RP:Secrets And Lies

Part of the The Dust Up In Cenril Arc

Summary: Leoxander, Eleanor, and Meri crash Callum's attempt at gathering info from the drunk poker players in the bar. Meri steals Cal's notebook, the very object that keeps his business and very nearly the rest of his life afloat.

The Whaler's Bar

Leoxander tossed back that glass of champagne and threw the glass carelessly into the street before he opened the door to the Whaler's. G'damn. Weddings were bloody torture. A shove of a palm against door threw it open a little hard, but forget it, he was willing to pay some coin here rather than sit through another speech about love and fate. Whomever was on duty knew him well enough by now, and he demanded as politely as a pirate could. "Six shots." Intending for three for he and his companion, who might have been running little behind while her tiger had to take a piss. Fortunately he had managed to rob a few of her herbal cigarettes from her loft and took one out now to light it, half way toward the bar.

Callum sat at table near the bar, though not quite alone. A rousing game of poker was being played by four others at the table, and yet the mage was more focused on a leather-bound notebook in his right hand and a pencil in the other. I don’t know how to play, he’d told the others. I’d rather watch and take notes, he’d said. Thankfully for Cal, the other males at the table we drunk enough to acquiesce with his request; they’d all silent decided for themselves that they’d let him take notes for now and would surely take his money later--he was the well-dressed, seemingly well-off type after all. Anyone with a brain could see that Cal -wasn’t- taking notes, however--and thankfully barely anyone here had the mind to be observant--for his line of sight was never on the game. Each other person at the table was given constant scrutiny and things scribbled in his book as they spilled their secrets. Who knew who, where dropoffs of goods were made once ships came into port, prices of said goods; these were things that he wrote and as Leoxander made his way into the building, ocean blue eyes would shift momentarily away from the four nameless alcoholics, giving him that careful stare before he’d return to jotting things down.

Eleanor stepped into the Whaler's Bar a handful of beats after Leo, her white tiger sufficiently relieved into the bushes outside. Tuna is definitely looking better than she did a week ago, that's for sure, and is much more herself as she padded alongside El's ankles. El made a beeline for the wolf, and with a grin at the shots, she quickly downed the first one before snatching up that cigarette. "Whit a waste ay time," she'd growl to Leo with a tone that warned against him getting any ideas about weddings.

Meri 's timing was perfection tonight. The tattooed woman arrives shortly after El and Leo. No immediately, they have enough time to get settled at the bar and get situated with their drinks before in walks Meri, dressed in her normal attire of boots, pants and corset. In her habitual sweep of the room, it is Tuna that really manages to steal Meri's attention first. Eleanor follows, then Leoxander, and a grin springs across her lips. Though her steps carry her right on over to them, the poker game that Callum is 'sitting in on' doesn't exactly escape Meri's notice. "Evening," comes her casual greeting of the two of them. "What's going on?" Settling into a stool, whiskey is ordered for herself before she turns to watch the game of poker with a bit more curiosity.

Leoxander stopped on his way to the bar. He looked at the poker table, found the man with the least amount of chips, and abruptly grabbed by the shirt to draw him out of his chair. A pouch of coin was produced to pay them for most of what they had on the table, but Leo was joining the game. He gave a glance back at Eleanor for her comment, but couldn't quite laugh, as he agreed. "Get me some rum, will you?" He requested of his partner, searching for some more pocket change to throw into the table for some chips. This was his crowd, not two men dressed in makeup and formal for arrangement. "Let's get this hand goin'..." He remarked to whoever was dealing at that point, and if the uprooted member came at him, Leo would draw a knife to ease him back. "Don' worry, mate. I've been in this game before."

Callum was, in fact, the one grabbed and shoved out of the way for he had no chips at all! Rude. “What the frakkin’ hell, man?” There was an approach towards Leo, and then that knife was seen, both of Cal’s hands going up as if to say ‘whoa there, guy’. “Normally, people ask when they want a seat somewhere.” A vaguely smug smirk is offered to the pirate as he stepped closer, but merely reached around him to grab the book he’d been writing in that had unceremoniously dropped onto the table in the commotion. “Up” was then said to the guy with the next lowest amount of chips, a bit of gold fished out of his waistcoat first for him, and then quite a bit more to add to the pot, as well as for his own chips. Both Leo and Cal are given chips and cards as the next hand is dealt, the storm mage’s attention falling to his own cards. There’s no hint of betraying emotion written on his features now, besides a slight thoughtful purse of his lips and a ‘hm’ to accompany it.

Eleanor would try not to give Meri bedroom eyes when the other blonde showed up, but there were no guarantees. Pushing away from the bar only after procuring that whole bottle of rum, she swaggered after Leo, drawing up a chair to straddle it just beyond the wolf's right shoulder. "Och, ye ken, th' usual," she'd say to Meri, though her eyes were angled toward the card game. She didn't recognize Callum from anywhere, and she was inclined to give the stranger some serious side-eye as she considered the game. Without regard for germs or something, she uncorked the bottle and tipped it back before offering it to Meri and Leo; but not Callum, of course, or the other players. They could get their own. As if to speak on behalf of her group, she addressed the stranger with those glossy glass-green eyes and a husky chuckle, "Aah nae sure we're pure th' askin' type."

Leoxander definitely noticed Callum's reciprocation. He eyed the player across the table, and seemed to accept. Leo would fold the cards he had, low or high, just to take point of the man who had reversed the situation well. Obviously he noticed Meri in the tavern, as well. "One of you mind bringing me a bloody drink?" He didn't mean that in a literal sense. His gaze was locked on the dark haired male, for now. He had been bold enough to rejoin the table. "You gotta name, maverick?"

Meri 's red lips twitch into a faint smirk, since her gaze was already on the poker game the exchange between Callum and Leoxander is pretty impossible to not observe. "Frakkin'." she muses loud enough for the lot to hear her, as Meri is also meandering toward the card game, after collecting a bottle of her own. Meri is going with whiskey, as is her norm. All the more rum for El and Leo. "Isn't that just cute," Meri says, a hint of sarcasm to her voice and another smirk forming on her lips. Rather than pull up a chair, Meri assumes a lean against a nearby table, off to one side of El and Leo. The tattooed woman studies Callum curiously as she wrestles the cork free from her own bottle. It struck Meri as curious that the male seemed to just be observing the game prior and yet now he was quite intent on playing. Hm.

Callum allowed those ocean blues to shift from Leo to Eleanor, that smirk of his returning, “I don’t think anyone in this frakkin’ town is, to be quite honest.” Whether that included himself or not would be left up to the imagination. Leo’s folded cards were eyed next with a raised brow, and the player they belonged to regarded again, “Cal.” His own cards were shifted around between slender fingers, putting them in order. “You were so keen on joining and then you gave up so quickly. Why is that?” The others around the table put down their hands; one had a pair of fives, while the other set down three threes. Callum stalled, however, awaiting an answer from the pirate, a brief glance spared for Meri once that gaze of her’s was felt.

Leoxander spoke calmly to Callum. "Maybe I just didn't have a good hand. Don't start judging me." Frankly, he was already bored with the game, but would but in the chips for one more hand. Those chips weren't even his, and if won, they would be pushed to Callum. "Haven't seen you around these parts, kid. You new?" Despite all going on around him, he was focused on Callum more than the game, and more than his surroundings. But this time, he put a healthy bet into the pot.

Meri would eventually grow tired of standing, yanking a chair out from the table she has been leaning against via the toe of her boot. The woman sits, but so that the back of the chair is facing forward. Bottle of whiskey comes to rest at the boot of her foot while a tattooed hand dips into the back pocket of her pants to pull out a tarnished cigarette tin. Both vices, booze and cigarette, would be imbibed while Meri observes. Since no name was asked of her, no name offered up.

Callum could only smirk at Leo again, “New? No. I mind my business. I work my shifts. I stay out of people’s way. Don’t come ‘round here much anymore, which is sad to say as I rather like the sea.” There’s a shrug and finally his cards are laid out: nothing more than a pair of twos. Oh darn, he lost. This time he’s the one to deal as the other two males seem to be a bit too wasted to do much of anything. “You walk around like you own the place, and yet as you said, this is the first time I’ve seen you. So...do you?” Eye contact is kept with Leo as Cal cuts the cards, and gives out the new hand. This time, he somehow managed a straight, queen to eight, and laid his cards face up on the table.

Leoxander shook his head. "Not this place, mate." That didn't mean to say he didn't own something else. But this wasn't his digs. Leo placed down a flush, but rather than take the pot, he stood, leaving it on the table. "If you're interested in more than a card game, you look or ask for Leo. I'll make sure to find you soon enough. If yer willin'..." He stood at that point, pinging the bar for a bottle before he made his way out of the tavern.

Callum squints at Leo’s cards and the lack of his taking the pot, then shrugs. “Yeah. I’m sure we’ll be seein’ each other real quick-like.” The other two had already folded by this time and so Callum gathered his winnings. Finally, he returns his attention to Meri, “You fixin’ on leaving me too, hm? S’pose I’m not entertaining enough for you lot. This is why I tend to observe and not actually play. It’s a lot more interesting when all parties in the game are drunk, you know.”

Meri drums the tattooed fingers of one hand, the one not presently wielding a cigarette, against the back of her chair as a bored expression starts to take hold of her features. It had almost occurred to Meri to attempt to cut into the game herself, the two others partaking in the game were too drunk to make it intriguing. Leoxander sliding out presents a slight change in thought, "Ah, I'd offer to cut in but I'm afraid it's been a few years since I've played. I'm not even sure I remember the rules. I'm sure you'd win every hand." A pull from her cigarette, exhaling through her nostrils. "Seems like your pretty comfortable wheeling and dealing there, Cal." Quick hands, but Meri wouldn't come outright saying it. "As for you not being entertaining enough? I hardly know you. I wouldn't go saying a cruel thing like that."

Callum leaned back in the chair, waving a hand nonchalantly, “I’m not exactly the best. Picked it up on the boat here awhile back. Not much else to do besides gambling and people-watching.” He doesn’t bother with the game now, instead picking up his notebook and pencil again, “I’m assuming you’ve got a name, “ his left hand scribbling away again. “And a particular love of tattoos as well.” The various bits of ink hadn’t gone unnoticed, but there’d been no need for small talk with the woman up until now.

Saia is biting into an apple as she makes her way into the bar. She looks barely old enough to set foot in the joint, likely another of those street urchins Cenril tended to churn out the closer one ventured to the docks. A mess of auburn hair frames her face as she blinks bright green eyes at the few who have looked to see who's joined the party. She swallows her bite of apple whole, making a face as she realized she forgot to chew. Smooth. She might not have drawn much attention at all if it weren't for the silver charm anklet she wore that jingled its little tune with each step she took towards a vacant table.

Meri smirks in acknowledgement of the answer, it's not really acceptance though. "Y'know, you don't really strike me as an 'on the boat' sort of guy." Free hand swipes her bottle up from it's resting place at her boot as Meri leaves her chair only to claim the one that Leoxander recently abandoned. "Yeah I've got a name, and you're right I've got a love of tattoos." She made no attempt to keep them hidden, though part of her sleeve on her left arm is temporarily masked as that shoulder is bandaged. They are numerous, paragraphs could be written, and they are predominately themed after the ocean. Saia is not ignored though, that jingle catches Meri's attention and pulls her gaze, frowning a hair. "Hey," she calls out to the girl.

Saia steals a glance sideways at the table with all the cards on it, taking another bite of her apple as she eavesdrops on their conversation about the woman's tattoos. She's staring as she peruses the artwork and blushes a little when the woman calls out to her. Suddenly realizing she was staring, she glances over her shoulder, thinking maybe there was someone behind her the woman recognized? But there's no one and she dumbly points to herself as she turns her gaze back again, swallowing her bite of apple, which she's remembered to chew this time.

Callum tilted his head back to peer at Saia over his shoulder once Meri called out to her, the pencil put in his mouth to hold momentarily so that the hand that held it could rake through his hair. Taking the writing utensil up again, he shrugged, “What can I say? I’m an enigma.” The bandage had been spotted, and slight frown given to it, “I’ve likely got an herb to help that, if you’d like. I help run the flower and herb shops in Kelay, stock ‘em with my own stuff so I know what’s what in that department. Jus’ need to know what you did to it anyway.” To Saia then he’d add, “Aren’t you a little young to be here? If you’re wanting alcohol, don’t come to me for it. Not about to get myself in trouble by buying for some kid.”

Meri was used to the staring, it was the people that thought they should be allowed to brazenly touch that Meri minded. Hello, personal space much? A bit of a tch for Callum and his grumpy ways with Saia, Meri beckons her over to their table. "Yeah you, ignore him a second, come here." She'd give Saia the chance to actually approach before continuing, Meri obviously had something in mind, likely nothing bad. She seemed pretty relaxed. The remains of her cigarette get dropped in the swill of some bottle left on the table. "Mmm, it'll heal. But you run a shop in Kelay? I'll have to venture through it some time." A beat, a moment of contemplation. "Meri. Work out of a tattoo parlor in Rynvale." Though how much she is really there depends on how many appointments she has on the books, her feet tended to wander.

Saia narrowed her eyes at the guy and scoffed at him. "I'm old enough to do as I damn well please and nobody asked you, old timer." The words dripped with a particularly defensive snark. He'd started it, calling her 'some kid'. The woman on the other hand made her less defensive, or at least less cautious and she moved to join their table, purposefully scooting her chair a tad closer to Meri's side of the table. "Saia." She offered, though she didn't have a title to follow. She was older than she looked, mid-twenties, despite the layer of dirt that usually came with working and sleeping outside most of the time. She perked up a bit as Meri mentioned a tattoo parlor in Rynvale. "Soulskin? Heard you guys do good work. Been savin' up so I can get one soon." A tattoo, that was. She took another bite of her apple and looked at the guy again. He already rubbed her the wrong way. At least if she was chewing chances were she wouldn't say anything mean.

Callum wrote down the info as it was given, adding it to the page where he’d written down Leo’s name. “They’re not mine, truthfully. I grow the stuff, sell it to ‘em, handle the customers for a few hours because they know that I know my plants. Take care of the deliveries too when it’s needed. Gotta pay the bills, ya know? Houses in Kelay don’t come cheap.” That ‘tch’ hadn’t gone unnoticed and an exasperated sigh was given in response as he side-eyed the kid again. Children were just not his thing, man. “Never considered getting a tattoo before, “ he said off-handedly, “S’pose I don’t really know what I’d get anyway.” And then Saia called him ‘old timer’. “Twenty-five isn’t exactly that old, girl.” Cal smirked, shaking his head, “Saia. Whatever.” He attempted to be a little more polite, but keeping to himself as he often did made social situations a little...challenging.

Meri has definitely mistaken Saia for about the age of seventeen and just one of Cenril's street urchin/orphan population. If Meri had full realization that this was an adult woman she had invited over? She would have probably thought twice about passing Saia gold under the table. It is a very unimpressive amount, maybe enough for a proper meal, maybe enough for a room. Meri didn't quite keep count, she was trying not to embarrass Saia in front of Callum or anyone else. "Yeah? What are you thinking about getting and where? Maybe I can give you a quote so you can have an idea of how much to save for." Cal and that notebook of his though, Meri wrinkles up her nose a touch. "Look I'm getting the vibe you're a big information guy. I just hope you're not jotting anything down about me, hm? Better to live in the moment, eh? I've got nothing important to say and it doesn't sound like you're going to wake up tomorrow forgetting everything we've talked about if you don't write it down...Correct?"

Callum merely shrugged at Meri, “Oh fine.” He raises the index finger on his left hand, conjuring up a small bit of water on the tip. “For the record, it was merely just your name and the fact that you worked in Rynvale, in the off chance I’d want a tattoo.” The few droplets that had formed are pressed to the paper and streaked across Meri’s name and occupation, blurring it so that it couldn’t be read. “Don’t figure you much of a threat anyway. Not like these nice gentleman who’ve seemed to have passed out.” He jerked a thumb in the other cardplayers’ direction, both of whom had either fallen forward onto the table or their head lulled backwards. “They’re bad for business. Perhaps they had a bit too much to drink maybe.” He smiled innocently at Meri--perhaps a little -too- innocently.

Saia rolled her eyes at Callum. "Three years on me and you spend your time playing with daisies and tip-toeing through tulips." That vision of Cal in her head made her smile. She was talking around that last bite of apple, because she was clearly the epitome of societal manners. "Yeah, your world's an oyster." She might not know very much about a lot of things but she could talk a big game when she needed to. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the gold suddenly in hand but she balanced it on her knee for now, taking another bite of her apple and swallowing while she listened to the pair. "A little wolf." she chimed in finally in answer to Meri's question about what she wanted for a tattoo. "About, yay long?" She held her thumb and index finger about two inches apart and then against the inside of her left forearm. "Just a sillhouette, nothing so fancy." She'd leave all that fancy stuff to Callum- he seemed the type.

Meri would have been content to leave the issue at that, the conjuring of water, the application to the paper. It was the smile though, it almost struck Meri as a challenge. Tattoo artist she may be but psion she is as well and right now she wanted that book in Callum's hands to be in her hands. We'll get to that, or try it. "You don't know what you'd get," Meri teases with a smirk before motioning toward a flyer on the wall (or the board), "Besides, I've left pretty little drawings to serve as a reminder." Up and out of her chair Meri goes, "Ah, that's cute. I dig it. Sounds like it'll be a breeze to do, probably run you about forty gold. So whenever you're ready? Send word, I roll through Cenril a lot so...." That could save Saia the travel expenses. "Anyway, nice chatting, yeah? Time for me to go." Her feet start toward the door but she remains facing the table, bottle of whiskey not forgotten. It's here that Meri attempts to summon Callum's precious little book from his free hand to her, just wills it right along with a thought. There were always means to prevent this, but if the psion got her way she'd be out the door with the book in hand. And if she gets out the door Callum isn't getting it back tonight cause her player must sleep! Darn skippy Meri will be snoopy too.

Callum was sneering at Saia and was even just about to leave as well with some snarky words of his own when Meri strolls right up and takes his notebook like a right proper cow. “Hey!” She’d of course get out of the building before he manages to gather his coat and satchel, as well as throw his payment for the single drink he had prior to Leo, El, and Meri’s entrance earlier. “Give that back, you frakkin’ harpy!” The mage would give chase, but sadly lost her in the drunken seafaring crowd outside the tavern.