A Starting Point

    “So, you want to learn how to make some drinks?” Xander immediately nods their head at Hops’ question. They had to try something to help them out. “Can I ask what made you interested in learning?” At that point, Xander lightly tapped their hooves together, a bit nervous to answer the question.

    “I, um… I wanted to see if I invited an old littermate over to my place and--”

    “You’re looking to get close with them?” Hops interrupted, with a slight tilt to her head. Xander’s face will turn a light shade of pink. 

    “U-Um… Not in the sense you’re thinking of…” The bartender’s head stays tilted, waiting for the grey bun to continue speaking. “I… When we were little, I was incredibly rude to him… One of his bullies actually… He likely thinks I don’t do any work for myself, given how I used to be… I want to learn to show him that I am not the bun I once was. It seems ridiculous, I know, but I have to start somewhere… And I can’t really cook, so… Figured I’d try drink making?” Hops will stare at them for a moment but then nod her head. 

    “Certainly not a bad start at all. Let’s get started then!” Xander’s eyes will widen and they’ll smile brightly as they shakily follow the gluttony horned bun behind the counter to where all the ingredients and items they would need would be. “How about we make a Dracquiri? It’s nice and sweet, though a bit on the cold side.” Xander will nod at that. “Excellent~ Well, let’s begin then! Now, could you go and get me some of the rum while I find a clean cocktail glass?” Xander will look around the shelves behind the counter, trying to find the bottle full of the dark colored liquor. Their eyes will spot it and they’ll shakily walk to the shelves, reaching up to grab the bottle in question. “May I ask why you’re shaking so much?” As they grab the bottle and lower themselves back to the floor, looking over their shoulder at Hops, seeing her cleaning a cocktail glass. 

    “Ah, I… I’ve never been the best at keeping myself balanced. The marionette parts don’t really help either…” Their shaky legs will carefully take them back to the counter as they place the bottle of rum onto it. “I’m not much better in my other form either… Might actually be worse.” Xander will chuckle a bit at himself as Hops smiles a bit, placing the, now clean, cocktail glass onto the counter. 

    “At least you sound like you’ve come to terms with that.” 

    “Yeah, I did a long time ago. No point in being upset about it, should try to live with it and slowly get better.” Hops smile will get a bit brighter as she grabs some strawberries to blend together with the rum and some ice. Xander quietly but intently watches Hops as she blends up the combination of ingredients and slowly pours the contents into the glass. To end it off, she grabs one of the strawberries and gently places it onto the rim of the glass. 

    “And viola~! One of the more simpler drinks on the menu, but still a good one~” Xander’s tail will sway as they look at the drink, seemingly making several mental notes. 

    “He might like these now that I think about it… He did always prefer the cold, even when we were little.” 

    “Well, this should be perfect then! Want to learn some of the others?” Xander will look to Hops and with a bright smile, nod their head excitedly. 

    “Yeah, absolutely!”