Nina the Hero, Pt. 1

Nina the hero strode into the tavern. She looked around at the familiar surroundings. The worn benches, the stained tables, and the stools that had been repaired so many times that they resembled scabbed and scaly reptiles. She walked over to the counter and sat on one of the deranged stools.
"Hi, Nina!" the tavern keeper said. "What would you like today?"
"The usual," she said. She thought for a moment. "With potatoes," she added. Nina turned to face the old man that was sitting next to her. "Hello, John. How have you been since I've been gone?"
"I've been doing wonderfully, now that the dog and wife have passed on," the old man replied. He grinned maliciously. Nina gave him a Look.
"I see..." she said carefully.
"I can't believe you'd come to a slum like this," a deep, ringing voice muttered. Nina glanced at her sword.
"It happens to be one of the best places round," she growled back.
"What was that? I thought I heard someone talking," the old man said, looking around wildly.
"What? Talking? I didn't hear anything," Nina answered innocently. "Shut up or you'll get us kicked out of ANOTHER inn," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth, apparently directing her comment to her sword on her waist.
"Nothing fools these old ears. I'm telling you, I heard a voice, clear as day," the old man said, eyeing Nina's scabbard. The tavern keeper set Nina's food down in front of her.
"Yeah, yeah. OLD ears, I might note," the voice said slightly louder.
"Shut up, shut up," Nina muttered through a mouth of food.
"I heard it for sure that time!" the old man crowed gleefully. "Did you hear it? Nina? Tavern keeper?" Nina shook her head violently.
"Come on, Nina. I even heard it that time," the tavern keeper said. "It was a rather rude comment."
"Nice, fats. So you can hear, too, huh?" the voice said. The tavern keeper tried to draw himself up to his full height, but only succeeded in his full width. He pointed a trembling finger at Nina. She seemed startled by the finger.
"Was that you who just insulted my customer and me?" the tavern keeper said with indignant fury. Nina sighed. She pulled a handful of coins out of her pocket and dropped them on the counter. She grabbed what food she could, then headed outside. Once she was outside, she leaned against the stable door and started eating as fast as she could. After she had finished, she climbed on to her horse and set off into the night.
"It was true," the voice mumbled.
"Shazimner, take my advice and quit talking," Nina growled. "I don't know why I even bothered to pick you up. Now, all the taverns I went to as a child think I've grown up into some kind of prig." She sighed. She remembered the day she found Shazimner practically like she remembered what just happened in the tavern...