[Plot] The Princess and the Hunter

Here she went again. Really, one would wonder what was going through the head of the princess that she would escape the security of the palace once more to wander alone after what happened not so long ago. Truth is, she was still terrified, but also, they had been in the palace, in the gardens, waiting for her. They knew her movements and where she used to go, they knew everything! She didn’t feel safe in the palace at all; on the contrary, she was paranoid. Every guard could be a plant, every servant could just grab her and run. She was surrounded at all time by people that were supposed to protect her, but she couldn’t trust any of them. She brought this matter to her father and the captain of the guards, but she had such a tendency to escape the palace that they all believed it was just an excuse to leave. Well for once it wasn’t. She knew she brought that on herself and regretted her past actions a bit, but right now she didn’t have the time to ponder. She had just unveiled her suspicions and they hadn’t remained quiet. She assumed the captain was the one who spread it, she didn’t trust him but he was the one in a position of power… Maybe he was the plant! She had to move, she was in danger right now even if she was still in her room!

Irrational fear maybe, but she believed it. She felt insecure, she felt in danger in her own home, so she had to hide. Peri could remember all the movies and books she read and funny enough, one thing sprung to mind : hide in plain sight, hide where they would never expect you to be, right under their nose. Yeah, if she was going to hide, she should go somewhere they wouldn’t expect a princess like her to go.

Putting on some generic clothes that wouldn’t point her to be from the royal family, she ended up with a relatively classy get-up but one that could pass for normal in a crowd. She didn’t have maby clothes that were plain to be frank and she couldn’t wear her one punk –shirt since she was wearing it the day they tried to kidnap her.

Escaping wasn’t hard, she did it so often and knew so many different ways to leave that she was out of the palace in fifteen minutes without seeing a single guard. Having a decently big palace ground was useful for that. The bridge linking the castle to the actual mainland was the biggest issue, but it was dark and she had a grey cloak of the same color as the bridge, allowing her to blend in to the eyes of the guards up the castle walls. She had gotten that cloak for that same reason. The few guards on the bridge itself and at the gate were easy to avoid, they were more focused on what could come from outside, not from inside.

Being out of the palace grounds was new though. Peri had the habit of leaving her room when she was grounded, but she never actually went out, so everything was somewhat new, especially at night. She was rushing along since she knew there could be Grimms everywhere and quickly found herself in Bellmuse Central. Now, she needed a place to lay low. Some bar or inn with rooms where she could listen in on rumors and such, they always are the best place in books and movies for that sort of thing.

This was real life though and most bars were just bars in the main part of town. No tavern and inn or such could be found around there until she found one on Kompress beach. Putting her hand in her pocket to check her money, she realized with horror she left without bringing much, just her pocket change that would pay for no more than a meal or two. Cursing at herself, she still entered that one bar which looked not too crowded but still had quite a few patrons. She dropped her cloak so as not to draw attention but realized even in her efforts to downplay her wardrobe, she was still overdressed some. Acting as if it was nothing, she walked to the bar and took a seat. “Ehm… you have wine?”

Frowning, the man behind the bar looked her quizzically. “Sure we do, it’s not bad even. Are you sure you’re old enough?”

“Yeah I’m old enough, don’t worry. And I got money, here.”

The barman had a skeptical look on his face looking at her, but he wasn’t really one to care much, he just asked out of principle. He poured her some wine and took most of the money she offered. Wine was expensive in bars but she couldn’t retract her order now, she’d just have to make do with what she had.

"Give me something with some apple to it." The man demanded to the bartender as he took a seat at the counter, resting his head on his left fist. The tavern's employee ran off to mix a drink, leaving Mr. Hunter Smith to wait, reflecting on the incompetence of everyone he bothered acquainting himself with. With one setback and/or delay would come another, and another and another, and it was driving the Atlesean man absolutely insane, though no one would be able to tell behind his currently bored looking face. It was an Irksome thing, to have a plan set and to watch it go so well until it went very very wrong. Of course it was nothing that halted his intentions at all, but it was certainly holding him back. In any case, the sound of glass sliding against polished wood approached the man, and he looked up to see some Cider had appeared before him, thanks to the man behind the counter. Hunter nodded in acknowledgement and proceeded to rinse away his frustrations.

About halfway through his drink, He heard the clacking of a barstool behind where he was sitting, leaning against the counter. Afterwards came the voice of a young woman, nervous and unsure in tone. Curious, he looked over his shoulder and glanced at the newcomer. To his surprise, She looked extremely familiar. Oh, well what do we have here? He internally remarked. Looks like I can get on track sooner than expected...
He twisted around to face the lady, finishing off his drink. With a soft smile and a hushed tone, he leaned toward her. "You know, the innkeep here clearly doesn't care, but if you're gonna lie about your age it helps to be more confident when you speak." He chuckled quietly. "Of course you don't seem to be very good at Deception, Princess Periwinkle." His volume lowered even more when speaking of her identity. After all, it would be a problem for the both of them if any of the other patrons knew. Hunter continued, keeping a friendly tone in his voice but not letting the girl ask questions "I'm a student at Syne." He explained. "I was at the party a couple weeks ago. What are you doing in such a public place? If I recognized you, surely someone else will, and judging by your get up I doubt you're here to be seen." He stood, grabbing her arm and gently pulling her off the seat. "Here, come back to the school with me. I know all the great hiding spots there, and we can talk. you seem like you need it." Hunter suggested with a wink. It seemed like everything was looking back up again.

Celia walked around Bellmuse and more specifically an area called Kompress Beach, it was quite a lovely little Kingdom, it was obviously not as big as back home in Vacuo but she’d suppose it’d do. She’d heard that Bellmuse was run by a single Royal Family which seemed odd. Coming from a family of politicians herself and seeing first hand her whole life how a large Kingdom dealt with its business she deduced that a single family running the entire show would be rather inefficient but seeing that Bellmuse had a seemingly functioning Academy and City spoke well of how it was running, even if it was all a big sham. She had heard of the attempted kidnapping of a Bellmuse Princess and how the students of Syne Academy “saved” her, she used the word rather loosely, of course, considering the events she heard that had transpired during the rescue.  

As Celia walked she noticed the night sky was particular beautiful right now, Celia could enjoy the fact that a gentle breeze rolled off the beach nearby, it was a perfect night for a stroll. She glanced out towards the water, unfortunately, a small set of clouds seemed to be blocking the moon’s light that would normally reflect off the water. She sighed, she probably should be heading back towards the school soon, it was rather late and she didn’t like roaming about at night, especially since she didn’t know the area very well. Before double backing on the way she came from Celia spotted an Inn and Tavern combo. It reminded her of a similar setup back home on Vacuo's beaches. As she stopped and looked at the establishment she also wondered if they sold those fruit drinks also from back home, daiquiris they were called. Of course, they'd have to be non-alcoholic as Celia wasn't old enough to drink not that she would indulge herself in such a pointless activity anyway. Celia looked back at her previous path and then back at the tavern, it couldn't hurt to go and look. Worst case scenario was they didn't have it or they threw her out. She shrugged and headed for the building.

When Celia entered she noticed that the bar had quite a few people sitting at the tables, she looked slightly out of place. Her red hair and slightly armored attire probably stuck out like a sore thumb among all the 9-5 commoners who were trying to enjoy a drink after a long day, which she could understand. She walked up to the bar and asked the bartender if he knew what a daiquiri was, he gave her a look that screamed "Are you serious?" he glanced her up and down and she quickly added she'd take it without alcohol, he simply raised his eyebrows at her and went behind the counter asking what flavor to which she responded with "Strawberry." the drink only took a minute to complete and when it was finished and slid her way she took a sample and approved before sending some Lien across the counter, a small tip included and the tender noticed. He gave her a smile and nodded before go back to other patrons. Celia sipped her drink happily, it reminded her of everything she left behind. Some people, men, gave her a look and she grimaced.

'Gross...' was her only thought as she continued drinking her piece of strawberry deliciousness. She turned away, her front now facing the line of drinks that stood high on the shelves behind the bar. Nobody was sitting near her but a pair of people were farther down the counter, a lady, and a gentleman. They seemed to be engrossed in a conversation, she didn't like eavesdropping but she overheard a part of the man's words.

"...I'm a student at Syne." Celia's eyes narrowed, she didn't recognize him but of course the school was rather large and she could have easily have missed him. Even from a slight distance, there was something off she felt and it didn't help her gut reaction when he grabbed the girl's arm he was talking with and although gently, he attempted to pull her out of the seat. Celia frowned slightly but took no action... not yet anyway. They could know one another and it could be completely harmless, she was almost done with her drink anyway. She would be on her way soon and although it was a bad mentality to have she figured it wouldn't be her problem anymore, she could go back to the Academy and sleep.

As time passed the average joe wandered into the tavern to partake in his regular consumption of the Devils nectar, the man still having his hair slicked back from a day of business in the woods took his time to greet those he recognized from previous ventures to the bar alone. It hadn't taken him long to approach the bar, and as the boy took ahold of a girl, he diverted his attention over to her, and shared a look of hatred. Beyond her outfit he knew who this woman was by her face and sheer levels of hatred, and upon recognizing her he brought his hand to his face.

"Oh god not you again..."

He said with a sigh, diverting his gaze from the girl and the man talking to her as he walked by them, and continued his approach to the bar. He took a seat next to the student who ordered a strawberry daiquiri, and as her drink arrived he eyeballed the drink, then the girl who looked a little to young to be there in the first place. As if he knew who she was he reached over and plucked the drink from her hand, and smelt the drink before cringing softly while placing it back infront of her. He put on his positive and cheerful persona, trying to act polite.

"Oh okay, you're innocent. I thought I was gonna have to take the bartender here out back and beat him below the neck and shoulders for serving alcohol to a minor. You hear me barkeep? You got lucky."

He spoke, looking to the bartender who gave him an off look, then sighed and gave a short laugh.

"And I thought I was gonna have to start serving you non alcoholic beverages, Hana." "Hey you know that's a sin. Get outta here, do me a favor bring me some Whiskey and a couple shot cups, not the glass ones I'm tired of breaking em and having to deal with that dumb look of yours when I do." "Anything in specific you want ya walking brewery?" "Yeah why don't you bring me some Tennessee Honey and meet me in the bathroom so I can bust you over the head with a sock n a couple rolls of pennies. "I'd love to see you try that." "Yeah me too but I'd have to explain to your wife on how you got beat in a restroom with your life savings. "So why to you smell like you just came out of a Fabreeze commercial?" "I was out burying your hopes and dreams, after you get out we can both go back and try to find em."

He spoke, the two men sharing a laugh as the bartender went to a drawer and pulled out three cups, two metal and one painted to look like it was metal when it was actually glass. He laid the three out infront of him, filled them up, and upon the first shot he felt himself start to relax, on the second he felt himself growing more mentally at peace, and upon grabbing the third and final cup which was the glass it broke apart in his metal prosthetic hand.

"Oh you shmuck."

He spoke, looking to the girl who ordered the Daiquiri.

"Do you believe this wise guy? Buddies got the attention span of a goldfish and the mental capacity of a bar of soap."

He laughed, catching the look from the bartender who shared a laugh with him at his little prank. He refilled the metal cups, and Koko looked at the pile of glass on the table with a frown, then turned his attention to the girl once more as a thought appeared in his head.

"Hey kid, watch this, I'll show you a magic trick. Don't cringe."

He spoke, grabbing the glass pieces off the table and placed them in his human hand. He brought the hand full of glass to his mouth and swallowed, then opened his mouth to show nothing. He held a finger up, and cupped his hands together. He made a small effort of trying to focus on his hands, and upon moving his human hand the shot glass appeared fully intact. He placed it on the table, and looked down to his drinks as he let out a half hearted 'Ta-Da' before taking a shot.

The former assassin walked in, furious with himself. His hunt had been a bust which forced him to find some other way of getting money for tonight's meal. At least the mafia goons couldn't tell anyone who he was...being dead made it so very hard to answer questions. Something was going on at the bar. He didn't like  the look of the young girl over there. He casually looked about, only another person of his...previous occupation,  could see it for what it was. Not seeing any overt threat, he walked next to the red haired huntress and motioned for the barkeep, "Anything that hits hard and fast". His ghosts always came after a job. He removed his scroll from its holster on the inside of his arm and serupticiously took a couple photos of the princess. It always paid to have a back up plan. He looked at his neighbor,  "I wonder what such an important person would have with the likes of us." He said in a low voice only the huntress could hear, "If I had to guess, the king would pay well for her safe return." He took a swig from the hug in front of him and glanced around, "on a side note,  a couple of these...gentlemen...have come to a similar conclusion." He gave Red Hair a meaningful look. There was only one readily accessible door and a few windows that looked to be reinforced. Fenrir stretched a bit and looked around again. His gaze froze on a corner seat. His eyes telling him something impossible. He blinked and the lie was gone. Turning back, he picked up his drink and launched it with unerring accuracy across the room and into the door. Let people stare! He felt the air in the room change...He hated it...such things...There was going to be trouble whether it happened here or not was irrelevant.  He was going to be ready...blood was going to be his for feasting. He walked out the door into the night and smiled, everyone's attention had been away from Princess Periwinkle long enough for him to attach a tracking glyph on her. He sniffed the air and her scent confirmed the she was still inside. He jumped into a tree and cast a Stealth Glyph, waiting for something to happen.

Actions:
Wind glyph: augmentation-smell (tracking): -10 AP
Stealth Glyph: -10 AP

In the bar's back room, large metallic fingers covered by rubber gloves close to the point of bursting, Flash Driver was working a shift as a busboy. Cleaning pint glasses, shot glasses and everything between. The large droid would often work small jobs around the town, helping painters with their ladders and aiding old ladies in crossing the street. So when he had seen a man, struggling to walk and throwing up into a nearby bin, he had promised to take over his shift and give him all the money he earned today.

It was only right to do, poor dude had to feed his family after all. Besides, wasn't like Flash had to eat and the large droid didn't really have much to do with his evenings outside wander, lacking the need to sleep.

He polished the last of the pint glasses he had collected, setting it upside-down to dry. He lifted the basin from the sink, turning to the door and gently opening it. Wandering out into the bar area from a door just beyond the front desk, scanning the tabletops in search of empty glasses. He found a few at a table not far from the counter, his heavy metal soles clunking against the wooden floor as he walked; gently lifting the glasses from the table and placing them in his basin. He pulled a bottle of water, some washing up liquid within, and began to spray the table. Cleaning off the residual alcohol and ring-marks.

He couldn't help but pick up some of the conversation going on behind him, though he knew the fleshy ones enjoyed their privacy so he would try to keep that to a minimum. He could only really recognize one of the people, he'd seen her on some broadcasts. Mostly on the news. He made a mental note to probably ask for an autograph.

The sound of one breaking glass confused Flash, he assumed someone had dropped it. Turning to tend to it however he saw the fleshy one pick up and eat the pieces... only for a new glass to appear. He paused for a moment, squirt bottle in one hand and wearing his usual pink apron he wore for this kind of work. He wasn't sure humans were supposed to work like that but ultimately if he was okay Flash had no reason to stop him eating the glass. He wondered if human's stomachs were stronger than he had once thought.

It was then that a second glass went flying right passed his head, just out of his reach as he failed to catch it mid-flight, hitting the door. Flash quickly tracked it's trajectory back to the area it had been thrown from only to see a man do something strange regarding one of the other patrons before briskly walking toward the very door which he had thrown the glass at.


Flash slouched slightly in defeat, maybe it was about time he upgraded to some form of vocal speech. Though he soon remembered that meant making puns would be harder so he did not. He turned to the kind bartender, who already had a dustpan and brush in hand. The droid put down his cleaning supplies and made his way over to the door, gently brushing up the shards from the floor but unknowingly blocking the door from any other patron's exit.

The blonde Princess had been shaking for a while, barely looking around. She really didn’t look at home here and stuck out like a sore thumb. What the hell was she doing here? Oh right, evading the castle. She still remained certain that the bad guys had infiltrated the place and that they wouldn’t think of looking in a place like this. Then again, if people start talking that they saw her here, especially if people recognize her in some way… No, no one here would recognize… oh crap she remembered that guy, he was one of those that “saved” her… He’s the one that clearly said he didn’t care about saving her. Great, simply wonderful… She tried, maybe too late, to hide her face. She should have dyed her hair or something.

Some guy was sitting next to her now and she stopped shaking. Not that she wasn’t nervous anymore, more like she was a bit too petrified to even tremble. Thank you mom for all those proper etiquette lessons in staying an emotionless doll, at least I can avoid my face from taking a fearful look easily. She almost yelped when he called her by her name, cursing herself. What a superb job of staying incognito, you managed to keep people from recognizing you for a grand total of five minutes! You should be a master Ninja!

Self-derision aside, she took a look at the guy saying he was present at the party, that he was a Hunter student at Syne. Considering her experience with Hunters the day she was attacked, she didn’t feel any safer with his words. Well, he had green hair, maybe he was related to that girl that did try to get her out of the way?

Her slight moment of hesitation about his person was broken when he grabbed her arm. At that moment, she panicked. “What the hell are you doing, don’t touch me!” She didn’t trust that stranger any more than she trusted the guy eating glass. More than that though, she was still affected by the traumatism of the kidnapping attempt and anyone grabbing her in anyway would only make her panic more. Struggling openly, she tried to pry her arm from his grip, but all she was ever taught was how to be a pretty doll. Why the hell didn’t they let her learn to fight like she wanted when she was a kid?

Bags, I'm an idiot! the thought flashed through Fenrir's mind as he briskly walked back into the tavern. The horrendous execution of the kidnapping at the party was an old trick. Even worse, he'd used it himself on numerous occasions. Make the enemy underestimate you, then strike. The attack on the palace had, in effect, flushed the princess to a location where she'd be more vulnerable. Not that he cared...of course not, he just wanted the pay that came with being a world class huntsman he walked in, knocking over the robot in the door and walked to the bar, "I think I left my wallet here." The barkeep leaned back. And I forgot to put my contacts back in. His red pupils narrowed to the point where his eyes looked like black orbs, "I'd *greatly* appreciate if someone returned it." A slight of hand sent it on the floor behind the bar. As the man looked around, Fenrir glanced over at the princess. She didn't seem to care for the man holding her wrist. Fenrir closed his eyes, pushing the bloodlust away. Damn you all to the Abyss... he walked over and this time remembered to put the lenses in his eyes, making them appear normal instead of red and black, "Hi there. Is there a problem?" He asked with the air of a kind and cheerful person, and wiggled his ears to make himself look harmless, a time honored technique. He had to resist the urge to cast a dark look at the door...something was triggering his sense of danger, but he wasn't able to identify it. The barkeep handed him his wallet, "It was on the floor, sorry 'bout the inconvenience." Fenrir nodded and accepted it, "Here, drinks on me" he handed a large wad of bills to the man. Fenrir cast a look at the people around. Three...four students from Syne...I only recognize two of them...a packed room full of unknowns and *him* The odds were not in his favor if a fight broke out. But then again, they never were.


Maintained actions:
Tracking glyph: -10 AP

Aura recovery: +5 AP

(OOC: I think I hit every white knight/helpful stranger trope right here)

It started out ever so innocently. Even now that he attended Syne, Marcus had enough hours in the day left for his side job as fixer-upper. When a call came from one of his mates from the shipyards, of course he instantly promised to help out. He was not prepared for the rest of the evening.

Marcus whistled softly as he took in the damage.

"So think you can do it?" Perri asked. His employer was the typical dockworker of Syne. Solid built, sun burnt, smiles broad enough for all around to enjoy. In this particular case, also a rich mane of curly black locks and beard that gave him the face of a fairy tale pirate captain.

"Well..." Marcus said thoughtfully. Already he could see the work laid out in front of him, what needed to be torn out and replaced and what could be salvaged. He ran one hand over the machinery and for the briefest of moments a slight flicker of light lit the growing smile on his own face.

"Be done this evening." he said confidently. Perri cocked his head to the side.

"You better be right lad, this thing's cost us half the budget already." the workman said in a rare moment of seriousness.

"Hey if I don't get it to work, I'll pay the drinks for all of you." Marcus replied. Perri gave him a look, well aware of Marcus' reputation as a penny pincher. The engineer just grinned and grabbed a wrench from his toolbelt. Time to get to work.

----


The sun had set quite some time before Marcus finally finished with the last touches. Fortunately a quick check of his watch told him he still had time left allotted to him. Unsure what else to do Marus pulled out his scroll and called Perri.

“Hey Perri, it’s me. I finished.”

“Yeah, well, I’m just that good with machines mate. You can come pick her up whenever you’re ready.”

“Hell yes I do. Do you have a spare costume for me though? I didn’t exactly dress for something like this.”

“Aw hell yeah. Meet me at the hangar?”

“Excellent, cheers man.”

----

As Fenrir walked back out of the bar, he was treated to a most peculiar sight. Marcus Goldstein and two other men clad in old fashioned flannel shirts, equally old fashioned brown pants, bandannas, no shoes and painted on eyepatches dashed around the corner of the street and crept up to the bar. Just as Marcus was about to carefully peek inside, a patron actually stepped out. Marcus sheepishly looked the man in the eye, before he raised his hand.

“Hey Mickey. Don’t tell anyone we’re here kay? Also is Dave in there?”

“I don’t think you need to worry much about being seen mate, there’s something up inside the bar that’s got everyone’s attention. Better hurry though, I reckon you got round three minutes at best before that something turns into a barfight.” Mickey responded, looked the three men over once more and came to a conclusion.

“Stag party?” Mickey whispered loudly. Marcus grinned and put his thumbs up even as he ran back around the corner. For a brief moment the street is silent.

Then an honest to gods pirate ship on wheels rumbled around the corner.

An obvious parade float, the ‘ship’ sported a full mast with a jolly roger on the sail, around a dozen dockworkers in various states of pirate cosplay, fake cannons on either side and disco balls instead of lanterns on the aftcastle. Perri stood on the forecastle, clad in resplendent red coat with golden filigree on the sleeves and shoulder tassels, a tricorn hat, a paper-mache parrot on one shoulder. The whole contraption rolls to a halt in front of the bar and Perri descended down a rope to the street.

Flanked by a female wolf faunus with a fake beard on one side and Marcus on the other, the fake pirate captain kicked open the door and strolled inside like he owned the place.

“PIRATE INTERRUPT!” Marcus announced loudly.

“David Richardson! Stand ye scurvy dog!” Perri bellowed, his eyes intent on a regular patron that sat frozen still on his stool.

"Whu-"

"So me trusty Polly here whispered in me ear ya rat faced bilge rat committed a treason most heinous! Ye done promised yer hand to a wench in marriage! Holy matrimony! A betrayal to the loyal brotherhood of the singles lifestyle!" Perri continues.

"The code be quite clear on this. Yer coming with us matey!" the wolf faunus adds with a laugh.

As the duo advance on Dave, Marcus steps up to a different person. At first he thought 'the giant robot in the pink apron' meant that Perri had drunk too much already, but lo and behold, here was exactly one such individual.

"Hello thar matey! We also be here for the rum. Should be a large order under the name Perrot Martins set aside for us, paid in advance." he told Flash loudly.

Lastly Marcus took a moment to just bask in the sheer insanity of the situation, watching the patron's faces as they slowly came to terms with what was in front of them. The looks on those faces alone made the whole effort totally worth it.

As the sky outside darkened, the population at Creak's increased steadily. It was gradually filling up with the crazies that one might expect from such an establishment. Certainly no place for a princess to be wandering into right? Of course, Princess Periwinkle did not seem to agree with such a thought, insisting--- Rather loudly one might add--- that Hunter not touch her. The man with the hat respected her wishes and released her arm, Not there to make any sort of show. This Spoiled royal was not very bright, was she? Never mind Hunter's intentions, he doubted that she herself wanted to be seen for her own sake. The man took a quick glance around. There were a few people looking, but none seemed to want to confront Hunter directly. This could actually work in his favor.

He leaned in toward the Princess' ear. "This is no good, They're all staring now. At this rate you'll be caught in no time. We have to go. Please, let me help you." It was at this time that one of the aforementioned crazies approached Mr. Smith himself, Sporting a friendly attitude that Hunter could not help but doubt. The newcomer asked about a problem which was definitely his passive aggressive way of letting the green headed man know that he knew what was up. He quickly turned Peri away, so as not to have her face recognized which, of course, would be bad for everyone involved. "Oh no, My cousin here got herself drunk is all. I'm trying to get her back home, but you know how people get when intoxicated. Oh well, nothing I couldn't handle before, no need to get others involved. Thank you for your concern~" With that, he began to try and push Periwinkle away, using only enough force needed to nonchalantly her toward the door.


(OOC PLEASE READ: This Topic is now closed to new participants. Post order will follow Plot/Class rules, please refer to the previous plot topic or Role Playing rules for more details (or ask staff).

P.S. Fenrir your Signature is too big, please decrease the size, Marcus and Koko you do need to have your face claim as your Avatar image.)

Flash Driver had just finished sweeping up the last of the glass when the door met his side. Unknown to the man on the other side Flash was not only a robot made of metal, but two meters tall and weighing in at one hundred and fifty kilograms. Not to mention his kneeling position, he was designed specifically to be strong and stable in combat and so a door meeting him wasn't going to do much. Even if a great force was applied, though not knowing someone was behind the door until it was pushed why would it be, the door would break before he would move.

However, being the gracious droid he was, when the door met Flash he rose and took a step back. Allowing the door to open and the patron to once again emerge... much to the droid's surprise that he had returned. He would have tried to ask him about paying for the damaged glass again, but being behind him holding the door open it was unlikely he would be able to read the words.

The droid himself was kinda surprised when a pirate ship seemed to roll up, but as two men dressed as pirates appeared, asking about rum, Flash couldn't help but feel this was meant to be some sort of comedic fleshy-one event. And so he took up his part.


The droid then began to make his way, tray full of glass in one hand, back toward the bar and thus the glass bin behind it, when he ended up in the path between the escaping pair and the door. He had missed the entirety of what struggles had been going on at the bar due to both his sweeping up of the glass and talking to the pirate people His screen lit up with a brief flash, from this angle he could properly remember who the woman was. The princess, oh to be in the presence of one! How embarrassing, he hadn't even cleaned his apron. He thought that he must look a right mess.

The sounds of shattered glass didn't irk the man one bit out of his seat, instead he ordered the bottle and sat to himself drinking his merry woes away, pounding shot after shot after shot until his body felt numb once more, and he had blocked her voice out completely. His cat wondered in through an open door, approaching the man and quickly leapt to his lap to be greeted with a gentle hand. She whispered softly to him about his safety, and that he needed to get out before a fight broke out and he'd lose himself in the enjoyment. Well, Karla wasn't wrong. If there were a fight he'd go nuts, but he just watched everything play out, taking in all actions, words, and body language from everyone around. It seemed as though the more time passed the more petrified the girl had become, which made him want to laugh. It was her fault his friends suit got ruined, so what did he care if anything happened to her?

"Spoiled brat finally gets what's comin."

He spoke, turning his head to see the robot and the puns on his monitor. It made him chuckle softly, flashing a toothy grin as the puns generated from the robot fully settled in to his slightly buzzed head. The girls panic brought his attention to her once more, and he held the glass shot glass in his metal hand as she started freaking out from the man touching her, clearly showing she didn't know who the heck it was. Lucky for him, as Koko had nothing polite to say about the woman who didn't even aid to her own rescue by using her semblance. Maybe now someone will remove her annoying presence from his attention. The boy walked in, the one who threw the glass, and... Pirates? The scene had Koko staring down at his bottle with a disturbed look on his face, almost curious if it were the alcohol or if what was going on was actually going on.

"I just came to drink, what the hell is going on.... Is this Tennessee Honey that strong or is this for real?"

He asked himself, staring deeply into the bottle. He heard the man address Periwinkle as her cousin, and as the man had beef with the girl, he looked down to Karla with a rather vile look on his face.

"Don't do it Koko. Just sit and drink." "Come on, anyone in the right mind who knew who that was, and by the looks of it they do, know who she is." "Just sit and drink Koko, it's not your problem." "The broad owes me a new suit, bare minimum for the bs at the castle." "Drink. Koko." "You want me to drink huh, fine then. I'll drink, but you ain't gonna like what happens after."

He spoke, grabbing the hefty bottle by the neck and began to drink, and drink, and drink. The huge bottle hit the bottom within seconds, and Koko became wobbly, not heavily, but enough to let loose with his real self as his cat made her way out the bar and into the open world.

"Hey boss, I'm going home."

Koko stood up and gave a look to the bartender, who looked away as he started walking out, stumbling around like a drunk. He lit a cigarette on his way out, barely holding the cancer stick between his lips as he started stumbling over his own feet. He wobbled all the way over, tripping himself over his shoes like any drunk would as he got close to miss Periwinkle. He had to hold onto the robot for dear life as a means of his little act, all the while making eye contact with Periwinkle with his cold unforgiving eyes. He hated Periwinkle with a burning passion, if it hadn't of been for the guards and the current hunters he'd of attempted to abduct her after the first dilemma. But for now, a peaceful drunk was all he was aiming to look like.

"Hey..... You, you're uh.... The special one... The pretty girl. I like pretty girls... I...."

He spoke, stopping mid-sentence as he looked like he went into thought, turning his attention to the woman while clinging to the robot.



[OOC: I'll work on it when I get the chance.][/color]

Fenrir smiled all friendly like, "I see, well in that case I recommend mixing three raw eggs with a half cup of hot sauce and three espresso shots. She'll be sober in thirty seconds and no hangover." He glanced at the newcomers, a loud band of pirates hazing one of their own. He recognized one of them as a first year at Syne This really can't end well tonight. he snapped a couple clandestine pictures of the green haired stranger up close with the camera built into his contacts. That was a couple thousand very illegal lien well spent. His scroll chimed No record found. He deleted it and turned to the man, "So, I heard earlier you study at Syne. What's your major?" He pulled out a pamphlet he had recieved from the archeology club, "perhaps I could interest you in joining the dusters. It's almost like an Indiana Jones movie but with monsters instead of psychopaths." He caught a familiar shape in the corner of his eye... "you don't have to answer right away, we meet on Fridays and usually are out until Sunday looking for artifacts." He took a seat and started going into detail about the kind of things they found on their last trip. He pulled his okami mask from his jacket and leaned in as if showing off a recent find. Fenrir winced inwardly at the obvious ploy, "I would reckon two thirds of the people here already know who she is. If I were smart, I'd get her back to the palace." He straightened up and put his mask away, "of course not everyone has what it takes to be an archeologist." The drunk stumbled by and made a pass at the princess.  Fenrir stifled his laughter as he casually swept the room again. His eyes briefly froze on his brother, and then kept on like nothing happened damndamndamndamndamn so very not good. He reached behind the counter and filled a pint with a brew that looked like it would put a full grown elephant down with a killer hangover and drained it in one go.


Sustained actions:
Tracking glyph : - 10 AP

Aura recovery : + 5 AP

It said something about the bar that after the initial raised eyebrows, business as usual resumed practically instantly. Mostly good things as far as Marcus was concerned. The engineer gave hearty laugh as the robot actually got in on the act. Tomfoolery among friends, acting out just because one could, these simple joys in life were good on their own. When they made a stranger smile? They were the best.

“The owner, aye, got it. Keep up the deckswabbin’ laddy!” he replied, and sauntered over to the bar. Marcus noticed that the rest of the cosplaying dockworkers entered the cafe proper and were busy making fools of themselves. Good, that meant they finished parking the parade float and the party proper could get on the way.

Marcus leaned against the bar and scanned the crowd as he waited for the barkeep. Aside from the regulars there were a few points of interest. First, a sort of familiar face. Marcus had no name to attach to it, as best he could remember he saw the guy at Syne a couple of times. Probably an older year or something. Well the guy was welcome to join in if he wanted. Other stand out faces were a very well dressed couple, a drunk guy he'd never seen before and a cute redhead at the bar.

Needless to say, what actually went on sailed so far over his head it might as well have been in orbit.

“Geary? Didn’t expect to see you back here. Don’t you get to go to all sorts of fancy festivities these days?” the barkeep greeted him. Marcus shook his head with a smile.

“Please. Parties where old people in suits shuffle round just fast enough to show people they ain’t dead yet. Gimme one of these piss ups any day.” Marcus responded. “Anywhoo! I be here fer Perri's spiced rum. We cannea have ol’ Dave’s stag parrrty without it matey!”

“Still can’t believe the madman actually did it.” the barkeep said as he pulled up a tray full of bottles and glasses. Marcus shrugged and tapped his finger against his temple.

“Hey, it was in their own hands the second they both turned eighteen. We just be celebrating, aye? Speaking of which.” the engineer replied as he turned around and held up bottles for all to see.

“Drinks all round people!” he announced loudly. “Yes, including you lot about to leave, we have enough for all!”

The increasing attention was becoming a bit suffocating, but without much resistance from others he continued to push the Princess of Bellmuse toward the exit, answering whatever questions came his way. After all, not doing so would make him suspicious to those around him, if he didn't look so already. That said, no one was doing anything to stop him, so maybe he was just paranoid. He did think himself to be clever. Even so, he had no choice but to walk away from those (two people specifically) to tried to interact with the girl herself. It was easy enough, its not like they were talking to him. The first man that had talked to him tried to continue to conversation, asking a lot of questions about school life. Of course, Hunter had done his research, so such inquiries were nothing. He answered as he continued toward the exit, Peri in hand. "Tech major, and no, sorry, not quite the type to get down and dirty." Looking toward the bar at the offer made by he strange pirate man, Hunter shook his head. He was already at the door, he just had to walk out of it. "No thank you friend, as you can see my cousin has had enough to drink and i must get her home. Good Bye all." With that, he walked out of the door, pulling a damp rag out of his pocket was he walked away to sedate the princess with and make his escape.

-exit-

((OoC: Can anyone please post? I would like to go give chase, and yes I will have an IC reason for that, but I am stuck waiting for my turn until someone else responds. Perriwinkle, Flash, Celia, Koko?))

{OOC: periwinkle is an npc and she was just sedated and kidnapped so she can't do anything.}

Fenrir smiled deviously as he looked through the wallet he had borrowed from the green haired hunter. Lots of big bills meant a small crime family was backing this. He sniffed the air again and followed his tracking glyph as he quietly left the bar, "Little Brother." He stopped, "Ragnarok. To what do I owe the pleasure this time?" The older man pulled his mask on, "you just witnessed another step into the destruction of Bellmuse. You'd better hurry if you want to save everyone." And with that, Fenrir's brother left, "Nothing is ever easy. If it was it would be boring." He stepped out and sniffed again, he then shifted the tracking glyph to a passive form to save aura and walked down the road. His contract with the palace was going to be rewritten with a massive pay boost once this cluster funk was dealt with.