Disguises and Guises

A beautiful day, easing into the afternoon, with a cool wind that blows freshness through the windows of the TarRace. The greenery inside has now come into full bloom, adding splashes of colour to the whitewashed bricks and darkly stained woods. The lunch crowed has mostly dispersed, leaving a few customers to enjoy their spirits and sandwiches.

From the baths, the sounds of scrubbing and the little voice of the pool-shark can be heard, while the cooks in the kitchen argue over which braise oil to use for their next monster dinner.

A small form appears in the doorway, edging their way in, to look around at the interior. She shuffles in further, the Gobbo peering up at the vaulted ceiling, and out the windows into the blue beyond. "Fascinating.", she says in awe. From a bag on her hip, she pulls out a modest-sized notebook, and then fishes around in said bag. "Where did that pencil get to?"

Manning the bar is that of a human woman with a wreath of red hair, several ribbons dangling from the strands. Clad in a white button up, black slacks, and a red vest, the bartender is taking a break after the lunch rush, her leaning back against the bar with a glass of water in hand.

She looks over from the door opening, the woman perking bit. "Hey! Take a seat anywhere, it looks dead but we still servin'!" she calls out.

A white blouse wearing, dark loincloth-slash-apron clad sith-makar was also leaning against the bar counter, a tail swaying behind him. "... and did this one ever mention the red fits her?" The rumbling sound tells the human bartender with obvious amusement in voice - that gets interrupted by the new arrival.

Straightening up, Aelwyn bows his head. "White," He greets, before he fishes out a pencil from his pockets and with a casual stroll, he offers it up to her. "Try not to stand in the middle of the room sketching."

The TarRace, one of the nicer taverns in the city, and one which Schara frequented fairly regularly. This day, when the artificer had very little to do, found the elf wandering in to the building as well.

"Check behind your ear, any clothing pockets, it doesn't appear to be in the corner of your mouth but most people don't leave writing implements there anyways. I don't think Aelwyn stole your pencil given that doesn't seem likely and you just got here, so that should solve your problem if you don't need another one, and it's very kind of them to offer." They suggest quietly, before taking the suggestion and looking to find a place to sit.

Simony smiles cheerfully, and nods, walking up to the bar and climbing up to settle on a stool. "Thank you. Erm. Is there any tea to be had, if so that is what I would like to order. Also. I am told that an Egalrin named Slixvah works here? Is she working today?"

Her eyes flick to Aelwyn, a brief but odd expression on her face, before she nods, and takes the pencil. "Thank you, Aelwyn. I can sketch it from here, I suppose."

Her wave to Schara falters slightly as the Golem suggests places where the pencil may have been misplaced. Simony's hand unconsciously goes to her ear, obviously this has happened many times before, but alas no pencil. She makes do with Aelwyn's for now.

Not-Slix rolls her eyes at Aelwyn. "Yeah, many, many, many times, shug. Ya need new material," she snickers. Seeing Schara gets her to grin wide, her waving and gesturing to an empty seat at the bar.

Attention on Simony, her grin shifts to a sideways smirk. "Oh we got loads of tea, what'cha like? And ah, yeah, she works here. Weird bird that one," she giggles, getting to work on setting some water to boil.

Aelwyn, if he saw that gaze, doesn't pay any attention to it all. Instead, he gives a bit of a bow that gets interrupted by the sudden appearances of Schara. "Brass," He greets, gesturing the pair over the bar.

"This one thought those feathers lighting a fire was not as attention grabbing," The sith-makar replies to Not-Slix. "Her hair looks lustrous and radiant today, like the simmering afternoon sun?" He offers - though he clicks his teeth. "... that sounded too much even to this one."

Attention turning towards the pair, "The lunch leftovers are going out with a discount." He gestures, "Mutton with nut butter and dash of springly slime gelatin on the side."

Schara stops and tilts her head towards Aelwyn. "Given the circumstances and what was chosen to be divulged, I would avoid speaking too much about feathers, Aelwyn? At least, that sounds like it would make sense to me." The elf suggests with all the subtlety of a large blunt object before heading for the bar. "Do you compliment her non physical attributes often? You could try that perhaps, but you probably have already and there are numerous other people much more qualified to give advice on such things. Slixvah would probably be best, in fact. I am alright but thank you Aelwyn, I would rather not have any slime gelatin today."

The Gobbo hmms, "Black or green tea would be desired, but if you do not have those, then it is okay to surprise me." She cants her head slightly, "Weird? Hmm, I did not notice anything weird about her at all. Uhm, is she here now?" She looks around more intently.

She eyes Aelwyn curiously, and looks to the I-can't-Believe-it's-Not-Slix barkeep, blinking a few times. Looking back at Aelwyn, Simony carefully rolls up her sleeve to bare her right arm. "What is springly slime gelatin?", she wonders of the Ruddy-scale Sith.

Simony peers at the Elf-Schara, and snorts, giggling at length.

The bartender snickers, shaking her head at Aelwyn. "I'll give ya credit fo' that one, but yeah, bit too much. Read some poetry, helps on figurin' out."

The human woman bobs her head to Schara, glad that they were on the same page about keeping guises. See, it's fun! "Slime gelatin sounds realllllly weird, I kno', but trust me, its good."

She bobs her head at Simony, getting some loose blackleaf and getting to work. "Mhmm, she's here, sugar," she coos, grinning as she works. "She's a wily one, that. Why'dya ask fo' her?"

The keep starts whistling a soft tune as she works, sounding like that was a bird loose in the establishment.

Aelwyn looks towards Schara, looking a bit dumbfounded with his orange slit pupils opening. "Tch, this mentioned her radiant personality, did he not?" He says with a wave of his hand. "Besides, if this one compliments her too much, another shirt will be ruined." Tail flick, as he glances at not-Slix. "Even still, her soaring attitude does make the bar sing." Flash of sharp teeth.

As far as the menu item, Aelwyn straightens. "It is slime that only moves once in a while. Springly. Has a citrusy flavor to offset the thick nut flavor." He clicks his teeth, looking at the kitchen. "This one was assured it was only side effect from the cooking."

"No, you referred to her hair as radiant, not her personality." The elf corrects quickly, with a shake of her head. "That was good though, but I don't know why compliments would ruin a shirt."

Schara stops and tilts their head. "Did I say something amusing? It wasn't my intent, but if that is the case, then that's alright. I know I have a habit of being awkward in conversation, so it's not a first time occurence." The elf states. "She is here, I'm fairly certain, and if it's okay, sure, I'll try the mutton and springy slime jelly. Though I think that a mint and apple jelly would be a good pairing with mutton, even if I am biased."

Simony smiles as the tea is in progress, but after a moment, she blinks. Her head cants slightly to the other side now, and her eyes look around the TarRaCe. The Gobbo then stares intently at SLix-Not-Slix, a slight smile on her face. She shrugs then. "I'd done a sketch of her, and uhm, I have now painted it. I wanted to give it to her. I was with a Guild group, and we were in a tight spot, and Slixvah came to save us. Risked being sucked out into the elemental Plane of Air for good, still jumped through a portal to help us. It was amazing to watch... so I painted it from memory."

From the bag on her hip, Simony pulls out a sizable package, something roughly canvas-sized wrapped in brown paper. This is left on the bartop. "I wanted her to have it."

Her eyes narrow suspiciously at Aelwyn a moment, before she shrugs. "Sure, I'll give the mutton a try then."

To Schara, she shakes her head. "The content itself was not funny, I understand you were serious. The act of saying it, mores specifically to whom it was applied is amusing, to me."

<OOC> Simony says, "FIX *mores to more"

Not-Slix giggles. "Okay, now /that/ one was good," she flashes a thumbs up before pouring out hot water for tea to steep. She leans against the bar, arms crossed. "Yes, she is quite the shirt ruiner. Not tha' you care 'bout shirts."

"Now that, dear Scha-Scha, is because Aelwyn doesn't kno' when his words get him burned, so I extinguish him." She reaches under the bar and shows a glass spray bottle with Aelwyn's name written on it in Draconic. "Mint jelly, huh. Never tried that...." she ponders, stashing the bottle away.

And now her attention settles on Simony. From the Gobbo, to the package pulled out, her sky blue eyes widen and glimmer. "Holy smokes, Sim, ya didn't ta go an' paint th' damn thing!" She scoops up the package. "She gladly accepts!" And promptly starts to open it.

The painting is centered on Slixvah, wings extended, seemingly soaring though what looks to be a portal of some kind. The rusty red and white feathers compete with streaming ribbons of the colours of the rainbow, while her multi-coloured robes fan out in an imagined wind. Her eyes seem to out glow the portal behind her. A rope is wrapped around her waist, and it leads back into the portal. It's blue glow obscures several shapes on the other side. From the observer's viewpoint, Slixvah is dropping right onto their position.

Aelwyn clicks his teeth in annoyance, "This one does not understand why the bottle is necessary." He rumbles, flicking his teeth. "Lick of a flame there and here barely burnt anyone down." To Schara, he bows his head. "This one can see if a substitution is possible."

When the canvas wrapped package is offered and promptly opened, Aelwyn steps around the bar and gives an eyeful. "A real hero, that Slixvah. That must have left quite the impression." He compliments, "This one should buy her a drink the next time she is visiting." He flashes his teeth, taps not-Slix's ankles, and makes a bow to the rest. "This one shall get the orders." He walks towards the kitchen with a rolling gait, tail lazily moving behind him. "Oh, that's really nice of you to do for them, I heard it was a very difficult situation, but it worked out in the end at least." The elf muses. "I did not know you were a painter as well miss Simony, it seems you have a good handle on various arts."

"His words are burning? Is he a sorcerer with problems controlling his abilities? I would think that would need more than a pressurized spray bottle, but if it is enough, then that works. Or is Slixvah the shirt ruiner? I know she can do magic, that would make sense, but why would you be spraying Aelwyn in that case?"

The Goblin's eyes widen, and she laughs. "It IS you, you sneaky bird-lady!" She slaps at the bar a few times, and shakes her head. "No, I absolutely had to. It is so you can see how awesome you looked coming through. I want you to be able to show your children and grandchildren how it was." She giggles again, and looks to Aelwyn, nodding as he waddles off to the kitchen.

Simony shrugs to the Elf-Schara, grinning. "No no, I only have a handle on a couple of the arts. And I am new to it, still, though I have more experience with sketching."

Not Slixvah sticks her tongue out at Aelwyn. "It is necessary because /you/ don't know when to stop!" she relies to Aelwyn as well as Schara for their question. "I spray him to remind him to calm down, the scoundrel."

She serves Simony her tea, giving a nod to Aelwyn as he goes to get their order in. "Yup yup! Was supa' freakin' scary! But! We did it in the end! I commend their arm strength for holding on!."

Her grin grows wide, a playful spark in her eyes as Simony makes the connection known. "Bingo~! 'tis I!" she croons. "Bu' still, thi' gift is reall' reall' nice..." She spends several moments taking in the piece before waving a hand. A spectral hand apparates and clears space behind the bar as Not-Slix turns and leans it up against the shelf. "I'll get tha' hung up later. Ain't got anyplace ta keep it fo' now. I'll have ta preserve it if I'm gonna have it last tha' long ta show fledglings. Long while off!"

"It is really nice, good paintings are expensive." The elf nods. "My parents had a couple, but not many, but they're nice to look at."

"Well, I'm glad I don't need to pretend you're not Slixvah anymore." They sigh. "I came here to see you after all, and have some food. Keeping paintings for a long time is difficult though, sunlight has a way of breaking down all sorts of parts of it, but you need to be able to see them to appreciate them, anyways."

"A... spray bottle? keeps him at bay?" Her notebook is laid out, and turned to a fresh page, Aelwyn's pencil filling in a shopping list. "I managed it without hands at all.", Simony quips, and grins toothily. "AH believe you commented positively about my jaw strength." The Gobbo giggles then, and sips at her tea. "So how do you do it?", she asks the Egalrin, of her seeming shapeshifting ability. "Ah, plan on adventuring a while then?"

She nods to the Elf, "Yes, but no. The only value a painting has is that which is placed upon it. To me, that one is priceless. And if it fades, I will will make it anew."

Bartender-Slix cackles. "It's part of the fun! Don't worry, Scha-Scha, I let peoples know afta' a lil' bit! Ya came ta see me? How sweet!" she happily grins. The food eventually comes out of the kitchen, spectral hand gliding over to deliver it to both of the waiting patrons. "Paintings are right nice, but I live a bit nomadically, so all I own is on me."

She bobs her head at Simony, working on cleaning some glasses with a rag. "How do I do what? Not be myself? Little bit of magic, little bit of reality. Got some stuff that helps and spells ta make it betta. Tons of fun bein' different folk. And yeah, gonna adventure fo' a while longa. Still got like, dunno, a few centuries in me ya know?"

She looks at Simony, her eyes soften in a somber sort of happy. "By th' time it fades, ya probably won't be 'round. Such is life.

<OOC> Slixvah says, "FIX add " to the end"

"Well, yes, you're my friend, right? It's been a bit since I saw you last, so I figured I would check in to see how you were doing. Which seems to be well, a lot like your usual self when you are being someone else." The elf offers quietly. "Well, it will never fall apart completely as long as it's cared for properly, so you should be alright. Just need to keep it properly. I've seen a few art pieces that were thousands of years old, and you can still make out the intended images on them. It should be alright." She offers again with what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

The Goblin is quickly into her lunch, her stomach having protested a few times of the past little while. The slime jelly is practically inhaled without chewing, while the mutton itself is chewed quickly. Simony nods, a sad expression coming over her. "If you bring it to Navos' house, it will be remade anew. My promise to you.", she say softly. "The uhm slime is not all that bad actually." The mutton is the first to be finished, with the slime a close second. "I wondered if you had some natural ability, or if it was magic and tricks. So... some of both?"

Simony giggles, "So Scha-Scha? What's your secret identity then?" Leaning her chin onto her hand, she squints at the Elf. "I promise to keep both of your secrets to my dying day."

"Of course Scha-Scha, we friends! I am doin' quite well! Just been a busy lil' bird wit' my beak in all sorts a'nonsense. You? How ya doin'?" Slixvah croons, leaning over the bar to Schara with a smile. "Mhmm. It'll stay well, just got a do a lil' readin' on how ta keep it preserved."

She nods to Simony. "I'll keep tha' in mind, them Navosians good at keepin' knowledge. Prolly need to get off my lazy feathered ass and get up 'round there." She taps her cheek at the question. "Just magic and tricks fo' actually lookin' different, but th' actin' different, tha's alllll natural, sugar," she coos.

"Me? I don't have any secret identity." The elf answers simply, taking a moment to grab their plate when it arrives. "And don't worry about it, I don't have any secrets that need keeping at the moment, though I'll keep it in mind."

"The real challenge is acting properly. I can do the looking like someone else thing if I prepare accordingly, but I can't act naturally the way that Slixvah can." Schara notes. "She makes it look so much easier than it is, and I don't think she's particularly lazy, either."

Simony snorts and smiles. "I shall call you Sneaky-Vah from now on. You had me fooled, almost right up to the end, I think the hints were almost at the point where I'd notice. And uhm. You're welcome to visit the Spire any time you like. I can show you around and everything."

The Goblin nods to Schara, "Of course, the offer stands. I don't think she's lazy either." A beat. "Especially not her butt."

Slix giggles. "I love doin' it, learn loads outta taking a step out of my comfort zone and observing. Did ya know elves can wiggle they ears? So cool! But yeah, th' hardest part is, well, playin' th' part. I can make myself look like a gobber, sound and feel like one, but actin' like a gobber, totally different! Honestly, most of th' work is bein' confident, and its right hard ta do that when ya ain't in ya own feathers. Err, skin."

She snorts and rolls her eyes good naturedly. "Shug, Sim if I gave it a real right try, ya'd be hard pressed ta tell." The offer for the spire tour gets her to rub her neck. "Ah, yeah, I uh, maybe might take ya up on that."

The comments about her tail get her to grin, a light red on her face. "Damn right!"

"Can humans not wiggle their ears? I knew that, but you probably were wondering if Simony did." The elf half wonders, half questions at the idea. "You get used to some of Slixvah's mannerisms, but I still get caught off guard at times."

"I'm not sure what would make it not lazy in particular, but I will have to take your word for it." Schara shrugs. "I'd rather not visit the observatory if I can help it, but I'm sure it would be nice to explore."

"I did not know that about Elves. I wonder if I can." The Gobbo's expression becomes one of supreme concentration, and then a variety of different expressions as she tries to make her ears move. She pants, and downs the rest of her tea. "If you want Gobbo lessons, I will teach them in exchange for hugs." Simony crosses her arms, "You should try that some day, and I shall do my best to figure you out. It could be really fun, yes?"

She laughs at the red face on Slixvah. "Goodness, not even compliments phase you. Remind me to smack Aelwyn again."

She blinks at Schara, and shakes her head. "I do not have any ear wiggling knowledge except for what I have learned just now. And I don't know if I want to get used to her mannerisms, she is a hoot." Her mouth opens, then closes. Opens again... "Because it is well formed? I mean, it would seem to me that people who are lazy are uhm softer? I uhm do not actually have any great knowledge of hers or anyone else's butt. I will drop this subject now..." Simony raises her eyebrows at Schara's last statement. "Why would you avoid the place, out of curiosity?"

Human-Slix holds up a finger. "Yes!" Her ears faint twitch. "Barely! Gobbers can certainly do it!" She giggles. "Yeah, I gots some silly mannerisms, but lemme really try, and it'll be nigh impossible ta tell!"

She watches Simony attempt her ear dance, but only spies her getting winded. She reaches out to pat Simony atop the head. "There there. And sure! I can pretend ta be a gobbo, easy, and you'll have a hard time figuring it!" she sticks her tongue out. "Course they don't! I /am/ a vain beaut'. That I cannot deny."

She stares at Simony, then Schara, going back and forth. "Yes yes, I have a great ass," she waves the topic off with a laugh before shaking her head. "Well... Scha-Scha has their reasons, I uh, it's close to the Aerie. I gotta go there eventually, but... let's just say Aerie politics is complicated."

"I'm not sure why you would want to smack Aelwyn because of that, but I would recommend against it." Schara shrugs. "I'm fairly certain gobbers can, and Slixvah agrees. One of my sisters used to wiggle their ears when they were lying, so they weren't particularly good at it."

The elf takes some time to work on their meal, and nods. "I have various reasons which are not important and I am actively working on for not wishing to go, and will leave it at that to not cause any further problems." They add. "You should go if you feel up to it though Slixvah, I'm sure it would be fine for you."

"Maybe it just takes some practice." No names but someone's going to be up all night tonight. "SO uh, well, I am speaking of the Navos' monastery up there. If you want to do your thing, I can provide some robes, you can pretend to be an adherent or monk. Surely your kin cannot suss you out from a distance, while you're disguised?"

"Good at wiggling their ears or lying?" The Gobbo snorts and giggles at that. She nods then, "Fair enough, I was only curious, I won't gnaw it it."

Slixvah reaches out to pat Schara atop the head. "And you are doing very good at working on such things," she warmly coos. "I... hmm. I'll think about it. If I go, I'll certainly not be m'self, that's fo' sure."

She starts to rearrange the shelf, moving old bottles forward and new ones to the back. "Loads of stuff ta learn tho: makari got some crazy noses, I could smell people apart with my eyes closed! And bein' a smol gobber has its many, many plusses. But ain't nothin' gonna beat havin' m'wings and havin' two sets of voice boxes....!"

A large group enters the TarRaCe, and Not-Slix perks. "Ah, shoot, gotta take care of some peoples. Nice talkin' wit ya sweeties!" she grins, sliding over the whole teapot of black tea between them. "Catch ya on th' flip!"

She ambles down to the other side of the bar, where her boisterous voice can be heard booming, "Alright! Settle down, settle down! Th' hell d'y'all want?" Bartender mode activated.

"They weren't good at lying because it was obvious." Schara answers. "Wouldn't it be bad to be lying at a temple though? Slixvah can make themselves look different, but it's probably best not to act like a follower when they're not. I could be wrong though."

"Thank you Slixvah, I am doing my best about it." The elf sighs at the head pat. "I will see you around, I understand you're still working here for the time being."

As the crowd arrived, and Slixvah turns to deal with them, the Goblin offers a wave as the Egalrin goes. She then starts making faces again. Ever so slightly, she can make one ear twitch a little. She huffs, and rests her chin on her hand. "More practice, definitely more practice."

"Would it not be lying then to pretend to be anything you're not? Since the purpose is to deceive. If I were to explain to my superiors, they would likely lean in favour of such deception. And I don't need to lend her robes specific to my order."