Raise a Glass [OPEN]

[lordshield]

Who: The XV Cast and You!
When: June 6th
Where: Curti Center, Jiminy's Juicery (bar)
What: After saving innocents from the Dream Width, some people just need a drink.
Warnings/Notes: Alcohol consumption, possible violence, whatever people do in bars.

Their first foray into the search and rescue business in the Dream Width had been intense, to say the least. Stressful, heartbreaking, exhausting, and enlightening were other words some might use to describe the experience. After a night of rest and a day to somewhat sort things and people out, the next evening brings about a mighty need to head to the local tavern. Some drink to forget, some drink to remember, some drink to relax. There are even representatives of the Bard's Guild providing live music. You can try to make a request, but chances are they don't know your foreign songs.

Maybe you were invited by one of the excitable young men from Lucis, or maybe you came on your own. There's enough room in the bar for quite a few people, so long as they're of age. Sit right at the bar, or pull up chairs around a table, the choice is yours.

[OoC: Make your own toplevel or tag around. Please put content warnings as necessary. Have fun!]

Comments

[lordshield]

She truly does look younger than twenty, but Clarus recognizes her as one that came through the Dream Width at the same time as he, and he'd encountered her briefly in Reno's dream... But laws were laws.

"Do you have the identification card they gave you at arrival?" he interjected, giving the bartender a slight nod of acknowledgment. If he was doing his job, then good on him. If he was needlessly antagonizing a young lady, and grinning like a fool about it, that was unacceptable.

[boomchucka]

Selphie looks at Clarus before she realizes that she's encountered the older man before. With a bob of her head, Selphie pulls out the identification card and holds it out to him. The bartender watches behind the duo with quiet amusement before placing the soda on the counter.

"I did," she protests stubbornly. "He said that it looks fake."

"It's scratched way too much for a newcomer that's only been here for a couple of months and even then, that might be a lie as well. Little girls should be in bed at this time of night. You have school in the morning, hm?"

Selphie glowers darkly at the bartender and has a retort on the tip of her tongue before she states the facts again. "Like I've told you three times already, it got bounced around a lot in my pouch when I was up at Myste Aure fighting a Chocobo Hunter.

"Besides," Selphie continues. "If you're refusing to give me a drink then why'd you let those girls from earlier have one? Seems like a stupid idea to treat one person differently from all the rest if you ask me."

[lordshield]

The way the man spoke raised Clarus's hackles just a bit, and he sat just a tad straighter in his seat as he took the ID card and turned it over in his hand.

"It has her picture. Is this not her?" He asked, showing the card to the man. "Unless someone had a picture of her before she ever arrived on this world I can't imagine the card would be worn with age. Now, if you have information of such a person who could predict which of us would appear in the Dream Width, I'm certain it would be quite valuable to the scholars studying the anomaly. Otherwise, I'd concede this is real."

The card was handed back to Selphie.

"And since we've agreed it is indeed real, you owe this young lady a drink and an apology." His smile was sickly sweet with that hint of an edge just showing through. He was a dangerous man and he knew it, and if the bartender was a smart man he'd pick up on that as well.

[boomchucka]

Selphie watched as Clarus cast a dangerous smile at the bartender who quickly grumbled an apology before the Vaikunthan version of a Cherry Limeade was presented to the perky brunette. The bartender knew when not to pick a fight with a patron who could likely snap him in half as he walked away with a polite suggestion to not go overboard on the adult beverages. There was a bit of emphasis on the "adult" portion of the advice but the perky brunette shrugged her shoulders before sticking her tongue out at the bartender.

She took a sip of the drink before grinning brightly at Clarus. Somebody may or may not have just earned the adoration of a fangirl.

"Thank you," she said politely enough. "Can I buy you a drink as a thank you?"

[lordshield]

Fangirl or not, that wasn't why he'd done what he did. He was a paladin here, and before that title was given to him the old knight filled such a role anyhow. To see anyone treat another like that was rude and uncalled for. If the bartender or anyone else had ever dared to treat his own daughter in such a manner in front of him, they'd have more than a wounded pride.

"You are most welcome, my lady," he replied politely with a slight bow of his head. "Thank you for your kind offer, but I am quite content with what I have for the moment." Later tonight? He'd partake more. For now he was still trying to unwind from earlier tensions.

[boomchucka]

There was a giggle coming out of Selphie's mouth before she could stop it. She'd never been called a lady before and was probably the furthest from the notion as she took another sip of the limeaid. She grimaced a bit at the burn of the vodka in it but didn't really mind it that much. If it would help in forgetting what had happened in the nebula's, Selphie was down with drowning her sorrows in alcohol.

"The offer stands for later then," she replied. "I think we were stuck in Reno's memory together, right?"

[lordshield]

He nodded his acknowledgement of her offer, though he doubted he'd take her up on it. Nothing personal, he just didn't often accept drinks from those that weren't close friends.

"We were," he affirmed, taking another sip of his own drink. "Did you see many other memories?" Not that he wanted her to recount them, just wondering how other people interacted with the nebulas interested him.

[boomchucka]

"Um..."

That was a topic that Selphie didn't really want to talk about as her hands tightened around the glass in her hands. She got the pleasure of reliving one of her own memories as she smiled sadly at the drink. She bore witness to a couple of other memories but out of privacy, she doesn't want to bring those up either.

"I saw a couple," she admitted. "Memories are a private thing so it doesn't feel right for me to share them with others."

[lordshield]

"Agreed." What they'd seen of Reno's was clearly not meant to be shared. Likewise could be said for others he'd witnessed.

Her mannerisms, however, evoked a different sort of reaction from Clarus.

"It was rather intense, though. Best not to keep worries bottled up or carry them on your shoulders," he offered, tone distinctively paternal while also holding a hint of experienced authority. "I found, in my younger years, that keeping a diary was useful. I would write for my eyes only, but it was therapeutic. Then The information was somewhere else and I felt I could wash myself of it and only recall it when I wished to. Psychosomatic, I'm sure, but it worked for me."

His eyes weren't on her, rather he was viewing the bar with a casual air. Was he offering advice or just sharing something personal? She could decide for herself.

Cloudy stop cutting onions

[boomchucka]

Selphie wasn't used to getting advice from people considerably older than herself and the suggestion caught her off guard a bit as her eyes widened a bit. She'd always been with her friends when things were going badly and they'd always been able to sort things out with each other. Granted, she had one of them here to lean on if she needed to but it just wasn't the same without the entire group together. As she stared at her glass thoughtfully, before nodding lightly.

It was a good idea and one that she planned to use as soon as she found a notebook and a decent pen or two. It wouldn't be easy to write down every little thing that had happened but it had to be done sometime. With another sip of her drink, Selphie turned to look at Clarus and let her head tilt to the right curiously.

"I'll try that," she said as she looked at Clarus curiously.

But I love onions!

[lordshield]

Meanwhile Clarus was quite accustomed to offering advice, and finding ways in which to give it that didn't either sound like a command, as he held quite a bit of authority back home, or bruise fragile egos of seasoned or green warriors dealing with issues they never expected to face. Very few people spoke of the mental toll war and battle took. Both of those aside, even day-to-day life could find a way to trip people up. This wasn't a competition, everyone's struggle was valid.

"Good." His fingers traced the grain of the wood on the bar a moment more before he brought his gaze back to her face. "You look perplexed," he noted with an slightly amused smile.

I do too but not when I'm about to cry b-baaaaaw

[boomchucka]

"Maybe a little," Selphie agreed.

She studied Clarus for a few extra moments before shrugging her shoulders. He spoke in a manner that made it clear that he'd dealt with issues like this on more than one occasion and a vibe like he was accustomed to giving out advice like this to someone considerably younger than he. Add in the fact that he came to her aid when he didn't have to and well...

Selphie appreciated it.

"You sound like someone who's been through this more times than you could probably count on both hands and feet and..."

Kind of what Selphie felt a Father would say to his child.