There's an Alien in the Alcohol

Cassandra sat at the bar, her head resting atop her left hand. She wasn't much of a drinker, truthfully, but the Snuggly Duckling was the last bastion of anything resembling her home, even if she knew that there might be some unsavory characters around. Or at least, around the one she used to know. Gazing around this Snuggly Duckling, however, an outlaw was the last thing she would've expected. This was used by more noble people now, in personality and in social standing. With the Suns setting up shop in Arendelle, they needed a place to drink and what better place than the Snuggly Duckling?

There was something off about it to Cassandra, though. The one back in the outskirts of Corona was the only one she had known of until lately. Now there was one cropping up in Arendelle, where else could they be? She knew it wasn't a coincidence, but that was the least of her worries now.

The dark-haired girl was less conspicuous tonight, trading her suit of armor for her old tunic, save for her right hand. Her grey eyes swept over the tavern, looking for anyone she might know. She came half-fearing that some old associates might show up, but she tried to push those thoughts out of her head. She was a different person now, they were different people. It was okay.

A noise from behind the bar drew her out of her thoughts. She watched, wide-eyed with wonder and shock, as a yellow creature tried some mead and then dove face first into the barrel. Cass sat there in shock at the scene in front of her, unsure what to do or say about it.

Grey eyes flicked over to the person sitting next to her, watching them to make sure they were seeing what she was seeing, too. She looked back once more at the experiment, and then back over to the person next to her.

"Did that...did that really just happen?"

Much like his fellow Wing, it was just a little out of the ordinary for O'Malley to be in the tavern. Being one who was inclined to roam, however, the tomcat figured he'd hit all of the Ducklings sooner or later. Personally, he loved having access to so many. Sure, Paris would always be home base for him, but with so much to explore, and exploration being a key part of his role in the guild, it was nice to have a reason to... well... "spread his wings," so to speak.

And spreading his wings was just what he had been doing moments before trotted into the tavern among the lunch crowd. But rather than grabbing a bite to eat and curling up for an afternoon nap, his attention was quickly drawn by a flash of yellow as he approached the back of the room. Curious, he made a beeline for that direction, but his eyes popped open as soon as he saw the creature behind the counter. And before he even had time to react, it had taken a nosedive straight into a barrel, producing a splash that certainly caught the attention of those around him.

"Woah, woah, woah, hold it -- HOLD it!"

O'Malley's gait increased to a full sprint. Right now, heed was paid to neither Cassandra nor Bonnie. In the moment, he was only focused on the incident that had just occurred. He leaped up onto a stool, then on the tabletop itself, crouching next to the other alien in the room. Unlike Bonnie, who held out her hand in a completely unflappable manner, O'Malley swung his paw at the surface of the mead barrel, trying to find the opportunity to fish Sparky out. He was perched fairly precariously, tail up and claws grasping at any surface he could dig them into, drops of the drink splashing up everywhere. Surely he would be chastised for this, but right now, punishment was the furthest thing from his mind.

Should something knock him in, however, he too would be going for a very boozy swim in just a moment.

So much had happened in such a short time frame that it took Cassandra a moment to process it all. First, the yellow thing launched itself into a barrel full of mead, then a green thing approached her, talked to her, and told her that the yellow thing was its family. Finally a bright orange cat had come out of nowhere and yanked the yellow thing out of the barrel which then looked directly at her and asked why it got hurt.

Cass felt the beginning of a migrane coming on.

She stared at the scene, wide-eyed in disbelief as she looked over at three of the culprits. "I...I don't know," Cassandra said, putting a hand to her head as she looked to Bonnie and O'Malley for some guidance. "Maybe the cat that ripped you out of the barrel can tell you." She snarked, shooting daggers O'Malley's way.

Cassandra felt the life coming back to her as she slowly processed what had happened. "What do you mean 'you're family?'" she asked suddenly, turning on Bonnie. "And what are you anyway?" With each passing moment, she felt the color that had drained returning and the numbness subsiding.

Grey eyes scanned the rest of the tavern to see if anyone else was having the same hallucination she was experiencing. When it was clear that she was the only one really losing it, it steadied her in a way, and she felt herself take a deep breath in and out.

While Sparky she knew from around Arendelle, both Bonnie and O'Malley were unfamiliar. "Are you guys even Enchanted Suns?" she asked. There was a slight accusatory tone in her voice, but she tried to keep it sounding causal.

ooc: Let me know if it is too long or if I need to change something.


bic: Karl felt depressed. He felt like nobody understood him or even wanted to understand him. He truly felt all alone in the world. Indeed it really is him and Chauncey against the world. Moreover, he and Chauncey couldn't have been in this strange merging of the worlds longer than a day. Understandably, he felt confused by it all and even a bit lost. Truthfully, he had no idea what was going on with the crazy world around him. All he knows is everything changed somehow and he doesn't exactly like it. Not yet at least...

So that said, the little fanaloka did the one thing he thought he could do to help take his mind off things for awhile and that involved finding a tavern or a bar and just drinking whatever they served there. 'As long as it isn't coffee. Really tired of that stuff,' Karl thought to himself with a slight shiver. Oh how he was tired of that stuff and all of the lame jokes about him being a fanaloka who comes from a family that makes coffee. 'Hm, maybe they'll even have smoothies,' thought Karl. Now that he'd drink since he didn't tire of fruit.

After doing some more wandering around, Karl ended up in a lush land known as Arendelle and after asking some of the friendly native insects he made his way into the land's local tavern known as The Snuggly Duckling. It was a weird name to be sure for a supposed tough establishment and by weird Karl meant dumb. Ducklings weren't intimidating in the least, however they are indeed snuggly, so yay? Still, the fanaloka wasn't about to turn down an opportunity to drink his sorrows away and so taking a deep breath he pushed open the doors and entered.

First thing he noticed was that there were creatures of all sorts inside: humans included. He and his older brother had dealt with humans before somehow even doing business with them despite the language barrier. But now said barrier seemed to have somehow been erased. Karl didn't yet understand how and why only that it happened. Still, his curious, analytical mind hopes to find out. The fact that humans could understand him now kind of creeps him out. Truthfully being new he does not yet know how to...react to humans now being able to talk to him. It was all just too weird, bizarre, and...unnatural to the fanaloka.

As Karl made his way to the bar counter he felt many of the tavern's eyes were now on him. Hardly in the mood, Karl just ignored their prying eyes while his faithful pet, Chauncey who was riding on Karl's shoulder hissed angrily in warning at all of them. Chauncey's hissing caused some of the tavern's customers to return to what they were doing before the fanaloka arrived. Spotting an empty stool on the far end of the bar, Karl plopped down while Chauncey crawled off of Karl's shoulder and onto the bar counter. The bar tender there was a human who flashed the duo a look of disgust. Karl who had lived in the wilds of Madagascar all his life didn't understand what the problem was. The last thing Karl wanted to do was having to explain himself to...to a human. Sadly, it looked like he would have no choice since he didn't think this man would understand Chauncey or at least the humans he had come across so far did not seem to understand him.

Sighing innocently Karl looked up at the human. "There a problem?" Karl inquired the human dryly. Being a human the bartender easily towered over the small fanaloka, but Karl wasn't easily intimidated and firmly stood his ground. Karl boldly looked the human in the eye as though daring him to throw him and Chauncey out. "Oh why no not at all. I mean you only have an enormous roach sitting on my freshly clean counter getting its germs everywhere and grossing out my other customers. But other than that...absolutely nothing," the bartender sarcastically sneered. Karl glared at the man. He knew what this man was now: a smart ass and the fanaloka hated smart asses. Even so, Karl still didn't get what the supposed big deal of allowing Chauncey to crawl around on the counter. The hissing cockroach was always so clean and neat. The little guy was always cleaning himself, in fact. Chauncey, understandably offended was hissing up a storm and wriggling his legs angrily at the bartender not that the bartender cared.

"Where were you raised anyhow? A barn?" the bartender asked with a laugh leaving the fanaloka even more confused. Was that meant to be an insult? Well, it's not a very good one, Karl thought to himself. Karl then found himself casually drumming his clawed fingers noisily on the counter as though deep in thought. No, he was not raised in a barn, but being from a family of farmers he still took offense to this since barns were normally synonymous with farm life. But not his wealthy family. They didn't even own a barn and even if they did it would be used for storing tools rather than living in and even then the barn would be nice. After some awkward moments of long silence, Karl at last answered. "And so what if I was? What's so wrong with living in a barn anyway? Barns can be warm with sturdy walls just like any other building that is well built. Not all barns are shabby ya know. That sir is a long held stereotype and i refuse to perpetuate it," Karl quickly retorted. The poor bartender was dumbfounded. He honestly did not know what to do with such a response. The bartender just raised an eyebrow with a confused look on his face. "Perpet what?" he asked clearly not knowing what perpetuate meant. "Oh nevermind. Look if you really want to stay here and not get thrown out all you really gotta do is keep your filthy pet roach off the counter and far away from my other customers as humanly possible. You do that and you can stay."

Karl was really starting to like this guy even less and less by the minute, He just imagined himself strangling the guy and siccing Chauncey on him. Luckily for the bartender, Karl just wasn't in the mood. He felt too annoyed and depressed. Still he wasn't happy by the man's words not in the least and neither was Chauncey who looked more than ready to pounce on the human. "Sorry Chauncey," Karl told his friend gesturing for him to crawl back onto his arm. The roach obeyed, but with protest and not before hissing angrily at the bartender once again. Once the roach was safe in his paw, Karl gave him a little pet on the head. "And just so you know, Chauncey here is not a pet! He is my friend and he is very sensitive. Just look at how upset you made him," the fanaloka scolded.

The bartender just gave Karl a look like he thought the fanaloka crazy. "Hey buddy, a word to the wise stop talking to the bug. It's weird man and it's really starting to freak me out. Secondly, a bug can't possibly be your friend. It's a bug! Now what can I get you to drink? I mean that is why you're here, right to drink?" Yeah, definitely liking this guy even less now. From Karl's paw, Chauncey started hissing angrily again. The bartender's eyes narrowed. "What's it saying anyway?" Karl glared. "Firstly he is not an it! And second I dare not repeat it. Really Chauncey such language!" The bartender just stared. "You...you really can understand him, can't you?" he asked. Karl nodded. "Obviously." "Well, since you are obviously new here I'm going to give you some advice. Keep your...ability on the down lo lest you catch...unwanted attention from the Thorns," the bartender warned the fanaloka in a hushed whisper. Karl nodded. He may not like this guy much, but his warning seemed valid enough for him to consider. "Is my being new that obvious?" Karl asked. The bartender nodded. "Oh yeah. Real obvious no offense. So about that drink what will it be and seeing how it is you are new here it is on the house." Karl stared. Not five minutes ago this guy was insulting him and Chauncey and now he was offering him a free drink? What gives? "Okay pal, what's the catch?" "No catch. Just um wanted to offer some Arendelle hospitality seeing how it is you are new and all."

Karl studied the human still unsure if he should trust him or not, but he did want to drink something. He did not just come all this way for nothing. Plus, the guy promised it would be free and he couldn't really turn down free, could he? But at the same time, the fanaloka wasn't stupid. He would accept the human's offer of free drink, but with caution. He would drink...carefully. "Hmmm...what do you have to drink here?" "Might I recommend our special?" the bartender suggested pointing at the drink in question on the menu. After a few moments of studying the menu, Karl frowned. He had no idea what...alcohol was, but there seemed to be a large amount of it in the drink among other ingredients that he did recognize. Really the drink looked an awful lot like a fruit smoothie, but with this unknown ingredient added to it. The fanaloka really should have asked what alcohol was, but he honestly didn't care enough and besides only real way to find out what something tastes like is to try it for yourself, right? And so that was exactly what he did. Handing back the menu, the fanaloka nodded. "Yeah, looks good. I'll try that." "Excellent choice. It is a club favorite here. You will not be disappointed," the bartender promised. "Great."

While waiting for his drink to arrive, Karl got himself in a more comfortable position on the stool that happened to be just his size. Luckily he did not have to wait long because not five minutes later the human returned with the alcoholic fruit beverage in hand. Taking it in his paw, the fanaloka gave it a suspicious sniff and when he didn't smell anything suspicious he gave it a sip. He tasted something alright. He drunk a little bit more of it as though trying to figure out what the unknown taste was. Perhaps that was the alcohol though it was hard to be sure since he had no idea what alcohol even tasted like since none of it washed onto the shores of Madagascar. Whatever it was it tasted nasty, but the fruit was delicious and so he drunk some more it. Karl didn't understand it, but the more he drink the more he wanted; which was weirdly confusing for him since he personally never experienced anything like this before. He sat there quietly enjoying his drink with the bartender watching him. "Wow, you're a fast drinker," the bartender quietly mused as he refilled Karl's glass.

As Karl happily started on his second glass still totally oblivious to what was happening to him new patrons entered the establishment. They quickly filled the seats next to him. Two of which were most unusual and this was coming from someone who was of a little known species himself. One of these strange creatures was yellow and was that bouts of electrical sparks coming from him? Karl did a double take. Yes, it had to be. The second weird creature that entered was green with an antenna. The yellow one also had an antenna. What exactly were these things? Were they even animals? If they were fellow animals then they must have been of a species that he admittedly never even heard of. But Karl knew it rude to stare, so he did not look for too long. As for the other two bar patrons. Well he knew what they were at least. One was a human female. Great another human for him to deal with. Wonderful! And the other was a tabby cat. Even though Madagascar had no house cats living on the lush island, Karl had assess to a large amount of books, so he knew about small cats. The cat was a quadruped; which Karl didn't find too unusual since the fossa also preferred to run around on all fours, so really not weird at all. But beyond that, Karl didn't really pay the group that much attention, so he remained largely ignorant of the yellow creature falling into a barrel of alcohol only to be forcibly pulled out thereafter by the cat.

No Karl was far too distracted by his own strange feelings of wooziness. Karl really should have seen this new feeling as a sign and stop drinking right then, but no it just tasted too good. He couldn't stop. Not yet at least. He wanted more. Needed more. That said, the fanaloka downed the remains of his second glass all at once. Afterwards, he found himself slowly sliding off his stool. Chauncey, meanwhile, watched helplessly as his master began to act weird. The poor bug couldn't figure it out. Never before had he seen his master act like this. He wondered what was wrong. Had the vile human poisoned his best friend? Just what was in that drink? Chauncey wanted...needed answers. Unfortunately, Karl had drunk the entire glass, so there was none left for Chauncey to test.

Clearly agitated, the bug began to hiss angrily at the bartender. The bartender just sighed at the bug. Really, they did not pay him enough for this. "Relax bug. Your friend is just fine. He's just drunk that's all. What's the matter? Has he never been drunk before?" the bartender inquired with a laugh. "I did try to warn him that particular drink he ordered was potent, but he wouldn't listen. Next time have him read all the signs. See there? It clearly reads, 'drink at your own risk. We do not claim responsibility for over drinkers.'" Sure enough the signs were right there nailed on the wall for all the bar patrons to see. No real way for anyone to miss it unless they were not paying attention. But Karl did see the sign he just didn't understand their meaning since he didn't know what alcohol was. Looks like he was finding out the hard way.

By this time Karl had landed on the floor and was struggling to pull himself back onto his bar stool only to fall off again. Yeah, he was drunk whatever that meant.