2020-10-06 - Two-Bar Town

Cecil sits at the bar in jeans and a t-shirt. His hair is disheveled, and he looks like he's at the tail end of a long day. There's a smile playing upon his lips, though. He may be tired, but he's not beaten. In one hand is a pint of stout, about half-gone

This isn't really Niall's sort of place, but it is the closest. That, and there was something about TiBS having its windows blown out? So he enters, wearing his Park Ranger uniform, hat set far back on his head, looking a bit worse for wear. He stops, blinks. "Cecil. Hey."

Devlin follows Niall into the bar a few steps behind. He makes his way towards the bar and greets, "Evening."

Cecil perks up when he sees Niall. "Hey, mate. They wrecked TiBS." He raises his beer to the man. "I'm huddling here until they fix it up again." He smiles at Devlin. "Devlin, right? We met at the beach."

"I heard. Small town. Not many bars." Niall takes his hat off and drops it on the bar, then pulls up a stool beside Cecil. "I would ask what happened but chances are it was something weird and that means the real explanation'll be all muddled." He nods to Devlin.

Devlin nods to Cecil, "That we did. Hopefully you won't get any business from my last run. Multiple stab wounds. Last I heard, they got him to the table." He then takes a seat at the bar, "I heard about crazy things at over at TiBS. Glad I was not on that run. How are things, Niall?"

Cecil admits, "I don't know what happened. Probably something weird." He takes a drink of his pint. "I discovered this place because Alexander invited Mac and me here to celebrate a few wins in the 'stopping murderers' department." He shakes his head to Devlin and says, "They don't usually ask for me till they get him on a slab."

"Oh you know. Murders. Hopefully stopped finding bodies in the woods." Niall motions to the bartender and points to the completely average beer on tap. He actually looks like he hasn't been sleeping well. "I don't think you 'discover' a place in a town with all of two bars, Cecil," he drawls.

Devlin nods, "Hopefully those come to an end." He gives a weary smile, "I'd rather hog the business from you, Cecil." He then orders a lager along with a plate of nachos with the works. "That is the problem with a smallish town, Nial.. only two bars, three if you count the casino. Food is good at the restaurant there though. Not a bad place to take a date really."

Cecil smiles. "Well, I'm no Magellan. In any case, I don't think we'll be finding more bodies in the woods, at least not from the Cuneiform Killer." He tilts his head curiously at Niall. "You feeling all right, mate?" To Devlin, he says, "Hog it all. Put me out of business. It'd be a better world if it didn't need people like me in it."

"It's true. Stay in town two days, you've discovered it all," Niall chuckles, then paws his beer towards him when it arrives. He takes a healthy swig. To Cecil's question, he lifts a shoulder. "Not having the best of sleep, if I'm being honest. I don't know how you do it. I can't..." he draws a breath in, "...can't get the images out of my head."

Devlin says, "Niall, it isn't easy, I know, I've come across too many bodies. Still bothers me some nights. Especially when death beat me to someone. Best thing to do is talk to friends and if you have the right kind of family about, them too." He grins a bit to Cecil, "I'd love to pull that off except there are rules where death comes into play. first is that people die. Second is that Doc or a paramedic can't save everyone. Third, Doc will work like hell to break rules one and two."

Cecil offers Niall a tight-lipped smile and admits quietly, "Sometimes I can't. I wake up lately because I can still feel blood running down my neck and the knife." He takes a deep breath. "It gets easier the more you do it, though. I know that's shitty, to get used to people losing their lives, but you do." He raises his glass to Devlin. "EMTs are the real heroes. Also, let's not mention the knife or bleeding neck to the chief. I didn't get around to telling him."

"You know, we talk about how this town brings those of us together who're...different. But I don't think I ever thought hard about its ability to drive already dangerous people mad." Niall's beer is going down pretty quickly, and Cecil knows he's something of a lightweight.

Devlin gets his beer and nachos, "Help yourself." He takes a pull from his beer, "There is a bit of crazy with this town. I've made enough runs to see it up close and personal. Still, I'll take it a day at a time."

Cecil says, "Someone who's unstable may not have the same defense against the stress and madness in this town as people with more mental fortitude." He keeps an eye on Niall, for he doesn't intervene, not yet. Ooh, nachos. Cecil helps himself to a chip. "One day at a time is a good philosophy. So is a few pints with your mates. I'd go nuts without them."

"Sink or swim," says Niall as he takes another pull from the beer. He doesn't go for the nachos. "Either you adapt to it, or this place drives you mad. Not a lot of in between, ay?"

Devlin nods to that, "And you get by with a little help from your friends." He grabs a couple chips with goodies to munch on and then takes a pull. "We are always stronger with friends and family."

Cecil says, "Yeah, no real in between." He nods then to Devlin. "I don't have family anywhere near, but my friends keep me grounded. Not being alone in it."

"I do have some family here. They're the ones who initially told me about..." Niall wiggles his fingers. That's his own personal way of describing the Glimmer. "But we're not especially close. But I was fortunate to have someone to tell me what the hell is going on."

Devlin nods, "I kind of walked into it. Turned out, I had experienced some of that" and he wiggles his fingers, "When I was deployed and just didn't realize I was doing it. Just thought my judgment for evaluating wounds was a little off. But I had friends with me.. we talked, we drank. Kind of managed without realizing it. Here, a couple of people helped with with what was going on and the basics."

Cecil says with a small smile, "It came to me when I was a boy. I thought I was going mad. Now I feel more or less normal, in this town." He shoulder-nudges Niall and tells him, "If you want to get pissed, I'll switch to Coke and drive you home."

"You don't have to do that. We do have cabs in this town. And I'm fairly used to the walk of shame home. It's not too far." Then again, nowhere is too far for Niall, who regularly goes on multi-day hikes. "I also don't generally plan to get pissed." It's just a thing that happens sometimes.

Devlin says, "Well, just ask if you need that ride." He takes a pull. "I just limit myself is all when I drink. Unless I'm at home." He chews on a few chips, "I do admit that in addition to friends, I have found that a few hobbies help out to cope with the stresses we get out here."

Cecil says, "All right, but I don't mind. I wouldn't offer if i didn't want to do it." He's still mostly nursing his first pint along, in no hurry to welcome a buzz. "I do photography to unwind," he tells Devlin. "It gets me outside, which is nice."

"What I mean is..." Niall says to Cecil, "...don't stop drinking on my account." He manages a smile, but he's clearly not back to his usual self. The pint is half-gone. He's not chugging it, but he's certainly not nursing it. "What are the chances that Halloween'll be quiet?"

Devlin shrugs, "From what I have seen, could go either way. When it goes bad.. it will be a long night for me. If quiet, then I'll be grateful."

Cecil says, "Ah, I'm only delaying my drinking. Once I get to your place, I plan on purloining your whiskey. It's all about saving money." He shakes his head. "I'm too pessimistic to think Halloween will be quiet, but I hope to be pleasantly surprised." He glances at his watch and says, "I need to make a few phone calls, but my offer stands." Then he gets to his feet. "I'll be but a moment, gents."

"Oh, I see how it is," says Niall with a good-natured grin to Cecil. "All about honing in on my sweet, sweet whiskey." He chuckles and shakes his head, then scoops up his beer. He drains the rest of it and sets it on the bar. "Scuse me a moment." And then he heads for the men's room.