He was sitting at the bar, ale in hand, trying to avoid shifting too much in his seat. These trousers are really uncomfortable. How do these people wear them all the time? And somehow I lost my left earring when I had to pull the shirt over my head. That was what had annoyed him the most. The fact that he'd actually had a pair of earrings was pretty remarkable; it wasn't like he was rolling in cash after living in the tower.

He'd been hoping to make a go on a pirate ship, so he had gone ahead and gotten his ears pierced to wear the golden earrings that had been gifted to him. Even pirates needed healers, right? If he found passage on a pirate ship, there was no way the templars would ever be able to track him and drag him back to the tower. Again. Maybe 5 was the lucky escape attempt; only time would tell. Now the hole in his left ear was going to close and he'd have to go through it all over again, assuming he could find a suitable mate to the remaining earring. He doubted he'd ever have enough money to buy an entire pair.

Maybe I should take the other one out and let both piercings close. He sighed to himself as he debated this, gently swilling the ale in the mug that had been set before him. But the earrings were a symbol for him – the woman who had given them to him was thanking him for saving her life, after all, and it was a sign. He was sure it was; after all, every time he escaped he met someone and was able to help them, make a difference, and they were really glad for his help. Shouldn't that be a sign that he was meant to be out of the Tower, where his magic could actually be useful for something other than teaching other mages? No, I'll leave it in. Even if it looks stupid to be wearing only one earring.

He then became aware of a feminine giggle behind him and off to his right. He raised an eyebrow and tried to listen without making it obvious that he heard.

"He's so cute." The voice was high-pitched but not grating. He could picture a young woman, blonde, with pert breasts straining against thin, coarse material. It was good to have an active imagination.

"But he's only wearing one earring. You know what that means, don't you?" Another voice, equally young, but deeper. This one sounded sultry. He imagined she was a brunette with dark eyes and killer curves.

Oh, ho! They're talking about me! Wait – what does only one earring mean? Anders listened more closely, hoping to get an answer. He didn't want to send off the wrong signals by his fashion choices.

"Maybe." Blondie sounded dubious. "But he's so … manly looking. There's no way he likes men!" Anders' eyes opened wide even as he preened at the woman's description of him. Uh, not the impression I want to give. Now he had even more incentive to take out his earring. He tried to keep his sigh from being obvious.

"He could like men and still be manly! Or, maybe he's a pirate. Sometimes they wear only one earring." Sultry Brunette spoke a little louder. Anders thought that they really had no idea how loud they were. The barkeep checked his ale and winked at him. He rolled his eyes at the barkeep, who grinned at him before moving on to the next customer. He wondered who else was listening to this conversation and sighed to himself again.

There was another giggle. He was pretty sure it was Pert Blonde based on its pitch. "If he is, that's more of a challenge, right?" Anders' eyebrow raised yet again before a small smile broke out on his face. He liked the sound of that. A challenge meant that maybe there would be a contest. And a contest could possibly mean some … quality time … with a pair of attractive young ladies. He took a drink of his ale and decided to bide his time.

A low laugh followed the giggle. "That IS true. All right, a challenge it is." Sultry voice dipped to a new low. Anders could feel it all the way to … uh, never mind. Better not think about that if he was to play his part in the game. After all, he didn't want to spoil the ladies' fun.

"The usual rules?"

"Of course."

With that, the barkeep came up to Anders' spot again. He murmured quietly. "They'll probably cover your tab," he said. "You want anything else before they get here?" His eyes twinkled as Anders chuckled.

"That wouldn't be very … gentlemanly … now would it?" He grinned at the barkeep who shrugged as if to say have it your way, friend and then moved away from Anders' seat so that Blondie and Brownie could approach. He heard footsteps approaching, but he made it a point to pretend he didn't hear them coming.

"Excuse me, ser, but we couldn't help but notice that you were all alone here. Shouldn't you be getting home to your wife?" He looked up to see Pert Blonde was actually a petite redhead with voluptuous curves. He looked to his other side to see that Brownie was the blonde, tall and willowy, not as curvy as her friend but absolutely stunning with green eyes. It took all his self control not to gape at the gorgeous pair of women surrounding him. They even smelled fantastic. It was going to be hard for him to pretend he wasn't interested.

"I don't have a wife, ladies." He tried to stay serious, but he was sure his eyes gave him away. This was hopefully going to be a fun game, and he was looking forward to it. It didn't help that with his declaration both of them came imperceptibly closer, and their eyes took on mischief that mirrored his own.

"That's a shame. You must be … lonely." Sultry nearly purred as she fixed her gaze on his face. She leaned in a little closer and Anders didn't know what she did to make it look like she was about to devour him, but he was absolutely certain he liked it. He mentally cursed the fact that he had to wear trousers; his robes would have done a much better job of hiding his reaction to her presence.

"Oh, the poor thing!" Redhead put a hand on his arm and mock sympathy colored her voice as she brushed her chest against his shoulder. These two might just kill me. Somehow, he thought, it might be a very nice way to meet the Maker.

He made an exaggerated sigh, making sure to brush his shoulder against the curvy redhead to his left. "Yes, it is lonely sometimes," he said as he hung his head to hide the smirk that was forming on his lips. "What I wouldn't give to have some nice companions." The line was so badly delivered, even the bartender snorted from the other end of the bar.

At this, the women both laughed. "I'm Sara, and this is Anna," Sultry, uh, Sara, said to him. He looked up to see that the woman in question was wearing a knowing, and anticipatory, look. She leaned in. "I think we all know what is going on here," she purred again. The purr had the same effect as before and she definitely had noticed it, for her smile widened. "Anna and I have a bet going, you see. And we were hoping that you would help us determine the winner." Her entire face transformed into something humorously wicked.

Anders let out another exaggerated sigh. "Well, I suppose I could help." He stood and pushed his stool out. He waved the barkeep over. "How much do I owe you, good ser?"

"Oh, put it on our tab," the voluptuous redhead (Anna, it's Anna) told the barkeep. The man on the other side of the counter shook his head and laughed as the two women each took one of Anders' arms and turned him around, heading for the stairs.

"We usually hold our contest in our room," Sara explained as she grinned.

"Who am I to break tradition?" Anders laughed as he let himself be led to their room. At that point, he decided he was definitely keeping the single earring. After all, it gave him a place to sleep for the night … not that he intended to sleep. He grinned to himself. This was going to be fun.