Post by Alex Vipond on Sept 12, 2014 3:57:55 GMT -8
Milli Preston: Well even the barmaid had a night off now and then and when she wasn't working, she wasn't going to hang w h e r e she worked. Seated at the bar, a skinny chick with legs long enough to trip her own self, she tapped the end of her cigarette into the stinking ash tray and nursed a Coke because they carded here and Milli didn't make the legal cut. Bummer. Quiet, unassuming and by herself, she kept her back to the three-piece suits that were drunk with more buttons undone than done, and kept her back to the shady looking bunch near the billiards tables, the ones that looked like they'd be cool with heroine and human trafficking. Clad in a smart little red dress with flats to match, safe to say she was the only one in there with delicate pearl earrings parked in her lobes. But. She had to wear them, hello, they once belonged to her grams. Anyway, nothing going on. Bashfully she watched the succulent waitress and pondered whether or not she should doll up more at work. Maybe get better tips.
thewiIderchild: Cassidy was like Cinderella in reverse-- breezing in at twenty to midnight when the yellow line dividing the snaking ribbon of black pavement began weaving drunkenly. Realizing the line painters hadn't gone on a bender, she had just put in too many hours behind the wheel, at the next off-ramp promising a bevy of hotels motels and restaurants she flicked her blinker and pulled off. She may as well have thrown a dart at a map for all the thought that went into the selection of a local watering hole. The neon was still glaring out front and a few cars were in the gravel spit lot. The engine was cooling, pinging quietly as she hit the door with a shoulder, rolling in and around it like a bead of mercury on a tilted surface. Cass was a tall drink of water for a woman, kinda gal that looked like she'd be more comfortable behind sunglasses, even at this hour. Fall may have started on the calendar, but it was still warm enough for short, white-frayed cut-offs. A Screaming Trees t-shirt was knotted around the slimmest part of her waist under an unbuttoned flannel that parted as she pocketed her car keys en route to the bar, flagging down whoever was behind it with two fingers. "Coffee, thanks. Y'all have anything to eat that isn't peanuts?"
Milli Preston: She had man troubles and sister troubles. That's probably why she was in a bar. At least half the people sitting in the place had some kinda troubles. But she wasn't whining or humming Nina Simone blue's or anything. Milli was as quiet as a ghost, large bashful eyes touching on the woman that breezed in, touching on the thug types near the back, and back to her Coke and her smoke. She looked a little out of place, one notch too preppy princess, and one year (or two) too young but whatever, she was living dangerously tonight by having a Coke in a bar. Her plate of fries, smothered in cheese and bacon bits, had been sitting there neglected. So she snuffed out her cigarette and lifted a gooey frenchy.
Alex Vipond: Alex pulled into the lot, and slid out of the car, taking a moment to look around as he swung the door shut on that murdered out Benz. He locked it as he moved across the lot to the bar. Stepping inside, he took a moment to pull the pack of gum from the pocket of the distressed leather Diesel jacket he wore. Swapping the old out for the new, he wrapped the old into the wrapper and wadded it up, dropping it into an ashtray on the bar as moved to find an empty stool. The suits were noted, thanks to their boisterousness and Milli was spotted there, with her back to them. He settled on a stool near her, and offered a smile, looking somewhat closer to the pool players than the suits in his ripped and frayed jeans. "Hey." And then he looked to the tender. "Glenmorangie, neat." He nodded, and then looked back at Milli, "Seems we have a penchant for the same dive bars." His gaze slid to the chick in the shorts and he gave her a nod before looking back to the tender as his drink was set before him. He slid his hand into his jeans pocket and pulled out cash, dropping it on the bar for the drink. The change he left sitting, as he took up the glass and took a sip.
thewiIderchild: She waved off the cream and sugar with a crinkled nose, but noticed the fries down the bar first, and miss Sweet Valley High daintily nibbling on them second. "I'll take an order of fries though, plain. Thanks." That last tacked on as an after-thought, lime chasing tequila. Having to do a hop-step dance to work a slim wallet from her back pocket, she'd blame sitting on it for the last hundred and sixty miles before she would admit her shorts might have been a little tight. Both the prom queen and the guy who joined her at the bar got a swift half-smile in acknowledgement before she prowled over to the juke, the bartender calling out, It don't work, mostly! Cass nodded, un-phased, and flipped through the albums, her expression becoming more and more horrified by selection. Or lack there-of. "Seriously?" She muttered under her breath. Finally she fed the machine a few quarters. When nothing happened, she listed the left, balling up one silver ringed hand into a fist that thumped hard against the side of the old machine, casually as if she'd been here before, done it a hundred times. Obediently the damn thing sprang to life with a flicker of grimy lights, a Kinks album turning over and coming on.
Milli Preston: She would have killed for a Mint Julep. Crushed ice, mint, sugar, bourbon -- how hard could it be. She'd even have settled for one of the funny bomb drinks that contained Red Bull. But she didn't have a fake ID and wasn't pressing her luck, lucky as it was they allowed her to hang out and have some fries. Now bashfully her smile lifted when Alex came in. "We have excellent taste in dive bars." November green gaze aiming down, she touched his jacket. "Nice." By the looks of it, it could have been Prada 2012 or even Ralph Lauren 2010 but knowing the rock star, it was either vintage or custom. Seeing the tall woman smile, she returned the expression with a touch of shyness but sincerity none the less. "So my sister moved here two days ago."
Alex Vipond: "Really?" Alex nodded and sipped his drink, a glance sent to the woman beating on the juke like she knew what she was doing. Whatever she did, it worked and music flowed. Alex hadn't checked the juke out yet. It was only his second time in the place. As for his clothes, most of them were designer, various labels, the wallet chain that wasn't attached to a wallet and hung at his hip was Louis Vuitton and draped from his front belt loop to his hip pocket where it was pinned in place. His attire hadn't changed much over the last decade. Post grunge rocker was his way, although he did wear a tux pretty damned well. Even if it did look like he'd stepped out of an 1860's men's fashion magazine in it.
thewiIderchild: Cassidy had picked this joint solely because it looked unlikely to draw either high rollers or 'bangers, two types she held in equal (dis)regard, but fussing with the juke gave her a fine opportunity to better case the crowd. A lot like a cop might. Or a con. Tucking her wallet under her arm, she pulled off her knit hat, a tumble of long, wheat colored hair spilled in slightly snarled waves half way down her back. Halfheartedly finger-combing it, she unhurriedly sauntered back to her spot at the bar, where fries and a steaming black coffee were waiting for her. "You got me so I can't sleep at night," she singsonged, winding her hair back up in a knot at her nape that was deftly tucked back into the knit beanie, snugged back into place. Saddling back up on the barstool, Cass tossed her wallet on the bartop, and angled her body slightly so her back wasn't to the crowd, one eye on the door as she ate a fry. All done so casual and smooth she could have sold a popsicle to an Eskimo.
Milli Preston: "Yes, Winnie." Didn't take a rocket scientist to ascertain the girls probably came from type of old money. As a rule only very wealthy white people in the south gave their children names that could be shortened to Milli and Winnie. If you looked in the family tree, there was a cousin named Bunny somewhere and there may have been a Buffy as well. "How goes it with you? You're leavin' soon for London ain’t you?" She was usually well spoken but once in a while a dialect spilled thick with sweet ice tea and Chantilly lace. She'd been told recently that she should be more aware of her surroundings so she sat up straighter and looked around. She didn't notice anything peculiar -- four armed men could have been waiting to kill them all and she wouldn't have noticed but she felt like she'd done her civic duty by glancing shyly at the men, the woman with the cap and whoever else. She lifted another gooey fry, prissy like, to nosh on.
Alex Vipond: Alex had his own level of vigilance which he maintained, and he noted the alert status of others as well. By and large most in the bar were giving zero fucks, but the woman with the beanie was alert, and that had him curious. His eyes slid to the mirror behind the bar, and then he was looking back at Milli, whom, yes, did seem to be from old money. "That's great." He nodded. "My sister is here in Seattle as well, she moved about a year ago. And, not for another two weeks." He nodded and sipped his scotch.
thewiIderchild: Slowly, but methodically, she worked her way through about half of her french fries. Apparently taking less pleasure in actually eating the damn things than just needing them for whatever sustenance there was to be found in greasy bar food fries. Finally wiping her fingers off on the cocktail napkin under her coffee, woodsy green eyes still focused on some vague spot across the room from the bar. Leaning backwards so far she had to hook her low boot heels over a rung of the barstool she was perched on to keep her balance, she wiggled a slightly mashed pack of Camel lights from her front right pocket. Somewhere between states she'd lost track of smoking ordinances, but there was an ashtray on the bar, so she borrowed a matchbook with the house name, and put it to use. "Hey, Coal Country Barbie," she murmured quietly, adjusting her lean a little so it was towards Alex, and thus Milli. Finally, her chin angled in low towards her collarbones, intense hazel eyes shifting to the dolled up younger girl with a slight frown. "Did you drive here tonight?"
Milli Preston: "How long is she here for? Maybe I can meet her. I'd like that. -- I worked the other night but none of y'all were there. A mean looking guy came in with a kid looking for you but no sisters or anyone." She smiled, chattery thing sometimes when in the company of her friends. She noshed a fry then made a confession, one for the Milli Books. "And then I met a guy here and I invited him to Prague." She didn't know w h y she did that. She just wanted to go Prague. Or Brussels. Monaco maybe. God, she really did put the Ick in Fickle. She bashfully glanced at the gal addressing them, her mouth would have sneered at the Barbie title -- but Barbie had tits so secretly, Milli was pleased. "Yes, do you need a ride -- wait, is that a dig about my age?" She glanced from her to Alex. Should Milli get ready to be offended. She smirked at the woman, flung her hands out helplessly and lifted a fry. "I'm almost old enough to drink you know!"
Alex Vipond: Alex bit back the chuckle, though his lips twitched, and he looked from the almost offended Milli to the chick in the Daisy Dukes. "Coal country covers a wide spread, you know. They dig coal up in Pennsylvania. Mike Rowe was there, doing a Dirty Jobs episode." Yes, he learned shit from Discovery Channel. He was still pissed they'd cancelled it. Dirty Jobs was like his favorite show. Looking back at Milli, he chuckled. "She lives here, and I can always arrange a party." Maybe get a barbecue in before the weather really started to get cold.
thewiIderchild: Too solemn to be entirely serious, she nodded to Alex. "Yeah, they do," she agreed. "But the Dutch settled Pennsylvania, and I'll eat my hat if that twang comes outta a Quaker." She should know, her own drawl was gentler, hammered out by education and sheer willpower. "I'd bet dollars to doughnuts you're from South of the Mason-Dixon, and within 200 miles as the crow flies of Appalachia-- but that's neither here nor there," Cass muttered as if just remembering, gesturing with one hand. "What? No, I don't need a ride, and keep your voice down." Slinky as a cat weaving between the ankles, Cassidy slid off her barstool, putting herself between Milli and the crowd. "Walk her out, tonight." No tease in her voice now, looking at Alex, before glancing at Milli. "Sugar, keep looking at me," she said softly. "Two of the guys against the back wall -- don't look -- have been casing you since I got here."
Milli Preston: She grinned and nodded to the suggestion of a party. One last fling before the dog days of summer bled out would be awesome, one last balmy evening before the calendar gave way to fat candles in jars, pumpkins and knit scarves. She grinned shyly at the blonde. "Virginia." So she was basically right, almost eerily so. Now the woman moved slinky like and Milli gazed at her, listening in earnest. Don't look -- it was really hard not to look once people said don't look. But she managed not to. Obedient to a fault, she stared at Cass, November eyes getting larger. Her breath sort of stopped. Then her brows furrowed. Casing her how? For what? Her lashes did this up-down thing, she glanced between them whispering. "Shouldn't we call the cops?" That was her answer for everything. Her cousin was a State Trooper, she just assumed they got things done. Course, he was a patrolman in Virginia so that wouldn't be much help here.
Alex Vipond: Alex shrugged, "Not all Barbie's are coal miner's daughters, no matter how far south of the Mason-Dixon." Alex didn't go into the fact that accents could be deceiving, since he sounded pure SoCal. Then again, he'd had a lot of time and distance from his home town. Alex's eyes didn't go to the men, not directly, but to the mirror behind the bar, and from that vantage point, he watched them. One brow rose as he picked up his glass, and sipped, and then that green gaze slid back to the messenger. "They won't get near her." Five foot ten, a hundred and forty-five at best, fully clothed and soaking wet, Alex didn't look like he could fight his way out of a brothel, but there was no doubt what so ever in his voice, and his gaze spoke volumes as to the amount of business he meant.
thewiIderchild: "The cops?" Cass parroted back, as stupefied as if Milli had suggested a Kumbayah sing-a-long to dissuade the men Cass had noticed were hanging on her every word, in the grimmest way possible. "Nono, no cops," she said, and turned animated, her eyes brightening, an impish little smile curving her solemn mouth. "I--" whatever she was gonna say was paused, and she looked to Alex again, re-assessing. "I've offended you. On her behalf." Tilting her head slightly, a wisp of pale hair escaped her knit cap, a split look including them both. "I apologize. She sounds like home, I'm from southern Appalachia as well, there wasn't any trick involved." That was three-fourths true. Men like those two, the one in the hunting vest and the other in the gray Henley, they made Cassidy even more crass and reckless than usual. She winked at Milli. "Between your friend and I you'll be fine, just wanted to warn you as one last precaution," she said, her voice softer, gentler now. Dusting the long finger of ash from her cigarette, she finished it off, retreating to her spot at the bar to do the same to her coffee, and leave a few crisp bills to cover it.
Milli Preston: Of course the cops. In Milli's head that's who you called if someone even looked sideways at you -- then usually you had the cops over with the preacher for brunch on Sunday. Cass said no cops, and so she nodded. She was freaked out to be honest but she smiled bashfully and sincere at the taller woman, little fingers scrambling and gently curling to Cass's arm for a moment. "Thank you for telling me." She didn't have to do that. To anyone watching it just looked like girlfriend chatter. She quieted, folding her hands to her lap when Cass apologized to Alex, glancing bashfully between them. When she spoke up, her voice was library soft, not carrying further than those two. "I have a Louisville Slugger in my trunk. I bought it when I took it to Jase's car." #FirstWorldProblems. #WhiteGirlProblems. W h y did she admit shit like that. So anyway she peeked between them and had another fry, but she was freaked. She'd never been cased before. That she knew of. See, this is what moving to the city brought.
Alex Vipond: "No." He chuckled and shook his head. "I do not easily offend. I'm just saying that not all southerners dig coal. It's kind of like saying that all southerners once owned slaves, and grew tobacco. Making assumptions about people can lead to problems. Like our pair over there." His gaze slid back to the mirror, watching them as he once more lifted his glass and took a sip. "For example, the fact that they are being overt in their attention," he looked back at the messenger. "Their attention has drawn our attention off of everyone else. Could be they're real trouble or just a couple of pervs who like to look. Either way, they've been successful in drawing our attention away from others." And then Alex was looking back at the mirror and studying said others. When Milli admitted to having bought a bat to take to her ex’s car, Alex smirked. "You go, girl."
thewiIderchild: That gave her pause. "It's the area, not the profession," she explained slowly. "Sort of colloquially known," she explained. "Like Florida being the Sunshine State. Everyone knows it still rains there." For a moment she felt like they were speaking different languages, but she smiled gamely and shrugged, letting it slide. Milli's touch made her smile again. "Sure thing. We gals gotta stick together." Cass winked, then worked on stuffing her wallet and smokes back into the shallow pockets of her itty bitty cutoffs. Like Mary Poppins' handbag in reverse! About the men being garden variety pervs, she nodded, vaguely. "It's possible." Bill paid up, food and caffeine in her system, car keys and something dully metallic gleamed in her hand. "But do you ever just know something?" Discretely, she glanced at the table near the door where the two men, whose height was hard to gauge, but both easily had fifty to one hundred pounds on her. Answering her own question, she nodded, very slightly. Flashing a wild, almost manic grin at the two bar side, Cass fluttered the fingers of her free hand in a playful little wave. "Be safe!" Only she could make that into a threat. Hunter or the prey, impossible to say, but hip-led and prowling like a jungle cat she retraced her way to the door and was outside in a blink.
Milli Preston: She nodded when Alex said you go girl. They definitely broke up after the Slugger incident of 2013. Now they had gotten back together 3.5 times since then but she was certain now they were done. Almost positive. She put her chin in her hand, not sure if they were broke up right now. That time in July didn't count. And he'd burned some of her clothes in August. Definitely they were done. She looked up when Cass spoke then the woman moved like a plume of smoke or some sexy ghost. She lifted skinny hand waving but was not fast enough. Still. "Bye!?" She needed more girlfriends. A frown. She turned November eyes to Alex then, still a little freaked and he would know that. But apparently she was a brave trooper tonight, not really showing her wigged-ness.
Alex Vipond: Of course there was a simple solution to the problem. Alex could simply confront the pair, but really, as of yet, they'd not done anything wrong. He finished his scotch and looked over at Milli. "Let me know when you're ready to go." He'd wait until she made it known as to whether or not she was ready now, before ordering another drink.
Milli Preston: Lifting slender hands, she twisted golden hair till it formed a loose fat croissant on her back, one that would come undone as soon as she really moved again. Watching the door close, she glanced from the door to Alex. "I liked her." She'd now met and liked a couple of people, a real feat for her. "Oh anytime. I can go home now or have another drink. What's it gonna be?" She leaned at him, chin down, a nudge given with bony elbow in case he wanted to drink up, her inherited diamond parked on a scrawny knuckle, winking like an attention seeking whore with each gesture of slim hand. ~
thewiIderchild: Cassidy was the proactive sort. From outside came a loud shattering of glass, followed by the obnoxious bleating of a car alarm. "Is that you...?" It wasn't even subtle, the way the one in the hunting vest cursed, then looked at Milli before pushing up out of his chair, stomping heavily to the door to look outside. Annoyance became shock, became when he saw a thick, matted spiderweb of cracks threading through the windshield of his van. The driver's side window was already destroyed, safety glass glittering like Mardi Gras beads amid the gravel in the lot. Cass had her Charger running, pointed towards the highway, but stood by the van's passenger side window, winding up like Babe Ruth with her crow bar, a two foot length of rebar with a wicked hooked end. Swinging for the fences the window exploded inward. "That c*nt!" he bellowed. "Jasper!" Grinning, Cass ran, leapt and slid across the hood of her ride like it was cool, only to nearly bust her ass on the gravel, scrambling like hell to get behind the wheel. Proving he wasn't a complete idiot, Mr. Henley shirt didn't chase after her on foot, he went for the gun under the driver's seat as the Charger fishtailed crazily out of the parking lot.
Alex Vipond: "Depends on your comfort level. If the pair of jokers over there aren't going to bother you, I'm game for another drink. If you would rather find another watering hole, I'm good with that too." Perhaps oddly, some part of him, deep down, wanted them to start something. He had a mental flash of Mexican dessert, the remembered scents of cordite and blood hanging in the air, and he shook the memory away. "She was nice." He looked toward the door. "Didn't get her name, though. Now I feel like a jackass." Broken glass and screaming alarms. What better way to clear out a bar? If that was his car, he'd have someone's neck. No, really. Do you have any idea the cost of UV, tempered glass? Alex watched the pair as Hunting Vest got up and headed for the door, and then he looked back at Milli. "You know what my car looks like?" He was already fishing his keys from his pocket and offered them out to Milli, even as he was rising from the bar stool. "Stay with me and one we get outside, make a run for the car, get in, and lock the doors. If they start toward you, you lay rubber and get the hell out. Don't worry about me." At that, Alex started pulling rings from his fingers, and stuffed them into his front jeans pocket, and then he pulled his earrings out, and they joined his rings as he headed outside to the sound of rubber being laid.
Milli Preston: What in the ever loving fvck! Hearing a racket and an alarm, she glanced at Alex with marginally larger eyes. This is what she got for venturing out-- shoulda stayed home with Raman noodles and Golden Girls reruns. Oh God if that was her Mini Cooper being hit, she was going to wish VD on someone. She frowned at the man asking if it was her car, and looked to Alex, taking keys. Wait what? This was scary. Milli didn't do scary. She nodded at him just the same. She was on Alex more or less like a cheap suit --like a Men's Warehouse 1993-- and followed him out then r a n her little ass to his ride, scrambling in. Rather than duck, she watched with hug eyes. Well this was not a night that would be featured on Instagram. Car fish tailing, men with guns. Wait, a gun! Now shit was serious. She couldn't really leave Alex. Course. She didn't know his s e c r e t either. Raw fear working up from her throat, she got busy locking doors. And praying. Milli was from the south, they still prayed there. One Nation. Under God.
thewiIderchild: If Henley Shirt had loaded slugs, she might have been in trouble. But at this range a blast of buckshot was all sound and fury, didn't even hurt the paintjob-- for which he better bless his biscuits, or he'd Really be in for a world of hurt. Strangely, once the Charger was on the road out of gunshot range, she slowed down, comparatively-- it wasn't an accident, or a coincidence. "Jasper, you slow fucker!" Henley Shirt screamed, popping shell casings and ducking into the van. Broken glass was everywhere, but the engine turned over smoothly enough. Not waiting for his would-have-been partner in crime, he swung the van around, shot gun in his lap, nearly choking the engine when he red lined it, wheels spinning and kicking up a spray of gravel before catching as he shot off after the blue Charger. The second part of the two man team had his eyes on the prize-- and she hadn't left in the Camaro, she'd run like a frightened bunny across the lot to a tinted window luxury car.
Alex Vipond: Alex was moving, not after the van, but after the stalker. Hunted had become prey, without realizing the danger he was in. Alex's lip curled, in a rather feral way as his hand reached out for the man's shoulder to spin him around, his other hand going for his throat as one leg swept around to hook his ankles and take him down to the ground. Please, dear God, let there be no security cameras around.
Milli Preston: She didn't know anyone was stalking her, or that the stalker was being stalked. She didn't want to leave Alex. Seriously. It would have helped, again, if she'd known his secret. Then she would have fled without a second thought. She was also still obedient to a fault and Alex had very clearly told her to go. She wasn't as bad as the dumb chick in a horror movie-- she got the keys in the ignition and suffered no sudden stalled engine trouble. #EveryHorrorMovieEver. She looked around, golden hair swinging. Should she stay or should she go? She revved the engine to life and started to back out, not very slowly but not fast enough to go mowing people over either.
thewiIderchild: Surprised, Jasper went down like panties on prom night, grunting heavily as he hit the gravel. He didn't stay down though, rolling away and to his feet. "C'mon man, don't you have any clue what sugartits is worth?" he wheedled, splitting a look between Alex and the sudden blink of tail lights. No no no, meal ticket was not getting away! He broke away, sprinting towards the car.
Alex Vipond: She was likely to find out Alex's secret any moment. Alex smirked, "She worth your life? Because that's what she'll cost you." And as soon as the man moved to sprint after the car, Alex was on the man, and this time, the feral snarl was full blown, and yet... Some sick, twisted part of him, wanted to play. Like a cat with a mouse, who wouldn't go for the swift kill, but had to savor it, draw it out. Those green eyes of his had shifted in hue, grown ice blue and luminous and as he reached out for the back of the man's neck, he moved to sweep past him as he shoved downward, to plant the man on the ground once more. Here little mouse...
Milli Preston: She stopped --bad Milli-- to look around, the car half backed from the parking space where it'd been, hazel gaze looking around for Alex. It was quiet now, seemed like the noise had died down. There he was. He was right there with one of the criminals. Alex didn't look exactly like himself? Hopefully it was true, they could glamour people --or was that just a Bon Temps TV thing? Cause after all this, someone needed to glamour Milli so she'd forget every last second of it. Car idle. Skinny hands gripping the wheel, a hair trigger foot still on the pedal should she have to mash it and fly. Eyes big. Watching. Listening.
thewiIderchild: Cassidy was off playing one of her favorite games, Catch-Me, Kill-Me with a would-be kidnapper rapist. Sometimes she swore she could smell it on these sick fucks, the actual deed before it was done. Try explaining that one in a court of law, they'd hook you up with a nice, comfy, padded room. And shock treatments, and Demerol, and alllll the Lithium a girl could ever want. Jasper though, was even worse off. He got two steps before an immense weight pinned him down, like an interesting bug against black velvet, ready to be studied at leisure. "Noooo," he groaned, dirty spittle webbing his teeth, a sense of a black wave breaking over his head, dragging him down into deep, dark waters. He tried to pull himself along, bloodying his fingertips on the shattered glass in the gravel. "Lemme go, I'll go straight home, I... I promise man, y-you can have h-her." Jasper stuttered, knowing without seeing that it was Death itself that pinned him. The bright, acrid scent of ammonia hit the air, hot piss running along the side of his leg.
Alex Vipond: It was that fear, that rush of adrenaline, that made the blood ever so sweet, but the man's words, instead of pleasing him, pissed him off. "Who are you to offer such a gift?" His voice was low, near the man's ear as he tried to crawl away, but Alex was having none of it. "Who gave you the power to take what isn't yours?" Alex gripped the man tightly, and rose swiftly, into the air, and then followed the course the van had taken. Unless they'd changed course, Alex would find the car chase in progress swiftly enough, and follow along. "I think you need to be reunited with your friend, what do you think?"
Milli Preston: This night had no highlight, but if it had, it would have been Cass referring to Milli as Barbie, and Criminal referring to her as SugarTits. I mean this was conformation from two different people that she actually had breasts. Course she wasn't thinking of anything like that as she watched Alex and the guy. Again. What in the ever loving fuck. Did he really just ... lift ... with that guy. Forget driving off, forget pondering what to do, she turned her face to the windshield and tried to figure out what just happened. T h a t stuff didn't exist, whatever Alex was, whatever he just did. There was no amount of WTF to cover this one, no amount of bourbon to make that sort of vision seem legit. -- And she hadn't drank a drop. These people were lucky that Jasper was the only one who peed himself after what she just saw. Couldn't be. She was upset, had been stalked -- mind playing tricks. Right?
thewiIderchild: Little less than a mile ahead, the sun was rising. Ha, just kidding! All the colors of sunrise were present! Orange, pink, red, ochre, mellow yellow,flickering fitfully. It really was lovely, but Jasper had no eye for beauty this evening. He kicked at and took a swing at Alex, cursing more when he realized he wouldn't be released. "It was all Jim's idea.Says she's got people. Im-por-tant people." He hocked a gnarly lougie and spat it at Alex, but woefully missed and his pavement instead. "Said they's pay us a king's ransum for their lil' darlin." Cassie would be waiting on them, sitting on the hood of her Charger, idly gnawing on the end of a cherry Twizzler. The van was about 15 feet off the road, nearly standing on its nose where it had crashed into a loblolly pine. Both van and tree burned merrily. Cass was calm, now. The CB radio inside was on a police frequency and turned up loud. No need to hurry, no one was coming this way. There was a stack of junk beside her on the hood.
Alex Vipond: "oh she does." Alex let go with one hand, allowing the man to dangle a moment as if he'd drop him at any moment, and then he grasped him again, turning him to face him. "The problem is, not all of her people are actually human..." The van was there, burning, nose in. Bummer, he was too late to cause a massive accident. Instead he looked at the man and one could almost see the shrug. "Ah well. Time to improvise." When the heat of the van could be felt rising up, he looked down and then back at the asshat he had in his grip and then he just ... let go. He even waved as the douchebag fell into the burning wreck. "Maybe I should have broken his neck first..."
Milli Preston: So. Alex was off being a...God what was he? Warlock? Magician? Vampire -- oh come on, come on, get a grip! But she heard her Aunt Ester --the one from New Orleans-- swear up and down that vampires were real. But Aunt Esther was known to get deep into her cups and she voted liberation so ya couldn't listen to much she said. Point is, Cass was off being a bad ass, Alex was off smiting a criminal, they all just left Milli there. And she had to have been shaken, to be in Alex's ride and not be snapping pics for Instagram. She was bona fide freaked. She clicked music on, on her phone, singing loudly. She wasn't even being a jackass, the bad singing really was just a way to distract herself. "Three-hundred-sixty-five-degrees! Burnin down the house!" Thank you Talking Heads for distraction -- and irony, considering Alex and Crispy.
thewiIderchild: Cassidy, idly watching the scene, wishing she had marshmallows, nodded. "Should have hit him across the face, compliant with front orbital fracturing and hematoma due to hitting the dash." Mellow, she just shrugged. "Twizzler?" Shifting, she grimaced, and reknotted a red spotted makeshift bandage around her arm before continuing, "You wanted proof. I jacked this shit before I tossed the van." Pulling her hand inside her sleeve, she carefully passed over coiled lengths of rope, two things of duct tape, cable ties. And half a dozen blurry pictures printed on printer paper of Millie. She set it down on the side of the hood nearest Alex. Cass' sharp eyes didn't miss much, and they lingered on him now. "Wanna ride back to the bar?"
Alex Vipond: Feet hit the ground lightly and when Cassidy offered up her suggestion, he shook his head. "Forensics would be able to tell the difference. No thanks," he offered in response to her offer of a Twizzler. When she offered out the stuff she'd pulled from the van, he stepped closer, studying the items without touching it, and then he nodded. "Should toss it back into the van. They won't get another chance." When she offered him a ride, he nodded. "Gotta get back to Milli, she's bound to be freaking out." And he was going to have to compel her, and anyone else who may have witnessed anything. "So, you do this often?"
Milli Preston: -- Were werewolves really too? No. No, that was just too much waxing upkeep to even fathom. She cut her phone off, singing concluded, back to worrying, pensive look on her face. She cut Alex's sweet car off, no use in wasting gas when there was nothing going on. She got out of his car then turned back to it-- then turned again, undecided. So basically she looked like a duck in a shooting gallery for a moment in this indecision. Well he said stay in his car. Not sure where she would have headed to anyway. She stopped pining like some aimless pinball and got back in. Doors locked. She was freaked. Big time. She looked at her phone. Maybe she should call her Uncle Greyer. He was a Senator (GOP, duh). But she won't sure what he could do about mean people in Seattle or the fact that vampires were real -- turns out, Aunt Esther wasn't just a drunk idiot. Drunk yes but idiot, not so much. Now she frowned. She assumed Alex would not want her telling a soul.
thewiIderchild: "No," she said simply. "Usually I just let nature run its course." A single nod. She'd kept the proof for the soul reason that she wanted him, Alex, to see it. Once done, destroy it. Favoring her left arm, she slid down from her perch, bringing the Twizzlers with her. Ducking into her Charger, she took a moment to move the .45, lock pick kit, and tire iron from the passenger style seat, giving it a quick brush off. "Like I said, she sounded like home." All 426 horses under the hood came to life with a sound that made Cassidy's little black heart sing. "Maybe I'm nostalgic." She fluttered her eyelashes, and after Alex was in and comfortable, swung the car back towards the bar, letting those horses stretch their legs in a twenty second mile.
Alex Vipond: Oh he was well beyond the need to have proof since the asshole and he, had conversed. If one could call one begging and the other toying conversing. Alex moved to the passenger side of the car, his eyes having long since lost that hue. He was back to his usual, laid back self, still chewing that piece of Doublemint that was in need of being swapped out a good half hour or so ago. "She works at a place I hang out." He shrugged. Not that he wouldn't have intervened had he not known her, because Alex was just the type to rescue the damsel when it came to it. When she rolled out, he didn't even bother to look back at the van. It was already ancient history. And he'd been good. He'd not bitten the dude and since the dude had stopped screaming once he hit after being dropped, apparently Alex didn't have to worry about whether or not his neck broke.
Milli Preston: Despite the adrenaline and raw fear, she was actually beginning to take on a scarecrow sag against the back of her seat. Hard to believe she could sleep after all this but that's what youth and three-days-straight of no sleep would do to a person. Phone on her lap (just in case Alex called-- or he ex, if he was her ex, she wasn't sure about that) she leaned till her cheek smudged the window. Like so she remained. She was worried now about Alex and that woman with the cap. Mumuring little Sunday School prayers about them while she half conked out--and half stayed awake in case any crazy shit went down.
thewiIderchild: Downshifting, just a cursory tap on the break and they coasted into the lot, settling right alongside Sleeping Beauty's craft. "It was interesting," she drawled, slower than black strap molasses, but sweet as tupelo honey. And winked. Letting her fare out, glancing amusedly at the little puffs of breath fogging the glass made my his fare, if she didn’t wake up a little more. "Y'all god it from here?" Both windows rolled partially down, asking with sincere interest.
Milli Preston: Milli was mostly asleep but she woke up for sure when the woman arrived --with Alex. Thank God. Milli was from an old school family, she won't afraid to be thanking God. They both looked ok! Relief washed gentle features, she reached, waving a little hand at the woman. "Come back?" She liked her. She just did. Course she adored Alex. She was so glad to see them both looking alrigh.
Alex Vipond: Alex slid out once she stopped the car and moved toward that murdered out Benz, a chuckle given at the site of the sleepy Milli. When she woke up and looked at them, he chuckled. "We're fine." He nodded then looked back at Cassidy, his hand offered to her through the window. "Alex."
thewiIderchild: She paused, lightly revving the engine in neutral, eyeing the hand offered to her. They'd knocked heads, a little. But had proven ruthlessly efficient as a team taking out the trash they had in common. For that, she slipped her finely boned, silver ringed hand into his. "Cass." A pause, and mild eyerolling. "Cassidy." When she got her hand back, she smiled, finding Milli with her eyes to wave to the younger girl. "See you darlins'..... around," she concluded with a smile that was more Wolf than Little Red. Shifting into gear, in another few seconds, she was nothing more than tail lights disappearing on the horizon.
Milli Preston: She watched her go, chirping her own name right quick before the woman took off. "Milli!" And then she scrambled from Alex's car, the whole thing scary and bizarre, his secret even forgotten for now due to all else. "Alex are y'all really alright? Are you ok?"
Alex Vipond: "I'm fine. We're fine." He nodded as he smiled to her. "How are you?" She'd seen things and been through things that by all rights, a young woman her age shouldn't have to go through. People were supposed to be civilized in this age, but it seemed the more advanced humanity became, the more depraved it got as well.
Milli Preston: "I'm alright." She wasn't --so-- much alright really. She'd nearly been kidnapped and then there was this whole mind blowing thing about Alex, but Milli was a glass half full type. Vampire or not, she crushed against him and hugged him very tight, ready or not, glad him and the woman were alright and very grateful. "Thank you." He basically...saved her from rape? Kidnap? Murder? God knows what.
Alex Vipond: Alex hugged her in return, patting her back as he did so. "You're alright. They're not going to bother you again." He rubbed her back soothingly and then he leaned back to look at her. "You can't say anything about what happened tonight, you know that, don't you Milli?"
Milli Preston: Once she snuggled him in thanks, she looked up to him, sort of remembering and marveling. Course it won't her business and Milli believed in protecting people's business from idle gossip and exposure. She looked down, half expecting him to glamour her --if they could really do that. Her pulse might have quickened but she was totally sincere. "I would never." Tell anyone or say anything. "Are you what I think you are Alex?"
Alex Vipond: "Well if what you're thinking has anything to do with teeth and a decided lack of ability to tan, then yeah. You'd be correct in your thinking." He smiled down at her. "It can be a lot to take in, so if it's too much, I can help you in that."
Milli Preston: "Oh its a lot! It's.... it's supposed to be fiction!" She chortled. Trying to come to terms with the impossible. Still she curled her fingers on his arm. "I think I'll be alright. It's just... A lot." But she would not tell anyone. That was his business alone. Bashful smile given to him.
Alex Vipond: "Good. If you have any questions, I'll answer them, but in the meantime, I think you've had a busy enough night and we need to get you home. If you like, if you're up to driving, I'll follow you to make sure you get home alright, but you've nothing to worry about from those two ever again." One way or another he would see her home safely before heading home himself. And then he'd have a tale to tell Meghan. He'd wanted to drain the man, and he'd not laid fang to him. Alex was, over all, proud of himself. Not for the torture or the enjoying of it, but for the not ripping into the man’s throat like he was a PEZ dispenser and drinking his fill.
thewiIderchild: Cassidy was like Cinderella in reverse-- breezing in at twenty to midnight when the yellow line dividing the snaking ribbon of black pavement began weaving drunkenly. Realizing the line painters hadn't gone on a bender, she had just put in too many hours behind the wheel, at the next off-ramp promising a bevy of hotels motels and restaurants she flicked her blinker and pulled off. She may as well have thrown a dart at a map for all the thought that went into the selection of a local watering hole. The neon was still glaring out front and a few cars were in the gravel spit lot. The engine was cooling, pinging quietly as she hit the door with a shoulder, rolling in and around it like a bead of mercury on a tilted surface. Cass was a tall drink of water for a woman, kinda gal that looked like she'd be more comfortable behind sunglasses, even at this hour. Fall may have started on the calendar, but it was still warm enough for short, white-frayed cut-offs. A Screaming Trees t-shirt was knotted around the slimmest part of her waist under an unbuttoned flannel that parted as she pocketed her car keys en route to the bar, flagging down whoever was behind it with two fingers. "Coffee, thanks. Y'all have anything to eat that isn't peanuts?"
Milli Preston: She had man troubles and sister troubles. That's probably why she was in a bar. At least half the people sitting in the place had some kinda troubles. But she wasn't whining or humming Nina Simone blue's or anything. Milli was as quiet as a ghost, large bashful eyes touching on the woman that breezed in, touching on the thug types near the back, and back to her Coke and her smoke. She looked a little out of place, one notch too preppy princess, and one year (or two) too young but whatever, she was living dangerously tonight by having a Coke in a bar. Her plate of fries, smothered in cheese and bacon bits, had been sitting there neglected. So she snuffed out her cigarette and lifted a gooey frenchy.
Alex Vipond: Alex pulled into the lot, and slid out of the car, taking a moment to look around as he swung the door shut on that murdered out Benz. He locked it as he moved across the lot to the bar. Stepping inside, he took a moment to pull the pack of gum from the pocket of the distressed leather Diesel jacket he wore. Swapping the old out for the new, he wrapped the old into the wrapper and wadded it up, dropping it into an ashtray on the bar as moved to find an empty stool. The suits were noted, thanks to their boisterousness and Milli was spotted there, with her back to them. He settled on a stool near her, and offered a smile, looking somewhat closer to the pool players than the suits in his ripped and frayed jeans. "Hey." And then he looked to the tender. "Glenmorangie, neat." He nodded, and then looked back at Milli, "Seems we have a penchant for the same dive bars." His gaze slid to the chick in the shorts and he gave her a nod before looking back to the tender as his drink was set before him. He slid his hand into his jeans pocket and pulled out cash, dropping it on the bar for the drink. The change he left sitting, as he took up the glass and took a sip.
thewiIderchild: She waved off the cream and sugar with a crinkled nose, but noticed the fries down the bar first, and miss Sweet Valley High daintily nibbling on them second. "I'll take an order of fries though, plain. Thanks." That last tacked on as an after-thought, lime chasing tequila. Having to do a hop-step dance to work a slim wallet from her back pocket, she'd blame sitting on it for the last hundred and sixty miles before she would admit her shorts might have been a little tight. Both the prom queen and the guy who joined her at the bar got a swift half-smile in acknowledgement before she prowled over to the juke, the bartender calling out, It don't work, mostly! Cass nodded, un-phased, and flipped through the albums, her expression becoming more and more horrified by selection. Or lack there-of. "Seriously?" She muttered under her breath. Finally she fed the machine a few quarters. When nothing happened, she listed the left, balling up one silver ringed hand into a fist that thumped hard against the side of the old machine, casually as if she'd been here before, done it a hundred times. Obediently the damn thing sprang to life with a flicker of grimy lights, a Kinks album turning over and coming on.
Milli Preston: She would have killed for a Mint Julep. Crushed ice, mint, sugar, bourbon -- how hard could it be. She'd even have settled for one of the funny bomb drinks that contained Red Bull. But she didn't have a fake ID and wasn't pressing her luck, lucky as it was they allowed her to hang out and have some fries. Now bashfully her smile lifted when Alex came in. "We have excellent taste in dive bars." November green gaze aiming down, she touched his jacket. "Nice." By the looks of it, it could have been Prada 2012 or even Ralph Lauren 2010 but knowing the rock star, it was either vintage or custom. Seeing the tall woman smile, she returned the expression with a touch of shyness but sincerity none the less. "So my sister moved here two days ago."
Alex Vipond: "Really?" Alex nodded and sipped his drink, a glance sent to the woman beating on the juke like she knew what she was doing. Whatever she did, it worked and music flowed. Alex hadn't checked the juke out yet. It was only his second time in the place. As for his clothes, most of them were designer, various labels, the wallet chain that wasn't attached to a wallet and hung at his hip was Louis Vuitton and draped from his front belt loop to his hip pocket where it was pinned in place. His attire hadn't changed much over the last decade. Post grunge rocker was his way, although he did wear a tux pretty damned well. Even if it did look like he'd stepped out of an 1860's men's fashion magazine in it.
thewiIderchild: Cassidy had picked this joint solely because it looked unlikely to draw either high rollers or 'bangers, two types she held in equal (dis)regard, but fussing with the juke gave her a fine opportunity to better case the crowd. A lot like a cop might. Or a con. Tucking her wallet under her arm, she pulled off her knit hat, a tumble of long, wheat colored hair spilled in slightly snarled waves half way down her back. Halfheartedly finger-combing it, she unhurriedly sauntered back to her spot at the bar, where fries and a steaming black coffee were waiting for her. "You got me so I can't sleep at night," she singsonged, winding her hair back up in a knot at her nape that was deftly tucked back into the knit beanie, snugged back into place. Saddling back up on the barstool, Cass tossed her wallet on the bartop, and angled her body slightly so her back wasn't to the crowd, one eye on the door as she ate a fry. All done so casual and smooth she could have sold a popsicle to an Eskimo.
Milli Preston: "Yes, Winnie." Didn't take a rocket scientist to ascertain the girls probably came from type of old money. As a rule only very wealthy white people in the south gave their children names that could be shortened to Milli and Winnie. If you looked in the family tree, there was a cousin named Bunny somewhere and there may have been a Buffy as well. "How goes it with you? You're leavin' soon for London ain’t you?" She was usually well spoken but once in a while a dialect spilled thick with sweet ice tea and Chantilly lace. She'd been told recently that she should be more aware of her surroundings so she sat up straighter and looked around. She didn't notice anything peculiar -- four armed men could have been waiting to kill them all and she wouldn't have noticed but she felt like she'd done her civic duty by glancing shyly at the men, the woman with the cap and whoever else. She lifted another gooey fry, prissy like, to nosh on.
Alex Vipond: Alex had his own level of vigilance which he maintained, and he noted the alert status of others as well. By and large most in the bar were giving zero fucks, but the woman with the beanie was alert, and that had him curious. His eyes slid to the mirror behind the bar, and then he was looking back at Milli, whom, yes, did seem to be from old money. "That's great." He nodded. "My sister is here in Seattle as well, she moved about a year ago. And, not for another two weeks." He nodded and sipped his scotch.
thewiIderchild: Slowly, but methodically, she worked her way through about half of her french fries. Apparently taking less pleasure in actually eating the damn things than just needing them for whatever sustenance there was to be found in greasy bar food fries. Finally wiping her fingers off on the cocktail napkin under her coffee, woodsy green eyes still focused on some vague spot across the room from the bar. Leaning backwards so far she had to hook her low boot heels over a rung of the barstool she was perched on to keep her balance, she wiggled a slightly mashed pack of Camel lights from her front right pocket. Somewhere between states she'd lost track of smoking ordinances, but there was an ashtray on the bar, so she borrowed a matchbook with the house name, and put it to use. "Hey, Coal Country Barbie," she murmured quietly, adjusting her lean a little so it was towards Alex, and thus Milli. Finally, her chin angled in low towards her collarbones, intense hazel eyes shifting to the dolled up younger girl with a slight frown. "Did you drive here tonight?"
Milli Preston: "How long is she here for? Maybe I can meet her. I'd like that. -- I worked the other night but none of y'all were there. A mean looking guy came in with a kid looking for you but no sisters or anyone." She smiled, chattery thing sometimes when in the company of her friends. She noshed a fry then made a confession, one for the Milli Books. "And then I met a guy here and I invited him to Prague." She didn't know w h y she did that. She just wanted to go Prague. Or Brussels. Monaco maybe. God, she really did put the Ick in Fickle. She bashfully glanced at the gal addressing them, her mouth would have sneered at the Barbie title -- but Barbie had tits so secretly, Milli was pleased. "Yes, do you need a ride -- wait, is that a dig about my age?" She glanced from her to Alex. Should Milli get ready to be offended. She smirked at the woman, flung her hands out helplessly and lifted a fry. "I'm almost old enough to drink you know!"
Alex Vipond: Alex bit back the chuckle, though his lips twitched, and he looked from the almost offended Milli to the chick in the Daisy Dukes. "Coal country covers a wide spread, you know. They dig coal up in Pennsylvania. Mike Rowe was there, doing a Dirty Jobs episode." Yes, he learned shit from Discovery Channel. He was still pissed they'd cancelled it. Dirty Jobs was like his favorite show. Looking back at Milli, he chuckled. "She lives here, and I can always arrange a party." Maybe get a barbecue in before the weather really started to get cold.
thewiIderchild: Too solemn to be entirely serious, she nodded to Alex. "Yeah, they do," she agreed. "But the Dutch settled Pennsylvania, and I'll eat my hat if that twang comes outta a Quaker." She should know, her own drawl was gentler, hammered out by education and sheer willpower. "I'd bet dollars to doughnuts you're from South of the Mason-Dixon, and within 200 miles as the crow flies of Appalachia-- but that's neither here nor there," Cass muttered as if just remembering, gesturing with one hand. "What? No, I don't need a ride, and keep your voice down." Slinky as a cat weaving between the ankles, Cassidy slid off her barstool, putting herself between Milli and the crowd. "Walk her out, tonight." No tease in her voice now, looking at Alex, before glancing at Milli. "Sugar, keep looking at me," she said softly. "Two of the guys against the back wall -- don't look -- have been casing you since I got here."
Milli Preston: She grinned and nodded to the suggestion of a party. One last fling before the dog days of summer bled out would be awesome, one last balmy evening before the calendar gave way to fat candles in jars, pumpkins and knit scarves. She grinned shyly at the blonde. "Virginia." So she was basically right, almost eerily so. Now the woman moved slinky like and Milli gazed at her, listening in earnest. Don't look -- it was really hard not to look once people said don't look. But she managed not to. Obedient to a fault, she stared at Cass, November eyes getting larger. Her breath sort of stopped. Then her brows furrowed. Casing her how? For what? Her lashes did this up-down thing, she glanced between them whispering. "Shouldn't we call the cops?" That was her answer for everything. Her cousin was a State Trooper, she just assumed they got things done. Course, he was a patrolman in Virginia so that wouldn't be much help here.
Alex Vipond: Alex shrugged, "Not all Barbie's are coal miner's daughters, no matter how far south of the Mason-Dixon." Alex didn't go into the fact that accents could be deceiving, since he sounded pure SoCal. Then again, he'd had a lot of time and distance from his home town. Alex's eyes didn't go to the men, not directly, but to the mirror behind the bar, and from that vantage point, he watched them. One brow rose as he picked up his glass, and sipped, and then that green gaze slid back to the messenger. "They won't get near her." Five foot ten, a hundred and forty-five at best, fully clothed and soaking wet, Alex didn't look like he could fight his way out of a brothel, but there was no doubt what so ever in his voice, and his gaze spoke volumes as to the amount of business he meant.
thewiIderchild: "The cops?" Cass parroted back, as stupefied as if Milli had suggested a Kumbayah sing-a-long to dissuade the men Cass had noticed were hanging on her every word, in the grimmest way possible. "Nono, no cops," she said, and turned animated, her eyes brightening, an impish little smile curving her solemn mouth. "I--" whatever she was gonna say was paused, and she looked to Alex again, re-assessing. "I've offended you. On her behalf." Tilting her head slightly, a wisp of pale hair escaped her knit cap, a split look including them both. "I apologize. She sounds like home, I'm from southern Appalachia as well, there wasn't any trick involved." That was three-fourths true. Men like those two, the one in the hunting vest and the other in the gray Henley, they made Cassidy even more crass and reckless than usual. She winked at Milli. "Between your friend and I you'll be fine, just wanted to warn you as one last precaution," she said, her voice softer, gentler now. Dusting the long finger of ash from her cigarette, she finished it off, retreating to her spot at the bar to do the same to her coffee, and leave a few crisp bills to cover it.
Milli Preston: Of course the cops. In Milli's head that's who you called if someone even looked sideways at you -- then usually you had the cops over with the preacher for brunch on Sunday. Cass said no cops, and so she nodded. She was freaked out to be honest but she smiled bashfully and sincere at the taller woman, little fingers scrambling and gently curling to Cass's arm for a moment. "Thank you for telling me." She didn't have to do that. To anyone watching it just looked like girlfriend chatter. She quieted, folding her hands to her lap when Cass apologized to Alex, glancing bashfully between them. When she spoke up, her voice was library soft, not carrying further than those two. "I have a Louisville Slugger in my trunk. I bought it when I took it to Jase's car." #FirstWorldProblems. #WhiteGirlProblems. W h y did she admit shit like that. So anyway she peeked between them and had another fry, but she was freaked. She'd never been cased before. That she knew of. See, this is what moving to the city brought.
Alex Vipond: "No." He chuckled and shook his head. "I do not easily offend. I'm just saying that not all southerners dig coal. It's kind of like saying that all southerners once owned slaves, and grew tobacco. Making assumptions about people can lead to problems. Like our pair over there." His gaze slid back to the mirror, watching them as he once more lifted his glass and took a sip. "For example, the fact that they are being overt in their attention," he looked back at the messenger. "Their attention has drawn our attention off of everyone else. Could be they're real trouble or just a couple of pervs who like to look. Either way, they've been successful in drawing our attention away from others." And then Alex was looking back at the mirror and studying said others. When Milli admitted to having bought a bat to take to her ex’s car, Alex smirked. "You go, girl."
thewiIderchild: That gave her pause. "It's the area, not the profession," she explained slowly. "Sort of colloquially known," she explained. "Like Florida being the Sunshine State. Everyone knows it still rains there." For a moment she felt like they were speaking different languages, but she smiled gamely and shrugged, letting it slide. Milli's touch made her smile again. "Sure thing. We gals gotta stick together." Cass winked, then worked on stuffing her wallet and smokes back into the shallow pockets of her itty bitty cutoffs. Like Mary Poppins' handbag in reverse! About the men being garden variety pervs, she nodded, vaguely. "It's possible." Bill paid up, food and caffeine in her system, car keys and something dully metallic gleamed in her hand. "But do you ever just know something?" Discretely, she glanced at the table near the door where the two men, whose height was hard to gauge, but both easily had fifty to one hundred pounds on her. Answering her own question, she nodded, very slightly. Flashing a wild, almost manic grin at the two bar side, Cass fluttered the fingers of her free hand in a playful little wave. "Be safe!" Only she could make that into a threat. Hunter or the prey, impossible to say, but hip-led and prowling like a jungle cat she retraced her way to the door and was outside in a blink.
Milli Preston: She nodded when Alex said you go girl. They definitely broke up after the Slugger incident of 2013. Now they had gotten back together 3.5 times since then but she was certain now they were done. Almost positive. She put her chin in her hand, not sure if they were broke up right now. That time in July didn't count. And he'd burned some of her clothes in August. Definitely they were done. She looked up when Cass spoke then the woman moved like a plume of smoke or some sexy ghost. She lifted skinny hand waving but was not fast enough. Still. "Bye!?" She needed more girlfriends. A frown. She turned November eyes to Alex then, still a little freaked and he would know that. But apparently she was a brave trooper tonight, not really showing her wigged-ness.
Alex Vipond: Of course there was a simple solution to the problem. Alex could simply confront the pair, but really, as of yet, they'd not done anything wrong. He finished his scotch and looked over at Milli. "Let me know when you're ready to go." He'd wait until she made it known as to whether or not she was ready now, before ordering another drink.
Milli Preston: Lifting slender hands, she twisted golden hair till it formed a loose fat croissant on her back, one that would come undone as soon as she really moved again. Watching the door close, she glanced from the door to Alex. "I liked her." She'd now met and liked a couple of people, a real feat for her. "Oh anytime. I can go home now or have another drink. What's it gonna be?" She leaned at him, chin down, a nudge given with bony elbow in case he wanted to drink up, her inherited diamond parked on a scrawny knuckle, winking like an attention seeking whore with each gesture of slim hand. ~
thewiIderchild: Cassidy was the proactive sort. From outside came a loud shattering of glass, followed by the obnoxious bleating of a car alarm. "Is that you...?" It wasn't even subtle, the way the one in the hunting vest cursed, then looked at Milli before pushing up out of his chair, stomping heavily to the door to look outside. Annoyance became shock, became when he saw a thick, matted spiderweb of cracks threading through the windshield of his van. The driver's side window was already destroyed, safety glass glittering like Mardi Gras beads amid the gravel in the lot. Cass had her Charger running, pointed towards the highway, but stood by the van's passenger side window, winding up like Babe Ruth with her crow bar, a two foot length of rebar with a wicked hooked end. Swinging for the fences the window exploded inward. "That c*nt!" he bellowed. "Jasper!" Grinning, Cass ran, leapt and slid across the hood of her ride like it was cool, only to nearly bust her ass on the gravel, scrambling like hell to get behind the wheel. Proving he wasn't a complete idiot, Mr. Henley shirt didn't chase after her on foot, he went for the gun under the driver's seat as the Charger fishtailed crazily out of the parking lot.
Alex Vipond: "Depends on your comfort level. If the pair of jokers over there aren't going to bother you, I'm game for another drink. If you would rather find another watering hole, I'm good with that too." Perhaps oddly, some part of him, deep down, wanted them to start something. He had a mental flash of Mexican dessert, the remembered scents of cordite and blood hanging in the air, and he shook the memory away. "She was nice." He looked toward the door. "Didn't get her name, though. Now I feel like a jackass." Broken glass and screaming alarms. What better way to clear out a bar? If that was his car, he'd have someone's neck. No, really. Do you have any idea the cost of UV, tempered glass? Alex watched the pair as Hunting Vest got up and headed for the door, and then he looked back at Milli. "You know what my car looks like?" He was already fishing his keys from his pocket and offered them out to Milli, even as he was rising from the bar stool. "Stay with me and one we get outside, make a run for the car, get in, and lock the doors. If they start toward you, you lay rubber and get the hell out. Don't worry about me." At that, Alex started pulling rings from his fingers, and stuffed them into his front jeans pocket, and then he pulled his earrings out, and they joined his rings as he headed outside to the sound of rubber being laid.
Milli Preston: What in the ever loving fvck! Hearing a racket and an alarm, she glanced at Alex with marginally larger eyes. This is what she got for venturing out-- shoulda stayed home with Raman noodles and Golden Girls reruns. Oh God if that was her Mini Cooper being hit, she was going to wish VD on someone. She frowned at the man asking if it was her car, and looked to Alex, taking keys. Wait what? This was scary. Milli didn't do scary. She nodded at him just the same. She was on Alex more or less like a cheap suit --like a Men's Warehouse 1993-- and followed him out then r a n her little ass to his ride, scrambling in. Rather than duck, she watched with hug eyes. Well this was not a night that would be featured on Instagram. Car fish tailing, men with guns. Wait, a gun! Now shit was serious. She couldn't really leave Alex. Course. She didn't know his s e c r e t either. Raw fear working up from her throat, she got busy locking doors. And praying. Milli was from the south, they still prayed there. One Nation. Under God.
thewiIderchild: If Henley Shirt had loaded slugs, she might have been in trouble. But at this range a blast of buckshot was all sound and fury, didn't even hurt the paintjob-- for which he better bless his biscuits, or he'd Really be in for a world of hurt. Strangely, once the Charger was on the road out of gunshot range, she slowed down, comparatively-- it wasn't an accident, or a coincidence. "Jasper, you slow fucker!" Henley Shirt screamed, popping shell casings and ducking into the van. Broken glass was everywhere, but the engine turned over smoothly enough. Not waiting for his would-have-been partner in crime, he swung the van around, shot gun in his lap, nearly choking the engine when he red lined it, wheels spinning and kicking up a spray of gravel before catching as he shot off after the blue Charger. The second part of the two man team had his eyes on the prize-- and she hadn't left in the Camaro, she'd run like a frightened bunny across the lot to a tinted window luxury car.
Alex Vipond: Alex was moving, not after the van, but after the stalker. Hunted had become prey, without realizing the danger he was in. Alex's lip curled, in a rather feral way as his hand reached out for the man's shoulder to spin him around, his other hand going for his throat as one leg swept around to hook his ankles and take him down to the ground. Please, dear God, let there be no security cameras around.
Milli Preston: She didn't know anyone was stalking her, or that the stalker was being stalked. She didn't want to leave Alex. Seriously. It would have helped, again, if she'd known his secret. Then she would have fled without a second thought. She was also still obedient to a fault and Alex had very clearly told her to go. She wasn't as bad as the dumb chick in a horror movie-- she got the keys in the ignition and suffered no sudden stalled engine trouble. #EveryHorrorMovieEver. She looked around, golden hair swinging. Should she stay or should she go? She revved the engine to life and started to back out, not very slowly but not fast enough to go mowing people over either.
thewiIderchild: Surprised, Jasper went down like panties on prom night, grunting heavily as he hit the gravel. He didn't stay down though, rolling away and to his feet. "C'mon man, don't you have any clue what sugartits is worth?" he wheedled, splitting a look between Alex and the sudden blink of tail lights. No no no, meal ticket was not getting away! He broke away, sprinting towards the car.
Alex Vipond: She was likely to find out Alex's secret any moment. Alex smirked, "She worth your life? Because that's what she'll cost you." And as soon as the man moved to sprint after the car, Alex was on the man, and this time, the feral snarl was full blown, and yet... Some sick, twisted part of him, wanted to play. Like a cat with a mouse, who wouldn't go for the swift kill, but had to savor it, draw it out. Those green eyes of his had shifted in hue, grown ice blue and luminous and as he reached out for the back of the man's neck, he moved to sweep past him as he shoved downward, to plant the man on the ground once more. Here little mouse...
Milli Preston: She stopped --bad Milli-- to look around, the car half backed from the parking space where it'd been, hazel gaze looking around for Alex. It was quiet now, seemed like the noise had died down. There he was. He was right there with one of the criminals. Alex didn't look exactly like himself? Hopefully it was true, they could glamour people --or was that just a Bon Temps TV thing? Cause after all this, someone needed to glamour Milli so she'd forget every last second of it. Car idle. Skinny hands gripping the wheel, a hair trigger foot still on the pedal should she have to mash it and fly. Eyes big. Watching. Listening.
thewiIderchild: Cassidy was off playing one of her favorite games, Catch-Me, Kill-Me with a would-be kidnapper rapist. Sometimes she swore she could smell it on these sick fucks, the actual deed before it was done. Try explaining that one in a court of law, they'd hook you up with a nice, comfy, padded room. And shock treatments, and Demerol, and alllll the Lithium a girl could ever want. Jasper though, was even worse off. He got two steps before an immense weight pinned him down, like an interesting bug against black velvet, ready to be studied at leisure. "Noooo," he groaned, dirty spittle webbing his teeth, a sense of a black wave breaking over his head, dragging him down into deep, dark waters. He tried to pull himself along, bloodying his fingertips on the shattered glass in the gravel. "Lemme go, I'll go straight home, I... I promise man, y-you can have h-her." Jasper stuttered, knowing without seeing that it was Death itself that pinned him. The bright, acrid scent of ammonia hit the air, hot piss running along the side of his leg.
Alex Vipond: It was that fear, that rush of adrenaline, that made the blood ever so sweet, but the man's words, instead of pleasing him, pissed him off. "Who are you to offer such a gift?" His voice was low, near the man's ear as he tried to crawl away, but Alex was having none of it. "Who gave you the power to take what isn't yours?" Alex gripped the man tightly, and rose swiftly, into the air, and then followed the course the van had taken. Unless they'd changed course, Alex would find the car chase in progress swiftly enough, and follow along. "I think you need to be reunited with your friend, what do you think?"
Milli Preston: This night had no highlight, but if it had, it would have been Cass referring to Milli as Barbie, and Criminal referring to her as SugarTits. I mean this was conformation from two different people that she actually had breasts. Course she wasn't thinking of anything like that as she watched Alex and the guy. Again. What in the ever loving fuck. Did he really just ... lift ... with that guy. Forget driving off, forget pondering what to do, she turned her face to the windshield and tried to figure out what just happened. T h a t stuff didn't exist, whatever Alex was, whatever he just did. There was no amount of WTF to cover this one, no amount of bourbon to make that sort of vision seem legit. -- And she hadn't drank a drop. These people were lucky that Jasper was the only one who peed himself after what she just saw. Couldn't be. She was upset, had been stalked -- mind playing tricks. Right?
thewiIderchild: Little less than a mile ahead, the sun was rising. Ha, just kidding! All the colors of sunrise were present! Orange, pink, red, ochre, mellow yellow,flickering fitfully. It really was lovely, but Jasper had no eye for beauty this evening. He kicked at and took a swing at Alex, cursing more when he realized he wouldn't be released. "It was all Jim's idea.Says she's got people. Im-por-tant people." He hocked a gnarly lougie and spat it at Alex, but woefully missed and his pavement instead. "Said they's pay us a king's ransum for their lil' darlin." Cassie would be waiting on them, sitting on the hood of her Charger, idly gnawing on the end of a cherry Twizzler. The van was about 15 feet off the road, nearly standing on its nose where it had crashed into a loblolly pine. Both van and tree burned merrily. Cass was calm, now. The CB radio inside was on a police frequency and turned up loud. No need to hurry, no one was coming this way. There was a stack of junk beside her on the hood.
Alex Vipond: "oh she does." Alex let go with one hand, allowing the man to dangle a moment as if he'd drop him at any moment, and then he grasped him again, turning him to face him. "The problem is, not all of her people are actually human..." The van was there, burning, nose in. Bummer, he was too late to cause a massive accident. Instead he looked at the man and one could almost see the shrug. "Ah well. Time to improvise." When the heat of the van could be felt rising up, he looked down and then back at the asshat he had in his grip and then he just ... let go. He even waved as the douchebag fell into the burning wreck. "Maybe I should have broken his neck first..."
Milli Preston: So. Alex was off being a...God what was he? Warlock? Magician? Vampire -- oh come on, come on, get a grip! But she heard her Aunt Ester --the one from New Orleans-- swear up and down that vampires were real. But Aunt Esther was known to get deep into her cups and she voted liberation so ya couldn't listen to much she said. Point is, Cass was off being a bad ass, Alex was off smiting a criminal, they all just left Milli there. And she had to have been shaken, to be in Alex's ride and not be snapping pics for Instagram. She was bona fide freaked. She clicked music on, on her phone, singing loudly. She wasn't even being a jackass, the bad singing really was just a way to distract herself. "Three-hundred-sixty-five-degrees! Burnin down the house!" Thank you Talking Heads for distraction -- and irony, considering Alex and Crispy.
thewiIderchild: Cassidy, idly watching the scene, wishing she had marshmallows, nodded. "Should have hit him across the face, compliant with front orbital fracturing and hematoma due to hitting the dash." Mellow, she just shrugged. "Twizzler?" Shifting, she grimaced, and reknotted a red spotted makeshift bandage around her arm before continuing, "You wanted proof. I jacked this shit before I tossed the van." Pulling her hand inside her sleeve, she carefully passed over coiled lengths of rope, two things of duct tape, cable ties. And half a dozen blurry pictures printed on printer paper of Millie. She set it down on the side of the hood nearest Alex. Cass' sharp eyes didn't miss much, and they lingered on him now. "Wanna ride back to the bar?"
Alex Vipond: Feet hit the ground lightly and when Cassidy offered up her suggestion, he shook his head. "Forensics would be able to tell the difference. No thanks," he offered in response to her offer of a Twizzler. When she offered out the stuff she'd pulled from the van, he stepped closer, studying the items without touching it, and then he nodded. "Should toss it back into the van. They won't get another chance." When she offered him a ride, he nodded. "Gotta get back to Milli, she's bound to be freaking out." And he was going to have to compel her, and anyone else who may have witnessed anything. "So, you do this often?"
Milli Preston: -- Were werewolves really too? No. No, that was just too much waxing upkeep to even fathom. She cut her phone off, singing concluded, back to worrying, pensive look on her face. She cut Alex's sweet car off, no use in wasting gas when there was nothing going on. She got out of his car then turned back to it-- then turned again, undecided. So basically she looked like a duck in a shooting gallery for a moment in this indecision. Well he said stay in his car. Not sure where she would have headed to anyway. She stopped pining like some aimless pinball and got back in. Doors locked. She was freaked. Big time. She looked at her phone. Maybe she should call her Uncle Greyer. He was a Senator (GOP, duh). But she won't sure what he could do about mean people in Seattle or the fact that vampires were real -- turns out, Aunt Esther wasn't just a drunk idiot. Drunk yes but idiot, not so much. Now she frowned. She assumed Alex would not want her telling a soul.
thewiIderchild: "No," she said simply. "Usually I just let nature run its course." A single nod. She'd kept the proof for the soul reason that she wanted him, Alex, to see it. Once done, destroy it. Favoring her left arm, she slid down from her perch, bringing the Twizzlers with her. Ducking into her Charger, she took a moment to move the .45, lock pick kit, and tire iron from the passenger style seat, giving it a quick brush off. "Like I said, she sounded like home." All 426 horses under the hood came to life with a sound that made Cassidy's little black heart sing. "Maybe I'm nostalgic." She fluttered her eyelashes, and after Alex was in and comfortable, swung the car back towards the bar, letting those horses stretch their legs in a twenty second mile.
Alex Vipond: Oh he was well beyond the need to have proof since the asshole and he, had conversed. If one could call one begging and the other toying conversing. Alex moved to the passenger side of the car, his eyes having long since lost that hue. He was back to his usual, laid back self, still chewing that piece of Doublemint that was in need of being swapped out a good half hour or so ago. "She works at a place I hang out." He shrugged. Not that he wouldn't have intervened had he not known her, because Alex was just the type to rescue the damsel when it came to it. When she rolled out, he didn't even bother to look back at the van. It was already ancient history. And he'd been good. He'd not bitten the dude and since the dude had stopped screaming once he hit after being dropped, apparently Alex didn't have to worry about whether or not his neck broke.
Milli Preston: Despite the adrenaline and raw fear, she was actually beginning to take on a scarecrow sag against the back of her seat. Hard to believe she could sleep after all this but that's what youth and three-days-straight of no sleep would do to a person. Phone on her lap (just in case Alex called-- or he ex, if he was her ex, she wasn't sure about that) she leaned till her cheek smudged the window. Like so she remained. She was worried now about Alex and that woman with the cap. Mumuring little Sunday School prayers about them while she half conked out--and half stayed awake in case any crazy shit went down.
thewiIderchild: Downshifting, just a cursory tap on the break and they coasted into the lot, settling right alongside Sleeping Beauty's craft. "It was interesting," she drawled, slower than black strap molasses, but sweet as tupelo honey. And winked. Letting her fare out, glancing amusedly at the little puffs of breath fogging the glass made my his fare, if she didn’t wake up a little more. "Y'all god it from here?" Both windows rolled partially down, asking with sincere interest.
Milli Preston: Milli was mostly asleep but she woke up for sure when the woman arrived --with Alex. Thank God. Milli was from an old school family, she won't afraid to be thanking God. They both looked ok! Relief washed gentle features, she reached, waving a little hand at the woman. "Come back?" She liked her. She just did. Course she adored Alex. She was so glad to see them both looking alrigh.
Alex Vipond: Alex slid out once she stopped the car and moved toward that murdered out Benz, a chuckle given at the site of the sleepy Milli. When she woke up and looked at them, he chuckled. "We're fine." He nodded then looked back at Cassidy, his hand offered to her through the window. "Alex."
thewiIderchild: She paused, lightly revving the engine in neutral, eyeing the hand offered to her. They'd knocked heads, a little. But had proven ruthlessly efficient as a team taking out the trash they had in common. For that, she slipped her finely boned, silver ringed hand into his. "Cass." A pause, and mild eyerolling. "Cassidy." When she got her hand back, she smiled, finding Milli with her eyes to wave to the younger girl. "See you darlins'..... around," she concluded with a smile that was more Wolf than Little Red. Shifting into gear, in another few seconds, she was nothing more than tail lights disappearing on the horizon.
Milli Preston: She watched her go, chirping her own name right quick before the woman took off. "Milli!" And then she scrambled from Alex's car, the whole thing scary and bizarre, his secret even forgotten for now due to all else. "Alex are y'all really alright? Are you ok?"
Alex Vipond: "I'm fine. We're fine." He nodded as he smiled to her. "How are you?" She'd seen things and been through things that by all rights, a young woman her age shouldn't have to go through. People were supposed to be civilized in this age, but it seemed the more advanced humanity became, the more depraved it got as well.
Milli Preston: "I'm alright." She wasn't --so-- much alright really. She'd nearly been kidnapped and then there was this whole mind blowing thing about Alex, but Milli was a glass half full type. Vampire or not, she crushed against him and hugged him very tight, ready or not, glad him and the woman were alright and very grateful. "Thank you." He basically...saved her from rape? Kidnap? Murder? God knows what.
Alex Vipond: Alex hugged her in return, patting her back as he did so. "You're alright. They're not going to bother you again." He rubbed her back soothingly and then he leaned back to look at her. "You can't say anything about what happened tonight, you know that, don't you Milli?"
Milli Preston: Once she snuggled him in thanks, she looked up to him, sort of remembering and marveling. Course it won't her business and Milli believed in protecting people's business from idle gossip and exposure. She looked down, half expecting him to glamour her --if they could really do that. Her pulse might have quickened but she was totally sincere. "I would never." Tell anyone or say anything. "Are you what I think you are Alex?"
Alex Vipond: "Well if what you're thinking has anything to do with teeth and a decided lack of ability to tan, then yeah. You'd be correct in your thinking." He smiled down at her. "It can be a lot to take in, so if it's too much, I can help you in that."
Milli Preston: "Oh its a lot! It's.... it's supposed to be fiction!" She chortled. Trying to come to terms with the impossible. Still she curled her fingers on his arm. "I think I'll be alright. It's just... A lot." But she would not tell anyone. That was his business alone. Bashful smile given to him.
Alex Vipond: "Good. If you have any questions, I'll answer them, but in the meantime, I think you've had a busy enough night and we need to get you home. If you like, if you're up to driving, I'll follow you to make sure you get home alright, but you've nothing to worry about from those two ever again." One way or another he would see her home safely before heading home himself. And then he'd have a tale to tell Meghan. He'd wanted to drain the man, and he'd not laid fang to him. Alex was, over all, proud of himself. Not for the torture or the enjoying of it, but for the not ripping into the man’s throat like he was a PEZ dispenser and drinking his fill.