Family and High Powered Chairs

Log Info

• Title: Family and High Powered Chairs
• Emitter: Slixvah
• Characters: Slixvah, Zofija, Imane, Robert
• Place: Fernwood Pub
• Time: March 21th, 2022
• Summary: Within the Fernwood, Slixvah and Zofija finally make good on that bar visit they've been joking about. Properly in their drinks, they meet and chat with Imane before Robert comes in to celebrate (lightly) with having a workshop operational once more. They chat about family and the late ones Robert has, Slix explains what an Aerie is, and artifice powered chairs. Robert heads out and Zofija returns the favor to Slix in what the bird did for the Nar in Blar.

Fernwood Pub, Evening.

A light rain falls outside while the Fernwood remains a dull liveliness, warning up from the outside chill. It's an easy day, less a fuss, more a simple serenity.

Upon the bar in the corner is a white and rust red feathered Eglarin woman with a few empty bottles around her. She's nursing a new one, the bottle cork being tossed haphazardly into a bin while she's knocking it back. She hiccups- more like a chirp. "Now muscles, finally we get a proper drink, how you doin'?"

"Doing right as the weather outside Slix." The Arvek-nar in the chair next to her chuckles, who had been matching and surpassing the egalrin in terms of drinks imbibed. "Last few knocked drinks knocked the last few thoughts about the mug cleaning at the ox-strength out of my mind. And what about you? Can't ask how I'm doing without telling me how you are."

Imane pushes the door open and steps inside letting the door swing shut behind her. She pauses a moment to shake her main of red tipped platinum free of as much moisture as she can. She then steps further in and greets a passing waitress as if knowing her. Talk of a meal is had and the elf makes her way to a seat near the fire.

Slixvah, the Eglarin, giggles behind a hand as she sways some. "Somethin' happen at the Ox? That the place I got hung from the ceilin' right?"

She sighs warmly, closing her eyes. "Just like you said, sugar, right as the weather outside. Feelin' good. Life's good. Fiadh's good."

There's a muffled 'chirp-chirp!' that comes from one of the woman's many shawls.

"She said she's sleepy, actually. But that's just means more sleep for her."

The Eaglefolk, already one to have a sunny disposition, spies the elf sliding on by, so she can't help but caw out: "Hey! Like what ya did with ya hair, hon!"

"Who's sleepy? I'm wide awake and raring to keep going, so it's not me. Who are you talking to, anyways?" Zofi asks as she peers at the shawl. "You taking care of something? Or something get lost in all those shawls when you were sleeping in a tree?"

The Arvek-nar looks over when Slixvah called out, and she waves. "Friend of yours, Slix?" The arvek-nar asks.

Imane pauses on the way past and tilts her head as she pulls a handful of her hair wound to inspect it a moment. She smiles, "Thank you. Started as an accident but, I liked it so..Kept it!" she smiles at the two a moment before offering, "I'm Imane."

Slix gasps. "You haven't met- oh heavens, oh goodness me! Fiadh! Baby doll, come here...!" She rifles around in one of the shawls. "Naw sugar, I don't know 'em!"

Then, finally, she produces a singular creature that fits in the palm of her hand. A small white thrush with gold eyes. They look quite like they'd rather be nestled in the bottom of a nest at the moment. "Say hello, dearie!"

Fiadh, the thrush, gives a half-hearted 'tweet' before they stand up, then waddle up Slix's arm to vanish into a sleeve.

"She said hi."

Turning towards the elf and swaying from the motion, she gives a crisp thumbs up after imbibing more ale and chirps, "Well hello! Call me Slix! What d'ya mean an accident? Did'ya sleep in a vat of wine or somethin'?"

Zofi turns her focus back to Slixvah to see the small bird shown, and a ganged grin plasters their face for a moment. "Aw, I wanted to say hi back. You should have mentioned them sooner." The arvek-nar chuckles. "What a sweet little thing."

"Well, you're just being friendly as usual then, right? Nice to meet you then, Imane, Skyguard Zofija Vogt."

Imane smiles at both, "Wine? No, I had a collision with Master Seamstress. "Here, she thumbs in the direction of the Prestigious Moon, "when I first got to town and split my scalp which stained my hair blood red. I liked the look so had an apprentice wizard use a color cantrip to permanently change the end to red."

Slix pat's Zofi on top of the head. "Dawww, don't worry 'bout it, hon. She's a lil' sleepy bird. Can tell 'er hi next time!"

She cocks her head to the side as a little rising trill rumbles in her throat. "Gotta say, sugar. That's hardcore. I can respect that. How do you think my feathers got this color...?" she hums, holding out an arm to show off a batch of rusty red feathers.

A pause.

"That was a joke. This is natural."

"Another time, yeah." Zofi grunts, before she can take another swig from her drink. "That's quite the story, I can get that. Sometimes soldiers would wear blood red paint to intimidate their foes, that sort of thing. Not that far from it, and it's a nice color regardless." The arvek-nar chuckles. "I thought it was something to do with when you skewered those creatures with them." She jokes. "Natural makes more sense though. Don't know enough egalrin to have a lot of reference."

Imane blinks and examines the reddish feathers a moment then blinks and smiles, "Ohh, I thought you were serious." she giggles a little and takes a moment to pull her hair back so the damp strands are out of her face as Zofi speaks. Imane nods on agreement about not knowing biology, "Is the little one a companion then?"

Slixvah hums and sways in thought. "Thanks hon, I like it lots. And I didn't skewer them!"

She glugs down her bottle. "... I smashed them," she politely corrects before giggling to herself. "Basically hon, you see little birdies flyin' around here? Eglarin can be the same color. Though the boys are way more bright- like that blue jay fella we saw in Blar. Us ladies have the more muted colors."

She snickers towards Imane. "No no, honey, not serious at all. I'm rarely serious, you'll come to find."

She bobs her head and perks up. "Why yes! Little Fiadh here is my nice friend and companion. Keeps me company out on the road!"

There's a sound that's coming from her sleeve, and it's not unlike a high pitched snore.

"Smashed, skewered, still ways you'd get blood on your feathers." Zofi shrugs. "I was a bit preoccupied to see exactly how you were dealing with them, to be honest, but it's hard to miss that in entirety."

"Well, that's a bit unfortunate. Why do they get to hog all the bright colors?" Zofi grumbles. "Least you're bright in every other meaning of the word I s'pose, Slix."

"Yeah, Slix is usually joking in some form of another. Hard to ask for a better drinking buddy, really. Bit of a surprise to be honest."

Imane nods with a smile, "Well, it is good to meet you both!" she pauses then adds, "Well, all three of you, I should say!"

Slix gives a half lidded smile and shrugs her wings. "Then it's a show just for you! Lil' Slix don't pull that trick too often, don't want people to know what I got up my sleeve," she coos.

She pumps her arms, exuberant. "Darn right, sugar! I'm the brightest lil' one there is! And- the boys don't get to keep all their pretty feathers, why do you think I dress like a rainbow!"

She giggles- must be the giggly sort when under the drinks- "Nice to meet you too, hon!"

There's some muted chirping.

"Fiadh says the same!"

A big bloke blunders backwards in from outside with a large, tarp-wrapped parcel under one arm and a gyro-parasol in the other. They've got a raincoat on and the hood up (yes, in addition to the parasol) and are in the process of shaking off and collapsing the umbrella before leaning it against the wall near the door. Then the shoe-wiping begins. It's a LOT of shoe-wiping. They're being extra sure they leave as much of the damp as near the door as possible.

Finally, Robert stands up straight and pulls his hood back with a hand. His face is dark with soot and the soot streaked with sweat and he's smiling like a proper happy idiot. His hips look especially wide under the coat because he's still wearing a toolbelt.

"Then I won't bring it up more. Though it was pretty interesting." Zofi chuckles. "And you're right! I doubt there's any egalrin who look like you all dressed up like that. It's more than a match, I'd say."

"Oh, right! The ox-strength." She speaks up suddenly as she shakes her head. "To put it simply, don't go and order any drinks there that don't come in a sealed bottle, or at least bring your own mug. That's all, I'm sure you know the place is dangerous. Poor Tegri didn't know what hit him when he went in there. It was a very large and very heavy serving pattern is what it was, but don't worry. I decked the giantborn who tossed it something fierce, till he was knocked out like a light." She continues, roaring with laughter at that. "Ah, Robert! Something has you in a good mood. You come for a drink to celebrate?"

Slix is already getting herself another bottle, her quite properly in her cups now as she bobs her head some. "Oh it's /very/ interesting, shug."

On the sly, a feather on her wing becomes ribbon like, pats Zofi on the head, then flutters back like nothing happened. Slix winks. "Course not. There's no one like me. Or you."

She tilts her head to the side. "... alright! I'll keep that in mind!" she laughs with Zofi. "Gotta keep you 'round to knock people silly if they get annoyed with me!"

She looks to the entrance and- "Ah! Robby bobby! Get over here sweetheart! We're drinking each other in a race and I'm losing terribly!"

The older man raises his hand in greeting, smiling just a bit wider, but nods and points at the bar before detouring. His 'working hard or hardly working?' to the barkeep is loud enough to carry through most of the pub. To the server's credit, he manages a friendly-enough smile and entertains Bob's questions enough to get him sorted with a lighter ale; something the Khazad might refer to as 'water.'

Picking his bundle back up, Bob hefts it under his arm and takes his drink AND makes sure the barman knows to 'try not to work too hard.' Then he's crossing the room. "Happy days," he greets with a smile and a toast. "I just wanted to have one to commemorate having a forge again."

"Course not. There's just well, just me." Zofi sighs, taking her drink and finishing off the last over half of it to take another after coming up for air. "Yeah, don't worry about it Slix, as long as you aren't angering any of those chi filled folks, I can probably punch out anyone who gets annoyed with you. And folks that get annoyed with you are probably fine to punch anyways." The arvek-nar chuckles. "Take more than one extra person to out drink me Slix, but I can appreciate you know when you're beat. Got a forge working already? That was quick, the place was basically empty last I was there."

Slix waves back with a half unfurled wing as he works his way through getting his drink, her quietly laughing to herself as she picks up half of what he says. Once he draws near, she chirps happily, and raises her drink. "Ey! I'll drink to that!"

She's already drinking, and drunk.

Bottle lip clanks against the side of her beak as a swig is poured in (not a damn Eglarin cup around here!) "Congrats, love! Got it all cleaned up and all pretty-like?"

She winks to Zofi. "If someone gets annoyed with me then they need to look in a mirror~! Plus, I don't wanna upset one of them chi-chi pow pow folks. Heard downright terrifying things."

She hums. "I ain't eva going to outdrink you, hon. This bird's a lightweight!"

The mug goes on the table but Robert bends to put his bundle on the floor. Manners! Then he slides out of his coat and puts it on the back of a chair. He's still wearing the leather apron and the bib and skirt are attached to the belt for his tools. "Forge is the part I can't throw together myself and I just had to pull the old tools out of storage," he explains as he works the loop over his head, letting the bib fall forward. Then he unhooks the belt from the back, pulls it around his waist, and rehooks it to drape on the back of his chair atop his coat.

"It works," the Cerenzan answers simply for Slixvah. "Pounded out a few dents and re-fixed straps that'd popped out today. Simple stuff that just needed doing."

The chair is lifted back a bit and he settles down with a heavy, contented sigh. "And I'm sorry but I won't be out-drinking anyone. Ale and I aren't on the good terms we were when I was but a young recruit..." he grins, toasts, and has a conservative sampling of his drink.

"It's not fair with those monk folks, at least with most people, if you get in a fistfight with them, you know where you stand. It's either above or below them at some point in the whole ordeal. Monks, it's below, every time." Zofi chuckles. "Yeah, I'll drink to that, since I already ate most of those candies. They were pretty good."

The arvek-nar takes another swig from her drink, and sighs. "You're just saying that, I'm sure you could still manage it. Just need the right motivation for a good drink, is what I say."

Slix's eyes squint slightly in a smile as she watches Robert get himself unburdened. "Now that's right and good. Simple stuff is the start of complicated stuff!"

She snickers towards Zofi. "Then I'll keep 'em down. All the way over there. With me flyyyying away."

Back to Robert, she rubs her beak. "Eh, I remember an old chicken back in the Aerie- er, back home, couldn't bounce back for life of 'em. Though, poor sod's probably pushing three-four hundred or so. And I don't think Robby Bobby here's /that/ old," she giggles, sounding like a soft bird's trill.

"Forty-seven years young," Robert admits with a grin, he's already set the drink down and seems content to let it rest for now. "Mother Ilife made it just shy of sixty before her passing so I'm hoping for another decade-or-so. Three-hundred years just seems greedy," he winks and drums his hand on the table.

"I'm glad you liked the sweets. My neighbors are Tsura and they often have a way with confectionery. I smelled the sweets the day after moving in and we've been bartering a few repairs around their place in exchange for me not getting so light I float away..." he laughs and pats his stomach. He leaves the talk of heavy-drinking alone for now.

"That's not fair, that's not being the one on top, that's just leaving the sore loser to become someone elses problem." Zofija half grumbles, half chuckles. "Yeah, that's pretty damn old. Lucky they can still drink at all at that age."

"Oh, your neighbor made them? Thought you got them from a shop. That makes sense, would be nice to figure out how they're made. You ask them for a recipe, and I'll trade that for some more work around the workshop maybe."

"Why don't you want to call it the Aerie?" Zofi asks suddenly, turning back to the Egalrin."

"Seventeen years younger than me!" Slixvah jokes back. "Here's hoping you get a little longer than that! Who knows, maybe you'll get further along, make some kinda fancy machine to do all the movin' for ya!"

She giggles. "It's a bit greedy, but makes for a lot of time to fly around without a care..." she coos dreamily as she knocks back more, polishing off another... what was it now? Four? Five? Things were getting blurry. So her drink of choice was now replaced with water.

The eaglefolk waves the notion off from Zofi with a wing. "Don't live this long gettin' in a scrap I can't win, honey." Slightly unfocused blue eyes rest on the Nar. Her swaying happily in her seat. "That's the thing, he didn't! Probably the reason for his age!"

She shrugs. "Ya'll ain't know the word. So I translated it for ya so you wouldn't ask what an Aerie is."

"Open and well lit. With good airflow. You know, airy?" Robert jokes, winking at Slixvah and having another sip of his drink. He produces a handkerchief and wipes his lips, scratching the cloth rag over his dark stubble. "Sixty seems a good number," he then shrugs. "Time with the kids and the grandkids. Maybe a few great-grand ones and then..." his smile turns wistful briefly before being banished by blink and a laugh.

"No necromantic artifice, no. Do you know how many cautionary lectures I had to sit through? The safety coursework Dragonier's academia would make you endure?" He laughs, leaning back and shaking his head. "Old Kulthus taught us many things but 'artifce should not be used to unnaturally extend life' is at the top of the list. Big letters. Tall, everyone one. With two lines beneath for emphasis."

"No drinking? Well, I'm not sure if that's even living at that point." Zofi replies, chuckling a bit more. "Kidding, not that big of a deal. You're a lot older than I expected, didn't want to ask since it's impolite and all that."

"Course I know what an Aerie is, it's just a nest for big birds and griffons, and things like that. Egalrin too, I guess." Zofi shrugs. "Yeah, best to avoid things like that. But I think Slix was talking about one of those artifice powered wheelchairs or something like that, for people that aren't able to walk anymore. Too expensive for most people, but if you could make one for yourself, that wouldn't be a problem."

Slix laughs at the pun, shaking her head and resting her beak on an upturned palm. "Real talk though, it is kinda like that in an Aerie! Lot's of open spaces to fly from mountain top to mountain top!"

She blinks. Then bursts out laughing. "Wha- no- no no no, honey buns! Heavens no, not that! I mean more like some kind of artifice-power magic- Yeah! Zofi's pickin' up what I'm puttin' down!"

She snorts at Zofi. "He was kinda a dullard to be honest. But yes! You got the right of it!"

A pause. Then a chirp. "Oh! That was a joke. I'm younger than Robert. I'm thirty, sugar plum! I'm a young lil' Eglarin!"

"If I get to where I can't stand on my own I think I'll be ready to lay down and see my Yetta again," Robert explains, good natured but decisive with his delivery; it's likely something he's considered at length. He laughs, then, and looks between Zofi and Slix before telling the latter matter-of-factly, "My oldest is just-younger than you.

"... and your home sounds nice," he admits. "I've already heard stories of an egalrin in the city who shares my little hobby. Lads say he can fly through the air in his armor," he rambles a bit, his expression going distant. "I'd love to see that..."

"Well, you seem certain on that, but I wouldn't say you should. Better to be able to move and spend time with your kids than not have the time at all." Zofi sighs, reaching to pat the man on the shoulder. "Got a half dozen or so years give or take on me Slix, but suppose when you live that much longer it's different. I know elves that act pretty immature despite how many years they've been around."

"That so? I never heard of an egalrin with artifice. But I know little about them, so I'm not really the person to judge."

Slix giggles and nods slowly. "Sounds good, honey. Knowin' your pace is certainly a wizened stance I can get behind." What? Silly drunk bird. "Oh yeah? That's pretty swell. How many you got? I'm like... the fifth youngest. I got way more siblings than fingers."

The egalrin coos warmly, but her expression is a bit... longing. "Oh it's a right lovely place. Imagine there's lots of the Mountain Road here, but built allll 'long the mountain side. Can glide around so easily!"

She shrugs to Zofija. "All 'bout perspective, dear. Live our lives up on high, looking at the whole, gotta get humbled by it. And we ain't go the best past, so we're makin' up for it." The fortune teller blinks. Stares at Robert. Then blurts out, "I would love to see it too. Is he single?"

"When I meet him I'll be sure to find out. Maybe mention this lovely young bird in veils and ribbons with the most wonderful laugh," Robert nods conspiratorially. He pauses there and looks to one side, committing the notion to memory deliberately. Scooting to slouch a bit, he pushes his rump towards the edge of his seat and crosses a leg.

"We managed four. Saw three to grown, two boys and a girl. One is with his mom." It's his turn to wear the faraway look as he smiles. "Five grandkids between two of them. My youngest is still... puttering," he laughs in exhale, his head bobbing. "Flirting with entertaining the notion of a calling," he grins again.

"Not that I didn't have my share of jobs along the way," he shrugs mildly.

Zofija coughs into her drink, before emptying it at a startling speed and reaching for another, which isn't given for the time being. The Arvek-nar sighs, and takes the water that was offered instead. "If we could move on from talk about siblings dying and being with their dead mothers, that'd be great!" She mutters, before she closes her eyes. "How about yeah, you seemed to jump on that real quick Slix. Are there not enough bachelors at the aerie for you? Woulda thought they'd all be falling over themselves for you."

Slixvah gives a snappy thumbs up. "Heavens thank ya, sugar! Last time I met a Egalrin folk, they were a bit... coocoo, me thinks. A real legal eagle that fella."

She hums warmly, swaying from side to side as a few ribbon-like feathers on her wings unfurl on their own accord and 'accidently' elbow Zofija in the side. "That's right sweet, honey. And I bet they think dad is the coolest spud," she coos, shooting a glance to her Nar buddy.

Taking the bait that said buddy laid out, she snaps it up. Though, she rubs her neck and looks away. "Oh..! Uh.... well you see, being able to fly on your own accord instead of gliding is considered to be /very/ desirable within bird culture..." she coughs into a fist. "I'm also piss drunk and anything with a pulse is bachelor enough for me right now. 'sides, the Aerie is too weirded out by me."

"Sorry," Robert offers, raising one hand in surrender as he smiles a soft apology. He reaches for his drink while Slixvah talks, giving Zofija the side-eye to make sure she's alright even as his smile starts to grow.

"You're talking about I.C." He says, sitting up and leaning on the table. "Aren't you? Integrity changes-with-the-weather Truefeather?"

The Arvek-nar jumps a bit when she's elbowed in the side, and she gives Slixvah a reproachful look before turning back to drink from her glass of water.

"Appreciate it, I wasn't coming here to drink my sadness away." Zofi grunts. "Their loss, I don't find you weird. But hey, maybe they're interesting when you get to know them. Though I don't blame you looking for a warm spot to rest your head. Shame I don't see any Egalrin around here tonight, unfortunately."

Slix groans, rubbing her beak. "Yeah, that's the bird. Got excited to see 'nother folk so far from home, then immediately started soliciting legal advice 'fore I could get three tweets in. I want to like the guy, gonna need 'nother first impression if I run into the blue jay 'gain."

She imbibes more water, resting her face in a hand as her eyes slide shut. "Glad you don't, sugar. Folks back home didn't like how lucky I was getting, so... I left. Ah well."

She cracks open an eye to Zofi, then speaks plainly, "Hon. I ain't picky. Don't gotta be Egalrin."

There's a glance between the two and Bob's grin quirks up a bit more. He sips his drink one more time and sets it down, leaving it practically untouched on the table. Turning in the chair, he bends down and shuffles through parcel and produces another box of sweets. It's held up and he looks from Zofi to Slix and back again. "To share," he explains before setting it down.

Then the Cerenzan stands, tossing the belt back on but leaving the bib down. The jacket comes on next and he finally issues a long, quiet groan as he bends aaaaaall the way down to collect his load.

"If... you ever just want someone to listen," He shrugs at the Arvek Nar. "I've been through a lot and I've got plenty of time.

"But tonight's a nice night for a warm pub, some treats, and a few drinks while the rain patters away on the windows," he grins and waves on his way out.

"Oh, for us? Well, I'm not going to turn it down if you're offering. So thank you, Robert." The Arvek-nar grunts, pushing the box between them. "Thanks for the offer, I'll consider it. I'm not the sort to put my woes on people if I can help it, but maybe. Safe travels."

She turns back to the bar when the man left, and she sighs. "Well, you never told me it wasn't just Egalrin, I wasn't sure. So, I don't know. What does young egalrin old Slix look for in someone to spend the night with? I can't help if I don't know."

Slixvah gives a warm wave to the human as he heads on out. "Thank you sugar! Good to see you!"

Turning to the Nar, she cracks open one of the candies and rolls it around in her beak. Humming to herself, she softly sighs through her nostrils. "Heh. Slix just likes someone who's kind and got a good sense of humor. Been with featherless folk before. Khazud, some humans. Couple elves. Not really picky with what they're packing either. Just someone."

"Well, those things are pretty broad." Zofija chuckles. "Hell, drinking enough makes people funnier, so it's even easier now. Didn't know you got around so much though, you sly sparrow."

"Alright then! Only fair I return the favor, maybe. I'll see if I can't find someone interested in you, that's up to my own standards. And I'll tell 'em there's a real sweet egalrin I came here with who wouldn't mind getting to know them better."

"Sound alright? I'll try not to be too biased to my own preferences." She asks, taking one of the candies and popping it into her mouth.

Slixvah winks, putting a finger to her beak. "Shh, don't let word get around. I like to maintain my innocence."

She crackles drunkenly, half hugging Zofi with a wing as she steadied herself on the Nar's shoulder. "Heavens look at me. Alright! I'm ready! I gotta keep those criteria broad cause not many give us Egalrin a chance."

That came out way more sad than it should have been. But then- "Hon, if you get me a muscly lad or lass like you prefer, I'll sing fuckin' bird songs about ya."

"Aw, nothing wrong with it." Zofi chuckles, returning the hug with less bone cracking before. "Well, ox-strength is out, but I could invite Ashlee out here, see if she'd like it. And uh, maybe like me."

The arvek-nar coughs into her hand, before grinning madly. "Well, alright then! I think I can make that work. See if I can find any strapping folk that can handle you." The Arvek-nar laughs loudly, rolling a shoulder a moment before she leaves her seat, though she stops to poke a finger into Slixvah's sleeve, attempting to pat the thrush on the head before she's off in search of what was to be found in the fernwood, swaying slightly on her feet as she went.

Slixvah coos slyly, "I'll wing woman if she comes out around here."

There is a soft chirp that comes from the sleeve of a little birb being pet. Slix giggles, turning to watch the Nar helm an interesting expedition for the fortune teller.

-End Scene-