songerein | open mingle 🍷 grand opening

Entry tags:

open mingle 🍷 grand opening

Who: Diluc Ragnvindr, Barok van Zieks, and anybody!
Where: At Day's End bar and winery
What: After a few months of preparation, Diluc and Barok's Fine Drinking Establishment is finally ready to open! So they're doing that. With a party! Bring your own toplevel.
When: A few days before the flower festival
Warnings: I mean. Alcohol?

Welcome to the grand opening of At Day’s End!

As a nod to the upcoming holiday, the bar has been decorated with carefully arranged flowers in addition to the planned garlands and lanterns to evoke a comfortable but festive atmosphere. Although the pair didn't exactly anticipate the sudden influx of emotion-steampunk-land natives, they have temporarily removed a few tables in the interest of opening up the floor for more visitors, and the weather is thankfully warm enough for the doors to remain open. Attendees are encouraged to try small tastes of different drinks before deciding upon a full glass, giving an easy opportunity to mingle with others.

At Day’s End serves a variety of locally-crafted wines and spirits as well as non-alcoholic options such as juice, coffee, and tea.

ALCOHOLIC SPECIALS
- Cider Special: Applebloom Cider - Apple cider brewed with apple blossoms. Light and floral. Usually only available during Windblume in Mondstadt, and similarly will only be available during the month of April in Songerein.
- Red Wine Special: Midnight Harvest - A sweet red wine with a very fruity taste and hints of nutty flavor.
- White Wine Special: Winter Moon - A dry, crisp white wine for those seeking a less sweet drinking experience.
- Cocktail: Thorns of Springtime - Whiskey, honey, chamomile tea, and elderflower liqueur. Served over ice.
NON-ALCOHOLIC SPECIALS
- Gray Valley Sunset: It’s just fruit punch with a fancy name.
- Rosé Bloom: A mix of juices made from only the finest red and white grapes, according to van Zieks.

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[ As usual, Sholmes' abrupt appearance next to van Zieks raises many disturbing questions: when exactly did the detective arrive? How does he already have a drink in his hand? Which drink is that? Judging by its strange color and concerning smell, it seems to be ... very much off-menu ... ? ]

I must say, Mr. Reaper, this is not at all what I expected. I was imagining something grim. Funerary. Not a positively cozy soirée such as this!

[The sneer van Zieks's expression twists to at the sight of the detective and... whatever the hell he's brought along with him would be plenty to get most people to go away and leave him be. Unfortunately for Barok, Herlock Sholmes is not most people.]

My collaborator took charge in the matters of the bar itself, and required little input from me.

[So there's the explanation you're wanting as to why it's not a gothic castle with extremely moody lighting, detective. He pointedly does not name Diluc, as if to shield him from suffering this man's influence, somehow.]

One would assume that the purpose of entering a winery would be to partake in the drinks offered there, rather than bringing your own.

You don't recognize the fruits of your labor? [ Sholmes raises his drink to the light for easier inspection. It's a pinkish color, though some layers of the drink have naturally separated, as if repulsed by their own part in this concoction. Oh yes, there's ice, of course. ] I couldn't choose between all of the tantalizing offerings, so I thought to myself: Sholmes, why not combine them into one?

[ He takes a sip and somehow manages to maintain a smile even as he barely gags it down. His voice is strained after the swallow. ] A stroke of genius, don't you think?

[Van Zieks watches with some horror when Sholmes attempts to prove his grand theory and suffers the consequences. Every time he thinks he can't expect any worse from this man...]

Perhaps if you're seeking to land yourself in hospital. One would hope you are not so desperate for the attention of your former flatmate.

[Since Mikotoba partly runs the local clinic and all. He shakes his head, astonished and yet understanding that this is entirely in line with what he knows of the "great detective."]

Pray leave the mixing of drinks to those qualified for the matter, Mr. Sholmes. If you are ill in this establishment on the first evening of its opening, I will be expecting further compensation after you have cleaned up after yourself.

As it happens, another Mikotoba is looking out for me. [ He taps the vial of paper cranes at his hip. ] This renders me quite impervious to lesser poisons and minor injury.

[ As if on cue, one of the paper cranes begins burning up, absorbing whatever alcoholic havoc is being wrought on Sholmes' guts. He takes another long drink, followed by a sharp exhale. Is that a refreshed sigh, or a pained hiss? ]

Further compensation? If there's a charge for these drinks, I can hardly allow this to go to waste then, can I?

[Something in van Zieks's expression turns even further unpleasant when he sees that burning crane—and for a brief moment there's a sharper chill in the air. After having received his own charm and its accompanying message, to see it used in such a haphazard fashion... his ire is roused, for some reason.]

I should have expected you to waste such a gift. [Despicable, his low tone says without the word.]

If you are not capable of drinking in a reasonable fashion then I suggest you remove yourself before you cause any further disruption.

[He's already forgotten about the compensation comment.]

[ Sholmes notes the shift from simple annoyance to deeper offense. Does he relent? No, but before he can deliver some cheeky rebuttal, there's a series of shrill shrieks from his coat pocket. ]

Oh, yes. Speaking of gifts— [ His free hand dips into his pocket and scoops out a fistful of fur and fleshy wings. ] I found this stowaway in my bag after a bit of spelunking.

[ The bat strains and claws at the unyielding leather of his glove, desperate to get loose and liven up the event with some panicked flight. ] As I recall, you have an affinity for the little cave angels. Perhaps you'd like to take him off my hands?

Wh—

[And now he's having to deal with a distressed bat in the care of a man who absolutely does not know how to deal with the creatures. He's quick to take the creature in his own gloved hands despite himself, attempting to hold it properly in a way that won't let it fly about and make a mess.

He's still mad as he gives a tight response, but now he's befuddled in addition to that.]

Are you simply determined to make a mess of this evening?

But evenings are so very memorable when they don't go according to plan!

[ Sholmes carefully facilitates the bat handoff, watching how van Zieks handles the creature with surprising care. So that's how one holds a bat correctly. He'll keep that in mind for the next time. (And yes, there's a non-zero chance there will be a next time.) ]

But I'll respect your ultimatum. Which proper drink do you recommend? [ Sholmes taps his nail to the glass of his existing abomination. ] And if you need to clear a clogged drain, this concoction would more than suffice.

[Perhaps it's fortunate for everyone that van Zieks's hands are full with maintaining a secure but calming grip on the bat; if he had one free, he might not be able to resist the urge to take the foul glass Herlock has mixed and toss it into the wall. He simply fixes it with a sour look. Maybe at some point he'll be able to break one with the glance alone...]

Our white special may serve to cleanse your palate of that mess, at least. But seeing as you have delivered this peculiar package into my hands, I am afraid I cannot pour you a glass at the moment.

[ Did the glass just vibrate in his hand? No, surely it was his imagination. Or the effects of drinking the contents of said glass. Either way, he leaves it on the bar to enjoy whatever fate van Zieks sees fit. ]

Not to worry, my good fellow. I'm more than capable of helping myself once again! Hup—! [ This is said as he leans over the bar to hunt through the bottles with all the care and decorum of a possum in a waste bin.

However, the staggering selection of glassware gives him a moment's pause. ] And which hallowed chalice provides the optimal experience for enjoying this special white?

[If he wasn't so dedicated to making sure the opening goes smoothly...

He'll unfortunately have to guard that discarded glass fiercely until he can direct Ragnvindr towards it or calm the bat enough that it will remain still. The last thing anyone needs is to have the taste of Sholmes's horrid concoction mar their experience.

Perhaps it's for the best that Diluc isn't looking this way for the moment, however.]

I will remove you myself if you break anything.

[He has that much authority, at least. But he only needs a brief glance at their shelves of glasses to reply to the question—which he is answering to the best of his expertise, however little Herlock may deserve it.]

Third row from the bottom, fourth from the left. [It's an almost average-looking glass, though slightly shorter than most.]

Third row ... [ He mutters as his hand hovers over the assortment, and begins counting from the right. ] One, two, three—Oops. Haha, the other left, I imagine.

[ After a wistful glance over the champagne flutes and shapely hurricane glasses, he picks up the correct glass. ] Ah, so disappointingly mundane! But I put my full faith in your expertise.

[ The bottle of white is uncorked and poured with all the precarious and unnecessary flourish one might expect from the detective. ] Can I pour you one as well, my good fellow? Or perhaps Mr. Bat would like a tiny drink to soothe his equally tiny nerves?

[How in the world this man manages to accomplish anything, let alone the brilliance which helped upturn a decade-long international conspiracy, Barok will never understand. What an utter mess of a human being. He watches the retrieval of the glass and wine with an obvious level of disdain, only turning his eyes back to Herlock's face when he's addressed with such a... generous offer.]

I would rather not have the distraction when you've pressed such a delicate situation upon me.

[He'll get himself one later, maybe once the thing has become comfortable enough to rest in his coat without making a ruckus. He also doesn't trust that Sholmes might not mess up the simple pouring of a cup of water somehow; he'll take care of this issue himself, to his own standards.]

[ Sholmes gives van Zieks a suit yourself kind of shrug, then rests an elbow on the bar to watch the prosecutor deal with the unexpected wildlife. He casually swirls the glass of white under his nose, admiring the bouquet with an inhale while the bat continues to shriek. ]

Surely there's some way to calm the little chap? Some scritches behind the ears? Maybe bundle him in a kerchief? I have one—a bit bloody ... Oh! [ A knowing smile. ] But would that be to his liking?

[ The detective produces a rumpled pocket square thoroughly stained in dark, purple blood—dried, fortunately—and wags it at the poor creature as if it has any notion as to what's going on. ]

[Van Zieks pulls the distressed bat away from the man's careless gesture, an expression on his face that can't get much more unimpressed. It's not a surprise that Sholmes would fail to understand how rare vampire bats are in the grand scheme of things, but it doesn't make Barok any happier about it.]

Describe to me exactly where you found this unfortunate creature.

[He will take care of it, without any of the offered "help," and without any unnecessary explanation of his actions; it's unlikely the detective would care to remember it, anyway. However, if there is anything useful in Sholmes's brain regarding the situation, he'll retrieve it.]

[ Bat knowledge falls neatly in the bucket of things Sholmes doesn't bother himself with. Right next to the heliocentric model of the solar system.

He takes a long sip of wine and nods his head approvingly as he considers that request. He did make a promise to the ents that the Glowing Dawn cave (or at least their hidden oasis therein) would remain a secret.

Though it may well come across as petty revenge for van Zieks' refusal to discuss Noctaere, Sholmes now denies information in kind: ]

No.

[He should have expected such behavior. And really, it's a sign of van Zieks's magnanimity that he merely retorts:]

Then remove yourself from my presence.

[Rather than saying he's going to throw Sholmes out, of course. The detective can enjoy his wine elsewhere in the establishment; Barok has no need of someone who refuses to share information that would solve a problem said person caused.]

I found the stowaway under the yoke of my coat after returning from the Wildlands. [ There, enjoy a vague answer. No reference to the cave or the frantic, undignified process of capturing the bat once it was loose in the Mikotoba treehouse. ]

I'll give the two of you some privacy, then. [ He raises his glass in a toast before turning to find someone else to ~~torment~~ speak to. ] But do let me know how he settles in—I've become rather attached to the little banshee.

[Barok watches Sholmes leave without making any promises or further remarks that may keep him in the vicinity. The information given was as useless as he'd anticipated, and he's perfectly capable of simply "forgetting" the request.

Honestly, it's just his luck that things would turn out this way. Hopefully there will be no further excitement caused by detectives or otherwise, but for now he'll have to head to the back and try to settle this poor bat's mood...]

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