there was no where for me to stay, but I stayed anyway
The door swings open with precision—none of the casual flair or elbow-led chaos of a regular, and certainly not the swagger of someone who belongs here. Everest steps in like he’s crossing a boundary: shoulders a little too stiff, eyes sweeping the room in a practiced arc before focusing on the counter with the sort of intensity better suited to a laboratory than a tavern.
His clothes are clean, pressed, and somewhat too formal for the Hanged Man—fitted navy button-up, sleeves rolled just-so, slate-grey trousers without a speck of dust. He moves with that same exacting stillness, every gesture economic, purposeful. And if his hands fidget slightly at his sides before he approaches the bar—well, that’s just processing, not nerves. Obviously.
He waits for a lull in Calypso’s notes before clearing his throat—a small sound, calculated for minimum disruption. "Excuse me," he says, voice clipped but not unfriendly. "Are you Calypso Marin?"
The next sentence feels memorized, his tone shifting slightly like he’s reading from a mental list: "I’m Everest. I was hoping to purchase a few bottles of wine—red, ideally. For a date." He pauses, blinking. "I'm also not an expert on wine, so I was going to ask for recommendations, though I have done some research, if you'd prefer I just pick on my own."
His clothes are clean, pressed, and somewhat too formal for the Hanged Man—fitted navy button-up, sleeves rolled just-so, slate-grey trousers without a speck of dust. He moves with that same exacting stillness, every gesture economic, purposeful. And if his hands fidget slightly at his sides before he approaches the bar—well, that’s just processing, not nerves. Obviously.
He waits for a lull in Calypso’s notes before clearing his throat—a small sound, calculated for minimum disruption. "Excuse me," he says, voice clipped but not unfriendly. "Are you Calypso Marin?"
The next sentence feels memorized, his tone shifting slightly like he’s reading from a mental list: "I’m Everest. I was hoping to purchase a few bottles of wine—red, ideally. For a date." He pauses, blinking. "I'm also not an expert on wine, so I was going to ask for recommendations, though I have done some research, if you'd prefer I just pick on my own."
everest
