Opposite of Sunny [Open]

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Captain Sebastian of Teronna awoke early that morning, completely unaware that he had been destined for a tavern brawl that evening.

He was a regular at the Iron Tankard and most knew him to be a guardsman for the royal family despite his commoner's dress. He was also known for a disposition that was often described as 'the opposite of overly sunny.' Both there reasons why the other regulars gave him simple nods and left him alone to his mugs of ale in one of the corners of the room. Sometimes, he was joined by a few other guards and inevitably, those nights at the Iron Tankard were much more subdued. Tonight, he was alone and the tavern was busy and loud and there had already been a few drunk arguments that escalated to fists and were subsequently thrown out.

All of these antics were watching with apathetic eyes as all of it was decidedly beneath his ability to care. He wasn't here to police the populace. He was here to drink.

Unfortunately, some of the less than regular visitors to the tavern didn't know when to leave well enough alone. There were three of them and they did not understand that Sebastian was more than a little partial to his corner table, even if he was it's sole occupant. Sebastian wasn't armed because he didn't need to be and he was more or less resigned to beating one of them into the table since they weren't taking his lack of parlay very well. The tallest of them more than towered over him and decided to open the fight by dragging him over the table, spilling his ale over his shirt. He dangled in the arm for a moment and sighed. Not how he thought his evening was going to go but clearly nothing his un-amused silence was going to help him avoid.

He glanced over at the barkeep as his assailant yelled something about his fancy clothes that was supposed to be an insult. Sebastian wrapped his legs around his waist and headbutted him in the face. It was enough to barter his release and, feet back on the ground, he grabbed the man and turned, using his momentum to put the big man through the table before his two friends were any the wiser. "Table is all yours," he grunted, fixing the collar of his tunic.

One of them went to check on their immobile friend. The other rushed Sebastian with his shoulder, slamming him into the nearby wall before the guard's knee caught him in the groin and then he landed a right hook on his jaw and sent his second opponent staggering back into the third guy and they both landed on the first guy on top of the broken table. Not too bad, if he said so himself. Not the first time he'd broken that table either.

Content in the belief his new friends would be busy for a minute, he moved to the bar top and ordered another drink.

"Captain, if you would just tell them who you were..." the barkeeper advised, pouring him another.

He shrugged. "Not anyone important. They will figure it out next time. When will that be fixed?" He meant the table.

"Couple days. Sooner if you want to help."

Sebastian snorted. "Do I look like a carpenter?"

"You look like an asshole who's good with his hands."

"Not like that, I am not," he said, taking a drink before inspecting his wet clothes. What a mess.

The barkeeper rolled his eyes and moved on. "Try not to make another mess tonight. You only get one." Maybe he should discuss upgrading his quota for collateral damage.

[Lacey DeGraff]

Lacey had gone out for a drink to avoid going home. Maybe that was rude of her, seeing as she'd left her toddler, MJ, with his grandparents, but she just...she needed a minute. She'd thought it would be a good way to relax, with some mead and eavesdropping on random townspeople to keep herself occupied, but it had turned into a wrestling match instead. She watched with great interest as the captain made a bunch of drunks look like absolute losers...and then sauntered up to the bar like nothing at all had happened. She knew the man had a better poker face than most, but that was just absurd. She was grinning into her drink when he reached the space next to her, and she kept her face turned so he wouldn't notice her right away.

She couldn't help laughing at the conversation between the bartender and Sebastian Arcturis , though. Good with his hands, huh? Yeah, when the hands were needed for beating the shit out of idiots, or slapping sense into people. She didn't think he was the carpentry type. And she'd never seen him with a woman, so she couldn't judge on that, either. She waited till they were done, then swirled on her bar-stool so that her leg which was crossed up over the other just barely brushed against the captain as she turned to face him. She propped her elbow on the bar, her head in her hand, and gave Sebastian a conspiratorial grin.

She rather enjoyed running into him when she wasn't working, because it gave her a chance to be a little more familiar with him--particularly not calling him 'sir.' She might not like having to play the part of a decent noblewoman, but hey, everyone already knew she did the bare minimum to meet those standards. Maeve and Jareth had decided to let it go so long as she wasn't overtly causing them trouble. Even now she was at just the minimum level of dress to be seen as a lesser noble, although she'd guess the bartender knew by now. She'd been in here a few times over the years.

"Well isn't that convenient? How'd you go about getting a bar fight allowance, Bastian? Because I'd loooove one of those for myself. Then I could just knock heads whenever people try to get handsy around here." She winked. "I mean, I could always threaten to have them arrested, but handling it myself would be more fun."

[Sebastian Arcturis]

He wasn't a carpenter, but he was a decent artist. And he had gorgeous handwriting. And yes, he was good with his hands with women and...well, people in general. Not that he found himself with anyone very often.

He wasn't surprised to see Lacey here. The Iron Tankard was one of the more popular taverns in the city. He'd felt the familiar presence at his elbow while he spoke to the bartender but he didn't greet her. She was a noblewoman, and while he was more than familiar with her family both in public and in reality, he was still just a commoner. The likes of him didn't have any business approaching nobles and to be honest, he didn't mind how life worked. His life was complex already, but he was content to find simplicity in it and enjoy it for what it was. If Lacey initiated conversation with him, very well. As long as she didn't interrupt his drinking, otherwise he might put her through a table like that other guy.

The slightest grimace flashed across his features at the name while he took a drink. Bastian. Well, it was better than his full name, he supposed. "I pay my tab," he said simply. Clearly that wasn't all he did. He'd been drinking at this tavern for a long time. Not to mention that having essentially the chief of police minding his own business at your tavern was quite...convenient for the innkeeper. The man might joke at Bastian to announce who he was, but the moment someone started something, Bastian made a great enforcer.

The captain glanced over at her finally. He was long accustomed to the dichotomy of his life. If he hadn't been a couple drinks in already, he might not have been so vocal. "You could handle it yourself anyway," he suggested. To which the bartender glared at him. "Or call me so I can be the bloody hero or something," he suggested instead, clearly not enthused by the idea.

[Lacey DeGraff]

Lacey laughed softly at his response. She highly doubted that all it took was staying up on your tab--if that was the case she'd have been the queen of bar fights years ago. (Even she knew better than to mess with the bartender if she wanted to keep drinking.) No, she guessed it had a lot more to do with having connections. Which, technically she did, even if she liked to pretend she didn't. She just felt more comfortable in this kind of place, some nights, than she did at fancy parties. Not that she didn't like the nice dresses and makeup, and feeling beautiful...she just liked to relax, sometimes. This kind of noise felt more like home to her.

"I could, but our friend here wouldn't like that much." She paused to blow a kiss to the bartender who looked no less annoyed. "Oh, don't look so down in the dumps about it, you're very good at being the hero. Otherwise, you wouldn't be the captain, now would you?" She dropped the cheshire-cat grin, but a sly smirk still lingered on her lips. She got the feeling there was more to it than that, but hey, she could admit he was definitely good at his job. She ignored a brief pang in the back of her mind, which insinuated that she herself was not good at her job, by finishing off her glass of mead and glaring at the empty container for just a moment before she looked back at the captain/inquisitor/her friend(?). Hm, maybe she shouldn't have started drinking on an empty stomach, she was getting sentimental awfully fast.

"Now that you're done taking out the trash, do you want some company? Or shall I leave you to brood in silence, dear Bastian?"

[Sebastian Arcturis]

She was right. His connections were hardly anything fancy, however. Just the habit of drinking in the same place and the reputation he had earned with his position. It was, in all honestly, more personal connections than anything else. Which...Bastian was not very well known for.

He blinked. He wasn't 'down in the dumps.' People seem to think that because he didn't look happy or didn't sound pleased he must be sad or angry or at least unhappy. He'd just got to throw his weight around and he was having a drink. Bastian was actually pretty happy. Bastian shrugged. "I am good at my job, not at being a hero." Yes, he had been the one to use the term first but Lacey was the first of them to mean it.

Was she trying to imply something about his position and her position? He considered the warden next to him for a moment and then returned to his drink. It didn't matter. Bastian wasn't that concerned with his official or unofficial rank. As she mentioned the 'trash' he glanced over at the broken table. The group had sorted themselves out and didn't seem very happy but they weren't ready for a round two. "I am not brooding," he said and then glanced back at Lacey and waved for another drink for both of them. "Company would be nice. How is your son?"

[Lacey DeGraff]

Lacey followed his gaze to the ruffians who were pulling themselves together and looking like pouty children. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Bastian--a far more interesting subject. Not brooding, huh? Wasn't that what handsome men did in bars when they were alone? Sit and glare at their beer and contemplate how terrible the world was, all while looking handsome and mysterious? She just shrugged at that. She didn't really get it, but alright.

She wondered if she herself had been brooding, seeing as she was drinking alone too. Well, no, she'd been trying not to think at all, not contemplating life. she may have glared at her drink, though. It hadn't been going very well, anyway, so it was probably better to have some company.

She smiled at his question, a more relaxed expression than her usual sly grin. "He's doing well! Growing like a weed, of course, and he's learning to talk a lot faster than I expected. I swear, it's like I blink and he's learned three new words and grown an inch. Jareth isn't helping, either, he's teaching him crazy words like 'disgruntled' and 'flabbergasted' just to hear him say them." She laughed softly.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Couldn't he look handsome and mysterious and not worry about how terrible his life was or how bleak the world was becoming? She must really have him confused with some sort of hero. Sebastian didn't let the weight of the world sit on his shoulders. He only had to worry about a few people. No, Sebastian was here to drink and try to enjoy himself. whatever that meant. Tonight, that meant breaking a table.

If anything, Lacey seemed to be the broody one, wishing she could break more faces and avoiding the life at home that was supposed to be her 'world.' Instead, she was a noblewoman at a tavern, rubbing elbows with the common folk and poking fun at him for her own amusement. Okay, maybe neither of them were exactly brooding, but still. They were close.

At least she wasn't complaining about how fast he was learning. It did seem odd to find her here rather than home with MJ, but Sebastian didn't understand much about family life, nor did he have any experience from either side, as a child or a parent. So he didn't say anything. Honestly, even asking about her son was about where his small talk ran out. He did smile slightly at the words. He imagined they hardly sounded like the words, but close enough to pass.

The next round of drinks arrived just as the captain finished his current one. He nodded to the barkeep. He was quite comfortable with silence though he imagined Lacey wasn't so interested in letting him enjoy himself quietly. Not that he would complain. He enjoyed himself quietly most nights. A change of pace would be nice.