As evening approached, the uproar in the bar grew louder and louder.
At a distant table, boys and girls circled around in a guessing game, taking turns to bet on drinks, intermittently erupting in cheers. The ebbs and flows of their voices set the drifting candle flames mid-air trembling.
A team of elves flew down from the ceiling in an orderly manner and landed on the smooth bar counter.
Those glowing little birds transformed into twinkling stars the moment they hit the ground, vanishing into the air.
The elves called out merrily, setting down their wine bottles and fruit baskets, flapping their wings, shuffling their feet, flickering their tiny antennae on their foreheads as they stretched lazily.
This was their brief rest time between work sessions.
The multi-armed bartender, smiling broadly, took the empty fruit platters and wine bottles from them and refilled them.
