a kick in the teeth is good for some

[Keiran Donnelly]

It was early evening, and as always, the Singing Sparrow was filled with happy patrons. Keiran had been there just about an hour already, joking around with some of the other farmers over some pints. So far, the plan for each estate to help out the other was working out well. It was slow going, of course, and perhaps there wasn't as much progress as he and Liam were hoping for, but there still was some progress.

And, if he was going to be honest, it felt good. Not that he was blatantly sharing this information with anyone, but it felt good that he actually started it. Naturally, his brother helped solidify the plan and it wouldn't have gotten that far without him.

Laughing along with whatever joke had been shared, he lifted his cup up to his lips as his dark eyes trailed over to the bar. Teagan Bruce had been sitting there awhile, chatting it up with Roxanne, and it might have been strange that Keiran hadn't sauntered up to annoy either of them yet. Maybe he didn't want to interrupt.

And when did that ever matter?

The truth was, he was also noticing a rather burly bald man giving Teagan a look over...more than a few times, and he was quite obvious about it, too. Keiran realized he was sitting up straighter in his seat when the stranger finally approached the redhead, watching as the man blatantly ran his fingers down her arm, staggering drunkenly on his feet beside her.

His lips pursed as he watched, having not even realized that he was already standing up, slowly making his way over. Teagan was saying something to the man, and although Keiran couldn't quite make out the words, the look on her face was obvious enough when baldy didn't relent and was about to get extra handsy.

Well, this was apparently happening now. Sorry, Roman.

"Heh-heh-heeeeey there," he spoke up, daring to drape his arm across the man's shoulders. It was slightly difficult since he stood a few inches taller than Keiran, and the farmer also noticed just how broad those shoulders were. He attempted to steer him away from Teagan, but it seemed to agitate the stranger instantly.
"Oi, ye fuckin' mind?!" he spat, and Keiran smelled the whiskey on his breath right before he was forcefully shoved.
Alright then, he was trying to be nice. The other looked at him, expecting a fight, and you know what? He felt like giving it to him. Keiran smiled as he took another sip of his ale and casually handed it over to him, clearly confusing the drunkard. "Actually-" he paused for effect. "Yeah, I do."

His fist slammed straight into the bald one's nose.

[Teagan Bruce]

"But seriously, do you think they'll get married? They've been dancing around it for--" Teagan's words cut off as a hand slid none-to-politely down her arm and an even more offensive smell began to invade her space. She turned to the stranger with one eyebrow already creeping upwards and her mouth a skeptical frown. The bald man grinned so wide she could see he was missing several teeth, and she didn't bother hiding her disgust.

"Hey there, baby--" he began, and Teagan immediately raised a hand to signal him to stop.

"Not interested," she told him, her voice as flat as her expression.

"Oh, c'mon, sugar, don't turn me down before you ev--"

"Absolutely not. I'm the daughter of a baron, and I have much better things to do than you."

"That's what you think," he persisted, trying to slip his arm around her waist as she pulled away, disgusted.

She was about to get down from her stool and physically walk away when a familiar face appeared at the man's shoulder, and her mouth fell open in surprise. Keiran? What on earth was he...? She just watched in horrified fascination as the farmer tried to pull the creep away from her, and things quickly went south. She looked nearly as confused as the drunkard when Keiran handed the man his drink, but it dawned on her what was happening just before it hit the other man...literally.

"Hell. This is not going to end well," she muttered as she watched the bald man stumble backward, clutching his nose. Already two more were rising from the table just behind him to come to his aid. She glanced around for something to use as a makeshift weapon, but the best she came up with was her glass of elderberry cordial. That was not going to work.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander loved the Singing Sparrow. It was like a home away from home for the redhead. Aileana was like another sister, he called Roxanne Mama most of the time, they'd even met Briella. When it came to keeping order in the tavern he took it as a personal mission of his. The redhead wasn't as big as most of the patrons by any means but he was a trained soldier. Holding his own against some stumbling drunks to throw them out every so often wasn't that hard.

He also didn't appreciate when men took it upon themselves to get handsy with the ladies that came in. While he chatted with one of the bartenders he noticed a site that was none to pleasant. A very large, very obviously drunk man, accost a woman who clearly wasn't interested. As he stood up from his seat he saw another man trying to pry him away from her.

Watching him take a hard jab to the nose almost made him want to laugh. Almost. The bald man stumbled back with a yelp of pain and held his face in pain. "Ye' lil' son've a bitch!" Before the man could take another step towards either of the two Zander quickly slippped behind him and twisted the mans arm hard behind his back. "I highly suggest if you wanna start a fight you take it outside. The lady said she wasn't interested." While there was no real malice in his voice there was venom that dripped from every word.

The man squirmed and elbowed Zander hard enough in the side for him to turn and throw the man to the ground. There was almost a predatory grin on his face. Maybe he was a bit too excited for a fight. "That all ya got big man?"

[Lorelei Rainier]

Lorelie had been sitting and drinking a well earned ale, sales went well, plenty of food in the house for the kids and everything was over all just happy. She sent everyone home together, her brother leading the way as she promised to return before long, she just needed a break.

Sitting at the bar, she was laughing and joking, telling the man something funny when an irked female voice caught her attention. Slowly she turned, watching and sipping and then shaking her head, this stupid drunk of a man was about to get his ass beat.

It looked as if someone was already going to the lady's rescue but she was not one to sit around and do nothing. She did however, had a short thick stick that she used and kept at her hip whenever she walked home alone for self-defense, and right now that seemed to be the name of the game when things erupted as the bald drunk was punched square in the face.

The fight that sprung up in the wake of the hit had her laughing, poor fool, he should know better.

With lady being taken care of, the dirty blonde made her way around while keeping her beating stick on her hip as she watched as the guys buddies were getting up and rearing to hit the guy who punched out the bald one.

Baldie seemed busy enough, so Lorelei went to one that was trying to sneak up behind Keiran and she grabbed his arm, "Now don't you know its poor manners to hit someone who's back is to you, you should look them in the face like so," Lori told the very confused man as she balled up her fist and punched him hard in the face. Working with large mammals, the young woman had a hell of an arm on her that made the man stagger back with blood pouring down his face.

"Filthy bitch!"
"Slag!"

Lori yelled right back as he lunged for her and lifted her up in the air as he grabbed her around the midsection, "Oi you fucking twat!" she swore as he tossed her down onto an inhabited table to incite more fury around them.

[Aileana DiRossi]

The lady was about to pop, but that didn't stop Aileana in the slightest from doing her job. She was a hard worker and wanted to stay busy. She knew Roman and Rox were keeping a sharp eye on her as she weaved her way in and out of people with her drink tray, delivering orders, taking some. The deal was she could take orders for fifteen minutes and then sit ten before she was allowed to even touch her tray.

Aileana was focused, like she normally was, and wasn't paying any attention to the happenings of the far. She was mostly mindful of moving around people with her large belly. she had just finished delivering her last order and was going to go sit behind the bar to continue listening in on the next part of the gossip Rox and Teagan were talking about. She was just passing behind the bald man when there was that sickening sound of a fist hitting another. Now that she did hear, and it caused her to physically flinch. She was turning her head to look to see what it was coming from when suddenly the bald mand went stumbling back into her.

In her fragile state, she wasn't prepared and would have possibly caught herself easier then she could now. Aileana felt the impact, she went stumbling herself. Her blue eyes going wide, the tray went flying, and the floor was coming up fast. She felt her ankle roll as she tried to turn herself so she landed on her behind instead of her belly. She wrapped her arms around her middle, bracing for impact.

[Leo Sommers]

Leo wasn't normally one to spend time in the tavern--too noisy. But the captains had wanted to meet and chat, and he knew it was in his best interests to be on good terms with the men and get to know them. Having a drink while he was at it made the process a bit more comfortable. He was just asking Jackson about his new baby when a commotion started behind him. He turned his chair towards the sound of shouting and was already half on his feet to try and intervene in whatever it was (he was in the habit of ending the fights his sailors started at the docks) when a petite figure came toppling towards him.

He didn't think, he just scooped her up, before she hit the floor, and propped her back up. It wasn't until he had his hands on her shoulders to steady her that he realized Aileana DiRossi was the same pregnant woman he'd returned here to the tavern not too long ago. He didn't quite smile, but his eyes crinkled ever so slightly as he raised his eyebrows.

"Good to see you again," he commented dryly, then pivoted around her to intercept another stumbling brawler before she was knocked into again. He caught the incoming person against his back and had to adjust one of his feet slightly to keep his balance, but the other person soon pushed off of him and back into the fray. "You might want to take my chair." He suggested.

[Keiran Donnelly]

He hissed as his knuckles made impact with the man's face, but he was wasting no time in turning his attention over to Teagan with a flip of his hair, about to ask if she was alright when that single punch seemed to be the start of a domino effect. It wasn't just the drunk man's friends joining in...it was nearly anyone looking to start a fight.

Well, shit. Sorry, Roman.

Keiran heard the man's outrage, prepared to deal with what was about to come his way when the young man stepped in the middle of it. Or, more like behind the drunkard, twisting his arm uncomfortably. It wasn't enough, as Zander was knocked down and Baldie was already looming over him to probably try and finish the job.

Holding in a sigh, his gaze flickered to Teagan. "Excuse me," he said conversationally as he was picking up a nearby chair. As the broader man approached the redhead, Keiran swung that chair up and across the back of his head, temporarily knocking him down. Fortunately, the sudden dead weight was not collapsing upon the young soldier, falling to the floorboards with a heavy thud.

Stepping forward, he held a hand out to Zander. "Thanks for that, mate. I-" His words were cut short when he heard the sudden commotion from behind. Apparently, a pretty blonde had sprung into action with not-so-pretty words, but had kept one of Baldie's friends from taking him by surprise. They were quite literally in a tussle just as the man's second friend was rushing towards him and Zander.

Once the young man was up onto his feet, Keiran spoke as he stepped past him, "I'll take this one...if you mind takin' the other?" Although his dark eyes were on his new opponent who was trying to threaten him by cracking his meaty knuckles, the farmer was gesturing towards Lorelei for Zander to help. Wherever she had gone.

[Teagan Bruce]

Teagan watched chaos break out across the bar in stunned silence. And there went Keiran Donnelly, turning back to her with a dramatic hair flip that put half the girls she knew to shame. She deeply wished she didn't appreciate it. Curse him and that stupid smile. She rolled her eyes, but he was already excusing himself to join back in on the growing scuffle. She sighed even more heavily than him. So much for a relaxing night of gossip and fruity drinks.

She hadn't expected one man getting handsy with her to result in such a scene, but then, sometimes she felt like people around here were just waiting for an opportunity to let off steam, and the drunken stranger had given them just such an excuse. She briefly considered getting involved, but it seemed like the others had it handled, and honestly, one more person in the mix was more likely to hinder than help. So she stayed in her seat, looking resigned as she drank the rest of her cordial then passed her cup back to Roxanne for a refill. The bartender gave her a reproachful look, and she just shrugged.

"What else am I going to do?"

[Zander Brogthamon]

As much as he expected once one fight broke out the entire bar erupted. Like most of these people were just waiting for an excuse to hit someone in the face. Some of the patrons took this an excuse to leave. Either to escape being beaten or skip out on their bill. That wasn't Zanders concern at the moment. He was more than ready for the larger man to attack him. The redhead braced for the impact as he was knocked to the ground.

He crossed his arms protectively over his face to block an oncoming hit as he prepared to kick the man off. However it seemed none of that was needed as he was knocked back before Zander had to touch him. He took the offered hand and sprung to his feet with a grin. "Thanks for the hand." He managed to duck out of the way as bottle came barreling past them.

The suggestion to help out bad mouthed blonde woman had already been on his mind. "On it." Zander rushed over and grabbed the man hard by the back of his neck. "S'cuse me, miss." He turned the man and slamed his face into the edge of the bar. As two of his teeth dropped out of his mouth he stumbled back before taking another swing at the redhead.

Zander just dodged out of the way before hitting him hard in the stomach.

[Lorelei Rainier]

A pained breath left her when her back hit the table, the wood buckling under her body as she then wrapped her legs around the mans waist and started to squeeze. She had to pull llamas into submission with her legs and hold them in place, he was not getting out of this grip easily.

She felt his ribs cracking from her strength before he punched her solidly in the stomach to make her let go.

"Bitch!"
"You hit like child!" She snapped back. Small lie, her stomach was in so much dang pain but then there was another fellow coming in to help her and she smiled some. "He's yours," she said rolling out of the way and landing lightly on her feet. Her world spun a little but she would pull out her beating stick and whack the brute at the back of the knees to knock him to the ground.

"Asshole." she swore, smoothing her blouse a little as she gave a smile to Zander, "Duck!" she told Zander as she dropped down as a bottle was being tossed their way.

Now this was fun. Seeing others roused up for the fight and trying to help their fallen friend she would find herself being lifted up suddenly, "Again?! Does this look like I'm up for dancing!" she snapped at the fellow who was pulling her from the fight but he was met with an elbow to the side of his head repeatedly.

[Aileana DiRossi]

She'd been expecting a hard fall, and a possible angry Roman on everyone's hand for his heavily pregnant barmaid getting knocked to the ground. Only, she didn't hit the ground as she'd expected. Her large blue eyes got even wider for a moment as she realized Leo had caught her. Keeping her from having a bad fall. "Leo!" She said in surprise, before a bright spread across her face. Chaos was erupting around them, and her brows furrowed in confusion for a moment. "What?" She asked, having to shout over the noise.

Why would she take his chair? "I-" She was about to tell him she should probably go help Rox when a mug came flying through the air. She reached up to yank Leo closer so it wouldn't nail him in the head. Her eyes followed the object before she glanced back up at his face. "I think behind the bar is safer." She said with a quick nod of her head before she turned to hurry towards it. "Roooooox!" She called, concern clear in her voice while she began to try and navigate through the fighting people to get to the bar.

[Keiran Donnelly]

"Look, mate...my fight's not with you. Your friend there was gettin' pushy, and-" Keiran had been trying to explain, but his new opponent- who was nearly toothless from what he could see when the man menacingly grinned at him- didn't really care. It would seem that many in the tavern tonight didn't need a real reason to throw a punch.

Toothless was charging him with his fist reared back, and Keiran nearly yelped as he drifted to the side to avoid the swing. This man may not have been as big as his buddy, but he had a strong arm, and the farmer really didn't want his pretty face to get messed up. As he followed through with his dodging momentum, he was rolling across a table just as Toothless was chucking a bottle in his direction.

Roman really wasn't going to like this.

Just when he thought he was home free, another patron was grabbing him by the back of his shirt, and once again, Keiran was rolling over a tabletop. Just, this time, he wasn't doing so willingly. Cups and plates clattered loudly before he found himself falling harshly to the ground, the wind slightly knocked from his lungs. The new man was standing over him, grabbing him by the collar this time with his other fist drawn back.

"Ugh, please, not the fa-" The brawler's knuckles connected with his cheek. That was going to be sore in the morning. Slightly dizzy and seeing stars, he reached for a wine bottle that was resting nearby, its contents slowly pouring out, and whacked the man upside the head with it. It didn't shatter, but it was enough to knock the other away from him.

[Roxanne Abernathy]

Roxanne, the lady owner of the tavern, sighed heavily and dragged her hand down her face. She'd been waiting for a little, hoping things would put themselves out, but it was only getting worse. That meant it was time to get the cleanup crew in motion.

She filled Teagan Bruce's glass first, though, and passed it back to her with a grimace.

Then, she put two fingers in her mouth and whistled, a shrill sound that seemed to echo off the rafters. "Oi, Ian. I'm calling you into official action," she hollered and jerked her chin at the tall man who had slouched further into his cup of ale at the back of the tavern, reluctant to deal with town shenanigans on his night off.

"Toss 'em to me, and I'll show 'em the door."

Then, with practiced ease, she hopped neatly over the counter, caught the toothless man by the back of his collar on the dismount, and used her momentum to yank his head backward, bouncing it off the countertop.

"You're first, pretty boy. Out you go." She hauled the man away from the counter and he stumbled helplessly after her until she tossed him out into the street. Her brother Roman Gothard politely held the door for her.

[Killian Gregor]

Shit, he'd been spotted. Rox called him out by name, and Ian knew he couldn't keep hiding in his drink any longer. He groaned and rolled his shoulders, then tipped his head sharply to each side, cracking it. With that, he dragged himself out of his booth, just in time to catch a man around the neck--the sailor that Keiran Donnelly had knocked with the wine bottle.

"Why does the trouble always start with you, Donnelly?" he asked the farmer nonchalantly as he pulled the attacker into a chokehold and started to drag him backwards towards the door. He didn't make it far, though, before another one hit him over the head and shoulders with a chair.

Killian didn't falter, although his shoulders tensed, and one eyebrow twitched slightly.

[Leo Sommers]

Rox? Ah, she must mean Roxanne, the owner. Leo was beginning to agree with the pregnant woman's assessment that the bar might provide better cover, so he stayed close behind her, elbowing away anyone who got too close as they hustled toward the bar. The whistle nearly stopped him in his tracks, however.

Leo watched the little bartender hop the bar like it was nothing, and a low chuckle escaped him. "I think she's busy," he remarked.

He decided that meant he was responsible for Aileana DiRossi, just like he had been when he decided he was going to carry her things for her whether she liked it or not. With that decision made, he quickly manouvered so he had his arm around her shoulder, pushing her to duck, using her body to protect the baby, and his body to protect her. Together they rushed across the fray, and he ushered her behind the bar, just as a bottle went flying overhead and shattered against the wall behind them.