In a dim, large room underground, seemingly far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the surroundings were naturally dark, with places such as the walls, ceiling, and hanging lights glowing a soft, deep blue light that was just bright enough for those seeking such a place to move around with ease with their eyes unharmed.
In the background, the sound of the drum stick tapping on the cymbal in a consistent rhythm, and every so often lightly playing across the several drums. In harmony with it was the sound of the piano keys being played like a cheeky lover's tease, seemingly random and yet with both a melancholic and lighthearted tone. Together, just these two instruments that seemingly aren't compatible could create a dissonant magic that'll make nearly anyone unconsciously relax, loosen their muscles, and be at peace- if only for a short while at least.
In such a place, such music softly playing in the background was basically made for those drinking here.
As the ever present music continued to play, the sound of glass clinking here and there happened once every few seconds or so. In addition to faint talking, whispers, and rambunctious laughter being nearly drowned out by the ever-soothing music, such noise was an everyday occurrence in a place such as this.
And in one such occurrence-
𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘨!
A large beer mug slammed down onto the smooth black bar table. The sound was not too strong to further gain attention from anyone, and yet noticeable enough for an experienced bartender's attention.
"James!" the drinker yelled, releasing their hand from the mug's handle and began waving it around in a drunken manner. "Another- 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬!- one! And make it a- 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬!- double to!"
The bartender only glanced at the drinker before simply taking the cup, brought it closer to him, and began refilling it as though he had done so many a times.
Seeing it being refilled, the drinker nodded once with satisfaction before the natural weight of gravity slammed their forehead onto the table.
"Hey, little girl, shouldn't you be with your parents?" a customer on a bar stool a couple seats to the left jokingly teased. The "little girl" didn't even bother to raise her head at the foolish plebeian.
"Little girl? The only thing that's- 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬- little here is what's inside your- 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬- pants, Tom," she muttered.
Chuckles came up from around them- the eavesdroppers, fools, the whole lot of 'em- and "Tom" snorted and looked away.
"Fuck you."
"Yeah," the drinker sighed. "You'd- 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬- like that, wouldn't you Dennis?"
The laughter doubled, a cacophony of noise that sounded like bird screeches that definitely didn't help with the pulsing pain in her head, and thus she could only glance up as she watched and waited for the only antidote that'll heal her pain being slowly refilled.
"Hey bartender, how long has this girl been drinking?" someone of no importance abruptly asked in the background.
"Yeah, how old is she anyways?" Customer C asked curiously to no one in particular.
"I'm old enough to be your mom a- 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬- 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 times over," the drinker mumbled, and her eyes' slowly squinted at the glass mug. Was her eyes tricking her, or was the cup being filled at a snail's pace? Perhaps there was a hole underneath the cup, or a crack that was formed because she slammed it too hard? Maybe she was just too drunk. She swore she had held back her strength-
"Yeah, your white hair shows it," another customer nearby jovially spoke, and the drinker had to force herself to not look at the monkey who seemed to be on the far right, just another few seats away.
Yet something irked her in a strange, strange way. The faintest of thoughts of whispers, easily able to be suppressed, yet its hold on her was so strong it affected her physically. This something inside her, suddenly without warning, raised its ugly head and consumed her, made itself known to her, almost physically grabbing her head and forcing her to turn her suspicious glare from the bartender to the audacious, color-blind ape.
Then, she forcefully suppressed the feeling inside her into a misshapen ball and tossed it into the void and hiccuped.
"You stupid son of a bitch who was- 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬- probably dropped as baby!" she shouted and slammed her fists onto the table. The beer mugs, wine glass, plates, and just about everything else somewhat light in weight lightly jumped and clattered. "It's- 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬- pale blonde. It's just-"
"Yes yes, very, very pale in this lighting. You've said that for the hundredth time already."
The annoying laugh track that the drinker thought only existed in those banal TV shows from the invisible audience suddenly rose once more. She could only bother continuing her halfhearted side glare at Customer D for a second before turning her glare to the bartender. She now confirmed it. It wasn't her drunkenness that's been tricking her, it was this man having the audacity to tease her with her beloved antidote!
How was this guy actually pouring it slowly? How many seconds has it been? Ten? Twenty? Forty? Has it been a minute now?
Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the corners of the bartender's mouth made the smallest, most microscopic hints of a smile that could only compare to the size of a pixel.
There was no way she was seeing double and missed that. T-this guy was actually teasing her! If it wasn't for his fantastic skills and carefully brushed mustache, she would've-
"Oh my gosh, she looks, like, very petite, like a young teenager…" Customer E spoke up somewhat curiously in a valley girl accent.
"She's been drinking here for a while, so I think she's fine…?" another responded with another question in the same accent. "Maybe she's just a midget…"
"Or maybe she's illegally faked her identity and is actually a student-!"
"Or 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 I'm the real- 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬- adult, and you three are pretending to be adults because you all wore so much makeup, the entire reason the ocean was polluted was because of the- 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬- three of you gossiping pieces of-"
It was just another usual day in the bar, from the drinking and laughing, to the clinking of glass against glass, glass against table, to the music faintly playing in the background…
The uproarious laughter that could only compare to the superimposed and cumulative screeches of the most annoying birds that exist came and went, and the questions and responses became few and far between, the heavenly, most delicious beer mug was finally placed in front of her.
The drinker's breathing quickened, and she swallowed and licked her dry lips. It's finally here. It's finally here! The tiny bit of annoyance that came from the humans around her naturally dissipated. Actually, there wasn't any annoyance at all. Completely nonexistent. Annoyance? What's that? Can you drink it?
"About goddamn time you fucking old muppet," she grumbled underneath her breath, and she eagerly reached out for it, only for her eyes to widen as the antidote to her worries was pulled away, like a mother seeing her beloved baby being taken.
"Heeeeyyyy…" she whined childishly. "Gimme it- 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬- baaaaaaaakk…𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬…"
"Dear customer," the bartender began in his deep, suave voice that the drinker found most annoying. "That was your sixtieth drink today. Perhaps it's time to-"
"No!" the drinker yelled. " No no no! It's still not enough! I can feel it…I can feel it- ohh…ohhhhhhhhh…ohhhhhhhhh… OHHHHHHHH-!"
As she screamed, everything seemed to have halted as everything became hushed. The people, the music- everything. They all stopped, and all turned towards her with surprised and cautious eyes.
The drinker grabbed both sides of her head with her hands, just underneath her two rounded cone-shaped horns sticking out diagonally, and she began to writhe and convulse in place. The sight was incredibly jarring to behold, and all held their breaths as they watched on the edge of their seats.
"it's the voices again!" she cried out mournfully, and her head moved in an unnatural way, twisting here and there- reminiscent of an owl some may say. "It's back! Back I say! Oh woe is me! It's telling me to kill everyone here, and the only way to repress it all is to drink more-!"
"That was your excuse last time, dear customer."
Then everything resumed. The silence disappeared as though it was all just a dream, and the music played again while the people inside began talking and laughing. The bartender began deftly and skillfully wiping a recently washed wine glass with a clean, white rag, there was a glint in the drinker's eyes, though no one could tell because they were covered by a thick, black mask.
If she is unable to get her much needed booze, then…
As she began to wiggle her fingers, strings slowly falling from her hands, another glass cup was placed in front of her, startling her. However, just as quickly as she was startled, the corners of her mouth rose into an evil grin.
Grabbing it quickly, within a second she began chugging it down, only to stop several seconds later. With a strange face, she slowly pulled the mug away from her lips and gently set it on the table.
"James?" she asked in a confused manner.
"Yes, dear customer," the bartender replied professionally, already wiping the second cup.
"What…what is this?" the drinker asked, and pointed at the cup as though it was an alien from a different universe. It was clearly filled to the brim, and the color was the same, yet…the odor it gave off was quite different. It also tasted very, very different.
Actually, there wasn't much of a spicy odor at all, but instead a refreshing one.
"This. This! What 𝘪𝘴 this?" she asked, and repeatedly pointed at the monstrosity inside.
"It's oolong tea, dear customer," the bartender said gracefully, already wiping another new cup with a rag.
The whole world around the drinker froze. The noise became muted, the laughter and chatter- all of it. It seemed as though the beers she all glugged down today finally goto to her. She began seeing double, and the world around her became wobbly.
Tea? Tea?? Tea???
"I demand the good stuff!" the drinker roared and banged the table once more with a fist. "I demand it! Or else I will act in the name of God, Honka-!"
Yet all didn't heed her call- or, as some may say, childful tantrum- and her head soon slammed onto the table.
It's joever.