027: LOCATION: CASINO [ come on fellas, raise your bets, 'cause you ain't seen nothin' yet ]

[aregulargirl]

Max has gotten bored, and as a result, has ended up in the casino on the eighth floor. She looks around for a while, taking in the flashy decor and bright lights. The scene reminds her of when she went with Original Cindy to scam a bunch of gangsters out of the money Sketchy owed to them, how they'd dressed up a (or down, considering how revealing

Comments

[location: casino]

[honoraryhobo]

The boy slips timidly into the room, silent but for the clinking of three bottles he hugs to his chest. Though freshly laundered his clothes are still faded--not threadbare but on their way. He makes his way to the bar, too absorbed in his errand to stare at the machines or the chandelier or the rolling purple clouds painted on the ceiling for more than a few seconds.

When he catches sight of Max his posture stiffens. He stands rooted in place.

[location: casino]

[aregulargirl]

Max hears Don before she sees him, and is rather surprised to see a young boy standing in the room instead of an adult. She didn't even know there was someone so young in the city - but then, there probably wasn't. It could have been a glitch. She remembers when the same thing happened to Ashley, nearly two years ago. She still doesn't consider herself particularly great with children, but Don still gets a smile as Max comes out from behind the bar.

"Hey," she says, keeping her voice soft. He already looks pretty startled at the sight of her.

[location: casino]

[honoraryhobo]

"I didn't take them," Dick says in a rush. His voice trembles but there's a trace of resentment in the line of his mouth.

He painstakingly adjusts his grip and holds out a bottle to her, as if for inspection. Wild Turkey Rye. "I found them."

[location: casino]

[aregulargirl]

"It's okay," Max says, holding her hands out to show that she means no harm. "I believe you." He offers the bottle to her and she takes it, turning it over in her hands to read the label. "Can I ask you where you found them?"

won't you come on and raise your glass;

[whoneedsrules]

Wandering into the casino both out of curiosity and boredom, Katherine eyes the gaming tables and the decor that is typically ostentatious. Still, it's not quite the worst one she's seen. But that's not what interests the vampire presently; it's the bar and the rows of liquor on the wall behind the counter.

Catching sight of Max's familiar figure, Katherine makes her way over with very little noise, sliding herself gracefully to sit onto one of the bar stools.

"Practicing for work?" she asks with a small smile as she sees the book, propping an elbow on the counter and leaning her chin on her palm.

won't you come on and raise your glass;

[aregulargirl]

It's a surprise when Max hears and sees Katherine suddenly sitting before her, but she grins at her anyway, shrugging as she puts the finishing touches on the drink she's mixing.

"We don't get a whole lot of demands for - " She pauses to look down and read the name of the recipe she's following. "A bomb pop martini. Figured I'd try to perfect it and a few others in case it's any future customer's drink of choice." She settles a cherry on the rim of the glass, then slides it over to Katherine. "How'd I do?"

won't you come on and raise your glass;

[whoneedsrules]

"It never does hurt to be prepared," Katherine agrees lightly with a wider smile, straightening up a little and taking her elbow off the bar counter as Max slides the red and blue drink over. Never one to turn down a free drink, Katherine takes a dainty sip from the glass, relishing the burn of the alcohol down her throat.

"Mm. Not bad at all," she compliments, turning the glass slowly around on the table by its stem. "Very nice balance between the ingredients. What else were you going to make and more importantly, do you need a guinea pig?"

A smirk tugs at Katherine's lips as she takes another small sip of the brightly colored martini.

won't you come on and raise your glass;

[aregulargirl]

"Exactly," Max replies with a nod, her smile widening a bit. "'Always be prepared' was a huge part of my training. Doubt it extended to bartending, but it's not as if they're here to scold me on wasting my scientist-given talents." And if they were, she wouldn't give a damn, anyway.

She laughs, then pushes the book over to Katherine as well. "You can pick the next one. And I'd love one. A lot of these just taste like sugar to me."