Not Quite a Homecoming [Deling City]

[Griever]

Deling City. Home.

Hard to think of it that way now, though, Rinoa mused as she walked slowly down the sidewalk, the pavement aglow with the multicolored reflections of the city's countless lights. Funny how some things never changed, even when the world itself was a wholly different place. Deling and its rain were as inseparable as ever.

Yes, memories of the city she had in plenty, stretching back to her earliest childhood. Her father's manor, her mother's kindness and her lovely voice - oh, how she'd loved to watch her sing, whenever she got the chance. But it wasn't only the good that lingered for her here, not by any stretch, and it was the bitter memories that had finally driven her from this place. Timber - that felt like home now. Garden felt like home.

Deling was full of memories, but that was all it was.

But it felt good to be back, despite everything. It had been far too long since she'd been in familiar surroundings, and while the city was certainly busier than ever, it was otherwise unchanged, down to the bright red buses that passed every few minutes, bearing their passengers to this destination or that. How quickly people could pick themselves up, even when everything had changed.

The same was true for her, she acknowledged, kicking at the sidewalk as she went. What else could she do, though, but keep moving forward? Sitting around, waiting for things to resolve themselves - that had never sat well with her. If she wanted things to change, she had to make them change.

And after bringing down a sorceress who tried to compress time and merging the worlds, what was finding Squall and learning more about what that girl in Besaid had said?

Soon the street turned brighter and the crowds grew thicker, and before long she found herself in Deling's center of commerce. Here the increase in the city's activity was more readily apparent than anywhere, the sidewalks so choked with people that passage became difficult and the windows that lined the street seemed alive themselves with the movement from within. A smile touched her lips as she wove her way through the crowd. The Galbadia Hotel - heart of any traveler's stay in the city, and the best place in town to pick up any recent news.

Music met her ears the moment she stepped through the doorway. Unfamiliar music. A foreign band, no doubt, looking to bring in some new fans far away from home. Giving a small nod of acknowledgment to the greetings of the woman behind the counter, she descended the stairway into the hotel bar.

It had never been this crowded when her mother had performed here, she noted as the stairs wound past the ceiling's drapery and gave way to a view of the floor. But there was no doubt that it was Julia Heartilly that had given this place its fame, even if many of the customers that now filled the room had never heard of her.

Strange thought.

But Rinoa wasn't here for reminiscing. Best to find a seat, start a conversation, and see what she could pick up. A glance toward the tables filling the center of the room was enough to dismiss them; the people there were only interested in the music. The bar, however...ah, and there was an empty seat right on the end. She looked around at her company as she sat down, leaning a little over the counter for a better view, before settling in.

Now to listen in and hope no one around would recognize her. Being dragged back to her father's manor was hardly her idea of a productive visit.

[Bharune]

Ba da dum, gonna get it now~

The younger of the two bartenders sang along with the band quite happily as he whipped up drinks for the endless orders – slamming glasses, spraying liquid, popping caps, taking cash – but his sonorous tenor was largely lost amidst the music and shouts so it was purely for his own enjoyment. The other bartender – an older man by the name of Carson – was the usual distributor of alcohol in the Galbadian Hotel, but the night’s crowd was so demanding that even with the extra pair of hands they found themselves amply overworked.

The one who sang along with the heavy melodies from the stage was a man in his early twenties or so, his thick, chestnut hair a tousled flow about his shoulders and blades and his peridot eyes showing a clear pleasure at his work despite the demand and the heat of so many people in such a confined space. He was quite attractive, which wasn’t at all bad for business, and his black button-up shirt hung completely open to reveal his toned chest and abdomen, the sleeves rolled up to keep him cooler.

The crowd was a bit more…casual than the sort the prestigious hotel usually serviced, and the supplementary bartender didn’t seem to possess any sort of reservation or refinement. He laughed openly, shouted over the noise when someone called something to him, and was never too busy to share a few words here and there.

“’Ey, Rook!” A man called from the tables, and it took a few tries for the individual to be heard over the clamor. Finally, the brunette bartender glanced in his direction inquisitively. “Bring us couple ‘em scotch specials!”

Rook lifted his palms up waist-high, apparently making a reference to his attire. "Do I look like a serving girl to you?” He shouted back, though his demeanor remained light and unfazed. “Get off your lazy ass like everyone else!”

He took another order, pocketing a tip and tugging down a bottle of beer. “Why did I agree to this?” he mumbled in feigned complaint, causing Carson to chuckle.

“Because you’re a poor bastard.”

“Ah, that’s right…” Rook handed the drink off to its purchaser, then found himself with a free moment to breathe. He couldn’t deny this was an excellent endeavor for his wallet, that was for damn sure. The pay was shit, but he seemed to be effortlessly raking in those tips.

Taking a moment to survey the occupants at the bar, Rook absently noticed the young girl sitting at the end. Oh~ he hadn’t seen her yet tonight. Taking a glass, he filled it with ice and a clear liquid before shifting and sitting it down on the counter before her with an audible clank.

“Looking for someone, lovely bird?” he asked good-naturedly, his tone more charismatic than overbearingly flirtatious, and straightened to dry a glass with a clean rag. He offered her a pleasant grin. “Give me a description and I can prob’ly tell you where your man is, if he’s here.”

[Griever]

Whatever Rinoa had expected of Deling City as a whole, it had never occurred to her that this of all places would change so much. All this noise and light, the chorus of shouts and laughter that broke out over the carrying vocals from the stage, while not quite unpleasant, felt distinctly out of place. She mused about it as she turned in her seat, looking over the gathered crowd, idly wondering how many of them were strangers to this place. By the look of it, she couldn't help thinking the minority lay in those who weren't.

Well, it certainly wasn't a bad thing for Galbadia to be shaken up a little. In the aftermath of Ultimecia's removal from power, it would've been too easy for another man like Vinzer Deling - or worse - to step up with a few pretty words and drag the nation back into comfort and familiarity and oppression. They'd all worked too hard for that. A little change, forced as it may have been, was the best thing for the city and the nation as a whole.

Turning back, she studied the bottles and glasses and lights that decorated the wall behind the counter, giving her attention something to focus on while she sorted out bits of conversation here and there. All of it useless, really; about the drinks here, about the band there, and not far down the bar, some drunken rambling about a far-off place she'd never heard of. Well, this was getting nowhere - so much for keeping things quiet.

Then again, subtlety never had suited her, and trying to conform to it felt much too restraining. She'd always preferred to take on a challenge headfirst, to charge straight in and throw herself into it with everything she had, worrying about the consequences later. Impulsiveness had worked in her favor before, hadn't it? It was how she'd met Squall, after all.

A crystalline little sound accompanied the glass as it was presented to her. Rinoa looked up with a smile at the bartender, taking it and turning it this way and that on the table so that the ice shifted around, and shook her head. "He's not," she replied with confidence, leaning forward a little. "He probably hasn't been here for a long time." SeeDs didn't take a lot of leisure time, after all - especially not Squall. But this was Galbadia, and mentioning that particular line of work was probably not the best idea.

"I haven't either," she continued, suddenly curious. "I was born here, but this is my first time back since the Merge." Rinoa took a little drink, then lowered the glass and settled back into her chair. "What's it been like lately?"

No harm in keeping up, after all.

[Bharune]

The drink was just water, cold and fresh. Rook wouldn’t pass out alcohol to a random lady, especially if he wasn’t absolutely positive she was over the age limit. Yeah, he had learned that one the hard way. What, was it his fault that even preteens were getting dolled up about taking breast enhancers nowadays?

So, yeah. No more free drinks as a general rule. It was a bit awkward because "here, I’ll buy you a drink” suddenly had to become “here, I’ll buy you a drink if you show me three forms of ID first”. And since that was just a little too stalker-creepy for Rook, he got into the habit of playing it safe instead.

He already wasn’t too popular with the authorities around here...something to do with a public intoxication charge where he had allegedly started a riot outside of the station. Naked.

Sounded like a real good time, so it was a crying shame he didn’t remember a lick of it.

Hm?

Rook’s rag paused in its rubdown of the glass when the young lady replied with confidence that her man wasn’t present. So she was taken. But shit, what a jerk to miss out on the wonderful music and beautiful company.

The bartender didn’t interrupt her reflection, his eyes dropping from her back to the mug. A traveler, huh? A lot of travelers had lost loved ones when the worlds collided, either to death or disappearance or sudden distance, and he wondered if that was the case with her as well. He, luckily, had been fortunate in that regard – Dollet was suddenly much further, but his mother was safe and happy, and the friends and acquaintances he possessed here in Deling were well enough.

“Ah, well~” he exchanged the dry mug for a wet one, wiping it down instead. “As you can see, things ‘ave...loosened up a lot.”

He remembered back when he hadn’t even been allowed in this place. A man had to have a certain minimum income just to buy a drink…

“What with all the conflict lately, the Galbadian military has pretty much pulled out of Deling. Most of the political bigwigs have shuffled on out, too. Rumor is they got scared, or found better, richer places elsewhere.”

Once the Merge happened, Deling was no longer a top-dollar city by comparison to some of the new metropolises.

“The president and the ambassadors took up residence in Galbadia Garden, turning it into some sort of mobile political fortress. S’far as I know there hasn’t been any hostilities with other nations, but Hyne knows what the hell they’re up to. Other’n that…”

Rook paused long enough to take another order, fixing up a quick Wild Chocobo with two shots of vodka and passing it off to the customer before cupping a hand next to his mouth.

“Hey, Carson!” he shouted over the boom of music to the other end of the bar. “I’m on break!”

“What? You can’t just take a break with all of these--!”

“Thanks man! I owe ya one!”

Grinning, Rook waved away Carson’s string of protests and stepped towards the space occupied by the dark-haired visitor. He draped his arms casually on the counter that separated them, lowering in a lean against the surface to be more eye-level with her, though he took care not to invade her space.

“Sounds like you’re not here with anybody, so be real careful, m’kay? Got a whole batch of high-end bounty hunters checked in the hotel last night, and I don’t think they left yet.”

As far as Rook could tell, none of them were here in this room presently, but...well, they made him uneasy, and he was perfectly able to take care of himself. Not that she wasn’t – he didn’t know – but she was still a female, and therefore more quickly targeted by all sorts of attention.

“I’m thinkin’ they might be fixin’ to head Northeast to hunt those horned creatures camped up there,” Rook confided, then frowned with an uncharacteristic seriousness and straightened. “Don’t like it much, though.”

He didn’t know enough to make any real conclusions, yet it still didn’t sit well with him.

“Met one of ‘em some months back when I was roamin’. They’re pretty startlin’, but he seemed alright. Didn’t show me no aggression, at least.” He tossed the rag on a shelf under the counter. “But what do I know? M’just a mechanic.”