RP:Hair of the Dog

Summary: Just a friendly little chat between Leoxander and Meri.

Transport to Rynvale

Meri has seen better days. It's not that Meri is physically hurt, bleeding, or in need any sort of immediate medical attention....but the sun was too bright, her head would not stop pounding, and every little sound from a seagull screeching to sailors bickering over how to best loud cargo was an annoyance to Meri. Suffering from a hang over all the way into the middle of the day? She was indeed but making it back to Rynvale was high on her to do list so the tattooed woman sits on the docks, back to some post, head resting on her knees. Occasionally she'd look up to see if the ship to and from Rynvale was looming on the horizon.

Leoxander had watched a couple boats head off in that north-eastern route, each one bringing a mix of emotions to weigh in on head and heart. The rogue was not frequently alone these days, working so many angles of a business and recruiting for the 'crew', but when he could, he took some time in quiet contemplation for himself - and this is typically where he would go. To the water, imagining the dark three-masted galleon with it's dark sails anchored out in the water, sometimes seeing the shadow of a dog with forepaws on the railing, waiting for the Captain's return. Then a wave would roll in and the vision would fade, pulled into the water and sinking to the point Leo would grimly look away. He sat on the edge of the dock against a waterlogged pier post, a old piece of frayed rope still knotted around it but cut as though whatever vessel was latched there so long ago had been stolen. Knees covered in loose, pocketed leather bent for the rest of an tattooed arm, and his shoulders soaked in the heat and light to darken the sun spots that peppered the top, though the fall of his hair mostly protected the smaller patch across his nose. Absently, he tucked the silver chain hanging around his neck under the collar of that 'wifebeater', giving a glance down at the bloodstained near a small tear at his side, before scent, sound and movement pulled a sidelong glance toward the woman walking on the docks. Whether or not she found a seat on the same section as Leo, he studied her wordlessly for a few moments, recognizing her from the other day at the office. She wasn't the only one who looked a little rough. He hadn't slept too well in the last day or two, and still sported some minor bruises and a bandage between his thigh and knee, evident because of the hole that the blade had torn into his pants where it stabbed. But in his hand was enough medicine to remedy any discomfort from that, if not those confusing memories in his mind.

Meri initially didn't sit within the same section of the dock as Leo. The hangover is easily to blame but Leoxander was overlooked and so Meri found her own section of the dock to sit upon, at first. It would be during a glance at the horizon that it dawns on her there is a familiar face within the vicinity -- though familiar may be too strong of a descriptive word. After some contemplation on how social she was feeling today and if she really wanted to get to her feet to join Leoxander, Meri finally does and not without some grumbling. It is safe to say that said grumbling is in no way in respect to Leoxander, just the mutterings of a woman who didn't want to find her feet but forced herself to anyway. Without invitation, Meri drops into a seated position right next to Leoxander, booted feet dangling off the docks. Much like Leoxander her attire was nothing to write home about, it wasn't some slinky number a lot of dames around here wear. Meri preferred more practical outfits, always with the boots and the pants. "Leo," Meri says, as sort of a hello. Yes, he may have never formally given Meri even a portion of his name yet she was still speaking it. "I see you are out and about without your other half today." We can also thank the hangover for the lack of (joking)!sass coming from the blonde today, "What brings you out this way?"

Leoxander didn't seem put off or wary when she approached and helped herself to a board of dock wood. He gave a brief, studying glance over her physique and attire, lifted his bottle light brown liquor for a drink, then offered the remedy her way, having a hunch that some hair of the dog would do her some good. Not all that surprised that the woman knew his name, he hesitated for a second when the spell rogue was referred to as 'his other half', but didn't correct the statement. "Good place to think." He answered low, and Leo had quite a few things to think about. A lost, healthy reward for his failure in the tournament just one of the more public known reasons for that somber and tired expression on his features. He had shaved for the event, but it was already starting to shadow his jaw again. "You headin' back across?" Mostly it was a guess that she was from the island. Her knowledge of it seemed extensive enough, but also, Leo happened to recognize a certain attitude and a hint of appearance that suggested Rynvale to be her home. A wistful look traveled east across the water again. He hadn't allowed himself to physically follow in that direction, yet.

Meri considered Rynvale to be home about as much as she did Gualon. The woman had never really seen fit to fully pick one place over the other and often found herself traveling where the gold was -- the biggest motivator in her life these days. A sensible person might decline the bottle that is offered, recover from a hang over the proper way via water and rest, but Meri was not amongst those sensible people these days and so tattooed fingers are wrapped around the neck of the bottle and a hearty swig is taken with no real care for the contents. Booze was booze, vodka, rum whiskey, it all had the same results in the end. Given the chance to pick, Meri would normally be a whiskey drinker. The bottle was given back to Leo and with hands freed up, Meri pulls a tarnished, silver cigarette case out of the back pocket of her pants. It's flipped open to reveal a few hand rolled smokes, matches kept inside for safe keeping. Open tin is held out to Leo to give him first go at taking a cigarette but if he declines, Meri would help herself either way. "Business is picking up at SoulsKin. I've got like three people wanting ink from me right now? Brennia, Oline, and Eirik. So yeah, got to make that gold, eh?" A shrug. "You on the other hand have this wistful look about you, like you'd really like nothing more than to just jump ship and go. So what's holding you back?"

Leoxander appreciated the gesture, even if he didn't give any proper 'thank you', callused fingers selecting a smoke from the case to place between his lips while he dig his pocket for his firestarter. The small tin device had a lid on hinge with a flint on steel piece that he ground together with a brush of thumb, lighting the wick and eventually the end of the cigarette. He reached out to offer to light hers as well before he snapped the top shut against his thigh. Stuffing it back in into pocket, he lifted the bottle which was, fortunate for her considering the hang over, in fact whiskey. After pinching the rolled smoke from his lips with a visible exhale caught by the shore winds from nose and mouth, he spit a few flecks of tobacco from a peek of tongue aside and washed down the taste with another drink, as he was used to a sweeter, skunkier leaf most of the time. A nod offered for her mention of business, as he knew of the parlor even if he had not yet been, and a shoulder faintly shrugged before he tried answering her question. "Don't know what to expect. If the warehouse is still there, not destroyed. Heard the scene's changed well enough since I lived there. I'm tryin' to get my hands on my own ship to bring across." No mention of the delivery that would be going with him, but between Hudson and Eleanor, Meri already likely knew about it.

Meri knew only bits and pieces of what Hudson, Eleanor and Leoxander were planning and what she did know what mostly gleaned from Hudson himself. Eleanor and Leoxander were more tight lipped about their plans, not that Meri could find any reason to blame them for that. How much she would know from here on out very likely depended on how well she would be able to chummy up to the trio -- an endeavor Meri was making an effort at. Silence between Leoxander and Meri as the woman fixes blue eyes on the horizon, in the general direction that Rynvale was in, puffing away on the end of her cigarette in thought. The silence would last long enough for Meri to exhale a thick plume of smoke through her nose not once but twice, "Ships don't come cheap. Not that I am trying to judge the weight of your wallet or anything. I sure as s*** know I wouldn't be able to afford one ever. Unless I borrowed it. For an extended period of time." A slight grin, trusting that Leoxander would be able to pick up on her not so subtle meaning behind that. "But honestly? Kind of sounds like you are mostly just nervous, like it won't live up to the memory. I don't know what it was like out there when they were your stomping grounds, I can't compare. I have only been working out of SoulsKin for about three and a half years."

Leoxander wouldn't bother to point out that 'borrowing' for an extended period of time was just how he had acquired a vessel aptly named 'Eternity. But whether she still lived up to that immortal name he couldn't be certain. Perhaps Valen knew, perhaps not, but she could guess Leo to be the sort to have a back up plan. The last of her words kept him quiet but drew his own blue stare from the water toward the heavily inked woman, where he weighed the number she gave. Three and a half years, and that was still after the war if it was a habitable place not plagued by the parasite. So safe to say there were at least five years trapped in a fog thicker than Rynvale's northwestern forest. A slow drag taken as the bottle was set between them, in her reach if she wanted more, and his words were laced with a bit of smoke that vanished in the salted air. "Don't much like walkin' into a scene'a surprises. Especially when I knew that place inside an' out. Guess I ain't likely to find out 'till I go." One more pull on that cigarette and it was nearly gone, so he stubbed the butt of it out on the wooden board near his boot. "Maybe you'll fin' a way to fit me into yer busy agenda if I manage to take a trip to the shop. Due for a touch up or some new ink."

Meri took the final draw from her cigarette and then flicked the remains into the ocean. There was a soft sizzle as the burning end of the cigarette met with the saltwater but that noise is easily drowned out by birds, waves and the general clamber of the docks. Red lips find themselves twisting up into a half-smirk, which usually means she has something to say that she finds to be amusing. "What do you think you might encounter out there that would be surprising?" That bottle set between them is claimed for herself, pressed against red lips and then tipped back. Women and their lipstick, it had this nasty habit on rubbing off of anything those lips made contact with. In this case, the mouth of the bottle they are sharing. Not something Meri seems very remorseful out there. "Not like I am not out there all the time. If there is something specific you wanted to know?" There is one set of eyes and ears on that island. Blue eyes settle on Leo as the subject shifts to tattoos, Meri was always happy to gab about that. After a long assessment of his current arsenal of ink, Meri chuckles, "Any time. Touch ups, new ink, you've got it. If you get a new one, I might have to do the same." Outside of the latest addition on the inside of her wrist, a sparrow that still looked red and raised. Maybe a few days old. "Not sure I am okay with someone having more ink that me." Cue another smirk. "You got anything specific in mind yet?"

Leoxander had another long pause of silence, before he looked up through the unkempt blond in his eyes, toward her. "I wish I could remember." That was really all he said regarding that question, and let his stare gaze over her full sleeve, whereas his tattoos were more a collage of symbols and creatures and tribal lines that did not blend together and possessed very little color at all. "Lita might take some offense if I let you have the first stab, anyhow. But I guess it's about time I accepted the wolf. Honor the lost pack, somehow." Maybe she didn't yet know what he was, but maybe he hadn't said enough for her to really figure it out, either. Wolf could easily be some totem or nickname or meaning for something else and not so literal. He flicked the snubbed out smoke into the water like her, lifted the bottle, and sought to just about finish off the whiskey that was left, whether she had one more chance to partake, or not. Finally, taking just a moment to actually get into business, he revealed to Meri in a low tone. "I showed up the other night in time to hear you say Hudson was sendin' you to the island with a package." A gesture of his free hand offered, to subtly indicate she was in that company of that very guy she was supposed to accompany, though she probably already suspected that. "An' I could prolly use someone who knows Rynvale like it is today, in case I do run into somethin' unsavory, savy? Only problem is, I don' know you all that well. Figure a trip could help remedy that, sooner than later."

Meri could have very easily gotten caught up in trying to get Leo to explain the meaning behind all of the symbols on his arm. Leo's very close to having to deal with this line of questioning, which have had no ulterior motive other than sincere curiosity. She -was- into tattoos, the art, the meaning as she was a tattoo junkie through and though. It's the mention of Lita that stops Meri from voicing a plethora of questions about Leo's tattoos. "Well, if you want Lita to do the work then by all means." Prior to this moment, Meri didn't have enough information to really connect the dots but after mention of Lita. "Leoxander. She's mentioned you before, briefly, in a sad sort of way. She didn't really go into a lot of detail though, just that the shop she and I work out of? Used to be yours and that it was a gift from you to her....before..." Meri just leaves it at that, Lita had never really specifically said what had happened to Leo, but Meri had inferred from tone and the past tense usage that he might not be amongst the living anymore. Leo could finish of his bottle, Meri wouldn't sit there and fuss over it. He brought the booze, it was his to finish when he pleased. "And if you want to take a trip somewhere? By all means. I leave you to the details. I'll show up." As for all of the walk of wolves? If they were nicknames, Meri was not clued in. Her interpretation is a literal one, but there is a distinct lack of reaction because if Leoxander is a werewolf? No judgment.

Leoxander tightened his jaw just a bit at the sound of his whole first name. But he nodded, accepting it for what it was, which had not been a secret in Rynvale in over five years, if only forgotten for a while. "Most thought I was dead. Includin' me, pretty." The nickname came casually, not only as it suit, but it was similar to the way he said 'savy', 'blaggard' and 'aint'. That brogue accent born of the sea, not land. "An' yeah, I don't really have much time for that, anymore. I could get your crew some business when I get established there, no' that you need it, but I'd expect a favor here and there in return if I happened to have somethin' worth yer while. Yer boss, er partner, whatever she is to you. She knows how I work." He tossed the bottle into the waves as well, not because he wanted it to break on the pier and puncture the tourists' feet (although he didn't really care), but more because he saw it useful for a lone little fish or some unlucky bastard marooned at sea needing the vessel for note. Hence he included the cork. "If yer goin' over there, how can I get ahold of you without showin' up at the shop? To the least, I could call you to meet me on the docks. Sounds like it's pretty stable there since... since s**t went down." Just pass that bar of soap his way. Though he probably had some cooties.

Meri wasn't observant enough to really notice the way that Leo's jaw clenched when Meri used his full name. From a full night of drinking last night to a little hair of the dog today, Meri just wasn't bringing prime observation skills to the table at this very second. "It's her shop, I work there," Meri emphasizes, not wanting to risk offending Lita by overstating her position within said shop. Little is thought of the nickname as Meri herself is prone to throwing them around, some more casually than others. "I wouldn't say that we're hurting for business in the slightest. But you know, even if I manage to drum up the business on the tattoo front before you do...Favors. I can be awful helpful you know." Again those red lips are turning upwards into a smirk, if Leo wasn't amused Meri definitely found herself amusing. "Frankly I don't have my own place out there." Actually she didn't have her own place anywhere. "So if you don't want to go into the shop, send a note. Simon. The Barrel. You know. I can meet you at the docks, or wherever else that suits you." Said with a shrug, as ultimately Leo would have to decide what he was most comfortable with because who had to prove themselves to whom? Meri to Leo, clearly. As for those cooties? If Leo has them, well they already shared a bottle so....Hopefully the booze killed them and spared Meri!

Leoxander sighed a few words to her first. "Yeah, I know that much. Lita was gonna come with, if she could. I guess.... I'm just putting this off too long." Simon, the Barrel. He'd helped with the atmosphere of that Inn. Just as he had assisted a lot of business out there, much as he was doing here, now, in Cenril. But it was time to go 'home'. That thought made him look from the east, far north, brow knitting slightly in confusion, before he brushed the faded thought away. "I ain't gonna reopen the warehouse to take from your business. If I ever get back into that, I'll come work for yer boss. But I am planning on doin' quite a bit when I get out there, and if Lita trusts you, no reason I can't trust you, too. For a favor, sometime." Finally, he was moving out of that seat that had some pins and needles crawling up his legs, for how long he had been there, now. Whether she stood as well or not, he looked down at her, a few inches above six feet at full height. "So I'll see you around. I'll be over seas, there, before you know it."

Meri didn't stand when Leoxander did, far too lazy to get all the way to her feet only to end up hunkering down once more as she resumed the wait. Meri had to really crane to look up Leo once he was standing at full height, needing to lean back a hair to really be able to view his face. A slight correction is offered, not Leo not really revealed anything that Meri did not already know. "Her business." The implication being that Meri didn't help with anything 'warehouse' related. There could be a lot of reasons for that but a lack of trust was not likely amongst them. "I'll see you around, whenever you decide you're ready." A lazy salute for the man and then Meri would turn and set blue eyes back on the horizon so that Leoxander could go about his way.