[ OPEN ] willkommen, bienvenue, welcome

[feintofhart]

Who: The Adults Of Aldrip
Where: A handy dandy bar!
What: Claude has collaborated with one of the local bar-owners to host a Chosen-only night for the adults of Aldrip to have a nice night away from the prying eyes of locals.
Warnings: Alcohol, drug-use, grown men making embarrassments of themselves, potential hand-holding.



Welcome one and all to a place where the Chosen are able to unbutton that top button, sit back, and relax, free of the badgering eyes of locals, and able to mingle amongst like minds! Your local Apothecarist, Claude von Riegan, came up with this idea with one of the local bar-owners as a good way to drum up business amidst the Chosen for a place for the Chosen and the Chosen alone to be able to shed some of that weight they've been carrying. Claude himself has made no secret of the fact that he's the one who put this shindig together, openly advertising it as something of his own creation, a community building effort for everyone to bond with one another in a context in which they're not forced to do so by threat of death or imprisonment.

For this evening, liquor has been put out for the Chosen to serve themselves, and runs freely enough that everyone will be able to drink their fill, though there's a table at the back of the room laden with all sorts of bar snacks to help fill people's bellies and soak up some of that liquor; flatbreads and fried delights, a generous selection of meats and cheeses, and confections enough to satisfy even the most demanding sweet tooth.

Along the south end of the bar there are a collection of booths, far enough away from the booming sound system to be able to chat quietly amongst themselves, if you're the more retiring sort and would just like to have a nice talk over a pint or two. In this area, you may also find a few hookahs at your disposal, filled with tobacco or hashish, courtesy of Claude himself -- though he hasn't shied away from cheekily including business cards at each table, advertising his place of business should you wish to purchase teas, salves, potions, and yes, all manner of smokable delights.

In the centre of the establishment, chairs and tables have been cleared away to make room for dancing, if you so please, with the sound system at the Chosen's disposal if they want to pump up the beats or put on a slow song to rock to and fro with a honey or two (or three?).

Lastly, there's a brand new karaoke machine that's been installed along the far east corner of the room, in case anyone would like to thoroughly embarrass themselves. What do you mean, you're a good singer? Then get out of here! You should know by now that that's not what the spirit of karaoke is about!

If there's anything else you would like added, dear player -- just write it in, and it's yours! Whatever can feasibly fit into a bar, you can assume it's present for all and sundry to enjoy.

Comments

[baldrshand]

She could have used that for truly mischievous purposes if she wanted to.

[Although Ethlyn's actual suspicions are closer to Claude's true memories--that his mother used it as a way to complain of her homeland instead pf spinning elaborate tall tales.

Ah yes, her apprentices--who she actually hasn't thought to call apprentices before, now that he says it. They've come and gone over the course of the year. She laughs a little, both at his characterization of them and for his solicitousness over the town's youths.]

It would be better for them. Without any better purpose than trying to make it through Aldrip day-to-day, waiting for the next disaster... at least with school or training, they'd have something else to think about.

But I hadn't yet thought of Minato as my apprentice. [She smiles.] He is a very willing student. And Toph, she's become a friend too.

[After more than a little friction.]

[feintofhart]

They're sweet kids. I'm not thrilled about them being here, but it is what it is, right? You and I being here makes at least some modicum of sense, but them.... [ He clicks his tongue. They both seem self-assured enough, confident in going forward with what they need to do, but in reality, he knows that both should be in school, with their friends and families, not at the behest of this world's whims and fancies. ]

So it's good they have a mentor like you around. A mentor and a friend, [ he adds on with a quirk of his lip. ] But even if they don't admit to it, it's always good to have someone to look up to, especially at that age. It's not as though either of them are attending proper academic classes, and a sense of routine is important.

[ He laces his fingers. ]

What's your take on Minato? He's quiet, that one.

[baldrshand]

[Ethlyn laughs. Sweet kids... Minato, certainly. But oh, she can imagine how Toph would loudly protest such a description.]

Yes... I know my brother's time at the Officers' Academy helped him a lot. I don't know if the 'kids' here would appreciate something like that, but we could try setting up something beyond just my first-aid classes.

[She laces her fingers together and rests her chin on them as she considers Minato.]

I won't lie... Minato worries me, sometimes. He was in a bad way after that... incident with the miasma. He is very quiet, hardworking... I believe he thinks far more than he speaks. But I wonder if there's something he's hiding, you know? Keeping to himself when he should talk about it.

[feintofhart]

I don't think they would, you know. They don't think of themselves as kids. Neither did I, back in my Academy days. Most of us considered ourselves quite grown up by then, [ Claude says, a hint of laughter on his breath. ]

The way you're doing things now, training in specific skills, apprenticeships -- I think that's the way to go. Attach it to a task, and they're all the more eager to learn. If you slip in a few life lessons while you're at it... well, they'll hardly notice.

[ It's what Claude tries to do, when he hires help. It's for his own benefit, yes, but also for theirs. ]

He is a quiet sort, I'll grant you that. Very watchful. I haven't quite managed to get a good estimation of him. [ He hums. ] What happened with the miasma?

[baldrshand]

Oh goodness, no. We were so tall and confident, ready to take on the entire world with nothing but complete confidence. But I suppose you're right... just a general education doesn't really give the same sense of purpose as something like learning to heal or fight or run a business.

[And then the world had proven to be bigger. But they don't need to get into all of the things that it threw at them--things that they could recover from, and those which they couldn't.]

The miasma... it affected everyone who came into contact with it rather badly, so it isn't surprising that he suffered as well. But it did take him longer than I expected for him to recover, given his youth and health. [She has a sudden realization and raises her eyebrows at herself before she can tell Claude that the lad was out for days.] --Not that it's my business to tell, of course.

But given that, I'm glad that I have, well, a legitimate excuse to keep an eye on him and watch for anything that's more troubling. [She smiles.] Youth also comes with a distinct reluctance to let anyone do that, sometimes.

[feintofhart]

[ Claude presses a finger to his lips. ]

I've heard not a word about it from you, our dear healer.

[ She takes confidentiality seriously, he knows. But he's a safe man to confide secrets to, all things said, and has a similar regard for the youth of the area, a hope for them to turn out all right, all things said and done. So Minato's poorly -- not in mind, but in body, is he? Odd. He hadn't noticed any such things when he'd been with him, though he is a skinny whelp of a thing, as though more used to being kept indoors like a noble's son than one of the big strapping lads working in the fields. Interesting. ]

I've hired him for some work, here and there. Do you think it'd do him good to keep it going? I've been considering expanding my field of business, lately. My sales have only improved since this place... changed, and I'll need more hands on-deck.

[baldrshand]

I'm glad to hear it. I wouldn't want my reputation in this town to suffer, so I rely on your discretion.

[She knows just how deeply his capacity to keep a secret extends now... so much so that he didn't even realize it himself until he was forced to reveal anything and everything after his sentencing.]

I think he would benefit from it. It would do him good to have people keeping an eye on him, in an unofficial sort of way, I think. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who will talk about his troubles unless he absolutely has to. [She props her chin on one hand and grins.] Something the two of us don't know anything about, of course.

[feintofhart]

Not at all. We're as forthcoming as they come, [ Claude says with a quick wink. ]

But we do have each other, at least. [ He trusts Ethlyn as a friend and confidant by now. Quite unlike anyone else he's met, actually -- he thinks that perhaps she's his first true friend, bound not by fate and the nature of his birth, but because they truly and genuinely enjoy each other's company.

It's odd in all its novelty. He wonders if others know how fortunate they are to have this from the very beginning. ]

I'm sure he has plenty of friends his own age, but none finer than mine, so it's worth keeping an extra eye out.

[baldrshand]

[Oh yes, they are the most open and artless people in Aldrip, the pair of them. Ethlyn laughs at the absurdity of the claim.]

I'm glad we do. [Claude has been a good friend. Sensible--mostly--and bringing things to each other that they lack on their own.] I don't know if we'll ever actually manage to keep each other out of trouble, but at least we can do a pretty fair job of getting out of it.