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Post by Maestro on Mar 2, 2008 1:10:50 GMT -5
A typical Saturday night saw Arabela in The Faded, gambling, drinking, or (if she was already drunk), singing. Tonight was apparently a gambling night. Bela needed to gather some funds, and quickly at that, just in case. Gambling was her best bet.
Most of the people in The Faded knew her; she was de Zorro's daughter and seemed to have inherited most of his luck. Occasionally, though, there were times that the girl was simply too stubborn to admit that she was on a losing streak. Those times never turned out well.
Tonight, she seemed to be on a roll. Each time she laid money down, she seemed to get at least that amount back, something she was very pleased with; tonight was not a night to be losing.
When all her opponents decided that they had had enough, Bela moved on to usual activity number two: drinking. Sliding onto one of the stools at the bar, the Nightmare made sure her sunglasses were firmly in place and ordered a sangria, to start.
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 2, 2008 1:27:53 GMT -5
He was here too often, really. If he was bored, it was just a path his feet instantly took. If he didn't have a set destination, somehow he managed to end up at the bar. He didn't much care for the bartenders, except Yuri (who he had begun to grow quite fond of). He wasn't exactly friendly, and things were prone to sudden combustion when he was drunk.
And yet he came back.
He occupied the same corner, and usually he was left alone. But he would look. Look for those certain subjects that would provide the entertainment he craved so much. Often, he was disappointed. But you met some really interesting characters in the Faded.
An attractive young girl in sunglasses didn't look interesting, necessarily, but she was sitting right next to his spot. He slid into the seat beside her, sending a not quite glaring, but not really friendly look in her direction.
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Post by Maestro on Mar 2, 2008 2:23:53 GMT -5
She looked up, raising an eyebrow as the man sat down next to her. Since she had turned one of the customers to stone (trust me, you don't want to know the story), the regulars tried to steer clear from Arabela, unless she was gambling. That usually brought a crowd, hungry for a good game or a good fight.
As she noticed his look, her brow rose further, wondering if he would have glared at her if he knew what she could potentially do. She shrugged mentally, not really caring.
The bartender finally brought Bela's drink to her, carefully not looking at her as placed it in front of her. It wasn't one of those "I'm-too-busy-to-look-at-you" non-looks; the man was very clearly avoiding Bela's eyes, even through the sunglasses.
Bela was far too used to reactions like that to be bothered, but it didn't improve her mood at all. Raising an eyebrow again, she titled her head down slightly, so that you could see part of her eyelid. The bartender turned in Alexander's direction so quickly that he almost knocked the drink he had just given to Bela into Alexander's lap. She smirked slightly: it never failed to amaze her how incredibly easy it was to terrify the man behind the counter.
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 2, 2008 2:34:31 GMT -5
Alexander glanced to the bartender, to the mysterious girl, and back to the bartender again, one brow slowly raising. He fixed his face into warm kindness when the bartender, still slightly shaken, looked at him. The bartender relaxed, if only a little.
Alex shot a swift glance at Bela and said, "I'll have whatever she's having," and this time when he looked at her, it was with a somewhat playful smirk. He doubted those sunglasses were a fashion statement. She'd become interesting.
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Post by Maestro on Mar 2, 2008 2:58:46 GMT -5
Bela took a sip of her (much stronger than the 'usual') sangria, glancing at Alex as he ordered "whatever she's having." Hadn't he been glaring at her only a moment ago?
"Do you change your mind so quickly all of the time?" she asked, noticing that smirk. Rather than looking at Alex as she spoke, Bela gazed straight ahead, glad that the mirror behind the bar was entirely too grimy to reflect anything. If there was one thing that she was afraid of, it was a mirror.
Smiling wickedly as the bartender hurried past her, his eyes on the floor, Bela took a moment glance at Alexander out of the corner of her eye. Well, if it wasn't a Prince. She'd definitely have to make sure her glasses stayed in place; Bela had had too many 'accidents' in the place to add a statue-Prince to that list.
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 2, 2008 3:14:31 GMT -5
"Constantly," he informed her breezily. "As it fits my mood."
The bartender set the drink in front of him, and he took a sip. Cautiously--- he'd learned one too many times not to openly gulp an unknown drink set in front of you. Hm.
"Not bad," he said, and put the glass down. "What about you? Do you always wear sunglasses in a dimly lit bar at night?"
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Post by Maestro on Mar 2, 2008 3:29:27 GMT -5
"Then we have something in common," she responded, turning her head toward him slightly. Goodness, having a conversation without terrifying the person you were talking to was quite refreshing; she'd have to do it more often. Which meant that it probably wouldn't happen in The Faded much.
She watched him as he tried the sangria, curious as to how he would react; some people hated it immediately.
"Sangria," she offered. "And yes, I do. You will never see me without these," she tapped the side of the glasses, explaining nothing. Bela supposed she could volunteer the information that her gaze was deadly, but that tended to frighten people off. She'd tell him if he asked, but she wasn't going to openly present her ... ability.
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 2, 2008 3:33:31 GMT -5
Vague.
Damn curiosity.
He wouldn't ask--- not yet. "Ah," he traced the rim of his glass with interest. "I'll have to have it again, sometime." He held out a hand. "Alexander."
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Post by Maestro on Mar 2, 2008 3:50:11 GMT -5
"Despite the fact that Jacob is an insufferable coward, he manages to make almost the best sangria I've had," she said, referencing the timid bartender.
Glancing at his hand, Bela looked up at Alex's face, gaging how likely it was that he would be frightened of her. Not likely. "Bela," she told him, extending her own hand and briefly shaking his. She preferred her nickname; Arabela seemed too much like her mother's name.
"The Black Devil is quite good, as well, if you like rum." If there was one thing other than gambling, drinking, singing, and pissing her parents off that Bela knew, it was her drinks.
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 3, 2008 0:28:23 GMT -5
He chuckled. He twisted atop the rotating bar stool, leaning back in casual fashion. He took a long swallow of the Sangria. She was right--- it was good. “Wait, wait. I think I’ve got it.” He held up a hand, making a show of thinking deeply. “You switch moods on a regular basis, you never take off your sunglasses, and you know your liquor. You, Bela, must be… an epileptic vampire alcoholic. Am I right? C’mon. Tell me. I’m close, right?”
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Post by Maestro on Mar 3, 2008 0:53:14 GMT -5
She watched him behind her sunglasses, actually rather pleased that he was enjoying the sangria. Taking a sip of her own drink, she raised an eyebrow, setting her glass back down as he said he'd figured her out.
It was a good thing that she had managed to swallow before Alex proclaimed that she was an epileptic, alcoholic vampire. She snorted, holding back a laugh. For about two seconds and then she couldn't help it anymore: she laughed.
"An epileptic vampire alcoholic?" she asked incredulously. "I don't know how you came to that conclusion, but you're wrong." She paused for a moment, then added, grinning, "Very wrong." While most people would add something about their adopted vampire-Aunt at this juncture, Bela didn't particularly feel like it. She left Alex to keep wondering, still amused by his guess.
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 3, 2008 1:16:56 GMT -5
He smirked, and gave a defeated shrug.
"Blast. And I thought I had you entirely pinned down." He gave her a sulking look. "No more hints?"
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Post by Maestro on Mar 3, 2008 2:23:39 GMT -5
"Hard to pin me down; haven't got wings," she told him, smirking slightly herself. Ah, he was curious; what to do now? Bela was decidedly not used to situations like this.
She laughed, thinking of a clue she might be able to give him without actually spelling it out; she actually wanted to see whether he could guess. "Well, I suppossssse that I could tell you ssssomething," she hissed, grinning.
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 3, 2008 2:31:56 GMT -5
That little hint was more helpful than she realized. His eyes flashed with delight.
"A snake," he said, lips curling. Alexander, when the situation held his interest, didn't miss much. The dark hair and richer, scaled complexion. He had an entire family invested in opera. And he was a fan of her sister. "You're a de Zorro," he surmised.
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Post by Maestro on Mar 3, 2008 2:41:50 GMT -5
She smiled, nodding. "There you go," she told him. "Not exactly a vampire, although my mother does have the teeth for it," she commented, making a face. Bela and Annie weren't exactly the best of friends, after all.
Flashing a wicked grin, she admitted, rather proudly, "I'm the trouble-maker of the family. If it weren't for Mercedes, they most likely would have disowned me by now." And he obviously knew part of her family, at least. She couldn't help but ask, "So, how much of my family do you know?"
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