The City Never Sleeps [thread] [open to: ALL]

[americandirtmod]

Lou swiped the rag over the gleaming mahogany surface of his bar, his smirk long and thin as a knifeblade. He'd buffed it to the point of creating a mirror-like shine, reflecting that glimmer of too-white teeth back up at him

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[redhot_prophet]

Gen tied her long hair back into a ponytail while she cleaned the restaurant. She was sweeping and mopping and cleaning wherever she could, making sure the everything looked in tip top shape for the customers that were about to enter. No one liked eating in a dirty place, after all. Since there were no customers yet she still wanted to do all she could to ensure a paycheck from Lou. She had already mad the ultimate sacrifice for this job (wearing jeans) and was expecting a good payback. Lou said she would make a killing in tips because she was young and cute and wearing form fitting jeans so Gen was banking on that.

Shame? What was that?

She tied a small black apron around her waist, put her order pad and pen in the pocket, and looked around the restaurant one more time to make sure everything was in order. Every so often she would push a chair, move a tablecloth-- all to ensure that everything was perfect"I hope this place is hoppin' tonight," Gen called to Lou, leaning back on the bar to survey her handiwork. She had to hand it to

[bitethenbark]

Ava had been slinking around outside, back on two legs as there was no hunt tonight. Yukiko had been good company, but the meat scraps she'd given her had only made her more hungry.

And then the sign flipped to 'On'. Ava's grumbling stomach made up her mind for her and she glanced over her surroundings again before heading in and heading for the closest table to the door. It would be the best way to retreat and there wasn't much chance of anyone surprising her from behind.

Pulling out a chair, Ava cautiously sat and darted her eyes around the establishment. The redhead she'd glimpsed earlier was talking to the owner -- Lou. She certainly didn't trust the latter, but the former was still questionable.

[redhot_prophet]

The first customer came in and incidentally enough, sat at one of the tables Gen was responsible for. She walked over, took out her pad and pen, and smiled brightly at the young girl. She looked vaguely familiar but Gen couldn't place her. She had such a hard time remembering names and faces, though, so this was no surprise. What was a surprise was the fact this girl was so young and was out. Alone. And wasn't curfew soon?

No matter. A customer was a customer. If it got too dark, Gen would order one of the busboys to take the young girl back home. Everyone had their circumstances-- she herself had left home at sixteen-- and it wasn't Gen's place to ask or question.

"Hiya!" she greeted as she put a menu down in front of the girl. "I'm Gen and I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I start you off with a drink?"

[bitethenbark]

Ava nodded at the spout of words that poured out of Gen's mouth. "I'll take just some water for now." She picked up on the sounds of one man approaching -- not a man, a werewolf, he had to be with that scent -- and another woman -- something off about her -- standing nervously in the doorway.

Was everyone going to reek of anxiety this late? Oh, right. Curfew.

"But you should see to the other customers first, I'll need some time to consider." Ava slid the menu closer to herself and began to cipher through the numerous words.

Hopefully they hadn't put in any unfamiliar ones.

[mine_own_image]

Emily did not belong in a bar, she didn't drink. But bars were sometimes in restaurants and she didn't not go to a restaurant just because they served alcohol. Even if this seemed more like a bar that happened to serve food. ...She didn't belong at a bar.

But Gen was here. Gen had told her about her job during tea earlier and invited her to drop by any time. Considering "any time" looked to be rather close to curfew (because Emily didn't want to get in trouble by breaking the rules in this new "home" of hers), she was out and wandering away from her apartment which already made her uncomfortable, but stepping in through the front doors of a place she really felt she didn't belong...

'Relax. You are so totally over-reacting. We're here to see our friend. Or at least the one we hope will be our friend.'It was easy enough to spot Gen (unless you were in a room crowded with tall people), her bright red hair quickly drawing the eye's attention. ...But she was taking care of a table, so Emily couldn't exactly just jump over and

[gray_eames]

Gray had been alive for three hundred and twenty years and never in all that time had he felt compelled to obey anybody's curfew. It had occurred to him that getting sent to do two hundred push ups in mud up to his ankles for breaking curfew when he'd been stuck in a barracks (you couldn't protect your charges when they were enlisted unless you were too) would be tame punishment compared to what awaited him if this supernatural black hole decided to be pissed about it, but nevertheless he was outside and the darkness was deep as he paced along the sidewalk, hands in pockets, eyes tracing the sky as he wandered along. Quite a few things seemed to be closed early by American standards, he wasn't sure how that reflected on Truth & Consequences but he was sure it meant something

[mine_own_image]

Emily physically jumped forward a foot with a quavery, "Meep!" and spun around on her heels, hands crossed over her chest and under her chin in a defensive reaction. She hadn't sensed anyone coming up behind her, but it wasn't like she had super kung-fu skills or anything so that wasn't unusual. It didn't take her long either to realize she'd been blocking the door and therefore anyone's way in. She was being a nuisance.

"Sorry!" she blurted, looking down at the floor between their feet. "I didn't mean to be in your way, I'll move." To prove it she backed up all the way into a waiting area bench five feet away, nearly falling back into it with her enthusiastic backpedaling. "Sorry. It was my fault."

[gray_eames]

A look of confusion flittered across Gray's eyes as he watched the girl's antics, but the way she was acting also quite sealed the fact that no self-respecting guardian angel (whether he had any self-respect or people to guard or not) would just leave her flailing around and tripping over furniture in a strange bar.

Not that Gray had spared any attention for their surroundings yet, having focussed on this blethering kid. He tilted his head to the side, but didn't move any closer to her save to step to one side so others could get in the door. "I don't care," he told her quietly - accent audible even in the bar's din, eyes curiously examining hers. "I was wondering if you were alright, are you?"

[tailwag]

Had he been in his canine form, Caddoc's tail would have been wagging enthusiastically; as it was, he was nearly vibrating with excitement. The moon was fat and buttery on the horizon, a heavy June moon that set all the fine hairs on his arms standing and his blood singing close under his skin. This was a perfect night for a run---too perfect, too bright---but he would have to reign himself in. Tomorrow was the night of the hunt, and he didn't want to get caught by the things that liked to prowl the streets of Truth or Consequences past curfew

[redhot_prophet]

Mentally, Gen was tallying up what could potentially be her tips for the night. If people did the right thing and tipped her 15-20% she was looking at some nice pocket change that would last her for the next few weeks. She wasn't quite sure of the rent situation but it didn't sit right with her to have no money in her wallet. With Abbot's sudden disappearances, she couldn't very well depend on him either. If her father taught her anything, it was to save and spend wisely

[tailwag]

Caddoc smiled back, all teeth. It was Gen, the girl in the apartment building who fed him scraps and always smelled like fresh grash and patchouli. He was very fond of her---her soul was bright like sunshine, almost overpowering such a tiny frame---so he tended to hang around her apartment in his dog form. She liked dogs and he liked belly rubs; they'd struck up a relationship of sorts because of it

[redhot_prophet]

One light eyebrow cocked at Caddoc, not connecting the dots to his statement. He did seem rather familiar. He was probably one of those voices that she heard in his head. All of that had melted into one bad dream-esque type blur. Especially since Abbot kept trying to convince her it was all dream. Maybe it was. It was better than thinking she was coo coo bananas nutso. Something about his smile also seemed familiar-- she had probably seen him around town or even in her building.

"I'll bet you do tricks," she said dryly, hitting him lightly with the dishtowel tucked into her apron. "No drinking up my tips, got it? Drunk customers are happy customers, you know. This is my livelihood here."

She couldn't shake off the feeling of familiarity. He had the same puppy-ish feel as Tito, though less helpless and more mischievous. His voice, his smile, his eyes-- especially his eyes looked so, so familiar to her, she was annoyed at herself for not knowing his name.

"Shouldn't you get back before Shaggy and the gang start to miss you?"

[redhot_prophet]

Gen put a comforting arm on Abbot's bicep. He looked like he had a long day. Maybe he found a job? His last occupation was a librarian of sorts so Gen wasn't sure how physical a job like that could be. He could have potentially gotten a job doing a manual labor. She hoped it wasn't too dangerous. He was a strong guy but she still worried, especially when she wasn't sure exactly what he was doing.

"This is the neighbor I told you about. Tito." Gen motioned towards the shaking Tito. "Tito, this is my boyfriend, Abbot. Why don't you take a seat and wait for me? I can get you something to eat, too, if you want. Why don't you guys sit together? It's better than eating alone, right?"

At least this way they would get to know each other. Tito was a really nice guy who spent time with Gen and even... sort of protected her from Stalin ghost. Gen sincerely hoped the two of them would get along.

"We could all walk home together. Safety in numbers and all that," she said brightly, wiping her hands on her hips.

[tito_rodriguez]

Tito gave Abbot a tiny, sheepish wave as Gen introduced him. Please, please don't think I'm trying to steal your girlfriend. Tito was already fond of his neighbor, but she was taken, and that was that.

And oh no, now she was trying to get Abbot to sit and eat with him. Abbot didn't seem as annoyed now, but Tito didn't really want to run the risk of ticking him off. But then again, maybe he could manage to find some sort of a friend in the other man. Maybe. Or maybe Abbot would just kill him while Gen wasn't looking.

Nevertheless, he forced as friendly a smile as he could summon up and nodded in agreement to Gen's proposal. "That sounds like a good idea to me. Who knows what's wandering around this town after dark."

[vaderetrosatana]

Abbot sat, mostly because it felt like his knees would give out on him on their own if he didn't do something about it asap. He settled his bag---heavy with his "work" things---on the floor at his feet, trying and failing to work his face out of a frown.

"Bears, probably," he said absently, though he had a gut feeling that what wandered the streets at night was a lot bigger and badder than that---considering what survived in the city during the day. "Do you live in the Ashwood Heights complex too, Tito?"

[tito_rodriguez]

"Yeah," Tito replied, and added a little sheepishly, "right next door to you, actually. I'm the guy who brought over the flan."

Maybe mentioning the sweets would help him to win some favor...

[bitethenbark]

Ava crinkled her nose at the rising wafts of confusion, high energy, and worst of all: testosterone. She frowned and pulled out the ugly wallet with a stitched heart that she'd found on the dresser in her apartment. It had taken her one whiff to realize there was cash in there. But it had taken her hunger and disinterest in the raw meat in her fridge and freezer to actually touch it.

It still reeked of them.

She pushed the memory aside and then focused her gaze on the other hell hound. Caddoc, she thought. He certainly smelled about right. After one more glance at the confusion of waitress, possessive male, and timid werewolf she decided to at least have amiable company. She picked up her water glass - the revenant's scent lingered - and moved over to the stool beside Caddoc.

"Hello brother," she sipped the water and blanched. "Is the help always this pungent?"

[tailwag]

"Hey!" Caddoc grinned, taking an unfairly large bite out of his sandwich. "I was wondering if you'd show up tonight." Swallowing, he added: "An' I figure so long as they aren't dragging grave dirt around in their wake or coughing up rotted epiglottis, they can make me sandwiches any day. How're you, little sister?"

He nudged her stool with his boot in a friendly fashion. She was a lot smaller than he'd anticipated; fine-featured and childlike in this lighting. Her glass almost looked to big for her, he thought. It'd be interesting to see what she was like during a hunt.

She was too tiny to have teeth, to snap. He kind of wanted to nuzzle her head and give her the rest of his sandwich.

Of course fate would saddle him with a kid. The cosmos new his weaknesses.

[bitethenbark]

"Hungry," she shrugged. "Still can't decide on something to eat." Ava let the movement of her stool wash through her and then stiffened at the first wave of the sympathy.

...he thought she was helpless, no doubt.

For a split second she bared her teeth and straightened her posture so she appeared bigger than she was. The message was clear: 'I am not weak'.

"What would you recommend?" she said, her body still tense, her jaw stiff. Ava did at least succeed in keeping her voice somewhat normal -- at least to human ears.

[tailwag]

"Oy." He couldn't help the smirk that jerked at his lips. It was like an itch, compulsive. She really did remind him of a bristling puppy, baring milk teeth and attempting to seem bigger than it really was. "Don't growl at me or I won't share my sandwich."

Which wasn't true. She said she was hungry, so he'd provide. That's what he'd been asked to do, and even if he hadn't been told he felt that clawing need to help. He had never given much when he was alive, so now...

It was a little bit late to be selfless, but that didn't stop him from trying.