A Fairy Pub
#19 of Roman Life
What will our heroes meet in the pub of fairies?
Hey everyone,
here it is the new chapter, see, this time only a week passed, so yay! This time is a normal-lengthed one, so I am back to full power! If you like it, show it with a comment, a fave or a vote? As always, thank you
"Uhm, so, what should I have for cena1..." Ale wondered aloud, his eyes fixed on the the menu just being provided by the waiter. The other occupants of the round wooden table were doing just the same, pondering which route they would take for their culinary pleasure of the evening.
"I don't know, it's so hard to decided..." Clara answered from the side, brows knit in concentration while reading, her head posed on one paw while the other drummed on the tablecloth-less surface.
"I think I will go for a sandwich, I Tre Porcellini2 seems really juicy to me." Luca said, already browsing the beverages offered by the pub.
"Isn't it a bit too ... Meaty?" Guido asked with curiosity, his ears flicking at reading the amount of meat in the sandwich.
"Well, this wolf will eat the three little pigs without trouble!" The lupo announced triumphantly his revenge over those defiant pigs of lore.
"Plus, he loves meaty things." The rottie winked over his menu, making his friend blush.
"You shouldn't tease your friend like that, Ale!" The sheppie girl scolded him mildly.
"It's okay, he always does that." The lean restorer assured that, needlessly so since it was clear that she was more worried about her meal than to reform the rottie's behavior.
"Plus, he is not the only one that loves meaty things here!" The Licaone chimed in, which gave Luca the perfect idea to avenge his blush.
"Senti senti3, don't you love when it's very big and thick?" He asked the painted wolf, who went immediately along with the lupine.
"Oh yeah, and what about the white cream that comes with it?" Guido answered the question with another question.
"And it's so .. orgasmic when it goes down your throat!" The other replied, fighting against the laughter that was trapped in him, instigated by the very much clear redness through the black fur of his roommate. He wasn't the only one, since Clara was holding the giggles too, from the looks of her smirks she was trying hard to not burst right then and there.
"I wonder what Ale thinks we are talking about, è tutto rosso4." The spotted dog acknowledged the state of the canine's cheeks, quickly surprising a giggle.
"Uhm, I, uhm, think uhm" The rottie stuttered, sagely deciding not to speak up so to not worsen his situation.
"He has such a naughty mind, I-I can't resist any longer!" The lupo finally gave in and began to laugh, followed by his accomplice and his friend, with Clara trying to mask it behind a paw but utterly failing. The rottie remained still for a second, ears wildly moving, before joining them in the laughter, true to his merry nature. They kept doing that for a few minutes, but they cut that when they heard another patron whispering something about "Being drunk that early", deciding di comune accordo5 and without talking that it was better to calm down a bit.
"Ehehehhe, sorry Ale, but you deserve that!" Luca said while wiping some tears from his eyes.
"And you learned that it's better to not provoke your friend when he has back-up." Clara added with a broad smile and a flick on the black canine's cheek.
"I'm surprised that Guido was so quick to help him!" The muscled dog confessed candidly, his paw searching the sheppie's and entangling with it once it found it.
"What I can say, teasing straights is so funny!" The painted dog chuckled, while his companion of mischief just nodded his silent agreement.
"I am sure it is, but shouldn't we be choosing what to eat?" Clara intruded, cutting off the conversation which was becoming a bit unsettling for the blackest canine of the company.
"Yeah, so I have decided, you guys?" The lupine asked to the others, while the thought of the all-carnivore sandwiches with three different pork delicacies in made already water his mouth.
"I think I shall go for a salad, the Bella Addormentata Nel Bosco6 sounds delicious to me!" The only girl there declared, proud of her low-fat choice.
"Uhm, too many nuts and berries in that. I think I will eat a plain cheeseburger, don't want to even look out how it is called." Guido said and then put down his menu. "What about you Ale?"
"If I was reckless enough, I would try the Raperonzolo7, I love long things." The rottie said, then hastily added more to cut off the remark coming from the gay guys present. "And nope, sorry boys, I love that only in food."
The Licaone shut his mouth, almost disappointed by no being able to speak his mind about the muscled rottie's liking for long things.
"But Ale, we weren't thinking anything else!" Luca said innocently, trying is best to give the wide-eyed stare of a puppy.
"Yeah, like you didn't showed what you two are capable of just mere minutes ago." Ale continued his grumble. "So, I will take this," he looked up the name of his dish again, "Pinocchio, hoping that the donkey part in the description is just for fun."
"Don't worry, even if it is, that meat is delicious, you will wolf down that burger!" The sheppie girl assured him, patting one big bicep with her paw.
"Avete deciso signori8?" A cougar waiter with a faint American accent asked them, making all his patrons jump at his stealthy arrival.
"Uhm, yeah, we have!I'll take a Pinocchio, with a Peroni, please! And the lady here will have the Bella Addormentata salad." The rottie swiftly ordered.
"I'll have a Coca Light for now, with the salad I mean!" His love interest added the forgotten detail of the beverage.
"Okay, Pinocchio, Bella, Peroni and Coca light. And you ragazzi9?" The American asked the last two canines after quickly scribbled in his small block notes, his pen hovering over it.
"A cheeseburger, and do you have Chinotto Neri10?" The Licaone inquired, his brow raised to further question the waiter.
"We have." The cougar simply answered, flicking his rounded ears at the specific request.
"Good, I will have one." The painted wolf almost purred his happiness for the turn of events. The young feline wrote that down, then turned toward Luca, who was quite content to give his order.
"Tre Porcellini and a Peroni too."
"Okay, I will bring your drinks right away, your dishes in just a few minutes. Have fun!" The tanned cat summed up before disappearing with a lashing tail.
"Chinotto Neri, eh?" Ale teased the spotted canine, seemingly happy that it was him on that side now.
"There is no other chinotto." He replied, dignified and his tall ears perking for the pride.
"But San Pellegrino is as-" Luca didn't finished the phrase, being frozen by the stare the lean Licaone shot him.
"No, it isn't, chinotto is Neri, and only Neri!" The other cut down any more attempt to say the contrary, though his harsh tone was mitigated by the smile he gave at the end.
"Sorry, he is quite fixed on that." The sheppie apologized, getting una linguaccia11 from her friend.
"That's nothing, you should see how Luca's get when he talks about tiramisu12!" The rottie rumbled, winking at her to signalize what it was going to happen.
"Well, excuse me if I think Boni is better than Pompi!" The lupo said, outraged and his ears moving in annoyance.
"But Pompi makes the best tiramisu in Roma!" Clara exclaimed in disbilief. "It has even bananas flavored ones!"
"But they use pavesini13 instead of savoiardi, while Boni does, plus their marscarpone isn't up to their fame!" The lupine pointed out the flaws of the city's most famed tiramisu place.
"Never heard of Boni, where is it exactly?" Guido asked, clearly wanting to try out this pastry shop.
"It's near Ponte Milvio, in one of the streets behind it, I can take you both there if you want." Luca proposed. He wanted to show both of them why he thought, no, he was sure about his opinion, and prove that, once again, something isn't the best just because many furs said so.
"I am interested, we could do that sometimes, or maybe you two could go alone..." The sheppie girl suggested, then she renegotiated what she just said under the combined stares of the two canines. "I'm just kidding!"
Luca just wondered if she was trying to play matchmaker this evening; he didn't doubt Ale, since he wasn't the type to do that, he might be hoping that something would happen between them but just out of love for his friend, he was sure the rottie wasn't planning for that. Or was he?
He stared at his friend for a moment, but he seemed too focused on the girl at his side to even think to push the two gay males in front of him together. He just gave up on trying to figure that out and decided to listen again to the conversation, which was interrupted by the arrival of their feline waiter with a tray.
"Here guys, two Peroni, one Chinotto Neri and a Coca Light." The cougar announced, posing his tray on the table and arranging coasters in front of each fur before setting the glasses full of the chosen beverage.
"Thank you." Guido smiled his gratitude along with the others, but he was the only one who got a smile back from the foreign cat.
"Non c'è di che14, your food will arrive soon, call me if you need something!" He purred before taking back the tray and navigating to another table.
"Seems like someone ha fatto colpo15!" Ale smirked over his glass.
"Do you think he is interested?" The sheppie asked the experts in front of her.
"Dunno, my gaydar didn't react, but it is known to not be the most reliable one." Luca shuddered before taking a sip of his beer.
"I don't think he is, I have a very contagious smile, most say." The Licaone simply stated.
"You do?" The two restorer friends said at unison, eliciting an awww from Clara.
"Yes, seeeeeeeeeee!" The painted wolf showed his smile of canine proportion, a show of canines that was meant not to scare but to calm others. And Luca admitted to himself that it was quite a smile, lightning the Licaone was quite charming, and boyish too, in a cute way, and he couldn't help to have one of his own.
"See? You are smiling too, so that means that the cutey smiling at me isn't a proof of something!" Guido cheered, his smile taking a triumphant tone now.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Clara sighed, her eyes rolling at such a display.
"So, how is it to work in a legal office? I'm sure it must be interesting!" The lupine said, reminding just now that his purpose of the night was to know more about the German Sheppard.
"Uhm, how it is ..." She pondered a bit. "Well, I am sure you grow up with all those American series with awesome offices, I'm a bit afraid of ruining such an image to you."
"Don't worry, he is a big boy, he can handle his romantic ideas being crushed." The rottie guaranteed her, getting glare from his friend.
"If you say so... I am only a praticante16, but my boss is kind enough with me, so I can read the files and get to know some interesting stuff. But mainly it is writing acts, going to the Tribunal to attend audiences, notify things, retire other ones, stuff like that." She enlisted, and despite the commonness of the stuff she seemed pretty passionate about that.
"She really loves her work, nice." Luca thought to himself, then asked aloud: "Is the Tribunal such a crazy place as everyone think?"
She answered with one word. "Crazier." Then, seeing the look on the lupine's face, she expanded the concept.
"Well, I don't know if tribunals in other towns are that bad, but here you have to fight with long lines at the offices, something that is very hellish after the holidays, then there are the chancelleries, depending by the workers, can be either chaotic or efficient..." She trailed off, a shivering going through her at the memories of being trapped in such a nightmarish place.
"But I am sure it's worth it, isn't it?" Ale asked her, not wanting his date to fall in utter despair.
"Uh? Oh, yeah, it is, and I might be here lamenting, but it is just nice to work and all, can't wait to be a true lawyer!" She lighted up again, her enthusiasm coming back again.
"I'm sure you do." The rottie smiled at her, and they lost themselves in each other for some time, leaving the other two in an awkward silence they didn't want break in fear of disturbing the lovedogs.
Out of things to do, Luca looked around the club, not full yet since it was still too early. Other groups occupied the tables, chatting and eating, but mostly eating, with all kind of furs in there, middle aged, teenagers, university students, foreign people who came to visit the beautiful city. Their trusty waiter navigated skillfully the sea of furs, holding trays and such, and now that he observed him better, he sported a very nice ass, he was sure many girls crushed on him... And boys too, for that matter!
He had kept an ear to his table, to catch any attempt of re-starting a conversation, so he he turned back to it once he heard Clara talking again.
"But I should stop talking about my work, I am sure yours is much more interesting!"
"Well, I don't know, we just work on old stuff, repairing it..." The rottie said coyly, self-sponsoring not being his best ability, but that was why Luca was there.
"He says that, but it is truly amazing, giving back to those wonders of art their past glory, isn't that right?" He said, trying to give some cue to his friend.
"Oh yeah, it is incredible when you wash away centuries of dirt from a fresco, slowly, bit by bit, first a face, then the upper body, until the painting comes to life again, with its bright colors and fine lines!" The rottie declaimed, his poetic nature showing out a bit and mesmerizing the young woman at his side, who couldn't help to stare at him in wonder. Luca just smiled, being proud of his friend, he sure had a way with words when he could.
Deciding that, this time, he didn't want to repeat the staring session, the lupine proceeded to talk with the most quite, at the moment, member of the group.
"What do you do in life, Guido?"
"You can't guess? I am a faaaaaaavoloso parruchiere17!" The Licaone lapsed, even moving his wrist and pouting a bit. He elicited only stares from the other two male dogs, and some ear-flicking, which prompted him to spill the beans. "Nah, I am a praticante like my dear Clara here, that's all!"
"Uhm, I see, you weren't really believable as a flamboyant hairdresser..." The rottie muttered, shaking his head from the mental images he was surely experiencing right now.
"Anything to add about the marvelous world of justice?" The lupine asked.
"Uhm, that judges tend to be not very .... dignified sometimes." He just said, taking a good gulp of the black liquid in front of him.
"Really? I imagined them to be old guys with wigs on them and a small hammer in their paw!" Ale exclaimed, ensuing some hilarity from the others.
"Ehehehhehe, that's England for you, Ale!" Clara laughed to him, tipping his nose with one finger.
"He knows, he just want to play the goof." The lupo revealed the truth between chuckles.
"Luca! You shouldn't tell them!" The other replied with lots of glare and a bit of growling, to ruin such a display of rottie badness with a wink. "I am still curious, why do you say that Guido? Thanks to your gay superpowers?"
"You don't have to be gay to see that." The painted dog snuffled. " This... particular judge has short, red hair, a shade used by middle-aged women, like the judge herself ..."
"It doesn't seem that bad." Ale pointed out, but that didn't stop the spotted dog.
".... And a long, blond, ponytail-like extension. And her fur is chocolate brown." He finished his recalling, and everyone at the table shivered in horror to such bad taste.
"Isn't her la De Iuris, of the Tenth Section?" The sheppie asked, showing that her grimace came from memories born from direct contact, rather then from her imagination.
"It's her, the very classy De Iuris." He confirmed.
"Urgh, that must be.... peculiar to see." Ale diplomatically say, his ears flicking. "Sure, I don't need to be gay to know that it isn't really judge-ish."
"Or maybe you grow gay superpowers by exposition to be Ale!" The lupine jabbed him, using his own joke against him.
"But I still love the fair sex, that's for sure!" The rottie responded, jokingly leering at Clara and licking his lips at the sight.
"Lucky me, then!" She giggled, then she rose her eyes and perked her ears at what she saw. "Our meals are arriving!"
The others turned to see the tanned mountain lion coming with a bigger tray full of food in his big, fluffy paws.
"It was about time, I'm starving!" Ale shouted, expressing the thoughts of all of them present.
Translation:
1) Dinner.
2) The Three Little Pigs.
3) Hear Hear.
4) It's all red!
5) Of common agreement.
6) Sleeping Beauty.
7) Rapunzel.
8) Have you decided, sirs?
9) Boys?
10) An Italian beverage, the answer to Coca-cola, even though the taste it's completely different since it is made of a citrus, the chinotto. The Neri company was the first to produce it, and by some their chinotto is the best.
11) Linguaccia is the shortening of "Fare la linguaccia", which means sticking out one's tongue.
12) I am not sure this dessert is known outside Italy, even if it should be. It's a cold dessert, made with biscuits, marscarpone (a creamy cheese), chocolate, milk and coffee.
13) A brand of cookies, popular in Italy, similar to savoiardi but just smaller
14) Literally, it means "There is nothing", but here it means "You're welcome".
15) Impressed (someone).
16) A praticante is a trainee in a legal office.
17) Faaaaaabulous hairdresser!