The Sober Drunk (Open RP)

OoC: I'm a sucker for open RPs, huh? Well, anyways, this is going to be a pretty lighthearted RP, leaning towards comedy and funnyness more than seriousness and realism and that stuff. I'll be using this RP to introduce my character, Baltazar (you will find him in my sig).

BiC:

It was a small building, that bar.

You would find it in the eastern section of town, just beside the butcher. Despite its small size, it was a well-known place among the townspeople. The men (and sometimes women too) would often come there to have a drink and relax. There was never any trouble at the bar. People knew how to behave in this town.

The bar was particularly known for one reason - the man who you would always find there in the evenings, playing a guitar and downing beer after beer without stopping. At first people had looked down at poor Baltazar, a man who never changed his clothes and who always looked scruffy, at all times.

Yet, as time had passed, people had begun to like him. People would sit down and chat with him from time to time, and other times they would listen to him playing the guitar skillfully. Yet he never accepted money for his music, or for anything. The only payment he took for any kind of job was a bed, food and beverage for being an assistant in the bar.

Some townsmen meant that this was only a way for the bartender to be nice. The bar was still fairly small, and even though there were quite a bit of people in there every evening, there was no real need for an assistant. Some meant that it was because Baltazar and the bartender were such good friends. Other meant that it was simply Baltazar who was so lovable. However, a few wise heads had already figured out the reason - Baltazar had proven to be a valuable resource for the bar.

Many of the costumers in the bar often went there to hear Baltazar play a song, or to chat with him. People had begun to look at him as an entertainer of sorts, an everlasting constant in their day-to-day lives that they could trust would always be there. He would always sit by the disk, playing his guitar and letting the crowd sing along (for Baltazar did not own a singing voice himself).

This evening, Baltazar was faced with a heavy choice. Sweat ran down his brow as he concentrated, knowing that he had to decide sooner or later. It was so hard to choose, though. Why couldn't he just choose both?

He looked pleadingly at the bartender. The big, bearded man just smiled and shook his head.

"Only one of them, Balt," he chuckled.

"Aww alright then," Baltazar sighed. "I'll take the whiskey."

The bartender grinned and slammed a bottle of whiskey down onto the disk, right in front of Baltazar.

"It's one of the better ones I got," he said as he went under the disk to get a drinking glass. "That one's from year - hey!"

As he looked up, he saw that Baltazar had already gone to opening the bottle and sipping from it.

"Wouldn't you at least wait until I get to what year it's from?" the bartender sighed with a small smile.

"I don't have the patience for that, mate," Baltazar commented as he brought the flask to his mouth. "Every year is a good year to me."

As he chugged down quite a bit of the beverage, the bartender laughed loudly. "If there's anyone who could say that, it would be you Baltazar."

"I pray that you mean that in a good way," Baltazar grinned.

OoC: If we can get a ball rolling, we can see where this will go. No limits in how many people may join, and I suppose if you need to you may use more than one character. That's all, hahah.

OoC: I love RPing with you, Abyss, so I'm joining you once again! I'll start off with Zarek here, and maybe add a second character later.

BiC: Zarek had just arrived in the first town he'd seen in hours. The night had already come and he really needed a place to stay. Hopefully what this little town had to offer would suffice. At first it didn't seem like much, just the average components of any town stood ahead. Banks, inns, stores, houses, the like. Nothing in particular struck any interest in Zarek at all. He simply felt he should stop here for the night, eat, then be on his way.

As Zarek walked down the main road through town, he counted how much gold he had on him. It appeared to be enough, but if it wasn't, he didn't mind having to do a little more mercenary work. The aqua green haired Reaver continued his way through until he walked by what appeared to be a bar.

The bar looked normal, like any other bar one would see in a generic town such as this one. There was only one exception to this logic, however. A faint sound could be heard coming from inside, but it wasn't a voice. It was music. Zarek walked up to a foggy window, brushed it off, and peered inside. Sitting in a chair near a wall was a scruffy-looking man playing the guitar. Normally, Zarek wouldn't care about such music, but the tune made him think of something he never thought he'd see the day he'd think.

"Wow. Is it just me, or does this music remind me of Lily?" he asked himself, referring to a girl who had a crush on him, but never had her feelings returned. "On second thought, she'd probably like this tune." Zarek never completely disliked Lily, and may have even returned her affection if not for one thing. She tended to be rather annoying with her feelings and had even gone so far as to embarrass poor Zarek by mistake.

Zarek stood there to listen to the tune, having now not only been reminded of Lily, but also the very adventure that led to their meeting. It had been an intense one, for it involved saving an entire continent from a deadly evil. And this continent had been the home of every warrior who fought to free it. Zarek never regretted being one of them, and every so often he'd think about how proud his grandfather would have been, had he lived through all of it. Unfortunately, he had passed away just before the sacred gem known as the Ether Stone had been pieced back together in order to help vanquish the darkness.

As Zarek stood there to complete the music, he had forgotten to consider the fact that someone may have spotted him by now.

OoC: Ooh, I'll join! Finally, I get to RP. Alright then, I'll use Ralalta. Just click the fortune cookie in my sig. Here I go...

BiC: Ralalta reluctantly stepped through the gates of the first town she had seen in days. She had been traveling for quite a while, and her legs were weary. Her throat screamed for water. In search of a drink, a meal, and a good night's sleep, Ralalta entered the town.

It was not unlike others she had come across on her travels, but this one had a more rustic, "dirty" feel to it. There were many people here, too, ranging from opulently-dressed women toting equally snobbish lovers, to drunken street urchins wallowing in filth and reaching out from the shadows with knobby, dirty hands to catch the attention of somebody pitying enough to give them a piece of gold or two.

She wandered through the crowds feeling lost, dazed, and a little confused. People pressed in from all sides as she walked closer to the center of town. It appeared some sort of festival performance was happening at the town square, and attracting most of the town's populace. Ralalta could hear cheery voices singing gaudy songs around the fountain up ahead.

Deciding to avoid the crowd, she left the scene and headed towards the town's backstreet areas. After a moment of walking down several different alleyways while avoiding the beggars hiding in the darkness, she found herself in a small paved clearing. It was not as big as the the town's square, but it did hold several different shops and stands selling various wares.

She caught a whiff of fresh salmon being cooked at a nearby fish market, and her stomach growled. She strode across the small square and and bought one of the cooked fish, along with a small keg of water. She downed both hungrily in a short time, and decided to look for a place where she might be able to rest.

She headed down another small alleyway, where she noticed several different shops advertising various shady businesses. The alleyway was dimly lit and had wooden doors along the way, accompanied by grimy windows revealing warm light coming from each building. She finally noticed a dark wooden door leading to what appeared to be a bar near the end of the alleyway, where it opened up into the town square again. She could see the small bar was somewhat popular, judging by the considerable amount of people heading in and out.

Although she was no longer hungry and only slightly thirsty, Ralalta decided to check it out the moment she heard the sound of a guitar being played. She always had loved music, and the tune being played reminded her somewhat of her mother, for some reason. She stood a short distance away from the door and peered through the bar's window. A green-haired man was looking through the window as well.

She saw a scruffy, rumpled-looking bearded man inside the bar, sitting in a chair and playing the wonderful music that seemed to attract many of the bar's patrons.

That does remind me of my mother, Ralalta thought to herself, peeking closer to get a better look inside the bar. She was reluctant to enter, though, as she felt she might somehow disturb the beautiful music by opening the door. She shuffled a little closer and accidently bumped into the green-haired man.

"Sorry," she mumbled to him, and considered going into the bar.

"Huh?" Zarek said as he felt himself shift from being bumped. "Hey, watch where you're going next time." Although his tone was rather cold, Zarek meant no harm. He simply moved away and decided to enter the bar for a better look at things inside. Still, that girl who'd bumped him stayed in his mind. Her appearance was very strange to him, nothing like he'd ever seen before.

"Now a blue girl with a fish tail on her head?" he asked himself. "Damn, this place is full of weirdos."

Sometimes Zarek couldn't help himself and he'd spoken snobbishly aloud without realizing. Pretty soon the scruffy looking man had noticed him and his playing halted. Following the same example, Zarek stopped his own walking when he noticed he'd been heard.

"I...uh...hi?"

Ralalta watched as the green-haired man went into the bar ahead of her. She heard him say something about her appearance before the wooden door slammed shut and the rest of his words were muffled. She thought she heard "weirdos" for a second, but shook her head and reminded herself not to be so critical of people.

She headed into the bar after him, where she noticed the scruffy man had stopped playing his music. The bar seemed somewhat less friendly, she noticed, without the sound of music in the air. But she headed over to the counter nonetheless, staring at the bearded man and the green man on the way.

She looked around and observed the people in the bar. It was mostly filled with men, but a few women were relaxing at tables here and there. She was slightly surprised to find that this bar had a much cleaner atmosphere than other bars she had been to. Although she did not generally bother with bars at all, the one she was currently in seemed almost more like a café. The people around the bar were nicer, too, compared to the greasy, slutty characters one might usually find in such a scene.

She turned around after a moment and caught herself before she asked the bartender for something to drink. She wasn't very familiar with the usual menu of a bar, and expected they might only have liquor-based drinks. She decided she could wait another day or two for a tall glass of fruit juice. Zoras love their fruit juice.

She found her gaze wander once again to the two men, who now appeared to be conversing. They were so much more interesting, she decided, than everyone else in the bar. They stood out among all the plain-looking people like two carrots in a vat of blackberries. She realized then, with a sudden pang of self-consciousness, that she must be the most out-of-the-ordinary person in the bar. Heck, she very well could be the only Zora in the entire town.

Only now did she finally notice all the pairs of eyes staring at her with mixed curiosity. She had been so busy sizing up everyone else that she had failed to notice that she stuck out the most. She couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, and she looked around for a spot in the bar where she could sit in the shadows. After a moment of searching, she noticed the only table enveloped in a satisfactory amount of shadow was the table closest to the green man and the guitar player.

"Welcome!"

Baltazar laughed lightly, getting to his feet and grabbing the green-haired man's hand, shaking it enthusiastically. He then dragged the poor fellow over to the bar disk, forced him down onto one of the chairs and signalled for the bartender to come over.

"Hey, give my new friend here - "

"Uh - Zarek."

" - Zarek a drink, would ye?"

"No problem," the bartender hummed. Baltazar plopped down onto the chair beside, getting back to playing his guitar.

"Any personal requests, mate?"

"Huh? Oh - "

"Let's pick a classic!"

As soon as Baltazar played the first few notes, everyone else in the bar went entirely quiet. Then the first few drunkards went:

"I KNOW THIS ONE!"

"Oh thish ish brilliant, I'll shing - "

"You-hh can't singh, you-hh drunk-rr..."

Despite the small bickering, when Baltazar got to a certain part in the song they started singing, everyone together. Some didn't know all the words and therefore just yelled at the top of their lungs what they remembered, some were too intoxicated to spell out all the words correctly, but it didn't matter - they clapped their hands and stomped their feet as Baltazar played, and there was much laughter.

"Dance dance dance dance!" the people chanted together, taking a break from the singing to stow away the tables and chairs that were in the way.

"Oy!" the bartender called from the bar. "What d'you think you're doin'?!"

"Oh don't worry Berg, we'll sort it out later!" one of the men shouted back. The crowd soon formed around the dancefloor, which was still fairly small because of the size of the bar.

"Well, Zarek!" Baltazar said to his new pal. "I think it's time you go rock the ladies with some moves!"

And with that, he grabbed the man's arm and threw him forward, off his chair and onto the dance floor, before he went back to playing that guitar.

BiC: "Damn it," Zarek mumbled to himself in embarrassment, fully regretting even stepping inside this freak place. "Why me?"

Zarek stayed frozen where he stood, right in the middle of a small dance floor made by the scruffy man, whom the others were calling Baltazar. What would he do to get out of this one without making himself look like a fool? He'd never been much of a party person in the first place, and now he had been thrust in the middle of a dance floor, surrounded by numerous people he'd never even seen before. I never thought I'd say this, but I wish Lily was here, Zarek thought to himself, going pink in the cheeks. She'd definitely get me out of this, plus I can't dance for squat except what she taught me.

It was a true story. Even though Zarek had been embarrassed by Lily a few times, he allowed her to give him a few dancing lessons during the celebration that occurred after their quest to save their land had ended. Zarek could only use those lessons if he had a partner, however. Zarek's thoughts were interrupted by Baltazar finally speaking out again.

"What's keeping you, my friend?" he asked. "Why not have a little fun?" With that, Zarek somehow finally managed to find a comeback to all this.

"You know, I suppose I could use some of that after being by myself so much," he replied. "Unfortunately, I can't dance for my life, but there are things I can do, obviously." Upon saying this, Zarek drew his Silver Axe and began to twirl it in his hands. Under his legs, over his head, and around his waist when the weapon in a display of dazzling maneuvers, at least to the women who were present. To finish off, Zarek tossed it high in the air, sort of like he does when he performs Colossus. It was only too bad he'd been interrupted by a loud female cry.

"Oooooh! That's my Zarek alright!" she uttered in a flirty tone. Upon having the loud, yet familiar female voice scorch his ears, Zarek forgot about the axe he'd left in the air, only to have its grip plunge right down into his right set of toes. That voice could have only been one person.

"GAAAH! DAMN!" He yelled in pain and clutched his injured foot. "LILY!" Indeed it was. The familiar face of the lavender-haired female mage had been standing in front of nearly all the other women, right where Zarek should have spotted her first. He let go of his foot and picked up his axe just as Lily had giggled and ran up to him. She grabbed him by the arm and hauled him towards the door.

"Wah!" Zarek exclaimed with surprise. "Hey!"

"Come with me!" Lily said. "I need to talk to you."

Within minutes, the two were back outside in the dark of the night and the door had been closed. The blue girl from before was still there, but neither Zarek nor Lily paid any attention to her. Lily simply smiled as she let go of the Reaver, letting him sit down to rub his sore foot over his boot.

"Lily! Where in the world did you come from?" Zarek inquired.

"Oh, don't you know? This bar is a rather famous one," Lily replied. "I go there for a little entertainment."

"I see. I suppose you've had a drink or two in there?"

"Nope, actually. Just there for the music and dancing. I'm sorry I embarrassed you. I didn't mean to be so loud."

"I'll be fine. You're just lucky it was the axe's grip that got me instead of the blade," Zarek pointed out. "Otherwise, I'd probably have less than ten toes right now as well as a chopped boot."

"Oh yeah, good point..."

"...Say. You're not the Lily I remember. You used to be very cheery, hyper, and of course, chasing me," Zarek pointed out.

"Yeah, I've grown up some more. I'm not so immature anymore," Lily explained. "My sister even thinks so."

"Well, that's good to hear," Zarek replied. "Thanks for getting me out of there, by the way. It's too crazy in there."

"Hee hee...no problem."

OoC: Lily's NP, of course. xP

"Daaaaamn, no swinging dangerous weapons in here!" Baltzar called after Zarek as he was pulled out of the bar by his female friend. "Ah, what the hell..."

"Baltazaaaaaaar!~"

He immediately found himself in the company of four young girls. They were also regulars in the bar, always sticking together and always being pestered by boys because they were all so attractive. Baltazar felt that they were kinda like little sisters to him, the way they always followed him and talked to him.

"Keep playing, Balt!" the youngest of them said, named Bella. The rest of the crowd chimed in, demanding that Baltazar played one more song. As he started playing his guitar yet again, he moved through the room as he played, and he soon found himself at the table of a Zora female.

"Oh, hello there!" he grinned. "How come ye ain't dancin'?"

"Yeah...are there any good inns in this town?" Zarek asked, changing the topic. "I need a place to stay for the night."

"Oh, definitely!" Lily replied. "I'm staying in what I think is the best in town! Follow me!" With that, she once again grabbed Zarek by the arm and pulled him with her.

"Wah! Would you please quit doing that?" he asked as he was dragged away towards a large inn not far from the bar. This inn was four floors high, with balconies on the rooms above the ground floor. It was a rather fancy-looking stone building, with beautiful glass windows and curtains. Zarek could see why Lily thought it was the best one. She led him inside to the lobby and let him go. A young woman who looked only a little older than Zarek stood behind the counter there.

"Well, hello again miss Lily. Back so soon?" the receptionist said to her. "Ah, and I see you've brought a handsome young man with you." Zarek's cheeks went rosy pink once more.

"I sure have, Dory." Lily replied. "This is Zarek. I met him a few years ago during a war that was happening at our homeland. He needs a room for the night."

"That can easily be arranged," Dory agreed and handed a key to Zarek. "Here you are, Mr. Zarek. Room 215 upstairs is vacant. Plus, it's right across from miss Lily's room. You two enjoy yourselves now!"

"Yeah...thank you," Zarek replied, relieved as ever not to be utterly embarrassed by Lily this time. She simply gave him a wink, showing him that she really had grown out of the hyper activity and become more mature when the two started upstairs for their rooms. As Zarek saw the brief gesture, however, a new thought that he'd never imagined he'd get came to his mind. Was it just him or had Lily grown...even more beautiful than she was during the war? Her long, lavender hair now reached halfway down her back in two thick braids while before it only barely passed her shoulders. Her dark purple eyes had sparkled in the lighted lanterns lining the walls.

Zarek had to admit it to himself. She really did change, and for the better. But ah, what was he thinking? He couldn't possibly be falling in love with her of all women. Could he? Zarek decided to take his mind off of it and think about the nice room he was probably getting. It took only moments to finally reach his door, which, as Dory had said, was right across the hall from Lily's. He stuck is key in the door and entered into the nice, cooled room to get comfortable.

"Hey, Zarek, mind if I stick around for awhile?" Lily asked. "This is the first time we've met in years."

"Sure, I guess. It has been a long time," Zarek replied without thinking. He only realized it seconds later. Gah, I can't believe I just said that, he thought. Oh well. It's nice to have someone to talk to, I guess...right?

"Wow, really? Thanks! I actually wasn't expecting you to say that," Lily replied with glee. "I mean, considering the way I used to act..." She followed Zarek into his room and closed the door, secretly glad she could finally get some more alone time with him. Zarek stripped off his spiked armor and what else he'd worn over his clothes, leaving him only in his shirt, pants, and boots.

"So, how's your magic training been going?" Zarek wondered, remembering Lily's skills in fire, wind, and thunder magic.

"Oh, good, good! I've become stronger since we parted ways," Lily updated.

"Heh, awesome. I've been getting better with my axes myself," Zarek replied. "I'm going to step outside on the balcony for a bit. Want to come?"

"Sure!" Lily replied, almost not believing she was hearing such a question from Zarek. A few years back, he would have never wanted to do such a thing. Zarek opened the sliding balcony door and breathed in the outside air once he stood on the stone structure sitting above a grand view of the town and below a full moon. Lily began to follow and Zarek turned around to see her. He was right before. She had grown more beautiful and likable, but was shy to admit it. Before Zarek could tell Lily to watch her step and be careful of the raised area the sliding door slid through, she tripped on it and began to fall towards the balcony's stone floor.

Zarek quickly caught her in his arms just in time. The two stood back up, only to find their faces only inches apart from one another. Zarek's hands stayed on Lily's waist while her arms slid across his. The Reaver's cheeks insantly turned a rosy pink for the third time that day.

"Why Zarek, I believe you're blushing," Lily commented, finally breaking the silence.

As Ralalta sat down at her slightly shadowed table, hoping not to be seen, she noticed that the amount of energy and enthusiasm in the bar increased slightly. She sat back in her chair, quietly but interestedly watching everyone.

She realized now that more people were drunk than she had first thought. A few men were already swaying to and fro, grinning giddily at their tables while foamy ale slopped out of their mugs. She smiled a little at the silly actions of the drunkards.

The scruffy man brought the green man to the bar for a moment, before suddenly playing his guitar again. He played a cheerier, more upbeat tune that soon had everyone up and dancing out of nowhere. It was a rather strange sight to behold for Ralalta, watching how the bar could change so suddenly with a few guitar notes. The man had more power here than one might think, she decided. He controlled the bargoers with a strum of his guitar.

Soon the drunkards were hollering about the music, and people began to push chairs and tables out of the way to clear a small dancing area in the middle of the bar. The lights were raised higher, suddenly, and Ralalta's precious shade was withdrawn.

Nobody paid much attention to her anymore, though, as they were too busy dancing like fools and watching the green-haired man. He had apparently been pushed to the dance floor against his will, but soon broke out with a wild performance of juggling and twirling axes around in the air. Ralalta was admittedly impressed by the show, but was surprised to see the man leave so suddenly with a lavender-haired girl who pulled him out of the bar.

The music stopped momentarily, but started up again as soon as the guitar-playing man was asked by the majority of the people in the bar. He played, people danced, and the merriment continued for a while.

Then she saw the man begin to approach her table.
What could he want? she wondered curiously. Come to check out the freaky fish-girl, I suppose.

"Oh, hello there! How come ye ain't dancin'?" he asked her, grinning. He seemed very friendly. And fun.

Ralalta did her best to smile back at him. "Well... I'm not sure I'd like to dance right now. I'm a bit tired, and... well, look at me. Wouldn't you be a little weirded out if a fish-thing just started dancing in front of you? I'm not sure people here have ever seen my kind before," she replied, knowing in her heart that the excuse was lame.

"Oh believe me darlin'," Baltazar said with a smile as he sat down. "I've seen much weirder things."

He continued to play the guitar, though his eyes were still fixed upon the Zora, as though there was no guitar and they were simply having a friendly conversation.

"And don't refer to yerself as a 'thing', me gal," he went on. "That's not healthy for the soul, ya know? Ye get all sad and asocial if ye look at yerself like a thing. That's not good for a person t'do."

When she didn't reply, he decided to keep the conversation going.

"I think I've seen someone like you before," he said. "Can't remember what he said his name was, but he was a merry fella. You should be more like him, ya know? He didn't have a problem with being a little 'fishy'."

He laughed for himself.

"So, lassie, what's yer name? I'm Baltazar, pleased to meet ya."

"I-I am not," Zarek denied, getting more nervous by the second.

"You are too, Zarek!" Lily replied with glee. "I can see your cheeks getting pink. You actually love me, don't you?"

"N-n-no I don't," Zarek countered again, letting go of Lily instantly. She moved closer to him once more until he could move back no further due to the balcony's railing.

"Oh come on. You can admit it," Lily assured. "I won't embarrass you anymore. And there're no stuffy soldiers around to tease you. And you know you've already won me over." With that, she blushed herself, having never let go of her love for the young Reaver. Zarek remained silent this time. Argh! What in Altarais is wrong with me? Is she right? Do I love her? Zarek asked himself in his mind. She's right, there's no one watching, but...what am I saying?!

"What's wrong? You look like you're arguing with yourself," Lily pointed out as Zarek had put on a frustrated look.

"Nothing, nothing," Zarek replied. "You're right, there isn't anyone watching, and I doubt any of the guys back at home would find out about this, but..."

"But you do love me," Lily said again with a smile, her hands behind her back.

"Now I didn't say--"

Before Zarek could finish, the impact of a pair of lips met with his own. Lily had jumped into him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and lip-locked. Caught by surprise, Zarek stayed wide eyed for seconds on in, but didn't pull away. Was he really falling in love? Could this be happening to him? Zarek simply couldn't answer and almost didn't notice when Lily let go of him.

"See? You do love me!" she pointed out. "You kissed me!"

"Because you kissed me," Zarek added.

"You didn't try to back away though," Lily replied. "But, we'll officially settle this tomorrow, mkay? I want to get some sleep." With that, she turned around and headed straight for the door of the room. Once she exited, Zarek walked back inside, still unable to get the thoughts from before out of his head. He plopped down onto his bed and just thought. Only one thing in his mind at the moment was decided to be true.

Damn it, I am such an idiot.

Baltazar. Ralalta thought about the name for a second, and decided she liked it. It fit him perfectly.

She smiled at him again, this time more sincere. "That's a very nice name. It reminds me of a rushing river I got swept up in once, and-- oh, nevermind. That's another story... Anyway, my name is Ralalta. A bit of a mouthful, I know, but it's very common for Zoras to have excessive "R"s and "L"s in their names."

She gazed off for a moment, lost in thought.

"This Zora you met, before. Was he... I mean to say, did he have... well, it's a bit hard to explain, you see, but I once had a very good friend from long ago. It would be nice to see him again, I guess."

She was silent for a second. "But ah, look at me babbling away... changing subjects... I always do this, I'm sorry..."

The man continued to play his guitar as people danced around, but she could tell he was still listening. He didn't speak up and tell her to shut it, at least.

"Your music... it's very beautiful. You were playing a tune earlier, it reminded me of my-- of someone. Would you be able to play it again? Just once more?" she asked.

"Ralalta is a pretty name, methinks," Baltazar said thoughtfully. "Pretty original too, so that's two good things about it. Ye won't get mixed up with someone else that way." He laughed to himself before going on listening to her talk further. He was always more interested in listening, as he found his own life to have been pretty boring, and he always yearned to learn more about people, even if they were total strangers who he had only talked to for five minutes.

"Mm? A tune?"

He played the one he had started out with, but the Zora shook her head. "The other one."

"Ah, that one," Baltazar said with a smile, and he let his fingers dance over the guitar strings lightly. It was a personal favorite of his that he played a lot, so it was almost as though he had put his hands on autopilot. They moved on their own, not having to rely on his attention or anything.

"So you're a Zora, eh?" he asked. "Fancy people, those. Hear them's from Hyrule. Never been there, but I hear it's pretty small. Nature's beautiful though... I've heard." He smiled a little sadly. "I've been stayin' in this here part of town for months now. It's become like a life fer me, ya know? Sittin' here, playin' the guitar and havin' me some nice, cold drinks... that should be life."

He sighed with a dreamy expression on his face.

"Ah, this is the place where ye make mem'ries, ya know? Ye get to know people here, an' they're so friendly t'ya. Well, most of 'em," he added as he glanced at three men who just entered the bar, receiving quiet stares from the other customers. "Here's a tip fer ya, lassie; stay away from them boys over there. Them's bad people, 'specially to foreigners. There was a poor chap who was from a neighbouring country who ran into 'em, and ye don't want to end up like he did."

Zarek continued to sit there on his bed, lost in thought about Lily. He never actually disliked her, and he for sure hated being teased about her behavior when they'd first met. The behavior itself, however, seemed to be another story. Zarek thought back to how cheerful and optimistic Lily always acted, even when she did embarrass him. He remembered how she strove to protect him in battle, despite him always being stronger.

And then, there was the dancing during the celebration after the Shadow War had ended. Lily was quite the dancer when it came to having a dance partner on the floor, Zarek had to admit. It wasn't that hard to learn how either. He had simply been glad to not have had two left feet during the music. Zarek smiled to himself upon recalling these wonderful events from the past. He really had enjoyed Lily's company, and couldn't deny that. The Reaver enjoyed her company just this evening as well.

Finally, Zarek turned over on his side and tried to sleep, letting a long awaited thought come to his mind at last. He whispered to himself before closing his eyes.

"Lily...I look forward to our talk."

Ralalta grinned a little at the man's compliments of her name. It was true, she realized, it was very unique. She wondered for a moment how her mother had come up with her name. It was strange, most Zoras considered it tradition to include "ruto" in the names of their daughters.

Then Baltazar began to play his song again, but it wan't the one she was thinking of. She shook her head and said, "The other one."

When he began to play the one that reminded her so much of her mother, she smiled and closed her eyes a bit. She listened to everything he was saying while at the same time conjuring up images of the happiest times she had had with her mother in her mind, along to the tune.

"Yes," she agreed with him, as he talked about Hyrule, "It is a small place, but very beautiful. Especially Zora's Domain, though I might be a bit biased." She laughed a little. "I've spent most of my life there... I yearn for something new, for excitement. I can't imagine staying in one place anymore. I'm determined to spend the rest of my life living it up!"

She laughed again, at herself, as she realized how quickly she had gone from being reserved to getting riled up. This man, Baltazar, had an effect on people. She knew it.

Then, while he continued to play the song, he looked pensive for a moment and he talked about the bar. He seemed content.

But then she noticed three nasty-looking men enter the building, and her heart sank. She had seen them before somewhere, she just knew it. She couldn't quite remember from where, though.

"Those men... I'm pretty sure I've seen them before," she told Baltazar. "Are they really that bad?"

BiC: Zarek began to fall asleep on his bed without pulling the blanket over himself. He almost immediately began to dream and the dream he was dreaming had its focus on none other than himself and Lily. They were dancing together again and to the very same music that had played at the celebration at the time. It was peaceful and happy. It seemed like nothing could possibly end it. Until suddenly, a giant glass bottle plunged down near the two and shattered, spraying glass everywhere. Zarek immediately awoke with a start and didn't notice he'd shifted to the very edge of the bed.

"Augh!" he bellowed as he fell off and hit the floor with a thud. "Ow! Damn it!" A loud shattering noise much like the one from the dream had caused Zarek to wake, followed by a loud female shriek from a nearby room.

"...Lily!" Zarek realized. He quickly scrambled to his feet, grabbed both his axes, and barged his way out of the door and to Lily's across the hall. Zarek immediately knocked on the door to be let in.

"Lily! Lily, open up! What's going on in there?!" Zarek frantically shouted, fearing something dangerous. Before there could be any answer, however, Zarek made out the faint chanting of a wind spell and minutes later, a loud bang against the door. Finally, the knob turned and there on the floor was a burglar, who'd been brutally attacked. He had been the one to open the door.

"Huh?! What the--?!" Zarek gasped. "GAH!" He was hit over the head with a giant fist from said burglar and fell to the floor. One other man, probably an accomplice of the first burglar, was battling Lily.

"Zarek!" Lily gasped, noticing the incident. "You filthy brutes!" She immediately unleashed her Tornado spell and watched both men fly about the room in a spin.

"Why you little--!" one shouted and grabbed her by the throat. She gasped for air and kept slapping the man in the face. He tried to strike her throat with a dagger, but missed and accidentally had it land on her arm instead. Lily cried out loudly from the immense pain. Zarek looked up from the floor as he slowly tried to stand up once more and gasped as the man threw Lily to the floor. She landed on her knees, but her arm hurt too much to let her balance on it. Lily simply struggled to stand up once more.

"Hahaha! This is easy! We'll be finished with our robbery here and joined with our buddies at the bar in no time!" one of the burglars yelled. "Think fast, little girl!" With that, he threw two daggers straight at Lily. Zarek, full of more shock than ever, had finally gotten to his feet and ran to her side.

"NO!" he yelled and pushed her aside, allowing the daggers to drive themselves right into his side and gut.

"AAAAUGH!" Zarek yelled as the blades made contact with his flesh.

"ZAREK!" Lily cried in fear. Using his last bit of strength to bear it, Zarek tossed his Bolt Axe right at the two burglars and not only shocked them, but brought them both to their deaths due to the immense amount of electricity. Lily finished them off by Tornadoing them over the balcony railing outside through the broken glass of the sliding door. The chaos over, Lily turned her attention back to Zarek, who was wobbling on his legs.

"Zarek! No!" Lily cried again.

"Lily...I...listen..." Zarek stammered, the pain very hard to bear. "I won't...be alive...much longer..."

"What?! No, don't talk like that! I won't lose you! You'll be alright!" Lily disagreed. "My Physic staff will heal you!"

"Don't...grieve for me...I'm sorry..." Zarek replied. Lily's eyes began to fill with tears, hoping he was dead wrong.

"No..."

"And I'm sorry...I could never tell you...sooner..."

"What?" Before Zarek could respond, he fell to his knees and began to cough up blood.

"Zarek!" Lily gasped. She laid him on the floor, back first. Using his last bit of strength, he managed to say his final words.

"Lily...I love you." In the next minute, the Reaver had closed his eyes and died.

OoC: Yes, I've killed Zarek. But he won't be dead for a long time. I'm waiting for Lily to get approved so I can switch to her in here.

"They're nothin' you wanna get involved with," Baltazar said casually, though a little more tense than before. "Usually there're more of 'em though..."

His fingers lived their own lives while he thoughtfully looked over at the three troublemakers, before he turned to Ralalta again.

"Not to worry 'bout those guys, they won't dare ter try somethin' while I'm around," he grinned. "They know that if they do somethin' bad - pow, I'm there t' lay the smack down on 'em."

He laughed.

"Okay, maybe not like that, but it's true that they don't do anythin' while I'm around. I dunno why, don't I look like a harmless, friendly guy to you?"

He looked at her curiously.

She nodded. "Yes, you do look pretty innocent to me. But... you have an effect on people. I can tell. Everyone seems to act differently around you. I didn't plan on talking to anyone in this town before I met you... but now I might stay for longer than I intended. Maybe I'll poke around town a bit."

She sat there, listening to his music for a few minutes. Watching the people around the bar give cold looks to the three intimidating men who were now at the counter.

"Hmm... I wonder where the green-haired man from earlier went. He seemed interesting. Do you know anything about him? You were talking to him before," she said to Baltazar.

"Oh, Zarek?" Baltazar said. "Met him for the first time today, had him show us some dance moves. He went with some girl, I think."

As he played the last few notes of the song, he finally put the guitar away.

"Sore fingers," he grinned as he showed his fingers to Ralalta. "Not to worry though, I'm sure I'll be ready ter play some more in no time."

He waved at the bartender, holding up two fingers. The bartender had a thin, young boy bring the drinks over to them, and Baltazar accepted his with much gratitude.

"If ye don't like to drink that stuff, I can have him bring ye somethin' else," he said to the Zora.