Unexpected duties [Stolley's Tavern] [Memory] [Open]

in which Cecelia meets some of Stolley's clientele

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Brunnhold's college town, located inside the university grounds.

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Cecelia Driscoll
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Sun Nov 11, 2018 8:01 am

75 Yaris 2718
Late morning
Cecelia stretched and bit back a yawn as she watched the tavern door. Normally, she would be long gone by this time of day, her duties as cook's assistant done. But one of the waitresses hadn't shown up and Cecelia, always in need of money, agreed to fill in for a few hours. She knew that the woman that took care of Galiya while Cecelia and Sednai was at work wouldn't complain about a couple extra hours of pay.

But, even though she knew she'd appreciate the extra wages, by the Circle, she was bored. The lunch crowd had yet to show up, so all she had to do was sit there and wait. She scanned through the morning's paper, pretending to read the news stories while she stealthily looked for jobs to apply for. When the boredom got too much, she would wander back and check to see if Cook needed help, but the portly woman had worked at Stolley's long enough that she was used to handling things by herself until the lower level cooks showed up for dinner rush. Unfortunately for Cecelia, Cook didn't like to be bothered and, after the 6th time Cecelia went to the kitchen, Cook threatened to roast her for dinner if she came back again.

"If I had known it would be this dead, I'd have slacked off after I agreed to take the shift," Cecelia thought to herself as she read the help wanted ads again. She saw a promising ad -- one of the journalism offices was looking for a secretary. She made a mental note to stop by after work the next day to let them know she was interested.

She looked up as she heard the tavern door open. She put on her brightest smile and waved the person in. "Morning! Come on in and relax a bit," she said, with the cheerfulness and obvious relief of someone who desperately needed something to do.
Last edited by Cecelia Driscoll on Wed Nov 28, 2018 11:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Juniper Feldspar
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Wed Nov 21, 2018 6:42 am

The man that walked through the door was a little shorter than average, and clearly a little unsure of himself, blue eyes darting around the interior as if to take stock, one hand running through his dark red hair. He relaxed obviously as Cecilia greeted him, returning her smile with one of his own, which lit up his boyish face, making the freckles on his tanned cheeks even more obvious.

"Thank you, I shall."

As he turned to close the door softly behind him, his charcoal grey coat swirled with the movement, and Cecilia caught a glimpse of a bright, shimmering lining before it fell straight again as he turned to face her once more.

"I am in sore need of a moment to catch my breath, your town is...busy, to say the least."

His voice was soft and cheerful, if a little strained, and as a small chirrup sounded under his ear, he absentmindedly raised a hand, and a cord of silver partially unwound itself from around his neck to gently nudge his knuckles, revealing itself to be a young female teacup drake nestled in his collar.

Juniper sighed, letting the tension roll out of his shoulders as the door closed, muffling the sound of the street outside and letting him think clearly.
It was all a bit much out there, the hustle and bustle of the University town quite unlike what he was used to, but thrilling at the same time. Briefly he went through the day's itinerary in his head one more time as the calm filtered in. He'd checked the local trade, the common shops, and so far he seemed to be onto a winner- nothing like his proposed business seemed to be up and running. Now it was time for some proper reconnaisance, and what better place to do it than here, with a glass of something refreshing in his hand?

In a moment, he took in the woman before him, her intelligent and searching eyes, the familiar friendly yet businesslike expression of a person who makes people happy for a living, and judged her with a comfortable respect for a fellow worker in service.

The wick took a step forward, put on his most winning smile, and politely enquired,

"What would you recommend for refreshment after a long morning treading the cobbles?"
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Cecelia Driscoll
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Thu Nov 22, 2018 12:26 pm

75 Yaris 2718
LATE MORNING
Cecelia chuckled. "Ah, new to town, then. I imagine it's pretty overwhelming. Are you staying in town or just passing through?" she asked.

She brightened up at the teacup drake. She looked around before saying anything though, making sure Stolley had wandered to the back. She leaned a bit closer to get a look at the creature. "She's a beauty! Ain't ever seen one of those. Teacup drake, right? Be careful, though. Stolley might or might not boot you out if he sees her. I mean, he doesn't always keeps an eye on the place. But I wouldn't want your first impression of this wonderful place," she paused with a laugh and gestured at the building that was so rickety that it looked like it would fall apart at a slight breeze, "to be a bad one. If you go to the end of the bar, it's darker there and as far as you can get from where he usually sits," she said helpfully.

She laughed at his question. "It depends. You want something alcoholic or not? And if you want something alcoholic, do you want something that'll get you completely tanked or something that will taste passingly decent, but let you keep your wits about you?"
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Juniper Feldspar
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Thu Nov 22, 2018 2:56 pm

Juniper nodded, confirming her rhetorical question. "A little, yes...but nothing I won't get used to." He laughed a little ruefully.

I'll have to, he thought. It's all right. It'll be all right. Just get through the unknown of today, then I can set things in motion...

"Just passing through today," he continued, making an effort to be cheerful, "but I'm actually doing a spot of research."

As the woman leaned in, clearly fascinated by Miranda, he laughed truly. Anyone who liked his darling immediately endeared themselves to Julian, and the little miraan reveled in attention.

"Aye, my precious girl. I don't like to leave her alone, she gets nervous." His mouth curled in a wry smile as she explained about Stolley, and tickled Miranda under the chin. "I understand." Holding his fingers before the creature's nose, he snapped them once, and asked, in a clear voice, "Pocket?"

When she trilled in mild distress and hid her little head in the folds of his cravat, he chuckled fondly.

"Sometimes she's happy to curl up and hide, but clearly not today. Not to worry." He turned up the collar of his coat, and feeling out for a connection, Juniper muttered a couple of words and felt the mona twist around his girl, hiding her in the shadow. He did, however, take the woman's suggestion, and trod the couple of steps to the darker end of the bar, his soft boot soles whispering on the worn boards, and hopped up onto the stool, flicking his coat out with one hand so as not to sit on the tails.

Sighing with relief, Juniper leaned heavily on one elbow, the other hand rubbing over his face.

"Any other day, and I wouldn't even be considering alcohol before lunchtime, but today... you may be able to tempt me with something gentle. I don't suppose you have any cucumber slices?" he finished in a teasing tone, eyes twinkling.
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Cecelia Driscoll
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Fri Nov 23, 2018 1:43 pm

75 Yaris 2718
LATE MORNING
Cecelia grinned at the antics of the teacup drake. "Kind of like a cat, then? Does what she wants when she wants to do it?" she chuckled. She wasn't surprised when the little creature disappeared into shadow. She had figured the man for a Wick. He definitely had a Wick's fashion sense, which Cecelia secretly appreciated. She missed the bold colors and patterns of the clothes that Aldwin used to buy her. They never had much, but he always made sure that Cecelia could "show off her beauty", as he said.

He was always such a sap. She missed those clothes so much, having sold them to secondhand stores piece by piece to help pay bills once she moved to Brunnhold.

Cecelia pushed her thoughts away and smiled at Juniper's comment about how he wouldn't mind something gentle. "That kind of day, eh? I promise, it gets better when you get settled in here. I have just the thing for you. I'll go grab a couple cucumber slices while I get your drink. Salads aren't especially popular around here, but you always get one or two people who come in and insist on eating something 'healthy' while they drink. I don't quite get it, but it's not my place to judge as long as they're paying customers," she said cheerfully.

She walked away for couple of minutes, then came back with a glass of a pale amber liquid and a small plate with a few cucumber slices on it. She put them both down on the table with a flourish. "Your cucumbers for the drake and your drink. My own mix. It's a First Light, mixed with a bit of lemon juice to take a bite out of the sweetness. Haven't come up with a name for it yet, but you're the first one outside of my husband and myself to have it, so I haven't needed one yet," she laughed. "It'll calm your nerves without getting you too sloshed. Aldwin used to drink it before he went to important meetings."

Her eyes turned sad for a moment at the memories of her husband and the last time he drank that particular drink. It was the night he died. Her smile slipped for a moment, then she shook herself ever so slightly and her usual smile came back as she tucked the memories away in a box, figuratively speaking, and shoved them back to the darkest corners of her mind. "Later, when you're not at work", she told herself.

"You say you're doing research? What type of research?" Cecelia asked curiously. She had been in Brunnhold for less than 2 years and the changes in the city always intrigued her. It was such a different city than Vienda which, she supposed, should be expected since one was a college town and the other was a government-centered town. "Oh! How rude of me," she exclaimed. "I didn't introduce myself. I'm Cecelia."
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Juniper Feldspar
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Fri Nov 23, 2018 4:10 pm

"Juniper," he replied with a smile, mildly amused that she'd taken him at his word about the cucumber, but actually impressed she'd found some.

It was good to find someone relaxed in this town, everyone he'd come across so far was so hurried or rude or...golly...It hadn't changed his plans, the place was still fascinating and, from a business standpoint, absolutely perfect. Such a wide variety of people, and students were notorious for being fashion conscious.

I wonder if they like embroidery, he thought to himself, tugging thoughtfully at his shirt cuff. The majority of its riot of scrolling colours was hidden beneath his coat and waistcoat, but just a hint of green edged the soft white linen that fell down to the first knuckle of his thumb, and rose above his cravat to echo the line of his jaw. He made a mental note to work up some green scarves to display by the door when he opened, and then remembered that Cecelia had asked him a question.

"Oh, I'm looking for a shop front! You wouldn't happen to know any places open to rent at the moment, would you? I need somewhere with a good amount of work space, and ideally lodgings too. On a street with a good footfall, can't be tucked away or no-one will ever find me."

He picked up a cucumber slice between thumb and forefinger, noted with approval that it was fresh and crisp, and held it up to his collar. The little silver head darted out from the shadow, sniffed, and promptly attempted to drag the whole thing into her nest.

"Oh no you don't, you are not staining my cravat." He kept a firm grip on the morsel, and Miranda chirrupped forlornly, making do with a large bite that she munched as Juniper's left hand lifted the glass to his lips. He took an indrawn breath, savouring the mingling scents of citrus and syrup, moistened his lips, and took a sip.

His eyebrows raised just a hint in pleasant surprise, and he looked at the glass throughtfully.

"First Light is normally a little sickly for me, but that is beautifully refreshing. I'll have to remember that." He looked up at her, head tilted with a smile. "I'm honoured the be the first outside of your family to sample it." He noted the brief sadness washing over her face and felt a surge of sympathy, but resolved not to ask. She was working, she had enough to deal with without some out-of-towner prying into her private business.
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Cecelia Driscoll
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Fri Nov 23, 2018 6:41 pm

75 Yaris 2718
LATE MORNING
"Well, it's lovely to meet you, Juniper," Cecelia smiled brightly. "Hmm. Well, lucky for you, a lot of the storefronts around here have apartments above them. I think it became a trend when they decided to abandon any semblance of a street grid," she laughed. "Brunnhold's a lot smaller than Vienda, but it sometimes feel like the people who built the Stacks figured they'd just try to cram all of Vienda into this small area. So the apartments ended up being *extremely* useful. It's hard to get lost going to work when it's right down some stairs."

"I know there are a couple storefronts that are open. Sadly, not very many. 'Our kind'," Cecelia paused to roll her eyes, showing her thoughts about what the Galdori thought of humans and wicks, "aren't allowed on campus, period. So the competition for storefronts is pretty heavy. I recommend that you put a deposit down the day you look at a shop if you like it because it's likely to be gone the next day."

She paused and looked upwards some, accessing the city "grid" in her head. "There's one about 4 blocks over, through Firelog Alley, up over Marksmen's Bridge..." she started, before stopping with a laugh. "You know what? You're going to get totally lost if I try to give you directions to get around this hingle's warren. Do you have any plans a couple hours from now? I get off around 18 o'clock and I can show you a couple storefronts if you'd like. If you don't like those, I can draw you a map to another one from here. So all you'd need to do is find your way here, which I'm sure you can do fine. My gorgeous face does draw people back easily," she said with another laugh.

Cecelia wasn't sure why she wanted to help the man. She was kind by nature, but she should really be heading home to pick up Galiya as soon as she got off of work. But she liked the man. He had an innocence about him and she saw a little of how she felt when she had first gotten here in his overwhelmed eyes. Maybe she didn't want his life to fall apart the way hers had. Maybe she felt the need to give him a bit of help to make sure he landed on his feet if he ended up here because he seemed like a nice fellow. Maybe she just liked the little teacup drake. "Inga will get annoyed about being stuck with Galiya, but she'll quit squawking when I pay her extra on top of what I'll already owe her," Cecelia thought.
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Juniper Feldspar
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Sat Nov 24, 2018 10:13 am

When she mentioned the cramped nature of the town, Juniper grinned.

"I love that about this place," he confessed, almost shyly, chin in hand, his last finger curling up to brush his lip and the very corner of his moustache, like it was a habit, without thinking. "The way everything's all on top of itself, no rhyme, no reason. There's something new and unexpected around every corner, something unseen, unlearned." His eyes shone. "I love to learn, to experience, to explore." He paused. "Even when it's terrifying, which it rather is today." His lip twitched with a self-depracating smile.

He took another sip, savouring the tang laced through the sweetness, and considered. "Hmm. Deposit might be an issue, I haven't brought that much money with me today, though I suppose I could have it sent for if I find a place to stay overnight."

He held up the cucumber slice again, and Miranda darted out to claim her prey with a crunch before retreating once more. He was beginning to feel the soft buzz of the alcohol taking hold, and welcomed it.

When Cecelia offered to show him around, Juniper actually stared at her for a good ten seconds before realising that he had, indeed, heard her correctly.

"But you barely know my name...You would take time out from your precious leisure hours to tour me around...to help me, though we met but ten minutes ago?"

She was the first person today who hadn't barked at him, or accused him of moongazing, or nearly run him over with their cart. He could have cried with relief.
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Cecelia Driscoll
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Sat Nov 24, 2018 11:15 am

75 Yaris 2718
LATE MORNING
Cecelia chuckled at his words about the Stacks. "I suppose you have a point. It's easy to become numb to things like that, especially when you're busy rushing around trying to make ends meet," she gave a wistful smile. "I hope you never lose that innocence."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I know a boarding house that usually has at least one room open. They may be willing to rent you a room for the night, if you can convince a landlord to wait a day to get a deposit. It never hurts to ask a landlord to work with you, anyways. Worst that can happen is they say no and, if they agree to work with you, you'll have an extra day to secure a storefront."

Cecelia shrugged at his reaction to her offer. "I have tomorrow off and nowhere to be. An hour or two out of a few dozen off isn't going to matter, in the end. Plus I like you. You seem like an optimistic, hopeful person, like my husband was," she explained. That soft, sad look showed up again. "Hopefully, you'll be smart enough to keep yourself out of the Resistance," she thought to herself.

She clapped her hands to bring herself out of the mood before it settled. "If you're going to take me up on my offer, I can get you some lunch. The stew will actually be palatable this early in the day. If you were here around dinner, everything would be boiled to a mash. I'm always surprised that we end up emptying 2 pots of the stuff," she laughed. "But don't tell Cook I said that. And I can guarantee you the bread's as fresh as you're going to get here. I made it this morning while I was chopping and slicing everything up for Cook."
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Juniper Feldspar
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Wed Nov 28, 2018 5:47 am

Juniper smiled brightly.

"Well, I know how I'm spending the rest of the day. Thank you, Cecelia, it's very kind of you. "

His tone showed genuine gratitude and warmth as he shrugged out of his coat, twisting in his seat to fold it neatly and place it on the unnoccupied stool beside him. His shirt was visible now, the embroidery in all colours of the rainbow suddenly transforming his attire from subtly individual to unashamedly wick and flamboyant.

"When I'm all set up you'll have to come by and I'll make you up something pretty. What's your favourite colour?" His eyes drifted slightly out of focus, clearly considering something creative.

Distracted, he failed to notice Miranda slithering down his arm until she was coiled on the bar, her head up in striking position, fixed on the remaining cucumber on its little plate. The shadow hiding her lithe form had dissipated when she moved, and her scales shone silver as she flicked her wings out like the hood of a cobra, and darted in to 'kill' another slice.

The wick made a small noise of exasperation, and his head swiftly turned to check they were still alone. Satisfied, he watched her fondly, taking another sip of his own refreshment, before he turned back to Cecelia.

"Stew sounds wonderful, and fresh bread even more so. You finish at Eighteen o'Clock, you said?" he checked, clearly trying to focus his thoughts on the task at hand. "Then after I've eaten I'll take a walk to the Post Office and see about sending a letter home about that deposit capital. I think I saw it on the way here, it's up by the gates to the University proper, isn't it?"
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