♠ SECOND || ➥ VIDEO

[nestingdevil]

[There's a flicker and the video starts. Greed's behind the counter of the 'Nest and the camera is set on what appears to be a pool table. It's midday, so the joint is empty.]

[He's all smiles, hands placed atop of his bar.] It's that day, folks. Maybe some of you know, maybe some of you don't. But I promised to deliver and I don't count myself a

Comments

[mage_gifted]

[Video]

[He's spent far too long in war zones to be terribly shocked or disgusted by the sight of blood or corpses. But the casual way the man just hauled off and killed himself is... disturbing.

And then his shattered skull reforms, and new flesh grows to cover it, and after that's over the man is fully aware and capable of speech - it's as if he never shot himself at all, and that's impossible, that just doesn't happen -

[But it clearly has, and all Vanyel can do for the moment is stare into the device, willing this to start making some sort of sense.]

[nestingdevil]

Video |
[Of course, Greed's watching right back. One eyebrow up, then his eyes settle into a lazy ease. He smiles, corning of his lip turning up. He's got just a tiny smudge of left over blood. He'll keep it, if not to perpetuate that shocked stare.]

Oi, oi, oi - you going to say something, or are you going to leave a man hanging?

[mage_gifted]

What... are you?

[Well, you did ask for 'something'.]

[nestingdevil]

Homunculus - do you know what that is? If not, let me give you the quick rundown: artificial. Made with alchemy. [He thumbs the last of the blood of his lips and smiles at his work. Can't keep that grin from his face, really. It's kind of a permanent thing.] That's one death.

If you want an encore, The Devil's Nest is located on the South Side of town. I'd be happy to let you try your luck. And if that isn't enough, Happy Hour starts at eight.

[mage_gifted]

[That's almost a relief - his first thought had been 'demon.' Even if alchemy isn't capable of creating living... beings... in his own world, he's been in Aliunde long enough to know that what's true of his world isn't true of all of them.

[He's still wary, still doesn't trust Greed even a little bit - but the shocked look is gone now, in favor of the calm, controlled mask that earned him the nickname 'Ice Mage.' He cocks his head slightly, trying to find the trick or catch in that invitation. He only answers when he fails to find one.]

Then you may just see me there. [Not to kill him - just to observe. For now, at least.]

[nestingdevil]

[So that makes two - two prickly people he has met. Well, maybe there are more, but Greed's probably forgotten. He'll remember, as soon as the memory strikes. But he's got his full attention on this fellow. He thumbs the sky, lets the light of his bar caress him into focus.] I'll be expecting. Any preferred poisons, or are you going to mix it up a bit?

[mage_gifted]

[Sorry Greed, he's his world's equivalent of military special forces - prickly comes with the territory.]

Surprise me. [Yes, it's a risky move, but it's calculated risk. He has his Healing back, and he'll be carrying the last of Loki's potion on him as a precaution. But he doesn't think he'll be poisoned tonight, at least not deliberately.

[The impression he gets is that 'subversive' isn't Greed's style, and if the man honestly meant him harm he'd know it already.]

[nestingdevil]

[Greed knows the type. He and the military go way back where he comes from, but he won't let that slip. No reason for his chilly friend to be given the run down, right? It's only drinks and maybe a morbid curiosity that's drawn him in. Greed has no intention of displaying all his colors so wantonly.]

I will. And if you like the first one, I'll keep 'em coming.

[mage_gifted]

[Vanyel won't ask for the run down - he's having difficulty enough wrapping his mind around the fact someone? something? like Greed can even exist. And honestly, he'll most likely leave Greed alone to do what he wants, as long as "what he wants" doesn't hurt anybody else.]

I look forward to it. [He actually smiles then, a brief one that doesn't quite reach his eyes.

Even if he has no intention of getting truly drunk in front of someone he doesn't know and doesn't trust, the offer of free drinks for the night makes for a good enough excuse to just hang around and observe.]

[nestingdevil]

As do I. [Because more green in the pocket means more fun for the homunculus. Never mind that he's always starved for company. Loves this city, really. All the interesting people can come storm his place, demanding booze, and he'd be right up on his heels delivering.]

It's open until I say it's open. So try the doors. If you can push 'em, then you're in.

[mage_gifted]

[Video -> Action]

Duly noted. [He cuts the feed there, because, really, what else is there to be said?

[He walks into the bar at eight, caught behind a group who came to take advantage of happy hour but obviously set apart from them by the way he carries himself, how his eyes flicker warily from one end of the bar to the other, assessing the place and all the people in it. He's shielded to the gills, his magic as taut and hair-triggered as the rest of him.

And depending on how sharp Greed's senses really are, he might sense that: the energy wrapped around him like a cloak, comparable to what a philosopher's stone might throw off.]

[nestingdevil]

[Greed's serving up a drink when he can feel ... a pull? He doesn't have that Sixth Sense like Ling does, but there is certainly something kicking around in the good stone that's making the souls itch. Making them writhe. He peers up, surveys the crowd. Nothing of notice .. ]

[Yeah, no. Backtrack eyes. There's silver hair in all that sea of normal colors - red, blond, black, brown. Silver is an odd one. Greed focuses on it and slides down his bar just to keep track of it. He pays his patrons their dues as he goes, switching out a drink here, cashing out another there. But always with a look towards whatever the hell just decided to show up to the Nest.]

[He frowns, stops at the edge. Hip-checks the bar and keeps his bones lodged right up against the frame.]

[mage_gifted]

[What's walked into the nest is a mage, who could easily level the place if provoked. And if he didn't have a rather strict moral code that keeps him from considering it.

[He moves closer to the bar in his quest for a place to sit, and finally installs himself in the corner, apart from the other patrons, and glances up and down, looking for the bartender. Other than that, though, he sits there quiet and unassuming, not quite at ease, but neither is his body language really agressive.]

[nestingdevil]

[And he'll have his 'tender, torso half-leaned on the bar, hand at the lower half of an opposite arm. Quiet guy, doesn't seem to be a threat. Greed puts on the working shoes, tosses a napkin on the bar top and slides into personal space that he so loves to invade.] What can I get ya?

[mage_gifted]

[That move draws an immediate response: the slightest intake of breath, almost a hiss, as he moves back to compensate for the lost personal space, muscles tensing. The odd energy around him seems to roil, gaining a charge, almost-

Then, in the blink of an eye, he's settled again, the oddly charged atmosphere dissipated, and he leans forward again, slightly, just enough to let him lean an arm on the bar himself.]

I believe you promised to surprise me. [His voice is low and smooth, the tone perfectly calm, with maybe the slightest hint of challenge, and his expression is open and expectant.]

[nestingdevil]

I did, didn't I? [He recoils from the bar with the ease of a snake and shuffles to his collection of booze. Thumbs his skin, humming. He'll have to find something worth it - the guy came down all this way! Greed gets an idea, a devilish one at that. Snags vodka by the handle and levels it out into a highball glass. Garnishes the rim with the smooth juice from a lime slice. Tomato juice follows, red-thick and circling with the clear vodka. Two dashes of Worcestershire sauce, and a tap of Tabasco.]

[He doesn't even look when he pulls out a knife - slices a flesh wedge of lime, a cut of celery. Throws both of them in, careful to lean the lime just right on the rim of the glass. Pepper tops it off and Greed turns and places the drink right down on the napkin.]

Hope you're in the mood for something hot.