Booze and Business

Booze and Business
Date of Scene:	02 August 2013
Location:	Traverse Town - Cloud Nine
Synopsis:	Zia and Deidra talk about current events over some cocktails.
Cast of Characters:	Deidra, Zia

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Zia has posed:
It's been a long time since Zia had stopped in at Cloud Nine. It felt like a lifetime ago when she'd gotten that first lead from Deidra about the quest to ressurect Manhattan. With Skoll needing some time to himself, she'd decided to stop in. The bar held the usual loose-liped people that might have information, and with the Detective Agency upstairs, she could check in on her 'case' while here.

So, the white gargoyle makes her way inside, pulling the hood of her cloak back as she peers around, tail flicking at her ankles. Places like this still felt strange, after so much time hiding from humanity. Yet, she felt more comfortable with it now than before.

For now, she heads over towards the bar, grabbing herself a stool.

Deidra has posed:
Deidra had kept to Traverse Town most of the time just given its population was fare better accepting of non humans than Manhattan was. She was just able to get out and be more social there as the worst she got was the odd look and half the time it was just surprise more than anything else. She notices that Zia has come this way for the first time in a while. She seemed awake and not sleepy but with this city? Sleeping patterns for Gargoyles could be a bit strange given it was night all the time here.

However it is is always a good day for when a friend comes in, Zia would soon fine Deidra moving to side down beside her grinning.

"Hey welcome to the Cloud Nine, Zia. What brings you this way?"

Zia has posed:
There's just a little twitch from the white gargoyle as Deidra approaches, surprised by someone coming up to her. The alarm quickly shifts to a smile as she laughs to herself, "Well, hello yerself, lass." She must be a bit out of it to not have heard the taloned feet of another gargoyle. Then again, her eyes had been transfixed on the various bottles of alcoholic beverages behind the bar. Shifting a bit, she props one arm on the bar, looking at the other gargoyle curiously.

"Well, jus' now Ah'm wonderin wha sort of thing te order. Cannae say Ah've ever really had the chance te jus' go up te a bar 'n get a drink. People dinnae usually throw out alcohol back in Manhattan." It's the sort of thing that the vagrants would swoop down on in a heartbeat, like booze vultures. "Any idea wha's good?" She asks, expecting that the former human might have a better idea.

"As for wha has me here..." She shrugs. "Skoll needed some time te himself after our journey inte the Cloister we found in tha weird wild-Africa world. He's m'guide, so Ah've got a few days te m'self. Figured Ah'd stop in, see if Ah cannae get a word at last with Will, or see if ye 'n yer friends had any luck findin the other Cloisters."

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says "No, no they don't. It's one of the few rare commonalities humans on the various worlds have. They love their drink generally and wouldn't throw it out."

she grins a little bit at her friend at this observation on people. "Depends on what you like, i don't drink too heavily too much to be honest. I don't think a drunk Gargoyle would be a good thing."

She has no idea what sort drunk she'd be she also knows how strong she is compared to the average human she really wouldn't want to hurt anyone. Still it doesn't keep her from enjoying the odd drink at the very least.

"I admit I like a bit of Rum sometimes."

She pauses for a moment and pulls her iTome out of her jacket and boots up a program of some sort. She starts going over the data.

"I had a little bit of luck with my digging so far I may have come up with few lead it's not been easy however. Given how fragmented the worlds are."

Zia has posed:
"Figure it's somethin tha's worth a try." With the suggestion, Zia asks the bar-tender to make her something light with 'rum' in it, and soon enough she has some sort of fruity rum and coconut drink that looks like white slush. It smells delicious. Tipping the glass, she takes a drink, then makes a slightly quizzical face. "It's... strange. Good, but strange." The second drink has an equally comical twist of her lips that follows. Somehow, it seems unlikely that Zia will be a heavy drinker with those kind of reactions.

With a glance, Zia peeks over, trying to get a look at the data on Deidra's device. "Aye. We got lucky te stumble on Carbuncle's Cloister. It stood out in tha world as if it really didnae belong. This great beaked bird told us aboot seein it. Gotte wonder aboot tellin someone a 'little birdy' toldye how te find someplace." Shaking her head, the gargoyle flicks her tail. "It's no rush, though, lass. We've got time."

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says "It is worth it we get some of the rum from Port Royal. Not bad really, not bad at all, they not made rum like that on our world for a long time."

She grins a bit and get a small drink of her own as Zia relays a bit more about their adventures so far which do seem to be rather interesting.

"So that's one down good, sounds like you made some progress there but that world really?"

Deidra is going back to looking over her pad for some information for a moment. She seems to be checking some files for a moment while she take a sip of her own drink.

"I had a few rumours I'm afraid nothing solid yet I?m going to have to go check them out to see if they are legit as not to waste the time and effort for you and Skoll. Hopefully something will turn up at the very least, I'll keep you posted on it."

Zia has posed:
"It seems like sometimes things show up in the weirdest'a places." Zia shakes her head from side to side, swirling her drink with a little umbrella and seeming to be amused by it. "Though, Ah havete hope tha we dinnae find another one in tha kinda world. Ye have no idea how hard it is te try te do some ancient puzzle when ye dinnae have any thumbs." She waggles her fingers at Deidra, then, so greatful to be back in her real body.

"Alright. Jus... be careful, alright? Ah dinnae know exactly wha's goin on, but somehow Skoll's da has something te do wi' it, 'n Ah dinnae know jus' how powerful he is." She had remembered seeing the dark shape of the wolf set against an image of a knight on an six-legged horse. "If ye find any information out aboot a spirit wi' 'n six legged horse, Ah'd appreciate tha, too. It seems te be associated wi' his da."

Her tail curls around the bar stool, expression unsettled.

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says "Given how worlds break when they fall? Its not pretty generally and they had to solve the puzzles without thumbs? That can't have been fun for either of them to deal with.

"I'm having a hard enough time missing my pinkies."

Seriously she never thought she'd miss the darn things but she does. She's griming however at this point so she's taking it in good spirits all things consider.

"Parent issues? That can't be good given what your saying. If I find anything on it I'll keep you informed I'll just be happy to find one thing honestly to help you two with to be honest."

She goes back to her drink and gets a bit on the quiet side as she's seeming to be thinking on something. She brings up the pad again and looks it over for a moment longer before she speaks up again.

"I'm going to go physically check out some of the rumors I heard about as I said."

Zia has posed:
The gargoyle toys with her drink a bit, plucking at an orange slice and laughing softly to herself. "Well, there were these wee orbs tha glowed a bit. Hadte put them all over the temple. Ah dinnae think Ah've ever tasted tha much dust before, nae-even when the good squire insisted tha we keep tha bloody chair tha was left over from whomever owned the watchtower b'fore us." Percival seemed to insist that every good 'lair' needed one of those chairs. Luckily, she's managed to vacuum the worst of it, though every time he sits it still makes her cough.

Quizzically, Zia looks at Deidra, though, "Wha's so special about pinkies, anyways?" Boggle.

After a drink, draining down to the end of her own with an expression that seems mystified at where it went quite so quickly. She is Scottish afterall, and drinking seems to run in the blood, even if she doesn't do so very often. "Ah dinnae know. From wha Ah've heard, 'is father did some downright terrible things, but he never really saw it. It was always te his sister 'n mum. Maybe 'is sister might have some idea?"

That suggested, the gargoyle leans her back towards the bar, looking out at the people around her. "Any help ye can manage is appreciated, lass."

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says "I see that should be useful at least in locating the entrance. Even if I can get into one of the sites? I don't plan to, in my experience those things would be warded against anyone who shouldn't be there. As for dust tell me about it, have you ever seen Will trip? It's like a dust elemental afterward."

Will the king of Hobos does not like getting clear, not like getting cleaned at all. Deidra has learned not to poke this and but one person can make Will clean up, sadly it is not her but it could be worse.

"Maybe might be a thing to find her and as for Pinking well? It be like you missing a body part, suddenly."

she laughs "Hey I can make light of this situation I?m in. It makes properly drinking tea impossible...I'll have you know."

She looks down to the pad and jots down a few more things into the interface.

"So be careful if I run into someone who claims to be Skoll's father, got it."

Zia has posed:
The white gargoyle hesitates then, shaking her head. "Ah havenae spoken te Will, nae since wha happened in the labyrinth below Manhattan. Ah know he wasnae te blame for wha happend, it's jus'..." It's hard to reconcile the man that others seemed to respect and trust, with the one she saw in those dark tunnels. "Ah still need te do tha. Maybe if Ah have a chance while Ah'm waitin on Skoll te finish his scoutin' around." Having fished food out of the trash for most of her adult life, it isn't likely that his smell would particularly bother her.

"Only posh humans use their pinky when drinkin' tea." Zia chuckles to herself, "Ye could probably find a mechanical one, though. Ah've seen some folks wi' entire arms. Ah'm sure they could hook ye up wi' one if ye desperately needed one." The thought seems amusing to someone who has lived all her life without the utterly useless appendage.

As Deidra starts jotting down information, Zia remembers the name, "Odin. He called 'imself Odin, like the norse-god. Ah've never seen 'im as a human, but he looks like Skoll, but almost pitch black." The vision she'd seen in the cloister is enough to give this minimal description, at least.

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says "Your a bit concerned? Understandable but trust me it is under control now. A lot has happened in regards to that to be honest, hey he was one of the first people who gave me a chance so I owed him that much and I don't regret helping him."

Still having to deal with Puck was a trippy affair really. She' just thankful it's over with.

"I dunno it just feel strange to go into that."

She laughs a little bit about the idea though as it does seem kind of silly, the more she thought about it. She seems very amused about it until Odin comes up that gets a brow raise.

"Like some sort of shadow of him from what your saying? I'll keep that in mind. So here's hoping to me being able to find something useful for this. It does sound like Skoll has some ... trials ahead of him, no pun intended."

she's also noting down the description Zia gave her, it's not much but it is better than having nothing to be sure.

Zia has posed:
"Aye, Ah've heard tha he's a nice enough fellow." Zia rubs at the back of her neck, feeling distinctly sheepish. "Our paths havenae really crossed te talk aboot things. Might be worthwhile, at least te set m'mind at ease wi' everythin tha happened." Over time, she had developed friendships with people of both light and darkness, so at least there's a chance of going into things with an open mind.

"Ah dinnae know how te describe it, really. Ah think Carbuncle used a memory of 'is mum te speak wi' 'im, 'n warn 'im aboot wha's te come. It showed this dark image of a wolf, wi' the form of tha knight on the mutant horse behind it." With a shrug, Zia's ears droop slightly, trying to make sense of it. Had the ghost of Skoll's mom really been just a memory? It felt more real than that.

"So..." Subject change, "Ye 'n yer lot been up te anythin new? Ah've heard of some strange goin's on, but we've been too far away from it all te be involved."

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says "It might do you some good, if you ever get the chance to do. Well a warning is better than no warning, right? A whole lot has happened with Mercade for one. There's been general work, reports from Mercade of animated baked goods attacking an school a while back. Something about I think Mad Madam Mim being behind it?"

She sets the pad down now as it's got to much more happier thoughts of just what the TDA's been up to.

"We rescued another Dennou a while back but we were lured into Castle Oblivion to do so. Though I think I may have mentioned that last time, it's been fairly quite for me just poking gummi blocks for the most part honestly. Mercade's been helping someone in VALKYRI learn to use a side arm properly. Tom being a idiot, you know he threatened to bench press me in my sleep once right?"

Zia has posed:
"Animated baked goods?" This seems to draw her attention, and a faint laugh. Then again, maybe it's the alchohol, which the barman seems to have refilled without her so much as asking. Good fellow. "Sounds a wee bit like wha we saw at tha crazy old wizard's place, wi' the flying brooms 'n the like." She'd been to Merlin's place a time or two, and the old coot always seems to have some living household product making havoc.

"Ah actually met a man in Alexandria who seemed te be collectin' Gummi blocks as well. He ran some sorta Sythesis shop. No bloody clue wha tha is." She'd caught bits and pieces, but the idea of farming random monsters for items they leave behind seems a bit strange. "Still havenae had a chance te get up over te the space port te try out one of the things. Ah'd imagine it's like one of those old video games, though. Should be fun, enough."

The idea of bench-pressing a gargoyle seems amusing enough, but it reminds her of something, "Oh, tha reminds me, did ye manage te find some use outa tha crystal of mine? Ah dinnae need it back just yet, but Ah thought tha Ah'd see if ye had any fun bein a day-walker."

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says "Totally animated baked good from what he said. There was even Flan, I think. Or was it custard. I'll have to check later. Could be right from the sounds of it and hum really? I'd heard about such a guy I might look into it later then. We can always use more parts for the TDA's stockpiles really. Pretty brutal fighting from what I heard given the size of some of the heartless ships."

"Yes, it has been.... strange to be able to enjoy the sun or even just curl up to sleep. I know your trusting me a great deal with this and I will keep it safe I promise you that. I might make use of it when I'm hunting for the temples. With your permission, otherwise I'll not do so. It was nice to also find a beach and relax for a bit on it...though I have found out I get sunburn really easy now."

Thank goodness for stone sleep she'd had to take the crystal off to recover from the sunburn.

Zia has posed:
"Well, Ah've seen monsters they call Flan, but Ah wouldnae wante eat them." Just imagining the jiggly things is enough to send a shiver up the white gargoyle's spine. "Though it's amusin te see knights go bouncin off them. Takes them forever te realize tha they need te use magic against 'em." With her drink refilled, Zia sips a bit more, taking a bit more time with this one.

"Well, it was a few days back. He'd had a sign up at his shop te recruit people for trips te fight the heartless. Somethin aboot settin up trade routes." Zia reaches into her robes, and eventually manages to pull out a slip of paper. Written on it is the name 'Arthur Drover' as well as an address in Alexandria. "Here, maybe he could be of use if yer lookin for some kind of Gummi part." She offers it out. "Took a courier job, tha's how Ah met the lad in the first place."

The idea of going out to the beach seems to amuse her, though, "Ah think Ah'd still avoid the beach, m'self. Ah'd probably burn te a crisp." Pale skin doesn't offer much protection against the sun's rays. "Keep it fer now. At least until Ah get back. Better in yer hands than in mine until things are settled." With Skoll distracted, it might take a while before she gets a chance to look into Castle Oblivion, but at least she has someone to stand watch-dog when she's in stone sleep.

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says "Naw it wasn't the monster type it was actually the food. I wasn't there so I can't really say more on the matter other than, talk about a waste of food." She smirks a little bit still amused at the image of Mercade battling hordes of baked goods it is quite the silly image.

"I heard about those jobs but I hadn't had the time I'm afraid. Still sounds like he might be a good choice to see about getting more gummi blocks for tweaking the ships we do have. Thanks for the information, there are not many dealers in gummi blocks at the moment."

The response to her comments about the beach get a amused look on Deidra's face.

"I'd not like to see you extra crispy and I understand you just need to let me know when you need it back. I'll keep it safe till then, in that case."

Sleeping in stone form had lead Deidra to some level of paranoia of letting people know where she sleeps. Then again it's only a good precaution for her well being. Though she has had fun causing some rumors near the TDA building in Manhattan about the Gargoyle that keeps changing it's pose somehow every day. Okay she's had far too much fun with that.

Zia has posed:
"Well, from what ye told me aboot the members of your Detective Agency, ye could probably have handled the whole mess jus' by eatin them." There was that suspicious rumor about someone eating Gummi-blocks, afterall. Zia chuckles at the joke, obviously amused by the thought of such a strange form of combat. "Cannae say Ah've ever dealt with somethin quite tha strange, though."

The warm feeling in her stomach that comes from too much alchohol has the white gargoyle pushing her drink back across the bar, setting down a few little orbs of munny to cover her tab. "Well, Ah'll see if Ah cannae stop by again soon, see if Ah can get a word in wi' Will. Until then..." Though Deidra has her pendant, Zia can feel the creeping of sunrise, even in this place of eternal night.

"Ah should be headin back." One of the wonderful things about stone sleep is the fact that it gets rid of any tipsy feelings brought on from imbibing too much alcohol. "Let Skoll know if ye find out anythin tha might be helpful."

With that, Zia is down off of the stool, offering her friend a hug before turning to weave back through the bar and into the city beyond.

Deidra has posed:
Deidra says "True Will totally would have tried to eat the darn things in all likelihood."

That mental image was just one Deidra, couldn't help but laugh at, the worst part was as she said? Will would likely totally attempt to do so he might even succeed right?

"That should cover it I think."

It looks like there' enough money there, if not Deidra can totally cover the rest at the very least.

"I will, I'll head out this week and check out the two best rumors IO heard of my friend. I don't know Skoll very well but if your out to help him. How can I say no right?"

She hugs Zia back and then lets it break a moment later. She gives her friend a wave as she departs the bar. As for Deidra? She likely had a supply shop too hit up and some plans to make. Also maps to get, seriously maps, given there's no such thing as functional GPS anymore really.