Apocalyptic New Beginnings
Dec. 10th, 2013 01:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Above ground? A haunted house attraction - and one which had done brisk business during the recent Hallowe'en season. Below? Ragnarok... A supernatural-friendly bar, for which the former provided the ideal disguise for whoever wished to attend.
Sometimes, there was an act booked. An act who would have to be introduced. Other times, like now, not so much. Which left the venue's four-armed entertainment manageress able to retire to a small booth off to one side. In one hand, a glass. In another, a chocolate biscuit. The lower pair idly shuffling cards, flipping them from one palm to the other.
It was the looming shadow which caused their owner to glance up.
"Hello, lovey," she greeted. British accent; not like most of those in Nevada. A little lower-class than one might expect of her, too. "What'll it be? Business or pleasure...?"
Sometimes, there was an act booked. An act who would have to be introduced. Other times, like now, not so much. Which left the venue's four-armed entertainment manageress able to retire to a small booth off to one side. In one hand, a glass. In another, a chocolate biscuit. The lower pair idly shuffling cards, flipping them from one palm to the other.
It was the looming shadow which caused their owner to glance up.
"Hello, lovey," she greeted. British accent; not like most of those in Nevada. A little lower-class than one might expect of her, too. "What'll it be? Business or pleasure...?"
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on 2013-12-10 04:43 am (UTC)At first she’d walked off highly suspicious that it was a load of rubbish. Until her feet carried her to the location and low and behold, it was real. Ragnarok was filled with all sorts, and as Valerie took a tentative step inside, nobody so much as glared. The blonde let out a breath and found herself actually cracking a smile. In a place full of content demons she could almost feel like she belonged. Strange, but nice.
It had taken half an hour, four drinks, and a large tip to finally get the bartender to tell her the name she’d been looking for. Deanna. According to him, a fight broke out between her and another vampire a while back at one of the underground places she’d yet to discover. Valerie had felt quite pleased to know that, and for good measure, ordered another drink.
Finding her feet, drink in hand, she’d wandered through the crowd curiously, enjoying the way others seemed to interact. Sure, she’d been in bars before that catered to the demonic but they were hellish, prone to fights for the sheer sake of it. Ragnarok was entirely different. “Oh!” Valerie had been so busy leaning against the booth that she hadn’t realised it was one. “Sorry.” She said, a bit bashfully as she turned to face the woman. With an extra set of arms. If she were shocked it didn’t show, then again with the particular crowd inside the place, it wasn’t anything that unusual.
“I…” Valerie shrugged lightly, a bright smile being offered as she sat down. “I guess pleasure? Maybe business?” She grinned a little, “Lets go with the first one, it sounds better. So what do you do?” The question was genuinely curious, akin to a child asking to see a magic trick.
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on 2013-12-10 05:20 am (UTC)"Read palms," came the given answer with a nibble of biscuit. Then another and another, finishing it off. Eyes taking the opportunity to give the blonde a once-over as she did so. "Ironic, I know..." All four palms waved in the air for effect, although the accompanying facial expression was more in keeping with registering the gesture as a tired old joke - wanting to head it off at the pass before it got mentioned. "No fixed charge... It's whatever you think it's worth."
A sniff was made, but not a Sabra-like investigatory sniff. Just a quick one of registering full focus upon the girl.
"Fancy your chances? Or you got a talent of your own? 'Cause what I'm paid to do is book new acts - if they're any good, that is."
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on 2013-12-10 05:43 am (UTC)“I’m talentless.” The words were uttered with a shrug, only to register belatedly. Quickly Valerie blurted, “I mean I have talent, just not the kind worth displaying on a stage.”
With a cringe she took another sip of her drink then set it aside. Out of courtesy she ran her palms across her thighs then smiled slightly. “Palm reading it is then.” The price thing had intrigued her enough to at least give it a go. If it was bunk she’d give her ten dollars, a fair price for brief entertainment.
“Alright.” She said, placing both hands palm up on the table, “Let’s do this.”
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on 2013-12-11 02:37 am (UTC)"Let's see what we can see, hmm?"
Tempted to take another chocolate biscuit, the brunette excused herself with a muttered, "No, I mustn't... Addicted to those things, I am." Then helped to make sure Valerie's palm was spread with one set of hands, while the other trailed fingertips along the various lines and creases which were being studied. At one point, turning it over and asking for Valerie's other hand, too, so as to compare them. "Tells me different things, see," she explained. "Conscious, subconscious - that sorta' thing... Ooh. Been a big change in your life, hasn't there? Like you became a whole different person. Led to... Conflict. But it's the kind of conflict..." A frown. "It's like you thrive on it. Or the change does, somehow... Hmm."
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on 2013-12-11 03:11 am (UTC)The gentle touch to her palms tickled, but she held herself still and watched the woman instead. Fascinated, really, to see if the woman could tell her anything. Valerie considered her skepticism healthy, but knew deep down that there were things out there with very real gifts. “I had no idea you could tell conscious and subconscious apart from my palms.”
The words were said in awe, no teasing at all as she listened to the woman. What was she… Was she talking about when she was called? Or Elfleda? Maybe this had been a bad idea after all. Yet, she couldn’t quite bring herself to take her hands back. Instead, she seemed glued in place, eyes briefly wide with surprise. “I guess there was, I suppose I did, things were… Out of my control.” The words were soft, cautious, as she chewed her lower lip, waiting for more. As far as starts went, the woman was off to a reasonable one.
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on 2013-12-11 03:40 am (UTC)The explanation went on a little bit further and, judging by the woman's mention of the event happening around about the time of the Slayer's activation, it seemed that was what she was picking up on. A smattering of other details, too... Things in early childhood and teenage years; particularly of there being a change in the relationship with her parents. Again, the calling. Enough, essentially, for it to become clear that Livia was finding things in the girl's palms. Speaking to her of how school years had generally been like and of a period where she was being trained anew, being taught fresh skills. Slayerhood, essentially. That there were a handful of others... And that things had, again, recently changed.
Now came a mention of a new crossroads Valerie had just come to; but not one which was being chosen swiftly. That her path was still up for grabs - and that a connection, of a romantic variety, was involved. That there was also another... A woman... A woman who held power and was coming into Valerie's life - and those few like her.
"Your choice, of course, but... Well, I'm not saying don't get involved, it's just... Be careful if you do, that's all," Livia added with more of a self-aware, slightly worried expression. "I will say you've come to the right place, no matter what. Geographically, that is. You're sort of... Where you need to be, if you catch my drift? Where you can help others best, right now."
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on 2013-12-11 04:08 am (UTC)“When you say romantic, and another woman do you mean…” Valerie’s face tinged pink but she chose to pretend it was the alcohol and nothing more. “I mean, she’s not, in the romance category, right?” Well, given that she’d never made a point of defining sexuality beyond its fluidity the question seemed curiously valid. Not that she thought she’d be randomly dating anyone else, but still. Unless she meant Elfleda, in which case, no.
Funny, being told she was where she needed to be should have brought comfort but all it brought Valerie was confusion. She’d planned on attending UNLV for years before actually getting here, and now that she made it was as if things were shifting into some sort of supernatural place. Like a puzzle that was almost complete, and she was just in time for the big reveal. Honestly, it unnerved her, but then again destiny had a cruel sense of humour when it wasn’t been so deviously twisted.
“No pressure.” She’d said with a slight grin. “I don’t know how much I can help but, well, I’m built for it so I might as well give it my all. Nothing else I really can do.” The tone was breezy as she sipped at her drink, as if she had no idea they were discussing events that would no doubt be of the supernatural variety. A slight shrug was offered afterwards as if that somehow meant it made sense.
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on 2013-12-11 05:09 am (UTC)Listening to the girl's admission, the packet of chocolate biscuits was slid her way. "Name's Livia," the brunette offered, swallowing from a glass held in one of her hands. "Sounds like you might need one of these more than I do," she sympathised and curled Valerie's hands in, giving both a friendly squeeze. "I'm just the messenger, love... But the message is good. If you're where you can help, then you can make a difference. And maybe if you make enough of one, someone'll help make a difference for you, too, hmm? Either that or you can start gettin' paid for it... Either works, I find!"
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on 2013-12-11 06:02 am (UTC)Valerie’s features were a rare mix of puzzlement and embarrassment. Clearly the girl wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted, now that she knew it could go either way with whoever had been mentioned. Which wasn’t to say she wanted anything at all, the mere fact that there was alleged options, that was what made her stomach churn. For someone who wanted to live life while she could, she certainly played it safe. “Well that’ll keep the future interesting, I guess.” She added with a twist if lips, somewhere between a wry grin and a cringe of uncertainty.
“Thank you.” The blonde almost gushed from the offered biscuit and the reassuring squeeze of hands. Maybe the alcohol was starting to hit her. Pale fingers snagged one but before she took a nibble she added warmly, “I’m Valerie, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Then she did nibble at the biscuit, with a happy sounding hum as she listened to Livia. Now it was her turn to laugh, and she managed to cover her mouth just in time otherwise the poor woman would have been covered in crumbs.
“I don’t think getting paid for helping will ever happen but it’s funny to think about.” Actually it would probably fall under extortion if she sidled up to strangers being attacked and requested payment for dusting the bad guy. Still, at least it made her grin. “But you know what?” She asked Livia, regarding the woman softly as she took a small bite of her treat. “If you say the message is good, then I believe you, and that’s all that really matters, right?”
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on 2013-12-12 05:06 am (UTC)Well, there were the not-so-small things in life, like needing to make sure your rent was paid, but in so far as one's general direction in life went, yes, that was what mattered. At least, going by what had been read on those palms, anyway; Valerie had a future here, should she want it. Her Slayerhood's destiny. A way to make a real difference in the world.
Quite what shape that difference would ultimately take, was another matter.
"'Sides, after all this, you'll walk out this door, decide none o' this matters and keep on goin' your own way, anyhow... You'll reach where you need to go. Just a bit of fun, this is, hmm?"
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on 2013-12-17 05:35 pm (UTC)At least, that was how she chose to look at it. Like cracking open a fortune cookie, reading the message, and ultimately scrunching it up in favour of eating the sweet treat that had encased it. What Livia had shared, or what her palms had inevitably told her, things were… Okay. No random catastrophe lurked around the corner to snuff out her existence. Rather, if there was, she could at least enjoy the ignorance of it for a little while longer.
Shoulders lifted then in a somewhat playful shrug before she fished her wallet out of her pants pocket and thumbed through some of the bills inside. She plucked up a few and slid them across to Livia with a curious look. “Does forty sound reasonable? I’m a bit new to the whole palm-reading thing, I don’t want to you know, under-pay.”
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on 2013-12-20 06:43 am (UTC)"It's however much you think it was worth, love," she said, honestly. "It's not me day-job - I won't starve... Charging a standard price is how you lose a gift like this."
Granted, a good portion of this had actually come out of reading up on the subject, rather than some latent gift of magic, but the same principle applied. Mechanics didn't get born to their profession, either, but some were still more naturally proficient at it than others might be.
However much Valerie settled upon, Livia smiled, discretely took the amount and slid a business card with name and telephone number, into the blonde's palm.
"Childrens' parties aren't quite my speciality, but if you ever find yourself in a fix... Or bored enough for a drink or five," she smiled, indicating their surroundings.
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on 2013-12-23 06:20 pm (UTC)Strangers to one another and yet without any hesitation an invite to more was offered without so much as a single string and the blonde chewed on her bottom lip. In a bar full of demons she’d never been more accepted, then again, they didn’t know what she was and if they did… If they did…
“Livia I…” One, thick swallow was given as Valerie fingered the edge of the card with the woman’s name and number on it. Such a simple thing full of possibilities. Would she turn from her? Alert the others if she so mentioned what it was that she did on a nightly basis? Could she understand if a true friendship was to be formed? Did honesty really matter when they’d just met?
Yes. The voice in the back of her mind seemed to say.
Valerie tried to smile, she really did, but it came off as more of an apologetic cringe as she chewed the inside of her lips and looked around the place. The blonde let out a breath and finished off her drink in a few gulps, all the while carefully eyeing the woman across from her. She licked the remaining liquid off her lip and sat forward, voice a mere whisper as she spoke.
“I’m not just human and I’m not… Not quite a demon either.” Bitter, nervous laughter escaped then. “Well, I suppose that depends on who you ask. What I’m trying to say is… Despite being what I am, being here in this place it’s… Freeing. I like it, and I’m not ever going to cause any trouble here. I wouldn’t. It’s only fair you know because you’re… You’re giving me a sort of olive branch and I so very much want to take it, because honestly, I don’t really have friends and you’re pretty damn cool and would make a wonderful one, so uhm….”
Valerie could taste the copper tang of blood, a result of nibbling too hard at the insides of her lips but chose to ignore it as she took a deep breath and arched her eyebrows. “Yeah I really need another drink, can I get you one?” The tone was honest and hopeful.
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on 2013-12-24 02:06 am (UTC)But Valerie's next actions... The four-armed entertainment manager could be forgiven for the increasing uncertainty with which she interpreted them. At first, just a friendly tilt of head, but then, as Valerie's own nervousness began to show, Livia was starting to suspect some variety of heartfelt confession. Or... Or a... Well, she wasn't quite sure what. It was beginning to puzzle her and brow furrowed in tainted confusion. Her own concern beginning to show with an apprehensive nibbling of the biscuit in hand. Expression quirking with worried curiosity at what might be at hand, as the girl...
"Oh!"
And, with a relieved chuckle, Livia's posture relaxed, exahaling a breath of air she hadn't realised was being held.
"Darlin', you don't need a declaration... Friendships just happen, hmm? But I wouldn't turn it down, neither," she winked, clinking fingernails against a mostly-empty glass. "It's called an 'Atomic Rainbow'... And you won't find it served in any of your conventional bars, if you're willing to try, yourself."