~ Chromatober 2024 ~

Day 23: Found/Retaliate

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Series: LOTB

AU: Firebird tavern (The Celestials run a tavern XD)

Characters: Cinder, Dest, Void

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"I have never found a more insufferable barmaid than one like you!" The man in front of me on the other side of the counter yells, his face contorting from his anger and making him look like a pig. I give him my signature look: a motherly scowl mixed with a look of, 'Continue, I dare you to.' as well as a slightly raised eyebrow. He continues shouting insults at me as I cross my arms in front of my chest, staring him down, waiting and daring for him to stop talking.

A hand on my shoulder catches my attention and I turn to look and see Dest to my side, his dark eyes tired, yet I could catch a flick of anger in his eyes as well. "Don't retaliate, Cinder." He says softly to me, but not soft enough that this angry patron couldn't hear.

"No, let her retaliate! I'd love to have a reason to cut her pretty face!"

Before the words left his sneering mouth, I had popped my hip, resting my hand in full view of the man, on my knife on my thigh. His eyes widen and he steps back, obviously having been talking smack without any guts. I watch him tense up and step back, but before he could make a run, a tall figure appears behind him, his dark purple and red eyes glaring down at the man. A smirk crosses my face as the man yelps, then is promptly lifted off of the floor by Void, squeals, then is promptly removed from the premise. I swear I hear him yell something at Void before he closes the door, but I couldn't quite catch what it was.

Striding back over, Void dusts his hands off on his vest, then goes to sit down at the counter, giving me a nod. I nod back at him, then reach down for a glass to fill up. "Thank you again, Void. I mean, I think we all agreed that we didn't want any blood to drip on our freshly-cleaned floors today." I giggle as I fill the glass with Void's favorite, then slide it to him. Dest sighs, but I catch him smiling. "Eh, It's not a problem, Cinder. You know I hate people treating you with the upmost disrespect. Mm. You know. It's quite a shame. They could learn how to treat someone like you with respect from Dest, I, Galactal, or Aether." I snicker at his sass and grin. If I didn't know him already, I would have pegged Void as a Diva.

"Well at the very least, I hope we don't have to see them again. Hopefully he understands that our local barmaid is a trained assassin," Dest comments and I laugh, rolling my eyes. "Ey, don't reveal my secrets so loudly, Dest!" I retort and he laughs patting my shoulder.

"You're doing good work, Cinder. Keep it up." And with that comment, Dest turns around and then heads towards the door to disappear into the back room. I can't help but smile at the boys' comments today, then go to busy myself with cleaning a cup out. "So, Cinder." Void starts, catching my attention. I give him a small, "Mhm?" to signal I was listening, then grab a rag and start putting some elbow grease into the cup. "Got any plans tonight after you close?"

A smile perks my lips and I glance over to Void. "Why, you want to go do some things tonight?"

"I heard some new travelers might be in to perform tonight."

"Hehe- Now you've got my attention, Void."