Yiamas!

[Odelina Meltzer]

Lina felt a mix of relief and disappointment when the conflict at the bar died down. The shot had filled her with a restless, reckless desire for action. She turned to watch the band as they started playing.

"I don't think there's a plan," she replied to Sisara. "Not one that I'm aware of anyway." She smiled at the other woman. "You're restless?"

And then Farius cut in, with a suggestion plain as day. "Well, you are obviously restless," she said, leaning towards him with a sly - if somewhat drunken - smile on her face. "You seriously think you can match me, Masello?" A tiny voice at the back of her mind told her she would regret what she was saying, and that Sisara would most likely hate her, but she was way past paying any attention to it. "You genuinely think you're up for this?"

[Farius Masello]

Farius chuckled. "Have you ever met me?" He winked at Sisara and offered his hand to lead Lina out of Vic's. For a moment, he hesitated as his sensible side protested, but he shoved it aside with practiced ease and donned his charming smile once more.

[Odelina Meltzer]

She wasn't quite drunk enough to be moved by Farius' smile, but she was intrigued by the man's readiness for action. Very well. Maybe this is how you will learn your lesson.

As she stood up the floor swayed under her feet, and she placed a hand on the back of her chair to steady herself. "I could use a glass of water. Or possibly a pint. Mind if we swing by the bar?" Sure, the Loyalists were still there, but perhaps they were busy enough with their own fighting to ignore anyone else. She didn't really care.

[Ferric Vintas]

Ferric merely shrugged as Tasza finished talking. He was quite alright with the fact that Tasza had not heard his apology; it was his loss in missing that rare occurrence. “Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything too important. Just that it’s probably the holidays making me act up. Everyone’s a damn blind drunk on nights like these. My job might now be hunting down sedition, but I’d been in the guard proper long enough to know that drunks are a constant pain in the ass.”

He looked over at the table behind him. He frowned, not bothering to hide his distaste as the trio shuffled in their seats, apparently making moves to leave. “Regardless of which side of the law they are on. I’d bet good coin something blows up tonight as a horde of drunken guards stands around scratching their rears.” He made a motion of frustration by moving his hand to his forehead then waving it in circles above his head, as if he were attempting to capture more thoughts to put into words.

Unfortunately for Tasza, it was misdirection identical to one used commonly in pick pocketing. The eye followed movement above all else, meaning Tasza’s eyes were looking high. With his free hand he made a rude gesture at Farius, since at this point it Ferric saw the situation as a contest to see who could best ignore the other. He was fairly confident he could win with the flip of a finger.

[Sinuvarakoon Tasza]

"If it's anywhere in my vicinity they'll be facing writeups and riding desks for the next week," Tasza said, his voice firm. He was not suspicious of Ferric, not in that moment, so his eyes did flick up towards the movement. Then, as if it was an extension of the movement, he turned to see where Ferric was looking. He missed the rude gesture, but did show a frown for Farius. "I find it to be amazing," he muttered.

[Farius Masello]

Farius immediately broke off and stormed over to his aggressor, knocking a chair to the ground that was unfortunately in his way. The smoldering embers in his eyes were now ablaze; he was sure he was close enough to Ferric for him to feel the heat. "Raise your finger at me again and you'll be shoving it up your scrawny little ass."

[Drayel]

Drayel stared silently at the dwarf, his eyebrow raising as he went back to his drink. This would be his third... fourth? What was it? He blinked as he stared down at the drink with a heavy frown, his head rolling a little as he peered into the cup suspiciously.

"Dere's no way I should be tippsy after three...er. Four?" He frowned as he glanced up suspiciously at Vic who simply flicked his eyes up in Drayel's direction before continuing to clean a cup. He narrowed his eyes. Suspicious..... "I t..think he spiked my drink!"

Now he huffed as he gave the drink a sharp glare.

"Dis is all yer fault ya stupid glass... N' you! Vic! Stop spikin'- Hey, wazzat?" He paused in his slurred snapping to watch in curiousity as two more guards puffed out. He watched for a moment before glancing at the dwarf. "Should... we protect the... peace and all that? I c'n get Ferric."

He took a swig of this fifth cup.... no, third? fourth?

Oh hell with it.

"C'mon. I wanna beat 'n 'is head."

[Darrik]

Just when Darrik thought it'd be safe to make his excuses and leave, some new damn fool was off spouting aggressive nonsense. And, surprise surprise, it was the same person they were directing their anger at as Drayel had. Darrik didn't know Ferric well, but now knew enough that he didn't want to. The man was obviously a viper in the privy, lettin' people sit down before bitin' 'em in unexpected places. It seemed anger was contagious in humans, but Darrik could see the new idiot hadn't drawn a weapon, meaning a more typical barroom brawl.

Darrik settled his hand on Drayel's shoulder, a calm but firm pressure, as he shook his head. The dwarf let his knack for projecting his voice help his next words carry around the bar, which had quietened the moment Farius toppled the chair and shouted his thread "You'll protect the peace by sittin' down here an' mindin' your own business with me, mate. Guardsman Tasza's over there, an' he's as reliable as a foundation stone. The rest of our colleagues will no doubt quickly remember that they are Guards" Darrik intensified the word Guards for the benefit of all present "...an' not brigands, and will hopefully calm down and stop actin' like damn thugs after their first beer." Darrik cast a stern stare around the room, briefly locking eyes with any whose gaze had turned his way, before returning that stare to Drayel.

Lowering his voice, Darrik added to Drayel "If Vic's spiked y'drink, we'll deal with that after the next little bout of feckin' stupidity blows over, right? There's ways an' means of tacklin' every problem, an' most of them don't require thumpin' a bloke." The dwarf guard tugged at his beard and muttered to himself "Never in a thousand years would I have thought half the damn Guard had all the sense of a bull in heat when off duty. Damn son of mine an' his stupid ideas of socialisin' bein' an important part of me job. Protectin' citizens from criminals is my job, not protectin' guards from the stupidity of other guards. I could ha' been at home, not dealin' with this ridiculous sewerage" Darrik grumbled quietly as he waited to see how things turned out.

[Drayel]

"Goin' on outtings aren't my strong suit either." Drayel muttered as he forced himself back into his seat and promptly pouted at his mug. "Don't... don't like people an' they don't like me. We stay far away from each other, see? Then these stupid parties come 'round and now I gotta try 'n be nice or I'll get stuck on gnome duty again..."

"Hey, ya mentioned a son? Whatsss he doing?" Drayel asked as started to tip a bit one way before quickly righting himself upright again with a grunt. "He a guard? How old?"

[Ferric Vintas]

Ferric chuckled when Tasza voiced his view on drunken guards even as the drunken guard behind them lost it in response to Ferric’s finger. “If only we were all like you, Tasza.” He shook his head, “If only.” He meant it. If all followed the rules with Tasza’s dedication, rather than mere fear of punishment, the world would be a better place. It was really too bad that wasn’t how the world worked. He heard a table fall as the drunk threw a fit.

The drunk’s reaction had been immediate and highly satisfactory. The fish were biting tonight, that was for certain. And yet for all Farius’s bluster and rage, he wasn’t half as daunting as Drayel had been. He was only making a fool of himself. Ferric was struck by the drunk’s resemblance to that exotic fish he had hear about, which puffed itself up in response to threats; pure bluster with no real weight behind it.

Ferric glanced back to Tasza with an eyebrow raised, as if the guard’s furious arrival had just proved their point. He let out an exasperated sigh. “You just might be more drunk than Drayel over there.” The comment was kept within a highly measured tone which spoke volumes about his control of the situation. Ferric took a moment to drink in the impotent rage before he burst out laughing. It was a high pitched, mocking and calculated laughter he had perfected over the years into a weapon which struck at pride. When his laughter faded into chuckles, he wiped his eye and said, “Oh you are just a treasure, you know that? I mean it. One in a million.” Ferric stood up to address the lout. His hands were held nonthreateningly behind his back. His pose was daring Farius to do something about the situation, to talk with his fists and take advantage of Ferric’s indefensible stance.

His tone dropped and his eyes narrowed. “You are a child hiding in a man’s body.” His voice had become quite and dangerous. “And you are as dependant on those around you as that child. When they finally realize you’re a wasted effort and a lost cause, where will you be, hmm? What will you do when mother stops letting you suck the teat?” He let his eyes linger on Sisara and Odelina as the pair approached the conflict.

“What are you waiting for?” He asked Farius, leaning in to add pressure. His eyes were eager, almost crazed, and his grin was a scornful constant. “What could be your response?”

[Farius Masello]

Farius deigned to let Ferric spew his garbage, half hoping he would redeem himself so he wouldn't have to hurt him and half hoping he would say something else stupid so he would get to. "What could be your response?" he heard Ferric say. I don't know, what could it be?, thought Farius' more acidic side, and the rest of him flared with rage in agreement with the biting sarcasm.

A momentary glance back at Sisara's worried face and Odelina's disapproving gaze was all he needed to top off his decision. He swaggered up to Vintas. He had just enough of a height advantage to make his squinted eyes suitably intimidating. Come on, he willed Ferric. He was tempted to look away from Ferric's eyes, but he didn't dare.

Then Farius saw it. That smug grin that heralded assumed victory and therefore superiority slowly growing in Farius' peripheral vision. Adrenaline surged and Farius felt his abdomen tighten as he swung his arm straight into Ferric's cheekbone. The oh-so-satisfying feeling of flesh and bone came and went in a second of pure satisfaction. Farius followed through sufficiently to make sure Ferric reeled and hopefully met the floor.

His hopes were realized as he heard the lovely sound of limp body hitting timber. Now it was Farius' turn to smile.

[Sisara]

Sisara was not at all pleased when Farius and Lina suddenly just up and disappeared, or rather made a bee line towards the bar first. It was lovely how her so-called best friend was leaving her by herself yet again after she had been looking forward to spending an evening with him. Though she probably should have known better. She was used to it after all.
At least Lina had had the decency to reply to her question before they had gone off. Not that she didn’t want Farius to enjoy himself but she had hoped he would leave that until a little later in the evening. Now, she was once again left with nothing to do and completely on her own. Not that she wasn’t used to that either.

At first, she didn’t realise what was going on behind her, didn’t want to know what was happening either. But then a chair crashed down to the floor and by the mere sound of it, she knew that disaster was brewing. She had not even been able to get up and run to the bar, when Farius had already thrown a punch. ’Damn!’ she muttered, feeling her tongue slightly sticking to her mouth after the heavy shot, but the adrenaline was quickly taking care of the fog in her head.

“Farius!” she hissed as she appeared behind to him, pressing herself against his back with one hand on his hip, trying to drag him away in the easy manner she usually adopted with him, firm but with a womanly charm, so to speak. “Don’t make it worse than it is!” It was a good thing she was smaller than him, so she wouldn’t have to look into Ferric’s face as she was most likely proving some kind of insult he had thrown into Masello’s face. “Farius, please,” she added, still keeping her voice low, hoping no one but him would hear her, hoping against hope that he would listen to her, but somehow it seemed as though tonight wasn’t really a night he was prone to listening to anything she had to say.

[Sinuvarakoon Tasza]

Tasza had half stepped in front of Ferric. The aggression displayed corresponded to violent intent. Too late to regret not bringing his mace as Farius neared them. Tasza looked about for any other nearby dangers, but found none. All that remained was Farius looking the part of a dog ready to attack. It did not help matters that when Farius stopped in front of them and spouted some nonsense, Ferric began the process of baiting. It was a most troublesome vice, and not at all appropriate for the situation.

"Ferric, stop. You are--" making the situation worse was on his tongue just as it got worse. Assault worse. Disorderly conduct worse. Attacking a member of law enforcement worse.

It happened before Tasza could do anything, but most strikes were like that: fast. Brutal fast. He had a second to recognize the body's readiness to fight, and then Ferric was hit and Tasza was reaching out, taking hold of Farius' arm and wrenching back. He was taller than the other guard, and he stepped in to make clear that resistance would not be acceptable.

"Guardsman Masello, I urge you to accompany me to Headquarters before I am forced to call an on duty guard to make an arrest for assault and attacking a member of Marn law enforcement." His voice was firm, and his face had slid into the blank slate that was typical of his professional demeanor.

The hives spread.

[Ferric Vintas]

Ferric felt the blow connect. It was a good one. It would sting for a while even if it didn’t knock out any teeth. Currently speaking, it hurt quite a bit.

The blow sent him sprawling backwards. He was sure he didn’t make a very dignified sight as his tumble flipped a stool aside and sent him crashing into the bar. His head hit wood and bounced painfully forwards, which might have only barely been better than scraping down the sides. His arm flailed to a nearby standing stool, and grabbed hold, keeping him from falling completely to the floor. And son of a bitch, did it ever hurt.

Ferric displayed admirable grit by shoving Braken off when the elf went for his medical supplies. He took that damn kit everywhere. But Ferric merely snatched a rag from Braken’s hand and held it to his jaw. He pulled himself up with the hand which had clamped on the stool. He laughed, but that hurt, so he stopped quickly, letting his eyes take up the burden of mockery. The rag was turning from white to red.

“It’s funny.” He commented, a hard edge to his voice which contrasted with his mirthful face. “The last man who did that to me lost his job and lives in shame.” He let that one hang cruelly in the air for a moment. He took a breath in through his nose, then breathed out and removed the rag.

Ferric made for a ghastly sight, grinning red as little rivers flowed down his chin. “But don’t worry. I don’t hold grudges. I won’t even report this if you do me a favor.” He looked at Tasza, who was sure to not like that. “I’d like a brief chat with her, if you don’t mind.” He pointed to Sisara. Toad chuckled, but Ferric turned on him and clarified, “And I do mean a damn chat, no matter what sordid thoughts have entered my companion’s head.”

Tasza was, predictably enough, meanwhile threatening to write Farius up. He was a handy guy to have around, mostly thanks to the fact that insults weren’t illegal. “That won’t be necessary, Tasza.” He commented, though he doubted it would do much good. “The situation is under control again.” Ferric’s control, to be specific. After all, Tasza’s power was limited. If Ferric stood up for his own aggressor, the drunk couldn’t suffer entirely too much fallback for his stupidity.

It was a thought sure to inhabit Sisara’s head at the moment. The gears must surely be turning to reveal that the only way to protect her drunk was to accept his terms. Ferric relaxed. This had gone smoothly.

A cord of pain struck his jaw as if to contest Ferric’s musings. He winced and brought the rag back up.

[Darrik]

Darrik watched the drama unfold while keeping an eye on Drayel. "M'boy Henrik? He's still young, barely into his twenties. But he is turning into a fine butcher, without a doubt. Time will come when I can leave the entire business in the lad's hands." The dwarf guard wondered, as he watched Farius rise so quickly to simple provocation, how anyone could be so damn hot-headed and stupid yet still make it into the guards. Still, people pointed at the dwarf in the guard and complained about lowered standards. Maybe there was some truth to it.

It was a nice punch, though. No questions asked there. "There y'go Drayel. Petty justice achieved, and look where it's got him. People forget that losin' y'temper makes an idiot of you. Ain't worth it."

Darrik readied himself in case Tasza needed a hand. A drunken and enraged guard could be a handful and a half, and Farius had shown he was no slouch with his fists. Ferric had certainly shown willing to aggravate the drunken louts. Darrik called across the room "Guardsman Tasza, if y'need any assistance, now or later, let me know. Not long 'til I'm on duty anyhow." Any excuse to leave the damn bar, and the drunken fools making a mockery of their vocation along with it, would suit the dwarf perfectly about now.