The Mana-Verse

[Amatiramisu]

She chuckled. "Huh, an' 'ya ain't tried to just chop off the arm right?" She broke into laughter. "Ahahaha! I'm just yankin' 'yer chain. Hoooly hell I'm hammered..." Without warning, she pulled up a chair and kicked her legs up on the table. "So what we talkin' about 'ere?"

[Blue Valkyrie]

"Oh--umm--well we're planning to explore the areas around Haven's Rock, my friends and I only recently arrived in the city." Aya responded seeing no harm in sharing some info on their quest but obviously not mentioning the search for the primal crystal shards to a total stranger.

[Amatiramisu]

Nodding along with Aya, the single-eyed woman thumbed towards the door. "Haven's an okay place. Cold but cozy'n a way. Been here about... A month or two now? Been lookin' for - direction, you could say. How 'bout you guys? Just out on adventure aren't 'ya?"

[Blue Valkyrie]

"Just recently got here actually on our airship-barely been here three days, looks like we'll be making our home here for the foreseeable future though. But I suppose we are on an adventure of sorts." Aya gives a friendly smile.

[Amatiramisu]

Cracking a friendly grin back, she raised a finger. "Oh! I've been kinda rude ain't I? I go by Florence. Figgered y'all would prefer an introduction."

[Blue Valkyrie]

Aya nods looking at the finger perhaps not quite sure how to respond to the gesture. "Aya, it's a pleasure to meet you. So what about you-what brings you here to haven rock?"

[Amatiramisu]

"Little ol' me?" Florence breaks into laughter. "Nothin' much. Fact 'a the matter is I'm lookin' to ship out pretty soon. Ain't nothin' I'm gonna find out here. See, I've been lookin' for an... Acquaintance I guess you could say. Poor guy accidentally left somethin' behin' with me and I'm lookin' to pay it back."

[Phi]

"What did the acquaintance man leave with you, Ms. Florence?" Pema asked as her legs swayed back and forth in the rather tall chair.

Well, average sized, but huge for her.

"I don't even need a nose to tell that this woman reeks of booze..." Salem thought to himself as he observed a fairly tipsy Florence.

[Amatiramisu]

(Pema really makes me happy.)

Bringing her finger to her chin in thought, Florence snapped her fingers after a second. "Ah! Somethin' reaaaaally valuable! It's a secret what it is though. T'would be rude 'ta share someone else's secrets, wouldn't it?" Reaching down to a pocket, she produced a single gil and flipped it. Catching it, she opened her hand - and it was gone. "Worth a lot more'n money to him though, tha's fo' sure!" She pointed at Pema. "By 'tha way, there's somethin' shiny stickin' out of your hat." Reaching over, she pulled out the foreign object and dropped it on the table in front of the younger girl. It was the same coin from before. "Huh. How the 'ell did that happen...?"

Without warning, she collapsed on the table. "Criiiiipes. I'm really gonna be sick... You guys wouldn't 'ave a place I could crash would 'ya? I'll pay 'ya back in the morn..."

[Phi]

(You should've been here for her Eating Contest, it was really fun to write!)

Pema blinked when Florence opened her hand with the coin missing. "Whaah! H-How did you-" She began to say, when Florence reached into her hat and dropped the coin on the table.

"Ahaha!" She bounced in her seat and giggled when she picked up the coin. "That's so cool, can you do it again?"

However, she was startled when Florence suddenly collapsed right afterwards. "Miss...?" She reached over and gently rubbed her back, waiting for one of the adults to help her to a room.

[Blue Valkyrie]

"I suppose you can use my room." Aya stands up and moves to Florence "Not like I sleep much anyway" aya thinks to herself as she helps Florence up and leads her up the nearby stairs to the second floor of the spoony bard-reaching the door she fumbles with the key only having one free hand but manages to get it open. Eventually Aya leads her to the bed and helps her down "Can I get you anything-water maybe?" Aya tilts her head looking concerned having never suffered the effects of alcohol herself.

[Phi]

(Are we waiting for Suppercut?)

[Blue Valkyrie]

((Guess so  ))

[Amatiramisu]

(I am. :T)

[Sakura Leic]

(I'll just post this while we're waiting I guess.)

"Hey Daddy are you okay?" Sakura asked "You've been pretty quiet since that funny stinky Florence lady came to our table."

"Huh?" Calien said snapping out of his thoughts "Oh, I'm fine."

"Not sure I believe you but okay." Sakura shrugged.

"I'm getting a really bad feeling about that woman, but I don't understand why." Calien thought "Other than obviously having trouble managing her liquor intake she doesn't seem to be that bad.  I'm hope I'm just on edge and being overly paranoid....."

[Amatiramisu]

Florence waved her hand in dismissal. "Juuus' gotta sleeeep..."

As Aya left the room, her voice yelling could faintly be heard. "I'M NEVER DRINKIN' AGAAAAIIIN!"

Typically, she would by now be rifling through the kind patron's belongings, but Florence definitely took in more than she could take, for the first time in a long time. She had been sitting there drinking heavily for the past... Three or four hours now? It was getting frustrating. She was hot on the trail of that important person... And she had lost it. Three months in town wasted and now she was ready to puke her guts out all over the floor of a stranger's rented room.

Absolutely grand. She'd have to actually pay back their kindness now, she considered as she drifted off to a fitful sleep.

[Blue Valkyrie]

Aya smiles and made her way toward the stairs-in truth she never understood the appeal of drinking, perhaps it was because her creators intentionally made gardians like her to be immune to it's effects-their last line of defense being in such a state would have done the old empire little good. Aya assumed miss Florence had her reasons for doing such things however.

The others soon noticed Aya return to their table. "I think our friend just needed some rest."

[Mr. Haxwell]

Feeling a bit restless. Toshi decided to talk.

Toshi - "Shouldn't someone check up on her?" she asked out of concern, "I don't buy the old sob story."

[Phi]

"I don't know about that... she seemed real tired and kinda sick, too. We probably shouldn't bother her." Pema bit her nail.

"In any case, we could always question her in the morning, if need be." Salem chimed in.

[Mr. Haxwell]

Toshi - "True; but we may need to check to see if she's okay in there." She said, looking baffled at Pema's response, "Whether she's sick, or not, chances are we might not be getting that chance to question her; I'm still eager to know who this 'Acquaintance' of hers, is."

[Phi]

"Huh? But didn't Ms. Florence say she was going to pay us back in the morning?" Pema exclaimed.

"To be fair, who knows how much of the truth that woman was even telling. The bottle seemed to be doing some of the talking." Salem stated. "Whether she is or isn't lying, one thing is for sure: She would have passed out right on the table, if Aya hadn't carried her to bed."

"How are you so sure?" She inquired.

Salem chuckled. "Well, I used to be a bartender, remember? Let's just say you see it all when you're behind the counter. Florence is most certainly drunk. Really drunk. Therefore, she'd have zero credibility if we question her in that current state."

Astonished, Pema clapped her hands together. "Wow, you sure know your drunk women, Salem!"

"H-hey, don't put it like THAT. It makes me seem like a creep..." He grumbled.

[Dr. Wily II]

(*imagines Salem as a creep* )

[Suppercut ♡]

Caetlynn exhaled an irritated sigh. "She'll probably regret tagging along in the morning and slip out before we know it. Probably with some valuables in tow." She rolled her eyes, before succumbing to a long yawn that ended in a cute little squeak. "But I'm pretty tired myself. I'll be in room, uh... was it seven?" She glanced over at Grak, who gave a nod of approval, and then returned her attention to the group. "Seven. Just bang on the door real hard for me, okay? I'm a real heavy sleeper..." She began to walk off in the direction of the rooms, before stopping and wheeling around to add, "D-don't actually break the door down or anything. I usually rig some sort of protection charm to the door... And it will most likely explode."

Once behind the door of her room, she fished around in the hidden pocket in her dress for a small rune. "Heh... 'it will most likely explode'. They wouldn't buy that at all..." She placed it on the ground in front of the door, then stripped down and got in bed. "Just prefer my privacy, is all..."

[Sakura Leic]

"I hope she's not a thief, I've a low tolerance for Thieves unless they're just stealing food or trying to support their family or village due to harsh conditions and corrupt politics." Calien grumbled.  "Otherwise they're just selfish greedy bastards that cause uneeded distress and panic depending on the situation."

[Amatiramisu]

(...)