Hoedown Throwdown (S/aeluri/Esper)

-Boomslang, 6 A.M.-

Wearing a navy blue long-sleeved shirt with navy blue cargo pants and black boots, Diana was ready for trouble in case it had decided to follow her to Boomslang, a place she had visited a few times before. Earlier this morning Diana had read about the results of her work in Hargeon Town in a newspaper. The Hargeon Batboys were wiped out to a man and the police were stymied. The official report was that there was no firm evidence that pointed to a suspect, but in between the lines the police did not seem to be in any hurry to investigate because the streets were made a little bit cleaner. However, in a follow-up article the mayor railed against "reckless vigilantism" and vowed to do everything he could to bring the vigilante to justice as part of the morality campaign.

Diana was only mildly surprised that the mayor would try to apprehend the vigilante because the individual made him look bad and exposed his campaign to "bring morality back to Hargeon Town" as nothing but a stunt. She thought that he would have appreciated someone helping him clean the streets, but no good deed went unpunished. Oh well. The Hargeon Batboys street gang was dead and buried and would not come back to terrorize Hargeon except through the work of a necromancer.

Diana stepped into the club and once her night vision activated was immediately struck by how silent and how empty it was. The last few times she had visited Boomslang the music was so loud that she could not even hear herself think. She also could not even walk without bumping into someone, but now the club was empty and silent, empty except for her and a man standing at the bar counter. He must have been this "Ahote" that the letter had mentioned. Walking towards him while glancing around in anticipation of an ambush from The Shadow Collective or any other group who wanted her dead, Diana approached "Ahote" and spoke to him.

"Hello there." Diana calmly greeted "Ahote."

[Post Word Count: 352]
[Diana's Word Count: 352/3,200]

Diana was mildly surprised by the offer of a drink and a conversation that Jericho had made to her. She had recalled his distinct displeasure during the festival where she had shot and killed the fire faeries when they had accosted The Black Cat. She also recalled his displeasure when she knocked out the two mages and their obnoxious red-headed child after the mages paralyzed The Black Cat with their magic and expressed a desire to kill her for. She recalled Jericho acting like Stiletto had killed them when the latter had in fact only knocked them out. They would be bruised and wondering what had happened when they regained consciousness, but the trio was very much alive.

Stiletto was somewhat surprised that Jericho had wanted anything to do with her at all. Maybe the only reason he had invited her here was because he had suffered from the same problem that the blonde did. The clandestine nature of their line of work left them with very small social circles of people they could really trust... if "trust" was the right word for it. The blonde was not sure what the right word was and did not have time to ponder what it was because she was intrigued by Jericho's offer. After a little bit of thought she agreed to take him up on it.

"I will take you up on the conversation. However, I would like you to make the drink water." Stiletto said to him, stepping towards the row of seating pointed out by Jericho to take a closer look at her host. He was dressed in all-black attire that was a drab but well-made tuxedo. Diana was not the height of sartorial splendor herself. Her outfit was a navy blue long-sleeved shirt and navy blue cargo pants with black boots, which was not a typical club-going outfit. It was every bit as drab as Jericho's attire with the added benefit of being practical for nighttime jobs, which was when Stiletto usually worked.

Stiletto took a seat in the first empty chair and waited patiently for her host to join her. She had a calm and neutral facial expression that would be difficult to read. The blonde had gotten this far by being a closed book and sharing next to nothing about her personal life with others, which included her guildmates.

[Post Word Count: 393]
[Diana's Word Count: 745]

"You what?" Kenna growled into her iLac as she sat up in her bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. In between the grogginess of being brutally ripped out of a pleasant dream her underling' panicked voice was steadily waking her up. "Okay, no wait. Trish, you're rambling, wait a minute and repeat that for me." A silence fell as she listened to Trish' story, rolling her eyes. "Are you serious? You're calling me this early in the morning for that? Can't you just go and get it yours- you're scared of public places….? Figures. And what about Garland? Too drunk to take on a humanoid form again…"The demonic heir sighed underneath her breath, shaking her head. "Yeah, no, no, it's fine. I'll go get it. Just this once, okay? I don't want people thinking this is a permanent service I'll be rendering them. Just take care of Garland and come pick it up once I get back. Mhm. Seeya." As soon as the line went dead Kenna groaned, falling back into her pillows. Trish and Garland, two demons that had been keen on exploring the human world with the intent of becoming party-animals once they'd discovered the joy of clubbing. Sadly for her, these two, kind as they may be, were also fervent drinkers, and enjoyed going way over their limit. Trish needed it to conquer her fear of public places, but seemed to remain sober despite it all. Garland however… he was a 10 feet tall horned quatro-pedal giant that needed his wits to change his form to a more humanoid one so he wouldn't scare or accidently break something. But he just as easily got lost in liquor. And now, he'd gone and lost his wallet. No big deal you'd say, but he'd made a big one out of it and now a certain someone had to go and retrieve it. Too bad the Sabertooth guildmaster, as their crown princess, was the only go-to these human-loving demons had that wouldn't mock them over it for the rest of their lives. Ugh, demons. The perks of ruling over nitwits like that, right?

The demoness struggled to suppress the urge to throw her phone across the room and screw it all, quite unwillingly rolling over to the cold side of her bed to force her out of it. Not that that was as effective approach, as it should've been due to her being her own source of heat. The warmth remained even when she hopped over the edge and stood on her feet, grabbing her clothes off a nearby chair and dressing herself as she went. "Guard the room while I'm gone, okay? And if someone asks… I'm off taking a morning run around Fiore." she muttered at the sleeping shadow in the corner of her room. A small sigh greeted her, Gramr's way of saying he understood his assignment, although said assignment basically translated to "you just keep on napping, I'll be back soon". Simple as that, and not something the large canine mutt couldn't appreciate. Sleeping was his thing, especially after Kenna had lost her Etherborn link with the soul realm he was supposed to protect. It took him more power to remain in this world alongside her, so the amount of rest he needed to replenish was beyond normal, even for an undead ghastly hound. Kenna's hand ran across the empty space of her room, and in the wake of her invisible line the very fabric of space opened for her towards Crocus. The sigil of Sabertooth lit up in its golden hue, establishing the connection between Yggdrasil and the portal she had made, allowing Kenna to traverse the distance in a matter of moments. The silence and darkness of her room made way for the bustling lights of one of Fiore's largest cities. She arrived on a rooftop, with the portal closing like a sizzling flame behind her once she had moved through it. Although she didn't mind using the portal to appear in the middle of a busy street within the borders of Ace of Spades, she opted not to do so in cities not under Sabertooth's command. After all, their populace wasn't quite aware of what the portals held, and she could do without the unnecessary attention. Well, regardless, focus on the task at hand. She needed a moment to define her location within the large city, and how long it would take for her to reach Boomslang. By the looks of it she'd done well, as her random guess had literally taken her within a stone's throw of the luxurious club. Although it looked awfully quiet around its premises.


A chill ran down her spine as a cold morning breeze blew past her, and she shivered. Her current attire wasn’t meant for rooftop outings, so she realised too late. A pair of jeans, sneakers, an off white long-sleeved blouse of which she habitually rolled up the sleeves of, and a scarf loosely hanging around her neck. Literally the first thing she’d come across in her annoyed morning state… memo for her next pre-sunrise outing; warmer clothing. For now, she should get off this roof. Finding her way down went just as smoothly as her journey to Crocus, and she soon found herself upon the surprisingly busy streets of the Fiorean capital. Not that she minded, however. Boomslang’s doors were within reach after only a minute or two worth of walking, but now she stood before them she hesitated slightly. What if the club was in fact closed? She’d have wandered here for no reason, wasting precious sleep. No… well, she could give it a shot. Kenna pushed, and the door gave in to her force, allowing her entrance to the silence of the club. Curious. She’d never been here before, although she’d heard quite a bit about this place… and of course, the liquor it served. The two voices she heard encouraged her to go forth however, putting the thought of liquor on the backburner for a tad bit longer. Upon seeing the blonde in blue, surprisingly contrasting the brown-haired man in suit behind the bar, she paused however, feeling like she was interrupting something she might better not have. ”Ah, uh, my apologies, but the door was still unlocked,” she said, pointing at the entrance behind her. The white-haired demoness paused shortly. ”I’ll be right back on my way once I retrieve a wallet that was supposedly dropped her by one of my drunken friends…. you perchance wouldn’t have collected one, would you?” Kenna asked rather to the point, as the longer she was standing there the more she felt like she was intruding on something. Which she in fact was, regardless of it all.


Appearance




[1125 || 1125]

At the commotion of people outside, Iris rustled beneath a pile of bodies. The first smell that reached his nose made him hack out a cough. Bleach. Wait. Bleach? Moving some girl's bare abdomen from his face, bleary lilac eyes peered up in the dim light of a single dingy bulb overhead to try and figure out why it smelled so strongly of bleach and other cleaners. Booze, sweat, various other smells from a drunken night of debauchery was one thing, but this smelled more like he fell asleep in the middle of a murder scene and the cleanup crew had already been through. In his stupor, he thought he'd somehow fallen asleep or blacked out in the middle of one of his more murdery jobs for Hidden Blades, and that he was going to be in deep hockey puck with Blanche and the Chairman once support ratted him out. The bodies strewn on him, over him, around him didn't help much, but the small space didn't seem right. Also, he was male. He never worked as a male. Esper was female. What exactly was in that vulcan rum? Never had he felt so discombobulated. OH RIGHT! He'd been partying last night after so many days working so very hard. Vulcan rum body shots!

It was delightful.

It was quickly becoming apparent by the metal bucket jabbing him in the thigh that he was in a janitor's closet, where he'd apparently spent the evening with no less than four other people he had no recollection of. So, it was a great night, then! One arm was tied to a pipe running up the wall with someone's sleeve, the other having come loose at some point. It was loose enough that with some wrist rolling it came free. Grinning, he rolled and shifted his slightly sore body until he was able to wriggle up. It disturbed his naked companions, though, who seemed way less calm about their situation. Grabbing up what clothes they could find, which ended up being a hodgepodge collection of everyone's clothes that didn't make a full outfit by any means, the four nudes threw open the door to the closet and did a fast-paced walk of shame through the bar and out the front door. One of the men stopped his scamper at the door and tossed a look back at the violet-haired man, mouthing a 'call me' before he disappeared into the light. If he'd actually managed to get any of their numbers, maybe he would.

Iris elected to take his time revealing himself, rummaging around for a pair of pants that fit but none were to be found. Instead, he slipped into the abandoned pair of women's jeans that snuggly fit everywhere but barely zipped and definitely didn't button. He exited into Boomslang proper stretching his naked torso, a rather smug and pleased expression on his groggy face. It was possibly the most disheveled anyone other than Aelu had ever seen him, but he didn't mind. The reason for it was amusing enough. He had the hickeys and bruises to prove it. Someone had even busted his lip, so he knew he'd had a lovely time.

Scanning the noisemakers that originally roused him, he grinned. "Good morning~!" greeted the space dust given human form, blissfully unaware of the actual time. Aeluri looked about as unkempt as he did, but she hadn't spent the night with him and his new friends it seemed. He offered her a wink and a cheeky grin. His eyes flitted to the other person he immediately recognized, Ahote. Always wearing so many clothes and sullen as ever. He'd wink at him as well, but the other two caught him off guard. Faces he didn't know. One woman with colorless hair and another with blonde. No matter, Iris never knew a stranger, really. "Hello~" he purred and approached if course getting a closer look at their appearances and eye colors. Mmmm, not bad. "Is there a special party starting I didn't know about?" he asked, turning from the newcomers to his friends for more information. Making his way on slightly wobbly but still sashaying legs to the bar, he leaned over the counter beside the pile of wallets to snatch a bottle of whatever he could get his hands on. Hair of the dog and all that. It seemed his breakfast would be maple bourbon. Maple was a breakfast flavor, so it was ok, right? He poured himself a glass, though stayed close to the bottle he had every intention of draining this morning.


[wc: 762]

Diana calmly sat and watched the once-empty club begin to show signs of life. First a female stranger with long white hair entered the club. Next The Black Cat appeared from behind the bar and gave a dramatic stretch; behind the bar must have been where she had slept the night away after doing who knew what. Then a shirtless guy appeared and grabbed the first bottle of alcohol he could find and latched onto it with the intent of draining it completely. The shirtless guy seemed familiar, but for whatever reason the blonde could not quite put a finger on his identity.

Diana greeted The Black Cat with a hand raised in greeting. She extended the same courtesy to the guy clutching a bottle of maple bourbon. She then turned back to Ahote.

Diana certainly ran in strange social circles. Among her list of acquaintances was a guy with a nearly incomprehensible accent, a girl with actual cat ears and an affinity for alcohol, a girl with a doll's body and a lot of personality, a guy who ran Capital Crocus' most famous bar, and a lavender-haired girl always on the lookout for her next romantic conquest. Still, despite their idiosyncrasies, Diana's social circle could have been a lot worse than it was. If they were not friendly to her, they were at least neutral and not looking to kill her or sell her out to the authorities. She was also guaranteed to never be bored around them.

Diana took the glass of water that Ahote had offered into her right hand and took a sip from it. It was surprisingly good water delivered by a complex system, but the end result was worth it... at least in Diana's opinion. Diana was hesitant to speak around the white-haired outsider and the shirtless guy because she did not know whether they were undercover Rune Knights or not. The white-haired woman was definitely not from Diana's guild and she was not sure where the shirtless guy was from, but he seemed to be familiar with Ahote, Aeluri, and Diana.

Diana recalled Ahote asking if there was something she wanted to discuss with him. After thinking the matter over, there was something she wanted to know. She wanted to know what it was like to have an actual social life and to not live in the shadows all the time.

"I would like to know what it is like to run an establishment like this. You must meet all manner of interesting people every day." Diana calmly requested of Ahote. There was more to Diana's request than keeping guild business secret. She also had genuine curiosity about what life in the light was like.

[Post Word Count: 452]
[Diana's Word Count: 1,197]