Curiosity

[tiny_dancer81]

She'd meant to check out Ragnarok anyway.

The upper level of the attraction was a haunted house, and Theresa entertained herself by trying to tell what species some of the staff might be. She even struck up idle conversation with a couple of them. When the vampire was pointed towards the entrance to the lower level, she descended the stairs, then paused at the bottom step.

She didn't even know if Katherine would show up or was going to be around. The other vampire had seemed like the secretive type, but Theresa's curiosity was piqued enough that she at least wanted to have a look around.

There was a bar, and she ordered three shots of tequila. She would hang out and see what happened. There were worse ways to kill a night.

Comments

[stakes_and_daggers]

What a difference a day made... Gone was the cocktail dress and Theresa's initial assumption of Katherine preferred mode of clothing turned out to be an apt one. Joan Jett with fangs pretty much described her style and the accompanying swagger when she came through the door, both looked and felt a lot more natural.

After a few moments' worth of scanning the customers, once a drink was securely in hand, Katherine glanced back a second time at the smaller brunette, frowning before making sure the features more or less fit from her memory.

"Usually, I try try to stay away from places like this," she began, moving over. "Too much of a target. On the other hand, it does have this on tap, so..."

Gesturing with a look down at the contents of her glass, Katherine was, by no means, the only one to have ordered something a typical human bar would never even think to serve. Her own choice a deep crimson, for obvious reasons, but there was an added alcoholic kick to it.

[tiny_dancer81]

"I like mine fresh."

Not that Theresa was looking down on Katherine's beverage of choice. But drinking was drinking and eating was eating. One of those things was not like the other.

"Nice boots," the shorter vampire said as she finished off her third shot. She herself was wearing cargo pants and an old Doors t shirt she'd bought in a thrift store in L.A. A new pair of Nikes encased her feet. She was gradually spending some of the money she'd been socking away from her last erstwhile profession, expanding her wardrobe and buying a few pieces of jewelry. Nothing too fancy, but a few things she liked.

"So what's the big mystery?" she asked Katherine, having ordered a second round of shots. "And where'd you slip off to at the Christmas thing?"

[stakes_and_daggers]

"Hey, 'bite is right'... Not gonna' pass it up, though."

Katherine actually had a little bit more of a preference for biting than some of her brethren, like how some people got a buzz out of a morning run. If someone handed her the world on a platter where humans had the stuff sucked out of them by machines, she would consider that a con, not a pro.

There was more of a casually smiling nod than verbal thanks, as Katherine gave a responding glance down at her footwear. "You want some just like 'em, I can show you who to snack from," she observed, effectively telling Theresa all she needed to know about the other vampire's 'purchasing habits'. Besides, it wasn't as if most shops were exactly open for business after daylight hours. Stealing as new or taking from one's latest victim, was just the most practical option in most circumstances.

Big mystery, huh? Katherine had wondered if the girl figured it out for herself or not.

"Got contracted to deliver a hurt-shaped lesson to a Slayer..." There was a relaxed drawl to the way Katherine said it. Not that she couldn't be boastful, but it didn't come across as mere bragging. Head dipping to take a swallow from her glass, while a drinking neighbour did similar to something pink with an aromatic yellow foam to it. "Not the easiest job in the world, but since I've got experience in that department... Just wish they'd wanted something more permanent."

[tiny_dancer81]

Slayers again. Theresa wondered which one it had been.

"You're a hitwoman?" she asked Katherine with a little more interest. She could actually picture that, and she wondered if the other brunette used a knife or a gun. A sudden mental image of Katherine using a sniper's rifle popped into her brain. The only thing that made it weird was that she was wearing the cocktail dress from the Christmas ball.

"Those girls are supposed to be pretty hard to kill," the diminutive vampire said. "I heard a rumor that one of them got run down a car and still kicked this dude's ass. How did you do it?"

[stakes_and_daggers]

"The way I hear it, they've got some kind of... Vampire ESP - hence, the crowd. Not sure if it's true, but why take risks, y'know? They're like the Supergirl crossed with the Duracell Bunny, except way more tasty. Gives you the hots, too. Dunno' why, but I ain't arguing. Must make 'em nympho as hell, if you ask me... Like, all the time."

What else did Katherine have to go on but supposition? Although, technically, Slayerhood could give the girl in question a buzz. Just not 24/7.

"Found her, waited around and..." Katherine mimed a short, sharp stabbing motion. "Not my preferred method, but if she pulls through this? Now she's got a hard-on for me, I'll get another chance..."

[tiny_dancer81]

She still didn't know who the 'lucky' girl had been, but it probably didn't matter. Still, Katherine's ambition to bag a Slayer set her apart from most vampires, who weren't either brave or stupid enough to confront one of the chosen. Theresa pondered that for a second.

"So you get, like, money for that?"

How much was a Slayer's life worth? If the taller vampire's attitude was any indication, she'd have done it for free. But if you were getting paid to do what you loved, wasn't that the best of both worlds?

"What's the going rate?"

[stakes_and_daggers]

Quite honestly, Katherine had no reason to yet reveal her target's name. Had assumed the 'what' was more important than the 'who' of it. Certainly didn't suspect the other vampiress might have known them. Knowing that would have led to Katherine being the one to ask some questions, not the other way around.

"Job's a job," the elder brunette shrugged. "But some pay better than others, sure... Let's just say I could buy a place like this and still have beer money left over."

[tiny_dancer81]

"Fuck. Seriously?"

Now Theresa was interested. Like most members of the oldest profession, she was a capitalist at heart, even if she hoarded money rather than spend it. Being more or less free what to do what she wanted now, she was taking small steps towards forging her own path. What her own path entailed had yet to be determined.

"Blonde or brown hair? The Slayer, I mean?"

[stakes_and_daggers]

"Seriously."

Not above a boast, but not about to start trumpeting it, either. Not quite yet.

"Red," Katherine said, then smiled. "Brunette, actually... What makes you say blonde or brown?"

[tiny_dancer81]

That meant it was Rhiannon. She was probably supposed to feel bad about that. She kind of liked Rhiannon, at least more than she liked Valerie, but that made it a low bar to leap. A couple of beers and a conversation about sex did not a friendship make.

"No reason," Theresa answered with a one-shouldered shrug. "A little bird told me those girls can be sneaky. Like, they're basically secret agents and stuff. James Bond with tits."

[stakes_and_daggers]

There was a snort captured half-way between Katherine's throat and freedom. "That's, uh... Quite the visual, yeah," she agreed with a chuckle. "But you're better off thinking of She-Ra."

Supergirl could fly, after all. Didn't want Theresa getting too many false assumptions. The day a Slayer could fly was the day the world would turn crazy.

"Without the sword, that is. Although, not always..."