Sometimes Club - 12 19 10

Stubb, Viddick, Angus, Imoen, Amos, Adyna, Dangeon, Darkmane, Slopnose, Frigg

Location: Ruingate: The Skull and Candle

The icy fingers of wind that assail the shutters of the Skull and Candle portend an evening snow, but in here, the proprietors have managed to combat the chill. A fire crackles curses and basks the room in its cozy glow. Stubb sits hunched in a wooden chair near the hearth, his face framed in a collar of upthrust fur grown thick for the season, his paws familiarizing themselves with the seams of his inchoate contraption. The fixity of his gaze, and the stagnant look of his untouched ale on the floor beside his feet, bespeak his intense concentration.

Viddick walks in and looks at the weasel. "Hi there."

Stubb juggles the object in his ensuing moments of surprise, but recovers soon enough without dropping it. "Er." He tucks the device into the space beside him. "I's you, is i'?"

The dragon is upright at the bar, rebuffing the empty stools to either side of him. Both palms are flat against the gnarled surface of the counter; index digits and thumbs form a rough diamond around his barely touched pint. Gloomy eyes study the tiny bubbles as they rise and burst in the glass, but Angus' mind has clearly wandered elsewhere and it been there for quite some time.

Imoen walks into the bar and shivers from the cold air, she glaces around and quickly finds a seat in a dark corner of the bar room.

Viddick tilts his head, inspecting the object for himself; his feet have tracked snow in from outside, but as of a moment ago all has melted into the wooden floor and around the feet of the rat. He rubs his ears with his paws, "Ach, you know that stinging feeling you get when you come into a warm place from the freezing outside? That's what just came in here, it feels like. Give me a moment or two to become a rat again..." He takes a seat at a nearby empty table, rubbing paws together. "You missed me, though?"

Stubb watches the rat through hooded eyes; not entirely unfriendly, but certainly not welcoming.

Amos plods down the stairs, grumbling as he enters from upstairs with the help keeping their distance as he glares. He scans the tavern, deciding the weasel has a fair lick of sense in his strategy against the cold. Moving over towards the hearth, grabbing a chair on his way up from beneath some ferret who curse him. He glares and joins Stubb near the hearth after putting down his chair and sitting himself in it, "Got sumthin' on ya mind boss?"

Stubb jerks his head toward Viddick in an admonitory gesture to Amos. "Evenin', ca'. Join me an' our frien', eh?"

Some elusive, if brief, spasm provokes the lizard to contort his cheek and squint an eye, but he shakes it off with a toss of his mighty head. Angus swivels, allowing his attention to befall the others for a while, all though he looks uninterested in relocating more near to them.

Viddick is still curious about that object. He wants to still feel needed, and if... "Say... weasel, that ain't happen to be the object you were looking for in the Priory, is it? Looks like you got lucky, if it be... hey, there, cat." He grins up at Amos, "Sure, and join us." He waits to hear Stubb's reply.

Imoen gasps as she sees the monitor and about fallls off her chair with an oof, she frowns and decides to quickly pay more attention to her surroundings. ..she slips over to a nearby beasts in the bar and attempts to steal off the sleeping form,a snore and grumble causes her to stop and back away.

Amos blinks, looking from Stubb to Viddick and forces a smile, "Sure."

Stubb winks at Viddick. "Seems maybe dere's places even a king don' know abou'. Da horde prob'ly fough' it'd scraped tha place clean." The weasel feigns a sudden interest in the claws of his right paw, which he begins to ply gently with his opposite paw. "Whoi the int'rest, ma'e?"

"Well, naturally... we had that agreement of sorts going, concerning said object... and a certain somebeast. But hey..." He leans up from the chair and smacks the table, tail catching the back of the chair as it starts to careen to the floor, "I'm a fair rat - no need to make up for it, and it's entirely your good fortune that you happened to find it without my aid. But now I get to ask if there's anything else you'll be needin' from this rat?"

Amos raises a brow, "Kings, what kings?" Leaning in a bit as he listens, "Oh."

Angus's gaze ricochets among the various patrons. He now has his spine to the bar and his pint clenched in one hand. Bits of banter enter and exit his periphery, but the creature is a broody alien, mulling over tough and lizardly matters. The frenetic interactions of the others are a strange blur to his cold-addled mind, as the free hand rises to his brow and kneads.

Stubb replies to the rat with a vacant nod without appearing to mean anything by it, then lets his attention range over the tavern, crowded now with horde rats and refugees from the cold. It lingers for a spell on the curiously young rat maid, then springs back to Amos. "You'll 'ave to ask the exper'. No' sure oi'd trust 'im, but" he cautiously sizes up Viddick, "'e seems to 'ave some information a value..."

Adyna steps in from the cold outside, casting a glance over her shoulder with a bit too much suspicion. The jill straightens herself out and shakes her boots off before she comes further in, and saunters toward the bar once she's had a look around the main room. "Ah'll be upfron' wi' ye, Ah /may/ 'ave bin foll'wd," she remarks as she passes, and quietly signals the barkeep for something decent.

Imoen doesnt really listen to all the talk of beasts here, she stays in her corner and glaces around the room,she rubs her paws together as they are still a little cold from being outside.

Amos turns back to Viddick, "Oh this feller, I seem to remember him... an expert eh?" He scoffs, "If ya say so boss, " His eyes scan the tavern, giving Angus a nod before eyeing the stoat and female rat for a moment, "Quiet the crowd, can't blame 'em though, " He comments, to nobody in particular.

Viddick leans slowly back to his chair, expression morphing from one of optimism to one of seriousness. Finally, the rat relaxes, looking around. He doesn't press anything at the moment, except his paws against a glass being delivered to him. He nods up at the maid, "Thanks, darling, read my mind." He looks at Amos and at Stubb, "Whatever you gents say... how's that mouse you've been kidnappin', by the way? She been of any use?"

A few heads turn in the direction of the table with the rat, weasel, and wildcat, but they all quickly lose interest... or at least, seem to.

Dangeon descends from upstairs, into the tavern. Company can wait, she seems to have decided, as she makes a bee-line, predictably to some, for the bar. The distracted haremaid waits a moment for service and then focuses on the beast before her no more than necessary. A coin goes from paw to bar to barkeep and a murky liquid in a mug is exchanged for it.

Imoen sighs softly,she looks to the door but as another beasts enters she can see the snow falling, and pretty good too.

Slopnose clatters into the tavern behind Dangeon like an armor plated gelatinous blob, running his head into the wall as he tumbles down the stairwell. This action compounds his already pounding hangover headache and he curses up a blithering storm to himself.

Adyna nods to Dangeon as one drinker to another, and downs what's left of her own mug. And winces, too - something unspeakable was lurking at the bottom. She lays another coin down on the bar and waves for more of the same - that unspeakable something is an acquired taste. "Halloa, Dang'," she says, nodding to the hare. "This eve fine ye well?"

Stubb tents his paws before him and gazes impassively back at the rat, apparently oblivious to the turning heads. "You moigh' be surproised wha' such a li'tle laydy can do." The clatter from Slopnose's graceless descent does not merit a blink from the weasel. "Tho," he says, looking down. "she didn' bring in tha haul I were expectin', an moi, er. Fellow-travelers ain' too pleased abou' dat. Oi promised em loo', an' i's in moi int'rest ta follow frew. Ain' tha' roigh', Amos?"

Darkmane shakes his head slightly as he follows the hare downstairs, being a mere step or two behind her and the tumbling weasel. A wry smile on his lips as he stops up at the bottom of the stairs, slowly surveying the tavern with a critical sight and mentally filing away his impression of those in his view. The cursing weasel by his feet is blatantly ignored as he finally heads after Dangeon toward the bar.

Angus reluctantly decides to migrate to his mates. The lizard heaves a heavy exhale as it begins to move with an almost arthritic lurch; the antithesis of grace, hefting an unwieldy mass from one end of the room to the other, periodically bumping with furniture and bodies. He stops in the region of Stubb and Amos, throwing them an affected smile.

Imoen looks over at the horse, she tilts her head she has never seen anything like that before.."Whoa.." is all she gets out.

Slopnose stumbles his way across to the bar at somewhat of a run, pushing past Darkmane and throwing himself at the countertop like it was a floating plank tossed to a hapless overboard sailor. He clings onto the bar countertop as if the rest of the tavern was heaving ocean. Slopnose's paw uncovers a dirty looking coin, which he exchanges for a mug of brew: The best cure for a hangover in his opinion. Then he glances over at the haremaid right next to him and gives her an appraising leer.

Amos gruffly nods, "Aye, that's right... of course I said we should of ate her from the start, " The wildcat notices Dangeon's arrival, but his attention shifts to Angus who he gives a slight salute and grin, "Join us by all means, " He then looks past Angus, calling out over the buzz of activity, "Dangy, could ya be a dear and get me a drink!"

"Interesting... a frail little old mouse not able to follow through? I should think you're smarter than that, guy... oh, hello..." He scoots his chair over nervously away from the lizard, in the pretense of making room for him, "Sure, sit yourself down with your friends. You all seem to be arriving here - some kind of meeting, am I encroaching?" The rat keeps his wits about, but there are still more of them than him, as always.

Frigg cautiously descends as well, seeing that the upstairs is emptying rather quickly of familiar faces... as much as she'd hate to admit, these brutes are her only lifeline... but still.. as she peeks around the edge of the railing which marks the end of the wall, seeing them all there makes her hesitate. She just stands there, for the longest time.

"Jes' worshippin' at tha temple, ma'e," Stubb says, stooping to retrieve his mug from the floor, then lifting it in mock reverence. "We do i' every noigh'. An' most mornings, for some of us." A perceptive beast might perceive in the quirk of his head a gesture aimed at Dangeon.

Drink first, talk after. Dangeon.. doesn't quite sip it. Half is gone before she looks to Adyna, half-grin "Finds m' cold, tired an' a little too sober. And y'self?" She's quite aware of the big horse not far behind her, so, upon catching Slopnose's leer, she smiles just a tiny bit as she shifts herself a bit away from the weasel. Her ears perk as Amos calls and her arm can be seen to raise an 'o' gesture in reply.

Viddick nods, "It's a fair escape for a stressful existence, and I should know. Living with a horde ain't exactly the easiest time. Bit typical for a rat, still, and so I cope better than most do in a pack of thousands of themselves. Shouldn't think weasels do that too often." He sips his drink, noting the dynamic between Amos and the hare.

Angus lingers there, beside the others, periodically pulling from his pint. "Toad bless," he mutters a half-hearted crack, then slumps, plopping his rump on a tabletop. The thing bows beneath his weight.

Darkmane gives a slight nod of greeting to those beasts in the tavern he knows and a glare to those to slow to get out of his way, a simple gesture made to the barkeep as he closes in and he flips over a coin as he accepts a bottle in return. "thank ye" His body turning around to quietly survey the tavern once more as he brings the bottle to his lips and takes a big gulp of it.

Slopnose smiles crookedly at Dangeon, "'Ello lov'." He nurses the beer in his paw but doesn't take a drink yet in what he hopes to be a friendly manner.

Stubb gathers his precious into the crook of his arm and rises to his paws. "'Long as your lizard blood is movin', Angus, whoi don' you join us in tha back, eh?" His free paw tugs at his stifling collar. "Gettin' a bit crowded in 'ere for moi tastes."

Imoen slips off her chair and decides to go back outside, she opens the door and heads out into the cold.

Frigg is still slowly descending, waiting for what seems like part of the group getting ready to move out... "Oh, good..." She mutters to herself, before a grumpy weasel brushes past her on the stairs, "Dangit, missus, move yerself afore I move it for ya!" She puts her paws on her waist and gasps indignantly, "Why! I mean---! Gosh!"

"Don't reckon it'll be movin' much longer at this rate, mate," Angus chirps, forcing good cheer. He throws a light punch at the weasel's shoulder when he stands, then peeks in the direction of the back room. "Aye. Y'can continue t'inform me of your ornery agenda." The lizard slides his rear from the edge of the table. The furniture is clearly relieved as he vacates it, returned to its original and non-drooping state.

Amos stands as well, as ever following behind Stubb, "I'll meet'cha back there, " He crosses over to Dangeon, drops some coin as he collects a drink, "Don't'cha worry yourself, ya just enjoy your drink." Another pile of coin dumped next to Dangeon, and he turns back towards the group gaturing around Stubb.

"Can ne'er be too.. no'.. sober," Adyna says lamely, grinning at Dangeon before downing the waiting mug of evil in a single fell swoop. "Met a rat wha' 'ad more money'n 'e dizairved. Poor sot din' know 'ow to kip ahold of i'." She grins again, keening happily to herself. "Ah love th' feel of a pairse wha' en't mine."

"Ello... weasel." The doe replies to Slopnose once she's shifted away as much as seems reasonable. There's a glance horseward around here. Amos' contribution is met with a welcome grin and provides her with a visual addition to her reply to Adyna. She pats the currency. "Aye. So do I."

Slopnose takes a sip of his beer while he thinks of something else charming to say... and nearly empties the entire contents of his mouth through his nostrils as he catches sight of Angus. He's sure he's seen that monstrosity somewhere before... maybe in a dream or something. The weasel shifts uncomfortably on his seat.

Stubb's weasel heart is clearly bedeviled by his friend's simian plight; he wears this much in his face. "We'll buil' a big foire for ya in tha back room, ma'e. Come on." He slips off to the back hall.

Amos follows suit, giving a glance to the hare but deciding against interrupting her before moving off to the back hall.

Amos, Stubb, and Angus push through the door and into the back room.

Darkmane exhales deeply as he makes his head over to Dangeon and ruffles her headfur affectionatly "I see you have gotten an admirer sunshine" Gis voice somewhat humored as he looks over at the weasel with a curious gaze before shifting it over at Adyna "And its good to see you again as well."

As Slopnose and Dangeon make eyes at each other, Adyna quietly exchanges more of her ill-gotten gains for another drink. She doesn't have at it immediately, but nods to Darkmane. "Aye, and ye. Bin a while, 'azn' it." A thought eventually occurs to her, and she points at the mouse on the stairs with her mug. "Why've ye a.. goodbist wi' ye?"

Viddick meanwhile, is still at table. Sipping his frothy liquid, by himself... "He crudely picks at something in his teeth, still watching the hare, now with the horse. The rat clears his throat, flicking the foreign object from between his teeth onto the floor.

Slopnose turns back toward the bar as he guzzles down the rest of his mug and orders another concoction. Giant nightmares seem to popping up all over the place. First the lizard and now, he throws a furtive glance at Darkmane's direction, that thing. "Steady on, Sloppy ole pal... ye gotta hol' yerself together iffn you wanna get outta this 'un," he mutters to himself right before he chugs his second drink of the evening.

"Thought 'e was a weasel." Dangeon mutters smirkily, ears wilting, though not with displeasure, at the horse ruffling her headfur. "Stubb's decided she's useful. I think." She comments on Adyna's question and then returns to her drink.

Viddick sees the mouse descending the stairs and quickly thinks.. he could use her to his advantage yet. He gets up slowly, not drawing much attention, and makes his way over without looking like he's making his way over, to her.

Frigg looks around and doesn't immediately recognize the rat, so she keeps walking, away from the stairs now and toward the rat, although not with any specific purpose related thereto... she briefly looks ahead, making eye contact with him and frowning... isn't that the...

Darkmane turns his gaze over at the mouse and waves her over toward their group with a friendly smile before taking another sip of his drink "Its not dangerous to join us you know" his lips quirking slightly "And I think Dangeon answered the question quite accurately" the last toward Adyna but without looking at her.

Viddick plays this smart. He smiles at her as she's approaching and throws an arm around her shoulder, initially to stop her momentum, and looks over his shoulder at the bar, giving a nod and pointing towards the back room. As if to convey the notion that 'she's wanted back there'.

Slopnose doesn't look up from his love affair with his drink but pricks his ears up as intently as possible to try to overhear nearby conversations, hopefully without drawing too much notice to himself. "'Lud, that big thing's mates wiv t' pretty ones," he mutters before he realizes he was speaking aloud.

"Mm. Eh." The jill grunts, and takes a pull of the mug. Alcohol always tastes better when it's bought with stolen money. "Who knows why Stubb does wha' 'e does. 'special now wha' 'e's go' tha' devize thing o' his." The weasel gets a cheeky grin. "Aw, 'e thinks Ah'm pretty now!" she says. "Am Ah pretty 'nough t' buy me 'nother drink?"

Frigg is first caught completely off guard by the smile and then realization hits her as she's spun around and made to follow. She looks behind her at the hare and others and looks at the rat, "You're- what are you doing?!" She doesn't try to escape, thinking she'll have to answer to the others if she resists.

Viddick pushes through the door and into the back room, with Frigg in tow.

Darkmane furrows his brows slightly "Sunshine, you know them better then me so how likely is it that stubb or amos would have told somebody in the tavern to bring our friendly mouse back to them when they were in here at the same time she was?" His gaze turning over toward Dangeon as he speaks softly.

Slopnose is too caught up with his own immediate troubles to really notice what had happened to Frigg above the general hub-bub of the tavern. Startled by Adyna's comment, he jolts forward in his seat a little. Covering his embarrassment, the weasel orders another round for himself... and also signals to the bartender to get Adyna another drink, all while conscientiously avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"Stubb does what 'e does an' so far it's brought fortune 's far 's 'm concerned." Dangeon pats the bar and then gestures to Darkmane happily grinning. "'S a good haul." She, unfortunately, is not facing rat-and-mousewards, thus missing their exit. She does catch the weasel's remark and certainly Adyna's reaction to it. "Aye. Perhaps a round f'r all 'f us? 'Cuz Maney's pretty too, aft' all." The doe frowns slightly at the horse's question. "Who did wha'? I wasn' looking... Doesn' sound bally right at all..."

Adyna's cheeky grin loses a bit of cheek, as she catches up to the other two's conversation. She wasn't looking, either, and quickly downs the last of the first mug, looking at the next one sadly. Might not get to that one, after all. Shame. "Y'think somethin's up?" she asks, warily. "Ah donna like the soun' o' this." She's not entirely sure what /this/ is, but it's got the others nervous..

Darkmane says, "That rat that has been hanging around us for a while, he went over to Frigg i believe her name is and basically motioned toward the back rooms and led her there" His head tilting slightly as he pushes off the counter "I can't quite get it to fit that amos or stubb would tell somebody in the tavern to bring her to them later when she was in here when they were, woulda made more sense for them to just bring her along with em to start with.""

Dangeon finishes her drink. And seems thoughtful for a moment. "Well. I didn't see her come in. So. She came in aft' us? Per'aps he was to guide her aftah them- or did so on 'is own accord?" She frowns. "Can't much trouble; they went to the same room, right?" She assumes this, from the description of events.

Slopnose keeps slamming down drinks.

The drink... it calls to her, and promises dark things, and Adyna begins to relax. One paw slithers back to the drink that the weasel bought her. "Ah, y'know.. wha'e'er it be, Ah'm fair sure i's Stubb's bizness. Would'nae wanna innerfere in 'is."

Darkmane nods his head slightly "You are likely correct, so you just enjoy your drink and i'll go and check exactly whats up" his lips quirking up into a slight smile "I just don't like not ensuring things are as they should."

Slopnose relaxes and sighs as the alcohol takes effect through his body, spreading warmth into his limbs and then back into his core. The silly smile is back and the weasel begins humming some unrecognizable tune, as if he's not really paying much attention to the details of the melody.

Dangeon nods. "Am sure she's fine. 'S Stubb's mouse, but know yeh well 'nuff by now, Maney. Y' can check if y' want, but I'll be up in the room- bring drink." The doe smiles and pushes a few coins across toward the keep. "Big flask of what the horse asks f'r before he heads up." Then, smile and a wave to Adyna and an awkward shuffle from the bar and away from Slopnose before she's striding away for the stairs.

Dangeon walks up the wooden staircase in the corner.

Darkmane twitches slightly at dangeon's words and looks between the stairs and the door a few times before shaking his head and heading toward the bar and tossing the keep a few more coins in addition to the ones Dangeon gave him "You know the bottle i want" a wry grin on his lips

Another few strands of mumbling and grumbling and Adyna stands up, finishing the rest of that last only-half-stolen drink. Between the time and the alcohol, her eyelids are starting to droop - she mumbles something about "finding shilter in this mess" and makes her way out of the tavern, to disappear into the blowing snow beyond. There's got to be a warm attic /somewhere/.