A World Distorted

[Anonymous]

Chastity thought she was having a bad day, until she got home.
She tended bar at one of Reajh's finer locales. Still, that didn't mean that her job was as luxurious as her surroundings. Some nights were worse than others, such as last night: work was busy, customers were obnoxious. Time dragged on, even during the hectic pace.
To top it all off, one of the day workers was ill. So, in addition to going to work tonight, she would have to put a few hours in during the day time cleaning. She had a lull of about an hour inbetween the shifts to relax, go home.
Awaiting on her when she stepped into her small house and shut the door, however, was a stranger.
"Hello Chastity," said Anima, staring directly into her eyes with a creeping smirk. "I need to borrow something from you."
Anima twirled a knife ominously around in her hand.


"This is the place Pappy told me about," said Insera as she pointed at the establishment in question.
"Uh huh," Neseraph said skeptically as he looked the place, named The Midnight, up and down. "This looks like one of those damn wine cooler places. Hate to say it babe, but you got terrible judgement when it comes to findin' places to get shit-faced, pissed-pants, puke-spewin' drunk."
"Don't call me that! And I will have you know that there is such a thing as drinking with a modicum of class, Neseraph."
The city of Reajh took several hours to calm down after the morning's 'attack'. Especially since no particular assailant connected to the attack was captured or killed, the city still seemed a bit on edge. Life went on of course, but the citizenry and guardsmen/military were all a little more wary in the wake of the morning's incident.
Now the sun was only a tiny sliver of a light on the horizon, and mostly obscured by a few clouds. And thus, The Midnight, an upper-class diner and bar of good renown in Reajh, opened its doors.
Insera had gotten the tip about The Midnight from Pappy, a slightly aloof but friendly old man who sheltered herself as well as the rest of their group until the night rolled around the relative calm came back to Reajh.
And the group consisted of several unique individuals, all of which were more or less willing to drink themselves into a stupor tonight.
Aside from Insera and Neseraph, there was there mutual friend Vivante, who didn't need to say a word to express how happy he was to get plastered.
Also with them was the amazing Dante Lelaqua, a magician who had stumbled into the two earlier in the day when things were a bit more hectic. He was character already, so raising his blood-alcohol level would make for an interesting pandora's box situation.
Latira, a woman clad in shiny black attire, couldn't pass up a good drink. She had a bunch of good one-liners in Neseraph's opinion, almost like the female version of Vivante from what he'd seen, which always went well with an inappropriate level of intoxication.
Feyda, quite possibly the most eager of the group, was just waiting to throw down on some booze and put a gigantic dent on the tab.
And then there was Lindraeus, who kept mostly to himself when they back inside Pappy's house. It was nothing a few shots couldn't fix though.
"Think we can afford this?" asked Neseraph, rifling through his pockets as they approached the front doors of the diner.
"You tell me. It was your job to procure the funds for our outing, remember?" replied Insera.
Even though coins jingled around in his coat pocket from his hour-long venture around the city earlier pick-pocketing, Neseraph looked at Feyda and her companions Latira and Lindraeus and said with a grin, "We're goin' dutch, right?"
The next thing Neseraph felt was Insera's foot grinding down on his own.
"Ow! Ah, ok. Don't worry, don't worry, I got ya. I think. I don't know though," he pointed a thumb over at Dante, "This guy looks like a real boozer though. He might have one up on ya, Feyda. And this guy?" He shifted said thumb over to Vivante, "He's like a damn H3 Hummer on 'E': It'll break the bank to fill him up. Ain't that right, Viv?"
Insera shook her head as she pulled the door open, allowing the bright golden light of the diner's interior to spill out onto the street. She walked in, followed close after by Neseraph.

Lindraeus didn't say much as everything went on. He stuck closely to Feyda and Latira, keeping distance from the relative unknowns. Though he was having a hard time trying to figure out just exactly what Feyda was hoping to gain here by following Neseraph 001 around, he decided to wait it out to see what would happen. He was curious as well about the first Neseraph, but still, his true priority was to build opposition against the Will of Divinity.
And, in all honesty, he could not tell if Feyda was more concerned about her heritage or opposing the Will. Maybe it was both at the same time?
For now, Lindraeus resolved to stay quiet and just be the designated 'driver'.
Whatever that was supposed to entail.

[Anonymous]

Feyda realized that this specific crew that she stumbled upon was quite the bunch. Individuals that she could get used to hanging around. Insera's attitude shared quite possibly the same that she had. And Neseraph 001 had quite of a 'fun guy' aura about him. Regardless of the fact that he was a former High Seraphim, he's still rather different from any other angel Feyda may have known. Having already found out that Neseraph is an instigator at any given opportunity, the dark lady refrained from commenting on his description of Dante and Vivante. Instead, Feyda picked up the pace a little to catch up to the side of instigator.
"So, Neseraph? Is that your real name or do you refer to yourself by your race since you may not know who you really are? I only ask because I'm having a bit of an identity crisis myself." Feyda questioned right after entering the diner after Insera opened the door. There was a certain tact for approaching certain topics about an individual. Feyda obviously lacked any form of tact whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

The subject of money had Latira thinking of her own hoard at home. In that small, cozy cave of hers. Though it was a rather chilly place till she got into it. But after her body heated up the small space- small to her kind's standards- it was downright toasty.

And come to think about it, how much was required to get her drunk? It would take close to a swimming pool full if she was in her dragon form... but in this more susceptible body of human and dragon mix...

She felt a smile tighten her face, and she looked back at Lindraeus encouragingly. Her bare arms swung freely as she walked, and she was starting to feel a little giddy already with the night air. She could taste the smell of alcohol coming from the establishment.

"I like her judgement. It smells good here."

Once they sat down, if they were really strapped for cash, she could just open a small rip in space in her pocket and reach into her cave. Granted, the currency might be a little dated, but it was pure gold.... which was why she had collected it in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Those that hadn't been in Pappy's house when the adventure was being planned would have a hard time seeing Vivante's enthusiasm.  There had a slightly better chance if they were there.  He didn't look very excited about their expedition to the furthest wastes of drunkenness.  On the same note, he didn't look like he was following reluctantly or being dragged.

He wouldn't be.  It was his idea in the first place.

Vivante was looking forward to drinking a lot of beer tonight.  If whatever money Neseraph stole wasn't all gone when they left, then Vivante failed.  Vivante had some money of his own too, so he could add that to the pool of funds.  More beer would be a good thing.

Unless they didn't have enough funds at all.  Vivante looked sidelong at the diner while Neseraph searched through his pockets.  That beer better be the best beer that ever existed if they wouldn't have enough money for it.  Not that Vivante knew what the best beer ever would be like.  His memories of alcohol before losing his sword in Zantaric were hazy.  It just didn't seem to be so important then.  Something to sip at if a glass was put in front of him, but nothing he would go out of his way to get.

Once they were through drinking he would have to tell In-Serah and Neseraph about that.  They would understand.  Maybe that red skinned man who had the strange carriage Vivante's seatbelt came from would be able to figure out where his sword could have ended up.

Vivante stopped looking at the diner when Neseraph asked the two new women whether they were going 'dutch' or not.  He didn't get what Neseraph meant by that.  Or what a damn H3 Hummer on E was, but he was sure that breaking the bank had something to do with spending all their money.  Vivante nodded curtly.

If they still had money after this, they failed.

Vivante was just behind Neseraph and the woman who slid up to him and began peppering him with questions about his name.  Odd questions.  If he was calling himself by his race (what?) because he didn't know who he really was.  That was a strange question... but it might be important.  Like which name was first, last and middle.  Vivante decided to listen in to see what Neseraph's reaction would be.

[Anonymous]

After leaving the oddly accommodating elderly gentleman's house Dante had been rather quiet. He had several problems with what was going on. For one, they were staying in a house that was literally right next to where a large enough chunk of the Connlaothian military had been obliterated to warrant them digging around in the surrounding area.

Secondly, the guards obviously knew what they looked like, so surely dulling their senses with alcohol wasn't the best idea when guards might come around the corner at any moment. As such his attention had largely been focused on checking for said military folk, lingering at the back of the group as he scoured the streets.

No one else seemed worried, which made him more worried.

 The question of money he ignored, as it didn't concern him. A bard never paid for a meal, a drink, or a bed. The other comment by Neseraph however deserved a response. "I don't really drink," he replied distractedly, gazing at what might have been a guardsman slipping away to summon reinforcements.

He followed the group, stepping into a room that was a little more brightly lit than he would have liked. Semi-darkness was best for setting mood, in his opinion. Round tables were spaced evenly around the floor with booths lining the walls, a long bar running along one wall and the other occupied by a staircase leading up to a second level which only half covered the space of the ground floor, leaving a high ceiling above the bar. Perhaps that was so patrons could shout down orders of drinks to be brought up to them.

He immediately found the stage, a raised wooden quarter circle in the corner at the far end of the bar. The acoustics were good, if the rumbling murmur of voices was any indicator. Yes, this would do.

[Anonymous]

The Midnight, for whatever reason, appeared to bustling tonight. Many of the tables, booths, and seats were occupied by all different manners of people. Waiters and waitresses cycled around the floor between the tables, and the bartenders were filling and cleaning mugs nonstop. A general commotion of chatter and occasional laughter among the patrons provided the ambience.
Insera, grateful for the cosign, said to Latira, "Thank you. There happens to be an awful misconception that alcohol and filth go hand-in-hand that I regularly scoff at."
Neseraph, hearing Dante shoot down the idea that he was a champion boozer, was about to share a few words and shoulder-punches of encouragement with him before Feyda asked him something.
And Neseraph, downplaying the striking significance that Feyda's question held to him, replied jokingly, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there sister. We're not even drunk yet. You gotta save all the weird questions and shit for when we're slammed."
Lindraeus was as surprised at the answer as Neseraph was at the question. Was Neseraph 001 being evasive, or did he truly not care about the fate that he was enlightened of and escaped? Thinking into a little more, he arrived to a different question: What did Feyda hope to learn from Neseraph, and was it the same thing as Anima the murderer?
"Table or bar?" asked the guide at the front podium of the diner.
"Table." "Bar fo' sho'," said Insera and Neseraph respectively.
They both glanced at each other, both as if the other's differing opinion equated to a slap to the face, and it was Insera who got in the first word. "We have not had dinner yet, or have you forgotten? You may be able to live off of beer and cigarettes alone, but I, for one, at least want something to eat to go with my drinks."
"That sounds like an awesome diet," Neseraph egged-on with a grin.
Insera rolled her eyes and looked back to the guide. "A table. Please."

They were shown to a round table for eight, near the center of the restaurant, with the bar, much to the instant-refill chagrin of Neseraph, in plain view.
Insera sat down on a seat at one edge, and Neseraph sat down next to her. Lindraeus, unsure of where to sit down at first, sat perpendicular to them at the circular table; it was still hard for him to look at Neseraph in the face, just as it was when he first met Feyda.
As the others would sit down, Neseraph immediately struck up conversation, "First off, I just wanna sorry for the window. We all know that, throughout the course of the day, shit happens. Well, shit happened. Things got a little crazy. A couple windows got broke. Some feelings mighta been hurt. Life's a bitch, but that's why Jesus himself invented alcohol. It's like a bandage that cures anything. Even that time-of-the-month I hear, if you know-"
The table rattled a little bit as Neseraph's foot was roughly stomped on by Insera.
"Would you please forget about the bloody window already? No. One. Cares," she chastised, glancing around at the others as if apologizing for Neseraph.
After he got done wincing and cursing, Neseraph said defensively, "Vivante cared."
"I sincerely doubt that."
He pointed at Lindraeus. "He cared."
Lindraeus, under the sudden pressure of attention, flinched in his seat and nearly had a heart attack.
Insera shook her head dismissively. "No. Simply put, no."
Their waitress came up to the table then, carrying an armful of menus and passing them out as she circled around the table, saying cheerfully, "Good evening everyone, and welcome to the Midnight. Please, take a moment to look over our fine selection of meals and drinks and I'll be happy to take your orders. I'll be your waitress for tonight."
Looking each one of them directly in the eyes, she introduced herself with a smile.
"My name is Chastity."

[Anonymous]

Last time Feyda had set foot into a bar, her whole world was changed. Regardless of the fact, the location and numerous civilians didn't seem to affect her at all. Neseraph responded to her blatant question, but not in a way she would have expected. Internally, it probably did rattle him a bit, but his evasiveness certainly threw her off. She slightly smiled and looked down as the man walked off to follow Insera to the table they were being directed to.
"...Sister, yeah." She spoke somewhat to herself and slightly under her breath before following after Neseraph. Once at the table, she sat down next to Neseraph. He may try to evade her all night, but she'll be getting an answer eventually, one way or another. When the waitress arrived to the table, Feyda was the first to turn her attention to the woman, even before she spoke. After the introduction, the dark woman eyed her wearily for a moment then smiled. She removed her sunglasses to show her teal and black swirled eyes.
"Can you start me off with a large glass of some of the strongest stuff you may have locked up in the back." She definitely wanted to start off strong.

[Anonymous]

She followed and sat down on Feyda's other side. Almost immediately she dug deep into her pocket, secretly opening a rift to her lair as her arm sank down a little too deep for any normal-sized pocket. To hide it, she pulled the fabric over her arm rather than start reaching down and, possibly, through the floor. She groped around for a moment before, as quickly as her hand had slipped into her jacket, it slipped out bearing a half-dozen coins of a dubious origin. Though the coin faces may be strange, they were made out of solid gold and silver- which was why she had collected them in the first place. She doubted they would be refused at any trading establishment, especially one unfamiliar with the fae gold- that turns to branch and soil after a while- though her coins were legit.

She paused for a moment, thinking, before sliding them across the table to Insera. Sky-blue eyes looked out under red hair at the woman, already tagging her as the more responsible of the bunch.

"Just in case, eh?"

Then Feyda ordered, and Latira passed a glance over the menu she'd been handed.

"That sounds good, may I have one too please? Oh, and this.... steak, I think?"

She smiled, feeling a little bubbly happiness inside her. She could smell something similar cooking, and damn did it smell good.

[Anonymous]

Dinner?  Vivante hadn't considered that either, he just though In-Serah wanted to sit somewhere other than the bar.  Where you had to watch the bartender stalk around filling other patron's mugs.  They would be too vulnerable at the bar too, their backs would be open to the door and they wouldn't be able to see if anyone dangerous came though.  In-Serah had them covered though.

Vivante followed the group to the table and snagged the closest seat he could to In-Serah, looking around for Pappy when Neseraph began apologizing for the window.  He wasn't there, maybe Neseraph felt so bad about breaking the window that he felt it necessary to apologize out in the public place where any passersby could hear and know that he was mourning it.  

The rattle of the table had Vivante's hand moving down to his coat pocket, until Neseraph's face screwed up and he cursed.  Poor Neseraph was a couple beers too early to be making crazy speeches like that.  Which made Vivante wonder what Neseraph would do once he had a couple drinks.  Hopefully In-Serah wasn't planning on cutting him off.

Vivante shook his head side to side slowly after Neseraph claimed he cared.  "I am sorry.  It was not so important to me."

Then the waitress came.  Vivante gave her a brief glance before looking down at his menu, looking up when the two women (Feyda and Latira if he remembered correctly) ordered.  Eventually, he was going to have to try some of that Strongest Stuff You May Have Locked Up In The Back, but for now he would stick with beer.  He looked back at the waitress.  "I will have beer, do not stop bringing it to me.  To eat," he flipped the menu open and glanced at it for a second.  "Salad, with bread and the House Soup."

Vivante rested his hands on the table afterwards, his eyes wandering to the others that needed to order.  Eventually he would need to drink something other than beer, maybe he could try one of everything the others ordered.

[Anonymous]

Peeling his eyes away from the little stage, Dante followed the group in, still trailing at the back. As the others seated themselves the bard took the guide by the arm and whispered, "I won't be paying. I can play, and tell stories."

The man, a willowy fellow, gave him an appraising glance and then a curt nod before Dante released his grip. It would be foolish to turn down a bard, as few things drew in patrons and filled the cups of the ones already inside better than music and song.

Before Vivante was able to take a seat Dante snuck in beside Insera, sandwiching her between himself and Neseraph. He had a simple, tried and tested method for loosening up strong women such as Diane. Alcohol followed by his delightfully seductive music followed by close bodily proximity lead to...

Well, he'd see later.

For now he just needed to be close to her to ply her with drinks.

On that note Dante looked up at the waitress and smiled. Chastity, how quaint. If he wasn't already working on Insera he might have been tempted to test the accuracy of that name. Perhaps even now, given the proper timing.

"Chastity darling," he purred in his exotic foreign accent, "A bottle of Château De La Meursai, and enough glasses for whoever isn't drinking anything else." He had just ordered a very fine wine indeed, one he'd spotted behind the bar as they'd entered.

Leaning slightly over to Insera he said smoothly, "I suggest you try the wine, it's the best this side of the Narao." The Narao of course being his people's name for the sea that divided their continents, but the people of these lands had barely begun to explore that far.

"So now," he declared to Insera and Neseraph both, "You two seem to have the most interesting stories, and I've waited all afternoon to hear them. Care to share your tale so it may be remembered throughout all of history?"

[Anonymous]

"Chastity? Hey, Chas, your door wasn't locked. Chas, are you here?"
Paul stepped through the front door of his fiance's house, which was closed but not locked. It was odd, considering how conscious she was of thieves ever since her parents were robbed. Both he and Chastity had keys to the house, so something was wrong.
Something smelled wrong.
"Chastity??" He called out a little more urgently, walking swiftly throughout the house.
His heart pounded furiously in his chest. The air of the house seemed violated somehow, as if something terrible happened here. That, along with the eerie silence, greatly disquieted Paul.
He continued looking, until he stepped into the kitchen.
"Chastity! Chastity!! Oh gods, no, no, no, not this. Anything but this! Oh gods! Chastity!!"
The woman once known as Chastity was impaled into the wall of the kitchen by at least fifteen knives. Her clothes had been ripped to nothing but rags, and bite-sized chunks of her flesh were missing all around her body. The flesh of her face had been neatly and completely skinned off, leaving nothing behind but the muscles behind the flesh. Blood ran down the wall from her wounds, but above her in an arc were the words "Death Ends Our Search" written in it.
Paul fell to his knees in front of the horrifying visage that once was his lover, crying out her name in vain. He let his face fall down to the floor, soaking the wood with his grieving tears.
"Chastity... if you can hear me... somewhere... I love you... I always will... and I'm sorry..."
Silence and stillness caved in around him, save only for his weeping.


Chastity's face was so pure, so innocent, and such a good fit. Anima's black sorcery had sealed up the edges, and only moments after she had donned her mask, her hair, eyes, and skin tone changed to match what once belonged to the girl. She had literally become the girl once named Chastity in appearance. Though Anima didn't particular favor the blond hair, which felt too natural, the bright blue eyes and fair skin were more to her liking.
Such beauty... destroyed forever once Anima no longer had a use for the mask.
After her introduction, in the short span of seconds before Feyda placed her order, Anima couldn't help but to steal a glimpse at Neseraph. It took the utmost amount of restraint and willpower she could muster simply to refrain herself from lunging straight at him across the table.
After countless years, she was once again in the presence of her former lover, Neseraph.
And the Cyan Man was present as well. It was rough, but she had to will herself to stop trembling with hyper-excited anticipation.
Patience would yield the most fruits for her labor here, though, so long as she could manage to get Neseraph infected with the toxin in Insera's body. Perhaps she could even get some into the Cyan Man as well, to see what secrets he held.
She couldn't help but to smirk a little.

"I'll see what we have in the back," Chastity replied to Feyda, smirking a little when she did. "And I'll make that two, plus one steak."
Vivante was up next, and his order seemed to make Chastity smile brightly. "Alright then. Nonstop beer as you wish, as well as one salad with bread, and our Soup of the night. Very well."
Chastity scooted around the table as she was jotting down the orders, stopping next alongside Dante once he ordered. "One Château De La Meursai as you wish."
"Make that two," said Insera as she laid down her menu, trusting Dante's knowledge of the local wines better than her near nonexistant own. "And an order of chicken salad too, please."
Nodding up and down, Chastity marked it down. "Very well then."
"How 'bout a Chateau De La My Ass? How'd ya think that'd taste?" Neseraph jived with a grin at Dante and Insera's classier selection.
The table rattled again, and Neseraph bit his bottom lip temporarily to take his mind off of his throbbing foot. "Well, Viv's got the right idea. I want endless beer too. And something salty. Like pretzels. Or something. Some kind of appetizer'll do it for me."
Chastity smiled brightly as she wrote down Neseraph's order as well, then she looked to the final person at the table. "And you, sir?"
Lindraeus looked up a little bit, saying softly and somewhat unsurely, "I'll be fine, thanks. I'm the... designated driver."
The waitress perked an eyebrow, but nonetheless said, "Alright then. I will return shortly with your drinks to get you started. Once again, welcome to The Midnight."
She turned around and started walking away, toward the kitchen doors of the restaurant.
Anima grinned ear-to-ear as she walked. This was turning out to be much more fun than she thought.
And slowly, her unrelenting grasp around Neseraph would begin to tighten.

"Oh? You wanna hear stories huh?" started Neseraph once the topic was brought up. "One time, we were so incredibly fucked, we had to dress Vivante here up in drag."
Insera slowly began to bury her head in both of her hands, grumbling something unintelligible in an annoyed tone of voice.
Pointing his finger at the crossdresser in question, Neseraph continued, "Check it out. So there we were, balls deep in the shit. We got like a couple hours to find a friend of ours, Nazune, and have no idea where to look, since she coulda been anywhere. Time's runnin' out, and we had to think of somethin' fast.
"Well, you know, I'm not naming any names here, but someone had the fuckin' brilliant idea of dressin' ol' Viv here up as Nazune. I mean, he had the stature right, all 'cept for tits. Nothin' that couldn't be fixed with a little toilet paper though -- there's no shame in it, lots of chicks do it-"
Insera's heel slammed down Neseraph's foot again, interrupting his sentence by making him yelp and then wince while he pinched his eyes and mouth shut.
Afterward, Neseraph continued unabated, "Picture Vivante here, throwing his manhood out the window and taking one for the team. He made a pretty convincing Nazune too -- if he really was a chick, I probably would've boned him. No lie. That convincing.
"Anyway, after we prettied Vivante up -- BAM -- he was a bona fide crossdresser. But he's a real sport though, didn't even think twice about it. And it's too bad things didn't work out, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right? We were in a bind, and ol' Vivante here stepped up to the plate.
"How 'bout that, Dante? That a keeper or what?"
Insera, shaking her head as she lifted it from the cradle of her hands, looked as if she were visually apologizing to Vivante after Neseraph so crudely recalled the story.
Lindraeus, even if he wasn't trying to keep to himself, found that he was a lack to comment on the story. He was still under a certain impression of how Neseraphs were likely to be after their ordeals, but Neseraph 001's down-to-earth story was a bit sobering. He looked to Feyda, then Latira, then back to no one in particular.

[Anonymous]

Feyda's eyes were focused on Chastity the whole time she was by the table. She looked for anything in particular that would jump out to her as a suspicious act. Nothing yet. Though, she did find it a little more than odd that this 'normal' woman did not even comment on her abnormal eyes. Especially with all the anti-magic beliefs in Reajh. Something didn't fit right and Feyda was bound to find out. She watched their waitress off til she was out of sight then turned back to everyone else at the table on time to hear Neseraph's colorful story. As he went on, she couldn't help but chuckle as the story dragged on.
Feyda took her time to slide her sunglasses back onto her face and looked towards Vivante with a smirk. After a small shake of the head, she looked down, feeling kinda bad for the man.
"That sounded rather exciting to some degree. Almost as much as the day I met Lindraeus here." Feyda started by motioning her hand in her newer comrade's direction.
"That was the day I discovered that my own life was a little more deceiving than I would have ever imagined."

[Anonymous]

Latira, being so very unaccustomed to human behavior beyond the obvious, did not notice anything out of order. In fact, as she chuckled and smiled along to the story, she relaxed for an evening of fun among.... well, they all seemed friendly enough. She leaned forward, hands gripping the side of her chair as she slid her butt back and curled her ankles around the front legs- no small feat in her boots. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, savouring the smells of alcohol, food, water, perfume and warm wood smoke- coming from some fireplace or other. Opening her eyes again, she looked down at her place and was just a little disappointed that it was still empty.

Well, they didn't run on magic, now did they?

Her muscles were a little stiff, and she enjoyed the warmth of the room to ease that.

When Feyda spoke, she perked up and looked over at her companion. Feyda and her had lots of stories together, but by the tone in her friend's voice, Latira kept quiet to let the blue-haired girl tell her tale.

[Anonymous]

((Merry Christmas everyone!!  Xxerth and I had a lawl one day about what would happen if Viv was given crayons.  This' what happens.  I'll more'n likely, definitely draw more of these.  This thread should churn out plenty of material =D ))

That drink In-Serah and Dante ordered sounded more like a person's name than a proper alcoholic beverage.  Vivante was sure he met a Sha-toe before... or was it that he visited a Sha-toe and the drink was really a place's name.  Whatever it was, it didn't sound like it had anything to do with alcohol.

Vivante had to try it.  Maybe it would taste like a person... or a place.  Hopefully a person.  Maybe In-Serah would let him try some if he saved her from having to stomp Neseraph's foot.  In-Serah's leg could get tired if she lifted it to stomp him too many times.

After Neseraph asked what Sha-toe Day la His Ass would taste like, Vivante's eyebrows raised a little and the corners of his lips briefly spasmed downward.  Eager as he was to try different types of booze, Vivante would gladly pass on one that tasted like Neseraph's tail end.  To distract himself from thinking about that for too long, Vivante looked at the people that appeared just after they did at Pappy's house and tried to remember their names.

The woman with the blue hair that kept talking to Neseraph was... Fey.  Fey-something.  Fey would work... until he could remember whether or not she had more parts in her name.

The redhead next to her was... Vivante squinted a little... Latreea.

The man was... Lindray?

Or maybe the redhead was Lindray and the man was Latreea?  

Vivante was going to have to wait for someone to start talking to them... maybe during the night one of them would get up and go to the water closet and would have a tie loose on their shoes.  Now he had to remember if either had ties on their shoes, and if the loops were big enough for him to work loose under the table without being noticed.

He sat scheming while Neseraph told about the time he had to dress as Nazune.  It was a pretty bad situation.  He almost missed having red hair.

It wouldn't be too far of a stretch to imagine Vivante as a woman.  If he tilted his head a certain way, had a false chest and kept his hands out of sight he could pass if a person didn't look at him too long and didn't know him to begin with.  His voice was trapped in the range between obviously masculine and feminine.  The way he walked was also neutral territory.  No real swagger or swish, just posture that would make a charm school teacher weep tears of joy as she reached for a cane to encourage her students to mimic it.

In the middle of the story, Vivante stopped planning to untie Latreea and Lindray's shoe ties and began listening to Neseraph.  Once the story was finished, he looked from In-Serah (who seemed embarrassed, the time to stomp Neseraph and earn the Sha-toe was coming soon), to Dante and then to Fey when she began a story.

Were they all taking a turn to tell a story for Dante?  Vivante knew what he would say once it was his turn to tell an exciting story...

((Btw... Xxerth, totally sorry for making Insera's jacket look like it was stolen from the set of Dynasty O_O))

[Anonymous]

Dante couldn't help but grin at Neseraph's crude humour. It wasn't exactly something he would have said himself, but still, it deserved a small laugh.

He followed the finger to Vivante, who looked completely nonplussed by the whole thing, whereas Insera seemed to be either very embarrassed for the cyan man or simply angry that Neseraph had already managed to degrade the conversation before the booze had even arrived.

The bard was stricken with a mix of pleasure and disappointment. It was a decent story yes, but it lacked the qualities he needed. It was far from an epic, and if it wasn't an epic it needed to be a joke, but the joke wouldn't work without Vivante there to point at, so it was useless. He pondered the idea of probing Insera later when she was in a more inebriated state of mind for a more serious answer.

With an amused grin touching his lips he replied coyly, "Oh yes Neseraph, quite the keeper. I'm sure I would have taken a crack at 'her' too if I didn't know better and had some wine in my belly." Despite the grin he filed the story away in his brain, still there if it was needed for a greater tale but effectively forgotten.

The blue haired woman, Feyda, was talking nonsense. 'That sounded rather exciting to some degree'? Who talked like that? Dante's literary mind whirred, pointing out the flaws in sentence structure and logic. Something couldn't be rather exciting to some degree, it was either rather exciting or exciting to some degree, and the use of both was just stupid.

It would have been forgiven, were she speaking in some accent and it was just a local drawl, but nothing in her voice or appearance indicated to Dante that Feyda was anything but the first word that came to mind every time one of her sentences scraped it's fingernails over the chalk board of his brain.

Feyda, was an idiot.

[Anonymous]

((I seriously laughed my ass off over those pics! They were perfect.))


"Ya damn right it is," Neseraph approved of Dante's verdict concerning his story, slamming one of his hands down on the table for extra emphasis. "Let that one go down in the history books. Can't wait to hear the Dante edition, ya know what I mean? And don't worry Vivante, I got your back man. I'll make sure you get all your royalties for that shit, you made it happen."
"How about you keep quiet and we move on to the next subject?" Insera threatened more than asked.
Neseraph grinned. "How 'bout you wrap yo lips 'round my mouth and make me? I bet you-"
The table rattled a little more violently this time, and Neseraph pursed his lips and shut his eyes a little more tightly as well. He let out a long, drawn out groan of agony in response to the vicious foot-stomping.
When Feyda spoke up, Insera gestured toward her like she was the saving grace of a conversation nearly gone completely awry, "Please, go on."
"That guy?" Neseraph spoke in a playful as he pointed toward Lindraeus, who glanced around as if that could shift the spotlight off of him. "He can't be that interesting. I've heard a two-by-four say more than him. Hey man, don't look so down, I'm just fuckin'. Don't worry, booze is almost here."
Lindraeus smiled a little, albeit nervously, but the expression died down quickly. He kept reminding himself that, maybe, tomorrow Feyda would come to her senses and they'd get back on track. But for the moment, he just needed to get through the night more or less intact.
"Yeah... sure," Lindraeus said quietly, to no one in particular. He shifted his attention to Feyda then, wondering on how she felt about everything that had happened to her.
He quivered a little. Hopefully he didn't have to tell a story.


Back in the kitchen area, Anima watched as the round of drinks for her 'customers' were filled by the bartenders and placed onto her tray. She also noticed when she got a few looks from the other workers at the restaurant; Chastity must have been a popular girl here.
Or perhaps beauty was only skin deep to them.
She smirked slightly, letting Insera's innermost thoughts and feelings float around inside her own mind. Anima's potent toxin allowed her unrestricted access into the poor imbiber's mind, their deepest and most private thoughts. Once you knew everything about someone, you could then easily pick them apart -- slowly, relentlessly, deliberately.
Because you knew the complete truth then. Perhaps even truth that they themselves have not discovered yet.
Just like Insera. Though she was not the true target for the toxin, Anima delighted herself by pouring over all of Insera's dark and dirty little secrets. Like the details of her relationship with her father, Alexston Richard. Perhaps later, she would have to get the other half of the story from her father's perspective... and a healthy serving of revenge as well.
But it was Neseraph's mind that she truly wished to -- desperately needed to -- probe; everything else was just for fun. And, to make sure that happened, Insera might need a little help opening up to a little fluid transfer.
Reaching into her side pouch, Anima pulled out a small beige tablet. She uncorked one of the bottles of Chateau De La Meursai and dropped the tablet into it, watching it dissolve instantly once it touched the liquid.
If the alcohol didn't loosen up her inhibitions, then the drug certainly would.


"Now here we are!" announced Chastity as she came back to the table, carrying with her the tray full of the their drinks.
"Alright! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout, Chassy," exclaimed Neseraph as he rubbed his hands together.
To Feyda and Latira, the waitress gave them each a bottle of Stone's Brewery hard liquor, which had a percentage of alcohol that made absolutely no sense at all. The bottle even had a little skull-and-crossbones on it.
Vivante and Neseraph each got their mugs of beer. And Neseraph, wasting no time, threw back a gulp instantly once he took it from Chastity's grip.
Lastly, Chastity placed a bottle of Chateau in front of both Dante and Insera, as well as few glasses for each of them. "Alright everyone, your food will be ready soon. And let me know if you need more to drink," she said with a wink, aimed particularly at Vivante.
"Oh how I need this," Insera chimed mostly to herself as she popped open her bottle.
She poured some of the wine into the glass in front of her.
Chastity smiled brightly, then turned to start walking away again.

[Anonymous]

Feyda gave a curt nod to Insera when she was asked to carry on. She was about to open her mouth to start with her own story when Chastity arrived with the first round of drinks. Feyda kept quiet for the time she was around. When the waitress began to walk off, the dark woman's hand wrapped around Chastity's wrist.
"Excuse me, Chas. But do you believe in angels?" Feyda asked, knowing full well that not even any citizen in Reajh would answer with a yes. Not giving much time of thought, she released the waitress' wrist and turned back to face everyone else at the table.
"Regardless, I do believe you should stick around and hear this. It all started in a bar in Zantaric, much like this one. Only not as classy. I showed up to ask for my usual round of drinks when strange things started to happen in the bar. The lights would go out while the patrons would disappear one by one. Eventually, it was down to three of us. It was me, Lindy here, and a man named Duugre. It was around that time that man named Mikael showed his face. Both myself and Duugre had our worlds turned upside down that night." Feyda's story was to the point. She waited a moment after mentioning Mikael and looked around to see any form of reaction from anyone.

[Anonymous]

Latira watched Feyda, surprised at her friend's behavior. However, she trusted her friend had a reason for it. She poured over the scent in the air again... nothing seemed to abnormal... But then, dragons tend to have a skewed opinion on "normal."

When the loud man walked in, his voice rang a little too much in her sensitive ears. If she were an animal, with ears on top of her head, they would have flattened. Dragons normally don't have ears, and as such she was surprised by the muscle reflex that twitched her ears for her.

She eyed the drink. Perhaps she could, ahh, drown the noise out.

She lifted the bottle, one hand curling around it while the other brushed its side with her fingertips. She giggled at the skull and crossed bones sign as she twisted the cap off with bare hands. She didn't even let the bit of vapour escape before she tipped it up and felt the kick of the beverage as it hit her tongue. Quietly, without cough, she finished her gulp and put it down, returning her attention to Feyda.

[Anonymous]

No beer in sight and Neseraph must have thrown Fey off when he began talking to Lindray... Lindy.  Vivante tapped a finger on the table, waiting for Fey to begin her story or the booze to get here.  

Booze beat out the story.  Vivante didn't mind, he had his beer and if Fey wasn't going to tell any more of her story he'd be able to tell his even sooner.  His eyes followed Chastity around the table, watching her drop the bottles off to Fey and Latreea, then give Neseraph his mug of beer and then sweep past In-Serah and Dante to give him his own mug.  Like Neseraph, Vivante picked up his mug and began drinking like the beer was going to turn to sand in the next heartbeat.  He managed to drain half the mug before he came up for air and saw that Fey had the waitress.  Good thinking.  She could get them more to drink a lot faster if they didn't have to summon her to the table.

Vivante did feel like he was behind if Fey was already ordering more to drink, so he polished off the rest of his mug and held it up in the air.  Unfortunately, Fey let the waitress go.  His call for more beer turned into a belch shortly after he opened his mouth and that sudden full feeling in his stomach promised more.  Then Fey started her story and Vivante lowered his mug a little, listening as he looked for a sign that the waitress knew he needed more beer.

The only reaction Vivante had after Fey mentioned Mikael was belching again.

[Anonymous]

"Thank you," Dante mumbled, eyeing the wine. That wasn't what he'd asked for. He'd ordered a single bottle and glasses to share it, not a bottle for everyone who wanted some. He wouldn't be able to drink a whole bottle by himself.

Oh well, by the looks of things there would be no shortage of people willing to finish it for him.

Squeezing out the cork of his own bottle, Dante poured himself a half glass of the deep red liquid. He set down the bottle, considering asking Chastity for food before deciding he wasn't hungry.

A sip of the wine confirmed that his choice was a fine one, the perfectly aged port ripe and bold on his tongue. Excellent year.

There wasn't much to say really, so the bard just watched everyone and listened, taking in their personalities and mannerisms, remembering as much detail as he could and occasionally sipping his wine.