Working Two to Six

[maggie_of_the_owls]

A young apparent-woman opens the door.

"...Hello?" she calls, seeming confused but not necessarily surprised. "Hello, is anyone here?"

When no answer is forthcoming, she walks over to the bar and sits down, puzzled.

Comments

[alicornucopia]

Hello. Can I interest you in a drink?

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"...Uh. What. I mean, yes, but what."

[alicornucopia]

First drink's free. Do you want anything in particular or would you prefer a recommendation?

This is Milliways. It's an interdimensional bar. I'm the Bar.

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"So this isn't my cousin Joreth's new bar and that's why there's no one here?"

[alicornucopia]

This is not your cousin Joreth's new bar. Although often there are more people here than there are right now.

[middlingalong]

Here's one! A handsome person in weird clothes with gold eyes.

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"I think I'll take the recommendation, then."

[middlingalong]

"...Hi. Do you know where I am."

Here you are, says Bar, materializing something orange and frothy.

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"Oh, hello. I have some introductory napkins," she offers, holding them out with one hand and scooping up the orange frothy with the other.

[middlingalong]

"Introductory napkins. Just the thing." He reads them.

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"My name's Pletha. Pletha Wistraika. What's yours?"

[middlingalong]

"Aurin. Aurinpardam." He puts down the napkins. "And I'll take a recommendation, why not."

He gets a pink thing.

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"You seem very foreign, but then, apparently this is an interdimensional bar, so I suppose it's not that surprising."

[middlingalong]

"Yeah, I've never heard your language before and can't place the outfit."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"...If you've never heard my language before how are you speaking it?"

[middlingalong]

"I'm a dragon, we do languages," Aurin says.

Even were that not the case, the establishment has a translation effect, adds Bar.

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"I suspected some sort of translation effect might be in place, but it seemed strange that you could tell what language I was speaking if that was the case. What's a dragon?"

[middlingalong]

"Big shiny flying reptile. ...With shapeshifting powers. If that was not implied."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"If you're usually a big shiny flying reptile that certainly implies that some kind of shapeshifting was going on, although it needn't have been under your own power. If you're not really human is that why I can't tell what gender you are?"

[middlingalong]

"...I'm the same gender all the time," he says. "Aaaand I don't think anybody's ever had trouble telling."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"Well, if you're usually a dragon there's no reason the shapeshifting has to include your gender's scent," she points out reasonably. She sniffs. "I mean, I can't really smell you at all, but maybe whatever you smell like is more apparent to dragon noses."

[middlingalong]

"That's not how most people I encounter tell the difference either. So that's not perfume?"

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"No. I mean, obviously there's physical differences, no one would mistake a picture of me for a desi, but you could be a desret or a desan or maybe even a desmi but that's less likely and I couldn't tell. How do you tell the difference between desan and desret and haran and harmi without smelling?"

[middlingalong]

"Oh, I see the problem. Where I'm from there are not that many genders. ...Okay, there might be that many genders but there aren't that many sexes. Or if there are they're not really common. Anyway my species definitely only has two. Based entirely on what I can get from those words I think I'm sort of like - combination desan and desret? I mean, I guess I could pick one if that makes it easier for you but it's not a real thing that exists for me to be one of, in my world."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"Oh. That's very strange. So you're just modeling me as some sort of...composite haran and harmi? I think that bothers me and I'm not sure why. I'm harmi. If you say you're both and neither I'll believe you, anyway."