Bars are often considered a place of uncouth and rowdy behavior. A den of filth and noise. Yet it is in that noise and uncouthness that the bar can be used as its greatest weapon. Honesty. Here at the Dancing Flames, a local watering hole for both young and old in Stella, I have unmasked numerous truths. The prim and proper honor students dancing wilder than the perceived rebel kids, the comedian who regrets how depressed he is about life, the woman who loves her child but wishes she never had them. Alcohol and the atmosphere of a bar cause many lips to speak the deepest thoughts of the heart.
Some of the best stories are often told by the calmest of people. Saku Blizzarin by many in Xelha is considered to be one of the most level headed people in the House of Lords, and even despite triggering avalanches to massacre Nobility Forces, is still considered to be one of the most empathetic people from the war. Yet I can remember several occasions sitting here having a drink with him and he talked about assassinating every single noble. Not in the covert way he would usually address the situation, but in graphic detail about making them suffer as they had made the country suffer with their war game. Talk more associated with me and perhaps his now wife, but if I were to tell the average Xelhan, they'd never believe Saku capable of such talk.
I grin at the thought and take another sip before recalling another incident. This time it involved PM Katerina Novus. Well, she wasn't Prime Minister yet, but she was just a mild mannered then as she is now. Her sister had just been relieved and discharged from the army and sent to a mental institute and she was furious. She said she'd only take one drink, but as the night went on, the more she spoke about the unfairness of the world, and the more she spoke the more she drank. There is something to be said about a woman known better for her soft, motherly disposition instead being full of rage and ready to fight any man who thought of taking away her elixir as she referred to it that night. Threatening with barstools and climbing on the countertop yelling at the top of her lungs as if she were trying to incite another revolution. She drank enough to knock herself out, and the events of the night have been forgotten by her, but provide me with a source of amusement. More so when the occasional rumors of her holding up the House of Lords with Novus Ballistics Equipment, which I am glad she had none of that particular night.
The barkeeper moves to refill my drink and I put my hand over it to stop him. The news is on about the final report on the deaths of the Kolo siblings and Lady Oz. I wonder what truths would Yuki tell if she was invited here? It was then a thought occurred to me. Maybe her reputation as a light drinker is not a measure of her actual tolerance, but a testament of her development as a person. Perhaps she, like me, knows the truth about alcohol. Perhaps she'd rather keep those secrets in the depths of her heart, rather than allow for this elixir of truth to float all those secrets to the surface and cause her more condemnation than needed.222Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6W5ODP7mP
