Alcohol.

Such a mystical elixir, once used strictly for the sake of medical treatment now is also a drink of choice that appears in a verity of forms and names from every corner of the planet; beer, wine, vodka, sake, whisky, scotch, moonshine, these are but a few of many unique beverages that have graced the pallets of mortals through out the ages. Despite it's bitter taste and harsh burn, many find themselves savoring this enchanted liquid like the purest of nectar. There was even a time where alcohol was considered healthierto drink than water. What ludicrous nonsense!

But, this was true.

Alcohol, for better or worse, has influenced the course of humanity more than you might think. It has embedded itself in our cultures, our history, even our very beliefs have been touched by its wondrous power. One sip could ruin a life forever, one glass could define a moment of an era, it could mark the birth of an ideal or destroy what is most precious. We drink it to forget, we drink it to remember, we drink it to laugh, and we drink it to cry. It can make one philosophical while it deteriorates another's mind, and it has the power to save a life, and it has the power to end one.

Indeed, it is a wavering relationship that humans share with this tantalizing, yet dangerous, substance that is called alcohol.

But such a thing could not have effected just one species.

It came to no surprise that many of the extra-species that had been revealed to the world, share their own indulgence for the enthralling drink, and have experienced their own...reactions to it. Some have even brewed their own unique beverages as additions to the long list of illustrious cocktails.

Have you ever heard of a 'Scale Rumble'?

Or, perhaps you may have seen a 'Tailspin' written on the menu here and there?

If not, then I'd humbly suggest you try to get out more.

Regardless, young Miss Dorsey is about to discover that she will have more than what she had initially expected after offering anemotionally wounded she-gargoyle a night of drinking.

And, like all encroaching storms, it begins fairly calm.

Kaylynn knew of a charming little bar called "The Merry Maverick" not far from where she worked in the downtown area. It was built long before the Exchange act was established, but it quickly revamped its menu as well as refurbished the lounging space to accommodate for larger extra-species as potential customers.

It was apparent tonight.

Once, it was a humble pub, tucked cozily between a local minimart and a barbershop, after its neighboring business, "Phil's Snips", shut down and left the building to be a vacant husk, the pub's owner took full advantage of the empty building and thus merged his establishment with it, extending the rooming and refining the pub into a renewed bar and restaurant. The inside of the building was old fashioned in concept, but was modernized to further compliment the management's integrity. Internal walls of the tavern were red bricked as picture frames of iconic automobiles nailed over them, giving it a subtle industrial charm to it's otherwise homey atmosphere. The actual bar itself was still fairly simple; a flat, smooth surface over polished oak with an excellent coat of varnish to keep itself dry and sturdy, where as the stools were patted leather cushions supported by four well-built legs and brass feet, and looming over the serving table were wide bowl lamps that shone brightly over the bar to emphasize more of that industrial tone.

This theme was apparently very popular as of tonight in particular, for the place was impressively busy. Several tables were packed with friends, couples, and other groups, some dined where as others played the pool table or sat at the lounge to a friendly game of cards, and there was some who preferred to watch the television with a cold glass in hand.

And then there was Kaylynn and Samantha, whom had just entered the premises.

The human host had visited this place once or twice during her time in college, however, she was surprised to see that it had changed so much since then. However, it wasn't just the furniture that was grasping at her attention. A menagerie of different liminals and cryptids were among the human customers that accompanied them. A few of which she could distinguish.

Such as a couple of furry looking individuals that she recognized as kobolds whom were chatting with another pair of humans, there was a trio of harpies who were bickering-or rather squawking- over whom was a more attractive male celebrity; Johnny Depp, Chris Hemsworth, or Idris Elba.

In one of the dining booths, there was a tiny dryder, or arachne as some prefer, that was currently devouring a massive plate of nachos as her reptilian companion, a lizardman, palmed his face with embarrassment for being associated with someone with such terrible table manners.

These were just a few that young Dorsey could notice.

There were other liminals who had merged into the collective sea of socialization, some of which Kaylynn had not seen before.

Samantha on the other hand, though did not show it, could really care less of how nice the place looked, nor was interested in greeting with any of the other customers, she was more focused on drowning her feelings in hard liquor as soon as possible.

Before Dorsey could allow herself to gawk for too long, she lead Sam to the bar area where they had managed to find seats. While they wait for the barkeeper to arrive at their end of the table, young Dorsey decided to arouse a conversation out of the depressed ginger. They had spoken to one another prior to arriving at the Merry Maverick, but that was little more than small talk while trying to avoid the subject matter revolving around her newly dismissed ex.

Now, was a proper moment to conduct a more engaging discussion.

"A lot more lively than I'd expected tonight." The human admits, winning a glance from Sam, though be it a detached one.

With no verbal response yet, Kaylynn tries to incite her more by inquiring to her curiously, "Anyone here you might know...?"

The she-gargoyle, with heavy eyes, turns her gaze to the crowd behind them, spying the tables, game room, floor staff, but she merely turned away with a dull expression and answered dryly, "Nope..."

Kaylynn, feeling the subject getting cold rapidly fast, she decides to ask a different question and says, "So, how long have you been here?"

"About three months, give'er take a couple of weeks..." Sam replies vacantly while staring at the wide verity of whiskey on the rack.

Kaylynn lets out a soft whistle, "It's only been a couple of months for me as well..." She admits with a humble smile.

Sam's ears suddenly perk up, as though she had just pulled her head out of the muck just a little more, as she turns to her with more invested attention, "You're part of the program too?"

Kaylynn had not realized it until now, but she had completely failed to mention that detail sooner. With a look of minor apprehension, she responds nonchalantly, "Oh, yeah, I'm a host, well, sort of."

The ginger's brow slanted, her left ear mimicking the same angle as her wings shift and readjust, "What do you mean?"

"I'm not so much a host but more of a...supervisor? I don't know, my coordinator explained it better. I and Ray, the exchange candidate, were put into a brand new house together as fellow tenants. We pay the rent together from our own ends, and we work separate jobs." Though she stops to mutter under her breath, "Technically, he isn't working yet..." Then proceeds in a normal tone, "So, I don't really support him as much we support each other, I'm just suppose to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble...well, him and another."

"Another?"

"Yeah, some...stuff happened recently and we got a new roommate to share the rent, though, why my coordinator decided that would be the best idea, I'm not sure."

"Sounds...complicated?"

"That's one way of putting it. I'm not gonna lie, this whole program that I've been 'selected' for, it still feels kinda surreal...But what about your host family? I wanna talk more about them. You said they have three daughters?"

Sam cracked a reminiscent smile, finding comfort in remembering those children.

"Yeah; Madeline, Cynthia, and Daisy. Mady is the nerdy one of the three, so, naturally, she wasn't as scared as the rest of her family when she first met me. She became fascinated by me, constantly asking me questions, like, how high can I fly or if my skin is really made of rock, I'd never thought I'd meet a thirteen-year-old that could make such a long list of questions in a single afternoon!"

Kaylynn let out an amused snicker before Sam continued on.

"Cynthia, however, is a cheerleader for her school's basketball team."

"I'm detecting incoming high levels of perkiness from this one."

"Oh, to the eleventh degree!" She then proceeds to mimic an example of the teenager's usual attitude as accurately as possible, as she closed her eyes for a moment, then gingerly clasped her cheeks with her claws and opened her eyes widely with sparkling flare as she impersonates, though be it arguably exaggerated, with the following quotes, "OH-EM-GEE! She has wings and a tail!? That's soooo cra! But I LOVE your hair! I'm so twit'n this to my besties, EL-OH-EL~!"

"That bad, hugh? You poor thing." Kaylynn retorts, impressed by her imitation skills, but was internally cringing at just how authentic it was.

Sam chuckled softly at her comment before resuming her story, "Nah, she's not all that bad. She's tactless, sure, but as my stay there lasted longer, I started to grow on her more, eventually she tried talking to me more too, usually it's just her chatting about herself, but, she seems so fixated on my attention now of days."

"And what about Daisy?"

"Evil. Genius. Mastermind."

A genuine laugh immediately vacates the human's mouth, but quickly hushes herself to listen further.

Sam couldn't help but have a good chuckle at her own comment before proceeding and says, "She is technically the youngest, but my god she has the mind of a super villain. You know what she asked me when she started warming up to me? 'Do you like eating cheerleaders?'"

"You sure these girls are 'sweet'?" Kaylyn retorts with a sarcastic smirk.

"I also said they could be a pain in the ass."

"Point take'n."

"But, they really are good kids. Some of them just have...quirks."

The conversation was interrupted by the intrusion of a tall, fairly obese man standing on the other side of the serving table. This plump gentleman's name is Gerald Thomas, the owner of the establishment and more currently the bartender for the evening. Regulars simply call him Mav, though, Gerald is not entirely sure why that is, but he cared little what other's labeled him, he could be called Fluffchin McCueball and be content if it meant keeping his business intact...actually, he might take great offense to that and express it with a tire iron to the teeth, regardless of what species you were.

Nevertheless, despite how he may look like a retired biker gang boss, he knew how to be polite and courtly when it mattered.

"'Scuse me? Sorry t'break yer gals' flow. Was curious what'cha might be thirsty for. Decided on anything yet?" Gerald inquires civilly, his gravelly tone rich with a rugged Texan charm.

The two ladies paused, realizing they haven't had a chance to look at the menu yet. The two quickly scan the options written on the board looming over the liquor cabinet. Kaylynn was the first to make her choice, "I'll just have a martini, light please?" While she did want some fun as well, she had to remember that she promised Sam a ride home.

Sam followed quickly after, "I'll go for a bottle of tequila."

"You got it!" He complies with a jolly grin before walking away and hollering to another co-worker at the other end, "Max! Got a fruit and salt'n'lemon over here! Give yerself som'thin easier to do and serve up these ladies, okay? I'll take over on that end!"

The other server he was calling at was a female liminal, a startled, and even taller than Gerald ogre, skin as red as cherries, a pair of small horns protruding from her forehead, and silvery white hair touching her shoulders, she also looked like she was having some difficulty preparing her current orders.

Anxiously, she acknowledges and says, "Y-Yeah! I'm sorry boss-"

"Not'n wrong, big girl, yer fine, all part'a the train'n. Just get go'n." He assures her sympathetically but still retains his sternness.

Kaylynn looked at the she-gargoyle curiously, "Tecuila on the first go, eh?"

"Oh please! My family is scottish!" She retorts proudly.

"Alright, alright. I won't mommy you."

One half of an hour later.

"C'mon Mav daddy! Shlam me wiv anover...!" The ginger commands slavishly, holding the 3rd empty bottle up like a warrior on the crusade.

"Uhm...I'm still your server though." The ogre corrects hesitantly.

"I'd just-hic-do what she says..." Kaylynn chimes in, seemingly still retaining at least a fraction of her clarity, before adding on, she takes another sip of her drink and says, "You know how...how...how..." She glances at Sam momentarily, "What did you say you were again...?"

"I toooold yooo, ye shilly...uhm...what did ye shay ye were...? HUMAN! vatsh right..! You a human, and me..a..g..gar...gargler...!" Sam spontaneously erupts in snickering laughter, giggling like a dying gerbil before adding, "I'm definitely a gargler of thishh shtuff!" She kisses the empty bottle passionately, causing the server to simply walk away awkwardly without another word.

Kaylynn tried to call her back, pleading for another glass, but, she was already out of earshot. In her buzzed dismay, she slumped onto the edge of the table looking very displeased.

"Did I ev' tell ye that Eric absholutely hateddrink'n..?" Samantha slurred at Kaylynn.

The random question perked the inebriated human's curiosity as she replied with, "Oooh~! Are we finally-hic-getting to the part where we just shit on our ex's..? Because I think I'm juuuuust about smashed enough for that."

Samantha made a rousingly deep giggle that was almost cynical if it not for the fact that she was utterly intoxicated from her cherry red cheeks all the way down to her sporadically swishing tail, "Sho...ye have one ov them too, ehh~?"

"Wait till ye hear his name." She retorts with a snickering grin, "Richard Gobbler."

The she-gargoyle immediately explodes in a fit of unbridled laughter, cackling loudly as she held her sides, her tail flinging even more wildly, and her wings suddenly outstretched in impulse to keep herself somewhat balanced from toppling off her seat as they spasm and flap.

In brief breaths between the prolonged waves of bursting drunken mirth, she struggles to make a cohesive response and simply says, "You-you can'be s-sherioush!? That name! Oh mah gawd that name!"

Kaylynn was displaying her own form of bursting amusement, but managed to respond in a more stable manner, "I'm dead serious-hic-But, I guess it shows what they say..."

Just as Sam was calming her laughs and settling down to manageable giggles, she inquires, though still a bit shaken, curiously, "W-Wha' would tha' be...?"

"You are what you eat!"

The she-gargoyle blows up again into another fit of howling hilarity, the alcohol in her system retaining her obnoxious mood to a degree that reached higher than most of the noise being cultivated within the room. The two ladies earned a few peculiar stares and annoyed glances, but all knew that this was a bar and a place of merriment, this was to be expected.

When the two girls managed to bring their voices down to a more tolerate tone, Sam inquired curiously, still retaining her gleeful grin, "Okay...Sho, why did you even bother with an assh like that...?

"I dunno..." The human answers blankly, wearing the same smile as she twirls a finger into her glass, "It was back-hic-in highschool, and I didn't know bett'r, and...ya know...same reasons why you liked Eric...?"

There was a moment of silence between the two girls. Kaylynn had not noticed it yet, but Sam's smile quickly evaporated as the memories came flowing back into her mind. She sighs at the retort, but even drunk, she knew Kaylynn's comment wasn't meant to be direct. She tries to shake the last few drops of her bottle down her gullet, then replies, drifting her gaze away and staring into space, "I thought he was...nice...and shweet...funny, handsome, charm'n..."

Kaylynn, turning to her more attentively, listens to her with sympathy in her eyes.

The she-gargoyle continues her lament, "I...loved him...I loved him sho...much...I loved how he'd call me Hammy Sammy when I'd goof off...I loved how he'd kneel down, kiss my hand, and say hello, just like how we first met..." Her nose sniffled for moment, "And then...I'd ask him, every time, I'd ask him, 'Why so formal today?' And then he'd look up at me with those...stupid...adorable eyes of his, and say, 'because everyday I see you, I fall..." Her voice cracks, "I fall in love with you all over again!'...He's such a fucking sap like that..."

It's a fickle thing, the effects of alcohol. When one drinks it in times like this, they do so to smother away the memories too painful to look back on, but, sometimes, it only makes them remember it more.

Kaylynn looked at the Samantha as depression and despair crept their way back into the she-gargoyle's heart like a ship taking on water. She puts down the remainder of her glass and clasps the ginger's shoulder with supple caress and compassion, catching her attention for a moment and exposing a single tear that had rushed down her reddened grey cheek.

"...I know I only met you today, so I won't pretend to know your life story...But if there is one thing I do know, is that you should never take the blame for someone else's choice...I don't know what Eric's deal is...but if he really loved you, he would've supported you and accepted humans more for your sake..."

Slowly, she leans over to wrap her arms around the back of the she-gargoyle in a much needed hug of affection.

Though be it a tad awkward because of how much her wings were in the way,

Sam, even intoxicated, was moderately startled by the sudden embrace, but she allowed it, took it even, returning the hug back to Kaylynn as both her arms and wings enveloped the caring brunette and they stayed in that position for a brief, tender moment. When Sam's tears dried, and after a few muffled sniffles, the two released one another with smiles gradually returning to their faces.

"Feel'n better...?" Kaylynn inquires sweetly.

"I...I'm not sure...I little, I think...?" Sam admits, her brain exhausted from both the emotional whiplash and the swelling alcohol.

"Well, if nothing else...Least you dated someone that wasn't Dick Gobbler." She retorts with a playful smirk.

Sam couldn't help but let out a snorting snicker, followed by a soft giggle before she responds with, "Shaddup, ya drunk...!"

Kaylynn scoffs lavishly, "Pffft! I'm not-hic-drunk, yer drunk!"

The two traded more laughs of soothing joviality, returning to the merriment that was abundant before. There were a few that had noticed Sam's sorrows, but their attention did not matter to these two. Sam did not need their concern or worry, she didn't even need the tequila.

Alcohol has indeed made an influence on the world and has played it's part in history many times over...But it is something that was never needed, it was never something that was depended on. What Sam needed, right now, more than what alcohol could ever provide, was a friend.

However, I did say a storm was brewing, did I not.