On the stake (open)

Richard sat down at the bar of the Golden Thestral, not looking anywhere in particular but searching the room all the same with his enhanced sense of smell.

Ordering a drink of firewhiskey without actually intending to drink the thing, Richard waited and waited for his target, found in the booth on his far right, to go to the bathroom. To be fair he was also looking for something or someone to talk to him, to give him a viable reason for sitting at a bar and not drinking.

Mad entered the Golden Thestral, gaze sweeping the pub as she did so. She didn't go there often, really - it was far too popular for her liking. That could have simply been because Mad didn't like most people, in general, however.

Walking up to the bar beside Richard, she sat and requested a firewhiskey when the bartender asked what she would like. Mad took a swallow before putting her glass back down.

"Personally," she said, calmly turning her gaze towards him, "you don't much look like a man who tends to drink alone. Granted, that is my personal opinion. I rather suspect the bulk of our fellow patrons are too inebriated to notice one way or another. Except perhaps the young lady in yellow; she won't stop looking at you. I'm sure she'll be quite devastated should she ever work up the courage to approach you, only to find out that you are, in fact, happily married."

Mad took another meditative drink. "Talking to me may deter such foolishness on her part, as well as provide you with a reason why you are sitting at a bar with an untouched glass of firewhiskey."

Richard barely looked up to acknowledge Madisen’s entrance, he’d caught her scent when she walked into the building so it was no surprise to him when she moved up to the bar and ordered a fire whiskey. He pretended to take a sip of his own fire whiskey,

“Well I’m not the type of man to drink alone.” He agreed with an ever so faint smile, “But I thought the idea of growing a beard for just that illusion was a bit extreme. And making an illusion has the added problem of needing to remember that it’s there. If I scratch my chin with an illusionary beard on my hand will go straight through ‘my’ beard.”

He sniffed the air a few times to narrow down on the scent he thought occupied the same area as the woman in yellow. He grimaced a little bit at the scent,

“The woman in yellow is not all she appears to be.” He glanced at Madisen, “Steel smells of whatever it’s attached to. And she’s got knives all over her if my nose is correct. Bodyguard I’m guessing. Sees me as a potential threat and she’s wrong. I’m not a potential threat to her charge, I am a threat.”

Richard took a drink of his fire whiskey and concentrated, wandlessly performing a switching spell with a puddle he’d remembered outside,

“You are just full of good ideas Madisen.” He glanced at her with a small smile, “Although perhaps people would find it strange for us to be drinking together. Or should I add an extra cover and call you mum?”

Mad inclined her head. "Lacking super-smelling," she stated wryly, "I must rely on my sight, alone, I fear. Though she holds herself as one ready to act as necessary, she still finds you attractive. Armed to the teeth, as it were, or not."

The woman chuckled - not a common sound coming from her. "Should you desire to do so," Mad said, "though, I daresay, you would not have liked growing up under my care. Son."

Richard chuckled a little at her comment about 'super smelling'. It didn't really have a name and that, it seemed, was why,

"Did you have to give it such a silly name?" he asked her with a mock pout before shrugging a little, "If the worst case comes to pass I don't think she'll be feeling attracted to me. If worst case comes to pass she won't be feeling anything I'm afraid."

He raised an eyebrow at her,

"Would you have forced me from a young age to become a soldier without conscience, remorse or morals?" he asked her blankly before grinning, "If the answer is no to any of these then you wouldn't be worse than my other mother, mother."

"How about Enhanced Olfactory Capabilities?' she suggested. "I fear, no matter how one names such a gift, it will still sound somewhat absurd."

Mad gave a slight nod. "True enough," she stated.

She considered his query for a moment. "Likely not. Though, the answer to that shall never be known."

Richard thought about the name for a few minutes longer than he thought about the joke one. To be fair it sounded intelligent and he really didn’t have anything better,

“Well that’s better I suppose. I’ll still have run it by Cobalt.” He muttered a little before shrugging a little, “Yeah well sometimes it seems like a pretty odd ability to have. Oh there are applications for it. Tracking is easy with it and all that. But thank god I can turn it off you know?”

He placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt,

“And, alas, I shall not know the simple pleasure of being smothe-I mean, mothered, by you.” He stuck his tongue out at her in a display of childishness, “Ah well, you’d probably have driven me Mad I suppose. So… what are you doing here Mad? You don’t strike me as the kind to just wander into bars at random.”

"I doubt as there would be any 'simple' about my smothering," Mad remarked mildly, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement.

"I'm not," the woman agreed. "I was in town on business and decided I could do with a drink. I'd inquire as to your own purpose for being here, but I rather suspect that information is need to know."

Richard rolled his eyes good naturedly,

"You strike me as the stern but fair type of mother." he told her with a small smirk, "The kind that would tell you to build a bridge and get over it if the problem was small but would wait for hours if it was big."

He smiled faintly,

"Business? Cryptic. I like that." he chuckled, "Well if you ask I'll tell you. You might not believe me but I'd tell you."

Mad merely inclined her head. There had been a time long ago when she'd imagined the sort of mother she might be. She had been a mere girl at the time, full of hopes and dreams. That had been before her world had been shattered.

She gave a faint smirk. "I try. I shall leave it up to you if you would like to tell me or not. You have a fair idea of the sort of person I am and whether my level of trustworthiness would prove sufficient or not."

The fact that his comment on what type of mother she would be had sank like a lead balloon led Richard to believe that she had something in her past related to the subject. It also told him that it was none of his business. He took a sip of his fire-whiskey. Setting the glass down with a smile, he closed his eyes,

"Do you see the fat man in the booth on the far right? The one with the bold patch. He's eating-" he sniffed her before scrunching his nose up in disgust, "Some kind of hamburger. Stuffed with fats and salts. Well anyway..."

Richard opened his eyes and took another sip of his fire-whiskey, his face and voice now devoid of emotion,

"His name is Vladimir Zaeed Cerber. Wizard. Oil tycoon in muggle Russia and dragonhide tycoon in wizarding Russia." he paused here, looking down into his drink, "Alchemist. Member of a council of ten Alchemists, seen as the most adept. Kidnapper. Murderer. Rapist. Child abuser. Enemy."

Still emotionless, he glanced at Madisen,

"Target."

Mad gazed placidly back, taking a drink of her own firewhiskey before setting the glass back down on the bar.

"Charming gentleman," she remarked, her tone distinctly frostier than usual. "I don't suppose you require any assistance?"

Richard thought about it for a moment before glancing back at Madisen with a small smirk,

"Are you any good at distractions?"

Mad smirked right back. "You have no idea," she replied. "Are we wanting a small distraction, or the whole-pub-is-looking distraction?"