|
Post by Ruko on Oct 26, 2009 20:48:41 GMT -5
Kalas felt like sighing. He didn't feel like leaving the inn... He could get up from the bed, that much, easily, but going outside again... He just wanted to sleep. And yet, the giant cavern in his stomach told him that he couldn't. Following Alice's lead, and forcing himself up, he nodded. "W-Well, l-let's g-go g-get s-some f-food, b-before everything's c-closed!"
Leading the way, he opened the door for Alice, who was holding Tessa, and then made his way down to the front desk. A woman was talking to him about a room, the last room, but she was pretty much done when they got down. "E-Excuse m-me, M-Mister..." Kalas bit his lip, waiting as the man finished scribbling down some information, and then looked up at the pair, smiling. "What can I do for you two?"
Kalas swallowed, slightly nervous, before continuing. "D-Do y-you know a-any g-good p-places t-to eat th-that w-would b-be o-open a-around th-this t-time?"
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Oct 27, 2009 1:25:02 GMT -5
"Well..." The innkeeper scratched his head. "I think there's one a few blocks away to the left of here - Torchlight Restaurant. It's not necessarily the best restaurant here, but it's not bad - it'd be the only one open now. A lot of the miners go there after the working day."
"Okay. Thanks, we'll go check it out." Alice smiled, before starting to head back out of the inn.
It was almost completely dark now. It was a clear night, and the moon was nearly full, which did give the village some pale silver shadows. Walking to the left, a long, single story building came into view that still had bright candlelight coming from the window, and many, busy silhouettes moving behind them.
"Is that it...?" Moving closer to search for a sign again, Alice approached the building, before noticing the restaurant's name hanging over the doorway. "Oh, it is!" She breathed in relief. She was so tired and hungry that she was glad that it hadn't been hard to find, at least.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Oct 27, 2009 20:48:58 GMT -5
Torchlight Restaurant. It sounded okay, not the best, but hey, it was food. Kalas followed Alice quickly out the door, and, of course, she found the restaurant first. She had a knack for that kind of stuff, apparently. It seemed decently enough full, though people, usually drunk miners, were drifting out.
"W-Well, t-time's a-wasting!" Kalas smiled at Alice, before heading into the restaurant. A sign announcing "Seat Yourself" in crude letters stood at the front, and Kalas scanned over the crowd, spotting a small, empty table near the far end. "Th-This way!" Grabbing Alice's hand, so they wouldn't lose each other in the crowd, he led her over to the far end of the restaurant, where a smaller table was up by the wall. It was the quieter end, though quieter in relative terms.
Hastily dropping Alice's hand, slightly embarrassed, Kalas sat in one of the three rickety seats at the table, casting his eye over the busily moving restaurant. He saw Miss Jane in a nearby table, talking with whom he had guessed earlier as head miners, though he didn't point her out to Alice. From the way she had been talking about her, he didn't want to mention it.
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Oct 27, 2009 22:38:40 GMT -5
Alice sat down in one of the chairs by the table Kalas had led her to - it creaked beneath her weight, the girl momentarily tensing before deciding that it seemed steady enough to hold her, at least.
Tessa let out a high pitched mew from her lap, seeming irritated by the noise. The girl didn't much like places like this either, they made her feel a bit awkward, but at least it wasn't so bad back by the wall where they were. She looked down, giving the nervous cat a pet.
"Welcome."
A voice that was suddenly close by pulled her gaze back up. A waiter had approached the table, placing down menus in front of them. He was dressed a lot nicer than she would've expected - his formal attire not quite matching the feel of the restaurant. She wondered what the food would be like.
"Here's the menus. Take your time and I'll be back to see if you're ready in a few moments." The waiter instructed, before going off to another table.
Still feeling a bit distracted, Alice picked up the menu in front of her, looking for something that wasn't too expensive.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Nov 1, 2009 19:49:30 GMT -5
Kalas was slightly confused by the waiter. So was this a fancy place, or not? The waiters and waitresses seemed oddly formal, but they were complete opposites of the guests here. Strange, but he'd get over it. Casting the thoughts to the back of his mind, Kalas studied the menu.
It wasn't too expensive, thank goodness, though there were a few choice dishes here and there. Hmm... Just a salad, for him. He was hungry, but Kalas never really ate much. Xelha, who ate like a horse, was always telling him he would wither away to nothing. So far, he HAD gotten a lot skinnier, and without his shirt you could easily see his ribs, but he was okay. Nothing bad had happened yet.
Sitting gingerly back in the rickety chair, Kalas adressed Alice. "I-I'm g-getting the cesear (sp?) s-salad. W-What a-about y-you?" Well, his stutter wasn't THAT bad this time. Maybe he could get rid of it for Alice. He could stop it when he talked to Onee-Chan, so...
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Nov 1, 2009 22:03:22 GMT -5
"Hmm..." Alice pondered aloud, uncertain of what to order. Despite feeling a little stressed, she'd managed to work up quite an appetite at the mines. She wanted something filling, but at the same time didn't want to spend much money. Luckily, the prices actually weren't too bad. This place was rather strange, indeed - but still, the menu actually sounded rather good.
"I think I'll have the chicken and noodle plate." She eventually decided aloud.
The waiter came over the table just a few moments after, possibly having heard the conversation. "All ready then? What'll it be?" He asked for confirmation.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Nov 2, 2009 21:48:54 GMT -5
Kalas looked up. Wow, that was kinda of strange. The waiter was right on time. He probably just heard them talking.
"J-Just o-one c-cesear s-salad, and a-a ch-chicken and n-noodle p-plate, p-please." Kalas stammered, ordering for Alice as well, as she didn't say anything. The waiter nodded, walking off. Kalas sighed. The noise was really starting to get on his nerves, and he had to talk louder than his normal quiet self to be heard over top of it. "I-Is it just m-me, o-or i-is it g-getting e-even l-louder i-in here?"
He glanced nervously around. Some of the men were getting quite red-faced, probably from all the alcohol they were drinking, and he was worried a brawl would start out. Kalas had gotten caught in one of those, once, and he hadn't managed to escape unscathed.
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Nov 2, 2009 22:02:14 GMT -5
Alice looked around at Kalas' comment, noticing that the noise did indeed seem to be rising. It was hard to make out individual voices in the crowd, but there were many sounding throughout the building, with their pitches rising and falling messily, and a slight slur on the words she could make out. Apparently, the miners didn't stay sober long after work.
Hearing a sudden loud, feminine sounding laugh, she spun her gaze in it's direction to find no one other than Miss Jane, downing some alcohol with some of the other miners. She furrowed her brow slightly, but didn't say anything. She briefly wondered how long she'd been there - she hadn't noticed her before, but she supposed it didn't matter anyway. She didn't have anything else to say to her right now, and if she did, it wouldn't be in a situation like this where she would say it.
"Most of them have just had a bit too much alcohol." She commented aloud. "Not exactly a peaceful place, is it? But luckily they seem pretty involved with themselves." She added, noticing that her companion seemed a bit tense. She didn't especially like it either. She wished their food would hurry and come so that they could eat and head back to the inn soon.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Nov 4, 2009 12:40:49 GMT -5
"Y-Yeah..." Kalas stammered, still slightly unsettled. He didn't like noise to begin with, and now this... He just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. "I-I just d-don't want t-to be c-caught i-in a fight..."
Their waiter came by, setting down two glasses of water in front of them. They didn't seem to have any other drinks here besides alcoholic ones, and since they were both minors... "Your food will be out shortly." He announced, before striding off purposefully. He spoke so pompously, for such a restaurant! Ironic...
Kalas smiled slightly, though still nervously, as some of the miners began to break out in song. The tune was simple, but all the men, and even Miss Jane, were singing it heartily.
"We have withstood the sweeping hand of Robens and his gang! 'Gainst each and every gaffer's trick we stood firm to a man!"
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Nov 5, 2009 3:27:49 GMT -5
Alice frowned slightly at the thought of getting caught up in a fight. She usually just tried to avoid places like this, but during her wanderings she had been forced to get food at a few cheap taverns before. There'd been a few times things had gotten bad enough that she'd ended up just having to leave, but she hoped it wouldn't end up like that tonight - she really was hungry...but there didn't seem to be any other option for food. If she did decide to stay in this town, would she end up having to eat here every night after work like most of the other miners? She cringed at the thought. Maybe she could just keep food at whatever home she got, but she wasn't exactly the greatest cook either...
She was jolted out of her thoughts as the voices of many miners suddenly broke into a song, the out-of-tune rhythm loudly filling the building. It wasn't exactly pleasant to listen to, but it was a bit amusing, she had to admit, especially hearing Miss Jane's sole female voice stick out loudly in the crowd. "Well...at least they seem preoccupied now." She commented, having to speak louder than she was used to herself in order to be heard over them. "They are mostly coworkers...it would probably make it hard at the mines for them if they fought too much..." She added hopefully. True, it was hard to predict what a drunk person might do, but for the moment anyway, they didn't seem too threatening.
"Alright. Here's your orders. Thank you for waiting." The oddly formal waiter announced, suddenly approaching their table again with a couple of plates in his hand, his own voice purposely loud. That was fast. Maybe they actually got more drink than food orders here - there couldn't have been many ahead of theirs. Still, it was nice to get it so quickly. Now they just needed to eat it and head back.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Nov 5, 2009 16:22:47 GMT -5
Kalas smiled as the strange waiter approached with their food. Quick, but he wasn't complaining. He thanked the waiter as he set down their food, who responded with a nod, before walking away. A salad had never looked so good to him before. He was starved.
"N-Now, we c-can h-hurry a-and g-get o-out o-of here!" Kalas declared, having to talk loud to make himself heard above the din of out-of-tune singing. Pouring ranch on his salad, he mixed it up, then took a bite, listening to the song. It seemed to be telling a story of some sort, though he couldn't tell what it was trying to say for the life of him.
"We thought we'd got a living wage, but bad luck did us appal, For the only seam that held our hopes has struck a great white wall."
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Nov 5, 2009 18:34:45 GMT -5
Alice grinned happily as the waiter set the food down in front of them before walking away. It smelled good - the scent already making her mouth water. She wasted no time before taking a bite, undaintily slurping up a stray, long noodle and quickly wiping her chin afterwards. It was a bit messy - with a thick, slightly spicy white sauce covering the stringy noodles - but it tasted surprisingly good. And it was warm, too.
She plucked out a few pieces of chicken and handed them down to Tessa, before looking back up at the sound of Kalas' voice. "Right..." She nodded, his comment reminding her of what kind of place they were in.
He seemed quiet after that, the girl realizing that he was trying to make out the continuing song. She hadn't been paying much notice, but found herself slightly curious as well, now. The lyrics definitely weren't familiar - was it some old miner's folk tune?
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Nov 6, 2009 18:11:38 GMT -5
Munching on his food, Kalas listened to the song. The tune sounded familiar, but he had never heard it before. Strange...
"When first we saw that line of white a peeping through the coal The gaffer said, "Lads, never mind, it's nothing but a roll." But day by day it grows and grows, and we're finished one and all, For there's not a lot of coal to mine when you dig a great white wall.
And there it gleams among the coal, so white and clear and bright And the dust comes up like London fog or a steamer's smoke at night. Just like a great white whale she sits, so wide and deep and tall; But she'll break our backs and take our jobs, will Wardley's great white wall.
In many a long struggle just to earn a living wage The gaffers and the Union lads together did engage. No quarter was expected, whatever may befall: But it's beat us both and closed the pit, has Wardley's great white wall. "
The miners held out the last note, and there was a round of happy clapping as the song ended. Kalas, curious, tapped a nearby miner on the shoulder. "E-Excuse m-me, b-but w-what is th-this song t-talking a-about?"
The blackened-face miner grinned. "Why, there wuz' a pit nea' Wardley, anda it closed, cuzza ther' weren't no more coal. Only chalc'." Kalas thanked him, turning back to his food.
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Nov 7, 2009 6:19:06 GMT -5
Alice listened in at the miner's explanation of the song, struggling a bit to make out his slurred response. It made sense, she supposed. Perhaps they adapted the tune of a song to match lyrics about the story of the pit that closed? These people really were obsessed with their work. She almost giggled, but stopped herself...losing an area like that probably really did have a big affect on the miners. And I could become one of them... She reminded herself.
Focusing her attention back on the plate and away from her thoughts, she put a piece of chicken in her mouth, and gave Tessa another piece as well as she gave an eager meow. She followed it up with a few more mouthfuls of noodles, still somewhat eager to finish up and get back to the inn.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Nov 8, 2009 9:11:36 GMT -5
Kalas began quickly eating his salad, seeing that Alice seemed rather into hers, as well. Maybe they both just wanted to get out of here as fast as they could. Especially before the miners broke out into another song. That would be awful. Since his salad was so small, he quickly demolished it, and almost immediately the formal waiter came and took it. So, Kalas sat there, waiting for Alice to finish up so that they could leave.
Meanwhile, the miners broke out into yet another song. Kalas winced slightly as their coarse voices lifted up the unfamiliar tune of it:
"In Auchengeich there stands a pit, The wheel above, it isna turnin'. For on a grey September morn The flames o' Hell below were burnin'."
|
|