RWBY: Midnight

[kookyboy9]

Felix Anderson

Location: Calville - Western Sanus
Date: Monday - September 5th, 50 AFB

Interactions: @Demon Shinobi @EmperorsChosen @Thaleko @RedArmyShogun @Jessica2477

Felix woke at the crack of dawn. He had a mild feeling that he hadn't terribly enjoyed his dreams, but he couldn't quite remember what they were about. No different from usual, there. He sat up, stretching and yawning, before jumping to his feet and grabbing the sword he left leaning up against the windowsill the night before and strapping it to his belt. He had a feeling this was going to be a very good day. He'd heard some of the villagers talking about a newcomer to the village he still hadn't met. Maybe he'd be able to catch them at the bar at lunch?

Regardless, he had places to be and fields to grow! He picked up an apple from a basket lying on the table, and grabbed a pouch of assorted foodstuffs, which he stuffed into his pocket. He dashed through the small village, only pausing momentarily to wave to people he saw on his way to the first field of the day. At least, until he saw the stray dog that'd been hanging out lately. He stopped, pulling the pouch out of his pocket and placing it in front of the dog, smiled it at, then continued his mad dash through the village.

His dash continued all the way to the other side of the village, where he waved to a farmer out in one of his fields, coming to a stop. "Heya! Am I late? Which field do you want me to work my magic on today?" As Felix yelled to him, the farmer jumped, then looked over. "There ya are! The hell kept you, boy?" The farmer shook his head at the boy's irresponsibility, then pointed to one of the fields he owned. "Field over thereabouts innit looking too hot. I'd be much obliged if ya'd be able ta work some o yer magic on it!"

"I stopped to feed Blacksie on the way over! I'll go take a look at the field now!" Felix dashed off before the farmer could get another word in, although he did shake his head and mutter under his breath. "Wish he'd just listen ta us and let the poor thing die off already."

Felix stopped at the field the farmer had pointed at. The field was in poor shape, with some of the plants beginning to wither. He sat down cross-legged and began to channel his semblance into it. He could never quite get over how using his semblance felt. Almost like a wave of pleasant sunlight washing out away from him. He continued to sit there for a while, only rousing himself when the sun had finally reached its zenith. Remembering his lunch plan, Felix bolted to his feet, and began dashing his way to the bar, yelling his next words to the farmer, since he needed to get on his way now! "I'll be back in an hour or so! Gonna go get lunch at Bruin's place!"

The farmer shook his head at the young man's antics, but let him leave without challenge. Most of the village knew by now that containing Felix's wild enthusiasm and random urges was rarely worth it. The young man in question seemed to have little to no concept of responsibility, although he could usually be counted on to keep his word. Hopefully he'd be back relatively soon.

Felix dashed through the small village once more, arriving at a deceptively small bar/general store run by Bruin and Jeremiah Burnet. Taking a deep breath, he tossed the door open and walked in, taking a good look around the bar. The lunch regulars were here, as well as a few people he didn't recognize. However, he finally spotted the target of his scanning glance, shouting over the din in the small bar. "Bruin! What've you got on the menu today?"

 

[Thaleko]

Deirdre Vesta

Yep. The town had life. That much was obvious. Deirdre had barely slept. The excitement of finding a new place with potential people had awaken her early. She could hardly wait to arrive, tugging her wagon quicker than she usually did. With aching arms still in recovery from the grimm attack in the cave.

As the sun rose, she could read the sign as she came up to it. Calville. Tacky. Deirdre thought, eyelids drooping some. Before entering the town, the girl pulled out her journal and jotting a few things down. Without further ado.. her feet carried her within the town. Heart was aflutter.

There were people milling about already. She could smell farm animals, and other more mundane scents. She wondered if they were used to strangers. What did they think of the strange, stinking girl dragging a wagon entering their quaint little town? Her eyes met some, but didn't really garner any information. There was one thought roaming through her head currently.

She had a bottle with only a few sips left, even after trading with Sanus. She was basically out. Did this town have alcohol? She wondered immediately. A bar?

Turns out. Yes. Thank god. She paused just in front of the bar. On the outside it had a comely appearance. It was a humble establishment. Again, Deir pulled out her journal to write within. After that was done, she put her hands on the door, leaving her wagon outside. Just as she was about to push it open, her stomach growled. Hungry, too. Welp. Alcohol was more important. Deirdre pushed open the door and stepped inside. Staring around, she took in the throngs of dining people. Still finding it utterly astounding to see real living people. Sanus had been the last one she had seen for quite some time, and he had seemed more dreamlike than real. Well... this all also seemed so dreamlike.

Deir had arrived just in time to hear someone shouting to the male behind the bar. Bruin? She caught. With a glance from the plain-looking boy over to the bar counter, the short young woman walked over, feeling her feet scraping along the floor. Her legs were tired, weary, heavy. The cuts in them were aching. Yes, screw eating for now. Alcohol would numb the pain. "Uh. Hello," she spoke, finding it difficult to. Feeling like her voice was hoarse and raspy. From disuse, obviously. She had almost forgotten how. At least speaking with Sanus had helped her remember how to talk. She asked without tact, without courtesy of others around her. Lacking both. Having forgotten them. All she had was a selfish desire to send some firewater down her throat. "Got anything to drink? Anything with alcohol in it?.. Sir Bruin."

 

[Jessica]

Calla Daulfern
Mentions: Deirdre, Felix
Interacting: (Briefly) Bruin @Demon Shinobi

~Earlier~


"No sir, you can't return the sling blade you bought 2 hours ago now that it's broken. You can pay for me to fix it or you can take it somewhere else for repair."


"What?! That's bullshit! I paid good money for this piece of crap and you's refusin' a refund?!" The angry man raised his voice, slamming the broken sickle onto Calla's counter. The tool in question had a broken blade that was snapped in half. "What the hell kinda scam ya running 'ere? I could make mah own sling blade that works twice as good as this 'ere piece of shit!"

Calla let out a deep sigh, the time for pleasantries and kindness having long passed. "Then why don't you? Hell, why didn't you make your own sling blade from the beginning, if my tools are such pieces of shit?" She asked him in return. I make these tools with the same care I would put into them if I were making them for myself. I know my craft, and I know damn well that blade was damn good quality. What the hell were you doing to that blade anyway? Stepping on it so it breaks? Then try to return it in the hopes of keeping the tool, getting your refund, then getting it repaired so you save some money in the end?"

The look in the man's eyes when she guessed correctly what he was trying to do was priceless.

"Don't you know the little shops around here talk business? That business includes customers and who to look out for." Calla's gaze darkened, a threatening aura emanating from the usually sweet girl. "I don't take kindly to con artists, sir. Either you high tail it out of here or you'll be thrown out with your balls stuffed where your eyes should be. What's it gonna be?"

In a flash, the man burst through the door of Calla's shop and ran as fast as he could through the village away from the shop. Villagers walking by paused in their day to day tasks to watch as the man ran away, curious about the events that led to such a thing, then returned to what they were doing.

Calla let out an exhausted sigh. After dealing with so many customers today, she really felt like she could use a drink. If it wasn't con artists trying to scam a "naive" little girl, it was people trying to haggle or others trying to talk to the "actual" owner of the shop about business. It wasn't all bad though; the good customers outnumbered the bad by far, and each of them have never left this store without some sort of pleasant conversation. Calla adored her good customers to the point that she knew a fair bit of them by name and face.

But today, there were an unusually high amount of bad customers today that Calla grabbed the keys to her shop, locked the doors, then headed out to her favorite place to hang out at.

...


"The usual, Bruin. Lotta bad eggs today."

The usual for her consisted of a large cup of ale to help ease her nerves. Normally she wouldn't be drinking around this time of day, but after so many bad customers, Calla couldn't help herself. One glass of ale wouldn't hurt, so long as she kept herself in check.

She sat at one of the bar seats, sipping her ale bit by bit as more customers showed up. One being Felix, a local boy she was well aware of given that he was the village miracle worker for the crops, and the other a stranger with white hair looking to down alcohol.

Calla took another sip of her beer, listening for potential conversation. Something in her gut told her things were about to get interesting.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Juniper Garnet



Location: Calville - Western Sanus
Date: Monday - September 5th, 50 AFB

Interactions: None/various?​

Wandering around the Village, Juniper had still yet to remove her mask, she was still gathering information from the rest and seeing what work that was up her alley was here, if any at all. Her orders were rather simple and once they were carried out she could return to the group, this village was rather minor all things considered, but that was true about most things. If anything stuck out it was all the Faunus..

Moving into the bar she decides to see if it had anything like a job board, at the least as far as she could recall from her previous visit it had a dart board . Stepping inside it was only a short while before her thoughts caught up with her. A cat judging by the tail had just laid his head on some woman's lab. She was a bit on the skinny side with silverfish hair and judging by his words had no relation to the cat man. Then again she had earmarked him as a vagrant during her time in the village, seemingly he had been there just a little longer than she.

In her greatcoat with hood up and armored beret under it the Atlasian style clothing in it's green style was somewhat noticeable as the Ranger quietly headed towards the back, signaling to Bruin with a salute of two fingers, she makes for the dartboard playing a game on her own as she listens to the conversations around her, taking note of the new girl, cat boy, cow girl and if she recalled the farmhand, the later seemed more integrated into the community than any of the rest.

Exhailing a bit of air through the mask respirator, Juniper was a little curious what was on the menu as well but would wait till the others had what they wanted or at least were distractred. Letting fly with a dart she had still yet to notice if any requests were posted here or not as she takes aim with the next dart.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Itzal had only come upon the village a week or so ago. It wasn't typical for him to stick around for so long. Though to be fair, this village, Calville, seemed normal-ish. The faunus hadn't come across many beacons of humanity in his travels. Only around two that had people, and neither were to his liking. So he continued migrating until he arrived here. He still wasn't sure if he wanted to stay; something about the prospect of committing just irked him. Perhaps it was more that he didn't trust it to last, for one reason or another.

Stretching, Itzal sat up and glanced down from the roof he sprawled on. The other problem with staying here was purpose. That Bruin guy had given him some food and a bed the first night, but he wanted valuables or work for that continue. As much as the faunus would love to work dumb labor, something like cleaning tables and glasses wasn't likely, and anything more complicated and useful was out of his skillset.

"Hm?"

As Itzal pondered to himself, he caught sight of an unfamiliar face. Well, he wasn't going to pretend to know most of the people in town, but he definitely would've remembered the exhausted-looking girl that strolled through and made a B line for the tavern. Was she dragging the damn wagon all on her own? The faunus also noted Calla, another unforgettable face for entirely innocent reasons, as well as that kid Felix. He wasn't really a kid, but he was perky as hell and looked the part.

Smirking, Itzal hopped down off the roof of the tavern before spinning and entering the building himself. All of them were seated at the bar, the two girls apparently irritated and tired from how they looked. That didn't stop him from making his way over and seating on a bar stool next to the newcomer. In a slick motion, he spun the bar stool, laying back once at the appropriate angle to land his head softly in the girl's lap. He looked up at her with an utterly nonchalant smirk.

"Hiya, newbie. Where're you from?"

 

[Demon Shinobi]

Bruin Burnet
Location: Burnet's Binn, Calville, Western Sanus
Date: Monday, September 5th, 50AFB
Interactions: Pretty much everyone.​

Bruin had woken up a bit later than usual today. Well, that was actually a bit of a lie. He'd woken up more or less about the same time, but he'd chosen to stay in bed. Staring up at the ceiling, he scratched his head. He hadn't actually slept all that much yesterday. He didn't know why, but he'd just been unable to do it. Something felt different, almost off. Still, the sleep he had gotten was good enough. Plus, he'd been lucky to have been ahead of schedule on work. So, he wasn't all that worried when he finally got out of bed, attached and calibrated his arm for the day and left to check on a few things.

Maintenance on the village hydromill, one of his proud achievements with the old man, and a few repairs to one of the cattle pens had taken up the bulk of his morning. Still, he wouldn't have traded in the time. It felt good to be doing something. And yet, when lunch came, he couldn't help but feel good hanging up his hat and getting behind the bar. It was a good time to give some of the villagers that help him out during breakfast and dinner time a break.

It was his turn to do a little cooking now. Luckily, he was fairly good at managing his time. When people started coming in, the food was more or less ready. He'd served a number of the regulars by the time Felix had come in, followed by a new face. They seemed to be getting new faces a little more frequently this past week. "Howdy stranger," he said to the new girl before glancing at Felix. As the girl Juniper entered, he gave a small nod of acknowledgment. She sure loved the dart board. It was that time of day. Bruin smiled all the same. Decisions, decisions. He took a quick look around for a moment. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, yet another relatively new face entered. One Bruin didn't much care for.

He rolled his eyes as Itzal entered, subsequently placing his head in the girl's lap. "Boy, took ya a whole minute and a half to try and cozy up to a new face. Your slippin, Kitty Litter." Bruin said calmly as he pulled out a spray bottle. He aimed a few spritzes at Itzal's face, shaking his head. "Now sit up like a normal person and save the flirtin for after lunch."

Barely giving the cat time to respond, he turn his attention to Felix. "The usual drinks, Felix. 'Part from that, I got a damn fine stew brewin with some bear and rabbit I caught yesterday. Smellin fuckin good too if I do say so myself. Some vegetable soup, though I'm sure that wouldn't interest ya, and a little chili, heavy on the beans," he said giving a basic break down of what he had to offer for the day. "Even got some bread from the bakery. Works as a good enough side for anythin. You just let me know what you're feelin and I'll have it out in a minute." Taking a breath, he looked over at the new girl. He gave her a cursory look up and down. She seemed exhausted, maybe even a little hungry, but hey, if she was traveling, Bruin couldn't blame her for wanting a drink.

"As for you, lil' lady, sorry about the feline fucknut over here. Seems to get a little extra excited around new people. We're thinkin about having him neutered, but honestly, who has the time." He rolled his eyes with a small chuckle. "Anyway, drop the 'sir' nonsense. Not really one for formalities and such." His response was quick and to the point. "I've got a few things that I'm sure regulars like Calla here'd vouch for." He pulled a bottle of whiskey from beneath the bar, spinning it in his prosthetic hand like he would his revolver with somewhat impressive dexterity. He stood it on the table with an audible thump and gave a small grin. "But this right here's the good shit." He was quite proud of his whiskey. Course he was proud of everything he made. He didn't serve it if he felt he wasn't up to standard. "Still, drinkin on an empty stomach's pretty fuckin stupid. A good way t'get yourself killed too if ya plan on leavin after this. So, order a plate with it and I won't mind leavin ya the bottle. I reckon it's your first day in town and the first day's free."

He took a second to stretch, rollin his head along his shoulder with a small yawn. "Same goes for you, Cal. Make sure ya don't drown yourself in ale and have a snack or somethin. Makin weapons and running a store'll be a lot harder if ya get drunk off your ass."

 

[Thaleko]

Deirdre Vesta

The place got even busier and livelier just before her eyes. With new individual after new individual entering the establishment. It made sense, if there was food and alcohol here. Her strikingly scarlet eyes took in every new person that pushed open the doors since she came in. There was a taller woman with very pretty hair that came in two colors. She had horns.. which meant she was a Faunus. Then there was another female decked head-to-toe in some heavy get up. Deir had never seen anything like it, but its pretty much what she imagined someone going to war would look like, based on the stories she had heard. What was the likes of her doing here?

And finally... Another Faunus. This time a male, with a tail, who came over and placed his head in her lap. Deir stared down at him. She had just gotten done asking, "What sort of bad eggs? Isn't that the norm?" to the horned lady, when the head slid into her lap, demanding her attention.

"Is this how people introduce themselves in this town?" she asked, still staring down at the head in her lap. "It's a bit strange.. Newbie?" She finally answered the question the weird lap-person asked. "From somewhere else," was her response; as mysterious as it sounded. Thinking about where she came from... Well lets just say she didn't want to be reminded of it.

'Sir Bruin' started talking next, drawing her attention back up to the man on the other side of the counter. There was a man with a comely complexion and a scraggy head of dark hair. If he had been wearing that hat hanging up over there, he would've looked like the typical cowboy from stories.

"Howdy," she echoed. He even talked like a cowboy! "Kitty litter? Flirtin'?" she repeated, raising her eyebrow down at the cat person in her lap.

Her eyes traveled to the boy Bruin was responding to next. So that other nice-looking kid was named Felix, huh? He looked harmless enough, but Deir wondered.

"Stew?.." Deir repeated, mouth watering. Sure enough, if she sniffed the air with that cute pert little nose. She would enjoy the heavy scent of stew brewing. It smelled divine. And made her tummy grumble. "Chili, and bread," she murmured. She had ran out of food stuffs two days ago, and was running on empty on that front. She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips at Bruin when he mentioned neutering the cat. It was a joke, had to be a joke. Seemed a distasteful one. "Don't cut his balls off," she chastised, brushing his hair with her hand, as if petting him. "He may not be using him in these times, but that wouldn't be very nice."

He told her to drop 'sir', which yeah, it had felt awkward out of her mouth, but still. "Huh. Mmkay~" Deir's eyes followed over to the horned lady. "Calla." Bruin. Felix. Calla. And Kitten. These people were freely giving out their names. Interesting.. Her lips wettened at the bottle of whiskey he lifted up. Licking her lips, she seemed to regard it with delight. "Leave?.." she repeated, with a slight frown. This was the first town she had found with a living, thriving community, why would she leave? "Free?" she heard happily.

She did need something to eat. Though Deir considered alcohol more important to her survival. "Well, since you're offering. I'll take a bowl of that stew you mentioned, some bread, and some chili. That whiskey. Its your best right? Thanks, sir Bruin," she teased with a smirk. Finally she asked, "Do strangers typically leave, cowboy?"

 

[EmperorsChosen]

​

"Really?"

The Faunus made no extreme movements, watching in a deadpan as the tavern owner produced a spray bottle that Itzal liked to think was on standby for him and made use of it. Some might have taken offense to the extremely fitting method of shooing him off, but the man didn't seem to care all that much. Perhaps he would have straightened himself as demanded, however that paused as soon as Itzal felt a hand atop his head.

Suddenly, he gained a cheshire grin aimed at Bruin and the Faunus' tail curled up to lay on his waist, idly swaying and tapping against him. Somehow, it made him look all the smugger. He really didn't think it would have worked. Itzal was sure of a couple reactions to expect, but this one was one of the more unlikely.

"Hey, it worked~ I didn't think it would work, but it did~" Itzal remarked in turn with a slight shrug. "I'm a people person. You should know that by now, I even pester you, Bruin."

Sticking his tongue out at the man, the Faunus turned his attention to the girl above him, choosing to stay in his current place considering the girl appeared unbothered by his presence.

"Just the fun ones," Itzal answered, before appearing somewhat offended at her defense of him, though his expression appeared far too exaggerated to be entirely honest. "Ouch, I'm not sure whether that hurt more or less. But I will accept the pats as an apology."

Itzal wasn't very easily offended. He seemed to always be able to turn the conversation around or come up with some kind of retort, smugly spitting out a comeback towards the less friendlier of people.

"Oh all the time. Though, it's not because of the food, booze or beds," Itzal began replying to her question regarded for the cowboy as it were. His voice went from normal to a quieted whispers, albeit still obviously loud enough for the surrounding to hear. "Might have something to do with the service."

 

[Daedalus30185]

Location: Calville outskirts
Sept 5, AFB 50​

Vester schlupped his way out of bed. Oh that was absolutely a Brothers blessed dream he sarcastically thought to himself. The nightmares from his memories were repeats every night. The foul mood and disquiet in his stomach meant the alcohol had since worn off. That was fine. Grabbing the decanter, he stumbled towards the cask that was mounted into the small cabin. He pulled the tab down on it to fill his over-sized cup. Only a few drops were left. "I hate this," he grumbled. He had to go back into town.

After a second to think it over he could at least admit that it wouldn't be all bad. His blades needed to be re-sharpened. Grimm attacks were always harsher as harvest season approached. Being a living lure meant he needed his twin kama blades at peak condition at all times. Beowolves, Ursa, and the like were easy since they had little in the way of protection. Boarbatusks and flying Grimm were the more difficult ones.

Getting dressed and slipping a number of coins in his pockets and palming the kama, Vester began the survey of the area around his cottage. Pitfall traps were the most common to have around the area: a Grimm walks in, falls down and impales itself on the spikes below and is either killed instantly or wakes him up with its screams. A number of garotte lines were strung between the trees in addition which would slice the Grimm up that were in a predatory charge. Most of them had a pitfall right in front, just in case something broke through.

"Well that's a first. Quiet night. There goes my pay. Maybe the militia needs some training. At least Topa pays for my tabs..." Topa was one of the few "friends" he had from Calville in the year he'd lived there. "Only one way to find out."

The three mile walk was at least a pleasant one, clear skies and weather just temperate enough. It tempered his sour mood somewhat.

First thing he did when arriving was head to Bruin's to put a barrel on hold. Well, that's an odd one he thought as he stopped to look at the cowboy. Not many people traveled anymore so new faces were a source of interest for many and Vester couldn't deny a bit of him was genuinely just as curious as the small children had to be when he walked in.

 

[kookyboy9]

Felix Anderson

Location: Calville - Bruin's Tavern
Date: Monday - September 5th, 50 AFB

Interactions: @Demon Shinobi @EmperorsChosen @Thaleko

Felix beamed at the news that there was a stew brewing, jumping on a seat next to Itzal and Deidre, practically salivating already. "I'll take some of that stew!"

Realizing that he hadn't taken much of a second look around, he swiveled on his seat. The new girl and the cat boy he'd seen bumming around the village were sitting together, flirting. Well, at least he thought. It wasn't normal to let people rest their head in your lap like that if you weren't, right? In another corner, the wanderer in the greatcoat was playing darts, occasionally glancing over at the requests board - still blank, and Felix had never seen anything major posted. Mostly just requests for help bringing in harvests in really good years. Calla - the local shopkeeper - was sitting on her own, sipping at a glass of booze. If she was already drinking this early, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to play the prank he had in mind on her, then.

Turning to the pair flirting on the seats next to him, he pulled a pair of apples out of his bag. He'd grown them on trees he'd run by on the way here, so they tasted pretty awful, but they didn't look it on the outside. He held them out to them. "Can I interest you in some welcome fruits? The cat boy doesn't seem to know what he's talking about. Nobody really leaves, but he's only been here a week or two, so I can understand the confusion!"

At this moment, Vester, the village "Grimm Lure" walked into the bar, heading over towards Bruin.

A few tables over, a pair of local hunters were arguing. Those local to the town would recognize the two of them to be deep-forest hunters, who regularly went out into the surrounding forest for days at a time to hunt for game. This time, however, they seemed to have found something more... substantial. "Damn it, Josh! I know what I saw!" The hunter on the east side of the table slammed his tankard down angrily. "What sort of decent traveller carries that many weapons? And what sort of idiots other than bandits would set up a goddamn fortress in the woods?! I'm telling you, that place is trouble!"

The other hunter - Josh - made a calming motion, looking around the bar. Not many people had started looking over, but all the normal gossipmongers had clearly caught wind of the conversation. "Alright, calm down already." He grabbed the other hunter, leaning in close to whisper something to him. After a moment, the original hunter nodded and made a waving gesture with his hand, then sunk back into his seat, nursing his drink. He was clearly unhappy, but he seemed to be getting over it fairly well.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Juniper Garnet



Location: Calville - Western Sanus
Date: Monday - September 5th, 50 AFB

Interactions: The Mystery friend of Josh.​

As dart after dart flies, Juniper was starting to wonder if this village was a dead end so to speak. There seemed to not be much here, simple and calm, no means to sharpen her skills, nothing of major importance, with luck this might be one of the longer lasting ones that the Grimm would ignore. It was then a few things caught her masked eye. While the Villagers were an oddity, the apple offer stood out the most, though not aimed at her, she would like a free apple, but before she could ask the hunters began speaking.

Hearing the brief details she at first wondered if they had stumbled upon her own people, heavily armed, traveling in numbers, the fortress however didn't make much sense. Her own people had been separated from Atlas well before she was born and would never have set up such an obvious base, more so just one base, that was asking for trouble. Fortifications needed overlapping support and geographical features to support them, logistics were another concern as well. Racking her brain over that it was likely as the man said, Bandits, or another armed force. Weapons in and of themselves did not attract the Grimm, that was a misconception as far as she was concerned.

Angry and fearful people that happened to have weapons were another matter... However if it were not just another outpost or village then they would likely pay the village a visit for supplies and manpower. Pondering to ask them about it she decides it couldn't hurt to be a little curious, then to decide what to do with it. Course now might not be the time to ask... on the other hand...

Walking over to the pair she speaks up. "I couldn't help overhear, did you see something of interest out there?"

 

[Daedalus30185]

Vester sat down, kicking his feet up on the table closest to Bruin and waved him over. He could tolerate the cowboy, but that was it. He was still too idealistic, but the directness that he regularly displayed was more acceptable to him than most people's blind or fake optimism.

Pulling a few coins out of his hidden pockets and plopped them down. "Hear anything good?" His focus had been on any jobs or rumors around the region from the few who traveled, but a loud growl from his stomach forced a second request. "And a plate of whatever's already set to go." He dropped a few more coins down. Unfortunately that was the last of what he had on him. Better be some good work around here this week.

 

[Thaleko]

Deirdre Vesta

@Demon Shinobi @EmperorsChosen @kookyboy9 @Daedalus30185​

"Should one not pester the bar tender?" she asked. Then she refuted what he said. "Oh, I'm not apologizing." He had seemed to take both her words offensively, and her action as some sort of admission of guilt.

The silver-haired female glanced to her side as the brown-haired boy took up space beside her. Felix was his name. She'd make a note of him in her diary later. Actually, of all of this, and these strange people. "I'll take some stew, too!" she chimed. Though not nearly as brightly or with as much energy as the boy beside her. Who seemed to have energy to spare. Just who was he that he had such a sunny disposition? Her red eyes took in the red fruit he presented, staring at it as if it were some precious jewel. Like a ruby. "Um. Yeah, sure. I will take one..." Deir murmured, trying her best to sound enthusiastic about the fruit. She did really want one. "Huhhh, is that so?" she grumbled when he refuted the catboy. The girl really couldn't see people leaving any sort of human haven; not after her own experience traveling. No one would willingly subject themselves to that.

Deir's ears seemed to be working well today. They figuratively perked up when they caught a conversation across the tavern.

"Did you not hear?" she said to another male who she did not catch the name of. "Those people just mentioned a fortress in the woods. That's pretty unique... Weird, too."

Deirdre glanced at the coins placed by the others, glad that there was a "first time's free" policy.

 

[Jessica]

Calla Daulfern
Mentions:
Interacting: (Briefly) Bruin @Demon Shinobi DeeDee @Thaleko

Calla watched the events transpire, oddly fixated on the commotion happening right next to her. She did want to answer the new girl, but the nice catboy had laid his claim on her lap and a few more newcomers had come into the tavern. Huh, maybe Bruin did go and put out some advertisement or something.

Bruin did have a point though; she'd need to eat something with this ale or risk being violently sick later.

Of course, she waited until everyone else was putting in their orders before she laid her coins on the table. "Make that another stew~"

She liked to be, what people call, "a dick" sometimes~

As she waited for Bruin, she listened in on the conversation before she rose an eyebrow.

"Fortress in the woods?" She asked aloud.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

​

Itzal huffed a bit at that. Felix had the face of a kid and the naivety of one too. Nonetheless, he took the apple with an idle expression on his face. It wasn't as if Bruin was going to give him food for free and the two still hadn't worked out what he could do to work for food that Itzal was actually willing to do.

"It was more a joke at Bruin's amazing hospitality towards handsome Faunus he's threatened by," Itzal clarified as he inspected the apple.

Shrugging, the Faunus was the first to take a bite. Instantly, his face scrunched in displeasure and his tail went straight and rigid. It took him a few moments to recover from the poor taste of the fruit, or downright terrible taste more like it. He stared at it in aversion, as if the thing had just insulted him, more so than any reaction he gave to Bruin.

"Felix, thanks for the food, but where the hell'd you get this?" He grumbled. He would still eat it, of course. It was food. Still, it was awful.

Hearing some of the others take interest in the conversations of others, Itzal glanced up to look at Deirdre, then at Calla and finally to where the talk came from, much as he could in his current position.

"Yeah, creepy fortress in the woods. That sounds like a great idea. Really. I think I'd rather stay here and enjoy mystery girl and Calla's company. Hell, even Bruin I guess."

 

[Demon Shinobi]

Bruin Burnet
Location: Burnet's Binn, Calville, Western Sanus
Date: Monday, September 5th, 50AFB
Interactions: Pretty much everyone.​

Bruin listened to the new girl's questions. So many questions. She so sporadically reacted to the various things going on, that he was unsure of what to actually respond to and what to just leave be. He wasn't in the business really of explaining every little thing that came up. Still, her literal interpretation of neutering the poor cat boy did make him laugh. "Don't worry. I wasn't planning on really cuttin his balls off. Not a part of my particular skill set," he said as he got the silver haired girl a bowl of stew and some bread. "If ya manage that and still feel hungry let me know. I'll throw some chili your way."

Still, much as he'd have liked to argue with the cat, it was possible the service had something to do with it. "Cowboy huh?" he chuckled at the label, but ultimately accepted it. "Regardless, that Felix and the cat are both kinda right. Some stay. Those that do pull their weight." Bruin sighed.

"Course, I wouldn't mind your ratty face, your antics, or your prodding if you weren't such a lazy sacka shit with nothing to offer me or the rest of the village," he said, his attention focusing on Itzal momentarily, before he moved on to continue serving others. Itzal was always welcome to prove Bruin wrong, of course. He just hadn't as of yet. In the meantime, the "cowboy" wouldn't go much further on the topic.

Bruin rolled his eyes, shrugging as another entered the bar. He took note of Felix's offer and shook his head, a small chuckle escaping his lips. Well, the old rapid grown fruit bit was basically a right of passage at this point.

Plopping a bowl of stew and some bread by Felix, and a bowl of stew by Calla he walked out from behind the bar another bowl in hand. Bruin didn't seem to miss a beat. "Here ya go Vester," he said sliding a bowl of stew with some bread onto the table. "And I've already got a barrel with your name on it, in case your were planning on askin," he added calmly. "As for what I've heard, not much. Not much going on recently." That is, if you weren't counting the idiocy being spewed by the two Juniper, then the new girl, the Calla, and even the cat had seemed to take an interest in.

"Assuming it's not just a buncha bullshit, we're likely to find something pretty fuckin good if we follow up on the whole fortress thing." He shrugged, Vester could listen in on his own. He had to get back behind the bar. "Big surprise," he said catchign the tail end of Itzal's remark. "The cat's afraid of a little adventure."

 

[kookyboy9]

Felix Anderson

Location: Calville - Bruin's Tavern
Date: Monday - September 5th, 50 AFB

Interactions:

As the bowl of stew is set in front of him, Felix hands off the apples to Felix and Deidre, turning towards his stew and practically devouring it. His stew done, he faced towards the pair that had now successfully attracted most of the party's attention. "I'd love to hear about it too! Sounds like some fun information!"

The pair of men looks at each of the people who asked questions of them, before the man sitting on the east side of the table reached over and whacked Josh with his tankard. "Darn it! Now look at what you've done, you twit! This isn't the sort of thing to spread rumors about!" He set the tankard back on the table, then rubbed his hand down his face, turning to look at the larger of the two groups, opening his mouth to speak. "No-"

"C'mon Raymond! It's not that big a deal. We were planning to let the mayor know anyways. Who cares if the news got out an hour or two early!?" Josh took the hit head-on, and was now nursing a bump on the side of his head. "'sides. Most of them come from out of town. I'm sure they can handle themselves! It's not like the mayor wouldn't've asked them to help anyways." He turns to the larger group as well. "I saw a group of around five men, heavily armed. They were constructing a fortification about five miles north of town. Figured they looked suspicious and all, given that they never showed up say hi, even though they were so close by."

Raymond glares at Josh, but lets it slide, slumping back into his chair and sipping at his drink. He takes a deep breath, then turns to face the group again. "It's probably nothing major. We'll go talk to the mayor about it and see if he wants to do something about it soon as we're done with our drinks."

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Juniper Garnet

Location: Calville - Western Sanus
Date: Monday - September 5th, 50 AFB

Interactions: Josh and Raymond
​

"A fortification so close to a town makes little sense unless you plan to take up 'tax collection'.." Thinking on it more if there were other villages around here it would make sense, but if they were all there was, well to be brutally honest this place had little to offer, she reasoned within her own mind.

Still they had to have some reason to build near here, question was what and why. As the other man continued on it seemed this would be a job at least. Which was good, so far most of her time here had been spent helping around the Inn and Bar to get some food and a place to sleep when she remained in the village. Looking at the rest she wondered if any of the new ones could be with the bandits and was slightly amused that none of those here had seemed to consider that notion of her or the rest. They should be more warry of visitors it would stand to reason, but this group seemed to not think the worse... Her own life and training would say otherwise, while it might seem silly to send their young out alone or in groups the secrecy and need to keep the peace held strong and more returned than did not..

That being said, there was no point in taking this job up if there was no pay for sure or no recompense at all.. "If the Mayor has a reward for such work I'm willing, otherwise just going to play looking for bandits in the woods seems a bit risky till all the details are out. I'll be sure to keep it in mind however." With that said she was curious what the others would do or how they would react, she wasn't totally against going, as she pulls a yoyo from her great coat, playing with it as she turned to walk away.

 

[Thaleko]

Deirdre Vesta

@Demon Shinobi @EmperorsChosen @kookyboy9 @Daedalus30185 @RedArmyShogun​

As the catboy ate the apple, that freed up her lap, finally. She raised her eyebrow when he commented on its taste; his words sounded ungrateful. Not that she was judging. (Okay, maybe she was.) Deirdre bit into the offered apple. Despite its lackluster taste, it didn't seem to bother the girl, if she even noticed at all. After all, she had been on the road alone for a few months and had went hungry many times. The apple, to her, was a godsend, no matter how it tasted. Hell it could've been rotten and still worth eating. Luckily it was just mundane. "'Mystery girl', huh?" she murmured, wondering aloud if that meant her. It had to right? Welp, sorry catboy. The girl was gunna remain a mystery for the foreseeable future.

"'Pull their weight'?" The silver-haired girl mumbled, with a displeased tone; it didn't seem she much cared for that. Her noticeable red eyes flicked over to Bruin as he said this. And as he began talking about the catboy again. But most of it drowned out when he placed a bowl of stew in front of her. Which made those red eyes immediately light up like rubies.

Deirdre couldn't help herself. She grabbed the spoon and shoved it in, then shoved it into her maw, slurping down a huge spoonful that was probably a bit too dangerous to consume at once. That didn't seem to bother her, though. Scarfing down the stew, she looked up and listened once more.

So, 'Vester' was the curt male. He had an air of "leave me alone" around him. -Worse than hers. Not that you'd think she had one, with the way the catboy brazenly put his head in her lap. Maybe she should be a bit more icy in the future.

Deirdre shrugged and interrupted. "I've been on an adventure. Adventure's overrated," she grumbled with a mouthful of stew, not even bothering to have an ounce of decorum as she talked freely with her teeth munching. "Stay. Be safe. Eat. Sleep... Shit. Eat. Sleep. Shit. Live." She shrugged again, with the next spoonful of stew hanging from her mouth this time. "Gouhd lihffe.."

She glanced over at the strange female. 'Taxes'? What on earth? She seemed interested in the weird fortress place. "Whossat?" she asked no one in particular, but leaning towards the counter, seemingly directing the question at Bruin. But it was in the air for whoever to answer.

 

[Daedalus30185]

​

"Thanks," he said without attitude, positive or negative - just a basic acknowledgement that he was probably hoped past others who were waiting on a refill or their food.

Vester enjoyed the bowl of soup, skipping on any spoon and simply lifted the bowl straight to his lips. There were times he could have sworn that the 'farmer's touch' was applied to the vegetables in it when supplies were running low. But either way it filled his belly and kept him in shape. "Don't ever waste food - eat it, replant it or give it to someone else," his family had drilled into him as a child. Brothers, why did he have to think about them now? He reached for a drink as he tried pushing them from his mind only to find nothing there.

He threw his hands up in confusion. "Can I get a cup to wash it down?" He was a bit perturbed. Wait, did he ask for something? He hadn't asked for the casket especially since he was early on getting a refill. One of the reasons he actually liked Bruin. Kind of. It was still basic courtesy: water, tea, cider, you give 'em something to drink.

In the meantime he continued slurping down the bowls' contents at a leisurely pace he tried listening to what was going on around him. Sadly his ability to listen to multiple conversations was ... lacking. He could see them go on no problems. For a few seconds anyways. But the searing migraine wouldn't be worth it. Plus he couldn't read lips and it wouldn't be long enough to get anything ACTUALLY useful.

Either way, this 'fortress' Bruin and the others were chit chatting about sounded like a good opportunity. Bruin had another set aside for him but actually paying for it was another matter. What he dropped off was the last of what he had. Of course, if he did forget to ask, the coins he had wouldn't be enough for another. "Well, shit," he whispered to himself.

Soon as he finished eating he would need to look at the local maps and get a read on this fortress. It'd at least be easy money. Assuming it was bandits.