Trafalgar

"He can be delicate, but at the same time, he's...well, he's a little overpowering, unfortunately, haha."

"That's obvious, considering he almost knocked you over in his drunken antics earlier..." Trafalgar sighed. Well, she wasn't what someone would call able to resist a push from a man her uncle's size although she seemed quite fit actually. Trafalgar couldn't imagine what she did to keep her body fit like that, so he didn't even try. "Well, my name's not really that special. My mom actually thought it up. It's supposedly the name of the place my folks got together and...you know, had me. That's why it's not that common of a name heh" he said and laughed.

Corinne

"Pfft...all said and done, if I had a little more meat on my bones, I could take him down in frequent fist-fights, easy." the elf smirked and puffed out her chest to make herself appear a little bit bigger than her 5'8. "Though I'd really like to be a little less thrown-around by him. But that's what Shork is for, I leave the physical labor to him. Another half-breed, haha. But, get this, he's half-orc, and a lovable old man. You simply must meet him sometime. In fact, I see him..." her eye scanned the room for the trademark armor, which, again covered his body, and it made her laugh a little too. Good old Shork. "...right over there, in the brown armor. He's not ridiculously old, but I think I have him beaten in years. He's about...in his forties, I'd say. You might just have a lovely old conversation with him about everything under the sun. And that's an interesting story actually, I-"

Trafalgar

A laugh that soon died out when Corinne asked about how it felt being a half-elf. That hit a chord right there and Trafalgar's face became dead serious as he responded; "Have you ever had someone say to you that it would be better to discard a piece of yourself in order to be accepted in a society? Have you ever been so scared of voicing your opinion over something, fearing it might make you seem too "human" or too "elvish"? Do you feel like your life is split in half, with those half's battling it out day after day after day over which one would prevail as the dominant half? Now, I don't know what your uncle feels about his heritage and how he deals with it, but that's pretty much what you'd have to go through in order to understand what's it like being a half-elf" he concluded, his face clearly showing his frustration. After a brief silence he realized what he had just said; "Ugh...I'm sorry" he said, rubbing his eyes with his hands, "I don't know what got to me and I said those things, you clearly had no bad intentions when you asked that. I'm sorry" he apologized once more.

Trying to shrug it off, he replied to her other questions "Um, I'm sure that's not all your Uncle is about. Drink can and often does confuse a mans mind, making him unable to control himself. Oh and I sure met Pucksy earlier. He seemed like a good man" he finished. Trafalgar watched quietly as a man approached Corinne and greeted her.

Corinne

The grave change in tone made Corinne swallow hard, regretting even having brought up the topic about half-breeds at all. She listened with a fright about his tone almost, and hung onto each word that left the man's lips, and they saddened her. They explained to her what her uncle might have felt, and why he chose to live all alone so far away from it all after all, but it grew a sense of loneliness within her. No, she had never been in that position. No, she did not have to make diplomatic decisions for the area in which she lived, or the people with whom she lived, though if she had remained in he elvish community, she most probably would have, being the "politician's daughter" and whatnot. And no, most definitely not, did she have two sides battling it out within her to assert dominance. She was an elf. A pure-blooded being in flesh.
And she was safe, and distant, and free from it all here. And in that moment, she silently breathed thanks to a lucky star that diverted hers from a fate like that.

Her voice was quiet when she spoke, though she suppressed the trembling it would have brought on at the half-elf's outburst. "No, I admit I do not know how it feels to lead a life like that, a life like yours. But I can only try to understand. It seems a fate I wouldn't wish upon anyone, a constant, unending struggle, from within as well as from the judging world."
Two of her fingers crept to her lips silently, and with shut eyes, she gingerly placed them on the back of one of the man's hands right after, remaining like that for a handful of seconds before her lighter eyes flickered open to meet his dark ones. "You need not apologize, for you haven't wronged me in any way. Though I've asked a prayer for your hardship, and those of every half-breed who suffers the same fate. May the gods bless and relieve all of you."

The space that fell between that and him answering her next questions was a brief, tense space. She was happy when he spoke again, and her features lit up, lips quirking in a little smile at first that only seemed to grow bit by bit. "Pucksy's a rascal saint, he is. Keeps my uncle company and on his toes, haha. I've known him for...quite a while now. My uncle isn't, or rather, hasn't always been this way. In fact...I've been living with my uncle for quite a long time now, actually. I cannot remember how many years ago I came here, but I know he was important here then, and still is important here now. The only things that have changed are his temperament and his love of drink. He runs a craft-store not very far from here, and I se-"

She flinched when the familiar voice of a man came up behind her and spun around with her fists balled and an evident flush at her cheeks in response to it, in about a fraction of a second. "E-elric! Sneaking up on women again?! Pray tell, why me!"

She gasped, swallowed her breath before shaking her head and letting out a drawn-out, exaggerated sigh. And then giving him a smile. She wasn't mad at him. After all, all he'd done was frighten her. "...yes, it's a lovely evening indeed, Elric. How are you? Oh...and I've met someone quite peculiar. For a man who flits about like the most social butterfly, like you, I'd wonder if you could tell me who this young gentleman is." she smirked. This was one of the many perfect opportunities to one-up the chirpy barber she'd come to know for quite some time now. Her uncle was a good friend of his, often went down for cuts, or just to have a chit-chat. Corinne went with most of the times. He was good company, and always told the best stories, and always knew the juiciest gossip about who-knew-what. Though recently, he'd taken to criticizing a certain gentleman she spent a lot of time with...
The Blacksmith's Boy, Benjamin Smith.

"Well, if you must know, his name is Trafalgar. Trafalgar...err." No knowledge of the man's last name left her at a loss.
"...err. Never mind, but he's an interesting fellow. If you're looking for Uncle Seb, he's asleep in one of the rooms upstairs. But I think this young fair-haired gentleman and myself would enjoy your company over a drink greatly."
She reached down and gingerly checked the little pouch at her waist that held the coins she carried. They jingled a little. She had enough, which was good.
...a tiny, tiny part of her hoped that Elric was feeling particularly generous, and would make up for the drinks the man had ordered.

Corinne enjoyed her wine fresh, flavorful, and blood red as opposed to the white variety. Unfortunately, she enjoyed them expensive too, as they'd be.
And she preferred the wines to most other liquor, for it all smelled foul and she'd never been able to bring herself to do much more with it than disinfect wounds.
...she secretly hoped the man she'd be going to treat didn't have impeccable taste in liquor as well, else she'd be broke spending on alcohol alone.
And the irony of the thought made her chuckle.
Though to an onlooker, the little smirk and holding-in of a larger laugh would be quite unexplained.

Elric

Elric gave a soft chuckle, "Ah the cheeks flush to the exact color as a fresh rosebud, a rather pretty shade, fitting for you Corinne." He mused. He then coughed into his left hand, "Ah excuse me." he said, as he wiped his hand on his pantaloons.

Elric blinked at her, "Sneaking up? I thought my arrival was rather timely, to be perfectly honest." He cracked a smile, "And I'm doing quite well, just finished some work that I got this fine night. Tonight I didn't have any clients coming for any cases of surgery, just the couple of late night trims of the hair."

He stroked his beard as Corinne brought up the name of another gentleman, Trafalgar. Elric shook his head, "No I cannot say that I am familiar with the individual by that name." He turned towards Trafalgar, "I extend my greetings to you. I am Elric." He said, giving a nod to Trafalgar, as he took a careful observation of the man, examining him in exquisite detail. "Yes, well it is nice to meet you."

Elric took note of Corinne's smirk, and gave a playful grin, "So, you've found someone to replace Ben, hmm? Oh this is the most interesting development. Oh yes, quite a change of pace, eheh... So what finally made you change your mind on Ben?" He flicked out his tongue, as his lips curled into a smile. He held its position for a few seconds, before stopping the expression. "Ah, but oh, you are probably still with him." Elric shook his head, as he shrugged, as he raised his hands up, keeping his palms up to the sky. "Oh well..."

Elric felt that he should move the conversation along in a different direction. After all, he didn't want to start thinking about the fact that he had no one to call his own, and not having produced a child. That was a thing that did pull at his heart, and caused him quite a bit of sadness. Oh how many of his relatives already had several children by this point, and could always go and sleep in the hands of their loving spouse. Such a warm feeling that he knew he was without, and it was...

He spoke again, "And Sebastian is asleep? Oh dear, he is already tuckered out?" He shook his head, making a few clicking noises, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Most unfortunate indeed, I would have enjoyed sharing a chat and a drink with him." Elric chortled as he placed his left hand on his chest while he was laughing, "Ah, he is a fine companion to share a mug with. He is a rather fun individual to be around." He said as he returned his left hand back to his side.

Elric shook his head as he spoke again, "Oh well, I will have to greet him when he has awoken from his slumber. But of course not immediately, I must make sure he gets his mind back to its proper senses. Well, I hope he will have a good sleep then I suppose."

Elric then flourished his right hand, extending his palm. "Yes, I would enjoy the company of both of you, for a drink. After all, who likes drinking alone, when you can drink with others? Sadly, I was unable to share a drink with Samuel, who I was initially planning to share a drink with. He had other matters to attend to, before I had the pleasure of having a mug with him."

He returned his extended hand back to his side, "And of course, share in many conversations over the various drinks." He then focused his attention to Trafalgar, "I imagine you'd have interesting stories to share? I'd be delighted to hear whatever tales you happen to have at hand." He gave another smile, "And of course, I will share a few stories with you."

Trafalgar

Trafalgar was glad she wasn't offended by what he had said. On he contrary, she actually consoled him, something no one had ever done for him until then. What's more, she prayed for his and for all half-bred peoples well-being. They say that an elf's prayer has the power to heal and soothe the soul and in that instance, Trafalgar felt an ever growing, warm but unknown to him until then, feeling in his heart.

Trafalgar listened silently as she spoke about Pucksy and her uncle, trying to catch on some of what she said but his consciousness was drifting slowly to another world. A world where races and heritage didn't matter and peoples relationships were not governed by stereotypes and standards. An impossible world really...

A strangers voice brought him back to reality. The man in front of him was apparently friends with Corinne's uncle and that made him her friend as well. Trafalgar smiled when she introduced him to the man who called himself Elric and he added "Huris, Trafalgar Huris" he said and shook Elric's hand. He listened as he man spoke and his brows rose in curiosity when he mentioned someone named Ben, "...but of course, a woman like her would already have found someone...lucky guy..." he thought and sighed.

On the mention of drinking, Trafalgar lit up, "a drink is exactly what i need right now. And a strong one at that" he thought; "Great, since you will be joining us for a drink, let's carry on our little conversation at the table" he said and quickly walked by Elric and downstairs where he sat at one of the empty tables and called over the barkeep to order their drinks, "Come, hurry up. The drinks are on me!"

Corinne

"A pretty shade? The same shade your cheek will soon be turning, in the mark of a hand print, good doctor." her eyebrows raised in that way they always did, one a little higher, sharper than the other, and a twinkle in her eyes with the smile of challenge playing at her lips. "Though you sure know how to woo all the hens. Bet the lassies just love you at public gatherings, Elric. And sneaking up it was, you cheeky bastard, you." her tongue was as sharp when she spit insults, though the tone she used with the man was that of old friends, and she even clapped him on the shoulder with another exaggerated sigh, as if she sounded exhausted just hearing about it. "I really don't know how you do it, Elric. Surgeon by day, barber by night, barber by day, surgeon by night, it really has me confused what you happen to be doing in that little...laboratory of yours. I don't think I'd ever be able to work more than the hours I do in the daytime. Who'd come in for a snip? Was it Marcus, by any chance? I hear he got the position as guard he'd been coveting so much, but I don't know when he's started...perhaps it was maybe Harris, or one of his sons? Though probably not the latter...his wife's got a hard hold on the man, and the boys would be in bed by now. In fact, it's so late..." her gaze fell to the window. The tavern was alive. The outside seemed a lot darker than she'd initially remembered.
Night was a strange, frightening thing.

"Wha?! A change of pace?! Elric!" the elven woman's cheeks went red hot and she balled her fists again, cheeks puffed and her brow knitting as she scowled at him through a vivid blush, "I'll have you know, I'm no tart! We...Ben and I aren't like that, I'll have you know. He's a sweetheart, and...god." she panted a little when he brushed it off with his hands raised to the sky. This man really knew how to press all of her buttons and tug on every last string, and could have her jump whenever he so said 'jump!', "...oh, Elric, whatever am I going to do with you?"
And here she laughed, a light, airy sound. "Oh, Trafalgar, don't mind him. He can be such a brute sometimes. Pardon my manners, you're still new here after all. Benjamin, rather Ben, is the younger of the two Smith children; of the local blacksmith. He's got an older daughter who is quite known around the town..." she coughed a little, almost implicatively. "Anyway, he's a good man. Brown haired, brown eyed, and...you'd be surprised to know this, perhaps, but he's human, haha. He is also the young gentleman I happen to be spending some time with though Elric here thinks it's a relationship that goes far, far beyond that. In fact, like the mother-goose he is..." and here she gave the older man a little nudge, Elric the gossip-machine, though that was one of the many things Corinne loved about him, "...he sits around with the wives and tells wives' tales and the most interesting stories. You know what he told me just the other day? That the boy was working on a ring, and I told him that was nonsense. We're just...we're just really good friends, that's all."
Her cheeks lit up like Christmas light again, pink, and red, and orange in the tavern's light. "...yes, aha...hahaha! Speaking of, could this mystery late-night customer be a damsel in distress, Elric? You dog..."
She laughed again. The atmosphere, albeit dulling as the tavern was coming to shut down, was intoxicating nonetheless. "I bet she was, wasn't she! With all the travelers we get, why not...Did you send her off on her way with flowers? Maybe even charge her nothing for the trouble of coming to spend time with you, and not really get a hair-cut...you're holding out on such juicy details!"

"Uncle Seb is fine...although, a certain someone..." she shot a look at Trafalgar here, though it was playfully dismissed more than anything else, "took very good care of him. I'll tell you more at the table, but I'd most definitely enjoy a round of your historic, and hysteric, stories to tell, gentlemen. Shall we be on our way?" The elven woman's eyes twinkled and a purr took her voice, with her climbing down the stairs right after the half-elf, and followed by the barber.

Though before making her way to the table entirely, she waded through the crowds unnoticed for a fraction of seconds. She was looking for someone.
And she'd found him. Shork, sitting at a distant table with some of his favourite mead.
"Listen, Uncle Seb's in room 6 upstairs, I'd really appreciate if you could keep an eye on him. Make sure he gets home safe and sound, y'know?" she had to talk rather loudly, hoping the half-orc heard her request. She clapped him on the back as well with a few words in parting, "We're sitting at the bar itself. You should come over, Elric is there as well. And there's someone I think you'll find rather interesting come in as well. Join us if you'd like, old man."

Trotting back to the bar and snagging a stool by the other two for herself, she righted her cloak and breeches and tapped the table for the barkeep to take her order, "A measure of the finest red wine you have for the red-haired elven maiden, if you will, sir. And whatever these two gentlemen order." and here she brought her voice down as low as possible, so only he'd hear, "And no matter who insists on paying for the drinks, the charge is on me, understood?" she gave him a wink to cement her statement before sending him on his way. She couldn't let Trafalgar pay. Not in a strange new town, with strange new people, and strange new happenings to have happened.
She'd foot the bill. It was no sweat, after all.
...right?

Elric

He shook Tralfgar's hand, "Yes that does sound like a good plan. I imagine we'll have a delightful conversation."

Elric playfully turned his cheek, as he kept silent for a bit. He turned his head back after a moment of that, "Oh they do enjoy my company. But unfortunately all those..." Elric chuckled a bit, "Hens as you so put it, already have the company of another rooster." His lips curled into a smile, "And again you insist that I was sneaking up? I arrived in a timely fashion, you just weren't able to greet me at the precise time of arrival." He laughed a bit.

He blinked as she brought up his work habits. He curled up his right hand and rubbed his eye, "Well I have plenty of fine individuals who need service." He stopped rubbing his eye, as they both glimmered with twinkles of joy, "And few things beat the satisfaction I feel giving a stylish trim of the hair and surgeries. It is a fine profession that I'm grateful everyday I get to practice it." He stroked his beard, "Though I'm not sure I'd call it a labratory, that would be far more applicable to Tirarian's working place."

Elric wagged his left index finger, "T'wasn't Marcus. Though I did get Marcus earlier this week. And he did get his position, and that was the reason he came. He took a nasty series of wounds that I had to treat, a true shame that it had to happen within his first few days as a guard. On the bright side he did win in that encounter. And it wasn't Harris or the boys, though I do believe they'll be coming in fairly soon for a trim. And oh yes, the tales he brings up concerning his wife..." He shook his head and chuckled a bit.

Then Corinne had her reaction to that. Elric cracked a grin, "Well that tells me what I need." Elric playfully flicked out his tongue and smiled a more eager smile, "Oh well you do know what they say about wives holding the ears of the husband..." He jested.

He then melodramatically stepped back, as he swung his right hand into the air, before slamming it back down upon his chest. "Ack, a brute!? Your harsh accusations have wounded me, and a throbbing pain exists within me now!" He dramatically declared as he cast his head to look away. He then turned back to Corinne as she continued to deny the relationship with Ben.

He perked up at the nudge, "Yes, I do trade stories with them, it is always a lovely mid afternoon chatter we share. As for the ring, I know for a fact that Janet was not exaggerating the manner or style of the ring. Just give it a couple of weeks for the boy to finally work up the courage. In fact, regarding that matter I'm actually participating in a friendly wager with Miss Evelyn." Elric grinned, "I'll best most delighted if I win that wager."

Wagging his right index finger, "Unfortunately not I'm afraid. No the mystery customer was Samuel. I was going to share a drink with him but he had urgent matters to attend to." Elric shook his head, "Oh but if it was..." He smiled as he mused in thought.

"I see, I see." He remarked as Corinne told him how the individual Traflagar took care of Sebastian. He headed towards the bar and took a seat at the nearest stool available near Traflagar and Corinne. He tapped on the bar table, "A mug of ale if you'd be so kind."

Trafalgar

"We're just...we're just really good friends, that's all."

Trafalgar had met enough people during his journeys to know where this went. He sat down on the table and when the barkeep came over to get their order, he asked for their finest and strongest ale. He was going to need it if he wanted to forget about earlier. Trafalgar didn't make it a habit of drinking that much, but he barely had drunk anything at all that night because of a certain someone who now tried really hard to hide that she wanted to pay the bill, "I may not be a full-blooded elf but i still have an elfs hearing you know..." he said and looked at Corinne, a grin forming on his face that told her he wasn't going to back down. The drinks were on him.

"So, from what I collected, Elric here is quite the ladies man. I wish you could share some of your secrets with me. Since I travel so much, I never stay on one place for long and so I haven't really had any kind of relationships of that sort. But, In the future, I wish to settle down, maybe find a wife and have a family, but that's in the future really. I still have ways to go before I complete my journey around the world" he said and settled back on his chair, relaxing until they were served their drinks.

Turning his attention to Corinne, "earlier you talked about a half-orc named Shork. I happen to have made many half-orc friends from my travels. I look forward to meeting with him although, from what you are saying, he is a lot older than me so that might be a problem but we'll see."

Addressing Elric once more, "Actually, now that you mention it, while I was making my way through the town, I happened to pass by the forge and I was surprised to see that the lights were still on. Usually when you wander around towns this late at night, most, if not all people are sleeping and the shops are closed. So I got curious and approached the building. I tried entering but the door was locked, proving that the shop was indeed closed but I could still hear the sound of metal being hammered from inside so I got more curious. I made my way around the building and I found a window and through it I saw a young man. He was wearing a blacksmiths apron and was fiddling with something. I couldn't really make out what it was but he seemed really focused and he was handling the thing with care, like it was made of gold or something" he finished and with the corner of his eyes looked at Corinne. Of course all that was made up, he hadn't really seen anything like that but he wanted to see her reaction to what he had said so he continued.

"So I kept looking and after a while he realized I was watching him and hurried over to the window. We are closed, shoo shoo he said and waved his hands at me to leave. Who knew that the thing he was making was actually a ring...I wonder for whom It is...he seemed to really treasure it" he said with a hint of sarcasm.