Just Another Night at the Quicksand (Open)

[Warren Castille]

Warren met the highlander woman's advances without retreat.

 

"I protest because there's no way to know who those letters refer to," he said while indicating the pillar, "...without a confession or a culprit caught in the act. Regardless of what any person, any fan might perceive, these may as well mean nothing."

 

He relaxed a bit, frowning slightly. "You speak of our unbending will then attempt to bend me. You should know how this will turn out."

[Kage]

Kage grinned into the kiss and smiled at her as she pulled away, his ears twitching happily and his tail curled.

 

"Perhaps you are but I haven't eaten so I want some food."

[111]

Natalie blushes, "Kage... right here in the Quicksand? I'm pretty sure that's a crime... and I didn't think you were the type of person who liked being watched."

 

Natalie shakes her head and looks at Franz, "He wasn't like this before you moved in. What have you been teaching him?"

[Roen]

"I know." There was obvious mirth in her roguish grin. "But that's the fun of it. The dance."

 

"Now, I have read people's palms before. Do ye know ye can derive meaning from the slightest things? A callous on the finger. A line on a palm. The slightest shift of the glance." She gave him a pointed look. "Or lack thereof." She shrugged as she pushed off the pillar she had trapped him against, taking a step back to gaze upon the initials once more. "Ye can make anything mean something if ye wished. If the desire was there. It matters not who wrote it. As long as ye want it." 

 

Green eyes peered back up at him. "Lest ye wish nothing of the sort."

[Warren Castille]

"Are you offering, Madam Brynn? Or are you saying you have already discerned what you mean to?"

 

Warren's question is an honest one, his heavy gauntlets likely stymieing any attempt at fortune telling.

 

"Though let it be known that anyone looking for something will find it. Even the wise can be blinded by their own expectations. I somehow suspect even if you were to read my palm you would not learn anything you haven't already stated."

[Roen]

She clucked her tongue, shaking her head at him with a shake of a finger. "Tsk tsk. Evading my question about the letters still. Very well. Play the coy game." She cocked her head to one side, now eying him up and down unabashedly. "Ye be right. I don't need yer palm. Ye wear what ye are plain on ye as that armor."

 

She first reached for his arm, pressing hard to gauge what lay beneath the armor in between the plates. As if she was studying well raised Chocobo. "Well trained. I bet ye put a lot of important to yer duty. Daily routine as matter of fact." She swayed closer to him, fingers lifting and tracing the braided hair that fell by his cheeks. "Disciplined. But traditional."  That same finger then traced his jawline. "Much too set. Stubborn.  I bet that has gotten ye into trouble some."

 

She leaned in then, nose almost meeting nose, her eyes narrowed intently. "And ye've been hurt before." She tilted her head. "More than once." There was a small lopsided curl to her lips. "Still. Willing to risk it again, I'd wager. Foolish man." She pulled back and shrugged teasingly.

 

"Well? Did I hit the target?"

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Natalie shakes her head and looks at Franz, "He wasn't like this before you moved in. What have you been teaching him?"

 

"Excuse me?!" Why did Natalie always try to suggest things? "You could blame his drinking on me, maybe his temper. The rest is just Kage."

 

He took a heavy gulp of his ale. "Why would I ever cheat on Lydia?" Despite the smile, there was a lonely look in eyes. That kind of look the local bard would have loved to see.

[Warren Castille]

"My history is hardly unknown to any who'd listen to me. Keeping my mouth shut was hardly a strong point when I needed to most." He continued to meet the woman's gaze though he wondered at what point her curiosity would be sated. Natalie's words echoed in his mind as he considered it.

 

"I won't defend the scribbles because they could very well mean nothing." He didn't react to her tracing his face, instead closing his eyes and setting his jaw as her finger ran across it.

 

"My dedication is well known. There are enough who eat here who have seen me running in the streets before the sun rises. I'm not sure what you hope to suss out of me." His only hope was boring her. He hoped it would work.

[Kage]

Kage gaped before blushing and shaking his head furiously. "Nat! No! That's for the bed in our room!"

 

He pointed to a nearby plate of aldgoat steak and said, "Actual food and nutrition! Like aldgoat steak!"

[Unnamed Mercenary]

He shook his head. "She'll find a way to misconstrue your words Kage. Good luck."

[Raelas]

Yangh had fallen asleep at  her chair... apparently her fasting was fast catching up with her!

 

((Sorry! I'm a little sick and I can't keep up! D: ))

[Unnamed Mercenary]

((Feel better Yangh))

 

Seeing that Yangh had fallen asleep at the table, he looked around awkwardly for a moment. "I'm...gonna get her a room."

 

He smirked for a moment. "Behave you two"

 

He walked over to the innkeep to explain the situation, handing over a generous "tip" for the service. Shortly later a room was prepared and he brought her there. He left a small note on the door.

 

"Don't worry about the room.

 

Please feel better.

 

-Franz"

 

He then returned to the table with Kage And Natalie.

[Roen]

Brynnalia chuckled lightly, putting a hand daintily against her chest. "Ye wound me! I would not know ye from..." She glanced about, then gestured with her nearly empty wineglass to the gingered haired Highlander at the table with the Miqo'te Blade. "From that forlorn soul over there. Much less heard any tales of yer duties or yer past. And ye have not shared much at all, at least not with me."

 

She rolled her tanned shoulders, the fluffy white sleeves rustling softly. Her easy smile did not fail, but she furrowed her brows in slight disappointment. "Ye obviously wish not for my company. I merely sought to enjoy a game of words with my glass of wine. And maybe a bit of gossips and news. I'd not been back in Ul'Dah but a day after being away for many moons."

 

She lazily drained the rest of her glass and set the empty glass onto a passing barmaid's tray when she passed. "I am obviously keeping ye from more important affairs." She glanced over her shoulders towards the general direction of the bar. "Ye have my apologies, Warren."

[Warren Castille]

Warren's expression changed to something resembling guilt.

 

"I'm sorry, Miss Brynn. I've been on edge lately, especially when strangers approach me and start asking questions. I shouldn't be so suspicious of new people, definitely not in this locale. What sort of reputation would I amass for Momodi if I send everyone away thinking we're unkind?"

 

He bowed his head in deference, tucking a hand over his chest. "I'm the one who should be apologizing."

[111]

Natalie drums her fingers on the table, "Ah, food then, why didn't you just say so."

 

She reaches over and pokes his stomach, "Though you need to be careful, you weren't getting much exercise moping around the house last week. Keep it up and you'll be the new Porkchop."

[Roen]

Her head was turned away from him, as Brynn allowed her gaze to linger towards the bar, but a knowing grin slowly curled upon her lips at his apology. When she turned back around, it is with her best self-effacing expression in place as she blinked back at him.

 

"Well then, Warren. Let us not be strangers. For Momodi's sake. Give this bard some tales to tell at her next gathering?" She took a step towards him with an easy smile, placing a hand on her hip. "I have heard of the troubles that have plagued the Jewel of late. But as I look around, it still stands in all its majesty. Despite the nasty tales of poisons and treachery. Those supposedly loyal to the Sultana turning against her even! I trust ye had some heroic hand in it all? It would make for a great story."

[Kage]

Kage blinked, shaking his head. "I did say food. I quote, '...but I haven't eaten so I want some food.' But no matter, what would you like to eat?" He paused as her words registered.

 

He slowly looked down at his chest, idly running his palm down it and frowned. "Am I getting pudgy? I went on morning runs..."

[Unnamed Mercenary]

"Better watch out Kage. There's a reason I still get into fights. Maybe we'll have to start sparring again. You know, fun for both of us this time."

 

He grinned as he downed another mug of ale. He looked at Natalie a moment. "You should call him the new 'porkchop'. It'll be funny. Besides, since I'm 'unemployed', what do you think I spend my daytime doing?" He puffed out his chest a little, flexing, "you don't get this from ale."

[Warren Castille]

Warren nodded along with the request.

 

"Stories make their rounds. The Jewel is tended to by some of the most wonderful, dedicated souls alive this day and age. While it's true there was a brief situation with our drinking supplies and it could be construed that there were betrayals and shadows moving in the wings, the reality is that these things happen."

 

He shrugged his shoulders with no real sense of excitement. "There was an assassination attempt. It was only stopped because one of the bravest 'Sworn in the realm sacrificed herself to stop it from happening. Her action led to the discovery of the attempt and the rank and file were able to put an end to the assault. She's a hero."

[111]

Natalie rolls his eyes as he flexes, "Spare me. If I wanted a slab of meat I'd go to a butcher."

 

"Besides, it's not like that weight does you much good. You probably have a hundred Ponze on Kage, and I think he'd be your match in a fight."

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Natalie rolls his eyes as he flexes, "Spare me. If I wanted a slab of meat I'd go to a butcher."

 

"Besides, it's not like that weight does you much good. You probably have a hundred Ponze on Kage, and I think he'd be your match in a fight."

 

He shifts in his seat a little, moving round a little, probably having had too much to drink. "I think my size fits me perfectly." In an Ishgardian accent, "there's just that much more to love."

 

"...But I was serious. Any time Kage, any time. No weapons, just for you."

[Roen]

The bard canted her head, arching both brows. "Ohh? A hero's tale ye say. Sacrifice and glory. And a woman, even better." She slid closer to the man. "Do tell."

 

 

"Who is this hero of the Jewel?"

[Warren Castille]

Warren shook his head. "Wouldn't do anyone's reputation much good to have that sort of glory heaped on them. She's a hero, though. The embodiment of what the Oath means." His voice beams with a small degree of pride and admiration.

 

"You can write a song without a name. I prefer the ones that let you imagine, but that's just my opinion. Of course you're likely hearing my story and trying to fill in the blanks like I'm hiding something, if I had to bet." Warren smiled at her, peering back and forth between her eyes.

[Kage]

Kage shook his head, muttering "Do you see what I have to put up with? The menace is barbarian."

 

Kage turned to Franz and countered, "I fought with you when I was smaller and when I was not as used to being able to use my new form. Plus, I don't like to spar with people who relish it."

 

Placing his hand on her shoulder, Kage asked, "What plate of food would you like me to order, love?"

[Roen]

Brynnalia pursed her lips with an amused smirk. "See Warren? We are no longer strangers. Ye know me already." She tapped her lips twice with her perfectly trimmed nail, green eyes looking about. "But I will find out what I need to know, eventually."

 

"But one thing ye can do for me. And for Momodi's sake. It would warm my heart to know I know at least one friendly soul here. A paladin to boot. How about dinner? One of Momodi's best dishes." She gestured about the room. "Since ye diligently watch this place, ye must have recommendations. Perhaps with candlelight? Wine always tastes better in dim lighting." 

 

She spied the initials near him again. "Lest it offends anyone."