“Aye, I hate it too.”
A toothy grin and a sadistic snigger in tow, one of many patrons at the Jovial Jackalope sat comfortably by the fire which illuminated the room in a warm glow; lights and shadows dancing around the tavern as if in rhythm to the music.
“The drinks are terrible, huh?” A young woman spoke, running a finger gently across the feathery figure that had so carelessly dipped its flattened head into the mug of ale and letting out a whimpering ‘Hoot’ at the prospect of something else to drink but muddy water from the canals, only to jut backwards in disgust and slipping off the table it had perched itself on. This was no laughing matter, and soon after recovering from its predicament the owl shook a single ashen-white wing at the woman’s head.
“Alright,” She continued to snigger. “Alright. I’m sorry.”
Maybe it would’ve been better had she left her companion to its own devices after all. Birds never do well indoors, and the crowd of curious drunkards wanting to stroke the cute birdie had grown steadily with each passing hour did little to make the creature less on edge. And if she was honest with herself, they were getting on her nerves at about the same rate.
Brown eyes glanced at the crumbled note on the table. ‘Jovial Jackalope tavern, weekday evenings’. If it weren’t for the promise of work she would’ve stumbled out the place in search for something less irritating. Gods she hated waiting…
And then they entered. It was difficult not to notice the dwarf dressed head-to-toe in heavy armour shuffling into the scene, accompanied by a hooded figure that solidified her suspicions.
Reaching for her satchel and allowing the owl the perch on her left shoulder she decided to weigh her chances. If these weren’t the lot from the notice, then she could always excuse herself and be on her way. No harm done.
As she approached, another individual had taken a seat at the table.
“I knew dwarves were stoic and guarded.” The woman jutted a finger at the dwarf, lips contorting into a weak smile. “Didn’t think they took that literally.”