Devil's Nest | Thursday Evening

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Oh my God, you scared me with that," Annie admitted, startling a little when she came into the bar and Tiny smiled at her.

And later, when he smiled at her, he got a, "Ugh, stop it, that's so gross."

But by the time an hour had come and gone, Annie was doing it too, and smiled over at at Tiny with an orange slice covering her teeth so she gave him an orange, unsettling, toothless grin.

Apparently everyone at the Devil's Nest tonight was feeling fairly inspired by elementary school lunchtime.

[idk. open and without OCD because it already took an hour to post this.]

Comments

[pocketpretzels]

"Evening, Miss January," Watts greeted. Hat, axe holder, etc etc, before he sat down at the bar. "How goes it?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie offered out an orange slice smile -- normal, mature behavior -- before politely removing the orange and replying, "It goes pretty well, Mr. Watts. Slow evening."

Clearly.

[pocketpretzels]

… Yeah, he was just going to stare at you for a moment, Annie.

And then continue on like everything was fine!

“No specials today?”

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I wasn't feeling too inspired," Annie admitted. "I could make up something fun for you, though! Ever have a beer with an orange slice in it?"

Here at the very, very tail end of the season where such a thing would be appropriate.

[pocketpretzels]

“I… have not, no,” Watts said. “I suppose I can give it a try.” She’d built up some good will with the successful specials following the White Claw Incident, after all.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It's a summer thing," Annie shared, selecting a glass and going to pull him a nice blond-colored beer. "So get it while the getting's good and everything isn't pumpkin, yet."

Though Annie loved pumpkin and she would not be shamed for it, thank you.

[pocketpretzels]

“I’ve no quarrel with pumpkin,” Watts admitted. Though he had yet to experience the sheer overwhelmingness that was Pumpkin Spice Everything.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You say that now," Annie teased, tilting the glass so it didn't foam up too bad before neatly dropping a thin (thinner than she and Tiny had been messing around with) slice of orange on top and sliding the glass over. "Talk to me around Halloween. It can be...a lot."

Annie, in fact, would be missing the tail end of pumpkin spice season thanks to her own honeymoon, but sometimes sacrifices needed to be made.

[pocketpretzels]

"Hm. Halloween for me last year involved a murderous clown as well as the unfortunate discovery that I do not possess any great skill at pumpkin carving," Watts shared with her. "So I should think this year would have to put a lot of effort into being 'a lot' to top that."

Good job cursing it, Watts.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"'kay, first of all," Annie told him, leaning her elbows on the bar, "a murderous clown is like a literal, actual nightmare. But moreover -- that, my friend, is what you call jinxing yourself. The first year I was here, on Halloween, we all turned into our costumes."

Annie's first animal transformation! Aw, memories.

[pocketpretzels]

"Did anything in particular happen to those who did not don a costume?" Watts wondered.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Their friends told them they were no fun at the party beforehand," Annie replied with a frown. "But for what it's worth, not everyone who was in costume transformed, so you might as well risk it. I did, but my fiancé was dressed up too and he didn't."

Something she was mildly bitter about to this day.

[pocketpretzels]

"I've nothing against the concept, just no idea of what sort of costume I would possibly wear." My dude you have like seven weeks to figure it out, nobody's saying you have to decide this instant.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You have a little time to figure it out," Annie told him, reassured on all dressing-up fronts. "Though, based on this experience, I would recommend against anything, like, from the animal kingdom, just in case. I turned into a bat. It...was not great."

[pocketpretzels]

“But getting to fly seems like it would be interesting…” Watts mused.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Oh, flying's great. But maybe at least go with something bigger and smarter, less prone to panic or getting stuck in people's hair," Annie advised sagely. "Maybe a bird. Owls seem smart?"

Annie, that was just because people often drew them wearing glasses.

[pocketpretzels]

Watts unconsciously reached up to pat at his own currently hat-less head.

“You may have a point.”