Estylwen
Zombiedude101
FernStone
Mixtape Ghost N
Atrophy
NoriWasHere
Sky Blue
TokyoPewPew
Framing A Moose
Leon
Le Tournesol
Sunday 5th November, 5:50pmThe start of a Sunday night shift, after working until 4am last night and basically not sleeping the night before... Linqian already wanted to leave. She arrived a bit early, with her brother insisting she gave him a lift into downtown St Portwell for something just before her shift started. There was no point in her going anywhere else, so she just headed in... She could just hang around the bar for the next fifteen minutes.
She went into the back room, shoving her bag and thin jacket into her locker. This left her in a heart-line bodice crop top (she definitely hadn’t worn a push up bra underneath to make it look nicer…), and tight black jeans. She pulled her apron around her waist with a sigh.
She really didn't want to suffer through this shift. The last two days had been difficult, between the magic induced hallucinations and Henri coming to her in a panic about having magic… While the night with Greyson and Britney had helped her forget at the time, it had all come crashing back the next day. Plus the Saturday night shift had been hell... And she didn't expect this one to be any better.
Because she'd have to suffer through amateur entertainers.
Linqian came back out from the break room, slipping behind the bar with a nod to her two coworkers finishing up their shift. There was no sign of the two doing the evening shift with her yet... But technically, it was ten minutes till she started.
The bar was busy. Low level music filled the background of loud talking and clinking of glasses. There were only a few free tables, half of the seats at the bar taken up. Low lights added to the atmosphere and warm smells permeated the air from the food still served. The bar itself had red wood lining the front and backs, matching the slightly subtler, red tinted dark wood of the tables and chairs. It had a cozy warmth to it - welcoming and easy to sit in for a talk, rather than being flashy. Even if it wasn’t really a spot for students there was still a mix of ages hanging out here.
Linqian grabbed herself a glass of water, before leaning over the bar with a heavy sigh. Andre looked up at her from where he sat at the bar, balancing books or doing some other kind of smart thing to do with running a bar.
"You're early," Andre commented, with a raised eyebrow. She rolled her eyes at him.
”What, worried I’ll charge you for these hours? Don’t worry,” Linqian raised her glass. ”I’m just chilling before my shift. Yi-er needed a lift for some shit.”
“Ah.” Andre gave her a knowing look, with a sympathetic smile that irritated Linqian.
It wasn’t like driving her brother around was a hardship. Before, they’d only had one car between the three of them. Having two was a luxury she could hardly afford.
"I heard about Henri," Andre continued, switching to Kituba. "It was only a matter of time before he kindled. If anything, he's late. In the Temple-"
”Don't mention that,” Linqian rolled her eyes at him, speaking awkwardly. It wasn't a language she was as fluent in, and she'd lost a bit of her ability in speaking it. Normally she'd just reply in English... But there was much less risk of someone overhearing them talking about magic this way. ”Do you know what caused him to kindle? Failing his exams! He has it too easy.”
"And who's fault is that?"
”Should I have forced him? No way.”
"I wasn’t suggesting that… What can he do? Do you have plans to help him train?"
”You think I have time? He- I would need to explain in English. Later. He’ll figure it out on his own, I did.”
"You know I can help him if you let him train with the Temple. They’re set up for just this kind of thing - they specialise in working with young Adepts to develop and hone their spells."
Linqian’s eyes narrowed, and she let out an explosive string of expletives in Chinese in response. She didn’t have the words to express herself in Kituba - or even English, really.
”No.” Linqian awkwardly changed language again, pointing a finger at him. ”I’m not letting him near them.”
"I won’t force you,” Andre smiled, holding up his hands. "Just think about it. If not, he can practice with Louis.”
”Louis, maybe, Temple, no.” Linqian said shortly, turning her body away from him to indicate she was done with this conversation.
She pulled out her phone to check the time. Nearly six… both when she started work, and she’d invited Aryin to come to the bar for.
There was some kind of open mic night that happened most Sundays, which she'd thankfully avoided up until this point... But she finally had to work it. And Aryin was the artsy type and could sing and shit. Linqian figured they'd enjoy it, and she'd get some company out of it.
Hopefully that bitch wouldn’t be too late so she didn’t have to suffer alone.
Linqian eyed the bar stool next to Andre. So long as no one sat there... And he fucked off when her shift properly started. She wasn’t going to be chatting shit with Aryin while her boss was right there.
”What time does that start?” Linqian switched back to English and turned back towards Andre, nodding towards the microphone set up on the left hand side of the room. The space had been cleared for a slight stage to be set up, just a single level elevation. Tables were more cramped together in that area, chairs shifted slightly to face it.
“Anytime from six,” Andre replied. “Normally we don’t get anyone till about ten past… There’s some regulars. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”
”I’m sure I fucking won’t,” Linqian rolled her eyes at what was probably meant to be a joke, delivered completely deadpan.
“You have no choice but to,” Andre snorted, closing his notebook. “Don’t even think about hiding in the backroom. I’ll know.”
”Have I ever? You know I have a good fucking work ethic, I’m not like Sop- Heyyy, Sophie, you’re early!” Linqian swapped to a customer service smile as a shorter, blond girl appeared behind the bar. She raised an eyebrow and smiled back, but didn’t saying anything.
Bitch. Why Andre had hired her, Linqian didn’t know.
”Are you staying this shift?” Linqian resisted rolling her eyes, turning back to Andre.
“Yes. It can get busy, and I might need to step in depending on… the performers.”
”But not here,” Linqian gestured to the two bar stools in front of her.
“What’re you planning to do that you want me to move?”
”Nothing- I’ve just got someone coming, fuck, can’t I have some fucking peace?”
“A friend?” Andre’s eyebrow raised, lips pulling up into a smile. Linqian didn’t like that smile. Sure, Andre smiled quite a lot… but this was the kind of smile he had when he was about to start prying. She didn’t want to deal with that.
”I guess, does it fucking matter? Maybe it’s just some random asshole I met recently.”
“Soooooo..” A masculine voice interjected into the conversation. “6 o’clock, I can hop up and do my thing?” The man was named Jackson, and despite the sun setting outside he still had his sunglasses on. He wore a basic outfit that shouted ‘I have no idea what fashion is’ as he wore pink chinos, a navy blue t-shirt, and a black bomber jacket overtop. “I figured I’d start earlier this week, the late night crowd is soooo tough!”
Andre turned his head towards Jackson… who he recognised as an unfortunate open mic regular. Very unfortunate. But still a customer, technically. “The floor’s open from then.”
”The earlier crowd ain’t any easier, buddy,” Linqian snorted from behind the bar… Though she was talking more about serving that whatever the fuck he did.
“Oh my, are you from Tennessee? Because,” Jackson paused as he lowered his sunglasses, “you are the only ten I see here. Hi, I’m Jackson. You’re new to the open mic night. Don’t worry, cutie, I’ll be sure to put on my best show just for you.”
“Oh that,” Aryin couldn’t help but laugh at the pathetic pick up line, “Buddy, I hope that’s not a taste of what’s to come.” Aryin waved to Linqian and smiled a wide smile. Finally, the two could actually hang out. Even if Linqian was working this was something that Aryin had looked forward to for a few days. She needed a night of relaxation after that shit with 8 street, and with everything that she learned today. And she needed a drink, and a friend, to work through it. “I’ll tell you what, if you make me actually laugh with a joke I won’t break your nose for degrading my beautiful friend with that pickup line.”.
“We’re cool,” Jackson said as he flashed his palms, one hand revealed a half eaten apple, “challenge accepted.” Jackson took a bite of his apple as he turned around and headed for the stairs.
”What the fuck was that?” Linqian glared at Jackson’s back, taking a deep breath to keep her temper. She was used to being hit on while working - after all, she was hot as fuck - but that was the worst pickup line she’d ever heard. Bad enough she’d considered sacrificing her job to get a punch in. ”I hope that was his worst one, fuck… But it’s nice to see you, bitch.”
Linqian leaned over the bar and slapped Aryin on the shoulder. ”What do you want to drink?”
“Is she Sycamore?” Andre interrupted, eyebrow raised and smiling warmly at Aryin.
”Yeah, so?”
“Ten percent off any drinks.”
”What? Since fucking when?!”
“Since always,” Andre chuckled, standing up. “I’ll leave you to it… But remember, you are working.”
”Yeah, yeah,” Linqian muttered, waving him off. She rolled her eyes at his back and turned back to Aryin with a grin. ”Soooo… I guess I can give you a discount. How fucking lucky are you? What do you want?“
“Is he single? Joking,” Aryin said as she sat down and smiled at Linqian. “And I’m so fucking luck. Why don’t you be a doll and grab me….” Aryin paused as she looked over the tap selections, “a big ol’ St. Porter.”. Aryin was always a fan of the local beer scene in town and the St. Porter was her favorite. Strong, but not in your face about it, bitter without it being too much, and enough flavour notes to kill a mediaeval peasant from shock.
”He’s happily married, so hands to yourself,” Linqian rolled her eyes at her friend. Gross. Andre was the closest thing to an uncle she had, even if she didn't entirely view him as that. ”Coming right up…”
“You just broke my heart,” Aryin responded with a chuckle.
Linqian grabbed a glass, pulling down the handle of the St. Porter tap and letting the medium brown liquid pour into it. At the same time she turned to another customer to take his order. Just a couple of bottled beers, thankfully, so she grabbed those while Aryin's drink was pouring, very efficiently taking payment before going back to Aryin with a full glass of St. Porter beer.
”You want to keep a tab or pay now?” Linqian asked, leaning back over the bar towards Aryin. She raised her own glass, unfortunately filled with water. ”Next time we'll need to go out when I can drink… I'm always fucking working these days, but at least I can drink on the second job. Shit sucks when there's bills to pay and a little brother who thinks money comes out of my ass.”
She rolled her eyes. ”I can take it a bit easy. He owes me after I last minute covered half a shift yesterday- nearly twelve fucking hours of work!”
“One second,” Aryin said as they tapped on their phone, pulling up their bank app. They waited for a few seconds for the page to load and frowned when they saw their balance. “A tab is fine,” Aryin responded as they put away their phone. “Rent at the 317 is paid so I’m good to go!”. Aryin grabbed the beer and took a big, long, and thirsty drink from the beer. “I’ve needed this, thank you for inviting me out. I’m sure it was out of the kindness of your heart and not because you were desperate for something fun to happen here tonight.”
Linqian pulled out a small notepad from her apron, quickly noted down the amount before shoving it back in her pocket. ”Course it was, I'm so kind I'm practically a fucking saint. Definitely not so someone has to suffer through open mic night with me too.” She snorted. ”Sooo you're living at 317 now that… some kinda fucking pretentious art group right? I always knew you were the type. Fucking artsy and shit, going places us small brained non artsy types can’t. Dunno how you can put up with so many people like that, though… the rent cheap, at least?”
“Oh I don’t live there, I just rent a room where people can buy my stuff. Rent that pays for the privilege of selling my stuff. Thankfully it’s not too expensive, they don’t want their artist to struggle you know? I live in a townhome just down the road….. which I can no longer afford after today, ” Aryin sighed as she downed the rest of the beer. It was a slow process but a process that seemed to bring great joy to Aryin, and the foam was wiped from her mouth a moment later. “I might need a second job after this, maybe a third. Maybe I just need another beer.”. Aryin joked as she stuck her tongue out.
”Shit,” Linqian said very elaborately. She took Aryin's empty beer glass and just reused it, because fuck cleaning that, pulling down the tap of the same beer. She leaned around it with more of a serious look than normal. Sure, she got Aryin trying to joke about the situation… she would. She was also considering a third job- but she could actually help with this. ”Move in with me- no this isn't some fucking proposal for tax benefits, don't get any fucking ideas… look, I've got a spare room at my place. I can't guarantee I won't lose it… Jinhai paid for the mortgage before, but with the two jobs it's fine just now. It'll need tidied, but it's pretty fucking nice. You can just contribute whatever you can, pay a bit towards food and shit. I automatically cook for three anyway.”
She held out the newly poured beer with a half grin. ”Us poor fucks gotta stick together… and if you really need a second job, I can ask Andre- my boss here- to look around. I'd ask the other one too but… I doubt you wanna be anywhere near him, heh.”
“Shut up,” Aryin said as she leaned back in her chair. “Shit”. Aryin leaned forward and grab her glass of beer as she looked Linqian in the eyes. “Shut the fuck up. That is so fucking nice dude,” Aryin took a healthy swig of her beer, “I’ve been on a month to month lease for a while now, so I’d just have to let the landlord know. And I don’t own a lot of furniture because I did not realise how expensive it would be. Are you sure, friend? Like I didn’t want to put you on the spot like that. You can say no. I’m physically out of your life for ten years and all it takes is one week for you to invite me into your home?”
”I’m sure, it doesn’t make shit anymore expensive for me,” Linqian shrugged, reaching over to slap Aryin on the shoulder again. ”I technically own my place so long as I keep up with the fucking payments, and it was big enough for a family of five… just about. Honestly it feels empty with just the two of us. It’ll help having someone who actually fucking looks after the place- Fuck, it’ll really help actually, cause I’m paying for everything myself. And with Jinhai’s student debts…” Linqian waved a hand with a hiss of annoyance. And all the other debts she didn’t want to mention to anyone. ”I wouldn’t be giving this offer to anyone else, you ass.”
“Well shit,” Aryin smirked as they looked down. Their face betrayed the complex emotions that was being worked on inside their mind. If only they had the mental bandwidth to deal with these emotions in the moment. Linqian was always their friend, and with everything going on with father wolf and with the alliance they could use more friend time every day, and could use the financial stability of ending their lease. But at the same time she did not want to make Linqian hate her. The fastest way to ruin a friendship was to become roommates. For some reason, Aryin knew that their friendship could survive it. “Can I buy my roommate a beer here,” Aryin whispered as she looked around for Linqian’s boss.
Linqian tilted her head, eyes drifting to find Andre. He was sitting a good distance away, talking with someone Linqian didn’t recognise. Hopefully not a Temple member… ewgh, just thinking about that cult gave her the chills. She looked back at Aryin with a grin. ”Sure can. So long as he doesn’t find out… even if he does, whatever. He won’t fire me. He just knows my mom would come fucking haunt him.” She grabbed another glass, glancing over the taps. She went for a different local beer - the Cracker, aptly named after Cracker island. It was a pale ale - light, hoppy and bitter. Not too heavy either, which she needed. Thankfully she’d had food before coming to work…
”Cheers, to a good fucking night,” Linqian raised her glass, taking a large swig. ”Fuck, that’s good. So… should I fill you in on some of the shit you missed? It’s been fucking wild. Fuck, last time wasn’t even that bad/”
“Fill me in and I’ll fill you in,” Aryin paused as she questioned her word choice, accepting what she said by sticking her tongue out, “shits about to go down.”
”Ohhh, you couldn’t handle filling me in,” Linqian teased, with a wink and a smirk. ”Fuck, really? I guess I’ll start… Where do I even? First meeting was a bust. We went after this fucking daddy wolf or something- some small time gang leader. Then Alizee went off the rails, got us all shot at and herself killed. Fuck! It was insane… getting shot sucks. And I didn’t get any fucking information, so I lost out on a shit ton of cash!”
Linqian rolled her eyes… she should probably explain that shit. Later. ”Meeting two, we get raided by the magical feds… That also fucking sucked. You know who’s with them now? Bianca! Fuck. Bitch didn’t even give me any information after- which meant less money!” Linqian took a long drink, glancing around… just in case Andre had snuck up on her. ”I’ll come clean before you find out and get on my ass about it- I’m working for Greyson as a second job. Figured he’s got the money, I need the money. It just makes the lack of progress shit for both my wallet and y’know… solving the fucking problem.”
Aryin was stunned into silence. Greyson? The made man? The one they voted out of the coven? The one who used his abstraction to do some shitty things? Aryin raised a singular finger up as she used her other hand to grab her beer and began the long, drawn out process of drinking the entire beer from top to bottom. It took several long seconds. As they put the glass down, they looked to Linqian. Fuck. She wasn’t drunk enough for her response yet. She raised her finger again and asked for one more.
”Fucking hell, it’s not that bad,” Linqian rolled her eyes, grabbing the glass and filling it back up. It wasn’t a long process, thankfully, and she slid it back over to Aryin. She shot her a look that said ‘hurry up and drink and get it over with, then.’
Aryin grabbed the drink and began the process of drinking the entire beer from top to bottom. It took several long seconds. As they put the glass down they looked to Linqian. Fuck. She was going to tell her. “I trust you,” Aryin said as they leaned forward and used her free hand to grab Linqian’s from across the bar. “I only knew Greyson a decade ago and I don’t know the man he’s become. I don’t trust him, but I do trust you. If he ever, ever hurts you or puts you in danger I’ll rip his dick off. If you ever need help, you tell me and I’ll take care of you,” Aryin finished with a quick nod. “Fuck I drank those too quick.”
”No shit,” Linqian snorted, squeezing Aryin’s hand before pulling hers away. She moved her glass back, decidedly not pouring her another one. ”He isn’t so bad- well, fuck, i was friends with him then too. I don’t entirely trust him- don’t trust many of em, honestly- but he and Britney are the only other ones who’ve done shit to help me so far. Don’t worry… If he does anything there won’t be a dick left, cause I’ll have burned it off myself. Though…” Linqian trailed off, looking thoughtful. ”It’d be a shame, it was pretty fucking good...” She coughed. ”What’s your shit?”
“No shit? Greyson,” Aryin had a flabbergasted look on her face, “well good for you, you fucking bitch,” Aryin laughed. “Good for you though, I haven’t had any luck. Hard to have a good time when your this durable you know?” Aryin face went wide with shock. “So your shit is sooooo wild, makes mine look small in comparison,” Aryin leaned on closer and beckoned Linqian in so she could whisper. “We have an alliance with Greenwood. Like an alliance alliance,” Aryin whispered.
”Hey, we’ll find someone who’ll make you feel great yet… just switch,” Linqian smirked, swirling her finger in the air. She then leaned in too, tilting her head so her ear was towards Aryin’s lips. ”Oh shit like.. You as in 317, yeah? Wait… Who the fuck are Greenwood? I think they were there during the gunfight but fuck. You know I haven’t been in town for a decade, I don’t know any of these factions and shit.”
“They are legit,” Aryin said as she looked around, “I fought with them against the Nazis. With the bullshit rising by the day it seems we’re getting ready to,” Aryin went silent as she mouthed a ‘fight’ as she looked around.
“LADIES-“ the mic feedback blared across the entire bar. “Oh sorry,” Jackson smirked as he looked across the room. His eyes rested on Linqian. “Ladies,” Jackson said as he pointed across the room towards Linqian, and then to a few other women. “Gentlemen,” Jackson pointed to a few guys across the room, “and the one person who’s already threatened to break my nose,” Jackson smirked as he pointed to Aryin. Aryin spun in her seat and had a disinterested look on her face. Her arm was on the bar and her hand propped up her head. “Are you ready for a night filled with laughter? If so you’ve sadly come to the wrong show. The actual comedians are still at the bar making threats against the talent. But don’t let that dissuade you from paying attention to my show! I promise tonight is going to be a night you’ll never forget!”
”Was that… meant to be a joke?” Linqian said quietly, leaning over the bar beside Aryin. Her eyebrow raised and she rolled her eyes at Jackson so much as looking in their direction. She raised her glass to her mouth before taking a long drink to finish it off. Fuck, something told her she’d need another… but she couldn’t. One was already pushing it. ”I already want to forget it.”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Aryin said with an eye roll of her own.
“So! Anyone here know the difference between a hippo and a zippo? Well, one is real heavy while the others a little lighter. Still heavy enough to break this ice, I’m Jackson smith. I started my comedy career over in Seattle, and I have had a deep love for the craft. St. Portwell is a fantastic city, truly one of a kind on the west coast. The seafood here is fantastic, the people are,” he paused as he looked at Aryin and sighed, “fantastic, and there are so many locations that you just have to sea,” Jordan paused for applause and laughter but only Aryin’s cough filled the air. “And how could I forget the various groups that call it home! Let me paint a picture about this lovely little place called the 317,” Jackson continued from there but Aryin pulled herself away.
“After he’s done I’ll grab the mic. I’ll give them a performance,” Aryin paused as she looked down and spotted the second open chair, “we could always invite another friend out, maybe someone hot. I could use some eye candy after whatever this is.”
”Please, beat him over the fucking head with the mic,” Linqian groaned. This was awful. She could feel her already lacking will to live slipping away further. ”Shit, I need more than eye candy to handle this. But… the only friends I've got are Greyson and Britney. You gotta suffer the shit that comes outta his mouth to get to the hotness underneath, and Brit… nah, that'd be unfair to her. Fuck.”
“So the trip here was not easy, let me tell you. I had to drive myself in my moving truck in the summer and as I hit the halfway mark I kid you not I got stuck in a blizzard. Yeah I know right? A blizzard in summertime on the west coast of the United States of America. It’s hard to believe but I promise you this happened. It was like I had pissed off a powerful magical entity and they wanted their revenge on me by ruining what was a wonderful drive up to that point. Anyway, I crash the truck, glass went everywhere, and I thought I was going to die right then, right there. But then I heard this noise,” Jackson paused as he looked around the room, “a noise more beautiful and alluring than any I’ve heard before. Somehow this sound gave me the strength to break out of the truck, stumble my way across a snow covered field, until I happened to arrive at a cov- a monastery. I knocked on the door and was pulled inside by the priest. He was a tall man, average build, and he had this look of concern on his face. He fed me, gave me warmer clothes, and gave me a bed,”
“He totally wanted to say coven, right?,”
”He totally did- and if he’d died, we wouldn’t be suffering like this.” Linqian rolled her eyes. The only benefit to the suffering was that very few people were coming up to order drinks… if anything, they seemed to be considering leaving. But the mention of a coven-monastery had her brain moving. There was someone they could maybe get out. ”Hey, you heard of the Temple? Fucking mag- religious cult.”
“I mean I’m aware of them,” Aryin knew they liked to prey on the weak and vulnerable. A shitty group filled with some good people. “why? Do you want to go covert to their faith as a joke tonight? I’m not saying I’m down but I could be down if it got me away from this,” Aryin said with a sigh.
“And then I heard that sound again. It woke me from this deep sleep I was able to fall into. It only lasted a minute, and I was able to fall back asleep. The second night I was still recovering so I was once again in bed when I heard it again. It was so beautiful that I rose out of bed, wandered the halls of this monastery, and finally saw a sight that confused me. These monks would go through this door, and as the door opened I could hear that most beautiful sound once again. I watched seven monks go through that door that night. I tried to follow them but another monk stopped me and said only three monks can go through those doors. I knew I had to figure out what it was, you know? So the next morning I asked my friend ‘Hey, I saw you all going through that door last night. What’s in there?’ and he simply laughed. He told me that I had to become a monk to learn what was behind the door. And as anyone in my position would do, I asked what I needed to do to become a monk. So he took me across the compound.”
“Okay, I don’t think it’ll be good but I kinda want to hear how this ends,” Aryin raised an eyebrow. Something was compelling her to listen intently.
”Yeah, I kinda want to know what the actual joke is…” Linqian furrowed her eyebrows. It was strange because she knew it would be bad, but she still felt she had to listen. ”I’ll finish my shit about the temple after- not converting, but something more fun.”
“In the first room he said that I would need to count every grain of sand found within the room. The room was big, really big. These monks had a full sized swimming pool in their monastery and it came with the beach….. He then took me outside and said I would need to count every blade of grass on the land. Mind you I could only stay here for a day or two more, but I told myself that I had to do it. I had to count the grains of sand, the blades of grass. My reward was worth it. So I started at once and I spent the next seven weeks trying to count it all and I did it.”
“Seventeen billion, one million, seven hundred and fifteen thousand grains of sand and five hundred million, seventeen thousand and one blade’s of grass. As soon as I told the guy he told me congratulations, that I was a monk now. And as a monk I was now allowed to see what was behind door number one. He took me there at once. When we got to the door, he held up a key ring and said that there were several doors that needed to be unlocked. He held up the first key and said it was for the first wooden door. He unlocked it, and we went through. He held up a second key and said this was for the sheet metal door. He unlocked it, and we went through. He held up a third key, and said this was for the door made of ice. He unlocked it, and we went through. He held up a fourth key, and said that this one was for the laser grid door. He held up a fifth key and said that was to turn off the traps, a sixth key to hide the sharks with lasers on their head, a seventh key to open the bank vault door and finally, finally he held up the final key. The final door was old, really, really old. You ever get the sense that you’re in the presence of some ancient power simply by how old their cage was? Anyway the monk unlocked the door and opened it up and I was finally able to see what was making that sound. It was beautiful. I truly wish that I could describe to you what I saw. It was that beautiful….. sadly none of you are monks so I can’t tell you what it was..”
Linqian's hand slammed down on the bar, temperature dropping enough to send ice across the wood towards Aryin. ”What the fuck?! Thats- that's not a fucking joke!” Linqian seethed, picking up her glass and downing the rest of the beer. It didn't do anything, because she'd actually eaten today… fuck! ”Fuck this.”
She glared at Jackson, then turned her head back towards Aryin. ”Alright, fuck, I brought up the temple cause Leon's part of it… yknow his mom runs it? She's hot as fuck, seriously, fuck if she wasn't a cult leader… anyway. My boss here is also part of that cu-” Linqian paused, noticing Andre's gaze moving towards her. She smiled and said, under her breath, ”fucking magical enhanced sense- hes part of the temple. Y'know whose fucking hot enough to distract us? Leon. Also enough of an ass I'd happily make him suffer… and fuck, do I want him to destroy me.” Linqian smirked. ”I bet I can get Andre to call him out.”
“Can he kill me? Like can he end my life right now? I need to die after that joke. I don’t know if I,” Aryin paused as she remembered back to the Halloween festival and the sights she saw as he changed into the toga, “Hot as fuck milf? Adonis himself?” Aryin smirked. “Okay bet, make the call!”
”Ohhhh yeah, she could make me call her mommy,” Linqian winked, laughing. She pulled another drink for Aryin first, pushing it over to her. ”Alright, let me go work my magic. Don't get too bored without me.”
She sidestepped, getting caught by another customer first. With a forced smile she served them as quickly as possible, before making her way out the right side of the bar. Andre had moved to a table near the back, with a direct line of sight of the bar, the microphone and the bar. Linqian took a moment to think about what to actually say before approaching him, leaning over the free chair next to him with a grin. Thankfully the person he’d been talking to had disappeared.
“What do you want?” Andre hit her with a hard stare.
”Very friendly, boss, I could be having an emergency,” Linqian rolled her eyes, stopping midway through when Andre’s eyes narrowed. Alright, fine, work hours, work mode. Somewhat polite, or something. ”I need you to make a call.”
“To who?” Andre’s eyes narrowed further, his expression scrutinising.
”Leon- You know, Leon Richoux, Temple bigshot.”
“And why would I call His Grace on your whim when you,” he gestured towards the bar, “are supposed to be working?”
”Fucking hell, Andre, his grace? Gross I’m losing respect for you by the minute-”
“Don’t make me dock your pay, Linqian.”
”You wouldn’t dare, mom would come haunt you,” Linqian pointed to the ceiling. ”It’s important Sycamore business. You know I don’t have much time around work…”
“His Grace knows about this?”
”Well… no… Last time we talked I,” Linqian grimaced, ”lost my shit a bit.”
Which she wasn’t so sorry for, unless it stopped her from having a night of fun… but Leon had gotten her a new car afterwards, so it was water under the bridge. She was sure he’d jump on the opportunity to be with two incredibly hot women.
”But it is important.” For morale and mainly her and Aryin retaining their sanity. ”Just don’t say it was from me… You did say to ask if I needed help, was that all bullshit?”
“Fine, I’ll call him… this once.”
”Great… Oh, it would be good if his mom came along too.”
“... I am not asking the Lady of Highest Grace to come on coven business. I’ll ask for His Grace, but that’s it. Is that all? If it is, get back to what I pay you to do.”
”Yeah, yeah, stingy bastard,” Linqian muttered under her breath. She went back behind the bar, once again having to serve a few people on her way towards Aryin. Thankfully, after all these years, it was like autopilot. Ask what they wanted, pour the beer, get their money, move on. Once the sudden crowds at the bar had cleared, she was back to her friend. ”Took way too fucking long, but he’s calling Leon in. If I had to hear him called ‘His Grace’ one more time I think I was going to vomit.”
“Thank fuck,” Aryin said as she sipped from her beer but stopped as the rusty gears turned in her brain, “his grace? So like, culty-culty? I mean I do have some religious trauma to work with….” she trailed off as she shot Linqian a devious grin.
”Ohhh yeah… it’s super culty,” Linqian smirked back. ”I wonder if he likes to be called that in bed- fuck, what’re you thinking of?”
“Hey as long as I get nailed to a cross at some point I might be able to overlook the cult part you know what I mean?” Aryin looked around the bar and back to Linqian. “I’ve called men worse in bed but his grace would be a new one fuck. Cults man,” Aryin shook her head with a smile.
”I’ve called men all sorts, but-” Linqian bit her lip, voice lowering as she leaned in closer to Aryin. ”I think screaming out forgive me, your grace, or getting punished in a kinky religious way… fuck… Leon better not disappoint.”
“Fuck,” Aryin spit out some beer at the phrase ‘forgive me, your grace’ and she covered her mouth with her hand. She grabbed a napkin and cleaned her face but she still couldn’t stop laughing at the mental imagery. “Fuck me Linqian,” Aryin locked eyes with her friend, “Leon better not disappoint..”
”I’ll burn his dick off if he does,” Linqian said, much more nonchalantly than what she’d said before. If this went nowhere, or he ended up being absolutely shit, she would be pissed and there was no telling what she’d do then. ”But I have a feeling he’ll be fucking good at that with how he was sooo into bossing people around before, and that fucking massive body. Hot as fuck to look at anyway.”
“Yesssss….” Aryin said as he placed her head into her hand and leaned her elbow on the desk as so many mental images flashed across her mind and none of them contained clothes. “The toga flashed moments of brilliance, I swear I saw heaven right in front of me. Did you know we used to box when we were kids? He was always the only one who’s punches I could actually feel. That’s strong. I wonder how strong he is now….” Aryin bit her lip as she looked at Linqian. Aryin felt like their face had grown warm and a smile spread across her face. Oh yah, the alcohol was working.
”Mmm, stronger, I bet,” Linqian looked over to the door in the hope that he'd walk through right then… but no, Andre had probably just made the call. Fuck, it was hard to keep her thoughts straight- and she was technically working! ”I don't want to be able to walk tomorrow- fuck, I'll need an excuse to get out of work.”
“And I just want to feel something for once,” Aryin chuckled, “It’s easy in the other form but he does not have the parts I’m looking to use right now you know what I mean?.”
”Oh I know,” Linqian smirked. ”I don't have the whole changing thing, but sometimes I want to be with one or the other, y'know.”
The sound of mic feedback drew Aryin’s attention and stole the smile from her face. “And how about the Halloween festival that we just had? What a fun, family friendly activity that place is! I had a friend who is no longer with us who loved events like this. He had a deep love for driving trains, that was his job and he dreamed of that job ever since he was a kid. I met him right before he made a mistake and derailed a train. He lived, but someone on the train died and the courts decided to throw every book at him and eventually they sentenced him to death. I know, crazy right? Sentenced to death over an accident! When the day of his execution came he simply request a single banana as his final meal. After he finished he was promptly strapped to the chair and the switch was thrown. Spark’s flew through the air, smoke filled it, and everyone gasped when they saw that my friend had lived.
How did he live? Obviously that was a question that lingered in the minds of everyone present. It turns out that a local law from way back in the day said that a failed execution was a sign of a divine intervention and thus, my friend was set free and he moved out of the country. He got another job as a train conductor in this new country. You would think that he would be more careful this time but no, no no no no, he made the same exact mistake as before, crashed a train and killed another person. Once again he was taken to court, and with knowledge of the first crash the court once again sentenced him to death. For his last meal the man requested two bananas and, once finished, was strapped to the chair and the switch was thrown. Spark’s flew through the air, smoke filled it, and everyone gasped when they saw that my friend had lived.
The warden of this prison wasn’t going to let that be the end, this time. He took the man back to his cell, waited a day, and then brought him back to the execution chamber. “I don’t care about the rules, I’ve had it with you and your stupid bananas and walking free from the deaths you’ve caused. You will not get a final meal this time, no more bananas, this time you die. The switch was thrown. Spark’s flew through the air, smoke filled it, and everyone gasped when they saw that my friend had lived a third time.
My friend looked at the warden and smirked, “oh the bananas had nothing to do with it I’m just a bad conductor.”
“Oh fuck off,” a man from the crowd screamed as he slammed his palm on the table.
“You suck,” a woman from the crowd spoke as she stood up and headed for the door.
“Linqian I’m going to swap. I want you to get a knife and stab me in my throat when I do,” Aryin groaned as she dropped her head to the car and hit it with a thud. There was something off about the delivery of the joke that seemingly made her want to give up and feel despair.
”Only if you slit my throat at the same time,” Linqian groaned. She wanted to die. The only thing that might save her was some hot as fuck guy to cleanse her eyes, and a way out of here.
As it happened, the bulk of the Richoux clan were in Andrade Salamente’s steakhouse, St. Ports, finishing up a meal to congratulate a promotion. It didn’t take long for the thought of an after event to get passed around the long table.
So, after maybe ten or fifteen minutes of waiting around, the color began to syphon from the room as black on black suits and gowns shuffled through the main entrance. It was easy to tell who was Richoux and who wasn’t, as none of them stood under six foot.
Genetics were crazy, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that such a magical family had a bit more to it. Naturally the group seemed to form a circle, and at the head wasn’t Leon. Rather, a not-so-familiar face with his arm wrapped around a much more familiar face. Slowly, they began to break apart as the hostess brought them to a larger table.
And then, like a mountain emerging from the mist of dark clouds, Leon Richoux stood tallest among them with his broad shoulders covered by a black shawl clasped around and held tight with a sparkling gold chain. His hair was pulled in, braided down the side and tied in the back with small cross-braids like a trestle bridge.
And, directly in front of him as if holding him by a leash, a woman draped almost entirely in gold, her raven hair and shimmering blue eyes contrasting against the near literal beam of light. She wore no shawl, nor cape or coat of any kind, relying on her son’s close proximity and the warmth of the buildings they were in to keep her temperature.
Lynette Hunter-Richoux, Lady of Highest Charm and Grace, One who Hears and Speaks as God, the Divine Orator. Her hands and neck were covered in rings and a thick chain of polished black stone that held some kind of reliquary or container on the end. While Leon smiled and held her hand, Casey and Trisha remained at their side. The woman herself grinned, looking about them.
”I hear that Sycamore has business with my boy! But I was more shocked to hear the venue… Leon? Introduce your mother properly?”
Leon grimaced a little bit, looking like a teen again. Still that same expression of embarrassment and guilt.
”Uh… Right. Curiosity aside, Linqian… You briefly met her, but this is my Mom, Lynette. Our Highest Charm and Grace. Mother, this is Linqian Han, we’d consider her a grade two. And… Aryin Thorne.”
Lynette’s eyes went wide and she stepped forward.
”This is the Shifter? My, Sweetheart… You’re filled with grand and infinite potential. Grading aside, such a unique abstraction. Why haven’t we had the pleasure of speaking yet?”
Leon gripped her shoulder.
”Let me… Let me get her over to Andre, and I’ll be right back. Trisha and Casey will keep you company, right Trisha? Introduce your boyfriend.-” Leon chided, his other hand wrapping around his mother’s waist and tugging her away from the very tight gap she’d made between herself and Aryin.
Casey Richoux looked down at Trisha and wiggled his eyebrows.
”See? You’re not the only one who gets the business. It’s literally all of you. The whole Coven.”
“The whole coven isn’t dating one of her children,” Trisha retorted lightheartedly. Her expression wasn’t… great when her gaze moved to Linqian and Aryin. She hadn’t exactly been well liked in the coven, especially towards the end. She especially didn’t want to introduce him to these two but… what choice did she have? “Linqian, Aryin, it’s… been a while. This is Casey, my boyfriend and Leon’s younger brother.”
”Holy shit.” Linqian was swinging between enjoying the mass of eye candy that had just walked in, very impolitely staring at just about every inch of Leon and Lynette, and wanting to end her life even more. A whole massive fucking group! All from the fucking cult that Andre held in such a high fucking regard… And there were only three of them working! And one of her coworkers, Sophie, was fucking useless. All she’d wanted was to have a real fucking good time. She reached over the bar and slapped Aryin on the shoulder, lowering her voice. ”Please tell me I’m fucking dreaming, and there’s only a couple of hot as fuck people causing me to hallucinate a whole fucking group.”
“She’s very beautiful,” Aryin squeaked out as the Madame left her personal bubble. Aryin did not know what to make of the feelings she was feeling. Her eyes shifted and caught Leon’s ass as he walked away, and could only think ‘firm’ at the sight of it. “Oh there’s only a couple of hot as fuck people, there’s not a whole group I promise bestie,” Aryin snapped out of the thirst trap and saw just how many people showed up. “I’m sorry,” Aryin whispered to confirm Linqian’s worst fears, “I did a summer of bartending but I doubt your boss would let me help.”
”Probably not,” Linqian groaned, finally actually looking at Trisha and Casey with a very forced smile. She raised her voice. ”It’s so nice to see you again, Trisha, and to meet you, Casey-” oh damn he was hot too, it was a shame he was taken, she wasn’t that much of a shit person.
”What do you want to drink?”
Trisha shrugged and looked up at Casey with a sweet smile, asking, “What do you want, babe? I’ll have the same.”
Linqian nearly gagged.
“Trisha? Oh my god hi it has, how have you been? And it’s a pleasure to meet you Casey,” Aryin said in soft tone, still stunned at the sheer presence that the madam carried.
Casey beamed down at Trisha, his arm rubbing her shoulder as the other hand went out to shake. His eyes trailed Aryin’s, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself as he caught her checking his mom out.
”Screwdriver? Ice, extra juice? I’m on duty now, officially, so… Can’t get too hammered. You can make hers’ as strong as you want though, I’ll just carry her home.”
He grinned again, holding around her. A younger woman walked up alongside, still wearing a black wool beanie despite her otherwise elegant dress.
”Booze time! Booze time! Booze time!”
The dress was low cut, and her scrawny, lanky arms reached around and up to tickle Casey’s neck.
”No, no! Get away! You’re not crowding Leon’s friend, I’m not letting you. We get drinks. The rest of you fuck off.”
”CASEEEEEEEEEY… MOOOOOOOOM!?!?”
Casey laughed loudly.
”This is my Sister Mia. Mia this is… Linqian? And Aryin.”
He pointed at them both in turn, and the clearly already drunk girl leaned forward.
”Baby bird the rum into my mouth. I swear I’ll pay.”
“Put it on my tab,” Aryin spoke with a confident tone, “I’ll do it Linqian, I swear I’ll do it.”
Linqian looked at Aryin, then at Mia. ”Will you pay extra if we both do it?”
“Oh my god, can you not?” Trisha groaned, leaning into Casey and closing her eyes.
”I’ll do your drinks first,” Linqian waved a hand… It was bartending etiquette, after all, as tempting as the money for… baby birding rum into another hot Richoux’s mouth was. “Do you have a tab, or-”
“It’s on the house, Linqian!” Andre shouted from half way across the room, green lux enhanced ears fucking picking up everything, of course.
”... on the house then.” Linqian resisted an eyeroll. She turned around to grab both a bottle of vodka and rum, swiftly mixing vodka and orange juice (one with more juice than the others) in two glasses before topping up with ice. She pushed them over to Casey and Trisha with a smile, pointing to the one on the left. ”Extra juice in that one.”
Then, she poured two shots of rum, holding one out to Aryin. ”You first.”
“Come here,” Aryin whispered loud enough for Mia to hear as she grabbed the shot and shot it back. She held it in her mouth and waited.
”Oh fuck, Mia come on dude… Where’s Hari? Trisha, can you please go get her?”
It was far too late. Mia was already slipping a small bundle of twenties out of the little purse she carried and sliding them onto the bar. Her legs swung over Aryin’s, sitting cowboy on her lap. Her arms slipped over Aryin’s shoulders, and she giggled.
”Wait… You’re the baby bird…”
Still looming over Aryin, Mia’s head dipped and parted the lips hiding her alcoholic treat. All at once, the suction saw Aryin’s mouth cleaned out entirely, with a satisfying swirling lick at the end. Mia pulled away with a gentle pop.
Aryin locked eyes with Mia as soon as the liquid left her mouth. “I guess I was the baby bird,” Aryin licked her lips seductively. Her eyes slowly shifted over to Linqian, “you can still be the baby bird with Linqian.”
“...I’m going to find Hari,” Trisha muttered, very quickly slipping away from Casey and back towards the larger group.
Mia giggled at Aryin. ”You’re pretty sturdy… I guess I could.”
Her arms wrapped tight around the back of Aryin’s neck, and she tilted herself back and to the side so that all her hair flowed over the bar.
As her head tilted back, her tongue lolled out of her mouth.
”Re-eee!”
”Fuck,” Linqian muttered under her breath. She picked up the other shot, knocking it back and holding it in her mouth. She then physically lifted herself up and slightly over the bar, all her weight on her lower arms, to reach Mia. She leaned over her, moving in close enough that their lips touched before parting her own and letting the rum flow into Mia’s mouth. She couldn’t resist letting her tongue follow for just a moment.
And what a blissful moment it was as Mia pushed back into the long kiss. Casey was in a state of shock at the rare form that the women of the Temple were in tonight. It had been a long evening, and despite the allure of some enjoyment, he could feel Trisha’s coiled nerves slowly growing.
It made him crave his new couch. Or even his office…
But before it went into full-blown soft-core territory, the cavalry arrived… Only to not be much help.
”Okay, alright! Breeeeeeeak it up, everyone’s favorite gash. Come on, as much as I’d love to reverse time and watch that happen again, you’re cut off.”
Hari’s arms tucked into Mia and began to pull her…
But, between her steel wrap around Aryin and the immovable nature of her current form, there wasn’t much of a chance of prying the moist barnacle off of its perch.
”Nooooo, Baby Biiiiiird! Baby BIRRRRRRRRRD!”
Hari wasn’t often at a loss, but the night was wearing on her.
”Mia, we were doing really fuckin’ good… Why ruin it now?”
”Baby bird! Baby bird! Baby bird!
But the bulky figure was making its way back now. Leon made it just in time to be useful.
”Mia! What the ever-fuck are you doing!?”
Like a child being disciplined, Mia immediately withdrew from all actions hitherto and skulked back to Hari’s side with a sullen expression. But, she did look back and smile at the two other Sycamore members.
”Thank yoooooou…”
Leon’s expression was frustration.
”I don’t know what the fuck’s with you tonight, Dude. But you’re fuckin’ cruising for a bruising I’ll tell you that. Hari’s gonna kill you when you sober up, you’re just diggin’ a deeper grave.”
The two girls left. Leon turned back to make sure the entire party had gotten to where they needed to go.
”Now… What’d I hear about Coven stuff? Does it involve Trisha here too?”
Trisha, who’d slipped right back into her spot next to Casey after collecting Hari, turned to Linqian and Aryin with an expectant look and slight frown.
”... I suppose it can,” Linqian lowered herself properly back behind the bar. How did she explain this? If it was just Leon it would be easier- figure out a lie, jump to seduction, profit. It didn’t work so well with another Sycamore member present. But… she could definitely swing this. Especially Petty Patty.
”The last meeting was a fucking shitshow, and it made me realise that- cough- we’re fucked if we keep up all the petty shit. I-” You can do this, Linqian. For the possibility of an amazing fucking night that would end in an inability to move! “- was pretty fucking unreasonable last time. We thought it’d be a good idea to… what’s the phrase? Bury the axe?”
Linqian shrugged, leaning toward Leon with a slight smile.
”So, what do you want to drink, Leon?”
“Yeah,” Aryin said with a wry laugh, “bury the hatchet,” Aryin looked to Linqian as she drank a beer.
”操你妈, 你是笨蛋,” Linqian rolled their eyes at Aryin, though her lips were still curved into a smirk. Her gaze moved back to Leon, not so subtly looking at his chest. ”Yes, that.”
“Especially after the shit show at Kari’s house I think we all needed to do a little introspection and see,” Aryin paused as her eyes slowly followed each and every muscle on his muscular frame. Clothes could not hide what she wanted to see. “We needed to see what was important. I miss sparring with you dude.” Awwwwww
Leon grinned a bit, chuckling to himself.
”Ah, so it’s parley. Hey, I can’t be mad at that.”
Casey snickered.
”I mean, I’m all for getting back to basics. How about you, Trisha, we burying axes and hatchets? Keeping the tree upright?” Leon looked down, shrugging his shoulders.
Trisha pursed her lips, looking between the three former coven members and then up at Casey. She didn't want to, not really, but she didn't want to be unnecessarily grumpy about it in front of him. “Yeah, we can bury them."
Casey nodded back down at Trisha silently, agreeing with her decision.
”I like that. Cheers to the Sycamore.” Casey said quietly, holding his drink up and nodding.
”Now, let’s go sit down. Come on. I’m getting moist vibes that Leon can mop up.”
His arm snapped out slightly, jabbing at Leon’s arm.
”Yeah yeah, go enjoy your night… I’ll roll back over when I’m free.” Leon nodded. Casey shook his head.
”You’ll never be free, Temple Dooooooooooo-”
Casey sang in a low metal signature, rolling his throat as Leon laughed and pushed him away.
”Go on, Troublemaker! Get! Shoo!”
As Casey and Trisha made for the table, only the trio remained. Leon sniffed gently, grinning to himself as he pulled his shawl off. His suit was incredibly filled out, his body nearly bursting it were it not for the fact that it was, in fact, perfectly tailored.
It just… Looked so puffy on him. The mountains and valleys of his arms and chest couldn’t help but make little shadows. The jacket came off as well, and he set them both down on a bar stool.
It wasn’t hard for him to smell human lust. Pheromones still oozed from every orifice on the human body from sweat to musk to more private glands altogether. As he smiled, a predator flashed long canines that tucked tightly together and gave him a devilish appeal. He rolled his sleeves up, massive tattooed forearms set with muscle and etched in veins.
”Now… You asked about a drink? I think I’ll take… Oh, did you guys get our shipment of Last Round?” he asked, looking at the fridge for the bottles of his family’s very own local IPA. ”Or, did it sell out again?”
Linqian didn't bother to hide her heated gaze as Leon removed his shawl, then his jacket, then revealed his incredibly muscular forearms. Oh shit, the things she wanted him to do with those- but she was still technically on the clock, even if Andre was incredibly distracted by the large Temple group that had come in. She'd serve him first, think about that after…
”No need to fucking brag about it, we just got it yesterday.” Linqian snorted.
She turned around and bent over to open up the fridge at the back, taking an unnecessarily long time to pull out a bottle of Last Round. She stretched back up and turned to Leon and Aryin with a smirk, cracking it open and pushing it over to him.
”You need a top up, Aryin? Maybe I sneak in your drinks as ‘on the house', I'm sure Andre won't notice.”
“Oh yes please miss ma’am,” Aryin said as her gaze remained fixated on Leon’s arms. She bit her bottom lip at the thought of those giant, meaty hands around her neck squeezing as tight as they could. The thought of her breath finally being taken away by a man filled her mind and she shifted in spot for a moment before she looked back up at Leon. “Give me whatever Adonis has Linqian,” Aryin’s eyes flashed below the waistline for a brief moment.
Leon laughed warmly as he took his seat next to Aryin, putting an arm around her and patting her shoulder.
”You look good, Sword and Shield. You boxing at all still? I miss seeing you around, you know? Also, Linqian, put it on me. Anything they have, Andre. No freebies tonight. You do a lot for us.”
Of course, the super senses… The two men could probably have a conversation across an entire building. He grinned at the two girls a bit more, taking a sip of his beer before clearing his throat.
”How’ve the acts been so far?”
”There’s only been one,” Linqian groaned, coming back with another Last Round for Aryin. She pulled out her small notepad and scribbled down ‘all drinks on Leon' - though Andre would be able to hear everything Leon said and he was the one who actually balanced the books.
”Fucking awful. I managed to avoid working it last time, and I'm really fucking regretting working tonight. He started by hitting on me with the fucking worst joke. Fuck, I wish you'd just punched him then, Aryin.”
“I still box,” Aryin said as she flexed her muscle on her free arm. She felt the strength of Leon with just the pat alone and how big his arms were around her. “Lost my first fight, but I made it painful for the other guy,” Aryin joked as she thought of the fight with George. She would win eventually. “He’s so bad Leon,” Aryin said with a wail, “Like he makes me want to literally kill myself”
“Third times the charm then. I don’t see anyone else coming up to grab the mic so I will continue my set,” a voice boomed from the stage.
“Oh fuck me,” Aryin groaned as looked to Linqian. Her eye shot over to Leon’s hand, back to Linqian, and flashed a look in her eye that Linqian could translate to ‘fuck yes’ before she looked up at the tall man. “Who knows, maybe your company is all it takes to make his comedy worth it.”
”You know I can’t be mad at that. Good job. I heard a bit about what happened at Kari’s… I’m real sorry I wasn’t there to even the score. I didn’t have all these other responsibilities when we were kids.”
He held up his beer to Aryin and Linqian.
”But I heard you two put up quite the show. So, if there’s anything I can do you-”
He coughed, clearing his throat and intentionally looking away, as if to check the stage, then back at them.
”Sorry; if there’s anything I can do for either of you, please let me know. And here’s to you both for stepping up just like old times.”
”Ohhhh, you can do me anytime,” Linqian laughed, leaning over to slap Leon's upper arm (and maybe squeeze it a little bit) and wink. She then jerked a thumb between herself and Aryin.
”It’s what we do. Gotta make up for all the other hard hitters that aren't fucking here. Maybe you can pay off the rest of my shift so I can have a drink.” The last bit was said mostly jokingly, with another wink.
“Me as well,” Aryin said as she snuggled her head on Leon’s arm.
“So after my friend was finally executed, I learned I had a new found appreciation for life. Do you know what I did with that new found appreciation? I took my entire life’s saving and dropped it on the lottery. Oh I know you think I’m the dumbest man alive,” Jackson pointed to a man in the front row and then back to Aryin, he lingered his finger there for a moment, “my friend just died, why was I playing the lottery? Because I knew that to truly honour my friend I needed money. So I played, and I won. I won big, too. I suddenly had so much money that I could take care of my friend's kid. I made sure that this kid wanted for nothing, but I quickly learned something. It was really hard for me to buy him gifts. Not for lack of trying, mind you, I bought him the best gaming computer money could buy, a new car, a brand new house for Christs sake, but all this kid wanted was my company.
So every year, his birthday would draw near and I would ask him that dreaded question,” Jackson paused to see if anyone in the crowd wanted to ask ‘what question, Jackson’ for him and no one did, “that question was what do you want for your birthday? And the kid killed me every year. He never wanted anything, because he had everything he could possibly need. A supportive family, a rich friend of the family, and every latest gadget money could already buy. He just wanted to be loved,” Jackson paused as he chuckled on stage, “and a singular pink ping pong ball. When he asked me to buy that for him I was confused, as I think we’d all be, but I humored it. I also bought him every latest toy money could buy. When it came time to open his presents I made sure the box containing the pink ping pong ball was saved for last. He had a sad look building up to it though, and I felt bad making him wait for the gift he wanted, but I wanted to see that joy at the end of the day. So, after his last present was opened I gave him the pink ping pong ball and he was beyond excited. He was jumping, screaming, and thanked me more times than I could count. The kid went to sleep that night with the pink ping pong ball and by the time everyone was awake it was gone without a trace.”
Jackson paused as he drank from his glass of beer. “And then the next year came around and he asked for a dozen pink ping pong balls. And once again he was beyond excited when he opened that gift. Ance once again he went to bed with a dozen pink ping pong balls. I began to worry about what was happening, you know? Was he eating them, was he doing something else? I did not know. But I knew it made him happy and that made me happy. That’s why, the very next year, I knew what I needed to do. I used most of my remaining wealth to buy a container ship and I filled that bitch with millions, upon millions of pink ping pong balls. His birthday came around, we sailed to the ship, and I kid you not this kid was over the moon with excitement. Every inch of space in that ship was pink, and he wanted to explore every bit of it. And I let him. I even let him stay the night. Imagine my surprise when I pulled up expecting to see millions of pink ping pong balls and I saw absolutely zero pink ping pong balls. I was concerned at this point. There was no trace of them on the ship, or in the ocean, and this kid was the same size as the night before. What was going on?”
Jackson paused again as he finished his beer. “The next year the kid got in a terrible accident and he wasn’t given long to live. I rushed down to the hospital to be with him in his final moments, as my friend would’ve wanted. And when I out there I could see this would be over soon. We talked for a bit, and before he was gone I just had to know. I pulled out a pink ping pong ball and gave it to the kid, and his smile was weak but there again. And I asked him, you know, what happened to the pink ping pong balls? He told me it wasn’t what I was thinking, he simply…he…. And then he died before he told me what he did with those balls.”
Linqian’s hand slammed down on the bar again with a loud bang, temperature rising enough that both Aryin and Leon would be able to feel the heat radiating out from her.
”Are you fucking with me?! Fucking- again. This piece of shit, fuck, I’m done! I’m fucking done.” Her other hand lifted from Leon’s arm to slap it on the bar, lifting herself slightly as if to jump over it. ”That’s it, it’s my fucking life or his!”
Leon was impressed. The guy really had him, the entire buildup of anticipation like foreplay for the brain. It was stimulating, palette whetting, and then ultimately ended in a truly unfortunate case of blue balls.
Comedic blue balls.
His hand slowly came up, pressing into Linqian’s shoulder as he glared up at the stage with the most hateful look he could muster.
”Is… Is that what he’s been doing?” Leon almost forced out.
”Hey, Buddy!? I’ve got a thousand dollars in my pocket right now. If I pay you, will you tell an actual joke? Or are you gonna let the funniest part of your act be the look on your face when I cover you in beer and peanuts and roll you into the woods?” he barked so loud the whole bar could probably hear him. His voice was like a fog horn.
As he yelled, the musculature in his arms tensed slightly, and one could see his neck bulge from behind the tie and collar.
“What? Do my eyes deceive me? Is that his grace himself? Oh my God I’m truly honoured to have you in my audience tonight! Say, do you know what the hardest cult to join is? Hmmm? Difficult.” As he delivered the punchline he infused it with his power and he targeted Aryin with it.
”Oh get the fuck off the stage before I beat your ass, I’ll fucking do it!” Linqian shouted, though she couldn’t actually get anywhere with Leon’s hand on her shoulder.
Leon held his hand up to Linqian.
”Wait, wait… Let him cook for a second… Alright my man, what’s the hardest cult to join?” he called back.
Jackson just stared for a second. He blinked before his eyes went wide. He just realised that he may end up covered in beer and peanuts and be rolled into the woods. “Difficult. Hardest cult to join, is difficult…… that’s all the time I have, I gotta,” he dropped the mic and ran for the door.
”Let me at him, Leon!” Linqian gritted her death, temperature rising enough that the area around her was starting to get nice and toasty.
“Difficult,” Aryin laughed at the punchline without control. She did not mean to laugh, but something was compelling her to laugh. The fucker used a spell.
”The fucks wrong with you,” Linqian muttered, reaching over to slap Aryin on the back.
Leon, eyes still narrowed, watched as the wiry fucker scrambled off into the night.
”Jesus… Difficult? I missed it the first time it was so trash.”
He shook his head, groaning.
”Andre… Get Mum to sing. She’s liquored up, encourage her a bit. And quit listening to us, I can hear you hearing me and grunting when I’m vulgar.” he said in a casual, conversational tone before turning fully back to the two Sycamore members with a wide smile.
”If she gets up there, it’ll be all the comedy we need for a night. Then we can sneak off. To… Find a coloring book.” Leon grinned.
”Also double my pay for this shift!” Linqian called out, temper dying down as quickly as it had flared.
Leon would hear Andre grumbling a bit about manners, but clearly shifting his attention to Lynette and… encouraging her to sing.
Linqian turned back to Leon with a playful smile, reaching out so her fingers lightly brushed his lower arm.
”You’re worse than I thought, mummy’s boy, using her for entertainment- or fuck, should I say…” her voice lowered into a more sultry tone as she leaned forward towards both him and Aryin. ”Your Grace. Is that what you prefer to be called when ‘colouring’?”
Aryin was pulled from her laughter by the use of your grace by Linqian, and returned to her actual fun plans for the night. “I’m an artist, I’ve been told I color,” she leaned towards Leon’s ear, “very, very well.”
It didn’t take long for the action around the Temple table to go from casual conversation to outright chants to hear the voice of the divine on the mic. As they goaded, Leon cleared his throat.
”Is the… Two pronged attack necessary? Jesus, I can smell the both of you literally. Is that seriously what you called me for? Booty?” he asked, trying his best to be respectfully quiet.
“Not just,” Aryin with a chuckle, “I did miss my sparring buddy, and if I’m going to be back with a coven I want to be surrounded by people that made the first time special, y’know? The last go around was rough,” Aryin sighed as she looked to Linqian and then back to Leon, “I don’t want to have to deal with the bullshit alone. And you’re a very pleasant person to be around, in every aspect. And…. Your mom is hot.”
”Fuck, c’mon, I also wanted to bury the hatchet- with the fucking meaning of getting over that shit I yelled in your face, yeah?” Linqian held up her hands. It was… not entirely truthful, because unlike Aryin, Linqian didn’t have that former friendship or whatever with Leon. He was useful to have around, though, and she… wanted Jinhai avenged more than fucking anything else, with fucking being secondary to that-
”But the booty’s a big part of it, why not have fun at the same time. I got another booty call, but that’s fucking complicated.” She played it off as a joke, smirking. ”But yeah, shit’s rough in the coven. Not enough of us protecting each other’s asses.”
He took a deep breath. There was a long moment where he didn’t look at either of them. But his fingers tapped against the bar with anticipation.
”So you were serious about me buying off your shift?” he asked aloud, finally looking back.
”It means a lot, actually… I’ve been feeling weird about how things have gone so far. I’d like to set it straight for a few people. So, I guess to answer your question… I’d say not unless you really want to be kinky… But, it is. A kink, I mean.” he finally grinned.
”I was so fucking serious,” Linqian smiled, arms resting on the bar so she could properly lean forward. She pulled her feet a bit off the ground, but… she didn’t want Andre listening in. Well, if he did, that was on him, really. She wasn’t actually that bothered.
”I’ll call you anything you want, the kinkier the better… You have no idea the shit I’m into.” She jerked her head towards Aryin. ”I enjoy it, and she can literally take anything.”
“Sadly that’s true,” Aryin said a chuckle “It takes a special kind of man to make be feel anything and,” she looked to Linqian, “I haven’t found that yet. I wonder if you can rise to the occasion, Leon.”. Aryin leaned back. “Until then,” Aryin raised her glass up, “let’s catch up, let’s drink, let’s party.”
Leon’s arm slipped down under Aryin’s ribcage, grabbing their side before raising his own bottle.
”I can fuck to that. Cheers you two… As I muster an impressive effort.”
Aryin pressed her body into Leon’s in response and clicked their glasses together. Aryin then lowered the glass towards Linqian and smirked. Tonight was going to go down in the history books.
