Viking bartending

[bigarmy_strangepants]

Today, Ragnar Lothbrok comes in and makes straight for the bar. Life is full of trouble at home, and moreover, he's thirsty.

Instead of a drink, he gets a napkin.

"Athelstan?"

He looks around, hoping that his little monk is somewhere around and can help.

If he's to sell people drinks (which is what the napkin means, after all) he needs help from somebody who can tell what's written on the bottle!

***

After brief discussion, the specials board now says, in a neat insular half-uncial script from early medieval times:

Free mead -- for a story about a voyage
Free wine -- for a story about a celebration
Free ale -- for a funny and embarrassing story about yourself
Free apple juice -- for a story about your childhood

So it's both Athelstan and Ragnar behind the bar, ready to come and get you a drink, and listen to your story.


[[OOC: Two muns, two charries -- you'll most likely get both, unless you just want one of them and say so!]]

Comments

[athelstanthescribe]

"Ragnar?" Athelstan is usually somewhere around, especially when Ragnar's there, and then he spots the napkin. "...have you been chosen?"

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"By the Lady Bar herself," Ragnar says. "Can you tell me if she wants anything else of me, except to serve people drink?"

[athelstanthescribe]

He picks up the napkin and scans it.

"...there seems to be a tradition to choose a few drinks that will be cheaper than others for the night."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Can you help me writing them up?" Ragnar asks. "What should we pick? Mead, ale, wine, cider?"

[athelstanthescribe]

"Whatever we want. Your favourites, or sometimes I've seen people trade the cheaper price for stories, or for some small service from the customer."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Free mead for a story about a long journey," Ragnar says, "and what about the rest? Can you suggest something as well, and help me?"

Ragnar seems almost awkward in the way he wants to keep Athelstan with him. It might be about Aslaug and he way their life is coming apart, or it might be about what happened during the vigil for Gyda, or it might just be the fact that Ragnar can't read the labels on the bottles.

[athelstanthescribe]

"Of course I'll help. There should be wine on the list, but to trade for... something else."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Suggest something we can trade it for!" Ragnar says. "And I'll add ale, for a funny and embarrassing story about that patron him- or herself."

Beat.

"And should we have something that doesn't make people drunk?"

Amazingly, people drink such things all the time!

[athelstanthescribe]

"Yes, but something that tastes good as well..." He turns to the fridge and rummages. "Here. This."

It turns out to be chocolate milk.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"What is that??" Ragnar says. "Brown milk?"

He knows brown eggs, but never heard about milk that was anything but white.

[athelstanthescribe]

"Chocolate. Have you had chocolate yet?"

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Yes," Ragnar says. "They had it for the feast of Easter, a while ago."

It was longer in their own world than it was here.

"The children all got to eat much of it, and I felt sorry I couldn't take any home for my own."

Pause.

"I still had two children then, or thought I did."

[athelstanthescribe]

Athelstan glances back at him, then puts the milk back in the fridge.

"I'll choose something else. With fruit, perhaps..."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Something with apples that doesn't make you drunk?"

There are stories about magical apples, after all, so apples are special.

[athelstanthescribe]

"Apple juice", he agrees. "Juice, juice... here it is."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Yes," Ragnar says. "You suggest some fitting payment for the apple juice and the wine, can you?"

[athelstanthescribe]

"Let me think. It should be stories, we've got one for journeys and one for embarrassment... perhaps a tale from their own childhood for the apple juice. And one about a celebration for the wine?"

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"That is an excellent idea!" Ragnar says. "Can you write it on the board?"

[athelstanthescribe]

"Of course."

He straightens up to do so.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Thank you," Ragnar says, when he is done.

Pause.

"Oh, and Athelstan?"

[athelstanthescribe]

He turns around, reaching for Ragnar's hand below the level of the Bar.

"Yes?"

[bigarmy_strangepants]

Ragnar's hand is already there, reaching for Athelstan.

"Yes," he says. "Just that."

He smoothly entwines their fingers in taking Athelstan's hand.

[athelstanthescribe]

Athelstan is very happy to hold Ragnar's hand, turning out to the room to wait for their customers.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

This is probably not the time to talk about what happened at the beach, but the touch reassures Ragnar it was real, and there is something between them that wasn't there before.