Another stranger entered the bar and Cap perked up from where he was diligently cleaning a glass that just so happened to be near an ongoing breakup. Loathe as he was to leave in the middle of it, a new customer was (probably) a paying customer, and those two weren't going to be ordering drinks any time soon. He slid up to Remi as she gestured, a grin creeping across his features.[break][break]

"Oh, really?" He turned to the back of the bar, pulling down a top-shelf bottle of bourbon. Onto the counter he placed glasses. Each was filled with a large, round ice cube before the bourbon was poured over it. "People come in asking for that, it's either a really good reason or a really bad one. So, congratulations or condolences?" He slid one glass to Remi and held the other up to toast. No matter what the answer was, it clearly deserved a proper drink, and a proper drink was never had alone.

[break][break]

+ Remi Cassel

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

Even better, the bartend was cute.

She smirks as he reaches for a bottle of top-shelf bourbon. It excites her, even if she knows in the morning she'll regret it.

The crackle of the ice wilting with the sudden temperature change is thrilling too, as is the spice of the booze as it splashes up the side of the glass.

"What can I say? Business is good."

Remi leans into the bar, closer to him and to her glass. She lifts it, swirls it, tilts it toward him with a curious smirk pressed against her cheek.

"I haven't seen you around before, have I?"

Caprice Isaac

☉

Cap leaned his elbows onto the edge of the bar across from her, flashing Remi a toothy grin. "I don't think you have. Which is a shame, really." He clinked his glass against hers and took a slow sip. Damn that was good. "Caprice Isaac," he said, setting the glass back on the bar. "I haven't lived in Hoenn long. Virgil was kind enough to give me a job here." Kind probably wasn't the right word to use there; compelled by Cap's determined charm, perhaps?[break][break]

No, no, that was worse.[break][break]

"What about you? What business is so good that you're ordering this sort of thing?" He tilted the bottle so they could both inspect it. The glass was carved with facets to look like crystal with a sweeping black label. Gold lettering and swirling filigree swept into the decorative name: The Last Drop. Even working in a bar, it was rare Cap got to enjoy that kind of thing.

[break][break]

+ Remi Cassel

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

Consider her interest piqued.

Remi tilts her cheek, brow raised and sly smirk stretching across perfect lips.

"Is it? For me or for you?"

Their glasses clink together and she watches him sip the drink first before bringing it to her own lips. It hits hard, potent and burning on the way down. It was perfect, spicy, enough to make anyone choke.

She doesn't.

He introduces himself and she slowly sets her glass back down against the bar. It clinks, she spins it, continues to offer him her undivided attention. Her finger taps against the edge of the glass and stops for a heartbeat before starting back up at the mention of Virgil.

"He really does seem to like strays, doesn't he?"

virgil roach. Tch. Her lip twitches in amusement.

With a quiet hum, she considers his question and whether or not she wants to be honest with him. But given where they are, and the fact he was sharing a drink with her...

"Hoenn's richest and most powerful are generous with their praise, what can I say?"

Caprice Isaac

☉

"Oh," he scoffed, "For both of us, surely." She sipped the drink like a champ (not that Cap had any doubts about her; she looked like the kind who knew her way around a bourbon, fancy or otherwise). He grinned at her commentary on Virgil. "I'm lucky enough I keep finding folks who do." From childhood onward, he thought.[break][break]

He gave her a cockeyed smile. He hadn't noticed she conveniently forgot to introduce herself. No matter, he wasn't going to push. "They are indeed." Generous was a way of putting it. He couldn't help but think of Remiel's party. Had it been generosity or just showing off? Cap supposed it didn't really matter. He'd gotten some free food and booze out of the deal, and more entertainment than he'd truly wanted. "Hey, next time maybe mention your favorite bar and have them send some of that generosity my way, too," he said with a wink before taking another sip of his drink.

[break][break]

+ Remi Cassel

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

Both of them? How bold.

"Well. Any friend of Virgil's is a friend of mine."

There is a faraway look in Cap's eye for a moment, but Remi is hardly the prying or mind-reading type.

"Favourite bar?"

Remi laughs, but he's got her. This is her favourite bar. But she does tilt her head and suck in a breath, giving him a side-eye and a playful smirk.

"I don't know. I tend to work alone. Too many cooks in the kitchen and something catches fire."

Caprice Isaac

☉

He didn't argue with the use of the word "friend" whether it was true or not. While Virgil didn't exactly match Cap's energy one-for-one, the latter still wasn't sure exactly where their relationship landed. To be fair, he tended to internally err on the side of caution when it came to estimating the bonds between himself and another. Especially someone he worked with. Coworkers and bosses held a certain kind of power that Cap wasn't too keen on testing.[break][break]

He held up his hands in mock-defense when Remi waffled. "Fair enough, fair enough. I like the way you think, even if it isn't going to benefit me in the short term. Kitchen fires are always the hardest to put out." And he did prefer his home distinctly unburned. He polished off his glass and tucked it in the bin under the bar before pointing to Remi's drink. "You like that? Some fancy shit. How do you feel about cocktails?"

[break][break]

+ Remi Cassel

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

That was the thing about Remi. She threw around words without a care for the consequences or the real meaning behind them. Friends was a pretty strong word for a woman like her to use. Her, who lived strictly on a need-to-know basis and worked alone. She kept no one close to her side, wore her heart in the bottom of her dirty boots, and kept no promises.

"Keep practicing, maybe one day you'll make something I might want to eat."

Remi raises a brow, follows his movement as he polishes and puts away his own glass. Her own would not be far behind, pushed closer to him with a flick of her fingers.

"They're cheap and dirty-- if I didn't know any better, I'd think you're hitting on me."

Caprice Isaac

☉

Cap slid the cup from the counter to the bin beneath the bar, smirking at Remi's comment. His hand drifted over to the cocktail glasses when she finally answered him. His attention whipped around at her face contorted. He looked as though he'd been slapped.[break][break]

"Cheap and di—cheap and dirty?" Cap scoffed, waving a hand in front of his face. "No, no, don't try to distract me from the nonsense you just said. Hold on." He sifted through the glasses, a man on a mission, before placing an Old Fashioned glass on the bar in front of Remi. Deftly, he placed ice and bourbon whiskey into a shaker glass. To that, he measured out sweet red vermouth and striking ruby Campari. He popped the lid on the shaker glass, looking up to meet Remi's eyes, and shook that damn cocktail. Popping open the lid, he strained it into her glass. From beneath the bar, he produced an orange and a box of matches. He sliced off a sliver of orange peel and, holding it between thumb and forefinger, brought a lit match up to it. A quick squeeze and the zest exploded into tiny flames before dissipating into the concoction. He rimmed the glass with the peel, dropped it into the drink, and slid it over to her.[break][break]

"The Boulevardier," he said, nodding as if giving her permission to drink it.

[break][break]

+ Remi Cassel

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

His horror only fueled her. Did he just sass-wave her insult? Remi raises her brows, visibly amused.

"Sorry, hunny, I'm only speaking the truth."

Not even the exquisite display of his bartending and drink mixing abilities convinces her, in the moment. She merely watches him shake everything together and pour it out. It's pretty, but is it good? Does it hit the spot?

Remi's lips purse she her eyes squint, though one is hidden behind her patch, as he brings out a match. That was curious. He finishes the drink with a spark of flame and she blinks, visibly impressed.

"Hm."

And then she lifts it to her lips to taste.

Caprice Isaac

☉

He leaned across the bar as she drew the glass up to her lips and took a sip. The Boulevardier was a twist on the classic Negroni. Swapping in bourbon whiskey instead of gin would take the crisp, bitter Negroni and elevate it into something complex, warm, and rich. A subtle, bittersweet hit of citrus paved the way for the spice and booziness of the whiskey. It was a perfect winter cocktail. Cap folded his arms, elbows braced against the bartop, and watched.[break][break]

"Well? How long are you gonna keep me on the edge of my seat, hunny?" A smirk broke his too-intense stare briefly. "You can tell me if you like it. Your secret's safe with me. Well... me and Slate. I tell that man everything." While not precisely the truth, Cap did corner Slate every so often for a gossip session, much to the latter's displeasure. Cap figured he was growing on the old man.

[break][break]

+ Remi Cassel

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

Remi's brows raise, flirtatious in their intent, the beginning of a smirk trailing against the glass. She licks her lips, focusing heavily on the taste his drink leaves behind. But what's more curious to her, really, is the look in his eyes and the anticipation in the twitch of his lips.

"I think I like you on the edge of your seat."

But she ultimately leans back and purses her lips, twisting the glass in her hand and examining it curiously.

"It's a bit.. sweet."

Caprice Isaac

☉