[Mini Event] things we lost in the fire

SuNJATA

the flood

Things have gotten in order, the bar’s walls were filled with small decorum aside from the back wall which held the empty boxes aside from two, for collages, knickknacks, things to remember the lost loved ones from, and it had been stocked fully. He’d done better, too, to not crack open any of the bottles until they were ready — until he was ready. And so here he was, ensuring the curtains were drawn, the rooms were ready, the interior had been cleaned and prepared. He’d had some help from the Naturals in getting the place ready, and for that he was thankful.

Haai sits in her little nest atop the the shelves behind the bar, a perfect place for the griffin to survey the world below, to watch and stretch her wings like a small gargoyle as she watches from above — and there, along the side of the bar thats closed off from everyone else, is the space for Melita. A small desk, a place for her things, to be and learn and grow, accompanied by another nest of sorts that Haai had put together for Fangorn. And in her appreciation, she’d left a small little trinket in it as well for her oldest friend.

Along the top of the opposite wall, painted along the dark hue of the wall in a light bronze, is the impromprovised song Jigano had done weeks ago, along with a translated version of it to Korofi. If nothing else, that’s what this bar was about now. Originally it had been a fresh start, and now it was more of a memorial of sorts. But he doesn’t mind, it’s almost like it’s the last piece of her he has.

And so he waits for those who wish to, to arrive.

rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

You couldn't spell 'bard' without 'bar' and Jigano had gotten his start in Caido at the Rathskeller, helped by Edrei and hired by Vai. Though much of his work had moved to the Atheneum with the opening of the Loreseekers' Guild, he still had made his way to the Rathskeller a few nights a week until Queens and blights and other unpleasant things had changed their world irrevocably.

In a way, the VlamVloed was a new start for him as well.

He came with a white gryphon on his shoulder, who soon abandoned him to greet Haai, and a smile on his lips for the bartender he was only just beginning to get to know. The difference from Edrei was day and night, for which Jigano was grateful as it meant he could take Sunjata on the man's own terms, without the ghost of his former favorite hostess overshadowing things.

"Whiskey," he requested as he slid into a seat, looking around at the new surroundings with a curious eye that stopped at his words staring back at him from the far wall. His lips quirked into a higher smile and he turned to face Sunjata again with a crooked grin, raising his glass in a toast. "To success," he offered, before taking the shot.

MELITA

Ordinarily Melita wouldn’t have found refuge in a bar – but it was the people within it, the newly-formed conflagration of family and their extensions, that spurned and brought her forward, into its midst. Upon the announcement that VlamVloed was ready, after all their preparations, after all their incensed losses, after construction and repairs, the girl followed through on her typical ebullience and exuberance, a layer of fine defiance fully stoked on her skin. She wouldn’t allow Sunjata to be buried and burrowed into his sorrow, and she’d rise along the surface of this threshold with her head held high and her ambitions, her aspirations, incensed.

As if she’d belonged there for eternity, she pushed through the doors and glanced around, announcing her presence with a loud cheer, a raucous delight. “Ah, beautiful! Looks like you had some good help in getting this place going,” the latter statement on a wink extended to Sunjata, to little Haai waiting in the wings, Fangorn hissing and grumbling. Then she was deterred, briefly, by Jigano’s presence, clambering her way over to the bard, then to her own makeshift corner - hers, hers, hers, as if she’d never had her own possession before. She laid down her bag on the desk, a claim if anything else, while Fangorn growled towards his nest, uncertain of what lay within. “Well done.”

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight

Adam

Living beyond your years
Acting out all their fears

New bar?

Adam was there.

As someone that had made his name through some hard work but mostly making people laugh in bars, he considered himself somewhat of a quality assessor for this place. Maybe no one else did, but his self-appointed position let him walk into the VlamVloed with a swaggering confidence, nodding with a smile at Jigano and Melita; Sunjata he walked up to and held out a hand.

"Hey, you started this thing back up, right?" Adam looked about with approval. "Looks real nice. Though we won't know how good it is til we taste the booze. I'll have whatever's strongest." He sat next to Jigano, waiting to see what he would be served.

You won't remember this

LOREN

Loren had been busy, so he hadn’t been able to make it to the grand opening right at the beginning. However, he hoped the crate tucked under his arm would make up for his slightly late arrival. It held a mix of wine, cider, and hard liquors. Some of it was from the Manor, but more excitingly, he'd managed to make some using magic.

While he wasn't quite sure how he'd done it (probably some weird mix of water and creation, if he had to guess), he walked into the bar, a triumphant look on his face. Placing the box on the counter, he turned to face the crowd, He gave Jigano, Melita, and Sunjata a cheerful smile and wave. The summoner's eyes lingered on Adam for a moment before the Launceleyn nodded. After that, he surveyed the finished bar.

Only then did he turn back to the barkeep. "Looks great. Hope you don't mind that I brought you some supplies for the grand opening." Patting the side of the box, Loren grinned. "Some from the Manor's stocks, some that I made. Let's see if you can tell the difference." He reached forward to open the crate, exposing the bottles within.

light is precious in a world so dark
begin at the beginning
tell a story. make some light

for 1000 nights i've been a restless soul

Once upon a time, Remi had nearly owned a bar. It had been a political ploy though, a game he didn't understand, and it was taken away. Then here, he'd helped Vai when she'd been mistress of the Rathskeller, and Edy after that. Now it seemed there was a new bar in town, and so Remi showed up to assist with that too. It was too late, given that it had been constructed in the blink of an eye, but a bar was just walls without liquor.

Only...it seemed he wasn't needed for that either.

As the alchemist poked his head in, the interior looking quite unlike anything he'd ever seen, Remi saw shelves already lined with various different bottles holding various different liquids. Indeed Loren was in the process of unloading a few things next to Sunjata, an image that inspired all sorts of strangeness in the alchemist's belly, as he caught the lingering words the Launceleyn was saying.

Oh.

Remi's fingers suddenly felt quite uncertain around the bottle of clear liquor that he'd brought. For most of his life, Remi's value had ever been in his utility. Now, as those around him grew stronger and his abilities were duplicated he felt less and less like he had a place here: after all, most only sought him out when they needed him, or needed something from him.

And so, feeling strangely melancholy, Remi sent his bottle of gin and note of congratulations magically towards the bar, before turning to slip out once more.

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Alcohol didn’t do anything for Ascended, so Amun normally wouldn’t have much reason to go out to this new bar. But he was bored, and figured there'd at least be people there. So he meandered over for the grand opening, peering inside. There were only a few people there, but even so that was better than nothing. Especially if he could make this lame party into something a bit more rowdy.

Pausing behind Loren, the potter smirked. "Still got that stick up your ass?" The words were for the Launceleyn's ears only. Moving on to his next target, the Ascended grinned at Jigano. "Shocked to see you here, oregano. Didn't know you were capable of fun." There was a gently teasing tone in Amun's voice, not at all aggressive.

Then, he winked at Adam. "Hey hopeless. Hope that things are going well with the boy." Next up was Melita. For her, the Amun's grin was genuinely happy. "Good to see you again, spitfire. We should check on our crop some time." Only then did the Ascended turn to the bartender.

The potter's eyes traveled all the way down (all the way down) the man's very long body. Then Amun grinned wickedly. "Well aren't you a tall glass of water." Leaning on his forearms, he winked again. "Amun Arlun. It's a pleasure to meet you." Turning so that his back was leaning again the counter, and he could see the bartender out of the corner of his eye, the Ascended chuckled, the sound dark and low. "Hardly what I was hoping to see at the grand reopening."

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

SuNJATA

the flood

It isn’t surprising that Jigano is one of the first to arrive, and he offers a nod of his head to the bard as soon as Isuma leaves his shoulder to greet Haai up on top of the shelving in her nest. Jigano requests whiskey, and there’s a light ghost of a smirk that crosses his face as he pulls out a glass and fills it with some whiskey, handing it to Jigano, nodding again to the toast. “And new beginnings.” He offers wryly, right as Melita enters, and his steel gaze lingers on her as she comes back behind the bar to her spot, the place they’d made for her, Fangorn heading straight for the nest Haai had made for him, leaving a small little pile of bugs behind for her friend.

“Oh I did.” He replies to her with a quiet chuckle, stepping over closer to her and abandoning his post to speak with her a bit more privately. “There’s some water and some food for you if you’re hungry. But if you want a drink help yourself.” He says lightly, giving her a bright smile before he returns to the bar.

He doesn’t entirely expect to see Adam there, and yet there’s a smile that crosses his face for his previous guild leader, passing the mantle to himself, and he nods. “Of course.” And he does, he picks the strongest that he has – a rum of sorts – that he pours half way up into a glass and passes it to Adam with a light smirk. “Keep me updated on what you think.” A playful wink is given to Adam before Loren’s appearance distracts him.

Loren’s smile is returned with one from Sunjata before his eyes linger on the box, leaning forward a bit over the bar to peer inside once it’s open. “Oh I’m sure they’ll have great use.” He rumbles with a quiet hum of laughter, lifting a bottle to peer at the contents before sliding it back in. “Thanks, I’ll keep a tally and see if I can pick it out.” He admits with a small laugh.

And very briefly, he spots a bottle with a note and the retreating form of the Alchemist that gives him pause, his smile fading slightly as he watches Remi go. He reaches for the bottle and the note for later, to read and ensure nobody just steals the bottle, before his gaze flits back to the door. He’ll have to reach out to the other man, he’s been meaning to anyway, to get some of that incredible alcohol that Remi had mentioned before LongNight.

But all thoughts are gone as he returns and looks up to spot an Ascended he’s never met before, catching the eye that looks him all the way down and all the way back up, and he snorts slightly. “Sunjata.” He rumbles in his own greeting. “And what were you hoping to see at the grand opening?” A small Segway, a hint of a smirk crossing his face before he waits a few heartbeats and focuses on the crowd that’s formed.

He pours himself a small glass, ensures everyone else’s glass is full, before he lifts his in an attempt to capture everyone’s attention. “Thanks for being here, for the grand opening.” He begins with the light hint of a smirk that crosses his face. “Make yourselves at home and if you get too drunk to find your way to the door, there’s rooms in the back to sleep it off.” A small chuckle is granted before he lifts the glass to his lips to mark the end of the toast.

---

Feel free to mingle amongst yourselves, chat with Sunjata, whatever! Don’t need to adhere to a post order so have at ;D

rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

PETER

Though Peter knew that objectively, there was no way to really be late to a grand opening, especially not the grand opening of a bar, he couldn’t help but feel conspicuously late as he crept into the VlamVloed, trying to not draw too much attention to himself. He could just take a spot at the bar, as for something sweet, pretend he’d been there since the beginning.

Of course, that didn’t work out in his favour, the door instead snapping shit behind Peter with a great clatter, making him wince. He stepped into the bar proper as quickly as he could after that, nodding in the direction of the bar without actually focusing too much on anyone, though he was a little surprised once he scanned the assembled group, and found that with the exception of two people, he knew everyone. What a strange feeling.

He did end up taking a seat beside Adam, and ordering ”Something sweet?” with a hesitant smile offered towards Sunjata. He wasn’t sure how to be around the other man, since their talk while shifted.

And oh, don’t you wanna love?
And don’t you wanna feel?
I remember, you were reckless, you were hungry
You were real

MELITA

With Fangorn content in his nest, with insects to gnaw on (a gratified, content grumble to Haai for the lovely thought), Melita was free to mingle, to observe, to listen in her own designated space. Her eyes drifted to those coming in, drifting along the congregation, those seeking respite in either alcohol or company, eyes flickering over the newest occupants. To Adam she gave a smile, wondering if he’d ever used the bow she’d made him, to Loren a nod, and had she have even seen Remi there would have been an extended welcome and bombardment of energy towards the alchemist (but alas, gone before she would have ever realized), and a jovial grin to Amun. At Sunjata’s words, her features bloomed, narrowing her eyes, smile contorting and curling in the grandest sort of mischief. “Thank you!”

Then she peeled her way along the bar, humming thoughtfully, grabbing some food, and then pondering over the drink selection. It wouldn’t be quite as fun as the last time she’d partaken (Ampere’s celebration party, far too young and far too stupid) simply because she had permission now, but still worth the effort, pouring herself something fruity, and then roaming over to her appointed area.

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight