Eating on the go!

"Nah, it's not poison. In fact it'll lighten you up a bit. You are pretty tense." said the performer.

Surtena looked doubtful about it helping him.

" Do you know a better place then?" Said the green one.

"Well there is the richman's well, but it has a toll." Surtena said seeming half with them. "Or you can go to the cafe. I like the cafe theres a lot of sugar and some tea. I can drink there, but I'm not allowed in the bar." He finally looked up at her and decided he liked her face.

He noticed the magic man going to the bar, "Watch out for the desert cut throats in there." He called.

"At least he can if he needs to disappear." Surtena thought.

He looked around the Shinlai's legs to see if the girl will follow him.

Laila had already followed Vic, heading toward the bar. She wasn't one for drinking but she wasn't fond of coffee either and a hot drink at a cafe was the last thing she wanted in this sweltering environment. At least the alcohol would be cold. She called to Selousi over her shoulder.

"Go to the cafe if you want. I'll meet you back here, okay?"

"Yes of course!... I couldnt fit through that door anyways," she said frowning. She hated being with strange people in strange places. And the man didn't seen nice anyway. " Bye Laila!" she shouted, then turned her neck back to Surtena. "So, where is this cafe?"


---

Vic walked into the bar calmly with Laila following him, waving the cloth door away, he grinned as those inside shouted his name as if he were a great brother. He sat down at the nearest seat and yelled, "DRINKS ON ME EVERYBODY!" he grabbed a bottle of Gin and stood again. " LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!" he continued, then downing the bottle.

A shout back was returned. It was a stout man with an eye patch.

" Vic who's your lady friend?" he grunted, smiling at her with his awful teeth.

Vic turned to him and smirked, " I met her on the street with a boy and a Shinlai. So we came here to get a drink. Nothin else meant. She can introduce herself anyways, right, lass?"

Laila tried not to cringe at the bad teeth. She also fought not to slip back into her original shy demeanor. She toyed with the darker brown strand in her hair, looping it around her finger as a distraction.

"My name's Laila," she said in response. "The shinlai is my friend...the boy jumped off the roof and I don't really know him. I'm just breezing through town looking for mask making materials."

Vic frowned at her for a second. Then thought of an idea.

" Hey kid, you want a fruity drink?" he said grinning. He looked at the bartender, she was dark skinned with somewhat light hair and green eyes. She glared at Laila and then smiled.

" Darling you've gotta have something while you're here. It's not like Vic dragged you here for nothing. He's gotta get drunk because his stunts fail. Or, he finds someone that's gotta lighten up a bit an' stop bein' so dull." she looked around then leaned up to her ear. " I think it's the second choice hon. The names Chylle by the way." she said, introducing herself. " (pronounced shell).

Vic looked at Chylle then back to Laila. " Well maybe."

Laila shrugged her shoulders and slipped her back off of her back, holding it against her chest as if it were a stuffed animal for security. She wasn't used to this town or its people and she couldn't help but be cautious. She looked to Vic, brown eyes big and nervous. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt... I mean I am pretty thirsty and fruity means it has to taste good right?"

Surtena watched the others go into the bar hoping they will be alright and then looked back at Selousi as she asked about where the cafe is.

"Just down a little ways I can show you. Follow me." Surtena said.

He paused when he heard his friend shout something about a fruit drink.

"I'm not allowed in there after what happened the last time." Surtena said to Selousi.

He leads them down the road and takes a few turns to a slightly more pleasent part of town. There were quite a few canvas protecting the streets from the sun. Shinlai and people were talking more or less comfortalbly.

Then they reach a large house with doors large enough for a shinlai. "This is it. You order inside then you can drink it out here or in there if you prefer." Surtena smiled at the Selousi.

Selousi peered inside from a distance and then walked into the cafe. The interior had a nice feel to it, the roof was high enough for her to get inside without her obnoxious horns knocking something over. However, there were no other shinlai inside. Incredibly awkward for her. She walked over to the counter and said, "I'd like anything cheap that you have to drink." she passed money to the keep and thanked him as he gave her a holdable dish of juice. She walked outside back to Surtena and nodded at him. " Thank you. " she smiled. " It was nice of you to lead me over here."

----
(further into the DRINKING)
Vic laughed as he began on his second bottle of alchohol. This time it was whiskey. He hollered and kicked his feet up on the table then turned to Laila. " AIN'T THIS FUN?"

Laila, who had drank only a few fruit flavored drinks due to her low tolerance for alcohol, smiled in a somewhat silly manner. She raised her glass to tap it against Vic's bottle. "Absolutely!" she cheered. Her voice wasn't quite as loud as his but certainly more than her usual volume. Her speech was only slightly slurred.

"It's no problem to help others around the city." Surtena said awkwardly he added, "I'm sorry about jumping on your back...life ain't easy here."

Surtena looked at her. He felt really bad about it for it never crossed his mind how the Shinlai might feel about it. He stroked her green fur.

"I'm Surtena Saxe. The second most annoy street urchen out there." He said with a little amused smile. "We better get back to our friends who knows what they might be doing after drinking that stuff."

Selousi looked at Surtena, perhaps his favorite color was green? It was a pretty rare color out here aside from any sort of green on clothing. She eyed his face. He didn't look like a bad boy. Was he really a theif with that bad of a reputation? She looked down then back up.

"It's nice to meet you, Surtena. My name is Selousi. Selousi Tuzoir." ((See low see - Tuh Zwa)) Is the pronounciation.))

"Sure, I'm sure Laila woudln't have drank anything. Maybe she's waiting outside. She couldn't have been that easily influenced." Selo stuttered a bit. She wasn't sure. Definitely not sure actually the opposite of sure. She was extremely disturbed at the thought of Laila being drunk. She swallowed and began to walk with Surtena back to the area of the bar.

'Great,' She thought. 'Just what I need, her on a hangover..' She turned her head a bit. 'that's what it's called right?'

_________________________________

Vic burped loudly. "WOW, you are super drunk. You ought to have something else we don't want you wakin' up with a hurtin' head! Unless you want to build up this tolerance!" He said grinning. His teeth were white unlike the rest of the people in the bar.

"Darling he's right." Chylle said, rolling her eyes at the two drunken idiots.

Surtena lead the way to the bar wondering why Selousi stuttered when she spoke of her friend not being drunk after all there would be nothing to fear.

"Where did you come from?" Surtena said after being quiet. "Can you tell me what it was like?"

Laila pouted, confused. Did alcohol do that? She couldn't remember. Her thoughts were of course too hazy to puzzle through most of what was just said to her so she just nodded, retained her silly grin, and replied, "Okay. Like what?"

Chylle sighed. "Well, it gets to your head in no time and when you finally pass out from alcohol, then you wake up the next morning with a huge migrane. I've had it. Never wanted to drink again. So I didn't. Now I only make pretty little drinks for people like you." She grinned. "It's fun to watch newbies with drinks that Vic brings in. You would understand if you were in my place. People try to hit on me all the time. In fact all the men in this bar are looking at you. Vic included. But maybe not in a sexual way for him. I'd say he learned his lesson the last time he brought home a EB: Beep, this word is censored.." She continued, with a glare at Vic. He stared wide eyed at her and then clenched his teeth.

"Hey that was only once! I was really wasted I didn't know she was THAT ugly!" He shouted. Slightly tipsy after drinking two bottles.

Vic rolled his eyes and emptied the last bit out of the vodka bottle.

"Damn." He said.

----

Selousi widened her eyes. This was a rather touchy question for her. Her family had lost her when she was little and they were traveling into darkblood territory. Her brother would burn her with metal pads that he would heat up on his feet, as would her father whenever she stepped out of line. When she got lost, she saw them but turned away, as they would have punished her yet again. Her mother had died from being tormented too much. She didn't want that happening to her too. She opened her mouth to speak but then shut it, lowering her head in memorable shock.

"I can't.. I can't talk about it."

Surtena watched her carefully as she walked through her past. "She seemed to have had it just as bad or worse then I" He guessed from her reaction.

"I can't.. I can't talk about it." She said at last.

Surtena heart ached at the voice of what might me a kindred spirit.

"I understand if you don't wish to talk about it." Surtena said. Looked around and smiled when he saw something that interested him.

"Wait here for a sec." He said, "It won't even take a minute," as he bounded of almost as if he was a preditor stalking something.

Laila's dark skinned cheeks flushed red immediately, the blush spreading over much of her face. "I'm not even pretty!" she argued, embarrassed and quite flustered by it. She shook her head almost violently, sending her short hair flying in a dizzying- but perfectly shaped due to the cut- motion. She dismissed the thought quickly with a question. "Well umm... since you're probably right can I have something to snack on? Or something at least not alcoholic? I don't want a headache."
...Though naturally it came out rather messily due to her current state.

Selousi sat down, waiting patiently for Surtena to return. She looked down, she was a coward. She could never manage to get herself together and admit to her beatings in the past.

--

"It's alright, kid." Chylle said, throwing Laila a snack.

She smiled and nodded her head in thanks, opening the package clumsily. Laila found it to be some sort of salted nuts, gathered from who knows where. Still she took a few out and popped them into her mouth. They weren't bad... unfamiliar but edible.

Laila looked to Vic. "So umm... you barely know me and I barely know you yet here we are."

Surtena came rushing back. He looked like he had ran the whole time he was away. He paused before going out into the open then ran over to Selousi. He held up to her a sea shells threaded together on a string.

"I feel that we might be kindred spirits so I ah...made this encase I ever met one." He said akwardly. "Its too small for you wrist but I guess you could wear it else where."

She smiled at Surtena, or what would be considered one to another shinlai. She nodded her head. "Thank you, perhaps I could fit it on my horn?" She questioned. "I mean, it could hang.. I suppose?"

"Thank you, perhaps I could fit it on my horn?" Selousi questioned. "I mean, it could hang.. I suppose?"

"well I don't see any reason why it could not hang on your horn." Surtena said. "Would you prefer if I climbed you to hang it on your horn because I heard stories of tall creatures getting dizy if they have their heads low."

He pauses to think a little. "Atleast that is what Nick Stick said." He said as if he was not sure he could trust what that fellow said all the time.

Selousi layed down, "I'm kind of short.. I'll just lean down. I'll be fine."
She waited for Surtena to put the charm on and then lifted her head off when he was done. "Uh, thank you. This is really kind of you."

--

Chylle sighed and gestured outside to Selousi and Surtena.

"Are they your friends? You keep glancing at the door, hun. You should follow them. They seem nice."

Chylle smiled.
"In fact, maybe I'll even go with you. This place is a dump,"

She turned back around to Vic. "Vic?"

He froze, mid drink and swallowed. "Ah, yeah?"

"You coming?"

"OH! Of course! Ha hah..."

Vic scratched his head and burped.

Chylle rolled her eyes. "Men."

She got up off her stool and placed her hands on the counter and swung herself over easily.

"Men, I'm leaving. Get a new bartender. I'm done with this boring shithole!"

"Well then welcome to the group!" The maskmaker declared. She stood up rather quickly and suddenly began to feel dizzy. Her eyes opened and shut a few times in a slow blink while she tried to comprehend what was happening. Her weight didn't quite balance out on her feet and all of a sudden she was stumbling sideways. She almost flailed. What she did do instead was reach out and grab whatever was closest, falling onto it. This 'it' was Vic.

Vic, being tipsy himself, had no idea what was going on and was just staring at the curtain of the bar blankly. He was grabbed by Laila and immediately lost balance and fell down with her.

Chylle covered her mouth and laughed a bit as they both collapsed in a silly pile together. She smiled a bit but then caught herself.

"Come on guys. Get up already. You're not that drunk. Laila, Vic drank more than you! You should be fine enough.

Laila stood back up, embarassed. She brushed herself off and looked away, her face flaming red. She didn't offer a hand up to Vic. It wasn't because she was afraid to but because she didn't think she'd be much help anyway. He likely weighed more than the girl and if she fell over from standing up she certainly wasn't one to lean on.
"Sorry," she muttered.