"For Etzos!" the loud, boisterous man shouted, bringing the whole tavern up with a loud shout. Everyone in the tavern cheered and raised their drink of choice. Everyone except Ryder. Sat at the bar, Ryder looked up at the woman working behind it. He'd heard stories of her, how she used to be a fighter, hence the board filled with potential work. He'd also heard, however, that she was another good source of work. He gave a small smile.
"A glass of Ale" he requested, the woman nodding and getting to work. Next to him a human woman chuckled, looking to be around the same age as Ryder. He glanced over and raised an eyebrow. She was evidently laughing at him. Perhaps she wasn't a fan of ale? Though, he had no idea if that was possible. Ale, as a fellow mercenary once told him, was the foundation of businesses and friendships. At least, the successful ones. Though, saying that, Ryder once had a friend that didn't like Ale - and he considered that friendship successful. At least, until his friend decided to try and wrestle a wolf while drunk.
Deciding it wasn't worth his time, Ryder looked back to the woman handing him his drink. He gave her the silver nel she asked for, taking a sip of the ale. A small grin spread across his face. Ale always helped him relax after a day of work or training. He heard the woman on the stool beside him edge closer, his spare hand going to his dagger as she leaned close enough that they could talk.
"You don't look like the kinda guy that settles for one Ale" she observed, smiling a playful smile. His hand still on the dagger at his back, he chuckled. "I don't like to let good Ale go to waste. No 'arm in taking it slow every now and again, ey?" he replied. She shrugged, glancing down to his hand and sighing.
"I wouldn't know" she started. "Nobodies bought me a drink yet".
Ryder couldn't stop the smirk spreading across his face. He liked people forward, and he had a soft spot when it came to women. The Ale didn't help, either. "We'll have to remedy that" he said, taking his hand off the dagger. "One more glass of Ale for me, and two for this lass" he ordered, watching as their drinks were poured. The woman's hands rested on his shoulder as she leaned by his ear.
Before she could whisper, a man shouting made the tavern go quiet. Ryder couldn't make out what the shout was, so glanced over. He saw a few guys stood up, looking straight at him. Very quickly, the woman beside him moved away. Ryder glanced to her in time to see her mouth the word 'sorry', before getting up and moving towards the man uncomfortably. He gave her a stern glare, before taking a step closer.
"You think you're something special, asshole?" the guy asked. Ryder leaned back against the bar and chuckled, taking another sip of his ale before putting the glass down. Many eyes in the tavern watched as the man clenched his fist, starting to shake. "Is something funny to you?"
Ryder stood up, still chuckling. He shrugged and tucked his stool in, before walking towards the man. "Somethin's amusin' me, yeah" he admitted. He glanced over all three, before standing just a few feet away from the obvious leader. "I've always found it funny when a coward needs a group of people to try and make 'imself scarier".
The big guy chuckled and looked back to his friends. "Can you believe this little shi-" he started, before Ryder's fist collided with the side of his face, bare knuckled. As the man dropped back to the floor, the bar burst out with cheers, the other two guys stepping forward in a combat stance - one of them armed with a knife.
"Really?" Ryder sighed, looking at the guys knife. In a quick dash, the man went to slash, Ryder taking a step back and stumbling in to the bar. He glanced back and saw the Ale in it's glass. He quickly grabbed it, before turning and throwing the ale in to the eyes of the knife wielding man. As he covered his face, Ryder grabbed the side of his head and smacked it in to the table with all his strength.
As Ryder clenched his fist, he let out a small wince. When he looked down at his hand, his knuckles were already bruising from the hit to the man's jaw. His first swing was sloppy, meaning he must have injured himself. Remembering he was in a fight, Ryder glanced up to see the guy rushing him. The guy tackled Ryder against the bar, shoulder knocking the wind out of him before his back impacted the bar.
Ryder shot his knees up to the man's stomach to try and loosen his grip. Two knees collided before the man let go and got up. Everybody in the crowd cheered as the fight went on, the shouts overwhelming any other sound that would be made. Ryder let out a small grin as his opponent swung, lunging to the side to avoid the hit, before countering with a hit from his other hand. After the punch connected, Ryder quickly moved behind the man and tried to grab him, holding him against the bar.
"In a few seconds I'm gonna let ya go, and if you do anythin' other than get the fuck out of here, I'll cave ya head in" Ryder grinned. Although he was smiling, his threats were anything but empty. He wasn't the best fighter, but he'd taken all three down with just his fists. Had he been using his knuckle dusters, these guys would be carried out of here without their teeth. "Got it?"
The man under him nodded his head, giving up on struggling. Ryder slowly let go, keeping his hands ready. To his surprise, the man did as he said, taking his friends and getting out. Behind him, the bar woman chuckled as the bar fell quiet - before people burst out with cheers. They raised their glasses, the fight raising their adrenaline as well as their spirits. Ryder just chuckled, turning back to the bar and sitting on the stools.
Another surprise, as this night was full of those, came to Ryder as the woman that started this entire issue came and sat beside him again. She glanced down to his bruised knuckles. "That looks painful" she muttered, not making any eye contact. Ryder took a sip of his drink, keeping his gaze focused on the bar. "Listen, I'm really sorry, I didn't kno-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Ryder slid her drink in front of her. "Sorry I spilled the other one" he smirked, evidently not sorry at all. Relieved, the woman smiled a little. He finally looked back to her and gave a small nod to let her know it was ok. He wasn't one to hold grudges, especially against people that gave him an opportunity to fight. "It's Ryder, by the way."
"Well, Ryder. It's nice to meet you. I'm Opal" the woman smiled, taking a small sip of her Ale. Their eyes met and Ryder grinned again, before the two leaned in and kissed. He got the fight and he got the girl, Ryder thought to himself. Luck really was on his side. He smiled lightly as the two parted from their kiss and he moved back to take a sip of Ale. Beforehand though, he raised his glass slightly.
"To new friends" he grinned. Opal chuckled and raised her glass as well, still looking at him with focused eyes. She clinked her glass against his, before taking a sip and putting the Ale down. "I have to ask, you make a habit of kissing all of your friends?" she teased. Ryder let out a laugh, unable to hold it back. He always tried to be honest, but something in his head told him this wasn't the time for honesty. Then he remembered who he was, and decided to be honest anyway.
"Only the pretty ones" he teased. She let out a small grin and got up, finishing off her glass. He raised his eyebrow at her as she extended her hand towards him, offering it to be taken. "How about we go elsewhere? Somewhere quieter?" she smiled, this time with warmth and meaning behind it. Before Ryder could reply, however, the woman behind the bar put a hand on his shoulder. He glanced over with a look of confusion.
"After you clean up the drink you threw over my floor" she grinned, only half joking. She gestured to a mop and some water and gave him a sarcastic smile. Ryder sighed and took the mop, before looking back to Opal, who was laughing at him. He started to mop at the floor as Opal sat down at the bar.
"I'll take one more Ale, I might be here a while" she said, causing both the women to laugh, and Ryder to sigh - still smirking.
