One of the best things of Bierfest was, in fact, the beer. True, Kiernan preferred a little more fruit in his drinks than what most beer provided, but that didn’t mean he hated beer. Yes, he gravitated towards the blackberry or citrus brews more often than he did anything else, and yes, he preferred to take shots where and when offered -- as long as it wasn’t the straight up hard stuff -- but the beer. There were many different types, and for cheap, and he had some meager savings to spend just for today so that he could get as drunk as he could possibly get.
It would serve as a distraction from the other things in his life, at any rate.
His eyes flickered toward a tent with microbrews that sold… pie-flavored beer? Now this, Kiernan knew he had to try. He strolled into the tent and immediately set his index finger on the menu for the key lime pie beer; it would either be amazing or awful, he knew. He set the gil on the table and was handed the cup full of dark brown liquid, and he laughed.
“Half expected this to be green,” he told the brewer, but he was already attending to his next customer. Kiernan walked out of the tent, sipping happily at the brew (and it tasted just like liquified key lime pie, perfect) when he caught a familiar head of red hair.
“Lea!” he called, making his way towards her.
The councilwoman turned at her name, the perfunctory grin widening as she recognised the approaching figure.
“Kiernan!”
Lea stepped forward to offer him a hug, careful to navigate around his beverage. It seemed she would be collecting dragoons today; the morning had opened up with Mag at her door, the other redhead promptly making good on her promise to drag Lea out to the revelries. A necessary intervention—the machinist was not generally a fan of the citywide excess. There was little, if any, appeal in public inebriation (an indignity she was certain not to partake of).
But she was by nature a social creature, so it was not long before she got into the day’s spirit. The sight of scrawny urchins running underfoot, slippery fingers darting in and out of pockets, certainly helped.
“How’s it going?” Lea continued, glancing down at his drink. “That definitely looks interesting.”
“Key lime pie beer,” Kiernan answered, punctuating each word with amusement. He used his free hand to point to the nearby tent. “Got it from just over there. Never knew they let microbrews like that at Bierfest. Here, try it. You won’t believe the taste.” He offered the cup to her, eyes twinkling with eager anticipation for her reaction.
She took the cup and sipped. Her eyes were wide when she returned it to him. “Genius,” she declared. Her mind was already running through the stages of the brewing process and contemplating how such a feat had been managed. Nodding toward the tent, Lea added, “All right, fetching one of my own, for sure. And then heading back to Mag before she thinks I’ve ditched her.”
The if you want to come with was heavily, deliberately implied.
Kiernan did not yet have too much drink in him to miss the unasked invitation, and he fell into step beside Lea as she made her way to the pie beer tent. “Well, if you don’t mind my company, I’m happy to provide, as always. Here, this one’s on me. I’ve the spare coin, for once.”
Reaching the counter with him, Lea laughed. “Why, thank you, honey.”