((Yay for RP))
***
A letter had come with the CRA's seal a few days past, assuring her that the source of the assassins had been found and dealt with. Inside she found another, very brief missive from the Twin Adders corroborating this reassurance, and so Antimony had felt, finally, reassured. Though if she still looked over her shoulder a touch more often than she once had, one really had no place to comment. It was soon after this letter that Antimony recalled the scarred hyur who had assisted her at the Bismarck, along with her promise to provide some sort of thank you.
And so it was that Antimony, thinking money too crass an offer, had spent a day preparing a variety of baked goods – mostly rolls stuffed with various meats and vegetables and cheeses – that now sat still warm in a basket slung on one arm as she wove her way through rapidly thinning crowds down to the lower docks of Limsa. She’d left Ulanan at her home with a pile of books to keep her occupied and a brief, distracted, “I’m off to meet with a friend. I’ll return later this evening!†The lalafell had apparently already been distracted, for she hadn’t had much reply.
Limsa’s lower docks were not a place Antimony visited regularly, but she had, on rare occasion, made requisite trips to certain merchant shops along the port city’s more crime-ridden streets on errands for her former employers. For this reason, she knew to keep her money well out of sight and her posture straight and confident. Still, she kept her tail close, and her ears twitched about anxiously as her feet struck wooden planks and the ocean sloshed mere feet below her. She recalled the hyur had mentioned a tavern he was often at, and so set her path in that direction until she was standing in front of a shabby hole-in-the-wall with a run down sign that labeled it as “The Gibbering Fishâ€. A roegadyn and his lalafell companion skulked nearby – or rather, argued vehemently and silently. Antimony did her best to ignore them, not wanting to get involved in anything that could end poorly for her, though they did cast her sideways looks as she approached the door.
***
The Gibbering Fish was a busy place in the late nights despite its rather... worn appearance. It rather seemed to hold the smell of the fish it was named after. Its patrons seemed to either not notice or forgive that particular transgression. At the moment it was comparatively quiet, holding only a smattering of regulars. But it was still early in the night yet.
Alcor sat at the bar, where he nursed a large mug of ale. The rough looking man was actually rather quiet, though his silence was occasionally broken with bouts of banter with the bartender or other patrons who were nearby. There was a duskwight woman, sitting at the bar as well, her upper torso and head dropped and resting against it. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say she was lying on the bar. She was holding her left hand against a half-empty bottle, keeping it close to her face. Her other hand hanged lazily to her side. One of the regulars stared at her from the corner, holding his hands against his bloodied nose. Everyone else was sitting at least two chairs away from her.
***
Outside, Antimony wrinkled her nose, breathing several times through her mouth in reaction to the nearly overwhelming (to her miqo'te senses at least) scent of fish before pushing forward, past the arguing pair and into the tavern. She shifted the basket so that it was cradled in front of her in her arms and furrowed her brow while peering around in the dimly lit room. A few dirty men - regulars likely - looked up at her entrance and gave her a suspicious eye. She didn't look back at them, her tail swishing anxiously. A fish out of water was what she was here. Everyone looked the same, and Antimony wondered how she had thought to actually find this hyur. Moving through the few scattered tables, she settled on heading towards the bar and stood awkwardly at one end, attempting to catch the eye of the bartender.
***
As one of those who was seated just down the bar from the slumped Elezen, Alcor was seemingly ignoring the woman, or at least he didn't seem too concerned by her state of being. Though he did glance her way every now and then. His broad back was facing the windowless room, not the most welcoming of postures, though he had been talking to the barkeep until the man decided to attempt to wipe down the counter.
The only signs of life Thiereia gave were the raising of her head and straightening of her posture somewhat to take a look at the newcomer. A single eye watched the Miqo'te move awkwardly towards teh bar. Her interest lasted about two seconds, at which point she raised her bottle and drank from it before dropping her head back on the bar.
Antimony's eyes flicked away from the bartender to those seated in the tall benches along the bar - not that there were many. In fact, it took only moments for her gaze to pass over, return, and then settle on the somewhat hunched and greyed form of a hyur who she /thought/ looked familiar. Maybe? Well, it couldn't hurt to... Stepping away from the bar, she sidestepped until she was behind him and then cleared her throat, "Ah, Al...by? Albus? Al--oh darn it all."
***
Shortly after Antimony's entrance into the bar, she would be followed by an overtly enigmatic, robed man whose hood hid his identity fairly well. The robe a dark merlot in color, bound with black linen. The man would stand still for a moment before taking the first open chair off to one side and trying to look unimportant.
***
Craning his head around at the voice, the Hyur turns a blind eye to the woman. Quite literally actually, "Eh? And who be askin?" He moves slightly to the side, so that he can actually see the nervous individual.He braces his unsleeved, muscled arm against the back of the bar stool, looking the Miqo'te over. "I've seen you before... have I?"
"Have you?" Antimony replied a bit stupidly before shaking her head, ears flopping as though trying to clear it. "I mean--yes! I believe so, at least. You were at the Bismarck! I think? I was there to meet a business associate, and you helped me locate him and there was this /horrid/ misunderstanding and I truly felt awful for putting you through the whole ordeal, and I never did get to properly thank you, but I recalled that you'd mentioned you spent time down here, so I thought that now that I am not quite so worried about my safety, I could perhaps spare some time to find you and offer you something in exchange for having to deal with the man who is still my boss and hasn't fired me, though I truly thought he would after all that and--!"Her words stopped suddenly, and she drew in a deep breath.
The Duskwight on the other side of the bar made a sound that came out as a snort. She drank from her bottle, throwing her head back and keeping her eye on a random point of the ceiling. The man though, stares at Antimony for a long moment, before bursting out into a barking laughter, yellowed teeth showing broadly glinting with an occasional bit of shiny gold. "Aye. Yea. I be remembering you now. Didn't think for an actual moment you'd actually seek little ol' me out. I must be a terrible judge of character... Ah well, what was your name again hun? Sorry that its a slipping my mind."
The edge of her Antimony’s twitched and curled around her ankle as she ventured a small smile, adjusting her wire-framed glasses with one hand while holding onto the basket with the other and responding, "Antimony Jhanhi. And I've... well, I've right forgotten your's as well, I think."
The Elezen hand waved suddenly, letting out a loud dry chuckle without changing her posture. "From the Bismark!" she yelled towards them, as if she was both part of the conversation from the beginning and catching up to it. She smiled and pointed a finger to the Miqo'te, without letting her bottle go or moving her other arm to do so. "You should pay a round of wine for everyone, miss too-important-to-remember -names lady."
Not paying attention to the Elezen just a couple seats over, Alcor makes to stand, pushing himself off of his barstool and leans slightly against the bar putting weight on his left elbow that he perches on the counter. He holds out his other hand, "Alcor Baen, at your service little lady." He winks out of his good eye. Now that he isn't hunched over, its pretty apparent that the vest he is wearing is seems to be distinctly missing a real shirt underneath, but it looks sturdy enough. Appropriate for a hot day on the docks, perhaps. "Ya be sayin' that you came by to thank me? I ain't done nothing that needs thankin'. Glad that that... boss of yours wasn't... too inappropriate for you?"
He glances over briefly in the Elezen's direction who just spouted some words, "Ignore her, she ain't been up to anything good tonight."
"Uhm," Antimony blinked once at the elezen, her ears swiveling in confusion before clearing her throat a bit uncomfortably. "I don't think I brought... enough..." She trailed off, catching on to Alcor's words and glanced back up at him before drawing her >shoulders up tight. "It's not necessarily for anything you did - though I did appreciate the assistance. Simply... well, I did not intend to get a stranger drawn into such confusion and an argument over identities! So, consider this a thank you, and an apology." At that she lifted the basket slightly in front of her, towards Alcor, and looked at him expectantly.
"Uhh... sure. I don't think I could turn such a good lookin' spread if I tried. Ya bake it all yerself?" He reaches out to take the basket from Antimony's grasp.
Thiereia rose from her chair. Still holding her wine, she turned and walked towards the Miqo'te, placing her other hand against the bar and shifting part of her weight on it as she moved. From her movements, it was easy to deduct she was, at least, mildly drunk. "Bread? That's such a lousy gift. Men don't like bread unless it's to use it as a spoon for their soups." she chuckled. Her only eye looked at the Hyur; the other was hidden behind an eyepatch. "Are you a soup man? You don't look like one. But perhaps you don't have enough teeth to bite on any real food!"
Antimony had nodded primly at Alcor's words and began, "Of course. What kind of an apology would it be if I--" She cut herself off as the elezen sidled over and leaned slightly away from the woman, her brow furrowing. "Rolls," she corrected archly. "Filled rolls, to be exact." Her ears suddenly perked up, "Oh, but I don't know if you have any allergies! What was I thinking, I could kill you..!"
Chuckling slightly, Alcor shakes his head, "Nah. I ain't run into anything I can't eat yet." He takes the basket gently from Antimony and sets it down on the stool beside him, and notably away from the drunk Elezen. Thiereia tilted her head. "Are you going to eat all that on your lonesome? That's sad." She took a drink. "Really sad. You are a sad man with a basket full of edibles."
Antimony frowned at that. "You're rather rude, aren't you."
"You are even sadder, because you had to bake for a man living in the slums even though you met him in the Bismark." The Elezen squinted, thinking she was making a great amount of sense. "That tells me the men of your social level don't want you."
Sitting at a chair by the door, the hooded figure released a single bark of loud laughter before catching himself and slamming his forehead down on the table with an audible whud. His tale shifts about wildly under his robe. Grey ears pressed back against Antimony’s head and in an affronted tone, "Excuse me?" A pause. "That--no, this is not like that at all." And she whirls around to glare behind her in the general direction of the laughter, "Did your mother teach you to laugh at others in such a way?!" The hooded figure waves apologetically without lifting his head. Antimony huffs, folds her arms, and turns back around to Alcor.
Alcor furrows his brow, a deep crease forming in his aged face as he looks towards the Elezen, "Hey now. I been leaving ya be. Show me and the lady the same courtesy, yeah?" He doesn't seem to have noticed the exchange between the Miqo'te’s.Â
Thiereia held a hand towards him, the palm facing upwards. "How rude of you!" she said. "All I was asking was a little charity from the wealthier. Charity is a good thing, isn't it? You should show some."
"Well," Antimony smoothed down the front of her robe a bit distractedly. "I suppose it's up to you what you do with the gift." Her tone suggested she wasn't feeling particularly charitable towards the elezen, though.
"Not charity you're askin' fer. That man with the bleeding nose?" Alcor points to such a man in the corner, "He ain't done nothing but refuse ta buy you a drink." He turns away from the woman and back to Antimony, "I'll surely enjoy them greatly for break-fast." He smiles slightly, as he crosses his arms angling himself slightly between the two women, but still leaning against the bar.
Thiereia shook her bottle, the liquid inside making some tingling noises when clashing against the inside. "Nonsense!" she exclaimed. "I hit him because he was undressing me with his eyes. I just missed them because he has a huge nose." She looked back at the bloodied man, tilting her head. "Now it's much smaller. I made him a favor!"
Antimony fixed a disapproving frown on the elezen for several seconds, "Violence is not the answer to such things."
"And not all folks'll take it lyin' down," Alcor almost growls over his shoulder.
Thiereia barked out a laugh. "So you would keep all your bread and start a fight instead of sharing some of it." She pointed an accusatory finger to Alcor. "We have a name for that: Gluttony."
"Now, no one is attempting to start a fight," Antimony interjected, brow creasing deeper as she leveled a chiding look the elezen's way. "You entered into this exchange entirely uninvited. I'm certain the protocols of elezen are not so far removed from those I'm familiar with that such a thing is welcome - especially not when you go making demands!"
"Oh. I'll share it. But not with a beggar." He pauses slightly, before saying to Anti, "We could be going elsewhere where gnats don't jitter about."
"There's no need for name-calling," Antimony turned her tone to Alcor, though only briefly, and then hesitated, ears flicking. "Going?"
"Oh, let me teach you about Duskwight protocols." she said, adopting a mocking voice for the last word. "Our...ettiquette says we Duskwights should kill people for having things we want." She smiled, shaking her bottle and looking at it, frowning. "I'm being plenty polite, as you see!" At that, Antimony's tail shivered behind her. "Well."
The hooded man surreptitiously shuffles over to the bar, keeping his distance. The bartender is busy frowning at the Duskwight and Hyur, but the hooded man gets his attention to place a whispered order.
Alcor turns at that, brushing past Antimony to stand before the dark skinned woman without a stool in the way. The woman is actually a fair bit taller than the Highlander's sturdy frame. "Etiquette? Fancy word fer a gnat to use."
Lifting both her hands in a conciliatory gesture, Antimony tried to force calm into her words, "Perhaps we should all simply start over, hm..?" The hooded man receives a glass of milk from the bartender. He nods and thanks and retreats back to his seat, humming happily.
"I have plenty of fancy words, you impecunious decrepit simpleton." said Thiereia, smiling and pushing her bottle against Alcor's chest in a strangely playful way. The man looks down at the bottle being thrust into his chest. He grasps it just above the woman's hand, pushing it firmly away from himself as he laughs. "Aw. Yer just lonely. Go get a puppy or something."
"That is not starting over," Antimony protested.
The bottle almost fell out of the Elezen hand. In fact, it did fell out, but it was promptly catched by the other hand. "Well, it looks like your puppy doesn't want to see you with a bleeding everything!" she joked. She took a long gulp, emptying her bottle and leaving it on the bar with a loud noise. "If you want to fight for a piece of bread that's fine by me. I'm a Duskwight. I fight for bread all the time. No shame about it on my side!"
Antimony’s frown returned, paired with a pointed clearing of her throat, "I am not a puppy. And you can't honestly wish to fight over... this is absurd!"
The man glances back towards Antimony saying, "I ain't the one fighting over it. Just standing ground, sorry yeh got involved in this mess."
"I know what this is." Thiereia raised a finger. "You hate Duskwights. You Duskwight hater."
Antimony's tail lashed behind her, and she straightened her spine to her fullest height - not exactly an impressive height, but it was the intent that counted here. She brought one hand up and shook a finger in the elezen's direction. "Now you, he has said nothing of the sort, and I've grown rather tired of your antagonizing. It's childish and I worry what kind of environment you must have grown up in to think this behavior appropriate. You will calm down and speak reasonably, or return to your drink.†Alcor just shakes his head, letting out a mix of an exasperated snort and laugh.
Thiereia did not look very impressed by those words. She shrugged. "I'm reasonable! I can get some food from him or from you, and I'll leave! Giving me what I want is better than your friend getting a new eye-hole, right?"
"You'll do no such thing or I'll call the authorities," Antimony retorted, and though her ears shifted about uncomfortably, she maintained her authoritative stance.
Thiereia looked at Alcor. "Hey, Highlander." she said. "Do you need the authorities or this woman to solve your fights for you?"
"Ey now. I'll toss yeh out on yer ass myself. Bartram'll thank me." He reaches up to grab the woman's collar, pulling her towards him firmly towards him, before giving her a shove.
Antimony cringed and then exclaimed, "What are you doing? That will only make things worse!" She looked to the bartender then, who seemed to be pointedly ignoring the little scuffle, and recalled exactly where this tavern was located. This wasn't the Bismarck.
The Elezen was successfully grabbed and pulled by the collar. She moved her right hand between the man and herself, her fingers curled outwards, and attempted to quickly hit the Highlander in the chin with the lower side of her palm.
In a sudden flourish, the robed man jumped from his chair and spun to his feet. He did this so quickly that when his tail caught between the legs of the chair he'd been sitting in, the chair was thrown across the bar and smashed a poor little Lalafel that nobody had noticed yet! The small man collapsed soundlessly and continued to be unnoticed. Now revealed, D'hein thrust his hand into the air theatrically (throwing milk on the wall behind him), and proclaimed loudly, "And it is as I said! There is naught be greed, violence and seduction in the man which Antimony followed, and now he has brought danger upon us! Cease fighting immediately, for I have brought peace and safety with me!"
Alcor’s head was thrust back by the impact of the woman's strike, as unexpected as it was. His grip tightened reflexively on Thiereia's shirt. Antimony nearly missed the commotion of the chair, so caught up was she in attempting to soothe what had so suddenly become a fist-fight. "Stop this immediately!" she demanded, and then there came the great exaltation behind her and she froze, arms still outstretched as though to stop Alcor and Thiereia.
The Elezen got distracted by the strange milkdrinker Miqo'te on the other side of the tavern, who yelled something but who, more importantly for her, was drinking milk and not alcohol. She only managed to instinctively grab Alcor's wrists and stop there, judging turning her head to acknowledge D'hein more important than her current fight. "What?" she shouted to him.
D'hein nodded, smiling, and his ears flipped up and down a few times, "Yes, there's nothing left to fight over!" Antimony dropped her arms and turned to look behind her, at the robed miqo'te with an expression torn between disbelief, horror, and annoyance. It settled on simply confused. Letting out a small groan of pain, Alcor wrenches his hand back and away from the Elezen.
"What are you... doing here?" Antimony managed after several seconds, and then blinked, shook her head, and frowned.
Thiereia took a step back from Alcor, growling in annoyance. She raised her hand to point at D'hein. "Is that your Nunh?" She turned to look at Alcor. "Your puppy has another puppy of her own! He looks more dangerous, frankly."
D'hein waved off Antimony's question, smiling and taking on a tone as though accepting an award, "In a moment. For now I must make peace between these quarreling dregs, outcast from society. I find the plight of the Duskwight woman quite pathetic, and so would offer to buy her a drink, if she would accept." He cast his beneficent expression towards the drunken woman.
Pursing her lips, Antimony watched him flatly. The Hyur though, merely scoffed, as to whom specifically that is uncertain. "Ain't yer business to be messin' in." He says to D'hein.
"Did you just use the word -pathetic- on me?" Thiereia inquired angrily. She slammed her feet against the floor, adopting a better posture for combat and raised a fist towards Alcor. She kept her sight on D'hein as she added, Yes. After I'm done making this Hyur spit his lungs out, I'll make you spit out your tongue."
"That--none of that is necessary at all!" Antimony protested vehemently. "This isn't how you get anything you may want!"
"Now don't take offense, I'm saying I empathize with you." He wagged a finger at Thiereia, "I'll buy you alcohol, but only if you adopt a policy of non-violence until the end of the night. Peace will get you further than strength this evening!"
"Yes, precisely," she added with some measure of exasperation, and no small amount of disbelief that she was agreeing with D'hein.
Alcor stepped back away from the raised fist and Tia to stand next to Antimony, he reached for his previously abandoned ale, taking a large swig band bared his teeth slightly in annoyance at the situation.
"With a bargain like that, we could have solved this from the beginning!" Thereia commented. She relaxed her posture and tilted her head, smiling at Alcor. "Drinking has a priority in my life. You lucky scoundrel!"
"Ah, see. A little peace is just a bit of charity away,†reasoned the D’hein.
Ears swooped back against her greyed hair, Antimony looked between D'hein and Thiereia as though not quite sure what to make of things, and then to Alcor with a half-hearted, "Are you alright?"Â
Taking a suddenly less beneficent tone, and in fact a rather angered one, though no less haughty, D'hein said, "Now, Antimony, don't show that man any concern. he's quite fine and a punch to the jaw is the least he deserves for what he was trying to do."
Shrugging his shoulders, Alcor responded, "Yeh. Just a little knock. No worries 'bout me." He threw a slight wink down to Antimony and then turned slightly towards the Tia, "What I was doin'? Wasn't doin' nothing. Ain't my fault the damn woman just can't keep to herself."
Thiereia tried to go back to her bottle and steal a drink from it, but she found it empty. She grimaced and stared at it as if it would somehow fill it up again. After doing that, she immediately tried to drink again. Of course it was still empty.
"What in all of Eorzea are you talking about?" Her head swiveled back around to frown at D'hein. "You speak of him doing things, but are you--are you following me?"
"Why, I'm watching out for you." He took on his very high tone again as he swaggered over to the bar, tossing a few coins upon it and gesturing the bartender towards Thiereia, "I warned you against seeking this man out, that he was a plotter who would take advantage of you. And here I am confirmed."
"Yer one to talk..." Alcor takes another pull from his ale.
"You are out of your mind," Antimony said simply.
Thiereia kept happily silent, making signs to the bartender to give her various bottles of their cheapest wine.
Taken aback, his ears laying flat against his head, D’hein began with a "Eh?" and then, said, "Didn't you hear him saying he was going to take you somewhere? I heard it clear! So did she!" He gestured to Thiereia, "Which is likely why she intervened!"
Alcor scoffed, "Go somewhere? Yeh. So the lady ain't needin' ta be involved in the mess that just happened."
"Of course." nodded the Elezen, opening one of her newly acquired bottles and taking what was probably the longest gulp given by any man or woman in all of Eorzea.Â
Antimony closed her eyes, tail shivering agitatedly behind her. "Now, I mean this with all respect due to your position, but... Certainly that's not what happened at all."
"Of course it is! In all his cunning, he's convinced you to come here, with free food no doubt. And what would he take next? Why, your body of course! This man is..." He points in accusatory finger at Alcor, "A creep!"
Antimony looked at Alcor, and then to D'hein. "I brought the food. And you are the one who followed me down here without my knowledge." She was rather impressed she managed to say that without exploding from anxiety.
Alcor chuckled, "I'm the creep? Was just having a drink. Usual habit of mine."
D’hein continued on as if Alcor had not spoken,"If I hadn't done so he would not have revealed his true motives so blatantly. I was protecting you, see. It all makes sense now, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it does." Ears drooping, Antimony turned towards Alcor before bowing her head. "I apologize again. It seems even this apology is causing you trouble. I should return to check on Ulanan, and then my, ah, boss will have no reason to bother you."
Thiereia nodded distractedly, chiming in, "I wouldn't argue with this man." she said to Antimony, shaking her already half-emptied bottle in her direction. "His logic is completely flawless." D'hein accepted that his explanation has been fully accepted, and so he crossed his arms and nodded in self-satisfaction, "I'm glad I was able to intervene before anything happened."
Thiereia laughs sarcastically. "I'm glad too!"
Alcor rolls eyes slightly, raising his brow briefly at D'hein, before looking down at Antimony. "No need to be apologizin' so much. Not yer fault the man is sufferin' from delusions. Yeh be wantin' an escort out of the area?"
Pursing her lips, Antimony considered for a moment, then glanced sideways at D'hein and finally nodded, "Yes. I would appreciate that. It's gotten dark, I'm sure, and there's no telling who may try to follow me home."Â
Blinking in confusion, D'hein said, "Now, I won't have any of that. This man won't be escorting you anywhere! Not while I'm responsible for you!" Thiereia turned around, elbows placed upon the bar, her body weight shifting to rest on them. "I can escort her if you are feeling charitable again." she said with a slight smile.
Her tail whipping behind her, Antimony turned on D'hein. "You are not responsible for me. I never gave you such a duty, and I would most appreciate it if you simply left me be. I am fully capable of making my own decisions."
"I am quite aware of that!" D'hein said, taking on a scolding, fatherly tone, "In fact you may remember I said as much to that man when he masqueraded as your protector previously! However, your choice to come here and expose yourself to danger has left me with grave concerns!"
Picking up the basket of contention, Alcor let out a bark of laughter, interjecting, "Controllin' er ain't the way to get up good will man."
"Don't you lecture me on such things," Antimony retorted, placing her hands on her hips. The thin wrinkles in her face creased deeper with her frown and narrowed green eyes. "You've deluded yourself into seeing problems that are simply not there."
Fixing first Alcor and then Thiereia with a look, D'hein said quite commandingly, "I won't be taking advice from either of you on this matter. This is between Antimony and myself. Now!" He walked towards Antimony with a hand on his hip and his opposite finger pointing towards the ceiling, "You might say I'm not responsible for you, but I take my role as your employer very seriously." The finger began to wag, "I'll not have you walking home protected by a pirate who in the very least has demonstrated that his pride is of higher priority than your well-being!"
Thiereia kept on drinking, emptying one bottle and starting on another. Her body lent to one side as she shrugged at D'hein. "I was just sayin'!"
Antimony's eyes widened for just a second before one hand left her hip as he approached, and then there was a great smack of flesh on flesh. "I will not have you intruding into my personal life in such a manner," she spoke firmly, though her expression was halfway into disbelief at her own actions. "I am leaving now." And she turned away.
Dhein's ears and tail spazzed wildly at the smack, though his facial expression just went slack and his other movements ceased.
Smiling slightly, Alcor says, "Lady has spoken. Better clean the wax out yer ears." He turned as if to follow Antimony out. The woman took a few steps before pausing to compulsively adjust the sleeves of her robe, taking a moment to collect herself before she would continue towards the door.
Pausing only briefly, D'hein shifted to block Alcor's path, "She might determine her own business, and she's right to that, but you and I are another thing entirely." Thiereia just chuckled, considering something in the scene amusing. Probably that she had more wine now than she had before.
Alcor stopped as the Miqo'te stepped in front of him, hemming him in. "Oh? We are, are we? Hadn't been aware of any relations a'tween us. Yeh, mightin' be wantin' ta step aside."Â
Antimony's steps slowed and she stopped with her hand on the door, ears flicked back towards Alcor and D'hein uncertainty.
Smiling, D'hein says, "Oh, I don't think that will be necessary. For you see," he gestures to Thiereia, "In the miniature economy of this tavern, if you make trouble, the winner is the Duskwight. As long as she's willing to throw a punch in exchange for alcohol, I've no need for fisticuffs."
"I can't carry that many bottles, but I can carry the coin needed to buy them," smiled the Elezen.
"Of course," D'hein tossed Thiereia an amused smile, "That's quite agreeable."
Antimony's jaw tightened and she turned to frown at D'hein then, saying, "You are horribly misguided here," and then to Alcor stiffly, "Please don't get yourself hurt. I will walk home on my own." To punctuate this statement, she turned and moved to exit.
The Highlander grins tightly, his muttonchops moving a little with the expression. "Don't think its 'bout that hon..." he paused for a second. "Out with it Tia. Would like ta be gettin' on with mah day."
Thiereia left the bar, walking toward the two men. Her steps showed that she was considerably more drunk than before. She wasn't close to falling down, but she looked highly unstable. "Please do something stupid." she said to Alcor, waving the hand that was holding the bottle of wine. "Please, so I can break some of your bones. I'll let you chose which one!"
Turning his smiling face towards Alcor, D’hein was silent for a moment, and then shrugged, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that's all there is. I think you're one to harm others, and as a father, my instincts won't allow me to let you escort my employee home."
When Thiereia moved up towards Alcor, he held up a hand, "Now, now, let's give the man a chance to have his seat." The sound that came from the Duskwight woman when hearing that was akin to a disappointed 'aw', followed immediately by some drinking.
"Nah. I be fine standin'. Yer the one threatening harm, some father, yeah?" Alcor looks down at the other man, one eye sickly green, the other clouded and scarred.
Looking proud, D'hein turns his back on Alcor, "Any father worth a grain of sand would come to the defense of those he's responsible for with every fang and claw he has. Granted, Antimony's not my child, nor a child at all, but I have my instincts. And what's a Miqo'te without his instincts? Poor and alone, that's what he is." Thiereia nodded sagely. For the expression of her face, it was obvious she wasn't really nodding at what D'hein was saying but to some internal thought instead.
At some point during all of this, Antimony had left the tavern and now made her way back through the now dark streets of Limsa's lower docks, already working up in her head a rant for Ulanan.
Letting out of snort of annoyance. "Daddy of the year, yeh smother them. At least mah boy don't need no one and wants to know me. I be doubting the same be said of yeh."
D'hein hummed at that, and then, turning to look at Alcor, he says, "Two mistakes you've made: calling me Tia, and talking about 'my boy'. And that's two payments for my dear Duskwight friend." He deftly portioned out some money, put it on the bar near where Thiereia had been drinking, and took some steps away from both the Duskwight and the Hyur, "I think that sounds reasonable, doesn't it?"
Thiereia smiled. "Plenty reasonable," She took one flimsy step towards Alcor, bottle still in her hand. "So which bone do you want broken today, Highlander?"
"Eh. Don't break that easy. Tia... on the other hand? Migh' be made of glass..." He shook his head, "Yeh think this'll score points with the little lady?" He set the basket down on the table next to him.
"No I don't," D'hein said, and took up a stance near the door, crossing his arms.
Without much of a warning, the Elezen simply rushed towards the Hyur, body inclined towards her left, and threw a very straightforward punch to his stomach. The punch caught Alcor in the stomach, causing a loud breath to emit from him in a distinct, "Oof". He grabbed for her wrist at his stomach. Thiereia didn't remove her hand fast enough to avoid the grab. In response, she shifted her weight violently to a side and tried to place her foot behind the man's ankle, pushing in the opposite direction to drop him to the ground.
Seeing the violence, D'hein simply nodded to himself and exits the tavern.
***
A letter had come with the CRA's seal a few days past, assuring her that the source of the assassins had been found and dealt with. Inside she found another, very brief missive from the Twin Adders corroborating this reassurance, and so Antimony had felt, finally, reassured. Though if she still looked over her shoulder a touch more often than she once had, one really had no place to comment. It was soon after this letter that Antimony recalled the scarred hyur who had assisted her at the Bismarck, along with her promise to provide some sort of thank you.
And so it was that Antimony, thinking money too crass an offer, had spent a day preparing a variety of baked goods – mostly rolls stuffed with various meats and vegetables and cheeses – that now sat still warm in a basket slung on one arm as she wove her way through rapidly thinning crowds down to the lower docks of Limsa. She’d left Ulanan at her home with a pile of books to keep her occupied and a brief, distracted, “I’m off to meet with a friend. I’ll return later this evening!†The lalafell had apparently already been distracted, for she hadn’t had much reply.
Limsa’s lower docks were not a place Antimony visited regularly, but she had, on rare occasion, made requisite trips to certain merchant shops along the port city’s more crime-ridden streets on errands for her former employers. For this reason, she knew to keep her money well out of sight and her posture straight and confident. Still, she kept her tail close, and her ears twitched about anxiously as her feet struck wooden planks and the ocean sloshed mere feet below her. She recalled the hyur had mentioned a tavern he was often at, and so set her path in that direction until she was standing in front of a shabby hole-in-the-wall with a run down sign that labeled it as “The Gibbering Fishâ€. A roegadyn and his lalafell companion skulked nearby – or rather, argued vehemently and silently. Antimony did her best to ignore them, not wanting to get involved in anything that could end poorly for her, though they did cast her sideways looks as she approached the door.
***
The Gibbering Fish was a busy place in the late nights despite its rather... worn appearance. It rather seemed to hold the smell of the fish it was named after. Its patrons seemed to either not notice or forgive that particular transgression. At the moment it was comparatively quiet, holding only a smattering of regulars. But it was still early in the night yet.
Alcor sat at the bar, where he nursed a large mug of ale. The rough looking man was actually rather quiet, though his silence was occasionally broken with bouts of banter with the bartender or other patrons who were nearby. There was a duskwight woman, sitting at the bar as well, her upper torso and head dropped and resting against it. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say she was lying on the bar. She was holding her left hand against a half-empty bottle, keeping it close to her face. Her other hand hanged lazily to her side. One of the regulars stared at her from the corner, holding his hands against his bloodied nose. Everyone else was sitting at least two chairs away from her.
***
Outside, Antimony wrinkled her nose, breathing several times through her mouth in reaction to the nearly overwhelming (to her miqo'te senses at least) scent of fish before pushing forward, past the arguing pair and into the tavern. She shifted the basket so that it was cradled in front of her in her arms and furrowed her brow while peering around in the dimly lit room. A few dirty men - regulars likely - looked up at her entrance and gave her a suspicious eye. She didn't look back at them, her tail swishing anxiously. A fish out of water was what she was here. Everyone looked the same, and Antimony wondered how she had thought to actually find this hyur. Moving through the few scattered tables, she settled on heading towards the bar and stood awkwardly at one end, attempting to catch the eye of the bartender.
***
As one of those who was seated just down the bar from the slumped Elezen, Alcor was seemingly ignoring the woman, or at least he didn't seem too concerned by her state of being. Though he did glance her way every now and then. His broad back was facing the windowless room, not the most welcoming of postures, though he had been talking to the barkeep until the man decided to attempt to wipe down the counter.
The only signs of life Thiereia gave were the raising of her head and straightening of her posture somewhat to take a look at the newcomer. A single eye watched the Miqo'te move awkwardly towards teh bar. Her interest lasted about two seconds, at which point she raised her bottle and drank from it before dropping her head back on the bar.
Antimony's eyes flicked away from the bartender to those seated in the tall benches along the bar - not that there were many. In fact, it took only moments for her gaze to pass over, return, and then settle on the somewhat hunched and greyed form of a hyur who she /thought/ looked familiar. Maybe? Well, it couldn't hurt to... Stepping away from the bar, she sidestepped until she was behind him and then cleared her throat, "Ah, Al...by? Albus? Al--oh darn it all."
***
Shortly after Antimony's entrance into the bar, she would be followed by an overtly enigmatic, robed man whose hood hid his identity fairly well. The robe a dark merlot in color, bound with black linen. The man would stand still for a moment before taking the first open chair off to one side and trying to look unimportant.
***
Craning his head around at the voice, the Hyur turns a blind eye to the woman. Quite literally actually, "Eh? And who be askin?" He moves slightly to the side, so that he can actually see the nervous individual.He braces his unsleeved, muscled arm against the back of the bar stool, looking the Miqo'te over. "I've seen you before... have I?"
"Have you?" Antimony replied a bit stupidly before shaking her head, ears flopping as though trying to clear it. "I mean--yes! I believe so, at least. You were at the Bismarck! I think? I was there to meet a business associate, and you helped me locate him and there was this /horrid/ misunderstanding and I truly felt awful for putting you through the whole ordeal, and I never did get to properly thank you, but I recalled that you'd mentioned you spent time down here, so I thought that now that I am not quite so worried about my safety, I could perhaps spare some time to find you and offer you something in exchange for having to deal with the man who is still my boss and hasn't fired me, though I truly thought he would after all that and--!"Her words stopped suddenly, and she drew in a deep breath.
The Duskwight on the other side of the bar made a sound that came out as a snort. She drank from her bottle, throwing her head back and keeping her eye on a random point of the ceiling. The man though, stares at Antimony for a long moment, before bursting out into a barking laughter, yellowed teeth showing broadly glinting with an occasional bit of shiny gold. "Aye. Yea. I be remembering you now. Didn't think for an actual moment you'd actually seek little ol' me out. I must be a terrible judge of character... Ah well, what was your name again hun? Sorry that its a slipping my mind."
The edge of her Antimony’s twitched and curled around her ankle as she ventured a small smile, adjusting her wire-framed glasses with one hand while holding onto the basket with the other and responding, "Antimony Jhanhi. And I've... well, I've right forgotten your's as well, I think."
The Elezen hand waved suddenly, letting out a loud dry chuckle without changing her posture. "From the Bismark!" she yelled towards them, as if she was both part of the conversation from the beginning and catching up to it. She smiled and pointed a finger to the Miqo'te, without letting her bottle go or moving her other arm to do so. "You should pay a round of wine for everyone, miss too-important-to-remember -names lady."
Not paying attention to the Elezen just a couple seats over, Alcor makes to stand, pushing himself off of his barstool and leans slightly against the bar putting weight on his left elbow that he perches on the counter. He holds out his other hand, "Alcor Baen, at your service little lady." He winks out of his good eye. Now that he isn't hunched over, its pretty apparent that the vest he is wearing is seems to be distinctly missing a real shirt underneath, but it looks sturdy enough. Appropriate for a hot day on the docks, perhaps. "Ya be sayin' that you came by to thank me? I ain't done nothing that needs thankin'. Glad that that... boss of yours wasn't... too inappropriate for you?"
He glances over briefly in the Elezen's direction who just spouted some words, "Ignore her, she ain't been up to anything good tonight."
"Uhm," Antimony blinked once at the elezen, her ears swiveling in confusion before clearing her throat a bit uncomfortably. "I don't think I brought... enough..." She trailed off, catching on to Alcor's words and glanced back up at him before drawing her >shoulders up tight. "It's not necessarily for anything you did - though I did appreciate the assistance. Simply... well, I did not intend to get a stranger drawn into such confusion and an argument over identities! So, consider this a thank you, and an apology." At that she lifted the basket slightly in front of her, towards Alcor, and looked at him expectantly.
"Uhh... sure. I don't think I could turn such a good lookin' spread if I tried. Ya bake it all yerself?" He reaches out to take the basket from Antimony's grasp.
Thiereia rose from her chair. Still holding her wine, she turned and walked towards the Miqo'te, placing her other hand against the bar and shifting part of her weight on it as she moved. From her movements, it was easy to deduct she was, at least, mildly drunk. "Bread? That's such a lousy gift. Men don't like bread unless it's to use it as a spoon for their soups." she chuckled. Her only eye looked at the Hyur; the other was hidden behind an eyepatch. "Are you a soup man? You don't look like one. But perhaps you don't have enough teeth to bite on any real food!"
Antimony had nodded primly at Alcor's words and began, "Of course. What kind of an apology would it be if I--" She cut herself off as the elezen sidled over and leaned slightly away from the woman, her brow furrowing. "Rolls," she corrected archly. "Filled rolls, to be exact." Her ears suddenly perked up, "Oh, but I don't know if you have any allergies! What was I thinking, I could kill you..!"
Chuckling slightly, Alcor shakes his head, "Nah. I ain't run into anything I can't eat yet." He takes the basket gently from Antimony and sets it down on the stool beside him, and notably away from the drunk Elezen. Thiereia tilted her head. "Are you going to eat all that on your lonesome? That's sad." She took a drink. "Really sad. You are a sad man with a basket full of edibles."
Antimony frowned at that. "You're rather rude, aren't you."
"You are even sadder, because you had to bake for a man living in the slums even though you met him in the Bismark." The Elezen squinted, thinking she was making a great amount of sense. "That tells me the men of your social level don't want you."
Sitting at a chair by the door, the hooded figure released a single bark of loud laughter before catching himself and slamming his forehead down on the table with an audible whud. His tale shifts about wildly under his robe. Grey ears pressed back against Antimony’s head and in an affronted tone, "Excuse me?" A pause. "That--no, this is not like that at all." And she whirls around to glare behind her in the general direction of the laughter, "Did your mother teach you to laugh at others in such a way?!" The hooded figure waves apologetically without lifting his head. Antimony huffs, folds her arms, and turns back around to Alcor.
Alcor furrows his brow, a deep crease forming in his aged face as he looks towards the Elezen, "Hey now. I been leaving ya be. Show me and the lady the same courtesy, yeah?" He doesn't seem to have noticed the exchange between the Miqo'te’s.Â
Thiereia held a hand towards him, the palm facing upwards. "How rude of you!" she said. "All I was asking was a little charity from the wealthier. Charity is a good thing, isn't it? You should show some."
"Well," Antimony smoothed down the front of her robe a bit distractedly. "I suppose it's up to you what you do with the gift." Her tone suggested she wasn't feeling particularly charitable towards the elezen, though.
"Not charity you're askin' fer. That man with the bleeding nose?" Alcor points to such a man in the corner, "He ain't done nothing but refuse ta buy you a drink." He turns away from the woman and back to Antimony, "I'll surely enjoy them greatly for break-fast." He smiles slightly, as he crosses his arms angling himself slightly between the two women, but still leaning against the bar.
Thiereia shook her bottle, the liquid inside making some tingling noises when clashing against the inside. "Nonsense!" she exclaimed. "I hit him because he was undressing me with his eyes. I just missed them because he has a huge nose." She looked back at the bloodied man, tilting her head. "Now it's much smaller. I made him a favor!"
Antimony fixed a disapproving frown on the elezen for several seconds, "Violence is not the answer to such things."
"And not all folks'll take it lyin' down," Alcor almost growls over his shoulder.
Thiereia barked out a laugh. "So you would keep all your bread and start a fight instead of sharing some of it." She pointed an accusatory finger to Alcor. "We have a name for that: Gluttony."
"Now, no one is attempting to start a fight," Antimony interjected, brow creasing deeper as she leveled a chiding look the elezen's way. "You entered into this exchange entirely uninvited. I'm certain the protocols of elezen are not so far removed from those I'm familiar with that such a thing is welcome - especially not when you go making demands!"
"Oh. I'll share it. But not with a beggar." He pauses slightly, before saying to Anti, "We could be going elsewhere where gnats don't jitter about."
"There's no need for name-calling," Antimony turned her tone to Alcor, though only briefly, and then hesitated, ears flicking. "Going?"
"Oh, let me teach you about Duskwight protocols." she said, adopting a mocking voice for the last word. "Our...ettiquette says we Duskwights should kill people for having things we want." She smiled, shaking her bottle and looking at it, frowning. "I'm being plenty polite, as you see!" At that, Antimony's tail shivered behind her. "Well."
The hooded man surreptitiously shuffles over to the bar, keeping his distance. The bartender is busy frowning at the Duskwight and Hyur, but the hooded man gets his attention to place a whispered order.
Alcor turns at that, brushing past Antimony to stand before the dark skinned woman without a stool in the way. The woman is actually a fair bit taller than the Highlander's sturdy frame. "Etiquette? Fancy word fer a gnat to use."
Lifting both her hands in a conciliatory gesture, Antimony tried to force calm into her words, "Perhaps we should all simply start over, hm..?" The hooded man receives a glass of milk from the bartender. He nods and thanks and retreats back to his seat, humming happily.
"I have plenty of fancy words, you impecunious decrepit simpleton." said Thiereia, smiling and pushing her bottle against Alcor's chest in a strangely playful way. The man looks down at the bottle being thrust into his chest. He grasps it just above the woman's hand, pushing it firmly away from himself as he laughs. "Aw. Yer just lonely. Go get a puppy or something."
"That is not starting over," Antimony protested.
The bottle almost fell out of the Elezen hand. In fact, it did fell out, but it was promptly catched by the other hand. "Well, it looks like your puppy doesn't want to see you with a bleeding everything!" she joked. She took a long gulp, emptying her bottle and leaving it on the bar with a loud noise. "If you want to fight for a piece of bread that's fine by me. I'm a Duskwight. I fight for bread all the time. No shame about it on my side!"
Antimony’s frown returned, paired with a pointed clearing of her throat, "I am not a puppy. And you can't honestly wish to fight over... this is absurd!"
The man glances back towards Antimony saying, "I ain't the one fighting over it. Just standing ground, sorry yeh got involved in this mess."
"I know what this is." Thiereia raised a finger. "You hate Duskwights. You Duskwight hater."
Antimony's tail lashed behind her, and she straightened her spine to her fullest height - not exactly an impressive height, but it was the intent that counted here. She brought one hand up and shook a finger in the elezen's direction. "Now you, he has said nothing of the sort, and I've grown rather tired of your antagonizing. It's childish and I worry what kind of environment you must have grown up in to think this behavior appropriate. You will calm down and speak reasonably, or return to your drink.†Alcor just shakes his head, letting out a mix of an exasperated snort and laugh.
Thiereia did not look very impressed by those words. She shrugged. "I'm reasonable! I can get some food from him or from you, and I'll leave! Giving me what I want is better than your friend getting a new eye-hole, right?"
"You'll do no such thing or I'll call the authorities," Antimony retorted, and though her ears shifted about uncomfortably, she maintained her authoritative stance.
Thiereia looked at Alcor. "Hey, Highlander." she said. "Do you need the authorities or this woman to solve your fights for you?"
"Ey now. I'll toss yeh out on yer ass myself. Bartram'll thank me." He reaches up to grab the woman's collar, pulling her towards him firmly towards him, before giving her a shove.
Antimony cringed and then exclaimed, "What are you doing? That will only make things worse!" She looked to the bartender then, who seemed to be pointedly ignoring the little scuffle, and recalled exactly where this tavern was located. This wasn't the Bismarck.
The Elezen was successfully grabbed and pulled by the collar. She moved her right hand between the man and herself, her fingers curled outwards, and attempted to quickly hit the Highlander in the chin with the lower side of her palm.
In a sudden flourish, the robed man jumped from his chair and spun to his feet. He did this so quickly that when his tail caught between the legs of the chair he'd been sitting in, the chair was thrown across the bar and smashed a poor little Lalafel that nobody had noticed yet! The small man collapsed soundlessly and continued to be unnoticed. Now revealed, D'hein thrust his hand into the air theatrically (throwing milk on the wall behind him), and proclaimed loudly, "And it is as I said! There is naught be greed, violence and seduction in the man which Antimony followed, and now he has brought danger upon us! Cease fighting immediately, for I have brought peace and safety with me!"
Alcor’s head was thrust back by the impact of the woman's strike, as unexpected as it was. His grip tightened reflexively on Thiereia's shirt. Antimony nearly missed the commotion of the chair, so caught up was she in attempting to soothe what had so suddenly become a fist-fight. "Stop this immediately!" she demanded, and then there came the great exaltation behind her and she froze, arms still outstretched as though to stop Alcor and Thiereia.
The Elezen got distracted by the strange milkdrinker Miqo'te on the other side of the tavern, who yelled something but who, more importantly for her, was drinking milk and not alcohol. She only managed to instinctively grab Alcor's wrists and stop there, judging turning her head to acknowledge D'hein more important than her current fight. "What?" she shouted to him.
D'hein nodded, smiling, and his ears flipped up and down a few times, "Yes, there's nothing left to fight over!" Antimony dropped her arms and turned to look behind her, at the robed miqo'te with an expression torn between disbelief, horror, and annoyance. It settled on simply confused. Letting out a small groan of pain, Alcor wrenches his hand back and away from the Elezen.
"What are you... doing here?" Antimony managed after several seconds, and then blinked, shook her head, and frowned.
Thiereia took a step back from Alcor, growling in annoyance. She raised her hand to point at D'hein. "Is that your Nunh?" She turned to look at Alcor. "Your puppy has another puppy of her own! He looks more dangerous, frankly."
D'hein waved off Antimony's question, smiling and taking on a tone as though accepting an award, "In a moment. For now I must make peace between these quarreling dregs, outcast from society. I find the plight of the Duskwight woman quite pathetic, and so would offer to buy her a drink, if she would accept." He cast his beneficent expression towards the drunken woman.
Pursing her lips, Antimony watched him flatly. The Hyur though, merely scoffed, as to whom specifically that is uncertain. "Ain't yer business to be messin' in." He says to D'hein.
"Did you just use the word -pathetic- on me?" Thiereia inquired angrily. She slammed her feet against the floor, adopting a better posture for combat and raised a fist towards Alcor. She kept her sight on D'hein as she added, Yes. After I'm done making this Hyur spit his lungs out, I'll make you spit out your tongue."
"That--none of that is necessary at all!" Antimony protested vehemently. "This isn't how you get anything you may want!"
"Now don't take offense, I'm saying I empathize with you." He wagged a finger at Thiereia, "I'll buy you alcohol, but only if you adopt a policy of non-violence until the end of the night. Peace will get you further than strength this evening!"
"Yes, precisely," she added with some measure of exasperation, and no small amount of disbelief that she was agreeing with D'hein.
Alcor stepped back away from the raised fist and Tia to stand next to Antimony, he reached for his previously abandoned ale, taking a large swig band bared his teeth slightly in annoyance at the situation.
"With a bargain like that, we could have solved this from the beginning!" Thereia commented. She relaxed her posture and tilted her head, smiling at Alcor. "Drinking has a priority in my life. You lucky scoundrel!"
"Ah, see. A little peace is just a bit of charity away,†reasoned the D’hein.
Ears swooped back against her greyed hair, Antimony looked between D'hein and Thiereia as though not quite sure what to make of things, and then to Alcor with a half-hearted, "Are you alright?"Â
Taking a suddenly less beneficent tone, and in fact a rather angered one, though no less haughty, D'hein said, "Now, Antimony, don't show that man any concern. he's quite fine and a punch to the jaw is the least he deserves for what he was trying to do."
Shrugging his shoulders, Alcor responded, "Yeh. Just a little knock. No worries 'bout me." He threw a slight wink down to Antimony and then turned slightly towards the Tia, "What I was doin'? Wasn't doin' nothing. Ain't my fault the damn woman just can't keep to herself."
Thiereia tried to go back to her bottle and steal a drink from it, but she found it empty. She grimaced and stared at it as if it would somehow fill it up again. After doing that, she immediately tried to drink again. Of course it was still empty.
"What in all of Eorzea are you talking about?" Her head swiveled back around to frown at D'hein. "You speak of him doing things, but are you--are you following me?"
"Why, I'm watching out for you." He took on his very high tone again as he swaggered over to the bar, tossing a few coins upon it and gesturing the bartender towards Thiereia, "I warned you against seeking this man out, that he was a plotter who would take advantage of you. And here I am confirmed."
"Yer one to talk..." Alcor takes another pull from his ale.
"You are out of your mind," Antimony said simply.
Thiereia kept happily silent, making signs to the bartender to give her various bottles of their cheapest wine.
Taken aback, his ears laying flat against his head, D’hein began with a "Eh?" and then, said, "Didn't you hear him saying he was going to take you somewhere? I heard it clear! So did she!" He gestured to Thiereia, "Which is likely why she intervened!"
Alcor scoffed, "Go somewhere? Yeh. So the lady ain't needin' ta be involved in the mess that just happened."
"Of course." nodded the Elezen, opening one of her newly acquired bottles and taking what was probably the longest gulp given by any man or woman in all of Eorzea.Â
Antimony closed her eyes, tail shivering agitatedly behind her. "Now, I mean this with all respect due to your position, but... Certainly that's not what happened at all."
"Of course it is! In all his cunning, he's convinced you to come here, with free food no doubt. And what would he take next? Why, your body of course! This man is..." He points in accusatory finger at Alcor, "A creep!"
Antimony looked at Alcor, and then to D'hein. "I brought the food. And you are the one who followed me down here without my knowledge." She was rather impressed she managed to say that without exploding from anxiety.
Alcor chuckled, "I'm the creep? Was just having a drink. Usual habit of mine."
D’hein continued on as if Alcor had not spoken,"If I hadn't done so he would not have revealed his true motives so blatantly. I was protecting you, see. It all makes sense now, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it does." Ears drooping, Antimony turned towards Alcor before bowing her head. "I apologize again. It seems even this apology is causing you trouble. I should return to check on Ulanan, and then my, ah, boss will have no reason to bother you."
Thiereia nodded distractedly, chiming in, "I wouldn't argue with this man." she said to Antimony, shaking her already half-emptied bottle in her direction. "His logic is completely flawless." D'hein accepted that his explanation has been fully accepted, and so he crossed his arms and nodded in self-satisfaction, "I'm glad I was able to intervene before anything happened."
Thiereia laughs sarcastically. "I'm glad too!"
Alcor rolls eyes slightly, raising his brow briefly at D'hein, before looking down at Antimony. "No need to be apologizin' so much. Not yer fault the man is sufferin' from delusions. Yeh be wantin' an escort out of the area?"
Pursing her lips, Antimony considered for a moment, then glanced sideways at D'hein and finally nodded, "Yes. I would appreciate that. It's gotten dark, I'm sure, and there's no telling who may try to follow me home."Â
Blinking in confusion, D'hein said, "Now, I won't have any of that. This man won't be escorting you anywhere! Not while I'm responsible for you!" Thiereia turned around, elbows placed upon the bar, her body weight shifting to rest on them. "I can escort her if you are feeling charitable again." she said with a slight smile.
Her tail whipping behind her, Antimony turned on D'hein. "You are not responsible for me. I never gave you such a duty, and I would most appreciate it if you simply left me be. I am fully capable of making my own decisions."
"I am quite aware of that!" D'hein said, taking on a scolding, fatherly tone, "In fact you may remember I said as much to that man when he masqueraded as your protector previously! However, your choice to come here and expose yourself to danger has left me with grave concerns!"
Picking up the basket of contention, Alcor let out a bark of laughter, interjecting, "Controllin' er ain't the way to get up good will man."
"Don't you lecture me on such things," Antimony retorted, placing her hands on her hips. The thin wrinkles in her face creased deeper with her frown and narrowed green eyes. "You've deluded yourself into seeing problems that are simply not there."
Fixing first Alcor and then Thiereia with a look, D'hein said quite commandingly, "I won't be taking advice from either of you on this matter. This is between Antimony and myself. Now!" He walked towards Antimony with a hand on his hip and his opposite finger pointing towards the ceiling, "You might say I'm not responsible for you, but I take my role as your employer very seriously." The finger began to wag, "I'll not have you walking home protected by a pirate who in the very least has demonstrated that his pride is of higher priority than your well-being!"
Thiereia kept on drinking, emptying one bottle and starting on another. Her body lent to one side as she shrugged at D'hein. "I was just sayin'!"
Antimony's eyes widened for just a second before one hand left her hip as he approached, and then there was a great smack of flesh on flesh. "I will not have you intruding into my personal life in such a manner," she spoke firmly, though her expression was halfway into disbelief at her own actions. "I am leaving now." And she turned away.
Dhein's ears and tail spazzed wildly at the smack, though his facial expression just went slack and his other movements ceased.
Smiling slightly, Alcor says, "Lady has spoken. Better clean the wax out yer ears." He turned as if to follow Antimony out. The woman took a few steps before pausing to compulsively adjust the sleeves of her robe, taking a moment to collect herself before she would continue towards the door.
Pausing only briefly, D'hein shifted to block Alcor's path, "She might determine her own business, and she's right to that, but you and I are another thing entirely." Thiereia just chuckled, considering something in the scene amusing. Probably that she had more wine now than she had before.
Alcor stopped as the Miqo'te stepped in front of him, hemming him in. "Oh? We are, are we? Hadn't been aware of any relations a'tween us. Yeh, mightin' be wantin' ta step aside."Â
Antimony's steps slowed and she stopped with her hand on the door, ears flicked back towards Alcor and D'hein uncertainty.
Smiling, D'hein says, "Oh, I don't think that will be necessary. For you see," he gestures to Thiereia, "In the miniature economy of this tavern, if you make trouble, the winner is the Duskwight. As long as she's willing to throw a punch in exchange for alcohol, I've no need for fisticuffs."
"I can't carry that many bottles, but I can carry the coin needed to buy them," smiled the Elezen.
"Of course," D'hein tossed Thiereia an amused smile, "That's quite agreeable."
Antimony's jaw tightened and she turned to frown at D'hein then, saying, "You are horribly misguided here," and then to Alcor stiffly, "Please don't get yourself hurt. I will walk home on my own." To punctuate this statement, she turned and moved to exit.
The Highlander grins tightly, his muttonchops moving a little with the expression. "Don't think its 'bout that hon..." he paused for a second. "Out with it Tia. Would like ta be gettin' on with mah day."
Thiereia left the bar, walking toward the two men. Her steps showed that she was considerably more drunk than before. She wasn't close to falling down, but she looked highly unstable. "Please do something stupid." she said to Alcor, waving the hand that was holding the bottle of wine. "Please, so I can break some of your bones. I'll let you chose which one!"
Turning his smiling face towards Alcor, D’hein was silent for a moment, and then shrugged, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that's all there is. I think you're one to harm others, and as a father, my instincts won't allow me to let you escort my employee home."
When Thiereia moved up towards Alcor, he held up a hand, "Now, now, let's give the man a chance to have his seat." The sound that came from the Duskwight woman when hearing that was akin to a disappointed 'aw', followed immediately by some drinking.
"Nah. I be fine standin'. Yer the one threatening harm, some father, yeah?" Alcor looks down at the other man, one eye sickly green, the other clouded and scarred.
Looking proud, D'hein turns his back on Alcor, "Any father worth a grain of sand would come to the defense of those he's responsible for with every fang and claw he has. Granted, Antimony's not my child, nor a child at all, but I have my instincts. And what's a Miqo'te without his instincts? Poor and alone, that's what he is." Thiereia nodded sagely. For the expression of her face, it was obvious she wasn't really nodding at what D'hein was saying but to some internal thought instead.
At some point during all of this, Antimony had left the tavern and now made her way back through the now dark streets of Limsa's lower docks, already working up in her head a rant for Ulanan.
Letting out of snort of annoyance. "Daddy of the year, yeh smother them. At least mah boy don't need no one and wants to know me. I be doubting the same be said of yeh."
D'hein hummed at that, and then, turning to look at Alcor, he says, "Two mistakes you've made: calling me Tia, and talking about 'my boy'. And that's two payments for my dear Duskwight friend." He deftly portioned out some money, put it on the bar near where Thiereia had been drinking, and took some steps away from both the Duskwight and the Hyur, "I think that sounds reasonable, doesn't it?"
Thiereia smiled. "Plenty reasonable," She took one flimsy step towards Alcor, bottle still in her hand. "So which bone do you want broken today, Highlander?"
"Eh. Don't break that easy. Tia... on the other hand? Migh' be made of glass..." He shook his head, "Yeh think this'll score points with the little lady?" He set the basket down on the table next to him.
"No I don't," D'hein said, and took up a stance near the door, crossing his arms.
Without much of a warning, the Elezen simply rushed towards the Hyur, body inclined towards her left, and threw a very straightforward punch to his stomach. The punch caught Alcor in the stomach, causing a loud breath to emit from him in a distinct, "Oof". He grabbed for her wrist at his stomach. Thiereia didn't remove her hand fast enough to avoid the grab. In response, she shifted her weight violently to a side and tried to place her foot behind the man's ankle, pushing in the opposite direction to drop him to the ground.
Seeing the violence, D'hein simply nodded to himself and exits the tavern.
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"Song dogs barking at the break of dawn, lightning pushes the edges of a thunderstorm; and these streets, quiet as a sleeping army, send their battered dreams to heaven."
Hipparion Tribe (Sagolii)Â - Â Antimony Jhanhi's Wiki
