Ah, Ohnien thought as the bar filled with a typical motley crew. This night is going to be special. As she thought this, a breeze passed over her shoulder. To any regular mortal, it would be unnoticeable, as it had the strength of the air used whenever one opens his mouth to speak. But to her, she felt it like a chilly autumn day: the Winds' Song. It caressed her cheek as it whispered into her ear:
"Indeed, air child: 'Tis to be a more than special night."
With a half smile, Ohnien thought to herself,
There's something in the air… Other than me, I mean! And in fact, it was true: Ohnien had been floating in the far corner of the ceiling, invisible. She had a perfect view of everything going on, and nobody would attempt to court her, let alone notice her. It was a perfect spot to plan what to do next.
She noticed that she had been tuned out of everything that had been happening only when the noise level rose grandly. With little searching, she easily found the source: a scruffy-looking vagabond who was complaining about receiving the wrong drink, despite the fact he was already quite intoxicated.
"Cider!" The red-faced ranter bellowed to nobody in particular. "Why in the Creator's name would you give me CIDER? I ASKED for another pint of ALE!" With punctuality, he banged his fist on the table, overturning his mug. The other fellows who happened to have the misfortune of sitting with him flinched as cider splashed on the shirt of the one nearest to the man. As the lad nearest to him hurried to upright the poor mug, Ohnien grinned, a sparkle beginning to gleam in her eye.
You know, it'd be such a shame to let an opportunity like this go to waste, Ohnien thought. As she lowered herself to the floor, a malicious grin spread across her face. Staying invisible, she focused all her energy on the scene.
Yes… she murmured.
There's still a bit of cider in that mug, which means it contains a little bit of air. And with that thought, she shot forward through the air and leaped into said mug.
Once she was inside the cider, inhaling the air particals around her, she began to exhale forcefully.
Now, the aggravated man couldn't tell that the air spirit was in his drink, but what he could see was that it was bubbling at the top. Spying this, he instantly quieted down, leaning into the rim of the cup. It continued to gurgle happily. "What in the name of all things holy…" the man muttered. "Bubbles?" His friends, too, had noticed this, and leaned in as close as they could to witness the oddity that was occurring.
Suddenly, a jet of water burst from the mug, along with Ohnien, now visible and full size. At the eruption, everyone at the table jumped back and put a hand to the hilt of their swords. Everyone in the tavern either turned at the noise or, at the very least, looked up to see who was getting beaten. And when they did, they saw a pale, blond elf-looking girl sitting on the table where the man had been seething about his drink before.
Noticing the shocked faces of the men around her, Ohnien gave a large smile and said, "Well,
that was fun, wasn't it?" Before anyone could say anything, a very
pressing matter held her attention. As she sat, she had collected more and more of a growing discomfort on her rear end. Glancing down, she realized she was sitting on his mug.
"Oh!" With one fluid motion, she grabbed the mug. Peering inside, Ohnien first eyed, then sniffed the contents. When she found both equally satisfactory, she raised the mug and took a long swig. "You know," she began, wiping her mouth. "The Winking Mermaid has some of the best cider I've ever tasted. What are you complaining about?"
A round of cheers and a bit of laughter erupted around them, and the bartender blushed and rubbed his neck.Behind her, one of the fellows that was sitting around the table coughed politely. Ohnien paused a beat. "Oh! This was yours!" With a cherry red face, she quickly shoved the mug back at the man, who still gaped at the bizarre spectacle upon the table in front of him