The Tavern [[Open to all, no Bio needed]]

[DrunkenShark]

The strange woman was looking at him in a way he could not easily “decode”; a look between surprise and curiosity with a touch of something else. She even was kind of taken aback when he invited her to join him –or them because he was not alone at the bar after all– and Gunnar squinted slightly as if it could help him study her better. When she finally reacted, smiled and joined him, the reptile mentally shrugged, thinking maybe he was wrong; maybe they did not know each others. That would explain her surprise when he talked to her.

“I’m getting started with nothing else but whisky I guess” He answered and chuckled a little, took a sip then added on a kidding tone: “You’ll go for water or ale too or you think you’re tough enough for the same drink?”

Maybe it was indeed a mistake: if she knew him, or if they knew each other, she would have said so; so he thought. One thing was sure: Gunnar would not act as if they were perhaps friends or allies because if they were not particularly close for real, it would make him look silly. That was something the mercenary wanted to avoid at any cost, unless he willingly tried to look silly in order to fool an enemy…

[lexi luthor]

Cynful couldn't help but feel like she knew him, she coulnd't help feeling a sort of closeness, and she couldn't help but smile at what he said. With a devilish look towards him, she turned and faced the bar and said to the bartender, "I'll take a 151 Rum," after receiving a shocked look from the bartender she was handed her drink. "Thanks," she said with a grin, placed the money plus a tip on the bar and turned back Gunnar. She took a couple large sips from her drink, winced, then placed the drink on the bar for later.

More information was needed from this man, she needed to figure out where she knew him from. She was starting to think it was just her, but that electric shock she had felt... it couldn't have been nothing. She needed to investigate.

"So Gunnar-" She abruptly stopped, as panic was striction upon her face, as well as almost guilt. She wasn't supposed to know his name yet, he never told her. It was from the tid bit she had gotten when she attempted to read him. Crap. Now he was going to ask questions, but she couldn't let him figure out her ability. It wasn't a gift, nor was it a power, just an ability that not many people had aquired.

Swiftly she looked for the exit then started making her way towards it, leaving her drink at the bar. She felt so embarassed, and she just needed to get out of there. The room swam for a moment, and Cyn lost her balance for a second and needed to hold herself up with a support column that was conveniently placed to catch her fall. Goddamn the fact that she was a light weight. Goddamn the fact that she needed to prove herself to.. this person.. that she wasn't even sure where she knew him from.

[DrunkenShark]

Gunnar was quite amused by the situation, by how the woman ordered one of the strongest drinks only to prove she was daring and tough enough to try as well. In a way that was a little unfair: not only his specie had a very fast metabolism and could stand hash alcohol, but years of drinking in taverns and the size of his body would also help him to stand about every kind of drink. He smiled at the shocked look the barman gave her and watched her drink with a cocky smile on his thin lips.

However, as she spoke to him again, he could not help but sense something was wrong, even more when she abruptly stopped talking after only two words. He frowned then realised one of those two words was his first name and that the woman was suddenly looking kind of very embarrassed. How could she know his name after all: did she overhear it when he introduced himself sooner? No, she wasn’t even there yet back then…

Before he could think through this, the strange woman unexpectedly stood up and started walking toward the exit, leaving her drink behind and leaving Gunnar without a word. The mercenary lift a hairless eyebrow; perplex, unable to understand what was wrong with her and quite surprised. Like frozen on his chair, he watched her walking away.

Yet, when he saw her wobbling, losing balance and holding herself on a column, he concluded maybe she wasn’t feeling well, maybe she was wounded or sick in a way or another. He knew something about him, or they knew each other and he could not quite understand why: he could not let her die or whatsoever. Gunnar jumped off his stool, grabbed currency in his pocket, threw it on the bar to pay his drink –he did not care about how much he just paid– and quickly walked right away to the woman holding on a pillar.

“Hey, everything’s alright?” he asked as he was reaching for one of her arm in order to support her better. “Any reason why you needed to leave like that?” he added, frowning a little.

[lexi luthor]

Another wave of nausea hit Cynful like a brick, she didn't quite notice someone help with holding her up. A shock wave much like the one she had earlier shook her body, she figured it was from the alcohol. Her eyes became bloodshot and watery, goddamn, why did she have to drink that? When the electricity didn't leave her body, she needed to pull her arm out of Gunnar's grip. Instantly the shock disappeared as the connection was broken. After a couple of seconds the nausea passed and the words he had spoken to her registered in her head.

"I think I am fine now..." she said and looked up at him with a sheepish smile. she could see the small disapproving frown on his face and felt bad.

Her act of getting out of there as quickly as she could suddenly seemed stupid as she looked up at Gunnar's concerned face. But how could she not think he would become defensive or something? He was carrying a rifle after all. She must have been wrong, Hah, she was finally wrong about someone. That fact right there made her almost giggle, but she held it in.

"I'm sorry about that, I just thought..." she said and paused before saying really quickly, "I just thought that you would get defensive because I knew your name before you said it." Her face turned red from embarrassment, and she had to look away from him.

[DrunkenShark]

The woman did not answer him right away at all; she remained slightly listing to the side, holding the column and being held by the reptile. She also pulled off of Gunnar’s hold but, again, did not answer yet; the reptile started to wonder if he would have to take care of her in a way or another, by bringing her out of the tavern for a start… Why he didn’t even know what to do in this case: he knew how to take care of his rare injuries, but he was still far from being some kind of nurse attending to every stranger that does not feel well on his way!

She finally seemed to get a little better as she answered him at last with a slight embarrassed smile, but Gunnar could not help but doubt that even when she apologized. Yet she kept on and quickly turned away, uncomfortable once more.

“Well I would have certainly got defensive if you’d let me enough time to do so…” He commented, putting his fists on his hips and watching carefully at the woman.

So she did not only overheard or something just as simple to do. And she probably did not hear of him: he may be a good mercenary looking for a job, yet he was not likely well known enough in this remote city to be easily recognized. He really had to find out what this woman knew about him, and why did she feel so familiar as well.

“Let’s get a table this time, and then we can focus on that question: where do I know you from?”

Gunnar added a little more sternly, already making his way through the crowd toward an unoccupied table in a darker corner. She could try to run away again if she felt so, but Gunnar knew he would not let her do so again: he needed the truth, he had a serious and dangerous job so he really could not let such things go.

[lexi luthor]

Cyn bit her lip, and slowly turned her head to look back up at him as he talked, trying atleast to be a little polite. As he finished he put his fists on his hips, making him look even more intimidating. With his height he had atleast five inches on her. And she noted again that the gun hooked to his hip made him look even tougher. Even though he had such a hard exterior she couldn't help but feel like she knew him as a soft person, someone who she could almost relate to. She didn't understand it.

"I.. uh.." she started, then said dumbly, "Sorry," And sighed. Well maybe she was kind of glad he didnt get a chance to get defensive, but he was probably going to us that chance now.

So it wasn't her imagination, he felt the same way, like he knew her from somewhere. That shocked her for a second before she followed him to the table. Sterness that she picked up in his voice meant that he meant buisness. She didn't think this was a funny matter either, it was probably something that she should keep formal and important.

Cyn coughed and covered her mouth with her elbow as she pulled the chair out with the other hand. The dizziness that she had earlier was almost completely gone, but sitting down made her feel much better.

"So," she said as she finally was sitting down and leaning back in her seat, to remember that this was supposed to be serious and fumbled forward and leaned her elbows on the table. "You felt like you knew me when you first saw me?" She asked him, making sure to make direct eye contact.

She hoped the eye contact didn't seem to intamate, because this was supposed to be serious buisness. If her eye contact did seem a bit intimate it was because she couldn't help it, or perhaps it all fell back to feeling as if she knew him.

[SilverStar2]

He slowly walks down the dirt path, his body aching from the long journey from the frozen north. He had travel a long way from home, his white coat was getting dingry and dirty from his travel. Wear form made his way to a shack like building as he walks closer his ears perk up to talking and active inside the building.

He slowly pokes his head over the swing door, he notice loads of two leggers. He heard stories about two leggers and their strange ways to do thing to those like him. He grab the bad that he had slung over his shoulder before pushing the doors open. The creaking noise hit his ears and made a flence noise to it. As he steps into the air he felt a bit relief that no one had look his way.

The sounds of his extra legs clip and clop against the wood, it must be an odd sight to see a begin like him with a large rear end with a set of hooves for legs. Antlers coming out of his head and large ears that twitches to the sound in the area. He decide to settle himself near the back area, he moved a chair out of the way so he can sit his rump onto the floor. He lets out a loud yawn and streches his arms over his head and let out a yawn. A growl escape from his stomach as he looks around wonders if he can get something to settle his stomach.

[DrunkenShark]

Once at the table, Gunnar stood behind his chair and waited until the woman sat down before doing so as well: he had to be ready for whatever could happen with this person that knew him and troubled him so much and sitting would have made his reaction less effective than if he remained standing.

He kept his eyes on her as he took his place and sat down carefully, both hands on the table. The woman started to talk and Gunnar immediately knew he was right to be suspicious when she mentioned something he said sooner: he had not been careful enough when he revealed feeling like he knew her. "You felt like you knew me when you first saw me?"… She had a way to say it that made the reptile believe she was conscious of this feeling he had before he mentioned it. She was looking straight at his slate blue eyes without flinching at his suspecting glare.

“I feel like you know more about this than you are telling me, miss…” The highway reptilian cowboy said on a low growling tone, watching the woman carefully before adding: “I’m now sure we met before so you better tell me what you know on that subject: I really don’t like being left behind on matters that concerns me and I doubt you got your info about me only by asking around in this tavern…”

He had to find out, he could not stand ignoring something important someone else already knew. He could not allow himself to be misinformed.

[SilverStar2]

He watch around the room before spotting a Reptialn person and a human talking to one another. He filled with his fingures a bit more getting up from his spot in the back of the area of the tavern. He makes his way slowly over to the pair and wonder if it be all right to join them.

He lets out a soft sigh as he walks a bit more closer then stops a bit away from them, makes a friendly gesture to the pair with a smile on his face. "Greatings, I'm SilverStar, umm may I join you? If this is a private convsation then I will take my leave," he said with a polite tone and a gentle smile on his face.

[lexi luthor]

The actions which Gunnar portrayed immediately told Cynful that he had switched into his defensive self. So, she hadn't been wrong. He did get defensive when given the chance. She just never gave him a chance, till now that was. It was completely understandable too.

The the suspicious way he was looking at her, made her want to flinch in dismay and look away. He seemed to be on to her, she should probably lie to him. The thing was, she didn't want to lie to him. The other thing was, she didn't even know why she didnt want to lie to him.

Cyn hated the way he was growling at her, she wished he didn't act so guarded. It surprised her how he thought she could be such a threat to him. She also didn't understand what he meant when he implied that she knew where and when they met. Cause she sure as hell had no clue where the feeling came from.

She was about to reply to him as a man walked up to the table and asked to join them. "Oh, uhm..." she started and then looked to Gunnar, with a look on her face that said, 'What do I say?'.

[DrunkenShark]

How could she know him, was she some sort of spy? Some sort of scoundrel selling information about him to his rivals? Or was she a friend long forgotten?...

As he was watching carefully the woman with suspicious pale eyes, waiting for her answer, Gunnar thought for a second he heard the sound of hooves on the wooden floor of the tavern. He would have shrug it off his mind and thought it was rather the sound of one of the already drunk clients annoying stumping if it was not of the unknown voice that suddenly greeted him. The anthropomorphic reptile turned around to see a strange being that somewhat looked halfway between a human and a deer or a reindeer with a friendly smile on his face.

*Boy that place must feel like a zoo or something; me, the other guy from my specie over there, the pixie, hoodie and now him… Still, too many new faces found of meeting up with me at the same time, I really don’t like the sound of that. Maybe it’s not really a trap, but I just can’t close my eyes on that…* Gunnar thought.

He quickly shared a look with the suspicious woman before setting his attention back on the newcomer, thinking as fast as he could about how he should react. This new arrival kind of ruined his plans to get the truth from the young women with bright eyes, but at the same time he could not just drive away this SilverStar…

“Yeah, I don’t see why we should keep you from joining us.” Gunnar answered, putting a smile on the corner of his thin lips and acting a mocking friendliness like the one he showed back at the bar.

In fact Gunnar had decided he could try to investigate on both strangers in a different way; a more subtle one that would not scare them away and leave him alone with his doubts and without any answers.

“Speaking from one non-human to another, you don’t feel out of place around here?”

Gunnar added, slyly trying to find out where this SilverStar was from. And, who knows, maybe he could learn more about the woman as well by observing her reactions to this new and unforeseen situation…



OOC: oh noes, sorry guys: I’m taking way too long to answer, terribly sorry TT__TT

[lexi luthor]

occ: He has not posted yet so I'm going to swing the plot line a bit...

Cyn looked from Gunnar towards SilverStar. Abrutply she stood up and headed towards the bathroom. Once inside she did her buisness and walked over to a sink to wash her hands. She stared at herself in the mirror as she began think about everything that was happening.

The unnecesarry growl she heard earlier in Gunnar's voice had ticked her a bit. He had no reason to get mean. She had never been mean to him. Just cause she knew his name meant nothing important. That was what she thought anyway.

As she muttered under her breath about Gunnar someone else entered the bathroom. She hadn't heard them enter so when they walked up behind her and stared at her in the mirror she couldn't help but let out a yelp. Without a moment's pause she swung around and was faced with nothing. The thing she had saw in the mirror was completely black with red piercing eyes. It was also a male, which shouldn't have been in the bathroom with her.

Shaken with fear she quickly made her way towards the door. As she reached out for the doorknob the lights flickered and went black. She couldn't find the doorknob in the darkness. She felt something grab onto her hair and pull her backwards from the door. A short but piercing scream left her mouth before a hand covered it.

[DrunkenShark]

Gunnar could not study the woman’s behaviour as much as he wanted: not long after he greeted that Silverstar creature, the more human person of the three of them suddenly stood up and leaved. A little surprised but mostly curious and wondering if she was trying to get away once more, the reptile watched her carefully as she was making her way through the tavern to one of two doors in the back of the building.

*Restrooms… I hope there are no windows in those or I might just never see her again…*

Gunnar thought a little grumpily before facing again the hybrid creature at his table, not suspecting anyone else could get into the bathroom while he was not watching anymore. The bad mood he was in kept the mercenary from talking much to that Silverstar being as he slowly sipped his drink without a word or a look at the four-legged creature in front of him.

A few minutes passed and Gunnar started to get annoyed by the situation: he had to know who exactly this woman was and not knowing was making him edgy. He had started tapping his fingers impatiently on the table a minute ago and had already drunk all his drink. Yet as he was starting to think the strange woman had in fact escaped, a short scream half muffled pierced the noise of the clients in the tavern: if Gunnar would not have been on his guard already, he may have missed it…

But that scream obviously coming from the restrooms was enough to startle him and the mercenary quickly stood up and leaved the table without a word for Silverstar. He quickly walked to the wooden door of the bathroom but did not come in right away as a little voice in his head reminded him the scream could mean nothing at all, that this Cyn person might not be a friend after all, that it was the girl’s room and that he should not get in without a good reason.

Suddenly, he heard a few much muffled grunts; as if someone was fighting someone else in silence. That was it for Gunnar: the reptile grabbed the weapon hanging at his waist and abruptly pushed the door open while aiming his rifle in front of him. However, the exact moment he opened the door, the lights of the entire tavern unexpectedly went off, letting utter darkness gain the entire building.

“Aaw great, that’s perfect!”

Gunnar exclaimed sardonically, gritting his teeth as he was frenetically looking around him while gripping firmly his now useless weapon, searching the darkness for any enemy; might it be Cyn herself or an entirely different being.

In the tavern, things were starting to get chaotic as people and drunken clients were starting to complain out loud and move around blindly, shouts and sounds of furniture being toppled over coming from different parts of the room.

[lexi luthor]

The hand covering Cyn's mouth was calloused and abnormally cold. Shivers ran down her spine as what she felt were clouds of icy smoke spiraling down her body like a dark embrace. They made her feel paralyzed, and she couldn't hardly breathe. Around her she could hear the commotion in the tavern. At that moment she couldn't help but think about where Gunnar was at that very moment.

A millisecond after her thought formed the door to the bathroom was kicked in and all she heard was Gunnar's voice.

*speak of the devil..*

She thought, making a small grunting noise as the male 'thing' thrusted her backwards away from the door and farther into the bathroom. A small creak was heard on the wooden floor in one of the corners of the room. It echoed throughout the empty bathroom.

The thing leaned over her shoulder and whispered into her ear, "make one move or say one word and I'll kill you." He grumbled. His breath smelled stale and had a light stench of ale. Then he moved from her shoulder and said in the dark room. "You will get what's coming for you Gunnar, I haven't forgotten what you did." he said gruffly.

If Cyn's jaw could have dropped it would have. Did she just hear what she thought she did?

[Ladyduet]

A lovely dark brown haired woman enters the tavern. Her old style clothing clinging to her slight frame. Her hair is unbound and her violet eyes scan the room for a seat as she moves her black cloak out of the way showing the belt hanging from her waist with about ten throwing daggers hanging from it. She heads toward one of the corners and ignores the other patrons as she steals the tankard of ale that had been left on her table and takes a swig. She notes that it is not as fresh as she would like, but then again one can't be picky when in a place like this. As she drinks from the tankard she scans the room again noting anyone who catches her eye. As a rouge, she needed to be wary of everybody, and for once she is happy to have thick, wavy, long hair. for if it wasn't for her hair her heritage of being a half elf would be revealed and from her experiences only about 30% of people she meets don't have a problem with half-breeds and she wasn't in the mood to deal with those type of problems.

If anyone was to look closer at her they would notice that she hadn't come in alone. A small fairy sits just under her left ear using the lady's hair to hide it from view. They would also notice a small pitch black kitten with matching eyes sitting next to her feet, purring as her mistress sits and drinks at her ale.