Tequila makes her clothes come off (Levi)

[Prudence]

******* malls he said.
That summed up Prudence's thoughts on them too. It wasn't that she would go out of her way to avoid going to them, she just didn't like the crowd that hung around them at night time because that was the only time they could go there. Because they were in school during the day time. Teenagers. And their dramatic/stupid/obnoxious ways. She just offered him a shrug, because it was the best she could do before they were heading towards the mall. Whether they liked it or not.

Prudence allowed Levi some space for both their sakes. She was still on the fence about Levi, but admired a couple things about him. Maybe not admired, but tolerated/liked a couple things he did or didn't do. His knowledge and appreciation for guns? A plus-but nothing most vampires didn't have after a few months-a year tops of gun wielding. His good looks could be appreciated-but his mouth? That was something the redhead still wasn't sold on. Probably because they were one of the same. Said what they wanted to say and didn't give a **** on who they were saying it too.

When she got to the other side, Prudence stopped and waited for him. She had heard his conversation, without really hearing it. The woman just heard the sound of his voice and the tone before she zoned it out. She assumed it was either CC, or some other woman that had a thing for men that were dicks 24/7 so it really wasn't her business. A connection with sire and childe was personal as much as it could be difficult. And she knew CC could be difficult. Very. No need to add in her two cents, if she had any to add.

"I think the best way to get through this is to split up once we get inside. I'll get the food. I'll trust ya with the food and water dish bit. Any color, any shape. Dogs aren't picky and I'm not one to accessorize a dog's ****. Meet up at the front, check out and we'll be on our way. Five minutes tops for the whole process." It sounded like a solid plan to Prudence and hopefully was to Levi too because they would be in front of the mall soon. "Sound good?" She asked, as if his opinion actually mattered. But she was trying. He came out here to do something he didn't have to. So if he had a more efficient way (that he believed), Prudence was all ears on the way to the mall.

"Ya sure ya have the time?" Prudence asked, her attention focused on Levi completely as her hands went inside her coat pockets. "Ya seem-preoccupied. Busy." That let him know that she heard his phone conversation without really hearing it-or he would assume she had eavesdropped her way into it.

[Levi DAmico]

“Yep. Fine.”

Levi didn’t really have a lot to say on the matter of her assault on the mall. He didn’t talk much as it was, but there were other reasons for this current shortness. Shiro had managed to push his buttons in their phone call and Levi couldn’t help but wear the sentiment clearly in his features. All this toing and froing between his one life and the other, all the lies and deceit and cover-ups, all the frustrations of letting people down, having people breathe down his neck constantly, threaten him and insult him and get away with it – it was all becoming a giant pain in the ***. Worst of all though was that there was no one there to listen to his groaning. For the past couple of years, when **** had gotten bad, he had Shiro to talk to. Now that he was hiding **** from him too, he had no one. He wouldn't consider telling any mortal about his problems and he couldn’t talk to CC about stuff because he hated her, frankly. She wasn’t constantly a pain in the ***, but 9/10ths didn’t save her. That left Prudence and Ken – the arrogant ***** and the drag queen. He didn’t have much against either one of them if he was being fair, but right now, Levi wasn’t in the mood to be fair.

Maybe because she was observant and maybe because he wasn’t being particularly subtle about his anger, Prudence was questioning him, asking him if he had the time to be running errands with her. It hadn’t really occurred to him that she might have overheard his conversation with Shiro; Levi was sure he was always just on the right side of being vague so anything he said wouldn’t have caused suspicion. Levi gave his shoulders a roll, popping bubbles of angry stillness in his joints – it was vaguely satisfying and he needed to calm the **** down if he was going to answer her. He gave her his full attention; umber meeting baby blues, hands unconsciously forcing their way into his jacket pockets before he realised that he was actually mimicking her. He smirked and tugged his hands free of their warm confines.

“I’m always busy,” he grumbled lightly, shrugging. “So if I buy your dog something pink and full of flowers and diamonds, you’re gonna be fine with it?”

He was teasing. Probably. It didn’t bother him one way or the other if he approached some snot-nosed sales clerk with the fluffiest, cutest animal products in the world. He would almost dare them to say something just so that he had an excuse to go back and beat the crap out of them later. Kids needed to learn their manners anyway so he considered it a form of public service. As a matter of fact, so did most adults. Levi had manners; he just didn’t express them all that often.

[Prudence]

When he didn't express any other method to get the task done, Prudence didn't have anything to say. She just looked at him. Was he blowing her off just to get the task done? Or was it the fact that he just didn't care? Prudence suspected the latter of the two thoughts that popped in her mind, but didn't dwell on it. He was here, he was going to do the task, which was more than he would have done a few months ago had Prudence asked or told him to do something. Maybe Levi was coming around. Which meant hell must have frozen over while she was busy in her own ****. Because Prudence never thought that they would work together on anything. Ever.

When he talked about something pink, with flowers and diamonds, Prudence's nose squished up together to show her distaste in the idea. "Maybe not all three of them. But if they happen to sell that ****, pick one up anyways. Please. Could use the practice on shooting smaller objects." Please. Something she wouldn't have said months ago to Levi. Prudence laughed lightly, then rolled her shoulders. "How about any one of those three things, or a solid color? ****, could even be a cheap metal tin for all I care."

Prudence took a step away from Levi, then looked over her shoulder. "Good luck. See ya out here in five." Prudence saluted Levi quickly, stepped inside the store and looked upwards. At the signs hanging from the ceiling. They would direct her to where the dog food was, instead of her hunting someone down. Which would save her time and dealing with people. 'Dog Supplies,' hung up over one aisle, which meant all things dogs were in this aisle. Which meant Levi would make his way down here. Had prudence known everything would be in one area, she could have completed the task herself. With her back to the dishes and other dog essentials, Prudence skimmed the bags of food and went for the stuff that was middle of the road in price.

She was about to pick up a bag of stuff in a white bag, when Prudence's phone buzzed once. She picked up the phone, read the text message and sighed. Fast fingers punched in a reply, hit send, then grabbed the bag of food. "We'll have to keep this short and sweet, Levi. I got some **** to take care of at the bar." The redhead said as she walked past him, to the check-out.

[Levi DAmico]

At Prudence’s distaste for the idea of something pink, floral or diamanté, Levi smirked to himself. He figured a chick like her would put her nose up at that kind of girly ****, but what was perhaps more amusing was that she said she’d use them for target practice if he bought some. So she was finally willing to admit she knew how to handle a gun or at least some kind of projectile weapon. Good. That meant that there was a little less needless ******** between them. He wasn’t going to comment on it though and nodded his head as she gave him further instructions. Maybe he could buy himself a leash while he was at it. He let Prudence walk off ahead into the store and stood there a little while quarrelling with himself while pretentious little **** bags walked far too close to him. He got distracted for a moment as he glared at a young couple holding hands. They’d sauntered past, not a care in the world, ignoring everything around them; so damn inflated with their egos and their pathetic happiness. He wanted to pop their balloons, bring them back down to the **** hole which they were blissfully unaware of just because he was the kind of ******** who revelled in other people’s misery. He would have done, but, he was busy – on a mission. He growled as they disappeared into a crowd of other happy young couples and such, then he entered the pet store.

It occurred to him, as he walked past the front desk and toward the aisle labelled ‘dog’, that he hadn’t actually been inside a pet store before. There had never been a reason to before now. He’d never had a pet growing up and the stores in Verona were smaller, usually family-owned joints which housed nothing more exotic than a hamster. He’d never really wanted a pet either, even if his family would allow it. When it came to shopping for canines, he was out of his depth, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t figure out. Dogs needed to eat out of bowls, that much was obvious, and he had it in his mind as soon as he reached the aisle that he was just going to grab the first one he saw – regardless of how it looked, but just so long as it was big enough for Tequila’s massive head. It didn’t take him long to find Prudence there. Of course he’d find her there; this aisle was for everything mutt-related. He gave her a look, but didn’t say anything and stood behind her looking at the bowls. He had to pretend he gave a **** and besides, it was sort of funny that her plan had fallen through.

There must have been a dozen different sizes and colours of bowls in this aisle and beside that, a similar plethora of collars, harnesses and leashes. Levi figured that a mutt like Tequila would need a harness and a sturdy ******* leash, but maybe Prudence preferred to carry the thing around like an overgrown child. Besides, he’d only been instructed to get the food dish and water bowl, so he grabbed a pair of steel ones and forgot about it. He turned back to Prudence in time to hear her phone jolt and to see her texting a reply. She told him that some **** was going down at her bar, then with just a bag of dog food, she headed for the registers. Levi glanced back over his shoulder to the collars, etc. This was going to go one of three ways he figured as he grabbed a leather harness and leash; she’d be grateful, irate or just ******* uncaring. It didn’t matter to him, so, he followed her to the registers and piled the collection of crap on an empty counter. The female clerk looked him over, but Levi’s focus was elsewhere; checking the time, checking on a distracted Prudence. It wasn’t until she asked him if he wanted a bag that he remembered she existed at all. He growled a yes, paid – indifferent to the cost – then walked back toward Prudence.

“So where you headed?” he asked, expecting to be barked at so he would cut her off. “Straight to your bar or are you dropping **** off first? I wanna know if you want me to leave you with your stuff,” he lifted the bag to catch her attention, “or… whatever.” Meaning that he would probably give her hand, you know, if she wanted it.

[Prudence]

Suspicion alarmed in her as Levi half-assed offer to help her again. Though it was ringing loud and clear in her head, she didn't show it. "Yuh. Was heading to the bar. Thought I could bring this **** with me, but if you're offering to hold on to it for a while, ya could." She could trust Levi with dog food and dog bowls. But could she trust him in her apartment? Unless he started digging in the boxes, which would be ******* obvious, she could.

"If ya want, you could drop it off at the apartment we just came from. But if not, I'll just take it all from ya right now. I'm sure Tequila could manage without some food for an hour or so. She would be stuck in that dumb-*** cage for who knows how ******* long anyways without it." A roll of her shoulders showed that she didn't care which of the options he picked before she dug in her pockets and pulled out a set of keys-her spare set.

"It shouldn't take me too long. Just got to knock a couple skulls together. Don't know why people think they can do whatever the **** they want, wherever they want. So just gotta, ya know, jog their memory." She cackled before holding the plastic bag out to Levi to take. She wasn't necessarily making the decision for him; go to her apartment or give her all the stuff and she would deal with it later, but she was offering him an out. "It's pretty typical. Usually gotta sort some **** out every coupla months for the same assholes." Another shrug was given in his direction. "So, uhhh, see ya soon?"

[Levi DAmico]

The prospect of dealing with the slobbering mutt alone left Levi feeling somewhat cagey. It was a big dog, trained to rip out another animal’s throat, and he had an itchy trigger finger; it wasn’t the best idea to leave those two alone. Animals just generally hated him and he could count on his arm – because there were scars there to remind him – how many times he’d come into contact with angry, hateful beasts. Sure, maybe he shouldn’t have been breaking into those places to begin with, but you do what you have to in the Mafia. Cracking skulls, incidentally, was right up his alley and definitely among his broad range of expertise. If he had to choose, he would rather follow her and be sure to take out his growing frustrations on a couple of punks that apparently needed to be reminded who was boss, then maybe have a drink or twelve, but when Prudence handed him some keys and began to offer him up the remaining bag of the dog’s latest belongings, it seemed as though he didn’t have that choice after all.

Levi’s frown deepened because he was sure he was getting mixed signals. Something about the way she said things, shrugged her shoulders, left statements sounding more like questions gave him the impression that she didn’t actually mind his company. Then again, he was never 100% convinced when it came to females. Often times, they liked to play games – say one thing, but mean another – or worst of all was the double-bluff; say exactly what they meant to say, but shroud it and make someone think that they actually want them to do the opposite. Levi didn’t like to play games with women, or in fact, anyone. He didn’t immediately peg Prudence for the type to play games either, but maybe he’d been wrong about that. If she was sending out messages about not ******* with her **** and people still came along to mess with her ****, then she was either very bad at sending messages or, really, she tolerated their behaviour because it probably gave her some kind of purpose. Maybe if she didn’t have someone to boss about from time to time she’d feel worthless. Levi shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the bag from her.

“I’ll have this lot sent to your apartment, if ya don’t mind,” he said. “If I wanted to courier **** personally, I’d be working for a logistics firm rather than owning one.”

At that he put the bags down at his feet and took out his phone to text one of his lackeys. He was only giving her the impression that she had a choice in the matter; clearly he was going to have one of his people drop off her shopping. The funny thing was that it wasn’t a game when Levi did it.

“So where’s your bar anyway?” he asked, looking up from the message he was composing. “What’s it called?” At this point, not even he was sure what he was going to do next, but at least, if she answered him, he would be able to have the option of visiting her at some point.

[Prudence]

A flicker of amusement appeared on her face at Levi's first set of words. She didn't miss that he apparently owned some company, but wouldn't comment on it. She didn't really care because he didn't make an effort to say anything more about it other than he owned it. No name, not where it was located. Nothing. And that was fine with her. She was still on the fence about him anyways, and until she came to trust him, the less she knew, the better.

"It's in Coastside. Near CC's place actually. Across the street practically." Prudence told him with a roll of her shoulders as she began walking out of the store and to the mall's entrance/exit. "It's called High Noon Saloon. And that's what it is. A saloon. But not any of that lame *** **** where people just sit around and get drunk. Well, they do that too, but there's a few card tables, bull riding machine and a back room where people, uhhh, settle their differences without any police involvement. If ya know what I mean." She was sure he did. He didn't seem stupid and the way he handled himself earlier in the night implied Levi wasn't against using brute force and muscles to solve ****.

"Anyways, we've been having some issues with the riff raff of the city, from time to time. Probably because I'm not there as much as I used to be. I don't got much of an issue with people who own turf and ****, but my turf, is, well, mine. Ya know? I pay the bills on the joint and own the deed to it, so they should learn to **** right off. And they will. One night. Maybe tonight." She shrugged her shoulders. "So, if yer coming, expect that **** might go south bad. And quick too." She reminded him before the redhead pushed open the door to the mall's exit. "And whoever's coming to get my **** better not touch a ******* thing in my apartment, or I'll put a fist in their face." It was a fair warning. She had a lot of **** in boxes, as he saw, and she wasn't all too sure what was in them and so she wouldn't know if something went missing until it was far too late. And one thing she hated was thieves. Get a ******* job. Even McDonald's and Taco Bell was always hiring.

[Levi DAmico]

Levi was done composing his message and had sent it, shoving his phone back into his pocket when Prudence started marching for the exit. He could appreciate she was in a hurry, so he didn’t mind it when she didn’t say goodbye or whatever – not that they needed any of those familiarities. What he wasn’t expecting, however, and actually grumbled to himself about, was that he was somehow still involved in a conversation. Prudence had walked off, but she was still chatting as if he was following at her heel. If he just stood there, she’d likely be pissy, so Levi grabbed the bags he’d dumped at his feet and followed after her. He quickly found that there wasn’t much he could contribute to her ramblings even though he did understand where she was coming from. It was a good thing that she didn’t need to breathe either because Prudence didn’t seem to be pausing for breath anytime soon. It wasn’t until they made it outside the mall that there was a pause from the redhead. Still, there was nothing he could say to that either and Levi wasn’t able to speak up until Prudence began a threat.

“Nothing’s gonna go missing,” he said sternly. “I don’t tolerate stupid people working for me.” He took a moment to dump the bags again and light a cigarette. “Go on ahead. I’ll wait here for the pick-up and meet cha over there.”

[Prudence]

All she did was nod. If something did go missing, he knew the consequences. Even if she didn't know what would go missing. Prudence wasn't a hoarder persay, but she did have some things. Just because she collected them over time from the things she did and the gifts people got her. Not many of them had been thought of since they found their way in a box, but if they went missing, she would know. And heads would ******* roll.

It wasn't because anything she had was worth a lot of money, or that there was a lot of sentimental value over the items, but she ******* hated thieves. If it wasn't yours, hands off, was her thought. Unless it was clearly lying there, like **** in the catacombs and caverns. That **** was fair game. But **** in people's homes? Off limits.

"Cool. See ya soon." She gave Levi a single salute before the redhead started off in a run and was gone before he could say anything else to her about anything, given her supernatural ability to sprint through the city in a matter of seconds.

When she got there, to say **** was in chaos was a little bit of an understatement. When she entered the bar, there were tables flipped, bullet holes in the walls and J.J. with a bat in his hands, swinging at some guy who obviously had a little too much to drink, or too much to smoke. Ryker was behind the bar, tending to some superficial wound on her forearm, and a few other staff members were cowering behind the bar. She growled, annoyed at those cowering, but would deal with them later. First, she had to assess the situation and pin point the biggest threats.

[Levi DAmico]

With Prudence out of the picture, Levi was able to use his time constructively – well, sort of. He busied himself with sending virulent messages back and forth with Shiro before one of his runners turned up. Boredom and a touch of stress made him blaze through about four cigarettes before the runner had turned up some ten minutes later. Levi gave the man a curt nod as he picked up the bags, then Levi gave the man instructions of where to take them. Obviously he had to give the runner the keys to Prudence’s apartment, but he was confident that he’d get them back later and thus, so would she. Prudence might have thought herself intimidating, but Levi doubted she had the kind of power he did when it came to influencing others – if you’re discounting seduction, that is. There was more to manipulation than just fear, though of course he couldn’t deny that it was a great motivator. People were surprisingly accommodating when you threw threats their way, but then again, people could be just as accommodating toward money and, frankly, throwing money at people was probably more acceptable and likely more successful. You may not get anywhere by threatening the wrong people, in fact, it could very well result in you being on the receiving end of violence. You could be sure people weren’t about to say no to cash, and of course, using both tactics could be even more successful. Own someone by their balls and their wallets and you basically have yourself a ready and willing minion. Such was the case with Levi’s ‘employees’, which was why he wasn’t at all worried that things wouldn’t go to plan.

With business taken care of, Levi made his way to High Noon Saloon. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting because Prudence had painted him a very vague image of some old Western-themed bar. It was still in the air to him about whether he was going to be greeted by scantily clad barmaids or a gloomy silence. Prudence hadn’t made it sound depressing exactly, but she’d been the one to mention the possibility of sad-sacks who drink themselves into a stupor. The mention of the card tables and the bull riding machine in contrast made it sound like a boy’s club, so he had that image to juggle in his head too. Since he wasn’t much of a clown or performer, he couldn’t keep those ideas juggled for too long and when he did walk in, it was as though his imagination had dropped the balls and the chaos crashed into reality resulting in the mess he saw. Tables had been thrown over; either in rage or for a make-shift shield from a shower of bullets because there were plenty of familiar holes dotting the area; plus there were people looking pissed – both angry and drunk – and then people looking injured. Levi gave a whistle as he surveyed the joint, pin-pointing a particular steaming red-head. He was content to watch her from afar for now and analyse the situation. He didn’t know who was friend or foe after all and seeing as how Prudence seemed particular about her stuff, he didn’t want to make the wrong kind of move either.