Chapter Text
“Inside” was not the word Finn should’ve used. The tavern was more of an open concept. Sure it had a door and walls in the front, but the walls were only partially constructed between the posts, and the floor was grass. The roof was also only partially constructed, starting from just over the bar and extending behind to cover what Finn assumed were rooms. Was this in their journal? Had they entered before?
The smart thing would be to check their journal. The smarter thing would be to sit down and see about getting something to eat. Despite time being broken for them, they still needed food and sleep like anyone else; which Finn had always found incredibly annoying. Not quite as annoying as the stares they were currently getting from the patrons however. Some seemed a bit intimidating. But no matter.
At least the person at the bar seemed friendly enough, having a warm smile as Finn approached. One other thing they’d notice as they walked was that despite the bar being more outside, it seemed to be in a different climate than what Finn had walked in from.The “inside” was chillier, and the leaves were orange and red around. There seemed to be a crispness to the air too, which Finn soon recognized as an autumn air. It’s been a long time since they felt a season change, and they enjoyed it.
“You wanna keep looking around in awe or you gonna order?” The barkeep asked with a chuckle, which prompted Finn to look back over to them. Finn chuckled nervously and blushed a bit, not even realizing their mistake. “S-sorry, it’s just—sorry,” they said sheepishly.
“I’m just teasing you,” the bartender said. Their appearance seemed to match the rest of the tavern, with their olive skin covered in golden patches, and their dreadlocks tied up but free, then there were their clothes; made as if they were always ready for autumn weather. What really struck Finn though, the reason that the bartender seemed to fit with the rest of their scenery, was their twinkling, golden eyes. They were so bright and yet so warm. “You must be new around here,” the bartender commented.
“In a way, you uh. Could say that,” Finn said, snapping out of their thoughts from staring at rhe bartender’s eyes. Ah what was the custom with meeting new people? Oh yes. “I’m uh, Finn Evergreen,” they added.
“Crispten Autumner, owner of the Single Season,” the bartender, Crispten apparently, responded. Finn started to feel the name was a little too on the nose. Their frog friend didn’t seem to care about either of them, hopping off of Finn’s shoulder and on to the the bar as Finn sat on a stump.
“N-nice to meet you there,” Finn said,placing their hands on the bar top and flashing a single fanged, friendly smile. “So what brings you around? Looking for a place to stay?” Crispten asked them, wiping the bar as they spoke. This. Person intrigued Crispten for sure. “You look like you’ve been traveling a long time.”
Finn had a humorless chuckle. “In a way, yes. You wouldn’t believe me there,” they said, unsure how much to reveal. Was this person part of the loop too? Finn wanted to assume so, so whatever they told them would just reset too, wouldn’t it? No harm in trying there.
As if reading Finn’s last thoughts, Crispten said with a bright smile, “try me. I get all kinds in here.”
That gave Finn the opportunity to nervously grin in response, which showed off their singular fang over their lip. They cleared their throat as Crispten chuckled again and gave them a mug. “Oh, I uh didn’t order anything,” Finn said, staring at the wooden cup and looking back to the bartender, who merely gave them a wink.
Part of Finn felt a bit weirded out, but that quickly faded as they took a sip of the drink. Tea. It was just a nice earl grey tea, like the kind Finn would make themselves every morning to watch the sunrise with. It even had the hint of lemon and honey they would normally put in their own mug at home. “How did–”
“Little specialty of mine,” Crispten said, wiping the counter and smiling at Finn. “Now, what brings you here? How can I help?” They didn’t ask urgently, just patiently, and seeming like they didn’t even expect Finn to answer. This felt strangely comforting. Finn took a breath and another sip of the tea. “Well.. let’s just say I’m on a quest,” Finn began before finding themselves diving deep into the conversation. It felt odd but it was nice to have someone else to actually listen, even if they would end uo being reset the next day. And before Finn knew it, they were out of breath, and the cup was drained. They couldn’t even remember how the conversation had started before they’d spilled their life story. Well, what they knew of it anyway. When had they taken their journal out? It was opened to the most recent entries and maps. Crispten appeared to be studying it as they gave Finn another mug of the same tea.
They found themself waiting with bated breath, realizing they’d must’ve told Crispten everything but hadn’t even tried to get to know them. And Crispten seemed absolutely fascinating themself. Somehow, Finn had just felt safe talking to them, even with their nerves rising as they awaited the reaction.
Much to their surprise, they saw Crispten only nod and give them back the journal. “You might become a regular is what I’m seeing,” they said. Well that was an odd interpretation.
“I mean, I guess?” Finn said, blinking their tired eyes in slight surprise. “Do you… have something I could use then?”
“How do you mean?” Crispten asked patiently.
“Well, I guess like information or an artifact, or any kind of help, really,” Finn said, rubbing the back of their neck through their hair, then adjusting their cap.
“Well, we’ll see. Write this down and try again tomorrow,” Crispten told them, “you look exhausted already.”