"A Matter of Fresh Bread" Log Date: 11/23/99 Log Cast: Jenean, Richard, Kavi, Jenara, Amber Log Intro: For the last several days, Richard has been occupied searching in and around Haven for the branded healer Cynara, determined to relay to her the news that Nox has been wounded -- and to offer her a stiff price, if necessary, to secure her cooperation in the repair of his wings. Having finally found one of her various followers who's agreed to relay a message, Richard has finally returned to his own business. But while discussing with a fellow thief a newly open room in the place where he lives, Richard has made a discovery that's shocked him: House Nemea is in Haven, in the person of the Dea Dulcinea Nemeides. And she has with her a young dark-haired, white-winged child, the sight of whom has stunned Richard visibly enough that both Nox and Sabrienna have noticed. Now, reeling from the implications of the presence of Nemea in the city, Richard has left the Rialto and retreated to the Siren's Song, hoping to have the opportunity to clear his head with some quiet drinking. One thing about the Song is, though, that Jenean and her girls have all sorts of cures for what ails a brooding man, and ale is only part of the allure. And another thing about the Song is, you never know who'll walk in the door... *===========================< In Character Time >==========================* Time of day: Late Morning Date on Aether: Saturday, August 11, 3905. Year on Earth: 1505 A.D. Phase of the Moon: Waxing Gibbous Season: Summer Weather: Partly Cloudy Temperature: Warm *==========================================================================* Jenean comes down from the upstairs rooms. Jenean has arrived. Jenean picks her way downstairs, yawning. Quiet in the Song as of a morning -- and that's as Richard likes it. As Jenean arrives on hand, he's parked his lean frame at one of the several unoccupied tables, slouching there with his back against the wall, nursing an ale and staring grimly across the room as he does. Jenean collects a cup of wine from the bar top, and perches on his table. Brightly, "Mornin', sweetheart." Blue eyes looking shadowed around their edges and perhaps shadowed within lift their attention off the ale. A bit of a smile flickers into being around Richard's mouth. "Mornin'," he murmurs. Jenean shifts from table to his lap, like it or not, and herself comfortable, hair tickling his cheek, and smiles up at him. "An' don' growl at me. I just woke up." Richard's brows go up, his eyes go wide, and he has just enough time to get his ale out of the way before he finds himself with a lap full of Jenean. That she can deftly shift herself right off the table before him and into his lap comes as very little surprise -- but that she's done to him, well, perhaps that's a different story. He pauses for a moment, empty right hand out to one side, ale-bearing left hand out to the other, before he offers a slightly larger smile and brings the ale back over for another sip of it. Over the top of the mug he pledges, "I wouldnae dream of growlin' at ye." His right hand... well. It comes back to rest lightly against the table's edge, near the woman, but not yet touching her. A blueeyed, winning smile. "Do I get a cuddle, or are ye' just gonna wave yer arms around like a Varati in a fishpond?" Kavi steps into the tavern from the docks outside. Kavi has arrived. Jenara steps into the tavern from the docks outside. Jenara has arrived. Jenara waltzes into the Song with a basket on her hip grinning at the hoots and catcalls that ring out from a few of the Song's more determined patrons "aye ye wish Laric! Ye know I only be here t'deliver the days bread" sidling up to the previously mentioned Laric she grins and stage whispers.."but if ye think yer wife wont mind...??" to the amusement of the man's cronies. She deftly avoids the man's overt grope laughing her way past him toward the back of the room. She wears around her neck a medallion of bronze marked with the sigil of House Nemea and is greeted by one of the serving girls "heyla Jenara." It's into this somewhat subdued and less than jam-packed Song that Kavi, that recently arrived poet, steps by way of the front entrance. He doesn't even bother to scan the room with his big blue eyes, nope. He just heads over towards the bar with a bit of a yawn. Tired, yes he is. Plopping himself down on a stool, the varati orders himself a small breakfast and mug to go with it, removing the required coinage from his vest as he waits for it. Recieving a steaming bowl and a less than overflowing mug, Kavi hands over the money. Spoon in hand, he sets upon the stew, finishing it in just moments. Not just tired, but hungry. Of course, he doesn't get paid all that much or often. Harsh work, being a poet, but the personal rewards of such a position are quite the opposite of the material ones. As the bowl is finished, his hand closes upon the handle of the mug, bringing it to his mouth as he turns upon his stool. Jenara giggles softly with one of the serving girls at the back as she removes loaves of fresh bread from her basket and counts the coin she receives. The serving girl places the bread into another basket while asking "yer mistress no mind ye continuin' this work on the side Jenara??" The young woman shakes her head.."Nay..well truth be told I no be givin' the opputrunity to be tellin' me nay or aye. I figure she be havin' enough worries without me troublin' her over so small a matter aye??" she says winking at her friend. "Ach, well, since ye put it _that_ way..." Never let it be said that Richard is not a gracious man. Or a graceful one, for that matter. He reaches around his lap's occupant to set down the ale, and then his arms slide round Jenean to hold her firmly, but not hard. He has no illusions that she needs his help to stay right where she is. Despite the entry of the Varati customer who's just approached the bar and the Mongrel woman who's just been roundly greeted by a few patrons near the door, most of his attention seems to be on the Song's redoutable mistress. "A better good-mornin' for ye, then?" he huskily inquires. The mistress of the Siren tips her head up to look at Richard, pouts just a touch, and winks. "Y'could improve it a shade more." A decade or more in her role has lead to mastery of the eminently kissable pout, no doubt about that. Kavi, from his seat at the bar, surveys the scanty morning 'crowd', taking a drink from his mug every once in a while to punctuate the periods of people examining. Lets see, servant of some sort doing something or other, mongrel guy with a cyprian in his lap, a few others. Nothing particularly attention grabbing, as it were. He mulls over a few possibilities, then. Play a song? Write a poem for some Cyprian and hope to get a coin or two? Go elsewhere and try to find some form of amusement or work? Jenara leaves her gossiping and tucks her coin into the pouch under her skirt. Hefting her now emptybasket to her hip she starts to head for the door. Something of the tension in Richard's face and frame, not entirely eased away by the alcohol he's put down so far this morning, drains away now at that look Jenean is giving him. But still... something about that redheaded girl at the door cajoles his attention in his direction. What exactly it is is not easy to glean from a distance, but the Mongrel woman in his lap, even as he curls his arms a little tighter around her, can feel a renewed flash of tension shoot through his frame. He stares hard in Jenara's direction, before turning a strange look back upon the woman he holds. The kiss he feathers across her brow is distracted, and he murmurs an apology before calling out to the lass at the door, "Hoy! What's with the bread, gel?" Jenean tsks, mock-offended, draping arms round Richard's neck, and leans back, hair hanging down behind her, to study the redhead, half upside down. Definitely Richard's morning, if he's paying attention. As the red headed mongrel girl walked across the Song, Kavi watches with a thoughtfull look on his face, thinking of something, something that is disrupted by Richard's call to the subject of his thoughts. A guick glance is shot towards the man and the woman in his lap before it returns to the girl, listening to hear her reply. Jenara turns at the sound of a voice addressing her. She stands with a hip thrust out and a saucy look in her eyes " what ye mean?? It be bread..no much more in that" she saunters back over to see what he wants. Black eyebrows arch mildly over Richard's twilight eyes. "Handin' out fresh bread for free?" he inquires, before adding sidelong to Jenean, "Or are ye havin' it brought in now?" His gaze remains upon Jenara as he speaks, though, seemingly entirely casual. Jenean senses "Richard's body within your arms, despite his apparently casual behavior towards this young stranger, suggests a well-hidden intensity of reaction. Hidden from everyone's eyes... but not from a woman holding him close." Jenean chuckles. "Not me y'should be askin', sweetheart. S'Raven orders th' bread." She straightens up enough to look at Jenara the right way up, and mmmms softly. "Love th' hair, hon." Jenara laughs and wiggles her hip. From under her skirt the sound of coin can be heard jingling. "certainly no fer free sir. I be paid" she smiles at Jenean "aye thank ye" "Ach, well, that explains it then," drawls the black-haired fellow with Jenean in his lap. His gaze settles upon the pendant she wears about her neck, studying the House sigil without apparent concern. "Hadnae seen ye before. Be around more often, will ye?" The older woman - who's hair must once have rivalled Jenara's - snuggles up against the mongrel who's lap she's settled in, pushing now-greying chestnut hair off her face. Amber comes down from the upstairs rooms. Amber has arrived. Jenean is in Richard's lap. Other than that, it's a redheads' convention. Jenara grins and winks.."why ye want t' know?? " wonderin cuz considerin' who you've got in your lap she's confused as to why you'd want to bother with her. "Aye I be around..make deliveries here every mornin' Amber must still be running on last night's high, because she slinks down the stair, eyes bright as if looking for the next mark. A tiny smile plays over her lips as she pauses at the bottom of the stair. His gaze still resting upon the young redhead's pendant, Richard replies straightfacedly, "I like fresh bread, lass." Up comes his attention, then, and a lazy lopsided smile curls his mouth. "Hard enough t'come by, moreso'n' usual as of late. Ye're in from one o' th' Empyre's Houses, aye?" Jenean waggles fingers at Amber, blows her a kiss. Jenara nods.."aye how'd ye guess that??" forgetting what she wears around her neck. "if fresh bread be so important t'ye I could make shre I be havin' extra fer yer day if ye like??" she offers..though still confused. You are the first man in the Song who's ever made an offer for her..bread. The look Richard gets is unreadable, but that which falls on Jenean is nothing short of openly warm. She glides over to the two and reaches around both so that she can press her lips to Jenean's cheek. "G'morning." Cheek? No way. Jen turns into that kiss. "Thought I recognized yer jewelry, lass," is Richard's even reply. "Used t' have a little bauble like that m'self, when I worked for a House a few years back. Dinnae think I know that sigil, though." This, too, is apparently casually delivered. While Amber comes up on his side to lean in and kiss Jenean, he frees an arm from around the woman on his lap and reaches into a pocket to pull out a couple of coins. These are slid across the table to Jenara, to whom he adds wryly, "Got an extra loaf on ye, I'll buy it off ye for your time an' trouble." And he casts a small amused smile at the other two women. Amber's hand falls onto Richard's shoulder for balance and she does not remove it once it settles there. She smiles down upon both and then looks to the unfamiliar woman curiously, affording her a comfortably welcoming nod as well. Jenara grins and though her look remians merry the gutter rat's eyes turn sharp as she studies your features.."I no be havin' any more as I just sold what I had 't the Song. But if ye want I am sure ye can buy one from them..it still be fresh..Aye think I recognize ye..twas many years ago twas it not? Ye know m'da then..Ian?? still works fer the House..the Dea's body guard??" Jenean rests her head comfortably back on Richard's shoulder, pushes hair out of her eyes. "Could ask Raven nicely." A husky laugh. "But I ain't gettin' outta yer lap just yet." Jenara eyes alight on Amber and she gives her nod and smile as well as she waits for Richard's response. "Which Dea'd that'd be then, lass?" asks Richard, guilelessly. He must have an iron will. Despite Jenean comfortably cradled against his one shoulder and Amber's lovely hand upon the other, the man's still looking steadily at Jenara. Amber's hand slides around to settle on the skin of Richard's neck, her thumb stroking there for a minute. She smiles, then and asks Jenean quietly, "I was thinking about slipping out. D'you want anything from the Rialto?" Jenara nods."aye when ye be there it still be Cleon's ma that be Dea..it be Dulcinea now that be Dea and Cleon's he be dyin' in the war. The Dea's son Momus be Deus now wit his uncle now step father Erasmus actin' as Regent." The young woman is ging an awful oot lot of information.. A nod from Jenean to Amber. "See if Hakim's had a shipment in? An' we're shy on a couple o'herbs." "Cleon," repeats Richard, canting his head a little sideways. For a moment, Amber's hand seems to finally distract him, and he flicks a small, almost gentle smile up at her before glancing back to Jenara. "Ach, lass, sorry, I think ye mistake me for someone else. Dinnae know any o' those names." Amber nods knowingly. Jenara recieves another, wry grin and she squeezes Richard's shoulder before gliding over to the door. A light cloak slips on over her dress before she steps outside. Jenara tilts her head and offers another gamin like smile.."aye..I must be. Well then ..no harm done" Blue eyes watch Amber leave, and Jen allows herself the softest of 'mrrrrs' of appreciation, purred not that far from Richard's ear. "Nay," answers Richard easily. As Amber goes out about her errand, he resettles his arms about Jenean -- demonstrating that despite his apparently formidable will, he's not at all insensitive to that low purr of breath along the side of his head. His voice drops a little in register when he speaks again: "Keep the coins if ye like, for your time." Now, though, he turns his head ever so slightly back to Jenean, suggesting that now that his curiosity is satisfied, he's got an appetite for something besides bread. Jenara grins with the slightest hint of envy directed toward the woman in Richards lap...not because of her location rather for the fact that despite the bit of grey in her chestnust tresses Jenean is utterly lovely and has more feminity in her little finger than Jenara could ever hope to have. The young woman shrugs her shoulders slightly and pockets the coin "thank ye then" offering another smile and a wave as she walks toward the door again. Jenean wrinkles her nose at Richard, and teases, softly, "Ok. Now all th' competition with proper red hair's gone, mm?" Richard does not watch Jenara go; he's not that crass. Still, there's an odd distraction in his eyes for all that he turns a softer edition of his crooked smile fully upon the woman who remains in his arms. "Aye," he agrees, "an' I believe ye were askin' for an improvement upon good-mornin', before I so rudely interrupted ye." "Mmm." Arms settle round his neck again. "Y'were plannin' on sittin' here an' lookin' grumpy all mornin', if I hadn' showed up?" "The backup plan," drawls Richard, "was to get knockered." He tips an ebon nod down at what's left of his ale. Jenean snorts, softly. "I gotta better one, if y'like." Richard's smile flickers back into being. "Didn't ye just get _out_ of bed, luv?" he murmurs. Jenean straightens up a little to rub noses with him. "Mm? And?" A teasing laugh. "Wasn' plannin' on goin' back t'sleep fer a while." A soft kiss. "An' I taste nicer'n ale," Richard lets himself answer the kiss, his mouth matching the proffered softness, the contact subtly speaking of his earlier tension... and tiredness, too. Meeting Jenean's blue eyes with his own darker ones, he rasps, "I'd... like a little time with ye." Some time with her sweet arms to hold him, and perhaps a few hours in which to rest, afterwards -- it sounds like bliss, though only his gaze shows even a hint of the depths to which it appeals to him. Blue eyes find his. Gently, she murmurs, "I know, love." Knows... well, almost everything. It's her job, and her life, to know why she's needed, and make fulfilling the real need her aim. Down here in the Song's public room, Richard keeps that casual mask of his mostly in place -- but with that knowing attention upon him, not even he can entirely disguise his need, for all that he's not about to speak of it. Not down here. He casts an inquiring gaze at the stairs, then brings his attention back to the Mongrel woman's face, letting the query in his expression stand without benefit of words to elaborate. Tenderly, "C'mon up." [End log.]