RP:Sessions with Anann

    Dragon's Head Inn

When you enter the inn you are a little overwhelmed at first by the thick smoke that comes from pipes and cigars, the smell of beer, and the loud, cheerful music from fiddles, drums, and flutes. Many dwarves are gathered here, having a great time doing what dwarves like best. Some of them sing loud songs, accompanied by the music songs about true loves gone missing, the glory and mayhem of battle, about gaining and losing lots of gold. Some songs are even about all three at once. You can spot a table where you could sit and order some meals and drinks from the owner, Giolla, and have a smoke, or maybe you just want to listen to the music. In one corner you see a rather old dwarf, but much taller then the rest. He sits by himself, quietly playing some music on his harp. You wonder how he is able to hear anything with all the noisy business surrounding you, but you notice that all dwarves treat him with respect they even lower their voices when they are near him! To your west you see another room, where some dwarves are gathered, discussing something in loud voices. There is also a staircase going up, presumably to the rooms that this inn offers for rent, and you see an exit leading northwards. Next to that staircase rests a public board, presumably for detailing the events of Upper Craughmoyle. You can buy items here. Giolla is here.

Sabrina was sitting at a centered table, having moved a few articles for the area to make it so Rohk could lay out just behind her. She had a small purple cloth in her hand in which was currently being utilized to familiarize itself with the dirty glass at her table. She had a habit of having things just so, and that is why she frequented here; because they had grown used to her particular ways. Giolla waits patiently, hands crossed in front of him until she finished her task and handed him the glass to be filled. She smiled at him, he ‘smiled’ back, in the way that was forced and insincere.

Anann ducks into the inn, followed by a few of her rangers. Three of them stay by the door, the rest make their way to the bar, following Anann herself. All of them needed a drink, not least of them Anann herself. She was frustrated, not so much by any strategic situation, but more so because she missed someone's presence. So there was only one thing to do right now: have a good session. She liked the strong dwarven ale, it got the job done, so she ordered a pitcher and filled a tankard, draining it instantly. She poured again and looked around. Her gaze fell upon the elven woman she had seen on the road before. The archer stayed with the rangers for a moment, then made her way to the woman "Sabrina, wasn't it?" She addresses her in Elvish "You and your dog mind if I join you?"

Sabrina’s attention is brought to the entrance where keen eyes take note of the change in her surroundings. A smile of recollection is expressed as she recognizes a familiar face- familiar enough to have been recent, but not recent enough she remembered anything that happened at their meeting. She watched the female drink with an odd interest with the manner of which she had done it. Her response, as all would be this evening was traditional/formal Elvish. She was comfortable with that. Sabrina gestures to the chair opposite her, completely ignoring the stab at the Beasty’s mentality. “Please, join us.” Rohk’s eyes open from his pretend slumber, squinting only half way and letting out a low grumble that vibrated the floor beneath Anann’s feet, he ignored nothing when it came to being compared to a common mutt. Giolla soon brought back a pitcher of sparkling clean water, though the pitcher was of questionable order, and the pristinely cleaned vessel he previously left with- also filled with not but water. She situates the glass and the pitcher so they are just so, sharing no perpendicular lines associated with their placement on the table; an unnoticeable trait to the untrained eye, but a necessity for order in Sabrina’s mind.

Anann sits herself down and instantly drains her tankard again, only to refill it again. She looks down to the hound on the floor, which then reminds her to check on the rangers by the bar. But as they seem fine, she turns to conversation with Sabrina "He's a special hound, it would seem. Where did you get him from?" Right after finishing her sentence, she puts the tankard to her lips again.

Sabrina laughs lightly. “I didn’t ‘get him from anywhere.” Sabrina looks over her shoulder smiling upon him like he were some sweet child or sibling. “He found me when I was lost.” She turns back to Anann and quietly adds “I get lost sometimes.” There was blankness in her revelation that lacked the effect of being sad about it. She was very matter-of-fact about the whole thing. She arches a thin dark brow “Is it customary for one to consume so much all at once…” She leans in and whispers loudly “… You might become inebriated.” She sits back up quite proper, taking a small drink from her glass before positioning it just as it was, in a half-moon ring of water that made her concerned about the lack of coasters everywhere. They were like barbarians.

Anann smiles at that "Clever beasty then. Mind you take care never to lose him then..." She wants to react to the mention of getting lost, but the following statement about becoming inebriated beggers responding to first. "Aye, well, that was the plan. Not like I'll get drunk, I know my limits. But I kind of want to forget about some stuff right now..." She notices the careful way in which the woman sets her glass down and how she cares about the apparent state of the tables. It's then she comes back to that earlier point "What makes you get lost then?"

Sabrina nods in agreement of the first statement “Haven’t been lost since he found me, he wouldn’t let that happen now.” She puts her hand over her heart instinctively. She isn’t surprised by the following statement either “Yes, very hard for our kind to get drunk… let alone stay drunk but it looks like you are giving it a proper go.” She smiled at the behavior in general and figured this one, though seemingly wise beyond her years, was probably younger than she let on. Sabrina completely ignores the lingering question, and changes the subject abruptly. “Long day… I believe is the appropriate aphorism?”

Anann shakes her head, pouring the last ale from the pitcher into the tankard "It's the right expression, but it's more like it's been a long few months." She sighs and slumps back in her seat, staring at the ceiling for a moment before sitting up again and drinking some more. "Trouble, trouble, trouble... and nobody to make it any better. Normally would go into the Forest, but that's not on now either..." She had noticed the change of subject, but is not going to make much of it right now. Her purpose right now is to forget, for which purpose she orders another pitcher of ale.

Sabrina had a genuine look of concern that was rarely seen. “What is wrong with the forest?” Ahh, the Forest, being who she was and the long anchored roots of Nuduin and Iggrisas she had a keen fondness for anything forest related (or just not water). Her elbows perch upon the table forming an A-frame over her meticulously placed glass and lending home to a pale chin balanced atop splayed and crossed fingers. The serious face begged answers despite the obvious intent of the other distinctly trying to forget.

Anann raises the tankard to her lips again before she answers to that "The drow..." She introduces a word from the common tongue there "Bleedin' drossers..." Well, two words in the common before switching to Elvish again (that tongue is just not fit for swearing at people) "They took over because the elves that used to rule there became too decadent. I love the Sage Forest, and I spend a lot of time there, but I can't take the Rangers into there. The drow will simply burn Her..." She looks over to the Rangers for a second, casting an angry look at one of the three men who was designated to stay sober, who had just received an ale. She shakes her head and the man sighs and hands the cup to another ranger. Anann sighs and closes her eyes, shaking her head "See what I mean?..."

Sabrina arches the same brow once more. She understood everything now, in her own mind, as soon as she heard the word ‘Drow.’ Truth was, she didn’t know what she meant. Sheltered as her life may have been all she knew about the Drow was what she read. “You seem to have quite the entourage, why not go where you please?” Naïve, but to the point. Politics were never her strong point, she was far too logical for that. Rohk turns on his back, scraping the floorboards in this motion with bits of his relaxed hackles and spine. He groans annoyingly loud, stretching one taloned paw upward in a sort of stretch. He relaxed after his outburst, still upside down, paws still in the air but bent at the wrists and a bit of drool coming from his maw. Yep, asleep.

Anann doesn't answer straight away, due to an old dwarf scampering over to ask her something "Did you bring your flute this time ma'am? The band is asking for you..." She reaches into the arrowbag and draws a carved wooden flute from it "Got it like, bu' I'm talkin' here now. Ye can tell dem te jus' play, migh' be I'll join dem later like." The dwarf dismissed, she turns back to the conversation "Not that easy. I can stay in the Forest for as long as I like, I know my way and I know how to live in the bush, avoiding the patrols... killing some..." The thought of killing drow brings a smile to her face, but it fades as she points West with her thumb "But meanwhile I have a bunch of Rangers to lead, making sure they don't get into trouble. I've got problems with Chartsend to solve and to top it off, I need to make sure there will be a chance to get the Forest freed from drow drossers and decadent Elves..."

Sabrina ignored the dwarf and the frivolous flute, listening intently but finding the thought of it was all very dizzying. But she heard the word again. “Chartsend.” She perks up cutely and completely. “I met an elderly gent, Human, I think. Gave me directions to Chartsend. I thought I was on the verge of finding it but the day was long and Rohk grew bored.” She wanted to find it but she couldn’t recall why. “It would seem you have problems with many, maybe you should look out for only yourself like me and Ro’. It would be less stressful, I am sure.” She leans back in her chair and takes a long rink of her water before setting it right once more. She goes back to the wooden instrument still in Anann’s hand. “Maybe a little music and a lot more drink will clear your mind of all that poison.” She tosses enough gold on the table to give Anann and her flock their fill.

Sabrina dropped 400 gold.

Anann waves away the offer of the paying for drinks "I don't take drinks unless I buy them as well." She gestures for both of them to get a refill. Then she puts the flute to her mouth and carefully she fingers the holes to play a few notes. Then she brings the instrument down again "Why did you want to go to Chartsend? It's pretty much at the end of the map. There's not much there, though the plains outside the town are nice for riding."

Sabrina turned to watch Rohk’s foot twitch and thought ‘awe he must be chasing a bunny’ just as the snarling face growls angrily and the twitching appendage rakes its talons through the air. She smiles and sighs like it’s the cutest thing she ever saw. Rohk sleepily licks his lips, or at least tried to and would have if they hadn’t fallen with gravity and forced him to lick his teeth instead. She turns back to Anann explaining something about an old man in robes with a map and a man with eyes that made her sick when her hand slips, dumping what couldn’t have been more than two fingers of water from the glass into her lap. Startled she stands, tipping the chair to loudly crush Rohk’s tails and start a chain reaction of upturned-half-aware hell hound scrambling in a full fiery panic. By the time he had simmered down to an amber boil (which couldn’t have been more than a single minute) Sabrina felt the sting of eyes upon her. She stood there with clenched fists, teeth gritted down hard and a distinct glow in her eyes. The largest piece of broken glass spun to a halt on the floor and it was a wonder why the girl didn’t simply wish the element away that looked like she messed herself. All was silent in what seemed like forever and Sabrina looked as though she would burst into tears. Rohk shoves his nose under her elbow and glares at Anann as if it were her fault. The query about Chartsend would ultimately be left unanswered.

Anann calmly pulls out a handkerchief and holds it out for Sabrina to take, though she suspects the woman might not take it from her, given her careful cleanliness. But the one thing she does notice is the attention of every patron of the inn having their attention turned there, what with the woman's reaction and that of her hound. Quickly she jumps up and steps onto her chair. "Well, I suppose it's no' a bleedin' session wi'hout some spillage!" With that she raises the flute and begins to play a reel, tapping her foot. A roar goes up from the dwarves in the band and they wait a few beats before joining in the tune. The buzz in the inn is back in an instant and nobody looks again at the elf and her hound, they dance and drink and are merry again.... At the end of the dance, there is some applause and Anann bows before slumping back into her seat and draining her tankard again.

Sabrina didn’t take the kerchief, but a few moments in to the friendly save of face and she did finally relax enough to pick up the hair and smile. Her cheeks were still flushed against the paleness of her features, however she was set at ease- and that was a trick Anann could boast about. Nothing blew up, and no one noticed. Sabrina was happy and decided she liked this person, even if she couldn’t remember her name. Rohk, on the other hand was still not sure if this was the type of person Sabrina should associate herself with. She picks up the still-full pitcher, and after a strategic wiping of the rim she takes a long drink right from the pitcher itself… then quickly rethinks the condition of the rest of the pitcher and spits the water back in. All in all it was a fair attempt to say the least. She claps with the other patrons, and even smiles wide enough as to expose an open mouth. She was having fun. Before she forgets this rare fact she secretly pulls a tiny roll of parchment from her belt loop and the smallish golden quill from behind her ear and jots down the reminder of having a good time. The inscription settles in a pearly blue mess with a simple drawing with strong resemblance to Anann herself. On the bottom she also writes ~Ride in Chartsend~ She replaces the quill and the scroll and continues with the merriment of the evening. When Anann slumps back into her seat Sabrina says “Thank you.”

Anann smiles and waves her hand "No worries." Right now her attention does seem to be more with the flute than with the ale, which is probably a good thing. The draught of ale was simply to make her mouth feel less dry, as playing a whistle does tend to leave you with a dry mouth. Slowly her fingers move up and down on the holes, but the flute doesn't touch her lips. She frowns as she notices she missed a few notes there and mentally berates herself for that. Then she looks up at the woman across the table again, with a wry smile now "I'm a bit out of practice. I should really session more." It is clear from her whole attitude that she is a bit rough and ready, perhaps the word is even wild, but there is also a way about her, about the way she holds herself and how she looks about that resembles that of the prim and proper Sabrina. Obviously she had been taught how to behave properly, but had flung a large part of that out of the window... "So what brought you here?" She asks, after taking another draught of ale. She gestures around "I mean, what brought you to the Dragon's Head? Bit of a rough crowd here..."

Sabrina watches her intently, feeling lighter as time passes. She wanted to as ‘what is this session’ but not at risk of sounding a fool.”Dwarves tend to not care as long as they have their bit of gold.” Care about what? Who knew, but she quickly adds “I sleep upstairs, thanks to Dwarven engineering, Rohk fits up the stairs, and like I said; dwarves tend to not care as long as they have their bit of gold.”She tries to remember the first time she came here and why but to no one’s surprise she couldn’t put her finger on it. She saw why Anann felt at ease here, unlike her prim and proper self, Anann blended in with this whole new world like it was second nature.

Anann said, "There's some nice rooms up there, yes" She continues to move her fingers over the holes of the flute in a pensive manner, but her fingers move faster and faster. Eventually she lays the flute on the table with a smile and drawing a deep breath she sits up straight, tilting her hips slightly forward, so her back is straight. She also draws her shoulders back. With the leather vest on now instead of armour, it is obvious she has quite a bosom, but with the massive muscles that come from shooting the war bow, she does look far less feminine than the other elf. Yet with this change in posture, she does draw a few looks, even from her own rangers. "There are worse places for food and entertainment than this place too..."

Sabrina shakes her head. “We don’t eat what we don’t kill… you can never be sure of how it was handled, or if it was acquired in good regard.” As for the drink, it was obvious she didn’t partake. “The rooms are clean, and affordable. Plus, this is closer to my hunting grounds than Larket, which is a good place when I take my time out for studies.” It would seem she had a few places to sleep which could only mean her possessions must be limited to what she carried on her person. “When the skies are fair, mostly we just sleep outside.” She adds in a strong Nuduin accent “And the noise I can do without.”

Anann smiles at the statement about sleeping outside "The Forest is a great place for bugging out, and the Ranges are good if you have some blankets with you." She takes another draught, but this time she does so in a much more civilised manner, probably prompted by the change in posture she just adopted. "The noise is just people having fun... but I can see how it would be bothersome if you try to study. You study at the Tower in Xalious?"

Sabrina laughs almost rudely at the thought of being Xalious trained. Those Nuduins were always proud about their vast knowledge of things in general and viewed common based halls in an equivalent of community school to ensure the Humans and lessers could simply read and write. “I study independently at the House of Ara. My most recent venture is to acquire two advanced magics- One, to be in two places at once and Two, to animate inanimate particles.” What those two areas had in common was unrelateable but for now she goes on to explain her recent dissections of some T-Rex in the Wildlands. With her dense background in nature she was reaching far to obtain semi-inorganic magic. At very least she wanted to study the concept of it. She sounded quite scholarly when explaining it all, even the grotesque bits which she found particularly interesting. She did however frown at the misfortunate amount of baths she had been forced to take due to her recent interests. She also took the opportunity, with all her excitement about the subject to suddenly excuse herself from her company. “Speaking of work and studies, the nocturnes should be out and about right now.” She stands, politely pushing in her chair and snapping her fingers to Rohk. “We have to go!”

Anann listens to the woman explain about her studies, but once she gets to the dissection of T-Rex, she turns to auto-pilot. Her interest and knowledge of nature probably rivals Sabrina's, if not surpassing hers. But where Sabrina's is all scholarly, Anann's is purely practical, a lot related to bushcraft. Just as her companion gets up, a ranger walks in, looking slightly flushed and he rushes towards the archer. With a nod he gives her a note, which she reads quickly. Instantly there is a big smile on her face and she licks her lips excitedly. She calls for the sergeant and gives him instructions. Then she makes ready to go and offers Sabrina a hand "Got to go as well, someone just came looking for me... and I'll be busy all night it would seem" That smile is really bright now, obviously there is something special going on there. She offers a hand to her companion of these past hours "We'll meet again, I reckon."

Sabrina says "Go go!" sharing her excitement and waving her out the door.