Chapter Twenty-Three
Nadia frowned disapprovingly at her plate; it was bare again. That had to be the fifth time, now. Or was it the third? She really couldn't remember at this point. She had found her seat at the bar not more than four or five blocks up the road from the police station. The pub the seat was in, then the seat itself, that was. She giggled in semi-drunken amusement at the distinction. Said pub, specifically a pub and grill, was called... well, she wasn't really sure, actually. She knew it was a bar and grill, the sign had said so, but the rest of it hadn't stuck. And, considering the lax standards she had initially set out with on her search for inebriating beverages, she had done very well for herself in terms of the quality of the establishment she'd landed in; that is to say, she had found quite a nice place. Hardwood floors, warm lighting, pictures on the walls and the bar set in the midst of a brick wall for that added charm. She had been quite impressed. Or, she would have been, had she not been steering Orion into a seat at the far end of the bar and instructing him to sit right there until she needed him for something.
Having left her stress-inducing counterpart in his corner, she had then moved to her chair at the bar; or, more specifically, what she had decided was going to be her chair at the time. She had pretty well had her pick of seats since they had come in between the lunch and dinner crowds; but the wooden-framed, grey-green cushioned seat she had picked out was hers from the moment she had walked in. Of course it had been, it was right beside the tap. Giggling softly at her logic, she tilted her glass, that she had gotten after choosing her seat next to the tap, back and drained it of its contents; this she was almost positive she had only done twice before. But then, she had never really been a regular drinker and, while her talents were diverse, holding her alcohol was apparently not one of them.
Not that she was drunk. Not yet, anyway. No, she was sitting in the glorious realm that was tipsiness, with not a worry or a care in the world. It was just her and the numbness that came with having one's ability to fret slip, unconscious, under the table before they did. Signalling the bartender for a refill, both for her glass and plate, she turned to check on Orion and did a double take as she realized the previously unoccupied bar was suddenly teeming with life. She supposed it had been a while since she sat down. An hour? Two, maybe? Eh, what does it matter. Looking around, she noted the entire pub seemed to have filled to capacity and then some without her noticing. The ambiance of the establishment was a lively blend of quiet conversation at the booths and the more raucous sorts watching the wide-screen televisions set up on several of the walls,shouting for their chosen team to score, defend or, just as often, swearing at the referee's latest decision.
Craning her neck, Nadia leaned back, nearly overbalancing herself in the process. Spotting Orion's present 'disguise', a youth with light brown hair and rather fetching green eyes, still seated where she had left him, she returned herself to an upright position. She had to give him some credit, she supposed, he was behaving rather well so far. No ill-conceived escape attempts, nor even complaints about how long they had been there. Blinking, she wondered if he had had anything to eat. She supposed not, considering he had never mentioned that he possessed any money. Feeling the tiniest amount of guilt begin seeping into her numbed state, she directed a plate in his direction and smiled smugly as the concern faded again.
Not that she actually knew what any of these plates had on them, though she vaguely remembered telling the bartender to surprise her.
In Icarus' Shadow Page 37