An Excuse to Drink

It had been a few days since Lyra’s first shift over at the Rabbit Hole to help her friend Hops out. When she left the bar that night, Hops had promised to teach Lyra to make a few drinks as a thank you for the help on such short notice. Lyra decided she’d take Hops up on that offer today. She’d sent her a message earlier and Hops asked her to meet at the Rabbit Hole in the early afternoon–and to bring her uniform to make it all look more official.

Lyra had no doubt that this was just going to be an excuse for Hops to get some free booze. But she got herself dressed in her uniform before she left the house. She made her way through the inner city all the way to the Rabbit Hole. It was too early for customers, but since Hops had the key they didn’t have to worry about being locked out.

Lyra quickly made her way inside. Hops was already behind the counter with bottles surrounding her. She grinned and waved over to Lyra.

“Do me a favor and lock the door after you!” She called out before she started digging underneath the bar for something else.

Lyra turned around and locked the door before she moved behind the counter with Hops. The other bun stood up straight with a shaker in her hands and she grinned over to Lyra.

“Alright so I’m going to teach you how to make some of the drinks so you don’t always have to be the one running the floor for me when you help out.” 

Lyra leveled her with a slightly annoyed look. “So you just want me to help out more, is that it?”

“Whaaat? No,” Hops let out a nervous laugh before wrapping an arm around Lyra’s shoulders. “C’mooon, I’ll teach you how to make Shio’s favorite drink.”

Lyra let out an even more annoyed huff but she leaned into the arm around her shoulders.

“Hops, you’re lucky I’m easily bribed.”

Hops let out a mischievous little laugh before she flipped through the book of recipes that she normally kept behind the counter. 

“Okay so let’s start with a Clawdka,” she said as she placed the shaker in front of Lyra. “This one is super simple. A little bit of ice, a little bit of vodka, and a garnish of an olive on top. You just need to be sure you get it to the right temperature.”

Lyra grabbed the bottle of vodka and followed Hops’ instructions for how much to measure out before she grabbed a scoop of ice from below the counter. She sealed the shaker and lifted it into her hands, shaking it thoroughly before she poured it into the waiting glass and garnished it with an olive on a long toothpick. She passed the drink over to Hops for inspection.

She took a long sip and closed her eyes, making Lyra nervously wait as she judged the drink.

“It’s the perfect temperature! Okay, now let’s get into the more complex drinks…”

Their afternoon was spent with Lyra making drinks and Hops drinking every single one. When Lyra asked her about how much she was drinking, Hops said she didn’t believe in wasting good alcohol.