Gesture - Zerrif 1
#3 of Gesture
Author's Note: While the ferret bartender in this story is named Zerrif, looks the same, acts the same, as is pretty much the same as the one in Ardring... he's not the same. XD. Ardring is my "canonical" version of Zerrif, involving his storyline, his abilities, etc etc. This Zerrif is just one living in a modern age. I tend to do that -- I like one character and adapt them to multiple storylines. Just... don't think of this Zerrif as a hardened experiment. :P
That, and I'm mainly too lazy to make up new names / appearances. Haha.
"How're things looking tonight, Z?" Came a voice from the door behind the bar. The fennec stepped out from the doorway, dressed in a formal vest and dress pants, looking over at the ferret. The mustelid who was bartending was dressed in a pair of neon green cargos, with bright yellow suspenders. He was shirtless, and the fennec looked him over, enjoying the contrast of the dark brown patches on the creamy fur. The club was lively, but not packed or filled to the brim-- which was clearly evident by the lack of drink orders. The ferret had been reading a book when he looked up, shrugging his shoulders.
"Eh, a little slow to be honest. I haven't had a drink request in a few minutes." He said. Atop the bar were various bottles of water and energy drinks able to just be grabbed at anyone's will-- but even those were packed so tightly on the bar, it looked like they hadn't been touched. They had been removed from a fridge to keep them cold, but now their condensation had simply turned to puddles on the polished wood top; the ferret, having been too lazy to replace them, simply put a couple towels under them to soak up the moisture. "I'm not complainin though. Still getting paid." He grinned widely at the fennec, who just shook his head and put on a fedora.
"Sure, sure. You keep telling yourself that." He said, before he started to walk to the exit. "Keep it real, Z." He said, as he waved over his shoulder. The ferret just smirked, finally getting a drink request; which he began to deal with a large amount of flair, and style. He usually wasn't the type of bartender who'd do a lot of tricks or flourishes to show off-- but with how slow things were going, he could care less. He needed something to pass the time.
"Tales of the Lonely Road. I've read that before." A voice came. A couple of hours had gone past and though the club seemed livelier than earlier, the ferret was still bored at the bar. He looked up to see a red panda smiling over at him, leaning over the countertop. He was a little on the short side, and had an equally red mop that was either oily and dissheveled, or gelled and just messed up. He didn't really care-- he put the book aside and cracked his knuckles.
"Have you, now? Did you like the series at all? I personally think that J. J. Greyson is an amazing writer. What he puts down on paper seems so realistic and modern, but it conveys thoughts that date back to the ancient past, as well as ideals that aren't even thought of today, but could be common in a hopeful future." The ferret said. The red panda blinked, and the ferret grinned inwardly. Yeah, he thought so. Just another fur trying to catch his attention. "Anyway, can I get you a drink?" He asked, in a practiced, cheery tone. The panda just waved one of the bottles that had been set on the bar, already half finished.
"Can I get you something?" The panda asked. Zerrif bit back the urge to laugh, especially when the panda waggled his eyebrows. "Either here, or elsewhere? You seem pretty bored." The panda's grin grew, and he leaned even further on the counter.
"Sorry, but I'm on the job." Zerrif said. He wished it were busier-- he'd have an excuse to just brush the panda off and go start serving someone else. But instead, he couldn't just pick up his book and ignore him. That wasn't the right way to act as a bartender. It'd lose the club business. He could only buy time, really, until someone else did come along for a drink. His tail flicked a little excitedly when he saw a nerdy-looking bat walk up to the bar-- but it fell in defeat once the bat just grabbed a bottle of water, and went back off.
"Oh come on. You're not even doing anything. I'm sure you could sneak away for a couple of minutes to give me a dance, hm?" The panda asked, sitting back on the stool slightly. He pat his thighs, as if implying a different sort of dance, and the ferret resisted and urge to scowl. "Y'know from--"
"I don't think he's into you." Another voice said. Both the panda and ferret turned to see a rather large wolf at the corner of the bar. Zerrif blinked. Had he been there the whole time? A light gray, with slight highlights of white. Maned. Rather large. Dressed kind of formal too-- a nice, cut, black blazer and some dark jeans, with a plain, light blue polo underneath. How the hell could he have just missed that just sitting at the bar? The panda huffed, and turned to see the offending speaker-- whom to Zerrif was a saviour.
"And what, he's into you? How bout you don't try and cut in on my groove." He grumbled, before the wolf just started laughing. He put down a bottle of water, and shook his head. The panda looked over with a glare, which made the wolf crack up even more.
"No, really? Are you serious? Hey, 'tender, can I get a Liberty?" The wolf asked, suddenly changing his target. Zerrif blinked. A drink request-- and a slightly different one at that. He hadn't made a Liberty in a few months now. He grinned, and just turned around tail swishing busily as he started to look. Now, where the hell was that apple brandy? He shifted side to side scanning each bottle some overbearing sense of dread coming from behind him. He found the bottle and reached out for it, when the wolf spoke up again. "Don't you dare!" He said, angrily. Clasping the bottle as if he'd done something wrong, the ferret turned around.
Only to see the Panda up on the bar, in an arm lock. The wolf looked up with a slight grin, and just dragged the panda off and pushed him away. "Was trying to reach out at you. Lecher." The wolf said, before he took the panda's seat. The embarassed, and pride-scarred panda just huffed and stormed out of the club, leaving the ferret to actually tend for once. He grinned, taking some light rum and sugar syrup, placing the three liquids in a shaker with some cracked ice. "You know, I always hear people bashing on Greyson. I think he's an amazing writer. I agree with how tangible his thoughts feel, and yet how surreal or nonexistent it seems in today's society. We'd improve a whole lot if we followed what he wrote about-- especially that panda."
Zerrif, the whole time, had only been paying half attention, shaking up the drink. He stopped, and stared over, the wolf just grinning back at him. "What? Don't tell me you don't think a wolf would ever read that kind of stuff." He added. The dumbstruck mustelid just smirked, and shook his head, a delighted huff turning into a chuckle. He poured out the drink into a cocktail glass and simply offered it to the wolf, garnishing it with a maraschino.
"Nono... surprises, I guess, are just abound tonight." The ferret said, before he brought the shaker to a nearby sink, and started washing it. "And thanks. I didn't know how I'd be getting out of that one. Some people just can't take a hint." He looked up to see the wolf sniff the glass first-- before he downed the entire thing, with a satisfied growl. "Good, I take it? I don't use calvados-- just a regular apple brandy. Seems better to me, at least. Most people can't tell the difference."
"That had to be the second best thing that happened to me, tonight." The wolf said, before he slid the glass forward. Zerrif smiled, taking the glass as he simply put that on a rack at the back of the bar, for glasses to be wheeled back for washing later.
"Please don't tell me the first was seeing my face or something cheesy. I might need someone to save me from you." Zerrif joked back, with a grin. The wolf let out a slight rumble, scratching the side of his neck. "Oh come on, really?"
"No. The best thing tonight was meeting someone who liked my work." The wolf said, the blush coming back to his face. The ferret just nodded, drying out the shaker, before he dropped the top of it in the sink. The wolf grinned, and just smiled. "J.J. Greyson, but you can just call me Jay, nice to meet you." He said, holding out a paw. The ferret fumbled to get a towel, wiping his paws neat and offering a dark brown paw to shake.
"Zerrif. And dear god-- please tell me you're joking." He replied, as he shook the wolf's paw. The lupine had a firm grip and he winced slightly, until the wolf let go.
"No, unfortunately, I'm not joking. I'm not some famous author-- but it's a real pleasure to hear someone who not only appreciates my work, but understands the point I'm trying to portray. It's a victory, even for a small-time author like myself." Jay replied, with a smile. He produced various forms of ID that identified himself as the author, and even produced a book from inside his jacket; the very book that the ferret had been reading. Zerrif grinned himself, and just wiped down the counter where the panda had been.
"So what brings you to Gesture, then, Jay? Trying to get ideas for a new story in here?" He asked. The wolf started laughing, making the ferret's ears turn away from the sudden noise.
"Maybe.... maybe." Jay replied, catching his breath. "In all honesty, I do enjoy going out and having fun. Small time authors have to do something to stay sane, while they search for fame. Besides, I don't see you complaining." He raised a brow at the ferret, who had glanced over at the book. "Tell me, do you believe Aston?" The wolf asked, referencing the main character in the particular book that Zerrif looked at. The ferret blinked.
"Excuse me?" He asked, as someone else came up to grab another bottle of water. He replaced any of the missing bottles on the bar, pushing older ones to the front so they'd get used first. "Do you mean, do I see him as a believable character?" He waited for a reply, which ended up just being the lupine nodding his head at him. "I think he's the most realistic of all your characters so far. I mean, I connect with him on more levels than some want to believe. He's definitely the kind of person you feel for, not just pity, but because you know the things that happen to him could easily happen to you. I guess that makes him believable."
"Now I don't know if you're being truthful, or if you're just saying that to make me feel better." Jay replied. They shot each other a grin, as the wolf just ordered up another Liberty. Whilst the ferret shook, the lupine leaned over the counter a little. "So then, what'd bring a literary buff like you to work at a bar? I'm sure there's more to you than just mixing drinks, working at one of society's most infamous gay bars."
"I've just been doing it for a while, and I've loved it ever since. I get by on the pay, and I don't need any more. Simple life, simple pleasures. What about you? I didn't think that someone who could write such... vivid straight scenes would frequent a gay club." The mustelid shot back, smiling. "I'm not judging, mind-- I just assumed--"
"Assumptions seem to always fall short, don't they?" The wolf asked, taking another drink from his new cocktail. "It's easy to put words down on a page and describe something. You're just basically putting your imagination down into words. Imagination should have no real reflection on the person, other than it's something they can think up. I could think up the most beautiful vixen you'd ever see, describe her in ways intangible so that she'd only remain a dream. It doesn't mean or imply that I'd like her in that way, however."
"I guess you've got me there." A shrug came from the mustelid. "So then what, are you trying to hook up with someone, then? You yourself said you had a lot of time-- maybe you're trying to find inspiration in someone else? That seems to be a main theme in your writing, anyway." He looked over, to see the wolf have a flash of pain over him. Had he hit a nail into somewhere he shouldn't have?
There was an awkward silence, and then the ferret was thankful to have someone ask for a drink. Just a Manhattan, but it was something to do. He watched Jay out of the corner of his eye, but focused on the drink. The skunk who ordered gave him a wink, and he just smiled as a reflexive response, watching him leave. "He was the love of my life. My inspiration to write. I didn't need to be famous with him." The ferret sighed lightly. He hated when people spilled their guts-- he got it so much just being a bartender. Especially relationship things. He hadn't had the best ones himself, and he didn't consider himself any sort of advice giver for it.
"What happened?" The ferret asked. He couldn't just leave the writer like that-- it had been his fault, anyway. Even if he couldn't give advice, he wasn't about to just not listen to someone. He figured he was just too innately nice-- which was why he enjoyed being a bartender sometimes. When people spilled the worst things through their inebriation, he felt good to know that the words he said made them feel better, regardless if they'd remember it the next day.
"He couldn't put up with the poverty. And it's not like I'm on the streets or anything-- but eventually he got so fed up that he wanted things that other people had, and both of us together couldn't get it. It became to the point where he got selfish-- so I ended it before it could hurt me. I regret losing him, but I didn't want to just be used. I have a life. I have my own strength." Zerrif smiled at the wolf's words.
"Yet another theme you always write about." He quipped, wiping off the bar again. I hope you find someone someday. They say this place does weird things in those regards." The wolf looked up, with a smile.
"So I hear." He looked around, and then down at a watch. "Hey... I'm going to go. I just got inspired and I need to write this down before I sleep tonight. Thanks for talking tonight, Zerrif." The wolf got up, and put his blazer back on.
"Hey, thanks for the save with that panda. You have a nice night-- and come back to Gesture some time. I believe in the magic here, at least."
A smile. "I think it's already worked." With that, the wolf left-- leaving the ferret in a slight blush. He looked down to see his book open, and signed. He looked up again for the wolf-- when had he--?
Magic. Hah.