Bloodsong's Oasis - Jazz Club and Speakeasy

[Aurora Alchemi]

Tuuli gives that soft, calm smirk of someone who knows they've given a fine story, and rests back to mull over their drink. There is a raise of a hand to politely wave off Rose as they depart, the Lyrun making sure not to interrupt as they nursed their beverage. Then there is a soft laugh, and a look over to the other pair.

"Oh? And how did such involvement go? Ahm assumin' ye didnah git kill't and raised from the dead like my own land's would've, but then again...." There is a pause, as if implying that the nexus was exactly the sort of place where such assumptions ought naturally be challenged. Then there is a look to Askeladd.

"Suffern's a fair part of nature all in an' of it's own. Weave knows mah own people suffered plenty, as did ah. Still, suffern's a but o' the process... if Ah haven't suffered at least a lil' bit when ah make a piece o' art, ah don't know that ahd really be able to call it art with any fair bit o' gumption in the sense o' the name." There is a pause, the moose getting just a mild bit tangled in their own words as the drink settles in. But there is some clarity in the sense of suffering as a part of the creative process.

[Keeper]

Krayger actually blushes. Which is only really visible if you look at his ears, but luckily for his company minotaurs' ears stick out.
"Well. I got stuck in a bathhouse-shack with her over a night. It seemed to lock us in when night fell. She is the sort that tears out people's hearts and identities. Long ago I had a rather disastrous night with an entirely different fey who put a curse on me to wear her face after her first curse failed. A local gentleman named Latrans allowed me to remove it when I wanted. Anyway, the kumiho in question took that from me instead of eating my heart." he glances away. He doesn't have any more ale to use as a distraction.

"...whereupon she attempted to get unprofessionally close to me immediately as well as once or twice afterwards, using me as a middle-man to hire MERC. She stopped coming eventually." Krayger had to push her away quite thoroughly.
"The moral of the story is don't spend nights with fairies."

[Morty]

"A good moral to keep in mind." Askeladd nods. This is clearly embarrassing for Krayger... which he finds strangely endearing. "I've had my share of run-ins with fey, but they were of a different sort than you might be used to. They come from outside my world... they're not really a part of it."

At the same time, Krayger might spot a familiar face nearby. Fayyaad is headed their way, wearing an elegant blue and gold jacket, slightly unbuttoned.

[Aurora Alchemi]

"Ahl be sure to keep that in mind, though ah believe ahd need tah figure out what exactly qualifies as a fairie afore then. Tain't like this worl' got the same rules as ahm used to. Hadta get used to the real lack of... ordinary folk, yaknow?" There is a brush back and forth on their chin, the gentle giant giving a soft hum as they consider what might and might not be a fairy. There is a gentle nod.

"At least ahve been able to make out that witches and foxes both are a fair sight kinder here than they normally be in mah old worl'. Seems that's even had an effect, at least a little bit, on the witch o' faces an' masks. Perhaps they'll find their way back to the natural cycle, and stop pullin' our magicks so willy nillie all over the place." There is a small guffaw at that idea, before the moose leans harder against the bar, a little bit of a creak sounding from the bar itself.

"So how does one reconnoiter a fae?"

[Keeper]

"You mean identify? Well, the usual reliable thing is their connection to nature and aversion to iron. They can unfortunately come in so many forms that trying to describe them is quite difficult. There are books on the subject that probably put it into words better than I can..."
Krayger does spot his coworker and waves, though he's never been that close to Fayyaad. Still, they've spoken plenty of times. Especially since they've both gotten front desk duty.
"Hello, Fayyaad. You missed the start of the party. But I see you're not one to miss it entirely, eh?" And here he is, surrounded by two massive moose-folk. That's a look alright. Fayyaad might be mistaken into thinking it was on purpose.

[Morty]

Fayyaad looks between Tuuli and Askeladd. Well, well. Krayger has some impressive friends here, for sure. Fayyaad didn't think he had it in him. The tiefling gives a short bow.

"As a matter of fact, I'm working here today. I saw you earlier with Rose, but had to stay at my post. Now my shift is over. A shame to have missed her, but now I get to meet your new friends. My name is Fayyaad ibn-Haashid al-Zafar, but just Fayyaad is fine."

"And I am Askeladd. Just Askeladd," the enormous moose-man says.

[Aurora Alchemi]

"Ah mean, the satyrlyrri got a connection to nature, but Ah can't say Ahve got an aversion to iron." There is a pause and a look of contemplation on the mooses face, before a soft hum. Then a moment of reconsidering. "Although actually, Ahm not nearly as good with smithing as Ah am with stone and wood. Ahd have to take some taim an' research to see ifin ah qualify"

Then there is a look to the newcomer. The almost lumberjack (or lumberjill?) like lyrun gives a bow, the various charms and trinkets that adorn their horns giving a small rustle and tinkle, before the cheerful jades observe the newcomer. There is a moment of recognition in the lyruns face, before they introduce themselves. "Ahm Tuulikki Kołodziejski, Although seein' as the old tongue's a mouthful for most, ahm mostly called Tuuli. Ah managed to kinda crash the party, but the company seems amicable enough." Then there is a pause and a long rub of crafting scarred hands over their chin, before a certain question leaves the lyrun's lips.

"So be ya a fae, or onna' them teef lang Ah heard a little bit about? This land has some strange customers sometimes. Gotta be sure if Ah get drunk and hit on ya' ahm not falling into a trap set by an iron deficient trickster, yaknow?"

[Keeper]

"Well, it's good to see you regardless, Fayyaad. Would you like to sit with us?" Krayger offers, gesturing to Rose's empty seat. He chuckles a little bit at Tuuli's comment but he really doesn't want to repeat that particular story in front of Fayyaad. He doesn't want the whole company to know that one.

[Morty]

That's quite the accent Krayger's new friend has. Fayyaad does his best to keep up. He also flashes one of his trademark charming smiles.

"I am indeed a tiefling. And hitting on me is perfectly safe. There are many of us here in the Nexus, but most of them are different than me... they have red skin, for one." He sits down in the seat Rose vacated.

"And I do not always have antlers. I just happen to be able to change shape... with a distinctly moose-like theme." He glances over at Tuuli. "I'd say we're lucky that you crashed our party, as you put it. Why else to go to a public establishment after all?"

[Aurora Alchemi]

"Well Ah appreciat' that, my friend. Ahl try to keep a lid on it, but if Ah get fourteen or fifteen deep, Ahm known to pick friendly fights and tease the cuter ones about the bar, yaknow?" There is a pause and a listen to the pair, a quiet hum passing the moose's lips as they drift their eyes over the new company, and begin to sip at their beverage again. There is a soft guffah, and a clap of a heavy hand on their thigh, before the large moose gives a soft motion to Krayger.

"Ah'd say the luckiest one here is this one. He seems to attract a fair swarm of folks he knows, and that seems alright." Then the moose lyrun looks to the other moose, and flashes a wide grin. "Ahd crash your party any day, though we best keep the horns outta it or we'll have to deal with horn lock around a crowd. Not that it's a bad thing, iffin ya are into a sore neck and physical proximity until the situation is fixed!" The crafter chortles softly, and then shrugs. "So what is next for our motley crew? Ahm looking at another week of crafting, same as always, so that's a fair bit boring."

[Keeper]

"My horns are smooth and have only one angle, unlike you two's. I think you would find locking with me easier to escape." Krayger chuckles.
"Well, right now we're all only one drink into this party. That is something we could remedy at least. I don't think I really had any plans beyond that today." he admits. Mostly because he didn't actually have any plans for tonight. Things just kind of happened.

[Morty]

"Then I am glad to count as among the cuter ones here." Fayyaad gives a small bow with a flourish. "I'll be here every day this week, but working. This place gets crowded in the leadup to the holidays, they need more security."

"Get some drinks into me and I might be convinced to sing. Which would be difficult to miss, if perhaps not particularly melodious." Askeladd gives a rumbling laugh. "I can't say I've never locked horns with anyone. But I rather doubt the proprietors would be impressed."

[Morty]

One evening, Dorota comes into Bloodsong's. She's visibly nervous, but that's her normal state when in a public place. She heard there's some kind of meetup for alchemists happening here and (after much deliberation) decided to come. She's bound to have some topics in common with other alchemists, right? And after her divorce and then kidnapping, she's worried she's becoming a shut-in.

That all being said, she came a fair bit early to scope out the place ahead of time. Get comfortable, she tells herself, but deep down she also intends to give herself time to abscond if she gets overwhelmed.

[Morty]

At another time, Hiep (who introduced herself as Zhelshu) comes to Bloodsong's with Verity.

"Here we are. I've heard a lot of witches, occultists, mystics and wizards frequent this place. Seems like your kind of crowd."

[Halae]

Verity, blind as she is, needs to be guided in for safety's sake, though she does a good job navigating once she knows where any physical impediments like stairs or doorways are, and as such Hiep likely has her surprisingly soft hand held to guide her along. She's patiently allowing 'Zhelshu' to guide her wherever she likes, and a smile is on her soft, full lips.

"Mmm, smells of alcohol, but relatively clean, and under it is... the smell of all sorts of spellcasting reagents on the patrons. Brought me to a wizard bar, have you?" seems she appreciates the care in decision making Hiep is going for here.

[Morty]

"That's right. I've heard a lot about this place. Just needed the right occasion to drop by." That's not quite true. Hiep needs very little reason to go to bars and taverns. "I'm not much of a magic-user myself. Just... messenger, I guess. Need me to read the menu for you?"

[Halae]

"If they don't have any in braille, certainly. Listening to your voice has a certain charm of its own, though," Verity will attempt to find somewhere to sit. It's been quite a day in many regards, and she's not used to riding anything, much less deer.

[Morty]

"Does it now? I don't hear that often." Hiep will lead Verity to the barstools and help her take a seat. "Then I hope listening to the menu will prove soothing."

[Halae]

Verity settles into it with a smile after checking the seat's dimensions with her hands, before turning towards Hiep. She'll listen patiently as Hiep goes over the menu; Verity has certainly been on worse dates than this.

Eventually, however, she'll choose to get something that's relatively light on alcohol, with a fruit twist.

[Morty]

Hiep, for her part, orders rice wine, which seems to be a popular drink where she comes from.

"Their selection is good. I should come here more often." She raises her glass in a toast... then realizes Verity can't see it. Or can she? "Do you do this kind of thing often? Close rifts in space, I mean."

[Halae]

Verity does not, in fact, notice the toast. Which of course raises some questions about how that danged soul sight actually works, "I can't say I reseal planar breaches much, but I do tend to involve myself in deathly disturbances. Ghosts and other undead, problem necromancers, that sort of thing. My actual job most of the time is running a seance business - inviting ghosts back to speak to their loved ones, or helping ghosts settle their affairs so they can shake off the last of their fetters and reincarnate. It's not the most lucrative line of business, but if I'd wanted money I'd have stayed in my father's little fiefdom," there's a fairly clear distaste for whomever her father is present in her tone.

"How about yourself, Zhelshu? Do you often involve yourself in necromantic workings?"

[Morty]

"Hmm. I've known people who make a brisk trade doing that, yes." Most of them were frauds, but some were genuine. "I can't say I deal with it often myself, though. Most of the time I just mediate between mortals and spirits. Explain things. That sort of thing."

[Halae]

"That explains how we crossed paths in this," Verity says with a smile, "You must have quite a number of interesting stories, then!"

Uh oh. There's a mischievous note in her voice.

[Morty]

"I might." Discretion was never Hiep's strong suit. Doubly so when faced with hot people who are curious about something. "It would be unprofessional of me to name names, but I could tell you about the god who refused to reveal himself to his followers for years because he was waiting for the high priest to die."

[Halae]

"Oh, now that's quite interesting. Was he afraid of the priest?"

Verity unbuttons the top of her blouse, letting the air flow a little better around her collar.

[Morty]

Hiep doesn't answer immediately, too busy definitely not gaping at Verity unbuttoning her top.

"Not afraid. Embarrassed. The god fancied himself a scholar but the priest was able to correct him on a minor point of local political history. He took it really personally and elected to wait for her to die. But she was just forty at the time so he'd have been waiting a while."

[Halae]

"Oh no!" Verity laughs, "Did he eventually get his wish, or did he cave to the need to actually deal with his worshippers?"

[Morty]

"I employed blackmail." Hiep gestures with her glass for emphasis. "I told him that if he didn't get off his ass and perform his duties, I'd bring the story of his mistake to every spirit court I know of. That got him moving."

[Halae]

Verity leans forward, her eyes opening to reveal a pair of milky white orbs, a very broad smile stretching across her face.

Of course, leaning forward also means Hiep is going to be able to see down her shirt, and there's... wow there's a lot there. Verity is no slim girl, that's for sure.

"You intercede with spirit courts very often, then?"

[Morty]

Hiep is actually slack-jawed and speechless for a moment. Mercury above, that's... she's seen less impressive goddesses.

"Wha- I mean. Yes." She manages to bring her thoughts back to conventional reality. "I wouldn't say very often. But I do sometimes. Being a priestess is all about having connections and knowing what makes gods tick, you know? Mortals can't really oppose them, so we need to be clever."

Of course, that's a lie. Hiep holds considerable authority over gods. But when she plays the part of Zhelshu, she pretends to be mortal.