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Post by gabriel on Apr 29, 2012 21:33:16 GMT -5
What the hell kind of name was “La Perturbe” for a bar? Gabriel wasn’t well versed in French by any means, but as far as he was concerned, it meant “The Disturbed” and weren’t bars, even dive bars, supposed to be at least halfway appealing sounding? He’d never quite wandered across this one before, simply because over the past year, he’d stayed as far away from the center of town as possible. He didn’t want to be seen and flagging his red hood around town would do him no good, so he stayed away. Things were dying down, though. He could feel it in the way the air tasted and what his instincts told him; his previous bosses, though still wanting his head on a platter, had traded in the gold for a silver one. He was no longer extremely high priority after a year of being ambiguous and that, he found, was greatly to his relief. It certainly didn’t mean he didn’t need to be careful, but… The bar itself was crowded that night with patrons of all sorts. Tattooed punks rubbed elbows with fine, classy businessmen and overweight old men who ordered diet cokes with their food. It was, in a sense, a cultural mashup of everything that the city had. Gabriel was a man in a red hood, sitting on a corner barstool and minding his own business. He wasn’t a regular and he wasn’t talking much, so the bartender simply glided over him, thankfully. He chewed on the end of a toothpick and fiddled with a coin between his fingers, unminding of the other patrons. It was a nice night, at least. Sneasel Egg: 1/7
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Post by ress8 on Apr 29, 2012 21:41:59 GMT -5
 What the fuck was he even doing? It was nerve wracking, looking at the entrance, and wondering what the hell was inside. Was this the sort of place Caesar would have gone, if he'd have been in the area? If he'd been able to come into the actual middle of town, if he'd had money? Richard paused, looking down at the money in his hand. It was odd having money. He'd always been broke, always scrapped by and struggled. Even in the gang, everything had been done different ways. People didn't use money. Money was worth too much to be traded so freely. So suddenly having money was downright bizarre.
Even so, he had to work the nerve up to slide inside, glancing around timidly. People. They looked so damn normal - to the point where he was sure he'd made a mistake. Maybe the bar was just a normal bar. Maybe nothing was odd about it at all. Only then a flash of blond hair at the bar cemented it - this was the right place. The damn place was almost entirely men, after all, and the man at the counter had so many tattoos - he was, well... rather obvious. Rather out.
Beyond embarrassed, Richard slid up, taking a seat beside the man and ordering himself a whiskey, which was for the moment the manliest drink he could think of.
He then spent the next five minutes casting furtive glances towards the other man.
(Nidoran Egg (Shiny) 3/7) |
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Post by gabriel on Apr 30, 2012 7:22:42 GMT -5
Gabriel wasn’t dumb enough to think himself invincible; he knew of his own frail as hell mortality and came face to face with it one too many times. Cats may have had nine lives, but he was only part, after all. And anyways, if either Epispect or is old bosses’ cronies ever got him, he could almost guarantee that they’d put enough bullets in him to kill both him and the cat inside him. Occasionally, still wary of being in such a populated part of town, he’d sweep is gaze around the smoky room in search of familiar faces or early warning signs. Gabriel continued to gnaw on the end of the toothpick, but he wasn’t drinking quite yet. He had to remain mostly coherent, after all, if he wanted any chance of slipping away if things went down. Even if he was no longer extremely high priority in their eyes, he was still a target. As for Epispect, he might or might not have been in their system, but he was distinguishable and kept his head low when he could. Good thing too, as a few minutes later, another blond saddled up right next to him in the lonely corner. He didn’t speak to him and hell, barely looked at him for the first little bit… but a couple of glances his way were putting him on edge. Epispect, maybe? Quite frankly, he looked way too… what was it, nervous? Too meek? To be one of his old bosses’ followers or some hired gangbanger told to get rid of him for easy money on the side. Either that, or those old men were getting cheap. Where were the exits to this place, anyway? He should’ve checked before he came in. Gabriel finally took the toothpick out of his mouth and flicked it into a nearby trash can, finally taking a blatant look at the man sitting next to him. ”Can I help you?” He didn’t look familiar, but people changed all the time. Gabriel wasn’t particularly kind to strangers as of late, though he was beginning to ease back into a more regular societal role. Taking a mental note of how severe he sounded, he tired to ease it with a half hearted grin. ”Staring isn’t polite, after all.”Sneasel Egg: 2/7
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Post by ress8 on Apr 30, 2012 16:43:45 GMT -5
Richard had no idea what he was doing. Hell, even that was an understatement. He had not the tiniest goddamn idea what he was thinking, coming in here. He wasn't gay, after all. Absolutely not gay. Only he'd have said the same damn thing about Caesar and Johnny, and he'd known them their entire lives, and finding out that their heart wasn't quite into picking up birds... well, that had come as a surprise. The fact that the two people he'd considered his very best friends were more then best friends to each other? That had been even more of a surprise. Was it possible he was like them, and simply didn't know? Was he hiding it from himself, in denial because of how he'd been raised? Liking men was supposed to be weird. It was supposed to be strange.
Maybe he'd been in denial all along.
The man's offer/accusation made Richard's hair stand up, suddenly terribly nervous. What the hell was he thinking? He had to say something, though. He couldn't just... well, not. "I- I uh... Just knew here. Don't know anyone." In so many words, he was new. What was he supposed to do? Was there some sort of... code? Was there a way of talking, a way of asking? Was everyone? Or were there people you were supposed to not talk to? He didn't know anything.
(Nidoran Egg (Shiny) 4/7) |
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Post by gabriel on Apr 30, 2012 18:57:00 GMT -5
Gabriel’s cat-like grin disappeared when the man fidgeted in his seat, looking much too nervous to let the shorter blond get comfortable. People were nervous for reasons, and he was wary of this one already. If he was a hit man for his old bosses, then he was one hell of a shitty one, unless this was part of his cover. What were they thinking? That Gabriel had gone soft, and this one would be easy? Send a new recruit; he could use the target practice. Well, damn them. The smaller blond tried to pull this guy from his memories; definitely about twice as big as he was any way you put it, and probably twice as heavy too. He had slicked back hair, revealing a deep widow’s peak, that he usually only associated with businessmen from the upper class, only this guy was definitely not from there, he could smell it on him, if his clothes weren’t any indication, anyway. Sunglasses indoors, probably to hide where he was looking… And a scar just above his left eye. Now that was something he would’ve definitely remembered. ”Don’t know anyone, huh?” A slow, lazy grin as he cracks his neck and lets his shoulders drop. Where were his claws? Oh yes, in his bag, right… Gabriel looks like a man who’s ready to get his knuckles dirty, but he’s not eager to start a brawl; they attracted attention, after all. He takes another toothpick and sticks it between his teeth, gnawing at the end once again. He would usually be doing that with a cigarette… or his own fingers, if he hadn’t had his morphine in a while. ”Well, you’re asking the wrong person, then. I’m just as new as you are.” A mild chuckle, light hearted as far as he could get it, but he was cautious underneath all that. ”What’s your name?” Maybe a name would ring a bell? Sneasel Egg: 3/7
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Post by ress8 on May 2, 2012 13:15:57 GMT -5
Amusingly enough, if Richard had been sent to kill Gabriel, things would have gone a hell of a lot faster. Richard had never been a legitimate hitman, but he had offed a few people, although most often he was doing that in a group. The boys had never been one for subtlety - he'd have simply entered the building with a bonemerang, which, with no warning, would have killed most humans. Even if the blond wasn't a human himself, Richard would likely have given him a run for his money. Richard could be downright viscous when he got down to it.
As it was, though, he had no idea Gabriel was thinking those things at all. He had no point of reference, no idea how people should be acting here to be considered 'normal'. Maybe the bar was only like this on weekends. Maybe there was some codeword he was supposed to know. He should have asked Caesar, really, only asking him would have meant admitting his worries, and it was unlikely Caesar would know anyway.
"Uhm, yeah. First time." Did all the same rules for social interaction imply here? Because if someone said 'first time' to him, he'd have declared they were fresh meat and hazed the hell out of them. Was that going to happen here? He sure as hell hoped not.
"You're new here too?" He was, in truth, genuinely surprised. The guy.. Well, he definitely looked it. The tattoos, the hair, the bright red hood... Better not to give his real name, Either. "Johnny." Didn't want anyone finding him, tracing it back to his wonderful new job. "You?"
(Nidoran Egg (Shiny) 5/7) |
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Post by gabriel on May 2, 2012 15:09:23 GMT -5
Some people claimed that Gabriel was more of a hyena or jackal than a cat; he sure had that grin on him, and his association with the old fairy tale didn’t help either. Despite it being his first time here, he’s perfectly at ease. He needs to be, because a good disguise helped him in the long run and looking like you felt comfortable was intimidating. But this guy, Johnny, as he said he was, seemed much too nervous to be in a place like this. He couldn’t quite scratch that itch, but the name happened to sound just a tiny bit familiar too. Then again, there were a lot of “Johnny”s and “Smith”s and “Jane”s running around, and like hell he paid enough attention to all the ones he came across to know. ”Uh-huh. Came in from the boonies.” By that, he meant the Abandoned Sector. He wanted to try and feed this guy some information and see how he reacted. If this Johnny person was really out to get him, it would’ve been nothing new anyway. He didn’t know how much Epispect knew about him, but his old bosses had extensive profiles on him down to his very last tattoo… which were now all covered up with different ones. Ah, he’d remembered how those ones felt; like stabbing at old wounds. ”Well, Johnny,” Gabriel swept some hair out of his eyes, smiling that cat-grin that he seemed to wear whenever in a social situation, accompanied by a wink and a thick layer of charm. ”Name’s Gabe, but you can go ahead and call me Little Red.” Sneasel Egg: 4/7
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Post by ress8 on May 3, 2012 2:29:56 GMT -5
Johnny had been, while not quite the leader of Richard's old gang, the second in command. He'd kept a low enough profile that unless you were on the sharp end of one of his knives, he didn't stand out much. He wasn't brash like Caesar or mad like Xavier - he really only stood out to people within the gang itself. He had been a key part, but it wasn't for that reason that Richard had used his name - no, he'd used it because the name 'Johnny' was common as hell. When you got into the slums, when people made their own names or got named by orphanages, every other person seemed to be 'Johnny' or 'Paul' or 'James'. Common names for common people.
The boonies was far - farther then the slums, even. Depending on who you talked to, it meant either the ring outside the slums itself, including the abandoned sector, or the more remote farming communities. No way to tell which without asking, and Richard sure as hell wasn't asking. "Slums myself." That'd be obvious enough from the way he spoke, the short forms and slang. Richard wasn't exactly big on 'proper english ' - he couldn't even read. Why would it matter to him if his grammar was correct?
Little Red? If Richard had any doubts, that had sealed them. "The... what, little girl in the fairy tale?" He knew the story only vaguely. Something like a wolf. Was it supposed to mean something? Did it have some insinuation he was missing? "Well... nice to meet you. I guess." The 'I guess' probably shouldn't have been added, but he added it just the same. It was nerve-wracking.
(Nidoran Egg (Shiny) 6/7) |
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Post by gabriel on May 3, 2012 7:18:47 GMT -5
Despite his small, borderline fragile appearance, Gabriel was tough as nails. He’d started his life in the worst parts of the slums, then carved his home out of the abandoned sector and, for a few years of that time, took care of another as well. He’d survived and thrived better than most would, and now he was beginning to ease back into the society that had so rejected him in the past. Of course, he’d never quite come back to the prim and proper; he wasn’t designed for that, after all. But oh, his assumptions had been correct then. Definitely not from the high end district, or anywhere in the middle… but from Gabriel’s own home turf itself. He didn’t know which part, per se, because there were indeed many parts. Did this guy ever work for one of his old bosses, if he wasn’t right now? What were his colours? Where were his loyalties, if he had any? He probably did though; he looked much too skittish to be on his own. Gabriel relaxed a little more; if this guy was from the slums, he didn’t have too much to worry about. He knew how to deal with those sorts of men; he grew up around them, after all. It was the wolves who dressed in suits and hundred dollar ties that called themselves gentlemen; now those ones were dangerous. Much more dangerous than anything one could find in the slums. His smile only widened when Johnny seemed a bit familiar with the old fairy tale. ”Yep, that Little Red; Brothers Grimm and all that.” Of course, he had no idea that the man sitting across from him probably wouldn’t have any idea who the Brothers Grimm were. ”Hated it just as much as I loved it when they first started calling me that, but it grows on you.” And now he was just talking, filling up the space and hoping this Johnny guy slipped before he did. Which reminded him… His grin faded a little at the ‘I guess’, but curiousity resumed for that scar just above the man’s brow. He tapped at the position on his own face with his middle finger. ”Where'd you get that?” Gabriel was never one for pleasantries, after all. Sneasel Egg: 5/7
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Post by ress8 on May 3, 2012 15:28:55 GMT -5
If Richard had known what Gabriel was thinking, he'd have laughed. He knew his colors, his allegiances. His home turf. Lime green - that had been the colors his gang wore, even if they weren't a proper color themselves. They hadn't sought to grow and expand. They'd kept to one area and defended it viciously, beating back anyone who tried to encroach. Having five illegal Gijinka in one gang had meant they were deadly and effective. It had also meant they were a target - and Epispect had come down on them hard. Richard had no doubt that the land his gang had claimed was gone now, divided up by the gangs that had pressed in on all sides.
Richard hadn't the slightest idea what the guy was talking about, but he nodded anyway. Brothers Grimm? Was that some sort of code? It was completely unfamiliar to him, just the same. It was draining, trying to triple check everything before he said it, analyzing everything Red said. He simply couldn't put up with it - there had to be something else. Something more obvious.
The mention of his scar made Richard pause, reaching up and rubbing his fingers over it. This, at least, he didn't have to second guess. "This? Punk went for my eye, managed to bump his arm out of the way and keep it intact. Bled like hell." He hadn't been sure it would stop bleeding, when it happened. Another small rub. "Never quite healed up properly, but just a mark, hm?" He'd never been one to hide that - to hide his old past, his old marks. Even as a member of epispect, he wasn't going to bullshit and make up stuff. He was who he was.
(Nidoran Egg (Shiny) 7/7) |
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Post by gabriel on May 3, 2012 21:14:50 GMT -5
Gabriel had been around, in more ways than one. He’d worn different colours and different symbols and used different signs, but in the end, he’d fallen flat and now he was somebody else. Strange how that worked, but he made it work because what the hell other choice did he have? He’d get tattoos of his alliances and then, when the boss died or he was offered something else or whatever it may have been, he covered it up with something new. He swore in some places, he had three layers of ink. ”Huh, no kidding.” Interesting story for a scar, anyway. Gabriel had quite a few of his own, but they were all tattooed over and looked mostly normal… until maybe you touched one, or you looked closely and saw the scar tissue just underneath. Those ones had stories behind them, though he often wasn’t too eager to share for the sake of sharing. ”Looks like it’s alright now, though.” This time around, feeling slightly more at ease, Gabriel finally got around to ordering a drink. Scotch, simple and plain with nothing fancy on the end. He took the brief second for a sip to think, going over his memory and trying, with one last effort, to make a memory out of Johnny. Of course, there was none and though his name sounded familiar, it was common as dirt and wouldn’t surprise him. So now that he assessed him and figured he wasn’t a threat yet, it was time to lay on his usual charm. He leaned forward against the counter a bit more, propping up his chin with an upturned palm and pretending as if he was taking a good look at the other man for the first time. ”So, what brings you to the middle of the city, huh? On a Thursday night, nonetheless.”Sneasel Egg: 6/7
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Post by Ω Tama Ω on May 4, 2012 2:47:00 GMT -5
CONGRATULATIONS! YOUR EGG HATCHED! [/style]   shiny nidoran || male || poison point || poison || level 02
leer || peck || disable |
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Post by ress8 on May 7, 2012 20:01:11 GMT -5
Richard had plenty of his own scars - the one above his eye was just the most obvious. Few really had stories to them. When you got into as many fights as he did, you got a lot of cuts and marks, and who had time to track which ones scarred and which ones didn't? He sure as hell didn't. They were all just one mess, and rare was the scar that he actually remembered how he'd gotten it. Everything else was just 'from a fight'.
"Yeah. All fine now, that was a while ago." A year? Maybe two? Richard was about as good with dates as he was with words - that was, not at all. He barely new his own birthday, and the only reason he knew that was because Johnny had made a point of helping him work it out. More accurately, he'd helped Richard pick - because no one really knew when he'd been born anyway.
The question, though, was enough to make Richard stiffen, the first hints of an embarrassed blush reaching his face. "Just... looking around." Technically true, right?
(Shiny Pawniard x2 - 1/7) |
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Post by gabriel on May 7, 2012 22:29:58 GMT -5
Gabriel continues to watch with an unmatched ease, as if he belonged there in the bar. The person sitting next to him stiffened at his comment, shuffling uneasily and… well, was that a blush? Or was the dim lighting playing weird tricks on him? Gabriel’s cat-like grin only grew a fraction wider; time to up the ante just a bit. A hand moved up and ruffled through his hair, letting it fall back down in that just-out-of-bed mess, the bright red hood falling back against his shoulders and revealing more of his heavily tattooed neck and collar. His shoulders were covered in blue and red and black, as was the rest of him. ”Oh really? Just looking?” Nobody came to a bar to just look, after all. A small, at-ease chuckle and he let his shoulders go down just a fraction more. ”You sure? Nobody comes to a bar to just ‘have a look around’, in my experience.” A wink, a slight nudge with his elbow before he polished off his glass. Sneasel Egg: 7/7
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Post by ★ Ryuujin ! on May 8, 2012 14:39:51 GMT -5
CONGRATULATIONS! YOUR EGG HATCHED! [/style]   sneasel || male || inner focus || dark/ice || level 02
scratch || leer || taunt |
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