Ice Breaking [MC]

[Mkvenner]

He’d been surprised when he realised he had enough in the bank to buy his own place, but what truly amazed Mkvenner was that he pretty much never needed to leave. Ever. Corvidae Flats seemed to have essentially everything he needed. There was an ATM, there was a shop and there was a PC terminal. There was even a bar, not that he could exactly enjoy the wares it provided. And, on top of all of this, there was a plentiful supply of zombies and feral vampires to entertain himself with. He’d fallen into a comfortable cycle of killing zombies until he ran out of ammunition, then selling their ears and using the profit to resupply with bullets. Entirely self sufficient and he still made a small profit. He was getting the best of both worlds, and he was really rather enjoying that. It was why he’d invited the small group of people he’d met over to his place, really. “Look guys, isn’t this place incredible?”.

So he’d shot out a quick email, selected his best (only) leather jacket from where it hung in his closet (lay on the floor - he didn’t have a closet) and made his way down to the lobby to take up his position by the bar. Because such things were expected at social gatherings. He wasn’t expecting anyone to arrive immediately, or necessarily at all, so after placing a couple of orders to keep up appearances, he ventured away from the bar to take care of some of the closer zombies to keep himself occupied. He had no real idea what to expect from any of the people he’d invited, he quickly realised, having only spent a short amount of time in the company of each, and never in a group with them all. In all, ‘unpredictable’ would probably be the best way to describe how the night was shaping up, and to his particular mindset, that sounded like it could be a lot of fun.

[LaShana]

Shana was debating how much it would worry the humans around her if she smashed the cafe computer terminal in half when the email showed up. She ignored it for a minute, to check the wraith guide for the 80th time in the past hour, just in case a miracle had occured.

Nope.

She glowered at the screen as she scrolled back to her email account. Hmm. Bar hangout could be fun. Maybe take her mind off things for a little. She glanced down at her outfit, which was really borderline combat gear at the moment. The human nearest her shot her an uneasy look, which she returned with interest. He immediately returned to staring diligently at the notebook in his lap, which was upside-down.

Shana replied quickly, just so say she'd be on her way, and then shut down the computer, making an effort not to check the guide before she did so. She'd just have to trust the universe on this one. When she was meant to get her abilities back, she'd get them back. Until then, no use moping around for days on end.

Halfway out the door, she considered her outfit again. Probably she ought to change. She did have a couple of dresses back at her apartment, if the moths hadn't eaten them during the months she'd been asleep. On the other hand, this bar was inside Quarantine, so how picky could the dress code possibly be? And she didn't want to get zombie ooze on her only nice clothes.

She compromised by swinging past her place and changing into marginally dressier jeans and a crop-top that made it look like she was trying a little bit, but y'know, not too hard. She avoided makeup altogether, though, because the last thing she wanted to do before a potentially enjoyable night out was face her new self in the mirror.

Somehow, despite her complete lack of maintenance, a couple hours still managed to pass by the time she hopped off her motorcycle at the gates to the QZ. A quick glance in both directions, just to make sure no humans were watching, and Shana hopped the fence with ease.

Compared to the deserted buildings around, the bar looked positively hopping. Shana paused long enough to decapitate the nearest zombie and store her sword safely in its sheath before she stepped inside. The faint scent of rotting flesh lingered on the air, thanks to the location. But at least being inside the QZ meant they were unlikely to run into any damn humans.

Shana waved at the guy who'd invited her -- Ven, was it? She knew it was something longer than that, but she couldn't pronounce the rest of it to save her life -- then plunked herself down at the bar top and leaned across to flag the 'tender down. She might not be able to actually imbibe the stuff, but she could at least smell the whiskey. That would have to be enough for the time being.

[Lyonel]

There was nothing that stopped the tall killer from getting up from the leather office chair that had him confined in one spot for the last several hours. He was about to shut down the computer and stand to his full height of three inches over the average six feet when an incoming message flashed on the screen. He stood up stretched and leaned down on each palm on the edge of the surface beneath the computer and his hands. Celadon eyes skimmed the few lines that were inviting him over for a meeting. The email was worded rather casual and friendly enough so he nodded as he gave a brief scratch at his jaw. Go home and clean up or just head on over? He already decided to head on over skipping the clean up.

Lyonel didn’t send a reply. His arrival would be enough. That would be as casual as one could get. The man lifted back up and stretched out his index finger and tapped the computer to shut down. He stepped around his desk and slid that same finger beneath he tie on his neck. He loosened it up so that by the time he was at the door to his office in Veil Tower he was minus a tie and the lights were out as the door closed behind him. He locked up and headed out into the night. He was on his way and his mind went over what he was walking into besides the quarantine zone of Harper Rock.

After a few tangos with the riled up Paladins he made his way up out of the sewers and over to the place he was asked to show up at. He didn’t exactly understand why someone would choose to live in the QZ but he was thinking he would be able to find out as soon as he stepped inside. With that thought he reached his hand out and pulled open the door and stepped inside to a rather interesting place.

It was impressive, clean and really beyond anything he expected. That all changed as a zombie moved along at a pace with full intent of greeting him. Faces he recognized seemed rather comfortable with what was moving around in their midst. A contrast it was and so he decided he would do the honors and gave the piece of walking waste a nice skewer of his master blade through the skull. As the blade slid back where it came from he took notice towards the bar. There had to be the one who invited him over and it seemed he had company. He shrugged and made his way up to the bar with all the confidence in the world.

“Mkvenner?” He stood to the side hoping to get the mans attention without interrupting anything important. If he did well that was just one of those things that the man in the leather jacket would have to let slide. After all he was the one that shot the email invite out that had him standing there waiting for an answer.

[Roderic]

"What do you say, Pete?" I look at the guy sprawled out on the bed, his abdomen ripped wide open with a tool I had used earlier in the night. So far I had two legs, a pair of intestines and now, a kidney. I'd probably take an arm later for good measure and to speed things along, but I had time to think about it. The woman in the bathroom with a gun outside the bathtub on the floor and half her head missing, had a pretty nice torso. "Woman it is. Good for a first trial run." I nod my head at the guy, as if he had told me what I should do.

I move from the bedroom, to the bathroom where I was going to start my work on the woman in the tub, who was made to look like she had taken her own life, after doing something extreme to her boyfriend. Guilt made people do crazy things. But, I didn't mind playing on the emotions of others. Turning those things in my favor and against them.

My phone goes off and I sigh.
I hate when my work is interrupted.
I take off the powder blue examiner's glove and roll it to fit nicely in my coat pocket. I grab my phone from the other pocket and see the email. Decisions. I wanted to go, but I also wanted to do this more. It wasn't as if bodies fell from the sky. Or situations like these.

I know what to do. I pick the body up, call the shadows to me and leave the building with a chick in pajamas, arms dangling across my back as we walk across the water in the bullwood area, to the meet up place. I look around once before I head in, then nudge the door open with a boot.

People would only see the door opening, but they would hear my boots on the hardwood floor as I head in and drop the body from the confines of my shadows, to a chair next to a white couch. Some blood splatters on the couch, but I shrug it off. Who put white in a land filled with death? I did them a favor.

"Someone called for a get together?" I say as the shadows recede from around me, one blue glove on my hand, one half out of my pocket, as I grab for my pack of cigarettes.

[Mkvenner]

Dispatching a zombie with a close-round bullet to the temple, because that never gets old, Ven turned to face the door as it swung open, revealing Shana as she wandered into the apartment building with a wave and a grin before making her way over to the bar. Seeing the immediate area free from the shambling undead, he decided that making his way over to join her seemed like the best possible use of his time, arriving just as she was ordering a whiskey. He remained silent, unsure of how these things worked for her, but knowing that if she were anything like him, actually drinking it would be a lot less enjoyable than one might think. He’d have to see how that one turned out, he thought to himself.

He was just taking the seat next to Shana when someone else arrived, and called attention to the fact by quietly saying his name. He turned with a grin and saw Lyonel standing behind him and just off to one side. He stood, nodding in greeting.

“Lyonel! Glad you could make it, lad. This here’s Shana. Shana, this is Lyonel. Any more than that you’ll need to find out for yourself,” he grinned, “I don’t really know too much about either of you, and that’s why we’re here, right?”

He motioned that Lyonel should take his recently vacated seat, and began to look around him for a spare he could commandeer for the evening. It was at this point that he noticed that the fourth member of their little troupe had arrived, gloves and all, and had made himself known.

“And this,” he began, “Is Roderic. Roderic; Shana and Lyonel. I feel pretty confident you can work you who’s who. But, if you guys’ll excuse me for one minute… “

Leaving them to their own devices, slash to get to know each other, Ven headed off towards the other side of the lobby, having spotted a handy looking chair that was currently sitting unclaimed. Making short work of both claiming it and then returning to the bar with it, he took his seat and grinned broadly.

“So then. What’s there to do for fun around here?”

[LaShana]

Shana was eying the whiskey in her glass rather morosely when Ven showed up at her elbow. She knew what would happen if she drank it. But it looked so damn appealing after the week she'd had. Instead she settled for swirling it around in the glass suggestively.

"So..." Shana began, then trailed off as someone called Ven's name. She hadn't been sure where she was going with that anyway. Meeting new people was always a little strange for her. She wasn't uncomfortable, per say, just not exactly sure what to say. Course, that was a trait of hers in most social situations.

She turned to smile at the new guys as Ven introduced them. The shadow looked familiar, actually. Same bloodline. Maybe she'd run across him somewhere before. Shana's hand twitched -- she almost extended it to shake, but then she noticed the man's conspicuous gloves, and thought better of it.

"Howdy," she said. "So how'd you two get roped into this?" They made an odd group. None of them seemed to know each other any better than her. As usual, her brain was already sizing them up. Habit, at this point. The killer would probably have her beat in a one-on-one -- especially rusty as she was -- but the shadows were harder to figure.

She shook her head slightly. She needed to switch her brain out of defensive mode. Relax, enjoy the night. Make friendly.

Her eyes drifted to Ven as he departed to apparently claim a chair on the other side of the room. "Is he always that strange?" she asked in an undertone, before he was back in earshot.

[Lyonel]

Lyonel nodded at the woman as she spoke. Shana it was. He had seen her before in the sewers. Dark as it was down there it was still a great place to see the many walking the same darks paths he was down below. His attention went from her to the man who approached with a glove hanging out of his pocket. It appeared that someone was rather tidy with their hands. It didn't seem that odd to him. It wasn't his business and there was nothing wrong with trying to keep your hands clean even while they were digging into the dirt. He was there because of a casual invite, not to figure out who likes to do what. He left all interest in figuring out why people did what they did back at the office.

"Shana." He finished his nod then shot a look to the man with gloves. "Roderic."

Mkvenner was about to sit when he arrived so he figured he might as well grab a seat at the bar a couple down instead of the one Mkvenner abandoned leaving two open next to Shana for Roderic in case the man who was hosting the impromptu gathering came back empty handed. He stepped around and slid a long leg over to casually sit down. He was not going to be able to consume anything that likely was served at the bar but he figured if he gave it enough time something with a heartbeat would likely try sliding in through the doors. Humans were everywhere. He had been around long enough to know some of the most curious were known to be where you would least expect them.

For now it would be the subtle slight of hand and distracting conversation to appear that he was enjoying the whiskey he intended on having the barkeep place in front of him. He caught the eyes of the one behind the bar and found the attention promising. He had to admit there was a pleasure of sorts in taking in the scent of whiskey, fine quality. It was worth savoring just as was the first burn of a cigarette after being lit. It never was better than that first intake.

"Whiskey." He looked over at the others after confirming the one behind the bar was ready to take an order. "Whatever they order put it on a tab. I will take care of it."

If a man was comfortable anywhere then it would be the one turning a little to face them as much as the bar stool beneath his *** would allow. He wondered if anyone was going to answer Shana as to how they got roped into this gathering. He offered up his own hoping it would suffice.

"I was invited by, Mkvenner. You two?" He heard the sounds of a glass sliding towards him and caught it bringing it to a stop with the claiming of his hand.

[Roderic]

Shana and Lyonel.
I kept those names in the back of my mind as I watched them.
I liked to people watch. Or in this case, vampire watch.

They were all ordering drinks, which, from what I knew wasn't a good thing.
At least not from my research online. I wondered what would happen, but I kept the thought to myself.
I never liked drinking before I was this, so I wasn't about to try it and find out.
It's not that booze wasn't appealing, it just numbed your senses.
And I counted on those things a lot in my "work."

"Call me 'Ric." I finally say, my eyes going back to the woman.
I wasn't big on killing women, but it was all part of a story. Or was going to be part of a story, when I got finished with it all.
With all the weird **** in this city going on, it literally felt like a playground.
My playground.

Shifting my focus off work, to this was a difficult task.
I was still in the mode.
Weighing my options.
Right. Time to be social.
Not that I knew what that was.
I didn't like people, I only liked ******* with them.

"Same." I answer the question.
Yeah, I was invited here, but I was here because I wanted to be here.
"I know a friend of a friend." I wasn't going to go in to much detail, because I don't know these people.
I don't trust them.
"From a different chapter. Back in the US." That was pretty vague. The US was a large lump of land and chapters were everywhere. I knew of three back home myself.
I don't sit, even after introductions are made. I'm not sure how long I was going to stay.
Guess it depended on what was offered and if it was more interesting then my date with Jane Doe over there on the couch.

[Mkvenner]

Ven noticed two things fairly quickly. The first thing he realised was that he was really quite pleased to see that he would not need to pick up the tab, because Lyonel had already instructed the bartender that he’d be paying. So that was good. And the second thing he realised was that Roderic was a little off. Not in a particularly subtle way, either. And that wasn’t a bad thing. They were, after all, all vampires ‘drinking’ in a bar, surrounded by zombies. ‘A little off’ was essentially the order of the day, so he pulled up his chair and took his seat without comment. At least they were speaking to each other, he realised. When he’d sent out the invitations, he had genuinely not known which direction the night might take. Deciding that now was as good a time as any, considering that everyone had introduced themselves and no-one had lost a limb yet, Ven spoke up.

“So here’s the thing, guys,” he began, “I’m pretty new here. Don’t really know anyone and don’t have too many ways to earn. Killing zombies will only get you so far and all that. And I mean, B&Es are fun and all, but they’re just not getting me too much cash. So I was thinking. What if we got to know each other a bit better, see what we’re into and see what we like doing for fun and take it from there. Who knows, we might even work well as a team and all get rich. And who doesn’t like getting rich?”

He paused to mime sipping at his whiskey, carefully masking the fact that he was not actually drinking out of habit more than any compulsion to keep what he was a secret. If there was anywhere where it was safe to revel in your immortality, it was probably the Quarantine Zone. People not being able to drink kinda don’t rate against the walking, rotting undead.

“While I think of it. Does anyone else own a bike and like to ride? I kinda love my Dyna. Figure a ride’s a good a place to start as any, really. If you lot’d be up for it? Could be fun. Make some noise, cause some trouble… “

He couldn’t help himself from grinning. He’d missed mayhem.

[LaShana]

“Cheers,” Shana said to the other killer, when he told the bartender to charge him for the rest of their drinks. Damnit. She’d forgotten his name already. It usually took her an embarrassingly long time to remember new people. Something she’d have to start working on if she was planning to get more social, go out and about in the city more often.

Roderic was the creepy shadow guy, though, as the killer helpfully repeated. Roderic, Roderic, Roderic she recited a few times, hoping it would stick. Course, a moment later he told them to call him Ric instead. Argh. Ric, Ric, Ric. Least it was shorter.

Shana followed the man’s gaze to a spot across the room. From her vantage point on the barstool, through the thickening crowd, she couldn’t see much beyond the corner of a couch over the way, with a few red spatters across it. Zombie? Feral vamp? Who knew.

Hmm. Ric said he was from a different chapter, in the US. She hadn’t known there were other chapters of this little club. Though it wasn’t surprising, she supposed. They were a pretty small group so far from the looks of it. Must be a new contingent just forming here. She wondered if Ven had belonged to a different chapter too, before he came here.

Shana was about to reply to Lyonel’s question of how she’d wound up there – not an interesting tale, basically the same way they all had – when Ven spoke up. Damn, she’d been hoping they could get to the getting rich part before the Hey let’s compare rides part. Not that Cary Grant was a bad bike, he just looked a little bit worse for the wear at the moment. ‘Til she could save up more cash for some bodywork and a new paint job, anyway. She might not be girly about a lot of things, but she liked to keep her possessions looking nice.

Oh well. Far be it from her to let vanity stand in the way of a little fun. “Sure, sounds good to me.” Shana set her whiskey back on the bar with a smile. “Know any good routes around here?” She hadn’t exactly been driving in Harper Rock for very long. Hell, she wasn’t even sure if her US license had expired yet or not. Were US licenses legal in Canada anyway? Eh. The cops already had her on their watch list for a couple of gang-related incidents earlier in the week, guess it didn’t matter if they caught her speeding or something.

Shana smile morphed into a grin as she glanced at the other two, waiting for their replies.