Jul 15 06:44:09 106 PA - A Night at the Nut and Bolt
From Chronicles
The current game time is: Fri Jul 15 06:44:09 106 PA.
Its early evening on a friday night, and the Nut and Bolt is just starting to fill up. Live music hasn't started up yet, but recorded music can still be heard over the low din of the many conversation in the place. Ema is seated at the bar, a half-drunk drink before her as she leans lazily against the bar, her chin resting on her hand. She seem to be waiting for someone, and her eyes flicker towards the door every now and then, her free hand drumming fingers against the bar.
"..and I saw 'em come in here once," Vixen is saying to Leo as she leads the way in, turning to the side a bit to face him the first few steps in, her hands in her coat's pockets. "Been a few, though, they might have already left." She turns her head then, scanning half of the place in a quick sweep after saying so. Her lips pursed lightly as she looks back to him after that brief glance.
"What exactly do you intend to do when you find them, Vix?" Leonard is right behind her, lips somewhere between amused and concerned. Or is that wit? "I didn't think that you were so ...maternal. I'm sure they're just off to find whatever trouble they can, which seems little different from someone else I know..."
Ema's vigilant watch of the door makes it hard to miss the entrance of the two familiar faces, her expression changes noticibly, hinting that these were not the people she was hoping to see walk through. She turns then, facing the bar, and seems to find something incredibly interesting going on inside her glass as she stirs the ice cubes with her straw.
Vixen snorts with soft derision at the suggestion of maternal in regards to her. "This is business, Leo. I plan to drag 'em back before Emily gets wind. Last thing we need is trouble." She turns away, moving into the Nut and Bolt slowly, her eyes scanning about intently. Of course, there are a lot of people and noise, so her initial stalking results in naught. She trying to sweep the whole place carefully, yet there are so many places a canny person could hide amid the drinkers and talkers.
Leonard's features soften, mostly, with Vixen's snort. "They'll be moving into the Dregs, babe. Somehow, the potential for trouble seems that it would increase." Still, his own gaze also roams over those beginning to fill the place, searching for 'them.'
Ema closes her eyes, her sense perked as she tries to focus on the two behind her, attempting to eavesdrop on the conversation. Even for someone with her training, she appears to find it difficult, and sneaks a small backwards glance at the two, eyes narrowing a bit as she focuses, but just for a minute.
"No time like now to start teaching 'em.." Vixen notes as she nears Leo close to the middle of the room. Her attention lapsing towards him for a moment too long as two youths just a bit too young to be out drinking break from their hidden spot and make a break for the door. The sudden movement drawing Vixen's attention as the boys zip to the door. "You'd better run, I got your faces on camera!" she shouts at them, taking two steps before they've already made it outside. Quick they are. Her scowl the only thing chasing after them.
"Well, I guess..." Leonard blinks at the sudden movement and Vixen's shout, following her shifted gaze to the door. "...so... They are educated in when to flee, at the least. As we're here, would you care for a drink?" Rather than suggest they give pursuit, he motions towards the bar, which sounds much, much more enjoyable.
As the scene before her unfolds, Ema can't help but smirk, despite the slight confusion that momentarily registered on her face. She lets her eyes bounce from the fleeing teens to Vixen, her eyes narrowing a bit as she catches her raised voice, and can't help but notice the lack of a camera. She seems to put two and two together though, her smirk fading to a frown as turns back to her drink, head shaking, causing her small spring curls to bounce.
Vixen frowns and turns away from the distant door and back towards Leo. Ignoring what looks she did get from those nearby. "Yeah. might as well. Stupid kids," she grumbles. An amusing assessment coming from one who is not that far into adulthood herself. Her hands sink back into her pockets and she starts forward, still talking to Leo without paying much attention tot he bar itself. "Going to have to watch those two."
Leonard chuckles and takes her arm to escort her towards the bar. "See? Maternal." It's a gentle tease, but he doesn't make it until after he has some (hopeful) control of her arm. The amusing nature of her comment is not lost on him. "What would you care for?" His inquiry is made as the bar nears, and despite the fact that he has a fairl good idea of her drink preferences.
The chatter near the door falls a little quieter, individuals eyeing one another more suspiciously. A shiver races through the room, oddly connected, towards the bar. A few laugh it off, while some peer down at their drinks. A raised argument near the far wall about whether the Kingsdale Krusher is could truly have beaten the long-dead In Loco Parentis in the Arena transitions naturally to shouts of "HE'D HAVE RIPPED OFF HIS HEAD AND SHIT DOWN HIS NECK!" Something's putting nerves on edge.
The hairs on the back of Ema's neck perk up a bit, and her posture straightens, her eyes quickly scanning the room, all hints of her earlier attempts at being incognito gone now. She watches the shadows, eyes closing a moment, her head turning as she seems to track something. Her lips curl into a smile once more as she turns back to her drink and finishes it before flagging down the bartender for another.
"Don't start, Leo.." Vixen warns him, despite letting him take her arm without complaint. And a 'look' towards him at the drink related question. No response needed. About when she actually notices Ema at the bar is when the shout comes out, her eyes only on the woman a moment before she glances towards the shouter, feeling just a little of the change in the room now that she's taking in part of it. Not uncommon for tension in a bar, though what it could lead to gives her a reason to glance around carefully.
"Yes, dea.." Leonard doesn't quite finish the not-quite-quip as the unnamed unease reaches him and the raised voice draws his attention from Vixen. "Now, what?" This isn't darting teens, or even lurking Emas, whom he is reasonably certain he just caught sight of at the bar before turning.
The pair by the wall are looming over a small monitor, likely containing a sports game. Neither's watching it any more. A huge, fat blonde -- at least six and a half feet and three hundred and fifty pounds -- stares down at his dark companion who's small only by comparison. "But the Recluse'd take 'em both, eh?" He laughs down and hoots at the action on the screen, and they slap at each other to try and see what's going on. False alarm.
A warmth runs across Emayn's shoulders, something hot, and a moment later Ahriman begins to fade into view. His eyes are down, a small frown on his face, peering at that half-exposed tattoo at her back with interest.
"I thought I felt you sulking about in the shadows," Ema says without turning, the small hairs on her and shoulders pricked up at the sudden warmth, "You're lucky I'm such a nice girl, a different sort of lady might take offense such sudden, unsolicited attention." she cranes her neck up a bit, cracking it softly, but doesn't turn around, "This isn't the sorta place I'd figure someone like you to be on a friday night."
Vixen frowns faintly and looks back to Leo. "Let's get that drink," she murmurs simply. Of course, there's something more to consider when she looks back to the bar. Her eyes narrowing a little as she spies Ahriman there. But she just eyes the creepy one as she leads Leo up to the bar. Not trying to be near or far from the two, just moving up naturally to a spot that's close enough. "I think I might take something stronger," she says to Leo then. Then to the bartender, "Whiskey, straight."
Leonard offers Ema a pleasant nod in greeting, although his smile evaporates in a simultaneous inverse of Ahriman's coalescing. His escorting leaves no need for Vixen to try to be far from the darkling, that's for certain. "Make that two, please." After lingering on Ahriman warily, his attention finally returns to Vixen. "So, are you planning to keep a photographic record of all the potential hoodlums before they relocate?" The youths are not his original, intended topic, but they are the first alternative that comes to mind after the distraction.
"Nice," Ahriman speaks simply. "You are cautious and thoughtful when you want to be. You are not always this. You could be ready to explode right now," he utters, voice lost momentarily in the deafening music, while his lips move. He keeps talking through the crescendo, posture straight, shoulders back, neck down, eyes silvered, though as the set ends one might again catch a hint of what he's saying in that rumbling voice of his, "proposition?"
Friday night just back from a trip is que for Tirzah's usually indulgence at a bar. Tonight it happens to be the nut and bolt. Not by coincidence of course, but apparently to meet with someone as she easily slips into a table with two mechanics and welcome greetings. "Hey Jake, the cycle is starting to run a little hot. I figure the brushes are do for a change. Score me a set?" So the conversation goes negotiating mechanical maintenance. "You ought to bring that in Tirzah we can check for other things too." Is the selling reply though the redhead looks determined. "Yeah but then I couldn't buy you both a drink for a favor and continue taking good care of my stuff. Its not a fix after all just regular maintenance. So spare me the lures and I'll grab us a bottle of bourbon. I'm off for a few days after all. Unless you gentlemen dislike free bourbon." She counters winning the pair over.
Ema's fresh drink arrives, and she takes a moment to give it a taste before replying, "As in, you have one for me?" she asks, head turning ever so slightly to give the shadowy being a sidelong glance, "And I'm just full of surprises, as of late." she smirks to herself, eyes falling back to her drink.
Vixen glances at Leo and states simply, "Just happened to catch 'em on the way in. But yeah, I record a lot of stuff day to day. Cant' do all of it cause that'd be a lot of footage to sort through. But it ain't hard to start recoding for me." She slips her arm from his, though turns to scoot herself a bit closer as she leans against the bar. Her eyes moving past him to linger on Emayn and Ahriman briefly. Her head cocked a little to the side. "I'm glad you came down so quick. I want you to have some presence too.. just in case, you know?"
"I have presence." Leonard smirks as he waits for his drink and lifts the arriving glass for a sip. "I'm the guy that gives them big stacks of wood, remember? What else didyou have in mind? The Grand Plan and coordination thereof is your show, Vix." His eyes rotate in an effort to keep those down the bar in his peripheral vision without moving his head much, although his success is debatable.
The dark being relays simply, "I will do the construction. I need help locating appropriate individuals. I think this conforms well to your skillset." He reaches a hand, glancing aside at Tirzah's entrance, and a frown touches his features. The hostile vibe wavers a touch as those silvered eyes track her across the room, and his eyes turn back to peer at Emayn before reaching halfway, palm up, offering his hand like Satan offering the world. His slim black chin ducks with hair fanning behind his head, and he utters, "Come, I will ..." and the rest is lost in the crash of cymbals as the next set starts, drowning out his low voice.
The negotiations made Tirzah excuses herself from the table to head up to the bare for her end of the bargain. Being direct and not really concerned about tensions she heads right for the middle of the bar to place her order for the bottle and three tumblers. A few spots down in line has her waiting a few moments so she smiles a friendly smile to the others. "Good evening."
Ema turns and looks over at Shadowy man, her body turning fully on her stooll as she sits facing him, legs crossed at the knees. She has her drink in one hand, and taps a nail on the glass, "And waist my drink?" she says smirking, lifting the beverage towards her face so she can take a small sip from the tiny straw, "How about you give me a bit more info that you have, and I'll decide how my skillset will conform to you offer."
"Just in general. So you can deliver messages if I can't get to it or something. So they know you're not just some guy, that you're with me and can lay down the same sort of info I do without them wondering," Vixen tells Leo. Her eyes move to Tirzah as she arrives and a nod is given. "Tirzah." Casual and a brief linger of eyes before adding to Leo, "Maybe I'm heading things up, but we're in this together. They should know that." She gives him a light smile. Her head still cocked, half listening. Enough to keep her interested.
Leonard nods to Vixen, but turns towards Tirzah's greeting before replying. "Evening, Tirzah." A pleasant smile is also given before he returns his attention to Vix, with the rotation slowing to linger on Ema and Ahriman briefly. The smile grows once it's upon his partner once more."I would have thought most everyone was aware of that by now, but I'll keep that in mind."
Ahriman's eyes flicker to the band, initiating a frown, and they track neatly back to the speakers with equal displeasure. "My needs are ..." he looks up to Tirzah, a faint smile tracing his lips, "not public. We are surrounded by ears. I can wait for your drink. Time is a common commodity." That black being wonders aloud as he stares at Tirzah, "Emayn, what do you think of nature's balance in this city?"
"Oh there is no balance here, though everyone sure seems to like to pretend there is." She casts a look Vixen's way, watching her for only a second, "No, here, the strong and evolved must cower and bow and scrape to the evolutionary dead ends, just so that they can feel a sense of comfort. I'm pretty sure nature would have it the other way around." She sips from her straw again, lips suddenling grinning around the straw, as if something amusing has come to mind.
The bottle and tumblers are forth coming but Tirzah pauses before taking them back to the table as Ahriman seems to be engaging her. A smirk forming she arranges the tumblers and takes a moment to read the bottle's label while she waits for the conclusion. Though her expression is clear that what is said after is highly irrelevant.
Vixen's eyes shift past Leo to Ema and she smirks faintly. "Dunno why you insist on continuing this pointless little feud, chick. It ain't worth it. Or maybe this 'change' you got going on is just surface? Changing your clothes don't mean you changed for real." Her eyes lingering in that direction. "Still waiting for you to step to me straight and even like before. I know you can do it." Her head given a little shake before she looks to Leo again. "Not sure if Emily knows, but I'll tell her," she notes, a hand shifting to touch his before she picks up her glass.
Leonard is firmly drug into the discourse down the bar,and now turns to regard Emayn and Ahriman. "This isn't going to degenerate into something unpleasant, I hope? I'd like to finish my drink, first, at the least." He lifts the tumbler and smiles before taking a long, and somewhat hurried drink. Just in case.
Ahriman's lips broaden into a wide grin, small perfect teeth a shocking slash against his ebony features. "You're right," he decrees, still staring at the redhead, "nature would prefer that." He peers aside at Emayn then, and across at Vixen, and he bends slowly at the waist to drop his head behind Emayn's to speaks to her in that rumbling voice, mostly lost in the din. It's a couple sentences, his cheek brushing her hair as he speaks, and then he fades into the grey of the room like a cheshire cat. The air about him seems darker, his own features fuzzy and indistinct as the bar behind him shines through, and then he's just gone.
Ema looks up at Ahriman, then over to Vixen as she speaks, "Listen, Kiddo, I didn't say anything to you, I didn't make any threatening moves towards you, I merely smiled, and you want to get all ramped up. Someone should really teach you some manners, or at least how to hold your tongue when the grown-ups are talking." She smiles still, taking a drink from her glass, "I would offer my services, but something tells me you wouldn't like my solution." Ema's eyes move to Leo, a small shrug is offered as she turns back to Ahriman, watching as he fades away, her lips once more attached to her straw as she takes a large pull.
Tirzah's smirk is wide as she shakes her head lightly and takes up the bottle and tumblers. "And since when has nature been balanced anyway? Species constantly evolving and eradicating each other on a global, even galactic level. The smallest adaptation sending the course of evolution into a tailspin or revelation. Nature is chaos. Understanding nature is balance." She says for her expected reply before making her way back to the table she started at with the bourbon and tumblers.
"Play it how you want it then," Vixen replies, shaking her head slightly. She looks to Leo and tells him, "I'm just trying to resolve things. But I suppose some ain't ready to let it go. And some are too caught up in their sense of superiority." She snaps up her glass and lifts it to swallow down a little over half it one go. Breathing out a raspy breath before she murmurs, voice still rough, "But that's fine, I guess. Everyone's got power. Just ain't all the same kinda power. Like you said, I got my own sorta magic." Her hand moving back to his lightly. It's evening on Friday and the Nut and Bolt is busy. Ema is at the bar, with Leo and Vixen nearby and Tirzah just moving away from it.
Dark slips in from the street, stepping inside and then off to one side away from the passageway. There he pauses a moment, surveying the patrons of the place with a patient mein. He doesn't look at 'everyone', just a passing scan of the place. By his body motion he takes a breath, shifting his shoulders. A few moments later he begins to walk towards the bar, his movement direct and purposeful.
Nothing is seen of Ahriman. He's simply vanished into thin air. Those especially sensitive to the unease he spreads might have the vague impression he's still about somewhere. But then again, maybe that was the bad burrito they ate yesterday.
Nothing explodes or otherwise spontaneously destroys itself, so Leonard seems nearly accepting. Everyone is still here. Then again, everyone /is/ still here. He turns back to Vixen and manages a grin. "That you do, babe. Potent, too." He pointedly makes no comments on any of the other implications or attitudes voiced. <OOC> Dark says, "Who was that last one?"
Tirzah takes the bottle back to her table glad to exit the possible war zone at the bar. Such her expression reads, equally warning to anyone approaching it past her. Tread carefully. And though the presence shadowing her is noted she does not flinch as she forces the arm smile and retakes her seat. Instead she gladly opens the bourbon and pours three generous glasses to get things back on track. her two mechanic friends oblivious to what she left behind they start drinking. Giving Tirzah a moment to consider if the notion the presence gave is a good thing or a bad thing.
Ema finishes her drink and twists at the waist, placing her glass on the table, "You really have a strange way of offering up an olive branch, little one. There is an old addage about catching more flies with honey. Perhaps if you didn't always act so confrontational around me, I'd be more open to being nice back." she slides from her chair, standing, stretching her arms over her head.
Dark arrives at the bar, producing a small handful of coins and a pair of canteens from underneath his robes. Placing them all on the counter he speaks, his voice a modulated thing obviously artificially produced from the voice emitter on his mask. "Fill one with water and ice, the other with the Everards Golden." Nodding as his order is accepted he turns and leans against the counter for a moment, now returning to examining the other patrons.
"I tried talking to your straight, but all you do when I ask you to step to me straight and just talk, you don't. Last time, you just walked off," Vixen tells Ema. "And as innocent as you might play it, the veiled jab just before was obvious. I'm just returning your own nasty, chick. I'm still waiting for you to give up on the bullshit it and meet me half way." A few beads of sweat start to show on her brow as she speaks, but she swipes them away with a pass of the back of her hand. "Ready to stop playing games?" Her hand then goes to her glass, lifting it for another drink.
Leonard remains in the line of fire, even as it begins to potentially reheat. He does, however, take several important steps to minimize his risk. First, he drains the remainder of his glass and requests another. Well, maybe that's the entirety of his master plan as he looks between them both. His mouth remaining otherwise shut could be boon or bane. Time will tell.
The dark being's still unheard from, though an odd whispering sound comes near Tirzah. Perhaps even loud enough that her companions might hear it, but likely not. Then, some moments later, the well-dressed Ahriman substantiates from the shadows once again alongside Emayn to touch her nearby arm and beckon towards the door. His hand is exceptionally warm at her elbow. "Come. We have business."
"Maybe when you're ready to drop the tough girl act, and at least pretend to be nice to me, we can see about putting this behind us, but right now, wether you see it or not, you're just trying to antagonize me." She looks over at the bartender and gives him a wave as she takes a few steps towards the door, and Vixen. "I don't mean to make you nervous," she says, eyes on Vixen's brow, before she offers a wave to Tirzah and Leo, "Sometimes the act of being nice and innocent is the best place to start, so you should take it while it's here." she shrugs, and heads for the door.
The boys dont need any encouragement from Tirzah to dive into a bottle of bourbon. So downing her first glass she can easily excuse herself once more as things seem to be unwilling to let her be uninvolved. Or at least her compass would be distraught to learn so. So she seems to follow Ahriman, being right behind him when he coalesces. "You know what the thing is about luxuries, you don't get them given to you. You have to acquire them, usually at a very high cost." She says to him before stepping up beside Leonard and between Vixen and Ema. "So, whats the score?" She asks openly.
Dark chuckles softly, the sound oddly distorted by his voice emitter, one hand picking up the returned canteen of water and making it vanish under his robe while the barman works with the other. "If they were men I'd say it has to do with trying to determine who is going to get to be superior. But as they are not, I'll have to go with simply being utterly silly. Either way, Nomos in classic exampli. Who needs a reason to fight, if the fight is there and you enjoy it? The question serves as little purpose as the conflict."
Vixen frowns a little and shakes her head. "I'm not making no act, chick. I'm being straight with you. You want something in particular, you're gunna have to tell me what it is." She then looks at Tirzah and wonders, "What score? I'm not fighting. I'm talking. I dunno what it is with you all. Act like a normal person and people act like you're ranting and raving at them." She eyes Dark, then shrugs her shoulders. "I'm gunna get some air, Leo. Someone turned the heat up. I'll meet you a bit later, at the park. You know where, right?" She smiles at him lightly, giving his hand a light squeeze before she straightens from her lean against the bar.
"I've stopped attempting to keep track," Leonard admits to Tirzah, "as I tend to be the one losing points..." Then Vixen steals his full attention with the squeeze. Her smile is returned. "Of course I do, Vix. I won't be long." His glance moves briefly to Ema before he retrieves his refreshed drink. The comment from the encased one at the bar causes his smile to turn lopsided, and the fact that it's Tirzah that was spoken to only makes it curl all the more.
The ebony Ahriman plants a gentle hand firmly between Emayn's shoulder blades and walks her towards the door, seeming to glide himself. It's so even he doesn't even have a gait, precisely. It's more like he's on wheels that carry him evenly for the door. He never even ordered a drink.
It's shortly after everyone decides to start leaving that a notable commotion is caused at the entrance to the bar. A few supprised shouts, some assorted sounds of alarm as.. well some sort of very large creature that seems more fitting in an oceanic environment does it's best to try barging right in through the front doors. Two massive meter long tusks lightly digging at the ground as it tries to drag itself in through extra large flippers. An odd spectacle to say the least, especially for those who have never been near the ocean where the sight of such a creature would be a little more expected.
There are a lot of things that can cause a pair of blokes enjoying a bottle of bourbon at the bar to decide to enjoy it elsewhere. A walrus trying to join them is one of them. Tirzah's acquaintances making like trees out the back she sighs as she turns away from the bar. "I had honestly though whatever was going to happen diffused itself. Apparently the universe is not pleased with that conclusion." She says, eyeing the walrus. From afar, Ea nods, "OK. You could always hook it to your personal Palm Unit as well. Nothing really stopping you there.
Dark accepts his second canteen back from the barman, slipping it underneath his robes and turning around only to be confronted with the spectacle at the front door. He pauses, turning his head slightly to one side as he eyes the 'thing' that has come through. "Most... strange." he says after a moment. For a long stretch of silence he simply observes. The the modulated voice comming from his voice emitter can be heard again. "Quite. Has anyone else ever seen the like before?"
For Vixen, leaving takes priority over caring what the thing is that just came in. She's hot for some reason and a bit irritable at the reactions to her being normal. "Good luck with this, Leo," she says, lightly patting his shoulder before she turns and makes her way out. Taking a wide path around the.. whatever before she slips out and into the open air.
