[PQ+] don't matter the weather if we're standing together

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

The soldiers collectively groan at Kaisel 's pun, but they do get moving, buckets hauled over and poured one at a time until the mixture comes together properly. Between the water, the steady work of the crew, and the controlled heat from Dantalion and Kiada keeping the cement soft without drying it out, the pour goes smoothly around the perimeter.

Flora watches the cement settle where it’s meant to. "Okay," she says once the perimeter is secured, glancing between the next set of supplies and the old canal line beyond the build site. "Next up is windows and canal reinforcement while all of this sets."

She looks to Kai first, nodding toward the stretch where the Hanged Man’s canal connects back toward the ocean. "It might be best if you take some of the soldiers and check whether there are any issues with the canal while we handle the glass." That way the two Ancients wouldn't have to stray as far from the heat.

Turning back to Danta and Kiada, Flora grins. "Since I doubt this bar is going to have the same dusk-atmosphere magic as the old one, I’ve made one of the walls that faces the sea entirely out of glass." Her smile pulls a little wry at one corner as she gestures toward the waiting panels, carefully packed and braced nearby. "Which is going to look stunning so long as we can carefully get the panels out without breaking them."

---

While the concrete sets, Kai and some soldiers can inspect the canal connection to the ocean for blockages, cracks, shifting, or other issues. Danta and Kiada can stay near the fire and help Flora work out how to safely move and install the large glass wall facing the sea.

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Kaisel

Haters on my back like a backpack

Tempted to lean down and draw his name into the curing cement with a finger, Kaisel's drawn away from that ledge with the newest potential for causing groans. "I canal wait!" He informs her, cheesing before turning to grab the least tired-looking bit of the bunch to come with him.

Traipsing down the sloping line of the intentional cut from the bar to the sea, Kaisel's gaze pours over the side and works to discern any noteworthy flaws. He and some fellows are on one side, and an equal count are on the other, affording a full distance view, not about to let the slopes hide any potential secrets.

"Maybe some of you should grab some sticks and poke around," he suggests, hand lifting to shield his gaze. He points out some nearby driftwood that could serve the trick, leaving them to fetch it and use it while he crouches down and presses his palm on one questionable spot.

---

Kai and soldiers check canal!

Blowin' up I'm fucking flawless

// the kinda wrong that make you feel right //

"Well, will you look at that," Danta purrs, grinning at Kiada and having the audacity to sound a little surprised about it. "Not a single one of us went overboard with the Scorch. We're getting good at this building stuff, you know." Winking at his Registrar and straightening up once the cement has all been poured in place, he drops back to hear what Flora has in store for them next.

And honestly, between Kaisel's canal reinforcement and two Ancients around some LARGE, DELICATE panes of glass, he's not entirely sure what vibe the Hot Take might be going for, but hey. It's her bar, and he can only do his best where he's directed. "I reckon not having too many hands on them might be better," he says slowly, investigating the carefully packaged panes of glass.

"You'd think having more people would mean it's more stable, right? But if even one person twists or bends or angles it the wrong way, it could all be over."

---

Danta suggests only having two or three people unpackage and install the glass, to avoid too many hands causing problems.

Dantalion

// the little death that make you feel alive //

your battle worn tongue doesn't say the truth anymore;
/// that you are ruined ///

With some scorch magic and elbow grease, Kiada focuses on working in tandem with Danta to keep the cement mix flowing, watching it get placed into the spaces they need to be. And as they finish it up and Danta turns to shoot a grin at her, Kiada snorts. “Don’t be getting ideas.” She teases him, though if there was something that Danta wanted to do for the Grounds, she’d be willing to help however she could.

Wiping her hands off on her pants, Kiada turns to Flora as she speaks from where she’d watched Kai slip away to check on what the Hot Take had asked, Kiada seems to brighten up at the mention of a wall full of windows. “Someone to hold and the other to guide and one to install?” She suggests, glancing over at Danta before looking back to Flora with a raised brow. It's along the lines of Danta's plan, just more specific.

---

Kiada suggests one person to hold, one to guide, and one to install the windows!

kiada

and you wonder why he lets you, the butcher ///
touch him, the sun ///

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

Flora glares after Kai as he departs, because the pun is terrible enough to deserve public punishment, but the warm little flutter of affection that slips down the bond gives her away before she can properly commit to looking unimpressed. The canal inspection does turn up several sections that need work, including a few cracked edges and places where the sand has shifted enough to weaken the line. Luckily, some of the soldiers have water magic and will be able to hold the water back while others can use the remaining cement from the foundation work to patch and reinforce the damaged portions.

Flora nods along to Danta’s assessment with all the confidence of someone who has absolutely no experience moving giant fragile things but does appreciate when someone else sounds like they do. Kiada’s more specific suggestion earns an immediate point of Flora’s finger, her expression brightening as if that makes the whole thing feel significantly less like flirting with catastrophe. "Okay, the three of us then?" she says, glancing between them and the carefully packed glass panels before rolling her shoulders back. "I can lift, if you two want to guide and install?"

She looks toward the sea-facing wall, then back to the glass, and exhales through a smile that’s only slightly edged with nerves before getting into position to lift the glass while either Danta or Kia hold it in place.

---

Danta/Kia/Flora to fit the glass panel!

Kia to fix up the cracks!

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Kaisel

Haters on my back like a backpack

"That doesn't look good," Kaisel declares with a grunt as he shifts his weight from a crouch to a proper sit. His hand reaches deeper into the canal water, fingertips tracking the crack's depth. It's at this time that some of the water users make themselves known, peeling away the liquid to reveal the real stretch of the problem. Others announce some similar concerns peppering down the line, and Kaisel sighs with resignation at the news as he gets back to his feet. "Let's patch it up with the concrete we mixed earlier," he suggests, leaving the non-water benders to the task of trotting back to claim pails of the still-wet mixing slurry.

He finishes scouting out all the claimed problem spots, confirming and delegating out the hands into useful teams of cement and water wielders. They can't do them all at once, but in their little groups they fan out, one holding back the water while the others slather up the cement like a pig needing sunscreen for a summer day—disgusting, dirty work. "Yep, this baby'll hold plenty of water now," he decrees with a moist, almost mucusy slap to the freshly embalmed side of the canal where he's finished layering it on.

---

Kai does mud masks (cement patching) for the canal

Blowin' up I'm fucking flawless

your battle worn tongue doesn't say the truth anymore;
/// that you are ruined ///

A fanged grin is shot Flora’s way with the agreement of how they’d go about this. “Sounds good to me!” Comes the brief chime before she’s glancing over at the glass and up at Danta with a playful bat of her tail. “Tallest gets to install.” She claims, leaving the task of that for Danta (she figures it’ll be easier since he’d have a better chance reaching the taller parts than she does, even if she isn’t that short, still eye level with Flora. Eye level enough with her to shoot her a playful wink.

The Hot Take is strong, as Kiada notices immediately, and it’s with appreciation for her strength to hold up the glass that she immediately gets to work guiding it into place and helping alleviate some of the weight while she awaits Danta’s installation. So far, though, she’s glad with how smoothly it seems to be going. She just hopes the trend continues.

---

Kia guides and tells Danta to install cuz he’s the tallest boi here <3

kiada

and you wonder why he lets you, the butcher ///
touch him, the sun ///

// the kinda wrong that make you feel right //

For someone who happens to like flirting with catastrophe, Danta sighs as Kiada makes her good and logical points, tail wilting behind him from where it had been flicking in anticipation at the potential of large panes of broken glass. Nodding and schooling his chaotic mind to behave itself, he scoffs and stands by to help install the glass with his very tall and very handsome figure.

"Alright, I'm trusting you both that the glass is in the right place," he says, bouncing his eyebrows at Flora playfully before starting the installation, pane by pane. "You know, it might be aesthetic to have a shattered glass effect on some of these," he complains remarks, smirking to himself as they work to get the wall in place.

---

Danta installs!

Dantalion

// the little death that make you feel alive //

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

The canal repairs go decently for Kai, with the water-magic soldiers holding back the flow while the others patch the cracked edges and weakened spots with the remaining cement. Unfortunately, the co-eds from earlier notice the canal work and wander closer with bright, unhelpful smiles, asking when they can use the water again because they’re so overheated and need somewhere to cool off. The soldiers who had just barely recovered a sense of discipline immediately begin losing it again, because apparently wet cement is no match for suggestive beach commentary.

Meanwhile, the glass installation starts smoothly, with Flora lifting while Kiada guides and Danta handles the higher installation points. That confidence lasts right up until a sudden gust of sea wind slams against the large pane, catching the glass like a sail and nearly throwing the three of them off balance. Flora’s boots skid in the sand, her fingers tightening against the frame as her ponytail whips across her shoulder, but nothing cracks, nothing drops, and the glass stays miraculously whole. When Danta suggests a shattered-glass effect, Flora shoots him a playfully withering look over the edge of the panel.

Despite the wind and the ominous flirtation with disaster, the sea-facing glass wall is installed without issue, and more importantly, without a single crack.

A food-truckwagon rolls up not long after, smelling of grilled fish, lime, spice, and warm tortillas, and suddenly the worksite becomes significantly more enthusiastic about taking a break. Beach tacos are passed around, soldiers, guild members and helpers alike finding places to sit among the supplies, the half-built bones of the new bar briefly feeling more like a gathering than a job.

By the time lunch winds down, the artisans from the Gilded Market have erected the remainder of the pre-built walls, and the shape of the bar has changed almost impossibly fast from foundation and frame into something that can actually be stepped inside. Flora walks in beneath the newly raised structure, glancing around at the unfinished interior with bright, restless satisfaction before clapping her hands once. "Okay, next up: chairs and tables, glassware for the bar, checking hardware for the windows and doors, and lighting!"

---

Lunch break, then pick your tasks!
1. Chairs/tables need to be assembled and brought inside
2. Glassware needs to be carefully brought in and unpacked
3. Hardware for the doors/windows needs to be checked
4. Lighting needs to be installed!

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

your battle worn tongue doesn't say the truth anymore;
/// that you are ruined ///

It’s a good start despite Kiada’s hawk-like gaze on Danta to make sure he doesn’t end up shattering the glass despite his best jests. She’s confident he can get the work done, though, even when the wind gusts hard against them and Kiada’s bracing for the impact, sucking in her breath to steady herself alongside Flora as he installs. And luckily for them? No shattered glass.

Breathing out a sigh of relief and a wink to Danta once they’re done with the glass wall. “See, I knew you could do it.” She beams. But the scent of lunch hits her and immediately distracts her, far too excited for the fish tacos she’s likely going to inhale. The break is needed, too, even if she lingers by the fire to keep her joints limber.

Once all of that is devoured and some water drank, she straightens up and trails after Flora to the interior of the new Hanged Man, peering at all of the options. And in order to help out Danta will all the previous stress of the glass they’d been dealing with, she shoots them all an easy smile. “I’ll work on the glassware.” She says, departing to grab the crate of glassware and start carefully unpacking them and ensuring none of them are broken.

---

Kiada picks the glassware! (Option 2!)

kiada

and you wonder why he lets you, the butcher ///
touch him, the sun ///

// the kinda wrong that make you feel right //

Danta finds himself holding his breath as the wind almost steals the decision away from him, and he's laughing in near relief when they come away without any of the panes of glass in bits on the sand. "I never had a doubt," he says, winking back at Kiada and following her away from the all-too-delicate glass wall so find a place to sit and eat lunch. Beach tacos hit the spot and then some, Danta lingering by one of the braziers to also keep the chill off, watching with mild interest as the bar seems to put itself together before their eyes.

"I can do the lighting," he calls - any excuse to climb on ladders and proclaim there to be light, and even better if some of the lighting is sparkly or otherwise appealing to his crow brain. So saying, Danta goes to peruse the light fixtures, gather his tools - and his ladder - and begin to swan around to install them on the walls and ceiling.

---

Danta installs the lighting! (Option 4!)

Dantalion

// the little death that make you feel alive //

Kaisel

Haters on my back like a backpack

Water comes rushing back on the section he's assessing, the last section thankfully, as the wielder is suddenly looking elsewhere. "Hey!" he complains lightly, just scrambling back before he's engulfed, the cement luckily seeming no worse for the wear after just having had enough time to dry. Squinting up accusingly, it's an immediate eyeroll that follows to find much of his group engaged in fraternization. "Really?" he huffs, getting back to his feet and dusting his hands off on each other. "Hey Audrey! Sara! Your guys' diarrhea still acting up?" he calls out to the two women laying it on thick with one of the beach goers. If they chase him down, well at least he's got them hooked and can lead them back to work. "I think we got pills for that back by the lumber pile!" He's already en route to ball tap Josh and Ian. It's like trying to corral a bunch of horny cats, for fuck's sake.

After telling the distractions that they're welcome to the water, he catches sight of the food wagon and uses it to prompt the staggered return closer to the area of the barn with everyone. "Hey look, tacos!" he calls out, using the food as a lure and his hands placed on the backs of some to drag them along.

Sighing dramatically as he sidles up beside Flora to smash his several tacos, he admires the progress they've made while he chews. Wow, that must have been a pane to install! Grinning without remorse, he watches the rest of the building be put together before long, fitting together like a well arranged 3D puzzle set. With his own eagerness humming just beneath his skin, powered up by tacos and the potential of what this place will be, Kaisel is fully alert when Flora calls them back to task. "Leave the furniture to me," he says with an over the top salute before heading out to drag the pieces he'd inspected earlier inside, calling over what soldiers he can to assist with moving the furniture pieces.

---

Kaisel picks #1 chairs/tables assembled and brought in.

Blowin' up I'm fucking flawless

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

Some of the glassware has not survived transport, with a handful of tumblers and stemmed glasses cracked or shattered inside their packing. The rest is usable, but Kiada will need to set the broken pieces aside so Flora can request a refund from the Gilded Market once everything is done.

The lighting crates Danta opens, reveal vintage nautical fixtures: brass sconces, ship-lantern-style ceiling lights, glass shades with faint wave-like ripples, and a few pieces delicate enough that they’ll need careful hands rather than enthusiasm. They’re gorgeous, but fussy, the kind of thing that will absolutely look expensive once installed and absolutely become everyone’s problem if dropped.

Sara’s apology comes lilting and sweet in Kai's direction, while Audrey reaches into her pocket with the sort of casualness that should probably worry him. A few moments later, Kai’s stomach twists with the unmistakable, deeply urgent warning signs of diarrhea, giving him only moments to find somewhere private before his afternoon becomes legendary for all the wrong reasons. For the rest of the day, there’s also an itch in the centre of his back that he can’t quite reach, no matter how he twists.

Even if Kai hasn’t fully won over his soldiers, the Gilded Market artisans have stuck around to help, and between them and everyone else’s work, the new bar begins to look less like a collection of supplies placed hopefully inside a building and more like somewhere people could actually drink, gossip, gamble, and make a series of questionable decisions. Flora hasn’t checked the back rooms or storage areas yet, but that can come later.

Clapping her hands together, Flora looks between Kiada, Danta, and Kai. "Okay, probably the most important part." Her brows lift, aqua eyes glittering as she gestures around the half-finished space. "We need to choose a name." She pulls a folded scrap of paper from her pocket, smoothing it out against her palm. "I was going to go with something like the phoenix since we're rebuilding this from something burned down, but phoenix's always crumble to ash so it seemed like a bad omen. That, and Ronin would probably get a big head about it. So instead, here are my top picks, but if you have ideas, let me know!" Glancing down, she begins to read them off. "The TellTale, The Open Secret, The Final Say, The Grapevine, or The Last Word."

---

Oops, Kai has been cursed for the remainder of the thread.

Pick one of the names for the bar, or suggest your own!

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

// the kinda wrong that make you feel right //

It's lucky, in a way, that Danta has had enough experience by now with panes of glass to not immediately grow over-enthusiastic with the delicate fixtures. He manages to admire them with his eyes only, and it's with careful hands that he installs each one, ready to catch it should anything go awry until everything is firmly fixed in place. And if it falls and smashes once he's left for the day, well, that's its own problem.

Turning at the sound of Flora's voice, Danta's eyebrows raise at the prospect of having a part in potentially naming the place, and he grins and rests his hands in his pockets to consider the choices. "I'm torn between The Grapevine and The Last Word," he admits. The Grapevine ties in nicely with any wine Flora might want to serve whilst keeping the theme, but everyone who's anyone likes to have the last word on something.

"I'll flip a coin," he decides, doing just that. "...And it's The Grapevine for me!"

---

Danta votes for The Grapevine!

Dantalion

// the little death that make you feel alive //