Fun and Fancy-free with Farius

[Talia Idris]

Late Fall 126

Talia looked down at her dress one more time before sighing and slipping on her shoes. Her shift was supposed to start in a few minutes and as it was a Friday night it was also going to be a busy night. She had only been here for two weeks and she already knew that this certainly wasn't her favorite job thus far. For one thing, the dress that was her 'uniform' was much too revealing for her tastes, not that she had a lot to reveal anyways. But she still considered herself a lady and the looks that some of the patrons gave her caused her to blush or even a shiver to run down her spine. But this was the only job that she could find that was willing to promise to keep her for the winter if she did a good job and pay her in accommodation. Although they had also told her that if they needed the room she would be moved to a cot in a broom closet.

She would just have to tough out the next several months. It would be worth it to be warm all season long. She refused to repeat last year when she was scrounging to find a warm place to stay and a job that would accept her when she looked like someone off the streets, which she kind of was.

Talia pinned her long hair up in a bun, tucked her bangs behind her ear and with a final disapproving look at her shoulder-less dress she turned towards the door to head downstairs. Entering the bar she took a quick glance around the already bustling room before heading to the back to grab her tray and see which tables were assigned to her for the night.

"Hey Tal! Your friend is back." One of her coworkers, Elise, said with a wink and a smirk.

"What friend? You know I don't really have any friends and certainly not that visit me here." Talia asked as she looked around the room. Her eyes stopped when they reached a young man sitting in the corner. He had been coming here for a couple days now, she occasionally felt him watching her but that was nothing new in this line of business. Not to mention they had yet to even speak to each other. That was going to change tonight although not by her choice, he was sitting in her section so she would have to talk to him. The man look up and Talia quickly looked away, her cheeks turning a bit pink.

"If he isn't your friend then, I am sure he would be if you asked him." Elise grinned at her and gave her a little nudge with her hip.

"Oh please." Talia rolled her eyes as she nudged Elise back before straightening her skirt and grabbing a tray. It was time for another long night of work. Might was well start with the man in the corner, hopefully he didn't notice her watching him earlier because she didn't want him getting the wrong idea.

"Hi there." She said as stood in front of him and smiled like she had been told to. "Long day? Anything I can get for you tonight?"

[Farius Masello]

This was it. Tonight was the night. This young woman would share his bed; not an uncommon thought for Farius Masello, womanizer extraordinaire. Farius didn't know what he would do with his life if he ran out of women to seduce. He didn't consider it narcissistic to feel the pride-high he had when yet another innocent young adult fell prey to his charms. Or teen, for that matter. If they looked older than their age, Farius didn't care. What was worse, bedding a girl of fifteen winters or marrying one of twelve like they did farther east? Farius didn't consciously realize it, but he was great at rationalizing whatever his whims told him he should do.

Here she came. She was dressed in a nice, small emerald dress. He could tell it had been recently given to her as a uniform from the way it contrasted with her obviously reserved personality, how uncomfortable she felt with so much skin revealed, and how incorrectly she was walking if indeed her employer wished her to be more attractive to the male clientele. Changers, she even walks like a virgin.

Farius was sitting at a table different from his usual, and he felt a bit exposed. Not uncomfortable, but exposed. She approached him (finally), and Farius let his eyes take a quick overview. Slender shoulders, but not overly skinny. Nice complexion. Lovely eyes. Perfectly acceptable catch. Out of the corner of his eye, Farius caught Elise. He flashed a smile that she answered with a smirk and a knowing shake of her head.

"Well, I think there's something you can give me," Farius told this Talia girl, "but I suggest we at least talk for a bit first." The charm was in full effect right from the start. It was a gamble, but it was one his instinct told him might just work.

[Talia Idris]

The smile was not lost on Talia, brief as it may have been. Turning quickly around she squinted her eyes at Elise who did her best to look innocent, or as innocent as a barmaid with the reputation that she had could. Sighing Talia turned around as she rolled her eyes, she would deal with Elise later. For now she would have to manage whatever the silly woman cooked up here. She placed her free hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side as she gave the strange man a curious, if not suspicious look.

"Well I don't know what Elise has put you up to but you needn't listen to her. Pretty sure half of what she says is made up anyways." She did her best to smile and tried to put herself a bit more at ease. "And besides our variety of beverages we have in store, I don't know what I could possibly offer you. Even the conversation you request is currently not available for longer then a minute or two. I do have a job after all, one that I don't want to loose so soon. And I would offer you a portion of my morning but most people who spend their nights here are often unavailable during that portion of the day."

This time Talia's smile was legitimate for it was certainly a fact that most people in the tavern on a Friday night would either find 'other' means of enjoyment to occupy their night and morning or simply would drink too much in celebration of another end to the week or perhaps both.

"Now what will it be sir? Your usual or something different?" She waited patiently for his order, unaware that she had given way the fact that she knew what his usual was even though she had never served him herself.

[Farius Masello]

Farius relaxed. This wouldn't be hard. "Yeah, why don't you start me off with a pint of the usual. Elise knows what to bring me," he added, winking in her direction even though her back was turned to him. Farius watched Talia walking away, examining the areas he liked most in a woman. She checks out, he thought casually. She seemed a little skittish as to skipping duty to talk to him, though. He would make an arrangement for the morning, but he didn't figure she was one to feel in the mood during the day. As surprising as it was, he might not be, either.

[Talia Idris]

Talia responded with a nod and with a quick turn she spun around and headed back to the bar. She quickly grabbed a few orders from a couple other tables while she waited for the Elise to grab the man his drink. It took a few minutes since there was already a long list of orders.

"Is that drink ready yet?" Talia asked coming up to the counter again.

"Got it right here Tal....uh uh! Not yet." Elise said as she pulled the mug away when Talia reached out to grab it.

"Oh come on!" Talia whinned. "Its busy and I don't have time for this."

"It's not that busy and if you look your tables aren't that full. I will give you this if you sit with your handsome stranger for at least five minutes. Okay? And before you say anything about losing your job," she said quickly as Talia opened her mouth to protest. "The boss isn't around tonight, something about a date I think. Plus we have a extra set of hands here tonight because he is gone. And since this person actually works, you can take a few minutes at the very least."

Talia glanced behind her at the guy in the corner. He certainly was easy on the eyes. And he had been coming for several nights now, so it wasn't as if he was some creep who saw her for a single second and expected her to jump into bed at a snap of his fingers. "Fine, but you owe me." She said pretending to sigh and be annoyed, much to Elises amusement.

Grabbing the pint Talia stuck out her tongue at the giggling barmaid and strutted back to the corner table. "Sorry for the wait," she smiled apologetically as she placed the glass in front of him. "If you still want company, I have a few minutes. I don't know what you did to Elise but she is pretty determined." Talia said shaking her head.

[Farius Masello]

"What I've done to Elise wouldn't be appropriate to speak of in polite company, were I comprehensive," said Farius. Best to shy away from that, Farius. Don't want to scare her off; she seems delicate. "No matter. You, Talia, are my company for this evening." He shifted slightly in his seat before adding: "Speaking of which, I haven't introduced myself. Farius Masello." A small gesture of the hand and nod of the head accompanied the reappearance of the Masello smirk. "Will you have a drink as well?"

[Talia Idris]

Talia's eyes widened slightly, not that she was very surprised at what this Masello fellow was implying. Elise tended to be a little...loose, around certain customers. Talia was half debating getting up and going back to work when the woman herself sashayed over and plopped down a foamy mug of golden liquid.

"Before you say anything Tal," Elise said as she pressed a finger to her lips to keep Talia from protesting again. "I paid for it and you need it. You are too uptight hon, loosen up and have some fun. And you...be nice to her." Elise grinned at Farius and strutted off, throwing a wink over her shoulder although Talia wasn't sure who it was meant for.

Turning to Farius she grinned halfheartedly. "Well I suppose that answers your question. And in case you didn't already know, I am Talia Idris. So tell me a bit about yourself then Mr. Masello. You already know where I work and such, what do you do with your time...when you are not conspiring with coworkers for who knows what reasons."

As she spoke Talia eyed the drink before her suspiciously as she considered accepting it or not. Eventually she came to the conclusion that one drink couldn't hurt. After all it was a bit of an awkward situation, for her at least, and maybe this would help her ease into it. Taking a sip she wrinkled her nose at the taste before talking another. It wasn't her ideal drink but this was the first time she had imbibed alcohol so perhaps it was a bit of an acquired taste and she would get used to it after a few more sips.

[Farius Masello]

Farius couldn't help but laugh, and all things considered, he probably would have even if he could've helped it. This Talia girl was in for a treat. Young, curious, but headstrong. "I'm here most nights, Talia, for one reason or another." He took a sip; it was better than usual. Farius hoped that was a sign. "Why? Are you afraid I was going to tell you about my underground slavery ring, or my magical cult plotting to take over the city?" Farius let his laugh widen, trying to spread the addictive pestilence of his good humor.

[Talia Idris]

Talia stared into her mug as if she wasn't interested "Oh well I thought you were more of the top secret assassin type fellow. But if you are only running illegal slavery and magic rings I suppose that's okay." She looked up at Masello and grinned. His laughter was rather contagious. And if Elise recommended him he probably wasn't dangerous, although it was very possible that she would have to keep her wits about her. And her skirts.

[Farius Masello]

"No, I've only ever been in contact with one magic ring, and let's just say there were no eagles there to fly me around." Farius chuckled and took another drink. I like this one. I'm going to keep her around. "So," he said, stifling a cough (or a belch, one of the two), "what do you do to make your coin, Talia? I'm assuming you're not a guard, unless they've started hiding things from me. Again." There was the cough. Farius tried to act like it didn't catch him by surprise, and he kept his composure. Just relax. You're more 'professional' at this than your profession. Act like it.

[Talia Idris]

"My, my, aren't we impressive." She said rolling her eyes at his tall tale. When he asked her about herself though she almost choked on her drink. For some reason that question seemed to be loaded in some way. After all, he had seen her working here for the past little while. Was he implying that she worked another kind of 'job'? Or was trying to find out about her past, or just wanting her to play along with his crazy story game?

Talia stared suspiciously into her drink. She had always been cautious but never paranoid like this. Shaking her head slightly she pasted on a grin and leaned towards him conspiratorially, momentarily forgetting about the cut of her neckline, not that her 15 year old body had too much too show off in that area anyways.

"Well, when I am not waitressing here, I moonlight as a...." She paused trying to come up with something entertaining, "master jewel thief. Rubies are my favorite." Talia took another swig of her beer, surprised to find it over half gone already.

"Of course you can't tell anyone I told you or I could be dead by sunrise." She tried to say seriously as she leaned back into her chair, her lips turning up at the ends regardless of her efforts. And her story wasn't too far from the truth. She did love rubies and if people caught sight of the jewel that lay hidden under her shirt they often thought that she had stolen it.

[Farius Masello]

"Rubies, eh? Well, they must be rubbing off, 'cause your quite a gem yourself, Talia." She was still...kind of young. Ah, well. She'd be a woman tonight if Farius had anything to say about it. He glanced down and noticed his drink was empty. He began to raise his head to call for Elise, but hesitated. Why waste time? "Would you care to join me for a walk?" Farius stood and offered Talia a hand, donning his classic smirk.

[Talia Idris]

Talia blushed a little at the compliment. She received at least several each night as she worked, mostly by guys who were too drunk to really make an honest compliment or someone who wanted a free drink. This one felt more sincere, at least a little bit.

Talia looked at Farius' proffered hand and then back to her drink. There wasn't much left, it would be rude to leave without finishing it, especially since Elise had bought for her. Closing her eyes Talia tilted the glass back and finished the last couple sips before placing it gently back on the table next to his empty glass.

"A walk sounds lovely." She said as she stood up, temporarily avoiding his hand. "If you just left me run up to my room I will grab my cloak. Unfortunately this uniform doesn't really offer much protection against the night air." Talia giggled as she headed towards the stairs.

Why did she giggle? It wasn't funny...ah well she was in a good mood and had been given the night off so she might as well enjoy it. She would just keep an eye on where he was taking her, perhaps fasten her little dagger to her belt just in case things got fishy. Nah, that wouldn't be necessary, after all why would Elise set her up with someone who was going to be that inappropriate with her?