there's a pattern, there's a pattern, there's a pattern there to follow ...

[uprisenheart]

WHO: CLOSED to seifer, squall, cloud
WHAT: investigation time!
WHERE: various locations in the city
WHEN: sometime during and/or after the memories ... (vague hand gestures)
WARNINGS: none at the moment!

[SO. you've been kidnapped to a weird city and now your poor brains have been assaulted with memories that aren't yours. obviously that means it's time to go poking around, yes?

gentlemen ... pick your poison.]

Comments

[uprisenheart]

[sitting with a stranger isn't the strangest thing to ever happen in a bar, so wherever squall chooses, he won't be questioned about it. the rest of the bar's patrons are mostly paying attention to the woman on the stage. her song ends and she takes the time while the audience offers scattered applause to re-tune the strings of her guitar. a man in a booth at the back of the room who has had a couple drinks too many boos loudly and shouts for her to play some real music. she looks up from her guitar and addresses him on the microphone:]

Hey pal, if you think you can do better, ya wanna get up here and give it a try? I mean, think carefully about how you answer that,'cause lemme tell ya, that's exactly how I ended up in a band in the first place.

[the audience laughs, and the heckler waves her challenge off. she smiles triumphantly and forcefully strums her guitar to make sure it's in tune again. satisfied with the sound, she introduces the next song:]

Speaking of, this is the song that started all that trouble in the first place. Hope y'all enjoy this one - well, everyone except Carson Daly back there.

[she nods to indicate the heckler and begins to play a more uptempo tune.]

[silentnarration]

[This woman certainly stands out. He shifts uncomfortably when she addresses the heckler, crossing his arms and tries to stay under the radar for now. He doesn't need to be called out in public, so he'll bide his time and wait until her performance is over to approach her.

The music is unfamiliar so he pays little attention to what she's actually singing. He makes a face when he finally takes a sip of his beer though. Ugh...]

[uprisenheart]

[it's ok, squall, beer isn't for everyone. booze is all about trying things until you find what you like, after all. for some people, it's beer or a specific kind of wine; for others, it's a simple vodka tonic or whiskey on the rocks. you figure it out eventually.

the woman on stage finishes her song and thanks the crowd for their attention, then says she has one more song to play and encourages everyone to stay after and have another drink. the song isn't long, and the audience gives her a solid round of applause when it's over - yes, including the heckler from the back of the room.

the stage lights go down and the house music comes back up - nothing notable, just pleasant ambient sound designed to fill the background. the woman makes her way around the tables, chatting with the regulars - and most of the people here tonight seem to be regulars. eventually, she ends up at squall's table.]

Don't think I've seen you here before. New to town?

[silentnarration]

[He's not getting up to get another, so he continues to nurse it while taking the occasional drink. He's eyeing her as she comes over to his table. He can't quite tell what she's about but she sure has a way with the regulars here.

He nods.]

Almost three months now.

[He's keeping score.]

I thought I'd check out the smaller establishments. [A pause.] Meet some people.

[He's so not the type to want to meet anyone ever.]

[uprisenheart]

Yeah? [she chuckles quietly.] Well, I wouldn't say Rick's is the smallest place in town, but it's probably in the top ten. So you're in the right place for that.

[also for meeting people. she holds out her hand for squall to shake, if he's inclined to do so.]

I'm Nick. I work the bar, mostly, but Rick also lets me play sometimes.

[so that probably explains why she's so familiar with people from the audience.]

[silentnarration]

Squall.

[He'll shake, reluctantly. He nods in response to the explanation and makes the world's stiffest attempt at a fake compliments ever.]

You... play well.