Girl of Shadows.

So I'm sitting there, tending bar, when I see a girl sitting at the bar that I've never seen before. I don't even remember seeing her come in.

One quick glance in her direction and I can see that she looks like she's been through hell. I mean she looks all over the shop. I've seen some pale runners and servants, before. the type of kids that stayed in their mother's basements and didn't get any sunlight until one of The Landlords came for them.

I tend to not see those ones again.

But here's this girl, hair completely a state, looks completely knackered. All on her jack jones.

So I make my way over to her, see her robe looks cut open around the stomach area. She definitely looks like she's been in a barney.

So I offered her a drink, just water. on the house.

Poor bird just looks at it, it's at this point I'm starting to suspect she just got out of a funny farm, or The Wicked Gentlemen met her and turned her barmy.

So I rather candidly asked her "Have you been in trouble?"

She starts looking about nervously, starts to mumble "where am I?" to herself.

It's at this point I'm thinking "gordon bennet, this is gonna be grief for me"

So i tell her, i say to her "you're in a bar, love"

"bar?"

Yep. definitely grief.

But I try to speak to her again, i rather candidly say "I don't mean to pry but what exactly is your story?"

next thing I know, the glass i put down has shattered in front of me, all I can see is a shadow half reached out over the counter.

I'm of course trying to keep my hair on and back away. I know better than to deal with the Shadowgraphers.

Then a regular, this Proxy of The Wicked Gentlemen strolls up to her, the mug must've looked at her and thought she was drunk enough for him to give a seeing-to. He was completely rat-arsed.

Before I get time to tell him to back away from the headcase, he sits down besides her. The bloke starts arsing about, dropping bad jokes, trying to flirt.

Then he puts his arm around her.

Next thing I know his arm is on the counter in front of me and there's blood flying everywhere.

Most of my other customers have of course either backed away or walked off at this point and all I can do is stand there gob-smacked as I watch the shadows around her restrain the proxy.

The shadowgraphers were unrelenting in their work on him. Done-over would be an understatement. I watched them tear apart his body limb from limb, slowly. Flesh was slowly peeled off like he was some kind of banana and discarded carelessly to the floor. Bones were cracked one by one. I think even his eyes were gouged out at one point.

A Nest was sitting on the opposite side of the bar and threw up, that wouldn't been easy to ignore if not for the fact he had one of his birds out at the time which decided to eat up the sick. Actually pretty disgusting if you ask me.

But the violence, good god. Even the firms back home in London weren't that brutal on a guy.

After they were done, the guy's...remains i guess for lack of a better term were just dropped to the floor and she walked out, more like was led out by her shadows.

I can tell you now, the cleaning wasn't a doddle.

You see a lot of strange things as a bartender, and you see a lot of strange things at The Swooning Shadow.

So I see a lot of strange things as a bartender at The Swooning Shadow.

Open Door

Working a bar with those running from or fighting for The Landlords as your clientele can be tricky. It was just the other day that a member of the Timberwolves and a Nest tried to duke it out after one too many.

And when a Wanderer comes in, you have to spend a good ten minutes or more trying to get them to leave as they keep asking for their "daughter" again and again.

It's like a broken record.

And believe me, I know.

I've been trying to get the speaker system fixed for months.

The Campers are my least favourite customers, they bring their own drinks in. I'd complain but I don't really fancy bringing The Landlords down on my establishment.

But I get by, I make ends meet. Mostly all they want is a good drink and to forget about their troubles, unless you get people with a personal grudge against each other. They tend to let bygones be bygones as soon as they step into my doors.

But sometimes, they come by and they just want to talk a bit. Lighten the load.

Sometimes they have stories and secrets to share.

Because as we all know, whatever The Bartender hears, is confidential....isn't it?

I see a lot of strange things as a bartender, and I see a lot of strange things at The Swooning Shadow.

So I see a lot of strange things as a bartender at The Swooning Shadow.