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 Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:42 pm
It was undoubtedly the most horrifyingly SHITTY night of his entire twenty-four years.
... Only he didn't know it yet, and wouldn't know it for a brief while yet, striding along through the less-than-well-kept street's of Erasmus's less savory reaches beside the man he'd known for-- oh, how long had it been now? Two weeks?
Yes, that sounded about right; it had been two weeks since Vincent and Alexander limped their way out of Haet and wandered into Erasmus which, to their immense relief (or his, anyway), had been far more accommodating in the field of racial tolerance... and alcohol.
Of course he enjoyed the lack of lynching (... particularly after incident number one had taken him over a week to heal from-- and DAMN had he sworn himself out of breath when his shoulder was wrenched back in), but the bars gave him a more immediate satisfaction... which went double after dark, like now, when they set out to find the grungiest and most exciting shitholes in the city for their alcohol kicks.
Life was pretty good as far as he was concerned. For all of his dumbass theories and weird lifestyle, Alex was decent enough company, and he never failed to insure that the day would keep them on their toes. Things just seemed to happen around that guy-- God only knew why, maybe he provoked it-- and the so-called 'kid' was just along for the ride.
But digressing from that, tonight's little mini-adventure was taking them to NEW reaches of the city, having already headed past some poor burnt shell of a bar and to the far outskirts of the city. Did they actually know where they were going?
Oh, probably not.
"... Feels like a good night for trouble, huh," he commented offhandedly, grin light up by a freshly burning cigarette as he took one long drag, coughed, and sighed. "There's a full moon and everything for it."
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 2:02 pm
'Accidents' and other various 'bad luck' was Alexander Loch's specialty. Indeed, trouble -did- have a way of finding him, in the form of disasters of some 'menial' magnitude finding him no matter where he happened to be.
Such as his 'ill fated' meetings with 'people from home' (he hadn't mentioned where it -was- he'd come from, but it must have been pretty vast and full of bad people for him to attract such disaster), all of which supported his almost -creepy- knack for survival despite his desire not to.
But, unfortunately for the duo, that day had been pretty tame. No lame-a** attacks from 'people from home', not potential disaster to throw themself into, and for the most part it had been mostly 'normal' dangers (like the ill-timing of something that would have crushed them BOTH making a crash-landing about 2-steps ahead of them.
Alex had sworn really loudly, because, as he'd put it "That would have been the best way to leave my mark." as a -really- bad joke about organ spatter.) and accidents of normal magnitudes (The person who crashed a bike into them).
But hopes were still high for disaster, the night still young and, as Vincent had so nicely pointed out, the full moon was shining.
"Well, after today it better have stored up some nice disaster for us for the night." he commented, inhaling a nice lungfull of the secondhand smoke.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 2:36 pm
"Ah, hell, we can only hope." While anyone sane or normal would have blanched at the thought of a 'nice disaster for the night', it only served to get Vincent grinning more eagerly, taking another long drag of the cigarette to suck his last bits of pleasure out before it was crushed underfoot, joining the countless other pieces of street litter and refuse.
For such a supposedly grand city (and yes, it WAS big), Erasmus had some pretty entertaining slummy regions... though this particular stretch of (cracked) road was proving to be a severe disappointment so far.
Really, couldn't they have gotten hassled by SOMETHING? Hell, he was so desperate that he'd would've settled for a drunk hobo at that point. Even THAT would've been more entertaining than a street full of nothing!
"You'd better let me but the drinks this time," he added with a light growl of feigned annoyance, "I'm sick of this anti-treating s**t you've been putting on with me, man. I need something to waste my damn money on and lighten the wallet."
... Another street corner, another turn, another aimless desire to head down an aimless direction, oh, the redundancy.
But hey, things were finally starting to look up a little!
Yep, they were headed straight for a surly looking group of thugs loitering and smoking by an alley! That was bound to be enjoyable!
The lack of sarcasm in that statement was sad, really.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 3:09 pm
Oh he was -so- threatened.
Alexander half-grinned as Vincent made his 'you better let me pay for the drinks his time' growl of annoyance at him, earning a light shrug of the shoulders from the -much- larger man (Oh how they'd wish that wasn't so later), in a 'yeah, whatever' way.
He'd probably pay for them again anyways. He was a douche like that.
However, if anything, Alex had to ponder the lack of -excitement- even as the duo wandered these not-so-clean streets... and by 'lack of excitement' he meant that prozzies wer -not- appealing (oh how gay he must have looked with Vincent as his company) and that out side of that, there was very -little- in terms of enterta-...
With the rounding of another street corner, however, Alex and Vincent seemed to have the same thing both stick out -and- appeal to them.
A particularly nasty looking group of men who seemed to notice them in turn... and while most would have quickly looked away, Alex -stared- at them, trying to make them as uncomfortable (with almost white eyes that wasn't difficult) as possible.
Oh yes, he was egging them on.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 4:31 pm
Oh, these fellows were something awful to look at, obviously well versed in 'thugdom' with their scars and tattoos and rolled sleeves patched trousers and shitty-a** half crushed cigarettes that even Vincent probably wouldn't have touched on a bad day. One, two, three... seven. There were seven of the bastards, some furry, some hairless, all clustered around and loitering and...
Huh, most of them weren't shying back or averting their eyes when Alex did the test-glare. That was unusual.
... But all the more fun for them! Hell, this would be the perfect exercise to work up a good appetite for some cold beer--
"Well, well, look's like we've got some ladies takin' a stroll through the neighborhood!" Even more surprising was how quickly the little 'flock' had called them out, as one especially nasty looking full-blooded Koshka stepped forward, one gold-capped canine fang glinting as he puffed his cigarette before throwing it aside. He was at least a solid six feet in height, maybe six and a half, with impressive dog-chewed muscles and patchy black-brown fur.
"... You're out awfully far for a couple of well-groomed queers," he added, smirking. The other six were starting to come out now as well, all a bit smaller, but no less terrible looking. "Passing through requires a little fee, you know... So what'cha say, kids?"
... Kid.
KID.
Ooooh, no, he HADN'T just said that-- had he?
Some bitches had just earned themselves a smackdown.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:48 pm
Now without all that bulk, he would have been less terrifying than Alex, who was perhaps a -little- taller than six feet all himself, and probably weighed a little bit more than this stranger... but alas, the lack of bulky fur did little to actually make him look intimidating.
'Ladies', oh yes, he and Vincent were -so- feminine. Not. Ugh, he wouldn't have been able to stand himself or the company if either of them were.
Alex had actually been expecting an extra 10 seconds before they were harassed, but, as he'd commented earlier about 'hopefully there'll be some fun stored up', that just made it all that more exciting for Alexander who calmly cracked his fingers (a bad habit of his) and frowned disapprovingly at the koshka man who had approached them to start something.
"Well there have to be a couple well-groomed ones to counter-balance you not-so-well-groomed ones." he replied lightly, earning a confused mumble between a couple of the 'leader's' lackies who ..
Oh lord they had to be slow if they didn't get what he had just said.
However, Alex glanced over just to see that -little- twitch in Vincent's face at the word 'Kids'...
...
Oh that horrible horrible word, they'd regret saying it.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:39 pm
Oooh, these gnarly looking bastards were making a point of hitting every raw nerve on Vincent's end, already taken to a silent, inward seething as the word echoed over and over in the back of his mind. Hearing it from Alex was one thing (he'd learned to just growlhiss it away, maybe punch him in the arm or elbow his ribs at best as a reprimand), but to hear it coming as a flat-out insult from someone else's lips was just... just...
The end of his tail was twitching behind him, just standing there at his 'partner's' side and returning the stare of the flock as they circled in. No, man, self control. Hold back until it was the proper time to move.
"Hey now, not everyone can afford to have their s**t not stink," the grungy 'leader' mused in a rough, teasing voice, circling closer. "So, you kids--" TWITCH. "-- think you can just waltz right on by, hmm? You know what happens to people who try?"
Twitch twitch twitch oh Vince was eager. He was eager and he was wanting to rip off the b*****d's face-- just give him a reason, give him a JUSTIFICATION...
"C'mon now," and oh, the ratty, vomit-greens made contact with HIM directly now, smiling oh-so-horribly, "we're nice old gents here, you know. If you'd just hand over your wallet there, Princess, I'll-- MOTHERFU--fkldsajjlfa!!!"
And there Vince went, all but THROWING himself at the b*****d's face with a hissing war cry like some rabid little weasel.
Which, of course, triggered the other six to startle and jump in, and everything went to hell (or heaven, depending on one's views) in an instant.
Now THIS was the kind of action every man needed in their night!
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:56 pm
Oh he -loved- the generalization that was being made that simply because they were a -little- more groomed than this sad lot they -had- to be rich buggers. But, technically, between himself and Vincent they kinda were.
But alas, it seemed as though the burly male with the gold-capped tooth had hit a particularly 'nice' note, as with very little prompting his companion had flung himself at the other male's face.
Oh he was so proud.
He'd wanted to keep egging on the burly Koshka for a while longer before Vincent had thrown himself on the male. Well, still came to the same result that either of the two had been looking forward to:
The adrenaline.
Which triggered Alexander to also throw himself into the fray, fist first into one of the other Koshka's gut, only to earn himself a counter fist to the face, before digging his claws (Ugh, he hated that he pretty much got to hide them all the time, just like a cat, claws-on-demand) into his assailant's torso.
Yep, CAT FIGHT.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:20 pm
Mmm, the adrenaline-- now THIS was the kind of feeling a man could never get from counting his money or fawning over courtesans. No, there was a very unique distinctive thrill to knocking out a man's (shiny gold!) fangs with one's bare fist, hearing them shriek as they hit the sidewalk, spitting curse after curse garbled up with blood...
If only he hadn't been forced to abandon his quarry a little prematurely to duck out of the way when a second and third 'lesser' pair suddenly went for him, the first missing (and falling on top of the poor downed leader), but the second managing to clip him in the ribs with a punch... which earned yet ANOTHER rabid retaliation and..... well.
It seemed unreasonable for two well-dressed and seemingly tame men to beat a an entire pack of gnarly street-lurkers-- particularly considering that neither he nor Alex were really that big... ish-- but sure enough, it looked like this fight was going to end in, oh, five minutes at most?
And with many a broken jaw, lost tooth, punched gut, dislocated something or other and... well hopefully not too much blood. Vincent didn't want to ruin his vest before they got to the bar.
Finally, the night was starting to get fun. This would be good to drink to.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:41 pm
That was the appeal. It made a bloody lip (Mmm iron), sore teeth, and a new -BITE- on his arm so much more tolerable. Heck, he was sure he'd come out with a few -BEAUTIFUL- bruises the next morning..
As Alex, sadly, knew that this brawl was far too pathetic to be the end of him unless he -aimed- for it to be such. Which, again, he was looking for an 'ultimate end', not a 'Let's just die'.
He would go out on an ultimate high.
However, not that night, leaving him, upon slamming another punk to the ground (that was what, two? Three? One or two seemed to have gone missing...)wiping blood off his lip and curling his lip disapprovingly.
"Tch."
He paused to run his tongue (which was, ironically, as scratchy as his fur) along the inside of his mouth to clean up the blood as much as possible before spitting it out onto the ground.
"Pathetic, there should have been more than that."
A valid complaint, frankly. Where was the excitement of the day? The possibly-might-regret-this? He was almost ready to just start a bar fight later to give himself something to do.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:24 pm
And the nicks and scratches were only icing on the cake for Vincent, smirking casually as he stood back, brushed a bit of blood from his cheek (not his in this case) and surveyed the damage. Sluggish swearing, twitching limbs, a few freed teeth littering the sidewalk...
Hnn, a good start, but...
"Yeah, could've been a few more guys, easy," he agreed casually brushing off and straightening either sleeve, adjusting the outer vest and... ah, there, ready to go! "Let's get out of here before they find the energy to start bitching at us again. I'm getting thirsty."
For alcohol, of course, which meant that it was time to abandon the scene and casually skip off in the continued search of a nice, proper dive bar.
"I'm paying this time, like I said," he insisted, back to the same 'casual banter' as if they HADN'T just beaten seven thugs senseless and left them on the pavement to rot.
And hey-- what luck! It looked like there was a night, shitty little hole in the wall joint just down the avenue (some kind of tavern apparently), complete with a busted window, flickering lanterns, and a distinctly rowdy, boisterous group of reekingly drunk regulars shuffling about inside.
Just their kind of place!
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:13 pm
A few tears on his jacket were the few tale-tell signs of the fight that had just ensued, earning a bit of a frown, before he did well to fix it up, resetting his sleeves and other various 'Fight, what fight? I don't know what you're talking about' nitpicks.
There, now he looked like every other 'off the street pretty boy' bum.
"Tch, more than a few." he added, if only added some logs to the 'confidence' fire that had a tendancy of burning -brightly- for several hours after he started getting an adrenaline fix. Addicted?
Guilty.
However, little prompting was needed to make Alex uninterested in their previous 'quarry' and back to previous conversation. "Tch, would do us some good to get a previously uneventful day out of our system....
and if it so pleases you, 'princess'."
Again with the teasing. He'd find a way around Vincent paying like he -always- managed to to. Alex was a b*****d like that. However, like all good professional thrill-seekers, when the tavern down the way was spotted, it took very little 'co decision' to prompt them inside.
Why look inside in case of danger if that's what you were looking for?
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:29 pm
Amazingly, Vincent had managed to avoid sullying his vest, of all things... though the smaller male had made a conscious point of attempting to keep the blood and flesh and flying teeth from staining it. Not that he was worried about looking 'presentable' to head inside such a dumpy looking joint, but... dammit, he could still appreciate a certain baseline of 'decency' in public.
Though Alex would've probably picked on him and said that 'he just wanted to feel pretty' or some similar bullshit.
Like that charming little Princess jab, for example-- that earned a half-hearted growl and a jab in the side with his elbow, as per the usual, alongside a darling glare and the return 'cooing' of Shove It, Jackass.
But it was all in good fun and he left it there, wasting no time to trot into the LOVELY looking... uh, establishment. It was dark walled and dark floored, smelling ever so faintly of urine-- but mostly of whiskey, bourbon, and countless other lighter-fluid caliber bottles of hooch that could topple the heartiest of drunks.
Mmmm, yeah, they'd scored a good place here.
"So, what are you feeling like?" he asked his comrade in arms, promptly flinging himself in a counter-side seat at the far end of the drunken mob (which thankfully didn't seem to even notice their existence). "s**t, I've been wanting some good absinthe for a week straight now. Maybe this dive's got some."
Things were going so well, really. They'd gotten some entertainment already, found a bar, and were now free to get blissfully s**t-faced 'til the wee hours of the dawn.
Oooh, if only.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:14 pm
The jab to his side earned a complimentary 'Oomph' noise, if only out of 'politeness' or to try and boost the kid's ego a bit. God only knew he needed it.
Alex was immune to the smell of such horrid little hole-in-the-wall places, having visited them far too many times for anybody who claimed to -not- be a drunk. Which might have been why very little of the happenings (various card-games, swearing, someone being thrown) bothered him very little, instead simply shooting the area a glance.
Had to make sure he wasn't being eyeballed, if only out of a twisted 'Who might take me out tonight' habit.
There was nobody particularly 'offensive' looking to him today. Dammit, he better have found something -epic- to make his life worth how mundane the day had been before the end of the evening.
Oh he'd regret that thought.
Alex half-sat on his seat and half-leaned on the counter, sighing deeply.
"Anything strong." he replied, his alcoholic tendancies more than happy to throw themselves out onto the table.
Getting shitfaced was definately something appealing to him.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:32 pm
... Well, it seemed to Vincent like the rest of the bar didn't care less about their presence, which left the epic duo free to get themselves plastered as they pleased (or so they thought). Hell, there was almost a disgusting kind of 'charm' to places like this; maybe it was the putrid smell, or the raucous squabbling of the other customers, or the way the bartender looked as if he'd just rolled out of a muddy gutter before coming to work...
"What're you night owls be havin'?" said Bartender grunted with feigned interest-- but before either customer could even open their MOUTHS to respond, answered his own question. "Yeah, yeah, strong s**t'n absinthe. Keep your damn pants on."
... O... kay, that was certainly a special character, but at least he was quick about his business, grabbing two tall (and cracked) glasses from the back shelf and going about drink-mixing. A straight dump of something faintly lime-greenish in the first, and... oh, some caustic hellbrew in the other. It probably had a splash of that toxic hooch, vodka, brown-bottled whiskey...
"I know your type," he grunted matter of factly, slamming the glasses down in front of them (amazing they didn't spill or shatter) before pulling back to rub some dirt off his hands. "You kids're out to get s**t-faced and ornery. s**t-faced is fine, but break a damn thing in here and your a** is kicked to the curb, clear?"
"... Sure, buddy," of course Vince had no complaints with that; giving up a possible barfight was worth it for good booze. "Respect the house rules, got it."
... And this stuff smelled like ROCKET FUEL.
"... Cheers to a decent night," he grinned, making a little mock-gesture with his glass before a testing sip, and OH yeah, that was strong. "I think we picked a good place."
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