Oh, just havin' an ale {open, Riven/Akeli}

[Howlkitty]

It had been a rainy summer day once again - Riven hadn't been out hunting and wasn't even thinking of leaving the kingdom today to get soaked to death - no, not at all. As the she-cat hurried towards the closest of buildings she actually knew, her paws made silent splashes as she did.

Pushing the door out of her way, the she-cat flicked her hood off and breathed in the scent of ale - it was quite warm and cozy inside, so the she-cat closed the door behind herself and padded into the crowd to try to find a free table - and if not a free one, she'd just chill by the counter or join in and have a chat with some of the felines.

After a minute or two Riven came to the conclusion that the tavern was crowded and there were most definitely no free tables left, so the wanderer made her way towards the counter, ready to speak her order. "An ale for me, please," The she-cat meowed politely and as she waited for her drink, the she-cat's sight slipped away - she was now observing the crowd.

[spiritstp]

<sub>Akeli was soaked by the rain. Her cloak gave little protection from the wetness, but at least it was covering her a bit. She was baffled - it was raining on a summer day. Shouldn't it be sunny? Shouldn't the clouds be drawn to another part of the world, away from here? The she-cat shrugged to herself and gingerly pushed open the tavern doors. The loudness made her ears go flat against her head but then as she got used to the noise, Akeli made her way around the place.

She immediately searched for a free table but after a few minutes of her eyes flickering around the area, it seemed impossible for the she-cat to even considering getting a table. Akeli meandered through the tavern, arriving at the counter. She noticed a feline that seemed quite nice - maybe someone she could try to learn from because obviously this feline had been in the Gweillan Empire for a longer time than Akeli had.

"I'll have an ale," the she-cat spoke softly, maybe too softly for the tavern. She realized that she had never had ale before. This would be the first time. As she waited, the feline looked over to the other beige furred cat. "Hello, there," she mewed. "Lovely day, ain't it?" Akeli chuckled sarcastically. It was raining - the worst weather that Akeli could have ever hoped for.</sub>

[Howlkitty]

Soon after she'd started whistling a silent melody, the crystal blue eyes seemingly still observing the crowd, another feline approached the counter and ordered an ale. With a grin the she-cat gave a short nod. "A lovely day indeed~" She snorted, taking a look out of the window - the weather still seemed all gloomy and rainy.

Soon a tavern-hand handed her over a cup of ale - she took the offered drink with a slight smile and paid a couple of golden coins. Taking a small sip of the ale, Riven let a purr escape. "The best ale in the whole Gweillan, don't cha' agree?" She glanced at the other she-cat, though little did she know that the fellow feline hadn't ever had any ale.

"The name's Riven by the way," The sandy brown she-cat introduced with herself shortly - hey, why not have a chat and socialize a little more?

[spiritstp]

Akeli was passed a cup of ale as she looked over to the sandy she-cat. She didn't know whether to drink it or not. Anxiousness built up inside her as she looked into the cup. The liquid seemed almost thick as she stared at it. "It's mocking me," she whispered to herself. Was it okay for her to drink it? Would it make her crazed like so many of the cats in the tavern? Akeli's stubbed tail moved around wildly as she thought. At Riven's comment, it was almost forcing her to drink the ale. "Uhhh," she replied and then quickly dipped her tongue in the ale, tasting only a tiny amount of it. "Amazing! Best in the world," she shouted - Akeli hadn't gulped down the ale yet.

Finally, the she-cat gulped and the hot liquid trickled down her throat. It was almost like a burning sensation, and Akeli decided she hated ale. But then she changed her mind. She didn't know whether she liked it or not... so she drank another swig of ale. "Pleasure to meet you, Riven. My name's Akeli."

[Howlkitty]

Seeing the she-cat's hesitation, Riven raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter, hun?" The wanderer inquired and took another sip from her ale with a small shrug of her shoulders - whatever was the reason, it was none of her business and concerned her in no way.

"Oh yes, it's indeed great," She said with a quiet laugh and took another sip from the ale - it truly tasted good, one of her favorite types of ale. No, she most definitely wasn't one of the cats that got drunk every night at the tavern - she actually avoided getting drunk to be honest.

When she was just about to swallow some more ale, the name of the fellow she-cat somehow reminded Riven of something. The poor she-cat nearly coughed up on the ale, but soon swallowed it and looked at Akeli. "Akeli, you say? Have we.. met before?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow.

[spiritstp]

"Oh, nothing's the matter. This ale tastes pretty good," she replied, grinning. After the she-cat got used to the taste, the ale really did seem to please her. She took small sips of it, but they were enough to give her a wonderful sensation of the ale.

Akeli chuckled with Riven, thinking about all of the crazy cats in here. Why wasn't Riven crazed from the ale? The she-cat wondered how much ale it took for a cat to get drunk. It must be a lot since the Siamese feline hadn't gotten drunk yet, even though she had drank almost half of the cup.

The she-cat watched as Riven nearly coughed up her ale. "Are you okay?" she inquired and then as her question appeared, Akeli stared into the she-cat's crystal blue gaze. "Riven. I think I've met someone named that. I think.. If it's possible, could we be cousins?" the she-cat questioned, and then soaked in all of Riven's features. Was Riven really her cousin? How is it possible that they could have met here? Akeli's mind was racing as she thought of if it was possible that they could be cousins.

[Howlkitty]

"Cousin?" Riven blinked - it was actually quite possible, for she met up with her relatives when she was just a kit and lived together with her father and siblings at their old home. But how could she just randomly run into one of her relatives that she'd forgotten long ago.

"I don't think that's possible.." She chuckled, and took another sip from her ale. It wasn't actually that impossible - after all she had quite a lot relatives. After all, everything was possible. "Hmm," She swallowed and frowned a little, her expression reflecting the she-cat's thoughtfulness. "My father Archer, have you heard of him?" She inquired out of curiosity, glancing at Akeli.

[spiritstp]

Akeli thought about it and thought that maybe it couldn't have been possible. She had met her cousins plenty of times and maybe Riven was just another cat with the same name as her cousin.

"I don't think it's possible either," she laughed and then looked around the tavern. Any of these felines could have the same name as her cousin. It was probably just a coincidence. Then Riven mentioned her father. "Archer? I remember him. And I remember someone named Kaytze. Is Kaytze your mother?" she inquired, starting to become a little excited at the thought of meeting her cousin.

[Howlkitty]

"Archer and Kaytze, yes," She put all the hate towards her mother in the words she spoke - she had left Riven and her siblings when they were just little. Left them and her mate without saying a word. With a snort Riven frowned and gave a nod. "Yeah, Kaytze was my mother. But haven't seen her ever since I was born, you know. She left us."

"Enough about me, how 'bout you? How have you been? I guess, if I ever knew you, it was when we were just kits," She smiled slightly at the thought.

[spiritstp]

Chugging down the last of the ale, Akeli noticed the hatred in her voice when she spoke about her mother. It seemed sad that Kaytze had abandoned her kits and mate. The thought of her own mother leaving her would have torn herself apart. "I'm so sorry," she spoke gently, putting her arm on Riven's back softly.

Akeli didn't want to say how wonderful her life had been, but there wasn't much to say if she couldn't say that. "Well, I've been well. Hunting, fishing, cooking, cleaning. That's pretty much all I've been doing my whole life. I just came to the Gweillan Empire and so far - I love it!" she meowed excitedly.

[Howlkitty]

Riven snorted. "No need ta' be sorry, my life is good now - I don't need a mother like her, not at all," She bared her fangs a little and took a sip from her ale. She seemed not to be very fond of the conversation about her parents, so she was more than intent to change it.

"Hunting, fishing? I hunt as well - and I wander the human lands - they sometimes leave such treasure behind, you know~" She grinned slightly. Hearing Akeli's last sentence, she raised an eyebrow. "Just came to the empire? Where did you live previously?" She inquired - Riven knew of no other cat kingdoms nearby. But, perhaps Akeli had born in the human kingdom.

[spiritstp]

Akeli groaned and pawed at the empty cup. "No aaalee," she spoke softly and then looked back to Riven. "It's awfully sad though. You must have been lonely when your mother left you," Akeli mewed mournfully.

"And I was born in the human kingdom. I spent most of my time as a wanderer when I got out of there and then came here in the Gweillan Empire. My life isn't too out of the ordinary, is it?" she chuckled and reflected on all of the activities and fishing sessions she had done with her father.

[Howlkitty]

"Get some more, eh?" Riven raised an eyebrow at her cousin's comment about the ale. She then tilted her own cup up and took a few sips until it was empty. And nope, she wasn't intent to get drunk at all, so the wanderer decided not to order any more drinks.

"C'mon, it's not sad at all. My mother was a selfish, evil and heartless one. I don't really care about her," She snorted angrily and quickly started talking about other stuff, thus ending their previous conversation. "Yeahh~ I spend some time up in Rithengar as well - but those furless humans, they're pretty strange," She frowned a little, thinking of the men that lived up in the kingdom - she never really trusted them fully.