Logs:Too Bright
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| RL Date: 9 July, 2015 |
| Who: Alida, X'vin |
| Involves: Fort Weyr, High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Alida catches the cracks in X'vin's mask. |
| Where: Lava Lounge, Southern Boll |
| When: Day 19, Month 3, Turn 38 (Interval 10) |
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>---< Lava Lounge (TP Room - HRW) >------------------------------------------<
The slight chill in the air is a pleasant change from the heat of the
tropical winds that surround Southern Boll. This cave holds the natively
christened Lava Lounge of Southern Boll Hold. The bar itself lies along
the far wall, the whole place brightened by the light of glow baskets
hanging from the ceilings. Marcus, the barkeep, is ready to serve you
drinks. The largest wall is sanded down for visitors to write on, if they
wish. In addition, there are tables and chairs located throughout the room
for people to sit on, as well as hanging sky chairs for people to relax in
after the day's duties are completed.
Available Commands: +tp/help
-----------------------------< Active Players >-----------------------------
Alida F 27 5'7" athletic, white-blond hair, clear green ey 10s
X'vin M 32 6'3" muscular, black hair, dk brown eyes 0s
----------------------------------< Exits >---------------------------------
Out
>-----------------------------------------< 19D 3M 38T I10, winter night >---< She doesn't come here nearly as often as she should. Tonight, however, there's ample reason for Alida to 'indulge' herself at the Lava Lounge: an extra-long day (and her first at dragonhealing) spent at 'work,' 'Reaches craptastic late winter weather, and a need to get way beyond those places the bluie typically haunts. Clad in lighter wear for this Bollian climate, the blonde is sans rank indicators, her riding jacket with its Glacier badge hung on a peg near the entrance, one of her hand fingering the stem of a huge margarita-type glass filled with some slushy drink in layered blues and greens, yellows that slowly melt into one another. She's bellied up to the bar itself, though one of her sides is to it, leaving the quiet woman room to look all about freely...and not have her back to the room. Habit. X'vin's not devoid of indications of rank, nor are the two Flint wingriders in his company, who made their entrance with their new wingleader with a maximum of amusement and encouragement. They've mellowed now, with thier bright drinks and an intense game of cards with X'vin, but the bronzerider excuses himself after another outburst from them. Another hand lost. "I told you," he says as he makes his way to the bar, not the least bit dismayed as they fleece him, "I'm terrible at gambling. My face is too honest." That triad of Fortians who enter do, of course, draw Alida's attention, her clear green eyes sizing all of them up quickly, then moving back to her drink as she sips the sweet-sour-fruity chill goodness of it. Mhmm. The voice tied to the face of unknown X'vin soon has the bluie making a small face to herself - an exaggerated roll of eyes and twist of lips - for that utter tripe of 'a too honest face.' Snork. Snork? Snork?! Well he never, and his look askance at Alida reveals an honest smile, an inquisitive lift of one eyebrow. "What's that?" She snorked too loud. Ugh. Looking put out, Alida swivels her flat gaze over her shoulder to meet X'vin's own eyes as she measures him like a seamstress would slightly shoddy goods. Lipped off in her typical tight, low alto is, "Yer full'a shit." It's not said with rancor, merely blithe certainty as the palest-blonde turns back to her drink. If that's not an invitation, X'vin doesn't care. He claims the seat beside her, tapping to get Marcus' attention. He orders something light, fruity. What Marcus prepares is lightly colored and smells vaguely fruity when it's delivered. "How do you figure? You don't even know me." The look of 'long put upon' skates easily over Alida's very fair features when X'vin decides to join her, the blonde having nobody but herself to blame. Sigh. Noted bluntly to the Fortian, "You said yer face is too honest. Dun need ta 'know you' ta see that's bullshit." Smirkie, sip. "Sure yer wingmates want yer company more 'n I do." Her free hand offers an abbreviated little wave of fingers. Bye. An honest face would show X'vin's wounded pride, maaking it unnecessary for him to say, "You've hurt my feelings, now. And for no reason, to boot." If she'd remembered to wear her bronzerider repellant before venturing into the Lava Lounge, maybe he would go when she waves. Instead, he casts a look at the men who have hunkered down to play without him, and he says, "They've taken enough of my money, as it is. Like I said. Terrible gambler, honest face. Can't bluff to save me." And, because he can, and they're talking now, "X'vin." "Mhm..." is Alida's tired-seeming response to the bronzerider's wounded feelings, her greens flicking from their corners to him to keep track of where he is, since he's so near. The flat featured stare she 'awards' X'vin for his continued professing of his honest face might speaks volumes as to exactly how she views that pronouncement, the offer of his name earning him only a bob of braided and coronet up-do'ed head before she returns her gaze to the bar and her drink. No, she didn't offer him her own name. Cad. X'vin carries on gamely, as is his way, "Oh, nice to meet you too! No, this is my first time here. They," a jerk of the thumb to the riders behind him, who finish a hand, look at him, and then deal another, "insisted I see this. Grew up north of here and never even knew it was here. Funny, how your childhood holds so many secrets for so long, isn't it?" His smile twitches in amusement. "Do you come here often?" The 'old' Alida likely would have just stared at 'nattering' X'vin another moment, lifted up her drink, and walked away. But - lucky him! - he gets to experience Alida 3.0! In this case, it means that the blonde simply continues to sip from her multi-colored concoction, maintain a bland expression, and then finally stare over at him while muttering, "You sound like a hen." Chatter-chatter. "And you're absolutely a ray of sunshine," he returns. "Just kidding," and that smile flickers like a charcoal image, newly drawn, and smeared. "You're being really inconsiderate in this exchange. I'm not even trying to take you home," and that is honest, no doubt about it. "But now you've insulted me twice, three times if you count that sound you made, and all because I happened to wander too close? The humanity." Now *that's* what she was looking for in X'vin's chameleon featured face: a moment of truth. noticed in that smeared flicker. Noted dryly of it, "Think I'm pissin' you off." Brevity, thy name is Alida. "Never knew I was obliged ta be charming." A wolf's head grin is given to the bronzerider - full of teeth and not much else - her own mobile features now offering the Fortian a patently false expression of contriteness. "Yer so easily insulted." Aww. It speaks! "No. I don't get pissed. Getting pissed means I've lost." X'vin draws from his drink, letting the flavor of it settle in its newness to his palette, considering Marcus as he does it. When he swallows, he seems to find it satisfactory, not calling the barkeep back but instead saying to Alida, "Not charming. Civil. There's a broad gap between them." She doesn't respond to X'vin until he finishes speaking, Alida merely nursing her drink and looking around once or twice during that time. Casually, her alto notes, "Yer placin' lots'a importance on this conversation." She certainly isn't, at least apparently. "I gave ya a nod. That's pretty standard civility." Sip. For those who don't know each other in a bar. "I like to be friendly," says the bronzerider with a sharklike smile to meet her wolf -- too many teeth all around. "Nah," he says again, shrugging. "You see something different than what everyone else does. I wanted to hear why you thought so. You seemed so very sure, unless you really were just trying to insult a stranger." Again, he shows a hint of honesty - in that sharky grin, this time - and Alida allows a curl of lips in her half-smirk to ease over her face. And, when X'vin *finally* gets to the heart of the matter...well, the blonde again 'rewards' him with a real answer, instead of snarky comments. Looking deeply into dark brown eyes, the bluie murmurs, "You smile too much, too brightly; yer workin' a little too hard at bein' pleasant..." Laaag. Sip. Now they're both getting somewhere. X'vin's index finger traverses the rim of his barely-touched glass. Has his smile faded a little? "And if I said you don't smile enough? Are we just opposite ends of a spectrum? Should I frown more?" It might be rhetorical, but he does let a silence hang for her to answer, if she feels so inclined. She's observing him intently, so yes, Alida does notice that faint fade of X'vin's smile...and she allows her lips to curl once again into a knowing hint of a ghost-grin. "I wouldn't give half a shit..." the bluerider responds almost chipperly to the man's supposition of her own lack of smiles. "You do wha'cha want." Shrug, sip. "You wouldn't? And yet here you are, giving me free advice -- you don't strike me as the charitable sort. You haven't even given me your name." He takes the glass, swallows it back. "You always this keen?" "Paybacks fer yer 'perception' uv my horrible manners..." Alida notes glibly to X'vin, the woman not bothering to hold her smile, anymore. "I call it equal, now." Mercenary that she can be. As for her name, "You haven' earned it." She sounds serious. X'vin laughs at that, open, bright -- easy. Real. He's amused by her, which is maybe unsafe. The riders at his back turn to look, to evaluate Alida with more caution than X'vin has expressed since he sidled to the bar, and then attentively go back to their cards, even though their playing is stalled while they spy. "Something to fight for, is it? You guard it jealously, so nobody can steal it?" It doesn't seem to terribly matter though; X'vin's sliding off his stool. Another hint of truth from the 'false front' that is X'vin: that laughter of his. It's finally that which also nets him the first honestly 'irked' response from Alida: a small nose wrinkle. With a mobile gaze like hers, she finally notices they're being peered at, and gives the pair of Flint riders a 'standard' Alida 'look'; that is to say, something that might give the standard Pernese person a set of the creeps, it's so chill and emotionless. Back to her apparently departing bar 'mate' is offered, "I'm sure you c'n get it off the grapevine." Shrug. That will likely have to stand in for a farewell. Rankless though she is, X'vin tips her a salute -- as flip as the rest of their exchange. "Don't get pissed," he murmurs as he goes. "That just means I'll have won. I'll hope the grapevine holds." And, courteously, "Thanks for your feedback." The bronzerider doesn't wait for a response, and when he reaches the table, his men have hunkered down and strived not to keep their eyes on Alida; outwardly, they're relieved to have X'vin between them and her, even if their gazes sometimes sneak over his shoulder back to the bluerider as they deal another hand. And the rankless one? She'll merely bob her head once to X'vin's advice, casually raise her huge glass a little to his courteous response - and belatedly to that half-assed salute - and then go back to her drinking...until she finished, then moving off and away without a backward look. |
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