Wanderin' Wherry Tavern
It is often whispered, in the crowds that converge here, that a certain Weyrleader was asked what he wanted in the remodeling of the pub that was not so long ago given a refreshing. He muttered back over the rim of his ever-present mug, "I don't care what you do with the place, just so long as there is plenty of ale." With that in mind, cask after cask of ale lines the walls of the tavern, the remodeler's idea of a jest. As they age, the casks bring a real rustic atmosphere to the pub, along with the deeply wooden flavor that seems to be the theme throughout.
The lighting is dim, as it should be in all good pubs, and the tables and chairs are plentiful. A long mahogany bar, intricately carved with runner beasts, stands vigilant duty at the head of the bar, lined with stools for those patrons that seek the bartender's company. Behind it are drinks for those not inclined toward ale, as well as a door leading to the small kitchen where snacks are made and a back room that probably holds yet more ale.
It's not unusual for N'on to be seen in the Wherry of an evening, since his return to Xanadu following Half Moon's sad demise. Sometimes he can be seen with a group of friends, but not so much tonight. It's a pretty slow evening, without much in the way of patronage, so the greenrider has settled in at the bar. He slowly sips his way through what is probably some sort of ale, while doodling aimlessly on a notepad laid out on the bar.
Rhodelia might not actually work at the Wherry any more, but she's certainly at it frequently enough that it could be confusing. Tonight though, she's not even sitting at the bar. Her drink has been taken to go towards one of the corners and set on a vacant table. The assistant has a serious look of concentration complete with tongue poking out as she focuses and then throws. The flying projectile misses the board and bounces off to ricochet closer to the bar. She winces as it clatters to the ground. "Oooops."
N'on flinches slightly as something flies through the air towards him, caught only in his peripheral vision. Almost reflexively, the notepad is tucked back into a pocket, but when he glances around to see where it comes from and only sees Rhodelia, a flash of confusion passes across his expression and he glances down at the floor to figure out what the heck she was throwing. Presumably a dart, which he can pick up and carry back to her with only a slightly raised brow.
Tossing darts in a mostly vacant bar would usually be pretty safe, but Rhodelia has a knack for making anything slightly dangerous or maybe that's just Xanadu in general. Instead of actually going to claim her missile, she turns instead for her glass and takes a giant sip of the bright red beverage. It was indeed a dart that was tossed and she blinks as it turns out N'on actually returns the dart. "Oh… thanks. Or I'm sorry I guess?" Cause tossing things at people even accidentally should get an apology, right?
N'on gives a little grin and a wave to brush off the need to apologize. He lingers for a moment, but then finally pulls out his notepad, flipping to a fresh page so he can scrawl a message. He passes the note to her with a curious expression. "Did you get your lizard home safe?"
Rhodelia takes the dart, although she doesn't immediately return to tossing it. She keeps it in hand, just twirling slowly as she watches N'on scrawl. When the message is passed, she blinks and then laughs. "Oh, no. But she's pretty happy right there. Until it rains again or something." She shrugs. "She has been coming around for breakfast though. And sometimes dinner."
N'on has a mildly concerned expression, but nods slightly. Hey, sometimes firelizards are annoying. He glances to the dartboard, then the dart, and points to it with a quizzical expression.
Concern is probably the correct expression, but it's completely absent from Rhodelia's face as she hums and takes another sip of her drink. The pointing and the quizzical look has her tilting her head. "This?" She holds up the dart. "You throw it at that. And the closer to the middle, the better. Bullseye!" She makes a mock-throwing gesture with the dart hand although she keeps a tight enough grip on it so it doesn't go flying again this time.
N'on rolls his eyes a little and waves off the explanation. This time, he extends his hand, palm up, and crooks his fingers in a kind of 'gimme' gesture. Assuming she's willing to give up the dart, he reaches over to the bar to snag his ale, settles down at her table, then lets fly with the dart. He doesn't exactly hit the bullseye, but apparently he's played before, at least.
Rhodelia has never been really possessive and so the first sign of finger wiggling has her depositing the dart in N'on's hand. It helps that her wintery layers have plenty of pockets and from one of them she pulls a trio of more darts. There's a little frown as the greenrider gets much, much closer than she had done. Not like it was hard to do seeing how her last throw went. "Beginner's luck?" She's going to guess as she sets her own drink. Time for round two or like… who knows how long she's been drinking and throwing things earlier. She at least hits the board so that's something?
N'on grins at her question with a skeptically raised brow. Then he just shrugs and has a swallow of his ale. He watches as she takes aim and lets fly, then claps his hands in a short, unironic applause. He only had the one dart she offered, so he just smiles at her over his ale, amused by /something/, but it's anyone's guess what that is.
Rhodelia is allowed a little bit of hope, even if it might soon be crushed. She's distracted enough by her drink that she doesn't realize that she still holds all the darts for a minute or two. But eventually she does stop with the drinking and holds out her hand for him to take another dart and another shot.
N'on grins a little and nods his head sharply in what is probably a gesture of gratitude as he takes one of the darts. He takes aim, throws it, and… it lands just off the edge of the board. He rolls his eyes with a grin for himself, but cedes the turn to her with a sweep of his hand and a return to his ale.
That isn't a little wiggle of joy (and premature celebration) that Rhodelia gives as N'on's next toss goes of the edge. Since it's her turn, Rhody will step up and closes an eye as she dramatically aims her next throw to… miss. Completely miss. This time it doesn't richochet though. It sticks directly under the dart board with a loud THUNK. She glances down at her hand and the last dart which she hands over towards N'on once more.
N'on accepts the dart graciously, and takes a bit more time aiming this time. There's a lingering look of concentration, and then he lets it fly. It *thunks* into the board, not /quite/ at the bullseye, but definitely within the first ring. He beams a little at the result, glances to Rhodelia, then returns to his notepad. His chicken scratch is progressively scratchier the more he drinks, but it's at least still legible as he writes, "Winner buys the next round." He passes the note to her and waves to get the attention of whoever is serving drinks tonight.
Rhodelia gives a dubious look at the paper as it's based over. "Aren't you supposed to set wagers before the activity is finished?" Doesn't matter what the actual answer is because she'll also wave towards the server who… is just about as inattentive at her duties as Rhody was. "What were you drinking?" She doesn't wait. Just takes a glance at the color of the current beverage and nods. "I got it!" She chugs the rest of her red fruit beverage before sprinting the few steps to the bar. Eventually she does come back. Her own drink is a very surprising shade of blue. And his is a very medium shade of brown.
N'on pulls out some marks to place on the table while Rhodelia wanders off to fetch drinks, and once she returns, he eyes the blue drink a bit skeptically. Luckily, his own is not blue, so he just gives it a bit of a sniff and then a tentative sip. Predictably, he gives a smile and a thumbs up to show his approval.
If N'on had really wanted the blue drink, she might have been convinced to part with it but luckily that's not neccesary and she'll happily sip her own drink. "So guess you're also not a part of any dart league?" Not yet anyways. There may be some regulars that are scary good until they're too sloshed to serve or throw anything.
N'on shakes his head and waves a hand at that idea. He pushes the drink to the side temporarily to scrawl out an explanation. "I like playing. Too annoying to be in a group." Belatedly, he adds, "Good drink."
There's probably some coasters somewhere that would make the table safer for writing. Rhodelia did not grab any however. Closest she's got is an extra napkin which she slides over just in case. "Groups are annoying." She can cheers to that and in fact, raises her glass. The last note gets a wink. "It better be. I was a bartender once."
N'on grins a little and nods, deliberately taking a good long swig to show that he's enjoying it, followed by an expression smacking noise and a little return wink. He pulls the notepad back so he can add a quick note. "Groups = fun. Talking to them = annoying."
"Clearly you just need to find one that one communicates with charades," Rhodelia says with a nod. She waves her hands around as if to demonstrate although it's just gibberish waving. "But I'll leave you to the darts." She raises her glass once more before she wanders off to the other side of the bar where she thinks she sees a familiar head.
N'on's face falls as she makes that crack. He finds a weak smile to offer, then lifts his drink in a kind of salute as she wanders off. He'll stay at the table as she goes, focusing on the drink and finishing it without paying much more attention to the rest of the bar.