"Long island ice tea, please," Brandon said. As he walked a little closer, Brandon looked over the man who was obviously Russian. The bartender was cute to him, and he found himself with a tiny smile on his face. He still noticed his wrist burning, and glanced over his shoulder to look around the bar and see if anyone else was reacting to their wrist. He turned back, looking at the bartender. No, not possible.... The man appeared human, but Brandon knew that how he looked didn't matter.

---

When her fairy said yes to tea, she found another cup for her to use and poured her some tea as well. She then walked over with the two cups, sitting down on one the couches and placing both cups on the center table. After a moment, Julie realized. "Oh! W-Would you like me to hand you the cup? I-I'm sorry. I just...I've never had a-any blind f-friends before...." At the moment, Julie heard Cienna ask the demon's name.
"Don't!" she shouted, but it had been too late. The demon inside her head gave an impish laugh.
"My naaaame? Oh ha ha! My name! Yes, Juleees deeear. Why don't you tell her?"
Julie gritted her teeth, trying to refrain herself. But of course, it was no help. "H...Her...Her name...Her name is Erin," she spoke, hating it. With that, the demon had sobered up.
"Mmmh, thank you,Cienna. It was very kind of you to ask my name. And yes, Julie does have questions. A lot. Some more...intresting than others," Erin giggled. The pounding in Julie's head had returned, and she gave a deep breath before sighing.
"Before you start asking, I'd like to say one thing. She can be very dangerous. I-I know y-you're probably n-not what you s-seem, s-so I hope that you can d-defend yourself." She took a sip of her tea, and then set it down. "A-Ask away."

"Long Island, coming right up," Viktor smiled, nodding and turning behind him to begin drink construction. He prayed silently in his head that this was not the night. He didn't want to have to deal with it if this being felt that soulmate connections meant that there was no other option, and suddenly be at his door at six in the morning, wanting in to make waffles. Of course, that was really specific, but the sentiment still stood. Viktor was not about to facilitate some ridiculous social standard.

It took nearly no time at all for him to forge the cosmopolitan. Long Island Ice Teas were so incredibly common he had them memorized. With back still turned, he decided to indulge a little himself, and took a shot of bourbon. He would normally have sipped at it and enjoyed it, but being sober wasn't in his future and shots were the fastest way to go about it. With the bourbon now warming his belly and distracting him, he placed the mixed drink in front of the patron.

"Here you go. Let me know if there is something else I can do for you," he nodded and pat the bar with an open palm. Maybe he wouldn't notice or maybe Viktor was just having hallucinations. He had always heard rumors of his babushka being an old mad crone of a witch.

Cienna listened to the exchange between the demon which she now knew to be Erin and Julie feeling somewhat apprehensive that she seemed to have upset Julie with her curiosity.
When offered to be handed her tea cup she would shake her head, “I’m not like your average blind girl.” She giggles.
"Before you start asking, I'd like to say one thing. She can be very dangerous. I-I know y-you're probably n-not what you s-seem, s-so I hope that you can d-defend yourself."
Cienna would tilt her head sideways slightly, a sign that her curiosity had been piqued. “I guess…” she would trail off wondering how best to explain the things that she could do, wondering if Julie even knew of her particular sub species of Fairy. A small sigh escaped her lips.
“I guess now is as good a time as any” she would say sounding as if what she had to say would make Julie flee for her very life “I’m a wind fairy.” Her head would drop as if this was possibly the worst admission she could give but she knew it wasn’t no her secrets were far worse than that but she would not reveal the full extent of her secrets, not just yet. “As to defending myself” she would wave her hand lifting her cup carefully with the with wind and moving it to her hand before fluttering her wings and the wind surrounding herself and July would thicken, not to the point where it became unbreathable but more to the point that movement became impossible.

She held the wind Barrier like this just long enough for Julie to understand what it meant. “Wind is mine to command in all aspects…” she pauses taking a breath. “which means the air you breathe as well as move through” this last bit was sent to Erin through mind speech not so much as a warning but more as a statement of facts.

“The first question I would like to ask is actually not so much about your condition but yourself.” She said shyly “You seem very scared, I know the feeling.” She admits showing a hand still slightly shaking “But even Erin couldn’t hurt me.” She seemed very self assured of this statement.

"I'm a wind fairy." Cienna did something with the wind that caused her to be unable to move, and Julie could relax a bit more knowing her Soulmate wasn't totally defenseless.
When she said the demon's name again, Julie winced and something happened. "You just don't know her yet," she said, her voice now two different tones. "You're wondering why I'm so scared? I've murdered multiple Soulmates, because of her. I fall in love with each one, and they all end up going, one way or another."

---

@PrincePierce

As the bartender put together the drink, Brandon couldn't ignore his burning wrist. It was like it demanded attention from him yet as he looked around, he still saw no one reacting or perhaps even looking around for him. The man placed the drink in front of him, and he noticed something. The man's wrist was glowing a little. No, there was no way.... This is what Brandon told himself as he took a sip of his drink.
Even if it didn't happen now and here, the marking would find a way to connect them again. Perhaps he would bump into the man on the street. But why wait? He was here. Unless....
"Are you human?" he asked his potential Soulmate. He continued to drink his drink, probably at a rate that was too fast.

Now she really was interested as to what was happening with Julie and Erin it would seem that her name was a catalyst for a control shift she wondered to herself quietly while she listened to her doubled voice nodding softly.
“I’m not so easily killed” she smiled, she wasn’t lying about that either, she had been in situations before where people have tried to kill her and they eventually learned the hard way that you really don’t want to pick on someone you know nothing about. She sat back in her chair keeping her eyes closed still and took a small sip of her tea.
“This is a really nice tea” she commented, she chose to not show that she was worried at this point figuring that would be what the demon wanted, instead she portrayed her total calming face, one she quite often had to wear when around people or in massive crowds, however if you looked at her carefully you would notice her wings and arms quivering ever so slightly.
She Listened to Julie closely even though she appeared to be perfectly calm and relaxed she was actually very much on edge and alert, every fibre of her body ready to take any actions necessary to protect not only her she realized but she wouldn’t allow Julie to come to any harm either.
That thought kind of struck her as odd, for someone she had only just met she was so willing to protect her she didn’t care what the cost was to herself. Maybe, that’s what they meant by soulmates, you had an unnaturally strong bond with them or maybe it was something else.
Her wondering thoughts would flit through the telepathy spell as vague ideas even some of them being only a shadow of an idea. Then the idea came to her, “what would happen if I used an equilibrium spell on you two?” she spoke it so suddenly that she wasn’t even aware she had asked it until after the fact. Her eyes went wide severing the telepathy spell in her own shock she had lost control over the magic flow to it. “sorry don’t answer…” she shook her head.

---

"Indeed, it's a pleasure." Fritz remarked quietly, shaking Stride's hand with a firm grip. As a journalist he had developed a pretty firm grip, what with all the people he had to shake hands with to try and make a good first impression. Sometimes he just didn't want to be interviewing someone and he would squeeze their hand extra hard, a sign of contempt. There was actually a rumour going around that Fritz became the success he was not because of his writing, but because he broke the hand of the editor and threatened to tell everyone what happened, unless he got rapid promotions.

And as the author, I would like to confirm that Friedrich Vogel, otherwise known as Fritz, has never engaged in blackmail. In this century. That he can recall.

Fritz was starting to question the entire situation. He didn't get how they were supposed to be a perfect match. She was nothing like his last girl, who was the perfect little angel that featured in a thousand poems. This woman seemed to be more surly and course. Maybe opposites do attract, as the saying goes. It seemed this wouldn't be the perfect romance featured in so many bohemian novels, but more of a bad side-plot in a blockbuster action thriller.

Allowing his mind to return to the conversation at hand, he nodded politely as she offered him a chip. "Hmm, don't mind if I do." He took one, cautiously popping it in his mouth. It was surprisingly nice. "Oh, Jesus, that's good." He took another chip, deciding to limit himself to just that last one.

He noted how awkward Stride seemed in this situation, it was clearly her first time with a soulmate. She seemed human, so that was understandable, but the scales around her mouth suggested otherwise. "So, I take it this is your first time with this love business. My second. I had a soulmate back in '53, I think. But, well, she isn't around anymore. Not something I want to go into." He paused for dramatic effect. "But no, I've seen a lot. I've been around for ages. Like, almost 200 years. I'm what you might call hell-borne." He gave a mirthless chuckle at the phrase 'hell-borne'. He was pretty sure people had stopped saying that, but that was the best way to describe him.

@EchoicChamber

Inside of Julie's mind, Erin could see the fairy shaking yet trying to play nonchalantly. Inside, she smirked (if that was possible). Julie nodded when her fairy said that the tea was good, and took a sip of her own. When she mentioned an equilibrium spell, Julie's mind came back into focus. Something had happened with the link between the two of them. It was just a tiny thing she could feel.
"Equilibrium...spell...," she trailed off. Even though Cienna had told her not to answer, she still did. "W-what would that d-do?"

Hearing Julie ask what the equilibrium spell does made her look down, covering her face with her hands for a handful of seconds before she looked back up taking a deep breath to calm her nerves,
‘well if she doesn’t run for the hills with this.’ She thought to herself with a self-depreciating smile then looking directly at Julie. “What it does is… is well…” she pauses trying to think of a good way of putting it before continuing “what it does is here” she waves her arms in front of herself gesturing to herself. “I don’t know what you know of fairies or how we grow, but all of us at one point or another must make a choice… Light… or…” she swallows hard “Dark… while light provides healing magics stronger than those present in most other races, they lose access to all other kinds of magics. While dark sends the fairy into a spiral of ever increasing evil impulses.” She used the word with a cringe never really liking to think of it as such. The facts were the facts she had to admit and her Equilibrium spell had maintained her so far but that was always a fragile thing. “We…” she pauses looking at Julie to make sure she understood what she was saying “gain far more powerful magics but cannot heal. Along with darkness trying to consume us at every turn.” She pauses again steadying her hands, her nerves were trying to shake her apart and she truly felt scared not for herself but that her soul mate would run a mile. “Equilibrium balances that, restores the balance of light and darkness. So that neither side has too much power.” She concluded her head dropping waiting for the inevitable sound of Julie yelling at her to leave.

As Julie watched her struggle to explain, she wanted to reach out for her. But she didn't, with Erin right around the corner.
"Light...or...Dark..." Julie sat up straight at this, tilting her head and looking at her nervous Cienna. With how she explained it to her, it was obvious what she had chosen. Julie gently smiled, finally reaching out and touching her hand before holding it.
"It's okay. I-I don't mind. We've all done strange t-things o-or things that we don't know if w-we should have d-done." She took in a deep breath and loud out a sigh. "F-from what it s-sounds like, i-it wouldn't do a-anything for m-me." She winced from pain coming from her skull. She knew what was happening, but tried to ignore it.
"I-It seems like...Erin really w-wants to meet y-you." She stared at Cienna for a moment, before the pain became way more intense. "P-Please be c-careful. A-and don't worry about h-hurting m-me," she concluded, releasing her hand. With that, Julie's body fell on the ground. She began to spasm, her eyes rolling back into her head. She was making a strange noise, one that sounded like screaming but like laughing. Her hair began to turn a dark brown and 'boingy', and began to grow longer. Her skin began to darken too.

Stride grinned broadly beneath her mask. “Good shit, ain’t it? This place’s got the best damn chips I’ve ever had, can tell ya that.” As if to prove her point, she pulled the fabric back down and tossed back another handful of chips, showing a glimpse of nearly vampiric fangs before her mouth shut again. Up again went the mask, and her expression was once again rendered unreadable. She crunched thoughtfully around her mouthful as she listened, and, after swallowing, there was genuine sympathy in her voice.

“Well. Damn. That fuckin’- that fuckin’ sucks, guy. Sorry to hear ‘bout that.” Even without Fritz saying anything, it was clear enough from the whole “soulmate” thing that the lady had probably been a girlfriend or a wife or something along those lines. Unfortunately for Fried, however, Stride wasn’t exactly a therapist, so the next words that came out of her mouth were,

“Oi, bartender, could ya get me two more whiskeys?”

As soon as the order arrived, Stride pushed the second over, and immediately dove into the first. “So, you’re a demon, yeah? That’s pretty damn cool.” She took a shot, nodding to herself over the information.

“I’m a halfer. Dad’s a gorgon, mom’s human. Been alive and kickin’ for...” Stride trailed off, glancing at the ceiling and furrowing her brow. “Shit. Turned...forty two a while back. I think.”

Another shot. The casual air suddenly seemed to drain from her body as she looked back over to Fritz, then back to her drink. She took a deep breath.

“Hey, look, Freid. Ya seem like a real nice guy. Real classy n’ shit. But the thing is, I don’t really, ya know, believe in the whole…” Stride lifted her hands, giving an overarching gesture. “‘Love at first sight’ shit. Ya know? You don’t know me, and I sure as hell don’t know who you are, so it’d be kinda fucked up to have to start actin’ all lovey n’ shit right off the bat.” She scratched the back of her head. Her hair was moving as if it had a life of its own, twisting and turning and folding in on itself in lashing tendrils.

“So, ya just, y’know, wanna try bein’ pals or somethin’ like that?”

@Erklings25

@BlackPanther

Owen nodded as he walked towards the couch and flopped down. He had never been in another person's apartment so this was all new for him. He watched as the wraith kept slinking around them like it was some sort caged animal. Owen wanted to banish the thing but that seemed like a first date mistake. Nothing ruined the mood quite like throwing around Latin. Owen had learned that after the last time he had tried to banish a poltergeist in the middle of a fancy restaurant.

"I should have guessed that one... I mean my guess was going to be that you loved wolves. " Owen joked as he looked out at the rainy night. "I like birds. They seem to be the best animals around. I hope you don't try to eat my raven. If you are into that kind of thing. It's your turn for a question. Ask me whatever you want to know. Like what is my favorite food? Or... Whatever else. Owen said not doing great at this date thing. Most of them ended with his dates getting covered in ectoplasm or blood. Owen had just given up after the last time.

Feeling Julies hands reach out and hold hers was a calming influence on her racing heart however the touch itself still felt like electricity racing through her setting all her nerves where Julie touched alight with exhilaration.
"It's okay. I-I don't mind. We've all done strange t-things o-or things that we don't know if w-we should have d-done."
It’s not that she shouldn’t have done it, she would have been a burden to everyone had her choice been anything other than what it was, it seemed to Cienna that fate itself had made the choice for her and she had to just live her life the best she could. Though it was a good feeling to know that someone else knew what it was like to live with a darkness that must be held back.
"F-from what it s-sounds like, i-it wouldn't do a-anything for m-me."
This was probably true, and made Cienna think about the spell at its core, it was used to maintain balance but that was within one person, what would it do with two individuals trapped within the same body. At that point, she heard Julie wince in pain and immediately became alert but before she could do anything she heard Julie say.
"I-It seems like...Erin really w-wants to meet y-you."
"P-Please be c-careful. A-and don't worry about h-hurting m-me,"
After that she heard Julie hit the ground followed by a cacophony of different sounds coming from the location where Julie was laying on the ground. She jumped up and lifted off the ground in a kind of panic state everything was blurred to her wind sense the only thing she was concerned about was Julie, she landed beside her body and reached down to grab her.
“a… are…are you… are you ok….” She stuttered out panicked. In all of her experience she had no idea what to do, even in her stories and different books she had read she had never experienced anything like this, she was unable to see the physical metamorphosis that Julie was undergoing so she had no idea what had happened her wings would be fluttering around as she attempted to gather any information about what was happening, however due to the panic grasping her mind she couldn’t interpret the signals properly.

@Avanhelsing
Abel watched Owen flop onto the couch and tilted his head. He wondered what his soulmate was thinking. If he lived up to what Owen expected him to be....or if he was different in a good way. He sincerely hoped he wasn't different in a bad way. That would be horrible.

Abel gave a smile at his guess. "Wolves are mean" it was a teasing tone, but wolves could be mean. At least...in his experience anyway. He chuckled. "I can't promise that your raven would like me, but I can promise I won't eat it" A smile before he had a look of thoughtfulness.

"what did you picture I would look like?" a bold question, but the thoughts were killing him. A look of curiosity filled his cobalt blue eyes that were locked on Owen.

As Cienna reached down and grabbed her, Julie's eyes rolled back to the correct position and she grabbed on to the fairy's wrist. But it wasn't Julie anymore. She threw the small creature over her, before sitting up. Her eyes were brown now, with a red tint to it. Not that that really mattered, though.
She stood up, looking over to where Cienna was and squinting her eyes. "So. We meet in person. Although, you'll have no idea what I look like. You don't even know what Jules looks like. That's pathetic." Instead of walking over to the fairy, Erin sassily walked into the kitchen.
"I'm fixin' myself a real drink. You want any? I may be a demon, but I'm not rude." she asked Cienna as she pulled down a bottle of Fireball from a non-tea cabinet. She didn't even bother to pull out any glasses. She simply opened the bottle and took a swig, shaking her head and slamming the bottle down on the counter after. She took the bottle with her as she walked over to Cienna in the living room.
"It's so good to stretch and be free, ya know?" She tilted her head at the fairy, giving a little maniacal giggle. "Oooooh yessssss. I bet you know all about that." She took another swig.

As Cienna was grabbed and then tossed she caught herself in the air her wings fully fanned out now she felt a shift now, it was as if Julie was no longer in the room, her aura was all wrong it felt, well almost an opposite to what Julie was. The presence seemed almost intoxicating to the side of Cienna that she kept supressed with magic making the equilibrium slip just a little.
"So. We meet in person. Although, you'll have no idea what I look like. You don't even know what Jules looks like. That's pathetic.”
A small smile crossed her lips, it wasn’t quite as dark as the one in the café, no this one was more of knowing something that others don’t. Her thoughts were confirmed this was no longer Julie as her other senses had told her, No this was Erin. She would lower herself to the ground her wings not folding back however remaining in their expanded positions. She would walk towards where Erin was sitting her hips swaying as she walked.
“Who said I need to see” her tone would be two or three times as sultry as it had been before and the soft glow her body was giving off would shift in colour ever so lightly. Those with extremely keen eye sight might have noticed the soft white glow had just become a shade darker.
"I'm fixin' myself a real drink. You want any? I may be a demon, but I'm not rude."
‘that’s not a good idea’ she thought to herself however couldn’t help but nod towards Erin, “Now you mention it I could use something a bit stronger.” It had been a long time since her Equilibrium had shifted and the last time she was like this was years ago, when a certain Elven girl called her a party animal.
"It's so good to stretch and be free, ya know?"
"Oooooh yessssss. I bet you know all about that."
She would giggle at this, she couldn’t think why this was actually funny but her mind was beginning to cloud as it usually did with the fall of balance in her mind, the slow polar shift that occurred was not exactly subtle especially as she had been balanced for over one hundred years now the darkness was vying to be freed and so it acted faster than it otherwise might have if she had allowed herself some other outs instead of only relying on magic to hold it at bay.

She would let a smile crawl across her face revealing her small but clearly evident fangs to Erin. “So Erin…” she would pause to twirl slowly on the spot showing off her body “What do you think.” She was playing with the fact that Erin had made fun of the fact she could not see, so she wanted to make sure that she saw everything.
After her brief twirl, she grabbed the bottle of fireball off Erin and swallowed a disproportionately large swig of it before handing it back. A sigh escaped her lips as she savoured the burn and the flavour. “ she would then raise up off the floor standing on the coffee table and dancing to a rhythm that only she could hear.

“Who said I need to see” She heard the fairy say, and she liked the tone she was using. Something washed over the demon and a grin spread across her face. She watched the small creature as she began to twirl and examined her with great interest, taking another swig from the bottle. Before, she hadn't been so sure about this creature. She hadn't really liked her, just like she hadn't liked all the others that Jules had had. But now.... She watched the glow around the fairy shifting colours.
“So Erin...What do you think?” As Cienna took the bottle from her and took a drink of her own, Erin raised one eyebrow. "I think, you're more interesting than I initially realized. I think, we have much more in common than you and Jules do. I think," she continued, leaning forward as she watched the fairy dance. "I want you all to myself." A new type of grin appeared on Erin's face, and a new look washed over her eyes. One of wanting, or maybe it was of needing.

"I think, you're more interesting than I initially realized. I think, we have much more in common than you and Jules do. I think,"
"I want you all to myself."
A giggle would pass from her lips as she twirled again proceeding to dance in a fashion that would not be out of place if you were to visit an establishment in a seedier part of town. She would reach out taking the bottle out of Erin’s hand and taking another swig from it, her mind all but shut down now she was running on her instincts. She would make sure she was facing Erin tracking the heartbeat of the demon before her with her ears, a look on her face of pure bliss as if she was free for once, or that she didn’t have to restrain herself.
A breeze would begin to pick up swirling around her as she continued to dance causing the frills of her Teddy to spin up as well as her pony tail, She would close her eyes letting herself go. “You think you can keep up with me?” her tone nothing if not filled with desire. “I hope I don’t break you…” the last bit was added with a little more darkness yet still full of lust. She would spin downing the rest of the bottle which would surprise anyone that hadn’t seen her or others like her when they fall and give into their wilder side.
Her glow began to fall a shade at a time while her eyes when she had them open seemed to become brighter along with her wings creating an odd effect where parts of her body become far darker when compared to others.

Erin sat back and relaxed on the couch as she watched Cienna continue to dance. She tilted her head and a toothy grin appeared on her face, one that showed her own pointy teeth. This was what she had missed. What she had been restrained from for so long. What the both had. The dancing, and the girls, and the alcohol, and just all of it. As the Dark fairy took her bottle and chugged down the rest, Erin burst out laughing. She had never seen another down that much as quickly as she could.
"Please...Erin...stop...I-I don't want this! I-I want my f-fairy back! I-I want m-my Cienna back!" Erin gave a small giggle, shaking her head.
"It's too late, Jules. Your fairy was never there," she whispered, continuing to enjoy Cienna's dance.
“You think you can keep up with me? I hope I don’t break you…” At this, Erin laughed again.
"Break me? Do you even know who I am?" she returned. She liked the way the glow was darkening, like Cienna truly was as Dark fairy. It fascinated Erin that there could possibly be another creature worse than her. The breeze that Erin felt gave her an idea.
"Erin. Please," she heard Julie beg. But she ignored her. "I'm enticed. What power do you really have, dark Tinkerbell," she said with a sneer.

"I'm enticed. What power do you really have, dark Tinkerbell,"
Whatever else Erin might have said was forgotten or ignored the moment the word Tinkerbell left her lips, Cienna felt it before it happened and she knew now it was too far to stop it she quickly cast a time lock spell on herself feeling the equilibrium spell shattering. The time lock would restore her to balance the moment her anger was spent.
A magic circle would appear expanding outwards from her hips forming a pentagram that would glow brightly before shattering into a thousand shards and vanishing. The glow around her body would immediately turn pitch black while her wings and eyes would become pure white. The offset of one of those who had taken darkness as their calling now gripping her in the throes of anger. Where before her smile was playful if not flirty now the smile revealed true malice and intent to harm. She would turn towards Erin the wind now pushing down on her body enough to freeze her in place.
“What did you call me?” her tone dripping with malice. Stepping of the table she positioned herself in front of Erin her small hands coming up as the wind spiralled around them faster and faster forming a small vortex around them. She would reach out trailing her pointer finger of her right hand along Erins leg the vortex would twist and contort the clothing tearing them in places that they were not tight enough. “It sounded like you called me Tinkerbell” she would add with a sneer.

The mood dropped too suddenly, and Erin realized she had aggravated Cienna. And not in a good way. The glow was black, and her eyes and wings were white. An unexpected twist to the evening. She didn't intend to move at all before, but now Cienna's wind was pushing down on her forcefully.
“What did you call me?” Her tone was no longer a coquettish one, but one with true power. The Dark fairy stepped down off the table and closer to Erin, where the toothy grin was still pasted on her face. Wind trapped them in the same space. The demon let out a breath as Cienna's hand ran down her leg and the wind from it ripped her pant leg, never losing eye contact. Even though that didn't matter, Erin knew it would matter to some extent.
“It sounded like you called me Tinkerbell."
Erin knew she needed to choose her next words carefully, but the buzz from the alcohol dazed this fact.
"Erin..." Julie warned.
There was the sound of wind for a minute as Erin watched the fairy.
"Surely, this can't be all you can do," Erin began her reply. She looked over Cienna again, before coming to her conclusion. "Fine. I won't call you that. Julie hates it when I call her Jules. And you hate it when I call you that other fairy. I'll say that I'm really tempted to; I want to see where it would go. Mmmmmmh. I'd really enjoy the pain. Haven't felt some in awhile. Mmmmmh." The demon struggled not to use her teasing abilities. She finally sighed. "Fuck it. Show me whatcha got, Tinkerbell."