Summerview was a nice little haven as far as the unicorn could see. He wasnât the biggest fan of the sea sideâjust dry and salty, ick. But like any other place it was full of those just trying to live their life, and the others who just liked to have cock fighting contests.
Those were boring. If anyone wanted to test his skills on the field he would meet them outside.
For now, he made his way over to Marieâs Boudinâit wasnât in the morning, she hadnât said when, and Greg was tired from his commute from the city. And the nice jar of Tequila he made love to the night before. Still yawning as he opened the doors, a roll of Hostess powdered donuts in his hand, one already in his mouth and splotching his lips with white powder. Under the sugar influence. Yeah yeah, he was a unicorn and he liked sugary things. One stereotype he couldnât get rid of.
He did appreciate that there was a bar. A Cajun one two. People in the south knew how to drink.
Taking off his glasses and putting them into his shirt pocketâcivilian clothes todayâHeâd get pretty when they were out and about. Greg knocked on the wall as the doors closed behind him, admiring the hoodoo on the wall. âSummerview Voodoo inspection,â was she a witch? No, voodoo was way too strong for that shitty barrier outside. âNot enough shrunken heads and Grisgris bags.â Though they natural healing aura that followed Gregâs presence would probably cause an end to anything nasty. He didnât sense it anyways.
âYou know about gris gris bags?â came Marieâs voice, flowing out from the kitchen. Sheâd been simmering todayâs batches of both jambalaya and gumbo before opening for lunch - and yes, there was a difference. The former was cooked with the rice, the latter served over rice. Get it right, people. But when she opened the door, the scent of spice wafted out with her - oregano, cumin, fresh ground pepper and others.
Wearing ripped skinny jeans, a âhex your exâ loose black t-shirt, and tall black boots she emerged and made a pit stop on the way to properly greet her very vertically gifted guest (mon dieu, she might sprain her neck looking up at him) - for shot glasses, which sheâd be filling momentarily. âI am impressed, cher. Have a seat anywhere. Iâve got something to spice up your life.â
A small twist of his lips and Gregory slipped the donuts back into his loose jacket since real breakfast/brunch was coming. âI know a bit about magic and itâs different cultures.â Kinda had to in order to be a master healer. And one as old as he, well, 132 years was enough time to do his homework.
âDon't mind if I do,â he did right along as she prompted him to and pulled out the nearest chair and plopped himself into it, relaxing one arm behind the chair. âSo, part time sleuth and full time bartender?â
âClose,â Marie grinned coquettishly, though when she saw Greg tuck powdered donuts into his shirt pocket she about had a heart attack - those things! How dare! At least they were out of sight now. âFull time owner of this place, part time sleuth. Iâm likely going to hire that kid you talked to on the network, the new guy. As the bartender.â Sheâd see how that went.
To replace dry, stale shit from a vending machine, she brought out a plate of beignets - pillowy balls of dough, fried, with more of a bite than donuts. And covered in powdered sugar. It was difficult to look like you hadnât been dipping your nose into la cocaina while eating these things. Plus, Bloody Mary shots of course - with pepper-infused vodka straight from her Russian source, and a touch of vodka infused with bacon (she made that herself). But the spices.
Theyâd wake you up. And be a veritable nuclear meltdown in your mouth. Yum.
âSo, as for the bullshit - â She toasted him with her own shot, cheers, â...it seems to be getting worse, steadily.â
Running his tongue over his mouth, Greg tried to remember one of the many people who took his little network bait. Kids and their fucking internet. âOh the one who went from âoh hey Iâm new here what do I do sirâ to amazingly knowing it all after a few exchanges of a word. Good. You can keep an eye on him. A bar is perfect for when people share their true colors and their secrets.â As of now? Greg trusted no one. Not the cops who worked in Atlantic city who didnât even recognize him here, not Jayati, not even Marie yet. Though from the aura in the air he pulled from his empathic abilities--she was genuine. At the moment.
And an influx of so many new arrivals right when bringing him in? Realllllll fucking convenient.
Well, well. She certainly was going all out here. And the sweets and alcohol was really working. Toasting her back and then drinking back the delicious spices like they were water, the unicorn breathed a sigh of exasperation. âI havenât been here long but thereâs already an obvious lull of basic citizens, fuckheads, and those who are just scared. Itâs just figuring out who doesnât belong here. But I havenât been here long. Enlighten me.â And as she did, heâd dig mercilessly into those beignets. Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner, baby.
About her new bartender, Marie thought so too - keep your friends close, but your enemies...yada yada. Not that Danny was an enemy per se, but sheâd just like to see what he had up his sleeve, thatâs all. What hand of cards he was playing. âOui, he doesnât care for gifted humans,â she said, knocking back her shot. âThere was some exasperated disdain when I brought them up.â It was a food for thought.
Gregâs description made her chuckle, as she picked up a beignet and carefully bit into it. Basic citizens, fuckheads, and those who are scared - fair enough, she guessed. But she could help add to it a little, she hoped.
âMost seem to be neutral and havenât picked a side yet, in the brewing conflict,â she said. âMostly because the Malcontents have been quiet so far. Maybe your basic fuckhead doesnât even know about whatâs brewing. But I must tell you, cher, if the they wanted to make it less fuckinâ obvious, they probably should have staggered sending their people in.â
Clearly some of the influx were sent on orders of Jayatiâs sister. Like, hello.
The thought made Greg chuckle, getting some powdered sugar all over his shirt, which he haphazaradly smacked away with his free hand, licking his thumb of remnants before going in for another. In a way, he felt bad for Jayati, for another...she wasnât best suited to be in her positiion. She could compromise the entire sanctuary because of sibling sentimentality.
âOr maybe thatâs part of their plan, who knows.â Doubtful. Summerview was fairly untouched thus far. âGetting an idea from those who have been here the longest would be best. Keep your ears up for the patrons...as far as picking sides, thatâs a good thing. No sides means no war.â The picking a side thing was so high school drama time. They were all creatures of this planet and undoubtedly needed each other to survive and were all capable of glorious, horrible things.
Wah. âAs long as the other cops keep their mouths shut, the city, Iâve kept quiet.â And feeling too good with his healing aura and keeping them alive with trust to dare doubt Gregoryâs words.
Picking a side really was High School Musical, and Marie was already over it. Besides, what was the âplanâ for the Malcontents when humans were eradicated? Marie and other succubi, even other species, relied on them to be food sources - she would be plenty annoyed if that was taken away.
But she would do her part here to help out. Summerview was home, for the time being, and it was meant to be a haven for all supernatural kinds. She didnât want some overgrown lizard to herald a movement meant to fuck that up.
âI can do that,â she agreed, dusting her hands off. âChat up people who come into the restaurant, and so forth.â In general, she knew who the long-standing residents were. âShould we head to another sanctuary, to see how their relations with humans are going? Weâre sort of tucked away past a barrier here, but for other cities, their existence is more open.â
âIs there anyone here you do trust?â Marie definitely had more of a leg to stand on than Greg and his general guesses. He could definitely go door to door and start questioning people, getting an empathic vibe on whether or not they were bullshitting him, but that was less than covert. Ugh. Covert was so boring.
Jayati wasnât really specific, was she? She had plenty to deal with and a barrier to get back up to par. âBecause if we leave, that's when the snakes are going to start trying to slither their tongues into peopleâs ears. Patrons of the sanctuary. Those that are part human or cursed. The Malcontents will look for the most powerful species and the ones who have been harmed. We get a read on them, a few neutral eyes, and then go see where we can find some correlations.â
God he needed another drink. Grabbing his empty glass, Greg blinked his eyelashes away and held it out to her. âUn autre s'il vous plait?â
Marie smiled, though it carried more of a soft smirk behind the bat of inky lashes. âBien sĂťr,â she nodded, taking Gregâs glass and her own - she mixed them both another drink, generous with the spiced vodka. It seemed like they both would need it. âWho do I trust, hm...â
She had to think about it a moment. Because honestly, most of the town was questionable. And trust was a thing not easily given - it shouldnât be, in this circumstance. But Julius she trusted, even if he didnât seem to trust himself yet - he didnât see the good parts. Probably still carried damage that had been done, like burrs stuck to the heart. That would need some work, but as for those she trusted at this moment?
âThe woman that that runs the bakery, sheâs fae and three-thousand years old,â Marie shared, setting down fresh drinks. âAbout as good and pure as you can get. No one else will stack up in terms of trustworthiness.â Sheâd be good to question, to help get a reading before they went elsewhere to compare and contrast. âAlso Parthenope, the mermaid - she works at the video game arcade and used to be a dispatcher at the police station. She has a way of....figuring things out, about people.â
A pearly smile widened as she topped them both off and the unicorn relaxed back into the stool that was definitely not meant for the luxuriating someone of his size was doing. It was really hard to find furniture or anything comfortable for his size. This time, instead of slamming his second breakfast shake heâd take it with one hand and nurse it, propping his legs up on the stool to bounce as he listened to her intel.
âWow. She makes me feel so much better...how can you stand to live for one thousand years, much less three?â Though Malcontents were old too. But fae were just as private as unicorns, if not even moreso. Not as rare but just as cautious. It wasnât in either speciesâ nature to serve war or negative influence among the world. âFiguring things out. Like⌠your cup sizeâŚ.telepathy or just a special gift? We need to watch out, by the way, for everyone and their gifts. This is a giant game of cards and whoever holds the most power moved at the right time...oh you get it. The bad guys donât need any rare pokemon cards. Or seemingly innocent weak ones either.â And there went the drink. âWho's the strongest one here? Thatâs not a dragon.â Fucking godmods. They were huge but they werenât impossible to kill. Not that Greg thought about each species and how to kill themâŚ.
Of course you didnât, Gregory, you adorable trash unicorn.
âCup size,â Marie snorted in amusement, because no. âI think she just has a way of knowing the intentions of others, which could be useful.â Parthenope was smart, despite first appearances - she seemed like she had cotton candy for brains but that wasnât true at all. Being underestimated often led to turning the tables.
She sipped her drink, crossing her legs, considering the question. âIn terms of magic or abilities or what have you, the bakery owner - fae magic is powerful, cher. I bet she can do just about anything by now.â So it was a good thing Shara wasnât out to ruin the world was it?
âAlso in terms of physical strength, the gargoyle or the sea serpent.â Sea serpents were ginormous and could just swallow anyone whole if they were pesky. Gargoyles, well. They were made of stone. Brains go smash.
âSheâs baking fucking cakes instead of building the best barrier this side of the AmericasâŚ.I canât be mad though. Sheâs making cakes.â The most powerful magic user was making sugary delights. Of course. âI pulled their files. Itâs good theyâre on barrier patrol but it sucks we donât have...more. We wouldnât have to do shit with a fleet of Sea Serpents or Gargoyles. Who's going to fuck with that?â No one.
They needed stronger barrier control for the moment while the magical users could..do something..about that. If they wanted to. Then again, Greg crossed the barrier because magic just shat out of his ass. Or so people thought.
âSpeaking of which--I can feel the general emotion of people and...may be able to influence them in some way. So if that kind of thing bothers you then youâll have to get used to it.â He couldnât say for sure what he was. But that much he could tell her. âIâll trust you keep that to yourself while we go on this grand adventure. Kind of important for when weâre looking for fucking liars.â And if everyone knew Greg was a unicorn then they wouldnât be truthful to him. No. Summerview only needed to know he was a seemingly reckless and idiotic cop who wasnât enthused about his job.
Which was partly true. But he did care, and was much more thorough.
âSecretâs safe with me,â Marie promised - and she meant it. She recognized the information for what it was - something to help but also to test the waters a bit in terms of trust between them. So, sheâd offer up a little of her own. âI have a way of influencing people too. If I touch them.â
Her persuasion was part of her succubi skillset. And she imagined the full extent of what she was and what she could do would come out at some point. âSo Iâm already used to it. I donât have a lot of limits, letâs just say,â she winked. A creature who fed on life force to survive? Of course she didnât.
âOh?â He hummed with a true interest, bright blue eyes illuminating as his brow raised. âThat sounds very intrusive and incredibly helpful. I like it.â In this day and age there were so many creatures she could be. She could even be just a gifted human. But Greg knew she was more. He could sense it, and the emotion she gave off was nothing but confidence, profound confidence.
That was good. They were going to need a lot of chutzpah to deal with all this running around and legwork. âThe badge sets me at quite a few limits but rules are meant to be broken and so are bones. Whatever needs to get done will get done.â
âThatâs a good motto,â Marie laughed, tossing pink hair over her shoulder. She clinked her glass against Gregâs, then finished it off - the burn had long since become more of a tingle for her, so she wasnât affected much. Though she did love the taste. âTo whatever needs to get done and getting it done, then.â