Valeena slowly sipped her wine, her eyes gazing around the bar. For a cheese and wine bar, One More Glass proved to be slightly less of a hit with the citizens of Dalaran than the city's other amenities, such as the ever-crowded Legerdemain Lounge; however, it provided a better atmosphere, and the quality of the produce was second to none.
Sloshing the wine around the glass was the best entertainment she was getting at the moment though. It was only eight O'clock in the evening, and the more posh places never started filling up before about nine. Holding the glass to her face, she surveyed the blood red liquid inside, adoring how it shimmered in the light, causing the glass it was held in to glitter.
As Draenei come, Valeena was one of the more sophisticated, yet still primitive at heart. Her initial lust for adventure died out during the trek from Borean Tundra, and so she settled down in Dalaran; though her longing for excitement and adrenaline never truly left her. As it stood, the chainmail and fur-lined leather of past journeys was now hanging up in her room at the Legerdemain; replaced by the more widely accepted robes of the inhabitants of the purple city; her longsword and bow rarely saw the light of day due to the lack of crime in Dalaran's main districts making the city safe enough to walk through without requiring weapons.
Valeena sighed heavily, replacing the glass of wine on the table and staring at her reflection on the surface. Gone were the ragged, weather-worn features, replaced by smooth, taut skin and make-up. At least her eyes hadn't changed; they still blazed a bright blue that lit up her pale, silvery skin. Peering at her reflection, she adjusted the hair band that held back contrasting golden locks of long, silky hair, and realigned the necklace that hung around her neck.
Satisfied, she took up the wine and had another sip before shrugging and downing the last third of a glass in a single go. The sensation of Dalaran's finest sliding down her throat was short-lived, but not unpleasant, and left her wanting more. Wine from Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms is good, but it all pales in comparison with Dalaran's finely aged stocks; nothing reminds you that you had a good night like a Dalaran wine hangover.
Valeena stood and glided over to the bar, each step taken lightly and elegantly; which is hard to master with hooves. The few people that sat at the bar were Humans, High Elves or Blood Elves, since they made up most of Dalaran's populace, yet there were a small handful of other races. A pair of Dwarves sat in the far corner, whispering over a table of empty glasses; a Gnome and a Goblin were having a heated debate over some form of mechanism directly opposite the Dwarves, and a rowdy group of Orcs and Trolls sat at the main table, which itself was littered with platters of cheese and jugs of wine.
The racial diversity of Dalaran was made even more amazing due to the fact that the peace is kept; especially the tensions between Humans and Orcs, which seemed to simply disappear,
"Would you like a re-fill?" Valeena jumped and turned towards the bar, finding herself face to face with Christi Stockton, one of the barmaids and possibly owners.
"Oh, erm, yes please; another glass of your Tundra Berry red please." Valeena replied.
"Make it a bottle, I'll pay." Valeena wheeled around to discover the source of the amendment. Standing before her was a very finely dressed Night Elf. His tuxedo barely fit his build, and he carried himself with a distinct air of superiority; something that Valeena detested in her acquaintances, friends and partners; yet she blamed herself partly for spending her time in a fancier type of bar, "Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself, I am Talandrel Staghoof, and I would like to be your company for this fine evening."
Not one to turn down free wine, Valeena was hard-pressed to decline Talandrel's offer, "I would be honoured to have you as my company for this evening, Mister Staghoof." Valeena replied in the most proper way she could; after all, he was buying the drinks; politeness in return is only fair.
At least an hour of the Night Elf's self-obsessed 'conversation material' went by before Valeena decided she'd had enough. She needed an excuse to get away from the elf before she was driven insane. As the last drop from the third bottle – partly thanks to Valeena needing to drink heavily in order to remain sane – Valeena seized her chance to escape,
"I'll get the next bottle; you've already done quite enough tonight." She said as she leapt up from her seat.
"Ah a traditional woman; it warms the heart to know that there are still those charitable few who remain loyal to the older ways." Talandrel spoke, reclining in his chair. Despite joining Valeena in the heavy drinking, he didn't appear to even be phased. Valeena herself was also seemingly immune to the effects of alcohol, having been an avid drinker for years. Adventuring often took its toll, and sometimes hitting the bottle was the only way to relieve the stresses of everyday life.
Once at the bar, Valeena glanced over her shoulder towards the table. The Night Elf still sat, twiddling his thumbs and surveying the room. Will this man ever leave? Valeena thought to herself. It was now about ten O'clock, and the bar was growing steadily fuller as the denizens of Dalaran flocked to the ample night-life. It also meant that Christi was going to be busy, and so with any luck it would be a whole before Valeena got served, giving her time to recuperate from the drone of the Night Elf.
The rarer people started to enter the bar around this time. The Forsaken that travelled to Dalaran appeared only during the evenings; Tauren that were usually on the Crystalsong Forest floor occasionally travelled to Dalaran, if only for supplies; Night Elves and other Draenei also made their appearance during the evenings, though both were to be found in lesser numbers during the day.
Valeena drummed her fingers on the bar; occasionally glancing back towards the table to see if the elf had upped and left. He had not. Christi soon appeared from the other end of the bar and Valeena's stomach churned, her freedom was over,
"A bottle of your house white and a wheel of your sharpest cheese please." Valeena blinked in surprise as someone gave her a few more seconds of liberty. The source of the soft voice walked up and stood next to Valeena. A pale blue Draenei now waited for her order. She wasn't dressed like the others in the bar; she wore no elaborate gown or robes, just a simple purple halter neck dress and her glittering blonde hair was held in a tight ponytail by a plain purple band.
The way she was standing didn't fit the bar much either. Others stood tall, trying to exude dominance through height; but she was bent forwards, her chin resting in the palms of her hands as she rested her elbows on the counter. The Draenei's tail just swayed from side to side, occasionally wrapping itself around one of her legs. Attention had been on her from the minute she'd walked in. Around the bar, men and women either turned their noses up at her common pose and clothes; others ogled at her with searching eyes. A table of Human and Night Elf males obviously out on the town were conversing with each other, gesturing towards the Draenei and giggling with occasional push to the closest person.
Finally, one of the Humans stood and strutted over,
"Do you want a drink?" He asked in the smoothest voice he could.
The Draenei turned her head and smiled, "No thank you, I'm fine."
The man laughed, "I love it when you girls play hard to get; luckily I'm just as good at this game." He smacked the Draenei's buttocks firmly, and quick as anything, his arm was constricted by her tail. He struggled and squirmed but the Draenei's grip simply strengthened.
She turned her head around again, still smiling, "Brave yet stupid, how… Human of you," She released the man's arm and he staggered back, glaring at the Draenei and nursing his aching limb, "Try anything again, and I'll break whatever you use; and I mean whatever you use." Her eyes darted down to his crotch, which he promptly covered as he backed away towards his astonished table of friends.