Fable - Ask Fox Burrow

[Demolly]

Cool dew dripped from the tall grass around the fox-eared letai. Cold air rose from the ground beneath her causing her lithe frame to shiver from her toes to her teeth.

After walking for many hours in the cold air, Demolly found herself exiting a thick forest into a large field. As her white-leather boots pushed aside and crushed a few blades of the field's tall grass, in the distance, she could see lantern light through the windows of a tavern and its time-worn sign hanging from a post on the building's side.

The tavern’s sign showcased something that caught her attention; a vaguely drawn fox behind the shape of a large tankard. Written below the duel-images was "Fox Burrow Tavern". Though the sign was clearly old and the colours long faded, the sight still caused her fox ears to perk up and tail to flick with some amusement. It helped her decide what she was going to do next.

Using the moonlight and bright stars sprawled across the night sky, Demolly forced her way through the tall grass towards the tavern, hoping that she wasn't about to step on a snake with such an obscured view of her path.

Once at the tavern entrance she pressed her hand-crafted staff against the door and managed to open it without much trouble, despite her short stature. The door creaked mightily against its old hinges and light from the tavern lamps flooded the dark pathway she was standing on.

The door's mighty creak was not the only sound that caught her ears as the door opened; there was also shouting from various crowded tables and two men punching at one another near the middle of the establishment.

One of the men fighting, a human, showcased a large beer belly, bald head, ageing tanned skin and a clearly drunk expression; his eyes were shifting unsteadily side-to-side while trying to keep his opponent in view. His opponent was much younger in appearance, but an elf so there was little way to accurately tell his age. The elf appeared slender, fit and dodged the human’s punches while landing a few on the beer belly, which was the largest target in front of him.

Demolly disliked tavern brawls, which was reflected by the expression on her face, though she enjoyed the fact that most of the tavern guests were distracted by the scene. She passed the tavern's threshold without drawing much attention and made her way to a seat near the bar.

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen eyed the brawl as it moved about the tavern, the elf dancing his way about the human as he offered jabs and hooks at the prodigious stomach. Each blow brought a small wince from the fox tailed man. However, it wasn't sympathy for the pain that had him cringing but rather the fear that one of those punches might cause the contents of that stomach to be expelled onto the floor or any nearby bystanders.

Closer and closer the pair were dancing towards his space until Vulpesen eventually took leave of his seat, bringing with him his amber filled glass as he circled the pair towards a safer area of the bar. Once comfortable enough to look away from the moving danger that was flying fists and knees he noticed a flash of fur. It was a brief moment of excitement as the warlock's eyes roamed over the new arrival, though it dimmed as he reached her ears. It was rare to see another Zorren on the road, their leaving of Veradune usually having something to do with bussiness, and while the vulpine tail was perhaps the most noticeable mark of their species, Demolly's ears marked her as something else entirely, the furry tufts differing from his own pointed elf like ears.

Still, the minor disappointment was no reason to be rude or unfriendly. "You should see the fights back home. This is nothing more than a spat compared to my usual tavern." He'd noticed the look of disgust and he matched with with an easy smile as he went back to observing the fight. Veradune's taverns were indeed a rowdy place, a common saying being that none were complete until the owner had placed a med station somewhere within.