Cold, and wind are a constant in this fine city. Many people wish for a place to drink their ale and warm their hands over an open hearth. Originally the Candlehearth Hall was believed to be an old crypt, holding the remains of our ancestors. But ages passed and the remains have gone. The interior reworked with wood and expensive carpet, a vast contrast to the previous cold stone floors and walls. Some windows were carved and shuttered by wood.

  Richard strolled into his favorite place in the world and flopped down at a bar stool. The bar was made of sanded oak, and the shelves behind it matched. He ordered a fine Alto Wine from the expensive set of liquors housed here. He followed it up with a salmon steak and heel of bread. The customers to his left and right laughed and joked with him merrily.

  Various bards played their instruments and sung their tale's throughout the night. They sung familiar songs, and recounted epics with their honeyed tongues. Before long Richard was starting to feel drowsy. He ordered a room from the barkeep and stumbled up the stone steps, to the back room where the rooms were located.

  He shouldered through the wooden door and flopped down on his featherbed, the sheets warm, a fire burning in the hearth. Richard dozed off happy, drunk, warm and with a full belly. Was there ever a better place in the world?

Half starved and totally unaccustomed to Detroit weather, Terra found her way inside the tavern and got comfortable upon an empty barstool. Steak and brandy was on her mind, and this seemed like a good place to get that. While waiting for a tender to appear, she took in the tavern's decor and occupants. Musicians were singing, people were drinking and laughing, and the entire place had a homey feel to it despite the fact that she recognized no one. It was very, very different from the audio and visual insanity of the Vegas strip. 

And thank God for that! Her stomach protested loudly and she glanced around, embarrassed. No one seemed to hear it, though, and she began tapping her fingers on the bar, subconsciously in synch with the instruments.

Steak and brandy...

He just arrived that same day at what seemed to be a normal looking building from the outside, but as he wandered in he looked around. Taking notice of just how different the aesthetic of the building seemed to be from the outside to the inside. In the building the theme he got was that the place was modeled after a palace, and a medieval one at that. Stone layered the walls and was a smooth as silk from the looks of it. 

Speaking of stone, a huge table spanning almost the entire room was decorated with lit candles and metal cutlery. It took his breath away for a second, as he stood there in awe of the masonry on display. This didn't last long however, shortly after getting acquainted with the place somebody came down the stairs screaming bloody murder.

"Have you seen him! Has anybody seen Kid?!" The mystery figure bellowed.

Unsure of who it was, he approached cautiously and spoke in a no nonsense tone towards the man.

"May I help you?" He asked unsure of what the figure wanted.

"Listen to me! Have you seen The_Kid?!" The man almost screamed.

Frowning he thought of the name the man mentioned, he was certain he had heard of it before but he couldn't put his finger on it.. Until suddenly it clicked! 'The right hand man The_Kid! Is that who this guy means?' he thought to himself. Preparing to vocalize his inner thoughts to the man he was stopped by the man's face. He had heard of a man who was always with the RHM, somebody who never left his side unless it was important, and for some reason something in his head made him believe that this was that guy. 

Allowing himself a second to gather his thoughts, he motioned to the man to try to remain calm. Once he looked somewhat less agitated he spoke.

"I do not know where he is, but from the things I've heard you must be his bodyguard?" 

The man responded with a nod. Then adding, "Chu's the name. And you gotta help me." 

Seeing his thoughts proven correct he listened as the man described his day with Kid, how they had gone all over Detroit and when Chu was feeling tired he got sent back to HQ. After sleeping for a while he woke up and checked on Kid, only he wasn't back yet. He said he didn't panic, he just waited a short while, and then that short while turned into a long while. After all that waiting he was starting to worry. So he came down and decided to shout to see if Kid was here. 

"You see now? I looked all over for him and he isn't here!"

Nodding at this he replied to Chu. "That is unfortunate to hear, but I'm sorry to say I haven't seen him." After saying this, Chu almost looked like he had lost all hope. 

Deciding then and there that instead of sitting around and wasting time he would help Chu find Kid, he then turned his attention on getting Chu back into the right mind set.

"Listen to me, I will help you. But I can not do this on my own, I need your help. Are you gonna let Kid go when he could be in trouble?" He asked knowing the reaction he would get.

Sure enough, Chu seemed to gain a glint in his eye and stood up determined. 

'Well time to find Kid' he thought. 

Asking around the palace he found out it was called, he learned of a local bar run by the head of the family. It was a recent thing, but people seemed sure that's where Kid would be, if he wasn't with Chu. Informing Chu of this, the two set off towards the local bar set on finding Kid.

Arriving at what seemed to be a room that was pleasing on the eye, stone and wood were the main decor with the two intermixing almost seamlessly. Looking around at this strange bar he saw a lone person sitting and drinking. From the way Chu almost seemed to rush over to him, he was pretty sure they found their man. Walking over to them, he wondered just what the rest of the night was going to consist of..

Carlton had just arrived in town on business and was looking for a place to relax and gather his thoughts. He Knew he would be coming to Detroit frequently in the future, so it seemed appropriate to find a nice Hotel and eating establishments to frequent.

Spotting Candlehearth Hall, he figured that was as good a place as any to start. Entering the Hall, he made his way to the bar and ordered 3 fingers of whiskey on ice and requested a menu.

  Someone shook Richard awake from his drunken and warm slumber. He pulled the pillow over his head like a cranky child refusing to go to school, but they were persistent, and Richard knew there was no going back to sleep until he dealt with whatever was wrong with the universe. This had better be good.

  "Richard! There's someone at the bar and nobody is tending to it right now!" The vaguely familiar shape sputtered out

  "That's the problem?! Why didn't you deal with it, SHARON. Divines, I swear it's impossible to sleep around here."

  With that, Richard dragged himself out of bed and threw the pillow at the wall, intent on acting like an immature child. He shuffled out of his room, and slid behind the bar, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before addressing the patron. She was shivering every now and then, which must have meant that she was new to the city. Richard shouted at one of the serving men to throw some wood in the hearth, before addressing her. 

  "Greetings, and welcome to the Candlehearth Hall! What can I do you for? We've got warm food, warm drinks and warm beds."

He smiled at the interaction between the two friends and waited until he was noticed. 

After shaking Kid's hand he replied to his question. "I would love some drinks, and its good to meet you properly Kid. Sorry to say but you had this big guy so worried so much I thought he was gonna have a heart attack!" He chuckled while indicated Chu who was next to them.

"So what made you come to this bar anyway? Just asking for curiosity's sake."

Terra watched a frazzled RichardDallas appear behind the bar, sleep marks evident on his cheek. With a grin, she replied.

"I'd love a steak, if you happen to have any choice cuts back there. Don't fuss with any vegetables or bread, they'll just get in my way. Oh, and a nice brandy would be divine," she says, hearing familiar voices behind her. Turning around, she spots Ghost_Face and The_Kid in conversation. She waves, not wanting to interrupt, but hoping she can join them rather than eat alone.

Looking around the bar quickly, as he didn't get a chance beforehand. He saw a familiar old friend, TerraGato. Once they made some eye contact she waved at him, he smiled at her and waved back. Indicating she should join them, he focused back on what Kid was about to say..

  Richard chuckled and subconsciously rubbed his cheek. He turned to head to the kitchen when he spotted The_Kid. He blew him a kiss and went to get TerraGato's order. As soon as he saw the state of the kitchen, he went ballistic. The chef's were sleeping, or drunk, or most likely both. The cooking splits were reduced to coals and  the meat wasn't cut. Though thankfully it was ready to be cut. 

  Richard groaned and got to work, getting oil, liquor and blood all over his robes and fur cloak as he went. He even managed to set one of his arms ablaze while trying to rouse the fire under the split. Long story short Richard looked absolutely ridiculous when he returned to Terra. 

<font color="#BBBBBB">  "Here you are madame. Sorry for the wait, there were some issues with the kitchen staff.."</font>

The smell of burnt cotton hit her nose before the smell of the steak did, and when she saw the blood on RichardDallas ' clothing, she wondered if he'd not just slaughtered the cow himself. 

"Uh. Gosh, I hope you didn't go to too much trouble! I'll just take this over there," she says, gesturing towards the fellas she knew. "It looks great, and it smells..." she leaned over the plate and inhaled, confirming that the steak wasnt the burned thing she smelled, "it smells wonderful," she says, relief clear on her face.

  Richard scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. Clearly glad he didn't butcher the food, like he did his clothes. Guess he can add master chef to his resume. Alongside fashionista.

  "Sure thing. Thanks for coming over. Got rooms when if you get sleepy. Enjoy your stay in Detroit!

  Richard sighed and slunk back to his room, opting for a rather large bottle of wine instead of sleep this time. 

"Brandy for me, if you don't mind," Terra says after taking a seat with her plate. Opening her coat, she produces a small cat, whom she sets on the table. She cuts a few small pieces of steak and offers them to Noodle before looking up again. Her two seated companions are staring at her, and then the cat, clearly wondering what the hell she was doing with a cat in her coat.

"Oh. Heh. Yeah, he was at the casino looking for scraps. I promised him a meal," she says, looking over her shoulder and hoping the owner didn't spot the additional customer on the table. She moved her chair around a little bit, hoping to block him from view.

Noodle was just getting cozy in the coat up against Terra's chest when he was scooped out and dropped onto an unfamiliar table. Looking around his surroundings he noticed a few unfamiliar humans at the table. Walking up towards each in turn he sniffs them out a bit to make sure they are ok before returning to TerraGato and sniffing the bits of meat she had set aside for him. It was cooked, definitely not his favorite. He liked his meat raw, but he supposed this would have to do. He ate the pieces of cooked steak and then rubbed up against Terra's arm while purring.

It had been a long day, and she was exhausted. Like a fool, she'd spent more time worrying about legal and illegal business ventures than she had about life's basic necessities. Where the hell was she gonna live?

Upon entering Candlehearth Hall, she approached an empty table and took a seat. She desperately needed food, drink, and a good lead on housing. Quickly covering a yawn, she watches as a couple retreat into another area, presumably rooms to stay in for the night. That would be a good start, she figured as she looked around the cavernous room. The music playing was soft and low, which elicited another large yawn. She blinked  and rubbed at her eyes when a cat appeared on one of the tables. Oh, man. Did they serve cat here? She'd heard about Richard's propensity for midgets...surely he wasn't into cat meat as well?

Pondering this, she leaned on the table and rested her eyes for just a minute. Just for a minute. She wasn't sleeping. She wasn't! 

Zzzz.

Noodle hops up onto the seat next to Nikki_Swango and then onto the table opposite the way she is facing. Noticing her not moving from her position he takes the opportunity to sniff her out making sure she doesn't have any ill will towards him. Since she still hasn't moved, he circles around towards her face and sniffs a bit more brushing his cold nose against her cheek as he does this.

Nikki startles, lifting her head slowly as she gazes at the cat.

"R-Ray?" That one weird man in the bowling alley said Ray, whoever the hell Ray is, was a kitten now. It seemed wise to at least ask, don't you know. When Noodle simply stared back at her, she heaved a sigh of relief. If it HAD been this Ray fellow, she didn't know what she was supposed to say or do to him.

So instead, she continued to sit in the dead bar as she petted her new friend on the head. 

Noodle sat down in front of Nikki_Swango purring contently and giving her the opportunity to check out his collar and name tag. He had no wish to be called Ray, what an ugly human name that was. After Nikki notices his right name he crawls off the table into her lap and curls up into a ball ready to take a nap.