ABS FIESTA REDUX

[carolcat]

"Oh, gods," Cualli says, shocked. "Arkhip, I'm so sorry." She puts her arms around him and pulls him into a tight, comforting hug.

"You probably really need a drink right about now," she murmurs.

[Ad Bot]

[Mr. Hurricane]

"I wonder if the dogs would like it here. They handled Mercana pretty well,"

Jaakko looks around at the rest of the store.

"It wasn't this crowded though,"

[Qwepir]

"Oh, gods," Cualli says, shocked. "Arkhip, I'm so sorry." She puts her arms around him and pulls him into a tight, comforting hug.

"You probably really need a drink right about now," she murmurs.

Arkhip accepts, but does not reciprocate the hug.
: Yeah, but I have to drive us back. Oh well. You ready to go?

"I wonder if the dogs would like it here. They handled Mercana pretty well,"
Jaakko looks around at the rest of the store.
"It wasn't this crowded though,"

Once you look back at the bar in front of you, you see your food has arrived.

[carolcat]

Arkhip accepts, but does not reciprocate the hug.
: Yeah, but I have to drive us back. Oh well. You ready to go?

"Yeah, I'm ready," she nods. "Do you have anything to drink here at home for when we get back? 'Cause... you could use one."

[Qwepir]

"Yeah, I'm ready," she nods. "Do you have anything to drink here at home for when we get back? 'Cause... you could use one."

: You keep saying that. Are you trying to get me drunk?

[carolcat]

: You keep saying that. Are you trying to get me drunk?

Cualli blinks. "What? No. I just mean that... you've been through a lot these past few days, drinks weren't allowed on the carrier so it's been a while since we've shared a drink, I'd imagine you probably want to take your mind off... all the bad news..."

She shakes her head. "Forget it, let's go." She pulls open the front door and starts to head outside.

[Tayasaurus]

"I wonder if the dogs would like it here. They handled Mercana pretty well,"

Jaakko looks around at the rest of the store.

"It wasn't this crowded though,"

"They'd be fine. If they're good with people."

[Mr. Hurricane]

"They'd be bigger than most of the people in here," Jaakko remarks.

He takes a bite of the sushi, and find that it's alright, but very much unlike Aesthian or Mercanan food, however still deeming it to be better than what they eat in the Delta.

"This is alright," he says.

[Tayasaurus]

"Sushi isn't exactly gourmet to some people yeah. We'll find way crazier stuff to eat later. Whenever you're satisfied we can head for the hotel and plan our moves from there."

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko takes a couple minutes to finish his food and acknowledges that he's ready to go.

[Tayasaurus]

Tippy shoulders her pack and stands up.

"Oh, for future reference, mind who you tip. It's not exactly customary here and in some places it's considered rude. Let's go get a cab."

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko stands.

"It wouldn't matter right now. I didn't exchange any currency yet, so I couldn't tip them anyway. I'll keep it in mind though,"

[Qwepir]

Cualli blinks. "What? No. I just mean that... you've been through a lot these past few days, drinks weren't allowed on the carrier so it's been a while since we've shared a drink, I'd imagine you probably want to take your mind off... all the bad news..."

She shakes her head. "Forget it, let's go." She pulls open the front door and starts to head outside.

Arkhip drives you through town, and you finally get to see the town itself up close. Unlike most Aesthian cities you've been to, there seem to be no buildings over five stories in height, no oversaturation of advertising billboards, traffic is relatively light considering what time it is, and a number of the buildings you pass are painted in bright colors instead of being left in various shades of concrete and brick (likely an attempt to combat the perpetual winter depression by providing a splash of color in an otherwise uniformly grey and brown environment).
The bar itself, however, is not one of those brightly colored well-lit buildings. It is a dull, rust-colored brick and mortar structure almost as dark on the inside as it is outside. Not that this seems to bother most of the patrons, as the atmosphere is just as lively as you'd expect from a bar full of a couple dozen dockworkers who just finished their shifts. Eremit grabs a menu, finds Cualli and himself a table near the windows looking out towards the sea, and proceeds to spend the grazing on sea-based finger food and occasionally drinking. As usual, he is not the most talkative person, and it takes over an hour before Cualli can coax more than one sentence out of him at a time.

[Tayasaurus]

Tippy and Jaakko head to exit the airport

[carolcat]

Cualli gazes out the window, resting her chin on one hand and holding her drink with the other. The view of the sea was nice, with the stars and lights reflected off the dark water. Though not exactly the most romantic place to have dinner at, the drinks were good and Cualli discovered that seafood really wasn't half bad, especially fresh like this.

She made small talk with Arkhip through the night, listening to him gradually open up with each drink. It was nice getting him to actually converse and it made her think back to the night she'd first had him over at her house. Her ears redden at the recollection of pulling him away into her room to pass the night together.

"Arkhip, what do you think of me?" She realizes that the question is probably sudden. "Like... really think of me." Her eyes are on him now, focused on his face.