Arsene Lupin III had taken a wrong turn somewhere west of Albequerque, as the most famed prophet of the 20th Century, Bugs Bunny, would have said. He didn't know how, but instead of the usual lush carpets and heady atmosphere, he found himself standing in a bar that reminded him of those Prohibition-era speakeasys. All that was missing was some
(
Read more... )
Although, he didn't remember the magician being a girl before...
No matter. best to tread cautiously.
"All right, my dear," Lupin said calmly, professionally. He had something in mind that would be perfect...
It was called a Bailey's Comet. It involved Bailey's Irish cream, butterscotch schnapps, Goldschlager, rum, and cinnamon. Oh, and fire.
Such lovely irony. Lupin remembered that time, and other times he had been lit on fire. But that time was notable--that fire didn't hurt.
He poured the liquor into a cocktail glass, and pushed it toward the woman. "Wait a minnit, would ya?" He laid the accent on thick, all as a part of his role. He was enjoying himself too much.
He pulled out his zippo, and lit the concoction. The cinnamon he had pulled out earlier was sprinkled on top, sending out little sparks.
"I'd blow out the fire before I drank that, miss," he warned, all boyish charm and smiles.
Reply
Pycal adjusted her neckerchief a little as she waited for Lupin to finish her drink. She was about to down all that in one go when he told her to hold it. She was about to throw a rude 'what' at him when he set the drink on fire.
After all that happened, one would think Pycal would hate fire forever, and only the mention of it would make her run away and cringe. Although, she was still rather fascinated by it, and that was pretty clear as she watched the little sparks flying from the flame.
At that remark though, Pycal grew somewhat irritated, again.
"Do you think I'm stupid enough to drink something that's on fire?" Really now. She had to be somewhat crazy to do such a thing.
Reply
Lupin sat back and watched her stare at the sparking flames. A pyromaniac, huh? No wonder she liked the fire gimmick of their first meeting so well.
He didn't regret destroying that forumla at all.
"I'd blow that out soon," He warned. "The Bailey's will go sour."
Reply
And it was even more clear she wasn't used to that whole 'drinking' thing, as she didn't even know fire could do that to booze.
She promptly blew the flames and shortly after took a long sip from the drink, expecting it to be hot. But she certainly didn't expect it to be that strong.
"A-Are you trying to kill me?" Sure Pycal told him she wanted to 'forget' things, but that drink was way too strong for someone like her. Well, not really the guy's fault that she couldn't handle her liquor. "I... suppose I better take this in smaller doses..."
Reply
Still, maintaining a few tricks was better than accidentally starting an inferno in the speakeasy--it was bad enough that he was blamed for a broken cask of whiskey, he didn't need to be responsible for arson too. But the girl Pycal before him obviously didn't recognize him at all. Lupin was safe, for now.
But, fears of starting blaze wouldn't stop him from playing.
Reply
At least, she still had some cigarettes with her, and small box of matches. Although, those wouldn't last for long and she had no idea where she would get new ones. Not being able to smoke would make her even more pissed off.
"Is there really no way out of this dump?" Pycal said almost to herself. She was referring to the hotel as a whole, and not only that bar, as she put a cigarette between her lips and lighted it up, taking a break from that overly strong drink.
Reply
Lupin was sorely tempted to break out into singing Hotel California in that accent he was pulling. He doubted Pycal was familiar with that song, though. It...was a few years after their meeting that it came out.
"So..yeah. No way out, though you can play and wander and do whatever around here...so long as you do what you do in a Love Hotel every once in a while. I hear this place makes ya go mad if you don't."
Not that he wanted to fuck Pycal. He was just saying--he didn't hate her that much.
Reply
"I guess... that's where the problem lies." Pycal rolled her eyes, taking a drag from her cigarette before sipping on her drink once again. That second dose seemed more pleasant than the one before. She was actually happy she was getting used to it.
"I'm not... very fond of interactions like those." She leaned forward on the balcony, eyes closing for a bit.
Pycal didn't have many physical traits to offer and she wasn't very social either, so she was pretty much a lost cause. The only time she got 'lucky' with a guy was when she had those microfilms on her, and that was only because said guy was planning on stealing those. That alone made her quite queasy about relationships in general.
Reply
...that made Lupin wonder what he and his cohort looked like in that timeline, if they were different enough to not be recognized in the opposite gender.
He drew in a breath, and fought the urge to reach for his Gitanes. Instead, he drew into his knowledge reserves of pop culture. "If it's looks you're worried about, just remember this; for their era, Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall were really the cat's meow, but by todays standards they probably wouldn't have made it. You don't need a heck of a lot to get by, you just gotta try really.
"And, lady, I know a lotta people who don't to 'interactions' like these. But they're here, and they're doing mostly okay. It ain't too bad after you're here for a bit."
Reply
Still, she kept that bartender's words in mind. It was rare for her to strike more than five lines of conversation with anyone, and that was mostly Pycal's own fault.
"Well, I guess you could be right." She was actually 'happy' about the fact someone was trying to cheer her up a little, even if her face didn't show much. "I guess I've just been through a lot lately and getting stuck here was just the 'final touch'..."
Reply
Indefintely. But, she could probably recreat some of her stuff. Lupin looked forward to her doing that, actually. It would be something to break up the incessant debauchery.
"Now, be cool. Drink your drink."
Reply
"If anything, at least I'll have time to sort out my thoughts." She said, planning to try and remember that damn formula at all cost. Sure she had a part of it still stored in her memory, but for the most part everything was pretty must lost. And as far as she remembers that's some really unstable mixture and might be kind of dangerous... Not that she has a lot to lose to begin with.
Pycal is almost tempted to ask that guy if he knows about any lab in that place that she could check, but decided not to. As 'amiable' as he was being, it was better if she didn't laid out her plans like that to a total stranger.
"Anyway... thanks for your words... I guess." It was really weird to thank anyone for anything, but she was actually grateful, so no harm done.
Reply
Lupin only needed a few guesses to figure out what Pycal might do. Their association had been a short one, but Lupin knew how the magician was...especially in regards to her tricks.
He didn't say his thoughts...though, if she were to ask, he would suggest that she make a map. And, of course, not tell her about his failure.
Reply
Leave a comment