The Grey Tower

Meriana stared at the young man, standing in front of her, leaning toward her over the counter, with quite a glint in his eye. In his hand that he wasn't using to balance with, he held a necklace with a yellow chain, with a red stone hanging from it. The golden-haired lad claimed that the chain was gold, and the stone was a ruby. Of course, they both knew the stone wasn't a ruby. At best, it was a firedrop. He told her that if she danced with him that evening, the necklace, along with a matching ring, could be hers. The young man had begun to flirt with her, to sell his wares, at first. He implied that he wanted more than dances. She wasn't going to give him more than dances, and certainly not in exchange for something like pretty baubles, but...

She couldn't help but wonder if the necklace was real or not. He looked up at her with his blue eyes and grinned. He was perhaps six inches shorter than her. "Well, my flower? I'm sure these rubies would look wonderful next to those white flowers in your hair."

"You may be right," Meri said. She wasn't not about to call him his proposed pet name of "Sir Lion." After training in the Warders Yards, she was definitely more of a lion than he, and could recognize one when she saw one. "I'm just wondering if those stones are worth the dances." She crossed her arms and turned an angle away from him, while still maintaining eye contact.

"Oh, I'm sure I can make it worth your while..."

The Drin laughed at his attempt, but managed to play it off as a coquettish giggle. This poor little lamb wouldn't last a day in Saldaea...he would be eaten alive.

Paks Liard decided it was a good night to head out for a drink or three. There hadn't been a night in recent memory, though, that she hadn't slipped out of the Tower grounds to embark on a night of drinking. This night, the Drin hadn't yet set her sites on a companion for the evening, but found a seat that gave her a good view of the tavern and its patrons. Sometimes, watching people was almost enough entertainment for the woman. Watching men try to entice women to sit on their laps (or more), watching women entice men for a drink (or more), watching the various interactions play out through the night. . .it was not just entertaining, but an exercise in human behavoir.

For Paks, understanding how people interact had always been key for her (and her troupe) to get the most out of their own social interactions. Understanding behavior gave the woman a leg up on others in social situations. For instance, she could see when a man was trying to pull a woman for just one night of pleasure versus when he genuinely wanted to woo her for something more meaningful. On seeing a fellow Drin being approached by a man who preferred the former to the later, Paks couldn't help but shake her head, her characteristic smirk firmly in place. It seemed the Drin was having none of it. . .and Paks suspected the other woman could leave the man pining without batting an eye.

Sliding up next to her fellow Drin, Paks leaned forward to look at the man in question, "Little Lion, you may not have picked up on it, but she is not interested. . .even if that bauble were real, I don't think you have any traction with her. If you want to play your game, you really need to learn to read people."

"No one asked you, Paks, and I don't recall anyone inviting you to join," the man almost snarled.

Paks' smirk grew, "No one invited me, and if my fellow Drin decides she'd rather me walk away, I will oblige, but I think if you were to read her body language, you'd realize she is not at all interested. Go find some other woman to ply your wares on, little Lion." She purposefully looked to Meri, "Not sure we've met yet. I'm Paks." She flashed her smirk once more.

The young man still smiling and dangling a shiny in front of Meri when another Drin walked up. Another woman Drin, that she had not met yet. Once her fellow trainee started talking the "Little Lion" down, Meriana slowly turned her head away from the two. The other woman was right, but to bluntly call the boy out like this was too much to take. It was hilarious. To his credit, the merchant did stand up for himself, but it was still so funny. Her amusement caught the wolves' attention. She wasn't entirely certain how to communicate what was happening, though. Wolves did not always understand the way humans behaved. She glanced up and sent an image of the young golden-haired man who smelled of frustration and arousal, and the young woman arguing with him who smelled of...well, it was hard to tell. Black Bark was the first to be in on the joke, sending amusement back, and soon the whole pack was in on the joke.

Her hand went up to her mouth to stifle the laugh building up in her middle. This poor lad didn't stand a chance to the men of the Grey Tower, and add to that that Meri was from Saldaea...it was just so funny. The other Drin turned to Meri and introduced herself, ignoring the young Andoran lad, who then threw his hands in the air in frustration before leaving.

Clearing her throat, Meri turned to Paks and giggled before clearing her throat again. The wolves' amusement still prominent in her mind, it was hard to shake the giggles as she introduced herself. "Peace favor your sword, Paks. Ahem... I'm Meriana, but you can call me Meri." She giggled a little more as she remembered the young man comparing her eyes to the golden chain, which sent another wave of hilarity through the pack. Reluctantly, Meri pulled her mind away from the wolves for the time being. "I do apologize..." Letting out another giggle, she shook her head and caught her breath. "I wasn't expecting it to be that funny. Good to meet you."

Paks watched as the little lion stalked off in frustration, her smirk broadening when she looked back to Meri. Her brows arched slightly as the woman seemed unable to stop herself from giggling, and Paks tilted her head to regard the other woman curiously. She gave a casual shrug, "Little Lion is an amusing man, but sadly not because he tries to be. . .more because he tries too hard. He had it in mind to woo you off of your feet, and I dare say my presence angered him more than he'd care to let on." The smirk was joined by a wiggle of her brows, "I'm pretty sure I can handle him if he decides to come back. I suspect he won't, though. . .the threat of me embarrassing him again will weigh heavily on the poor lad."

The Drin looked up and nodded to the barkeep who promptly set a mug in front of both her and Meri. Lifting up her mug, Paks turned to Meri, "To a night hopefully free of the likes of little lion with more enjoyable moments to come." Once mugs touched, she took a long pull and set her mug back on the top of the bar. "Have you gotten out much to unwind from the training schedule of the Yards?"