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The Swinging Ax is a part of 
Veritas City..
1 Places in The Swinging Ax:
1 Characters Here
Carlita Rowe [5] What can I get for you, sweetheart?
Start Character Here »
Birger blinked, "Well... at least you are legal." He sighed. "I thought you were fourteen... hence why I was worried about touching your ass last night." He said before handing her her food and leaning over. "But, since you are eighteen and your brother says you like your ass being touched." He smirked, taking a piece of her food and popping it in his mouth before laughing and walking off to help a customer.
Yoranda's eyes went wide when he said that he'd thought her to be fourteen and then she burst out laughing. "You thought I was fourteen?" she asked, setting her harp down and all but doubling over in her chair. She straightened up, taking a moment to catch her breath as he set her food down in front of her. She was about to reach over and start eating when Birger leaned over, and the last of her residual laughter subsided immediately when she heard his words. Her mouth fell open slightly in shock before he laughed and left. She slowly turned around, her brown eyes following him as he walked away. "Does that mean you're gonna touch it?" she called after him jokingly, giggling a bit before turning her attention to her food.
Birger looked over at her from where he was, "Depends... you better play your best if you want me to." He said and the patrons laughed. He shook his head at her. She was indeed spunky and couldn't get over it. He loved it, kind of reminded him of Haera, minus the violence. He went around the bar collecting glasses and refilling drinks before going back over to her. "You're up." He said.
Yoranda laughed softly at his words. She couldn't help but to wonder whether or not he was actually going to follow through with it. This was, after all, only the third day they'd known one another, and the second day she'd worked for him. She wouldn't mind if he did, though. She had just finished eating when Birger came over to tell her that she was up. She smiled and nodded. "Off to play my best," she told him with a quick wink before grabbing her instruments, hopping down from her seat, and heading off to her spot.
((lil time skip))
She played the whole evening, alternating between vocals, instrumentals, and singing while she played. She couldn't sing along to the violin because of where it was positioned on her shoulder - she was, after all, very small - but she enjoyed singing along with her harp and playing instrumental songs with the violin. When she'd finished, she was very happy with her performance. She only hoped that Birger would be, too. It was all she could do not to smirk with satisfaction at the thought.
((lil time skip))
She played the whole evening, alternating between vocals, instrumentals, and singing while she played. She couldn't sing along to the violin because of where it was positioned on her shoulder - she was, after all, very small - but she enjoyed singing along with her harp and playing instrumental songs with the violin. When she'd finished, she was very happy with her performance. She only hoped that Birger would be, too. It was all she could do not to smirk with satisfaction at the thought.
Birger waited on people while listening and when he could he would watch her. She was a natural and he could listen to her forever and never tire of it. He waved as the last patron left before locking up. "Ugh... that was a busy night too... dammit, woman... making me actually work." He said and smirked. When she had turned around to put her violent up and came over and gently slid his hand over her ass before giving it a gently smack. "Good work... kid." He smirked and walked off to start cleaning.
Yoranda quietly started packing up her instruments while Birger went to lock up. She was working on gently putting the violin in its case as he spoke, and she laughed without turning around. "Maybe it'll stay like that and you'll realize that you definitely can't handle actually running this place," she teased. She could hear him coming up behind her but thought nothing of it, figuring he was going to clear the table nearest hers. When she felt his hand come to touch her ass, she blinked in surprise, and she almost jumped when his hand gently smacked it. "Wish I could say the same for you," she replied with a slight smirk, shutting the violin case and standing up. "Have a good night," she added before heading out of the tavern, all set for a good night in the hotel room that Istrain had set her and Unarelle up in.
Haera returned a couple days later and walked in through the back of the bar before peeking in. She saw a grumpy looking Istrain and threw a pouch of money at his face, hitting him right in the middle of his face. "And the devil woman returns." Birger said, smirking. "That I have. You see... I tracked the guy down... but then come to find out his dad just wanted me to stop him because dumbass son wanted to kidnap the princess. So I was like... whateven? So instead of taking him to jail I took him to Marcus and Marcus all but slaughtered the guy. Ugh... he has grown into such a fine man... oh and I had to deliver a woman to my mom's place. But I got paid shit ton... which... I mean double really because the dad had told me what he was giving me." She smiled and gave Istrain another pouch. "Rare ass jewels. I don't need them, but I knew you knew someone who did." She said with a smile and Birger just stared at Istrain like 'I told you so.'
Haera returned a couple days later and walked in through the back of the bar before peeking in. She saw a grumpy looking Istrain and threw a pouch of money at his face, hitting him right in the middle of his face. "And the devil woman returns." Birger said, smirking. "That I have. You see... I tracked the guy down... but then come to find out his dad just wanted me to stop him because dumbass son wanted to kidnap the princess. So I was like... whateven? So instead of taking him to jail I took him to Marcus and Marcus all but slaughtered the guy. Ugh... he has grown into such a fine man... oh and I had to deliver a woman to my mom's place. But I got paid shit ton... which... I mean double really because the dad had told me what he was giving me." She smiled and gave Istrain another pouch. "Rare ass jewels. I don't need them, but I knew you knew someone who did." She said with a smile and Birger just stared at Istrain like 'I told you so.'
Istrain was sitting at the bar when a pouch of money seemingly came flying out of nowhere, hitting him right in the face before landing in front of him. "What the fuck?" he asked aloud, but Birger already seemed to have it figured out, and the moment he heard "devil woman", he knew exactly who it was. He looked up as Haera came to join them, explaining to Birger the details of her mission. Istrain totally wasn't following almost anything that she said, but that was fine. He raised an eyebrow when she handed over another pouch. "The jewels make sense, but why do I get money?" he asked, holding up the first pouch curiously.
Haera blinked like it should have been obvious, "You look like a bum, so I mistook you for one and threw some money at you. Now give it back since you are clearly not homeless." She said and reached her hand out for him to give it back to her, a smirk on her lips. She kind of missed the asshole and she knew he probably was mad at her, but she really wanted to take the mission because of the jewels and the fact that stealing babies are a no no. He looked better than how she left him and was glad for that.
Istrain smiled a bit and rolled his eyes, handing over the pouch of money. "Got it," he replied with a nod. "A classic case of 'wealthy man mistaken for homeless poor man'. An easy mistake, we've all made it a time or two," he added teasingly, shaking his head a bit. He'd almost started missing her while she was gone, though now that she was here he was remembering that he should have known better than to start missing her.
Haera smiled and placed the money where she got it and looked at Birger. "You owe me five hundred." She said and Birger laughed. "You deadline is not even close to being up, stop being a greedy bitch. You JUST got paid." He said and she smiled. "But I gotta be like Istrain. So rich I look poor." She frowned and Birger rolled his eyes and sighed. "I thought I stop by and see if hobo was here, but he is and I did what I needed to. I am going put this money up. See y'all!" She waved and headed for the door.
Istrain raised an eyebrow slightly when Haera said that Birger owed her money, but then Birger told her that her deadline wasn't up. He did have to laugh a bit when Haera said she wanted to be 'so rich she looked poor', because that was a new one and he actually quite enjoyed it. "Better than being so poor you look rich. I've seen plenty of poor people spend the last of their money on nice clothes and I just...don't understand that?" he murmured, shaking his head slightly. He waved at her as she left before turning his hazel eyes towards Birger, a curious eyebrow cocked somewhat. "You guys make a bet or something?" he asked, curious as to what that five hundred was all about. Part of him was wondering whether Birger had made the same bet with Haera that he'd made with Istrain - and if Haera said that Birger owed her money, that meant she felt nothing. Which was fine. Istrain was over it. He'd let himself get caught up in how sweet her kisses felt and had forgotten that it made little sense to care for her as anything more than a friend.
Birger looked over to him when he asked if it was a bet, "Yeah, but that was during the war. So you can fuck off with trying to find excuses." He said and Haera blinked and turned around. "Excuses for what?" She asked and Birger waved a dismissive hand, "go put your money up before I freaking start giving it to my patrons." He said. They all cheered and she huffed, "Neverm, ya bums!" She said before laughing and walking out. When Birger felt like she wouldn't come back a second later, Birger leaned down, "Even Yora thinks you are being a dramatic fourteen year old." He said.
Istrain couldn't help it, he smirked a little when Birger commented that Yoranda thought he was acting like a dramatic fourteen-year-old. "As if she's one to talk," he murmured with a shake of his head before taking a small sip of his drink. "Yora used to be totally fucking crazy. It started when she was like, twelve, and our parents were at their wit's end. Didn't know what to do with her. Not even Una could convince her to chill out. Then she had another relapse when she was fifteen and that straightened her out," he said, shaking his head. "Sad that it had to come to that, but nobody had any clue what to do about it."
Birger liked finding things out about Yoranda. "Well... teens test their boundaries and the smart ones learn from it. You think me and Haera were good people? I mean... we are and were... just got wild. At one point we thought Haera was never going to return home. She told her mom she was heading out to do some damn stupid ass job that I told her NOT to do, but Haera knows best... and she went. Took her almost a year to return. Poor Penelo thought she was dead because she never wrote... never gave us a heads up she was alive. When she came back... she changed, for the better... well kind of... she didn't beat dwarfs, she never touched the girls to begin with, up the moment she saw them. So... I don't know what happened... she never talks about it." He shrugged.
Istrain listened curiously, intrigued by Birger's story. "I wouldn't say she doesn't beat dwarves any more," he said, a slight smirk coming to his lips. "It was probably some sort of deathbed revelation about life and stuff. Yora doesn't really like to talk about what she was thinking while she was sick, all we know is that once she got better she stopped acting out and mellowed somewhat. Well, mellow's not really the word for it, she's still Yora," he added with a laugh and a shake of his head, "but you know what I mean. As for me...I like to think that my entire life has been something of a rebellious phase," he said with a smirk.
Birger smirked, "She didn't per say beat you up, as much as try and make you into a man." He teased with a laugh. "Ahh kind of reminds me of Lorelei. She was sick for most of her life around twelve or so she was kind of better, but if she even got a cold it was like right back to square one, but she has been practicing medicine since she could read so... and that is all she ever did. She was determined to make herself and others better... a real sweet girl, kind of went through a rebelious phase while she was with her fiance, but she mellowed out and now ugh... I could cry... my baby is growing up. Thinking of fucking sisters... she owes me some money." He glared before sighing, knowing he was never going to see that money. "But YOU... make me wanna shake you sometimes." He said before patting his head. "Ahh... got that out my system." He teased. Birger made it a point to not tell him what happened with him and his sister last night. The tavern got busy and after half an hour Haera showed up and went straight to the kitchen to hassle the cook for some food.
She came out a bit, happy as can be, with food. "Mine~." She said and sat down to eat. "We still gotta fuckin talk, kid." She said after taking a bite and swallowing. "Don't think you can get out of it because I was gone a few days." She said.
She came out a bit, happy as can be, with food. "Mine~." She said and sat down to eat. "We still gotta fuckin talk, kid." She said after taking a bite and swallowing. "Don't think you can get out of it because I was gone a few days." She said.
Istrain raised an eyebrow as he listened to what Birger said. That definitely sounded like Yoranda. The times they'd expected to lose her had been too many to count, though Yoranda hadn't been sick endlessly for so long - rather, hers came occasionally, every few years or so with a relapse that sent them back to panicking the way they had when it had first happened. Istrain could only hope that such a thing wouldn't happen while they were here, because the twins were in no position to deal with Yoranda's illness right now - especially not if their family sent someone looking for them. He glanced up when Haera came in, though he didn't say anything until she came and sat down. "Hey," he said briefly while she took her first bite. When she said they had to talk, though, he raised an eyebrow. "And here I was, thinking that your leaving made it so we had nothing to talk about any more. Silly me," he said sarcastically.
Haera huffed, "You would think that. So damn dramatic... cute... especially Una's reactions. Ugh I could beat a bitch who touches her. Put her in a glass box and keep her pure forever." She said and mmm'ed at her food. "When are you gonna be free?" She asked him. "I mean... because sitting in a tavern and staring at Birger's ass takes up a lot of someone's time." Haera said and Birger looked over, "You fuckin starin at my ass, boy?" He asked with a smirk.
Istrain chuckled a bit at Haera's comment about his sister. "I'm pretty sure Una's already built her own little glass box and it's got a guard dog and everything," he said, shaking his head. He smirked a bit at Haera's comment about staring at Birger's ass, glancing up when Birger spoke to him. "You know it," he replied. "All the damn time." Then he turned back to Haera. "I'm always free. Barynn's fine, the twins are off doing who even knows what...I guess Yora will be here in a bit for dinner, but either way, they don't need me. I'm only here to pay for their hotel room and after a few more nights I'm pretty sure Yora will have that covered on her own. Then I can get back on the road and start being busy again, but until then, I'm free," he said with a smile. It was going to be nice getting back to work. He'd done a bit of trading, buying and selling on the island, but it would be good to get back to traveling - and get back to bedding pretty girls at every stop along the way, since what few single women there were on the island seemed to be getting scared away by Haera.
Haera shook her head and finished eating. "If your cook wasn't married, Bir." She said jokingly before dragging Istrain off to Birger's quarters upstairs and sitting down on his bed. "So we need to be on the same page here. I don't like this halfing around and then you being so damn grouchy. Don't think we don't freaking know. So you wanna tell me what got you dick in a bunch?" She asked.
Istrain followed Haera up to Birger's quarters, a part of him dreading the conversation they were about to have. He had no idea where she stood on the matter. He hoped she didn't have feelings for him, though, so she wouldn't be too hurt when he said he wasn't interested. He sat down beside her, raising an eyebrow as he heard her question. "I don't think I follow," he said. "What do I not think you don't know?"
Haera stared in complete aw at the slowness in front of him. "I have no idea what the fuck came out of your mouth, but why the hell are you so damn grumpy about. I am sorry I kissed you that day and I am glad I made the choice to leave the other night while you were high because I would fucking hate to see the mood you'd be in now." She said, whatever she had been feeling had gone when she saw the look on his face. Haera wasn't about to tell him she had maybe liked him more than a friend. Now to just get that five hundred from Birger.
Istrain frowned a bit. "Right, and I'm sorry I kissed you, too, and I'm glad you left. Is there anything else to say?" he asked, annoyed now. "I'm grumpy because I'm getting sick of this fucking island. Don't flatter yourself, Haera - I'm getting stir crazy and that's all it is. It's got nothing to do with you." He was pretty sure that was the truth. Perhaps it was Haera's leaving that had made him start to want to leave as well - granted, his grumpy mood had started because she'd gone and run off after he'd kissed her, but being separated from the situation had made those feelings fade.