τhє stαrlight mist ταvєrn [remake; walk in; o/a]

[DrHQ]

Despite the new guest taking care to be quiet, Henri still noticed him. She looked up from her book and smiled.

"Hello!" She called, trying to make him feel welcome. In the week or so she had been there, she had only had interactions with the two other people on the first night, but this place was always warm and welcoming.

[Galactic Rainbow]

- ' * , - Eli James- , * ' -

He looks up from the bar at the woman who called out to him, "hello..." he says softly, avoiding eye contact with her. "I'm Eli, what's your name?" he asks with a slight Irish accent.

[DrHQ]

Henri smiled. "My name is Henrietta, you can call me Henri." She looked at the boy and smiled. He seemed to be even shier that she was, which was saying something.

"What brings you in to the Tavern?" She asked as she closed the old book she was reading. The spirits in her mind protested softly, but she ignored them.

[Galactic Rainbow]

- ' * , - Eli James- , * ' -

"I was just wondering the woods, trying to find myself," He chuckles, " I'd tell you what that meant, but you'd think i was crazy." He looks around for a bartender. Finding no one, he looks at Henri, trying not to stare

[DrHQ]

Henri had a chuckle herself and shook her head. She thought very few people on the outside were crazy. She had been in a mental institution herself for a couple years. "Well, I'm not sure how your search for yourself is going, but you have found Tavern." She looked around as well, "One without a bartender, it appears." She shrugged and laughed.

"There hasn't been a bartender here for a few days. I'm sure you can help yourself? Or... I could help you out." She had worked at a college bar to pay for school and while her skills were rusty, she was sure she would be able to make a few good drinks.

[Galactic Rainbow]

- ' * , - Eli James- , * ' -

He suddenly blurts out, "do you know blue hawaiis?" then he adds sheepishly, "They are my favorite." He smiles, but then as fast as the smile appeared, it disappeared. "I don't usually drink, but i guess that doesn't matter anymore..." he looks away trying to conceal the sudden pain on his face.

[DrHQ]

Henri laughed at his outburst. "That is something I do know." Luckily, she had an almost photographic memory. With quiet care, she stood and moved around to behind the bar. After a moment of inspection she grabbed the Blue Caracao, the Malibu Rum, and the pineapple juice. She filled a pint glass with ice and then mixed the three ingredients in a shaker.

She slid the finished drink over to Eli. She noticed the pain immediately and frowned. "Is everything alright?"

While she waited for the answer, she began to poke around the bar for the ingredients to another drink for herself, although a Blue Hawaiian didn't sound half-bad.

[Galactic Rainbow]

- ' * , - Eli James- , * ' -

He takes a sip of his freshly made drink, "It's nothing I can't handle," he says shakily. "It's what I was searching for... my missing piece." His bright blue eyes betrayed his voice by producing a few tears that ran down his cheek. "This may be the best drink i have ever had, thank you for this."

"so i told you why i'm here, i think its your turn." he says with a tone of interest.

[DrHQ]

Henri frowned at the tears, but decided to let Eli choose whether or not to go into detail about his past. It was his choice, not hers.

She bit her lip and grabbed the vodka, the Kahlua, and some heavy whipping cream. She started making a White Russian as she explained. "When I was a student, I had... an accident, let's say." She started, then cleared her throat as she mixed the the ingredients and made her own cocktail. She wasn't used to talking this much. "Anyways, this accident gave me certain powers which I am only now beginning to understand. I have been guided here, to uncover more answers about what I have become and what I am meant to do."

She nodded to herself as as she poured her own drink over the rocks in her glass. That was the most she had said about herself at any given moment in a long time. She thought it was a pretty good explanation. She watched him and took a sip of her drink, her green eyes sparkling as she inspected him.

[Galactic Rainbow]

- ' * , - Eli James- , * ' -

Eli was shocked to hear that someone else had an accident and was drawn here by some mysterious force.

"I'm not going to lie to you, the reason i'm missing a part of myself... is because i made a deal with a bad man... a psychopath named Rumpelstiltskin." He lowered his head in shame, not bothering to stop the tears from flowing freely. "I was so stupid to try and bargain with him! He has ruined my life!" he wipes his face, and takes another sip of his drink. Not caring anymore, he reaches behind the counter and grabs the bottle of rum used in his drink and sips straight out of it. "I'll pay for that."

[DrHQ]

Henri frowned, recalling stories of Rumpelstiltskin. By now she had experienced enough to know that Faerie Tales were rarely tales at all.

"Are you searching for Rumpelstiltskin?" She asked as she sipped her drink. Maybe Eli thought that if he found Rumpelstiltskin, he would find the missing piece of himself. It sounded dangerous.

She watched him snag the bottle and drink it. She laughed and sipped at her drink. "I doubt anyone here would even notice." She said honestly, but still, she also intended to pay for the alcohol she consumed.

[Galactic Rainbow]

- ' * , - Eli James- , * ' -

"Contrary to popular belief, I hear he has a friend... a certain... captain who likes to come here." he sips the rum some more, not bothering to get a glass for it.

"I hear tell, he comes here often. talks to one of the patrons." he lets out a big sigh
" i need to wait here for him. Maybe he'll lead me to the Dark One."

[DrHQ]

Henri's eyes widened in shock. Could he be talking about Killian? She bit her lower lip and continued to sip her drink as he spoke.

"What are you going to do when you find him?" She asked cautiously. Her pale face gave nothing away, but her eyes did and the spirits that lived inside of her began to stir in worry.

[Galactic Rainbow]

- ' * , - Eli James- , * ' -

"Knowing what i know about this... hook character, he won't just help me for free, or without a good reason. I'm afraid i might have to fight him."

"I know this may sound strange or familiar, but the reason i'm hunting Dark One, he has my heart..." he sniffles as he recalls the painful day he met Rumpelstiltskin. "I gave him my heart, so my lover could keep his..."

Eli had never come out so freely to anyone before... he didn't know how the girl would react

[DrHQ]

"That's awful." She said as she put down her glass. "But that was a very noble cause of yours." Henri didn't know why this man was opening up to her, but she was happy to listen.

Suddenly something occurred to Henri. Before she could think about how the question might affect her troubled companion, she blurted out, "Where is your lover now? Did you save him?"

Henri was startled by the information she was hearing, but with all of the things she had seen, she was able to handle it fairly well. She felt a great deal of sympathy for the poor guy.]