in and out of stages

[niceassassin]

WHO: Zevran (niceassassin) and OPEN.
WHERE: Around the City.
WHEN: The night of Saturday, May 14th.
WARNINGS: Terrible references to sex. Anything else on a case-by-case basis.
SUMMARY: Zevran goes out to try to make up for the lost time during kid week. Come help him out, join him, or try to foil his plans: whichever is your fancy.
FORMAT: Whatever you prefer

Comments

[meowminx]

Selina was having a drink or three at the Tool Shed. The bar was more crowded than usual. Probably facing their childhoods had inspired more drinking among the populace. She still felt responsible for the place, even though it had been months since Logan was ported out. So she was there to keep an eye on the place.

And of course to indulge in the stock. Since she was making sure that they were carrying all her favorites now.

[niceassassin]

Crowded was okay with Zevran. It meant his own oddity was likely to be initially overlooked--and it meant there were more people to notice and be fascinated by it once he was noticed. But it was his turn to notice someone: Selina. For a moment, he debated ignoring her entirely. She'd made it clear he wouldn't be getting what he wanted tonight out of her, and she knew things about him that he wasn't sure he was comfortable with.

But...he liked her.

And so came the familiar voice over her shoulder: "Who is this Jack Daniels, and what must I do to emulate his popularity?"

[meowminx]

She looked back and gave him a smile. Sure, she had no intention of sleeping with him, but she rather liked him as well. He was amusing, and there was clearly more to him than he first let on.

"Be cheap and mix well with Coke." She waved at the bartender for one of those very drinks.

[niceassassin]

"I am entirely free, or very expensive indeed." He grinned. "But cheap? That's not my style." He leaned over to peer at the bartender mixing the drink. "Coke is one of those 'soda' drinks, yes?" His tone becomes a little confessional. "It makes me slightly nervous. They all do. Every drink in this world, it is either outrageously sweet like a soda or ridiculously bitter like a coffee. There is no telling what poison could be hidden in such a thing."

[speedofnaked]

It's a large city, as dense and thick with people as fog in autumn. Tonight the air is clear, but chill, and though the stars are blotted out, the slivers-shy of full moon hangs bright enough.

Terra is not much one for drinking -- truthfully, she's not old enough to legally enter bars or pubs here, let alone drink in them -- but a long and uninteresting tale of recognition, invitation, and unintentional blackmail gets her inside one such establishment. It's almost muggy for the number of people, and -- unlike Zevran -- she has gone without cloak or jacket.

She may not be a drinker of alcohol, but she serves well enough as chalice to the stories poured out.

[niceassassin]

Right now, the story being poured out to an interested young woman seems to involve an elven clan fighting a pack of werewolves. Interestingly for anyone who actually knows how it all went down, it seems to be rather heavily edited to remove the more complex parts that involve secrets and centuries-old vengeance and instead include a lot of fanciful generic fantasy and adventure stuff.

Fortunately for Zevran, no one else here has ever been to the Brecilian Forest.

Unfortunately for Zevran, the interested young woman's boyfriend has just arrived.

Two minutes later, Zevran sinks into a chair next to Terra. "A more adventurous man would not have turned down that offer," he confides to her without being prompted.

[speedofnaked]

The first thing she notices about the man -- aside from the presence of a body and the sound of a voice, of course -- is his ears. Second is the markings, third is the phantasmal sensation of something like mist rolling across the back of her neck.

What he actually says, though, only ranks down somewhere near sixth or seventh. "More... adventurous?" she asks, for she is used to the word meaning something completely different than Zevran intends. Not, of course, that she knows this.

[niceassassin]

He knows that the ears and the tattoos are noticeable. He is, in fact, counting on it. They tend to be attractive. The other thing? He has no idea about that whatsoever.

"Adventurous," he agrees, because he is well aware that Terra doesn't realize his intended meaning. "Oh, not so much in the sense of exploring new realms. I hear there are few of those left in this world. I was thinking more of exploring new beds."

[enigmaestro]

It was a night worthy of drinking. The cards were stacked: Edward Nygma had the reality of James Bond to deal with, a week of traumatic childhood memories, and Eridan choosing a psychotic little clown to be his boyfriend -- he was in a mood to lose some touch of consciousness.

And so he sat barside, with a coppery bourbon by his hand, listening the to mild buzz of echoed conversation surround him. The Last Tango was chic and modern, full of youth and smug expression.

His kind of night.

[niceassassin]

In truth, Zevran had little idea of the character of each bar he wandered into. Normally he'd have been good at judging such things--at telling what was a seedy dive, what was the nobility's watering hole, what was a seedy dive pretending it was the watering hole of nobility. That sort of thing. But the gap of a thousand years of technology, a greater lack of magic, and a very different culture stood between him and understanding. So he'd wandered into the Last Tango unaware that, within five minutes of entering, he'd be assaulted by a bespectacled young man in a scarf and a plaid shirt and talked at. Relentlessly

[enigmaestro]

At those unkind words, Eddie's nose wrinkled. Without giving so much as a glance to his fresh company, he signaled for the bartender.

"Two more bourbons, thanks." A beat followed before he spoke again. With emphasis. "For me." He looked over at Zevran, registering the familiar elf. It was an effort to keep his expression neutral, but he managed the feat with unwavering aplomb.

"Friend, well. Rather, he's my kismesis. We're registered and everything."

[niceassassin]

There were definitely better people he could be talking to, Zevran reflected. He probably didn't have much chance of getting involved in anything enjoyable with this Edward. But now that he was in this place, it was better than talking to the race of beings dubbed "hipsters" by this society. "For you? Then one...gin and sin for me." He'd start mild with the naughty names for drinks, this time. He'd been learning.

He leaned forward attentively, blinking. "Kismesis? Does that involve kissing? Because usually, that leads to even more interesting activities."