Prince of Feathers

3 - the tavern master is not washed up

Tango felt his heart fluttering with excitement as he re-read the sign.

Welcome to Sanctuary, it said, in a curly font. The sign sat on the crest of a hill, and when Tango ran to the top of it, he could see the town sprawling underneath.

Sanctuary was full of colorful buildings with diverse foliage dotted in-between them. It was an older place, many of the buildings littered with cracks and such, but it was beautiful all the same.

"I haven't been here in a while," Tango said in Yellow's direction. They were still looking rather proud of themselves. "I think it got bigger since the last time I was here. But, Yellow, we are in luck! I know someone who lives here!"

Tango continued down the path, the canary on his shoulder as he talked. "He moved here a while ago because of his boyfriend, and now he runs a tavern, which is great news for us! I'm pretty sure he's pet friendly, but if not, I can use my excellent charisma to get him to let you stay."

Yellow gave him a doubtful look, like they didn't believe that Tango had any charisma whatsoever. Tango would neither confirm nor deny that.

"So," Tango continued, waving away Yellow's doubt, "We're at Sanctuary, which means we're on the edge of the Mythland Kingdom," he explained to the bird. "Mythland's not really far from the village I was in before I met you, but it's far enough that they won't catch up to me."

Tango laughed to himself mischievously. He was home free!

He'd be okay with staying in Sanctuary for a while too, it was such a nice town after all. He stayed silent for a little while, taking the time to admire the scenery on either side of him as he entered the town. Even though the place had grown a little, it was still fairly easy to navigate to his friend's tavern.

It was easy to spot, it was a fairly large wooden building, with a big sign hanging from a post over the door that read 'Washed up & Watered down - Pub and Inn' —A strange name for a strange little place. Tango adjusted his bag on his back, checked that Yellow was comfy on his shoulder, and headed through the tavern's wide doors.

In the center of the wide bottom floor, there was a round bar counter, with stools along the edge. Tables sat in the surrounding area, as well as a few armchairs in front of a cozy fireplace off in the corner. 

The barkeep, a tall fox hybrid with mismatched eyes and a mask covering the bottom of his face, greeted Tango with an excited wave as he entered. "Tango! Hey, long time no see!"

"Etho!" Tango smiled back. Etho was not just the barkeep, he ran the whole tavern, and was the friend Tango had told Yellow about.

"Is Bdubs here too?" Tango asked, taking a seat on one of the bar stools.

Etho shook his head in response. "Nah, he's still at work. He'll be back in an hour or so." He leaned over and put down a cup he'd been scrubbing at with a cloth, and turned to properly face Tango, propping an elbow on the counter. "So, what brings you out to Sanctuary?"

Tango scrambled for a quick answer to that question that wasn't 'oh, just fleeing for my life.' Truthfully, he should've known he'd been asked that simple question, and he should've pre picked an answer to it. "Oh, just been traveling 'round, you know how it is. You don't mind if I stay here a while, do ya?" he made up on the spot to preserve his pride.