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Tweak says, "paramore is a band!"

i_digmummies (i_digmummies) wrote in we_coexist,
@ 2011-08-31 15:08:00

Entry tags:

amelia peabody, caritas, logan echolls

Ta kill ya (open to anyone at Caritas)
"Anything. As long as it's not whiskey. How about...that." Amelia pointed at a bottle at random. It was something she couldn't pronounce, and she knew for a fact she had never tried it before. The bartender asked her if she wanted a margarita, or straight up. She had no idea what a margarita was, and figured her best bet was to find out if she even liked the alcohol before mixing it with something, so she went with the straight up. The bartender filled a shot glass, placing it in front of her, following it up with a salt shaker and a small dish of lime slices.

Amelia eyed the salt and limes in confusion. Was she supposed to put those in the shot? Not wanting to appear completely inept, she smiled at the bartender. "Can I get you one?" She wondered if his smile was simple acknowledgement of the offer, or if he already suspected she had no clue what to do with it. If he knew, he had the decency to pretend not to notice as he slowly went through the maneuvers of licking his hand and sprinkling the salt on it, then waited for her to do the same as he took the shot in his hand.

He licked his hand? Amelia could think of little that could be more disgusting and unsanitary at the moment. It was something she NEVER would have done before. Which meant it was exactly what she was going to do now. Following the bartender's lead, she sprinkled the salt, then held the glass up as if to toast.

"Ready?" asked the bartender. "Lick, drink, bite." Amelia followed him in near unison, licking the salt and slamming back the shot. It caught her breath, but as soon as she put the lime slice in her mouth, the sensation seemed to ebb.

"Mmmmm. That's good! I'll have another, please."

"Careful with that. It'll get to you fast. There's a reason they call it 'Ta Kill Ya.'"

Amelia nodded, not really listening, or caring. She had always been able to hold her whiskey fairly well. How bad could it be? The bartender, for his part, declined her offer of another, apologizing that he was on duty, and had to keep a clear head.

This time, as she lifted the glass to drink, she mumbled to herself bitterly, "Here's to you, Elizabeth Peters."

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i_digmummies
2011-08-31 10:53 pm UTC (link)

Beer? Amelia could not recall ever having beer. At least not in the "before", which was what she was now calling her fictional life prior to the City. Which, again, was the perfect reason to have one.

"Sure. Thanks." This bartender was getting a substantial tip when she left. Another concept that had required a bit of getting used to. Not the tipping part, but rather the handling of money. The money here was different than the money she was used to. Not to mention everything was ridiculously expensive compared to her time.

The beer had a funny, bitter taste she didn't particularly care for. Yet it did help curb the burning of the other stuff. "I'll take another Jose, too." Only she didn't pronounce it Jose; it came out more like Josey, with a hard "j" sound.

"Maybe I should consider getting something to eat, before I have much more." She'd read the rules on the way in, and recalled something about not getting too drunk to stand or she'd be transported...somewhere. Wherever it was, she was pretty sure it could actually happen, and she didn't want to find out where that "somewhere" was.

"Can you recommend anything?"

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i_didntdoit
2011-09-01 01:15 am UTC (link)

Logan smirked at the mispronunciation of Jose.

"A few more of those and any Jose you see will be pretty enough to be a Josey," he said with a laugh as he poured another shot.

When she asked for food, he grinned.

"The hot wings are out of this world. Though I would recommend not asking for the secret recipe."

He wasn't going to elaborate on that. He was still wishing he hadn't asked the cook, who was also a type of demon, for the secret to his hot wings.

Logan looked the woman over once more. He'd been pulling the stereotypical movie bartender act more often than not lately. It was a great way to get tips and it was... interesting to hear some of the things that were eating at people in the City. Definitely not your normal Neptune-style problems. At least not with this clientele.

"Rough day?" he asked.

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i_digmummies
2011-09-01 02:12 pm UTC (link)

Oh, Jose! Amelia blushed at the blunder. She had so much still to learn. "I am sorry. I am not exactly from around here." As if her accent wasn't enough to lend that notion, she already suspected most everyone she had come into contact with also wasn't from "around here".

It made her wonder about the usual people she'd met, like the other employees at the Library. What about this bartender with the hazel eyes? Was everyone from another time and place, another story, or were some of them "real" people, born and raised here? The thought, coupled with the rapidly repeated amounts of alcohol entering her system, made her head swim.

"It has been a rather difficult day." Amelia looked at the lanky man behind the bar, noting his friendly countenance. She knew he was likely just making idle chatter. It was his job, and he was obviously very good at it.

"Hot wings? Far be it for me to question something out of this world. I shall take your advice and sample some." Perhaps she should slow down on the Jose. She recalled again the rules as she walked in, knowing their clarity had been somewhat skewed upon reading something about vampires with souls.

"What was that rule about getting to drunk to stand? Is that when I get transported to another dimension? I would really rather avoid that, as I seem to have been transported quite enough lately."

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i_didntdoit
2011-09-01 05:04 pm UTC (link)

Logan chuckled and shook his head slightly.

"Don't worry about it. I don't think anyone in this bar is from 'around here.' I know I'm not."

He turned and punched the order for hot wings into the computer system and then turned his attention back to the woman.

"We can't transport you to another dimension. At least, not that I know of. Though if you get drunk enough, Lorne-the owner-will make sure you get into a cab and sent on your way."

His expression softened.

"Are you new to the City?" he asked gently. "It's a... well, a lot disorienting when you first get here."

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i_digmummies
2011-09-01 05:24 pm UTC (link)

Well, that was something of a relief. While the idea of getting put in a cab and sent home like a naughty child was an embarrassing thought, it wasn't nearly as intimidating as being transported to another place entirely. Even so, maybe it was time to water down her drinks a bit.

"You asked me before about some drink with this stuff in it. Maybe I should try that." Anything was better than whiskey and water. She would never, ever have that again.

"Yes. Well, newer, I suppose. I have been here a few months. I got a job at the Library. The City even gave me a new exhibition area to play with." How considerate of it. Give her something to do, no doubt to distract her. Well, if that was the case, it certainly hadn't worked. "Oh, I'm Mrs...er...Amelia, by the way."

She wasn't a Mrs. anybody in this place. As a matter of fact, she had already started to wonder if she actually WAS a Mrs. anybody, anywhere. If that had been written for her, did it make it valid? Was she forever bound to an imaginary man and an imaginary life, no matter how much she had thought she loved him? Her head starting to hurt, she took another sip of the beer.

"Did you ever think you knew someone so well, even as well as yourself, let's say, only to discover they were nothing like what you thought at all?"

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i_didntdoit
2011-09-01 05:38 pm UTC (link)

Logan listened to her story and poured Amelia a margarita on the rocks. He had a feeling she wasn't a frozen drinks type of woman.

"Logan Echolls," he offered. "And you're lucky. The City stuck me here with about five dollars to my name and nothing more than a crappy dorm room and school cafeteria job. Back home..." he sighed. "I never had to work a day in my life."

He poured himself a shot before answering her last question. He was going to need one if he started along the line of thinking. Logan quickly tipped back the shot of tequila and then bit into the lime.

"Too often. I've found that most people aren't what they say they are." He raised an eyebrow and decided to ask. "So who's Elizabeth Peters? Your... er, wife?" She had started to introduce herself as a Mrs. after all.

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i_digmummies
2011-09-01 06:11 pm UTC (link)

The drink was good. Very good. Somehow the mixture brought out the better flavor of the Jose, without the harshness. Amelia decided she could get used to trying a few new things.

She almost choked on her drink at Logan's question. "Most certainly not!" The Victorian woman was rather forward thinking for her time, but the concept of same-sex relationships had been one more new thing to absorb since arriving in the City that she had yet to get used to. "I am...was...am, married. It's complicated." Was it ever! "But I assure you, it is to a man."

"Elizabeth Peters is just someone who has had a lot of influence in my life." She hadn't realized Logan had overheard her, and Amelia was finding it difficult to explain without saying too much. There was no way she would willingly lead someone else into the emotional mess she was now in. "I guess I owe her a lot, good and bad."

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i_didntdoit
2011-09-01 07:19 pm UTC (link)

Logan couldn't help but laugh at the reaction.

"No offense meant. You just never know. Especially here. And I'm pretty sure all relationships are complicated. Haven't come across one that isn't."

He gave her a self-deprecating smile.

"Of course, I could just have bad luck."

He poured himself a glass of soda and held it up to her.

"So here's to rotten luck and complicated relationships, eh?"

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i_digmummies
2011-09-01 07:33 pm UTC (link)

Amelia raised her margarita in kind. "Rotten luck and complicated relationships." She took a drink, then smiled at Logan. Amelia thought of telling him that maybe it wasn't anything to do with luck, but rather want someone else imposed on him, but thought better of it. He might think she meant a higher power, he might not. And she didn't want to try to explain.

"You would think someone my age knows who they are, wouldn't you? I'm figuring out I don't even have any idea who I am beyond other's expectations."

Amelia hoped the hot wings would come soon. She was starting to feel more and more like something in her stomach would be a good idea. Then again, like much else today, she'd never been drunk before. And she was currently well on her way.

She lifted her glass to Logan. "To finding oneself."

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i_didntdoit
2011-09-01 10:19 pm UTC (link)

Logan definitely wasn't the best person to give an opinion on when a person should know who they were.

He again tipped his glass to her.

"Can't say I have any idea who I am yet, so I'll drink to that."

He heard the ding from the kitchen that meant food was up and quickly slipped away to retrieve the hot wings. He returned and set them in front of his customer. Logan glanced around the bar, hoping to catch sight of Lorne.

"You know," he said as he poured Amelia a glass of water. "If you're really looking for some direction, the owner here is a sort of fortune teller. All you have to do is sing something for him and he'll tell you what he sees for your future path. If you're interested, I could always see if I can find him."

Logan nudged the glass of water over to the woman.

"And at the rate you're going, you're going to be very sorry tomorrow if you don't drink some water."

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i_digmummies
2011-09-02 02:17 am UTC (link)

No. Absolutely not. The very last thing Amelia wanted, or needed, was someone else telling her what to do, what her future might hold. No doubt the City would be helping her along enough on its own. But no one else was going to write her life for her as long as she was here.

Besides, what she had seen of fortune tellers was little more than telling people what they wanted to hear.

"Thank you. I will keep that in mind. Right now, I think I need to find my own way."

She sampled a wing gingerly, discovering it was quite good. Then the "hot" part of it kicked in. Unused to such a heavy spice, she gulped at the water. It seemed it was worth more than just keeping her from being hungover in the morning.

"Good. Hot, but good." She smiled at Logan before taking another bite.

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i_didntdoit
2011-09-02 03:13 am UTC (link)

"Probably best to use the margarita to wash it down. The water will just spread the spice around on your tongue," Logan said with a smile.

"And good luck finding your own way. If you figure out how to do that, let me know," he said with a grin.

Then again, he was feeling lately like he'd started to find his way, just a little bit. Working here, things going fairly well with Veronica... yeah, it was starting to come together. He still wasn't sure what the future held or when things would go to hell, as they always did.

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i_digmummies
2011-09-02 05:49 pm UTC (link)

Taking his advice, Amelia found the margarita did help. She followed it with a large swallow of the water, knowing she was going to need that, too. It started to almost become a routine; wing, margarita, water. Both of the last needing a refill before she was done.

"Thanks. They were good."

Amelia began to feel that it was time to go. After the emotions of the day and the over indulgence of tequila, all she wanted was a pillow. She asked Logan what her bill was, and added a twenty to it. He'd earned it.

"Keep the change." Stumbling a bit as she got off the stool, she laughed in embarrassment. "No worries. I'm not driving."

"Thanks for the ear. Have a good evening."

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