Danny
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 3, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10) ( success x 4 ) Re-rolls: 1
Kalen Holliday
[How awake are we?]
Dice: 7 d10 TN7 (1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 10) ( success x 3 )
Kalen Holliday
[How distracted by Resonance are we?]
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 8, 10) ( success x 2 )
Kalen Holliday
Kalen
is lounging at a booth. There is a tall, slender glass that seems to
contain mostly crushed ice. A little paper umbrella lies near the
glass, still opened. Bright orange with pink flowers. Kalen is holding
a tablet, fiddling with it.
He's wearing jeans and a
rust-colored hoodie that looks more appropriate for ten degrees colder
judging by what the rest of the population is wearing. He seems
indifferent to the rest of the population though, only looking up
occasionally outside of catching movement out of the corners of his eyes
or hearing footsteps. And rather seems oblivious to the fact that
people tend to come to bars to interact with other people. Other people
who are not the bartenders.
Danny
*He'd
gotten in to ask if he could do a short set, just one or two songs. It
hadn't taken much for him to be given the nod, he'd ordered his usual
poison, red bull was in it as usual. Then he'd gone to get set up with a
high stool and his guitar. A black beast that had strangely enough when
the switch was flipped and she was connected to an amp lit it up so it
looked like liquid lava had pooled and was cooling on the body. It
looked like someone had partially melted it in places. Tonight he was
performing, did they know that there was a rising star in their midst?
Probably not. He slipped off his leather jacket and set it down on the
back of the stool, then took a seat. Just a few strums, one or two of
the chords to check the keys were still on the right note, then he began
to play.*
He's a stranger to someAnd a vision to noneHe can never get enough,Get enough of the one
For
a fortune he'd quitBut it's hard to admitHow it ends and beginsOn his
face is a map of the worldOn his face is a map of the worldFrom
yesterday, it's coming!From yesterday, the fear!From yesterday, it calls
himBut he doesn't want to read the message here
Danny
(How aware is he?)
Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 5, 5, 6, 7, 10) ( success x 3 )
Kalen Holliday
Kalen
glances up at the sound of music starting. His attention catches for a
few seconds when he recognizes Danny as someone he's met before, but
only a few seconds. He's hardly deaf, but you don't need to look at a
performance to hear it. Sure, there's visual elements, he knows that.
You don't live with a musician for years and not know that.
He
spends only a moment with that. Then goes up to the bar and returns
with not one but two rocks glasses with whiskey in them, sets both down,
resettles, and takes the tablet back out of his bag to resume working.
What would Kharisma say about refusing to stop and appreciate the
moment? Serafine? Ian? He tries. He does. But all he can think of
in response to wonder what those listless ghosts Alexander told him
about would have given to hear this. How many more are there now? How
many will there be?
And after that? There are always more monsters. Always more bodies and more ghosts.
They
aren't even safe when they're dead. He knows that now too. There are
monsters in this life and monsters in the afterlife and everywhere,
everywhere there are things that make it nearly impossible to just focus
on anything.
Danny
*The song was over far too
soon, he was hunched over the guitar, one knee on the bar of the stool,
the other on the floor tapping time on habit. But he was happy. He
trod on the FX pedal and worked into the next song after taking a sip
from the drink, that too was over all too soon for him. He smiled, a
glance to the booth then back to the room and the people that were in
it, some had stopped to listen, some where still having their
conversations. He rolled up the shirt sleeve, the tattoo's on his arm in
evidence. Then he struck the next cord, this one was about the same
pace as the song before it.*
A hundred days have made me older. Since the last time that I saw your pretty face.
A
thousand lies have made me colder. And I don't think I can look at this
the same. *his fingers picked the melody, dancing round his voice while
he sang, his eyes half closed. His foot tapping in time to the
music.*
Kalen Holliday
Kalen pauses at
reading through news stories. He watches Danny for a moment while he
considers something. And for some people, it would be whether to try to
get Danny's attention. How to respond to the fact that he is a
phenomenal musician. But Kalen...Kalen is thinking that if he could
justify sending someone into the Black Orchid, Danny wouldn't be the
worst choice.
If.
But no. Grace has a
thing and Alexander has investigations and these Mages in Denver...they
are not like the ones who trained him. They will do this differently.
Perhaps with less blood.
He could live with that.
Danny
I'm here without you baby, but you're still on my lonely mind, I think bout you baby and I dream about you all the time.
I'm here without you baby, but you're still with me in my dreams and tonight,; it's only you and me.
*He
lifted his foot onto the bar as well, his eyes lifting to watch the
effect of the song on the crowd. Sure, it might be better with another
voice to counter his, but he didn't have that option tonight, perhaps
that's why he was playing this set. His arm lifting to strum the notes
in perfect timing. The notes that he picked out did the job for him
instead. His faded grey jeans, the black shirt he wore, a beaded
bracelet around his wrist, the guyliner, tonight he looked a little more
like his stage persona. A pair of silver tipped cowboy boots finished
the look. Thankfully he'd gone without a hat, that'd have just been
corny. He finished that song too. Tempted to break into something else,
but no, he just played a few notes to hint at something else. Then
slipped the strap from his neck and set the guitar on the stand near the
bar, a nod to the tender to keep an eye on it and turned the amp off.
He'd not missed the other glass by Kalen. The crowd were pleased and
took their share of applauding him, he bowed to them as he made his way
off the stage, some of them patting his back as he slipped into the
seat.*
Kalen Holliday
Kalen looks up when he
sits, holds his eyes for a second. In the dimness of the bar, his green
irises are so pale it is hard to tell they have any color at all. And
then he nods, barely perceptibly.
"Bravo." It is, likely, the most understated praise of the evening.
"I
got you a proper drink. Though you may already have dissolved your
tastebuds with redbull, making it impossible for you to properly
appreciate it."
Hello, Kalen. Some people...they say hello.
Danny
*He
chuckled and picked up the drink, then took a long sip of it after
raising it in toast to Kalen.* I appreciate it, thanks. Really? People
have tastebuds? Over rated. *He smirks and sets the glass back down.*
Thank you. *But he folds over the table, one hand on his heart as he
bowed in his seat.* So how's things? *he himself had molten brown red
mahogany eyes And his face, well, angelic and alluring would probably
just about describe it. His nails as usual were black. One hand, his
left, his fretting hand had shorter nails, while the right, the picking
hand he'd just shown to have with such expertise were longer.*
Don't
get me wrong, I do drink things other than coffee, I just have my vice
and I can't help it. I've progressed to tattooes now instead. *That
smile came back, or had it never really left?*
Kalen Holliday
Kalen
huffs at that dramatic little bow. "The world remains as she has
always been, full of infinite possibility. As evidenced by her current
state...infinite possibility isn't, in all manifestations, exactly the
blessing people might imagine."
Up arches one eyebrow. "Am I
going to have to teach you to drink proper coffee too? You are
seriously such high maintenance. You're lucky you're pretty."
Danny
*At
that he really did laugh. throwing his head back with his eyes closed
then he shook his head still chuckling.* I'm a well trained coffee
junky. It's all good.
*He smiles more picking up the drink
to take another sip from it.* Lets put it this way.. I got through
school on a coffee bean, I get through most things with a coffee buzz.
*He shrugged.* Can't help it, I'm just that little bit wired that way.
*he held his other index finger and thumb a smidgen apart in emphasis.*
So what brings you here tonight? I mean, it's hardly as if you knew I'd be here.
Kalen Holliday
"Oh.
Welcome to Denver, the land of extraordinary coincidences. You'll get
used to this. It happens all the time." He smiles a bit.
Now what? Right.
"How are you?"
Danny
Finding
my feet? *He shrugs a bit still smiling at the question.* I've yet to
find a few places, but I'm sure they'll reveal themselves in time. They
always do. And you'd be surprised how coincidental I can be. Time is
fleeting.. *he shrugs.* turn it around, flip it on a pinhead and let it
shoot out all over the place.
*On his right wrist, the one that wasn't marked with Musica Delenit Bestiam Feram
had the infinity symbol tattooed onto it. It appeared he had a
clockpiece on the inside of his left elbow as well that could be seen.
Hours of intricate work.*
Kalen Holliday
"Well. That is certainly a way to approach the subject." Kalen says with some amusement.
"I
don't doubt you'll find places to play, you're not half bad." And then
a slight shrug. "I meet so many musicians in Denver."
Danny
It
must be some kind of mecca. *he chuckles.* and thank you for the
compliment. *He turned his head, watching the world go past slightly
in that little bubble they had, then his attention was back on Kalen.*
So what makes you think I'm high maintenence? I might be easy and mellow
to deal with for all you know.
Kalen Holliday
"Well.
I suppose there are more demanding things in the world than teaching
you to drink something that doesn't taste like battery acid." He
regards Danny for a few seconds, by all indications serious. "Please
tell me that you at least grind your own coffee? I will, for now, forgive you if you use one of those terrible drip machines."
Serafíne
(Awarenesssssssss.)
Dice: 7 d10 TN5 (2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 10, 10, 10, 10) ( success x 6 ) Re-rolls: 4
Danny
*He
gags slightly at the notion.* Puuurlease... *He gives the guy that
level serious look he's capable of when in need.* I would rather drink
puddle water than percolate. No, the first thing I did when I got here
was buy three things. A grinder, and a decent espresso machine, the last
was a good milk steamer. I can't write music without a decent blend
in my hand to work with. *He grinned after that. He didn't tell the
connoisseur about the starbucks he raided on a semi daily basis though.
Didn't dare!*
Kalen Holliday
Kalen nods.
"Very well. I suppose there is hope for you yet." He still sounds
serious. He still mostly looks serious. But he is only trying so hard,
and there is a bit of twitching at the corners of his mouth.
"How are you finding the city so far?"
Danny
Well..
*he lifts his chin and raises his hand to rub it slightly then lowers
his hand again.* It's not quite what I thought I was expecting. Mind
you, I'm not sure what I was expecting, probably more stetsons and the
such, but no, on the whole it's okay. I've not met anyone that's given
me cause to worry yet... despite your best attempts. *he smiles again,
recalling their last meeting and Kalen's comment about being eaten.*
Serafíne
It
has been: weeks since Sera and Kalen saw each other. The last time was
in a park, at Twilight, the edges of the sky seamed with light,
everything else sunk into darkness. She was fine, you know? and it was
chaotic and strange and fucked up and disorienting and they all knew
from the wrenching immediacy of her resonance and her sudden-knowledge
that something had happened. Though not, perhaps, what.
--
She
is: a bit thinner now, though perhaps that is hard to see. Just a kind
of sharpness to the already sharp bone structure of her face.
Something taut or perhaps clarified, because she is not eating as much
as she should, and this has taken on, in some ways, the cast of ritual.
Which does not mean that she is fasting, precisely, as her first stop when she slips into the bar is, you know, the bar itself,
where she tucks her arms against the edge and beckons the 'tender over
and murmurs something and pays something and waits for something.
Oh,
she is aware of the brightness of Danny's resonance. Kalen's tumult.
Aware of them right down to the finest little bones of her inner ear.
Senses them as stars flung out on some spiral-worked arm of whatever
galaxy she inhabits.
She'll be on her way over, soon.
Kalen Holliday
"Oh. Well, shall have to-"
But
then, there is Serafine, and he pauses and breathes in the sense of
her. He turns to watch her, eyes on the light and shadow playing over
her face and those always sharp bones. He knows how close her ribs
always are to the world, has always thought that perhaps it is some
physical correspondence to the way her heart is always so close to the
world. He knows how those ribs fit, their curves a little too evident,
against the palm of his hand.
"Try harder." But his eyes, his
attention really, is still on Serafine. Danny is entertaining. Danny
is also stunning. But Serafine...Serafine is like stars. She has
gravity. Light.
And one day, perhaps, she will explode into a
great blaze of light. And then all of that light will collapse in on
itself and then all of the world around it will follow. Fall into
whatever place the light went.
What in all of the world wouldn't want to follow that kind of brilliance anywhere?
Danny
*He
shook his head softly and took another drink of the whatever it was
that Kalen had gotten for him, his head turning to look where Kalen
was... yes he'd picked up the entrance, but now he picked up the body
that came with it and had to nod his approval.* Friend of yours? *He
asked quietly, turning his attention back to Kalen, then waited to see
if the man was as captivated as he appeared to be.*
Serafíne
What
she is waiting for is a bottle of tequila, and a trio of shotglasses
and a lowball glass full of lime slices. Wheedles some maraschino
cherries out of the bartender, too. The sticky pink syrup clings to the
lime slices and stains the glass, in a way that makes her smile this
rather still and rather private smile, entirely meant for herself.
She
seems so tall, so attenuated, but that has something to do with the
five inch heels on the thigh-high leather boots she's wearing, black
naturally, and laced up all around with silver chain. A short leather
skirt, a plaid bustier, a torn Jesus and Mary Chain t-shirt and a
worn black hoodie complete the look. Her wrists are stacked with these
colorful Moroccan bracelets, covered in little diamonds of mirror,
which catch the light and gleam with every movement. She has a bike
chain wrapped 'round her neck, mixed with a strand of genuine tahitian
pearls, by way of further adornment.
Sera picks up the bottle
by its neck and the shot glasses by their rims and balances the
low-ball glass with its lime slices and too-red cherries by gathering it
up and wedging it against her body, between her wrist and her ribs and
armed with all of this bounty nips away from the bar and starts toward
Kalen and Danny. Swaying a bit.
Kalen Holliday
"That," Kalen says softly. "Is Serafine. She also sings."
He
notes the sway, but Sera swaying a bit isn't precisely abnormal. He
watches her, but she is coming to them with a bottle of tequila and a
bowl of limes and shot glasses. Maraschino cherries. He wonders,
briefly, if he could convince her to eat a salad with tangerines and
those ridiculous cherries and almond slices. Some kind of crazy
vinaigrette. Does vinaigrette come in blackberry? If so, if nothing
else, he should get some for Grace.
He slides across the bench
in the booth, into the corner, so Sera has room to join him. Of
course, she could also join Danny, he supposes. Of course, it is
Serafine. Perhaps she will perch on the table like some mythic creature
that has no use for such common things as benches. How would he know
until she's done it?
Danny
*His faded grey
jeans, the black shirt he wore, a beaded bracelet around his wrist, the
guyliner, tonight he looked a little more like his stage persona. A
pair of silver tipped cowboy boots finished the look.* Oh she does? *he
nods as well at that and smiles when the woman makes her way over, then
notes that Kalen made room for her, and my what goodies she has!! He
finishes his drink with a long glug, then flicks it aside to the table
near the wall.*
Serafíne
The sway is far from
unusual. It could be just the effect of gravity on someone wearing
heels like that. They're harder to walk about in than most people, men
at least, understand, but she walks with the the same raw physical
confidence as if her feet were flat on the ground.
And it's a
Saturday night, still pretty fucking early, all things considered, but
it seems likely that she has started in on something, somewhere, for
some reason, and she comes up to the table and puts her bottle of
tequila quite solidly down and then the glass of limes and cherries
follows and finally the shot glasses, this little trio of an array,
spread out to catch the light.
"Hey," Sera to Kalen, flashing
Danny a peace sign like a goddamned hippie, or maybe just showing off
the sharkscissors tattoo on the palm of her hand, as she slides in
beside Kalen. No, she doesn't really believe in benches, but they are
there for a reason, and she smiles at Danny across the table and then
slews a look over to Kalen beside her and studies his pale face in the
bar's uncertain light and inhales in a way that tells anyone who has
ever gone drinking before that these will not be her first shots of the
night and leans veryvery close to Kalen and murmurs something to him, that Danny might overhear if he tries to listen in.
Kalen Holliday
Kalen
smiles a little as she climbs onto the bench with him and then he
listens to her murmured questions and then he laughs. He leans into her
to murmur back. Danny saw Lucy touch Kalen. And he certainly
permitted that. He'd even smiled. But there is something different
about how he responds to Serafine, and it isn't just the warmth. He
trusts her. All the watching he does, every movement of hers he tracks,
there is not even a hint he wonders what her intentions might be.
And
then, despite the fact that Serafine has all that gravity, he does look
away from her, toward Danny. He does reach out to rest his hand
against the curve of her ribs - because gravity. "Serafine, Danny.
Danny, Serafine."
Danny
*He knew about people
and he knew about gravity but it was fascinating to see it all in
action. It made him smile as he watched them together, she was
certainly entrancing and he found himself leaning his chin on his
upturned left hand, his elbow on the table as he watched them, then
blinked when the introductions were made.* Hey.. *his hand detached
temporarily from the chin to wave his fingers slowly just the once.*
Good to meet you. Kalen says you're a musician as well?
Serafíne
"Not
much of one, these days," Sera to Danny, this quick little smile on her
mouth that finds a moment's purchase in her dark eyes. "We've never
come up with a name for the band and haven't played out anywhere in
weeks. Me and my housemates noodle around a bit though, yeah."
She
is: thinner than Kalen remembers, yes. Her ribs fractionally closer to
the surface. His hand folds over the cursive lines of some script
tattoo that crawls up her flank, whose letters are too concealed by her
posture, the bustier, and the tattered remnants of her old band t-shirt
to make out.
And her head is canted toward Kalen as he leans
closer to her to murmur back and there is a scissoring moment when she
tips her golden head a bit more upright to meet Kalen's pale gaze. Then
she glances across the table at Danny, all direct.
"I asked
Kalen if you guys were on a date." She is busy now, see. Distributing
the shotglasses. She likes the way her lungs feel, so she breathes in
again, warm body sliding beneath the skim of Kalen's hand. "He said
no." A smile, across the table, just for this stranger. " - tell me
he's wrong, Danny."
Danny
*He nodded to that.*
Yeah, names can be a pain in the ass when you just can't find the right
one. Something that sounds pretentious, or dull, or just isn't the
right thing. *Then his eyebrows shot up in surprise.* Uh.. Well... *he
had to laugh at the baldness of her question.* If we are on a date, no
body told me. Mind you, the first time we met he told me we were on a
date... So... *He shrugs, his hands uplifting in a helpless cute little
shrug.* Beats me?
Kalen Holliday
Kalen makes a
little huff somewhere between amusement and indignation when Sera tells
Danny about the question and then starts that. "Hey!"
And
then he turns those pale eyes on Danny. "Metaphorically speaking.
Don't help her. Your introduction to Denver really shouldn't be
figuring out how alarmingly not like human I am sometimes. Seriously.
You seem lovely. And you are very pretty. But I am...both driven and
broken in ways that make it basically impossible to date me.
"Serafine...has
too much faith in me. For which I adore her." And see here, here,
even though she is meddling and even though he is trying to undo her
meddling, he wraps an arm around her and pulls her, briefly, against his
side. He does adore her. Partly because practically no one here will
fight for him at all. Ian wouldn't let him die. Serafine won't let him
not live. They are such different things. He doesn't know how not to
love either of them.
"Besides. I think we might have to meet
on purpose for it to be a date." He glances at Sera. "And I don't have
his number. So this is clearly, clearly not a date."
Serafíne
Everything
that Danny says about band names is fucking true but Sera does not give
him one of those strange empathetic half-smiles and chime in on the
truths he utters. And anyway the band doesn't have a name for other
reasons that Sera also: cannot name, or perhaps refuses to name. The
band without a name is: provisional, you see, transitional, free.
Sera
smiles at Danny, across the table. She's picking up her bottle of
tequila, scooting forward on the bench seat to reach, because the
illusion of height that her heels give her naturally disappears when she
sits. For all her boldness there is something fragile about her tonight
and as this is the first time Danny and Sera have met, perhaps he will
think that fragility native to her.
"That wasn't a no,"
Sera is saying to Danny across the table when Kalen wraps her up and
pulls her against him. From her: a film of resistance that feels -
taut, consumed, unnatural - before it breaks apart, dissolves itself
beneath her skin.
"Everyone's driven and broken, Kalen."
She's pouring him a shot, lifting her chin to glance up at him, her dark
eyes shadowed by dark lashes, straight brows curled in inquiry. Or
challenge. "Doesn't mean you can't share a drink."
A flash back at Danny.
"Or exchange numbers. Right?"
Danny
*He
chuckled again at that, the smile still on his face, sometimes it was
hard to just not smile at all. Clearly in their own special way they
were devoted to each other.*
Don't make me go up
on that there stage and play something just for the pair of you!! *he
threatens with a laugh as he points at the stage of sorts, then he
shakes his head with another laugh.* Digits I can do. But promises I
can't. I'm driven too in my own way, slave to the music within I'm
afraid. And she's a fickle and difficult mistress. But she has her
wonderful side too. Like just before the dawn when you slip out for a
smoke and the sky is just on that dark side of light. You know, when
it's that slate colour of black, the sort that sort of warms you to the
new day coming.
*Then it was as if he caught was
he was saying and he sighed.* See? Even when I'm not writing, I'm
writing. *he shrugged again.*
Kalen Holliday
There
is a look at the edge of resistance, a slight narrowing of his eyes.
He looks over the sharpened line of her cheekbones again. Sometimes
they are nothing alike. Sometimes they are alike. Rarely.
But
he doesn't ask her now. His expression smooths back out, melts back
into that same expression he used when he was playing with Danny before
in ways that suggest if he tried he could have held a normal-looking
conversation, if not meant it.
He flashes Danny a smile, as
though this getting his number was the victory he wanted. Look, Sera.
You are winning. And see, because you can't ever seem to help but see everything, he is letting you win.
He
turns back to Sera. "Very well. He makes no promises, and I am very
careful of mine. You know that. One date, I promise. I will invite
him and if he agrees I will even go. One."
Serafíne
Seraf ne
hums her acknowledgment of her goddamned victory and pours another
shot. The tequila's sharp scent bright in the air, all the volatile
compounds oily against the liquid. Then a third. She's good at this.
She knows just when to stop before the shots spill over the edges of the
shot glasses and then she nudges them around the table, lines them up.
Preens maybe a little bit - lovely - enthralling, right? as the gentlemen decide to exchange numbers.
"Nobody
has to make any promises," she tells them both, though her gaze catches
more on Kalen's eyes than on Danny's. She is trying to tell him that
she is okay. Or at least, that she is getting there. "I just thought
you'd enjoy each other's company."
And she picks up her shot glass. Clinks it against the others. Inhales a great big breath. And throws it back.
Savors the burn.
Danny
*He
picks up the drink and slams it back then down onto the table upside
down, the way he was taught to by... someone. A slight cough at the
burn of it before he grins again.* You're trying to get me drunk.. I've
got to drive later and I'm not going to leave my car here... *he
chuckles again, then realises his cards were in his jacket.. which were
on the chair up there. One finger is held up as he gets to his feet
slowly and makes his way through the crowd to go get it, then gets his
guitar to go with it.*
Kalen Holliday
"Well.
Aside from the part where you forget I'm impossible, you seem to know
me remarkably well. Maybe we would. He is entertaining, after all."
He smiles for Sera, and it is a real smile. Maybe he didn't make her
really fight for that win, but he doesn't seem unhappy with this one
date promise. Sure, he assumes there won't be a second date.
But...hey. It's Kalen. He also assumes he'll be dead by 30.
Of course, he thought that number was 20 once, and look at how he was wrong there.
"Sera tries to get everyone drunk. It's a hazard of being around her, the liver damage. She's worth it though."
Serafíne
"I'm not
- " insistent, see, after Danny throws back the first shot and insists
that she is trying to get him drunk and that he cannot get drunk and
that he has to drive and he is not leaving his car here, downtown,
damnit. Then he's getting up to go grab his jacket and guitar and her
dark eyes spike up to follow his progress and she glances back at Kalen,
who is not unhappy with the promised date and who assumes that there
will not be a second date and that's fine. Look how many times the
world proves you wrong, Kalen.
"I'm not trying to get
him drunk," Sera is telling just Kalen now, because Danny left the
table. She is doing it with this exagerrated certainty, punctuated and
alive and oh, hey, a litle bit drunk herself. Empty stomach and tequila
and all. It doesn't take long until she's floating, floating,
floating.
"I'm getting him drunk." Still with drunken certainty. "Who drives to a bar, anyway? Take a cab." Which is a mantra for Sera on par with safe sex. Usually.
Danny
*When
he came back he had his ax with him, the strap over his shoulder as he
had his jacket over his other arm. The jacket his thrown into the
corner, while he carefully lifts his guitar to have it across his knee's
at the table and pushes himself right back into the seat to make sure
there's no scratches or chance of it being knocked. The pattern even
while it was switched off was impressive the lava flow and bubble black
and grey in the odd light that the bar was in. On habit his fingers
twitched as they hit the strings absently, he couldn't help it, it was
like a tourette's twitch, something he had to do, his fingers danced on
his left hand as he ran a short but fast riff then stilled the strings.
Then he leaned and reached for a card from his jacket after watching the
pair of them again and slide a card across the table in Kalen's
direction.* There you go. *Drothe it said on it. Just a name and
numbers. Nothing else, no address. Just that. Now anyone that listened
to music or had their nose to the music scene might well recognise that particular name. * So... You were saying? Liver damage? *He grinned and reached for a slice of lime to chew on.*
Kalen Holliday
Kalem
looks at the card, so similar to his with its lack of titles or
addresses, and smiles. He slips it into the bag at his feet, and then
glances at Sera.
"Well. He doesn't scare easy. He might survive Denver. And me. It's promising." Look at that praise.
Kalen laughs and takes a shot of tequila. "Liver damage. I think we have people for that, though."
Serafíne
Sera
has already tossed back her first shot and poured another one. Right
now she doesn't bother with the lime and there is still that exagerrated
care about her, framing each action, as if she were made of both cotton
wool and half-shattered glass that she had to be leary of disturbing
and she is very focused on the shot glasses and inhaling again, pours
Kalen and Danny each other as they toast each other or whatever about
the possibilities of liver damage, while Sera ignores them, or at least
that part of their banter.
She does not toast to liver damage, no.
She
glances at the card that Danny slides across the table toward Kalen and
she knows the name, of course she does. Flicks her dark eyes back up
to Danny's face and lets them rest there, then drops them to the guitar
as he flexes his fingers up and down the neck in that instinctive riff.
The edge of her mouth sliding, ironic, sweet in its way.
"I
don't see what's scary about Denver. Or you, Kalen." Sera returns,
lifting her second shot glass, holding it very carefully about the rim
and toasting, "To new friends. And the date I engineered."
Okay, that was a little smug.
"I
get to officiate at your wedding, you know. If you get married.
That's like the fucking rules." Then, to Danny - "Your guitar's so
cool, man. How'd they do that?"
Danny
*He
chuckled again, the fingers of his left hand still on the strings as
they idled and tapped out a tune that slid its way into his head, he
flicked off the right hand slightly as if dismissing that comment about
the liver damage but grinned.* It's all in the mind, damage is just one
more thing on the list of the many to take us all to bits before we get
put back together and dance our own little decadence dance.
*Then
he looked at Sera.* I can't leave my car here, c'mon.. *Oh god, yeah,
alcohol was a great liberator and his of his right hand found the
strings as well and he danced them, both hands moving as he founds
chords, stretched out the fingers of his left hand, then strummed out a
little riff of chords, making the guitar sound like it was laughing as
well.* WEDDING?! *Now he had to laugh to go with it!* HOLY SHIT woman!!
You're trying to make me an honest to god married off man? Either you're
nuts or your an evil genius hell bent on world domination!
Denver's
cool in its own way.. and I already figured out that Kalen is Blofeld.
*his right hand moves to pick up the glass and he downs that too
screwing up his face in that cute little grimace before sticking his
tongue out and the glass goes back onto the table upside down again.
Then it went back onto the strings as if the alcohol was just another
means to tapping into that rich vein of music.
He laughed
again.* Fucked if I know! Just kind of said what I saw in a dream once
and that was it... picked her up a few weeks later... ain' she fucking
darlin? *he stroked his baby, leaning in to rest his head on the board
with that cute pleased smug bastard grin, like he'd made it himself.*
Kalen Holliday
"If
we get married, you can co-officiate. But Ramon might be disappointed
if I don't let him help." He sighs. "Well. Actually. He probably
can't help. Nevermind. It's all you then."
He raises his glass to their and then takes that shot too. No lime. No salt.
He
settles back with a smile. "Although. We may have to see other people
too. I don't believe in monogamy and he clearly has some kind of
existing relationship with that guitar."
Serafíne
Sera
has no idea whom Blofeld might be and responds to Danny's outburst with
mildly drunken glance that has enough blank in it to be either charming
or frustrating. He remarks that she is either nuts or an evil genius
and something about her goes strange at his pronouncement, and that
strangeness does not and will not leave her for some small time.
And then there are shot glasses to be refilled and she is pouring again, her spine a bit hunched, her shoulderblades back.
"He's right, you know," this to Danny. "You do have quite the relationship with that guitar."
Then a more present glance, sidelong, lashed, toward Kalen. "You don't believe in monogamy. Why not?"
Danny
*He
laughed even more at that and sat up again, then lifted his right hand
to push his hair back out of his face with a soft sigh.* Well, I do
believe I'm getting wasted.... Not what I had planned... but... *he
shrugged.* shit happens, right? Ahh monogamy... the best way to piss off
everyone around you, becoming so totally into someone you can't talk
about anyone or anything else. *Did he notice the effect his words had
on the girl? Not in the slightest. He picks up the next glass and
salutes her with it.*
Uh... To.... *Now he has to think and
gets this comical sort of thinking look on his face, staring above their
heads.* To every one we've ever known.
*Well he thought it
was good and downed it anyhow.* I do yes, but that's because she's
probably the best guitar I've ever had. I might go buy an N4 some time,
but... *he shrugged.* Washburns have their moments. This... this is
mine. This is the image I had and her pickups are just plain old
perfect. I couldn't want for a better beast. *He runs his fingers down
the fret board again.*
Kalen Holliday
Kalen shakes his head a little at that definition of monogamy.
"Honestly,"
he says to Sera, "It just sort of happened that I ended up dating this
couple that was very...it was very open. It's less open now, a bit.
For them, anyway. I'm kind of - it's complicated. But...mostly,
everyone I dated wasn't monogamous and it didn't seem like something I
really necessarily was concerned about."
Danny's toast gets a
slightly odd look, because he just had two shots of tequila on top of
what he'd already had and he was just being not really guarded with Sera
and.... But he nods after a few seconds of perfect silence, and raises
his new tequila shot. "To everyone we've ever known." And there is a
softness to that. But then, most of the people he's ever really known
are dead.
Serafíne
Here's the thing. Danny
tosses out his toast without much thought, or perhaps with the kind of
thought that goes along with getting drunk with strangers, with banter,
with the atmosphere where the world slews together and peels itself
apart. Kalen repeats it, with that softness in his voice that blurs
lines and has an ache of sorts behind it, because some portion of
everyone he's ever known is dead.
Sera's too-sharp features
have softened too and there's the burn of the tequila in the back of her
throat and inside her the strangest and absolutely sudden urge to cry
that she swallows down, and closes her eyes, holding the drink up,
breathing, smiling this close-mouthed smile, so interally focuses for
these passing seconds until she breathes out. Says,
"Hear
hear," because you have to say something, and throws another shot back.
She's had nothing to eat today. That shot hits her and makes her head
spin but Kalen tells her honestly and she hum/huffs out a breath, using the shot glass to gesture in Danny's direction, before turning back to Kalen.
"So, it's not that you don't believe in monogamy then, right? Just that you don't think it's necessary. Right?"
Ian
[Oh right, Awareness]
Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (2, 5, 9, 9, 9, 10) ( success x 4 )
Ian
Technically,
it was Emma's fault that Ian was at the bar that night, but Emma wasn't
with him when he got there and, if her texts were anything to go by,
she might very well not show up at all. It was just verging on chilly as
Ian stepped out of his car, and a brisk autumn wind cut through the
fabric of his shirt. The sky was dark, but the university district was
bright and lively around him. Ian pocketed his keys and walked over to
the bar, where he had to step aside to allow a group of noticeably tipsy
sorority girls to breeze past. Their laughter echoed behind him as he
made his way inside.
...And there they were. Kalen and Sera
and someone that Ian hadn't met before, drinking tequila in one of the
booths. Ian's eyes found them almost immediately, and if Kalen happened
to glance his way, he'd receive a light smile (just a faint curve of the
lips) and a raised eyebrow. But Ian didn't approach their table
immediately. Instead he strode over to the bar and ordered a drink.
Danny
*Oh
yeah, he had the glass in his hand. He set it on the table, leaning his
shoulders back into the cushions before resting his head back and
watched them. The corner of his mouth still in that smile but he was
just in the buzz now that the alcohol had given him. No need to argue
with that and he was most assuredly not in the right state to drive. But
atleast he wasn't being melancholy on them. No, instead when his
fingers were free of the glass he began to play again, just running his
fingers at the heart of the board where it met the the neck, picking out
the notes in rapid succession without thinking about it, then sliding
them solidly his foot tapping rapidly to the temp in his head. Then he
speaks again.*
So... Monogamy is unnecessary, but in a way
it's also necessary. Just that you kind of don't think it's for you?
*His eyebrows raised as he asked the question, staring right at Kalen as
he did so.*
Kalen Holliday
Somewhere, in the
middle of all this discussion about dating, which is almost the most
serious conversation he's had about dating in a decade, there is Ian.
And Kalen cannot help it, he laughs softly and looks up, and when he
catches sight of that smile he nods back.
Look. Danny. Are
you really ready to share him the people he has and the people he does
not have and his practical compulsion to go jump between people and
monsters?
"I just fell in love. It didn't, at the time,
even seem like a thing to question. Of course, that worked out better,
then." Blink. Well, there was that one time his
probably-but-not-definitely-ex-girlfriend left him half-dead and didn't
look back, but they're way past that now. "I was less...that was before
a lot of things."
A lot of things he doesn't want to talk
about apparently, since his more customary distance settles back into
place. "It's hardly relevant now, since I basically fail at all human
relationships. And anyway, it's probably for the best. What's my life
expectancy? Why would I do that to anyone? It would hardly seem fair."
Serafíne
Sera is inhaling through her
nostrils and holding her breath in her lungs and letting it go again, in
this deliberate way, and the world around her feels all unhinged and
open as it always starts to past a certain hour on certain nights, and
Danny keeps pawing at the guitar he has across his lap in a way that
feels familiar to Sera - familiar but without context, mind - such that
when he does that, the look she gives him is fond and a little bit
aching with the strangest sort of edge.
Kalen says that he just fell in love
which happens, you know, to people, sometimes for good and sometimes
for ill and sometimes for a helluva lot of both and Sera lifts her chin
and gives Kalen this sliding/sparking uplift of a glance. Smiles,
rather fond, until he starts to shut down, and what he says next makes
her roll her eyes - fondly - just a little bit, because he's being
dumb.
She stops him with a drunken hand on his mouth, the
bronze ring she always wears still on her index finger, her nail polish a
chipped black, and leans up to kiss him on the temple. Murmurs,
shhhhh, to him when she is close to his skin.
Then pulls
back. "Danny. Tell Kalen the best thing you say today. Kalen, tell
Danny the worst thing you saw today. I'm gonna be right back. I hafta
pee."
--
And she gets up. Heads not to the Little Girl's Room, but right over to Ian at the bar.
She is carrying her shot glass, she doesn't remember why and it's empty but these people will fill it with things.
"Hey."
Sera to Ian. She's a bit thinner than she was this summer, but what
would he know about her usual weight? "Do me a favor?"
Tarrin Rasvelg
[Perc + aware]
Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 5, 6, 8, 8) ( success x 3 )
Ian
If
one were to go by Ian's clothes, one would assume he made more money
than he actually did. Not that he was dressed in anything unusual
tonight, but his jeans were a high-end brand and his leather jacket was
sleek lambskin. Beneath it he had on a black t-shirt, and there was a
leather cord tied around his neck. The boots he had on were Frye - black
leather to match his jacket, with a harness strap across the top.
He
ordered bourbon. And then, with a relaxed motion (because he was not in
any particular hurry tonight,) he began to turn in the direction of
Kalen's table. Except then there was Sera, and she looked... thin. And a
little less than present. And she was asking for a favor.
Ian looked at her with dark eyes, and he did not immediately respond. But then he tipped his head and asked, "what?"
Danny
*He
sighed softly hearing Kalen out.* You hang up too much on that whole
dying thing. Life expectancy being as short as you seem to think it is,
would make me if I were looking down the barrel of a gun want to strike
off my bucket list rapido and keep on going. I mean think about it...
You don't know when it's all goin to end; so live. *He shrugs a bit as
if to him it were all so simple.* Sleep when you're dead man. No
point in worrying bout failure, it's experience... *he certainly seems
to believe in that.*
Don't turn away the experience for a
what if. Life's too short for that. Hell, the human race'd have died out
by now if we'd all done that. *His fingers kept on playing, endlessly
working notes out in a myriad of patterns as he did so.* Don't back
down, grab it by both hands and scream that you want to go faster. It's
everything.. Zen.
*Then his attention drifted in a different
direction as he sought out something with a little frown on his perfect
face, then his eyes settled on Ian.*
Okay... *he has to
think about that one, the frown deepens as he thinks of it.* Uh...
Shit... thinking, drunken thinking. This could come out bad... Okay...
*He tilts his head back then chews his lips as his fingers genuinely
stall.* I saw... Oh hey I got it... I was just chilling out this
afternoon and saw the most amazing sunset. The colours man, they were
just, purples and blues and pinks and oranges all with this set of
clouds just riffing through it like... *he shrugs looking down at his
fingers.* can't describe it. It was just real pretty, you know like when
the world goes this odd orange everywhere and all the light seems
unatural?
Kalen Holliday
Kalen's head tilts, and Danny gets his attention back not because of agreement but because of confusion. "Bucket list?"
He
sighs. "Regardless, there are things I would like to do before I die,
it's just that in the grand scheme of the cosmos...there are things more
important than whether I am happy.
"Also. I'm not entirely sure you've quite grasped the concept of Zen."
But.
look, he does soften, a little when Danny describes him a sunset. It's
enough to pull his attention back from trying to see what Serafine is
doing with Ian. "Yeah. I know."
Oh. He's supposed to say
something. And he'd just refuse but it was Sera who requested and he
just doesn't tend to refuse Sera. "Just dreams," he says after a long
pause. "It's been a quiet day."
Serafíne
Sera
gives Ian this neat little smile. Well, she intends the smile to be
neat. She feels it curling itself around the edges of her mouth. Her
eyes are glassy and her gait is pretty much unhindered by the thigh-high
spike-heeled leather boots she wears but there's also a looseness to
her movement that betrays not so much how much she has had to drink -
though that is the natural assumption - as how little she had to eat
before it. Some people draw circles in chalk or blood or powdered
diamonds to cleanse themselves. Sera stops eating and watches Batman on
IFC.
And the truth is: it works because she wills it to.
Ian though. Sera steadies herself with a hand on his shoulder and leans close, smiling, to murmur something into his ear.
Then
she straightens up, and lets him go and waits for the bartender to fill
her thingy. The thingy in her hand. Which should have stuff in it.
Serafíne
Murmured: "Go save them from themselves."
Danny
Bucket
list, that whole, things you wanna get done before you die. No, Zen is a
form of Karma, like the whole universe in motion, like Newtons Cradle
but in a higher sort of purpose thing. *his hand lifts and he sets it
above his head.* serious Karma, not just meditation. You know? Bigger
than.. *he shrugs.* everything. *But he had that smile on his face as
well.* I told you it'd probably come out wrong. Besides.. *he lowers
his hand again.* I think it's kinda supposed to be personal.
*He
grows a little more serious about the comment on dreams.* That's not
good... *he shakes his head.* I don't think I want to know... *he
reached and poured their shots, taking care to cuddle his way around the
body of his guitar and concentrates like the devil to make sure his
hand doesn't sway too much. Staring intently at the glasses before he
move it on to another glass then sorts out the bottle to have it on the
table without spilling it. Then he picks up his drink.* To not having
fucking clue about the next toast.
Ian
Whatever
Ian expected Sera to say, it wasn't the thing she murmured into his
ear. And look - were things a bit different between them (and if Sera
hadn't been drinking) Ian might very well have ignored her request in
favor of something else entirely. Of falling into her gravity and
breathing in the scent of her skin and her hair and her sweat. But
nothing was ever that easy between them.
All the same, Ian
laughed. And the sound was warm and natural and a little surprised. The
gesture faded into a relaxed, wry smile. "I'll do my best."
There
was a lingering glance thrown her way as he lifted away from the bar,
then he threaded his way through the tables until he reached the booth
where Kalen and Danny sat together. Ian's balance didn't waver as he
moved. He had yet to drink anything, and even if he had... one would be
hard pressed to imagine Ian capable of inelegant motion. He felt like a
predator sidling up to their table. Cunning and graceful and feline.
"Mind if I crash the party?" His eyes slid from Kalen to Danny, taking in the unfamiliar mage with a lingering gaze.
Tarrin Rasvelg
This
was not a place he would have normally found himself on a saturday
night.Oh he liked a good place to drink, certainly, but he found that
some places seemed to be geared to a different mind set. Despite his
desire to linger on the couch with a torn copy of Beowulf, she dragged
him up and out to see the city, or at least the younger nightlife.
Unfortunately,
the moment she pulled him in, she was wandering off to indulge herself,
and left Tarrin to find some sort of grounding. Alcohol was always the
best method of finding one's place in uncomfortable affairs.
Beer,
in that way, is his anchor. Tarrin makes his way to the bar slowly, the
worn bottoms of his boots pressing into the floor. He pushed the dark
blue sleeves of his button up towards his elbow, rolling them them just
enough to keep them there. Casual and simple, that's how he liked it.
Kalen Holliday
"You don't." And that is flat. Final.
But
at that toast Kalen laughs. Because, sometimes, if you surprise him
(or catch him in a perfect storm of circumstances), he get out of his
head long enough live in a moment. Very, very rarely. But he laughs,
and he means it because Kalen's moods shift all quicksilver.
And
so, he turns to Ian and he is still smiling and this is, while not
Kalen drunk, Kalen about three shots past anything Ian has ever gotten
to see. "Hey. Not at all. This is Danny, and we are about to toast to
having no idea what our next toast should be. Join us?"
Danny
*He
looked up as yet another face joined them at the table, then knocked
back the shot and grimaced again before grabbing another slice of the
lime to bite down on, well, that was comical wasn't it? When he set the
glass back down on the table he'd sunk his teeth well and truly into
the lime, making a smile around it. Then his fingers were back on the
guitar again, the notes flooding out of him as the alcohol hit. He
nodded to the toast and mumbled something bout, 'what he said', with
that lime slice still in his teeth as he sucked on it.*
Serafíne
Sera
gets another shot at the bar. She shouldn't really be served right now
but she's difficult to resist when she wants something and she always
wants something. Like now.
A shot. Which she gets, and pays
for, and then checks her phone and does head to the ladies' restroom,
texting while she walks. The bar's more and more crowded as the night
goes on and even with her heels anyone watching her will soon lose site
of her in the crowd. Then her resonance will dwindle and fade, until
the sense of her is will and truly gone.
Ian
Ian
exhaled through his nose - soft and amused. He slid onto the bench
beside Kalen (mostly because Danny had his guitar and that thing took up
space) and set his glass down on the table. "Ian," he offered his name
to Danny. "Nice to meet you."
Ian glanced across the bar when
he felt Tarrin's resonance, resting his gaze on the back of the man's
shoulders for a moment. Two new faces in one night.
Back to Danny and Kalen. Ian lifted his glass and said, "To beautiful people who can't hold their liquor."
Tarrin Rasvelg
Beer.
If there was any invention he might have given a tip of his hat to for
being the single most important invention in the world, it would be
beer. Then maybe indoor plumbing. Beer was the liquid that made all
things seem minute and manageable. It was beautiful. He had his own
preference for the stouts and dark ales, but he found joy in all of
them, save for the water beer of the college age. Thankfully, one is
never restricted to such pedestrian tastes.
He stayed at the
bar, turning halfway in his place to look out among the people. There is
that feeling, and he knows that he's not on his own. But it's not as if
the best solution is to immediately jump into the pond.
There's
the brief glance to an inebriated younger female, someone far too
intoxicated to be attempting a conversation with the man next to her,
and Tarry shifts his attention away from her. Not interested, is
what he would say if he bothered to speak. Ignoring gives better
results. Not, at the moment he's content to enjoy the beer and pay
attention to the 'others.'
Danny
*Another ping
on his radar goes up and he turns his head once more to look to see
where it'd come from. The odd thing was that it seemed it was a
revolving door of a night, one in, one night. He found himself playing
the riff of Get The Funk Out without thinking about it and kept on
going, pausing only to drop the lime into his hand then setting it on
his side of the table.. then they went on back to ripping down the
fretboard his head slightly bobbing to the pace he set by himself. Those
black nails of his working their way up and down it as he used the
plectrum at one time and then tapped on the strings with both hands as
he raced himself. The muscles on his forearms shifting beneath his
skin.*
Ahh beautiful people that can't hold their liquor need
to find themselves personal assistants to hold their glasses. *He
replies sagely with a grin.*
Nah I'm good, Danny. *he manages
to actually stop playing for long enough to offer his hand, then with a
casual flick of his head tossed his hair back out of his face and went
straight back on into it, again glancing over to where the other
resonance pressed on the sides of his mind. then pursed his lips nodding
again absently to himself.*
Kalen Holliday
Kalen
relaxes a bit when Ian slips into the booth next to him. He almost
curls against him, because he warm and breathing and whatever the hell
they are now, Kalen trusts him. And then it occurs to him that they
aren't really anything, and so he settles against the wall instead. It
is not breathing. It is not warm. It is not complicated.
"Because
that is not even a little unsettling," Kalen murmurs in response to the
proposed new toast. He glances at the shot glass, which has managed to
get tequila in it again. It keeps doing that. There is a quick flash
of a frown, because monsters could come crashing at any moment. But,
hey. He can be sober in a few seconds if he wants. And Ian is here.
Seconds...in the event it even comes to it, he probably has.
So he takes another shot and sets the shot glass down. He makes no move to refill it.
Ian
Danny
reached his hand across the table, and Ian took it briefly in his own.
When Danny returned his attention to the guitar in his lap, Ian watched
him. He took a sip of his drink. The bourbon was smooth and warm and
honeyed on his tongue.
"Let me guess," he offered dryly. "You're a musician." After a moment he added, "I'm surprised you're not here with Sera."
Kalen
made that comment, and Ian glanced over at him. The look was long and
silent and nuanced in its subtle expression (though Kalen might very
well be too far gone to even notice.) "Sometimes it's okay to be human,
you know." A light smile at that, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.
(And oh, the irony of Ian saying that.)
Danny
*He
smiled.* She was around... uh... *he turned his attention from the
table and it's people. frowning as he looked around the bar, but didn't
see her.* I guess she's gone. *he shrugged a touch and then nodded,
turning his head back towards Ian.* Yeah... what gave it away? He's
being Blofeld tonight. *That lopsided grin was back on his face and yet
again the glasses were refilled as he commented to Ian with a wink at
Kalen , they were filled a little more slowly now though as he did so,
when they were poured off he shifted slightly in his seat and got
comfortable again, with great effort he put the guitar up in the corner
of the booth, stopping playing.. that was hard. Then he looked directly
at Tarrin.*
Kalen Holliday
[Not that one can ever actually read a cat. Awarepathy. WP]
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9) ( success x 3 )
Ian
There
is a certain attentiveness to Ian tonight, but it's a thing he's
reserved exclusively for Kalen. Danny, he gets a certain level of
interest (of course he does - he's hot and he's something new to
investigate,) and to a lesser extent, so does the man at the bar, but
this is something different. Ian is aware of Kalen in ways that he isn't
with the others. And he's worried about him. Not in any way that's
likely to linger long (because Kalen is a capable human being who
doesn't need other people to look after him,) but it's there.
What Ian is trying to project in that moment is this: Are you okay? If so, relax. Get out of your head and enjoy the evening. If not? I'm here.
Kalen Holliday
The
irony indeed. For a few seconds Kalen regards Ian, and the look
is...not hostile. Not wary. Not angry. Not amused. It is not really
anything but oddly steady, considering. Danny hasn't ever gotten to see
this expression, the one that says he isn't sure whether or not he's
about to fight with something. Ian has gotten to see him in a zombie
apocalypse. And Ian has seen the violence with which he will destroy
emotional bonds; though, in all honesty, this is already different
because Sid never got the benefit of this kind of consideration.
But Ian has always been different. Always.
And
so Kalen focuses and whatever he sees...there isn't even a playful
feint. He resettles, not to curl into Ian's side but so their shoulders
are just barely in contact and he actually relaxes.
"This, apparently, has something to do with James Bond," he murmurs to Ian.
Ian
"Lucky
guess," Ian replied to Danny with a slow, curling smile. The look was
soft and velvet on his lips. Ian could have been a model. He had that
look about him. (Unsurprisingly, he had been - and not all that long ago.)
He
maybe could have been an actor too, because whatever it was that Kalen
saw in Ian's eyes, it was gone now. But Danny had to take his leave for a
moment, and Ian let him go with only a brief, lingering gaze.
He
glanced at Tarrin again. Curious, but only in passing. Then he took
another drink and said (quietly to Kalen,) "Do you think if he has
enough to drink he might forget we're here and just start making out
with his guitar?"
Tarrin Rasvelg
He shifts,
looking towards the booth that housed the beautiful men. Attractiveness
is not uncommon, but higher beauty is; models rarely look as they do on
covers, in person. It isn't just the beauty that pulls the attention,
but the sensation he's getting, and the eyes that are focusing a bit too
much in his direction.
Now his attention was focused on the
group, and maybe not so subtly anymore. It was clear that he hadn't be
obscured, despite his usual attempt not to stick out more than he
already did. When Danny slipped off momentarily, he let his attention
follow him until he moved out of sight.
The most difficult
decision, often times, was whether to engage or not. He had no
particular fondness for organization, and yet...
Of course,
he was never very good with people either. Tarrin lifted his beer and
stepped forward, making his way closer to the group.
Kalen Holliday
Kalen
laughs, lets his head fall to rest lightly against Ian's. "I missed
you. And...it might happen. He was snuggling his face to it earlier.
We'd probably need to give him most of what's left of the tequila, but I
may have had enough for a bit." There is a slight pause. "But we
can't kill him. Serafine was in a mood and got me to promise I'd go on a
date with him. She might consider it cheating if we get him drunk
enough to hook up with his guitar and he wanders off a cliff or
something."
Kalen's eyes narrow, just slightly at Tarrin's
approach, and while he doesn't move Ian can feel him tense a little, and
then he murmurs into Ian's ear.
Kalen Holliday
"Are you in the mood to make new friends?" There is, definitely, the implication that he is not.
Danny
*And
there he was, back again with them and with a whole new state of bliss
on his face as he had just been to the toilet and well, that empty
feeling is wonderful when you're drunk, isn't it? He made his way past
his amp, then stopped and marvelled at it.... before he actually
realised it was his. Then he simply unplugged it and wound up the lead
before picking it up and taking it back to the table.*
Ian
I missed you,
Kalen said, and let his head fall against Ian's. If Kalen had been
sober, Ian might have pushed him away (gently.) Instead he let the
moment happen, and there was a familiar ease with which their bodies
leaned together. It lasted for a moment, then Ian gave a huff of
laughter as Kalen mentioned Sera's matchmaking skills.
"You
make it sound so romantic." (As if romance was a thing that even fucking
mattered to Ian.) "Obligation just breeds sex appeal."
He was
being sarcastic there, of course. But the tone of it was light - not
the sharp bite that it sometimes could be. His voice died when he
noticed Tarrin's approach, and then Kalen leaned in and said something
against his ear, and it might have looked as though the two of them were
conspiring (or maybe flirting) but Ian just smirked and said, "I
usually am."
Which was not actually true. But then, there was
more than one way to interpret Kalen's question. He glanced over at the
returning Danny, then said to Tarrin "You look lost."
Not lost, precisely. But wary.
Tarrin Rasvelg
Tarrin
stopped at the booth, putting a palm on the end of it. He was keeping
enough space between them and himself, enough to breathe. He wasn't
put-off by the words that Ian gave him; that sort of greeting was
expected, in a way.
"Do I?" And it was less of a question and
more of a statement that he was tasting. "Hm." It was a thoughtful sort
of sound midst the group. Tarrin looked down at Danny slowly.
Kalen Holliday
Kalen
looks to Danny, from where he is leaning into Ian, and one might think
that Serafine should have tried to tell Kalen to ask someone else out on
a date. But she knows them. "I should go sleep. I have...things to
do tomorrow. But I'll call you."
He nudges Ian, lightly, not that Ian won't get that he is moving.
And, for just a second, Tarrin gets his attention back. "Lovely almost meeting you."
Danny
*He slipped into his seat and sighed once more.* That's it, limit reached. No more tequila for a while..
*He
wasn't feeling sick, didn't even look it, but he had a happy contented
enough smile on his face. Then Tarrin was there, and he turned his head
looking up at him, then back to the pair... then back to Tarrin.* Uh...
Can I help you? *Then Kalen spoke and he looked back at him with that
same pleasant smile.* Sure. I'll see you around.
*But then he set his eyes back on Tarrin.*
Ian
Kalen
said that he needed to sleep, which didn't seem to surprise Ian. He
slid out of Kalen's way and stood up, carrying his bourbon with him. "Do
that," he said. And it sounded like he meant it.
Ian's eyes
hovered on Kalen as he left the bar. Only when he was out the door did
Ian slide back into the booth. With more space open to him, he leaned
against the wall and picked his feet up to set them on the bench with
his knees bent. The pose was relaxed, despite unfamiliar company.
Sometimes his body language could be deceiving.
He took a
drink and gestured with his hand to the booth, and the empty space
beside both himself and Danny. "You can sit down if you like." (This to
Tarrin.)
To Danny, he said, "I didn't know musicians had limits."
Tarrin Rasvelg
"Funny.
I had the same question for you. I wasn" His attention stayed focused,
at least for the moment, on the musician. When Kalen rose to slip out,
he gave a small nod of his head to him, whether the comment from him was
well intended or not. There's obvious hesitation at the offer of the
seat with them, but then again, what else had he expected. He sat,
slowly, setting what was left of his beer down.
Danny
*In
response to Ian he shrugged.* If I want to be able to do the things i
need to do tomorrow, I should probably ease up on the pace. I'll go
get... *He frowned a little in consideration then shrugged again.*
Redbull maybe? Who knows, it might actually work this time.
*Then
he was sliding out of the seat with a nod to Tarrin before he could
sit..* By all means, feel free.. *he gestures to the empty seat.* I'll
be back, either of you want another drink? *He couldn't help but watch
as Kalen left, already his mind was itching to get back to work... his
mind propelling him to the next song he could right, an itch he'd have
to scratch when he got back though, unless he could get table service..
He looked, but then decided he'd just have to go to the bar. The first
line in his head already writing itself. 'Do you feel the way you hate,
or do you hate the way you feel. always closer to the flame. Ever closer
to the blade.' Hell he was even mumbling the words to himself as he
considered the phrasing. Then he nods to himself and makes his way to
the bar.*
Ian
"I'm good." Ian
raised his half-full glass in response to Danny's inquiry. He'd been
drinking it slowly, either because he didn't have any desire to get
drunk or because he still had a long evening ahead of him. And then, as
an amused afterthought: "You know, there are more effective ways of
sobering up."
(Which was as close as he got to directly referencing
their abilities in public.) But Danny was off to acquire something
caffeinated, and Ian let him go. He turned his attention to Tarrin, who
had yet to introduce himself. "You two know each other?"
Tarrin Rasvelg
"No...thank
you." Though he did let his eyes slide towards Danny as he walked off.
Was it really so bad to at least give a little look at the goods that
were available? They certainly weren't bad.
Danny slipped
away, leaving Ian and himself to well...try to not make it feel as
awkward as sex in in church. "We don't. " Ian wasn't bad himself either.
But then that was part of the reason he bothered to waltz over. He
leaned in slowly, hand extended in a sort of peace offering. "Tarrin."
Danny
*He
stood at the bar, ordered, paid then waited.. from time to time his
gaze wandered around the place taking note of people and then his
attention came back to the waiting for his drink. When it came he
didn't take long to get back to the seat, then just sat down next to
Tarrin, elbow to elbow and set his drink down. As soon as that was
done, out came a pen and a folded old pad of paper, without thinking he
just put the date and time in, it would read like 0142.051014, that
would be all he needed and he just did it, just like that. Then began to
write what was in his head, left handed he was.*
So what did I miss? *He asked absently even as he jotted down an indelible scrawl.*
Ian
Ian
hadn't found sex in a church particularly awkward on the few occasions
he'd done it. But of course, Ian wouldn't. He didn't find silence to be
very awkward either.
Tarrin finally offered his name, and
Ian's response was to shift his glass to his off-hand and lean across
the table to accept Tarrin's greeting. Ian's grip had a firm confidence
to it, but not so much that it felt overly business-like. "Ian."
None
of them had offered their last names or their Traditions. But then,
they were in public, and it wasn't that kind of gathering.
Danny wanted to know what he'd missed. Ian responded with a straight face. "There was an orgy, but it was a little boring."
Tarrin Rasvelg
The
way you touch another's hand says something about you. Ian isn't
exactly some washed up rat. Of course he hadn't exactly received that
impression prior either. Tarrin gives a firm handshake and then sits
back again, lifting a brow just a little as Danny sits right next to
him.
"No one brought the syrup. Everyone knows you bring syrup to orgies."
Danny
Dammit.
*he snapped his fingers.. Then grins at them both.* I guess i get to
play with the sloppy seconds then... Always the bridesmaid.. *He shook
his head with a small roll of his eyes then chewed on the side of his
lip and blinked.* Danny. *There it was, his other arm was set out beside
the paper, part of it holding it in place before he began to write
again with a slight frown.*
Hmm.... *He tapped the pen to his
lip as he stared off into the middle distance, his right hand moving to
tap out a slow beat and his head nodding slightly, then he tilted his
head... and murmered.* I'm screaming daises, from fourteen miles away...
I've got my own time, got it all today. *He mulled it over back and
forth, then nodded and kept it.... and the comment from Tarrin nearly
flew over his head... but then he turned and looked at him, looking him
up and down slowly with his head at an angle.*
Syrup? Syrup is
messy and requires a hotel room so it's not your bed you have to get
clean after.... That or rubber sheets.... Which are entirely too
uncomfortable... But if you want syrup.. I'll remember to make sure I've
got some on me. Strawberry, Chocolate or Maple? *He asked it,
completely straight faced too!!*
Ian
"Chocolate, obviously. Unless you're Canadian."
Ian
eyed the paper where Danny jotted down his lyrics. There was a detached
air to his observance. Curious with no real intent. A moment later the
door to the bar opened and a woman walked through.
She didn't
resonate, this woman. She was like most of the other patrons in the bar
that night. Except she also wasn't. Like Ian, she was beautiful. Tall
and graceful and lithe in a way that marked her as a dancer. Ian's eyes
went to her immediately, and his expression was one of familiarity. He
lifted a hand to catch her attention. "Now you show up," he teased, and she gave a little roll of her eyes.
"I can go alone if you like."
Ian
smiled and finished off the last of his bourbon with a quick tip of his
head. He slid free from the booth and got to his feet. When he turned
to Danny and Tarrin, he said "I'm sure we'll run into each other again
some day." He left them with a knowing look and a secret smile, then he
and Emma turned and made their way out into the night.
