Chains
Fleshling
Mistress Of Awesomeness
Posts: 133
|
Post by Chains on May 30, 2009 19:28:45 GMT -5
The last time Chains had seen the interior of this bar, it had been in decidedly different company. He found this excursion more preferable by far. He had proceeded Syl through Animus, not ignoring it, but not making any forward effort at conversation or acknowledgment either. He had moved with the grace of a predator, striding openly down the deserted streets as if daring the city to impede him. Yet, for all his inherent itchings for violence, all was quiet around them and the roads seemed even emptier than before. It had been a long time since he had left the theater, he reminded himself. Maybe the Johnny and the rest of the group were taking the brunt of the city's inhospitality. He reverently hoped so. That would be a nice little surprise, to stumble upon their corpses as we walked. But even though he kept his peeled, corpses and occupants eluded him. He could live without the former but the latter was crucial for his entertainment, and Chains resolved to remedy the stagnant situation after drinks. It was with unerring confidence that he led Syl up to the exterior of the bar. Giving the brass handle a sharp tug, he opened the door smoothly for it, and gestured with an inclination of his head that his companion should enter first. A quick glance inside showed that the place was totally empty and mostly unlit. The same barkeep as before was at the counter, polishing a glass with a rag that was making the glass even if dirtier, if that was possible. Such a quaint place. Such charming squalor.
|
|
|
Post by cyansky on May 30, 2009 19:41:43 GMT -5
Syl followed Chains along the streets of Animus, and much to its relief, they came across none of its... 'acquaintances.' Syl nodded as Chains gestured for it to enter first. Syl nodded and did as Chains implied. It entered the bar first, looking around.
The bar was for poor people, that was for sure. It was dirty, intidy. The barkeeper was busy polishing the same glass again and again, its hands moving as if they were controlled by something else rather than its own will. A quick glance at his partially-shadowed face showed the same vacant glare as almost everyone else in this city. It looked around. There were no other customers.
Syl stood by the entrance, patiently waiting for Chains' next words. Did the supposed 'test' that Chains mentioned have something to do with this. Most likely, thought Syl, but you can never be sure.
|
|
Chains
Fleshling
Mistress Of Awesomeness
Posts: 133
|
Post by Chains on May 30, 2009 19:50:41 GMT -5
As soon as Syl proceeded him and entered the bar, Chains let the door close behind them. It was a heavy door. There was a dull slam as it swung into the door frame and an accompanying waft of dust. Chains slid past Syl where it stood and took in its surroundings. He walked as grandly to the bar as if he owned the place, casting a critical eye on the counter top as he did so. It was absolutely filthy. He had been about to rest his hands on it, but a quick glance at the stains and muck and he decided to place his slender fingers on the back of a chair instead. "Good evening gentleman," he said toothily to the barkeep, flashing him a glittering grin. The man continued polishing his glass, repeating the same hand movements over and over again. Stuff the rag in, spin it to clean the inside, withdraw, polish the outside. Stuff, spin, polish. Stuff, spin, polish. He took in Chains' presence with a noncommittal grunting noise. Not in the least bit dissuaded, Chains continued to speak with the same elegant flair with which he had walked to the counter. "Two of your strongest, for myself and my...companion. Quickly if you please." Stuff, spin, polish. Another grunt. "My my, sir. Is something wrong with your hearing? You should let me look at those ears of yours, you know. I might be able to help." There was a single second more of glass cleaning, then the barkeep turned away and began to mix their beverages. "Ah, never mind. Maybe later then," Chains told him with his ever-present smile. He pulled out two chairs, one of which he promptly sank into, before gesturing Syl to the other.
|
|
|
Post by cyansky on May 30, 2009 20:10:14 GMT -5
Syl glanced at the door as Chains closed it behind him. As it was a rather large heavy door, and with Syl's lack of... muscle-power, for lack of a better term, it would be likely a little difficult for Syl to force it open. It watched as Chains flashed a wide, slightly creepy grin at the barkeeper as he ordered their drinks.
The barkeeper took a little time before he got the message and mixed their drinks. Chains gestured for it to sit next to him. Syl did so, waiting patiently for Chains to say something, as it thought.
The thought of something called 'money' came to it. Syl remembered what shops were, where one gave 'money' in return for goods and services, and this definition was the basis for human economy. Question was, with so many people mindless in Animus, did it have an economy at all? Or did everyone that was not mindless do as they pleased, taking what they needed for nothing in return?
This was offset by the fact that there were few people there to offer the desired services in the first place. Syl remembered the shop-keeper in ran into on its first day. It had poured half a bottle of water onto her and drank the other half, threw into a pile of other water bottles and she didn't react... Hmm... Looks like Animus didn't have much of an economy if one could simply waltz into a store and take anything they wanted... Then again what about this bartender?
Syl glanced at the bartender's movements, still like that of an automaton. What he demand something in exchange for their drinks, or would his life be a neat exchange when dealing with Chains? Wait a minute, he was one of the mindless, so how could he have a concept of that? Hmm... Animus was so perplexing.
|
|
Chains
Fleshling
Mistress Of Awesomeness
Posts: 133
|
Post by Chains on May 30, 2009 23:52:59 GMT -5
"Run of the mill place, isn't it?" Chains asked conversationally. "And yet serviceable enough in it's own right." He flicked his gaze behind to the counter, to where the barkeep had finished pouring their drinks and was stomping over to deliver them. "Only the service stands out as truly...exceptional." He said this with a grin, clearly at the stoic barkeeper's expense. But, if he had hoped to provoke a fight (and it certainly seemed that he was trying somewhat) he was met with another expressionless grunt before the man turned away. On the filthy counter were two shot glasses, filled to the brim with a dark alcohol. Chains reached for the one closest to him, and held it delicately in front of him. "A toast then," he proposed. "To all the honest things that go bump in the night, and to..." he trailed off, waiting for Syl to add its own imput.
|
|
|
Post by cyansky on May 31, 2009 0:02:32 GMT -5
Oh Lord, I hope I can drink this, thought Syl, alchohol is not poisonous, but it may have some side effects. I can only hope that I'm resistant to them.
Syl smiled.
"I do so agree, Chains. The service here is surprisingly good despite the fact that Animus nowadays doesn't have much of an economy. But then, since when do you need one when most people are mindless?"
"A toast then, to all the things that go bump in the night..."
Syl raised its glass for the toast, and smiled.
"... and for a new, 'fledgling,' and mutually beneficial relationship between two such 'things' that go bump in the night."
|
|
Chains
Fleshling
Mistress Of Awesomeness
Posts: 133
|
Post by Chains on May 31, 2009 0:11:14 GMT -5
"I'll drink to that," Chains said, meaning it. Although there was amusement in his voice, there was also an undercurrent of dangerous solemnity as if they drank to seal a pact of some kind. And drink he did. Without further preamble, Chains threw back the shot. First, there was warmth. It went down smooth, he would give it that. Then, came the expected bite of fire in his throat and his stomach- expected yes, but barely tolerable even with the foreknowledge. He exhaled hard and deeply, his eyes watering from the potency of the liquor. Certainly not a human made concoction, that. Certainly not potable as far as humans were concerned. For a long moment, it felt unpleasantly like drowning in acid, like being speared with flame, and then all too soon in his opinion, the pain was gone. A spreading kind of heat replaced it, followed by the sensation of the alcohol struggling to take control. He fought it down, and turned with a tight smile, to regard Syl.
|
|
|
Post by citizenmike on May 31, 2009 0:17:00 GMT -5
Johnny stood by the door way as he saw Chains and the being Veronica introduced to him as Syl having a drink by the bar. He watched them toast as he slowly approached them. Johnny placed his hand over Chains shoulder and said, "I've been wondering where you've been?"
|
|
|
Post by cyansky on May 31, 2009 0:21:31 GMT -5
Syl toasted with Chains and did as Chains did. Slowly, it poured the beverage down its throat, down to the last drop.
The drink burned as it went down Syl's throat. The pain was sharp, but not deadly. As it progessed down into Syl's equivalent of the human stomach, the burning persisted. It felt as fire was burning inside Syl's body, as its own energy struggled to keep the pain constrained. No doubt that this alcohol was extremely potent, extremely strong. No human would ever be able to drink this stuff and get away with it.
Syl's eyes widened. It put its other hand on its chest, breathing deeply to draw in more energy with with to contain the liquor's effects. The alchohol was fighting to take control of Syl, but its body, and its will, fought it. It turned to Chains, still with a hand on its chest.
"This... isn't ordinary liquor, isn't it?" said Syl slowly, in a low, weak voice.
|
|
Chains
Fleshling
Mistress Of Awesomeness
Posts: 133
|
Post by Chains on May 31, 2009 0:33:02 GMT -5
Whatever Chains had been going to say in answer to Syl's astonished question, was lost when someone strode purposefully up behind them and made so bold as to place a hand on his shoulder. It was with exaggerated care that Chains turned away from Syl, and set his empty glass down on the counter. Only a very astute observer would have noticed how he had gone from relaxed to tense; the change was subtle, but it was there. Where he had been tempting violence before, now he was ready for it.
Johnny's voice: I've been wondering where you've been.
Chains didn't so much as glance behind him. Instead, he stared straight ahead at the rows of bottles behind the bar as if he couldn't be bothered to properly acknowledge the man. Or, more accurately, as if he was restraining himself from doing what he had initially intended to do. "You know, Johnny," he said, in the same conversational tone he had made his toast in, "men with a similar lack of care for the well being of their hand, normally go smash it to a bloody pulp between a hammer and a rock. It's a far faster and much more painless way to dispose of the offending part of your anatomy than to touch me with it."
|
|
|
Post by cyansky on May 31, 2009 0:42:58 GMT -5
Syl set its glass down, still breathing deeply, still trying to control the burning and the alchohol that came from that drink. Its eyes returned to normal. Still breathing deeply, it shot a quick glance at the man who so rudely interrupted them.
It recognized him as Johnny, Veronica's boyfriend. Curses, thought Syl, why him? If he gets away with his vocal chords intact, he'll tell miss Veronica about this!
It glanced towards Chains, who stared calmly at the bottles in front than at Johhnny. What now? Syl needed a bit more time to completely recover from the liquor.
|
|
|
Post by citizenmike on May 31, 2009 0:48:14 GMT -5
"I come here with no harm, Chains.", Johnny said as he drew his hand off his shoulder. "Despite what has happened between you and I, I'm trying very, very hard to put it all behind me."
|
|
Chains
Fleshling
Mistress Of Awesomeness
Posts: 133
|
Post by Chains on May 31, 2009 0:56:41 GMT -5
"Are you?" Chains still hadn't turned around. "Funny. I was trying to put you behind me, and lo and behold, all my marvelous attempts have turned to ash. But that's fine. That's quite alright at the moment, in fact. While you're here, you can clarify a few things." He turned then, turned and stood, so that he was facing Johnny with only several inches separating them. "I am curious, you know. How you taught this charming creature beside me, what to say, how to say it, how to act, when to act it. And I do want to know, ever so very keenly, how you two communicate. Telepathy? A trail of bread crumbs left in one's wake so the other can follow? Barely an hour since I left, and already the crows are gathering to peck at me. You know what I do to crows, Johnny?" For the first time, his tone lost its geniality, and dropped, down into a snarled threat. "I. Break. Their. Necks." And then, his polite diction was back, his amiable cadences intact, as he turned slightly towards Syl and mock sighed. "And the Festerings fell upon him like flies upon a corpse" he quoted, "And so spread the word in the darkest of nights/The solstice without end/ The Butcher has been betrayed/ Rejoice: the Butcher has been betrayed."
|
|
|
Post by citizenmike on May 31, 2009 1:07:08 GMT -5
Johnny paced a couple steps back. "What is your problem, man?"
|
|
|
Post by cyansky on May 31, 2009 1:50:47 GMT -5
Syl gave Johnny an icy glare. By now it had recovered from the effects of the liquor. "Don't insult your intelligence, Johnny," said Syl icily.
It was clearly obvious in its tone that Syl was quite obviously not appreciating Johnny's presence. Anger and irritation welled within Syl, and while its face was impassive, its tone conveyed it clearly.
"What 'your' problem?!" said Syl, "We were having a toast while you walked in with no thought about it! Do you even think before you act?! Do you even know what politeness and privacy are?! Seriously, Johnny, even if this is the first time we've had the chance to speak together, to communicate in any way save for that initial glance, you would do well to not walk into something you're not supposed to."
It stood and rose to its full height... which was not particularly intimidating for Johnny as Syl was a little shorter than him.
Syl used its willpower to focus on the air around Johnny. And as its will over it became stronger. The air became heavier and the pressure of it around Johnny and in his lungs rose to uncomfortable levels.
"Chains, as I said this city has an odd way of manipulating chance. How is that that is Johnny can appear in precisely this little inconspicuous bar at precisely the right time, hmm? I've never intended for him to follow us. I only know his name and that he apparently has no concern for others.
"Besides, if this man was so stupid as to interrupt us, knowing your personality beforehand, when he clearly wasn't supposed to do so, then how would he have racked up the thoughts and intelligence to establish such a supposedly fine way of tracking and communication? You're quite intelligent, Chains so how on earth would this man who is obviously stupid enough to get me angry, ever outsmart you? How would he have 'taught' me how to act around someone like you, someone that by all means, he doesn't or shouldn't know well enough to know what you find appealing?"
Syl's eyes narrowed.
"Besides, if we were truely cooperating Chains, he would have known better than to do this. I would have warned him, and he would have listened. He would have known better than to get me angry. Whatever the case, I don't want the others to know of this, and quite frankly, I doubt that this man should leave without paying dearly for this."
|
|