in the evening. He'd had a nice dinner of steak and roast potatoes, and a whisky later would settle along with the food nicely. Still standing at the bar, Lucas scanned the pub for his ideal spot, and found it. The far right hand corner, away from the bar, was calling to him. As the barman plonked his drink on the bar, and Lucas slid a couple of coins to him, he picked up his pint and began to move to his preferred seat.

[Kiel]

So, like, coming here to be around people hadn't been such a good idea. The bartender just ignored everything Kiel had said to him, and not, like, in that way most people had where they at least looked like they were semi listening, but in a totally "my mind is anywhere but here" kinda way that just, like, totally annoyed him. He was kinda moping, too, so he'd sort of taken to muttering into his glass. Like a total booze-head. Hahahahaha, that was kinda funny, actually. Dude, like, if his mom saw him right now, she'd be all over him faster than he could say "another shandy, please".

“Pint of lager.”

“Like, dude, I know that voice, man.”

Lifting his head to see who it was as the bartender went off to sort out the dude's drink, Kiel quite literally squee'd. “Eeeeeh, Luc! Luc, man, Luc!” Hopping off his stool and staggering a little as the room spun, Kiel grinned like an idiot and planted himself in Lucas's way. “Tadahhhhh! Like, dude, I bet you thought you'd ditched me, right? Hahahahaha. Hey, hey, sit at the bar with me, man, it's so cool. It's, like, you know, so cool.” There was something about sitting at the bar that somehow elevated a dude's status among pub folk from casual drinker to "if I move, the bar will fall down" types. At least, that's how it was in Kiel's mind, but it wasn't like he'd ever been to a bar before. The extent of his experience with alcohol came from festivals in the local (as in, like, half a day's cart ride away) village, so he'd admit his views on stuff like that were kinda coloured by his grandpa's stories.

Still, like, “Only antisocial meanie heads sit in corners and mope, you know?” Not realising he'd thrown yet another insult in the dude's direction, Kiel flapped his hands at the bar stool next to his. “I even got peanuts, how awesome is that?” He may as well get the full experience, since he was here. And besides, he had the munchies.

“Hey, hey, you wanna taste my shandy, ma-ah-n?” Like, woah, that came out funny. Missing a step will do that to you. “Dude, like, I barely drank anything and I'm already kinda wired. Are you hot? Is it hot in here? I'm kinda hot. Nut?”

[Lucas]

Lucas groaned internally, wondering how, with all the public houses in Alexandria, he'd managed to bump into Kiel here. His quiet, peaceful evening now seemed as possible as Kiel sitting quietly whilst he enjoyed his drink - impossible. Still, he couldn't exactly run out of the pub, however tempted he was to do so. He'd sink his pint as quickly as possible, and then excuse himself. Yes, that was a plan. He'd just toss a coin or something onto the floor and allow the kid to be distracted by the shininess, and then he could bolt. So, still reluctant, he moved back to the bar, and took a big gulp of his beer.

“Fancy seeing you here kid, I thought you had to be at least 18 to drink in one of these places.” He teased, slightly amused by the tipsy state of his unwelcome companion, especially considering how little he'd appeared to have drank. He wondered what Kiel was doing here, if he was honest. He'd spoken of his boyfriend with such a level of hero-worship that Lucas had assumed he'd spend all his free time with the guy. But here he was, alone, hyper and apparently on the way to being drunk. A fight, perhaps? Lucas doubted it, as Kiel seemed as happy and excitable as he had been the day they'd first met...but on the other hand, he couldn't imagine Kiel unhappy, so maybe he was hiding it? Figuring that there was only one way to find out, Lucas asked,

“And where is lover boy tonight?” He hated to admit it, but as he leaned on the bar, Lucas was curious as to what the answer would be.

[Kiel]

“Oh, like, har har, you're funny, man. You so look younger than me, man, so, like, what're you doing in here, then?” Like, that was true, you know? And yet, there was something about Luc that just kinda shot him right up there with the battle-wizened oldies. Like his gramps. “Hahahahahaha, like my gramps, man, with a cane and everything.” Well, like, not like his gramps, then. His gramps didn't need a cane, he only looked about forty, but still, that had to peeve Lucas, right? Hahahahaha.

Fidgeting on his stool, Kiel slowly turned his glass between his hands, his head bobbing slightly. “Like, what, you don't think I go no place without him, man? That's, like. Man.” Sulking a little at the thought that he was glued to Zeph's side, Kiel shook his head. “Like, man, he's so busy, you know? Besides, like, I didn't want him to see me getting drunk, hahahaha.” That wasn't it. He wouldn't be here if Zeph had time for him, but he had to keep himself occupied somehow, right? He'd been for a run around the city earlier, and he'd work out when he got home (assuming he could stand up straight), but, “I do have other friends, you know.

Hey, hey.” A thought occurred to him. “You're my friend, right? So, like, you wanna set up a regular meeting or something? That'd be cool, you know? Back home, we had Game Night every Friday, and we'd play, you know, games and stuff. Except, like, I'm pretty sure Pheebs cheats, man, no way someone wins every single game of poker, you know?”

Continuing his query as if he hadn't gone off on a tangent for a second, he tacked on, “And I can invite Phenny and Dante, and, like, I guess Zeph if he ever doesn't have to work, and hey, hey, maybe he'll let me bring Derry and we can have, like, a race between her and Sanna, hahahahaha. You ever seen a dragon race an angel snake, man? Me either, but I'm guessing it's crazy awesome.”

[Dazadi]

Dazadi's days were merging into one another lately. She spent most of her time hopping about Elysia making sure things were running as smoothly as could be expected of the messy bunch that lived there, and then going home to spend the evening with a young male tiger who could no longer be realistically called a 'cub'. Dante's presence prevented her from sinking into old habits, even with Piper and her rabble gone, but it was still all too easy to lose a day, a week, even a month here or there.

“It happens when you reach a certain age,” had been Olly's best advice. He was pretty spry for an old man, easily dodging the half-hearted swat she'd sent out in retaliation for his calling her old. She'd been saying it for a while, though: She was getting past her prime and she knew it. Anyeli never reached that decrepit physical stage that humans reached, and Aides didn't have to worry about their own mortality (much) at all, but she could still feel it.

Or maybe it was just boredom. She was tired of life, of living, of being alone.

Which was probably why Xanth had given Dante to her. They may not be buddy-buddy, but Daz figured they'd reached a sort of status quo. Mutual respect. She still made with the sassy to the self-proclaimed goddess, of course, and Xanth still made with the threats, but at the end of the day they left each other alone. For the most part. Kiril's brief return notwithstanding.

And the tiger had helped. She was still rather apathetic, but his presence and needs forced her to get up and moving every single day, so she did her job and she looked after him. She and Olly'd started spending a bit more time together, too, reminiscing about the old days like a couple of old fogeys and mocking the new recruits. Piper popped in every few days to check on her (and clean up the apartment too, the meddling wench) as well, so it wasn't like Daz truly was alone. She just felt alone, and that bitterness towards Kade for leaving her this way had never, and probably was never, going to go away.

So she'd found a new playmate. A new obsession. Someone to watch over and stalk when she had nothing better to do. Someone who reminded her so much of herself at that age - minus the apparent over-fondness of booze - that it felt like she was watching over herself.

Someone who, like her at that age and now, needed to get over himself and let people in, rather than keeping himself hidden behind a wall of attitude.

“Eh.” Dante's nose butted into the small of her back and Daz twisted to grab his head, dragging the winged tiger into a hug so she could lean on him. His throaty growl brought attention from the street below but the walled-off rooftop a couple of storeys up was high enough to shield him mostly from view. “Never did get the fascination with alcohol,” she muttered, glowering down at the pub across the street. She couldn't see inside, so she'd be getting bored pretty soon, but following Lucas here had kept her occupied, if not entertained, for a while. Got her and Dante practising their stealth moves, too, since they could never be sure that travelling by rooftop would keep them completely out of the fledgling's peripheral vision. He only had to look up at an inopportune moment and the jig would be up.

“Not like I follow him all the time, though.” She didn't. She wasn't that interested in him. But from time to time, when she was bored, she'd pick up his trail and see what he was up to. “Looks like today's going to be a boring one, eh, Dante?”

The tiger just nuzzled her armpit, a low and muted growl radiating out from his belly to his throat as his tail bumped against her thigh. Daz took it to mean he agreed.

(( Ah. Now, Nattie and I talked about Daz stalking Lucas a bit a while ago, but then I took a break from her. So I'm hoping this is still okay. If not, I'll edit. ))

[Lucas]

OOC: That's fine Emmy Is Daz coming in?

Lucas shook his head, wondering how he'd offended Xanth to the extent that she'd force him to spend more non-volunteered time with Kiel - worse in fact, more time with a drunken Kiel, as if the regular version wasn't quite irritating enough. He realised he'd have to voice his frustration somehow, and cut back at the kid with a sarcastic response.

“I did see that once actually...now if I remember rightly, both the snake and the dragon decided not to fight each other, and instead turned on the unlucky dracovari who'd decided to force them into combat... there were bits of flesh everywhere, quite disgusting. But yes, very entertaining.”

Lucas finished, taking some more big sips of his pint. Almost halfway through. Lucas frowned for a moment mid-gulp, and a shiver ran down his spine. Had he felt something on the way to the pub, something he should have paid more attention to? Perhaps a warning not to enter this particular establishment? If only he'd taken it seriously. No, it was probably nothing, just regrets in his mind creating paranoia. He turned his attention back to Kiel's previous words.

“So kiddo, if you've got all these other friends, why are you propping up the bar with me, an old man, and our good friend the barkeeper? Surely you should be out chattering at them?” Lucas pondered, although he had to admit that talking to the kid was vaguely entertaining. Maybe he'd stay for another drink if Kiel continued to get ridiculously drunk. Not that the idea of having a dracovari in an alcohol induced coma on his hands was particularly appealing, but surely Kiel would contact his boyfriend if he wasn't able to get home by himself? Then Lucas could size up the guy and see what the big deal was.

[Lazuli]

(( coming in here as planned ))

Lazuli knew quite clearly how she ended up in a pub of all places.

She had arrived in the library that morning for her daily job, only to find out that a fire scare had caused it to be closed that day. Disappointed, she had then headed home to start on that knitting project she'd wanted to work on for ages. One could say that her new nyad friend inspired her.

But then chaos ensued. Some merchant created an accident on a nearby street, and little colorful flying things went whizzing everywhere. Boom! Boom! It wasn't really the noise that attracted attention, but the bright colorful bursts that momentarily drew passerby's eyes. One grazed her arm and it was still burning (not literally, of course). She stood there for a moment to curiously watch what was happening, but then one of the firework things decided to chase her, in which case she quicky headed down the street and into the nearest building, which happened to be this pub.

She came in all huffy puffy, not quite used to outmaneuvering miniature rockets, and adjusted the pack over her shoulder before reaching up to make sure her brown hat was still on her head. She was dressed more boyishly than usual too, with loose brown trousers stuffed into furry black boots and a slightly more feminine dark teal coat with those big-styled buttons. ...Meh. Libraries were more about comfort than style anyway.

"I'm really sorry for this," she said to the bartender, realizing that she had likely just disrupted a previously quiet place. Then her gaze shifted around and she spotted a familiar figure sitting next to a young man with spiky black hair. "Oh hi there, Mr. Hat!" she addressed casually to the 'vari before she could stop herself, and waved politely at his companion. She quieted down a little after that, wondering if she had disrupted their conversation, too.

[Kiel]

Gulping down a couple of mouthfuls of his shandy rather recklessly, Kiel pouted, totally misunderstanding Lucas's story. “Like, man, I said racing. Racing, you know? Like, I woulda turned on you too if you made me fight, like, a fire-breathing - hic - whatsit, you know?” His slight drunkenness was actually more psychological at this point 'cause even he couldn't get drunk on half a glass of ninety-percent lemonade, and the hiccups came more from swallowing fizz too quick, but Kiel didn't have the experience with alcohol to be able to tell the difference. So, like, you know.

In for a penny, in for a pound, man, and he took another couple of gulps that put him at needing another drink.

“Like. Like, they're not here, you know?” He waved his near-empty glass around at the empty room, arching his eyebrows as if to say "well, do you see someone I don't?", then set the glass back on the bar and held up a finger. “Phenny's probably, like, at work, you know? She's a chick. Bird. Dancer. She dances with birds. I dunno if she drinks, you know? And like, besides, I wasn't - Woah!”

The noise of the fireworks from outside was enough to startle him under the table if he'd been sitting at one. As it was, he startled sideways off his stool and stumbled to his feet, so that he was half turned towards the exit when Lazuli burst in. “Like, dude, man, you know?”

Blinking stupidly at the chick, he took a second to get over the noise and then was all, like, “Dude! Hey, like, I know you! You're that dude I met my first day here, hahahahaha. Like, hahahahaha, I think you missed all the fun, man, I was totally, like, burgled that day, man. Total suck, right? Like, hey, hey, come over here and siddown, you know? This is Luc, he's like, a total meanie-head but he's cool and you want a drink, man? Hey, hey, like, what was that noise out there, man, that was freaky, it sounded, like, I dunno. It was freaky, right, Luc?”

[Lucas]

Lucas nodded, adding a single dry word to his gesture.

“Terrifying.”

He was amused by Kiel's frantic reaction to the noise, which had startled him a little, but nowhere near as badly. He took another sip of his pint, his stomach gurgling as the booze finally began to react. He felt a bit of a buzz as it entered his bloodstream, and couldn't help but smile at the girl that entered the pub in response to her wave. He was also tickled at how she'd referred to Kiel - Mr Hat? Now that was amusing. He didn't flinch as Kiel described him as "a total meanie head", since he supposed it was true, and also he doubted that Kiel's word would mean much to a girl that referred to him as Mr Hat. Turning to the bar, Lucas drained his pint and nodded to the bartender, who wordlessly poured him another and slid it across the polished surface. After gulping down another mouthful, Lucas turned to Kiel, his eyes flashing with a chance to tease the kid again.

“Girlfriend, Mr Hat? I imagine boyfriend won't be impressed.” Lucas said with a snigger, his voice low so that the new arrival wouldn't be able to hear. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, just so he could get a cheap rise out of Kiel, which was always amusing. Lucas shifted a stool over towards Kiel with his foot, so the girl would have somewhere to sit.

[Lazuli]

Lazuli tilted her head a little at Mr. Hat, who was talking rather funny. Having not much previous experience with consuming alcohol, she was consequently not really familiar with its side effects, either, although she knew that it could make people extremely happy or extremely sad. "Hm, are you feeling okay?" she inquired conversationally to Mr. Hat. She walked over to sit on the stool his anyeli friend had nudged, smiling graciously and making sure she wasn't in their way or anything. "Thanks!" she said to him, and took another moment to catch her breath before introducing herself. "My name is Lazuli. Nice to meet you, Luc."

Well, that probably wasn't his full name, but now that she thought about it, she had never gotten a chance to get Hat God's true identity either. "Hm, I never did get your real name after the anka attacked," she remarked to the 'vari. She heard him and his friend murmur something undetectable, and toward Mr. Hat's question about the noise, she continued brightly, "Oh, don't worry about that. Some fireworks accidentally exploded on the street, but I'm sure it's being taken care of. And yes, I really would like a drink!"

The bartender heard and poured her a pint without a care in the world. Lazuli thanked him after he set it down in front of her, eager to relieve her thirst after all that running. Unfortunately, she had never drank booze before and looked at the liquid ambiguously.

[Dazadi]

(( No, I don't think she wants to come in and at this point has no reason to since she's "just" stalking him. ))

As predicted, Daz had gotten bored of staring at the building opposite very quickly. If she'd been a drinker herself, she might have pulled the hood up on her ankle-length black travelling coat and shadowed her face a bit so she could go in there, get herself a drink, find herself a nice quiet corner, and watch Lucas in comfort but the thought held no appeal. She may like a bit of the dramatic sometimes (or even more than sometimes) but there was something a bit cliche about a cloaked figure watching from the shadows.

Besides, he only had to take one look at Dante to know who was under the cloak, and no way she was leaving the youngling to wander the streets of Alexshire all by himself. he was trained well enough if she was around to smack him for misbehaving, but who knew who he'd eat when she wasn't there to stop him? Not that she'd be all that upset, really, but she had a status quo with Xanth to keep status quo, and letting her tiger eat people probably wouldn't go over very well with the purple-haired freak.

Bang, whizz, pop pop!

Dante had flopped onto his side for a nap since nothing interesting was going on, his belly rising and falling as he breathed and lulled Daz into a nap-inducing trance. At the explosive sound, he'd shot up with a throaty yowl, and accompanied Daz to the corner of the building's rooftop so they could get a better look at what was making the noise. “Fireworks!” Quite a colourful display, too, although from the trajectory, Dazadi had to doubt they'd been meant to go off just then. She vaguely thought there was a festival of some sort just around the corner, but she wasn't sure the exact date today so who knew? Then again, Alexandrians didn't need much incentive for a party; there was always a festival of some sort just around the corner.

“Hope those weren't expensive, eh?” Daz had snickered at the thought, just before her attention was caught by the sight of a girl streaking down the street with a firework on her heels. Watching it chase the poor girl into the same pub Lucas was in, Dazadi's snicker turned into a full-blown belly laugh. Gods, she couldn't have found anything more entertaining today if she'd tried!

“I am glad you found entertainment today, Dazadi.” Yech. Xanth couldn't leave her alone for two seconds, could she? “I have left you alone for one whole week, thank you very much. Now, I wonder if perhaps you would mind terribly leaving that boy alone and doing some work?”

Chuckling still, Daz waved a hand vaguely, knowing full well the purple princess was probably watching. She was sorely tempted to make a rude gesture, too, but status quo, status quo. “Sheesh, fine. I'm going. Spoilsport.” Climbing up onto the wall that surrounded the roof, Daz clicked her fingers as a gesture that Dante should do the same. No teleportation for them today, she was still teaching the winged tiger how to use those blasted wings of his properly. He'd got most of the basic techniques down now, thanks to a lot of hard work (mostly on Dazadi's part, since she kept having to pluck him out of a freefall) but he'd be the best wingman there ever was if it took her the rest of eternity to do it.

“Seriously, though, Xanth, we need more Aides.” They probably didn't, actually. Daz was doing fine alone, but she was tired of being alone, and gods knew she couldn't be everywhere at once. Things were quiet now, but she'd hate to have to train a new kid when things weren't quiet.

Xanth, as ever when talking about Aides lately, was conspicuously silent on the subject, so Daz pouted, shrugged, and stepped off the roof with Dante hot on her heels. She spread her wings at the last second, caught an updraft, and sailed right past the pub window. And, since Lucas couldn't know she'd been there all along (rather than was simply flying past), she gave a little wave and a mischievous grin, wondering if he'd recognise her.

(( Daz and Dante have left the thread. ))

[Kiel]

Terrifying.

Kiel paused with his mouth open on a comeback and his finger held up for a counterpoint, about to argue not only with Lucas' dryness but also that whole schtick about Lazuli being his girlfriend, then blinked slowly. Lucas was messing with him. “Neh, you're messing with me. Like, right? You're messing with me. Quit messing with me, man.” A pout, and he stuck out his tongue at the meanie head, just to show he was aware of his chain being yanked but was too smart to fall for it, hahahahaha.

Like, yeah. Way too smart, man.

He'd forgotten to lower his hand, so he did that now just in time to wrap it around a fresh glass as the bartender shoved it towards him. “I'm awesome, man, like, thanks, you know? Like, but hot. It's hot in here, right? Hey, hey, you're not that chick I met my first day here, are you?” Oops. He didn't normally misplace social information like that. “Sorry, man.” He flapped his free hand vaguely around at the bar like that would explain where his manners had gone. “The anka! Right, right, that anka attack, hahahahahaha. That was crazy awesome, man. I thought we were gonna have to be all, like, rawr and stuff at it, you know?”

When she talked about fireworks, he peered at her suspiciously, like he thought she was fibbing or something, then out the window. “Dude! Like, dude, are you okay, man? Fireworks are dangerous, you know? 'least, that's what my dad says when you try helping out and he's all wave-wave-go-help-your-mother at you. Except he totally let Ray help him out one time, but I think that's the year one went off under his chair or something, I dunno. I just kinda remember him hopping up like his pants were on fire and hahahahaha, it was funny, right, 'cause we were all laughing and he was racing around trying to put it out or something and then he just kinda dumped his butt in the 'strider trough, hahahahaha. Oh, hey, hey, that's the year Tad got grounded for, like, ever, man.”

Was there some connection? Like, probably.

Kiel's fist hit with the bar top with a ever-so-slight-grimace inducing thud. “Barkeep-tender guy! Yeah, like, another round for - oh, like, wait, we already have one. Never mind, shoo, shoo. Hey, hey, how do you get to be a bartender anyhow? You think I could do it? You need any training or anything like that? Luc's looking for a job, like, right, man? You could totally be a bartender. Right, man? Tell him, tell him, Luc could totally be a bartender, right?”

Unimpressed, the bartender eyed Lucas while wiping a glass, totally silent. Like, total cliche, man, but it was so cool, hahahahaha. “Like, oh, oh, I forgot. I'm Kiel.” And he stuck his hand out for Lazuli to shake.

[Lucas]

Lucas smirked as the newcomer looked at her beverage. He doubted she'd drank a pint before, judging by the way she was eyeing the drink with obvious curiosity. The night had taken another turn - he'd gone from looking forward to a quiet drink alone, to dreading being alone with Kiel, to being amused as he found himself the only capable drinker amongst two relative kids. This was good; when they both crashed out through drinking, he could slip out and leave them to stumble home together. Yes, the night was going a positive way. Lucas took a small sip of his drink, and glanced out of the window, wondering if any of the fireworks remained. As he craned his neck to look along the street, the sight of an Anyeli flying past made him choke on his beer and stumble backwards, slopping some of his drink on the floor.

Continuing to cough loudly, Lucas wondered who that was. It wasn't just an Anyeli heading somewhere, the wave and the mischievous grin told him that much. This was someone who knew who they were waving at...someone powerfully built. The facial features were hard to distinguish in the darkness outside, but the dress suggested female. Lucas's drink addled mind took longer than it maybe should have to connect the dots. It was Dazadi. Lucas frowned, finally getting his coughing under control. He hadn't seen her in ages, but she apparently knew where he was. How? Lucas shivered as he recalled the paranoid feeling he'd had as he entered the pub. Was she following him? Surely not. She was an aide, and they had important things to do. He doubted stalking random Anyeli came under the job description. So what was she doing, if she wasn't following him? Lucas felt less giddy, as if the presence of Dazadi had instantly sobered him up.

[Lazuli]

Lazuli watched Mr. Hat intently as he talked so that she would not miss anything he said. It was in her nature to not be offended at all when he appeared to have temporarily forgotten exactly who she was, and she grinned as he spoke about the anka. "Yes, that was crazy. I'm sure glad that we didn't have to fight it."

She nodded encouragingly when he seemed to contemplate whether or not she spoke the truth about the fireworks, and felt a bit of sympathy for Ray and Tad--having one's pants set on fire certainly didn't seem like a lot of fun. Lazuli wondered, however, what it would be like to have brothers and sisters and be able to talk fondly about them, as she had always been an only child. "Fireworks can be very pretty though," she said, despite the fact that several had chased her only minutes before. "I guess you just have to be careful. Elements always have beautiful yet ferocious sides, don't they? My mum was a nereid. She made fire dance sometimes for Papa and I to see, but whenever she got angry, something always had to get burned."

When she finished sharing about her own family and shook hands with Kiel for graciously giving her his name, Lazuli turned to Lucas. "Oh, you're looking for a job? I'm sure you'll be able to find--"

She stopped when Lucas suddenly began coughing. "Are you okay?" she asked after the fit ended. He seemed to have a somewhat suspicious, darker look on his face than before. She gazed at him with concern. Had he seen a ghost or something?

[Kiel]

“Dude, that'd be pretty sweet, you know? Like, your own personal dinner show or something, hahahahaha.” Back home, Nereid were valued for their ability to tame volcanoes, but Kiel figured there was a pretty huge niche market, when he thought about it. Like, Dardanians made their own entertainment, you know? Hence a lot of the stories about his siblings and childhood. But imagine if, like, a travelling Nymph made her way across country or something, she could totally earn a living by offering her skills to make the elements dance. That'd be awesome!

“Dude, like, you gotta breathe, man.” As he drew back to clout Lucas upside the back (hey, hey, he'd been taught that worked on chokers!), he continued blithely, totally unconcerned. Like, Luc was all macho and stuff, he didn't need concern, right? “We human types haven't learned how to breathe underbooze yet, you know?” Kiel's turn to yank the dude's chain, hahahahaha. Except, like, if he'd kept choking any longer, he would have actually gotten worried, but as it was, the dude seemed unaffected. Like, he totally went back to the glarey thing. Kinda served the dude right, hahahahaha.

“Hey, hey, but, like. Right.” Eyeing his shandy suspiciously, then the bartender as if wondering if the dude had put something heavier in there, he tipped his head and blinked. He had his back to the window, but there was a nice big mirror all along the back of the bar that showed the backs of the bottles full of spirits and stuff. And, like, you know. The window, albeit flip-side.

So, “I'm pretty sure I just saw a tiger fly past, man. Did anyone else see the tiger fly past? There was a tiger that flew past, right? 'cause, like, I'm totally not imagining it, okay? There was a tiger, right, and it was black and it totally flew past the window, you know?

Like. Right?”

[Lucas]

Lucas's head snapped back into reality as he heard Kiel mention a flying tiger. When he'd come across Dazadi on the beach, she'd had a huge winged thing with her...although he hadn't exactly come across her, she'd saved him from getting his ass kicked by a group of unhappy, drunken gamblers if he was being honest. That confirmed it, Dazadi had definitely flown past the window. And Kiel clearly didn't know who she was, else he'd surely be running his mouth off about her. So unless this girl knew Dazadi, which Lucas doubted - she looked much to innocent to be associated with Daz - then hee was 99% sure she was waving at him. Damn. Why?

Realising his abrupt change in mood had caught the attention of his two companions, Lucas nodded to confirm Kiel wasn't hallucinating.

“Yep, that was a flying tiger. Accompanying a flying human most likely.” He said grimly. He couldn't get the issue out of his mind. He'd dropped the illegal fighting, he'd been away over Christmas, so why was she tailing him? For once, he was actually not in any trouble. Taking a long, slow drink from his glass, Lucas tried to shove the issue to the back of his brain.

“Why, do you know who owns it?” Lucas asked, figuring since he was going to be preoccupied with the subject, he could at least pump Kiel for potential information.

[Lazuli]

Lazuli watched Kiel try to help his friend, and she felt relieved that everything appeared to be all right. At least, until Kiel mentioned the flying tiger and Lucas confirmed it.

She looked out the window expectantly, except there was nothing there anymore. "A flying tiger?" she echoed, feeling a little disappointed that she'd missed such a spectacle had it actually occurred. "Really? And with a flying human! That's certainly strange, guys. I wish I'd seen it."

The nymph kept an ear open to hear what else Kiel had to say, but turned back to her mug of alcohol. Time to brave the unknown! She placed her hands in the air over the booze and with a quick, fluid motion, a perfect bite-sized sphere of liquid rose from the mug. She placed it in her mouth and gazed intently ahead, paying attention to the taste of this new substance. Hmm, well, it was terrific in its own right. Somewhat spunky... like fireworks! She decided that it was all well, and proceeded to try some more in the same manner. To her interest, everything around her suddenly got wonderfully sharp in detail and her mind felt clear, fresh, and ready to accomplish anything! "Hm, this is quite nice," she commented brightly. "Are there other flavors?"

[Kiel]

Kiel couldn't tell if Lucas was actually agreeing with him or just yanking his chain all over again. Like, the dude had a knack for the sarcasm, you know? Still, his tone was all moody and boring again, not like "hahahahaha, fooled you again" so he had to be for real.

Right?

“I dunno about the flying human thing, man. I only saw a tiger, you know?” He was still trying to decide if Luc was joshing him, hahahahaha. Like, Anyeli didn't normally refer to themselves as 'flying humans', you know, and that was the only - oh, oh, Zanaryan!? It was a Zanaryan? But didn't Anyeli normally call those dudes demons or talking bats or something? Kinda mean, so Kiel figured 'flying human' was probably the nicest they were gonna get out of Luc.

Kinda begged the question: What did Lucas, or the Anyeli in generall, call 'Vari behind their backs? And specifically, what did Lucas call Kiel behind his back?

“I don't think I wanna know.”

“I wish I'd seen it.”

Kiel grinned at Lazuli. “Totally, man. I kinda wish I hadn't just seen it in the mirror, you know? Like, it was awesome, but how much awesomer would it have bee - hey, hey, is awesomer a word? And anyway, dude, who owns what? Oh, like, the tiger? Naw, man, I don't got a clue. Although, like, Zeph told me about this chick he fights that has a tiger cub with wings or something, but that thing I saw just now was way too big to be called a cub, you know? Kinda freaky, man, I hope it's not flying around biting people's heads off, for sers.”

When Lazuli asked about other flavours, Kiel eyed her glass curiously. Like, what was in there, anyhow? And, like, “Dude! Hahahaha, that's crazy awesome, man, I wish I was a Nymph. Like, nobody'd call me a runt or anything if I was a Nymph, you know? And, like, hahahaha, you can play with your food and stuff, that's so cool, man.” Reaching out with a finger extended, he poked at the bubble of liquid as it rose to Lazuli's mouth, but refrained from popping it. Like, that'd be unhygienic, you know? Although he was kinda tempted just to see what the stuff tasted like.

“Hahahaha, Luc, Luc, man, check this out, check this out, watch what she's doing with the stuff, man, hahahahaha.” Patting at Lucas's arm insistently to get the dude's attention on Lazuli's little beer show, Kiel shifted in his seat and giggled. “Do mine, do mine!”

[Lucas]

Lucas was distracted as his companions talked about the winged tiger and the Anyeli that accompanied it. He let their words wash over him, only tuning in for key words. When Kiel mentioned a fighting partner, and a cub, he tuned back in. Looking at the floor, he concentrated. Fighting partner, that certainly sounded like Dazadi, although he wasn't sure how much of a partner she'd be. Sure, she'd probably be willing to kick the kahootey out of someone, but as for giving them a chance to retaliate? That seemed less likely. It also created new possibilities for Lucas. Maybe this Zephyr dude was the jealous type? He'd only spent time with Kiel twice, including today, and he doubted Kiel had even told Zephyr about it, since their first meeting was relatively brief. But still...if he was close with Daz, and wanted someone to keep an eye on Lucas. Well. That made sense, didn't it? Perhaps only in the world of the very paranoid, but still.

Lucas looked up as Kiel nudged him and couldn't help but smile at the show Lazuli was putting on. He'd never felt especially envious of other races, but he had to admit, the manipulation of the liquid was impressive. He wouldn't trade his wings for any ability though, that was easily the best thing in the world. He twitched them fondly as Kiel childishly winged at Lazuli to do the same with his drink. Lucas raised his glass once more. This really was the only way to drink a pint, if you asked him. As he continued to watch the show, Lucas's mind wondered back to the appearance of Dazadi. If she did know Kiel's boyfriend, then maybe that would be a way to find out why she was following him? On the other hand, if this Zeph was training with Daz, he'd probably be a big guy, and Lucas had only just reached peak fitness again. He didn't want to upset the guy, and couldn't really promise to himself that he wouldn't.

“How does your bloke know his training partner?” Lucas asked, figuring the safe path was to check with Kiel.