Alex took another slow swig of his mead as he sat quietly alone in a darker corner of the room, away from the busy fireplace, doorway and counter. Resting his pitcher back down on the table once again with a silent thump, he let out a discreet sigh of contempt as another group of rowdy customers made their way into the already-bustling tavern to enjoy a nice, stiff drink after a long and hard day of work. Usually such things didn't bother him, but he was in no mood for it today.
He stared blankly out of a nearby window which was dimly illuminated by a lonely candle sitting on the middle of the sill. He couldn't help but reminisce on the events that had taken place earlier in the afternoon. Sure, it wasn't his fault that the target had been killed in the ambush, nor did it bother him that it would mean that he would only earn half of the promised reward, but rather the fact that he prided himself on always executing a perfect job. He didn't like mistakes and he didn't like the discredit it would bring upon his own skills in the eyes of potential employers, no matter how minor. On top of that, there's no way his pride would allow him to accept even the 50% reduction when he returned to U'ldah in the morning to deliver the target's ring as proof of his defeat. Meaning that the past week he had spent tracking down and sourcing information on the evasive rodent had been all for nothing.
A loud cheer from a nearby group of people disrupted his train of thought, causing him to glance irritatedly in their direction. He analyzed them briefly with his fierce, slate-grey eyes as they continued talking amongst themselves, oblivious to his loathsome glare.
"Tch..." he grunted quietly to himself as he took another, larger gulp of his drink. He was in that kind of state of mind where absolutely anything seemed to annoy him. He would make this his last drink before hiring a room for the night.
![[Image: ecec20e41f.png]](https://puu.sh/xvMxb/ecec20e41f.png)
Characters: Andre Winter (Hy'ur) / K'nahli Yohko (Miqo'te)
