[RP] The Inn of Peace - IoP (Open to all)

[Zulma san]

Zulma walked in the Inn. The place was silent. It was eerie. It felt empty.
Well considering she'd once again disappeared for...months...a year...she couldn't blame anybody.
She walked through the main room and dropped her bag by the bar. She was thirsty.  

[Azana Brown]

((I'll make this a time skip to you!))

"...!!" There came a small commotion upstairs, along with a voice of protest.

"Put me down, Sol!" Azana grumbled, stuck in a light hover above the ground. "I can take some damn stairs! There's no need to get overz--" Her protests fell silent; it wasn't a rare new visitor. It was a rarer, older one.

"You're back...I can hardly believe my eyes," she choked out through tears, her feet finding terra firma again as she was now on the ground floor.

"Welcome," Sosol added. "Can I get you something, or would you like to serve yourself this time...?  

[Zulma san]

((Sorry I didn't see that you answered immediately!))

Zulma grinned then chuckled and quickly moved to hug Azana tightly. Gosh it has been forever!
"I cannot believe it myself!" she admitted with emotion in her voice.
"If you have a glass of water Sosol, I wouldn't argue." she joked into the man's direction.
It felt so good to see them both. It had been an eternity.
"How are you two doing? I see that you are practicing flying?!" she teased the cute brunette.  

[Azana Brown]

"Erm, not quite," Azana answered after wincing in Zulma's embrace. She took a seat nearby while her husband got to work. That, too, was a sight for sore eyes. He had resorted to some outside gigs to keep himself going, but he definitely hasn't lost his touch.

"I got back from a mission a few days ago," she explained, one hand gingerly over her midriff. "I got injured, so Sol's been babying me a bit, even though I can handle the stairs."

"I just want to make sure you're in top shape," he defended himself, surprising the duo as he emerged with a tea set for four. "The last thing the Inn or the GMO need is you falling downstairs."

"I'm just a bit sore, and that stumble was my first day back," she chuckled, secretly appreciating his concern for her recovery. "...why four cups?"

"Why else? I always expect more guests. Seems to happen that way, right?"  

[The Legendary Knightsoul]

A low rumble was heard in the distance. Quiet at first, it started to grow in volume and intensity as the seconds ticked by.

Eventually, it became a thundering whirlwind of shouting and screaming, accompanied by the sounds of several sets of running feet.

Suddenly, the door flew open and in rushed a familiar, if rarely glimpsed, duo. A tall man with shaggy brown hair and a firebird wearing flight goggles. They slammed the door behind them as soon as they had entered, denying entrance to the masses of bladed weapons that pursued them.

Chris, still panting from his run, turned to Nate, who had pulled a sandwich from beneath his wing, and said "You moron! You had to go and throw your soup on the cheiftain's daughter?"  

[Azana Brown]

"Right on schedule," Sosol sighed, having secretly hoped his statement was more prophecy than idle chatter. He poured the fourth cup, looking up from the work to see that Zulma had retreated for the time being. He nodded in understanding; she tended to vanish for long periods of time, and any time she was back, she always made sure to pay him at least some visit.

"What trouble have you invited to our doorstep this time?" He asked casually, fully confident in the abilities of the Inn's Sanctuary and its own militia of residents.

Azana watched the spectacle with amusement, sipping her cup of tea as a nostalgic grin crept along her face. Those two definitely keep it interesting... Part of her wanted to join him, but she was still too sore. Even with healing magic, it took muscles a little time to want to work again.  

[Gren_Eckener]

"Now now, Chris, she might've deserved it~" said Charlotte, half-singing as she lazily swung. At some point or another, she'd elected to decorate the main room for late summer, complete with a tree branch and tire swing, wildflowers growing in the corners.

"Of course, it's hardly diplomatic; Nate, why'd you do a thing like that for?"  

[Azana Brown]

"Perhaps it was cold, or tasted terrible," Orrin speculated, seeming to come from nowhere. "Or maybe poison? Judging motive is a terrible waste of time, isn't it...?" He plucked a single wildflower, putting it in his hair with a nod to the decor.

"I approve...it's very festive in here."  

[Gren_Eckener]

"Aha! Dearest, darling, I'm so glad you like it!" she laughed, kicking up her boots as she let herself hang backwards, smile never brighter. "I don't suppose you're available for a picnic? The middle of the floor's the perfect spot; I excluded ants, this time."  

[Azana Brown]

"I don't mind ants, so long as they don't expect to share with us," Orrin grinned contentedly, finding a patch of grass and reaching into his inexplicably deep pockets.

"...I swear I had one..." He muttered, digging around for a picnic blanket. "How odd it would be, if my Lost and Found lost something...!"  

[Gren_Eckener]

"Bound to happen, I suppose. Anyone can misplace something, even that...I suppose that they'd just end up back in there."

Laughing, she dismounted the tire swing with a jump, petticoats fluttering. "Or maybe...you can check in the back stock room!"  

[Azana Brown]

"A brilliant idea, dear Charlotte!" Orrin declared with a dramatic flair, perfectly happy to take the joke and run with it. "I'll be right back!" He pulled off the coat, hanging it up on thin air and climbing into his own pocket.

"B for blanket, yes...? Or would it be P for Picnic...?"  

[Gren_Eckener]

"B for blanket, I'd imagine. Subsection P for picnic, and then it's sorted by colour, as I recall?" she hummed, thoughtfully tapping her cheek with a fingertip. "It's been a while since we've restocked and sorted, admittedly."  

[The Legendary Knightsoul]

Nate, as usual, refused to tear his beak away from his sandwich to answer.

Chris took of his mask and turned to his friends. "This chowderhead threw his soup, which he cooked, on the princess simply because she added pepper to hers."

He turned to face Nate before practically shouting the next part of his tirade. "Heaven forbid anybody should try it a little different than the culinary genius here intended. Right, featherbrain?"

Turning back to the others, he relaxed and said "Hey, gang. What's shaking?"  

[Gren_Eckener]

"Oh dear, not pepper." Charlotte blanched. "That's for chucking around the kitchen or something. Still, Nate dear, Chris has a point! There's no accounting for taste."

Turning to the hero, she curtsied with a wide smile. "Deeelighted to see you again, is what's good. Our resident Innkeeper of brass horn and beautiful hair has gone a-wandering with Miss Violet to parts unknown, haven't seen them in ages. I myself have decided that it's too beautiful outdoors to simply leave outdoors, and installed a tree for the month. You like? And how are you, perchance?"