Roleplay City
Oberon Castle => OBERON CASTLE: Drink Today, Die Tomorrow => Falcon's Mask Inn => Topic started by: DeathsAngel on March 26, 2008, 01:06:56 AM
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Drunken laughter was the first thing Alithia heard as she opened the door to the beautiful warmth. Though spring was on it\'s way it was still awfully cold out, and the warmth of the large crowd was a blessing as much as a curse.
More laughter of drunks and whores sounded above the large rumbling crowd as rough months of winter was eased by the slow promise of spring to come. The air of the room was good, so Alithia decided to stay for a while, at least until another fight started. Men and a couple daring women gambled together on some tables, while in corners other kept to themselves either in their misery or just trying to relax after a long days work. The bartender gave her a small notice, just like he would any other customer, as she ordered an ale. She wouldn\'t drink much of it, but if you ordered anything less people would start to look at you funny. She had long since learned how to blend it.
She grabbed her drink and went to a corner table, where she could see if anyone approached her. She slowly drank and watched the crowd. A female scream, probably a dramatic whore, came from the room as two men fought over her. The screamer didn\'t even bother to pretend to be afraid, she was enjoying the men\'s fight too much.
Aly watched as more people joined in, either by accident or on purpose, it didn\'t matter. She thought she should probably leave, but the fight would last that long, and if it did she would leave. Until she just sat alone in her corner, watching it casually and drunk her ale and slowly ate the loaf of bread she had stolen on her way here.
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Stable Manager Bede Gallagher grinned triumphantly as the dice rolled his way at last and he managed to win his money back - with a tidy little profit of about a gold, to boot. He announced that it was time he left the game - to all the other players\' chagrin, since he\'d been losing steadily and lining their pockets for the last hour, only to rob them of their profit at the last minute - knowing how to quite when he was ahead (even if it was barely).
With an affable, dimpled grin, he brushed his golden locks back and stood, pocketing his money and laughing as the other four men attempted to cajole him to sit down again. The curls bounced as he shook his head and leaned to the left a little, so that he could slip most of the coins into the inner seam pocket of his dark brown long pants (where it couldn\'t be taken easily), which sat upon his right hip. That done, he retucked his beige shirt - it was loose and billowy, with a strig tying the vertical opening at his chest together - and righted his vest. He would get his coat at the door.
"So long, gentlemen!" he chuckled once more, swinging his long leg over his chair like it was a horse, politely tucking the furniture back in, and heading for the exit. Only once he was upright did it occur to him that he\'d indulged quite generously in the ale as he gambled and he found his legs were a little wobbly. He also discovered (after a few wobbly steps) that there was a rather energetic fight going on, and it was between him and his goal. Undeterred, Gallagher ducked his head down and attempted to barrel his way through the melée, finding it all rather amusing in his inebriated state.
Unfortunately, he wasn\'t able to ride out the buffeting as well as he\'d expected to; he was smacked into by a man flying backwards, which sent him careening in entirely the wrong direction and straight for a corner table. His arms splaying forward did nothing to halt his progress as he collided heavily with the object, sending a chair and the table in two different directions. The worst part was that the table shifted - and shoved straight into a perfectly innocent woman sitting there, nursing her ale and minding her own business.
Gallagher looked up at Alithia through the curtain of blonde curls obscuring his vision, more or less sprawled over the table he\'d knocked into her. If ever there was a time to regret having one too many ales, it was now. "I\'m terribly sorry, miss," he apologised in his deep voice, wincing sympathetically as he attempted to straighten up. "I got bumped... er... I didn\'t hurt you, did I?"
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Alithia\'s mind was wandering into past, long and recent, as it often was when she sat down to drink, as the fight started to bore her attention. She was inturrupted from a thought of how she could improve on her not quite legal hobby of pickpocketing by a man blundering into a table.
"Great Adora!" Alithia shouted a shock, her trained commoner accent slipping for a moment as Gallagher got thrown of course, causing her mug of ale to spill, all of it on her, and she got shoved back.
"I\'m fine, sir, jus\' a bit star\'led." She grinned sheepishly. "Though, ye did spill meh ale, costin\' meh a pretty coin, but I came \'bout bit o\' luck recen\'ly so\'s, I ain\' to \'cerned \'bout that." She stood up and offered a hand to her fallen companion. "Ques\'ion now is, is yeh alrigh\', now?" The word "now" sounded more like "naw", though probably a bit strong for someone who had orignally spoke that, but most people didn\'t mind.
She didn\'t have anything to hide, she just was trying to make a living, so the common man, or woman, didn\'t say too much against her sometimes, especially when her nerves her knocked, obviously fake accent.
"Though, I\'ll be tellin\' ye from the same exper\'ence, that ye should be walkin\' \'roun the figh\' \'stead of through." Another thing that sometimes gave her away was that she would use long words with more than the average amount of syllables.
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Chuckling good naturedly, Gallagher waved the woman\'s offer of help away - well, she was more of a girl than a woman, really, and a scrawny, bedraggled one at that, that would hardly manage helping someone of his size and weight up - and got his lanky body up off the table about the time she was checking he was alright. He quickly assured her he was fine, before he listened to her piece of advice.
"I will attempt to remember that in the future," he assured her with a grin. "Should the circumstance ever arise again, that is." With a confident wink, he straightened his vest and peered down at the damage he\'d done, pulling the table back before reinstating the chair he\'d knocked sideways with his stumble. Once that was done, he regarded the young woman he\'d managed to soak what seemed to be an entire ale into.
"Can I offer you some help instead?" he enquired jovially, indicating her wet clothing with a lightly waved right hand. "I suppose laundering your outfit would be out of the question, so perhaps some coin to reimburse your drink - or a new one entirely?" he added, sounding very excited indeed as each successive idea occurred to him. His blue eyes were round as coppers by this stage; he just about gasped as yet another brainwave struck his already-sloshy brain. "I could share it with you!" he crowed, as if the girl was desperate for some company to break the subdued quiet she\'d been enjoying.
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Alithia shook the ale off her clothes as he lifted himself up off the table; she wasn\'t surprised that he had turned away her offering hand, she knew that she would not be able to help him up, her strength laid in areas other than muscles. You didn\'t have to be strong to pick a pocket, but you did have to be nimble. She grinned good naturedly in return, and she bent to pick up her empty mug from the ground and place it on the table.
She helped him straighten the table that he had knocked about as he tried to remember her advice. "I just learnt that from bein\' knocked \'bout couple time mehself!" She smiled broadly, that kind of ignorant, innocent good natured grin of the commoners, though probably slightly exaggerated, placing the chair back under the table and turning back to her newly-found companion.
"Well, if yer so keen on buyin\' meh a drink, who\'m I to say no?" she smiled broadly, holding back laughter as his foggy mind came up with the ideas as if they were the best he had ever thought up before. "I\'d be glad t\' have some comp\'ny!" she said truthfully. Not very many people talked to her, and most of those who did didn\'t have nice things to say to her.
Alithia stuck her hand out to Gallagher, "meh name\'s Alithia, Ali fer short! And you are...?"
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He shook her hand without hesitation, finding it was dwarfed by his large, calloused hand but giving it a friendly squeeze anyway. "Pleased to meet you, Ali. My name\'s Bede Gallagher but everyone pretty much calls me Gallagher - I can\'t say it\'s for short, though," he chuckled, dropping her a wink as he released her hand.
With a glance over his shoulder, he ascertained that a good many of the inn\'s staff were involved with sorting out the fight - except the barkeep, who knew better than to leave his stash of money and was watching staunchly from behind the bar - so they would have to wait to order another drink. Unless Gallagher felt like weaving his way through the stoush once more.
Looking back at Ali, he tilted his head enquiringly at her, interested in getting her opinion. "Think we should wait that out," he asked, thumbing behind him to the fight, "or should I go around it to get us some drinks from the bar?" His eyes twinkled as he emphasised the advice she\'d given him.
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Ali laughed as he explained his name, when he envolved her hand in his, shook it than let it go. "Have t\' be argeein\' with yeh there, ain\'t that short! Gallagher, ye say?" She tested the name, she probably should have shortened it to "Gall\'gher" for her accent\'s sake, but she didn\'t like shortening names, and she doubted that Gallagher would notice much.
Alithia turned to look at the fight, it was starting to slow down, and many of the workers were getting hurt in the process. They\'d stop soon, otherwise the guards would have to get envolved, and most people here would rather stay far away from the guards, Alithia included. Even when she\'s doing some of her odd jobs, instead of pickpocketing, they were mostly a little shady when it came to being legal.
"Up t\' you, now. Won\' last long if anyun\' of \'em got any sense lef\', other\'ise the guards\'ll be comin\' their way. So I figured we could be a\'waitin\' it out a bit \'afore ye put yerself int\' more danger than ye need t\' be." She nodded sure of herself and pulled her chair back out from under the table.
" \'Less o\' course ye wantin\' t\' be goin\' \'round the fight t\' be gettin\' us some ale, hope ye don\'t get knocked \'bout again, wouldn\' want to make ye spill more\'n one mug of ale a night!" She teased good naturedly with a slight wave of her hand as another sheepish smile once again appeared on her face.
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"Fair point, m\'lady!" Gallagher gasped enthusiastically, pulling a face that implied he was glad she\'d brought that fact to his attention, for he\'d almost made a very dire mistake and waded back into the fray. He promptly pulled the chair he\'d replaced away from the table and sat his long body upon it, leaning forward with his elbows on the table an his fingers steepled together upon it.
He grinned, obviously pleased with himself and also with her witty warning. "I shall wait until the storm has passed," he declared, confiding a little extra information to her then: "I\'ve already had four anyway - and you certainly need some recovery time." Again, there was a wink and a confident grin from him, this one showcasing his dimples as he gave her saturated chest a pointed look.
"Besides, it\'ll give you time to tell me what you do with yourself when you aren\'t hanging around here being coated in ale," he hinted, waggling his eyebrows playfully.
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Alithia grinned as he agreed with her suggestion of waiting a bit, and leaned back in her chair just slightly. "I\'m glad ye approve. Didn\'t want ye to be gettin\' any more banged up." She stated, leaving most of her accent, in his state she doubted he\'d notice. She wasn\'t too worried about it, most people figured she was probably some girl who was brought up slightly better and was forced to live on the streets(or close to it), which was actually the truth.
Ali couldn\'t help a slight cock of her eyebrow as he confided in her. "I\'m perfec\'ly fine, meh shirt\'s already mos\'ly dry, but I do believe it best that we wait." And probably limit the amount of ale you buy. She added to herself as her grin turned into a smile. The man certainly had charm, she\'d give him that. She found herself liking the man, even though she had just met him.
She shrugged at his inquiry of how she bought her time and laughed a little at the wagging of eyebrows. "Not much t\' tell, I\'m afraid. I do a bit of odd jobs here than there, \'nough t\' keep meh from sleepin\' on the roadside." She answered. "How \'bout you, what ye do when yer not banging into tables \'n\' whatnot?"
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"Odd jobs, hrmm," he debated, looking at her through mockingly narrowed eyes, as if he was highly suspicious of such wording - which he was. How often had he heard that little turn of phrase come out of the mouth of someone shifty? She seemed harmless enough but now that she\'d advertised herself as doing anything that would keep her from sleeping on the streets, he knew that he would be wise to be more wary of her.
Of course, he wasn\'t the judgmental type and certainly not in the mood to worry right then. Why, he spent his time with anyone, as long as they were an interesting character and he found something about them appealing. Considering he\'d once had a glorious night rolling about naked with a thief leader of some sort (though he\'d only found that out about her later, after she\'d disappeared when the guards had focussed their attention on finding her), it was obvious to him that he didn\'t have any particular standards about who he spent his time with; Ali might interpret his playful look differently, though.
He dropped the expression soon enough and gave a laugh to let her know he\'d only been joking (though if she reached for his pants at some point, he would now suspect her of less than innocent motives and keep his coins out of her reach - well, everything valuable he kept in there out of her reach, really!).
"As for me, I manage the city\'s stables," he informed her offhandedly, as if his job wasn\'t an all-consuming passion and an integral part of the workings of the entire city of Oberon. "I\'ve been up since the middle of the night delivering some early foals - twins - so I gave myself the rest of the day off to celebrate!" he giggled, beaming a guileless smile at her that had his dimples winking and his blue eyes shining brightly. He brushed some of the more determined golden curls that hung over his forehead out of his eyes (with a hand that was steady, despite the amount of liquor he\'d claimed to have consumed) then, so that he could see what Alithia thought of him caring so strongly about horses that he went out and got drunk just because he\'d managed to help bring two more of them into the world.
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"Aye, odd jobs." Ali knew that people often thought of shady jobs when people said things like that, which was true. Those trying to stay off the streets didn\'t care too much about the law and which side of it they were on, though she did try to stay mostly legal, at least at first she had. "Us\'lly simple things," she continued, almost completely throwing away her fake accent, it was awfully tiring to keep it up. "Find meh mos\'ly in the Markets, best place for quick payment." Best place to pick pockets, you mean. But she didn\'t say that aloud.
She couldn\'t help but to giggle when Gallagher laughed to show her his look was a joke, she had half expected it to be so. He didn\'t seem as though he was put too much pressure on the subject, but nontheless, no sense putting down her guard. He, too, was probably a little more wary, unless of course he was even more drunk than he claimed. Though, whenever she came here she considered herself off duty of any jobs, and that included picking pockets.
"Really?" She cocked her head in interest, though not mockingly. Again, she could not help to laugh a little when he did, she always did that whenever she got into conversation with somebody\'s company she enjoyed. "Twin foals?" She asked curiously. "That\'s act\'lly excitin\'! Though I can be seeon\' why ye\'d take the rest o\' the day off." Then, noticing with a side glance. "Fight\'s slowed \'nough to see \'bout gettin\' our drinks." She stood up and grinned again. "If yer still interes\'ed in buyin\' us some drinks."
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"Absolutely!" he enthused, his far taller body surging to its feet as Ali stood first. "You sit," he instructed imperiously, pointing at the chair she\'d just got out of. "I\'ll go and get the drinks, you stay here. Ale alright again?" he asked, waiting for her suggestion before moving off and braving the crowd.
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Alithia couldn\'t help but laugh at his enthusiasm, though it wasn\'t offensive in any way. "Right, I\'ll be stayin\' right here!" She said as she sat back down and leaned back to prove that she wouldn\'t move. "Aye, ale it was. But I\'ll take whatever yer payin\' for, ain\'t that picky!" She shrugged lightly as she spoke, showing that she didn\'t really care what he bought.
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Gallagher gave a nod that caused his curls to bounce perfunctorily and then turned to wend his way to the bar. The crowd had, indeed, dispersed and all the remained was one rather sorry-looking woman pouting in the centre of a circle of glares; she seemed to have had something to do with the fight, though all contestants (as it were) had been evicted from the premises. There was a lot more room to move now, which suited Bede just fine.
Arriving at the bar unscathed, he chose to order two ciders instead of ales and wait for the cinammony-apple concoctions to be warmed and produced. They were not as strongly alcoholic, which seemed a better idea for him because he\'d had plenty already and for his companion because she was slight and young and too much would make her a lot more vulnerable than it would him. Considering he believed her life situation to be shady, it seemed a better course of action.
While he waited for the drinks, he turned and leaned his elbows back on the bar, reclining artfully while he observed the continued goings-on of the tavern. A few people had food, which made him realise that he must have lost track of time during his gaming. He\'d arrived after breakfast, when the place had opened and... he\'d eaten before he came... then proceeded to drink his ales and roll his dice so... he eventually concluded that it must be approaching dinner time. Well, some were up for an early meal, obviously. His stomach panged as soon as he took notice of the food and he filed the information that he had celebrated his whole day away; he\'d have to start thinking about putting something in his stomach that wasn\'t likely to blur his vision, if he wanted to be fit for work on the morrow.
He\'d just caught the eye of a woman who\'d entered and sat at a table across the room - and traded interested smiles with her - when a bang on the bar behind him reminded him that he was waiting for drinks to deliver to another young lady. He swivelled and retrieved them, then hastened back to Alithia. "I changed my mind once I got there," he announced with a smile, setting the smaller, more fragrant (than ale, anyway) cider on the table before her. He pulled his chair out and sat on it, legs spread as he grabbed the seat near his crotch to drag it in closer to the table in a not-so-gentlemanly fashion. "Here\'s to not spilling a drop of these on one another," he toasted with a twinkling grin, lifting his beverage so that she could clink her mug against his.
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Ali placed an elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand as she watched her newly found companion leave for their drinks. She let her eyes wander among the smaller crowd, knowing that it would build up again soon. She thought about Gallagher, whether or not she should really trust him. He seemed honest enough, but so did the twelve year old who tried to pick the pocket of a pickpocket... And nearly succeeded, too, except that Ali was a lot stronger than him.
He was very good looking, which meant that he spent of a lot of time on his looks, espicially his hair. She knew a lot about keeping up looks, she, for most of her life, had done the same. But when you live as she did now you could neither afford it in money and in getting money. Nobody trusted a beggar who looked fancy, had to look poor for people to believe you\'re poor. The fact that he took care of his looks could either mean he was a scumbag or just a man who took care of himself and his body. In either case she had not known him long enough to tell.
She looked up, somewhere during her time she had started to watch a spider on the floor scurrying about it\'s own busy business, and smiled once again as Gallagher arrived at the table once more informing her of his change of mind. She wasn\'t very surprised. "Quite alright." She said sitting up slightly to grab her drink, though she did notice that he had given her the smaller. She didn\'t really mind, she just took note of it to better help try and judge a character out of him.
"Cider\'s good enough for me!" She started to lift it up off the table as he slid into place, and skillfully hid her laugh in her smile. She lifted her cup, lightly touching it with his as to not spill the drink.
"I\'ll certainly toast to that!" She smiled and drank most of it in one sip, she had after all gotten used to ale and this was a much lighter drink than that. She set the glass down not so lightly, but didn\'t slam it either, and leaned back in her chair into a more comfortable sitting position.
"It\'s alrigh\'." She said looking at her cider. "Now my ma\' could make some cider that\'d royalty would buy!" She smiled at the memory. They did often stop and buy her cider, though most would send servants for such things. She smiled slightly at the memory of her mother, but quickly came back to reality. She was often careful not to think of her parents and their death, for it was still too close for comfort. "But, this\'ll do jus\' fine, don\'t ye think?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head and naturaly charming smile.
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(ooc: My bad, I didn\'t properly explain that \'smaller\' comment in my last post, I was only thinking it\'s smaller than an ale - I amended it now, sorry. He didn\'t give her a cider any different to his, it\'s exactly the same size, just not as big as an ale tankard :))
"Oh, aye," he drawled his agreement after savouring the mouthful he\'d taken from his own drink. He settled back into his chair, tilting his head thoughtfully as she talked about her mother in the past tense.
He couldn\'t help but look Alithia over more carefully then, trying to examine what might be found beneath the grime. That smile of hers made him think twice about her looks; she might well be pretty if she allowed it of herself, though she looked so frail she might snap in half in a strong wind (which was not something he found attractive in women generally, though he knew of men who liked to bear down on partners likely to break beneath their dominance).
"Your mam doesn\'t make cider anymore?" he asked quietly, his head still tilted in curiosity. It was a leading question and he knew it, but the gentle openness with which he phrased it ought to let her know she had the option of avoiding answering, if it was going to be a painful thing to do.
He glanced down to watch the rough pads of the fingertips of his right hand trace the age-old grooves and notches left in the tabletop by the innumerable previous visitors, just in case she felt too much pressure with him looking into her eyes. His body was turned slightly in his chair so that his left arm was hooked over the back and his right was taking up most of the table space, the long sleeve of his shirt pushed up to his elbow and leaving bare the tanned, muscular length of his forearm as he poked negligently at the wood. Veins were evident (mostly on the underside) here and there on the limb, from the hard work his arms constantly had to perform and the tendons pulled occasionally as he picked, giving him something else to distract his eye, rather tham imposing a stare on Ali - though he glanced up through his lashes at her occasionally.
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Ali\'s smile faded a little as he asked her about her mother, not much. Though the pain showed in her eyes, she was careful not to let it show anywhere else. The pain was still to close for comfort even though it had been years since they had passed away. "No, she don\'t. Ye see, both meh parents are dead." She shrugged lightly to show that the subject didn\'t bother her, though in fact, it did.
Still keeping her grin in place, but it did not hold the joy it had a moment ago, she bit the inside of her lower lip and watched his arm absently as he picked away at the table, until she brought her mind back into the present. Her grinned broadened a little and the pain left her eyes as she forced her mind to think about something(anything) else "But, that was a long time ago, and I\'ve learned how to live on my own."
She looked up at Gallagher as she spoke and tried to think of something else to say to add to their conversation, and to change the subject she added to herself. "And yours, what do they do?" She asked, still trying to think of something better to ask, but her mind was slightly distracted, plus her hunger was starting to get worse. She might go up and buy a loaf of bread soon if it got bad enough. But she wouldn\'t really need to anything for a while yet, and she picked up her glass to have another, smaller, sip.
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"They\'re farmers. Dairy farmers," he explained quietly, smiling kindly at her as his left hand came up so that his fingers could play along his full lower lip thoughtfully, the right still picking absently at the table. His blue eyes glinted as they watched her steadily, his gaze roaming over her face.
Her parents had been dead for years she\'d said, and she\'d learned to look after herself, so she likely didn\'t have any siblings or any extended family such as aunts, uncles or grandparents to rely on. She was alone in the world and, judging by the scrawny, filthy state of her and the way she smiled but it never reached her eyes, she had done her best but found a guarded and fluctuating way to survive. He wondered if she\'d appreciate an offer of something steady or if she was too far ensconced in her ways.
Could she be that old? He couldn\'t tell.
"I grew up on the farm, until I was fourteen and became apprenticed at the stables, as a hand," he expanded, the smile of fond memories recalled tilting the lips he was playing with up at the corner. "I didn\'t exactly leave my parents in the lurch, though. I have nine brothers and sisters younger than me - well, except for Baxter, who\'s my twin and is, technically older than me - who grew up helping just like I did, learning how to work hard and fall into bed every night grateful that it\'s there," he chuckled, still examining her features for any signs of emotion or hurt at his deliberately-provocative words.
"I couldn\'t imagine being in your situation. Being alone. How long have you been without your parents, then? How old are you?" he enquired, his voice soft but his tone not overly so. He didn\'t think she\'d appreciate him talking to her like she was someone worthy of pity after she\'d proved she was capable of bringing herself up. In truth, he admired her tenacity and he wasn\'t blowing smoke in her eyes; he really couldn\'t imagine being alone and surviving by himself, he was too used to being with people who looked up to and supported him. What would he be, if he was in her shoes? He believed a dismal failure!
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Ali listened quietly as he talked of his childhood and took another drink of her cider, drinking the last of it, regretfully. Her smile quickly disappeared and she debating just getting up and leaving, but instead she took another drink of her cider, wishing it was stronger, and controlled her features so that she was smiling, though you could tell it wasn\'t cheerful like the ones before, as she set down her now empty glass.
She remembered her own brother as he spoke of his, she hoped, once again, that he was doing fine, but brought her attention back to the conversation at hand. It hadn\'t changed much. "Brother\'s farmer." She added absently. "Ain\'t seen him in a bit, though." The statement wasn\'t one of selfpity or loss, she just felt like she should say something.
She shrugged as he spoke of her situation. "You get used to it after a while. It was hard at first, but you just force you mind not to think about it." She hadn\'t noticed that her accent had completely dropped. "And you talk to yourself lot." She said with a small laugh. "Well, my mother died five years ago, and my father two, but..." She cut herself off, thinking he probably didn\'t want to hear the whole story, most people don\'t. "I lived with my brother after that, but we parted bit over a year ago." She shrugged again.
She looked down at her still empty glass and looked back up. "Do you want me to go get some more drinks?" She asked quite suddenly.
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He raised his eyebrows at her, surprised she was offering to buy drinks and dropping his left hand to the table\'s edge, rubbing it absently as he watched her. She\'d avoided telling him how old she was, which made him lower his initial assumption a few more years, leaving him with the notion she was only fourteen or so. Could that be right? If she was any older, surely she\'d have stated her age proudly?
Gallagher glanced around, knowing she was avoiding this conversation and not having the heart to press it. What did it matter to him how she\'d coped after the loss of her parents? He knew enough for now, and only if they were going to become close friends would knowing more make a difference - and e couldn\'t see that happening.
"I have a better idea," he smiled, noting that there were more people around them eating now and that the inn was filling with the most delightful smell of roasting meat. He looked back at her, expression still enquiring. "It seems the Falcon\'s Mask is prepared for their dinner rush quite early this evening and I skipped mid-day meal. How about I buy us both a meal? It will help steel me for the walk back to the stables and, hopefully, completely repay the debt I owe you for covering you in ale," he asked, his manner enticing.
He glanced down at her front as he spoke, saddened anew by the fragrant wet patch adorning her front. It wasn\'t going to dry quickly, in this weather. Did she even have the means to launder her clothes? Nothing about her seemed clean; perhaps he would be better off offering laundry services instead!
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Ali\'s smile grew anew a the offer of free food, and she realised that she had forgotten to tell him her age as he had asked. Knowing he probably though she was avoided she spoke: "I\'m afraid I forgot to answer one of your questions, my mind seemed to have wandered off." She said, knowing she sounded a lot higher educated that her appearance emplied, but she didn\'t really care. "I\'m sixteen." It seemed slightly weird to tell someone her age, she hadn\'t said it since her father had died, people looking for someone to help carry boxes, or to be a watchout didn\'t care how old you were, as long as you could do the work.
"And I\'d appreciate it if you bought me dinner, though I don\'t wish to make you spend too much." SHe added, inwardly glad that she did not have to buy the drinks, she didn\'t know if she could afford it with what she had on her, she never carried a lot, not that she had a lot to carry. "But don\'t you be worrying about owing me, you\'ve already repayed that with the drink!"
She noticed his regretful glance at her shirt and added, to ease his worries. My clothes\'ll dry, and I could always get another shirt when I get home." Steal another shirt when I leave. Was what she truly meant, she wasn\'t going to say that aloud. She couldn\'t tell how he felt about those who broke the law. He didn\'t seem like he was going add any pressure to the subject, but if he did and decided to turn her in, which she didn\'t think he would, she would have to be careful to leave quickly.
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Again, his eyebrows went up as she did declare her age as sixteen. "Oh, okay," he smiled, then got to his feet. "I\'ll go and order us the meal of the evening, then," he said easily and strolled over to the bar to do just that, feeling the money spent was worthwhile and also not a very large sum at all. Of course, he rarely found anything good to spend his excessive savings on, so he didn\'t worry about money much.
When Gallagher returned, he sat with a smile. "They\'ll bring the food out when it\'s ready," he explained. "I got us some bread each as well," he noted, indicating that such wasn\'t a regular inclusion. His elbows were resting on the tabletop this time, his hands clasped loosely together before his mouth and so he tilted his head to speak around them while he asked a question that had been nagging at him the whole time he\'d been away. "So, where do you live?"
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Alithia noted his cocked eyebrows when she told him is age, more of he probably thought she wouldn\'t tell. She didn\'t have any reason not to, after all, when you work on the streets your age doesn\'t matter, plus, sixteen was a good age, she was considered an adult but still taken lightly enough that she could get away with more things, which is harder to do as you get older.
She smiled as he returned and said that their food was cooking. She leaned back, placing her hand on the table and set her chin on her palm, feeling herself starting to relax from their earlier conversation. She turned to Gallagher as he spoke to her again. "Well, usually anywhere I can. I rent a room at one of the inns when I can afford it." She shrugged casually, showing a lightness ont he subject. "Though, when I can\'t I either sleep outside or, if it\'s too cold, sleep here where no finds me." She added truthfully.
-
He frowned, having thought she\'d respond in this manner but still disappointed that she didn\'t have a real home to return to nightly. It showed in the way she was presented, of course, but he was sorry that she didn\'t have anywhere safe and secure she could call her own.
"Have you ever thought of seeking work where there is accommodation provided? Like... at the stables?" he asked airily, giving a little shrug to show that there was no pressure with his question, he was just curious. They were always in need of new stablehands; young people these days seemed to have a miniscule work ethic and when the job got too dirty, they got out, even though there was the option of food and shelter provided.
It didn\'t get offered to everyone, of course, it was usually something that farmkids received, since they were too far away from home to commute daily, but he knew there\'d been exceptions made in the past and there would be again, in the future. Such as for Alithia, if she showed an interest. He was trying to appear casual, but he was actually very interested in what her reaction to this suggestion might be.
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Alithia didn\'t know if his frown was one of disapproval or pity, she was used to both. He didn\'t seem like the type that would disapprove of someone because of their home, or there lack of. But still, she probably shouldn\'t have told him. Her opinion on that changed with his next line.
"Work at the stable? You\'d allow me to work there?" SHe asked in shock. "Most don\'t allow me to work for them, I mean, it\'s pretty obvious as to why." She said making a flowing motion with her hands going downward, indicating that she didn\'t have the best of images. Replacing her elbow on the table and resting her chin on her palm once again. "I don\'t think I\'d be very welcome there." She shrugged, two of his words still playing in her head; "accommodation provided".
The thought of actually knowing for sure that she\'d have a place to sleep at night sounded absolutely grand, but still, nobody in the past had let her work for them, or if they did it didn\'t last long. She bit her lip and thought about it, then looked back up at Gallagher. "I don\'t think they\'d let me stay, but," she shrugged lightly "It\'d be kind of nice if I could."
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He shrugged, warming to his topic now that she\'d shown some interest. A light had flared in her eyes, that had her gaze moving and her brain obviously co-ordinating this new prospect into her life, causing him to grin. "\'They\' is me," he informed her simply. "They\'re my stables, I run them. I may not have the Stable Master\'s title, but you\'ll find I do far more work because of it. I live at the stables, too, in the rooms that ought to be his, while he sleeps elsewhere, with a family."
Gallagher bore no grudge against the man who was, technically, his boss, but he did feel that the stables were his, due to the lack of committment the stable master showed to the job. Bede was in the place for every hour of the day, he knew the rosters, the horses, the newcomers and the secret inner workings of placing a horse into an establishment such as his. For whatever he didn\'t know, there hadn\'t been a question designed to alert him to the fact, yet.
"I\'ll allow you to stay at the tables, should you be interested. It\'s my decision and, as long as you work harder than you likely have in a long time, earn your keep by listening and following directions exactly, learn everthing you can about horses and keep your nose clean, I\'m willing to find you a place there. You just have to tell me it\'s what you want," he coaxed, staring very seriously at her. "Because I have no place for anyone on my team that\'s not entirely dedicated to helping animals - and themself."
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Alithia forced herself back into the present, and forced herself to keep a serious face, though the corners of her mouth tugged upwards, though her eyes still showed the shock of somebody actually offering her a steady, and legal, job. "You\'d really allow me to... Work for you?" Most took one look at her and decided she wasn\'t worth trusting, and were right for the most part.
"Hard work ain\'t nothing compared to sleeping in the snow!" She stated firmly, showing that she would indeed, work hard. "And I really do want it! I\'ll work hard, and won\'t take up much space!" She smiled and stopped herself from babbling. An actual permanent roof, food every night, she didn\'t mind working for that. She had worked for less. She restrained herself from begging, though she couldn\'t stop pleading with her eyes.
Though she had never thought of working with animals before, she liked them, and now loved them for getting her off the streets. She would treat them like they were royalty, as long as they didn\'t steal her food. But she doubted they would. She wished she could tell Daniel, but she didn\'t even know if he was alive. She would have to see if she could find out after she got settled.
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Gallagher beamed, interrupted from speaking just then as their meals arrived. He\'d ordered them another cider each while he was at it and he was glad now, for they certainly had something to toast. As he sat back in his chair to allow the plate and drink to be set in front of him, he peered around their delivery girl to speak to Alithia.
"Of course I\'d allow you to work for me! You\'ll get a bed but you won\'t have a lot of space to yourself; you\'ll share with some of the other hands, they have a common area down on the ground floor of the stables," he explained, sitting forward again as the barmaid left them. He picked up his mug of cider and held it aloft once more, the smile so broad on his face that his dimples were practically flashing.
"Here\'s to gainful employment and a permanent roof over your head!" he crowed, waiting for her to pick her mug up and clink it against his.
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Alithia watched as the serving girl placed her plate before her, barely allowing her to set it down before she grebbed the bread to start and eat. Swallowing a large mouthful she looked up at Gallagher as he spoke to her again, and smiled broadly. She wanted to get up and hug him and jump up and down with joy. A permanent roof, no longer going hungry... A home. It was marvelous!
"I don\'t need the space! Don\'t have much to take the space up with." She shrugged happily as she finished her bread and swallowed it, then started on the rest of her meal. She stopped eating to pick her glass and tap it against his. "To gainful employment and a permanent roof!" She repeated, then before she drank it she smiled again. "Thank you!" She drained half the glass in one gulp.
She slowed down her eating a little, and ate with a little manners. "When do I start work?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "I mean, it\'s be a good thing to know." The twinkle in her eyes still danced as she spoke to him, but her smile had toned down to a comfortable grin, instead of a large smile.
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He tried not to stare as she ploughed into her food like she hadn\'t seen something warm in weeks, managing to glance surreptitiously at her from beneath his brows instead, wearing a slight smile simply because hers was so happy.
"You\'re welcome," he laughed after he was thanked and they\'d shared a generous mouthful of their respective drinks. "I figured I\'d take you back there with me this evening, and show you around. You can start tomorrow. The work\'s not too complicated - though there are a few techniques with equipment care you\'ll have to learn - but there is a lot of it. I\'ll let you get used to the layout and the routines we have before I assign you work with animals though, alright?"
Gallagher watched her properly now. She might object to starting off slowly but he was always cautious with the livestock. They were, after all, the whole reason for everyone\'s employment and generally very expensive. He wasn\'t going to be responsible for something going wrong, simply because he\'d loosed an inexperienced worker onto a prized bit of horseflesh. Besides, for all he knew, she\'d jump at the first chance she got to steal a horse and make a fortune selling it in a nearby city (by her standards, anyway); he had to take it slowly, until he\'d had time to fully judge her character and her affinity with animals.
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Alithia hadn\'t expected to be working with the animals right away, actually she suspected something fairly dirty, hard and far away from the horses. But the thought of that didn\'t bother her, after all, a shelter and food was worth it! "I don\'t mind! I wasn\'t expecting that anyways. Plus, I don\'t want to risk any of the animals, or myself I must admit, getting hurt!" She said, leaning back from her empty plate contently. "Thank you again, the meal with very much appreciated!" SHe smiled broadly.
She reached forward and took another sip of her drink, and rested her elbow on the table, straightening her arm to set her glass upon the table and about her new job. She would\'ve liked to get a little cleaned up for her first day, but if he was taking her there tonight and she started work tomorrow she wouldn\'t have the time. But I guess a bunch of farmer\'s children didn\'t mind much about how dirty she looked. But still, she would\'ve liked to take a trip to the bathhouse.
"How long have you worked there, Gallagher?" SHe asked suddenly, actually interested now that it seemed as if she knew as much as she needed to know about her new job for now. She lifted one of her legs up and wrapped her arms around it to keep it in place as she rested her chin on her knee. She knew this wasn\'t a lady-like position, but nobody expected a scrawny "street rat" to have manners, so she didn\'t bother with any.
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"Since I was fourteen," he reminded her, figuring it was her way of asking his age. He smiled as he swallowed another mouthful and answered her properly. "Eleven years, I\'m twenty-five. Going on twenty-six, in fact," he grinned. "I\'ve only been Stable Manager for the past four years. I was a simple stablehand until that point, then the opportunity for advancement came and I leapt at it!" he laughed.
"I shouldn\'t actually live at the stables but I do, because the Stable Master isn\'t interested in his quarters, he has his own house with his family, in the keep. It\'s a great setup; you should like it there," he enthused, taking the time to begin finishing off his meal - it felt awkward with her just sitting there, staring at him.
-
Alithia cocked an eyebrow, "eleven years? I must admit that the thought of staying with one job for that long is kind of strange to me, I don\'t know if I will, but we never can tell!" She looked around the room for a moment, watching the crowd thicken once again. It seemed peaceful enough, but the mood could change with a moments notice.
"I believe I will." She smile again as she turned back to Gallagher, she didn\'t say anything for a moment, her mind filled with thoughts of all sorts. She started to twirl her cup absently as he finished his meal. Coming back to reality she once again looked back up at her new boss. "Do you mind if, before I start work tomorrow, I get some personal belongings and bring them to the stables? They\'re just a couple little things that don\'t take up any space." She leaned back in her chair once again.
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Gallagher wiped the corners of his mouth with his thumb to be sure he didn\'t have any gravy lingering where it didn\'t belong, putting down his cutlery while he nodded.
"That\'s fine - do you need help with it? If you\'re ready, we could head there now and I could accompany you to... wherever you\'re going. Another pair of hands might be helpful in carrying your gear to the stable?" he queried, lifting said haids briefly (like she\'d need a mime to help her properly interpret his offer... hrmm, perhaps he\'d overstepped the appropriate amount of alcohol consumption after all?).
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Ali laughed a little at his offer. "Not much to carry. Just a couple small personal items. But I keep them near by, I don\'t want to go out of the way to get them, though, which is why I offered for tomorrow, probably before the others get up." She shrugged lightly and smiled. It was a letter from her brother and a drawing she made when she was little of her family, her meager coins and a single, small, thing that everyone in her family had owned kept hidden behind a removable stone behind the tavern.
"But, even so, we might want to consider heading back soon, it\'ll start getting dark soon and it\'d be easier, and safer, to get there before sundown." She wasn\'t afraid of staying out after dark, but night is when men god drunk, criminals came out and such, but they left her alone, because she was one of them. Though she mostly did her pocket picking during the day when the crowds were out. Used to do my pocket picking during the day. She corrected herself.
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Gallagher beamed and stood up, finding himself a little dizzy on his feet but not so wobbly he couldn\'t continue in a straight line (more or less). "That sounds like an excellent idea, let\'s go," he enthused, stepping behind her in order to help her out of her chair in a truly gentleman-like way. She obviously didn\'t want him accompanying her when she went to get her things, so he dropped the matter entirely, leaving the decision about that to her.
He was excited, now that he had a new staff member to show around, and couldn\'t wait to get them back to the stables to show what he did best.
(Continued in \'Turn Of A Friendly Hand (http://www.roleplaycity.com/forums/showthread.php?p=64391#post64391)\')