cocktail choices

Going to the bar any day of the week wasn’t necessarily considered strange in Burrowgatory, but going on weekends and holidays were by far the most popular options. If you wanted to socialize, whether to make friends, bag some hotties, or network for your business, it was generally a better idea to go when everyone else was going.

For Lucine, busy venues and large crowds of succubuns was not his idea of a good time. Crowds only meant even more succubuns to compare himself to, and that never left him in a good spot mentally. As such, he often opted to go to the bar on off days. For all his disdain towards the more fortunate, Lucine craved companionship more than any other vice.

Stepping up to the bar, Lucine pulled out a stool and sat down, resting his elbows on the bartop. It didn’t take the bartender long to notice him - a benefit of coming on slower nights - and she strolled up, ready to take his order.

“Howdy there! Haven’t seen you in a bit.” Hops greeted Lucine with her usual cheery demeanor. “What can I getcha?”

Resting his chin on his palm, Lucine looked beyond Hops to the array of cocktails listed on the menu. “Urgh… Gimme a moment. Too many options.”

“You can just flag me down once you’re ready, then.” Hops said with a smile, turning to wait on whoever else was at the bar while Lucine agonized over decision making.

Choice paralysis aside, Lucine didn’t exactly have the most experience drinking. He’d done his fair share of it, of course, but he rarely branched out, sticking primarily to things you could just buy at the store. On the occasions he actually went out to a bar, he stuck with simpler, lighter cocktails - especially because he didn’t really know what a lot of mixology lingo meant. 

Lucine had wanted to branch out more for a while, but things hadn’t exactly been steady for him for most of his life up until this point. He had a place to crash for now, though, and less money going to things like rent meant more money going towards getting absolutely hammered. He just had to decide what he wanted.

Glancing around the bar, Lucine surveyed what other orders were being made. A few keratinis, a handful of bourbuns… sin and tonic seemed to be pretty popular just by virtue of being cheap, but he’d actually had that one before. It was not the type of drink to order if you wanted to get shitfaced.

This was getting him nowhere, so Lucine figured - as much as he didn’t want to - he would have to flag Hops down and ask her advice on what drink to get. Of course he had already resigned to her likely being judgmental about it, they always were, but once he’d knocked a few drinks back he wouldn’t care about that. He raised his arm and waved for Hops to come over.

“You ready to order a drink?” Hops asked, seemingly eager to have another task to focus on.

“Yeah, uh… I still haven’t decided.” Lucine averted his gaze in embarrassment, bracing himself for inevitable condescension. “I’m trying to branch out, and I’m lookin’ to get kicked in the teeth. What kinda drinks you got like that…?”

Hops thought for just a moment, combing over her options. Lucine assumed there were a fair amount of them. “Weeelllll…. If you wanna get ‘kicked in the teeth,’ I’d go for something like the sinnamon whiskey or clawdka, maybe… drabsinthe’s real strong, but I wouldn’t recommend that if you’re just branching out. You can also order shots if you want straight alcohol.”

Choices, choices. Lucine was never good with those. He didn’t want to keep Hops waiting for his order, though, so he threw something out there. “...Can I have a clawdka?”

“Sure can! Gimme a moment and I’ll fix it right up for ya.” Hops bounded over to a different part of her workspace to grab what she needed for the requested drink. Lucine watched her as she worked, fascinated by how she was able to memorize the steps to mixing so many different drinks. She also poured herself a quick shot, but Lucine decided that he didn’t see that.

Lucine wasn’t made to wait for his drink long, Hops placing it in front of him with a grin. “You’re all set, give it a taste!”

Eyeing the cocktail in front of him, Lucine took a moment before taking the first sip. Once he did, he found himself enjoying it quite a bit — the spirit itself had a cool, crisp texture, and the alcohol part of it did have more of a punch to it than he was used to. It was nice!

Hops took note of Lucine’s expression and clasped her hands together happily. “I’ll take it that was a hit with you, then?”

“Yeah, it’s great…!” With Hops’ infectious smile beaming onto him, Lucine couldn’t help but smile back. He swished the remainder of the cocktail around in his glass, looking down at it with his other hand resting on his cheek. “Sorry for taking so long. I’m not great at deciding for myself yet…”

“It’s all good! You’ll get better in due time.” Hops turned to her workstation as she geared up to make another cocktail for a different customer. “Trust me, I’ve got lots of customers who both find what they like and stick with it, as well as ones who try something new every time! Anything’s good as long as you pay us, I’m certainly not judging!”

“Pff, yeah. Thanks, Hops.” Lucine chuckled and took another sip. He had plans to order a few more cocktails later, maybe, but for now, he was going to enjoy the one he had.