Miu nodded at her new boss, Garrett, after he thanked her for getting him away from Garrett. "No problem." she said, taking the cash. Soon the new employee came out and gave the elderly woman her pie. "I would of taken it to her..." she thought. She looked around, and noticed that the young man hadn't drank his tea yet. "It's probably cold by now." she thought. She approached him with a smile. "Do you want another cup of tea? That one should be cold by now." she said, then in a quieter tone, just above a whisper. "Don't worry, I won't charge you for it, since you didn't drink the first. And don't believe what that guy keeps saying. He's just drunk." she said. Then she remembered that the old woman wanted a room too. "I really need a pad to write this all down on..." she thought.

Miu turned her head towards Garrett for a moment, but he was lecturing at the new guy. Her eyes went wide when he fired him. "Wow, I'll have to be careful. He's already not in a good mood if he fired that guy after just an hour..." she thought. After he had handed the ex-employee his pay for the hour, she spoke up. "Excuse me, but the woman also wants to know if a room to rent for the night is available." she said.

Katya listened quietly to the heated exchange and sipped her drink contemplatively. The owner's a professional, that's nice. She nodded a little to herself, It would be nice to settle down for a little while. She set her glass down with a soft clink and addressed both Garrett and Leonard, "So, since you seem to have an opening in your employment, how would you feel about hiring a new bartender? I'm also a musical entertainer and would be happy to work for a soft place to sleep and a few meals a day," Her voice even had a soft musical quality to it as she smiled.

I push it away "Dont want it, Dont need it, Your Right About The Fact that I dont need to Pay rent, I was just working here for the Hell of it, Also I looked Around the kitchen, Didnt Find no Cookbook or Pork in there, also I found the Window smashed so I asume you got Robbed"

Katya snickered, "Sure you didn't smash it out yourself looking for the pork? It's usually kept in an icebox. And cookbooks are kept on shelves." She picked up her drink again and sipped it, smiling at the two men behind the bar, "So, what do you say? Can I stay?"

"Flint," Garrett said, trying his very best to subdue his rage. Now it seemed that Flint was just making excuses, and still completely glossing over the main point of his speech. It wasn't about the pork. It wasn't about the cookbook. It wasn't even about this purported broken window that, with the thin walls of this building, he would have heard and now doubted the existence of. The point was that he was arrogant, a liar, and he did not listen. That combination of characteristics would make anyone want him out of their sight. "You have been fired for slander and insubordination, as well as performing work with a blood/alcohol content of 3.0. Please leave the premises, or I will have Leonard escort you."

Completely comfortable with performing more than one task at once, he reached down behind the bar and grabbed a keyring off the set of hooks, handing it to Miu. "She has room 13, straight through the hall and to the left." He pointed to the narrow hallway parallel to the bar. He put her on the first floor, honestly, because she was old and he didn't want to have to hear an old woman complain about her old bones creaking and whatnot. Though, he thought it odd that she should mention the old woman. He was under the impression that she had left, and that a much younger woman had taken her place in the booth. He shrugged it off. Weird things happened here all the time, and this was on the low-end of weird so far. He jotted down a note that the old woman was staying in 13 so he wouldn't forget, and turned to the patron that was asking for a job.

He had some hang-ups about someone who was covered in fur working at the bar, but after the incident with Flint he felt much better about offering the position to someone who looked a little off. Better they be a little weird-looking and affable than normal-looking and unable to function as a member of the staff. He looked past her animalistic qualities, for he had seen stranger things (though he was uncomfortable about those as well) and concluded that in an odd way she was sort of attractive. Not his type, but certainly someone's. But mostly he saw a business deal: someone who didn't require much more than the minimum and seemed eager to work for it. And after riding on the adrenaline of having just fired someone, he felt impulsive. "You're hired," he said pointing at her. "You can start now."

"Kay, By the Way You forgot why You hired me havent you? I wasent because of my Experience it was because of my Connections with Imports"

"I hired you because we had three employees. Get out," Garrett said, very much tired of his excuses. Now he was pretty sure that Flint was just making stuff up. He made a motion with his hand and Leonard moved closer.

Leonard clasped a hand on Flint's shoulder. "You have to go now," Leonard said plainly.

((I apologize about being on during odd hours. I work the night shift and end up sleeping during the day. Oooh, a vampire's 'life' for me.))

I grab Leonards Hand "I have no Quarell with your Loe, but if you dont take your hand off me I swear I will Go off on you" I look at Garrett "My Dads A Merchent, You wanted Real Time Wine and Vodka From France And Europe, not the Cheap made stuff here, So when i told you about it when you were Drunk or Whatever, you gave me a Job here......You still want the Connection? I can give it to ya"

Garrett's face turned red, and now he was visibly angry. He didn't need connections, and there was nothing wrong with locally-made beers. In fact, a lot of the local breweries made some of the darkest beers he had seen in his travels, and he was more than happy to support the local economy. But he only gave jobs to people who wanted them or needed them and had no use for someone like this. If his father was a merchant, then there was no need for him to have a job, and it was clear to Garrett that Flint didn't want to work here. The bar was seedy, yes. But it was not the pit of despair that Flint seemed to be painting it as. If he wanted to work somewhere that was pristine, then he should have thought twice before seeking employment at Fid's. He had no use for a brat like Flint.

"OUT. NOW," he yelled, pointing at the door.

Leonard didn't take his hand off of Flint's shoulder, and in fact began ushering him out the door. "My name isn't 'Leo,'" he said, pushing him towards the door. Threats were nothing to him. They were just threats. "You are causing a disturbance, and it is time for you to go."

Takes Leonards Hand off and simply Walks out

Garrett breathed a sigh of relief once the door closed. He decided that once they closed the bar for the night he would have to fix himself a drink. It had been a hard day so far, and he hoped that he never had to raise his voice against an employee in that fashion again. But for now he was content with taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself down that way. He would drink later. Later. For the most part, though, there was no damage aside from his bruised ego (which would pass quickly) and the supposed broken window in the kitchen. He would have to check that when he had a free moment.

But for the most part, he was just glad that Flint hadn't gotten violent towards Leonard. It was not that he doubted Leonard's ability to defend himself, far from it. But if Leonard had gotten hurt, he probably would have had a mental breakdown. To any outsider, it may have looked like all they did was argue, insult, and nag each other, but those are characteristics, sometimes, of two people who deep down at the core had nothing but mutual respect for each other.

He gave an acknowledging nod to his partner, and continued business as usual, turning back to the woman he had just hired.

Shayla couldn't believe the terrible luck she had that day. She had managed to accidentally upset her boss and got shouted at for the mistake; she had to run for the elevator on her way out, and in doing so she snapped the pointed heel off one of her shoes; and to top it all off, her car broke down before she was even half way home. And her cell phone was dead so she had to trek all over the place looking for some kind of phone.

She came to a halt just beside the sickly looking flowers in the pot beside the door of the tavern and looked the place up and down skeptically. It was less than ideal... in fact it was pretty shady looking. But she supposed it had a rustic, quaint feeling to it.

She had to sidestep out of the way of a very disgruntled looking man as he left the tavern. Slightly uncertain, Shayla's manicured, smooth hands straightened out her dark purple blazer and pencil skirt. She hobbled unevenly into the tavern, holding one broken stilleto in her hand, and hesitated just inside the door. She used her free hand to brush her short black hair out of her eyes as she glanced around.

"Well... it could be worse."

She conceded to herself and approached the bar, sitting gingerly and trying to catch the barkeep's eye.

Katya grinned broadly, "Hooray!" She finished her drink, stood and stretched, and took her empty glass behind the bar to wash it out. She dried it and put it back on the shelf before turning to the woman who had just walked in, "Hello, welcome to Fid's Tavern. What can I get for you?"

Shayla blinked once or twice at how... enthusiastic this woman was, but then she managed a smile.

"Heh... Hi there. Er, I'd like to use your telephone if you don't mind." She set down the broken heel on the counter and sighed, forlorn. "And a stiff drink."

She slipped her feet out of her shiny black high-heels and reached down, massaging her stockinged foot with a grimace.

"What a day... I'll have whatever's on tap."

"Sure thing," Katya smiled gently at the woman. She took a quick look around the back of the bar and located an old turn-dial phone under the counter. She pulled it out and set it in front of the woman, "One phone and one stiff drink, coming up," After setting the phone down she took a mug down from the shelf, made her way over to the taps and asked, "Do you prefer dark or light?"

"Oh thank goodness, you're a life saver."

The flustered businesswoman picked up the old reciever and placed it on her ear, holding it up with her shoulder. She glanced up at the woman behind the bar before beginning the process of spinning the dial to each number.

"I like my drinks dark."

She replied, a tiny smile playing about her lips. She liked her coffee black, her poetry to be depressing, and her men to be mysterious. And her drinks to be dark. She fished around in the small purse that dangled at her side and pulled out a membership card. Thank god she had thought to sign on with a membership for the local towing and emergency repairs company. After dialing their number she heaved a sigh.

"Looks like this is going to take a while. I expect I'll be on hold forever... and my car is busted. Do you guys have lodgings here?"

She honestly tried not to sound as if the thought was a little bit distasteful!

Katya smiled, nodded, and pulled the leaver for the darkest beer on tap. She brought the frothy drink over and set it down in front of her. "I think so, I just started but Garrett just handed a key to another woman." She looked around and located the keys against the back wall. She selected one from what she assumed to be the second floor and handed it over. "This should be alright," She smiled, "I hope you don't mind stairs." She picked up a pen and scrawled the number on Garrett's note next to the one from the old woman. She turned back to the woman, "You hungry?"

Garrett surveyed his new hire carefully from behind her, seeing how she handled things under the new position. So far, so good. In fact, she seemed to have a knack for it already. Nodding quietly to himself, he made a note to hand her her own room key before her shift was over, recalling that she was the one who needed a place to stay.

Now that the bartending position was taken over, Garrett decided that this was a good time to do some other duties that he had been, admittedly, slacking on. "I'm going to go see about this window Flint was talking about. If you have any questions, pester Leonard about them." He pointed at Leonard, who had moved back to his spot by the door. As a bouncer, 'escorting' Flint out of the bar had been his first actual task, and now he had very little else to do. For now, he conceded to wiping down tables as he saw fit. At his mention, though, he looked up and waved.

Garrett escaped the confines of the bar and headed back to the kitchen.

"Can do," She said, waving back at Leonard.

For the most part, Leonard was bored. And now that the ruckus with Flint was over with and things had died down, he thought that now would be a proper time to introduce himself, while Garrett was fussing around in the back. He made his way over to the bar and leaned on the counter casually. He was different when Garrett wasn't around to play 'boss.' He didn't have to play tough when there weren't many people around, but he did because it made him feel like he was doing his job. But with his job essentially at a lulling point, there was no reason to put on the act. And this new bartender had caught his attention, though he tried his hardest not to stare.

"Hi," he said nervously. "I'm Leonard. What brings you to this part of town?"


Meanwhile, in the kitchen...

It was just as Garrett had suspected: there was no broken window. The cook book was still on the shelf. The supposed rotten pork was, in fact, in the garbage can. "Maybe I was drunk when I hired him," he said aloud. There was the distinct possibility, though he didn't recall anything of the sort. He wasn't the sort to black out when he was drunk, though he was the sort to drink a lot. He sighed, just thankful that it was over and hoped that this wouldn't ruin business for him.

If nothing else, he figured that this would be a good time to get ready some short orders, in case someone wanted food within the next hour. He was chopping up green peppers when the scratching noise made itself present again. He looked up at the ceiling, annoyed. He made sure there was no one else around before addressing it personally.

"Quit it, Hans. You're scaring away the customers."

A voice responded through the ceiling tiles: "Can I be your chef?"

"No. You're unsanitary and insane. And if anyone of authority finds you here, they'll take us all back to jail."

"But I make a mean french toast!"

"The answer is no." Though Garrett could not see Hans through the tiles, he could tell that his shoulders sank. The disappointment was palpable, but he stood firm on his statement. He was not so desperate for a new cook that he would need the services of what the media would have called a raging psychopath.

Katya turned towards the bouncer, "Hello Leonard. I'm Katya." She reached out to shake his hand, keeping her claws short as she always did when she was relaxed. Her hands looked human from the top, but the bottom had soft pink pads on the fingertips and palm. She had a firm grip. When she released his hand she shrugged, "I was tired of wandering and sleeping outdoors. I thought it might be nice to sleep in a bed for awhile. This place caught my eye, so I thought I'd stop in and see what it was like. I haven't been disappointed," She said with a smile.

He looked at her... hand? Paw? He didn't know quite what to call it, so he didn't call it anything. Leonard wiped the dirt off of his hands and returned the favor with a hand shake. He laughed quietly, not being the type to laugh loud often. It came out as more of a chuckle, and a small smile. "I know how that is," he said, remembering his brief time as a homeless non-citizen. He had been lucky for some kind strangers to take him in, but it was not something that he would trust to happen twice in his lifetime, particularly when he looked like a thug. Up until then, his luck had been completely absent.

"I'm sorry you had to come in during that," he said, referring to the exchange between Garrett and Flint. "He's not always this sour. The kid just rubbed him the wrong way. And," he leaned closer as if telling a secret. "He was reading his mind. Garrett has big problems with invading his privacy." He knew a lot of his secrets, and also knew why he didn't want anyone else knowing them. Some of them were dangerous. Most of them were embarrassing.

She shrugged and rolled her eyes, "I've dealt with hecklers before. He was just a punk who wanted attention," She chuckled, "Reading minds is a dangerous pastime. You never know what you may find lurking in the depths of another person's mind!" She gave him a little wink. "So what did you do before you ended up her? If you don't mind me asking," she added quickly.

Leonard stopped to think about this for a minute. Before? Well, right before they started this business they sort of just did what they always did: hung around and waited for a good time for things to pick up. And before that, they were on the run, picking up the pieces from the destruction they'd left in their wake. There was a history, and to get into it now would be to say too much. But still, he had a principle about lying; partially to do with how bad at it he was.

"This is only the second real job I've had," he said vaguely. "I was a gardener, last." It had been a long time since he'd seen his garden, and truth be told he missed it. Though, admittedly, his garden had since... more than bloomed. His garden didn't need him anymore.