(2106) Little and Large

[Anatole]

Anatole raises an eyebrow when the lean Ogre move's swiftly to intercept him.

"Eh?"

His brow furrows further as his other eyebrow raises in surprise.

"Ah. I see! Liam was it? Yes. I've seen you around myself."

He takes the Liam's offered hand eagerly, his gnarled fist strong and scarred. His head tilted and his eyes narrowed, mouth firming.

"Question, eh? What kind of question."
Liam Gelt BoxingUnicorn

[Liam Gelt]

Liam now had a closer look at the Dwarf; his skin marked with cracks and burns as if he'd been standing in a furnace. But his grip was firm and his eyes had an inquisitive twinkle to them that the Giant couldn't help but find appealing, so his fire-fear was pushed into the back of his subconscious.
"I'd be surprised if you didn't." He allowed himself a chuckle at his own expense. "I was actually curious if you were the go-to guy for bar functions at the Coronations. I've been building up my bartending skills and was curious if you needed an extra pair of hands." He stretches the hands in question, skin color rippling between a deep deciduous green and hearty brown. "There hasn't really been a lot of action, thankfully, so I thought I'd make myself useful in other ways."

[Ram]

"Hey," he said a nod and grunt "Hope I'm not interrupting. Thought, I'd join you." So that he didn't have to worry about saying or doing some wrong else where.

[Anatole]

A hearty chuckle bubbles from the wizened's mouth, so much so he has to hide it behind a chunky fist.

"Hah! Eh! Oh no. No no no. I can see how you could think that... But no."

He looks carefully about (for any Spring Courtier's wandering too close) before shuffling closer to the Gargantuan.

"See. It started with me wanting a drink at a previous Spring Coronation. There was no one running the bar, so I had to duck behind it so I could get at the best whisky. Now a couple of goodly people followed me and I ended up pouring their drinks - seeing I'm such a genial fellow - and all of a sudden I get myself a reputation. For a while even the Emerald Court seemed to think I was the barman! Of their Courtly Tavern!"

He wiggled both of his bushy eyebrows in a clumsy display of expression.

"Ha! You want to work the bar my friend, you do it! Sounds like you'll know what you are doing!"

And then his smile gained a malicious cast.

"Oh trouble is coming! Be ready!"

The look of malice faded, dropped first into a blank expression which then softened into a respectful countenance as a second Summer Courtier joined them.

"Ram! Welcome!"

[Liam Gelt]

Liam had bent down more to Anatole's level as the Dwarf relayed his thrilling tale, the whole time taking in the story with the practiced enthusiasm of someone who'd heard complete strangers relate their life stories over a pint. But this time, he was genuinely enthralled. Upon hearing Anatole's conclusion, the Giant erupts with sonorous laughter before quickly catching himself.
"Wow! That's hilarious." He offers the Dwarf a confidential wink. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."
"Alright! I think I will. Thanks Anatole." He offers a comical head bow. "I'll be sure to keep your legacy at the bar alive."
Seeing his compatriot's grimace surprised Liam, but then Ram came by and it fell out of the Ogre's memory. So Dwarves make funny faces. So what? It's probably his way of showing affection.
"No worries, Ram. Always a pleasure." He offers the Render a pat on the shoulder; he seemed a bit out of sorts, so the Giant wanted to make sure his friend felt welcome. "I was just talking to Anatole here about the Summer Coronation. I think I'm going to try my hand at bartending the event."

[Ram]

“Trouble? You talking about Frances?” It was the first thing to come to his mind before he even thought to realize that it could be something else entirely like the coronation.

He rubbed his neck.

“Really?” he hadn’t heard anything about doing a bar. “You talked with Circe?”

[Anatole]

"Who is Frances?"

Anatole's face darkened, almost by reflex. With effort he smoothes out his features and looks between the two Ogre's.

"She a mutual acquaintance?"

He harumphed.

"I've been busy with my own projects and patrols. Looking out rather than looking in."

His explanation did not suit his tastes and it showed. Same as his apparent lack of knowledge of the comings and goings of the Freehold itself.

[Liam Gelt]

Liam's bark-skin face twists in a grimace of confusion. "Frances? I don't think I've met her."
Was she another Lost? How many of us are there in this city? So many Annes and Franceses and Rileys to keep track of now.
"Oh, not really." Ram's question about Circe prompts an embarrassed slouch from the Giant. "That would probably be a good idea. I'll have to get in touch with her about that request. Do you know if she has a phone?" Dumb question, he knows; but the years in Arcadia can do something to a Lost's technological mind. He himself used a brick of a phone simply because his fingers couldn't handle those tiny keyboards or touch screens.
Anatole's mention of patrols gets Liam's Ogreish mind-gears turning. Patrols? Does he mean that Anne character? The one Rhodes talked about? He feels a bit confidential about his run-in with Circe, Rhodes, and John last Funderland. Would Sera be disappointed in him basically agreeing to help out with a Hedge invasion?

[Ram]

Aaaand he’d stepped in it. Tried to get away by not talking with Titania or Sonnie only to end up bringing it up himself. Damn he was bad at this.

“She’s, uh… was my supervisor. Like… regular Funderland guard crew supervisor.” Yeah the park was closed and it was only them but the remnants of Freehold slang clung on even in these conversations. “She was wearing a cursed necklace that was hurting her.” Making her go insane? He wasn’t sure how to phrase it since he didn’t really know what it had been doing to her. “So… I broke it… by grabbing it off her neck.” He scratched the base of his horns “Might be enough for a law suit,” he mumbled shamefully. Talking about one of his less than stellar moments was not why he’d come here but he’d run head first into it anyway like the dumb Ogre he was. Worst of all, which he didn’t mention, was that it hadn’t even worked. Or that maybe he was imagining the whole thing.

Desperate to turn this onto happier (or at least not focused on his mistakes) topics, the Render tried to put more interest on literally anything else.

“Patrols and projects? Like Hedge stuff?” he asked the Wizened, steamrolling over the man’s expression of distaste.

“And yeah, she’s got a phone. I can give you the number. But if you are planning to help, you should contact her soon. Got less than a month till the coronation.”

[Anatole]

Anatole grunted. Then shrugged. Then grunted again.

"Maybe. Maybe not. For what its worth you probably did the right thing. While some cursed objects do work off of... ah... sympathy, many more do need a physical connection. So you breaking the necklace may have worked. Best keep that object secure and not on your person. You know - in case the curse simply transfers itself to you."

He knuckled his moustaches.

"Yes. Been working a few patrols. As for the other stuff - turning seed money into a pile of cash and learning how to make investments work for me. Getting close to an end goal now. We'll see how that works out: what I'm thinking of requires a lot of resources and you could say I'm still sorting through all the angles."

His grin was mysterious.