Board Thread:Roleplay/@comment-27950421-20160915154555/@comment-28358106-20160923235459

I find a beachside joint with an open patio and plenty of shade. I plunk down on a barstool at the empty bar. An Apophis slides around the corner with a trayload of glasses and smiles.

"Hey there, sahib. What's your fancy?" She says with a thick accent.

"Gimlet, Bombay Sapphire, half lime, rocks, please."

"The man knows his gin! Up in a twinkle." She begins mixing.

"You seem awful far from home," I say. "I wouldn't think an Apophis would be this close to the ocean."

"Well, this IS the Kingdom," she says, pouring. "Not all of us want blazing heat and scorching sand twenty four seven. And the opportunity for employment is terrible where I come from." She looks at me. "And for an unaccompanied human male, you're pretty out of place yourself, unless you're starting a harem."

I sip my drink. "Maybe I am."

"You?? Hahahahaha!" She bursts into laughter. "You're a terrible liar! You have 'married' written all over you, and you don't even come close to approaching the type.  How many children do you have?"

I smirk. "Well, aren't you presumptuous."

"No, just a really good bartender. I can call it from a thousand yards." She sticks out her hand. "Nadia Rulahadar."

I shake it. "Thomas Ibrahim. Four by marraige, with one adopted and one more on the way."

Her eyes get huge. "Wow. I really did call it, didn't I?"

I sigh. "In more ways than you know." I take a drink. "Believe it or not, you may have just hit on something that's been at the back of my mind for a while now."

She smiles, polishing a glass. "What, about your children? I can see how that would be a concern."

I finish my drink. "No. A harem."