Monaco Bay Weyr - Docks
A thin, windy pathway lined with paper lanterns leads to the sturdy docks made of stone and wood that stretch out into the deep azure waters. A large wall of stone curves around the docks, protecting the small docking harbor from the weather. Nestled against the intersection of docks and land, a large hollow has been carved out of the rock, the formation intended for storage of smaller ships during the worst of Monaco's storm season.
It has been a few days since the wild ride out into the sea that ended with a broken sail and long hours of actual socializing. Briari is heading down the docks towards the tavern, wearing a bright blue sun dress with a pair of boots under the hem. Her hair is pulled up into a curly high pony tail that bounces with each step she takes. As she goes, she waves to a few familiar faces, glowing with her sunny disposition as always.
Merius, recovered from the ordeal of being lost at sea (however temporarily), is finally wearing a shirt again and loitering outside of the tavern with a few fellow seacraft apprentices. Despite the fact that he looms over each of the other apprentices, his face is flushed and his hands are shoved in his pockets as he accepts some good-natured (and some not good-natured) ribbing from them. One gangly fellow in particular is actually laughing aloud. "That's what you get for actually trying to take that piece of garbage out on the water." Merry accepts these barbs as his due. But even though his eyes are downcast, thanks to his height is able to espy Briari heading toward the knot of seacrafters. One corner of his mouth twitches up in a sheepish grin and a big hand is pulled out of one pocket to give a small wave. "Hey, Briari." The other apprentices fall silent at her approach.
Reaching up behind her, Briari is an expert in slow motion hair tossing as she tugs the leather strap out from her long curly locks and gives them a swish left to right. As she spies the seacrafters and catches the last little statement from his companion, she follows up with it by reaching out to snag Merius by the hands and pulls him close. "Hey stud. Heard from one of your friends that you planned the whole thing and broke the mast on purpose to get me alone for a few hours." Her eyes twinkle as she leans up to press a kiss on his cheek. "Smooth move there. You now have my full attention." With a wink, she starts past them for the tavern.
All the apprentices' attention is on Briari as she gives that expert hair toss. Merry's expression grows yet more sheepish at the accusation that their misadventure at sea was somehow planned. "I promise it wasn't my intention to… to…" The kiss on his cheek is answered by hoots and hollers from the other seacrafters (including a few further down the docks who aren't part of the little apprentice group). Merry stares dazedly after the harper, the hand that waved rising to brush fingertips against the cheek that was kissed. After some good-natured shoving from the gangly lad, Merius breaks out of his reverie and follows Briari to the tavern.
As she struts, Briari glances over her shoulder at him as she goes, giving him a wide and inviting grin amongst the hooting and hollering. As she jerks the door open, she heads inside proudly as the sounds of music and conversation flow out from the small building on the end of the dock.
Monaco Bay Weyr - Lunar Shoals Pier
The Lunar Shoal Pier is built on exactly that, a long, heavily-shored pier built out into the ocean. The structure is long and narrow, with two stories - the bottom a bar in the far back and a social center towards the front, where the people of the Weyr can come and relax in comfort. The walls are all a richly dark redwood, from ceiling to floor, with multi-colored paper and silk lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Low-slung couches are set up around communal tables, and several gaming tables are surrounded only by cushions of rich, plush design. A closed off staircase leads to the upper floor, which is designed strictly for an adult audiences. Upstairs is another bar with particularly strong, homebrewed beverages, as well as a dance stage with various props and poles with which to dance upon. Sturdy furniture is set here, many carved drunkenly with folks names, and others yet slightly rude imagry. On the wall behind the bar, a pair of beat up old goggles sit, painted in awful, garish colors and decorated with all sorts of baubles. A bit of driftwood hangs above them, with the words 'Proddy Goggles' scratched with a bit of black charcoal.
Merius follows Briari into the tavern, long legs helping him catch up to her quickly. "Well," he begins in a surprisingly (for him) light and jovial tone of voice, "That should give them something else to talk about for a bit." He grins at the harper and nods at the bar. "Drink?" He frowns thoughtfully as he glances about the tavern. The bar is full, the dancefloor moreso. "And then…" What other ways are there for a seacrafter to impress a young lady around here? Dark eyes fall on one of the dice tables, and he sighs. Heavily.
Reaching out to take him by the hand, Briari gives his fingers a squeeze as she steps in closer to his strong body. "Good. You don't need to get beat up like that, even by your friends. So you made a crummy boat, it was just for fun, and we /had/ fun. Guys can be so mean to one another." Turning to face him, her other hand slides around his waist as she inches even closer to him, starting to sway back and forth as she looks to take the lead. "Drink in a moment." Her eyes follow his to the dice tables, then back up to him. "You don't want any of that. They cheat."
Merius actually laughs, that startlingly loud barking laugh of his. "Oh, you don't know the half of it. Guys on the docks can be meaner than you'll ever know." He smiles down at Briari, noting, "Pretty harpers will never have to worry about that kind of treatment, of course." He follows as she starts to sway — sort of. He still hasn't got great (or any) rhythm, and his attempts at sways run counter to hers. He sighs again at the dice tables. "They don't need to cheat if I'm playing." Merry is really good at not being good at stuff.
"Oh.. believe me.. I um… I hear plenty of mean things as well towards me." Briari says glumly as she shifts her sway to match his, so that the pair are finally on the same groove, even if it is not a well practiced groove. "And dice is a game of chance. You roll the dice and hope you get the best number. But I also konw that some of them can control the dice and how they land." Her arms circle about him tighter, placing her head in against his burly chest as she breathes in his scent. "I like darts." She admits.
One corner of Merry's mouth twitches up in a grin. "All games are games of chance, if you think about it." His voice — though deep as always — is surprisingly soft as he says this. He looks down at Briari under half-lidded eyes and adds slowly, "Even life seems like a game of chance, sometimes." So deep. He stops swaying and places an affectionate head on top of her blonde hair, grin becoming a warm smile. "You'll not hear anything mean towards you down at the docks again, if I have anything to say about it. Dark eyes flicker over to where the dartboards are set up and he pulls away. "Feel like trouncing me at darts, lady harper?" Expression turns sly. "We could even wager on it."
"Oh, I don't know Merius.. you put a wage up against me in darts and you may not be able to pay it back." Briari smiles warm up at him as she continues to clutch his hand as she lets him lead her to the dart wall. "And I am sure I won't hear anything mean from the docks. It tends to be the other girls about the Weyr. I may have done a lot of stupid things when I was younger to garner a reputation of sorts that I am not too proud of."
"Well not you're just making me /definitely/ want to place a bet." Manly men cannot back down from a challenge, certainly. Eyebrows rise as Merry glances over his shoulder at Briari while he leads her over to an empty dartboard. "A reputation? Really? Sheesh, I think young girls can be a lot nastier than dockworkers." This moment of rare wisdom is broken when Merry looks at the dartboard and asks, "I mean, you just throw these thingies" (darts) "at that thingy," (board) "right?" He's never actually done this before. By all means place some wagers.
"Yeah.. let's just.. ah… not talk about it." Briari says with a shrug of her shoulders upwards, followed by a quick smile to the large man as she picks up the darts. "And yes, you just throw them at the board. You want to try and get the highest points after a certain number of rounds." She rocks a bit on her boots, then gives him a grin. "Are you trying to hustle me, mister?" She leans into him again, as if he was magnetic. "So, place a bet mister."
Merius grins back, giving Briari another headpat. "I know better than to wager marks against you." Gaze flickers toward the bar. "Round of drinks?" He's not very imaginative in general, and certainly not good at thinking up interesting wagers. "Unless you can think of something better?" Frown. "That /isn't/ marks." He really got cleaned out at those dice tables only the sevenday before. "And why don't you go first? So I can see how it's done?" This would actually be a pretty good hustle if he was any good at throwing darts.
"Round of drinks? Nope. I can't have you passing out on me again." Briari says playfully as she guides him to a chair, then with a slide of her hands upon his shoulders, she looks to sit him down in front of her. Her fingers lace around behind his neck as she leans in and says, "If I win, theeeeen… I want you to take me out on a proper date, and… you give me a kiss." Her fingers thread through the back of his hair gently. "And if you win?"
Merius smirks. "A proper date? So no getting lost at sea or passing out after one round of drinks?" Those fingers in his hair cause his cheeks to flush. He has to clear his throat before repeating, "If I win?" He thinks about it for a minute. And then another minute. Merry doesn't want for much, but he also likes the idea of playing for stakes. He taps his bottom lip thoughtfully with an index finger and then goes 'a-ha' and points that finger toward the ceiling whilst declaring, "If I win, you have to compose a ballad about Merius of Paradise River, the Greatest and Handsomest SeaCrafter Who Ever Was." He miiiight be kidding. He's grinning, at least.
Giving him another wide grin, Briari leans forward, her mouth hanging a half-inch away from his. "You're on, sailor." She brushes her fingers along his cheek, then heads back to the wall and steps behind the line proper. Taking aim, she composes herself and squints one eye shut as she focuses completely on the board. Whipping her hand back, she throws the dart overhand, hard. THUNK. She buries it into the 20. She throws two more times the same way. 19. 7. "You're up."
Merius watches, carefully, making note of Briari's form as she chucks her three darts at the board. His original strategy of throwing the thingies at the thingy seems like a good one. He makes a quick notation of her score — this is a very serious game after all — and rises. He approaches the line, stonefaced, stares at the board for a good minute, and pulls one arm back and throws his dart. It's a surprisingly graceful throw, and the dart's point connects lightly with the red bullseye. "Yes!" Merry cheers, throwing his arms up in the air in celebration. The dart promptly falls off the board. "No!" Merry's face falls, comically. He sighs and returns to the line, readying another dart. This one is thrown with much more force. Too much force. It bounces off the board and falls on the floor. His third dart hits the board and sticks — in the 3. He turns back to Briari with a woeful expression that is not unlike what one might see on a sad puppy. "Your turn." He notes, miserably.
Giggling even louder, Briari's eyes widen at the sight of the bullseye. "Wow, great thr—- er… it can still count!" She calls out to try and lift his spirits. "That was good throw." The next two do not fair so well. "Ah… well… you are just starting out." She plucks her darts off the board, then heads back to the line. She takes aim again and launches the three darts, right into the same three numbers she hit last time. 20. 19. 7. As she heads back to him, she starts to hum softly. "I once knew a sailor named Merius, a tall strong man who is by far the most handsomest." She sings to him.
"I know it doesn't really count if it doesn't stick." Merry notes, still glum. He kicks idly at some dirt on the floor, still with that sad puppy look. He doesn't pay much attention this time when Briari takes her turn. There is no helping his dart-form. His expression brightens, slightly, as she begins her song. He heads back over to the line, continuing in a deep and surprisingly capable baritone, "He was very good at sailing, and very good at dancing, and oh so good at darts." He takes his throws, finally finding the happy medium in terms of force needed to get the darn things to actually stick in the board. He hits three 11s and turns back to Briari with a grin. "/So/ good at darts. But mostly handsome." He deadpans. He returns to the harper and places his hand at her lower back, pushing lightly in the direction of the board. "You're up again. See if you can beat 33 this time!" Nevermind that she already has done, at every throw.
"There was no man as handsome as he, no man as good at darts. But the one thing that separated Merius from meager men is the sound of his manly farts!" Briari calls out once she steps to the line, giving the seacrafter a bright, adoring grin on her face. Just to be nice, she throws a pair of threes and a four. Swaying her hips back and forth as she took aim at the board, continues to loudly hum her song to him. "Merius is a master of the lakes, ocean and seas! No wave big or small can topple his boat, or bring him to his knees! Women faint at every flex, his muscles practically scream of -sex-, and those dark eyes of his can make a heart sing!"
Merius pouts. "Is that the only rhyme that came to mind, really? What about arts? Or smarts!" Let's not overdo it, Merry. He lightly punches a fist in the air as Briari gets a measly 10 that turn. Victory is nigh! Maybe! He smirks as she continues the song, heading to the line and taking aim. Of course, at the line about his muscles he startles during his throw, managing to lodge his dart into the wall a good two feet to the left of the dartboard. Merry recovers, clears his throat, and doesn't even bother with his last two throws. He just replaces his darts and makes his way back to the harper, giving her a half grin as he stops a few inches before her. "In the interests of not murdering someone with another wild throw, I concede. Besides, I've already gotten what I wanted without having to actually win." Yes, now all will hear the Ballad of Merius, the Handsomest. Victory, indeed!