((OOC: ...We need to revive Waltz. xD))

She returned his kiss, shy, but affection; pulling away to raise an eyebrow in the dark. "Oh? So you planned this power outage, did you? And after I had to conjure up this storm to save your butt, too." A smirk. "Ah well... Har, I love you too..."

She grazed fingertips lightly across cheekbone, done along jawline, brushing across lips, slowly down chin, throat, collarbone, tracing small loops, hearts, circles, swoops across his chest, watching them swirl in the dark, smiling softly to herself.

She looked up again. "Yeah, I guess this evening is pretty okay, but, iunno... "

((OOC: Hrm... 'm not sure where to take eet. >___>; We'll see.))

It wasn't easy to make your way through gyrating, libido-driven, hip grinding and swaying masses when you were nearly the size of a child. Not easy at all. Unless of course, you had a presence that commanded attention. And Crystaline's never stopped demanding. With a good few elbows, shoves, and 'move the fuck out of my way! ; oh yeah?! Well you and your mother!'s, she had caught up with the 'waiter'. Only, now as he swung his body with just slightly too much effort and presence, he didn't look very waiter-y. No, he looked kinda, very not waiter-y at all. She reached out as if to tap his shoulder when he spoke, startling her if only for a second.

Sure finished her drink quickly? What the hell kind of question was that? She sure as hell wanted to know. And so, "What the hell kind of question is that?" very tactful. "Eh," a pause, "what I mean is," she flashed a folded bill between two fingers; "you forgot your pay. Not a very smart way to conduct business." She held it out impatiently, not caring much for his dancing and just wanting to get back to the siren song of her vodka back at the booth with the less than appealing nagging of the Ki. "Anyways, here."

What the hell was with that eyebrow thing, anyway? Did he have a nervous twitch?

--

He propped himself up on an elbow, miserably, a hand outstretched to play boredly with the droplets on the rim of her glass til she returned. If she returned. He was so not in the mood to be ditched as always. But she said she would be, right? Heh, if he was really letting himself fall for that, again.

"Hmm..." He lifted her glass and took a wary sniff, stealing a quick and curious sip. It served her right if he drank it anyway, it was his money. It tingled in his nose and burned going down, making him recoil. "What she sees in this stuff, I'll never know..." he set it back down, taking a quick, sweeping glance over the crowd. No sign of her yet, not that she was easy to spot in one of these crowds, though he had an idea of where she may be, following the trail of disrupted and angry cursing. A bemused laugh to himself and a smirk. "Heh. Hnn..." a sigh, lips pursed as he folded arms out before him on the table, setting his chin on them again. "Bored..."

((OOC: I know, I know. ;o; Ees hard for me~ </3))

He smirked out of his lovesick stare for a moment. "Har.. who, me? You think I'd take out the power of three city blocks in the name of romance? Well, okay, I would, but I can't take credit for this particular romantic occurrence. Sometimes Mother Nature knows just how to set the mood."

He flushed lightly and swallowed a little, shivering from the relaxing feeling of her touch. "Nya..."

He tilted his head a little. "Hmm...? Have you got any suggestions on how to make the evening better, lover..?" A subdued little grin.


((OOC: <<; LJ seems somewhat impending...))

((OOC: Ne, you know that's okay, hun.

xD; Well, if it is, you already know how we'll work around that.))

"Hrm..." Pursed lips, unconvinced. "Indeed she does, apparently." A wary glance up and down, inspecting him carefully for a moment to analyze the situation.

"Mm, no matter anyway." She smirked a little, supposing she was satisfied for now, having taken the good few moments simply to study his every inch in gratitude for having him. A blush.

"Me?" she feigned innocent, pointing to herself in the dark and tilting her head to the side. "Not really, no..."

She sure was a feisty one. He eyed the money outstretched to him and thought for a second. Crap, he didn't realize she hadn't paid yet. He tossed a quick half-glance towards the bar. Jeez, that girl had been so charmed by him, she let him get out of bringing back any pay? Sweet deal. He grinned inwardly, quickly whipping up a response. "Ah, of course!" He smacked his head. "How could I forget to tell you? See, that was my last drink to serve before I got off work, and well, I always make that one on the house. So don't worry about it." He pushed her hand back some with a dismissive wave. "That one's on me." An inward thought, 'Much like you'll be by the end of the night, if I play my cards right...' He smiled confidently. "The name's Gabriel, by the way."

--------------

Hmm, so that was his story, huh? Pretty quick thinking on his part, she had to admit. Well, this didn't clear up much about the girl's relationship to the guy over there. She leaned in a tiny bit more, listening for the girl's response to what he'd said.

A brow twitched, taking in this new information with no little amount of skepticism. She was quiet for a moment in debate, but clenching a fist and drawing it in towards herself without warning, holding a somewhat angry stance and bringing the fist to palm. "See! I knew it! I told Ki, I said..." she mumbled to herself for a few minutes. "Baah..." She shook her head clear, attentions turning back to this strange fellow. "You've got to be bullshitting me." She set her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to one side, eyebrow cocked as usual, head cocked to the side as well. She could pull off the eyebrow thing. If she ever spoke to this guy again, she'd have to give him lessons in proper eyebrow use and abuse.

Again she was unfazed by the smile, not til she got answers, anyway. "You expect me to believe I just got alcohol, the most precious of liquids, for free? No strings attached? Yeah, ohkeeey..." A pause. "Eh, and nice to meet you, I guess?" Why the hell was he introducing himself anyway? Didn't he know she was the antisocial type. She would concede to his being kinda cute though, for a not so waiter-y type, anyway.

She sure as hell was taking her sweet pissing time, came the sigh from the other end of the club at a lonely booth.

(OOC: Short though it is; an update! Huzzah! xD)

"Oh no...?" A giggle to himself, smirking. "Mmm... well, I've got an idea or two..." He cooed, trailing fingertips idly around her belly in a playful tickle-touch, purring.

"Mmhurr..." He leaned in slowly, the moonlight catching the outline of a lovesick smile as his lips pressed softly to hers and arms slid around, coaxing her warmth closer. "Mm... yeah... have to admit, I'm getting ideas for how to make this evening keep getting better..." Fingertips trailed up and down her back, aiming to give shivers, as he pressed his lips back to hers again in slow, affectionate embrace.

She flinched again, briefly squirming away from his touch, squeaking ever so lightly at his fingertips on her stomach. "Doonnn'ttt..." she sulked.

She curled her body closer still into his, shivering lightly but happily as her lips kissed shyly at his. Damn did it feel good. Her body had more than warmed up at this point from the downpour onslaught the rain had let loose on them both earlier. It felt good, especially to know she was heating up with him this way. Har. Even if his PJs were a little itchy.

"Mm..." she broke away, cooing playfully, a smirk playing on her lips and a hand in his hair and she cocked an eyebrow quizzically. "Oh?" Mock surprise. "Anything you wanna share, sezzy?"

Well that certainly wasn't the reply he was expecting. He alternated to raising the other eyebrow, as his grin turned quizzical, watching her angry reaction to his supposed free drink. "Well, most of my customers certainly don't react this way, I've gotta say..." He stared off, thinking for a moment. "Then again, you're clearly not just some Mary Jane, either." A bemused smirk. "So yeah, it is nice to meet you, contrary to the impression you seem to be trying to put on me."

--------

'Ki', huh? A pretty cute name, actually. She wondered if it was short for anything and cast a double-checking glance back over at his clearly non-Japanese face. Maybe his parents were otaku? Well, she wasn't exactly very Japanese-looking for her name either, so she wasn't one to judge. Hrm... he was looking pretty lonely over there. If she didn't move in, someone else might, and she could miss her chance. She listened in, still, wanting to hear just a bit more.

"Hurr..." He smiled back at her smirk, tossing an affectionate nuzzle over at her arm as her fingers slid through his hair and send little sparks of electricity shivering down his spine. "Yeah, I believe so..." He nuzzled softly at her nose and cheeks, pressing into a closer kiss than before and curling his arms further around in quiet warmth. "Mmm..."

A few minutes of silent kissing passed in the dim light, littered not so silently with coos of happiness.

She purred softly in enjoyment, body flushed up against his as she shivered, thriving more with each new kiss.

"Ne..." she broke away again, nuzzling into his neck and sliding her arms closer around to pull him into herself, longing to keep the warmth going as much as possible. She tilted her head up his way and smiled, resting it on his shoulder for just a minute. Smile turned to smirk.

"Technically, you didn't answer my question..." A soft sigh. "But oh well..." She held him closer for a minute, arms sliding up his back, chin resting cutely on his shoulder, staring off into the pitch black of the room. "Ne..." she nuzzled into again, a move driven by a particularly loud thunder clap that made her whole body shake, if only for a minute.

"Heh, was really coming down, earlier... Wonder what time it is now..."

He trailed his hands softly around her back as she curled closer into him, just enjoying the fact of being near and being warm together. Smiling and smirking back, he whispered a response, nestling in close with a shiver in response to her affections. "The answer's to be found in my actions, my love..." A cute wink before cuddling close again in response to the thunder.

"Mmm... let's see..." He peered over her shoulder, raising his wrist and squinting at his watch in the dim light. "Seems to be... about nine thirty~ Fairly early yet, if I do say so myself."

So now his eyebrows were dancing. Neat. Hers could do that too. She'd show him that too sometime, maybe. If they ever spoke again, which she doubted. Still, he clearly knew quality when he saw it, and she supposed he could be given the benefit of the doubt, but.

A mock cringe. "Figure that all out on your own, did ya? Nah, getting saved by wall crawlers was never really my thing. Not nearly whiny or redheaded enough." Pursed lips, weight shifting to the other side with impatience.

"What's that supposed to mean anyway, eh?" She tilted her head, smirking and laying a finger aside her nose thoughtful, tapping it. "Ah, but that's the thing, isn't it? You haven't met me. Careful, or I might harvest your organs if you give me an inch." ((OOC: .... xDDDDD Two innuendos in one sentence.))

------

He half rose from his seat impatiently, scanning the crowd with a quick once over for a bobbing brunette head. Nothing so far. Damn, what the hell? She ditched him again, hadn't she? He turned in his wrist and drew back the sleeve of his jacket, checking his watch. No, no, it'd only been about five minutes, he'd give her the benefit of the doubt for now. Sometimes he was neurotically trusting like that, no matter how many times she let him down. Bruised the psyche less that way.

He groaned, knowing full well he'd be here a while, and wrestled his way out of his jacket. "May as well make myself at home..." At that moment, a bra flew over the booth and landed in the ashtray before him, causing eyes to widen. "What the fu--," he up turned his nose in fear and disgust, barely pinching the article of clothing between to short fingernails and tossing it back behind them. He made a call towards booth number seven. "Not that at home!"

She cooed, nuzzling at his neck. "I suppose I'll see then..." A soft purr, before leaning out and half-smirking, tilting her head.

"Oh, and here I was half expecting the classic, 'three hairs past a freckle', line. Still," another soft sigh; "that is pretty early, hai... Too bad we can't enjoy the time with a movie or something, mm? But oh well." A fleeting glance towards the window, nature still exerting her dominance in full force. "Suppose 'll stick around here to ride it out, then head out... Otherwise I'll look like a drowned cat again." She frowned and shook her head. "Nobody wants to see that."

His smile faded to a poutish frown at the notion of what he'd just heard. "Head out...? Nyuu... Well, if you need to get back to your apartment for some reason, I won't keep you, love... But if you don't, I don't see any reason for either of us to be lonely tonight... It's been such a lovely evening, I'd rather it not end and you spend the night in my arms, if you're able..." He nuzzled down into her neck, wrapping his arms warmly around. "I certainly don't see us needing a movie to enjoy ourselves, anyway~"

A sideways glance his way, a quirky and curious grin playing on her lips, the corners twitching ever so slightly in amused thought. "Mm..." she tilted over and pecked his cheek, cooing, before leaning out again and cocking an eyebrow, a somewhat mysterious glint in her eyes, leading wonder as to whether a fiendish plot was concocting behind the dull blue or it was just the fragile glean of innocence and curiosity. Who knew. "Have other plans in mind then, sweetness?"

Fingertips trailed through his hair and her smile widened as she awaited an answer. "Well, I suppose I don't necessarily need to duck out just yet, not until morning anyway... If I had reason to stay...?" The last notes of her sentence rang out in the higher pitched vocal tones of a question, though a knowing purr remained throughout.

He smirked more at her response. She was proving to be quite the sarcastic one. Those types usually had a way past their defenses, though, if you were lucky enough to stumble onto it.

All this talk of organs and inches had a few colorful comments stirring around in his head, but he thought better of voicing any, seeing rather clearly that he was going to have to be careful about what he said, if he was gonna keep this girl from getting bored with him and going back to her 'whatever he was'.

"All it's supposed to mean is that you aren't boring. Though I chance to say that's an observation made easily by a glance a what you're wearing." He eyed the chains dangling from her waist suspiciously. "I suppose those would make for handy bludgeoning tools, should you wish to do any harvesting tonight."

A thoughtful smirk. "At any rate, might I at least know the name of my assailant? I'm sure it wouldn't effect how easily the police could track you down, if you've got a closet full of outfits like these. 'Oh yes, that's her, officer, the one in the bra lined with machine gun clips.'"


------

Her gaze wandered boredly back over to 'Ki', who seemed to be looking rather irritatedly bored by now as well. Hmm... okay, just another minute or two and she'd make her mov--- Huh? Alright, apparently the girl in the booth nearby was making a rather bold one already. Though she didn't take it much for an advance on him, as her mate for the evening already seemed to be taking care of most of her desires, and she did mean most. From the further irritated look on Ki's face, he didn't seem too pleased with the development, at least. Note to self; don't introduce self by throwing underwear at. Got it.

((OOC: This is getting entertaining. xDD Thank you so much lovey for agreeing to. <33))

She feigned surprise, blinking, her red lips making a classic little 'o' shape. "Oh? What?" She motioned skeptically to her chains, pretending to be taken back. "These old things? Pfaw, decoration, really. I keep the ever handy monkey wrench in my pocket." She grinned toothily. "Maybe I'll show you some time."

She pursed her lips, eyeborws narrowing. "Hnn... It's not a bra, it's a corset. Big difference. And just what's so wrong about my outfit?" Her lower lip jutted out only slightly, somewhat offended. "Maybe I don't want to tell you now." She folded her arms in front of her, shifting weight yet again in growing impatience.

"Crystaline Ikoda, if you must know."

So not the waiter-y type. She was beginning to think she'd been hoodwinked.

-------

Well that was unpleasant and emotionally scarring. If he didn't already need therapy for a billion reasons, you can bet that was on his list of reasons now.

He grumbled irritably, wondering what the hell was wrong with people now adays and propping his chin up on either side with elbows on the table, before letting out a growl of boredom and letting his forehead go forward onto the table, thudding it lightly over and over, before folding arms underneath and propping his chin up on that, staring at nothing again. "Graaahhh... Hurry uuupp..."

A sigh, tugging his jacket up again and fishing into pockets. He hated the habit but she was sure as hell driving him to it. Where were those cigarettes?

His smirk stayed, shifting weight to his other leg as if in mockery of her impatience. "Nothing at all's wrong with your outfit, I was just making an observation, Crystaline... Or do you go by something shorter?" Unintended as one as the remark was, he anticipated that being interpreted as a height joke. Feisty girls like this loved to try to trip guys like him up on their own words.

((OOC: Cause I said I would. o3o;; Poor abandoned Waltz... *snuggles it* xD I don't want it to be deleted, so let's try to pick it up?! ><))

Ears perked and she tensed instinctively, fighting innate urges to bristle. But she'd play it cool. And hopefully scare him off.

"Actually," she mused; "That was the short version. My real name is Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Lay Onna Pile Of Origami the Third. But most people just call me Line. And I'm not compensating for nothin', so you can keep your two cents and dirty glasses to yourself." Oooh, pop culture reference. She would have to admittedly give him props if he recognized it. She knew she was a strange child for memorizing.

((OOC: Disclaimer: I do not own the above quote. xDD))

((OOC: I vow to get a Waltz update done over this break. D: ))

He tilted his head some with a fascinatedly puzzled smirk. Well she was certainly an interesting one. "Riiight... well, Princess Line the Third, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." He chuckled a little to himself. "At least I think so..."


-------

She smirked to herself. Okay, anyone who was making references like that was obviously feeling at ease enough to stay at least a while longer. Besides, she was sick of waiting and possibly missing her chance with that Ki guy because of it. Her reconnaissance mission came to a quick, impatient end as she ducked into the crowd and made her way out the other side. She strolled around in a wide semicircle, so she wouldn't just be walking right up to his table. A confident smirk, checking her hair dance-strewn hair in a mirror briefly. Okay, it was go time. Somewhat nervously, she made her way up along the booths to his table, opting for a bit of a surprise approach as she appeared out of nowhere by his side, leaning down and greeting his irritatedly bored expression with a smile. She brushed half of her shaggy bangs back a little. "Hi there... I couldn't help but wonder, seeing you sitting all by your lonesome here for awhile; is this seat taken?" She nodded to the empty side of the booth. "I can reasonably promise not to throw my bra at you, if it isn't." She smirked, tossing a glance over to booth seven.

He flushed a little at the peck to his cheek and looked into her curious eyes with a gradually widening grin, softly cooing breaths of happiness escaping. "Mmm... I don't know... I was kind of hoping you'd spend the morning with me too... and I was kind of hoping that would be spent with my arms wrapped around you in bed..." He leaned in, kissing softly at her lips, smiling all the while. "Nya... what happens between now and then is simply for us to decide together, hmm...?" A quiet purr, trailing fingertips soothingly around her back. He cooed to himself. "Hopefully the pure fact I'd like to fall asleep in your arms is enough reason to stay..."

((OOC: The promised update! Huzzah! Rejoicings! ... hell, conversations in this area of the story are a pain in the ass to color format. xD ))


Augh... He squeezed his eyes shut tight, awakening slowly to a hell of a throbbing headache. "That'll teach me to drink as much as I did...", he groaned out, in his disoriented state. It didn't take too long, though, for the realization of the slimy wetness that half of his face was lying in to shock his system back to reality. Or at least reality as he had known it for a brief while before passing out again. Or was any of this real to begin with? The scent of decay flooded his nostrils, sending him more fully awake, as he clambered to his feet, groaningly sloughing the muck and slime from his face and clothes in frantic desire to get it off of himself, as the words he'd heard before rushed back to memory. "Fecking blood..! Argh... Seriously, what the hell?!"

"Ke... ke... ke.... You sure are an entertaining one, human..."

"Okay, who said that?!" He stumble-spun around, looking to no avail into the inky blackness.

More gruff chuckling, as the plodding scrape of claws made its way closer again. "Oh, you know... just your friendly neighbourhood wolf man..."

A wild grin slowly crept its way across his face as he thought. "Ahahaha...haaa... a wolf man, are you?" He laughed to himself a bit unstably. "Ohoho... ahh, that's rich, right there."

The obscured figure peered through the bars, grinning quizzically at the human. "It's... rich? You don't believe me?" An amusedly curious tone to his usual gruff demeanor.

"Ahaha... Oh no, it's not that I don't believe you..." He paused, chuckling silently to himself for a second. "No, it's the fact that I do believe you that has me laughing my stupid head off. I mean, after all, I've awoken from a drunken stupor in a pitch black, blood-soaked dungeon, in God-knows-where! Why shouldn't there be a wolf man straight across from me? It only seems appropriately fecked, if you ask me."

"Gahahaha..." He leaned his head back in grizzled laughter. "I suppose that's one way to look at it. But aren't you afraid I'm going to eat you?"

"Nah, I figure you woulda done that while I was passed out and all, if you wanted to."

"Gehe... truth be told, human, I couldn't if I wanted to. I'm in one of these damned cells just the same as you. Though for what reason you're here, I haven't got much of a guess." He paused, thinking. "Mmm... if I had to guess, I'd say you likely got fresh with one of the 'brides', while you were out drinking. His Royal Blood-Drinkingness can be a might jealous. Likely locked you up in here to rot away, or for if he gets hungry. All speculation, of course."

"Aaahaha... that's fantastic! So there's a vampire lord involved too! Oh yes, wonderful, wonderful... I do wonder if he might just hurry it up and convert me to one of his undead servants soon, though, before I go stark raving mad. Yes, I'm sure a sane minion will prove more useful by far."

"Well, unless you simply rot here, with me."

"Oh, yes, quite. I should think I'll be going the route of losing my sanity soon enough, regardless." He felt his way warily through the dark over to a metal bunk with a rotting wood board across it, sitting disdainfully on the edge with a sigh. "Well, before I slip into the throes of insanity, I may as well know your name. I'm Joseph Garrison. Feel free to remind me of that when future fits of dimensia have me screaming as to who I am."

"Gahaha... well aren't you just a typical barrel of British optimism? Hmh... don't see the harm in an introduction... the name's Robert." He too shuffled over to his bunk, peering into the dark with eyes large enough to catch the near nonexistant light and see the man looking blankly out in front of himself as he spoke.

"Ahaha... Robert, eh? I have to admit, I was expecting something more like 'Fang' or 'Draconis, the Mangler'.

"Gehe, yeah, everyone says that."

An untold number of vampire-parodied musicals later, he found himself on the verge of the large clearing surrounding the castle. "And I hardly met any slimes or ravenous beasts intent on taking my life! Sweet! Though I probably could've used the gil...."

As he stepped past the clear-cut treeline of the forest, he took in the sight before him. The fields all around the still inappropriately painted castle seemed to be made up of fist-sized, rolling hills. The grass undulated across the surface of the land, following the strange contours in its growth. "It's worse than we feared.", Matt mused under his breath. "He's taken Martha Stewart as one of his brides! It's the only explanation for this kind of paint job and new age landscaping." He smirksnickered to himself. "Guess I'll be doing the poor bastard a favour by killing him, if that's how it is..." He strode off confidently across the grass. A stride which quickly evolved into less-than-suave stumbling and ankle-twisting, with the crazy terrain. The valleys were too small to set your foot in cleanly and hills too curved and unpredictable to stand on without slipping off in an undesired direction.

"Oof!" He caught his foot on a crest and tumbled ungracefully to the ground, groaning and hissing like a thousand snakes. Hang on... Okay, he was doing the first part, but the hissing was a new development. Yes, definitely a new develop- "Uwaa!" He looked back frantically to his foot, to find a root wrapped securely around his ankle, dragging him along the surface of the grass. Grass which wasn't so benign anymore either, undulating beneath him with increasing activity.

He flailed his arms out, grasping at what he could of the grass and tearing it up in effort to free himself. A handfull of it sheered away, revealing the true nature of what lay beneath. Giant roots were snaking their way through the dirt like massive earthworms, looking unsurprisingly like the one already around his ankle. There wasn't much time to process all this information, though. Across the field, roots spewed into the air, like the writhing tendrils of an angry kraken, flinging earth through the red-orange sky.

"Okay, fuck!"

This was beginning to seem more and more like Ms. Stewart's handiwork.

((OOC: So... much... update-age... *3* *crows gleefully* Here goes.))

A shy returned kiss, and a flush crept across cheeks that was notable even in the dim moonlight of the room. There was some heavy implications behind those seemingly innocent sentences that made her face feel hot. A slightly shy smile as she nuzzled into his neck, hiding away long enough to compose herself.

"Heh..." she breathed at last, sitting up again to face him. A somewhat wider smile, purr just daring to ebb into her voice; "I'd say that's a pretty good bargaining chip, love... You really willing to gamble so high?"