Furscape MUCK

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^ Title | To free drinks |
^ Storyline |  |
^ IC date | 2210-01-03|
^ Location | Epiphyte, [[Annyrion]] |
^ Summary | Some New Year's celebration between jobs |
^ Characters | [[Flame]], [[Jericho]], [[Kalysa]], [[Orion]], [[Sam]], [[Uriko]] |

----

After reviewing the contents of the worm, and having forwarded the report via electronic means to Pandora as well as the Ghueri, the group crosses the street from the clinic to the Hotel's cantina for a few drinks to celebrate the holidays. There are a number of other patrons at tables and the bar at the cantina, a handful of which might take eyes off of Kalysa's santa outfit for at least a moment. She seems to be busying herself with the inventory review from the clinic via a portable device she's brought with her. Her jinglebell necklace rings merrily when she bumps the doorway on the way in while her eyes are not in front of her--even though Orion is ushering the group through the doors with a stereotypical smirk as she passes.

Uriko follows after Kalysa and the others - despite being overdressed, at least she won't draw as much attention as the other tiger! She is thankful for this - but not stupid enough to say it, so the fact remains unstated.

Jericho is following along jazzed up more then usual, but not that much really, but his spirits are up and he's whistling a light merry tune

Sam pulls out a PDA and looks over it for a moment. While Sam's expression suggests it's serious business, anyone looking over Sam's shoulders could tell that it's just a game of Mahjong tiles. There are a few taps, and the pda goes back where it came from, before Sam continues following after the others.

"Muddy" is at the bar, sitting half-turned on the stool in view of the door. A pint of something strong is proximal to his mouth as the group comes in the door. His tail swooshes -- not so much in recognition of anyone arriving... but at the shapely waitress bending over to set down a tray of mezcals at the table in front of him.

Uriko follows after Kalysa and the others - she looks much more comfortable than she did at the clinic, dressed once again in what are, to her, more sensible clothes - instead of the fancy blue silk dress and jewelry. She's not unaware of all the eyes on Kalysa - particularly glad she had the chance to change before heading over to the cantina, in fact.

*eyepop* ... The fox-in-disguise notices Kalysa (over the rise of the waitress's rump). . . happy hour is an under-statement here.

A drunken ursine recom at the corner of the bar slides off his stool after leaving a few credits and stumbles heavily across the room, catching himself before the door to wait for the others to clear the area. He offers a tip of his hat and a hiccup, followed by a stupid grin. "Haffy new wear!" The words are obviously slurred.

Sam notices "Muddy" and offers only a glare, in keeping with their previous public altercation. You've gotta keep consistent. The feline glances around, trying to spot a nice place to sit down.

Jericho just smirks a touch at the reactions Kalysa gets, perhaps feeling a touch sorry for the woman buuuuut, he saunters towards the bar regardless and looks back to the group, "Firs' rounds on me folks, what's everyone wan'."

Orion waits for the bear to pass, shaking his head before going through the door himself, looking around the cantina to see who's about. He takes note of 'Muddy' not much differently than he does anyone else despite having seen this particular disguise of Flame's himself at the survival shop. "What do you think I'm here for, tea and biscuits? Get me a beer!"

For his part, the fox smiles at Sam, if only to irritate her more, and then goes back to mentally oogling the ladies. . .

"Just something light, Jer," Uriko responds, "Beer's fine I guess," she nods - not seeming to care heavily one way or the other, to be honest. Liquor is liquor! And a bet's a bet - sad to say for the other tiger...

Kalysa looks up from her work to answer Jericho, and then freezes. The insides of her ears are turning a little red, as she isn't sure where to look to avoid the eyes. She doesn't quite register everything, saying "I don't know, surprise me." before she realizes it and regrets it. "Er... actually..." She forces her eyes to the bar to try and sort out what she should order, giving a long silence.

Flame clears his throat. "Double mezcal on the rocks --," He grins and motions to the bartender that it's for Kalysa. With a tip of his hat, he adds: "Happy christmas, doc."

A loud 'woo!' is heard from the corner of the establishment. Someone's excited to be here!

Jericho holds up a finger for two beers to the nearest waitress or bar tender available then looks back to Kalysa as he perks his brows and maintains atleast eye contact, before looking back to Muddy with a smirk and just shrugs, finishing his order with a whiskey sour for himself

Orion takes his beer and puts in an order for cheesy fries while he's at the bar - but not before his ears catch 'Muddy's' greeting to Kalysa. He offers only a quick glance between the two.

Sam orders vodka from the bartender and glances around. What a busy place! The feline just stares off for now, mostly interested in crowd watching.

A cheesy rock ballad on comes blaring across the sound system. . .

The bartender slides the mezcal to Kalysa...

Kalysa bites her lip and tries to put the mobile device she's carrying into her... pocket? Hmm. There don't appear to be any. She gives 'Muddy' an embarassed shrug, putting the device on the bar and having a seat leaving a stool between them. She covers her lap with the closest available napkin. The device has a list of medical supplies displayed on screen - nothing non-standard. "Thanks..." She has a sip while she watches him out of the corner of her eye. The color in her ears has not yet faded.

Flame smiles evenly. "Don't mention it, doc." He tips his hat and lifts his glass to her -- making no comment on the outfit for now.

Jericho collects his whiskey and swings by Uriko to offer her the beer seeing Orion has collected his own then finds a place to sit for now and crowd watch himself

Orion walks just past Kalysa with his newfound plate of fries, stopping a short distance from the bar between her and Flame. While there is an empty stool there, it would be quite pretentious of him to take the seat between them so he avoids getting too close. He holds a hand out to 'Muddy'. "Hey there, good to see you havn't been run over by your livestock yet! I see you two have met?" He makes a more obvious glance between Kalysa and Flame this time.

Kalysa relaxes a little, seeing she's not being hounded immediately now that she's settled. She looks around the room and actually takes everything in properly for the first time, offering a few patients that recognize her only a court nod rather than looking as embarassed. She steals some fries as they pass her without even seeming to think about it, and remains silent as she chews. She seems just as curious as Orion as to the fact that 'Muddy' has met both of them, glancing between the two.

Uriko picks the beer out of Jericho's hand, glancing over at Kalysa and 'muddy' and then back at Jericho again. "Thanks!" she pipes up, nodding as she takes a sip. "I can't believe she actually wore that to a bar," she comments, letting out something between a snicker and a giggle...

Kalysa's attention is, of course, immediately diverted when she overhears Uriko - along with a look of displeasure.

Sam gets the vodka and glances towards the others. Well, now that the alcohol is served, there's reason to be a little bit more sociable. The cat heads over a bit closer to Orion, Kalysa and 'Muddy'.

Jericho just smirks and gives Uriko's shoulder a squeeze, "Best not to mention things out loud or louder then a whisper yanno?" he winks then takes a sip of his whiskey, "But ah, she's a strong gal t'be keepin up with a bargain. Even if it does suck." he tips a salute with his glass.

Uriko waves at Kal nervously, "I didn't mean it like that," she whispers to Jericho, "Well as any insult. I just mean, there's no way in hell I would've gone through with it! I can tell you that much. Anyway," she shrugs, taking another swig of her beer (albeit a small one), "Who's that guy she's talking to?"

Flame swooshes his tail and replies to Orion. "We sure have. Doc' here's new in town an'ah gave her directions -- or something like it -- we're at Pacos -- and if ah' recall correctly, there was also mezcal, after shift, eh doc?" He smiles easy at Kalysa.

Flame adds, "All settled into your new place now?" (to the tigress)

Kalysa seems slightly amused at the question. "Me?" She shakes her head. "I'll call myself settled when I stay in one place for more than a month." She raises her glass. "To free drinks."

Orion raises his beer. "That's the best kind." He remarks to the others, "This is 'Muddy'... Mr. Baines, was it?" He glances back to Flame for a second before turning back. "I guess he's a mutual acquaintance now." He gets the introductions out of the way. "We have a Jericho, Tamara, and Uriko here this evening." He motions to each in turn to indicate them to Flame.

Sam bows slightly at the name 'Tamara', to indicate who the name belongs to, and sits down nearby. "Ah, 'Muddy'. That's a nickname, or parents with poor taste?"

Jericho just salutes with his glass towards 'Muddy' and smiles, "Allo." before looking back to Uriko, "Well what's done is done I spose eh? An' I dunno, depends on the bet and the wager as to what folks do or lay on the line," he chuckles

Flame drinks and looks hard-pressed to not give his full attention to Kalysa. . . but he can't ignore Orion. "Right...Hey ya'll." He offers. And at Sam, there's another easy grin. "Be' a bit of a nickname... Augustin Ebenezer Baines III's a bit of a mouthful for most folk, eh? And sounds pretentious." He chuckles...and looks back at Kalysa. "You got a middle name?"

Kalysa sips at her drink, her ears now a normal color. "Talor. Kalysa Talor Astrin, P.A.C. if you wish to know the whole moniker." Another female recom walks through the cantina doors - a peppy-spirited hyena, still wearing a small nametag with the clinic insignia on it. It's too far away to read. Kalysa spots her out of the corner of her eye and watches carefully as if plotting something... something devious. The hyena has a certain happy bounce in her step as she walks across the room to a table already occupied by another. On her way, she looks over and notices the costumed tigress with a note of satisfaction in her reactionary grin, but she does not come over to greet her. Kalysa has already turned back to avoid letting the hyena know she was looking, returning to the conversation. "Also a bit of a mouthful once you include credentials."

Flame mrrs, "Well, you know what they say -- she can't be convicted, she's earned her degree." He chuckles. 

"Oh, wow, so parents with poor taste -and- a nickname. My sympathies." Sam takes a sip of the drink and glances over to watch the way that Kalysa and the hyena seem to interact distantly.

Jericho snerks glad he hadnt started to tip into his whiskey again before he shakes his head at Tamara's comment and just relaxes for the moment.

Orion's attention is diverted by two short beeps and a three-note scale from his pocket. Fortunate for Flame, perhaps. He pulls his PDA out and has a look at the screen, but does interrupt Kalysa once more to flash the screen in front of her after tapping her shoulder to get her attention. He excuses himself to the others. "I have to take this, sorry to run right after introductions..." He makes his way out the doors staring at the screen as if reading something.

Kalysa rolls her eyes a little but smiles nonetheless. Her quick glance at the PDA renders her confused and blinking shortly after.

Flame nods at Orion and waves, seeing him off. He ignores Sam's catty comment, seeing as how there are bigger things -- better things -- at stake. e.g. the half-naked woman sitting next to him. He slides over closer. "Hope you don't mind, doc -- didn't wanna yell over people or hog up the whole counter. So were you sayin' you mean to ship out of here in a month?"

Jericho notes Kalysa's expression and Orion's disappearance and just lifts a brow of his own....then knocks back the rest of his whiskey which seems to be the best course of action at the moment

Sam's PDA is set to vibrate at a new message, and it does so silently. The cat pulls out the PDA and looks at it but... it's only to find another pair in the Mahjong tile game. The messages remain unchecked for this moment.

Kalysa turns to face the bar squarely as the rancher scoots over, but it's more of a subconcious than pointedly deliberate act. She replies, "Oh, I'm employed through a contract agency. I'm a floater." She hesitates, then decides to explain, "That is, I cover hours when--and where--I'm needed at the time. So I don't stay in one place for long." She glances about, then pulls Orion's plate of fries over from where he left it on his way out. She's such a thief!

Orion can be seen out the window of the cantina with his PDA/phone up to his ear. Looks like he's debating with someone.

Flame tailflicks. "Yeah, know the feelin' -- did a short trick as a space trader 'fore ah' sold off the ship and bought into the ranch."

Sam notes idly, overhearing Flame, "I haven't quite skipped onto buying a ranch thing, not that I see the appeal." The feline keeps looking at the screen of the PDA, and turns it just right so that the privacy screen filters out anyone who might be trying to watch before reading the text message, though it looks more like a puzzled, frustrated gesture at a futile game than just reading a message.

Jericho saunters up to the bar to order another whiskey sour as he looks towards what folks are still left of the originals and inquires around, "Refills anyone?"

Orion stops pacing with his conversation and turns to look through the window. He says into the phone, "She's here." While it's not audible, it might be possible to read his lips. He moves out of view of the window.

Flame smiles and nods at Sam (who is increasingly annoying). He notes to Kal, as he checks his watch (discreetly bumping a knob on the side of it): "Sometime you oughta try the fries at Guyos -- and the wings for that matter."

Kalysa muches 'her' fries and sips at her drink. She's purposefully taking it very slow, voicing her pass on the refills. "I've heard good things about the place from the regular clinic staff. There aren't too many upscale sit-downs in Epiphyte, but the small places are surprisingly satisfying." The device she left on the bar does not light up, play sound, or vibrate - its no more than an inventory tool that actually belongs to the clinic.

Sam turns a little ways again, still seeming to be working on the same puzzle, in such a way that the privacy screen allows some people to view it. The feline just looks annoyed for a moment and slips the PDA away. The feline just takes another sip from the vodka and glances around silently, likely to 'Muddy''s relief.

Flame nods. "If you don't mind the trek, there's a nice place in Savakatan." He shrugs and takes a sip of his dress. "'course, the zepplin flight makes it easy."

Orion walks back in through the doors, holding his PDA at his side as he rejoins the group. "Hey there, did you miss-" He eyes the plate of fries. "Me?" He takes a deep breath and frowns a little at Kalysa.

Flame takes the liberty of discretely ordering another round for he and the tigeress  -- gotta have something to wash down those fries!

Jericho settles his tush down at the bar as he looks to Orion and waggles the fresh glass of whisky he's gotten, "Refill?" he smirks, "An who got yer ear this late?"

Kalysa swallows the fry in her mouth and fends off the frowning fox with an impish grin. How can it not work? When she turns back around she seems puzzled. "Is my glass fuller?"

Sam turns to face Orion, stating matter-of-factly, "Sure, missed you a ton. I spent the whole time doing nothing but hoping you'd come back." The feline finishes off the glass of vodka and puts it aside.

Flame smiles. "Nah, your eyes are just playin' tricks after a long shift."

Orion rolls his eyes, reaching across the bar to steal a couple of his own fries back before replying to Jericho in a quiet manner, "I'll pass on more alcohol. You might want to read this." He assumes Jericho potentially willing and useful company for such an endeavor and passes him the PDA, which displays the published contract terms: all standard operating expenses covered, plus a sizeable bonus for each research team member or data file fully recovered. Split evenly between involved parties.

Kalysa hmms... and takes another sip. She regards the glass further, seemingly unconvinced and trying to sort this out.

Jericho hums and just reads over the PDA information and just perks his brows up before looking longways over at Orion as he takes a sip of his whiskey first before setting down the glass with a smirk, "Almost seems too good t'be true eh?"

Orion shrugs at Jericho, then replies quietly, "There's already a couple contract agencies on it. They check people out, I think its real."

A small group of boys gets up from their table across the room, making their way with some noise as they laugh and whoop about this and that, obviously drinking but not out of their minds. They file by the bar in a line. Each one mumbles an 'Excuse me' or 'Pardon' as they pass Kalysa, who jumps a little as each one passes her. She becomes progressively more perturbed with each, trying to get a look at Orion's PDA now out of curiosity. As the second to last boy walks behind her, her eyes snap open in surprise and she whirls around on her stool, grabbing him by his collar with both fists! She stands up off the stool with him, holding him away with her elbows and raising him a couple inches off of the floor! The tigress hisses in her Newport accent, making it very clear that she isn't all tea and crumpets. "Do that again and you will receive far more than coal in your stocking this year, bucko."

Jericho would almost be surprised as he glances over to Kalysa and perks a brow then smirks at the boys, "Bes' be listenin' to 'er. Less you end up with the doc's tools on ya." he makes a snipping motion with his right paw then looks back to Orion curiously, "Well, gotta tell Pan I suppose then get our butts movin'?"

Sam blinks a couple of times at Kalysa's sudden reaction to the boys. Figuring that they deserve whatever might come their way, though, the snow leopard doesn't really pay it much mind.

Flame chuckles at Kalysa. . . Oh the familial resemblence. He regards the kid in the air. Tsk. And remains, for all intents and purposes seemingly oblivious to the "deals" being spoken of.

Orion catches what's going on and pointedly eyes the others who havn't yet garnered Kalysa's wrath... mostly to make sure they don't since he knows from experience that she doesn't back down. He motions with a tilt of his head for them to keep moving.

Kalysa drops the one she picked up without much ceremony, and he stumbles to regain his balance. "Bugger off." She sits back down only when he's offered a quick 'Sorry!' and ran off to stay with his friends. The tigress huffs, then straightens her bangs. A hyena's laughter is always unique, and quite apparent amid the din of the cantina. It elicits a grim, resolved expression from Kalysa. Not having forgotten the subject at hand, she cranes her neck to see the PDA screen, squinting at the tiny print from her distance.

Orion catches her looking and glances sideways before handing the PDA to her next. "I know you're going to find out soon enough. Here."

Sam smiles at the sight of the young man running off. There's nothing quite as heartwarming as that. The snow leopard's ears twitch slightly at the sound of the hyena laughing, and a thoughtful expression appears on Sam's face.

Kalysa examines the contents of the screen carefully, facing the bar squarely once more. The screen would be visible to adjacent seats.

Jericho just watches the kid run off, resisting the urge to stick a foot in the retreat for good times sake but, he's a good boy for now as he just looks towards the sound of the Hyena curiously before losing himself in his own thoughts of a contract.

Flame glances curiously at the screen being passed around. "Ex mil?" He asks Kalysa.

Kalysa remarks, "Pays for school." She holds the screen a little closer, making it more difficult to see as she works with the unit, logging into another system to check her own messages.

Flame tailflicks and sips his drink.

Sam watches everyone else pass around this PDA with a raised brow, quietly.

Orion looks at Kalysa expectantly. "I was letting you borrow that for a bit, not keep it, you know."

Kalysa replies, "I know. Just a minute." She discreetly logs out of her accounts and hands the device back. "When do we leave?" Her attention is drawn back to her drink. She takes a more serious chunk out of it.

Flame earperks. "Where ya'll off to?"

Orion blinks in surprise, then looks over to Jericho - with a glance at the esteemed Dr. Olsenfheimer to see if she's been paying attention to all this.

Jericho hmmms?  as he looks back to Orion and smirks lightly, "I 'ave to echo the sentimen'."

Sam has clearly been paying attention to what everyone else is doing, just watching the device that's being passed about with a mildly curious expression, but doesn't really say much on the subject.

Kalysa sets the glass down on the bar, swallowing and taking a breath before replying to Muddy. "New contract. I won't bore you with the technical details of how reassignment works, but I'll have to bid your lovely city adieu until another time." She smiles a little. "Rest assured Epiphyte's lack of staff keeps me busy fairly often."

Flame smiles. "No worries doc' -- can I see you home safetly so you can pack? Then I reckon I too should get on back to the ranch."

Orion offers a nod to Muddy to confirm what Kalysa is saying, overhearing the conversation. "She'll need a pilot," he indicates himself, "and ship," he indicates Jericho, "to make sure she gets to work on time." He looks to Kalysa. "If you bring your things by now, we can leave tommorow morning. That should give you enough time to find," he thinks for only a moment, "somewhere to crash."

Flame blinks at Orion. "Wait -- ya'll need another flyer?"

Flame looks from the other fox to Kalysa. "If the cause and the money are right, ah' did manage to keep my old class 1 -- she's fast and furious."

Jericho waggles his fingers, "Ah can get us a ship." he downs the rest of his drink before pushing himself to a stand with a slow stretch, "No worries bout that. OR if our frien' 'ere wants to provide then eh. UP to 'em, but I dunno em longer then I've been in the bar tonigh' so I can't say I can exactly trus' yanno." he smirks at 'Muddy' before looking back to Orion, "Up to you though."

Sam eyes Muddy for a couple of moments and shrugs indifferently. The feline pulls out her own PDA again and looks down at the message on the screen. "Well, any way we do it, I'm sure that I'll see all you kids there," Dr. Olsenfheimer says, finally piping up.

Uriko comes wandering back - from an exceedingly long trip out to 'get some fresh air.' It seems more like a trip to 'go outside and throw up all that beer she just drank' from the frazzled look she has - but she's okay now! The tiger girl smooths out her hair and clothes a little, rejoining the conversation, "Ship? Huh? What?" she seems suddenly interested and alert.

Kalysa stands from her stool and makes an effort to straighten and make the most of her skirt's length. "No offense Muddy, but I've got more faith in a fully serviced Navy vessel that's been off the ground recently. If you wanted in on the job however..." She looks to Orion.

Orion notes Uriko, then explains to Muddy figuring she'll overhear it. "If you decide to come along, you're with us until we're done. I'd hazard a guess at a week's time frame. Pull your weight, and I have no problem with more company. But be warned that you're in at your own risk. Neither us nor the contract will provide for your financial losses or physical injuries, and we don't have a whole lot of details on what we're doing yet."

Jericho looks to Uriko with a note of concern then waves her over before looking back to Orion, he bites his tongue to keep from commenting but eventually does mention, "Ah'll need t'speak with ya after all this festivity." he chuckles though he does reach into his pocket to pull out a PDA of his own as his thumb starts to pull up files quickly.

Flame waves off Orion's speech. "Told ya'll ah's a trader back in my day. Volatile compounds from the mines.--and ah' wasn't aware that the navy would be lettin' ya'll take the big guns in?"

Orion nods to Jericho before replying to Flame. "The big guns? Not quite, but operating expenses are covered - compensation for a ship is paid to its owner."

Flame nods. "But the navy owns the ships -- so you'd theoretically have to get clearance from your captain, maybe even Paris." He shrugs and looks at Kalysa. "Not that I'm an expert -- but isn't that a typical military convention?"

"Oh... I don't know about all that..." Uriko trails off, blinking somewhat - he didn't really tell her what they would be doing, anyway - and why would they want her along? As much as she'd like to go into space and all. Even she's not about to just jump in headfirst without SOME information...

Orion nods to Flame. "Cleared that up while I was outside."

Jericho chuckles softly towards Uriko, "Private contract all expense paid vacation essentially." then looks to Orion curiously then grins, "Ahh well tha's good then 'ey?"

Sam clicks a few buttons on the PDA and glances at the others for a few moments. "I can always operate the Void Walker."

Flame nods at Orion. . . "Reckon you caught your captain in a rare good mood, hmm?" There's a passing glimmer of mischief in the smile that follows.

Orion glances sideways, the corner of his mouth twitching. "It happens now and then."

Kalysa gives Orion an odd look. "She seemed friendly to me..."

Flame snickers. . .

Jericho chuckles low in his throat before finishing his drink and just smirks, "She can be."

"That sounds fun. Where do I sign up?" Uriko says - semi sarcastically. The fact that Orion told her they wouldn't cover personal damages leads her to believe there's a little bit more to it though - although she's not necessarily one to shy from risk...

Sam shrugs and says, "Seemed decently pleasant to me, too." The feline contemplates for a few moments and then stands up, "Well, like I said, I'm sure I'll be seeing you kids there. I'm going to head outta here for the night, though."

Orion nods to Sam. "I'll have the details sent to you two." He looks from Uriko to Mr. Baines. "Call me and let me know what your decision is, and I'll make the necessary preparations." He goes to pay his tab...

Kalysa flatly denies him the opporunity to pay for the cheese fries. After all, she ate most of them.

Flame tips his hat to Orion and says to Kalysa, "Can I walk you home, doc?"

Flame smirks. "Of course, after seeing what you can do, reckon that anyone tryin' to mug you would be nuts.

Jericho stretches his frame out before paying for the drink tabs and looks to Orion, "Do 'ave some questions as far as logistics are concerned, but may be best fer tommorow mornin' or so unless yer thrilled at the prospect tonigh'."

Kalysa takes a long look at Flame before replying. "I have to purchase supplies and get my car home. Perhaps another time, I appreciate the thought." She's left a decent portion of her drink at the bar.

Orion glances at Jericho. "We've got a ways to walk and a bit longer to drive before we can start packing. I'll be all ears." To the bat--er... the cantina door!