Umbra Noctis - Tavern/Club RP

Behind the bar are two members of staff, one, a red-robed human female of indeterminate age, face mostly hidden by her hood, is cleaning glasses with a fresh damp cloth. The other, a multicoloured anthropomorphic phoenix, is racking up new bottles in the winerack.


(This RP is for any characters anyone wishes to use. They don't have to be used in any other RP on this site, and are here to start to know the characters and their RPers better. So, join in, and let's get to know one another.)

(>v> The arial font was only 'cos my characters were part of the introduction.)

Neither of the two behind the bar noticed the door opening at first.

(Ok. Tested it before and found it looked better, but yes, I will leaves this to the intro, now.)

She approach slowly and silently, afraid of hitting or soiling anything in this place. As she gets near the counter, she ask in a soft voice:

"Excuse me... I'd like to know if I can rent a room here..."

The anthro walked over to the corner of the counter. "Yeah, you can. We're still waiting on a couple of staff though, so in the meantime, can I get you a drink?"

Looking at the phoenix, she can only think of what the world has to show her in the future. That is, if she can afford travelling as she does...

"Hmm, yes. Something sweet, if possible... I need it, actually."

And taking another look at the building...

"Sorry to ask this, but... are rooms costly? I am not by any mean rich..."

"Will a fruit juice do? And our rooms aren't very expensive. Unless you ask for the penthouse one of course."

((Hey, Hawk, I was going to play it as if they had to move from the previous inn. That alright with you?))

A door was audibly heard shutting in the kitchen, and a soft clacking coming down the stairs. Bounding across the floor was a small blue creature. A glimpse toward the cat-sized thing, as it slid under the swinging doors of the bar counter, would reveal the flash of feathers and scaly tail tipped in a tuft of fur. The door to the kitchen opened slightly, then closed again.

A few minutes later, a young lady with bluish-black hair tied back in a braid and brown eyes would exit the kitchen. She was dressed in denim pants and a button-up shirt, both a lovely shade of cobalt. A silver pendant hung on a leather strip around her neck. Smiling at the other two staff, she promptly went to grab the guestbook from behind the counter, and placed it on the countertop, waving at the newcomer in a friendly fashion before grabbing a pen from a drawer behind her.

(Yeah, seeing as it was your inn in the first place.)

A pair of men walked in from the gardens, bickering loudly again, this time over the most effective way to enter a building without anyone noticing. They stopped at the front desk, and continued bickering in front of the clerk.

(( Alrighty :3))

"What are you two arguing over now?" laughed the girl in the blue outfit. She shook her head, still grinning, and then asked if they would like anything to drink or snack on. While waiting for their answer, a voice from the kitchen called her name.

"Sorano! Could you come in here when you got a minute, dear?"
"Be there shortly, Telu!" Sorano replied.

The black plumaged bird looked at her, yellow beak clacking slightly as he spoke "I'm arguing with Greg over silent entry to a building."

The BDU wearing human called Greg interrupted. "And yet, Hawk is failing badly, forgetting that alarms aren't the only security in a building."

The phoenix serving the newcomer bowed to her in apology. "I'm sorry, I'm just going to see what our chef needs. Quill, would you serve this customer?" She turned, and headed into the kitchen to see what Telu wanted.

The robed woman nodded, walking over to her. "Hi. What was it you wanted to drink?"

Sorano laughed softly again. "You two are something else," she said, turning to go into the kitchen. She paused for a moment when she saw Phoenix turn to do the same, and so stayed put with a shrug. In the process, she saw the new staff member; someone she'd not met before. From what Phoenix had said, this woman's name was Quill. She looked an interesting enough person. Sorano made a note to get to know her better a little later on.

Suddenly, Sorano's eye found another presence that had entered the establishment. A pale woman dressed in a business suit and cloak with shoulder-length black hair. Why didn't I hear her come in? the Felix Dragon wondered. Then she noted the sheath at the woman's hip.
"Excuse me, madame, but we have a policy that requires you to check your weapons in at the door." The woman turned to face Sorano, looking past Greg and Hawk with strange red eyes.

"Do pardon me. I would think it most beneficial to your establishment to make this policy evident on a plaque or similar post adjacent to the entry and again on a wall next to the coat check window in the corridor." The woman's voice carried a commanding tone that implied that she was used to being obeyed. "Nevertheless, I shall comply. Might I just hand it to you, my little clerk?"

Sorano's face twisted a bit in confusion and slight distaste for the seemingly condescending fashion in which this new arrival spoke. But she nodded and extended her hand to receive the rapier that the woman had untied from her belt. The woman also undid her cloak and folded it before passing it to the Felix. There was something off about her.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Telu looked up and saw that Phoenix had arrived rather than Sorano.
"Hello, dearie. Where's Sorano?" In her hands were various fruits and vegetables from the orchard and gardens. She seemed to be sorting them and washing them.

Hawk turned to look at the newcomer, and recoiled at the sight of her eyes, while Greg wandered over to the bar, having left his gun on the counter.

Phoenix looked back over her shoulder. "She's helping... Some evil looking woman. You called?"

The woman seemed to pay little attention to the reactions she was getting from the two fellows, though she did pull out a pair of heavily tinted sunglasses and put them on. Sorano put the cloak and sword in the closet with one last odd look at the latest arrival to the inn.

"Not quite Gothic, not quite Victorian, this place," she mused, walking around the lounge a bit and inspecting parts of the edifice. "A fine structure nonetheless. Well built and beautifully accented. In need of a little cleaning up, but nothing serious yet." Her voice was kept rather low, though still audible. Eventually, she took a seat at one of the tables and simply observed.

Creepy... Sorano thought, shrugging her shoulders a bit and glancing at Hawk, sending a tendril of thought to him. If he let it through, he would get the question, What do you think is with that woman? Any thoughts? She also wrote something down on a piece of paper that she tore from a legal notebook and set it by Hawk. Pass to Greg if you like. I sent you a telepathic question, but in case you didn't let me through, I'll ask this way. Any thoughts on what's with that woman? By the way, I can read your thoughts if you let me. But only if you let me.

In the kitchen, Telu looked at Phoenix strangely for a second.
"An evil-lookin' woman? That doesn't sound like miss Eizoryu. Hmm... I reckon I'll see for m'self. But yes, I did. I just picked some fresh fruits and vegetables. Could you run these through the juicer there on the table? I already set it out," Telu said, holding out about seven or eight cored and peeled apples and pears. "Be sure to keep the juices separate. There're some pitchers in the cupboards of the table. Those bowls of strawberries and cherries can be run through the juicer, too. 'Preciate it, Phoenix." The Trogon smiled and went to tend to the vegetables, slicing some and putting the rest in the refrigeration unit.

Hawk got the telepathic question, took the sheet anyway and opened up his mind to her for long enough to receive the answers. "I haven't a clue who she is, but she makes my feathers itch. That's not a good sign. And I swear that my adrenaline's shot through the roof... As for Greg-" She received a stream of rude and occasionally wince-inducing thought about what he could do, screwing the note up, still fuming over losing the argument.

Phoenix nodded immediately, and headed over to the juicer, following Telu's instructions, and running all the apples into the juicer.

After a couple of moments of hearing the runaround thoughts concerning Greg, Sorano shut the telepathic link and glanced surreptitiously at the formally dressed lady. It was nigh-impossible to tell where the woman was looking now that she had on the glasses. The Felix began to wonder if this woman was inhuman. What traits she could see added up correctly to produce such a hypothesis.

"Brr!" Telu shivered, fluffing her plumage a bit. "Doesn't seem chilly to you, does it, Miss P? I just got the strangest chill..." The cook took a look at the thermostat, seeing that it was still set to a pleasant 74 degrees Fahrenheit, give or take a degree. "Ah well. Got any ideas for some snacks for the folks out there?"

Hawk placed his stuff on the counter, retaining three knives just in case and then, summoning up some courage, headed over to the odd woman.

She shook her head. "It seems plenty warm to me. Although I feel... Wary. Nevermind, probably nothing." Phoenix juiced the rest of the fruit. "As for snacks... Crisps are always good."

"Crisps, eh? Mind puttin' a tray together, then?" Telu said, walking to the platter and tray cupboard and pulling out a medium-sized round tray. "I'm just goin' to make a couple of cold trays for cheeses and meats right quick," she continued, pulling out a couple more and walking into the refrigerator. She would come back out with a few blocks of cheese and some pre-sliced meats.

"Be careful," Sorano muttered under her breath to Hawk. Not knowing what the woman was capable of was making her a little nervous. The lady, on the other hand, turned in her chair as though about to get up, but she stayed sitting, leaning on her right arm on the table. A slight smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, causing what looked more like a little smirk. So, someone was brave enough to approach her after all. Perhaps the place might be more interesting than she thought.

Phoenix nodded, and searched for a large bag of good quality crisps. After some rooting around in the cupboards to find some, she emptied the bag into a big round bowl.

He looked at her face, gladder now he couldn't see the eyes. "Uhm... H-hi, there. Could I get you a drink?" He was nervous, and it showed in his voice, but he was determined to not give in to the fear of something unknown.

"Thank ya, dearie," Telu said, as she was cubing a block of cheddar. "Now, if you could take that bowl out the counter, I'll mix a pitcher of fruit punch." She set the knife down on the cutting board, fetched a large glass pitcher, and gathered some of the fresh juice as well as some she had made previously.

"Good day to you, feathered one. Hmm... At the moment, thanks, but no thank you. I see you're nervous. What is it that set you off, hm?" she inquired. Her voice was quiet and calm, like a slightly twisted interrogator trying to earn one's trust. She looked over her sunglasses just enough to barely show her irises, then pushing the frames back up on her nose after a moment or two. She flexed her white-gloved hand afterwards, and set it back in her lap, keeping eye contact with Hawk.

Phoenix nodded and walked back out to the bar with the bowl, placing it on the counter and hovering in the kitchen doorway, so she could see everything and still be close if she was called back.

He looked back at her, glancing away occasionally and smoothed down the rising feathers of his neck and crest. "W-well.. You actually, and I'm not entirely sure why... C-could I have a seat, please?" He decided there was something about her presence. Not unpleasant as such, but more that you knew she was there and would much rather look at her than not. He wondered if this was how a mouse felt with the raptors overhead...

Telu noticed that Phoenix was standing near the doorway, and mixed the rest of the cup-and-a-half of sugar into the orangey-red liquid in the pitcher. She stirred it, waiting for the sugar to dissolve before squirting a couple of bursts of chilled carbonated water into the juice, just to add a slight bubbly action. "How's it lookin' out there, dear? Tense at all?" she asked Phoenix, tapping the wooden spoon against the mouth of the pitcher before handing it to the fiery-plumaged avian.

The woman chuckled softly, gesturing for him to take a seat with a sweep of the hand. She could practically smell the apprehension from him. It was a familiar smell to her.
"Me, hm? Any particular bit about me that gets your feathers all a-ruffle?" she queried, crossing her legs and moving to hold her chin in her hand, resting her elbow on the table. There was almost a visible amusement on her face, as though she knew what was bothering him, but asked in order to amplify the feeling.

Sorano glanced at Greg, Quill, and the other girl for a moment, then back to the woman and Hawk. It just made her feel funny, having the most-surely inhuman presence of the woman in the building.

She shook her head. "Nah, seems alright, actually."

He took the indicated seat, settling down a bit and seeing that she wasn't particularly annoyed with what he had said, answered truthfully. "That's why I asked... I don't know why, except there's a nagging feeling in my head that I should be doing the opposite of what I've just done. I feel like a rabbit in car headlights."

"I don't hear a ruckus out there, so I'll be takin' your word for it. Anyway... I'll be bringin' out some glasses for the juice here in a minute, so go on and put it on the counter, if you would, dearie. I'll bring a bucket of ice for the folks who like it colder, as well," Telu said, smiling.

"Heh heh heh. I ask because I'm curious as to what aspect about my person agitates you in this particular manner. It could be nearly anything, after all, from simply the way I carry myself to the way I speak. Perhaps, even, a mere look from me," the woman said, removing her hand from her chin to make a couple of small gestures in the air before resuming the stance.

At that moment, a black-suited female who would not look out of place in a science-fiction movie entered from the back yard. She wore a monocular visor-microphone, the lens of which covered her left eye. The mic itself was retracted so as to not get in the way. She paused for a moment, looking toward Hawk and the pale woman. An analysis of the latter flashed across the lens, causing this futuristic-looking lady, a bounty hunter named Eizoryu, to grin mischievously and head towards the table on her way upstairs.

As she passed the table and the formally dressed woman, who was watching her from the corner of her eye, she muttered, "Do you sparkle?" The response was swift. The woman's hand grabbed Eizo's lapel and brought her down to eye level. Neither of their expressions wavered.

"I beg your pardon? Do I... what?"
"You heard me." The woman pulled the grinning huntress close, so that their foreheads were touching, and held up a hand to the rest of the room, indicating that there was no interference necessary. Sorano fidgeted nervously, hoping that there wouldn't be another fight.
"I did hear you, foolish whelp. Now, you'll go on your way. I'll be speaking with you later about your racist comment. Move along," the woman growled, pushing Eizo backwards as she released the huntress' collar. Eizo walked upstairs, still grinning. "Hmph. Troublemaker, that girl. All of you, please excuse the interruption. Please go about as if nothing happened. And excuse me for what just happened... I don't believe I caught your name?" she said, indicating Hawk with the last statement.