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Post by Kylar on Apr 14, 2018 5:24:27 GMT
Kylar was always uncomfortable walking around in the human city.
There was more of a thrill to hunting prey in The City, but there was also more risk. Hounds were everywhere, and there was so much intense racism towards shifters that it was hard for him to find a meal and not get discovered in the process. Part of his high as a mass murderer was being sought out after by any form of authority or mercenaries, as well as the public trying to find out who the “Ripper” was, a name given to him, not made by him. However, he tried to not pry too much in the City. There was just too much to worry about.
Interestingly enough, he was not in the City to cause a ruckus. His brother, Damien, had dragged him. Something about some gal that caught his eye in a non “I want to eat you” way. They had been together since they were kids, and tended to stick together most of the time except for small occasions. While his brother was off trying to woo some random human girl though, Kylar had taken to checking out the Red Light District.
Some of his favorite prey were nobles or rich people that thought themselves above everyone, or those who thought that there was no danger to worry about due to their social status. He was not as interested in scoping out prey. Instead, he was in the district to browse, maybe grab a few drinks and get plastered with a handsome man or beautiful woman. Kylar was not interested in the brothels and paying for a person. He was a charismatic man who rarely every showed his true self to strangers, but instead put on a front. A front that commonly got him what he want; someone gullible that would follow him to a back alley and become a meal. Though his mask of a personality would still be there, he was most interested in just having a good time while waiting for his brother.
There were brothels up and down the streets, mostly run down and ragged. Women and men of all ages were calling out to potential customers. A few looked his way, whistling and asking if he wanted to have a good time, but all he gave in response was a flash of his suave smile. It was hot outside, so he was a relatively tight black shirt with a low cut v-neck to expose all the tattoos on his arms, neck, and some on his chest. His trousers were plain as well, and there seemed to be nothing visibly on him. Kylar had already paid for a room, so he had left nearly all of his traveling gear there instead of dragging it with him everywhere he went.
There was one bar that he had been fond of, a small run down place known as Sister’s Mirrors. However, as he rounded the corner to where the bar had been, directly attached to another low-end brothel next door, he was met with disappointment.
The building was falling apart and clearly out of business. The door was busted. Beams were falling from the roof, and there was also no one there.
Kylar frowned and crossed his arms, staring nowhere in particular. Now what? He was very picky about his drinks, and the Sister’s Mirrors had been perfect.
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Post by Xaviere on Apr 15, 2018 2:30:12 GMT
"Lazarus. Sweetheart. If I don't get something to drink in the next thirty seconds I'm going to be forced to cut someone's throat."
"How would that help you get a drink faster?"
"I have no idea. But it would make me feel better."
"It might even slow down the procurement of a drink."
"I get illogical when deprived of what I want. The next meeting I accompany you to had better have wine, or I'm throwing in the towel on any kind of organised fuckery and going rogue."
"I will make sure I check in future, I swear."
"You're a darling."
"No, not really. It's just very distracting to try and have a meeting while a moody Fairy is rifling through the kitchen of one of my contacts because she doesn't believe him when he says he's been sober for eight years."
"Who the fuck would be willingly sober for eight years? I still don't believe him. He was just hiding the whiskey from you because he's a cheap bastard..."
The conversationalists who rounded the corner could have been any upper-class couple. The man was moderately tall, slender, leanly muscular with short dark hair and wearing a crisp, fitted black suit. The woman was shorter than him, considerably so, but had an eye-catching presence that made up for her lack of height. Long silver-blonde hair tumbled loose over her shoulders, and she wore an elegant floor-length gown in muted charcoal. Diamonds glinted at her throat and on her fingers, and her eyes were a striking pale blue outlined in winged black kohl. They looked for all the world like two theatre patrons, recently finished a show, though the content of their conversation said otherwise. Nowhere was there a hint of wings, of magic, of anything less than Human.
They both stopped in front of the abandoned bar, surprised to find a stranger - a tattooed, good-looking stranger, not that that was relevant to anything - standing there. The bar that had once stood here had been gone for months, and few people bothered venturing down this street anymore. The brothel next door was small, run-down, and had few patrons these days, except for a few old regulars. They hadn't expected to see anyone they didn't recognise, and they both stopped talking to stare for a moment.
"Hello. What are you doing here?" The diminutive blonde didn't sound hostile, merely curious.
"Oh. You're looking for the old establishment, I guess." Her elegant companion clicked first, dark eyes flicking to the abandoned building.
"The Witches...something. No! The Sisters....something. I can't remember. That place shut down months ago. Been out of town?" Of course, it made no sense that Xaviere and Lazarus were down here either - this dead-end street held no other establishments or places of interest - but they didn't think to enlighten him in their surprise.
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Post by Kylar on Apr 15, 2018 4:53:01 GMT
Kylar heard voices nearby, but ignored them. He was content to just..frown, standing there awkwardly at the old run-down building. What the hell was he supposed to do now? With frustration, he brought up a hand and scratched his head, tousling his short black hair. The voices were coming closer, and Kylar figured it was time to head out and maybe just find some decent food, like a meat pie. Maybe not a person today. He had a bit of coin from previous corpses, but not much. It was just enough to get him multiple drinks or a decent meal.
“Hello. What are you doing here?”
Kylar looked up to see an attractive woman accompanied by an equally attractive man. They looked to be traveling together and did not give off an hostile vibes. Not that it would bother Kylar. He was hardly very strong, but his true form was usually creepy enough to get people to leave him be. They seemed nice enough, and he was looking for people to socialize with.
Before he could answer the woman’s question though, it seemed like the man already knew. Kylar smiled and nodded in response. “Yeah. It’s been a hell of a long time since I’ve been back in the City. Bummer though. They had some great service and drinks, even if it was run down and shabby.” He shrugged. High class things weren’t really his thing. Kylar loved the underground.
“Ah shit. I don’t suppose you two know where I can get a decent drink and have a good time around here? Too damn picky for my own good.” He was too unfamiliar with the place to even consider some place to go, and he didn’t want to waste the little amount of coin he had on bad drinks. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a pre-made roll for a good smoke, lighting it with a match. Kylar took a big inhale, then let the smoke back out through his nostrils with a satisfying exhale. “Preferably somewhere not too expensive. I don’t make a reliable income,” he joked without going into too much detail.
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Post by Xaviere on Nov 11, 2018 6:38:23 GMT
Xaviere couldn't have said if he was right about the previous establishment, because she'd never been to it. After it's closure, months ago - close to a year, even - Lazarus had purchased the building to add to his portfolio in the City. He owned far more of Spirit, of course, but it was useful to have a few strongholds here too, for when he visited for business. And to continue amassing wealth - Lazarus' primary income came from taxes paid by the criminal underground to him in exchange for the Ravens leaving them alone, and for whatever Lazarus did to keep the authorities off the tail of bottom feeders in general. However, gangster he might be in name, but he was a businessman too, and had a fondness for the unique, the indulgent, the wicked.
The building above he'd left untouched, hence the unkempt facade. It was like that on purpose though, because the building had an extensive underground labyrinth of rooms that had once been used for storage, and it was there the real business lay. It was very much on purpose that it didn't look like anything from the street because, like many of the establishments Lazarus owned, it was by invitation only that one entered.
And it was where he and Xaviere had been heading, before bumping into the stranger. Lazarus glanced down at the Fairy, who was glancing over said stranger with her head cocked to one side, eyes bright and expression coolly assessing. She had quite the habit of collecting new companions - some only briefly, some for longer - and a knack for spotting people who would be interesting to spend time with. He'd long ago stopped trying to stifle this tendency because she never listened to him anyway, and she usually managed to turn potentially dull - or at least predictable - nights into something to remember.
Well, you'd remember if it wasn't for all the alcohol, but being sober wasn't generally on her agenda.
She felt Lazarus' gaze on her, knew he was waiting for her to decide if this was someone to bring along for some fun, and she didn't bother to check with him before going ahead and doing just that. They both knew her habits by now, and Lazarus wouldn't object. He'd gotten more relaxed about spontaneous decisions since hiring the assassin.
"You're in luck, as it happens. The Sister...whatever...might not be in business, but there's an underground nightclub beneath where it used to stand. It's invitation only, but we're heading in and I'll offer you a plus one, if you're up for it. Do you like to dance?" She watched the smoke curl from between his lips and grinned, shrugging one shoulder easily.
"Drinks are my shout...if you impress on the dance floor." Lazarus remained quiet but his expression suggested he was amicable to the plan.
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Post by Kylar on Nov 25, 2018 22:24:41 GMT
Kylar watched the woman and man, both of whom seemed to be reading one another on what to do about him. He was fairly good at reading people, and there was something about these two that warranted him to be on his guard and a bit more careful about how he acted and talked to them. Almost as if there was an air of authority. Not like, say, an officer in the Hounds with the humans. It was most definitely not noble like that. Still. Whatever the feeling he had was, Kylar was sure that he was best to have some better manners than he usually had with strangers.
Still, the woman had something to offer. He inclined an eyebrow up with interest ad curiosity at the mention of an underground nightclub. So, his suspicions that they had some sort of work in the underground (not in a literal sense) was probably right. But then again, who was not involved in it nowadays? Even human nobles had some dirty hands.
His toothy grin was playful and welcoming, perhaps a reason why he was able to draw in prey so easily. “I can’t say I am the best at it, but if there’s alcohol involved, I can probably do anything.” An over exaggeration of course, though a cocky one. Truth be told, the idea of being underground was intimidating. He relied so much on open areas to flee if need be in his true form, and that tended to happened from time to time. Being in confined spaces made that more difficult. But Kylar was out for a good time, and he had not come all that way just to be disappointed. Besides, it was hardly like he was planning on preying on anyone without drawing them out and away from other people first.
He considered their invitation, then decided that it was worth the shot. Drinks, dancing, and already two beautiful individuals to share that environment with? He supposed that was reason enough to hang back on his more primal nature. And no one had yet to find out the Ripper’s identity even in his true form, much less human form.
“Alright, I’m in. What’s the catch though? I doubt you run into a stranger and let them go to a private club all the time as long as they give you a good dance.” That could be the case, by Kylar was a natural skeptic. After all, how many times had he killed someone just by inviting them to come with him? Too many to count.
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Post by Xaviere on Dec 1, 2018 7:44:58 GMT
The Fairy watched him consider her offer with open curiosity. Smart, to be wary of unexpected invitations from glossy, mysterious strangers. I mean, who did that - casually threw an invitation to a closed nightclub the way of a random unknown who happened to be in the right place at the right time? Capricious Fae was who, and she did like to test the waters this way. Throw something strange and spontaneous into the universe, and who knew what the universe might throw back.
So her smile at his question was slow and amused, but not at all surprised. She lifted one narrow shoulder in a careless shrug, the silken material of her dress shifting like liquid over pale-bright skin. Her glamour hid her wings from him, and other Fae features, but she was underdressed for Human nobility with her shoulders and décolletage bared. Another small curiosity, if he was sharp enough to notice the in-congruence, though most didn't.
"There's no catch. I like to play with the whims of fates, and you'd be surprised how many wonderful nights start with a chance out of the blue. Isn't that right, Laz?
"You'd be less surprised by how many disasters arise from the same," was the man's dry reply, although a playful smile tugged subtly at the corner of his lips. Xaviere frowned up at him.
"You're supposed to be helping convince him." And Lazarus did, then, mirror his companion's earlier gesture with a similar shrug.
"We're not frequent visitors to the City, but I do own this establishment now. My...companion...has a penchant for throwing caution to the wind. There really is no catch, but no harm either should you decline." And with that, diminutive woman and elegant man, together, entered through a battered door that on the outside looked like nothing more than the entrance to an abandoned ruin. They left it open as they disappeared inside though, and a very dark hall beckoned, the walls apparently papered in a soft, velvety black. A pulsing blue light throbbed from somewhere deeper inside, beyond some twist or corner, making the entrance appear like a tunnel into another dimension. And the music, too...with the door open it could just be heard, repetitive and thumping, more like chanting than song.
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Post by Kylar on Dec 2, 2018 5:47:29 GMT
Kylar couldn’t help but give a crooked smirk at the woman’s response. Whims of fate? He couldn’t say he’d ever hear that one before. But it was all well and good. Kylar crossed his arms, though he was a little convinced to go in. That slight paranoia of being underground would keep him on his toes, but if it was truly going to be a good time without any trouble, then he was all for it. In such an unfamiliar place however, he thought it wise to not try to pick out potential prey for later. Best to leave that to more comfortable places, he noted to himself.
The man’s sense of humor was amusing though. “To be fair, I really just need booze and a good game of cards to convince me.” He liked to believe he was an easy going man. He had little ambition after all, mostly just trying to survive and make a living in the hell-hole that shifters did among humanity.
The two did seem intent to go on with or without him, and so Kylar decided to follow after. He tucked his thumbs into his pockets and jogged up next to the two of them. It was hard to see anything in the hallway they were in, and that kept Kylar on his toes a little more than he would have liked. He felt too closed in, and the primal urge to shift into his true form was there, itching to burst out and flee to the open skies. But the shifter kept his urge together as he heard the sound of drowned out voices and laughter up ahead.
“So tell me. Why the ‘invitation only’? I’m guessin’ that means ya’ll are important where the invitation is concerned.” He was curious, that was all. Speaking also kept his mind off of his paranoia. “You mentioned you owned the place. You run some sort of business?” He had to have a lot of coin to own something like this. Though to Kylar, owning anything in his eyes meant having a lot of coin.
The music and voices were louder now, as was the thumping. Damn, he was itching for a drink. “Name’s Kylar by the way. And who is it that I owe a dance to, as well as the invitation?” He had heard the woman call the man ‘Laz’, though that sounded more like a nickname than his full and they seemed ‘close’, if one would call it that. Or at least comfortable with each other. Kylar did not want to presume he had the same right to call him that without a more formal greeting.
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