[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/gD9rVru.png[/img][/center]
[color=AC5FFB]Time:[/color]Evening
[color=AC5FFB]Location:[/color]The Pretty Flower
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/1Z62x3Z.png[/img][/center]

The winged female who had helped Risa had told her she'd hold onto the favor of repayment until the time arose she needed it, to which Risa had smiled weakly and gratefully accepted that deal. Her smile fell as she was left at the backstep of the Pretty Flower. She knocked on the door as she slid down onto the floor. The door creaked open as the crickets chirped in the night.

Vereon knelt down with a gasp of horror. Without hesitation, he scooped her up in his arms and sat her down on the couch, murmuring words of comfort with panic. He told her to wait as he went down into the bar to fetch a healer. He came back with two females who went to work healing Risa, kneeling at her side and stroking her hair. 

He didn't ask what happened for whatever reason. Once the fairies had finished their job and departed, he sat by her side silently.  

Risa had felt intense grief for a while now and she didn't want to. So much was at stake: her friends, her family, the nation, and now her brother. She did not have time to take in this new trauma on top of losing Dionaea. She had to just keep moving. But how would she do it feeling like this? Her eyes were brimming with tears and her body shaking, but she made no noise. After a moment, she looked at Vereon, [color=AC5FFB]"I need to drink."[/color]

He stared at her and shook his head, [color=82ca9d]"Risa. That's not such a-"[/color]

[color=AC5FFB]"No. I am going to drink. Your shift ended right and Ashera's bartending?" [/color]She already felt a bit numbed out but she wanted to feel nothing. Then maybe she could sort this all out in her mind without wanting to break. It'd be so easy. So much had happened so fast and she was not very old at all, but she couldn't. She wouldn't.

Risa got to her feet and moved to wash herself quickly. She dressed in a plain dress and braided her hair simply after going into the closet once she was done washing up. Vereon did not stop her and watched as the door closed behind her finally as she descended the stairs to the lower floor. She heard him follow behind but didn't look. 

The bar was filled with loud laughing and the sound of clinking glasses. There were only a few tables being as it was a very small bar. It wasn't overly busy tonight but there was a good handful of regulars. It was mostly fairies but there were a few elves present along with an orc. She slid onto a stool and leaned on the wood of the bar. 

A young pretty dark-haired fairy with her hair in a messy bun and heavy makeup on her eyes was working the bar. She didn't take long sliding a drink in between Risa's hands. Risa glanced up at her and she smiled sadly, apparently having caught on to Risa's mood real quickly.

Risa tried to smile back but it probably wasn't much more than a slight upturn of her lip corners. Her gaze fell down to the wood she leaned on as she sipped at her drank, images of her brother's face flashing in her mind until a burly hand landed on her shoulder. She saw Vereon out of the corner of her eye get behind the counter to seemingly clean some cups, but she knew he was watching over her. He was glaring at the orc who touched her but the big guy did not seem to notice.
 
[color=fdc68a]"You SAD?"[/color]

She glanced up to see a young, large orc sitting beside her, who struggled to even fit on the stool he sat on. However, he had a gentle expression as he looked down at her. He had to hunch over a bit so his head didn't hit the ceiling. 

[color=fdc68a]"I sad too. Gorgon lost friends tonight. Far from home now too."[/color] 

Risa softened and gently placed a hand on his arm, [color=AC5FFB]"I'm so sorry...Is there anything I can do?"[/color]

The orc smiled, [color=fdc68a]"This good."[/color]He patted her head clumsily with an oversized hand, messing her hair up quite a bit.

She clutched her mug for a moment before picking it up, [color=AC5FFB]"Cheers?"[/color]She faced him as she spoke.

He suddenly excitedly exclaimed, causing a few head-turns, [color=fdc68a]"Gorgon cheers!"[/color] He hit his mug into hers. 

As the two of them drank, both of them became more open and chatted quite a bit. Gorgon told his story, some of the guests around them joining in to listen to him. It wasn't often orcs came around the River Kingdom who weren't hostile. He was an orc who had gone adventuring with his friends only to end up the sole survivor in a sudden attack by large spiders that had been roaming the woods earlier in the day. After spotting the spiders, Gorgon's friends had tried to attack in worries they'd hurt someone and it hadn't been successful. Gorgon had run away in fear as he was very scared of spiders, and had thought his friends would do the same, even calling to them that it was time to run. He was struggling with the guilt of abandoning his friends now. After telling his story, it seemed like everyone in the bar was eager to cheer Gorgon up and let him know it wasn't his fault. This cheered Gorgon up visibly as he didn't feel so alone and sad. 

Risa was glad to see him smile and she wished she could too. Many turned to Risa and prompted her to tell them what was wrong, but she politely refused and focused on drinking. It wasn't long before Risa had drunk a bit too much. She was small, so it never took very long. Vereon snatched her mug after watching her almost fall off her stool.

[color=82ca9d]"Yeah. Ye're done."[/color] He had said curtly. 

She gave him a disappointed look but she knew it was best she didn't overdo it. She was silent rather than loud and obnoxious as she had always been when she was drunk prior. Risa was thinking through everything she could at the moment.

Helio. Dionaea. Kyran. Elsea. Artemis. Avalia. 

A determined look crossed her face as she finally found some certainty with her decision. 

[color=AC5FFB][i]I will not be beaten down so easily, Aklenroth.
I've only just started.[/i][/color]

[color=fdc68a]"You ready."[/color]

Gorgon spoke to her. He had been watching her for a few minutes now.

[color=fdc68a]"Risa found purpose. In eyes.[/color] He pointed his fingers toward her eyes. [color=fdc68a]"You know what do."[/color]

Risa nodded, [color=AC5FFB]"Yeah. I know what I have to do. A lot of people are counting on me. My brother is counting on me. "[/color]

[color=fdc68a]"Gorgon thinks Risa strong. Family important. Protect family."[/color] 

[color=AC5FFB]"Something happened to him and I'm not sure what. But I know he'd do anything to help me if the situation was reversed. I am gonna do my best to save him and to help lead the others. I'm the one that gave them that speech and I can't abandon everyone because I'm scared. I have to keep trying no matter how hard the world tries to make me stop."[/color] Perhaps she was oversharing as she quietly spoke to the orc and Vereon as he listened in, but hearing herself out loud helped her convince herself.

[color=82ca9d]"They want ye to, Risa. Yar the one who told all those folk at Roshmi that freedom was in their grasp. That a better world was possible. Now those who don't want us free are going to do whatever it takes to break our spirits. Ya have to prepare for that. There's no turning back now. "[/color]

Risa listened to Vereon. He was right. There was no turning back now. She had made her choice that day she saved Jean-Luc. 

The pain was almost too much, even this drunk. She could feel it trying to break through. Risa knew she'd have to use her anger towards what had happened to those she loved and her determination to keep those she still had safe as a tool to keep herself stable. If Helio was alive, no matter how he was, she'd see it as a good thing, that she had a chance of having a brother again if she could somehow fix him. She knew Aklenroth had a hand in the situation and that defeating him would be a key component in making something like that possible. 

So for his sake, and the others' sake, she'd do it. 

With that decision, she then began describing Artemis to a few of the folk of the bar to find out if anyone had seen her, to which someone described seeing someone of a similar description at the healing center.