What'll You Have? (Tai)

[rapunzel]

So far, the best thing about this place for Rip was her job. She liked bartending, she liked the casino in general. She liked the money and she liked the tips. And she liked that, on any given night, it was perfectly acceptable to get into a fight, get a bit drunk and gamble.

The dress code was pretty nice too. A bodice, leather coat and black jeans were the majority of it (though the coat was occasionally thrown out, as it was at the moment) and her hair was always tightly tied back.

It was all anyone could ask for when it came to employment.

Except, of course, on Tuesday evenings when only the oldest of the old folks were working the penny slots and no one was ordering anything harder to mix that a coke. Even the gambling that often filled her time seemed to have lost most of it's allure. At this point, Rip was leaning on the bar, her chin in her hands, with her eyes glued to the TV. It was from general body awareness and peripheral vision alone that Rip felt someone approach her.

"What can I get ya?" she asked, her eyes still on the screen.

[tailung]

A couple of years ago, Tai Lung probably would have scoffed at the idea of playing cards. Not that anybody would have asked him, of course, but still, he would have seen it as a massive waste of time, time that would be better spent devoted to training to be the Dragon Warrior. When he'd left the Jade Palace, though, he'd suddenly found himself with a lot more free time on his hands. The people he ended up working with in his travels usually played cards, and when they'd finally dragged him into playing a few games with them, he found that he actually had a knack for it. It shouldn't have been surprising, really; he was already an expert at body language (he just had to modify the signs he was looking for in people), and he'd long since learned how to control his own expressions.

Recently, Tai Lung found that he actually missed playing the various games, so when he found the time in between schoolwork, he decided to check out the casino in Trenale. He wasn't dressed in anything terribly formal, but his clothes were just nice enough to fit in. Entering the casino, he was sorely disappointed in the lack of, well, anyone in the place.

Tai Lung sighed. Was it always this empty, or had he just come on the wrong night? Might as well get a drink since he was already here, though. He approached the bar, looking around the room distractedly until he heard the voice. What did he want? It wasn't like he'd actually come here to drink; it had just seemed like a decent idea so his time wouldn't be completely wasted.

"Not sure yet," he said slowly. "Any suggestions?" That was actually probably a dangerous question, Tai Lung realized as he briefly took in the girl's appearance.

[rapunzel]

Rip sighed but shifted her attention from whatever piece of crap reality show she had on the tube to the person at the bar. He was definitely the youngest guy she had seen all night and likely the best looking (cept maybe that Sean Connery lookin silver fox that had comer around earlier). At least worth enough of her time to give him an honest answer.

"Depends on what you can handle."

She made a point of looking the fella up and down. She didn't particularly mind that there was no cover for such a moment and she wasn't really looking one to begin with. He was a bit buff, she'd give him that, but he was overall a little short and generally thing.

She wasn't sure he could handle the aged cognac she might recommend some people. Or even something as sissified as a long-island iced tea which, despite being thought of as a girlie drink, was liable to knock anyone on their butt.

"How much you drink?"

[tailung]

Tai Lung waited while she slowly turned around. He kept his face coolly neutral, resisting the urge to smirk. She looked as bored as he'd been before it had occurred to him to come here. Well, actually, he was still bored, but at least here there was chance at having an interesting evening. And on the subject of interest, at least it seemed like the girl's had gone up at least a slight bit.

He shrugged, considering how to answer. It wasn't like he didn't drink, it simply wasn't something he did on a regular basis. Lying and saying he drank all the time certainly wasn't an option here; the girl would certainly be able to tell, and would therefore be sure to make a fool of him if he did lie. Naturally he didn't want to look like a fool; it wasn't something he was fond of at any time, much less when there was a female there to witness it (and a fairly attractive one at that, although he hadn't had the chance to give her a better look yet). Tai Lung had enough problems attracting girls without being seen as a fool, thank you very much.

"Well," he said, trying to give a very slight smile (hopefully it didn't look too much like a grimace), "I don't not drink. I've just never made much of a habit of it." Going out for the sole purpose of drinking just wasn't something he did, but if he happened to have a drink while he was out doing something else, he wasn't opposed to it.

[rapunzel]

He didn't not drink.

Well, that wasn't a stunning remark on the boy's aptitude. But, it did sort of clarify as to what sort of drinker this guy was. She wasn't going to hand him some scotch in a glass or a drink that wasn't mixed. She was contemplating using less than great alcohol too, since it seemed like a waste, but the place mostly had top shelf anyway.

She showed no signs of having registered what Tai asked for but she knew precisely what to give him. It was a bit hard, definitely a masculine drink, but something that wasn't going to hit him over the head.

Jack and Coke. Heavy on the coke.

She could tell that the boy seemed some what...apprehensive about the drink. Or rather, that he seemed apprehensive about the fact that he was in the casino. Or maybe it was just boredom. Rip shrugged and accepted it either way.

Rip poured the man the drink and slid it across the bar. She rested her weight on her hands and smiled a half grin. "Well?"