#ankabi

He’s even seen Commander Pixis frequent the pub. He’s good friends with the bartender and spends most of his visits at the counter speaking loudly with the bartender as if they’re old friends, although Mitabi notices that Pixis does most of the talking. While he thought most of the bar patrons – seeing as how most of them were members of the military – would stiffen up and lower their voices when the military commander was present, he finds that most people loosen up when Pixis comes around, especially after the commander has had a few drinks in him. He becomes livelier than he normally is, drifting around the room and clapping the backs of his subordinates as he asks them how work is going. He’s even seen Pixis dance with a few soldiers here and there, play darts with some others, and even generously pay for a round of drinks for the entire bar.

Stranger still is Anka Rheinberger, a friend of Rico’s and one of the commander’s escorts. It’s not that she’s anymore rowdy than the other customers. It’s that she’s probably the most well-mannered out of all of them. At first, Mitabi believed it was because she was so used to being Pixis’ responsible escort, always sober while scolding her superior for taking a sip of his flask while on duty, but he realizes that she accumulates an impressive number of empty beer glasses while at the bar. Unlike her commander, she never sits at the counter. Instead, she lingers at a back of the tavern with a glass of beer that she slowly drains away while she flips through a book, the title of which Mitabi never catches. Whenever he sees her the next night though, he finds that she’s made a considerable amount of progress on her reading. How she manages to read in this noisy bar, Mitabi doesn’t know, but he does admire her ability to concentrate in even the noisiest of places.

“Why would someone come to the bar if they’re not going to drink?” Ian wonders aloud. He pops a fried potato slice into his mouth, licking the salt off his fingers. “Does that make sense to you?”

Rico shrugs. While she and Anka had been close friends during their trainee days and occasionally spent their days off together, Rico usually chooses to spend her nights off with Mitabi and Ian. “It’s not as if she’s not drinking,” she points out. She takes a sip of her own beer, frowning at the bitter taste even though it’s all she ever orders. Rico sets her glass down and looks over to where Anka sits. “I’m sure she just wants to relax by herself after following Commander Pixis around all day.”

“That old fellow sure is energetic,” Ian muses. He looks towards the bar counter where Pixis sits. In the old man’s hand is a toothpick with a decorative olive on its tip, and he waves it around as he conducts a choir of drunken men while they sing the same song in a variety of different keys. It’s not a pleasant sound, but it somehow suits the atmosphere of the tavern. “I’d be tired if I were his assistant…not that, er, I wouldn’t be honored.” He tacks on the last part after Rico glares at him.

“What sort of book do you think Anka’s reading?” Mitabi asks Rico. “She’s already reading something when we get to Ludwig’s.”

“Hmm?” Rico says, raising her head. She adjusts her glasses and squints to read the title better, but it seems they’re sitting too far away from Anka for Rico to make out the words. “I don’t know. Possibly more history books or something like that. You could always just ask her yourself.”

“Me?” Mitabi repeats, startled. “Wouldn’t it make more sense if you did? After all, you’re friends with her.” It’s not that he’s not on good terms with Anka, but he’s never said more than hello to her in passing. To strike up a conversation with her in the middle of a crowded bar…doesn’t that seem strange?

Rico doesn’t seem to think so because she merely waves her hand around, her head bobbing about. “It’s fine, it’s fine,” Rico tells him. It never takes her very long to get drunk, so she usually doesn’t drink a lot. Even now her face is starting to flush and even though she’s looking at him, Mitabi can tell that she’s not really looking at him. “Mitabi, you know you worry just as much as me sometimes, but don’t worry now. If you talk with her, you’ll be fine. I won’t talk to her right now though. Anka doesn’t like it when people are drunk since she’s always around Pixis and it annoys her when he gets buzzed during his duties. Ian, tell him to go talk to her.”

“You should go talk to her,” Ian says, but he’s only repeating it because Rico told him to. He’s far more amused in observing Rico right now because she’s so much more relaxed when she’s drunk. When he pokes her head slightly, she sways in her seat. Ian grins at Mitabi and says, “Really, go. I’ll take care of Rico. Afterward, just tell me what sort of book Anka’s reading that’s more interesting than anything in this bar.”

Mitabi frowns but nods reluctantly and eventually leaves because while he’s genuinely curious about the book that Anka is reading, he also feels like Ian appreciates alone time with Rico every now and again. He tries not to bump into anyone as he makes his way through the crowded tavern, but he does get a few drinks spilled on him and he grimaces as he thinks about the stains that they’ll leave. He pushes his way past a few other drunken patrons before making it to Anka’s lonely table, but he thinks it’s a far better place than the rowdy tables at the front of the store.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” Mitabi says, raising his voice over the shouting and singing of the other customers.

Anka looks up briefly from her book before looking back down at it. “Not at all,” she replies. Without looking up, she shoves aside the empty beer glasses to clear up a space across the table. She gestures down to let him know it’s fine to sit. “Wave a server over and ask for another beer, will you?”

“Er, okay,” Mitabi says, confused. He promptly catches the attention of a nearby waiter and asks for a glass of beer for Anka, but he doesn’t order anything for himself. He sits there nervously, not sure how to talk to her, but Anka finally closes her book and looks up at him.

“I just wanted to finish that page,” she explains to him. She briefly thanks the waiter, giving them a nod, before turning back to Mitabi. She brushes her bangs from her eyes and leans over so that she can speak with him without having to raise her voice very much. “Bars are not actually very good places to read if you didn’t know.”

“I didn’t think it would be,” Mitabi replies, feeling better now that she’s made a joke. He settles down in his seat and taps on her book. “May I?”

“Mitabi,” Anka says, hardly blinking. “Go ahead.” She takes a sip of her beer and watches as Mitabi flips through his book.

He’s surprised when he recognizes the cover. It’s an old history textbook that children read during their school days. He had never thought it worth revisiting, but it seems that Anka did because she was reading it now. She had all sorts of notes scribbled in the margins and different pages in the book were dog-eared so that she could find them later. He looks up at her, confused. “A history textbook?”

“I didn’t think it was so interesting back when I was a kid, but I guess I’ve grown older,” Anka says. “There are things in there…that are strange to me. But I’ll look them up later.” It seems like she’s shared enough so she smiles politely at him and slides the book back to her side of the table. “So what are you here for if not to drink? I notice you’re not drunk, or at least not drunk enough.”

“Oh, I only drink a glass or two even when I’m out with friends,” Mitabi laughs, but he’s startled when Anka starts booing at him.

“How unfun,” she frowns. It’s only then that Mitabi remembers the abandoned glasses beside her and realizes that Anka could be the only one to empty them since she’s the only person at the table. Somehow, he couldn’t imagine her being able to read and drink at the same time, but she’s more surprising than he thought her to be. “If you’re not here to drink, why are you here at all?”

He smiles as he thinks about Ian saying the very same words about her. “I watch people if they interest me,” Mitabi replies, nodding at Anka.

“Do you find me interesting?” Anka asks, tilting her head with a curious smile. She doesn’t wait for him to answer. Instead, she takes a large swig of her beer, finishing it in a few gulps. She set down her glass with a loud clink and grins at him. It makes Mitabi understand why she dislikes normal drunks. Although Anka can’t be considered completely sober at this point, she’s an impressively coherent drunk. “I’m more interesting than just being Pixis’ attendant and reading books, you know.”

He wonders if this is an invitation. “Is that so?”

“Absolutely,” she says. Her smile is warm and inviting, but she doesn’t offer anything else about herself. She simply sits back in her seat, an arm draped against the back of her chair. She nudges Mitabi’s leg with the tip of her foot. “But if you want to find out any more, you’re going to have to buy me a drink.”

“Ah,” Mitabi says with a smile. He calls over a waiter and orders once more, this time asking for a glass for himself as well, and admires Anka’s pleased expression once their alcohol is served for them. He doesn’t take a sip right away, letting his drink sit there as he watches Anka take a big swig of her own drink, and he settles down against the back of his chair. “So,” he says after Anka seems satisfied with her drink for now. “Won’t you tell me about yourself?”

“I hope you’re ready to buy me a lot more drinks,” Anka tells him, leaning back against her seat, “because there’s a lot to say.”