* take off all your armor | closed.

[aislinn]

The blonde paused for a moment and thought, not sure how to answer her friend. So instead of a real answer, she just smiled and shrugged. "Y'know, after all these years, I don't remember all the people I've pissed off." Then, they were walking into a bar. It wasn't a sketchy bar as Aislinn was used to, but it a bar was a bar. She took a long look around the room and took in a few people. No one she really recognized. Until she saw a bit of blonde hair. Her brow furrowed as she tried to get a better look at the man. Then she realized she knew him. Taking Algy by the arm, she lead him over to where the man sat and nearly pounced on a seat, shouting, "Al! I haven't seen you in ages. Where the fuck have you been?" She pushed her best friend into another seat before smiling like a fool. Aislinn was a lady of few friends and many enemies. So seeing someone who didn't want her head on a spike always brought her a bit of joy.

Although Alphonse was not quite a friend, just someone she became friendly with at bars. They had met back when she was constantly in trouble with the law. Not that she wasn't still in trouble with the law, it just simmered down since she met Algy. But, her smile faded for a second as she realized she hadn't introduced her two friends. "Oh, Algy. This is Al. We met some years ago at a bar. And Al, this is Algy." Her smile returned for a moment before she turned to the barkeep and waved him over. He was a little stout man with a balding head. But he seemed like a nice man. "We're gonna need stout. Lots. And if you have a bit of ginger ale, I would like some, please." After a nod, she turned back to the two males and inhaled. Al didn't know she'd stopped drinking, but the blonde wasn't going to say much about it unless he asked.

Not that she had much to say on the fact, considering she'd all but forgotten why she stopped drinking in the first place. It probably had something to do with trying to control herself a bit more, but she didn't think that sounded much like her. Even still, she never did kick the habit of hanging out in bars. And her Brit didn't help her much with that, considering his habits. She looked over at him and felt a pang of sympathy for him. She'd probably hurt his manhood earlier by taking on all those guys instead of letting him help. But, when Aislinn felt threatened, she did what she had to in order to survive. And now that it was over, he couldn't complain. She poked her tongue out at him and asked "How long have we got at the bar before someone comes looking for us?"

[alphonse]

It had been so long since Alphonse had ventured out of the dive bar territory that he felt almost out of place here. The blonde fallen was so used to having to keep his eye out for pickpockets or the bounty hunters which tended to lurk down in the underworlds with the common criminal. This whole island seemed to be nicer than what he was used to, in fact. But as usual, it seemed that his friend Emille was to be blamed for this. He had a tendency to drag his fallen friend around with him, to royal gatherings and the like, but only to accompany him on the way up or down. Otherwise, his friend was busy and just told him to do 'whatever'. Which of course, meant he would find a bar close by to kill some time.

The blonde didn't care to acknowledge is evident drinking problem, and in fact, often indulged upon it. Since it would be really, really hard for him to die because of it, he figured, why the hell not? He figured it might be a bit of a predicament for humans, from his understanding, were quite frail. Alphonse took a long drink from the amber liquid in his shot glass before shoving it back to the bartender and asking for a bigger glass. A large smirk spread across his face as the cold booze slid back towards him and the door chimes rung as two people entered. A young man and a shorter girl with blonde hair, someone he recognized. This particular young woman had always been interesting to watch and drink with, though while he could hardly call her a friend [as she had threatened to kill him on more than one occasion], she was definitely a good one to drink with.

"Tch. Algy? What kind of name izzat?" he asked teasingly, leaning back against the bar as he drank the booze. He glanced in the younger kid's direction, studying him for a moment.before turning his attention back to the shorter blonde. He cocked a blonde brow and lit a fag. "Ginger ale? What the fuck's with you, Aislinn? S'for pussies, y'know." he commented as he dragged and took a long drink. "Lookin' for y'? D'aw, did the midget get herself in trouble again?" he mused and chuckled to himself, fully aware of the possible consequences that may or may not occur in the next few moments. A punch to the shoulder or the spilling of his drink, perhaps? Or the smoke. In any case, he put his drink on the table, away from Aislinn's grip and glanced back at the two of them.

[firel]

Algy grinned at the other man, taking a swig of his drink. “Well, Algy’s just my nickname, sah. Algador Templeton. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He took another swig, leaving the mug almost empty. “You could say that we had a spot of bother outside, I suppose. Nothing to worry too much about, what?” He drained the mug and waved for another.

While Algy was still worried about the mysterious ambush that had been sprung upon them, he knew that there was nothing that could be done about it without more information. He said as much to Aislinn. “We’d better keep one bally eye on the door, just to be safe,” he decided. He released all but one of the straps holding his pistol in place, so that it could be drawn in a hurry. Not that it would do much good, as he only had one shot. He really did need to pick up a better weapon, and soon.

With a slight shake of his head, the young man decided to put his concerns aside for the sake of a few good drinks. He downed his second drink quicker than the first. His third arrived soon after, and with it in hand, he turned back to Aislinn’s friend. He looked strange, Algy noted; had a certain aura about him that was distinctly inhuman. Of course, Algy hadn’t the faintest clue of what this Alphonse could actually be. He decided it may be worth also keeping an eye on him, as Algy’s experience with non-humans so far had almost always ended painfully for him.

Regardless, he thought, a bit of polite conversation on his own part wouldn’t hurt anybody. “If I may ask, sah, how do you know this reprobate whom I travel with so frequently?”

[torne]

Taerel wasn't sure how long he had been in the bar. He only knew that he had arrived early enough to get a good table, and had stayed long enough to have amassed a nice collection of empty glasses. The conversations occurring around him had faded away to a light buzz, allowing him to sit with his thoughts. It was there, as he was lost in one of his thoughts, that he became vaguely aware of two new people taking up seats at a table behind him.

From the beginning of the newcomers' conversation, it sounded as if they were being pursued. Taerel contemplated listening in more intently, but ultimately decided to focus his attention on recalling how many steps he had taken so far that day. Being that his room was just up the stairs, the number came in relatively low. His thoughts then shifted to the amount of glasses he had gone through. A frown appeared on his face as he signalled the barkeep over.

As the barkeep waddled his way over, Taerel allowed himself to drop out of his thoughts and back in to the real world. The sound of several different conversations assailed his ears. A new voice was speaking from the table behind him. From the sound of it, it was the man who had been seated there before the others joined him. They still seemed to be introducing each other. How quickly had he worked out the numbers? His frown deepened.

"Something I can help you with?" The barkeep had arrived at the table.

"Sure is, lad." Taerel straightened himself up in his chair. "As you'll no doubt notice, I've been here the most part of the day. Aye?"

The barkeep shrugged his shoulders. "I s'pose I've noticed you. Is that a problem?"

"No, 'course not." Taerel rose to his feet and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "No, the problem is that I've had twelve glasses of what you swear is your strongest ale, and I can still remember the fact that I've had twelve glasses of what you swear is your strongest ale."

Taerel's frown let up as he watched the man struggle. "My deepest apologies sir, I'll see if we don't have something stronger in back."

"You get on that, then." Taerel let the man go, sending him on his way. He pulled his chair back from the table and prepared to sit again when his ears were assaulted by a loud voice from right behind him. He turned to face the offending party, raising a hand to rub his forehead. Sitting back at his table he reached for a glass, draining the remaining contents in a single gulp and slamming it back on the table.

"Dear GODS!" he announced, wiping a sleeve across his face with one arm and pointing at the English man with the other. "Halfway round the known world I sail, and STILL can't get away from the boggin limeys." He kicked away and began pushing his chair to the other table with his feet. Pulling in immediately next to the Englishman, he clasped a hand across the man's back, a smile spread across his face. "Tell y' what. Buy me a drink, I'll forget how you've offended me." Reaching his free hand in greeting, he added "Name's Kewit."

[aislinn]

Aislinn's cheeks flushed a bit as her blonde friend commented on her drink. What was she supposed to say? So instead of admitting the truth, she merely waved her hand dismissively and said, "Somebody hasta make sure this kid can get home." It was far from a lie, of course. There had been at least three accounts where Algy had been so piss drunk, she'd had to carry him back to the ship. "Can' do that if'm drunk myself." Which again, wasn't a lie. Though, she hadn't been drunk in quite a number of years. Since...around the last time she saw Al, actually. When the bartender set the drinks down, she stared at the Ginger Ale like it was some sort of poison, not daring to pick it up to drink it now that the male had made a fuss over it. She glanced from Algy to Al, realizing that they were discussing her earlier dispute with those men. Smiling, Ais just shrugged. "They were bein' rude. I jus' showed them a lesson. Mighta gone a bit far - I forget humans are so delicate." She paused to consider the question Algy asked and finally decided how to best explain it. "Well, we use'ta drink t'gether. Way back in the day. Lotta times between bein' in jail." A giggle erupted from her that almost seemed insane, but it only lasted a moment because another gentleman joined their midst.

His breath smelled of liquor and something worse, causing the woman's nose to scrunch up. It also didn't help that he was shouting in the bar, drawing as much attention to himself and his new tablemates as possible. Aislinn's eyes flickered and her expression of content seemed to vanish as this man decided to speak to her truest friend in a blunt, rude way. It didn't matter to the half-breed that he was being polite about it, either. Her irrational mind automatically listed him as an enemy. For all she knew, he was another one of those men sent to try and hurt her. But she wouldn't let him know that she knew. Instead, she attempted to look kinder, scowl fading. "We're a bit rude, ain't we? How're you so sure he ain't just speakin' that way b'cause he's an actor?"

The blonde sized up the man and figured she could probably take him on easily. If Al joined in, the man wouldn't last three seconds. Absentmindedly, she lifted a glass from the table and took a huge swig. The burning sensation only lasted a moment, but it was enough to make her nearly gag. Whiskey, was it? She stared down at the empty glass and then glanced around the table to take in the men's faces. Slowly, she put the glass down and pushed it away from her. Only one drink and she felt as if her head were swimming. She was only imagining it, of course. but it was almost like she'd just shot up heroin or something. Her mind seemed to clear a bit and she smiled a bit more naturally. "So, tell me, why's it my friend's gotta buy your ugly mug a drink?" she asked, sounding less rude than before. Her defenses were up, but she now had a clearer idea in mind as to what her intentions would be.

That is, if he was a threat at all. And for now, the rather short firecracker saw him as such.

[alphonse]

The blonde fallen blinked, staring between the midget and the human limey. He hadn't seen an Englishman in these parts in a good fifty to two hundred something years, he figured all of 'em had sailed back home or had been killed by the very people they had employed. Alphonse took another drag, rolling his eyes at the kid's politeness. What in holy hell was Aislinn Last of all people, hanging out with that respectful bastard? She wasn't drinking anymore, she almost seemed calmer than the last time he had seen her, too. Well of course, the last time he had seen her, she had been threatening a bartender with death if he didn't give the two of them another free round of shots. And there was the fact that she was hanging out with probably the most obnoxious and evident limey he had seen since he went home to the great UK. And even then, they didn't seem as British as this fucker did. The blonde fallen snorted and took another drink. "Yeah, must'a been a real long tima go. 'cuz I don't think somebody could go this soft in the time span I seem t'recall." he snickered and took another swig of his beverage.

Just like her shorter counterpart, Al's blue eyes meandered over towards the newcomer. He absolutely wreaked of booze, as if he had bathed in it for a good week or so. Not that he could particularly talk, he probably didn't smell that great either. He'd ought to do something about it, as the chances of getting laid these days without bathing were becoming slimmer and slimmer, something that he was both glad and disappointed for. Glad to see that bar whores were finally setting limits, disappointed to see that that meant that if he actually wanted to get laid, he'd have to work for it. Was that not the role of bar ho? The also smelled like smoke, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was from. It certainly smell like the brand that he or 'Mille smoked. His eyes soon rolled at Aislinn's comment, tempted to take a swing at insulting the Brit, but instead, decided to let the midget do the talking and shoved his empty glass towards the bartender. He ordered the man to keep it coming, as even if Aislinn and her limey bitch peeled out early, he wasn't gonna be leaving anytime soon.

Alphonse simply took another swig of his drink, ready for the shouting and potential fist fight between the Brit and the Bog to duel it out. Personally, his bet was on the Irish bastard. The blonde glanced over at the midget. "'cuz yer friend's a limey, dumbass. He's Irish. 'nough said." he replied as he took another big drink from his glass. "So shuddup, this could get interestin'."

[firel]

Algy eyed up the newcomer as Aislinn tried, and failed, to appear civil and calm while addressing him. He looked as if he'd been to every bar in Saint Raiatea, and reeked of half a dozen kinds of booze. In short, he was an average Irishman, as far as Algy's experience went. He quaffed a good portion of his drink before responding to the man.

“I say, sah, I try not to make a practice of buying drinks for people I've never bally met before. Learned that one the hard way, what?” He shrugged. “More to the point, the lady here managed to relieve me of most of my coin earlier in the day, leaving me just a tad short in the funds department.”

He leaned back in his chair, beer in one hand, the other drumming the table. “Dare I ask why you seem offended by my presence, sah? It's not as if I came in here specifically looking for you.” He gave a wry grin. ”As a matter of fact, I believe we have something of a common goal in this establishment, if I may be so bold to say.”

Alphonse said a few quick words to Aislinn that Algy didn't quite catch, apart from the words 'you dumbass'. A frown appeared on his face, and he leaned towards the fallen for a moment.

“Sah, if I may make a request, could you refrain from addressing the lady with such a term? It's hardly becoming of a gentleman.”

Realising that it might be wise to let Alphonse mull that over without the former Artilleryman nearby, he climbed from his chair and dug around in his pocket. Satisfied that he still had a bit of coin left, he put an arm around the Irishman's shoulder and steered him towards the bar.

“You're in luck, sah. I seem to have a bit more coin than I had anticipated. I suppose I ought to get you that drink after all, whether I've bally well met you or not. They say alcohol makes for good conversation, and far be it from me to not give such wisdom a fair chance. What did you say your name was again?”

[torne]

Taerel raised an eyebrow at the Englishman. "Usually takes more than a few minutes to convince a stranger to buy me a drink. Not that I'd be complaining, o'course." He stretched out his hand in introduction. "You can call me Kewit, if it pleases you."

Pushing out his newly occupied chair, Taerel rose to his feet and waved toward the barkeep, smiling as he saw the man freeze in place. After waving the barkeep over, he returned to his seat, again facing the Englishman. "He'll be here soon enough. Doesn't want me tellin' the other patrons that he's been waterin' down his supply. Which I suppose I just did. Woops." Raising a hand to his lips, Taerel mimicked the action of sealing a lock.

A few seconds passed in silence before Taerel spoke again, lowering his voice so only the Englishman could hear him. "Now, it's not a policy of mine to turn down drinks from strangers, but it just occurred to me that you still haven't given a name. And it certainly isn't me place to ask, but how exactly does one such as yerself end up surrounded by people such as these?" He shrugged, once again leaning back in his seat. "Not that I'm complaining, of course. You lot are the most interesting folk that have passed through here all day."