Panic at the Disco

A slight smirk spread over her face at the stranger’s caginess. “Oh, there’s never a good reason to ‘waste money’ on booze. But since I profit off of it,” she said, shrugging, “I don’t often point that out.” She grabbed a damp glass from beneath the bar, and began to wipe it down as she saw a regular who loved his wine come in. Her eyes glanced outside at the cloudy sky, and noticed that the clouds did look like they threatened rain. A slight frown crossed her features- she did want to fly today, but flying in the rain was good for neither her nor her wyvern. As beings of flame, water was exceptionally annoying and made them cold far too easily. 

“Too bad about the weather, then,” she said, gaze falling on her hands, half mesmerized by the quick, efficient movements. Never in her life of privilege had she thought that she would end up serving others, but it was honest work and paid not only for her expenses, but for those living below her. There were times that she missed the Firebird estate, the flights she had had with Naviri when they were young, and things were simple…

Her movements slowed, and perhaps a tinge of melancholy showed on her face, for her wyvern’s snout quickly appeared under her arm, pushing it up. Do not lose yourself to those memories, child of mine. They are gone, and nothing shall bring them back. Focus on the present. 

Setting the glass down on the counter, she smiled and brushed her hand across his snout. Thank you, Senàn, she thought, knowing that only he could hear the words. The regular approached, and she held up a finger towards the stranger, giving the young man his wine of choice in the newly-cleaned and polished glass, before returning. She opened her mouth to speak when the clattering of metal bowls and silverware and the breaking of glass startled her. “Not again,” she mumbled, flapping her wings to get herself over the bar, her wyvern’s clawed wings scraping over the ground as they went to break up the fight. 

“What in the flaming fires of Fortune is going on here?!” she cried, grabbing the shirt collar of a grown man and throwing him to the ground. 

The man practically growled at Tasi, his fingers curled like claws. “That bitch! She won’t let me kiss-”

That was enough for Tasi. Cloaking her hands in white-hot flames, she strode towards the man, getting in his face with a flash of fang. “Consent is a big thing here. Don’t like it, don’t come.” She smirked at the fear in his eyes- so many times, her patrons forgot who ran this place. Yes, she was willing to heal and help, but if you were a piece of shit, she’d cook you like the chickens roasting in the back. “Pay your tab and then half, to reward this poor young lady here for your bullshit.” Nodding at Senàn, whose fangs glinted in the low light as he took pleasure in scaring the piss out of the former customer, herded him towards the bar to pay the tab, and then nipped at his legs to get him outside. All the while, the man practically growled, though his eyes were lit with fear. 

After checking on the young woman, who was fine except for a growing bruise on her arm, she returned to the bar, more disgruntled than ever. “You mentioned something going around, right? Well it’s damn sure happening here. I’ve had nearly three times the fights here than I normally do. Losing customers means losing profits, and I’ve got workers to pay. It’s bullshit. The sooner everyone stops losing their patrons-be-damned minds, the better.” Her eyes peered over the room once more, watching her waitstaff cleaning up the spilled stew and booze, before she fully turned her attention to the stranger at her bar. 

What brought her to this club… ha! A need to get back at the Order. A need to help escaped mages, to make sure they could evade the Order’s claws whilst it was under the control of the damned Archon. Of course, that was top secret, need-to-know information, and though she wanted to find a kindred spirit in the stranger, she couldn’t risk it. “My name is Anastasiya Novikova, but please, call me Tasi.” Her wyvern pushed at her back, and she smiled. “This here is Senàn, my familiar. He’s a bit big and intimidating, but there’s no better bouncer for this establishment.” She ran a hand along the bar’s smooth wood before gesturing around her. “I own this place. Built it from the ground up a few months back. It still has some growing pains, but it’s largely successful. I’m only behind the bar tonight because my bartender is sick. Hope he’s doing ok.”

She stuck out her hand, then, hoping that it was clean and not sticky- though it should be, after the fire show. “Nice to meet you, miss…” she said, letting the stranger introduce herself at last. Hopefully there would be no more disasters this evening.