Salamandastron: Recreation Room -------------- Salamandastron --------------- The recreation room for the army of the Longpatrol. Here soldiers come to relax after a hard day's work and the officers come for a game of cards or a quick drink by the fire. The room is quite large, having to deal with a lot of hares at one time. Along one wall there is a large worktop with some cushioned stools lining one side of it. On the other side of the worktop there stand many kegs and bottles, lined so that they can be easily opened by someone standing on the inside of the bar but well out of reach of the rowdy hares on the other side. There are a few woolen cloths on the bar and mats in front of each stool. The next thing nearest to the bar are the round tables, each with 4 chairs around and a lantern in the middle of each one. There are a couple of slightly larger oval tables with 8 seats around, obviously for larger crowds. The other end of the room is littered with armchairs, comfortable armchairs, each pair with a small table in between. The armchairs are near the fire, used to heat the room and provide extra comfort for the relaxing soldiers. ------------------------------------- Visible Exits: [Out] Contents: LP's LH Board With: [DYN] Neville the part time Barhare

Neville whistles a jaunty tune, as he so often does when the bar is quiet and he's busy with the background work rather than serving customers. He finishes moping up a small spill near the back of the room, bends to give it a quick polish, then straightens out and wanders back round to his side of the bar. He grins, pleased that he has a moment to himself and pulls his spice chest over and pulls out a few small glasses. He grabs a couple of bottles, each containing lightly coloured liquids and then a few small bottles with thick, syruppy liquid inside. He taps his chin in thought as he ponders which combinations he hasn't tried with the different spices and glances over at his liquor shelf, wondering which needs a new twist.

Soleil appears timidly in the doorway, looking very dubious and much less confident than when she agreed to become bar-help. She glances over her shoulder briefly, as though hoping to see someone who might whisper something confident and give her an encouraging shove into the room, but finds empty hallway. Taking a deep breath, the doe enters the room, walking straight to the bar. She stands on the customer side, arms resting on the bartop and clears her throat lightly. "Excuse me, Sah?"

Neville glances about quickly, looking past and around the doe for a moment before stopping and glancing back with a curious look. "Hullo there, erm, I take it you were greeting me then eh? Heh, no need to call me Sah m'dear, I'm certainly no officer" he says with a grin, scratching the back of his head and still expecting an officer to pop up from somewhere demanding a drink. "Well, y'here for a drink or to take me up on that deal we made? Just in the middle of some drink's based tinkering if thats wotcha'd like to see?" he says, gesturing to the spice chest and various other drink-concocting implements scattered about his side of the bar.

Soleil bites her lower lip while nodding. Nodding, that yes she'd like a drink? Or yes she's going to take up the offer? The doe stops her nodding and clarifies. "I'd like t'try the mixin', uh.." here she falters, unsure how to address the buck now that he's ruled out Sah. She pushes on tho', ignoring that detail for the moment. "And th'servin' too, if I've got to." The doe puts on a grimace for that last part, her eyes hopeful, no doubt praying that he'll excuse her from that particular duty.

Neville grins broadly, "Great! Good to hear, need another opinion on some of my creations, never know how the doe's tastes differ from my own. I can't get enough of the dark, heavy bitters but fer some reason you lot don't like em, so yep, very good to have a second opinion and some fresh ideas" he says with another grin. He gestures to her to come round to his side of the bar, an honour not handed out lightly while the bartender is about. He grins, "Come on, no need to be shy Soliel m'dear. Is Soliel alright? Or d'ya prefer a shortening like Sol' or something? Most call me Nev as you've no doubt noticed, much easier that way"

Soleil grins, encouraged by the bar-hare's chatty nature. XD "Sol's fine. So's Soleil. No preference really," she replies as she makes her way over to the other side of the bar. Her enthusiasm grows visibly as she spies the spice chest and various bottles already out. She approaches cautiously, not wanting to mess anything up that might be in the makings, and peers closely at all the numerous ingredients, imagining the possibilities. She turns to face Neville, a grin on her muzzle. "So what's first?"

"Sol it is then" says the barhare with a grin, "Always prefer to keep m'friend's names nice and short, not sure why but it helps me relate to their favourite drinks easier... less to remember I suppose" muses Neville. He shrugs, "Ah, yes, the concocting. Well now, I've got all the spices in here" he says, patting the spice chest quite obviously, "All the favourites, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and whatnot, along with some dried herbs such as mint and even a few teas" he says, listing some of the names on his fingers, "Although can't do much with the teas, old Ear went purple when I suggested using the teas to make anything other than good old fashioned tea, which a splash of whiskey" he says shaking his head sadly. "There'll be a few things in there that aren't familiar, one or two I don't even know the name of, simply the taste and smell" he says with a proud grin, patting his collection."

Soleil grins, on the verge of laughter. Everything relates back to the drinks in some way it seems. Even her name. XD The smile remains, but the laughter goes, replaced by serious concentration as Nev explains what's what and where. Tentatively she reaches out a paw to pick a leaf off of a sprig of dried mint, crumbling it gently between her fingers and sniffing the result. "What where ya plannin' on doing with the teas?" the doe asks curiously, tucking the leaf into a tunic pocket.

Neville looks thoughtful and taps his chin for a moment, looking towards the teas and trying to figure out his initial idea, "I /think/ I was going to mix em with the fruits, and make a cold beverage but with a slight taste of tea. Got the idea from a matey of mine in the south, seems its quite a favourite down there. Never tried it mind" he says with a sigh, "Right, onwards with the tour" he exclaims, shifting over to the array of bottles. He points at several of the larger ones, "These are the fillers as I like t'call em. Basically water but with different fruits pressed through, gives it flavour but not too much. Means we can make the fruity mixes without using too much fruit and not having em become overpowering in their flavour." explains the barhare, barely stopping for a pause before he goes on to the "flavourings", the heavily concentrated fruit syrops, used to add a dash of a certain flavour to drink.

"Oh," comments Soleil politely. The tea mix sounds quite appealing to her actually, but it seems that Nev's resigned himself to let tea be tea. Oh well. The doe's eyes follow closely as he points which of the bottles are fillers and which are flavours, making mental notes for later. Or at least trying. It's rather hard at the pace he's going tho', and he doesn't seem to be slowing down. When he stops for a breath she manages to ask, "D'ya make the fillers and flavours y'self?"

Neville stops dead for a moment and looks up, an expression os disbelief across his features for a moment or two before he shakes his head and grins wryly, "Well I wouldn't be much of a brewer if I didn't make my own drinks now would I?" he asks, scratching the back of his head, obviously thrown by the question. "I've got a few imported things I can't make m'self, all the wines come from down south, an' a lot of the spirits are from all over the place, seeing as I've only started distilling recently, but the ales and the others are all m'own creations" he says with a silly, proud grin on his face. "And, if you'd like, I'll teach yer it. Though thats all far too complicated t'get inta right now, best we have a play with a new drink or two from the stuff we've got 'ere hey?"

Soleil's cheeks color slightly and she reaches a paw up to tug gently on one ear. "O'course," she mutters, red-faced. Watching Nev's non belittling demeanor however relaxes the doe a bit and the corners of her mouth twitch in a smile. The smile increases to a grin and Sol releases her ear as the barhare practically beams with pride, being able to claim majority of the liquids around them. She nods quickly in response to his offer. "Of course. What d'ya want me t'do, then?"

Neville coughs and apologises, "Ahem, heh, sorry, tend to get a bit possessive of my drink making, can overreact occasionally. No offense meant". The bartender looks thoughtfully at the various ingredients, "Well I think the best way is to throw you in at the deep end" he suggests with a small cackle, "Make me a drink, a drink that I'd like, not that you'd like. Thats the test really, thinkin' of others rather than y'self when y'making em. As a hint, I'm not fond of the overly sweet but don't mind a bit of fruit. And a good kick in it of course" he says, nodding to the range of spirits behind the bar. "Ask me if you're not sure about something, point at a bottle and I'll give yer a full description. Though its better to learn by doing rather than hearing eh?"

Soleil's eyes go wide at the request. "A drink?" she practically squeaks. "Now?" No, later. Of course now. :P The paw goes up to tug on her ear again and she bites her bottom lip. Hmmm. She shuffles carefully to stand in front of the wide range of ingredients, so that she can see most of them. After a moment of perplexed silence, the doe cautiously reaches for one of the bigger bottles. She looks toward Nev out of the corner of her eye, seeing if there's any reaction at all, as she brings the bottle closer to her.

Neville grins and nods, "Yep, and a tasty drink nontheless" says the barhare with a laugh, "Don't worry about it, just have a go. You won't get the hang of it till you give it a try" he says with another grin. He watches quitely as she reaches for an orange coloured bottle - orange, colour of many safe fruits and therefore a safe choice for the doe. He just sits and smiles his encouragement. "Its mainly about picking a theme and building on it, a combination of two flavours usually, any more and it gets confused, only one and its a bit plain, then spicing it up" he says before sitting back and watching what happens.

Soleil swallows nervously and nods. "Alright," she says slowly, returning her attention to the bottle in front of her. She uncorks it and brings it close to sniff the contents. Mmm, a citrus-y filler it would seem. Not one she's entirely familiar with, either. She reaches for one of the glasses nearby and pours it a little over halfway. Stoppering the bottle she replaces it in the lineup where she found it and moves to peer into the spice chest. Pulling out the vanilla extract she measures out a capful and pauses briefly before adding it to the mix. "You'll say somethin' if I'm about t'make a mistake, righ'?" she calls over her shoulder, paw still poised over the glass.

Neville whistles to himself as he picks up a tankard and idly starts to clean the inside of it, he glances up and nods as the doe pours a generous measure into the glass. He usually adds the spices and syrups first but it shouldn't effect the flavour. He nods again as she reaches towards the spice chest and.... stares. He winces and makes a quiet coughing sound, "Yep, I'll say it. Might not be a mistake, might work, but you've gotta be thinkin' carefully about the flavours before you mix em. Would vanilla go with an orange flavour? If so then pour away, if not think about something else." he glances up as a hare waits to be served, he hops to his feet and glances over at Soliel, "Calm down m'dear, just relax and think about whats good" he says before wandering off to pour a mug of light ale.

Soleil's paw remains hovering above the glass, considering. She glances in Nev's direction as he goes off to attend to the customers, recalling his drink preferences. "It'd -go-," she murmurs to herself, "but might be a bit sweet." Just as carefully as she poured it out, if not moreso, the doe returns the vanilla to its container and puts it back in the spice chest. Hrrrm. The doe fishes out the jars labeled cinnamon and clove instead. Untwisting the tops she passes them under her nose, eyes closed, imagining them against the orange liquid. With a nod, she adds a small measuring of cloves and twice as much cinnamon. She swirls the glass around as best she can without sloshing before heading towards the liquors.

Neville potters over and takes a quick sniff of the drink and grins to himself before scampering back away to deal with the custom. Once he finished he wanders back over, he puts a large metal contraption next to the tankard, a tankard with a screwable-top, handy for mixing drinks well. He then potters over and stands next to Sol looking at the liquors, "Wotcha gotta think of is either something that would enrich the flavour or something that is quite neutral in flavour, like the clear spirits that don't really taste of anything. If you're looking for something ask and I'll put it out" So caught up in trying to decide on the proper addition, Sol barely notices Neville's comings and goings. She glances briefly over to where her almost complete drink sits, hoping that by looking at it she'll know which bottle to grab, and spies the metal tankard instead. She peers closely for a moment before smiling, turning to look for the barhare. "Thanks," she says, finding him on her other side. Focusing her attention back on the matter of the liquor, the doe bites her lip. "M'not really sure what would go best. Not much of a heavy drinker m'self, y'know. Best make it the neutral, since I can't think of a flavor.." she glances at him sidelong, giving him perfect opportunity to suggest something. It is his drink after all.

Neville nods in agreement, "Its the safe bet to start off with, although what would really improve the drink would be something with a citrus twist itself, so they agree yaknow" says the barhare, plucking up a new-looking bottle (in that it lacks dust) "This'un is a whiskey I fermented with citrus peel, gives it an orangey taste thats rich and warm. Rather good" he says, "But of course, I would know that, I made it" he says with a laugh, "It'll take a while for you to get used to it. Doncha worry" he plucks up four bottles off the wall, one being the orange, another yellowy one, one white and another golden coloured and places them in front of the doe, I'll leave the choice to you, smell em, taste em iffen y'can, think which'd go better" he says, "An remember to use your creativity, I know y'can do it" says the bartender encouragingly before wandering off again to serve more patrons.

Soleil watches carefully and nods slowly. "Yes, alright," she sighs, not sounding very confident as he goes off back to work. She turns and glances at the growing crowd, feeling rather self-conscious standing on the opposite side of the bar. Another tug on her ear as she absentmindedly glances up and down the bar, not meeting anybeast's eyes. Turning back to the four bottles in front of her she gives each a light shake, uncorking and sniffing each in turn. Returning to the orange bottle the doe puts a finger over the top and tilts it upside down and then back rightside up very quickly. Tasting the liquor from her finger, she nods and adds the appropriate amount to the rest of the drink. After a brief turn in the metal, lidded tankard, she returns it to the original glass and waits for Nev to finish with his current customer.

Neville glances over and sees that the doe has finished and potters over to pluck up the drink. He inspects it, giving it a good sniff and peering into it. He then places it on the bar and takes a step back, peering at it from a couple of different angles. "Well for a first attempt its pretty darned good I must say. Although it could do with a bit of decoration on the top, usually sprinkle a few sprigs of something into the glass so they have something that makes it look a bit special from the top, if we've got an abundance we can put a slice or two of fruit in there, tho its rare we have that much to spare." he advises. As he's about to taste it a patron on the other side shouts out, "Ho there Nev', that another creation? Looks mightily tasty if it is and I'd like t'have one m'self eh?". The barhare grins and glances back to Soleil, "Well it is mighty tasty, can tell just by looking, but it ain't mine, its this little ladies and you'll be her first customer" and, with that, he hands the drink over to the patr Neville hands the drink over to the patron to sample, giving the doe a confident wink.

Soleil steps back, arms folded across her chest as she watches the barhare inspect her creation. "Y'think?" she asks, grinning broadly at the praise. Oh, decoration. Yes. She nods understandingly and turns to rummage through the spice box for said sprigs. She turns back quickly tho' as another hare comments on her creation. She grins proudly at Nev. Until he offers it away that is. XD Her eyes go wide and she shuffles forward. "Are y'sure y'should do that? I mean, y'haven't tasted it.." she whispers anxiously, trailing off as Nev hands over her drink. Well. She smiles unsurely in response to his wink before watching the customer nervously. Bernard, regular at the bar and fully familiar with Neville's various creations beams a grin at the bartender, "Really? I get to be the first?" he asks and looks towards the doe with a grin and a nod of his head in thanks. He sniffs the beverage and raises it to his lips, sipping it and swilling it round his mouth slightly. He gulps, licks his lips and slowly nods, "Mmm, what's that in there? Tastes a bit like cinnamon and... something else but... by jove its lovely" he says again peering into the glass as if that would give away its secrets. "Not really a summer drink I must admit, tad heavy on the wintery spices but damnably tasty all the same" he says and, raising the glass in salute, takes his plunder off to a table, where he takes another gulp and proceeds to tell the others around the table about the new creation.

Neville beams his appreciation back, "Well well well, I'd say he seemed like a rather satisfied customer eh? Your first drink and your first service, both pretty successful eh?" he says with another wide grin. "Obviously theres quite a bit to be learned, but that comes with experience, I'd say you've got the natural flair for it, just need a bit of time getting used to the basic combinations and wotnot". The barhare offers the doe a paw to shake, "So wotcha think. Want to do it again?" he asks with a grin.

Soleil stands just behind the barhare and slightly to the side, ready to hide behind him if the customer should be unsatisfied. She mirrors the customer's nod with a smile of her own. "Enjoy," she says weakly. Her sigh of relief is quite audible as Bernard compliments her creation and as Nev faces her she practically beams. "Most successful," she agrees, coloring slightly at his further exaggerated praise. Extending her own paw, the doe nods emphatically. "Oh, I'd love t'do it again. S'fun." Grin.

Neville laughs and clasps the doe's paw in a gentle handshake, "Well that's a deal then." he says grinning broadly, "He glances over at the small group of hares waiting to be served. "Not all of the patrons want the fun end of things, not everyone likes the fruit concoction wotnots, some just want ale, some spirits, some wines and others, well others just plain don't know what they want." he gestures to the small crowd, "Most've these will just want ale I'll wager, its up to you wether you join me, iffen y'want you can take the orders and I'll whip up the drinks, that'll getcha used to the kinda things people ask for and whatnot? Or y'can just pull up a stool and watch a master at work" he says with a wink, "Either way, looks like the evening run is startin, best get to it eh?".

Soleil nods seriously. “I can understand that. Ya’v got t’be in the right mood t’want a fruit drink.” Nod nod. She too glances over at the growing crowd of customers, her brow creasing briefly in worry at the large number of them already there. “I, ah.. think I’ll jus’ watch for today. If tha’s alright?” The doe goes off to retrieve a stool from the opposite side of the bar and on her way back picks up a rag as well. Climbing on the stool she keeps one eye and ear on Nev while the other watches for spills she might clean up, trying to be at least a tiny bit helpful.

End

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