Yesss :D

I CANT WAIT TO SEE YOU AGAIN SQUEEEE.

*the dragon looks up delightedly at the sound of your voice. He runs in that direction, grabbing cloves and a bottle of bourbon*

Miss Bear! It's so good to see you again!

*laughs happily and greets the dragon in a warm hug, and staying in it for some time!*

It's been too long and I have missed being apart of this place something AWFUL. *happily takes a clove from your claws and waits for a light* ^^

*hugs the handsome bruin lass for absolutely as long as he can possibly get away with, plus a few extra seconds more because he's naughty that way, and finishes it off with a kiss to her cheek*

It's good to see you again! I've been thinking about you *he lights her clove, then his own, and pours some bourbon out*, been hoping you're okay, settling, doing well...

*smiles warm as sunshine when your kiss graces her cheek. She then inhales the sweet smoke with palpable need, and exhales, feeling the rush of the savory drug thats long been denied.* OOOOH how I've missed that taste...!

Well, I've been better. Moving back to my hometown, trying to start over. Tryin to figure out what I'm DOING, if that makes sense.


*Her claws wrap around the offered bourbon-filled glass, and raises it, in toast* To a better year, my friend! And to better knowing you!

*smiles back, joyfully... it's good to see that smile again* Mmm... a clove and a bourbon and a hug, it's a good way to say hello.

It's funny, I've been doing much the same of late. Well, for the past few years, really. Been idling. But now... heh. Not so much. Got the desire to move... get things done. Fresh start, somewhat late in life, but better late than never. So yes, it makes complete sense.

*he raises his glass and taps it gently against yours, still smiling* To a better year, indeed! And to better knowing you, too!

*smacks her lips in pleasure as the toast goes down smooth and warm. She takes into her paws and studies the bottle you brought, and nods with appreciation* A fine choice, if I may say so myself.

*twirls her claw around the opening of her glass, letting the clove smoke drift and as she looks around the familar bar, happy to be back*

So, this desire to move. Have you chosen a direction yet? Or still at the cross roads?

*the dragon grins, eyes twinkling... he knows good bourbon when he tastes it. He draws on his clove deeply, holds for a good few seconds and lets smoke out through his nostrils in a dual plume of enjoyment* Haaaaah...

Mmm... yes, I think I have. Though the crossroads feels more like a labyrinth at times, and I keep having to force myself to get over my disinclination towards work - which is a bad, bad thing. But that I recognise it gives me strength.

And I don't just mean move location: I simply don't have the finances for that. Yet. I mean to move, to do, to progress. To live. Though, if I could move location... Heh. *looks across the bar at you, thoughts of one other cross through his mind, and then memories of a wide open beach and an ocean that goes on forever*

... oh, me. *he drags on his clove again and raises his glass* To movement.

*Smiles encouragingly* I envy you then. Because I definitly feel like I'm at the crossroads IN a labyrinth... And no one so helpful as a Goblin King to help me.

*She watches the flicker of emotion move across your face, wishing she knew better what caused it. She then laughs and raises her glass again, his toast all too fitting for the pair of bar flies* To movement, indeed.

*the dragon clinks glasses with you and drains his, then he quietly refills it again*

Oh my word... if you think of Japheth as 'helpful' then you really are in a pickle *he smiles gently* I thought - and forgive me if my words are insensitive - that your moving back home was a good thing, a source of reinvigoration?...

*follows suit, then looks down to watch you fill hers up again, trying to think of the best way to answer your question. Slowly her claws begin to circle the rim of the glass, moments pass before she can answer*

Oh, I don't mind the question. I suppose...the crossroads is a far better alternative than being stuck in the Pit of Eternal Stench? But I don't know where to go from here.

Hmm... *he watches you fingering the glass... and looks thoughtful. His clove is slowly burning down and he takes a draw on it, long and noir-ish, while he thinks*

I suppose... a lot depends on the original direction you were planning to go in when you headed down the path that brought you here... wouldn't you say?... *he takes a small sip of liquor, just a little, from the glass*

Which direction was that, may I ask?

*she sips her own liqour, and smiles up at the dragon, in her own way appologizing for becoming lost in your questions.*

You make an incredably good point. My original direction? It was just Santa Cruz, California. Anything to get out of The Central Valley, home of republicans, oranges and bigots.... But when I got there... well. I guess it just wasn't enough.

*She sips one more time before throwing her head back to finish off the glass, smacking her lips in the most satisfying sort of way. She fumbles in her pocket for her own strawberry cloved cigarrette, and politely asks for a light before she continues, a slight country twang begining to permiate through the burbon.*

Ah ALSO learned, to the great tradgety of my naive self, that bigots can plant their roots anywhere. Ah found myself in a far worse situation than Ah ever thought possible.

So now Ah know, the physical destination isn't enough: Ah have to have somethin to really work an strive for. An Ah'm just not sure what that is yet.

*a gentle smile lights the corners of the dragon's eyes... there's no need to apologise. The story is more than sufficient. When you empty your glass he refills it and provides the light you need for your smoke, and then his own, since it appears to have burned out meanwhile*

Mmm... that's the thing, isn't it... to have something to work and strive for. Or then again, perhaps it's simply that you need to be still for a while - or, if your situation is so bad, as still as you can be.

It's odd, you know. All my life I've been chasing destinations. I suppose it's a result of childhood, we many of us get it: go to school to get good grades, so you can go to university and get good grades, so you can get a job... it's all about the next thing, the next concavity up the side of the hill of life. Never about how you get there, or what you might conceivably find when you get there. And, equally, if all places have their bigots, Republicans and oranges... well, that makes all places a little more equal, doesn't it?

*he sips his liquor, emptying the glass, and fills it up again*

Will you excuse me a moment, Miss Bear?... this bar is awfully quiet. *he slips from the stool, heads over to the Infinite Jukebox, makes his selection and returns to the seat. Music follows him* My sister introduced me to this... and she had a point, then, too... *he watches your reaction as he puffs upon his smoke*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Vfh0kk8TA

I best see you there!!!

PSSSH like you could avoid it!

CONGRATURATION!

Hope you have a good time! ^_^

Wish you were gonna be there hun!