Hey! Remember the Baby Snatcher?

[Balthazar Black]

26 Ashan 720

Late on the twenty sixth trial of Ashan, Balthazar found himself leaving the trial shift he'd begun after his time sparing in a way that was becoming all too common for him... at a bar. Well it was tavern and casino technically- but Balthazar was at the bar again. A little drink and then he'd get some sleep. Or he'd drink some more. It wasn't the work that was getting to him. Somehow he could deal with all the dark things he saw and learned about the city without needing any liquid help, but something happened with Isabella. An argument. He pried on a topic he knew he shouldn't have and she left. She wouldn't respond to his letters and it was hard enough to write them with his mutations messing with him. He still had her poem though. The one she'd shamelessly stolen from a book in the Scholar's Nook... but it fit and when Balthazar thought about it, it made him happy... then sad... then he drank.

So the wallowing mage sat at the bar drinking his thoughts away slowly. It had been quite the season so far. Cylus was a storm and Ashan was shaping up to be something far worse... but Balthazar endured. He survived. He learned. He would keep learned too until it killed him and if it did he would... he would... Balthazar didn't know what he would do. He'd heard stories of what happened after death but did he believe them? There was evidence, ghosts, but would that be what became of him? Maybe... if there was work left to do. Balthazar raised his third whiskey and took a sip before lowering it back onto the bar. He looked at his hands and wiggled his fingers a little bit.

This was good whiskey... or at least good enough.

[Yeva]

Drinking Buddies

26 Ashan 720

It was time to celebrate!

Yeva bound up the street, practically skipping through the cold mist of the evening, not caring that droplets formed and clung to her fiery curls, "I passed!" she shouted to a passerby, a stranger by all accounts, waving a piece of parchment that symbolized a step closer to her letter in Medicine. She had been stressing nonstop for weeks, about everything! Between arriving to Scalvoris and applying for a job at the Spirit of Adventure, to enrolling into University, to picking up odd jobs to help pay for tuition (and ones that didn't!), she had been a busy bee. Ever studious, when she wasn't helping enlist her services to the Elements, or working for the Order of Adunih, she had been visiting the library, the Scholar's Nook, and either studying or adding to her never ending list of personal challenges. As she reflected on the events of the cycle, she felt a wash of self confidence, "I passed," she proclaimed again, bursting through the door of the establishment with a smile that could rival the sun.

Dressed a bit differently than normal, Yeva glided to the front counter in a skirt of indigo blue and a white blouse, long sleeved and frilled, happily laying the stack of papers on the bar, but not before checking for signs of liquid, "Good evening," she smiled at the barkeep who smiled back, walking over with an uncorked bottle of brandy.

"Evening... Sounds like you're having a good night."

"Yes!" she was eager to talk about it, but thought it might be best to temper her excitement... just a bit, "I just got out of a very long exam. With good news."

"Ah, did more than pass, sounds like, " he glanced down at the test, raising a brow at the exemplary mark, "Here to celebrate then? What can I get you?"

"Anything from Rharne, please... Oh! Not too sweet."

"Yes, ma'am."

She wrinkled her nose in amusement, "Ma'am," she muttered, not used to the title. She took a deep breath and looked around, taking the time to observe. There was a middle aged couple, disagreeing over the amount of money being spent on cards, another enamored with each other in a corner table, a man telling an drunk story to his buddies, a few sailors and... "Hey you," she called down the length of the bar, surprised to see Balthazar. Not many men his age had such stark white hair, how she managed to miss him when she entered was a mystery. He seemed... well...

The barkeep set down a drink and she paid. After a moment of a mental debate with herself on whether or not it would be appropriate or warranted, Yeva came to a decision. She had seen that look enough times in Rharne to recognize it now. Pulling from her seat, she crept up to where Balthazar wallowed in a glass of whiskey, lightly touching his shoulder, "You alright? You look like you might have had a....rough day."

[Balthazar Black]

26 Ashan 720

Most people had noticed Yeva walk into the bar so logic would have stood to reason that Balthazar noticed her as well... but he didn't. His eyes were locked at the bottom of his nearly empty glass, watching that drops of whiskey swirl as he moved the cup in a circle. He was too distracted by his thoughts to notice her arrival until she called out directly to him. Balthazar thought nothing of it the first time, she was probably speaking to someone behind him or something, but then it became clear that she was indeed looking for Balthazar. The mage turned his head slowly to get a look at the woman speaking to him. He recognized her though she was dressed very differently than when they'd last met and he was dressed about the same. His eyes lowered to her blue skirt and then her blouse. Why white? Balthazar had a few white shirts but he never wore them because it was always easy to tell when they were dirty and it was annoying to get the bloodstains out. Alas those probably weren't problem's Yeva encountered as frequently as Balthazar.

Yeva would be more shocked than Balthazar when she touched him, literally due to his mutation- but he'd still be somewhat surprised she'd come over to speak with him. A rough trial? Balthazar had had a rough life. Thankfully though he'd never become more resistant to the drinks he could get in bars. All the same when Yeva lightly touched his shoulder and the etheric shock passed between them Balthazar looked back down at his glass. "Sorry." He apologized for the shock before gesturing for the bartender to refill his drink. The server came over to fulfill the order while Balthazar turned to look at Yeva. "A few, yeah." He replied cryptically before gesturing down the bar to her papers. "And it seems you've had a good one." He added. "So what brought you here?"

[Yeva]

26 Ashan 720

Yeva jolted when she was shocked. It wasn't painful, but it took her by surprise and she laughed softly. By his response, she would have thought it must have happened to him often, "Don't worry about it," she offered in response to his apology, only slightly frowning at the mention of a 'a few'. Was he going through something difficult? Considering his mood... his drink of choice...

"All Rharnians drink when they're happy," she said matter of fact, "And I'm sure even more when they're sad. Do you want a friend to drink with? We could talk, or we don't have to." Could it be death? A lost love? A case gone awry? She knew very little of Balthazar's personal life, their encounters mostly focused on solving some sort of puzzle. Yeva sat there quietly, offering a soft thanks when their drinks were delivered. After a beat, she took a drink and peeked over, "Do you remember the baby snatcher? I mean the one with the straw?"

Yeva leaned against the bar, tilting her head. A curtain of curls spilled from her shoulder, "Demaki still talks about it... Well, about you, I guess," she took a drink, humming to find the concoction had a sharp blueberry taste. She licked her lips, clarifying, "Not that we talk about you specifically. He just said if you ever need a pair of hands again... Actually, I don't think I'm supposed to tell you that. Just forget I mentioned that part."

She briefly imagined what the Biqaj would think - in fact, he'd probably have encouraged it. But if Balthazar asked, she wasn't sure she wanted to repeat exactly what Demaki had suggested, "Anyway! If you're single, he's at the Order... Usually during the evenings, after triage duty. I'm sure he'd be happy to see you, even if you weren't, but you might be getting his hopes up."

Because...?

Yeva wanted to stop talking, she did, but when her cheeks started warming, the words came and sometimes they didn't want to stop. She just felt the need to keep explaining, "I mean, not to assume... your.. um.. Preferences? Um.." she looked away at her drink, wincing at her terrible execution. All she had wanted was to suggest he look for Demaki if he was interested as well. Now she was just embarrassed bringing it up. She should have planned this better! "Not that there's anything wrong with that. I just..." Yeva swallowed, face now red and twisted in growing horror as she nervous laughter bubbled from her throat, "I should probably go. This was.... horrifying. I really hope your night gets better."

[Balthazar Black]

26 Ashan 720

People in Rharne drank when they were happy? Did it make them more happy or just sad? How many drinks did it take to turn a Rhanrian depressed? An experiment for another day, Balthazar decided as he took a sip from his third, wait no his fourth... fifth(?) whiskey. Did he want a friend to drink with? Well now that was a different issue entirely. Balthazar nodded to Yeva when she asked if he wanted someone to drink with but he didn't give her any verbal confirmation. He would have been content to sit and drink alone as he'd planned but Yeva was something of an inspiration. Seeing her reminded him of some of the good that found a way not to be snuffed out in the world. Maybe he should have said something, because by nodding he left Yeva's second question hanging in the air. Did he want to talk? About what? He could talk about a lot of things in a lot of detail at the moment but none of them would probably entertain the woman who had so graciously surrendered her celebration to the drunk.

Fortunately the healer seemed able to mend more than bodies, she cured conversations as well. Yeva brought up the baby snatcher and there was a small glow that rose in Balthazar's eye. His brow raised a fraction and the corners of his mouth twisted ever so slightly into the outline of a grin as a more pleasant memory came to him... well pleasant in the grand scope of Balthazar's work. That case had been open and shut and there was a pleasure that came with knowing you'd done your job to the letter. With the other missing children things had been less... fortunate in terms of timing. Other missing children... it was horrible that within just the last arc it was impossible to tell which case of Balthazar's that expression referred to.

"With that mage- uh... what was his name?" Balthazar couldn't call it to memory and after a few trills of what truly looked like intense thought, he shook the thought from his head. "I remember." Balthazar confirmed before perking up again a moment later "Oh and our threat worked by the way. I had a few Land Troopers watch the house for a bit. Whats his name- Barney? Bert? Barnabas?- the husband, isn't picking on his wife anymore." Balthazar seemed proud of that.

Then things got very interesting for the drunk detective. Yeva brought up her friend again... Demaki. Balthazar remembered the name more than the impression Yeva's friend had left. He tried to remember all the names he heard so he could add them to the web he was building. Even drunk, depressed, and likely to self immolate on accident because he was a Defier, Balthazar worked on his web. Information was power and in a tight spot it could always pay to know the right names. Not that Demaki's would be the right name based on how the rest of Yeva's sentence went. The drunk mind of a detective was an interesting thing. Balthazar was not so keenly observant that he'd catch the whole story but he had relatively figured out where Yeva was going before her words brought her there.

Was that a blush he saw? Was she embarrassed for her friend? "It's too late," Balthazar said quickly. "I heard it. Now it's stuck up here forever." Balthazar tapped on his temple and then took another sip from his drink. It burned but this many drinks in he didn't even notice the burn. His mouth had become a little numb. "Even if I wasn't what?" Balthazar probed almost entirely because his intoxicated self thought it would be funny to see if he could make Yeva's face match her hair.

"Oh!" Balthazar leaned towards Yeva and whispered "You mean interested in men!" Well it was more of a whisper shout than a whisper. The bartender looked at them for a moment before going back to work and Balthazar gave Yeva a little space again. Yeva went for a quick retreat and Balthazar waved her back to the bar "No, no, stay. This is fun." He said, his demeanor shifting slightly. So Demaki wanted some Defier? Unfortunately it wasn't on the market. "I'm not offended. I'm not interested like that, but I thinks it's funny." Balthazar concluded for Yeva. "Freshly single, mind you, but not looking for men." Unless it's a fight club.

[Yeva]

26 Ashan 720

Balthazar was amused but Yeva felt weak from humiliation. When his words drew the attention of others, particularly the bar man, she covered her face with her hands, at a loss of words, "Okay," she finally relented, wanting to change the subject but found no clear avenue to do so. She could give her condolences for his relationship, but that would just risk bringing his mood back down and she certainly wouldn't want to be reminded when drinking to forget. Drawing her palms back and fanning her face, she retook her set and sipped at her drink, deciding to backpedal just a bit, "Speaking of threats- um...What... what did you say? To the husband, I mean. You're just..."

She hesitated, not sure how to say he was intimidating without it sounding rude or too complimentary. And it was clear Balthazar had been drinking. That must have made him a bit more unpredictable but it was hard to say. The white haired man was an enigma, "You look like you can fight, but," she paused, thinking, "I didn't think it would be easy to convince someone to stop... you know."

Abusing something or someone else.

Changes like that were often more complex than sheer bad habit. It was psychological. He must have been quite persuasive or terrifying. Maybe the man had been more afraid of the law then breaking his wife's heart? "Sometimes I wish I was scarier, not that you're scary- I mean - not that you're not not scary, you are," Yeva shook her head, realizing that this night was going to be full of social faux pas. Not what she had envisioned when she got her exam results and wanted to celebrate, "Can you just pretend I'm not a huge social disaster?" she sunk against the bar, scoffing at herself and diving back into her drink. Deep breath, "What I mean to say is... I wasn't sure he would stop," He being the husband and new father she had met earlier that season, tormenting his wife with threats and lock down, "I'm glad he has. Thank you. Would you like to change the subject?" Yeva was struggling to relax, apparently forgetting how normal people talk "What do you do when you're not working... Or I guess... drinking?"

[Balthazar Black]

26 Ashan 720

Balthazar didn't know what to talk about either now that Yeva had agreed to stay. He was just glad she had agreed to even though she seemed a lot more red than he recalled her being. Maybe she'd spent too long under the sun. He could ask her about that, but maybe she was self conscious about her sunburn... wait a minute maybe she wasn't sunburned at all! Was she blushing? Yes that must have been it. A small relief washed over Balthazar as he solved that mystery in his head a few trills before Yeva asked what he had said to the husband. Balthazar's brow furrowed, in truth he didn't entirely remember what he'd said at the time but it was the alcohol causing that forgetfulness. "I can't remember, probably something along the lines of 'I'll come back and hurt you, roar.'" Balthazar decided "It was really the continued Element presence around his house that did the work, I think." Balthazar wasn't that intimidating after all. Honestly that was why he got in so many fights. If he were more intimidating, nobody would be willing to throw the first punch. "And I guess when he found out his wife couldn't actually turn the straw into gold he probably had less reason to lock her up..."

The same amused grin spread across Balthazar's mug when Yeva said she wished she was more scary and then quickly corrected herself to make clear she hadn't meant to call Balthazar scary. He didn't mind. He was an Element. People called him far worse and were far less apologetic about it. "Well I do know how to fight and if you ever want to be more scary I can teach you. How to fight- that is... not how to be scary... That kinda just comes with it... also just not now... my balance isn't so great right now." Balthazar said as he stood up from his stool and stretched his arms out to the sides. Balthazar lifted his left foot of the ground and wobbled a little before sitting back on his stool. "See? I'd fall and everything."

"Of course." Balthazar replied when Yeva asked if he could pretend she was not a complete social disaster. He raised his glass "To being a social disaster." And he finished the drink. Balthazar waved the bartender over to have his own drink refilled and he even told the bartender to get Yeva another of whatever she was having. "The cure to being a social disaster is to drink more. At some point you just stop caring what everyone else thinks and it feels so nice." Balthazar said to Yeva as the bartender poured him more whiskey. Then Yeva tried to change the topic and Balthazar was willing to work with her on it. What did he do when he wasn't working or drinking? "I magic things." Balthazar said as if the sentence explained itself perfectly. "And I... I don't know... clean? I work a lot... What do you do when you're not helping little children? Or I guess drinking."

[Yeva]

26 Ashan 720

"Hm, that makes sense." Local law enforcement giving you trouble was enough to spook most people. Then again, it was probably the threat of punishment that kept perpetrators behaving, "Scalvoris has a prison... in Almund, right?" She had heard its name, but only in passing and knew little of its inner workings. Of course, that could said with all prisons for her, even the one in Rharne. Yeva struggled to even comprehend getting arrested. Did Elements have to carry rope? Shackles?

Balthazar stood from his stool, demonstrating his poor balance, almost as if it was an accomplishment, and Yeva took the opportunity to look for anything that might be used to restrain a criminal. Following that, he ordered more drinks and gave away his secret - to not care, you had to get shitfaced (more or less). Instead of getting embrassed, Yeva's nose crinkled as she laughed, "Well, I'm a healer. Or... I suppose that makes me sound magic too, which I'm not. Medic, would be a more apt term, but I'm thinking of applying for the alchemy program. I also know some Crytography," the bartender was pouring them both drinks and she had to refrain from asking how many he had already had.

She could hear her brother's exasperated voice in memory, 'You're always such a buzzkill, Ye.'

Maybe he meant more along the lines of recreational?

Without thinking, she laid some coin on the table for the bartender after her drink was topped off. She wasn't sure she could keep up with the white-haired man, "I'm hoping to pick up a few languages, and I like to bake. Sometimes, when I'm feeling really wild, I bake for children while drinking."

White teeth flashed in a grin. She was joking, of course. Although the idea didn't sound unpleasant to her in the slightest, having baked bread intoxicated trials prior for sheer practice, it was unknown if he would be able to recognize the subtle humor in his current state. Yeva took a drink, "If we go outside, could you show me some magic?" Balthazar did have a glow to him, his hair was that of bleached bone despite his youthful age, it made sense that he was a mage, "You don't have to, I'm just.... curious, I guess."

She shrugged and took another drink.

[Balthazar Black]

26 Ashan 720

"I think so. Slag's Deep or some such." Balthazar's face froze for a trill and then he nodded. "I've never actually been there. I just bring unconscious criminals to the Element Hall or wait for the Land Troopers to arrive to take them away." Balthazar admit. He didn't want to know exactly where the prison was. He didn't want to see it. He didn't want to learn the layout and the flaws in it's design. He would have wanted to if he didn't think Isabella might peer in and see what the Element's prison was made of. He didn't need to give her any more reason to commit crimes in the city he worked in. Especially now that things between them were the way they were... oh Immortals... what if he caught her doing something illegal? Would he still look the other way? Balthazar took another sup from his cup, the whiskey helping him forget her.

Balthazar didn't notice Yeva giving him a once over to see if he had anything to restrain criminals. He didn't have any, but he was off duty. When he worked he had a weapon and a cloak that he almost always refused to wear properly. It was a little long and dragged so he didn't like it. It got dirty at an unnatural rate because the elements were so fond of the mage... in hindsight Balthazar didn't mind the dirt so much. It could easily be weaponized with his magic. He didn't like the looks people gave him as if he made no attempt to stay clean.

Balthazar listened with more interest than he ever would have given sober as Yeva spoke to him. A healer? Magic? Oh, no, not magic. A rollercoaster of emotions and facial expression shifts that would give away entirely that he was a little disappointed she was only a medic. Not that there was anything wrong with that! Balthazar was fond a medics. He spent a lot of time around them in Yaralon and... well in Viden... and here in Scaloris... maybe he got in too many fights. He didn't know what Cryptography was but he had heard much about alchemy. "What alchemy program? I thought everyone was self-taught. I've been interested in it as well but I can only spend so long walking in circles to read around the Scholar's Nook. Did you know that? One of my mutations forces me to walk around to read. Otherwise the words almost literally dance on the page." He'd turn the conversation to himself and felt bad so he quickly tried to turn it back to Yeva "That sounds like a lot of fun, baking while drinking. Do the children enjoy what you make?"

Then she'd posed and interesting question that Balthazar was quick to answer. "Sure, but you have to finish that drink and another before I finish this one. I'll drink slow." And to prove he would, Balthazar set his cup down. "Do that, and I will show you something I guarantee you have never seen before." Which would have to be something other than the standard earth, wind, and fire because he was sure she'd seen that when they captured the baby snatcher.

[Yeva]

26 Ashan 720

"The Alchemy program at the university, of course," Yeva's embarrassment had begun to lighten, and she found herself relaxing a bit more, "Not everyone's self taught. I took a lesson from a man named Doran. He's a professor from Viden and he's-" Yeva's breath caught, the sentence ending fading in her mind.

Absolutely dreamy.

The smile that stretched across her cheeks stilled and flickered from her face and she busied herself with drinking. She exhaled a slow breath, rubbing the base of her neck while she tried to forget how attracted she had been to the man. Unbeknownst to the spirited woman, the professor had been a marked of Syroa, and Sesser's side effects had exploited youthful hormones, "He's very knowledgeable." she added somewhat lamely, while Balthazar mentioned his trouble with literacy.

"I didn't know..." she didn't regard the man with pity, just surprise, "I think that's called dyslexia," Yeva had not heard of a case where one had to move to read, but that might have been a side effect of the magic, "It's actually pretty common in non-mages too! My brother has it."

"You know... I could read to you. I'm usually doing morning clinicals, but I'm free most evenings after class. I like learning, and it's a topic of interest, so-"

She shrugged, 'Could be fun.'

Balthazar's eagerness to change the subject made her wonder if she had overstepped her bounds with the offer, "Oh, um, I was jesting. Well... Kinda. I've gotten drunk and baked, but," she chuckled, reminded of trying to knead bread with heavy arms, "I haven't subjected the innocent children to my cooking yet."

The white-haired mage was quick to counter her offer with one of his own, asking her to drink two rounds before he finished his. And, because he was so benevolent, he was offering to go slow.

Yeva laughed, raising a brow, "You weren't kidding, when you told that man you liked to play the bad guy."

She grinned, but considered his offer carefully. She knew he'd bend the rules, but was she safe? She knew very little about his morals... But he was an Element... That had to mean something, right? Balthazar man wasn't as harmless as Dari... She had to remember that.

"It goes against my honor to turn down a drink," She had been eager to celebrate, what harm could a few drinks do? It was why she had come here in the first place. Yeva held up two fingers, "Fine. A couple more drinks, then you wow me, okay?" If he was babying his beverage on her behalf, it meant he was slowing down, at least temporarily. And if she could distract him with magic and a miracle, he might sober up more before it was last call. That was a ways away, but Yeva was ever thoughtful planner.

"Cheers," she beamed, clinking her glass to his, "Even if you're being a bad influence right now."

She gripped the edge of the bar and threw back her drink, not stopping till it was gone, although she kicked her feet at the end and shook her hair, as if the heat in her stomach could escape through the ends of her curls if she could only manage to shake it out. Eyes still squinted in distaste, she smacked her lips together to familiarize the taste, "Can I have a hint? About the trick?"