Odds and Evens
Sep. 6th, 2013 03:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
st_clare in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
birthright_rpgThe tiny white ball on the roulette wheel bounced as it spun, and the small crowd around the table held their collective breath as it gradually slowed down. Stacks of chips had been placed on green felt, waiting to either be lost to the house or scooped back into the possession of their bettors. In Las Vegas, the casino business was booming.
Julianna had been telling Devin the truth. She didn't usually gamble, and she didn't really approve of the people who frequented such establishments. But she was so frustrated after the incident with Holiday that she'd purposely bought a few hundred dollars worth of chips to spend an evening at the tables. A gimlet sat near her left hand. She was not drunk, just slightly tipsy.
"Black 24. Black 24. The house wins."
The Watcher sampled her drink, watched the croupier collect the bets that had been placed as a mutter rose above the table. She should quit while she hadn't lost much, cut her losses. Not just with money, but with people as well. If the girl was determined to destroy herself, she couldn't stop her. She had quite enough guilt on her conscience, and Gregory's memory aside she didn't owe Holiday anything.
"Place your bets, please, the next spin is coming up."
Julianna placed some chips on Red 18, looked around for a server to get a refill. There were no bloody clocks in this place, and she'd left her watch on her bedside table. Never mind the time. She could leave once she'd lost the last of her chips.
Julianna had been telling Devin the truth. She didn't usually gamble, and she didn't really approve of the people who frequented such establishments. But she was so frustrated after the incident with Holiday that she'd purposely bought a few hundred dollars worth of chips to spend an evening at the tables. A gimlet sat near her left hand. She was not drunk, just slightly tipsy.
"Black 24. Black 24. The house wins."
The Watcher sampled her drink, watched the croupier collect the bets that had been placed as a mutter rose above the table. She should quit while she hadn't lost much, cut her losses. Not just with money, but with people as well. If the girl was determined to destroy herself, she couldn't stop her. She had quite enough guilt on her conscience, and Gregory's memory aside she didn't owe Holiday anything.
"Place your bets, please, the next spin is coming up."
Julianna placed some chips on Red 18, looked around for a server to get a refill. There were no bloody clocks in this place, and she'd left her watch on her bedside table. Never mind the time. She could leave once she'd lost the last of her chips.
no subject
on 2013-09-08 06:39 am (UTC)"Julianna," she said, reaching out and allowing her smaller hand to interlock with his. His palm was cool against hers. The Watcher frowned. Poor circulation? Her eyebrows arched. Certainly not...
"Julianna St. Clare."
no subject
on 2013-09-08 06:59 am (UTC)Where had he heard that name? Daniel put a finger to his mouth. “Wait a second.” If he couldn’t make this connection, it was gonna kill him all night. It was recent, too. Television? It hadn’t been a book, that much was for sure. He heard a feminine voice in his head. ‘You know about slayers? Julianna won’t tell me anything..’
She was British. She was British…
“No shit!”
He slapped her on the upper arm and kept pumping the other hand.
“We’ve got somebody in common! You know Holly, right?”
no subject
on 2013-09-08 07:17 am (UTC)The cheerful smack to her bicep felt just a touch too strong, but it might have been the alcohol. Julianna's expression displayed her confusion, but she didn't remove her hand from Daniel's. If she was wrong and caused a scene, she'd be embarrassed. Perhaps he had some sort of condition.
But if she was right...
"If you're speaking of Holiday, yes, we're acquainted," she said, and she could feel her expression wanting to sour but controlled herself. The girl was just angry. Angry and rude. And taking things out on her.
"She's mentioned me, I take it?" What was the girl playing at?
no subject
on 2013-09-08 07:44 am (UTC)Knew the dad… wouldn’t tell her anything… about what?
He stuck his tongue between his back teeth and tried to call up the specifics of the conversation. They had been sitting side by side on the carpet in Holly's hotel room. About the way the man died? No, about slayers. Julianna worked with Holly’s dad, a watcher who worked with slayers to stake vampires.
Ah crap. He winced, a hand remaining in his pocket as the revelation happened. He probably looked like a tourist who realized he had forgotten his car keys.
no subject
on 2013-09-08 08:06 am (UTC)All right, so that was an exaggeration, but Julianna was watching Daniel now, gauging his reaction with the suspicion of the longtime Watcher. What was Holiday doing with him, this young man with the cold hands?
And good God, she'd briefly entertained the notion of inviting him upstairs to bed him.
"I take it you haven't known one another long?" she inquired, her expression oddly placid considering her current thought process. "Holiday's only been in America for a short time. Where did you meet?"
no subject
on 2013-09-08 06:27 pm (UTC)“Couple of weeks?” he guessed. “We met on the street, just walking around. Sometimes we hang out.” Now he was understating things. Well, he thought, what was he supposed to say, that the charming daughter of Julianna’s old vamp-killing buddy had stripped off her clothes for a dead guy and rocked his world? “Nice girl,” he added for good measure, and, “Small world. Well, any friend of Holiday’s is a friend of mine. That’s uh… that’s what I say.”
She probably carries a vial of holy water in her giant pocketbook. That’s what I need, a face full of disfiguring Jesus juice.