The bar is to your right, tables to your left. There are suspicious-looking stains on the floor.

A board on the wall suggests that you give your order at the bar and say where you're sitting. There's a place underneath this for the day's catch to be chalked. It appears to be "blue sea scut," but that might be left over from yesterday.

Arrives at the appointed time. Odile had been seen off on her way back to the castle with instructions on where to place the various things that had been purchased.

Looking around Jade sought out a table large enough for the gathering and had a kind of disgusted and unsettled look at the stains on the ground. Keeping her closed parasol close at hand she walked to the bar.

"We will be meeting two others, possibly three. I would like to buy a round." She let the bartender know where she would be sitting.

Taking a seat after making sure the chair was clean she thought a spray of perfume might not be bad for the place.

Ariadne walked into the bar, looking around with a grin.  She hadn't really done dive bars since her college days at Boston University, partying with blue collar dock workers and the girls who worked construction on the Big Dig Project.  Ah, she mused, those were the days.
She'd graduated, in both senses of the word, to more upscale bars as she moved on with her chosen profession, but she had always admired the blunt honesty of the hole-in-the-wall neighborhood bar, where "everyone knew your name", but they were generally cursing when they said it

The smell was impressive.   The dive bars of the South Boston neighborhoods had an antiseptic smell that, mostly, covered the smell of stale beer, cigarette smoke, and old sweat.  Here, though, there was no antiseptic smell.  Granted, the other smells were cleaner, somehow.   The tobacco and alcohol seemed more natural, somehow.  If Ari still smoked, she'd be tempted to try the local flavors.  But she'd settle for the local booze.

Smirking a bit at the stains, and made some bets with herself as to what they might be.   She'd have to see how the night went.  She nodded to the barkeep.
"I'll take whiskey, and a lager chaser, please.  I'll be over there"
Smiling, she walked to where Jade was sitting.

"Ballad has some taste in bars hmmmm ?" She looks up at Ariadne with a wry smile.

"I wonder if their is a daily brawl ?" Her eyes flicked to some of the other customers and then back to her cousin.

Ariadne sat down in a chair, hoping that she wasn't making a mistake by not checking it for other 'mysterious stains'.   She smirked at Jade.
"Only one brawl a day?   I suspect that you're giving this place more credit than it deserves."
She looked around in that casual way that people check out their surroundings without seeming to do so.  While not specifically trained, Ariadne had been a single woman in a big city, and being oblivious to ones surroundings, even in a "friendly neighborhood bar", was a recipe for disaster.
"I hope the food tastes better than the décor suggests.  I've had some very good food in places that look too dirty to walk in, but it's always a coin toss."

Jade suddenly got a Cheshire grin.

"Ive seen a game that is a test of strength, want to play ?"

Jade put her arm up in a classic arm wrestling position. A glint of playful interest in her eyes.

Looking around, Ariadne was surprised by Jade's playful invitation to arm wrestle.  She chuckled, nodding with a sly grin.
"I did that a lot in the bars i went to when i was in school.  Are you sure you want to do this?"
Of course, most of the arm wrestling she did in the dive bars of Boston were at the invitation of some of the rugged Southie women who gathered there.  Many had been intrigued by the tough seeming but deceptively slender Ariadne.
She had won all.of those invitations, many of which were considered foreplay by both women.  She suspected Jade was being more low key about it, however.

Ari put her arm up, ready to wrestle her green haired cousin.

"I think it will be fun and maybe help us fit in better."

Jade planned on testing herself but found herself worrying about her dress. Her sleeve catching at one point on the table.


14:32, Today: Jade rolled 6 using 2d6 with rolls of 1,5.  Strength check.
I failed ow ow ow

Ariadne smirked and grasped Jade's hand, and on her signal, she casually went to push hmthe other woman's hand toward the table
To her shock, nothing happened at first

OOC :15:39, Today: Ariadne rolled 6 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 1,4.  Strength

Going back and fourth a bit with her cousin she tried to put more effort into it. It seemed it would be a stalemate for a while. She pushes hard her green eyebrows bunching.


14:45, Today: Jade rolled 7 using 2d6 with rolls of 1,6.  Strength check.

Ariadne grunted daintily and redoubled her efforts, surprised by her delicate seeming cousin's strength.
"Now i know how Trudy and the girls back at Murphy's Bar in South Boston felt.  Is this what ironic payback felt like?"  She thought to herself

As she pushed she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her side, where her stab wounds were pulling at her stitches.  She winced in pain.
That distraction was too much, and her hand hit the table, allowing Jade to win.

OOC: 15:46, Today: Ariadne rolled 5 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 1,3.  Strength

Jade found her arm tremble a bit and she hurt but didn't want to give in gaining a slight sprain. Then she saw pain on her cousins face and she got up after she had won with a worried look on her face.

"Are you alright, I didn't mean to push so hard." She offered to check  her cousins wounds. She hadn't meant for things to go this far.


-1 on her next roll

Ariadne shook her head, smiling grimly
"I should have been able to compensate for my grey dude wounds.  But you took me by surprise, I'll admit.   You're a lot stronger than I expected "
She tried to be subtle about Jade's examination, not wanting the whole bar to see

Jade nodded, "I live below the waves so, I have had to be stronger to compensate for the pressure. I am glad I didn't hurt you. I just want to have fun every once in a while. My mischievous nature gets the better of me sometimes."

"Your very strong yourself, I think I sprained my arm."

Ariadne smirked
"You don't  have to try to make me feel better.  I'm getting used to eating humble pie since coming here"

Jade felt divided she felt good that she had won but bad that she might have made her brand new cousin mad at her. Taking her seat again she paid for the second round of drinks too.

"This just seemed like the kind of place to try such games. I will wait for the others, I want to try darts too." She smiled.

"Though with these sleeves, I don't know." She laughed a bit.

Ariadne nodded, shrugging
'I used to be good at darts back home, but it wouldn't surprise me if darts are more dangerous here"
She sighed, then smiled ruefully
"Sorry, I guess I'm feeling discouraged lately.   This whole place has been....a bit of a culture shock "

"I am sure I would suffer culture shock on the Shadow Earth, so I can understand. Hopefully we are helping you acclimate a bit. You will get the hang of things I am positive of it." Jade spoke with certainty.

Ariadne actually let out a harsh giggle
"Hopefully I'll learn before i rupture something "

"Yes, we all should heal up before we mess about. So you were like Lance on Earth ? I am surprised you didn't know each other. Your a thespian that sounds exciting. I bet you got lots of roses and had fans."