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[New RP continued from here.]

Sid rambled the entire walk to the beach bar, all but talking to himself as he barely seemed to acknowledge Kaveri along the way. The more he talked, the more his agitation showed as he forgot the earlier importance he'd put on maintaining a cool facade.

"But anyway," he said, finally coming back to the original topic. "There's all sorts of ways for people to deal, if they really wanted. Like I knew this guy who was in 'Nam, Stumpy. His real name wasn't Stumpy of course, it just sorta came naturally seeing as he got most of his arms blown off. Sort of like Lieutenant Dan in reverse. Y'know, that guy in 'Forrest Gump'? Great movie. Only Stumpy wouldn't stand for any prosthetics. He did everything with his mouth, or his feet, or with the little bit he had of his left arm. But knowing that kinda made things awkward, seeing as you'd stare at his feet and wonder exactly what all he could do with them. And by that I mean self service. I always wanted to ask, but I never did... We never really talked much, actually, we just hung around the same places."

He walks in silence for a few paces before adding, "I once saw him strangle a man with his bare feet. Not to death, mind you, they got him off before it came to that, but it was worth bein' around him just to see that. "

Kaveri's rant was enough to silence Sid, at least for the time being. He looked away, tried to take note of the scenery in case he had trouble finding the place again. He cleared his throat, which turned into a cough, and once that had passed he tried again. "Well, uh... on the bright side, you're removed from the all the recent bullshit, yeah?"

He looked down, just in time to knock a rock out of the way with his cane. Bright side? Who was he kidding? "Nevermind, I'm grasping at straws here. Don't even know what I'm saying."

He looked up and prayed they were almost there; not because of his leg, but because he wanted to see how fast he could make everything seem alright again. In his mind he was already calculating how many drinks that would take.

He said nothing to Kaveri's theory. The relief of seeing the beach was almost enough to make him break into a run, or at least a swift trot, but once he cane hit the ground again he remembered he was supposed to be taking it easy.

"Happy to be of service," he said, waving his free hand. When they at least reached the bar he looked over what was available. "What do you want to start with?" he asked. Best not too seem to eager, and to seem polite, or something like that.

"Even if they had Absinthe, I wouldn't wanna go digging around for a spoon and sugar and all that s**t. There's just too much effort involved in getting it to taste a little less like a**."

Sid scanned the shelves as he talked, until something caught his eye.

"Holy s**t, green Chartreuse," he said, reverently taking down a bottle filled with bright green liqueur. "Here, this is almost as good. With less effort, which is twice as good." He kept talking as he placed two glasses on the bar. "And it's made by monks, so you can call it a religious experience."

He smirked at his own remark and poured. The liquid was, as it so happened, the shade of green most often associated with toxic materials. What Kaveri had said only registered after he'd lifted his own glass. It cheered him just to know it wouldn't be long before he was no longer weirded-out by the fact he was sharing drinks with a giant bird-woman-thing. "Why's your intercom ******** up?"

"I see," he said, taking a large sip. Sid thought about that for a moment before he started talking to himself again. "So I guess calling to chat would be a bad idea." After another sip he turned his attention back to Kaveri. He was still unnerved, but it was still early in the game. "I mean, logically, it's just as Red was saying back there... no escape, right?"

He said it all so matter-of-factly, as if it didn't really bother him. He poured himself another glass, took another drink. "No matter what I say."

And another. He'd forgotten there was supposed to be a certain amount of savoring the taste of Chartreuse, but it wasn't his dime. He'd also forgotten about pacing himself.

"Yeah, but it's still early with me," he said, oblivious to how insensitive that might sound. "Only that leaves the problem of the bills. s**t." He downed the rest of his glass. "I just can't win."

He poured another glass, and suddenly the bottle didn't seem like it contained all that much. "And the hilarious thing? They'll probably print a new edition of the book, cause the sales'll inevitably be boosted by the tragic or mysterious circumstances, or whatever they officially say happened. ******** publishing vultures."

He was likewise oblivious to the that potentially offensive comment. All he knew was Kaveri was some sort of bird. Vultures, to him, couldn't possibly be so colorful.

Sid poured Kaveri another and held the bottle up, frowning at how little there was left. He still didn't feel it, but that was the mark of a practiced alcoholic. He started to scan the shelves for something different, if not stronger. He barely even registered the suddenly blearly aspect of the labels.

"So where exactly do you stay, if not the village?" he said, appearing to address the rows of bottles.

That made him look back to her, and somehow a movement as simple as that required a steadying hand on the bar. "Everybody needs a hobby," he said amiably- after several seconds of silence. He took a bottle of whiskey down from the shelf and sat it next to the Chartreuse.

"But then..." he said slowly. "I guess the drawback of staying out in the jungle is you're kinda out of the loop on the goings-on around here, yeah?" Disappointment had leaked into his voice by the end of the sentence.