Mortal Combat (open)

Methuselah Posts : 42120 Join date : 2010-08-25

She was dressed mostly conservatively - which is to say that her boobs weren't hanging completely out of her dress and it took some work to see up her dress for once. She was still showing cleavage, but hey - she owned a bar. And boobs make money. She had left her hair mostly down, save for a pair of hair combs on either side, keeping her hair out of her face. And she was behind the bar, working with one of her on-duty girls, since Ali had the night off. She was even in a good mood, singing along with the song that was playing - headbanging a little bit but mostly dancing behind the bar, busying herself with pouring drinks for the rush of humanity that came up to get lit and happily taking their money.

Upside was that she actually had her drinks reasonably priced - even maybe a little low sometimes - so she ended up making profit hand-over-fist. Cheaper booze meant more people lining up to hand over their cash for it.

Methuselah Posts : 7234 Join date : 2013-05-31

Victor almost stumbled up to the bar when his turn in the line came.

"Rum. Lots." He was oddly messy, with what smelled strangely like diesel in his hair, and engine grease on the front of his clothes. And under his finger nails.

Methuselah Posts : 42120 Join date : 2010-08-25

She actually almost didn't recognize him. Then she reached for the bottle of the good stuff - the Kindred sort, that would actually get him drunk.

"Oooooookay, did you get into a fight with a boat engine?"

Methuselah Posts : 7234 Join date : 2013-05-31

"Fuel filter on the portside engine was giving me fits. It got weird from there. We won't say anything about slipping and falling into the bottom of the disgusting oil soaked engine bay."

Methuselah Posts : 42120 Join date : 2010-08-25

She looked amused, her brow raising as her lips twitched.

"And there was some reason that you couldn't just...hire a professional to take care of it?"

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

The hooded figure was back. This time, though, he wasn't trying to keep out of her line of sight. He wanted her to know that he was there. He walked straight up to the bar and slid onto a stool -- almost shoving some twenty-something college twit out of the way when he sat down. He wasn't mean about it, she was just standing in the way talking to one of her other friends about one of the guys on the dance floor and only succeeding in keeping other patrons away from the stool. It's why he didn't mind shoving past her to sit down.

His face hidden by the hood so that no one had to be subjected to the hideousness of his face, he actually took both hands and folded them in front of him on the bar. The scars didn't run down his arms or to his hands, so they were pristine and he was actually trying to show the bar's owner that, at least for the moment, he wasn't armed.

He could see Griselda was occupied in talking to the man who looked like a refugee from the BP oil spill, giving him her full attention. Was she trying to fuck the refugee, he wondered? No, he somehow doubted it. The look in her eyes when she looked at him was friendly, but it wasn't hungry. So she must have already fucked him, then. After all, that's what she was good at and pretty much all she was good for.

Stop it.

The bitterness was creeping in again, making him think like that. He was trying to be civil. He just could hear Joseph's voice in his ear, telling him what a whore Griselda was and had been, how she was really only good for using her body to manipulate others. It was her one true skill. Except...well, hell, now he was confused again. He had done more checking since the last time he had spoken to her, when she had hung up the phone on him. And nothing at all indicated that she was anything like that, nothing at all that he had heard or been able to find -- and there was a lot -- said that she acted like a whore. But then, hadn't she used her body to manipulate him?

That was actually why he was here. He couldn't get his fucking head straight. He couldn't figure out what was real and what wasn't anymore. He didn't even want to talk to Griselda, not really. He just wanted to see her, hear her voice. Every time he saw her or talked to her, memories flooded him and some of the haze disappeared -- but three more hazy pieces of memory also cropped up. Two steps forward and three steps back, almost. But he knew that it wouldn't end until he had seen her a bit more.

She was so pretty, with her ever-young body and her almost childlike smile. And her hair was pulled back so that it framed her face with little pearl combs...God damn it. He had given her those. He loved her hair, so very much. He had given her those combs for Christmas and she'd been delighted with them -- but she hadn't taken them home with her. She was worried that Joseph would find them, she'd said and even as much as Angelo knew she was a liar now, the truth rang through when he remembered her explaining how she loved them but she didn't want to risk it. She didn't want him to be in danger or hurt. So he had kept them at his apartment for her and when she would come to visit, she would wear them for him. Sometimes, that was the only thing she would wear. His lips pursed in a frown as he watched the redhead, but he did nothing to draw attention to himself and he didn't reach for a weapon. He didn't need to fight tonight.

Methuselah Posts : 7234 Join date : 2013-05-31

Victor chuckled and sipped his drink. "I could have, but you know guys and engines. More a long comedy of errors starting with replacing the heat exchanger, a stuck bolt, and me forgetting about the strength training I've been doing with Jamie. Miyu will have kittens when she sees me like..."

The Ventrue noticed Angelo come in and take a stool and raised an eyebrow, while taking note of the ghoul's visible hands. "Why don't you pour the gentleman a drink and put it on my tab? "

Methuselah Posts : 42120 Join date : 2010-08-25

She laughed softly.

"Men," she said and rolled her eyes. "He's been hovering for fifteen minutes. I was actually going to wait until he flagged me over, but - do you have a specific drink you'd like me to send or should I just make him his favorite?"

Methuselah Posts : 7234 Join date : 2013-05-31

Victor shrugged. "His favorite. Also, I want Audrina to understand that even with great wealth one should not be unwilling to get dirty doing things that need done. When she takes her place in the world I want her to understand the blue collar as well as the white collar..." He blinked and chuckled. "I sound like my father now."

Methuselah Posts : 42120 Join date : 2010-08-25

She turned and reached for the bottle of gin, using one hand to flip it over to start pouring it - along with lemon juice and sugar. As she filled the rest of the glass with club soda, she laughed at that.

"I'm pretty sure you don't need to worry about that with Audrina. She's a good kid." She added a cherry and slice of orange to the glass and stuck a straw in there - it was over ice - and held up a finger. "Right back in a moment, love. For Pete's sake, though, go wash your hands." She winked and turned on her heel, glass in hand.

She didn't actually pause at all, sliding the glass onto the bar in front of the scarred man without so much as a hitch. "From the gentleman down the way."

Methuselah Posts : 7234 Join date : 2013-05-31

Victor went and washed his hands and face, he'd picked up some degreasing soap on the way over since he'd been out and sat back down. Never one to travel without a spare set of clothes (being a vampire can get bloody at dinner sometimes after all) he came back a few minutes later looking more presentable, although still slightly smelling of diesel and grease.

The Ventrue picked up his drink again and raised it in toast to Angelo before smiling at Griselda again. "Yeah, she is a good kid. She will do great things that one."

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

With the wink, he was dead certain that she was fucking the BP Refugee. She had to be. She was typically shy, unless she knew you really well...and she only ever got to know you really well if she was riding you in a chair. He did look a little taken aback at the drink that was placed before him:

"Who is he?" It was much shorter than he meant for it to be and the sound came out more like a growl. He wasn't trying to be mean or rude. But he had to face facts...and one of those facts was that, even after all this time, he was not over the small redhead in front of him. He wasn't even close to over her. Part of his growl came from the stab of jealousy when he thought of her in the arms of the oil-stained man, whispering sweet words in his ear. He didn't like it and that made him uncomfortable. So he growled.

But then, he had watched her pour the drink, so he wasn't worried that she'd done something to it. And part of him -- a large part -- was utterly baffled at the fact that she had remembered his favorite drink. Tom Collins. He hadn't had one in well over a century.

Methuselah Posts : 42120 Join date : 2010-08-25

"I'm sure he's trying to woo you, as your overwhelming charm takes him by surprise," she said with a smile. She wasn't trying to antagonize him - it was a joke.

Reaching under the bar, she came up with an old wooden box. She sat that down next to the drink on the bar and smiled. "Whenever you're ready," she said, then walked away, back to where Victor was returning from washing up and changing his clothes.

"She's either going to do magnificent things - or destroy the world," she said with a bright grin about Audrina.

Methuselah Posts : 7234 Join date : 2013-05-31

"Mmm I bet the Russians never changed half their launch codes. I could give her those and she could get a head start..."

Methuselah Posts : 42120 Join date : 2010-08-25

She leaned over the bar to slap the back of his head. Affectionately rather than hurting him, she shook her head.

"Don't even think it."

Methuselah Posts : 7234 Join date : 2013-05-31

Victor rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Ow. Fine. Also, I TRIED to stop those idiots from bringing Chernobyl on line, but nobody ever listens to me... and now look at what happened. Hmmph. "

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

The box was taken and disappeared under his clothes. Where he put it was anyone's guess, because his hands were both still free once the box was gone. He recognized the box, too. He just didn't want to think about it.

He picked up his drink and walked over to Victor, trying to not be rude. He waited until Griselda had gone to serve a few other customers to speak to Victor directly.

"Would it be too much to ask that you don't flirt with her in my presence?" He was growling again, but that couldn't be helped. His voice had been damaged and any time there was any emotion in his voice, it was a growl. Happy or sad or otherwise.

Methuselah Posts : 7234 Join date : 2013-05-31

Victor looked over. And blinked.

And then laughed.

"I'm not flirting. We are friends. Look, I'm engaged" he said holding up his hand with the Japanese style ring on his finger, that he suddenly realized few Westerners would understand. "She's Japanese. Charming woman" he smiled while holding up a picture of him and Miyu on his phone.

"Griselda is just a friend."

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

Up close, Victor could see the damage done to the man's face. One eye was milky white in color and the other was a pale blue. The ruined eye occupied the side of his face that was ruined, the skin puckered and stretched, like maybe he had been badly burned. He had been worked over rather well, whoever had tormented him had done a good job of making him look 'scary' -- but Victor could see that once upon a time, he had been a very handsome young man. Dispassionate eyes looked at the ring on Victor's finger then back up to his face.

"She said that about me once, too," he commented quietly.

Methuselah Posts : 7234 Join date : 2013-05-31

Victor put his phone away and smiled softly before responding with genuine emotion. He actually felt sympathy for the man. Maybe it was the ruined eye, maybe it was the fact the Ventrue's heart was, like the Grinch's growing. Either way, he was feeling sympathetic and part of him thought that was strange.

"She's told me about you. About you both. Not the whole story, but some. You know, she fixed my own eye not too long ago."

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

Angelo stood there and looked at Victor for a few moments before answering. He needed to talk to someone -- and he sure as hell couldn't talk to the bitch. She was busy and wouldn't have time for him....and would just lie anyway. Maybe not. He didn't know anymore and that was frustrating, too.

"I can't remember," he confessed, making sure Griselda couldn't hear him. "I have memories, but they're getting all fucked in my head. Every time I see her, something else gets twisted. So I'm asking you to please not let her flirt with you. I can't deal with that emotional bullshit on top of everything else right now and I don't want to hurt you." He had no reason to hurt Victor. But he wasn't positive he could control himself at present and that was the hardest thing to admit.

Methuselah Posts : 7234 Join date : 2013-05-31

Victor nodded. "Understandable. But please too, understand, we are not flirting. To be utterly blunt, I would never have anything to do with her, or anyone of her or your family beyond a friendship. And even that is... cautious at some level. But I will tell her to tone down the overly friendly behavior. Also.." he chuckled "I'm a bit harder to hurt than I look. And that little Japanese woman? Sometimes she just needs an excuse to pick up her very long grudge against your family and she gets very stabby. Now having waved dicks around, let's talk. Memories are fickle, especially when people have been manipulating them and reworking them, on top of the problems you might be having with the blood. Tell me what you remember and I'll tell you if it meshes with what I know, and maybe we can help put your mind back on an even keel eh?"

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

Angelo smiled. It wasn't about waving his dick around. The truth was that if he truly wanted to hurt Victor, much like Griselda hadn't seen him coming the last time he had visited the bar, this man would never see it coming. But he didn't need to say that, he just smiled instead.

He pointed to Griselda. "See those hair pieces she's wearing? I gave her those," he said it easily, as though it didn't matter at all. "Our first Christmas together. This is where it gets stupid." He finally, for the first time, took a sip of the drink in his hand. "I remember two different things. I remember her seeming to be delighted but telling me she couldn't accept them because she was concerned that her husband Joseph might find them and be angry. Now, I know she and Joseph weren't married, but that's what she said, so she lied about that. And I also remember her being angry, so angry that she cried when I gave her those, telling me that they were useless and pointless and why couldn't I at least get her something worthwhile?" He tapped his temple. "Twisted up."

Methuselah Posts : 7234 Join date : 2013-05-31

Victor was reminded at some level of why he found Tremere distasteful, but he suspected that could be some sort of latent genetic memory too.

"I am reasonably certain the last one is a lie. I have never known Griselda to be ungrateful and rude over a gift, regardless of it's value. The question is how are you going to learn to filter the lies from the truth? She's been made alien to you, yet to discern truth will require not only much conversation with her,but also learning a new way of thinking."

Admin Posts : 20841 Join date : 2010-03-19

He seemed to growl in frustration.

"That's the problem. Yes, she's been made alien, but you have to remember that you didn't know her back then. I did." A lot could change in two centuries. A lot had changed. And part of him knew that he would need to be around Griselda more but that didn't sit well with him, either. He was a walking contradiction. He wanted to get to the truth and be around Griselda, but the more he was around her, the more the old emotions came back -- came back and hit him hard, so that it was sometimes hard for him to separate it. And like with this man, her friendly way of flirting with this fellow brought his jealousy to the surface and while he knew he had no right, it didn't matter when emotion was involved.

Joseph had done a very thorough job of making Griselda the only thing that mattered to Angelo. Emotionally, mentally, physically. Angelo was obsessed with her -- her deeds, her words, the look of her, sound, taste. His whole world had been her and now it was even more so, since he didn't have Joseph's guidance to fall back on.

"I don't have any desire to converse with her. For one, she would just lie anyway. For another, I can't trust anything she says, so what's the point? There is no 'new way of thinking'."

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