2019.05.02: A Path to an Early Grave

2019.05.02: A Path to an Early Grave
Sierra is hit by paranoia and starts digging at places best left alone.
IC Date	May 02, 2019
IC Time	Night
Players	Sierra,Izayah,Alice
Location	Styx and Stones
Spheres	Mortal+, Werewolf, Vampire

Over in the corner of the pool hall, Sierra is standing in front of a few bikers, chatting briefly then letting out a chuckle that actually softens her hardened exterior for a moment. A shake of her head in amusement and she throws out a punch into the biker's arm, before turning away with a smile that slowly fades.

Reaching a pool table, she leans back against it, rests her hands on the edge to stabilize herself, then keeps an eye on things, ensuring the biker types actions aren't getting out of hand.

Alice glides through the entrance to the Styx in style! Or, well, at least wearing pants this time. Her hood is up, and her ashen grey hair streams either side of her face and down her chest. As she follows the length of the bar, she offers a friendly wave in greeting to Danny, who - now well aware of her order - starts pouring Alice a glass of whiskey. Taking a seat at her usual barstool, she lifts her long legs up to sit cross-legged, as she exchanges the cash for the drink with a smile.

Heading into the Styx is the familiar face of Izayah, who as usual is wearing his leather jacket, worn jeans and a solid black muscle shirt. He he ambles through the doors, the bouncer gives him a bit of a wide berth, as well as a few of the other bikers in the crowd as if instinctively drawn away from him. Once he reaches the bar, he lets out a grunt to Danny, then shifts into place as he scans the area with his dark eyes as if trying to pick someone out of the flock.

Tracking Izayah through the bar, Sierra slowly reaches into an inside jacket pocket and pulls out her phone. Looking at the screen, the light spills across her face, her fingers tapping for a few moments before pushing it back where she found it. A second later, Izayah's phone pings with a text message that reads, 'Asshole! Behind you.'.

Recognizing Alice, she gives an upnod of a greeting if they manage to meet each others gaze, taking a moment to appreciate the tattoo's before looking away and checking the nearby bikers once again.

Alice raises her glass slightly to Sierra in reciprocation, before she takes her first sip. They have never actually interacted, but the few times she has seen her have taught her not to get on her bad side. Her eyes follow Izayah in, and a sense of unease within her accompanies him.

A text is returned: 'I know you're behind me, didn't know you considered yourself to be an asshole, bonita.'

A smirk tugs upon Izayah's lips as he takes the beer from Danny, drawing a sip from it before he turns about in the stool to settle his eyes upon Sierra. His lips pull back into a wide grin as he gives a tilt of his head to the seat next to him, as if he was beckoning her over with that small gesture.

Text: 'Don't make me come get you.' Beeps along her phone.

No drink to raise, Sierra simply nods a few times to Alice, a certain level of respect for the woman; they might not know each other, but Alice seems to be accepted regardless. And then her phone starts plinking with incoming messages. Lifting it, she reads them off then straightens up, one more message sent that reads. 'You can try.'.

All the same, the phone is pushed back into her pocket and she nudges herself away from the pool table, pacing up to the bar and settling into the stool alongside Izayah. "I'm not seeing another..", she notes, a motion to the beer. Her forearm rests on the bar, turning herself to face the man, a slight raise of one eyebrow.

Settling in for a long night of 'refined' drinking, Alice reshuffles herself on the barstool to ensure she doesn't show off too much to the regular degenerates in the corner. Taking another sip of whiskey, she engages in quiet conversation with Danny and how he lost his leg, as he continues to serve patrons.

Smirking, Izayah pushes up and grabs his beer, followed by a second one and heads over to Sierra. He has an amused look on his face as he slides in next to her. "It's twenty-nineteen. Don't you girls got a hashtag movement now about guys buying you drinks and how it's frowned upon?" He says as he curls his arm about her waist while picking up his beer for a sip. The guys nearby? They give him a bit of a shuffle step over. "Sup? Things okay here? Daws cool?" He asks as he glances past her to catch sight of the bombshell that is Alice. He admires her tats for a moment, looking to pick out any quick details before he turns his attention back to Sierra.

"Only if you believe that every female is oppressed and the world hates them. Fuck that shit.", Sierra replies, "We make our own rules. One of them is that the guy buys the beer, or gives us his.", a brief pause, before asking herself, "Or is that my rule?", as she reaches over, tries to take Izayah's beer from him.

While touching her has ended badly for many a man, she doesn't even pay it any attention when it comes from Izayah, allowing him to make his move if that's what he wants to do. "I don't know what he's doing. He's gone corporate, seems to care more about his business than the rest of us.".

Noticing his attention drifting to Alice, she gives him a nudge, "Nice lookin' woman. What are you doing next to me?", another nudge, as if daring him into pursuing her.

"Yeah? Can't blame a guy for wanting to focus his time on a hobby or passion. If he wants to be legit, that's good on him. Just means more for the rest of us, si?" Izayah says as he lets her take the beer, not seeming to mind if she drinks from it. "You jealous or something that he'd rather play Donna Reed to these idiots rather than be the big bad wolf of Harbinger?" He drawls out. "I thought he left you guys behind, ran his ass outta Texas so he can get away from it all. That not the case?"

In regards to Alice, he gives her another once over, then shrugs. "Hey, babe! I'm down to wear your ass out tonight if you're in the mood." He says, his brows lifting upwards, flashing her a cocky grin along his face. "What's up?"

The beer is, indeed, taken from Izayah, tilted upwards for a long drink that leaves him with half of what he started with, but she does have the decency to pass it back to him afterwards. "Yeah, somethin' like that..", Sierra replies, ".. he did leave us. I wasn't there to be left, though. I'd already got myself into a lot more trouble.".

"He was always a decent guy, he and I were like..", lifting a hand, crossing the fingers, ".. but it's been a while.". Following Izayah's gaze up to Alice, she gives a slight shake of her head at what he suggests, "So romantic..", a glance up with the side of her mouth raising into a hint of a grin.

Alice is deep in conversation with Danny when she is called out to, and he has to redirect her attention to Izayah. Though the pool room is loud with rowdy bikers, his voice seems to travel and she has no difficulty hearing every word. The smile on her lips extends, and she has to value his bravado. Looking him up and down in a very overt manner, she replies "Afraid you're not on my menu tonight, but I wouldn't mind a bite of that girlfriend of yours." as a playful wink is offered to Sierra. She returns to the Danny, apologising for interruption.

"Yeah? Maybe you're on /my/ menu, and I'm /starving/." Izayah rumbles out deep in his throat as the humidity of the room grows a bit thicker. The bikers near by stop what they're doing, staring at the Latino nervously for a few moments as he casually picks up his beer and takes a long sip. "And if you want my girlfriend, I'm down, but I'm gonna watch." He blows her a kiss before his attention turns back to Sierra.

"And that's why I'm sitting next to you. Bitches /that/ hot either just lick pussy or they're too stuck up. They come in places like this to tease a dick. Sides, sometimes a cheeseburger just tastes better than a steak." He drawls as he leans in to give her neck a lick, breathing in her scent.

"You want me to talk to Daws and make sure he spends some time with you?"

That gets her attention, Sierra turning a little more to face Izayah, "Girlfriend? You're going to have to work harder for that title.", giving the man a nudge into the ribs with an elbow. But then, she shuffles a bit closer, letting that arm around her settle more comfortably.

There is something that bothers her, however. The words from Alice cause goosebumps to rise, her back to straighten, staring with cold, pale blue eyes straight across at Alice. That word 'bite' seemed out of place. "Have you ever heard of a band called the Sabbat? I think you'd like them. They have a serious raw edge..". It's nonsense, there is no band of that name, but Sierra is watching closely to see if the word registers.

Her attention stays there, long enough to get some sort of reading, then her attention is back to Izayah. "I tried that back in my teens, I prefer a bit of meat.". A shake of her head to his last question, "I'm going to talk to him, when he isn't nose deep in his accounts.."

Alice rolls her eyes at Izayah's response, but she doesn't let it interrupt her sentence to Danny. They seem to finish conversing, as he straightens himself up to walk to the other side of the bar and she whips a phone out of a tight, jean pocket. The word 'Sabbat' catches her attention, however.

"Sabbat?" she asks, as she lowers the phone and turns herself towards Sierra and Izayah. She seems to ponder for a moment, before replying "I don't think so. Are they Israeli?" Shrugging, she returns to her phone's screen.

And it appears that Sierra said a magic word and she now has Izayah's full attention. The hand that is curled about her finds her hip, digging his fingers into her harder, enough to cause a bit of pain, to yank her attention back to him. He leans forward, his breath hot against her ear as his lips move against it before he gives her ear a bite.

"Yeah, you do that. Talk to him." He says in response to Dawson. His tone has shifted, his words a bit more chilled, dangerous, as if one was dancing on the edge of a razor blade.

<< Missing whisper, akin to: Don't say that word out loud. Drop it. Now. >>

Returning her gaze to Alice, Sierra's brow furrows, pale blue eyes now locked on Alice as if she were considering a life or death situation and how it might come to an end. Izayah leaning in to whisper just causes her hackles to rise, her hand pushing against his face to move him away from her.

There's an uncomfortable silence, the stare never breaks from Alice, Izayah can feel it with his arm around her, Sierra noticably trembling as if ready to burst into action. And then, it's gone, as if someone hit a light switch, there's even a huff of laughter from her, "They're awful. I don't know why I mentioned them.", a shake of her head, "They take music and turn it into pain.", still sticking to the 'band' theme.

Looking straight at Alice, her pale blue eyes searching, seeking to make eye contact, before adding, "They have a rival band that I used to hate, but they made good some songs.". And then she's forgetting about it altogether, turning back to Izayah, "What? You have something to say?", referring to his whisper.

Seemingly unaware of such targeted scrutiny, Alice swivels on the barstool without taking her eyes off her phone screen. A tattooed hand finds itself tapping the bar top as she attempts to find her whiskey glass via tactile means, finally identifying it and taking a sip.

"I think I said it as plain as I needed to. You don't want me to repeat it." Izayah rumbles to Sierra as he settles his dark eyes into hers, putting a bit of 'mmf' behind them, then picks up his beer to drain the rest. His arm unwinds from her as he gives a jerk of his head to Danny in an upnod. He taps the top of the bar twice to signal another round.

Looking back into those eyes, it's hard to tell if Sierra is just accepting his request, or is actually cowed by the mans presence. While Izayah deals with Danny, she waves a dismissive hand and walks away, wandering over to one of the nearby tables.

Placing the balls onto the table, she places down the triangle and shuffles them all into place, slides them across to the starting spot, before moving the triangle aside. Across to the sticks and she gathers up a cue for herself, rubs a little blue chalk onto the end, as she moves closer and slides the white ball into place.

Alice seems to fade into the background as she pulls her hoodie closer and enjoys her whiskey, scrolling through Instagram on her phone.

As he watches her head off, Izayah stares at her for a few moments, then glances back as the drinks arrive. He plucks one up, taking a long pull from it, then gives a lick of his lips clean. He angles a glance down at his phone as it beeps, studying the message before he taps a response and tucks it into his jacket again. Rising up, he heads for the pool tables, thunking the glasses down next to Sierra as he rounds the table pluck up a cue.

Leaning down, Sierra angles the cue just right then with a clack, the white flies down the table and smashes into the pack, sending colors bouncing in all directions. Standing, she moves around the table, closing in on Izayah, closer still as she wraps an arm around his waist.

With him being taller, she has to lift up on tiptoe to whisper a few words, a meaningful stare of her pale blue eyes before she's moving on, gathering up one of the bottles that was left behind. "Thanks.", she says, lifting the bottle in a toast before taking a drink.

<< Another missing whisper, akin to: You know what it means. Should I be worried? >>

There is a shrug of Izayah's shoulders at the whisper. "Yup." He says as he takes up the pool stick, leans over the table and slams it into the white ball, sending it careening about to clatter with the others. He sinks a few of both stripes and solids, not really caring which team he is on as he plucks up his bottle. He rolls his shoulders a bit to loosen to him up, then takes a long drink.

Moving across to a nearby table, Sierra sits herself on a stool, places the bottle of beer nearby. The stick sways side to side in her hands, the heavy end tapping against her feet, left, right, left, right; pale blue eyes staring at Izayah.

Her turn to flip the control, the end of the cue thumps onto the ground, arm resting on the table as she stares more intently. "You should explain..", a veiled threat; or perhaps, just a need to know more, a nervousness that's slowly turning to aggression.

Smirking at her, Izayah gives her ass a rather firm swat. "Depends on how the night goes." He says with a grin, followed by taking another swig of his beer. "Maybe I'll tell you in the morning." He says as he rumbles into her ear over her shoulder, curling his arm about her waist again to tug her up against him, flush against his hips.

There's something here that has hit a sour point, Sierra isn't finding this amusing for some reason, whatever it is that's passing between the two. The swat creates a glare that could cut through ice, which followed by the arm trying to circle her waist..

With a sudden and swift twist, she grabs the arm, hand finding the weak spots on his own hand, a subtle amount of pressure to turn him, pushing him backwards with his arm extended and locked; it's all done in a blink, a style perfected over years of practice. On most, it might be enough, but this is Izayah. "I'm not fuckin' around.", she tells him, even as she starts to feel him find a way out of her hold.

There is a look of surprise from Izayah as she grasps him by the arm, and he moves instinctively as he catches her by the elbow. She shoves him back, he shoves her forward, roughly against the table as they tit for tat. He lets her go, taking a step back and rounds the table, eyes smoldering as he stares at her. His teeth give a flash as he leans over and pops another ball into the pocket. "I'm not either, bonita. Now chill the fuck out before I turn you into a kabob." He says, the words low and rumbling like thunder in his chest. "It's not the place, or the time."

With a bump against the table, Sierra stumbles briefly then straightens, stares at Izayah as if ready to finish it; but it quickly cools, the mutual respect remains, the challenge was thrown and met with equal force, a balanced and equal meeting. That seems to mean more to her than words alone.

"Whatever you believe.", meeting his threat with disregard, her cue gathered up as she returns to lean against the table. She lifts her beer, drinks the last, slides the empty onto the table with a clattering rattle of a slide. "I'm glad I didn't put money on this.", she notes, changing the subject after Izayah pockets another ball.

"I'm glad you didn't either, but I don't bet with money." Izayah says with a grin as it seems that the animosity has washed off him as easily as it came. He brushes past her again, leaning in to nip at her shoulder, then drains the rest of his beer. "Gonna make a phone call. Come find me in an hour, I'll be outside. We'll talk." He assures her as he heads for the door, still carrying the pool stick. He likes the weigh it feels.

The hand raises again, Sierra blocking the nip Izayah tries to make to her, her pale blue eyes still serious as she stares back at him. She may have calmed, but the whole thing still has her on edge. "We will.", she agrees, then watches him head for the door.

With that, she leaves the table and heads for the back room.