So Far From The Top But I Refuse To Stop

[Lolli Lovre]

The summer breeze danced like fairies in the aubrun sky. With a shiver, a small figure stepped inside the doors of her last hope. Though it was in the midst of summer, Lolli Lovre's lithe form still couldn't help but be chilled. When the sun went down on the outskirts of town it was easy to tell there was a temperature drop, and with such a small form the twenty five year old security troll trainer was unequipped to deal with even the slightest chills. Her steps were light on the hardwood floor as if thinking she may wake every guest in the building, though she was unsure if there were even guests there at the moment. Assumptions fluttered in her mind though, since every other inn had been full this too would be a lost cause - the damned Holidays always did this.

"Excuse me." A soft voice filled the air, more authoritative than anyone would predict from Lolli. She looked so young, sixteen at the most. Every Inn had Id'd her, asked her why she wasn't with her parents - after a while it go old. Her disease was most debilitating in that way she thought. Standing on tip toes, the 5'4" woman looked over the counter. It wasn't that she needed to be on tiptoes, it was comfortable, almost a way to see farther. "Do you have any empty rooms?"

 

[Ythofus Crane]

The Silver Flute Inn never saw a great deal of business. Even during the winter months, when the roads were faring hard and Muggle travellers were easily lured through the doors by the spicy aroma of a good bowl of stew, it was unusual for more than five or six rooms to be filled at once. The fiery haired innkeeper, who went by the name of Kelle, rarely spared the time to let it worry him. With the lack of guests came a peaceful quiet, and in his opinion there was no finer sound to work in than total silence.

It was this sort of silence that filled the Inn that late Christmas Eve. Save for the gentle scratching of Kelle's quill against parchment, the night was still and restful. The Innkeeper had moved from the polished wooden bar and secreted himself in the corner farthest from the front doors to write. What few guests he had were sleeping soundly in their beds upstairs. Occasionally the hush was broken by a loud, grunting snore, which Kelle could hardly believe wasn't being made by a dying mammoth. Apart from this, he was untroubled.

Hours passed. When the Inn doors swung open, Kelle was so deep in prose that he practically jumped from his stool. He gathered up his papers and hurried back to the bar, stuffing them deep beneath the counter. "Yes," he said simply, looking the girl up and down through narrowed eyes. "Where are your parents?" he asked curiously, reaching for a cloth and using it to buff a nearby bottle.

 

[Lolli Lovre]

Lolli shivered once more, pulling the sleeves on her rusty colored sweater. Her exposed midriff showed the true pale of her skin, which wasn't evident in her tanner face behind all her freckles. The woman leaned slightly over the counter as a man with fiery hair much like her own approached. The flames around his head blew back by the small remainder of wind that seemed to follow her. A wand in her purse sat dormant in case she needed it - but upon making eye contact with the gentleman she doubted she would. A hex would only be good if he threatened her - there was no reason to hurt him for accusing her of being a teen.

Rolling her doe eyes the girl raised a red eyebrow into her hairline slightly. She reached into her bag and pulled out an ID which said her age clearly on it, even though she looked even younger in the photo. "I've actually no idea, I was orphaned as a wee one, but it's not like it matters much considering I'm twenty five." Looking into her eyes she watched for shock or relief, or whatever emotion people felt when learning her age. "Regardless I'd like to know how much it is to rent one. Everywhere else is full and if I want to get to the training site to pick up my new Troll Trainee I need to sleep some. Yeah?" She was blunt, though not rude, speaking rather quickly as she placed galleons on the counter.

 

[Ythofus Crane]

If Kelle had been feeling any remorse, he did well to conceal it. In fact, the only indication of his embarrassment was in the way he polished a bottle of liquor one or two more times than necessary before placing it back down on the dark walnut bar. Only the sharpest and most well trained eye of an innkeeper could have perceived it.

The red haired man moved across to a large, open book, though he knew the prices well enough to recite them without looking down. "Singles are eight galleons a night. Nine if you're expecting a hot breakfast in the morning. We serve lunch and dinner, but they'll be an additional galleon each." Kelle peered incredulously at the petite young woman. It was almost impossible to believe they were the same age. The innkeeper was tall and well built, with the deep lines of a wayfarer etched into his angular face. The girl was delicate and childlike, and looked as if she'd have been better suited training fairies than trolls.

Another snore from the rafters above disrupted the brief silence. Kelle followed its direction with his sharp green eyes. "We've no Muggles in tonight. I'll silencio his room on your way up." It seemed decided that the woman would be staying. His rates were, after all, the best she would find for miles around, and the night was far from safe for such a small girl to be travelling in by herself. "Will you be requiring a drink before bed?" he asked habitually, slightly reluctant to offer alcohol to anyone so tiny.

 

[Lolli Lovre]

Though Lolli was typically skilled at deciphering emotions, she did not catch the little nuances that showed his embarrassment. Instead the woman was concentrated on her Galleons, counting them out. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind that there may be muggles in this place - it was rather close to her pick up spot after all, and a muggle seeing a troll wouldn't end well for anyone involved. She smiled as she counted out twenty before slipping the rest in her purse. Nine she counted for her room, plus the breakfast - how could she not eat before work? Then the rest of the eleven would be for a few drinks for herself, alcohol helping her sleep when she was in a strange place.

"Yeah, warm milk please." She responded though chuckled soon after. "I'm kidding, can I have a rum over ice with grenadine?" She requested, hoping to hell he had all those things she listen. After all, if the drinks wasn't sweet she didn't want it - but she also wasn't about to order a appletini or other rather feminine drink. She'd been drinking since she could and if the alcohol was going to put her to bed she'd need a kick. "I'm Lolli by the way." She introduced herself as she took a seat, arm leaned on the dark wood of the bar which was meticulously cleaned.

 

[Ythofus Crane]

Kelle scooped the galleons from the counter and counted them up with nefarious efficiency. The burnished coins had barely grazed his palm before he'd decided there were twenty of them and deposited them safely into the cash register. Only an idiot would have been foolish enough to try to rob it. Thieves and pillagers were commonplace around these parts, and Kelle had taken diligent measures to ensure that no man who tried to steal from him would leave the inn with as many fingers as they'd entered with.

Rum over ice with grenadine. Kelle's slender hands selected two thin bottles with ease. His arms moved with such grace that he almost appeared to be dancing an elegant waltz with the rum as it trickled over the ice. Against his better judgement, he nudged the finished drink across the counter and returned the bottles to their respective places on the shelf behind him. "Kelle," he said quickly, resuming his polishing to give his restless hands something to do. "My name is Kelle."

The innkeeper ran his cloth down the neck of a fine wine and frowned. Times being what they were, a frown seemed to have taken up permanent residence on the redhead's face, but this one was deeper and more thoughtful than usual. It could even have been argued that it was a little bit concerned. "What are you doing out here so late at night?" he questioned. "It is not safe, you know." Perhaps the gravity of walking alone at this hour had not yet worn down on her. Kelle supposed they never did learn until it was too late.

 

[Lolli Lovre]

Lolli watched him make her drink, he was truly skilled at it - and it seemed to her that perhaps he did more bar tending than innkeeping. It was a silly thought though, the place was so homey and clean that he must have been skilled at both. "It's very nice to meet you Kelle." She responded, taking the drink and sipping it with ease. The burning of the alcohol for a moment numbed her throat and spread a warmth through her body. She couldn't help but love the hint of cherry that was nearly overpowered by the taste of the rum, and smiled slightly. "Good mix, yeah." She said to reassure him that her drink was to her liking. To be honest the girl thought that would be the last of the words spoken between them, except maybe when she asked him to show her to her room. However Kelle instead asked her a question that was a bit hard to answer.

"I wouldn't be out this late if i could apparate." She commented with a small sigh. "But I had to take a few trains to get here, and there was a delay at the station. I'll be lucky to get a few hours sleep if I'm honest. And of course wrestling trolls while tired is always a risk, but I love the work." Subconsciously she rubbed her shoulder, which had only just healed after being dislocated. She'd only spent a day or two off work though. "Besides, I'm not too worried about things that go bump in the night." She spoke with a small laugh. "You see a lot of danger here then?" She asked, wondering if perhaps she was in a bad area, taking another drink from her glass.

 

[Ythofus Crane]

As Lolli drank, Kelle could not help but steal furtive glances at her from across the counter. She was quite unlike any guest he had accommodated before, and as an innkeeper by trade, he had housed his fair share of travelling witches and wizards. Most women he encountered held an inherent nervousness about them - a constant vigilance that Kelle himself had become well acquainted with. It was not safe in these parts, and even less so for a girl of Lolli's size and demeanour. The innkeeper couldn't decide whether to be troubled or intrigued by her lacking apprehension. In the end, he settled for both.

Leaning against a barrel, Kelle flourished his cloth and then tucked it into his thick leather belt. Despite the ruthless wear they received, his hands were as soft and supple as they'd been the day he was born. It was one of the innkeeper's many mysterious features. His shoulders gave a composed shrug. "Danger is everywhere," he pointed out unhelpfully, picking up a broom. The dry wooden floorboards scarcely had the chance to catch dust, but that was the way Kelle liked it.

The innkeeper moved to the corners as he swept, keeping his back turned on his most recent guest. "You're a troll trainer, then?" he asked hospitably. It was polite to make pleasant conversation with new arrivals. Most of them tended to enjoy talking about themselves, and the longer Kelle could keep them seated at the bar, the better it was for his business.

 

[Lolli Lovre]

Lolli rolled her eyes slightly and laughed a bit. "It must be interesting being an innkeeper with such knowledge of philosophy." She joked to him before finishing her drink and wondering if she should grab another. It took a moment before she decided. "Mind if i have another?" It wasn't as if she was asking for free, she'd given him nine galleons over what he needed and could pay the difference with the rest of her money. It wasn't that Lolli was rich, or even that she was poor, she made a comfortable wage in her job that truly made life easy. Having grown up in an orphanage she knew what it was like to share everything, and while it taught her many valuable lessons it felt good to own something for once.

Hearing his question she absentmindedly nodded. "Yeah, have been since I graduated school. I love it really. At first the Trolls can be a pain, but after a while you kind of learn the way to get through their thick skulls." She chuckled slightly. "What about you, must be lovely seeing so many different... colorful guests, yeah?" Lolli was determined to return any questions he asked her, as she enjoyed learning a bit about everyone she made acquaintances with.