10321/A Bar Scene

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A Bar Scene
Date of Scene: 01 March 2022
Location: The Verdant
Synopsis: A mouse and a martial artist walk into a valkyrie's bar.
Cast of Characters: Vintridr, Sandra Wu-San, Kaida Connolly




Vintridr has posed:
    Tuesday evenings aren't exactly hopping times for bars, and likely never will be - but the Verdant is still doing decent business. It's not in the best part of town, but it's steadily acquiring a reputation for good drinks, pleasant ambience, a statistically unlikely low rate of bar fights, and a bartender that has reportedly so far yet to fail to know and mix a drink asked of her.

    Speaking of whom, Vinnie is working the bar tonight, listening to one of the regulars ramble while she cleans a few glasses, making sympathetic noises at the right moments in his cadence while keeping an eye on the rest of the bar.

Sandra Wu-San has posed:
It would be hard to call the woman sitting at one end of the bar a regular, even though she's sitting in the same stool she always sits in.

Even though she's here for at least a half an hour every few nights -- maybe a bit more, sometimes.

It isn't that she has yet to order more than club soda or water, on any of these trips-- it's just that most regulars would probably have the courtesy not to study their various bartender's markings so casually, so consistently between her visits... and those who lack it would probably not be inclined to tip generously when they leave, despite her meager orders and seeming lack of need for much in the way of attention; she certainly isn't one to bend a bartender's ears about whatever might trouble her.

There really isn't much of anything regular about Lady Shiva when it comes down to it. Even her brown, leather duster, sleeveless red and gold top, and black leather pants - despite their aesthetic efficacy - readily read as designer pieces to the trained eye.

"Bartender," she states, just loud enough to cut through the persistent murmur of a quiet evening at a bar while her eyes shift from Vinnie's shoulders to the woman's face. "Tell me: what would you say your favorite drink is?"

For a brief, pointed moment, her eyes flick towards the person talking Vinnie's ear off before seeking the bartender's; a dark brow arches slightly.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
For her part, Kaida only slips into bars from time to time in order to see what's going on. She tries to see if she can over hear problems or issues that might come up. She slips along the floor with the speed that most mice or mice like beings would be rather jealous of. Combine that with a healthy knowledge of how to go unheard and unseen, and well, she's just very hard to spot. Once she's near to the bar, she flicks an ear up to listen to what Vint and her customer are saying but then her radar dish of an ear turns toward Shiva when she speaks.

Her nose twitches as she sniffs the air, a single eye peeking around the corner of the bar before she casually scrambles up the side of the bar and right up to underneath the lip of the counter itself. She scrambles along with tiny claws on wood, moving as casually in the way as if it were the most natural thing in the world, slipping closer to get a better scent off of Shiva. She is sure she can smell something...off.

Vintridr has posed:
    Vin twitches for a moment to acknowledge Shiva's request, then gives Reggie an apologetic smile before turning her attention to the other woman, looking her over assessingly - and a few seconds longer than she normally does - before smiling again and spinning away to work her brand of magic.

    A gin glass lands on the bar with just enough force to slide it the last half meter to come to a stop in front of Shiva, exactly at arm's length just as Vin starts tipping the first bottle. "Orange liqueur, one finger;" she announces as she tips the bottle back just as the thick fluid reaches the intended height, replacing the bottle even as her free hand produces another. "Two shots of gin," -- a shot glass makes a brief appearance to measure out the contents twice, before she grabs a mixing beaker and pours an equal amount from two bottles at once. "Cranberry juice for that blood-of-your-enemies color; tart apple juice to balance the taste..." Another beaker cover the first for a quick display of acrobatic shaking before the mixture is carefully poured into the glass, then she grabs a sieve and fills it with ice cubes, then holds it above the glass and tips out a final bottle. "And some rosemary syrup, filtered through crushed ice to cool it off."

    The glass doesn't quite sparkle, but it certainly seems like it should, and while everyone's attention is on the creation a thimble full of an appealingly sweet-smelling liquid is discreetly placed on the bar in front of Kaida.

Sandra Wu-San has posed:
Everyone is paying attention to the creation.

Everyone; this includes Shiva, who smells of lavender and sandalwood with a faint hint of incense, and-- --...

"That's far enough," she evenly states as Kaida draws closer and closer, getting within a few feet of the tall, dark-haired woman.

-- and--

Shiva's eyes slowly rove from studying the concoction to resume studying the bartender; rather than reach for the drink, she just laces her fingers loosely on the bar top while her right brow lifts a little further.

-- and...--

"'Blood-of-your enemies color'~," comes with a gentle lilt of amusement, a brief flare of chestnut brown eyes, and a razor-thin smile. "That is an interesting detail," she muses.

"Vinnie."

-- and--... gun oil...?

"Now, the important question: why?"

A beat passes; the smile spreads, slightly.

"The thimble is not a part of it," she adds, just to confirm.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
"Well, neither of you two are normal." She states simply from under the lip of the bar. She simply leaps to a stool nearby and then leaps up to the bar, with one hand on her hip and eying Vin and then eying Shiva.

"I mean, spotting an expert sneak like myself is basically impossible given I'm, well..." She gestures to her height and then herself before looking from one to the other, her nose twitching like it itches as she eyes Vint before shaking her head at the thimble. She picks it up and gives it several sniffs.

"This for me?" She pokes at the thimble, giving it several sniffs, "I have never understood the need to drink poison, not that it hurts me much."

Vintridr has posed:
    "Well spotted, little one," Vin replies to Kaida with a kind smile. "And if you've noticed that, then you might well believe me when I say you aren't remotely the smallest thing I've ever had attempt to sneak up on me. That said, you are definitely one of the more polite ones. May I know what you'd like to be called? I promise you, the drink will not harm you -- I'd be a poor host if I attempted to poison a guest who had given no offense nor caused mine harm."

    Shiva's simple question gets a more enigmatic smile. "I felt a familiar color might make you feel more welcome," she replies as she meets the woman's eyes. "The proprietor is a great believer in making sure all her customers can feel at ease here."

Sandra Wu-San has posed:
"Familiar to me, or you?"

Enigmatic smiles beget more of the same while Shiva holds the bartender's attention.

And while she still doesn't look Kaida's way, she is polite enough to unlace her hands so that her pinky can be offered towards the little woman in the closest thing to a handshake one can provide a six-inch tall person.

"Spotting you," she offers, "certainly. But you still have claws, Little Mouse, and your hiding place is made of wood."

Kaida Connolly has posed:
Looking at the drink, she sniffs it again before she is interrupted by a pinky finger which she gives a quick bump of her fist and nods before gesturing with her fist.

"Fist bumps, I find, work best." She nods to Shiva before looking over at Vintridr and then lifts up her drink.

"Kaida." She states simply and takes a sip of the drink, wrinkling her nose at the taste before hmming and sipping again. She looks then over to Shiva before smirking and looking back to her drink.

"One could argue that 'Big Mouse' is the proper term." She laughs a little and then downs the rest of the drink rather easily. It's unclear if it'll do much given her metabolism but she does casually sit into a cross legged plop before looking between the two.

"And I'll have you know, my claws are still rather quiet despite the wood!"

Vintridr has posed:
    From the taste, Kaida's drink is relatively simple: Apple syrup, high on sweet, low on actual alcohol, with just a bit of orange added to give it a bit of tang.

    "Vin, then," Vintridr replies, holding out an index finger for Kaida to bump.

    "I suspect we've both seen more than our fair share," she replies to Shiva, with an incline of her head. "To your health," she offers - although she seems to be the only one of the three that doesn't have a drink."

Sandra Wu-San has posed:
"And yet:" Shiva says to Kaida.

"Here we find ourselves."

Just a hint of pearl flashes Kaida's way as dark eyes shift across and down, and then Shiva glances back for the toast.

Rather than lift her glass, however, she gives it a moment, waiting for-- something-- before deciding to stand. Without a word -- or sound -- further, the woman practically glides around the end of the bar, approaching Vintridr--

-- approaching the glassware--...

A gin glass lands on the bar with just enough force to leave it waiting in front of Vintridr, exactly at arm's length:

    Orange liqueur, one finger.
    Two shots of gin.
    "Cranberry juice for that blood-of-your-enemies color~."
    Tart apple juice to balance the taste...

... mixing vessels flying from hand to hand...

... ... a sieve full of ice...

... ... ... and some rosemary syrup, filtered through crushed ice.

Just to cool it off.

And then Lady Shiva returns to her seat. Finally, she lifts her own glass.

"To living interesting lives, whether long or short," she offers in response before touching glass to glass and metal, then sipping.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
Returning the fist bump, Kaida laughs, "You can use your whole fist, too." She states and then shrugs. Her eyes go to Shiva though, watching her work and then letting out a hmm before shaking her head. She sips her drink briefly before twitching again, just a hint and then nodding her head and offering up her tiny glass.

"To good health and all that." She states simply enough and finishes her drink easily enough, "Tasty." She states before casually resting her right hand on the hilt of her sword and leaning to one side on her other hand.

Vintridr has posed:
    The Verdant appears to rely more on its guests' courtesy than physical barriers to keep them from getting behind the bar, and Vin simply watches with some amusement and interest as Shiva mirrors her own work near-perfectly.

    "Impressive," she replies, in a tone that suggests this is high praise indeed.

    She waits patiently until Shiva has reclaimed her seat, then raises her own glass. "To interesting lives - and the companions we meet along the way that make them more so. May they be cherished and remembered," she replies, toasting both Kaida and Shiva as she takes a sip.

Sandra Wu-San has posed:
The praise just rolls off Shiva's back without a response one way or another. It simply is.

"... interesting indeed," she lowly decides after setting her glass down, eyes lidded slightly.

"The blood is necessary, isn't it? For balance; there's sweet, and there's floral... a _hint_ of tart sweetness. But that's all that it would be, otherwise: a muddle of sweet, simple flavors readily forgotten once they've melted from the palate."

Turning towards Kaida, she takes her glass and pours -- just -- enough to refill her thimble so that she, too, may sample it. "Tell me, Big Mouse: what's your perspective, as the woman unfamiliar with poison on her tongue?" she wonders with a lifting eyebrow.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
For her part, Kaida seems non-plussed by it all. She knows a little about each of the women from sight, smell and other senses but she has met and even lives with people who are capable of incredible things. She simply listens for the moment till she has some more shared with her and she picks it up, sniffing it. One sip and she hmms.

"Tastes good." She then looks over at Vint a moment and then back to Shiva, "Doubt it'll help me much, though." She grins, "I need more calories than it can provide and what calories it does, are off set by the alcohol." She chuckles and shrugs, "All the same, I can see the appeal." She shifts herself slightly.

"I am somewhat curious about this place and its owners/employees, if I'm being honest."

Vintridr has posed:
    Vin nods at Shiva. "Most would call it an acquired taste, although one hard to shake once acquired," she agrees. "The importance of balance is often underrated."

    She tilts her head at Kaida. "Are you, now? If you've questions, feel free to ask and I'll see if I can englighten you -- although bear in mind, my answer may well be that I won't tell you; I've my own secrets, some of whom aren't mine to choose to share." A smile, and another sip.

Sandra Wu-San has posed:
"The carvings over the entrance, for example," Shiva readily agrees with Kaida, smiling thinly.

"Protective?"

"Prohibitive?" she wonders, leaning half an inch closer to the bartender.

"A warning, perhaps?"

Following another sip and a deliberate swallow, she adds, "It's rare to find people who truly understand the value of balance, indeed; it takes a certain clarity and internal honesty to understand that life must be more than floral and sweet, doesn't it?"

Kaida Connolly has posed:
"Well, I don't want to reveal any secrets I know." She states simply enough before shrugging but she casually shifts in her spot and looks at Shiva as she speaks. Her eyes going back to the door briefly before looking to Vint.

"That, as an example, yes. Also you, as you heard me and I doubt it is just because you are just a naturally good listener." She shakes her head, "I have more than a nose and ears ofr these types of things." She nods again, sipping more of the drink given to her by Shiva and then looking over to Shiva briefly. She considers her and then looks down at teh drink with a grin.

"Everyone's balance is different."

Vintridr has posed:
    "A proclamation," Vin clarifies. "No power was woven into those runes; that isn't their custom. To those who recognize such things, they designate this place as neutral ground, open to all who'll respect it as long as they do so."

    She smirks slightly. "No laws of nature or great powers enforce it, but those who are known to violate it find themselves with few friends or allies when they need them -- after all, almost everyone wants to have a quiet drink at some point in their life, and do not take kindly to people who needlessly limit their ability to do so."

    She smiles at Kaida. "Your nose and ears are indeed impressive, but I'll have you know that I am a naturally excellent listener," she replies. "Even the breeze can have tales to tell, if you've ears and patience to listen."