Pyro V

Lantern

Pyro is fine.
Waiting for Tatsua to post.

Rate the Signature Above You

7/10
I like history

Lantern

I'm just waiting for Tatsua to post again before I do.
Red Team Rules.

Lantern

Tatsua Aiisen said
I've got a bone to pick with you, Pyro. You forgot the team rune! You're a disgrace to the Red family name!

I don't know what you're talking about. If you look, you will clearly see the Red Team Rune above my post.

Lantern

You stole my box, Jedly. Why must you hurt me in this way?

Lantern

When the little rodent leapt up onto him, Alex let out a small squeal, unbefitting of a man his size. Then his sense came back to him as it began to crawl around him, and he reached around to try and grab it by the ears. To no avail. The little bastard had gotten into a spot that he wasn't able to reach. He was a big man, and because of that, being limber wasn't his strong point. The runt began to claw and bite into his back, causing him to leap up and dance around, hopping and stomping and swearing, in hopes of dislodging the animal. He was getting ready to slam his back into the tree and bash its brains out when someone else finally pulled it off of him, taking a a bit of the skin off his back with it.

With that over, Alex looked to find the box the animal had been guarding, only to see it missing and in the hands of someone else. Not fair. That was his prize. He'd been attacked by a vicious wild animal for it! But rather than complain, he kept his mouth shut. It didn't matter. His pride was hurt more than anything else. He sighed once more, then turned to face the rest of them, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes kept flitting over to look at the lantern, but for the most part, his attention stayed on the children. He didn't really see them as children; he'd been working and making his keep by the time he was their age. But others would, and if parents knew they were out here with him, then he'd be blamed if they didn't make it back. And angry people made for bad business.

In response to the boy, Hato Shirudo, who had asked for names, he said, "Alexander Valerian." There was no "thank you" added to that, no gratitude in his voice. In fact, it seemed to be oddly neutral about the whole rodent incident. His eyes fell down to the silver box, then rocketed back up to stare down at Hato. "Anyone know just where we are?" he asked. Out of four people, surely one knew at least something about the area. Though, he'd seen people remember less. Maybe they all had hangovers and couldn't remember a thing. Even at their age, alcohol wasn't exactly restricted. But, it didn't matter right now. No booze in sight. He ran a hand through his hair, something he often did when he either had no words to say or felt he was in an awkward situation, and remained quiet while he waited for the others to answer him.

Rate the Signature Above You

0/10

Where is your signature?
You are failing us!

Lantern

The familiar feeling of bodies on top of him was not what woke Alexander. It was not uncommon for men to become grossly intoxicated while at the tavern, to the point where they could not leave and so slept on the floor. Commonly, they were tossed on top of each other and woken with a bucket of cold water. Even the fact that he was beneath the others was not what woke him up. The fact that he, of all people, would have been tossed into the corner. Or that he'd become so drunk to have passed out in the floor in the first place, was astonishing, once he realized just what was going on. No, it was the fact that what woke him was that someone voluntarily got up and began shaking him and the other person on top of him.

With a grunt, and without even bothering to open his eyes, the large man sat up, the body of the person who laid atop him sliding off to fall onto the metal plate they were on. A metal plate. Clearly not the bar. His eyes fluttered open, his vision blurred for a moment. Definitely not the tavern at all. He stood, ignoring the other two who were with him, and looked around. Forest. Dark. Night? Maybe. The lantern. He'd never seen one that glowed any color but the natural colors of fire. He'd need to take it with him. First, though, the others. They were definitely in the same boat as him.

He ran a hand through his short hair, then smoothed it back down. He looked down at the two like he would look at a beer that had come from a questionable source. Scratching at his beard, he let out a sigh. It was easy to tell that he was their senior by several years, just by looking at them. A sigh escaped him, then he looked past them, at the flashing green in the distance. He was curious, but not enough to just run off towards it. For all he knew, it was a trap. Or another lantern, flickering dangerously. Then his eyes fell upon the little rodent, digging in the dirt.

Taking one of the safer, if not the most polite, course of action, he began to walk to the edge of the platform, towards the rodent, attempting to shoo it away and see what it was digging at.

Lantern

Seems I'm late to the party.

Alexander Valerian

Name: Alexander Valerian

Age: Twenty-Four, give or take a year. He does not much keep track of his birthday.

Appearance: Alex is a fairly average looking man, standing just under six-feet tall, with fair skin and a face that could be considered handsome, but is nothing special. His is broad, a bit of muscle on his body, but mostly it is "baby fat," nothing that makes him look round in the stomach, but enough so that he is still a big man. His hair is black, cut short and kept that way so it does not fall out into the food or drink he serves. Thick stubble covers his cheeks, chin, and upper lip, and would evolve into a full grown beard if it weren't shaved as close as he keeps it. For his dress, he wears a simple, alcohol and grease stained tunic, yellowed with age, and a pair of old brown trousers. A similarly stained apron hangs around his waist, with a rag tucked into the pocket. He keeps his sleeves rolled up above his elbows, exposing his forearms.
(If anyone can find a half decent picture of an innkeeper that doesn't look like he's 50+, I will be impressed.)

Occupation: Innkeeper

Personality: Working as an innkeeper of a little town that had its fair share of travelers, Alexander heard stories. He'd never been beyond the confines of his village. Had never needed to. The owner of the inn bought the food and made the drink, others hunted and farmed. He just stood behind a counter, gave out room keys, and handed out meals to anyone who had enough to pay for it. But, he heard stories. Of faraway lands, glimmering oceans, fantastical creatures. Hardly believed a word of it. Most of what was told was through drunken hazes. But, in the back of his mind, he'd always wanted to go out and see the world, figure out if all that stuff that was said was true.

As for who he is, he's the kind of guy to give you a smile and shake your hand, and never say a cross word to anyone. Keeps to himself, but will make sure that no one tries to stiff him on payment. The kind of guy that will let a fight break out, watch with the rest of the boys, then clean up the mess and toss the brawlers out into the rain the moment it's done. One to laugh at a good joke, even at someone else's expense. A guy who doesn't mind handing out a free round of drinks if the crowd is good to him, even if its not his beer to hand out. For the most part, everyone would just say he's another good old boy stuck in a dead-end job. And, in his view, its true, and that isn't a bad thing.

History: The son of two farmers, Alexander grew up waking early in the morning and coming out with his parents to watch them work. When he was old enough, he was set to work with other young boys feeding animals or throwing seed. He made friends, played around - sometimes too much - and lazed about when he should have been working. Farm work was too much work, in his eyes. There was no time to relax. You woke up before dawn, worked until it was time to eat at noon, then went back to work until sundown, had dinner, and went to sleep as soon as possible so that you could get up the next morning to repeat the cycle.

When he heard about the local tavern owner looking for someone to take in as an apprentice, he was the first to show up and offer himself up. Almost abandoning his family to work as a serving boy, he spent his days waking up at a much later time and working not even half as hard to carry platters of food around where it was needed. By the time he was fifteen, he pretty much lived at the inn, getting paid little because of the food and room he was given by the owner. He grew lazy, and was eventually put behind the counter, where all he had to do was stand and hand out bottles and occasionally run food duty.

There he's been since. No one would call him the life of the tavern, but many would call him a friend, and a pleasant man to be around. Would let most of them be as rowdy as they wanted to without raising so much as a finger to stop them, much to the owner's dismay when a few chairs and a table were broken over the course of a year. But, soon he would get the deed to the place, once the owner finally died, no family of his own to take the place from him, and it would be time for Alex to pick up the slack. Or hire someone else to do it for him, like many expected him to do.

The Faintly Gallows (Dark Fantasy/Horror/Suspense/Supernatural)

At least the rain had stopped. Eva's cart rolled into Blackwater slowly, the mule lumbering slowly across the cobblestone road that led into town. She was stopped at the north gate, and greeted the men standing guard cheerfully. After a few moments of the guards checking out the back of her cart beneath the tarp, they called that it was all clear and she proceeded into the city. Several people greeted her, to which she replied in turn. Polite, casual, but always distant. That was how Eva portrayed herself to the people of Blackwater. That's how she'd always seemed, since she first showed up. The people had since accepted that.

The next hour or so was spent selling, bartering, and trading the furs to various tailors, leatherworkers, and even a few shoemakers who were beginning to make fur line boots. Eva didn't get how so much fur could be comfortable. In her experience, it was irritating on the skin. But, so long as they kept buying, she would keep her mouth shut and take their money. Which was beginning to burn a hole in her pockets, and she hadn't even gotten around to selling the meat. Rather than go and blow half her money instantly, she made her way to one of her favorite buyers: Sloan, of the Faintly Gallows.

It didn't take her long to arrive. She left her cart unattended. Rarely did she have incident in Blackwater. Not near the Faintly Gallows, at least. Eva came through the door, sliding in as quietly as she could, so as not to disturb the other patrons. Though, it was hard to be discreet with that big, floppy hat on her head. Nevertheless, she managed to get to the bar and sit on one of the stools, waiting for the owner to notice her. When he finally did, he greeted her the same as any normal patron. Eva cut straight to business, rather than spend any time on pleasantries, and in moments the two were in a heated debate over the price of the meats. As usual, Sloan was trying to get a deal. But while Eva spent little on hunting, unlike him, who spent a fortune on the Gallows, she wasn't about to be undercut.

Nearly thirty minutes later, they managed to agree on a deal - the price that they usually settled on, somewhere between what each asked for - and Eva went back out. It took three trips, but she finally managed to get all of the meat inside the bar, without a bit of it missing, and Sloan retrieved her payment. Immediately, she ordered a hot meal and a cold drink. Then she let her eyes wander around the inn while she waited, examining the patrons as discreetly as she could. With the brim of her hat hanging so low, it wasn't exactly hard to sneakily watch the others.