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Just a Little Sip

It had been some time since Enigma has last visited the tavern. Though the oven-roasted cockatrice with creamy mushroom gravy was a delightful dish among many of their menu, he had figured out how to recreate their culinary delights on his own long ago. For him, this was normally a place for information gathering over the occasional drink.

On this occasion, he was looking for the large, muscle-bound fox sitting on his own in a darkened corner of the room. The gourd he was drinking from appeared comically small in his oversized hands.

“I didn’t think I’d find you here, Volpes. It’s not like you’re about to get drunk on that.”

Volpes has already seen the detective coming, the quiet, contented smile on his muzzle growing ever so slightly wider at the sight.

“I had some business to take care of.”

Enigma raises his eyebrows before utter a single syllable, “Oh?”. In the span of a second, he had analyzed the scene, and took particular note of the bottle in Volpes’s hand. “Oh.”

This elicited a chuckle from a large foxkin. “Yes. I brew spirits, and a few other drinks for this and a few other bars in the city. Figured I might as well see how they’re used firsthand.”

“Medicine one day, alcohol the next?” Enigma tilted his head.

“Don’t act so surprised, detective.” The giant took another sip before continuing. “Alcohol is used in making many of the potions I supply, and it always has. It’s one of the plane’s oldest disinfectants, and useful for transporting liquids in colder seasons. Considering how much use I have for it aside from the bottle, it’s just easier to make my own than to find a reliable supplier.”

“Perhaps I should brush up on my alchemy, then?”

“Course sign ups are opening soon, Enigma. Perhaps you should.”

This is another one of the pieces from Marsel-Defender than remained stashed away in my files for a long time, from April 2024 to December 2024. When I saw the pose, I could already picture Volpes in the role of an old and experienced veteran, casually and happily drinking on his own as he watched the people around him go about their days. Despite Az being literally the veteran between the two of them, in my mind Volpes better fit the image.

But I needed a way to better convey the concept to readers, and a dialogue between him and Enigma seemed like a good way to do that. Now that they are colleagues, there are any number of innocent reasons Enigma might want to seek him out in their off hours.