OPEN LOG

[grinninggrifter]

Characters: Grift/Thomas (grinninggrifter) and OPEN
Date/Time: December 29th, all day
Location: All over the place
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Grift is out for the day. Please come and bother him!

Comments

Afternoon sometime I guess?

[burntorangesky]

As today happened to be her day off, Fred had spent most of it sitting at one of the little cafes in the Bazaar. She was feeling a bit off, mentally; yes, she was somewhat upset that her friends were all hurt, but they would heal. It was more... well, something to do with the Fourth Floor, basically, though she was not at all certain why it was bothering her still. She had seen it happen time and again--two weeks wasn't even that long, considering it kept some for as long as a month.

She drummed her fingers against the table briefly, then pushed back her chair and stood. Enough. She could get a little grocery shopping done, so long as she was here; that would save 00 from having to make a trip, at least.

[grinninggrifter]

Smoke's had been serving a particularly popular apple pork dish, and when Grift had made a quick trip to the bar to pick up a few items, he noticed that their supply of apples and a couple other things were running low. In one arm, he had a heaping bag of apples balanced right underneath his chin, and his other arm, he carried a bag containing personal goods, mostly things like coffee and bread. As he paused to pensively peer through the cafe window to decide whether or not he wanted to pick up a couple of baked goods, a jogger bumped into him and he jolted forward, sending some of the apples rolling across the ground and to where Fred was standing.

Grift cursed and turned around to cuss the jogger out, but he was already far away and he didn't fancy tarnishing his image by going running after someone just for bumping into him. He scowled and bent over to pick up the scattered apples and hoped that none were too bruised to use.

[burntorangesky]

Fred didn't even notice Grift standing near her--not as anything more than just another warm body moving through the Bazaar, anyway--until he cursed as another slammed into him. Fred glanced over, just in time to see a glimpse of his face as he turned to stare after the person.

She recognized him, of course; she had helped Chivalry in the kitchen for a brief time, and had met him then, but she still remembered him from their first encounter, when she'd been a raw newborn. They hadn't spoken much since--the circles they tended to move in were just too different, probably.

She bent down to pick up a few of the apples that were closest to her, wiping the worst of the dust against her trouser leg and holding them out to him. "Here you are, then." She eyed his armful, hesitating for a moment. "...that seems a bit much for one person to have to carry."

[grinninggrifter]

Grift looked up when Fred began to help him pick up apples, and felt his temper wane at the sight of a pretty woman helping him pick up his groceries. He jerked his head backwards one more time, still offended that someone had the complete and utter nerve to knock him down, then smiled at Fred.

"Thank you for your help, Fred. It's been a while."

He rested the bags on the table, and fussily wiped the dirt from off of the knees of his pants. If there was anything he disliked more than being knocked over, it was looking like a slob in public. It occurred to him that perhaps he should have his priorities rearranged.

He waved in the direction of his groceries before continuing to pick every trace of dirt from off of his trousers. "I suppose I got a bit carried away there, yes. It seemed like a shame to make two trips just for a bag of apples."

Bazaar

[of_mindelan]

You stop by the Bazaar and buy incense, one of the signs had said, amongst various other options like jumping off a branch, taking on the dojo's mannequins with a broom, or using sugar to bathe

[grinninggrifter]

Grift was at the incense stand for very much the same reason as everybody else was: to mask the putrid stench of rotting flesh. That, and he liked incense. It smelled nice. He pushed his way through the crowd and held one of the sticks to his nose before turning his head to see Mindelan. He hardly recognized anyone he greeted, and he wouldn't have recognized her if it wasn't for the picture on the auction reminding him. She had a particularly lovely smile, he reflected, but from the looks of it, it wasn't exhibited too often.

"I don't think they'll be able to give you much of an answer," he said conversationally, flicking his eyes between her and her dogs. "But personally, that one's particularly nice."

He picked up another stick and sniffed it. "Though all the smells tend to simply bunch together, here."

[of_mindelan]

"Be polite," she ordered the dogs, a little edge to her tone. Fang, who had started to rise enthusiastically, sank back down to lay his bulky muzzle across his forelegs, eyes reflecting purest canine misery; the other two, older and better-behaved by nature, sat.

Only then did she look at him, a polite smile easily coming to her face. "Grift, hello." She reflected that, in the auction picture at least, he had nice arms, if still a bit lean. "I know they can't, but I need to buy something that doesn't repel them." Or anything that they decided to chew up, she added silently, cynically.

He'd picked one she hadn't looked at yet. "It's the same with the scented candles and perfumes. We really can only guess."

[grinninggrifter]

Grift glanced at the dogs, more curious than uneasy, though he couldn't deny that unease was there. He wasn't at home with animals, and he had a strange feeling that the most experience he usually had with dogs was the type where they were attempting to forcefully separate his leg from the rest of his body.

"Oh? Are dogs repelled by incense?" He asked, a little absently. "I can't say I knew that. How will you be able to tell? Will they run away from the smell?"

He picked up another stick - vanilla, this time - and held onto it for purchase.

Bar, about 9pm? (Can be adjusted if need be)

[bloody_pens]

Rick was in need of a drink.

No particular reason, he just needed one, and did he really need an excuse to have one? Taking his journal with him to continue watching the reactions to the bachelor auction with amusement, he strolled into the familiar bar and took a stool.

Sounds good!

[grinninggrifter]

Grift recognized Rick only as an acquaintance, but he always seemed like quite an amusing man, if nothing else. He got into lengthy arguments with that strange brother of his, and tended to add a bit of humour to that particular group's conversations. Grift wasn't overly familiar with any of the members of the group, but he - along like most others - tended to regard their conversations as a modest source of entertainment.

"Good evening, Derrick," Grift said, walking swiftly over to where the man was seated. He leaned over to read his journal upside down. "Anything new in that bachelor auction?"

[bloody_pens]

"Yo, Grift," he said, lazily waving a hand in greeting before turning his attention back to the journal. "Oh, some people getting uppity about being put into it. Talk of conspiracies to inflate the bids. Hinting at who might be bidding on whom. All of that good stuff. It's almost as good as one of those tabloids."

[grinninggrifter]

Grift's face eased into a slight smile at that news. The auction was a source of endless amusement, particularly for the prudes who appeared to have absolutely no sense of fun. When asked, Grift had been all too happy to pose. Why not? Did anyone really have anything better to do?

"It's fortunate that people have no sense of humour, or else we'd have nothing to look at," he said, reading what was on the journal upside down with little difficulty. "Though I notice that you weren't on it yourself. Can I get you something to drink?"

Shooting range, mid-afternoon

[interveningly]

Veda had been pleased to find this place, in his explorations. A place to practice, to train. Getting ammunition had been easier, now that he actually had a firearm in hand, courtesy of Aim. Why the man had done so, he still couldn't quite fathom. Even if they did know each other in their pasts - and the evidence was strongly in favor of that particular hypothesis - they did not know the whole of things. Know if the other could be trusted. He wondered what the other man's emotional response had been seeing him, given the strength of his own. But that would require sharing what his had been, and a part of him rebelled at that thought. At the display of weakness it entailed.

But those were thoughts for another time. He had a weapon of his own, now, which meant he should spend time familiarizing himself with its operation, the way it handled. Putting it through it's paces. The range was perfect for that, and best of all, he had it to himself, for the moment.

[grinninggrifter]

Prior to going to the shooting range, Grift lightened his purse quite severely with replenishing the ammo that others had used in the attack. He experienced some regret that most of it was used up, but he supposed there was no helping it. Nevertheless, he decided that a trip to the range was in order to blow off some steam and get in a little more practice

[interveningly]

In the silence of the firing range, it was easy to hear the approach of footsteps. His gaze flicked to see the source, and, seeing that it was not a threat, he lowered his gun to point safely at the ground. It was a good choice for a sidearm on Aim's part, he felt. Plenty of stopping power in a compact package - though it had more recoil than the rifles he had been using, which he was slowly adjusting to.

"Thankfully for both of us," Veda replied dryly.

[grinninggrifter]

Grift cheerfully ignored the implications of Veda's words and settled for simply saying, "Indeed."

He set himself up at his own station (comprised of a couple of crates on top of each other) and took out his simple handgun from out of an inside jacket pocket. As he inspected it and made sure it was clean and fully functional, he said, "In that case, you must have found yourself a job, correct? A gun usually isn't the first purchase people make."

Bar, maybe 6pm? Hope that's not too early...

[andcountry]

You go to the bar, order a drink, and chat up the man behind the counter.

Cephiro regarded the sign perplexedly. There was a second option, of course, involving going down to the Wilderness to explore - something he was always up for. However, this first option sounded so unlike something he'd normally do that he was immediately intrigued by it. Would he even be allowed into the bar? What would happen if he did something that was somewhat out of character for him?

Well. He would likely end up in a completely new situation from what he's used to and be forced to make decisions that might cause him to grow and change as a person, wouldn't he? He considered that notion, and how it related to the signs stuck all over the place, as he entered the bar.

That's fine!

[grinninggrifter]

At around 6 PM, the bar was still relatively quiet and Grift was still bustling around getting everything ready. A few people sat quietly at side tables, usually for a spot of dinner along with their brew, and Grift found that he had little to do. The bell above the door merrily sounded Cephiro's arrival and Grift looked up from where he was dusting the blinds on one of the windows.

"Good afternoon!" He said, and hopped off his stepladder. "Please, have a seat at either the bar or a table, and I'll be right with you."

damn typos

[andcountry]

Cephiro nodded, and gave the tables only a fleeting glance as he headed over to the bar. Sitting at a table was not an Option - one could not as easily have a conversation with the bartender from a table. The point of sitting there, as he understood it, was to drink and perhaps eat a little something in relative peace. No, Cephiro was interested in just how far down this little rabbit hole went, as well as contemplating the question of whether or not it really meant anything just because it had been written on a sign.

That said, he could tell already that he would not enjoy sitting at the bar. The seats on the stools were up around his chest, and it took him two tries and quite a bit of ungraceful struggling before he finally managed to mount it with a small but self-satisfied, "Hah!" Victory!

We all make them!

[grinninggrifter]

Grift washed his hands behind the bar, and turned around to look properly at his customer. His small customer. Oh, well. He allowed minors in his bar provided they didn't drink, and even then it was a tricky distinction. He felt that you probably couldn't go wrong with the assumption that if you were too small to make it onto the chair easily, you were too small to drink.

"Welcome to Smoke's," he said with an easy grin. "I'm Grift, proprietor and barkeep. What can I get for you?"