Latenight Afterparty

[Starla]

W E A R I N G

Starla ran her tongue along her lower lip, her golden, honey gaze sweeping the street in front of her as she swiped her palm across the thigh of her acid washed jeans, her breath leaving her in a huff, the exhaled air becoming a thick cloud of vapor that drifted into the air and vanished, the only sign that the night was a crisp chill as the pair of women stepped out into the street, away from the Expo. It was that time of the year when every night made the city feel like an ice chest, but the humidity was just low enough that snow didn’t fall out of the sky and try to swallow them all alive.

The crisp night air, though, was mightily welcome after the stuffy, rancid air of the expo, all those hot, sweaty bodies packed into the small room to see her team play the exhibition match that would hopefully land them back on the map, and back into the arms of some very wealthy sponsor. Tonight, they had heard that Monster Energy was even going to have a scout there. She just hoped that her team had impressed, that maybe she would get a call, soon.

She glanced over at her… her… Odie, whatever she was supposed to call her. Her accident.

She was glad to have her there, even if she hated it. She was glad that she could live her life, and keep an eye on her at the same time. She was very keen on the fact that Odessa hadn’t murdered anyone inside. That had been a blessing she’d been eternally grateful for, and it was almost enough to convince Star that she could introduce Odie to the rest of her team.

The girls would love her, without a doubt. It was just that she wasn’t sure of that adoration would be… reciprocated. She sighed again, and tugged at the hem of her tank, drawing the neckline low across her chest as she cant her head of golden locks to the side, indicating the empty street.

“You want to get out of here? We can do something you want to do now, if you want. Or we can just walk for a while. Whatever floats your boat, Odie. You did me a real favor, being here tonight. Really helped keep me at ease. Probably saved my ***.”

[Odessa]

WEARING

It was a miracle she had managed to escape the clutches of that rotten place unscathed. She had known the second she stepped through the heavily covered glass doors, only to be assaulted with the foul scent of body odor and what… seemed to be some form of molded cheese that she should have bailed. She wasn’t cut out for this kind of lifestyle. She didn’t understand the amusement in watching tiny, pixilated, barely dressed avatars run across the screen, nor did she care for the… touching. It seemed as though most of the gathered hadn’t left the basement in years, and when they reached for her, damp palms pawing at her chest, her abdomen, or god forbid, her ***, she twitched.

She had promised, though. She had swore that she’d be on her best behavior, but with every lecherous stare or pick-up lined slurred from between teeth covered in metal, she grew a step closer to breaking that promise. Human life be damned, these things weren’t human. They were more akin to the grey scaled demons that were rumored to live within a cluster of caves in Mexico. Shaking her head, she ran her fingers through her dark curls as she stepped from the overly heated building and into the fresh, chilled winter air. When it brushed against her skin with an icy caress, she was a second away from dropping to her knees and kissing the ground. Instead, she turned her glare towards her murderer and arched a perfectly sculpted brow as her plum painted lips pursed into that all too familiar scowl.

“If you ever think to take me to one of those places again, I will rip out your spine through your throat,” she snapped, her Spanish accent only allowing her threat to sound more sensual than she had anticipated. Rolling her tongue along the blunt edge of her teeth, the newly turned vampire turned towards the street and tipped her head back, fingers tugging on the white of her t-shirt. “I think one of those things tried to impregnate me with his hand.” With one last shudder, she stepped from the curb, her worn converse barely escaping a layer of black ice. When she was certain it was safe to continue to walk, she turned to face her sire, arms outstretched as a lazily grin spread across her plump lips, only giving her an almost demonic appearance. “The city is ours tonight, no? Why don’t we find some trouble to stir up? What do you say, sunshine? Unless you are too afraid you will end up with another poor accident like me?”

[Azraeth]

Okay. So Az was for sure overdressed.

Of course, he didn’t get to see nearly enough of Starla, so he felt like it was only fair that, when he did get a chance to cheer her on, that he do so in style. He’d turned up in an outfit that made it very clear who he supported. He’d worn a t-shirt over a crimson button down which read, in very large block letters “PROUD STAR GAZER!” The collar of his button down was folded over the collar of his t-shirt, and where the former was tucked into his slacks, the latter was left untucked. On his head was a baseball cap with “STARLA” in blinking lights, as if it had been taken from the Las Vegas strip. There were places for beer cans on either side...but he had cut those off, since they served no purpose to him. And finally, he had a very large foam hand over one of his own; it was holding a classic Atari joystick...and there again was Starla’s name.

Indeed, nobody who saw him had any doubt as to his affiliation.

Of course. The people at the expo had basically been wearing street clothes, and he had stood out like a sore thumb. Noted. Nobody had made any comments or even really stared. There had been a few people who wanted to get some pictures with him - but that was what he loved about gamers. It was the same visiting the Ren Faire or Comic Con. Everyone was a little bit of a weirdo. So everyone fit in.

By the time the whole thing was over, he’d managed to lose two thirds of his special outfit though. There had been one point when a young boy had seen the foam hand, and had pointed at it, only to ask his dad if they could get one. Of course, Az’s had been custom made, so he’d been more than happy to hand it off to the little guy. The father had tried to push some money into his hands, but the Mystic had politely declined, pushing the fingers away before disappearing into the crowd. The boy’s smile reminded him of Liam’s, and that was way more than enough payment for him.

Next had been the shirt, which had ended up covered in gunk. There had been a pair of teenagers chasing each other through the expo with little fake guns that shot slime balls. Az had unfortunately been caught in the crossfire and ended up with splatters of pink and bright green all over the front and back of his shirt. He’d laughed the whole thing off and carefully removed the t-shirt, only to fold it up, as small as possible and stuff it goo-side-in into his pocket.

Which just left him in his light up hat when the whole thing was over. And it was as things were wrapping up that he saw Starla exiting the compound with a face he’d never seen before, so he hastened to catch up to them. He ended up bursting through the doors and very nearly ran right into the pair of them. “Hey, Starla! Who is your friend? Is this a new girlfriend?” He had totally seen Starla’s ex at the a costume party a month back...and hadn’t brought it up because he figured it was a touchy subject.

“She’s absolutely gorgeous. Hey, I’m Az.” He said as he extended a hand. While the lights on the hat blinked away.

[Starla]

Turning to the woman at her side, she let a fine, dark brow rise as she let her lips twist into a playful smirk. She flexed her fingers ever so slightly and gave the woman a playful flick of her wrist. “[color=FA58D0]I would like to see you try and do anything close to fulfilling one of those ever so ambitious threats, Odie. You really don’t scare me.[/color]” She chuckled quietly, one hand rising to push back through her blonde hair, nails dragging across her scalp as she aerated the thick sheaf of hair atop her head, allowing a breath of the cool air to wash over her as she shrugged a shoulder. “[color=FA58d0]If someone touches you again, Odie, I don’t want you to hesitate to break their arm. You got that?[/color]” She glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, the gold of her glare was alive with a sort of fury that the rest of her kept hidden well, the smile on her lips a glittering beacon of her joy.

No one had a right to lay their hand on what was hers, unbidden. If not for the… precarious predicament of their existence, she would have outright suggested she take the hand clean off the pig’s wrist.

She was about to retort the woman’s accusation of fear, when she saw her own sire approach through the crowd. His hat made her smile broaden, and she all but bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement at seeing the man. He was like his own beacon, her name the light to his house. She laughed, the sound melodic and light, like liquid gold floating from her lips. She shook her head and grasped Odie’s arm, turning her to meet the man, and to ensure that he didn’t barrel over her in his excitement. She beamed, and stood on the tips of her toes to give the man a hug about the neck before she pulled back an gestured to the Latina at her side.

“This is actually not a girlfriend. This is Odie, I think you might’ve seen her… escapades… on the family board. We’ve come to a… relatively more friendly understanding. Sort of. She at least understands that killing me is way out of her reach.” She grinned, and glanced at the woman in the corner of her eye. “At least, I think. But, Odie! This is Azraeth. You can call him Az. And he is the wonderful man that saved my life, and one of the closest friends I have. It’s past time the two of you met, so this is more than fortuitous!” She turned to the man and offered him a bat of her lashes.

“Odie was just suggesting that we find some kind of trouble to get into. I’m pretty curious to find out what she considers trouble, considering the last time she and I got into any trouble together.” She grinned, and ribbed the woman with her elbow. “You in?”