The rest of the trip was a true delight, and she gave both of them great-big hugs as she got onto the jet to fly back to Chicago. When she got back to the pub, she had a true spring in her step, and Maisie gave her a playful grin. “Well, the prodigal returns! And aren't you looking chipper-f!"

Her comment was cut off by a sudden, great-big hug, which left her... rather unable to speak with her face buried in Briar's bosom. When she was let back down, she was a little flushed as she staggered, trying to get her footing again. As she did, Alisa came up from the bar, beaming at Briar. “You're back! Wonderful! I've taken good care of the place for you," she said, and Briar could see that things were running quite smoothly.

“I see that you have. And I've got good news for the two of you, too. We get to change the labels of our drinks a bit. Not a lot... but we're really going to have to figure out how to work a badger and a barrel into the designs."

The two young women blinked, looking very confused by that. They knew the brand... it was Bran's symbol. “But... only his family's able to use that..." Alisa said in confusion.

Briar couldn't help but let out a little squeal, “That's the news! We discovered that I'm from the family! My Great-great-gran well... fell in love with... a member of the family," she would fill them in more completely later when they weren't in the open in the pub, “And her daughter was named Morgan because of it. So, I'm not just any Morgan... I'm a Morgan!" She said with a laugh, “Which reminds me, I really need to visit the waterfront at some point. Apparently, I have family there," she said with a chuckle.

The two of them looked properly delighted at that news, and with Briar's return to the pub, the place held a truly grand celebration, which all of the guests got to join in on. It truly filled Briar with pride in what she'd created here.

Kestrel found herself sitting in the office for her family's fishing business, slogging her way through the books as she was doing her part to help keep track of the family resources. Even if it was her least favorite part of the job. But still, it was necessary, as much as it left her wanting to crawl up the walls.

As her eyes were starting to go out of focus, the bell on the door rang as someone came in from off the street. She tiredly said, “Welcome to Morgan Charters, how can I help you?" As she greeted the arrival, she slowly lifted her head, only to see a tall, powerfully built woman, with curly red hair and a great big smile on her face.

“Oh, lovely. I found the right place," she said, coming up to stand at the reception counter.

Kestrel looked at her oddly, surprised by the enthusiasm of that. She got up and came over to the counter as well. “Okay... so, what brings you here?"

The woman smiled giddily, “Oh, I just got back from a business trip... and the person I was working with wanted me to bring you this," she said, setting a bottle on the counter.

Kestrel blinked and stared at it for a moment, taking it in before she recognized the label of one of Bran's signature select bottles. Her eyes quickly came into focus as she looked up at the new arrival. “He said that he figured that your own bottle was starting to get a bit low, and wanted me to help top you up," she said with a little laugh.

Kestrel looked a little troubled at that. “Did he, now. And... what else did he tell you?"

The woman looked at Kestrel, working to remember his description of who to look for, and came to the conclusion that she was indeed her intended contact. “He told me to ask you how things have been since the storm... and Janelle wanted me to ask how your knots were coming along."

Kestrel was properly startled at that as she looked around, seeing no one approaching outside. “Okay. Cut the crap. Who are you?" Her tone was urgent... slightly panicked.

The woman smiled warmly at her. “My name is Briar Morgan, owner of Briar's Cauldron in town. And it turns out... we're family."

Kestrel nearly fell over as she said that, her eyes wide as her mouth was hanging open. She looked at the bottle, then back up at Briar, trying to process everything that she was saying. She looked very critically at the woman. God, she did look like Bran... and that memory was still fresh in her mind, the storm only having been about a month ago.

She brought her fingers up to rub her eyes and the bridge of her nose. “Okay... so... what the fuck... how... and... you... you know..." She was still going through several critical failures of mental processes.

Briar smiled gently and chuckled softly, “Yes. I know he's the original founder... from back in the 1700s. I got filled in on at least some of the family story," she said with a little laugh, “He came to my pub looking to hire me... but I just couldn't bear to leave it. So, he agreed to mentor me for a couple of weeks, and Janelle... she had a weird feeling about me," she added with a chuckle, shaking her head, “And then at dinner, she drops the bomb asking about my great-great-grandmother. No one knew why she gave her daughter the family name of Morgan... but now it makes sense. Apparently, he'd had a bit of a love affair with her," she said with a chuckle and a sigh, leaning against the counter, herself.

Kestrel stared at Briar for a moment and then laughed, folding her arms on the counter and putting her head on it. “Oooooh... why does that not surprise me..." she said, just trying to latch onto what she could. “Hah... okay... so, I'm betting that they were able to confirm and all... otherwise, he wouldn't have told you to come here..." She took a deep breath, straightening up and looking across the counter at her.

“You should probably come with me," she said, moving around to open the pass-through for Briar. She showed her through the door and stuck her head into one of the rooms, shouting, “Jimmy! Watch the front desk for a bit, I've got something important to deal with," she said, getting a groan from the young man, who complied nonetheless.

Briar couldn't help but chuckle at the exchange, smiling warmly as she, Kestrel, and the bottle made their way out of the back and down the family's stretch of waterfront to a cozy little house. Briar could feel the warmth from the place as Kestrel brought her inside. “Oi, old man. I've got someone here that you need to meet."

Aldrich had been puttering around in the kitchen, and when Kestrel called out to him, he came out into the front room of the house. “Oh?" He looked at Briar in confusion. “Who have you brought for me to meet?"

Kestrel looked at Briar, who smiled and held out the bottle of whisky. “Don't worry, I come in peace," she said with a chuckle, causing the old man's eyes to widen a little bit. She grinned and shook her head, “Yeah. He said you'd get a kick out of that one," she added with a little laugh. “My name is Briar Morgan. I own Briar's Cauldron in town, and a couple of weeks back, someone came to... 'evaluate' me. He was a proper Scotsman, like I've not seen since coming state-side. He tried my brew... my spirits... and even had a go at one of my cocktails," she said with a laugh.

“He wanted to hire me, but I couldn't leave my pub. I've put too much of myself into it," she said with a little laugh, “I do some... pretty fancy things with cocktails, so the person who owned the bar I worked at when I first got here thought it would be better for me to have a place of my own, where I could really play into how magical the cocktails came across..." she paused and coughed, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry. Got carried away there. Anyway, he still wanted to help me learn, so I got some time off, packed, and went down to Tawantinsuyu with him, where I met his wife, too."

“She's a sharp woman, and I was way too similar to him for her to just shrug it off... and one night at dinner, asked me about my family. I got back to my great-great-grandmother, Katherine who lived next to Loch Lomond, and that's about when you could see his heart stop," she said with a bit of a smirk. “Turns out... he's the great-great-grandfather that Katherine would never tell the family about. And yeah... I'm talking about Bran and Janelle... the same ones that your family comes down from."

Aldrich was standing there with his eyebrows raised very high onto his forehead. “Ah..." he thought for a moment, nodding his head slowly. “That... sounds like Bran. Yes." He laughed softly, shaking his head. “Always keeping things interesting, even if he isn't trying to... but that's his job, isn't it, Kestrel?"

The young woman laughed and sighed, nodding her head. “You're not joking. Especially with everything that I've been reading from the family archives." Her eyebrows shot up at that, “Oh, right. Briar, I'd really love it if you wrote down an account of all of this. It doesn't have to be super detailed, but the big points would be awesome. We have... first hand records of family members who run into Bran and Janelle in person," she said, nodding her head.

Briar chuckled and shrugged, “I don't see why not. Still, a wild little world, isn't it?" She trailed off, looking out at the water. “Almost makes me wonder what I'd be like out on the water... but... I honestly think that I'd be more likely to topple over the side of the boat. No, give me a garden to root around in the earth, and that's my speed." She sighed and spun the bottle in her hand a little, doing a few of her little flourishes with it. Kestrel thought it looked like she was doing it to help her focus, as much as Aldrich looked very anxious at how she was handling one of Bran's bottles.

Aldrich smiled nervously, getting Briar's attention, “Would you like to sit down? And, I can take that bottle from you, if you'd like," he said, trying to forestall the accident that he saw coming from her flourishing it like that.

She blinked, her hand stopping as the bottle came to rest upright in her grasp. “Hmm? Oh. Sorry," she said with a chuckle, handing the bottle out to the old man, who took it almost reverently. “I've got a lot of practice with fancy showmanship at the pub. And, hey, if the family here would like to come to the pub at any time, you're more than welcome to. We've even got cordials and other fun drinks for people too young for the stronger stuff," she said, grimacing and shaking her head. “Honestly... twenty-one..." she said before looking at Kestrel. “Most of the world, you can drink at eighteen. I mean, it's not like it is nitro-glycerin..."

Kestrel laughed softly and sighed, “Yeah, I'm still a year off of being able to drink. We set aside a bottle of the reserve for each of us as a... right of passage. The day that we're able to open it and have our first drink is a celebrated day within the family," she said with a smile.

Briar beamed at that, “Oh, I like that," she said with a chuckle. “Well, when you've had your first drink, come by the pub, and we'll show you what we've really got..." she said with a sigh.

Kestrel chuckled and smiled, sighing softly. The more that she talked with Briar, the more she felt the family connection with her. She really had Bran's energy. Kind of sounds like how Bran was when he first got out on the water..." she thought for a moment before her eyes lit up. “Briar, did Bran tell you the family legend while you were there?"

Briar shook her head, “No. He did tell me to ask you about it, though," she said with a little laugh.

Kestrel pulled out her phone, looking at and nodded her head. “Briar... do you think you would be able to set... the twenty-fourth as a private event at the pub?" A grin spread across her face. “We tell the family legend every year on the anniversary of his return. I can only imagine what it would be like to try somewhere new for the telling," she said with a laugh and a smile.

Briar's eyes lit up at that, “I don't see where that'd be a problem. Will it be a problem if some of the staff are still there? A lot of them are actually... like family to me." She explained about the way she'd become a protector of the vulnerable kids at her school, and how the self-defense club had continued in her absence. “A lot of the people who work at the pub are actually some of the kids that I helped... just... grown up," she said with a laugh.

Kestrel and Aldrich exchanged a look, and Aldrich nodded his head slowly. “As long as you feel like they're able to handle a true story like this one, I don't see why not. The family we find is every bit as important as the family we're born into. I'm sure Bran would agree," he said with certainty.

Kestrel chuckled and smirked, “And don't worry. Give me a little bit of time with you, and I'll make a real pirate out of you," she said with a wink, getting a great big laugh out of Briar.

On the twenty-fourth, the family made their way into Chicago, going to Briar's pub. The staff was a very small, select group, and Maisie excitedly greeted the family as they arrived, especially being delighted by the little ones, even if this wasn't going to be a first telling for any of them. Alisa was ready and waiting at the main bar while Briar walked in with a cask of her beer over her shoulder, carrying it over to the area where they'd prepared a place for the telling.

The family's eyes lit up as they came into the place, just completely blown away by how the place was decorated, and the younger members of the family were just dashing all over the place while those old enough made their way over to the bar. Aldrich was, initially, unsure of sitting on one of the bar's seats, but with a bit of help, he settled in just fine. When everyone had gathered around at the bar, while the kids were exploring the game room with Maisie and Alisa, Briar made her way to stand at the middle of the bar.

She put on a fine show for them, clearly able to weave an experience as she worked her mixological magic for them, telling a tale as she added a pinch of this, a dash of that, a few measures of another. She had all of them on the edge of their seats, practically, even Aldrich, as she fixed the brew in her cauldron, lights glowing within and smoke bubbling up from below (which would play into the drink itself, infusing it with the flavor of the smoke), and with a final touch, there was a flash, and it all settled down, the cauldron simmering away there before the family.

Briar took a silver ladle and filled several glasses that had been prepared for them, passing them out to the assembled family, who were just riding the high of the show she's put on for them. But... somehow, even that paled in comparison to the drink that she'd made for them. They all buzzed with delight as they started drinking, amazed at the play of flavors that danced across their tongues.

Kestrel had been watching from the side, and she was properly laughing at the sight of Aldrich laughing away, completely caught up in the moment. Briar looked around and saw that a number of the teens and adults too young to drink were gathered around to watch as well, even as the young ones were giggling and squealing away at the board games they were getting to play.

She grinned and looked to those enjoying her cocktail. “And now... if you wouldn't mind making room for those too young for alcohol through, I will show you the magic that I can make even without liquor involved. Come closer, guys," she said, gesturing the teens and young adults forward. She moved the cauldron that she'd been using aside, and began to weave a new experience for them, working more with juices and some of the odd concoctions that she made herself (many of which, yes, did contain some alcohol, but far too little to do anything), creating a whole new experience for them.

It didn't have quite as grandiose of a climax as the first drink, but as she ladled the drink into a row of glasses, she stopped them from picking it up right away. Instead, she took another vial and dripped something into them which, when it touched the liquid in the glasses, formed into the little flavor pearls she so loved. Now that got some amazed gasps from the younger members of the crowd, and when that set was ready, she spread her arms wide, inviting them to give it a try. “Don't forget to burst the pearls," she said with a glimmer in her eye, seeing even some of the older members of the family interested in trying this one out.

That number even increased when the kids started reacting to it with quite so much excitement as the pearls burst inside their mouths. Even Kestrel had to admit that she was rather impressed with everything from Briar's sense of presentation and, more importantly, the tastes in her creations. There were elements that Kestrel herself, would have never thought of putting in a drink, let alone combining together in one beverage, but the evolution of the drink was really remarkable. She couldn't wait to come back after her birthday!

Still, after a while, and a few more beverages were made, it was her turn to put on a show. The family rounded up the little ones, who were each provided with a much simpler cordial to drink during the telling, while the smell of fresh, Scottish food was wafting from the kitchen for the meal afterward filled the room. Briar had prepared a small stage... though Kestrel was fairly confident that the stage was simply a normal feature at the pub, and she got up onto it, her eyes sweeping across the crowd while Briar sat beside Aldrich in a prime spot. The excitement on her face to hear the legend made Kestrel smile as she began.

“Now, Children, this is an old family legend."

“When we sail, we sail with him watching over us, knowing that he is still in the world, continuing his great work of keeping things interesting for Olidamara." As she finished, the room was filled with cheers, which Briar was quite happily contributing to. The other members of the staff who were in the circle who knew of what had happened in Tawantinsuyu were likewise thrilled, though they kept their excitement much quieter off to the side where they stood.

And with that, food began coming out of the kitchen to be laid out on the tables that had been arranged into a long family-style table for tonight. Everyone gathered around, with Briar, Kestrel, and Aldrich sitting together at one end. “Good grief, that was amazing, and you were so much fun to listen to, Kestrel!"

She laughed and sighed, shaking her head. “I'm pretty damn impressed with the show that you put on, yourself there," she said, grinning from ear to ear.

“I think we get it from Bran," Briar said, nodding her head.

“I'll drink to that," Kestrel said, lifting a glass of her pearly concoction, pausing from her plate of food. “So... you really trained them pretty hard to cook this the way they would in Scotland... I really like it..."

Briar bowed her head, “Look, I couldn't in good conscience open up some place that claimed to be a Scottish pub if I didn't do it properly. Even if the Americans wouldn't know any better, the staff and I would, and we'd feel like we were lying to them. There's putting on a show where you exaggerate to make them feel excited so they can enjoy things even more, and then there's lying to them," she said with a firm nod of her head.

Kestrel was kind of surprised by that, but she nodded her head in approval, “I really can't argue there."

“Like your story... sure, you play it up to make it more exciting, but you aren't lying. I've seen enough of what's going on to know that much. It's pretty bloody amazing what all he's been through... mind you, he's still an old goofball, but... it's kind of like he's earned the right to be like that at this point."

Aldrich smiled and nodded his head. “Yes. I think that's fair to say. It's one of the real benefits of age," he said with a chuckle as he sipped on his own drink, having found quite a liking for the drink pearls, himself, even if he had Briar add a measure of gin for him. “You just... get to a point where you stop worrying about what people think of you quite so much, and you just... get to enjoy yourself."

Briar chuckled and sighed, “Must have an old soul, then... I'm not losing that approach to life any time soon," she said with a chuckle, holding up her glass.

Kestrel reached out and clinked her own glass against Briar's. “Here here."