Doesn't take no for an answer

Rui stumbled out the back door of her workplace, disheveled and slightly intoxicated. Someone had been slipping her drinks again, giving her false promises of water and other nonalcoholic drinks. Quite frankly, she was tired of coming out of work slightly buzzed every night. She shook her head fiercely, hoping to rid herself of this cursed blurriness. The petite girl twirled around, causing her long braid to sway violently. Oof.. Too much.. Now Rui was not only buzzed, but extremely dizzy and nauseous too.

Rui leaned up against the nearest wall, deciding her best bet was to count out her tips until her head cleared up. The waterbender pulled out a small sack of coins from her shoulder bag, and began to count out the small blue coins. This proved to be harder than expected with a couple drinks in her system. She sighed in defeat, and slid down the wall onto the cold, snowy ground.  

Rui looked up to find herself face-to-face with one of the most gorgeous males she'd ever laid eyes on. Or was that just the liquor talking?"Heey there, pretty man. What're you doin' on the cold ground at an hour such as this?" Definitely the liquor talking. She smiled a what she thought dazzling smile, and started to stand up. "I don't need your help, pretty boy!" She spat out the last part. Her eyes widened suddenly, and she began to speak rapidly, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. This isn't me at all. You see, I was at work tonight and these people these awful people they just y'know slipped me a couple drinks and well you see I'm pretty intoxicated so please excuse everything that comes out my mouth." Rui inhaled sharply, for she had said all of that in one measly breath.

The young waterbender decided at once that she needed to leave. God knows what this poor man thought of her now. Rui turned around, and began to walk with purpose. This proved to be harder than she thought; Rui ended up falling face-first into the snow. She got up again, and turned to face the handsome man once more, "I totally meant to do that." Turning around once again, Rui strode on with what little dignity she had.

After she'd put about half a mile's distance between her and the heavenly man, Rui sauntered over to a lone ice bench to reassess herself. She readjusted her furry parka before sitting down. By this time, Rui's head was pounding and she was as dizzy as ever. She moaned a bit, and leaned her head back against the cool surface of the bench. The waterbender proceeded to dig around in her bag, looking for something—anything—to distract herself from vomiting. After digging around for a bit, Rui noticed something was missing: her sack of money.

An intoxicated Rui found herself once again face to face—or rather, face to chest—with the beautiful man once again. Although Rui was still intoxicated, she found that her wits had come about just a little. "Thank you, beautiful man." She breathed a drunken sigh of relief; at least there were some good people left in this world. This thought was shot down as soon as he finished his sentence. "A pickpocket you say?" She found herself gripping the small bag of coins a little tighter than before, "You really do not look like the pickpocketing type, beautiful man."

Rui pushed a pesky piece of hair behind her ear, where it proceeded to fall down in front of her face as it always did. She wondered if it was common courtesy to buy this strange, foreign-looking man a drink. Rui decided it was best not to ask; this man was a stranger after all. For all she knew he could be one of those woman-nappers. Was she his next hit? Rui's eyes widened at the though. Maybe it was best for her to get out of here ASAP.

The young waterbender laughed with the beautiful man, "You're handsome and you know how to make a girl laugh? Are you sure you aren't a professional charmer?" Rui broke down in a fit of giggles. Rui's subconscious hadin the back of her head that this wasn't her. In reality—if Rui had been sober—she wouldn't have stuck around for very long. Instead, she would've gotten the hell out of dodge as soon as the man returned her money. Intoxicated though, she was a completely different Rui. The usually timid, vulgar Rui was replaced a more bubbly, outspoken Rui.

Rui blushed at the man's implicative words. No one had ever made such crude suggestions to Rui, and she found that she was at a loss with how to respond. "I-I erh, would certainly hope not!" She laughed nervously, touching her two pointer fingers together. Her blush deepened to a dark scarlet at his touch; Rui's back was instantly on fire. Rui fake coughed, feeling her temperature rising, "You seem to have left me at a loss for words, beautiful man." Rui could feel her buzz wearing off, causing her to revert back to her usual timid self.

Once again Rui found herself laughing along with the handsome man. She allowed him to rub her back, enjoying the tingles that ran up her spine. Rui met the gaze of the handsome man, swallowing up every detail of his appearance like a tall glass of water. Even his eyebrows were simply breathtaking.

Rui appreciated the fact that this man knew his boundaries; it was obvious that he wasn't specifically just trying to get into her pants. She gave the man an appreciative smile, and moved back over to the bench. At the man's inquiry, Rui sighed nonchalantly, "At the moment, I'm alright I suppose. Her mind wandered for a moment. When she came to, Rui began to speak slowly and deliberately, "Would you like to go get a drink? My treat." She waved her small bag of coins suggestively up in the air.

At his words, Rui smiled a rather toothy grin. "I guess we should get on our way, then." She stood up slowly, but still managed to almost fall flat on her face. As they began to walk, Rui's mind began to wander once again. She hadn't even thought of the time until now. Man, I'm going to be exhausted in the morning. The waterbender shrugged off the thought, for it was not every day one got to go get drinks with a man as handsome as this one.

Another thing that had slipped Rui's mind was this man's name. She hadn't even asked what his name was, and she was buying the man drinks! Again she brushed off this thought, figuring they'd get around to do eventually. As they walked along Rui fiddled with the tip of her messy braid, letting the man pretty much lead her wherever. "I guess I should've mentioned this earlier, but I don't really drink much—as you can tell. Where's the best place to grab a drink?" Rui flung her braid back over her shoulder, and almost hit the man in the arm.

Rui was still in shock over her new-found bravery. As risky as it was, Rui felt strangely comfortable around this man. Then again, that could be the alcohol thinking for her. Ah, well.. Rui thought as she trudged along with the man. A light snow had begun to fall, and the handsome man's golden locks stood out more than ever. Rui looked up to the sky and stuck out her tongue like a small child. She had a flashback of her mother showing her and her three sisters this, which made Rui feel strangely at ease. "When I was young my mother used to take me and my sisters out in the snow. Sorry, just a random thought."

At the mention of Marian's, Rui stopped reminiscing. She'd heard from many of her co-workers that Marian's was a decent place. The waterbender nodded her head and spoke, "Sounds good to me. My name's Rui Ching. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" With her last sentence Rui looked up at Zevran, and flashed him a what she thought dazzling smile.

When they arrived at the bar, Rui was immediately greeted by the smell of mildew. The place didn't seem exactly spotless, but it was good enough. She sauntered over to the bar and sat next to Zevran. The bartender greeted the two of them as Rui set two blue coins on the table. "I'd like two drinks for my friend and I, please." The bartender guffawed almost immediately, and everyone else around her did as well. "It's going to take a lot more than that for two drinks, sweetcheeks." Rui looked over at Zevran; she'd never actually bought drinks before.

Rui took the drink from Zevran, blushing the deepest shade of scarlet. "Cheers," she mumbled feebly, "I'll pay you back, if you'd like." The waterbender laughed an embarrassed laugh, and took a sip of her drink. It was like a warm fire going down her throat, and the fog slowly crept around her. She exhaled sharply, and took another sip.

"Sso, tell me about yourself," Rui slurred, "Yew don really look like you're a local." She laughed a bit before taking another swig of her drink.

Rui drunkenly slapped a couple coins onto the table they were sharing. She was now nursing her second drink, though much more slowly than the first.
Her head was pounding; the waterbender could feel a million questions surfacing at once. Though instead of her usual explosion of questions, she replied, "Definitely the hair, then. Rui wondered silently how two people from either one of the Water Tribes could produce a blond offspring, but she realized she was not one to judge. Rui had never seen the Northern Water Tribe.

"I'm from here as well. Mother died, father who decides to live his life vicariously through his three daughters. Have you ever been to the Northern Water Tribe? What's it like?" Rui often did this; she would sporadically jump to different subjects that had no correlation whatsoever. Her father chided her over it many a time when she was a child, but eventually learned to accept it as one of her many quirky personality traits.

Rui found herself once again enjoying Zevran's touch. "Not that I mind it, but why are you so touchy?" Rui really didn't mind it, she just wasn't used to it. She wondered absentmindedly if she should touch him back, but decided against it at once. The alcohol was warping her personality rapidly, and Rui had to bite her tongue to keep from saying the things that were bubbling up.

"Well, I suppose your dazzling looks do as well." Rui took another sip of her drink, and licked her lips. "It's awfully hot in here. I think I'm gonna take my parka off." Rui stood up, and began to take off her fuzzy parka. She struggled for a bit, but finally managed to get it off. She was left in a simple sleeveless top that she adjusted before sitting back down. The waterbender hung her parka on the back of her chair and began fiddling with her braid while Zevran talked.


"If you can handle my obnoxious self intoxicated, I'm pretty sure you could handle just about anything!" Rui chortled, and took another swig of her drink. At his words, Rui gave a gasp of denial, "Oh n-no no! I really like it, actually. It's not so much that I'm uncomfortale; I'm just not used to it." Rui blushed again, attempting to hide her face. She hoped she didn't come across as creepy to Zevran. He was just so cool; like one of those people you tried to impress back in grade school to get into their good graces.

"I wish I could travel, y'know?" Rui began a drunken ramble, "Not that I don't like it here, it's just I crave more." Rui held her clenched fists dramatically. Then another thought crossed her mind, "Does it get lonely?"

"No worries, nothing else is coming off aside from this," she pointed over at her parka. Rui found herself clutching the small locket hanging down her neck while she nursed her third drink. Her cheeks were now permanently red from alcohol consumption, which complimented her cocoa skin tone nicely. The waterbender settled back into her chair, observing Zevran. Unlike most people, Rui couldn't read him. Maybe it was because he was already open.

Rui's ears perked up at the word 'kill'. All of a sudden the drink she was nursing felt like sludge going down her throat. "You k-kill people? That's um, interesting." She took a sip of her drink, and wiped away some excess alcohol that had dribbled down her cheek. "So, uhm, how does the mercenary business treat you?" Rui looked up at Zevran, trying to get across that she meant her last question to be sincere.

To say that this man was simply unique was an understatement. Rui had never met anyone like Zevran in her life. Then again, she thought, I never really do take the time to socialize with anyone. She gave a quiet sigh, and stirred her now fourth drink with a small straw. Rui took a rather lady-like sip, and placed the drink back down on the table. A full fledged fog had settled over Rui, causing her usual mental 'filter' to disintegrate.

"I do nothing as interesting as you," she laughed, "I'm just a simple waitress at this family-owned restaurant. Nothing impressive." She moved the same pesky piece of hair behind her ear, willing it to stay there. "I wish I could say that I did something interesting--like being a mercenary, or an assistant to some important lord or lady. Or even be a lady of an estate my self!" She sighed longingly, and put her elbow up on the table. Rui then proceeded to rest her head on her hand, continuing to make eye contact with Zevran.

"So, do you have a family of some kind? A super secret forbidden lover?" She said the last sentence in a playful tone, but was honestly curious. Rui imagined Zevran to be with some wicked fiery firebender of sorts. Or a seductress of a waterbender. She laughed quietly to herself at these thoughts. She hadn't known the guy for an entire day and here she was getting jealous of imaginary lovers she'd pictured up for him.

Rui gave Zevran a wide smile when he mentioned adventure. "Ok, ok. But you have to shake on it!" She giggled, and drunkenly held out her hand. "Heh, we're business partners already!" Rui sipped on her drink again, listening to his words intently. She took the parchment from him, and nearly choked on her drink. Maybe I am psychic..

She stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth, contemplating how to answer this question. Rui knew that she most look extremely simple to Zevran. She even considered lying to him for a bit. The waterbender decided against it, knowing he'd probably be able to tell. "My mother passed away when I was about eight, and my father is a bit of an asshole--pardon my language. I have two younger sisters: Yui and Mei. They'd like you." She laughed at the thought of Yui and Mei's faces if they saw Rui bringing Zevran to the house. "And as for lovers.. Well to be frank, I've never been in a relationship before. Nor have I had any flings. Most people consider me to be a bit insane, honestly." Rui bit down on her straw, wondering how Zevran would take the last bit. It was true though, Rui was a little quirky.