[log] if god is always watching over us, who's driving?
[16:47] * April keeps her hands clasped and stares at them, then at Martel - it's an interested, unthreatening kind of stare. "That's really cool. I mean - and you do this with everyone?"
[16:48] * Jack nods courteously, "Pleased to meet you."
[16:48] Martel: "When I feel a pressing urge to be respectful, or charming," he says, coming up off his knees.
[14:05] * Hasibe is one tall dark-haired girl in a very small red dress with dark fringe over it, accompanied by a scary guy. She is basically tucked into his side, probably, they're Affectionate.
[14:06] * Ayel comes in, quietly, from the Nexus. He is the shorter angry tattoo elf guy from space, and he is tired and here for drink and food and...legs apparently.
[14:07] * Martel is ... getting a drink before he has to go and deal with a pile of people deep in mourning, perhaps somewhat understandably; black trousers, black shirt, black jacket. Funeral wear, it's cheerful. (They don't have to leave for a while, so he has time, despite the fact he was aiming for the library and not Stigmata.) "Afternoon." Or whatever time it is.
[14:08] Hyde: "It's nighttime," imparts Hyde, helpfully, from his position of looming at Hasi. Don't look at those, Ayel.
[14:08] Ayel: "Hello." Given what the Romulans wear, Martel would fit in well on the Narada. Except for the whole beinge clean and human part.
[14:09] Hasibe: "I'll get us a drink, if you want," Hasi tells Hyde; she is here to be helpful, I guess, smiling absently at the other two (one she knows, one she doesn't).
[14:09] Martel: "Bloody nexus time differences," Martel decides, squinting briefly at Hyde before he offers Hasi a pleasant sort of look in greeting, and a nod for Ayel. Where is that wine.
[14:10] * Hyde mad-dog grins back; he knows who YOU are, magician. :D
[14:11] * Martel cocks his eyebrow as he passes; he'll keep an eye on that one, he thinks.
[14:11] * Ayel will be one of three people descending on the bar at once. Excuse him, he is going to have some of this blue stuff. He moves with quick confidence and then...gestures for Hasi to preceed him. Ladies first.
[14:15] Hyde: "Don't get into trouble," Hyde tells Hasi, sweetly. 'Sweetly'. Really, it is, for him! God knows what trouble she could possibly fucking get into in the next minute, but. Truly. He is drinking whiskey again, for the record, because that went so well last time.
[14:16] Hasibe: "Never without you," she promises Hyde, trailing fingertips over his shoulder; she will get him whiskey and probably something really absurdly girly for herself, because she doesn't want to be drunk tonight. "How are y'all this evening?"
[14:17] * Hasibe sidles behind the bar. She won't be long, Ayel!
[14:18] Martel: "Preparing myself," Martel says, dryly, bending down to find the cask that he knows will be behind the bar. "It's going to be a very long night."
[14:19] * Ayel just gives a tight little smile. He doesn't think you actually care, Hasi, he's just here to enjoy the view.
[14:21] Hyde: "Really," he inquires of Martel, because Martel is /interesting/, as he is always interested in ways he could subty dismantle Jekyll's life.
[14:22] Hyde: Subtly, also.
[14:23] * Hasibe brings Hyde his whiskey. She will sit wherever he sits, p...ossibly on his lap.
[14:24] Martel: "A funeral followed by a wake," as he pours the wine. "My wife lost a friend recently." He didn't know her as well, but he'll go for Candice's sake and not his own.
[14:25] Hyde: You are totally his best girl, Hasi. And what a coup that must be for you. Meanwhile: yes, lap, onnnn a couch. WHY NOT. He slings an arm around her waist immediately, because it's easier than actually tattooing his name on her anywhere. ....never go upstairs, you two.
[14:25] Ayel: "My sympathies." And his ale.
[14:25] * Martel salutes Ayel with his glass, sardonic.
[14:26] Hasibe: "I'm sorry to hear that," Hasi says, sincere, settling against Hyde.
[14:28] * Hyde just nods, a little, which is probably better than 'what a convenient occasion to drink, or 'I <3 Death' all of which he might viably say.
[14:29] * Martel shrugs, because he doesn't have much to say about Enfys herself except 'she was insane, if charming', and skirts around the bar to find himself a seat. "It happens."
[14:29] * Hyde just ...can only behave for so long. "Frequently in Boston lately."
[14:30] * Hasibe murmurs absently into Hyde's ear, and she does not, like, mean to be their own little clique over here, it's just that she's probably going to be quieter this evening than she usually is. And then she pauses: "Yes, I've noticed that, too. It's unsettling." WELL NOT FOR HYDE.
[14:30] Martel: "So I've heard." ...from Hasi's journal, actually. (He would very much like to know what the fuck is going on over there, but he's not stupid enough to think just asking right now is a grand idea.)
[14:31] * Ayel takes Martel's sarcasm with the same expressionless calm. And now the humans are talking about what-the-hell ever, so he will just listen and enjoy people who have problems that they think are important, and their hot girlfriends.
[14:32] Hasibe: "Apparently I'm supposed to avoid Boston U after dark from now on. For my own protection."
[14:34] Hyde: "Your safety being paramount, of course." He is composed of innocence and spiky hair.
[14:35] Hyde: Also indulging the whispering, naturally, although he doesn't care if they're their own little clique. It's better than removing anyone's face and ending up in one of the cells!
[14:35] * Hasibe eyes Hyde. From his lap. "I'll just have to make sure I've got company." Haha sob. "Anyway, like I think I said elsewhere--I doubt I'm all that interesting to a jewel thief, but some of the high society of Boston might want to watch out. We have a lot more blue bloods than anyone seems to think."
[14:36] Hyde: "A jewel thief, really. Is that what they think?"
[14:37] Hasibe: "Police's best guess," she shrugs, "I don't pretend to know the inner workings of law enforcement."
[14:38] Hyde: "Boston's finest," he murmurs, somehow not giggling.
[14:38] Martel: "High society operates on three parts paranoia as a rule, in my experience, though it might have been circumstantial. There seem like better ways of stealing jewels, though."
[14:39] * Martel is a mercenary, not a thief, what does he know.
[14:39] * Ayel drinks and thunks his glass down a bit more loudly than necessary, in order to refill. You people are boring and completely immoral.
[14:39] * Martel prefers 'amoral'. It's more accurate.
[14:40] * Hyde eyes him, speculatively. "Do you have some sort of nerve disorder? Your muscle control seems to be lacking."
[14:40] * Hasibe just presses her face into Hyde's shoulder. Here we go.
[14:40] * Ayel looks at Hyde. Him? Really?
[14:43] Ayel: "Have I disturbed you?" Ayel recognizes a man looking for a reason. He's not really sure yet if he wants to give Hyde one.
[14:43] Martel: "Occam's razor," Martel suggests, blandly, by which he means 'petulance' is more likely than 'nerve disorder'. He's not inclined to give a damn unless someone makes him, though.
[14:44] Hyde: "No no, I'm just concerned. But you may want to stop drinking if you're already dropping things. So /early/." ...he'll be distracted by Hasi in a second here. Yes, there we go.
[14:45] * Ayel smiles. "You could be right. I'd hate to interrupt your conversation."
[14:46] * Hasibe smiles at Hyde! And rests her head on his shoulder, ever so comfortable, but she speaks to Martel. "Did you look up any more Baudelaire?"
[14:47] * Grif teleports in, because he is apparently less sensible, or at least less informed, than Ethan.
[14:48] * Martel discards the passing impulse to suggest that the children settle down in favour of Baudelaire. "I did, yes. I haven't had as much time as I'd have liked to read, though."
[14:48] Hyde: "That is /so/ courteous of you." He settles.
[14:49] * Ayel is a very courteous guy. Oh of course it's Grif. The Romulan ale's been cracked open, it must be some sort of signal.
[14:49] Hasibe: "'Get Drunk' is my favorite of his poems, but I like anything with a lust for life message."
[14:50] * April peers inside - it's a slim, short, Japanese girl, in her late teens, wearing jeans and a black band shirt. (Placebo, it's adorable.) "Is this bar Canadian?"
[14:51] April: "I really hope it's Canadian." :<
[14:51] Hasibe: "Nexus, so...don't worry, no one will card you." Hasi smiles at her, faintly.
[14:52] Martel: "'To A Madonna', I liked." Of course he did. He actually pays attention to the new arrivals, too, but he's in a lazy sort of a mood. (Leonine, in that way.)
[14:52] Grif: Yes, indeed, the Romulan Ale Signal, it calls. However, someone else has apparently come in behind him, so he turns and says, "Yeah, uh, not so much Canadian, or really anywhere."
[14:53] April: "Cool." April grins back at both of them, with a slightly...maniac edge to that, hi. "You have great armor!"
[14:53] * Hasibe toys with her hair, absently - it's pinned up delicately, but there are a few loose strands, and they're distracting.
[14:54] Hasibe: "I don't think I remember that one. I'll have to look it up."
[14:54] * Hyde is much more interested in April than he has been in anyone other than Hasi so far; he senses some of the ...spiderness. FTR he may ping as vaguely Garouish, although ...off. In like all the ways ever.
[14:55] Martel: "'I want to build for you, Madonna, my mistress, an underground altar in the depths of my grief.'" ...Martel recites, helpfully. He has an excellent voice for recitation, but he doesn't go any further.
[14:56] * Hasibe smiles, slow and pleased, at Martel. "Pretty. God, all men are in love with the Virgin Mary or Mary Magdalene, even the ones who aren't Christian."
[14:56] April: "-what are we talking about?" SHE MUST KNOW. While she is, yes, aware of certain auras drifting throughout the bar; there's something about that guy, but she'll just avoid him anyway. His girlfriend could eat her. "Poetry?"
[14:57] Hasibe: "Baudelaire, specifically."
[14:57] * Jack walks in, working off his tie with a titch more vehemence than is perhaps usual for him. "Evening," he offers the room absently. My, there are a lot of people here tonight.
[14:57] * Martel is laughing into his glass at Hasi's remark. "Yes, Baudelaire. And there's no equivalent to either of those in Chyrellos or Styricum, but I- see your point."
[14:59] Hasibe: "Jack," she says, pleased, "Hi, it's been a while." She's not going to move from Hyde's lap, but that's still a pretty sunny greeting!
[15:00] April: "Baudelaire, oh, god, he's so great. Also such a skeeve, but what are you going to do, right?" She goes to acquire something made of fruit juice and alcohol.
[15:00] * Ayel 's typist cannot imagine what his aura looks like, but now he gets to sit here and wait for Hyde to decide he's found his fight.
[15:01] Grif: "heh. Thanks." He takes off his helmet and heads for the bar. He nearly scoops up a glass to partake in the Romulan Ale... until he sees who Hasi's sitting with, at which point his eyes briefly bug out for a moment and he reaches for a beer instead. Just, y'know, in case.
[15:01] Hasibe: Sitting on/sitting with, one of those. What is that face about, Grif, she's puzzled.
[15:02] Jack: "Hasi, hello." He smiles, and then notices her, er, chair. "And Hyde, enjoying yourself I see."
[15:02] * Martel is watching Hyde, but ostensibly amiably, and no more than is necessary for conversation (with Hasi, mostly). Really! He's harmless, our Martel.
[15:03] * Ayel was prepared for the IMMINENT FILCHING OF HIS ALE (calm down, fussy tiny) but that is...an interesting shift in attitude. /Grif/ is changing his behavior over that guy? Interesting.
[15:03] * Hyde would never dream of breaking Jack's pretty face. :( ....okay, he WOULD, but he does enjoy Jack's penchant for debauchery, which means he gets as much of a pass as anyone will from Hyde. "Jack, I'm sober, you /must/ help me."
[15:03] Hasibe: "I got you whiskey," she says, protesting, "I don't want to get up again."
[15:03] Hyde: "Don't," which isn't a suggestion. "Jack can come /here/."
[15:04] * Hasibe pauses, briefly, at the tone, but doesn't say anything.
[15:04] April: "I could make something, I'm back here anyway." Clinking things around with a purpose. "Hasi, Jack, Hyde - I need more names from you guys."
[15:04] Hasibe: "Hasibe, in full," Hasi adds, "What's yours?"
[15:04] Martel: "Martel," he supplies his own, sipping red wine.
[15:05] Grif: "Grif." He made no face, Hasi, he has no idea what you're talking about, honest. O_:-)
[15:05] * Jack rolls his eyes, but nods to April "More whiskey then, if you would? For both of us."
[15:05] * Martel noted the tone, but his attention so far only extends to these observant mental notes, as it is.
[15:06] * Hyde noticed you, by the way, Grif, his typist is just really slow.
[15:07] April: "I'm April." She smiles widely and finishes her Barbie Doll, then acquires ice, whiskey, and glasses, to assemble with a flourish and serve promptly.
[15:08] Hyde: "You are a most useful ...mammal, April." Does he know what he's quoting? Is the pause on purpose? Maybe.
[15:10] * Jack goes over to sit near-ish Hyde, and expects that their drinks will arrive in an timely manner. Hi, Jack has way too many servants.
[15:11] * Hasibe murmurs something to Hyde! They are so weird.
[15:11] April: "Thanks!" Her eyes glitter as she gives them their drinks and collects her own; it's more obsidian than dewy, exactly, but that could easily be the light.
[15:12] * Hyde murmurs baaack, one hand on Hasi's opposite cheek, because I guess they aren't touching each other enough or something.
[15:12] * Hasibe nods a little, smiling slightly, aaand whatever that was it's going to wait for later.
[15:14] * Jack nods thanks to April. "Much obliged."
[15:14] * Hyde accosts Jack, which is how he's friendly. "And where have you been all this time?" He himself has been MUCH more present. Um.
[15:17] Jack: "Oh, around. Planning a wedding, running a ministry..." Plotting to bring down his country's biggest hero... He shrugs. "You? I haven't seen you since-- well, you know." Their lovely evening of moral depravity. That.
[15:17] * Ayel decides he's hungry, and is moving toward the kitchen in that moment.
[15:17] Hasibe: "I heard about that," she murmurs, somewhat airily.
[15:20] * Jack grins at Hasi a little, "Only the good parts, I hope."
[15:20] * April listens, sipping her little drink. She put a cherry in it. It's great.
[15:21] Hyde: "As if there were any other kind...I do tell you everything." Even things she would rather not know, ever.
[15:21] Hasibe: "Just about other girls. I wanted to know if I should be jealous." Half-directed at Hyde. She's...clearly not, really, but it's idle banter. "Yes, I appreciate that."
[15:21] Martel: "I don't believe we've met," Martel says to Jack, casually interested.
[15:22] Hyde: "What other girls, I said," he ...informs whomever, the earth at large.
[15:22] * Hasibe feigns pouting.
[15:22] * Hyde pinches her hip; he is ....so great.
[15:22] * Grif also sits with his booze and listens. It takes a bit of effort, but he can remember how to act and more or less look like he's not waiting for something horrible to happen.
[15:23] * Hasibe makes a sound of protest! Except she doesn't move, so it's clearly a really bad protest. "Okay, okay."
[15:23] * Jack is thankfully distracted from saying something to Hasi that Hyde would likely not appreciate, thanks Martel. "We haven't, apologies-- Jack Benjamin." He offers Martel a hand.
[15:24] * Martel is such a useful gentleman. He shakes, pleasant. "Martel of Valdis. Or Lefevre, as the mood takes me."
[15:25] April: "Where is that?" Suddenly! "You said you didn't have a Baudelaire equivalent - um, sorry, if I'm interrupting, I just- sorry!"
[15:26] * Martel laughs. "We don't have a Virgin Mary, little sister, is what I meant. Valdis is in the highlands of Arum, it's no where that has a Canada. I'm originally Elenic."
[15:27] * Martel sips his drink. "Lefevre is the surname I adopted to confuse my Minnesotan in-laws far less."
[15:27] April: "It's another world? Oh, /whoa/." She's appropriately - and genuinely - wide-eyed. "And you have in-laws in Minnesota?" What is this.
[15:28] * Jack feels like he should be taking notes; he is never going to get all this geography down.
[15:29] Martel: "Three other worlds," he says, clarifying easily. "I was exiled from my own world, settled in that of Valdis, and I'm married to an American woman." He doesn't seem to mind explaining, at least. "Occasionally she protests my archaic classism and I complain about reality television, it's very boring."
[15:29] * Grif looks briefly confused. He closes his eyes in thought for a few moments, then snrks and looks amused at Martel.
[15:30] * Martel smiles at Grif, as if he has no idea why he might be entertaining. (Perhaps because he is downplaying things merrily all over the place.)
[15:30] * Jack also eyes Hasi and Hyde, just a bit, over his drink. It's...nothing, really, just a moment of concience he doesn't need and has no room to talk about anyway. Ahem.
[15:30] April: "I feel like I should be taking notes." She laughs, pulling her feet up on the barstool she's perched on. "Is there going to be a test?"
[15:31] Martel: "I've abandoned my students for the evening, I'm afraid."
[15:32] * Hasibe finishes her drink - oops, she wasn't going to have that much - and leans back in Hyde's lap with some artful stretching involved to rest it on a table behind her. Must you, woman.
[15:32] * Hyde smiles his insane smile at Jack, for a change of pace.
[15:32] * Ayel has acquired a curry. He walks back in, to eat it and further enjoy the floor show. And what lovely timing he has!
[15:34] * Hyde is briefly really handsy-- I'm so sorry.
[15:34] April: "That looks delicious," April declares, leaning forward - she's not much of a contributor to the floor show, but she might be entertaining anyway, depending on your tolerance for insanity. "Can I have some?"
[15:34] * Martel is the last person who can throw stones about being handsy. For the record.
[15:34] * Jack smiles and shakes his head, not troubled all really! Not. He doesn't imagine there's a point to being morally troubled over Hyde.
[15:35] * Hasibe straightens up again, eying Hyde. As though she can really be surprised about that. "I better not drink anymore. ...Although I guess it's not like I'm driving."
[15:35] * Ayel holds his bowl up and out of reach. "There's more in the kitchen." Woman.
[15:36] * Hyde is roughly with Hasi like a much younger and less evil person would be with an really shiny toy. Look, everyone, it belongs to him. It's SO GREAT.
[15:36] Grif: "I'd suggest a rule about drinking and teleporting, but... fuck it, this is the Nexus, everyone does that."
[15:36] Martel: "I have a funeral to go to this evening," Martel says, dryly, "I'm not teleporting anywhere without at least another drink in me."
[15:37] * Martel feels he needs to be slightly buzzed to be sure he can manage not to be an asshole for the whole night, it's a thing.
[15:37] Hasibe: "I don't teleport! I use doors." They've always just kind of worked for her, surprisingly. "Have another on my behalf, then."
[15:37] April: "Hey!" April puts her (empty) glass aside and glares, crossing her arms. Note how intimidating this is. BE AFRAID. "I don't want to go to the kitchen if it sucks."
[15:38] Martel: "I shall," Martel salutes her, and on that note he refills his glass.
[15:40] Ayel: "Then you can't be that hungry." Hahaha aw, she's cute. He will eat curry at her and see what she does.
[15:40] * Hasibe watches Ayel and April.
[15:43] * April wonders if it's worth alienating everyone over curry - no, probably not. "I guess not. Does anyone else want more to drink? I'm going back over the counter." She'll just crawl there, stickiness of the surfaces/propriety be damned.
[15:44] Hasibe: That's probably better than /walking/ over it, which...Hasi has done, just climbing on up there to stand on things. Why. "I'm good, but thanks."
[15:44] Martel: "I have the cask here." ...it's silver and fancy and probably costs an awful lot of money anywhere that's not Stigmata.
[15:46] April: "I should get some casks. That's such a great word, cask, it reminds me of casket." There's more alcohol to be had - shots of tequila, that will definitely not make her throw up later. 8D
[15:46] * Ayel returns to his ale, but will perhaps watch April as well as Hasi's legs now.
[15:47] * Hyde exists, so if alcohol is happening, he will happen ...to it. Without getting up.
[15:49] * Hyde cracks his knuckles.
[15:49] * Hasibe is going to smoke, also! (Djarum black, as per usual, because we're pretentious around here.) She fully expects to have this stolen by Hyde at some point. "So has anyone been upstairs much?"
[15:50] * April is not as good at shots as she wishes she was, tragically, and on her second she coughs and has to wipe her mouth with the back of her hand. "There's an upstairs - is there anything cool up there?"
[15:50] Martel: "A tattoo parlor," Martel informs her, over his glass.
[15:50] Grif: "Nah. I had a tattoo, once upon a time, but haven't really cared to give it another go."
[15:50] Ayel: "There's a tattoo parlour. I understand," he adds with a smile, because his face is covered with them.
[15:50] Hasibe: "I only went the once; didn't get anything, I ended up getting a piercing elsewhere instead. Two, technically."
[15:52] * Jack is strangely not seeking out more drink, tonight. Bizarre. Anyway. "I've never seen the appeal, but to each their own I suppose."
[15:52] Hasibe: "Masochism."
[15:52] April: "And not your ears, right?" April laughs, a little awkwardly. "I thiiink I'm going up there after this one. To the tattoo parlor. And not getting a tattoo probably."
[15:52] * Jack lifts his glass to that; point, madam.
[15:52] Martel: "I'm fond of my Candice's, but I don't have any of my own." Tattoos, he means, offhand. One of his ears is actually pierced, if you look closely.
[15:53] Martel: (Why are you looking at his ears.)
[15:53] * Hyde eyes her, interestedly. "Masochism looks so nice on you" ....why.
[15:54] Hasibe: "It's got good quality work, I hear." She tips her head to the side, looking back at Hyde. "Thank you."
[15:54] Hyde: With punctuation. Goddamit.
[15:54] * Jack eeeyes Hyde a little, there. Different reason this time. Maybe he should be drinking more.
[15:54] Hyde: The question is, if Hyde gets a tattoo, will Jekyll wake up with it? Will it be BACKWARDS?
[15:55] * Hasibe murmurs to Hyde, again. GREAT. They're so weird, guys, I'm sorry.
[15:55] * April cocks her head slightly, looking at everyone else looking at Hyde and Hasi. How interesting.
[15:57] * Ayel was looking at April, actually.
[15:57] * Hyde doesn't understand their fascination - yes he does, and he loves it. If he is going to refrain from killing people, the least they can do is pay attention to him. All the time.
[15:58] * Martel 's observation of Hyde does seem sometimes just plain puzzled, as if he's trying to put together a jigsaw with half the pieces missing. It's irritating, but he doesn't have time tonight to dedicate himself to figuring out what the hell. (He will, though. Eventually.)
[15:58] * April will smile at Ayel, then, before she downs another shot. (Drinking like this is how you make yourself sick, but she doesn't know better.) "Ooookay I'm going upstairs, if I come back with a wolf tattoo on my chest somebody please shoot me."
[15:59] April: "Unless it's like - a wolf head on a dragon. That would be awesome!"
[15:59] Hasibe: "Good luck," Hasi calls, absently, "If you get any wolfdragon tattoos at least it's a good conversation piece."
[15:59] * Grif winces. "Well, at... least that technically doesn't count as one of the classic rookie tattoo moves."
[16:01] * Hyde tugs a piece of Hasi's hair so he can whisper to her some more. GET A ROOM.
[16:01] April: "And, guys, if it's playing a guitar that totally crosses over into 'classy'." She nods, sagely, and heads for the stairs with care.
[16:01] Ayel: "What was your tattoo?" Hi Grif.
[16:02] * Hasibe is, uh, preoccupied with this quiet conversation, COMPELLED by her hair.
[16:04] Grif: "Uh." He coughs, obviously mildly embarrassed. "It was this kind of... spiky... Look, you probably never read 20th century Earth comic books, so I can't quite just say, 'The tattoo Blade had on the back of his neck,' but I'm not sure there's any better explanation."
[16:04] Grif: (can't quite say that and expect Ayel to understand him, he means.)
[16:05] Ayel: "Why did you have it?"
[16:08] * Grif thinks for a moment. "I don't quite exactly remember for *certain*? But I *think* it happened when I was hanging out with a particular crowd of hoodlums as a kid, so I suspect it was because we were all getting some kind of tattoo and I was young and kind of dumb and it looked cool."
[16:08] * Jack really needs to get over this habit of creepily watching his straight friends. He is...going to excuse himself to grab another drink. Wine, though; tonight is not a get-horribly-trashed night.
[16:10] * Martel offers Jack, quietly, the Arcian red he's been drinking this evening.
[16:11] * Jack nods thanks, retrieving a glass from behind the bar to fill.
[16:12] Hyde: Why, his straight friends enjoy being watched so much! ...that's just you, Hyde.
[16:13] Ayel: "Fair enough." And apparently that's all he wanted. Back to the ale.
[16:14] * Jack ... is reminded, belatedly, "Martel. You're a friend of Henry's, aren't you? Sorry, it's-- he mentioned a fellow wine drinker."
[16:15] * Hasibe looks up and at Jack, wide-eyed. She can't help it!
[16:15] * Grif does not, it might be noticed, appear to have a tattoo on his neck anymore. There is, however, a small, round, flat plug of metal set in the back of his neck, at the base of his skull.
[16:15] * Martel looks faintly amused that what's...essentially their in-joke is going this far. "That I am, yes. We have some mutual interests besides wine."
[16:16] Hyde: Hyde, don't--tighten your arm that much....agh.
[16:17] * Hasibe ...goes very still, and looks right back at Hyde. Poker face time.
[16:17] * Treize arrives (via the door) in a flurry of subdued confidence and formal wear, though his tie is absent and his jacket is folded over one arm.
[16:17] * Hyde relents after a second, thank...fully.
[16:18] Jack: "Hm." He flicks a glance at Hasi, like, 'what'. "Well, you have very good taste, thank you." He appreciates good wine, what is everyone's problem.
[16:19] * April wanders (swaying, that's great) back downstairs, pushing her hair out of her face. "Hii it's boring up there-" She missed something, according to the atmosphere, and trying to figure out what it was quiets her.
[16:19] * Hasibe 's problem is her boyfriend getting jealous of her other boyfriend who is technically his alter ego; she's looking at Hyde the way other people look at angry cobras, waiting for what he'll decide next.
[16:19] * Grif doesn't quite facepalm at the mention of Henry, but only because he redirects the hand that was about to do so to waving at Treize. "Hey, man. Long time." :D? No awkwardness in the room, right?
[16:19] * Martel had been very carefully not mentioning Henry; he rolled with it when Jack did purely to see what would happen, and now that he knows he's not pursuing it. "Evening," he says, to Treize, instead.
[16:20] Treize: "Good evening." Hello, you bundle of ridiculousness. "Sergeant Grif, hello."
[16:20] * Hyde watches Hasi very, very closely for ....a while, then grins at her, but suggestively, rather than like ....death. So! Alles gut, apparently.
[16:21] Treize: "Ah, have I arrived amidst other wine enthusiasts?" How fortunate.
[16:21] * Hasibe whispers to Hyde again; she would...normally be paying attention to the rest of the room, but this is derailing her.
[16:21] * April drifts towards the happy couple, and takes a seat nearby, swinging her feet with her hands between her knees.
[16:22] Martel: "Indeed you have. Arcian red?" Martel's patriotism shows up mostly in ... alcohol. Funny that.
[16:22] * Martel is offering it, by the by. Generously.
[16:22] Treize: "I haven't heard of it, but I'd love to become acquainted," he says, and sits down at the bar.
[16:23] * Jack looks to the newcomer, happy for the distraction from...what, he doesn't have any idea, but clearly something. "Yes, come, drink -- I have a Gilboan stash in the other room if we run low."
[16:23] * Martel pours him a glass, even. "Wonderful." Although he shouldn't get all the way to drunk, or Candice will be disappointed in him, which is actually worse than, say, hitting him in the face.
[16:24] * Martel dislikes big sad eyes more than bruises.
[16:24] Treize: "I feel more learned already." He is pleased, for the record. "My thanks."
[16:24] Martel: "It's the best wine in Eosia, and I do enjoy not having to pay for it here."
[16:25] April: "I'm totally underdressed," April breathes, and this actually seems like something she doesn't intend for people to hear, unlike most murmured commentary.
[16:25] Grif: (Things Grif avoids, anytime he visits Valdis for sword training or other purposes: Anything that might inspire Big Sad Eyes.)
[16:25] * Hasibe starts moving off Hyde's lap, smoothing down her ridiculous mini-dress. "Sorry to drink and run, guys..."
[16:25] * Treize glances over at at April, taking in her attire, and then to Hasibe and Hyde.
[16:25] * Hasibe leans down to ash out her cigarette (she can do this without flashing the world, it's a skill), smiling.
[16:25] Martel: "Goodnight, Hasibe," Martel says, looking up from the bar. "Take care."
[16:26] * Martel says it less like a platitude than, say, an instruction.
[16:26] Martel: (...an amiable one, at least.)
[16:26] * Ayel has wandered mentally inward, and looks over vaguely when Hasibe rises, mostly just...drawn to the movement.
[16:26] Treize: "Perhaps next time," he says easily, raising a hand in farewell to ... whoever these two are.
[16:27] * Hasibe clasps a hand to her chest, mock-affronted. "Do I ever not?" Look at your company, lady. "You too! Sorry, normally I'm not so rude." This is to Treize.
[16:27] Grif: "Uh, later, Hasi... Mr. Hyde." Grif, don't sound so dubious when you say that name, it's not polite. (Yes, that's entirely the real problem here, right.)
[16:27] * Hyde thinks Martel is funny. :3 "I am, though." What. He thinks HE is funny too.
[16:27] April: "Good night, Hasi and Hyde!" She waves, actually, and then tugs down her Placebo shirt despite it not being hiked up. She wants to remember their names. EVERYONE'S NAMES.
[16:27] Jack: "Already?" He frowns, but only playfully. "Have a good night, then. Hyde, my friend, call me, we should go out." ...again, yes. :3?
[16:28] * Treize sips the wine he's been given and does not engage in conversation here since people are fleeing, but he seems relaxed enough.
[16:28] * Hasibe kind of eyes Jack for a second like 'must we' but it's mostly out of concern /for Jack/, and she can't express that in front of Hyde, so! To the door.
[16:29] * Martel is going to be bothered by this for a while, but not tonight; he'll think about it tomorrow, or next week, when he has room for it in his head.
[16:29] * Jack completely misinterprets that look, Hasi, but it doesn't matter, he is hopeless.
[16:30] Ayel: "Goodnight." Alas, there goes the view.
[16:30] * Hyde grins MORE all grinning all the time. "Absolutely." Aaaand sauntering.
[16:32] *** Hyde is now known as lurkery
[16:32] * Treize waits until they've exited before turning back to Martel. "My name is Treize, belatedly."
[16:32] Martel: "Martel," he returns, offering a hand to shake. "It's a pleasure."
[16:32] April: "April," she volunteers, smiling. She's not even in the conversation. ._.
[16:33] Treize: "Mine as well." He shakes Martel's hand, and then actually gets up to offer his hand to April, because... overdramatic manners, it happens when you're in the aristocracy. "Miss April."
[16:33] * Grif waits until they're gone, then briefly holds one hand against the side of his head. He keeps it quiet, but it would not be out of line to expect that his thoughts at the moment are something along the lines, of, "FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF."
[16:34] * April looks surprised, and also deeply pleased. "Mr. Trieze, it's a pleasure." She takes his hand to shake it, guessing that's the next step.
[16:34] * Jack notices those manners, sir. "Jack Benjamin." He offers a hand too, after. Handshake extravaganza.
[16:35] * Martel had to practise not to do things like that as often, it's true. "You've been neglected all evening, April," he notes, mildly - half-teasing, why not welcome her into the conversation, after all. "I should show you how I was taught to greet, for that test later." The test that he already said won't happen, yes.
[16:35] * Ayel looks at Grif and then...slides the bottle of ale toward him.
[16:35] * Treize smiles at April and nods in agreement. "It's lovely to meet you." Aaand now it's Jack's turn. "Mr. Benjamin, I'm charmed." He might not be, but he seems like it.
[16:36] * Grif looks at the bottle like he's briefly not sure he should... then goes and gets a glass, finishing his bottle of beer along the way.
[16:36] Grif: "Thanks."
[16:37] Ayel: "Who was he?"
[16:37] * Treize glances at Ayel like, what, aren't you going to conform and introduce yourself?
[16:38] April: "You said there wasn't going to be a test, hey," she laughs; the sweetness isn't saccharine. "I don't mind being neglected, I'm just - hanging out, listening in on people and being a creeper."
[16:38] Jack: "Please, just Jack while I can get away with it." He is all charming smiles back.
[16:38] * Ayel is looking at Grif. Is Treize being obvious about his deep desire for his name?
[16:38] Martel: "But was I lying then, or am I lying now?" Martel asks her, very seriously. "No, do, let me." Treize has inspired his inner troll, he only busts out the traditional greeting for the sake of charming someone or making them laugh.
[16:39] * Treize has better things to worry about! Or, at least, more responsive ones. Like Jack! "Of course, Jack." He smiles. "I understand completely." Oh? He's drinking his wine again.
[16:40] Grif: "His name is Edward Hyde. More than that... Let's just say it's a fucked up Nexus thing."
[16:40] * Jack will bite, yes. "Do you?"
[16:41] April: "Don't tease me, I'm super respectful of authority and I'll /believe you/," she chastises Martel, her inner troll just...being an outer one, constantly.
[16:41] Treize: "Politics," he answers, shrugging. "And you? Or is it a career in rock stardom?"
[16:41] * Pelagia comes sauntering in. One (1) six-foot-tall Caribbean mermaid with curly blue hair, wearing a bikini with a sarong tied at her waist, and no shoes. She is very imperious about everything, as is the rule, a diamond bracelet caught in one hand - she's not wearing it, just playing with it.
[16:42] Treize: "My /darling/." Pelagia, come here this instant.
[16:42] * April ...won't stare, she knows better, but Pela is undeniably striking.
[16:42] Martel: "Well, believe me here, then - my lady would never forgive me for poor manners." Sephrenia has way better reasons not to forgive him. Martel joins April, offering her his hands. "I swear not to bite."
[16:43] * Ayel is effectively distracted from thoughts of Hyde by Pelagia's entrance. Oh, it's /you/.
[16:43] Pelagia: "Treize!" She recognizes a few of these people, but Treize is the only one she's slept with...probably...uh...so he gets greeted first. "Hello, you. Are you having a good evening? I've not seen you for quite some time."
[16:43] * Jack shrugs, "Six of one, half-dozen of the other--" Oh, hello a mostly naked woman. He should probably be staring, he supposes. :/
[16:44] * Pelagia regards Ayel sidelong, noting he looks significantly less fretful than the last time. Also less in her face.
[16:44] * Treize stands to greet Pela, smiling and offering her his hands. "I am now." He knows how to speak to this one, apparently.
[16:44] * Martel will probably feel obliged to greet Pela the same way now, or it wouldn't be fair. But he's still bothering April, mostly for his own amusement, presently.
[16:44] April: "If your /lady/ is involved-" That's obviously a different thing, and she takes his hands, biting her lip in semi-serious concentration. "Is this right? Or."
[16:45] * Ayel is much less snarly this time, yes. You haven't changed much it seems, Pelagia.
[16:45] Martel: "Like this," Martel kneels, like the nobleman he occasionally pretends he's not, and turns her hands palm up in his. "This is Styric, like my mother," he tells her, and chastely - religiously, one might say - kisses her palms and then clasps them together before he releases her.
[16:45] Pelagia: Some people would be like 'oh, don't let me interrupt' right now, but Pela pretty much feels it's her God-given right to interrupt, so. She goes over to Treize, hello sir. "You must have been terribly busy."
[16:46] Treize: "Quite so," he tells her, and offers her a place to sit, politely. "You know how things get." A smile, then: "This is Jack, whom I've just met. He was telling me about being a political rock star, I do believe." Oh so he /was/ paying attention.
[16:47] * April keeps her hands clasped and stares at them, then at Martel - it's an interested, unthreatening kind of stare. "That's really cool. I mean - and you do this with everyone?"
[16:48] * Jack nods courteously, "Pleased to meet you."
[16:48] Martel: "When I feel a pressing urge to be respectful, or charming," he says, coming up off his knees. "If you were a priestess, you'd have blessed me in response."
[16:50] * Pelagia perches, eyebrows raised. "Oh, yes? Politics seem to be so popular in the Nexis - I am Pelagia Lijax, of Royal House Syrinx." There's a pause. "Of the Mer; people always seem startled by that part." ...yes, that's what's surprising about you, Pela. She is both friendly and haughty at once, this one.
[16:50] April: "Too bad I'm not." She smiles, shrugging. "But thank you. Is that good enough?" While she half-listens to the introduction elsewhere. Mer. Really? She needs to come here more often.
[16:51] * Treize sits back down near her. "Are you drinking anything, Pela?" He suspects not, but it's polite to offer.
[16:51] Martel: "Of course. And - in fact, I should be going, before I run late. You'll all have to excuse me-"
[16:52] * Pelagia shakes her head. "No, thank you; I will watch you enjoy, though."
[16:52] Grif: "Take care, man."
[16:52] Treize: "You are a wonder." And now, to Martel: "Thank you for the wine."
[16:52] April: "Good night." With her hands still clasped - it looks like she could be praying, funnily enough.
[16:52] Ayel: "Goodnight, Martel." He adds something brief in an odd language, and then goes back to watching Pelagia.
[16:53] * Jack files all that away in his list of Things to Look Up Later, but it's the 'royal house' part more than the Mer that brightens his expression. "Goodnight, Martel -- lovely to meet you."
[16:53] Martel: "You're welcome, and goodnight. I'm sorry we didn't meet...Pelagia, you said?"
[16:54] Pelagia: "Yes. Another time," she says, "I'm sure."
[16:54] * Martel reacts differently to other members of the aristocracy; sometimes he's not in the mood, sometimes it adds a little reminder of where he came from and how he used to behave. "Indeed." ...and he's off, anyway.