Briar's magic shop pub honestly did very well for several years. They'd even gotten several local distribution rights for their brew and liquor. Nothing terribly impressive, and never in very large volume, but they sold out very quickly, which made Briar proud.

They hadn't rested on their laurels, either, continuing to make modifications and improvements to the pub, keeping the experience new and exciting for the patrons. She made sure to decorate the pub for the various holidays... but not with the typical American decorations, but rather with the kinds of decorations that would more traditionally be found in Scotland. It was a big part of what made the place so exciting for the people of Chicago. It was as much of an authentic Scottish experience as they could get... because Briar was determined to keep it that way.

One afternoon, when the pub was still nice and quiet, someone new came into the pub... though, honestly, he looked as though he would have been very much at home in the place. Still, he wore his kilt quite well, not like someone who just had one because they thought it looked cool on them, and his big, red beard suited him rather nicely.

He came straight to the bar, sitting down across from Briar as he leaned against the wooden countertop. “Aye, Lassie. Lovely spot y'got here," he said in a heavy Scottish accent, giving her a warm smile as he looked across at her.

“Aye... 'tis my pride and joy. I made sure they built it right and didn't let them fill it with fake Scottish tat," she said with a laugh, leaning against the bar, herself, her hands holding her up. “So, what can I get'cha?"

“Mmm, could do with a beer. Something nice and rich and dark. What'cha got to fit the bill?"

She grinned broadly, walking over to one of the barrels in the rack along the back wall. She brought one of the glass mugs up to the spigot and filled it. It had a lovely head to it, and the color was a beautiful dark reddish-brown. She brought it back over to the bar, setting it on the counter before him. “That should do just fine for 'ya. It's my own brew."

He raised an eyebrow, looking at it appraisingly. Briar didn't fuss, though. It was the kind of inspection that her boss did on her products as well. Still, this man seemed to be looking at qualities that her boss didn't check for. He breathed in its scent, even sipped at the head a little, rolling that around in his mouth before he took a deeper drink from the glass, setting it down on the bar as he just let the evolution of it play out in his mouth.

As he sat there, a broad smile spread across his face. “It is a lovely brew. Thank you, lassie," he said, his voice warm and genuine. “It's curious the way it develops on the tongue. You're putting some fine know-how into it, with some lovely little tricks," he added with a chuckle. He looked around, seeing the little planters of herbs around the pub. “Grow your own herbs, too? They make for lovely decorations, along with what they do to the brew," he added as his smile spread into more of a grin.

She grinned at him, raising her eyebrow. “Not a lot of people pay much attention to them... but aye. I studied botany and chemistry in Uni, and I had some good chances to play around with brewing at the pub I worked at. The owner never let me play with spirits, I had to do those mainly at the lab at the school," she said with a laugh, “But now I've got my own distilling license."

“Spirits, eh?! Well, now you've got my attention, lassie." He looked at the shelf of bottles, a sly grin on his face. “Could I by chance have a glass of one of your spirits? Maker's choice. But I'll take it straight or on ice. Whichever you think suits it better," he said, nodding his head toward the shelf.

She considered for a moment, looking him over, trying to think about what would suit him the best. She walked over to one of the bottles, with a beautifully tawny liquid inside. She poured a measure of it into a glass before she brought it back to him. “I present to you my signature rum. Aged in bourbon barrels, with climate control to help coax out the character of the barrel."

He seemed surprised by that, taking his time with the glass. He watched to see how the liquid clung to the walls and ran back down to the bottom as he swirled it around, he breathed deeply of it, unable to hold back his smile as he finally took a long sip of it and just savored it. After a long moment, he sighed and opened his eyes once more, “Ahh... very fine work, indeed... It might need a bit longer in the barrel, but you've still gotten some of that lovely tropical funk to it." He nodded his head as he took another slow sip before he gave her a grin. “I take it you do mixed drinks, too, given the way of things these days. Ahh, back in the day when the spirits alone would do, but the kids these days..."

That got a good, hearty laugh out of her as she grinned from ear to ear, “My choice on your cocktail, too?" She asked, visibly thrilled at the prospect. With a nod of ascent from him, she got to work, making sure to give him the full show of making it, which was quite a lot of what the bar's 'witch shop' aesthetic was founded on. The look on his face showed that he was very much entertained by her work. He watched the colors of the drink change as she went, and even laughed as he saw the little jelly pearls forming in it before she gave it a quick shake and poured it into a glass for him, sliding it across the bar. “The drink is quite lovely on its own... but let me tell you: when you bite down on those little pearls? That's when it really takes off."

He couldn't help but laugh as he took up the drink and gave it a go. On the first sip, he didn't get any of the pearls, wanting to see how it was without them, but on the second go, he did. When he chewed on them, his face exploded with delight. He finished the mouthful and set the glass back down as he beamed at her. “My girl, they were right to make this place look like a witch's hut. That's your true magic right there," he said, visibly bursting with pride at what she'd created.

She laughed and... actually felt a bit sheepish at the praise he was giving her. “Well... thank you very much. You know what they say about following your heart," she said, having not quite expected someone this enthusiastic to come across her pub.

He smiled and shook his head, “I'd love to see what more you could do with the resources of a proper distillery. You'd work some real magic there. Mind you... a bit of mentorship wouldn't do you badly, but honestly... even as you are, you're doing an amazing job of it."

When he talked about a proper distillery, her heart skipped a beat, and the mention of a mentorship, oh she felt a little weak in the knees. She took a deep breath as she leaned against the bar, this time much more for the support that it would bring. “Really? A mentorship at a proper distillery? Bold words for a customer to be bandying about," she said with a laugh that came out... more nervous than she'd intended.

The man shrugged and sat back in his seat a little, a wry grin on his face. “Well, I'm not exactly a typical customer, though," he said before extending his hand across the bar to her, “The name's Bran Morgan. A name passed down through the generations in my family," he said... and it wasn't actually a lie. His family had passed down the name over the centuries, and it had been passed down to him in its turn. “I'm the current owner of the Morgan brewery and distillery company," he said with a chuckle... and that statement was also technically true. The family recognized him as the true owner of the company.

Briar did an amazing job of maintaining her composure, despite the fact that her jaw was desperately longing to hit the floor. She reached out and took his hand, shaking it as she smiled, “Well, Mr. Bran, that's quite the offer," she said, her eyes sweeping around the room, seeing Alisa and Maisie laughing over a joke up near the podium, where Maisie had really found her calling, even though she was now old enough to work at the bar as well.

Her heart sank as she felt the thoughts that raced through her mind at the sight of them and the knowledge of everyone else that she worked with. She breathed deeply, still holding Bran's hand as she felt all of that dragging at her. “I... really do appreciate the offer, Bran," she said, the pain audible in her voice as she took a breath, “But I can't leave my pub here," she said, feeling the strength of her bond to it.

He didn't look upset by her answer at all. He actually seemed to quite understand. “Not to worry. I hear 'ya. This place is your domain. I can see the care you've put into it, and it shows in everything... and everyone here," he said, actually looking rather pleased with her response. He didn't pull his hand away from her, just keeping it there and letting her feel the connection between the two of them there. He seemed to consider for a moment, with his head cocked to one side before he said, “Would you at least consider coming to train with me? A bit like taking a working vacation," he said with a deep laugh.

Her eyebrows shot up, and she blinked in surprise. She'd expected him to be angry that she'd turned him down. What's more, she thought back to the way that her boss was fussing at the fact that she never took vacation time, and that human resources was getting frustrated about that. She couldn't help but laugh and smirk a bit. “Well... I mean..." she said, getting a lopsided grin, “I think that I could manage coming down for a week or two at a go to learn from you." She raised her eyebrow as she realized something, “Never been to South America..."

Bran chuckled and smirked, “It's not so bad there. We're right down near the coast on the west side of it, so you won't have piranhas to worry about or anything like that," he said with a chuckle.

That got a laugh from Briar before she sighed and leaned heavily against the bar, taking a moment to breathe. “I suppose... enjoy your drinks, and I'll go see what arrangements I can make," she said as she straightened up again, just shaking her head and sighing. She looked at Alisa, calling her over with a jerk of the head.

The smaller woman came over, smiling brightly at Bran and Briar, “How can I help?"

Briar chuckled and nodded to Bran, “I'm going to let you take over the bar for a bit. I need to head into the back and see when I can head to South America to learn a bit more about distilling," she said, laughing as she shook her head.

Alisa's jaw dropped as she looked back and forth between the two before she managed to re-compose herself and nodded her head. “Yes, ma'am." She raised her eyebrow and looked back across at Bran, “So... Mr. Morgan, I take it?" The two of them struck up a conversation while Briar went to the back room. She knew that her boss wouldn't be out in the bar just yet, so she quickly rang him up.

“Briar! Great to hear from you. Things going well at the pub?" He laughed softly, feeling quite confident that things were going pretty well. Briar ran a tight ship.

“Hah, things are great at the pub. But... hey. You know how you keep getting onto me about taking some time off? Would you have a problem if I took... say, two weeks off here soon?"

He was quiet on the line for a moment, clearly trying to process what she had just said. “Everything alright?" His tone was wary... understandably so, given the rarity of a question like this from her.

“Oh, yes. Everything is alright. I just had the owner of the Badger and Cask company come by and... offer to mentor me. He tried offering me a job, but I couldn't leave the pub. It's my baby. But he still wants me to come spend some time down at his main distillery down in Tawantinsuyu to learn from him."

Her boss was quiet on the phone for even longer this time, clearly needing a moment to process what she had just said. “Uhhh... yeah. You can go... whenever... that sounds... like... well, an unbelievably good reason to take a few weeks of vacation... I'll send someone over to help... Alisa, isn't it? Your second-in-command? I'll send someone over to help with the juggling around behind the scenes, just in case she needs any help with that. Though, knowing you, she could probably run the pub blindfolded if we asked her to," he said with a laugh.

Briar beamed at that, glad that he couldn't see how goofy her smile was. “Awesome. Thanks. I know she'll appreciate having someone to help out around the place. I'll make sure to keep you posted," she said before hanging up and sighed as she flopped down in the office's desk chair, breathing for a moment and laughing, feeling pretty dizzy. Still, she just took a moment to wrap her head around the fact that this was actually happening.

When she was ready to stand without falling over again, she got up and went back out to the bar, where Bran and Alisa were just having the best conversation, Alisa clearly telling Bran about the self-defense club that Briar had inadvertently founded at the school. He looked up at her as he laughed, beaming at her as he shook his head, “So, you're a protector too? I knew I liked you when I saw you," he said, sitting back and chuckling.

Briar smiled wryly, “Glad to hear it. So... yeah. I'm clear for the time off," she said, turning to look at Alisa, “Well, you've practically been begging for your chance to run the place for a bit... now you're getting it," she said with a chuckle, “I'm going down to Tawantinsuyu with Bran to refine my brewing and distilling skills," she said with a smirk.

Alisa's jaw dropped at that, and she couldn't help but laugh, “Well, finally... we've been begging you to take some time for yourself for... how many years now?"

Briar laughed and shook her head, “About long enough for me to have... a few months of paid time off banked... but for this first trip, I'm starting with two weeks. But if this two weeks goes well, maybe there'll be another... possibly even a full month at some point. They're going to send someone to help you out with the back-room stuff while I'm gone, but that's more for support as you need it... if they try to call any shots, let me know, and I'll make a very stern call of my own."

Alisa smirked and laughed, grinning, “Don't worry, I won't let them push me around. Thanks to you, I'm past that. Have a good trip, Briar!"

Briar smiled and bowed her head to Alisa before she looked to Bran, “So, just need to pack up a few things, and then I'll be ready to go when you are."

He smirked at that, “One of the benefits of having a private jet... we can leave once you're ready."

Briar left the bar with him, making sure to get hugs and say goodbye to the waitresses who were there, Maisie in particular, before she went back to her apartment with Bran in tow. She got out her suitcase that she'd brought with her from Scotland, loaded it with clothes and toiletries, got her tablet and such, and then looked at Bran, “So, to the airport, I guess," she said with a giant grin on her face.

Bran was thoroughly amused by Briar's reaction to being in a private jet, just completely flipping out about everything as they flew down to Tawantinsuyu. When they got off the plane, there was an attendant that came to the foot of the stairs to stamp their passports before welcoming them in. Even Briar's luggage was taken care of as they got into the private car and driven to the distillery.

If Bran had thought she was a kid in a candy-shop in the plane (which he didn't), she showed him just how much of one she could be once they got to the distillery. She was properly geeking out about all of the equipment that they had there, especially the hand-crafted Tawantinsuyun stills. She'd heard about them... read about them... hell, she practically studied them through much of college, but she had never seen one in person, and it was all she could do not to glomp onto it and hug it. She at least had that much restraint.

Bran was just beaming at her excitement, breathing out as Janelle came up to stand by his side. “She's cute. You don't usually bring your finds back here... what's so special about her?"

Bran laughed and shook his head. “She's not just some 'find' like that, love," he said, knowing better than to claim that was something he never did. She knew better, and it didn't bother her any more than it bothered him that she had her own fun from time to time. They were more confident in each other than that. Besides, they weren't going to find anyone who would be effectively immortal the way they were. “I'd been hearing tips about a place in Chicago with this insanely good head bartender, who dressed up like a Scottish witch and brewed potions for the clients," he said, chuckling and grinning.

Janelle's eyes went wide, “Wait, that's Briar from Briar's cauldron?" She looked at the giddy young woman, grinning broadly.

He chuckled and nodded. “You've heard 'em too, then. Aye, that's her. You know what? She turned down coming to work for me. Can you imagine that? So, she's here for a couple weeks to learn a bit from me... and I expect you could teach her a few things, yourself," he said with a smile as he wrapped his arm around Janelle, holding her close by his side.

Before long, Briar came back over, doing her best not to simply vibrate with excitement while smiling like a damn fool. “So, Briar, this is my wife, Janelle. And a finer woman you'll never find in a hundred years." Or three hundred.

Briar laughed and looked a little sheepishly at Janelle. “Hi. I'm Briar," she said, holding her hand out.

Janelle beamed at her and shook her hand. “So nice to finally get to meet you. Your pub's reputation has spread quite nicely," she said with a lopsided grin.

Briar laughed and smiled, rubbing the back of her head with her other hand. “I just do what I love... which just happens to include botany, chemistry, brewing... distilling... molecular gastronomy... and I found a niche to be able to use all of those talents together while being as authentically Scottish as possible," she said with a laugh and a bit of a smirk, “Okay, I also kind of do enjoy the theatrics of it all, too. So... you've kind of got me there."

“Well, come on, 'lass', you're probably hungry after the flight," Janelle said, patting Briar on the shoulder and guiding her away from the distillery to the little villa that she and Bran shared as their home... and where Briar would be staying for the next two weeks.

Briar set to work learning from Bran with a will, learning his tricks and techniques, which really helped her to refine her craft. However, she taught Bran in turn, too. She even managed to turn his opinion of cocktails as she taught him how to get legitimately creative with them. Janelle was quite tickled to see how much he was coming around to mixed drinks. He had some real fun when she showed him how to smoke drinks.

As the days went on, Janelle noticed the curious way the two were interacting. Not romantic by any means, but... like family. Not father and daughter... uncle and niece? No... then she had it. It was more like a grandfather and granddaughter. She looked rather curiously at her when she realized that.

She decided to test her theory a bit, and she started probing at her theory in different ways. Nothing so crude as to sneakily do a DNA test, but as she interacted with Briar more and more, she provoked her to certain actions little by little. It was... uncanny how much she instinctively reacted to them the way Bran did. That couldn't be a coincidence. They were cut from the same cloth.

One night at dinner, she decided to drop the charade. “So, Briar, tell me a bit about your family. “Well, my mum's from Glasgow, born and raised, but my great... great-grandma is from Balmaha on Loch Lomond... Mind you, these days, it's more of a tourist spot, which always makes me sad. I never got to see it as the cozy little highland village it used to be."

Janelle quickly did the math, and she looked at Bran with an “I know something you don't know" smile, which made him worry, and he started trying to remember back, and do the math, himself. “Bran was there quite a while back... back when it was just a little highland village. Bran, what was the name of that sweet lassie you met there? Katherine?"

Briar stopped with her fork half way to her mouth, lowering it back down to the plate. “My... great-great-gran was named Katherine. She was born Ross... but she... gave her daughter the family name Morgan... and no one knew why... nor did anyone know who the father was..." she said, her heart sinking as she was starting to make some uneasy connections. For his part, Bran's eyes were going wide, and the look on his face wasn't making this any easier for Briar. “But... that was over a hundred years ago... and you're... what? In your forties?"

Bran laughed dryly at that, setting down his silverware and folding his hands on the table. “I'm... a bit older than that, Briar," he said with a sigh before he brought his hand up to rub his eyes. “Look, Briar, I've got something that... you deserve to know. I'm not just... the descendant of the founder of the brewery. I am the founder of the brewery."

Briar stared dumbfounded at him. “But that was... hundreds of years ago... and... he died defending the Tawantinsuyu from the Spanish..."

“Oh, aye, I did die. Turns out, things aren't always so simple," he said as he reached his hand out to hold Janelle's hand. “After I died, a god found me. No. Not the Christian one. One who's particular field has to do with alcohol, music, and stories, and I'd unknowingly built my career around that, after I retired from piracy," he said with a dry laugh. He took a long, deep breath, letting it out slowly. “He... liked how interesting I'd been making things, and so he made me... look, I'm not an angel... but I'm kind of... his version of an angel. Just a lot more... rowdy than the Christian ones are made out to be. Wouldn't know, I've never met one," he said with a chuckle.

“Janelle here... well, she's the daughter of a demon, who I met with my crew when we were on a grand adventure under this area. Long story, but I'll share it with you later. For right now, what matters is that me coming back... meant that I got to be back with Janelle," he said, giving her hand a squeeze, smiling at his wife, who looked back at him lovingly. He smiled wryly, chuckling and shaking his head as he sighed. “But yes... I've dallied over the centuries... as has she. It doesn't bother either of us... we're not the jealous type with each other. Hell, we've had a few where we've both... dallied together," he said with a chuckle while Briar was just staring slack-jawed at him. “Your... great-great-gran... was a fine woman. If I'd been mortal, I might have settled down with her. But... it couldn't have been," he said, his tone honestly sad.

Janelle patted his hand reassuringly, knowing how passionate of a man he could be. He smiled, and patted her hand in return before he lifted his head and looked at Briar again. “So... that does rather change things... and explain quite a bit, doesn't it? How... natural it's felt having you here with us. Funny, isn't it," he said with a smile. “Don't worry, though. I'm not going to drag you away from your pub, or re-name it. But... you're going to have a lot more backing for it than before," he said with a laugh. “Probably even a few new stills. I'll still want you to come and visit now and then. Still have a lot to teach you. But, more than that... you've got every right to use the family label on what you make... and any blends that work particularly well, I'll be able to make more of, here. With credit going to your name. Briar Morgan."

Briar was legitimately starting to feel lightheaded at that point, slumping back in her seat as she just tried to wrap her head around things. Bran smiled and poured her a little slug of his whisky, sliding it across the table to her. She took a good sip of it and let out a long breath. “Well. Fuck me. That... Fuckin' hell..." She took a moment before she was able to speak coherently. “Pretty well explains why I've been so... eager to do what I do... and... look after people the way I do. You were a protector from what stories I've heard."

Bran grinned, nodding his head. “Aye, that I was. And it's what I died doing. I loved hearing little Alisa telling about the defense club you rather started... it made me properly proud of you, and now that makes even more sense," he said, chuckling and just looking off into the distance for a moment. “But! That honestly makes this a time for celebration. To unexpected reunions," he said, lifting his mug of beer up high, getting a big smile from the two ladies at the table as well.

“To unexpected reunions!"