Tavern in the woods

Maggie knew that she was flying high in what she was saying, but there wasn't a word of it that she didn't believe with all her heart. Her memory was extraordinary and she hadn't written down an order in years, no matter how many she had to recall. Plus, she was usually successful in talking people into following her, and she had no doubt that this place could be filled fairly easily. It was nice and remote, which meant no neighbors would complain if it got too noisy with music or rowdy drunks. She was confused as to why it was so empty, but then again it was only early evening. Perhaps he served only drinks and no meals, which would explain the lack of customers. Or maybe nobody realized this place was here. After all, it was pretty far out here.


She considered all of that as she waited for him to respond, and when he hired her without further question, she blinked in surprise. Well, that was easy. She smiled and took his hand, shaking it once before releasing you. "A pleasure to meet you, Fang," she said easily, reminded of the young vampires back home who had given themselves 'tough' names just to prove they were fearsome. He didn't seem to be like them, though, so she didn't judge. "I'm Maggie, yes that's short for something, and no I don't want to explain it," she said, laughing a bit. "So, when do I start?"
 
Fang shook her hand giving her a friendly smile "well maggie, as you can Fang shook her hand giving her a friendly smile "well maggie, as you can see theres not much to do around here" he said waving his arm across the place. "i havent had much business in many years. Guess i chose the wrong location" he voice gave off a southern tune echoing through the tavern as he looked back at maggie. "but as far as starting.....any time you feel like it"
 
"Hmm I don't think it's the wrong location, not if you sell it right. The town isn't too far from here. I think it's the perfect distance away for men to escape their nagging wives and for ladies to not have to run too far to rope them back in," Maggie replied with a smile. She looked all around the deserted tavern and smiled, nodding to herself. They had all of the right stuff - a fully stocked bar, a willing bartender, tables and chairs. All they needed was a crowd. She turned back to Fang and grinned. "Alright, I'm going to get to work and get some people in here," she announced, tucking her bag behind the bar and going back outside to head to the town.
 
Fang listened to her voices as she spook of the tavern feeling appreciated for his work, seeing it took several years to make it just right. A couple extra months to constuct the bar. That oak counter took sometime. "alright" he said as he watched her walk out of the tavern.
 
This town had little excitement to offer Ike. The inn was full of patrons, sure, but none of them were very interesting. Not that he expected much better from ordinary humans. Ike idly ran his fingers through his black hair, both out of boredom and irritation, before stuffing them back into his pockets. He was tired of these civilian clothes, constricting and uncomfortable. The only thing he enjoyed was the shade of blue he was able to find. It complimented his eyes well. The shirt and jackets never came with holes in the backs for his wings. Not that he ever had them visible to mortals. He wished he didn't have to shapeshift his wings away while visiting human lands. Still, they were everywhere now and causing a panic among so many individuals is never a good idea.

Now that he was safely out of the human settlement, Ike allowed his wings to manifest themselves once more. The black feathers gleamed in the sunlight almost as if they were happy to be free. After a brief stretch to work out the muscles Ike folded his wings in to a relaxed position and strode deeper into the forest.
 
Maggie hummed to herself as she walked through the trees, glancing up at the sun as it started to set. There should still be at least an hour of natural light left before the stars began to peek out, so she wasn't worried. She actually had no problem walking at night either, but it might be harder to gather some customers up once they were settled in elsewhere for the night. Twirling her knee-length dress around her legs absently as she walked, she danced through the trees and topped from a rock to a dead log. Balancing easily with a laugh, she skipped along and jumped into a pile of leaves. The freedom and openness of the area felt wonderful, and she knew that the town wasn't far away.


She slid down a hill and nearly fell, bracing herself on a tree and looking all around. That was when she realized that she heard a sound other than herself. The crunching was definitely footsteps not belonging to a forest animal, so she set off to meet them. Soon a man came into view, and she stopped with a soft gasp when he saw his wings. It wasn't that she had never seen a person with wings before - her old hometown had been full of odd creatures. What struck her was how beautiful they were. She shook her head to make herself stop staring, and walked over to him with a smile. "Hello there. Any chance I can interest you in visiting a super awesome tavern that has yet to get the recognition it deserves?" she asked in a light tone, completely aware how silly it sounded and trying not to laugh about it.
 
Fang had no idea if the women would ever return, it wouldn't surprise him if she didn't. Thinking this, he threw the towel on his shoulder, over a chair and headed up stairs which lead to his living quarters. Briefly sniffing himself he growled. It had been awhile since he'd ever had contact with another person. Let alone a women.The thought of a women made him sigh as he enter the bathroom and stripping nake, laying his .45 Colt on the sink, he slipped into the shower srubbing himself clean.
 
Ike froze in his tracks when he saw a woman approach him from the trees of the forest. How had he been so careless that someone was able to get the drop on him? Her eyes made it clear she was no human girl but Ike could not place this woman's race. Still, if she was not a mortal then he was in no danger for having his wings exposed. Her offer to bring him to a tavern piqued Ike's interest, even if her manner of doing so was a bit unusual. Was the place new and low on advertisement? It seemed rather sketchy to him but he figured if she were telling the truth it would be worth investigating. He had planned to spend the night under the night stars but a comfortable bed sounded much more relaxing.

Ike shifted his weight onto his right leg and shot her an intrigued look. "A tavern, you say? As a matter of fact, you could interest me in that. I must ask though, why has this tavern owner chosen such a remote, wooded location?" Ike flashed a smile and narrowed his cold blue eyes on the girl. "Sure, it's beautiful enough scenery if you're into this sort of thing but it doesn't seem like it would attract much business in a place like this."
 
Kageki was following quietly behind Ike as he roamed the woods. He was in such a close proximity that he could wrap his hands around the boy and strangle him without anyone noticing and yet the boy never detected him as though he was but a shadow in the world. In fact, he was almost exactly that, the shadow of the boy in front of him was hiding the young shadow walker as a woman now approached him. Kageki merely smiled as he held his arm above himself and slowly pulled his body out of the shadow. The darkness that had been enveloping him slowly began to stretch and then peel away back into Ike's shadow once more as a young male about sixteen or so appeared directly behind him. Kageki was only about four foot wearing an emerald green cloak with tan pants and an emerald green shirt, His hair was a jet black color almost as dark as the shadows itself while his eyes contained nothing but crimson red as if a predator was staring into your soul. His face was pale and smooth as well as very feminine looking while his body was quite slender.

Kageki made no move to introduce himself or even attempt anything, he just waited to see how long it took for one of them to notice him. After all he had been spying on Ike for nearly a week. He had been doing nothing fun at all for the past few days when he saw the boy camping around and while he slept Kageki snuck into his shadow and took a nice nap, when he awoke the boy was moving again.
 
Maggie shrugged and laughed a little, knowing how odd it must seem to him. "Honestly I have no idea why the tavern is so far from the rest of town, but think about it. You don't have to worry about angry neighbors or anything," she said, then sighed with a nod. "That's why I'm out here, it's not attracting enough business. I just began working there today and I don't have any customers. It'd be really great if you came and brought friends," she went on with a calm smile, pleased that he was willing to listen to her in the first place.


Feeling as though somebody was watching her, she looked around and stepped back a little, her eyes finally landing on a boy behind the man she was speaking to. He seemed young, thanks to his figure and height, but looks could be so deceiving. The shade of red in his eyes mirrored her own, and she gave him a smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. You're invited as well, of course. Everybody is," she told him, then looked back up at the man with a grin. "So.. What do you say? Want to follow me?"
 
Fang had finished his shower, feeling much better and ready to take on the dat with a fresh scent. It had been nearly a half hour sense he entered the shower and completely forgot about the women he had just hired to run his tavern. It had been so long since the.....well never mind that. Reaching out for a towel and drying himself, then putting his light blue levis on, along with his brown boots, dark blue t-shirt and faded brown leather jacket and tucking his .45 colt under his side jacket in its shealth. He knew his pistol didnt stand a chance agianst other creature but it always made him feel more secured.

Leaving the bathroom and heading down stairs and siting in on of the black leather chair in the corner of the tavern he waited for the women to return as he finish clean one of his rifles that laid on the table in front of him.
 
The woman seemed to address someone else, someone behind Ike. With a pivot of his hips Ike turned around to see that a young buy was standing in his shadow. At least he appeared to be a young boy. His red eyes gave him away as a demon, just as the woman's had. Still, the fact he had gotten there so quietly unnerved Ike. He would have to ask him later, the sun was not going to stay out for any more than an hour and there was no telling how far away this tavern was.

Ike turned back to face the girl, "Alright, I'll go with you. We should get to this shelter before the sun goes down so we don't have much time to stand around and consider this, right?"
 
Kageki nodded to the woman as she invited him to some sort of shelter. She was trying to get the two men to follow after her to some strange building that he had no clue about. As he began to think about whether or not he would follow her to a possible trap the boy he was following after turned his upper body and stared at him for a few moments. The look that came across his face betrayed him and showed off how nervous he was that Kageki was behind him. He either didn't know or was surprised about what was following him.

The boy turned away again and confirmed of him following her to the building as well as pointing out that their time in the daylight was running short. Kageki couldn't help but smile broadly at the thought of night time when all the shadows expanded and enveloped the world allowing him the freedom to go wherever he chose. As the two were talking he took this as a chance to sink back into the boys shadow and re emerge from the womans. As he crawled up he mistakenly grabbed onto her lower leg while rising up, his skin was ice cold as if he were frozen not even a moment ago yet his hand didn't even shiver and his eyes remained straight and unwavering.
 
Maggie watched the winged man's reaction to her speaking to the smaller boy, realizing that he also hadn't realized the boy was even there. So they weren't traveling together, then. Perhaps that would be better in the end. If they didn't know each other, then they had different groups of friends. That could mean more business coming to the tavern if they both had a good time and talked about it to other people. Still, she was a little confused as to how the smaller boy had managed to sneak up on both of them. Her deep crimson eyes shimmered in the fading sun and she smiled when the first guy agreed to come with her. "Oh, don't worry, I doubt there's anything out here at night that's scary enough to fear. Plus it's only about a twenty minute walk," she assured him.


She had looked back at the other boy in time to catch his nod, but when she looked for him again, he was gone. Blinking in surprise, she looked all around, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Strange.." she murmured to herself, then shrugged it off and smiled at the winged one. "By the way, I'm Maggie," she said, hoping for a name in return so she could stop referring to him as 'Wings' in her own head. A sudden ice cold touch on her bare leg made her flinch and look down behind her, seeing the boy standing there again. She eyed him curiously, then smiled. "If you're going to stay in shadows, at least warn people before touching them," she said, then started to walk off toward the tavern. "Come on," she called out.
 
It had been nearly 2 hours since the woman named maggie left in search of some people to finaily occupy the old tavern of his. After he finished clean his rifle and putting it safly away in his safe across the room. He pulled out an old harmonica and headed out the door sitting on the porch. Fang relaxes his shoulder licked his lips along with the harp and begin puckering the instrument as it let out a kind of bluegrass, blues tune out mixed with some modern country.
 
Ike was surprised to hear that the place was only another twenty minutes away. The girl introduced herself as Maggie and then seemed to jolt unexpectedly. The small boy had gotten behind her without making a sound. Ike had noticed the way the boy was standing directly in their shadows and suspected his race from this observation.

Maggie turned to walk towards what Ike assumed was the direction of this tavern and took pace behind her. "The name's Ike, by the way." he said casually after realizing he had not exchanged pleasantries with her. "You say you only just started working at this place? I guess that means there isn't a whole lot you could tell me about it before we arrive?" he expected he must have sounded uninterested when asking her about the inn, he was a bit preoccupied by attuning his senses to their surroundings. Two people sneaking up on him was enough for one day.
 
Kageki had nodded at the woman's statement of warning people before touching them even if he didn't entirely agree. As she began to walk off in the direction that he assumed the tavern to be at he followed after her slowly walking rather than being lazy and hanging around in their shadows. It had been some time since he had really used his legs while he was travelling with Ike. As Kageki followed after the woman whose name continually escaped him he began to wonder if she would be offended if he actually called her woman or if she would tell her name again after saying it such a short time ago. He decided that it would be better to learn her name rather than to call her woman since most of the females of many cultures got upset about those things.

Kageki opened his mouth and attempted to speak as a quiet rasping noise came out as if his voice was not working. He closed his mouth for a moment with a puzzled look on his face before trying again, this time a small whimper came out. Again he closed his mouth and looked puzzled before clearing his throat and trying once more. This time a frail sounding voice came out, shakey and somewhat scared sounding.

"E-exc-cuse me. W-wha-at is y-your na-ame?"
 
Maggie smiled at Ike after he introduced himself, then nodded a bit at his questions. "Yes, I only started a few hours ago. I don't really know much," she admitted. "I was walking in search of a new town to work in because the tavern that I used to work at burned down. I got lucky, the man who owns this tavern agreed to hire me. The problem is, the place was deserted, so I told him I'd bring in some customers. It's a nice place, I think you'll like it," she explained, then paused in her speaking as she heard a strange noise. They were almost to the tavern now, but then she recognized what the sound was and turned to see the small boy seeming confused about something. He finally managed to speak, and she gave him a cheerful smile.


"My name is Maggie," she said, not bothering to offer her hand since she was certain he wouldn't take it. He was kind of cute for a kid, but she knew not to judge people on their outward appearance. For all she knew, he could be hundreds of years old. She straightened up and looked back over at Ike. "Well, let's go inside and see what you guys think of the place," she suggested, turning and walking up the front steps to open the door. Once she had walked in, she looked over at Fang with a cheeky grin. "I told you I would find people!" she declared.
 
Fang was sitting in the chair staring at the fire in the fire place pondering the depths of his mind taking himself back to when he was young when the young women he had hired enter the tavern door followed by 2 other guys. He gave the men a quick glance then set his eyes at maggie. "well you weren't joking when you said you would bring costumers"
 
Ike strode in behind Maggie, laying his cold blue eyes on a man behind the counter and then to his rifle. A curious thing to have out in plain sight when expecting customers. Then again, this was no tavern for humans and beings of their sort would be less intimidated by firearms.

Maggie addressed him in a way that gave the impression this was the man who ran the place. If that was the case, he wondered how he had managed to get this place built out here all on his own. He didn't seem to have many other employees yet. As a matter of fact, Ike didn't see or hear signs of anyone else in the building. He wasn't sure which was more impressive - how nice the place looked or that it managed to exist at all without more workers to help keep it running.

Ike took a step around Maggie to address the man in charge. "If I may be so bold as to ask, just what services do you offer here?" with a brief gesture of his hand around the room he continued. "I'd guess food, drink and a room to stay for the night?"
 
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