Snippet #2529795

Claw's Haven was quite loud when Al entered and she nearly winced at the volume. Although still early in the day, shifters bustled around, laughed, clanged tankards, and talked as if the building was packed from wall to wall. She shook her head and used her hearing and smell to guide her to the bar. A deep voiced man who seemed to be at least two inches shorter than her (not that she actually knew but his voice came from below) greeted her. "How may I help you on this fine evening, Miss?"
He was polite and had kindness in his voice. She liked these places where rivalries between shifter species and clans did not exist. It was a place to relax for a little while and pretend shifters weren't being hunted or having some sort of feud over territories. With a smile Al asked, "If I may, I would like something to eat and drink please. However," She frowned a little, "I do not have any money on me."
"How do you plan on paying?" He did not like turning any sort of shifter away but this place was a business and he could not hand out free food to anyone. He wondered what this lithe young woman would do. Would she offer her services to one of the men or women for food? It wouldn't be the first time, nor would it be the last. Would she turn and leave? Would she threaten him? He had a hard time reading her, even when he tried to scent and read her body language.
"I have this." She pulled out a gold pendant in the shape of a tree with three emeralds and two rubies on it.
The bartender whistled as he inspected the finely crafted piece of jewelry. "This is too much for the combination of food and drink. Do you have anything of lesser value."
Al shook her head. "Please, take it. Buy a round for everyone here and who enters until the price is paid."
"You must really want to get rid of it." The man looked at the woman hard and noticed twin scars through her full lips.
"I do." She despised that thing almost as much as she hated the man that gave it to her. It should have been something to cherish but instead it was a collar that chained her to him. "Actually, until I leave or run out of funds please use that as how to pay my meals. I do not know when I will be leaving here and thus I will need food. However, all those here may have a round on me."
"Yes, ma'am, as you wish. What would you like to eat and drink?" He pocketed the pendant and waited for her answer.
"Um..." Al cocked her head and scented the air for what the kitchen was preparing. "Steak and berries please with water."
"That's all?" Al nodded. "Take a seat at the bar and I will bring you your dinner." The man left to place the order as Al gracefully took a seat. The bar tender watched as she closed her eyes and waited, on occasion tensing whenever someone came too close. He found her interesting and had a strong desire to watch over her. He knew that this fragile looking woman could take care of herself (she had lived thus far and must know the ropes of survival), but his fatherly side was surfacing. His eyes scanned the room and noticed more than one shifter looking her way. She had a strange beauty to her that lapped against a person like the ocean brushing against the sand. She was beautiful in a haunting sort of way, almost as if she were a ghost. He continued to watch over her carefully while she stayed in Claw's Haven.
Once Al had finished, she thanked the man she knew had been watching her throughout the evening and left. It was dark now not that she was never out of the dark but her senses told her twilight had come. Less humans were out and the nightlife was waking. Although she knew she should run back to the safety of Claw's Haven, Al continued walking. She sang quietly to herself an ancient lullaby from her childhood as she walked back to the park to sit under the almost pregnant moon.