Happy Hour: the divine edition

[venerable_ibis]

Djehuty is always scrupulous about presenting Madame Bar with offerings. He is a guest here! He is aware, yes, that the various rings and bracelets and flowers and coffers of incense he has brought have been converted to a "tab" that's vastly in his favor, but he prefers to think of this as building generous goodwill with the local powers. Mysterious as they are.

Today, as he places a garland of henna and convolvulus on the bar, he receives a small piece of folded paper in return: one with a message in very good hieroglyphic characters. Would the most generous god Djehuty, Scribe of Ma'at, be so very kind as to perform the functions of the Bar while the Bar recovers her energy? He needs only pour out some glasses of wine or beer, milk or water, whatever seems best. It is a Happy Hour.

Oh! Well! That's...is it quite correct that he should serve humans? It hardly seems right. And yet, it is the custom of the place, and certainly Madame Bar is a powerful deity in her own right. There is no shame in filling the position of another god in time of need. And indeed so many of the humans here are dead, which makes them divine in their own way....

SO, RIGHT, there's a tall guy with a bird head behind the bar today, solemnly pouring out goblets of wine and earthenware cups of beer, et cetera. Happy Hour is on!


((Hitting slowtimes while I make dinner, etc...))

Comments

[harryhotspur]

In tramps Harry Percy, rather dusty. He makes his way up to the Bar and is halfway through his request for some ale if you please before he realizes that bird it's his head is a bird man with a bird head bird what.

So it's possible he's staring a little bit.

[venerable_ibis]

"Ale! I have that right here! Well, I should be more correct. It is, I believe, a French beer. It is suitable?"

He's going to do this right! (And here, see, here is yet another little dead human; of course Djehuty wants to be a gracious host.)

[harryhotspur]

the bird talks oh my god

"--y'are a bird," says Harry Percy, keen observer.

[pro_patria_mortuus]

...Uh. That's new.

(For a moment he thinks of daemons, of birds that turn their heads with bright intelligence and talk with a human's voice and soul -- but no.)

[venerable_ibis]

Ibis beaks are not really made for offering reassuring smiles. But Djehuty nods his head in greeting, and gestures unobtrusively towards the row of drinks. Yes?

[pro_patria_mortuus]

...All right. Sure. Talking with the bird-headed shirtless person, who is almost definitely a person, and who one hopes can talk -- why not?

"What are they, monsieur?"

Citizen? Definitely not madame or mademoiselle or citoyenne; the shirtlessness makes that abundantly clear, to a guy from a society that clings emphatically to a gender binary.

(He has a hazy recollection of seeing something at least vaguely akin to this guy in some of the drawings of ancient artifacts Combeferre's enthused at him about. Was that the hieroglyphics? Maybe it was something else.)

[cook_the_rude]

"Good afternoon, Thot," says the man who just came in from the back door, in linen trousers and shirt, and a fine white Panama hat.

"An Egyptian god. That is new."

[venerable_ibis]

"Not very new," he answers, unruffled. "Humans and I have been acquainted for some two thousand years. But I have never assisted Madame Bar this way before. Would you like some wine? Some beer?"

There's something vaguely familiar about the man--is it from the time he was here as some strange future avatar of himself? He remembers, hm, something along the lines of a blood-drinking demon. Hmmm.

[cook_the_rude]

"Do you have old beer, the kind that the workers that built the pyramids drank, or the kind of wine their kings favoured?" the man asks, smiling.

His teeth are somewhat long and pointy, but not fangs, by a long shot.

[onceaviking]

A different kind of not quite living in the regular sense of the word makes his way to the Bar.

Why must this place be so fucking ridiculous?
Why?

He heaves an internal sigh and leans on the bar.

Tall, pale, blond, muscular. Definitely no heartbeat.
Also definitely not dead. Not the way people tend to be dead here.

Not the way people tend to be dead in general.

[venerable_ibis]

The lack of heartbeat is a little distressing; he's not used to silence from hearts. But then again, this is clearly some variety of demon. Djehuty inclines his head. "Greetings! It is a Happy Hour, and I am performing the duties of Madame Bar. What would you like?"

[onceaviking]

That's a - disturbingly cheerful bird creature.

Eric shrugs - mentally - and nods at the small fridge behind the bar.
"There are bags of donated blood in there," he says. "A glass of that. Slightly heated."

[athelstanthescribe]

Athelstan makes his - noisier than usual, because wood crutch on wood floor - way over to the Bar. Djehuty's ibis head gets a look of interested curiosity (but he's been around Milliways, he's been a bird himself for three days, and let's not get into what the Norse gods do in animal form).

"Might I have a cup of beer?"

[venerable_ibis]

"Certainly, of course! It is a French beer; will that suit you?" Hey, all he knows is that the beer here is very different from what he's used to.

[athelstanthescribe]

"I'm not fussy", he says with an amiable smile. "French beer will do nicely."

[vive_lavenir]

Jehan walks in, rather awkwardly. He is wearing bell bottom jeans, platform shoes, and a magenta sequined shirt.

Yes, Jehan is experimenting with 1970s fashion.

He doesn't like it, especially not the feeling of wearing jeans. But also: polyester. Ugh.

He's reading a book about the cultivation of flowers, but Marguerite likes to chew on the pages, so he's come to the bar to read it. When he sees Djehuty at the bar, he's surprised and pleased: he somehow didn't think Djehuty would want to tend bar at Happy Hour. But embarrassment quickly follows on the heels of pleasure, for Jehan is starting to feel like a bit of a fool dressed like this, and he's not sure what Djehuty will think of it.

Well, he can't just stand around awkwardly without saying hello, so...he marches up to the bar and says, "Hello."

[venerable_ibis]

"Jehan! What a remarkable shirt!" Sorry, it's kind of noticeable. "Is it constructed of beadwork? Ah, no, I see that it is not... It is very grand." There, see, you don't have to be embarrassed! Djehuty thinks the shirt is pretty! And he sounds quite happy to see Jehan.

"Oh, but now I am being impolite. Madame Bar asked me to assist her in her duties today, and so you see that I am. Is there anything that you would like?"

[salty_witch]

A young seeming woman walks in and up to Bar grumbling; at least until she spots the personage behind the bar.

"Dad's teeth!" She exclaims. Normally she'd use more colorful language, the kind that makes folks blush, but she can tell this is an old power, and it wouldn't do to offend now would it?

[venerable_ibis]

That's...an unfamiliar exclamation. Djehuty tilts his head and gives the person a considering look. "Can I help you? I am assisting Madame Bar today."

((I'm assuming it's okay for Djehuty to recognize her for non-human, but let me know if you want me to work around that?))

[friend_of_lucy]

Tumnus was in the library and when he finds Milliways, walks to the counter and looks over Djehuty, "May I have a pot of tea, black, please?"

He's trying to recall if there's anyone like this man in Narnia and he doesn't believe so.

[venerable_ibis]

"A pot of tea! I..." Oh, dear. "I do not know how to make a pot of black tea. That is, you see, I have never drunk it myself, and I do not know its properties, and I do not know the tools one would use..."

Oh, dear. Perhaps the faun can explain?

[a1enzo]

"Oh, hey! You've got your bird head on today."

[venerable_ibis]

"Yes--in all, I think it best. I do not wish to alarm anyone here, but neither do I wish to deceive. --Oh, and see, Madame Bar has asked me to assist her today for the Happy Hour. Would you like anything? Ah...hm. Do you...eat?"

[clayforthedevil]

Oh look, it's another dead French guy! who blinks, and then grins, and bows as he would to any casual acquaintance. "Djehuty of the Egyptian pantheon?"

He does take some care to get the name right, or at least as close as he can to the pronunciation Jehan uses. Names are important.

[venerable_ibis]

"Yes, I am the Scribe of Ma'at." He tilts his head. "And are you another friend of Jehan's, and Joly's, and Combeferre's?"