RP:Dinner To Go

Summary: Meri has not seen Alex in ages. The two chat briefly, much has changed for the both of them, but ultimately Meri cannot stay for long. Mom duty calls.

Beloy Street / Cenril's Inn

The sun was just starting to set in Cenril, but things were hardly quieting down for the bustling city. Even in the wee hours of the morning, there was always some sort of movement. At present Meri was traveling from the west and heading east on Beloy Street -- slowly making her way closer to the coast. Judging by the tired expression that the woman wears, she is not one of the people who will be staying up into the late hours of the night causing trouble. At least not tonight. Her current location on Beloy Street has hear nearing the Cenril Inn, and one might assume based on her tired expression that she might be going inside to catch a room? Wrong. This tired momma is just on her way on her way home and her route tonight just happens to be taking her through the northern side of Cenril. Meri would still be fairly easy to recognize, if Alex recalled her at all. Not much has changed about her appearance, and her attire is vaguely familiar. She's still favoring black pants and black boots, but she has taken to wearing a loose fitting and comfortable shirt. The reason is simple, the new mom has not managed to shed the baby weight. Or maybe she has just been putting on weight, she currently does not have her child with her. It might be hard for someone to figure either way.

Alex stands outside of the inn with his arms crossed and his head held low as he shivers against the chilly beach breeze. His teeth are clenched a bit too tightly causing a dull pain in the back of his jaw. Dressed in a collared black short sleeve button up shirt, straight black dress pants and formal shoes, his silvery gray stripes that decorate the formerly pitch black head of hair shimmer in the light of the moon. Digging in his pocket he retrieves a pair of basic minimally framed glasses and breathes onto the lenses before wiping them clean with his sleeve then sliding them onto his nose. He raises his head to see how he'd done with the cleaning job and he spots an unmistakably familiar face and though his brain still questions his sight, he can't process the inquiry fast enough to beat his own voice. "Meri?" he calls out in a concerned tone, glancing around before looking back to her, "What are you doing out so late?"

Meri heard her name loud and clear, but the question that follows is enough to trigger a bit of sass from the blonde rather than a softer and friendlier greeting. Alex is clearly using her name, there is no question who he is referring to...Plus the streets are sparse at the moment. And despite all of these details, the woman makes a show of looking over to her left, and then right, and then over her shoulder...and turning around. She's being very dramatic with this little show right now. Finally she points to herself and levels her blue eyes back on Alex. "Oh were you talking to me? It kind of seemed like you were talking to a child. Maybe someone with a curfew. Or a bedtime." Cue a dry smirk and a roll of her eyes, "I swear I am old enough to be out after dark, I don't need the supervision of an adult. I am pretty sure I am one." Now that the woman is done ragging on Alex for his poor choice of greeting, she finally eases up and offers the man a proper hello. That hello comes in the form of a smile, "It's been awhile, Alex. I believe the last time I saw you was out in Rynvale. What have you been up to? Not getting into too much trouble, are you?"

Alex is caught off guard as Meri becomes offended and starts laying into him. HIs expression one of utmost confusion and embarrassment while his lips part to speak but the only things that comes out are short, stammered I's, Uh's and Sorry's. Meri claims to be addressed like a child, but it would seem the opposite is true as Alex is clearly lost during his scolding. Once she changes her tone however, the tension in his shoulders relaxes and an inaudibly sign in relief displays from his chest deflating. "Oh, uh, yeah. I haven't been to Rynvale in... well, it feels like ages." He returns the smile, "Hey, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to be condescending or anything. It's just, I, uh, I've been working nights at the inn here for a few weeks now and there's a special kind of strange that comes out around this hour. I'm not saying you couldn't handle yourself or anything... I just... uhm, I didn't expect to see you." He hesitates before reiterating "I'm sorry." The bard seems much different from the last few times he and Meri met. While he still looks tired from the bags beneath his eyes, it is a different kind of exhaustion and the complexion of his skin, posture and speech tell tale of some lengthy sobriety. His eyes bounce between her own before he concludes, "No trouble, thankfully. How about you, how have you been?"

The way Alex stammers in response to her chiding him for his question does not escape Meri's attention, it definitely strikes her as odd given their past interactions. He was usually not shy about giving her a fair amount of sass, the woman presumed his skin might still be a little thicker. Everyone changes though, it's expected, and while Meri might feel a pang of remorse for giving him such grief given this stammering reaction -- no apology is given to Alex. Meri wasn't good at those apology things, it was a rare moment for her to give them. Especially these days. The question of how she was doing is given a shrug of her shoulders. How was she? Well the honest answer would put even more of a damper on the current conversation, so that's not the answer that Alex receives from the blonde. "Doing good. Had myself a little girl not that long ago, her name is Fleur. I was just on my way back home to her, to be honest." A brief smile curves at her lips but it is short-lived. The woman points toward the Cenril Inn. "Working there? A few weeks now? Congrats on that." It did seem like a marked improvement for the bard, given her past memories of him. Wasn't she trying to convince him to come work at the Kraken the last time that she saw him out in Rynvale? While he was using illusions to try and make her think this beast or that were lurking in the foggy forests of Rynvale. Yes, Alex is indeed noticeably different.

Alex is a bit more relaxed when the conversation turns friendlier and he displays mild surprise when Meri confesses that she's recently given birth. A question or two regarding the offspring conjure in his mind but he's quick to dissipate them with concern of somehow offending Meri again. Instead he repeats the girls name, "Fleur, huh? That's a cute name. Very unique. I can't say I've heard it before." He then has his attention reverted to his place of current employment and he glances over his shoulder to, for some reason, verify that he's still standing in front of the same building. "Oh, yes. I work the graveyard shift so it's rarely busy and can be a bit boring at times but it's peaceful and they let me exchange part of my pay to board me for the time being. It's much different than Frostmaw, way less giants and much better weather." He smirks, the goosebumps on his skin a clear indication that even the nippiest chill affects the human leaving question as to why he would ever opt to call Frostmaw home to begin with. Raising a thumb over his shoulder to point toward the inn he follows up with an offer, "Do you want something to take with you or have a quick bite before you go on your way? I've just taken some bread out of the oven and I've got a pot of soup keeping warm. Nothing fancy, just chicken noodle, but I do have some amazing pepper that brings it to life. My treat of course."

Again a brief smile curves at Meri's lips, this time because of Alex's compliment of the name she has selected for her kiddo, but it is still short-lived. The graveyard shift did not exactly sound like Meri's idea of a good time, but who was the woman to judge? "Well, I guess boring is not the worst thing that a job could be. As long as it is keeping a roof over your head..." Mention of food has Meri's gaze shifting skyward, not that she'd really be able to tell the time right now. It was hard without the sun as a focus point. Meri frowns thoughtfully, what time was it? Was she running late? "Ah, I don't know if I should really sit down for a bite. I don't want to keep the sitter waiting. Sorry. Mom life." The tattooed woman shrugs. "But I guess I also don't really want to cook and it's not going to do Fleur any good if I am starving myself, so...Something to go sounds decent. If you don't mind. Don't worry about it being your treat, I've got it covered. Don't want to be causing any trouble for you, especially since you have not been working here for dreadful long." Meri takes a single step toward the inn. "Lead the way." Not that she was not familiar with the layout of the inn. It has been a few years, but her memory was sharp.

Alex is pleased that Meri decides to take him up on his offer and he doesn't argue with her about payment but he knows he won't accept any coin from her. As she steps forward he turns on his heel to head up the stairs and holds the door open for her. Inside, he casually struts to the small café area in the back, pulling out a chair for her to have a seat on his way, "Make yourself comfortable, I'll only be a second and then we'll have you on your way." He calls over his shoulder with a warm smile and then he disappears behind the counter leaving Meri in the silent dining area where she is free wonder why they would even bother hiring someone to work this shift.

Meri doesn't make herself comfortable though. As Alex had promised, it would only be a second so Meri did not see the point in letting herself get too comfortable. While Alex was gone, Meri mulled about the dining area. It was quiet, but her time was not spent wondering why they would hire someone for this shift. One never knows when someone is going to drop in and require a room. The blonde is not up to anything exciting, she's definitely not causing any trouble. What exactly she is up to while Alex is away fetching her food is unclear, when he does make a return as far as he can tell she has probably just been wondering around the room, maybe admiring the artwork. Nothing is out of place.

Alex comes back around the corner with a bloated plastic bag in one hand and a styrofoam bowl in the other. He seems to have kept his word as it's only been about two minutes since he'd left her. He sets the items on the counter and pulls the bag open while reaching to grab a piece of cardboard to shift the contents around before adding the bowl and securing it's place. After tying the top of the bag into a loose knot he then twirls around to grab a cup and kettle from the stove top to pours some tea before adding a spoonful of honey, stirring it up well then securing the lid. Gathering up the order he finally looks up to spot Meri wandering the room and speaks while approaching "The soup is loaded baked potato, I wasn't sure how you liked yours so I tossed some salt and pepper in the bag. I also have you a grilled ham and cheese melt in there too, along with some saltines and here's an earl grey with a smidge of honey." He extends the cup to her first followed by the bag. "Don't worry about the charge, I've already covered it. Just be sure to toss me a copper when you see me on the street begging." he jokes with sly smile "Can I get you anything else?"

The bag and cup are accepted and both brows are lifted in surprise when Alex goes on to explain everything that he has packed for this to go meal. "Thanks, this was more than I was expecting. I will probably have leftovers by the looks of things." This is not a complaint. The items that she only just recently took are set aside briefly so that Meri can fish out a sum of coins, because she's not accepting that this meal is on Alex. "Look. It's nice of you to offer for this meal to be on you, but I am going to decline. Politely. Own my own business and all." So joke or not, if Alex was caught begging on the streets it would not be because he spent coin on Meri's meal. He's not given a choice, the coins are placed on the table and then the items are scoped back up, both hands are occupied again. She can't take the gold up that she just set down. "I should be going. It's late, like you've noted, and I've got a kid at home waiting." A couple steps are taken toward the door in preparation for this departure. "It was good seeing you though. If you ever get a day off during normal daylight hours you should come check out the Gallery."