A Rainy Afternoon in a Tavern

The air is still in Arcadia today, with grey clouds looming over the stone buildings looking out into the dark blue sea waters.

‘Going to rain soon’, Lyra thinks to herself as she pulls her cloak tighter over her shoulders, concealing her face from the small crowd of villagers that move about the roads. As she traipses through the kingdom, a gust of salty sea breeze passes through, tousling Lyra’s auburn hair.

Her stomach lets out a rumble and she sighs to herself, looking around her surroundings. She’s a bit too far from the castle now to retreat into, instead searching for a shelter she can duck under and wait out the rain.

Her stomach growls again, this time more audible.

And food. Food is preferable, too.

Meandering through the alleyways, Lyra eventually comes across a small establishment, made of dark wood and stone and nestled in between larger businesses that face towards the piers. She can hear the dull sound of chattering behind the thick wooden door, with the faint scent of cooked meats and herbs wafting through.

‘The Drunken Seagull’, declares the sign that hangs above the door, with a matching signboard of a seagull holding a bottle of rum to go with the name. Lyra raises her eyebrow. She doesn’t recall visiting this place before.

She pushes the heavy wooden door open, seeing a roaring fire in the back of the tavern and a partially filled room of patrons. They all seem preoccupied with their own matters, chatting animatedly amongst themselves while in the cozy warmth of the tavern. The room is dimly lit by flickering candles, casting long shadows across the rough-hewn walls adorned with fishing nets, crab pots, and anchors. Lyra can smell the scent of smoked fish and spiced ale, making her stomach rumble even more. A tavern bard strums her lute as she sings an Arcadian sea shanty that Lyra has heard of since she was a child. The atmosphere is certainly most welcoming, as Lyra makes her way towards the bar counter and tries to think of what to order.

She passes through the crowds with relative ease, picking her way through to avoid bumping into an unsuspecting tavern-goer. The people pay her no heed, and Lyra finds it preferable to the constant stares and whispers she gets from the castle.

It’s when she’s almost at the counter does she recognise a familiar figure, a towering man clad in a black cloak. She narrows her eyes, wondering if it really is him, as she approaches and settles down next to him, leaning herself over to squint her eyes up at him.

“Landon?” she asks, causing the man to startle. He seemed to be in deep thought, burying his head in his hands, though Lyra knows that this could just be another instance of him dropping off randomly.

“Wuh - Lady Lyra?” he mutters, his voice rough. His eyes still retain their dark circles that never seem to go away, and the mug of ale next to him looks barely touched. Ah, he definitely was asleep again.

Lyra rolls her eyes.

“How many times do I need to tell you, just Lyra is fine. We’re pretty much equals, Landon,” she huffs.

“What’re you doing here? Does Leo need something from me?” Landon asks, glossing over her words. Lyra pulls her mouth to one side, the mere mention of Leo making her scowl.

“No, why does everything need to be about Leo with you?” she sighs, shaking her head. “Can’t I just wander into a tavern and bump into a colleague of mine?”

“... Oh.” Landon nods dumbly, clutching his mug in his hands.

A silence falls between them, something that Lyra has grown to accept when speaking with Landon. Trying to make some small talk, she points towards the menu that hangs above the tavern’s collection of rum and whisky bottles behind the counter.

“You don’t have any food with you, have you eaten already?” she asks. “I could use some recommendations if you’ve been here before.”

“Hmm, no, not really,” Landon mumbles. “I haven’t eaten anything yet today.”

“What?” Lyra exclaims, causing Landon to jerk at the sudden noise. “It’s well into the afternoon! You’re telling me you’ve skipped breakfast and lunch?”

“I forgot.” he shrugs, making Lyra groan. She knows that he tends to be forgetful, but to this degree?

“Come on, I’m ordering something for the both of us,” she says. “On me.”

Landon widens his eyes, shaking his head vehemently.

“No, no, lady Lyra, I can’t possibly accept that,” he stammers, his eyes darting away, but Lyra cuts him off by pressing a hand right up to his face, almost touching him.

“I told you to just call me Lyra,” she reiterates. “Now, you can make it up to me by letting me treat you to some food.”

He looks at her square in the eyes for a few moments, before backing down and huffing.

“... Okay,” he mumbles, making Lyra smile in triumph. Sitting down next to Landon and enjoying some good Arcadian pub food together? Definitely a story she has to tell Erix when she gets back to the castle.

“Great! Glad it’s settled,” she returns her attention to the tavern menu. “Do you know what’s good around here?”

“Hmm, I don’t come here that often,” Landon shrugs.

“Alright then, I’m just going to order what I like,” Lyra declares. “Some meat pie for me, I haven’t had that in a while! I have no idea why they don’t serve that stuff in the castle, you should ask Leo if the castle cooks can add that in.”

“I think the tavern is supposed to be famous for their fish and chips,” Landon chimes in, but he falters when Lyra raises her eyebrow at him. They had their meals in the castles often enough, and Landon is well aware of Lyra’s avoidance of fish.

“Or we can have meat pie,” he sighs.

“Excellent choice,” Lyra grins, waving her hand at the bartender to signal his attention. “Bartender! I’ll have two of your meat pies, for me and my colleague!” she points over at Landon. “Oh, and add a mug of ale for me too!”

The bartender, previously occupied with polishing the tavern’s kitchenware, flashes Lyra a smile.

“Two pies for the fine lady and her friend, coming right up!”

Satisfied, Lyra settles down back into her seat, returning her attention to Landon.

“You have got to stop forgetting to eat,” she bumps her arm against his. “You know, even Erix was telling me that you need a healthier diet. Might help with your sleep problem if you get three full meals a day.”

At the mention of her friend, Landon begins fidgeting on the spot.

“It’s not that bad, really,” he mumbles. “You and Erix need not worry so much about me.”

“We’re all on the same team, Landon,” Lyra chides. “If you’re not performing at your one hundred percent all the time, that could have some knock-off effects on the rest of us. You know the sky high expectations everyone has on us knights.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he replies.

Another silence falls between them. Lyra coughs uncomfortably. Why does having a conversation with Landon always feel like a task to her? Erix and Lars make it look easy.

“So, weather,” she says, wincing to herself over how low she’s stooping to fill up the silence between them. “I discovered this place because I was looking for a place to hide from the rain, you know?”

“Same here,” Landon nods.

“It’s been gloomy in Arcadia lately, makes going outside so difficult,” she continues. “I was supposed to be buying some… Tools for my room, but even the bazaar is closed today because of the rain.”

Said tools include yarn and crocheting sticks, but Lyra definitely does not feel like sharing that fact with Landon at the moment.

“Were you looking to buy anything from the market too?”

“No, I don’t really need to buy anything right now,” Landon shakes his head. “I just wanted to go out to the beach today. Thought it looked sunny enough this morning to visit.”

“Oh, the beach?” Lyra asks, intrigued. “I think I remember Erix mentioning you visit there during our free days.”

“Yes, I do,” Landon nods to confirm. “I find calm when looking out towards the waters.”

“Well, given the nature of our job, I can see why you’d need a break from everything once in a while,” she says. “Lars and I used to play out in the sands when we were younger.” Lyra smiles at the memory, though her feelings are bittersweet when she compares her childhood with her brother to their relationship in the present day.

“He once tried to make a perfect replica of the castle out of sand, however it got washed away by the tides before he had a chance to finish. He almost cried that day!”

At her comment, Landon lets out a huff of air that could quite possibly be a laugh, taking Lyra aback. She thinks that she can count on one hand the amount of times Landon has laughed in front of her.

“Sounds like something he’d do,” he says.

They’re both interrupted when the bartender calls out their orders, serving their two pies and Lyra’s mug of ale.

“Thanks, bartender,” Lyra fumbles in her pockets and slides over a few gold coins as payment.

“No problem, missy,” the bartender grins, his voice gruff as he picks up his cleaning rag and returns his attention to his crockery. “Always gotta keep up appearances for the customers!”

His friendly demeanor makes Lyra smile, as she picks up her fork and slices away at the meat pie, bringing a slice to her mouth. As she bites down, she tastes the spices and herbs mixed in with the well cooked meats, and she begins eagerly wolfing down a few bites before she realises what she’s doing.

She straightens her back and slows down her pace, hoping that Landon didn’t just witness that.

Unfortunately, she’s been caught red-handed, judging by the way he’s staring at her in an almost inquisitive manner.

“Hungry?” he asks, making Lyra flush with embarrassment.

“I may have also forgotten to eat my breakfast,” she mutters sheepishly, before pointing her fork in Landon’s direction. “Hey, you gotta eat your food too, especially after I’ve paid for it out of the kindness of my own heart.”

She sees the corners of Landon’s lips quirk up into an almost-smile, before he picks up his utensils and meticulously divides up his food.

They eat together in relative silence, though it’s a silence that Lyra finds more comfortable now. She reaches out to grab her mug and sip some of the ale, the warmth from the liquor washing down the strong aftertaste of the pie.

After some time, the both of them manage to clean up their plates and lean back on their seats, their stomachs stuffed with meat and ale.

“The food certainly doesn’t disappoint,” Lyra grins, as Landon nods in agreement. “Now, what’ve you got to say to your nice colleague who treated you to such a delicious meal?”

At that, Landon rolls his eyes.

“Thank you, Lyra,” he says in a monotone, making Lyra barely able to stifle her laughter at the exasperation.

Their meal now finished, Lyra wonders if they’ve managed to weather out the rain, as looks over to peek out the window. She makes a face when she sees that the rain is now a full on storm outside the tavern. Looks like she’s not going to get any shopping done today.

“Well, there goes my plans,” she sighs, pushing her plate away from her. “Sorry you didn’t get to visit the beach today, either.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Landon reassures her, however she can tell he’s also disappointed judging by the way his shoulders slump. “It’s been raining a lot lately, this is to be expected.”

Lyra can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness tug at her when looking at her colleague, and she tries to nudge him again with her elbow.

“Hey, at least we’ve found a new place to go to during off days,” she says, offering him a smile. “The food and drinks are both good, it’s not the worst place to get trapped in during a storm.”

Landon huffs.

“I suppose you’re right,” he gives her that small smile again, and it makes Lyra break out into a full grin.

“If you want, you can pay me back for the meal by buying us another round of ale!” she says enthusiastically.

It takes him a few moments to mull over her proposition, as if he’s thinking carefully about it, before he nods in approval.

“Alright, but we’re not getting drunk, right?” he asks, making Lyra giggle.

“Depends how well you can hold your weight!” she says in high spirits, before she’s raising up her hand to get attention.

“Bartender, another round, please!”