Pog Mahone's Irish Pub, Baltimore, Saturday Afternoon

[not_every_mage]

This was still the tackiest Irish-themed pub in America, just as it had been for Anders' and Edward's first visit the fall before. Almost everything that could be faded, scratched or dingy was, and the badly outdated St. Patrick's Day posters curled off the walls at their edges. But the beers were cheap, the bartenders were lax about carding, and Anders knew from past experience that the nachos were thick with melted cheese and gloppy guacamole.

It was, in other words, the perfect place to introduce Thorin to earth culture.

"They added a new type of nachos!" Anders exclaimed with some delight, as he squinted at the menu. "Irish. With ... potato slices, cheese and bacon. We have to try those, don't we?"

[OOC: For those named. NFB due to distance.]

Comments

[doesnotkneel]

"Master Thorin," Edward echoed, lifting the thiny glass.

He gave a most honorable nod in recognition, then downed the whole thing.

Good luck beating Edward's alcohol tolerance, lads.

[not_every_mage]

"To old friends and new," Anders said, equally formal since that seemed to be the thing they were doing.

And then he downed his and looked away so they wouldn't see the face he made. He hadn't had straight whiskey often, and he'd never learned to like it. More cheese was needed to chase the taste from his mouth.

[dwarvenswagger]

Thorin gave it a sniff before knocking it back as his compatriots had.

Then promptly coughed.

"That is potent." And no, he didn't seem upset by it.

[doesnotkneel]

"Might put another inch on you, mate," Edward said, laughing, and turned to his pint. "So how are we all finding ourselves this eve?"

[not_every_mage]

"It's a good day," Anders decided, sprawling out as best he could on a barstool. "You lot are in your right minds, for one thing. And Nathan and I have plans for a birthday weekend away in a few weeks, so there's that to look forward to."

[dwarvenswagger]

"Nathan?" Thorin asked after rolling his eyes at Edward.

[doesnotkneel]

"His..." Edward took a sip of his ale, "Close companion."

There. That was appropriate, right?

[not_every_mage]

It was much more appropriate than Anders would have wagered on Edward coming up with, and the lad got a grateful look as Anders swallowed his unwieldy mouthful of potato and bacon. "What he said," he confirmed. "You've probably seen him. He's got dark hair and he's a lot quieter than I am. Anyhow, we're going to the beach for a few days if I can get it arranged."

[dwarvenswagger]

"That describes many," Thorin replied dryly. "Does he not enjoy such places?"

[doesnotkneel]

Edward let Anders field that one, waving for the barkeep and putting in an order for some rum.

What? He'd seen Anders drunk. Now he wanted to see Thorin drunk.

[not_every_mage]

Anders shrugged at Thorin. "Not particularly," he said. "Besides, we don't spend all our time together."

And Nathan might have talked him out of being stupid, which would clearly be wasted effort.

[dwarvenswagger]

Not when they were in the posse of archaic bros. Thou turnst downwards whyfore?

Thorin nodded as though that was a suitable enough explanation for him as he sipped the watery beer and polished off the last of his plate of Irish nachos. It was sort of magical how much he could shovel away. "The only thing this place lacks seems to be music."

[doesnotkneel]

Now, now, that was at least a hundred years even before Edward's time, Thorin's narrative.

"They have this device near the back," Edward said, as the bartender put down three tall glasses of rum. "You put some coin in it and allegedly, something in it produces music."

[not_every_mage]

"Very bad music, mostly," Anders chipped in. "Noise and caterwauling. But sometimes the words are ... stirring."

Mainly because he didn't know the cliches were cliches.

[dwarvenswagger]

Thorin hummed, eyeing the new drinks for a moment before he carefully got down from the barstool. Stupid, tall men designing such impractical things.

"I shall see if music can be produced," he said. "The 'nachos' were good, but I hope the next course of the meal will be larger."

Next course. Yeah.

[doesnotkneel]

Edward leaned over towards Anders and whispered, "You think he'll get to a 'next course'?"

[not_every_mage]

Anders snorted in amusement, then answered in an equally low tone. "He'snot that wobbly yet," he said. "Anyhow, I'm not sure there is a next course here. We could order one of the martini drinks and tell him it's dessert."

[doesnotkneel]

"We could soak some of the cheese sticks in the rum and give 'em to him, too," Edward mused, "Though the martini thing would work if we asked them to put in more fruit."

[not_every_mage]

Anders made a face. "Would you eat fried cheese soaked in rum?" he asked. "Or do I not want to know the answer to that?"

[doesnotkneel]

"Have you ever tried fried cheese soaked in rum?" Edward asked him. Practically. "I haven't."

[not_every_mage]

"No, but I've never tried dogshit covered with chocolate either," Anders said, equally practically. "I'm secure in my judgment."

[doesnotkneel]

Edward shrugged and snagged a cheese stick, then dumped it in his glass of rum.

He took it out again a moment later and took a bite.

"'s all right."

[dwarvenswagger]

Thorin had touched the 'screen' many times to get something to play once he'd put coins into it. He wasn't rightly certain what he'd played, but it was there.

Playing something that he didn't hate completely.

"Do I wish to know?" Thorin asked, pulling himself back on up that damn stool.

[not_every_mage]

"Dependson what kind of second course you were thinking of," Anders said brightly, and passed the menu to Thorin. "Edward wants to just start dipping things in other things."

[doesnotkneel]

"Try putting the cheese in the drink," Edward said brightly.