Simon had been just about to shake Penny's hand when he felt something behind him. He was already turning, one hand up to defend himself while another dropped to his belt for one of his throwing needles. His weight nearly tripled, and the chair he was in creaked ominously under the weight. However, before he even registered that it was merely the drunkard from earlier swinging a bottle at him - hardly even a threat, given the armor he wore under his cloak - said bottle exploded abruptly. Simon was briefly puzzled, until he saw a nearby man reaching for an eyepatch. Simon's eyes widened marginally, and he managed to shield his face just before the man exploded into flames.

Dear lord. Why? Why did it have to be... him? Noisy, rambunctious, uncontrolled... and wielding the dangerous power of fire. Ralph the Alcoholic Alchemist was, in many ways, the exact opposite of Simon's own cautious personality. Not that indiscriminate destruction didn't have its place, but its place was most assuredly [i]not here[/i]. Thankfully, some passing stranger put the poor man out quickly, before Simon even had a chance to locate water. Less fortunately, said stranger was the inquisitive sort.

Thank goodness for Penny. Her excuse wasn't the best, but she thought fast, so that was something. He gave the interloper a tranquil grin. "It certainly isn't [i]meant[/i] to ignite like that," he said with a shrug. "I wouldn't have left it lying around if I had known it was so volatile. It must've been the impact that did it; I truly am sorry." He did his best impression of an apologetic face. "As for the earlier ruckus, I'm afraid the man was harassing my friend... Ashley here. I was merely dissuading him. I did give him the option to walk away. He attacked first." Simon bowed his head. "Thank you very much for your concern, but I wouldn't wish to take up any more of your night with this."