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An AW for Howff members, Camhanaich allies, & anyone else who wants to visit!
Cameos & split off threads welcome. No posting order, just try not to 1v1 too much!
Leaving exact date slightly vague. Sometime this week lol

This is ALSO prolly gonna be a rune search thread!
(x2 skill points & bc i think it would be funny if they found a rune in the inn or Dre Klage crashed the party)

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Things were looking up. Despite the cold that left the world in perpetual twilight without, inside the inn — it was downright cozy.

Okay, so cozy wasn't exactly the right word. Kirain had set the Howff up pretty with fermented berries that you could scarf like pellets if you were insane (Lyra), or press into a juice to drink diluted if you weren't ( Mal ).

The witch had also sent a plethora of medicinal herbs to brew into teas and though Lyra remained skeptical of the magic... some were, apparently, a damn good time in the recreational sense. Maybe she'd leave that to the rest of the revellers, until she could be sure it wasn't just a bewitchment.

She had other entertainments. Jaskier sang a bawdy song from the bartop, and with a floral smoke on the wind the last few days to further lighten the mood, Lyra didn't find it in her to mind that the lyrics included some unflattering things about the state of her petticoats. Even pitched her hips a little to play-along. If she slept alone tonight, it'd be a fucking crime.

Ought not to be the only one making use of a bed or a downy nest. As poor Will-o'-Wisp now had to make peace with, Mal even invited a lady of the evening to stay and do business. Maggie had been given a room and set up with soft furs, and might find decent custom, tonight.

The whelps were free to meander about upstairs so long as they stayed out from under foot (Lyra might have preferred they keep to her room, but who was going to stop them?) Toad mostly stuck her head through the balcony slats and watched the going's on with wide eyes, tail wagging.

Unfermented fruit had been left for them upstairs. So long as they didn't manage to sneak down, things ought to stay sober for the maggots. Though Lyra had already decided to keep an extra eye on Newt , regardless. Troublesome little rascal, clearly took after her Da.

So it was! A proper inn. A proper party. There was song and dance and wine, and revelrous company to last them long into the night. Maybe even 'till next morning!

Spilling a bowlful of berries across a rickety table for all to share, Lyra crowed, 'Ere's to te Howff! May she stand always 'least 'alfway upright, an' never be completely sober!

Click Here for Basic Howff Floorplan

Skill - Brewmaster 1/5

Selkie had been abandoned.

Someone's paw had ended up in his mouth and woken him up, and sniffing around for warmth and milk he had discovered both mathair and vater missing. This upset him. They were always here, and Selkie did not have reference for someone not being present in their den all the time.

He was working himself up to scream about this when a familiar face became visible through the door.

His tiny tail immediately started wagging, and he began to clamber over the unidentified bodies of siblings to chase. Mathair had never let them out, and his prepared meltdown over being ignored was abandoned in favor of a shiny new means of escape.

He scrambled confidently with overlarge puppy paws to the opening, and this time he was not stopped. Selkie skidded to a halt on the balcony, paws splayed and wide-eyed. This was a whole new (extremely loud) world of sounds and smells, but he was not to be deterred; he had caught sight of mathair not paying him any attention, and took the opportunity to creep silently towards her and pounce inelegantly at her back, tail waving frantically with the pride of such a successful escape.

Myna and Mal seemed to have finally pulled their heads out of their asses somewhat. They were working better together now, though they still loved to bitch and moan at each other. Sarge hadn’t realized just how far the reach of the Howff had gone. There were far more faces here than he’d anticipated, and part of that stressed him to no end. More threats to the children. To his wife. More chances for him to snap.

Initially, he planned to steer clear, to not get involved in the clear hedonistic debauchery they seemed determined to engage in. He’d seen plenty of events like this in his time; soldiers took well to the bottle, after all. Some bastard was singing from the bartop, fermented berries were being passed around, and there were interesting herbs circulating that earned a suspicious look from him. Things were going to get crazy, that much was clear.

He supposed as long as the children kept to the upstairs and out of harm’s way, it wasn’t an issue. Still, he spent a good half hour simply watching from the edge of the room, settling into the role of an unspoken bouncer in case anyone got too rambunctious. He checked in on Wisp and the children every few minutes.

But those damn fermented berries… they were tempting him. When was the last time he’d had a drink? His memories were a volatile thing, and he’d long decided it was best not to aggravate himself more than necessary. Eventually, temptation won out and he snagged a few. The taste was… unpleasant, but the warmth that bloomed in his chest was welcome.

Before long, their effects began to take hold and he felt himself start to loosen up. What harm would a little more do? Despite his usual alertness and gruff demeanor, he found himself returning to the berries again and again. His grasp on reality slowly slipped, replaced with a warmth that spread from head to toe. It felt incredible after so long spent cold and on edge.

Suddenly, the bard’s voice wasn’t so grating, and a smile began to tug at his maw. Before he knew it, he was swaying to the music in the midst of the crowd, a growing grin spreading across his face as the drunkenness truly took hold.

Tonight would be a good night, he decided.

The world had been so quiet for so long… and then it seemed like noise exploded outside the little family dwelling. It yanked Honor awake and left her unsettled, especially when she realized both mathair and vater were absent. Indignation and stress bubbled up at the thought, and she fixed a glare on the cracked door. That was it. That was the cause of all her discomfort, she decided.

She stayed that way until her brother stumbled out of the nest and made a break for the exit.

Um, excuse her?

Where did he think he was going?

Pushing herself unsteadily to her paws, she wobbled after him, determination packed into every step. They were supposed to stay warm and cuddled. Did he not know that? Honor watched his very elegant attack on mathair and let out a snort of annoyance through her little puppy nose.

Marching forward as best she could, she bumped into Wisp’s side and promptly buried herself in the plush comfort of her mathair’s fur. She supposed this wasn’t too bad… though the howling from downstairs was overwhelming her sensitive little ears.

Tonight's the most crowded they've ever seen the Howff. Faces they know and faces they don't, talking and laughing and drinking. The sweet smoke fills. the room in waves every time the door cracks open or a wind rattles the panes, not as overwhelming now. Enough to take the edge off. If not for the empty fireplace, might feel like a real tavern.

It's the closest they've been to this many people since the ship went down, and Taloka has to admit there's comfort in it. It's what they know; doesn't matter if it's what they'd do, given their own space. They even find themself getting into it, once the herbs and berries have been passed out, though there's the one piece that never calms down enough not to be passing judgments.

Most of them on Jaskier, dancing along the bar, singing a variety of songs they've heard too many times before and some they haven't. Colorful lyrics. Lyra must be close enough to drunk not to care. Might not like him, or his singing, but everyone else seems to- and Taloka knows to keep their mouth shut on it, or they'll invite being sung about next.

Still. Might liven up the evening if he were to slip.

They duck the flailing paws that keep sliding off the bartop when he gets too caught up in the music. Put together a setup for pressing berries into juice with the herbs to make it pleasant before the bard decided his stage would be what people usually ate off. By the time they get it to the tables in the center of the room, Lyra's scattered berries everywhere. Sarge- never got the impression he was the most carefree man out there- is... already dancing.

Taloka tips a bowl to Lyra's words and drinks. Not going to be sober for this.

Mum and Dad had left them alone, telling them to stay upstairs before disappearing. But how on earth was Frog supposed to do that when so many fun noises were spilling up from below?

Forgetting the comfort of her siblings, she bounded for the door and slipped out onto the balcony with a giggle. There were so many people! People dancing on the bar, laughter ringing out, and song filling the air. Her little puppy tail wagged a mile a minute, shaking her booty with the force of it.

Watching everything unfold below was thrilling, and it filled her heart with happiness to see her parents enjoying themselves. Maybe later she’d go investigate a little closer… but for now, her stuttering little heart was perfectly content to settle on the balcony and watch as things swung into motion.

One...then two...two siblings were up and escaping the pile of warm bodies. Kobolds head popped up promptly, where were they going? He was not going to be left out. So he too scrambled to wobbly feet and scrambled over the remaining lumps of fur and flesh. As soon as he got free of the pile he kicked it into high gear, claws scraping loudly against the wood floor for grip as he pushed his little frame into an all out sprint out the door and into the hustle and bustle of the tavern.

Except he didn't realize right away that mum and his siblings were in fact right there on the balcony he went skidding down the hallway. He also didn't know what stairs are, so by the time he met the precarious drop off face to face he was already going too fast.

Kobold would try, dropping his rear end and attempting to slow himself but it was too late, and his pudgy little body toppled, caught halfway by Will-o'-Wisp still gravity would flip Kobolds body downward, causing him to half tumble and half fall down a few of the steps.

He shook his head, blinking up at Màthair teetering on the edge of the narrow step.

—
❝ speech ❞

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the neighbor lady was curious

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How quaint!

Ampoule was a being of the water; not only the sea, but all bodies of the stuff. When the ocean wasn’t available, a lake or river would do – which would not explain why Ampoule awoke one day, looked at the stretch of beach, and decided to seek what lay just beyond. After all, if a threat were to exist, it would likely come from inland and not from the endless expanse of ocean.

The ocean only delivered her many gifts. It had given her nymphs and gods and beasts to command.

Those sounds…

The woods were cold and damp, and Ampoule felt it less as bodily discomfort and more in that she far preferred the sun-shiny-ness of Dreamsend Shores. Simple preference, and nothing more – for she could exist anywhere, warmed by the light of her inner knowing, but to thrive? That took an elevated perspective, and a place that one only thought could exist in dreams.

Voices?

The nymph had long since known she wasn’t as alone in these parts as she would have liked to be. Scents drifted to her on the wind like long-lost messages, reaching her own awareness instead of their intended. The forest was full, and their presence was even more known now. There was a thatch building, with a cacophony pouring from the windows and rafters.

Ampoule drifted around the perimeter, attempting to peek into windows – the revelry she witnessed! It brought a smile to the nymph’s face, who was at the same time a social butterfly and elective pariah. Then, she did something she didn’t often do…

She invited herself inside.

Ampoule lifted her head, as if looking for someone to greet and feel welcomed. Of course, she knew no one, but the goddess was rather adept at working a room, so she ruffled and fluffed the fur upon her shoulders to shake off the snowdrift and began to look for the host of the event. Yeah, that was the place to start.

and on her way, a berry or two wouldn't hurt.