Ficlet Time Part II!
Jun. 29th, 2005 11:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ruFor the nice n' nifty ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
neherenia!
Arien drummed her fingers on her counter, glaring at the man that sat on the opposite side of the counter, sitting on her stool. The man was an unexpected inconvenience, a kink in her routine. Things had been rolling just fine until he slid through the door. It was almost closing time then, the sun having just set, gradually sending Atlantis into night. As far as Arien was concerned, it was one of the best times of the day. She loved how everything was winding down and that her evening meal and daily bath were now within sight. If anything, she might have one or two customers, but usually they were the types she could handle with relative ease. Not--not unlike this character.
She had actually been considering closing up a bit early when he came in. Now, she wished she had gone through with it. Then she would have had sufficient reason to tell him the shop was closed and been able to send him back out onto the street. It was the expression on his face that should've given him away, especially since he didn't have the tell-tale stagger--he looked a little too mellow, a little too at-ease for any normal person. It wasn't until he got close to her that she realized that she had a drunk on her hands. Maybe he was looking for a hangover cure, or something.
Tien, who had been lounging on the windowsill, had looked up at the peculiar man with a disinterested gaze before returning to watching some birds in a tree outside Arien's shop. The man had looked around the little shop with a bemused expression, taking in the shelves of bottles and multicolored liquids before his gaze had fallen upon Arien. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that he had already done a bit of barhopping before descending on her shop. He slowly made his way up to the counter, resting his hands on the top. "I beg your pardon ma'am," the man had said, "but there appear to be no chairs on this side. Could I possibly have something to sit on?"
Arien raised an eyebrow at the man, caught off guard by this atypical request. For a moment, she considered telling him he can stand just fine. Then again, while he wasn't wobbling, she wasn't sure she should go about taking her chances. If he collapsed, she'd have more to worry about than getting him out of her shop before closing time. Without a word, she got off of her stool and brought it around to the customer side of the counter, setting it down for the man before returning to stand at her former spot. He smiled politely at her and sat down, leaning his elbows on the counter, apparently waiting for something.
And so Arien drummed her fingers, her eyes narrowing at the man as she stood, waiting for him to speak.
The man coughed, glancing around the shop, apparently tired of waiting Arien to make the first move. "Well, this is a rather peculiar bar."
Arien couldn't help herself. At the mention of her shop being a 'bar', she visibly started. "You must be mistak--"
"I say, what are the specials here?"
Uh oh. Drunk and delirious. Not good. "This is not a...bar." she said slowly and carefully, "this is an apothecary."
The man looked at her for a few moments, confusion evident even through the alcohol haze. Finally, his eyes lit up in understanding. "Ah! I see! This is one of those...themed bars! Well then, I, one Sarhos, will have a bottle of distilled dragon's blood with an eye of newt."
Arien clenched her teeth, her eyes narrowing. "I told you, this is not a bar. This is not a...themed bar either. This is an apothecary. If you're not going to purchase anything..." Arien wanted to add 'like something that'll knock some sobriety into you' but held her tounge, "then I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We'll be closing soon."
The man called Sarhos laughed, an intoxicated, light sound. "Oh, nonsense! The night is still young, is it not? After all, I suspect that's why I'm the first one here. I say, I must complement you on your attention to authenticity. Most establishments wouldn't provide this much attention to detail and aesthetics." He waved his hand around the room. "The drinks in potion bottles, the cauldron in the back," his hand moved to indicate Arien, "even the bartender dressed up to look like an old witch! Very well done."
Arien's hand clenched into a fist. How...how dare he. "Old witch? I. Beg. Your. Pardon?" she said, her voice soft and dangerous. If he didn't come up with a good answer, she was going to throw him out of her shop then and there.
Sarhos chuckled uneasily. "Oh, well, I didn't mean you personally are an old witch. What sort of dye did you use to get that delightful gray color? That would look perfect for some of the art I work on."
"This is my natural hair color."
"Oh! Oh, I see. Well, it is rather...unique." He glanced across the table, his eyes settling on a stoppered bottle near Arien's arm that she had just finished putting the finishing touches on right before Sarhos had come in. His eyes lit up at the prospect of a way to change the subject. "Ooh! Thick, blue liquor! Well, that will work just fine. Pour me a glass, barkeep!"
Arien glanced over at the bottle. Oh, no, he has got to be kidding. "Sir, that is not--"
"Never mind, I'll help myself. And here's for your troubles." Sarhos pulled out a money purse, slapping down several coins before reaching for the bottle.
The apothecary sucked in a breath. Was he insane? "NO! Don't drink that!"
She made a lunge for the bottle, but it was too late. Sarhos had gotten hold of the bottle and uncorked it. A few puffs of green smoke escaped the bottleneck, dissipating into the air and leaving the faint hint of pine. Sarhos paid neither the apothecary nor the smoke no mind as he went about producing a glass that, to Arien, seemed to come out of the air, and poured himself some of the liquid. Before she could say another word, he had downed the potion, setting the glass on the table and making a little sigh. "Aaah. What an...unusual flavor."
Arien groaned, holding her head in her hand. Great. Just great. Not only had that elixir taken her all day to make, but it was useless now without the full bottle. This was not good.
Sarhos tapped one finger on the counter, pouring himself another glass with the other hand. "Why so glum? I think this is excellent. It has--" Sarhos's eyes widened in surprise, a look that might have been concern moving over his face. He hiccuped as he started to turn rather green--literally. "This is...strange."
The apothecary repressed the urge to smack her forehead with her palm. "Of course it's strange. You just drank crystalline iridescence oil!"
"Iridesc--this is more like an apothecary than a bar!" Sarhos hiccuped again, this time bringing up a swath of large, multicolored bubbles that floated easily on the air. Tien, her interest perked by this unusual development, came over to sit on the counter, batting at a stray bubble.
"What a genius!" Arien growled, moving out from behind the counter to one of the shelves, taking down a small round bottle filled with a strawberry pink liquid. It was after closing time, Sarhos had just destroyed her oil, and she wanted him out of her shop. NOW. "The hiccuping and color change should go away in a few hours." Her voice was starting to take on a more forceful tone. She pressed the bottle into Sarhos's empty hand. "In the meantime, take this hangover tonic, and go get sober somewhere other than here." She flung her pointed finger in the direction of the shop door.
"Leave?" Sarhos asked between bubble-hiccups, "So you really do mean there is nothing to drink here."
"No, there isn't."
Sarhos brightened, "That's alright, I can produce my own." He held up the glass, a dark brown liquid emerging in it. "We can settle in, and when others show up, we can discuss the pros and cons of artifical turf!"
Arien grimaced. She had had quite enough of this, and as far as she was concerned, decorum wasn't goign to get him to leave. "I don't care!" she shouted, causing Tien to leap off the counter and run into the back room, "I want you out now! Out! Out out out out out!" She took a hold of Sarhos's arm, pulling him out of his seat and practically dragging him to the door.
"But what about the small red creature on my shoulder?" Sarhos asked, gesturing to nothing on his shoulder. "He said he'd do the bartending."
"OUT!"
The power of her voice startled Sarhos enough for Arien to shove him out the door onto the street, after which she slammed and locked the door, flipping the sign to say that the shop was now officially closed. After she had gotten rid of him, she let out a frustrated growl, moving her way towards the back room. Her routine was totally thrown off now thanks to him, and she'd have to make a new batch of the oil tomorrow. There went her plans to replenish her stock of mirror paste. She absent-mindedly rubbed Tien's ears, her teeth clenched. If she ever saw that drunken idiot again, it'd be too soon.
Out on the street outside Arien's shop, Sarhos looked at the hangover tonic the apothecary had given him, staring at it a moment before chuckling to himself(illiciting a few stray bubbles in the process) and pocketing it. After securing the tonic, he started his way down the street, deciding to stick with someplace where he had been to before for the evening. As he took a sip from his mostly-full glass, his expression turned thoughtful, or at least as thoughtful as one can be when drunk and hiccuping bubbles whilst sporting a green complextion. "Someday," he said hazily, speaking to no one in particular, "I'm gonna marry that girl."
I think I got a little silly with the Larry Miller jokes toward the end. But hey, it was fun. ^^;
neherenia!Arien drummed her fingers on her counter, glaring at the man that sat on the opposite side of the counter, sitting on her stool. The man was an unexpected inconvenience, a kink in her routine. Things had been rolling just fine until he slid through the door. It was almost closing time then, the sun having just set, gradually sending Atlantis into night. As far as Arien was concerned, it was one of the best times of the day. She loved how everything was winding down and that her evening meal and daily bath were now within sight. If anything, she might have one or two customers, but usually they were the types she could handle with relative ease. Not--not unlike this character.
She had actually been considering closing up a bit early when he came in. Now, she wished she had gone through with it. Then she would have had sufficient reason to tell him the shop was closed and been able to send him back out onto the street. It was the expression on his face that should've given him away, especially since he didn't have the tell-tale stagger--he looked a little too mellow, a little too at-ease for any normal person. It wasn't until he got close to her that she realized that she had a drunk on her hands. Maybe he was looking for a hangover cure, or something.
Tien, who had been lounging on the windowsill, had looked up at the peculiar man with a disinterested gaze before returning to watching some birds in a tree outside Arien's shop. The man had looked around the little shop with a bemused expression, taking in the shelves of bottles and multicolored liquids before his gaze had fallen upon Arien. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that he had already done a bit of barhopping before descending on her shop. He slowly made his way up to the counter, resting his hands on the top. "I beg your pardon ma'am," the man had said, "but there appear to be no chairs on this side. Could I possibly have something to sit on?"
Arien raised an eyebrow at the man, caught off guard by this atypical request. For a moment, she considered telling him he can stand just fine. Then again, while he wasn't wobbling, she wasn't sure she should go about taking her chances. If he collapsed, she'd have more to worry about than getting him out of her shop before closing time. Without a word, she got off of her stool and brought it around to the customer side of the counter, setting it down for the man before returning to stand at her former spot. He smiled politely at her and sat down, leaning his elbows on the counter, apparently waiting for something.
And so Arien drummed her fingers, her eyes narrowing at the man as she stood, waiting for him to speak.
The man coughed, glancing around the shop, apparently tired of waiting Arien to make the first move. "Well, this is a rather peculiar bar."
Arien couldn't help herself. At the mention of her shop being a 'bar', she visibly started. "You must be mistak--"
"I say, what are the specials here?"
Uh oh. Drunk and delirious. Not good. "This is not a...bar." she said slowly and carefully, "this is an apothecary."
The man looked at her for a few moments, confusion evident even through the alcohol haze. Finally, his eyes lit up in understanding. "Ah! I see! This is one of those...themed bars! Well then, I, one Sarhos, will have a bottle of distilled dragon's blood with an eye of newt."
Arien clenched her teeth, her eyes narrowing. "I told you, this is not a bar. This is not a...themed bar either. This is an apothecary. If you're not going to purchase anything..." Arien wanted to add 'like something that'll knock some sobriety into you' but held her tounge, "then I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We'll be closing soon."
The man called Sarhos laughed, an intoxicated, light sound. "Oh, nonsense! The night is still young, is it not? After all, I suspect that's why I'm the first one here. I say, I must complement you on your attention to authenticity. Most establishments wouldn't provide this much attention to detail and aesthetics." He waved his hand around the room. "The drinks in potion bottles, the cauldron in the back," his hand moved to indicate Arien, "even the bartender dressed up to look like an old witch! Very well done."
Arien's hand clenched into a fist. How...how dare he. "Old witch? I. Beg. Your. Pardon?" she said, her voice soft and dangerous. If he didn't come up with a good answer, she was going to throw him out of her shop then and there.
Sarhos chuckled uneasily. "Oh, well, I didn't mean you personally are an old witch. What sort of dye did you use to get that delightful gray color? That would look perfect for some of the art I work on."
"This is my natural hair color."
"Oh! Oh, I see. Well, it is rather...unique." He glanced across the table, his eyes settling on a stoppered bottle near Arien's arm that she had just finished putting the finishing touches on right before Sarhos had come in. His eyes lit up at the prospect of a way to change the subject. "Ooh! Thick, blue liquor! Well, that will work just fine. Pour me a glass, barkeep!"
Arien glanced over at the bottle. Oh, no, he has got to be kidding. "Sir, that is not--"
"Never mind, I'll help myself. And here's for your troubles." Sarhos pulled out a money purse, slapping down several coins before reaching for the bottle.
The apothecary sucked in a breath. Was he insane? "NO! Don't drink that!"
She made a lunge for the bottle, but it was too late. Sarhos had gotten hold of the bottle and uncorked it. A few puffs of green smoke escaped the bottleneck, dissipating into the air and leaving the faint hint of pine. Sarhos paid neither the apothecary nor the smoke no mind as he went about producing a glass that, to Arien, seemed to come out of the air, and poured himself some of the liquid. Before she could say another word, he had downed the potion, setting the glass on the table and making a little sigh. "Aaah. What an...unusual flavor."
Arien groaned, holding her head in her hand. Great. Just great. Not only had that elixir taken her all day to make, but it was useless now without the full bottle. This was not good.
Sarhos tapped one finger on the counter, pouring himself another glass with the other hand. "Why so glum? I think this is excellent. It has--" Sarhos's eyes widened in surprise, a look that might have been concern moving over his face. He hiccuped as he started to turn rather green--literally. "This is...strange."
The apothecary repressed the urge to smack her forehead with her palm. "Of course it's strange. You just drank crystalline iridescence oil!"
"Iridesc--this is more like an apothecary than a bar!" Sarhos hiccuped again, this time bringing up a swath of large, multicolored bubbles that floated easily on the air. Tien, her interest perked by this unusual development, came over to sit on the counter, batting at a stray bubble.
"What a genius!" Arien growled, moving out from behind the counter to one of the shelves, taking down a small round bottle filled with a strawberry pink liquid. It was after closing time, Sarhos had just destroyed her oil, and she wanted him out of her shop. NOW. "The hiccuping and color change should go away in a few hours." Her voice was starting to take on a more forceful tone. She pressed the bottle into Sarhos's empty hand. "In the meantime, take this hangover tonic, and go get sober somewhere other than here." She flung her pointed finger in the direction of the shop door.
"Leave?" Sarhos asked between bubble-hiccups, "So you really do mean there is nothing to drink here."
"No, there isn't."
Sarhos brightened, "That's alright, I can produce my own." He held up the glass, a dark brown liquid emerging in it. "We can settle in, and when others show up, we can discuss the pros and cons of artifical turf!"
Arien grimaced. She had had quite enough of this, and as far as she was concerned, decorum wasn't goign to get him to leave. "I don't care!" she shouted, causing Tien to leap off the counter and run into the back room, "I want you out now! Out! Out out out out out!" She took a hold of Sarhos's arm, pulling him out of his seat and practically dragging him to the door.
"But what about the small red creature on my shoulder?" Sarhos asked, gesturing to nothing on his shoulder. "He said he'd do the bartending."
"OUT!"
The power of her voice startled Sarhos enough for Arien to shove him out the door onto the street, after which she slammed and locked the door, flipping the sign to say that the shop was now officially closed. After she had gotten rid of him, she let out a frustrated growl, moving her way towards the back room. Her routine was totally thrown off now thanks to him, and she'd have to make a new batch of the oil tomorrow. There went her plans to replenish her stock of mirror paste. She absent-mindedly rubbed Tien's ears, her teeth clenched. If she ever saw that drunken idiot again, it'd be too soon.
Out on the street outside Arien's shop, Sarhos looked at the hangover tonic the apothecary had given him, staring at it a moment before chuckling to himself(illiciting a few stray bubbles in the process) and pocketing it. After securing the tonic, he started his way down the street, deciding to stick with someplace where he had been to before for the evening. As he took a sip from his mostly-full glass, his expression turned thoughtful, or at least as thoughtful as one can be when drunk and hiccuping bubbles whilst sporting a green complextion. "Someday," he said hazily, speaking to no one in particular, "I'm gonna marry that girl."
I think I got a little silly with the Larry Miller jokes toward the end. But hey, it was fun. ^^;
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Re: Sarhos! You're turning violet, Sarhos!!!
Date: 2005-07-01 03:43 am (UTC)I'm really glad you liked it. <3 <3 <3 <3