City of the Truly Dead Dead [Open]

[Lancaster]

Charlie agreed to the suggestion, and then left. Elliot watched her go, continuing to stand right where he was for a minute even after the place she’d occupied was completely empty. It didn’t matter where Elliot was, or what was going on in his life, in moments of complete stillness—like this—he was subject to swirling, eddying emotions. It was as if there was an ocean inside of his soul, and that ocean was affected by the weather around it. There were tidal waves and typhoons, hurricanes and cyclones, each a little more destructive than the last.

At that moment, the sea was calm. At least, in moments of ease, there was always calm on the surface. Underneath, however, the currents of emotions drifted and changed, clashed and mingled, one with the other. Charlie wasn’t so much an enigma to Elliot, but in this stranger he saw a lot of himself when he was first turned. He felt for her. The empathy was a heavy thing, and it felt strange, too. After a minute of stillness he figured it out. He could empathise with Charlie without feeling guilty. He did not do this to her. He did not bring her into this life. That particular regret—of stealing her humanity from her—was not one he had to wear.

That did not mean, however, that he had to let her drift and discover the inconsistencies of this city on her own. Elliot turned away from the empty space she had left behind, and headed back toward the Mausoleum. Back inside, and closing the door securely behind him, he headed for chamber seven—his own. He cleaned his weapons and put them away before packing up Curlew—his guitar—and toming back to the Den. From there, he went through the portal door to the Crypt, where he kept all his clothes. The Crypt was where he and Pi had made their home together. They hadn’t even discussed it. It was the first place she had ever brought him to. And so it had become their place.

The shower was hot and thorough, but quick. He dressed in dark denim jeans and a red, button-up t-shirt. The collar was crisp beneath his fingers. The shirt was new-ish, and hadn’t yet succumbed to the lack of ironing, and the crumpled mess that usually left them in. The sleeves struggled as he rolled them, but soon enough had them rolled up to his elbows. On his feet, he wore his regular old brown leather shoes, scuffed from over-use, but comfortably worn in. Once dressed, he resumed his usual habit of toming back to the Den, and taking the fade portal door that landed him in the office of Lancaster’s. He checked a few of the notes that had been left on the desk, making sure there was nothing urgent he needed to attend to, before stepping out of the office and behind the bar.

Charlie was already there. He wandered over to stand in front of her.

”Long time no see. What can I getcha?” he asked with a grin.

[CharlotteC]

”Long time no see. What can I getcha?”

Charlie lifted her brown eyes to the sound of Elliot's voice. One brow lifted ever so slightly above the rim of her glasses at his standing on that side of the the bar. "So you work here hmmm? What is good here?" She asked as she sat up a bit more. As she had waited for him she had taken in Lancaster's. The music was good, the kind that she didn't mind, in fact a lot of it she liked. There was a stage and she wondered what kind of bands that played. Were they big names or just Indy bands? Then she had noticed the pool table and smirked, she had been pretty good at pool in her human life. It wasn't like there was alot of things to do in her sleepy little town, especially if you were young. Seniors out numbered 'youngins' seven to one.

She turned her attention back on Elliot now though since he was there it was a good idea not to be rude. She may be a thief but she wasn't one for being rude or cruel. And lately, though she hadn't been big on lying before, lying now was almost impossible. So she seemed to see herself as being far nicer than she had been when she was human, which was saying something. Again she shook herself out of her thoughts and looked at Elliot again, "how long have you been in this city?" She asked, truly curious but at the same time asking without asking the question that she really wanted to know. She just hoped that he would pick up on the real question as well.

Her eyes shifted to the pool tables once more, she was curious if her newer senses, her heightened abilities would up her game any. "It usually this quiet?" She said as she glanced around the place.

[Lancaster]

Three questions, one after the other, and little pause in between for Elliot to answer. He laughed, leaning against the counter. He started from the bottom, and worked his way backwards—he tried to remember each question so that he could answer to the best of his ability.

”No. It has its moments. You get used to it – certain hours are busier than other. Certain days, obviously – Thursdays are student nights, Fridays and Saturdays, obviously busy. Sunday through to Wednesday, it’s quieter,” he said. He had no qualms about how busy—or how not busy—it was at that moment. The pub made him upwards of 2k profit a day, after paying his staff and all the bills. He wasn’t at all concerned about drawing more people in, though the place could have done with a bit more business. He liked it a little quieter. It was more homely, this way.

”Second question – two years, give or take,” Elliot said. It was an answer with many layers, as the question seemed one with many layers. But the answer responded to both—he’d been in the city two years, give or take. And he’d been a vampire, too, for two years. He was turned the night of his arrival. If only he hadn’t gone into that pub for that steak sandwich…

”Third question – what’s good? I don’t know. What’s your preferred poison? And can you even drink your preferred poison?” Elliot asked. There were many different vampiric paths. His was the lucky one, he thought. Although being an Allurist had its downfalls—many of them—at least he could still drink. Could still consume human food, if he so wished. He couldn’t say the same for the other paths, and he had not yet learned what Charlie’s path was.

”We do also keep a special ingredient,” he said with an inconspicuous wink and his usual grin. ”Did I miss anything? Any other questions you’d like to interrogate me with?” he teased.

[CharlotteC]

Charlie sat and listened as he started to speak, answering her questions in a rather odd way, starting from the one freshest in his memory and working to the one that was her first question. If Charlie stopped and thought about it, in a way, that was a good way to go about it. So instead of wondering on it any more she just listened to what his answers were. The first one was a bit of a shock to her, well not all of it, but Sundays weren't busy? Then she stopped again and looked around, she didn't see a lot of tv screens around here that she could see, so one would guess staying home for Sunday night football was the way to go. Again she pulled herself out of her thoughts, even though the idea of people not gathering and watching sports was a bit silly - this was a whole new country for her. Bits of her American-ness she thought to herself before she once again turned her attentions back on Elliot as he continued on to the next question she had asked him.

She gave a small nod as he gave her the short, short answer to her second question, of course it wasn't really her place to pry, so she really didn't but she wondered if his story was closer to her own. After all, though she had only been in this place for a few short months, she had also been a vampire for the same amount of time. It seemed that most of the people that she had run into had been that way, coming to the place and being turned as apposed to the people that had been born here. Were people even born in this city? She had no idea. Then he again spoke and this time, it was questioning what her poison was. Her poison wasn't even really a drink because she had never been a big drinker, her poison was more of the herbal remedy sort. Yet, when he questioned wither or not she could even consume her poison, her brow lifted, she could have sworn that he had asked her back at the catacombs something along those lines. Instead of questioning it though, the smiled at him and gave a shrug. "Truthfully, I've never been a big drinker, even when I was mortal, but I can actually eat, I thought I had mentioned that?" She said and then she smirked a bit and decided to show him, even if it didn't work, at least he had more of a chance of knowing what she was than even she really understood.

Charlie smirked a bit as he teased her and sat forward a little, her chocolate gaze moving to meet his as she concentrated on him. Then with a simple push - at least it seemed simple in her mind - she pushed her inspirational powers at him. This was something she often liked to do to people, she was, after all, more a lover than a fighter, so she enjoyed this power as it allowed her to push that same boost of feelings towards other people. Then she sat back and looked at him for a moment. "Know how to make a chocolate cake? The drink not the food, though damn a real chocolate cake sounds good right now." She started off on a bit of a ramble as she glanced away from him and looked to the floor, shaking away her need for a large mass of chocolate confection. "And it's only an interrogation if I don't let you get questions in as well." She added as she pulled herself out of her thoughts of chocolate cake.

[Lancaster]

Elliot frowned. He tried to recall the conversation they’d had in the catacombs, as well as on the doorstep. Maybe his memory wasn’t all there, or maybe he’d misunderstood something, but he couldn’t recall when Charlie had told him that she could eat. Maybe it was a snippet of conversation that wasn’t quite important at the time. Whatever the case, it didn’t matter. He knew now. He leaned forward on the counter just as Charlie did. The wave of power hit him like a gust of fresh, cool air on the kind of afternoon that’s not quite Spring, but not yet quite Summer. The kind of fresh air you have to enjoy while you can because you know it’s not going to last.

Of course, the power glanced over him, not really having much of an affect. He got his ‘inspiration’ nightly from Pi—something they each gave to the other at every given opportunity. Whether they did so on purpose or whether it was now just a habit neither of them could kick, it didn’t matter. Still, he countered the power with the same push, as if he caught her curve ball with deft hands and threw it right back at her. He, too, liked ‘inspiring’ people. It gave him a certain kind of a pleasure than many of his other ‘abilities’ didn’t give him. Everything else that he was capable of seemed only to aid in chaos and destruction.

If he was going to be honest with himself, a lot of the things that he was now capable of had him perplexed. There were so many people out there who could use his abilities to their advantage, if they had them. He did his best to never seduce a woman when she did not want to be seduced. He did his best to never thrust his emotions on other people, lest he cripple them in the way that he was accustomed to. He supposed it was handy that his voice had some kind of weirdness to it now that had humans truly listening to him, hanging off his every word, as if he could lure them to their deaths like a veritable pied piper. It was handy when dealing with staff, anyway. Or troublemakers.

Elliot sighed and shook his head.

”Sadly, I’m not a very good bar owner. Though I suppose that depends on your taste in bars. I’m really talented at pouring beers or… tumblers of spirits. Cocktails, though? You’ll have to talk me through it,” he said, pushing himself up and away from the counter and gesturing to the variety of ingredients available to them. The bar was well stocked. But he trusted the others to know how to make the cocktails. He himself never bothered to learn the more complicated ones. He was a pretty simple guy, when it came down to it.

[CharlotteC]

A softer smile danced across Charlie's face as she felt the power wash over her, and she nodded a little in thanks as she looked Elliot over. Then as he told her that he didn't know really anything about cocktails she nodded again. "Well in this case, I think you may be lucky because it's not so much a cocktail, but a shot of two simple things." She said as she let her eyes roam over all of the liquor that she could see, her eyes spotting the two that were important. Then she smiled and looked back at Elliot. "All we need is a shot glass, Frangelico, Vodka, a little sugar and a Lemon." She said as she relaxed into the seat.

"It's a pretty simple thing to make, and for some reason it always tasted like a chocolate cake to me when I was alive. I truthfully have no idea how it will taste now." She sighed for a moment as she looked down at the bar, of course she could still eat, drink, basically do the things that made her appear as a human still, she could even taste the food, but like all her other senses, her taste had been heightened as well. So now not only could she taste the food, but she could taste the different ingredients that went into them, she could taste the earth that the ingredients were grown in or ate. It was odd and both at the same time amazing. She shook herself out of her thoughts and continued on with explaining the drink to him. "So it's basically just the Frangelico and the Vodka in the shot glass. Half and Half sort of thing, but before you put them in there, the shot glass's rim should be dipped in sugar, then the drink goes in and to take the shot and finish it off with a lemon, also dipped in the sugar."

Again, Charlie sat forward in her seat, resting her arms on the bar top, she was shocked that unlike some of the other seedier bars she had been too, this one she didn't stick to when she leaned against it. It was refreshing to her. Well that, and the music. "So... are you an Allurist like me or are you just one of those kind that have been around so long you've some how crossed into those powers?" She asked as she looked at him. If she had to guess she would say that it was something that he had started with.

[Lancaster]

Even as Charlie explained the drink to him, Elliot was wandering around behind the counter retrieving the ingredients that he needed. Rather than just the one shot glass, however, he retrieved two. No way he wasn’t going to be trying this cocktail himself, too. It was a quiet night, and he wasn’t technically rostered on. Blasé with these kinds of things, anyway, Elliot didn’t really care. He didn’t mind if his staff consumed a drink or two while on the job—so long as they didn’t get hammered. So long as the alcohol does not affect their ability to work, and do things properly.

The sugar he found was in a wide container, already prepared for when the staff were required to make margaritas. He unclipped the lid and left the container beside the shot glasses, the bottle of Frangelico, and the bottle of the best Vodka he had in stock. The lemon, too, was easy to find—already slice in the fridge. There were also customers on a nightly basis who ordered Tequila shots. Sliced lemon was a basic requirement in any bar.

It was only after he was all set up that Elliot began to prepare the drinks—he made sure that the shot glasses were wet before dipping them in the sugar, so that the sugar would stick. He held the Frangelico and the Vodka, one in each hand, pouring them both into the shot glasses at the same time, equal in measure. He had no idea if this was how it was supposed to be done, but it was how he did it. He then dropped two slices of lemon into the sugar, tipped them so that both edges were covered. He left them there, the container halfway between himself and Charlie, while he answered her question.

”Allurist, born and bred, I suppose. They say that the path picks you – like you get your path due to qualities you had as a human. I’m going to call ********. How about you?” he asked with a laugh. He was hardly alluring as a human—or so he thought. Of course, he was always completely oblivious as to the affect his music had on some people. He was also completely oblivious to the fact that everywhere he went—and he did go a lot of places—he was able to make friends really easily. It wasn’t because he was particularly attractive, or smarmy. He was no playboy, not by a long shot. But he was very friendly. And always saw a silver lining. People were attracted more to his optimism than to his looks. They were attracted to his enthusiasm for life.

Modest in nature, however, Elliot was completely oblivious to all of it. He didn’t think much of his path except, really, that sometimes it could be very helpful in business.

He pushed one shot glass toward Charlie, and held one in his own hand—he held it up as if in preparation for a toast, waiting for her to take the lead.

[CharlotteC]

Charlie smirked ever so slightly as she watched from her little perch at the bar as he started to make the drinks. It was interesting to see how he made it, she had never actually watched anyone make a drink, usually being too distracted by friends of some sort. So now, it was kind of neat to see how someone would do such a thing. She'd never really paid much attention to bartenders in the past, again usually too busy with her friends as they drank and played pool and all of the things that young kids could do in a small town. She sighed as she remembered that she left that small town because she had been betrayed by two of those 'close friends' or rather one close friend and an ex-fiance. She shook herself out of her thoughts as he spoke once more.

His idea made her stop and think for a moment. She leaned forward a bit and rested her chin in the palm of her hand as her free hand rested on the bar top. In a way, she could see the truth in that. She had always been rather social, and she had always managed to make 'friends' easily, and always was one to help out people in her classes that usually ended up boosting their grades, or at least helping them help themselves to do such things. Her eyes followed Elliot for a moment as she continued to think about what he had told her, he said that he thought it was ******** and she had to smirk for a moment. Perhaps he didn't see the traits himself. "Well, I don't know, I mean I have only been this way since July." She sat back up and did the math, five months she had been this way. She sighed for a moment then looked back at him.

"That being said, I can, in a way, see what they mean. You might not, but if we were still human I could certainly see the appeal in why you would have become an Allurist." She said with a wink, but then smiled and took the drink as he pushed it her way. Charlie lifted her own as in a little toast "To ********!" She said with a laugh before tapping her shot to his then lifting it to her lips and slamming it back as if she had practiced the move over and over again. The vodka gave a bit of a burn but it was the kind of burn one could enjoy for a moment, as she set the shot glass down she picked up one of the lemons and quickly put it in her mouth, biting down on it. It was then that with all the flavors mixed in her mouth that she managed to pick up a hint of the chocolate cake she remembered from before. However, now with her new senses, it was odd, she could taste each and every flavor separately. She shook her head and puckered a little as she pulled the lemon from her mouth, the thing sucked dry of it's juices and the sugar that had been added to it.

Then her eyes opened and she looked to Elliot, wondering what he thought of the drink.

[Lancaster]

The compliment, followed by the wink, didn’t so much as catch Elliot off guard. Instead, of course as was always his habit, he took the words and twisted them in his mind. He liked to tease out every single detail. He liked to debate everything, from whether two people saw colours the same way, to whether a tree makes a sound in the forest if no one is there to witness it. He debated religion, and politics, to a degree. It was amazing, how much he liked to argue about things, and yet how often he also wanted to metaphorically stick his head in the sand and ignore everything.

Before he could ask the debatable questions, however, they had drinks to consume. Elliot followed Charlie’s lead, draining the shot glass in one gulp and sucking on the wedge of lemon afterwards. Not accustomed to such frivolous drinks, the taste assaulted Elliot’s senses. His eyes screwed shut, and as each different flavour barraged his taste-buds he had to tilt his head to the side, had to remember the sensation, as always subconsciously wondering how best to turn it into a melody. If this drink, if this sensation were a song, what would it sound like?

When he opened his eyes, he cleared his throat. He took empty glass from Charlie, dropped it on top of his own and slid them along to the sink. Someone—or he—would wash them later.

”Interesting. Not really my cup of tea. I’m boring and prefer my straight whiskey,” he said. The burn remained, a warmth settled in his throat, still travelling the length of his torso. It really was the only reason he liked to drink alcohol, these days. The burn.

”But no, I’m curious. What do you mean by that? ‘If we were still human,’ you said. As a non-human, I’m different? And what reasons would you give?” Elliot asked. He was deadly serious. He wasn’t teasing, nor was he fishing for compliments. When he thought about it, sure, he could see it in others. He could definitely see why Pi was a killer, for example, and why Reilly was a telepath. He shrugged his shoulders, though, when it came to himself.

”I always just assumed it was the performance aspect. I suppose if a guy can get up and sing in front of a crowd without any qualms, he’s going to be more inclined to luring than to… I dunno, raising the dead. But you haven’t seen me perform. So what do you reckon the reasons are? For yourself, too, I mean?” he asked, leaning forward on the bar.

[CharlotteC]

Charlie gave a slight nod at his mentioning of Whiskey. "As am I, if I do drink..." she said with a little laugh before she went on to explain what she had meant earlier. "I don't mean to offend, what I just mean is that well, our path, we naturally tend to draw them in. You know, that whole, moth to the flame thing? So as we are now, we sort of have an unfair advantage that we didn't have when we were mortal." She hoped this made sense, to her, in her mind, it did. However, one never knew if others could follow her weird thoughts. "So in a way, we are both different." She added as she gave a little shrug and then leaned against the counter again.

"That being said, I'd hope that in a way because we are the same path that I could see you more as how you were as of how you are now because we are of the same path. A lot of our powers, I would think wouldn't have the same effect on us as it would on others. But that's neither here nor there. Anyways, I was thinking you are a pretty good looking guy, I could see why you would have been alluring before hand. The musician thing is definitely a plus, it really is, but not in the alluring way. It's more that you are there, in the spotlight. It's hard to see others in a dark crown when there is someone standing in the spotlight." She felt like perhaps she was rambling but at the same time, she felt like she couldn't stop. Perhaps it was because this was the first time she had ever really had a time to talk about what she really was, what she could do. Things like that.

With a soft sigh she smiled at him. "Try this, look back to when you were a human. Musician aside, did it ever seem like you could make friends easily? Would people normally just want to be around you? Could your words make people take action or do something they normally wouldn't do without a push?" This was her thinking, when he said that people thought that the path manifested because of how they were in their life before, it made sense - vampire senses were advancements of what they had been in their human form. Why not other things like being social or being friendly? "I'm new to this, so I don't know for a fact, but it does make sense, our senses get better when we are turned. Why wouldn't things that made us unique do it as well?" Charlie finally shut up, she hopped that by the end she had still made sense to him because she was pretty sure she made sense to herself. Then again... she was weird. She pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose and smiled to Elliot once more.